Training Report:
This week's training has been a little odd for me. All week I've felt quite tired and lethargic. I haven't really been rushing to put my trainers on and race out of the door like normal. It has been a real struggle to get the motivation and energy to actually do any training. Due to this I only did one session each day, I wasn't a completely lazy so and so, and did a lot of stretching and mobility exercises as well as some core work, but in terms of the really good stuff I only did the minimum each day.
As I left each day to go running I had the feeling that each session was going to hurt, that I was going to struggle to complete my speed sessions, run at a decent pace on my long runs and that I wasn't really going to have too much fun. Happily, however the contrary was true of every session. Despite feeling very sluggish before and after each session, whilst I was actually running I felt great. Two loops of Richmond Park felt easy in well under and hour and a half. Tuesday's speed session of 15 x 300 metres, which mentally I was dreading because of my lack of enthusiasm as well as the monotony of a high rep number session, I was fine. I was three seconds quicker than planned each go, which does add up! And I managed to hit my increased target pace for my final three with ease.
I did another track session on Thursday, 4 x 2000 metres and again felt strong, relaxed and very comfortable with what I was doing. Which all made the lacklustre way I felt just an hour after the session very confusing. I was expecting the way I felt all week to result in a dip in form, not an increase!
On Friday I went away to Birmingham to visit a friend, and the couple of days away seems to have refreshed me. Running in a new area is always quite fun, you head out the door and have no clue as to where you're going to go, you make it up as you go along, which makes each run feel a bit like an adventure! And as long as you manage to avoid the dodgy end of town you're fine!
Perhaps I was finding the routes I take at home were making me feel a bit stale mentally, and a quick breaks left me with a new freshness for my training. But what ever it was - touch wood - it seems to have gone. I feel a lot more like the Will I was seven days ago. Whether that is actually a good or bad thing only my friends and family can say!
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
South of the Thames 5 Miles
Result - 2nd
Race Report:
I was keen to do well in this race which holds some prestige and has a long history in the cross country calendar. It was first held in 1888 so has seen many runners come and go over the years, including Gary Staines, 1988 Olympic 5000m finalist and silver medallist at the 1990 European Championships and Steve Ovett, 1980 Olympic 800m Gold medallist and world record holder at both the mile and 1500 metres.
Perhaps the race doesn't have the depth of quality in the field as in athletics 'hay days' but it's still a race deserving respect. It started off at a very quick pace thanks to a long downhill stretch. I was eager to get into contention from the start and got into the lead group of five from the gun. The pace eased a little but we were still working quite hard as we made the climb back up to start the second lap.
The group was down to three, and I was still feeling good. I had decided to wait until we got to the long downhill section to make a break for it. Unfortunately one of the group had the same idea and hit the front harder and sooner than I had planned. I felt like I was sprinting at full pelt as I pursued him down the hill. The change of pace had taken me away from the opponent in third but had left me detached from the leader. My legs were coping with the race ten times better than they had the last time I trained hard into a race. But there was little they could do to get me back up to the front and I finished more than pleased with my second place. To finish second to an athlete that was racing in Holland the previous weekend, where he was representing the south of England really shows me that I'm reaching new levels of competitiveness, and I know I'm running better than ever before.
Race Report:
I was keen to do well in this race which holds some prestige and has a long history in the cross country calendar. It was first held in 1888 so has seen many runners come and go over the years, including Gary Staines, 1988 Olympic 5000m finalist and silver medallist at the 1990 European Championships and Steve Ovett, 1980 Olympic 800m Gold medallist and world record holder at both the mile and 1500 metres.
Perhaps the race doesn't have the depth of quality in the field as in athletics 'hay days' but it's still a race deserving respect. It started off at a very quick pace thanks to a long downhill stretch. I was eager to get into contention from the start and got into the lead group of five from the gun. The pace eased a little but we were still working quite hard as we made the climb back up to start the second lap.
