Natural Born Winners

Over the last few weeks, one of the best things that I have been watching on the television is a series called "Natural Born Winners" on the bbc - if you haven't caught any of them already then I highly recommend that you look the 4 part programme up on the iplayer as it is well worth a watch.

The idea of the show is that they follow 4 ex professional athletes, each of whom have been champions of their own sport, as they attempt to get to grips with new challenges and new sports across the world, as they battle it out to prove themselves the best all round athlete. The four competitors focused on in the series are: GB sprinter Iwan Thomas, ex-Wales rugby captain Gareth Thomas, Canadian 100m Olympic champion Donovan Bailey and Former Speedway racer James Toseland.

In the first episode the athletes take on a gruelling 22.5 mile fell race, known as "man vs horse", as 15 minutes after the start of the run, horses are released and the race is on to see if any of the competitors can make it back before them. The second episode sees the men in Turkey competing in a traditional Turk sport of oil wrestling. Third, they head off to India for a martial art battle known as 'Kalari', and finally they end the series with a trip to Japan as they take each other on at 'Yabusame' an ancient Asian sport of horseback archery.

The fascinating thing about this programme is listening to each of the athletes stories of life as champions and adapting to life after professional competition.

Without wanting to ruin the show for anyone, there was a standout performer throughout the process, as James Toseland took to each event like a duck to water, adapting to each one and overcoming all the obstacles laid in front of him. As he stated himself - you have to be a quick learner when you are throwing a bike around corners at 200mph! 

Iwan Thomas was competitive throughout, Gareth Thomas was hindered by his size and phobias, but gave each competition his best shot. Donovan Bailey on the other hand proved something of an enigma. Obviously unfit and overweight, he also struggled to muster any motivation and failed to become competitive, let alone master any of the sports.

Bailey was the fastest man in the world when he won Olympic gold in the 100m in Atlanta 1996, however in the first episode he claimed another - much unwanted - title, the slowest competitor in the history of the "man vs horse" race, slugging over the finish line in an agonising 8 and a half hours!

The final part of the programme proved eye-opening, as the athletes compared their tales of injury, competitiveness, training and desire to be the best. 

Iwan Thomas admitted that he had struggled to accept his career was over and still desperately craved competitive sport. This despite not having ran on a track for some 10 years.

Similarly James Toseland was near tears as he spoke of the "bereavement" at having to retire early from motorbike racing due to serious injury - he had, he admitted, struggled to fill the hole that the adrenaline Motorsport provided him with had left behind. 

In contrast, Gareth Thomas and Donovan Bailey were somewhat of a polar opposite - having spoke of accepting that their own time was over and instead choosing to sit back and enjoy the performances of the next generation. There was, they claimed, no jealousy or need to feel competitive any more.

Which brought a question to me of how I would cope with no longer being competitive in running? I would like to think that running will always be a part of my life, as it has become such a huge part of it over the last 5 years. Hopefully I have a few years of improvement in me, then eventually I will peak, then the performances will begin to tail off. Injuries may play a part, or other aspects of life may take priority - that is life. 

But I bet it must be difficult. To be at the top of your sport, even at a local level, and then admit to yourself that you are no longer capable of the level of performance you strive for. To become a slower runner, to be beaten by people that you know you would have previously have been in front of. I suppose that is why many of the front runners drop off the scene once they have peaked? Whereas some accept it and continue regardless in their veteran categories etc, some fall by the wayside and that must be a shame to the sport.

Whilst I am able to and have the motivation, I aim to make the most of it and improve as much as I can and claim times and race wins wherever possible. Because that is what I enjoy. Fun running to me is winning or running pb's - yes I am a competitive sod sorry!

This week I continued my push to try and race myself back into some form by competing in the Beaverbrooks Blackpool 10k. 

It proved to be the hottest day of the year so far by some distance, as the temperature must have easily hit the mid 20's. That combined with a thin front end of the field reflected in the time that I recorded (not sure, but around 33:20), however I was pleased to claim a comfortable victory and to run almost pain free having struggled with a bad back again in the last week.

Training-wise, despite the back pain I trained fairly well through the week. I did a solo track session on Tuesday, setting myself quite a tough session of a 1 mile tempo (4:55), followed by 8 x 400m 68's off a minute recovery) and 4 x 200m (30 seconds off a 30 second recovery). Then on Thursday I recorded an average pace of 5:43 for my 8 progression run, in comparison to 5:51 the previous week. I think the rest during the previous week did me some good, hopefully I will reap the benefits in the weeks to come.

Total mileage for the week: 65

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 

Total mileage for the month so far (May): 65

Total mileage so far 2016: 1283

Average miles per day 2016: 10.02

Resting up

This week had been pencilled in as something of a rest week, following on from the completion of my winter season and the first lot of my targeted Spring races. 

I must admit to feeling more than ready for some respite after a challenging few weeks both physically and mentally after a few recent set backs. Hopefully the little mini break in training will allow me to attack the following period of training and races with a renewed confidence and on recharged batteries.

I had a total of three days off through the week - including not running for the full weekend, the first time I have taken back to back days off since the turn of the year. Typically on the first day off I twinges my back so would have been unable to run anyway! It must have been my body's way of telling me I was ready for the rest!

Despite taking a few days off, I made sure that the days that I did still run saw me putting in some quality sessions. I tried to make sure that I took something away from every run that I managed throughout the week - and this reflected in my average pace at the end of the weeks training.

On the Monday I did a steady hour of running, totalling 9.5 miles. Tuesday saw me do a solo session down on the track, and as something slightly different, I decided to do 60 seconds of 'effort' off 60 seconds jog recovery. I did 15 sets of repetitions and maintained a good rhythm and regular pace throughout. Wednesday was my first rest day of the week, followed by ten miles on Thursday, with 8 miles of a progressive tempo run built into it. The average pace for the run equalled 5:50 pace, having started at 6:40 pace and gradually cranking it up through the run. Friday saw me run for 20 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes in the evening as I struggled to fit some mileage in around work before my planned weekend off. 

Despite knowing that I was ready for the rest, I still felt guilty for taking the time out of training and itching to run. I have got that used to banging out the miles every day now, that it just seems normal to go out and train every day - having days off - and especially more than one in a week(!) - almost feels like cheating although I know it will do me good in the longer term.

The break in training did have its benefits, as it coincided with a weekend away in Silverdale for a get-together with Molly's family and allowed us to spend lots of quality time together and enjoy a few drinks and lots of food!

Total mileage for the week: 38

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:16

Total mileage for the month (April): 278

Total mileage so far 2016: 1218

Average miles per day 2016: 10.06

Let's talk, Manchester

I am writing this week's post on the back of watching this year's Virgin London Marathon and tracking all of my friends progress throughout the race - I have to say I was envious of everyone when I woke up this morning and the unbeatable, incomparable atmosphere that they were performing in front of.

Before I get into the blog proper, I would like to congratulate everyone on their achievements, Stuart Robinson, Grant Johnson, Ben Johnson, Gary Pennington who all ran excellent races and achieved fantastic times. Also, all of my Wesham pals who ran and did the club and themselves proud once again - well done to Garry Barnett, Troy Watson, Nicola Unsworth, Carmel Sullivan and Peter Cruse. Big kudos to all of you that ran - and I hope you aren't suffering too much on the back of it!

Away from London, it hasn't been such a good week for another of he UK's leading marathons however. On Thursday of last week, the Greater Manchester Marathon hit the news for all the wrong reasons. Having already come in for criticism over a problem with the baggage drop for this year's participants, which saw many people waiting hours to be reunited with their property after they had finished the event, a much bigger problem was declared to have been found regarding previous year's events.

After years of whispers and rumours regarding the validity of the race distance, it was announced to have been officially declared some 380 metres short between 2013-2015. That is to say that the distance participants ran was almost a quarter of a mile shy of the actual marathon distance supposed to be run over the course of those 3 years events.

The company (AUKCM) that was employed to measure and certificate the course over those years had this to say via a statement on their website:

"Manchester Marathon 2013-2015

The Marathon course was measured by an accredited measurer in 2013 and was used for the race that year. The measurement was also used as the basis for the races in 2014 & 2015, with some adjustments. Following the 2015 race, there were suggestions that the course was short and AUKCM used GPS traces and video evidence from runners, together with satellite mapping services, to check the distance run on the day...After extended discussion with the organisers, it was agreed that AUKCM carry out a verification measurement of the course as run in 2015 in conjunction with the measurement of the course proposed for 2016. This measurement was done in October 2015 and showed that the course run in 2015 was 380m short.