The group was down to three, and I was still feeling good. I had decided to wait until we got to the long downhill section to make a break for it. Unfortunately one of the group had the same idea and hit the front harder and sooner than I had planned. I felt like I was sprinting at full pelt as I pursued him down the hill. The change of pace had taken me away from the opponent in third but had left me detached from the leader. My legs were coping with the race ten times better than they had the last time I trained hard into a race. But there was little they could do to get me back up to the front and I finished more than pleased with my second place. To finish second to an athlete that was racing in Holland the previous weekend, where he was representing the south of England really shows me that I'm reaching new levels of competitiveness, and I know I'm running better than ever before.
Sunday 11th - Friday 16th November
Training Report:
Having run so well in the race on Saturday, I woke up Sunday morning feeling washed out and exhausted. I had to flake out of my planned long run and went back to bed. I'd learnt my lesson from my summers fatigue syndrome and was content to take the day off, I was due one on Monday anyway so I just decided to switch the days around. I also managed to not feel the strange guilt that hits you if you miss a session and was happy to sleep it off until late in the afternoon!
I knew I'd done the right thing as I was back to my old self on Monday. My hour and forty minute run came and went. I was pleased with the continued improvement of my concentration levels. I was focused purely on my running for the majority of that time, instead of going into dream world fantasising about Olympic glory and chocolate cake!
For Tuesday's track session I was interested to see how my legs would deal with a speed session only twenty four hours after running sixteen plus miles on them. I was pleasantly surprised. We were set 5 x 1000 metres and again we set faster lap times for the first and last reps to recreate a race tempo. Having hit the faster first rep splits I slowly sped up during the session until I was running close to the times of my supposed faster rep. I'd made a rod for my own back as my coach took delight in demanding that I was at least 2 seconds a lap quicker for the final go. I was pleased to run 2 and a half seconds quicker for him!
Although I had a race on Saturday I decided to keep my training load high. I wanted to see if I could deal with running on tired legs any better than I'd done three weeks ago. So I kept the quality and quantity high. Two ten mile runs on Wednesday, one with a twenty minute fast tempo run shoved in the middle. I did three sessions on Thursday, two relaxed forty minute runs and a hill session. Friday was a very easy thirty minutes and a ten minute jog with some strides. And I was ready to see how my legs would cope...
Having run so well in the race on Saturday, I woke up Sunday morning feeling washed out and exhausted. I had to flake out of my planned long run and went back to bed. I'd learnt my lesson from my summers fatigue syndrome and was content to take the day off, I was due one on Monday anyway so I just decided to switch the days around. I also managed to not feel the strange guilt that hits you if you miss a session and was happy to sleep it off until late in the afternoon!
I knew I'd done the right thing as I was back to my old self on Monday. My hour and forty minute run came and went. I was pleased with the continued improvement of my concentration levels. I was focused purely on my running for the majority of that time, instead of going into dream world fantasising about Olympic glory and chocolate cake!
For Tuesday's track session I was interested to see how my legs would deal with a speed session only twenty four hours after running sixteen plus miles on them. I was pleasantly surprised. We were set 5 x 1000 metres and again we set faster lap times for the first and last reps to recreate a race tempo. Having hit the faster first rep splits I slowly sped up during the session until I was running close to the times of my supposed faster rep. I'd made a rod for my own back as my coach took delight in demanding that I was at least 2 seconds a lap quicker for the final go. I was pleased to run 2 and a half seconds quicker for him!
Although I had a race on Saturday I decided to keep my training load high. I wanted to see if I could deal with running on tired legs any better than I'd done three weeks ago. So I kept the quality and quantity high. Two ten mile runs on Wednesday, one with a twenty minute fast tempo run shoved in the middle. I did three sessions on Thursday, two relaxed forty minute runs and a hill session. Friday was a very easy thirty minutes and a ten minute jog with some strides. And I was ready to see how my legs would cope...
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Saturday 10th Nov: Epsom Downs Surrey League Cross Country
Result - 1st
Race Report:
I was really looking forward to the race, my legs felt fresh and ready to go and I was really mentally focussed on running hard and performing well. Living a stone's throw from Epsom Downs I knew the course like the back of my hand and knew exactly where I was going to make surges in order to test my opposition, where I could ease back, and where all the tight twists and humps were so I could attack them and gain an advantage. I got a good start for once and hit the front after a hundred metres. After about three hundred metres there was a tight turn followed by a long down hill stretch through long grass and into the wind. I made my first attack going into the corner and down the hill. Whether the opposition weren't expecting it so soon into the race I don't know, but I managed to gap the field straight away.