AUKCM were unable to identify any error from the original measurement report, but increasing differences in the positions given for mile markers compared with the verification measurement indicated a possible error in calibration of the wheel for the original measurement. A check of the calibration course used showed that it was short, the error accounting for about half of the deficiency.

AUKCM regret the error in measurement and the effect it has on runners times.

The revised course used for the 2016 Manchester Marathon is not affected by this error. It has been measured by two measurers and both National and IAAF/AIMS certificates have been issued."

Xtra Mile Events, who put on the Greater Manchester marathon and organise the event, released their own statement in reply to AUKCM on their website, saying this:

"Xtra Mile Events, organisers of the Greater Manchester Marathon would like to respond to the statement issued by AUKCM.

Responsibility for measuring of the length of the course in 2013, 2014 and 2015 laid with AUKCM, and we relied on AUKCM certification in holding the race over the specified distance. It has been confirmed that the course was measured incorrectly most likely due to a calibration issue. AUKCM have agreed that the course was the same as had been certified.

AUKCM have taken responsibility for this by issuing this statement.

Xtra Mile Events understand the anguish and huge disappointment this creates, and want to assure our runners that we share the upset and emotion from the AUKCM news regarding the race distance.

The 2016 Greater Manchester Marathon was not affected as it took place using a new course which is fully IAAF/AIMS certified."

Now, although Xtra Mile Events may believe that they themselves have done no wrong with regards to the measurement of the course, it is hard to believe that after years of doubts over the actual distance of the course being run, that they were ever really unaware of the situation.

The reality of it seems to be that hands have only now been held up because the race organisers wanted to reach IAAF standard, and were aware that questions would be asked as to why the finish had been moved in comparison to previous running a of the event.

This may not be the case, but I suspect it probably had something to do with it. Either way, the handling of the matter has been exceptionally shoddy and has done nothing for the reputation of the race, which at this moment lies in tatters somewhat.

It is a real shame, as Manchester offers marathon runners a genuine alternative to London, and as the 2016 results have proven it is still a fast course anyway. It is also disappointing to think that this might unfairly overshadow this year's event - however that is nobodies fault but the organisers and their handling of the issue. If they had been proactive and honest about the mistake prior to this year's event taking place, some of the anger and sting would have been taken out of the situation. 

According to these statements, the organisers knew about the short course (at the very latest) back in October 2015 - so why was it kept hush? In fact, there has still been no direct apology from the organisers to their paying customers, each of whom paid around £50 a time to take part in good faith. That is beyond poor, that is bordering on incompetency. 

Whether they themselves had measured the course or not is irrelevant, they had accepted people's money to put on an event that they simply failed to deliver. People would not pay to watch a football match, have the full time whistle blown after 85 minutes, when anything could still happen, and just accept it. Running is also not a game of cricket, we can't just apply some formula like the Duckworth Lewis method and round up the results from that.

I myself am fortunate that my only experience of the race, back in 2013, came before I took up the training side of the sport seriously. My time of 2:52:18 wasn't even my best at the time, however that isn't the case for many others. Many of my friends have recorded what they believed to be PB's, although now they have been stripped of those times. So if they haven't got times to show for their months of hard work, what exactly have the organisers been paid for?

Whether they can rescue the reputation of the race from here is questionable, as although they state that the course is now 100% accurate, it is somewhat tarnished. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. I had planned on a return to Manchester for my next marathon, but now am having serious second thoughts if I would ever do it again - is it worth the risk when you have put so much into the training? 

It is possibly the best advert for other potential Spring marathons though, Edinburgh, Brighton and co mustn't be able to believe their luck!

Anyway enough of the ranting...

This week's training has seen me reduce my mileage, and increase the intensity of my sessions. I have to admit to feeling rather flat since my chest infection. I have probably become too obsessed with making sure I run 80 miles a week, and not focused enough on the quality of the sessions that I've been doing. 

Now that we are through the winter and I am happy that I have got plenty of miles in the bank though, I am now hoping to focus on doing lots more shorter, sharper training to get my top end speed up for the summer season.

I have been given advice from a few different people who are far more experienced than me, and he concensus seems to be that fewer, but more quality miles is the way to go over the coming months, so it might be that I try and cap my mileage at around 60-70 a week, rather than the 80 I have been doing. Hopefully this will leave me feeling a bit fresher on a race day once again as a result.

This week I did 16x400 in an average of 67/68 seconds per rep off a minute recovery, a 4.5 mile tempo in 5:20 pace and a run out at the local Preston park run in 16:17 for the 5k course.

Total mileage for the week: 65

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:28

Total mileage for the month so far (April): 240

Total mileage so far 2016: 1180

Average miles per day 2016: 10.26

Areas to improve

2016 was targeted as a year in which I would try to improve my times over shorter distances and try to get as quick as possible.

That was the reason for deciding not to try and do another marathon this year. I decided that it would be better for my long term development and my overall running. In something of a catch 22 situation however, I also wanted to increase my mileage in order to develop my endurance, strength and stamina. 

The result has seen me now feeling comfortable with running off 80 miles a week on a regular basis now, often running twice a day in training. I am also fitting in quite a lot of quality speed work within this mileage too.

So a third of the way through the year, how do I think this game plan is working out for me so far?

First thing to consider is that my 5 and 10k times have both improved somewhat already. I know there is more improvement to do, and am confident that there is still much more to come, but I am satisfied with how I am going at the moment on the shorter stuff.

Strangely, despite increasing my mileage - which I would have thought might also improve my performance over the longer distances too - my half marathon race performances so far this year have not quite tallied up how I would have hoped.

There are things to consider here though, sickness and poor conditions affecting the run at Cardiff. It was none the less frustrating however, knowing how far off what I believe I am in shape for and capable of.

With that in mind, I took a bit of a last minute decision to have a run out at Valiant's Half Marathon this weekend, rather than the Lancaster 3 bridges 10k that I had been eying up previously. 

As regular readers will know, I like my local races and try to support them by turning out as often as possible, when it doesn't clash with my training plan for the bigger races. With Cardiff and Cheshire out of the way and a fair wait until my next targeted races, I didn't see any harm in having a bash at this one, on what is my pb course especially.

The perfect situation today would have seen somebody turn up who was capable of running around at my target pace for me to share the workload with and to push me when the going got tough, and also obviously for the conditions to be still. As it was, much of the first half of the race especially, as well as the final mile, was run into a headwind which made the task a little bit tougher. Sadly there wasn't much competition at the forefront of the race either. 

I led the race out from the start, and was happy to pass through the first mile in 5:18 in what felt like quite a blustery straight, the pace slowed a tad to 5:27 but again that seemed to be into the wind and I felt confident that as we turned almost back in the opposite direction, that if the wind was to be behind us for a stretch then I might be able to push on once again.

Far from that however, in fact as we passed through Hambleton the wind actually grew stronger! I don't know how that is even possible, possibly a swirling wind, but whatever it was it was persistent and there was no escaping it all the way through to about 7 miles. It was tough going, especially with the open stretches of country lanes meaning that I was left exposed with no hiding places. The pace dropped considerably through this section and I made quite an early decision to reign it in and rather than expend any more energy than necessary, I took the decision to ease off and try my best to do just enough to win the race.

As I say, this decision saw the pace drop to around 5:40-5:45 as there was nobody around me. Up until that is, mile 8 where I was given a much needed kick up the backside when I had a little glance over my shoulder and found Philip Ecclestone (2nd place) closing in on me! 

It was just what I needed to get me going again, and I kicked back on a bit in the final 5 miles, still not especially fast, but back towards 5:35s, which opened up a nice little gap back to the next runner. 

I finished up with 74:06 for the win, not exactly the time I was hoping to achieve, but certainly a step in the right direction from where I was after Cardiff, being some 2 minutes faster than that performance.

Having achieved a pb at Cheshire last weekend and raced just 3 days prior to that too, and with a full training week off 80 miles once again, it might be a case that I am getting ready for a bit of a step back now whilst my body recovers from the recent exertion.

With that in mind, the May bank holiday weekend will provide me with a good opportunity to relax and have a few days off from training, as I will be away with Moll on a family break. So just one more week of training to go in this latest push then!

My main thoughts as I look towards the next block after that break are that I will be looking to push on with my plan to improve my 5k performances, and I will be looking to try and improve my top end speed work on the track in the coming weeks and months. Track work is still fairly new to me, especially the really short, sharp stuff and I am enjoying the challenge and learning curve that running with the real fast lads is providing me with on a track night. Hopefully if I can persist with it and keep working at it, there will be gains to be had through the summer season!

A small side note this week is that I have invested in a new watch - I will be using the Tom Tom runner 2 instead of my old Garmin forerunner 610. The main reasons for this is the fact that the new watch has a built in heart rate monitor and also Bluetooth connectivity, so I will be able to record and follow my progress more easily by uploading my data to my phone. Hopefully this will allow me to continue training smarter and working in the correct training zones. I will let you all know how I find it! 

Total mileage for the week: 80

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:34

Total mileage for the month so far (April): 175

Total mileage so far 2016: 1115

Average miles per day 2016: 10.32

Normal service resumed / sacrifices

A return to racing, on the back of the poor showing at Cardiff the other week, came off quite successfully this week. I actually raced twice this week - which I know is pushing it a bit and frowned upon by some, but with a race win and a pb to show for it I think I can look back happy with both performances I produced.

My overall mileage this week and my training was basically tailored to make sure that I didn't overload myself with workload and to ensure I got plenty of rest and recovery between the two races. That meant a lower mileage week and also a lot of easy running, with no track session at the start of the week, tempo run towards the end of it, or a regular long run so to speak.

Instead, I ran easy on both Monday and Tuesday morning and evening ( limited to 30-40 minute jogs) ahead of race number one at Stanley Park, Blackpool for the first race of the new interclub season. 

I had toyed with the idea of giving this one a miss, as I knew that I wanted to prioritise an effort at a pb over the 10k distance. However, I also had plans for the interclub series, as I had hoped to follow up last year's individual title by adding a team prize this time around. 

So with that in mind, I knew that I would have to try and lead by example and look to provide the team with a race win to give us the best possible chance of a good result in the opening fixture.

I led the two-lap 4 mile race from start to finish, and ran well in blustery conditions. I had company in the first mile, as Rob Affleck (2nd, Preston Harriers) and Luke Minns (3rd, Blackpool), came with me as I attempted to break away early on. Apparently the first mile was sub 5 minutes, however I'm not entirely sure of the splits as I took the decision this week to run on feel in these two races and so not to wear my watch.

The second mile was ran into the wind, and as I kept up the momentum, I managed to break free from the other two and build up a healthy lead. With hindsight, this is probably where I made a slight mistake - I could have maybe eased off a bit more in the second half of the race and saved some energy for the weekend. But racing on feel, and feeling good, saw me continue to press on perhaps a little more than I had to. From a racing head point of view, I was running well and feeling very comfortable and in rhythm, so I made sure of the win and took it one race at a time. 

I finished off with a solid victory in 20:27, a fair bit off the pace from last season's fixture at the same venue, but in the conditions and with no real competition in the second half of the race I was very pleased overall.

After the race, I was presented with the 2015 individual series title, and am delighted to now see my name on the Shield with some really top class athletes. Seeing what these guys have since gone on to achieve inspires me to continue pushing to be the best that I possibly can be. Hopefully this will not be the pinnacle for me, but more of a solid platform to build from.

Unfortunately, after a shock and very disappointing result in the team standings in the first fixture, it looks as though Wesham will not be adding that elusive club title this season, after a nightmare evening which saw us return a result of 6th place out of the 7 competing clubs. Missing several key members through marathon tapering, injury, holiday and work commitments, we just couldn't compete and it will be very much an uphill battle from here on in. We will just have to try and win as many of the remaining meetings as possible and hope some of the results go our way, but it will be extremely difficult to win the series from here.

Thursday and Friday were spent recovering as much as possible from the midweek race, and so I again limited myself to doubling up with morning and evening half hour runs.

Saturday provided me with a nice rest day too, as I ran the local Preston park run with Moll for the second week running. She did excellently once again - knocking a minute and a half off her previous effort and producing faster splits throughout the entire run. She even came up with a sprint finish to out do me over the finish line - I like her competitiveness! 😂

After the park run, I went to have a sports massage and then put my feet up for the afternoon, resting up.

On Saturday night, I was supposed to have being going out with a group of friends, having been invited to the house warming of my best friend and his fiancé. Although I did go for an hour, I felt both guilty and gutted that I couldn't stay for longer for the fear of being tempted into staying out, drinking and missing the following mornings race - especially as I had to be up at 6:30 in order to travel to Cheshire in time for the early start. So there was me sat drinking a pint of water, as all my friends around me cracked open the cans and bottles! I had a quick catch up and left before the rest carried on their evening, before heading out for a night in Blackpool - there is no way I would have been in any state to run if I'd gone!

It can be tough as a runner having to make such sacrifices in order to produce the performances that you are striving for. Usually I would have let my hair down and picked another race instead, but having already missed two of the quickest 10k's in the country at Trafford and Salford in he last few weeks, and following on the back of such a disappointment in the half, I took the decision that this was one race that I just couldn't forfeit - especially with how much the 10k distance has dogged me over the last 18 months.

I am lucky that I am surrounded by very understanding friends and family, who know how important my running is to me. I appreciate how fortunate I am, and will make it up to them soon!

This morning at Cheshire 10k, this particular sacrifice proved worthwhile, as I managed to set myself a new personal best for the distance of 32:06 - some 24 seconds faster than my previous best time.

Again, I chose to run this one without the pressure of the watch, and instead to just go out and race it and run hard, but on feel. As a result, I probably still ended up setting off a tad too fast, but am happy that I gave absolutely everything I had in the tank on the day.

I was in a nice little three man pack through to 4K with Rob Affleck and Nigel Martin of Sale. At that point I went through a bit of a rough patch, for what reason I'm not really sure - possibly paying for the early pace, possibly for the race a few days previously, probably a mixture of the two!

Once those two opened up a gap on me, it soon increased and basically meant that I was forced to run the remainder of the distance on my own. I got things back together at about 6k and ran strongly towards the finish - albeit panting, grunting, spitting and generally giving it my all(!), and could see 2nd, 3rd and 4th place ahead of me right up until the finishing stages, unfortunately with nobody to work with to try and up my pace, I was just unable to summon up any extra energy to close the gap on those ahead of me, although it never increased any further.

That was the only disappointment of the day, the lack of quality at the top end of the race, in terms of weight of numbers. The organisers had handed out free entries to sub 33 minute runners in order to try and bulk up the standard, and I had expected to find myself closer to 15th than the 5th place I ended up finishing in.

As a course, I would really recommend Cheshire 10k to anybody looking for a fast race. It is fairly flat, with some gentle rolling undulations. The fact that it is rural and traffic free make it perfect for a potential pb course. A big well done to the race organisers, I will definitely be returning.

This week also produced one more landmark for me, as I clocked up my 1000th mile of the year so far. Hopefully many more to follow.

Total mileage for the week: 63

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:40

Total mileage for the month so far (April): 95

Total mileage so far 2016: 1035

Average miles per day 2016: 10.24

Special delivery

After last week's disappointment at Cardiff Half Marathon, I had expected this to be a tough week and one in which I might have felt sorry for myself and filled the blog with negativity.

The reality is that this couldn't have been further from the truth. For whatever the reason, I have found myself straight back into training how I was prior to my illness and feeling great within myself and my running once again. Last week was a set back, but I am confident that I have still taken things away from it and will continue to learn and grow from that particular experience.

I skipped training with the club on Monday and took myself out on a steady longer run, to give myself time and space for me to go through the motions and think over the weekend's race. I actually really enjoyed the run and it made a nice change to be able to escape back down the country lanes and take everything around me in - it was very therapeutic!

Despite taking another week off from track training, I wanted to ensure I didn't just plod round doing junk mileage that I wasn't going to gain anything from. So as an alternative I set myself up a fartlek session in order to try and still throw in some faster speed work, whilst listening to my body and not pushing it beyond what it is capable of. The session went extremely well, with a structured 1.5 mile warm up and cool down, but with 7 miles in the middle seeing me run at various intensities and paces, as I pushed it for spells and then held back and let my body and lungs recover. The actual 'work' part of the session wasn't exactly measured or structured so I can't tell you what distances or paces I was reaching. What I do know though is that I completed the 10 miles overall in just under an hour, with an average pace of 5:59 m/pm.

Wednesday brought some easy mileage as I allowed my body to recover from the previous day's efforts. Then on Thursday I did a shorter, sharper tempo run around the docks. I did 2 x 2 miles, off a 5 minute recovery and recoded 10:10 for the first rep and 10:08 for the second - I was pleased with both the pace and especially also the consistency of my pacing throughout the run. 

On Saturday, I got to experience something quite different, as I found myself running around the Preston Park Run with Molly for the first time! I have to say I thought she did brilliantly for her first attempt at what is not exactly an easy course. She seemed to enjoy it too, so hopefully we will be doing a few more now, and I'm sure she will go from strength to strength and improve as we do more too. Well done Moll!

Sunday saw me finish off my week with my long run, and it was great to have some company for a change too, as Luke Minns joined me for the majority of the run. It is always so much easier to run alongside company, and as I was carried away chatting I completely ignored my watch for the first 5 miles of our run, when I eventually did and saw that we had just put in a 5:50 mile I almost had a heart attack as we had only intended on running around in 6:35-6:40s! But once we reigned it back in and the pace settled back down to normal it started to feel much more comfortable and we finished up with an average pace of 6:18. 

Another bonus from this week came via a special delivery from a certain Paula Radcliffe. I finally managed to get around to writing to her in order to thank her for the hand in hand finish down the Mall at London last year. I took the opportunity to send her my Wesham vest as a thank you from me to her, as well as a club one which I hoped she may sign. I also wrote a hand written letter about what the moment meant to me, as well as asking some questions about running and training that I thought she may be able to provide some advice on. Her response was first class - just as you would have thought it would be from a lady that seems to be a top class person as well as the complete athlete.

Paula posted back with a signed Wesham shirt, along with returning my personal 'Rob' shirt from the marathon signed with a personal message, a signed photo of the finish and also her own hand written reply. Out of everything I think it is he letter that impresses me most and is possibly the most special of the souvenirs and momentos that I now have to cherish, as she obviously took time in considering her reply and writing it out. Some of the advice she gave surprised me (the amount of recovery time after races), and some of it seems very sound advice too (her best ever piece of advice she herself was given). Reading it inspired me and I hope it will continue to do so. I have learned and improved so much in the last 11 months since that day, and know how fortunate I was to be in that position and to gain that experience and confidence it gave me.

Here is Paula's message:

"Dear Rob,

Thank you so much for taking the time to get in touch and to write down everything so well. 

Thank you also for being a part of a day full of so many special and happy memories. You are so right about the camaraderie and strength and beauty of the running community. Also about the importance and value of the clubs - I am so glad if the publicity helped at all to raise the profile of your club.

I have signed the photo and your club vest - I have also signed the club one for your club to have (it was a kind thought/gesture but I'm afraid I can't wear it due to my Nike contract).

For the questions - I find the optimum block for a marathon is 12 weeks and for shorter races like cross country or 10km - 6 weeks.

After a marathon I take 3 weeks complete rest and then another two weeks easing back into training. 

After other hard blocks or races, 2 weeks complete rest and two weeks easing back.

After a disappointment - I find the fire and hurt helps fuel harder and smarter training and creates motivation to get back to what I enjoy doing and want to do better at.

I think caffeine and chocolate in moderation are no problem. Dark chocolate is good. The key is eating well and balanced and within 20 minutes of finishing training.

The best advice I was ever given

"Dare to dream. Think big and work towards goals. If you don't achieve them all you still achieve more than if you never dared to dream and aim in the first place".

Also

"Treat others always with the respect you would want to be treated yourself"

Good luck in all your races and aims

Best wishes

Paula

How good is that! And advice that I am sure we can all agree with. The size of training blocks and recovery spells recommended will give me plenty to consider in the future seen as previously I rarely take complete weeks off and trained for London 2015 off an 18 week block!

Total mileage for the week: 81

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:36

Total mileage for month of March: 310

Total mileage for the month so far (April): 32

Total mileage so far 2016: 972

Average miles per day 2016: 10.24

Hurting

A couple of weeks ago, after the Intercounties result, one of my friends messaged me to congratulate me on my performance. "It's a roller coaster ride being a runner, sometimes you can hit very low periods, but when it's good it's a great buzz and spurs you on"...

Little did I know it at the time, but looking back two weeks later and this statement is not only very true, but it also provides some good advice for runners out there, whether they be running very well, or not so - things can change very quickly, so make the most of it when you're in form, and just knuckle down and get through the rough patches when things aren't going so great, form is temporary after all. 

For ten weeks since the start of the year I have grown as a runner. I have upped my mileage, as planned, and my training programme ahead of Cardiff couldn't have gone much better at all. Four consecutive weeks of 80 miles plus had seen me feeling strong, I'd done all the long runs, the track sessions had got gradually more intense and quicker, and I felt increasingly comfortable and confident in the tempo sessions. Performance-wise, my crosscountry season had gone from strength to strength and I had set a new 5k pb on the road. I felt in peak condition and ready for a big effort at a pb in Cardiff for the Half.

But the one thing that you can't legislate for in training is sickness. And just two weeks shy of race day, two days after possibly my best ever performance in the Intercounties, that is exactly what struck...

Ironically, I had suffered from a chest infection almost 12 months ago exactly, in the build up to Wilmslow Half marathon. That day I got lucky and managed to grind out a new personal best, despite feeling a bit off.

With that in mind, and so much already invested in this race and into the weekend overall already, cancelling was out of the question. 

This time around, there was no such luck. I actually felt much better throughout this week, having felt terrible for the seven days previously. Despite still suffering with a cough and spitting up gunk whilst running, I felt capable of still giving it a go for that same target time as I was aiming for. I had come through a bit of a fitness test on the Thursday, as a 20 minute tempo at race pace had gone well.

I suppose there is a difference between a watered down version of a race, and the real thing however. Possibly the added complication of driving for some 6 hours to get to the city the day prior to the race didn't help matters either. The truth is, I knew very early on into the race on Saturday that I wasn't right.

The target I have been working towards has of course been for a sub 70 minute half marathon. To achieve that I had to maintain a pace of 5:20 m/pm or less throughout the race. In the first two miles I just about managed that, with mile splits of 5:17 and 5:21, the truth is though that even at this stage I was already feeling the strain. Mile 3 saw my pace drop to 5:34 and from there on in it was all down hill. 

My intended race splits through 5 and 10k was sub 16:30 and 33:00 respectively, what I actually delivered was in fact closer to 16:50 and then 34:50 as I proceeded to drop 20-25 seconds per mile off the pace, every mile through miles 4-9. 

There were several points in the race where I seriously considered dropping out altogether. After the fourth mile I very nearly turned around and jogged back to the hotel as it sunk in that I was nowhere near fit enough to run for my target. Instead I decided to try and maintain 5:40 pace for as long as possible and try to see the race as some kind of hard tempo session.

I managed that until the course swung back towards the centre of Cardiff and more or less past the start and finish area. I could actually see my hotel and was again tempted to sack it all off. The main reason why I didn't, is that my only ever DNF (in Lytham Windmill Half Marathon in 2013 - where again I was suffering from sickness) still to this day remains my lowest ever moment in running. I was determined not to have the indignity of not completing a race for a second occasion. 

So I plodded on, and it continued to get harder, and slower. Mile ten saw my pace drop to 5:51, and then the weather really turned for the worse - just in case I wasn't already suffering enough! The final 5k was run into gale force winds and horizontal rain and my pace really dropped off to just about 6 minute mile-ing. The final nail in the coffin was being overtaken by Superman at 11 miles. At least I was able to see the funny side, asking him if he'd enjoyed his film premieré during the week...

Mile 11 also provided me with another bit of a pick up however, as I met a runner called Steve Hargreaves for the first time. Steve is a Lytham Road Runner, and introduced himself and told me he was a follower of the blog - it really brought a smile to my face despite the disappointment I was feeling. While I dropped off I'm informed Steve managed to out-run Superman to the finish, so we'll done! 

In the darkest moments of the run, I found myself questioning everything that I have done in he build up to the race. Had I done enough? Had I done too much? Was my target unrealistic? The answer to all of these, I believe is 'no'. I simply wasn't fit for the race. It is a hard one to swallow, but all my work came undone through the virus I picked up in he build up. The travelling also probably didn't help matters, but it wasn't the deal breaker by any stretch. I've just got to move on now and focus on the next goals, it is how you respond to a set back that is most important.

Despite the race being a bit of a write off, training had ironically gone pretty solidly through the week, which had led me to believe I was over the worst of the illness. A ten mile recovery run on Sunday saw my mileage back up above 70 for the week. 

Total mileage for the week: 73

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:29

Total mileage for month so far (March): 261

Total mileage so far 2016: 891

Average miles per day 2016: 10.24