I was running fast but felt comfortable and grew in confidence having broken away so quickly and so soon. I extended my lead throughout the rest of the first lap. Surging and easing back where I had planned. On the second lap I pulled slightly further ahead but it became more of a tempo run than a race. I didn't have anyone to push me hard so I got a little lazy as the hard work was already done. I finished just under a minute ahead of the second placed runner who had beaten me at the Silverstone Half Marathon which had been one of my best races. I was really pleased with how it all went, I was really focussed throughout even though I backed off a little during the second lap, and it was the strongest and most controlled I'd felt during a race for a while. It will be interesting to compare how I felt in this race to how I'll feel during next week's race, which I'll run after a full hard weeks training.
Race Report:
I was really looking forward to the race, my legs felt fresh and ready to go and I was really mentally focussed on running hard and performing well. Living a stone's throw from Epsom Downs I knew the course like the back of my hand and knew exactly where I was going to make surges in order to test my opposition, where I could ease back, and where all the tight twists and humps were so I could attack them and gain an advantage. I got a good start for once and hit the front after a hundred metres. After about three hundred metres there was a tight turn followed by a long down hill stretch through long grass and into the wind. I made my first attack going into the corner and down the hill. Whether the opposition weren't expecting it so soon into the race I don't know, but I managed to gap the field straight away.
I was running fast but felt comfortable and grew in confidence having broken away so quickly and so soon. I extended my lead throughout the rest of the first lap. Surging and easing back where I had planned. On the second lap I pulled slightly further ahead but it became more of a tempo run than a race. I didn't have anyone to push me hard so I got a little lazy as the hard work was already done. I finished just under a minute ahead of the second placed runner who had beaten me at the Silverstone Half Marathon which had been one of my best races. I was really pleased with how it all went, I was really focussed throughout even though I backed off a little during the second lap, and it was the strongest and most controlled I'd felt during a race for a while. It will be interesting to compare how I felt in this race to how I'll feel during next week's race, which I'll run after a full hard weeks training.
Monday 5th - Friday 9th November
Training Report:
Having trained really hard for the last three weeks, upping both my mileage and the intensity of some of my sessions, this week's training was cut back. It's important to let my body recover from all the training I've been doing, especially as I've increased my mileage and it takes time for the body to adjust to this. The theory is that after three weeks of increased mileage you cut it back by half for a week, keeping the quality speed sessions as they had been in the previous weeks. Then next week I go back to the same mileage as before and then up it again for another two weeks and then we start the cycle all over again.
It was a really interesting week, each day my legs began to feel fresher. I noticed a real difference during my Tuesday session of 8 x 800 metres. As well as feeling strong and smooth throughout my leg speed was really good. My coach decided to make me run my first and last reps four seconds a lap faster than the rest. This was in order to simulate race conditions in which you go off hard at the start to gain your position, then slip back into your race pace, then quickening the speed to ensure a strong finish. The rest of the week was a breeze and by Thursday I had to keep telling myself to ease back on my easy runs as my legs just really wanted to run fast!
Having trained really hard for the last three weeks, upping both my mileage and the intensity of some of my sessions, this week's training was cut back. It's important to let my body recover from all the training I've been doing, especially as I've increased my mileage and it takes time for the body to adjust to this. The theory is that after three weeks of increased mileage you cut it back by half for a week, keeping the quality speed sessions as they had been in the previous weeks. Then next week I go back to the same mileage as before and then up it again for another two weeks and then we start the cycle all over again.
It was a really interesting week, each day my legs began to feel fresher. I noticed a real difference during my Tuesday session of 8 x 800 metres. As well as feeling strong and smooth throughout my leg speed was really good. My coach decided to make me run my first and last reps four seconds a lap faster than the rest. This was in order to simulate race conditions in which you go off hard at the start to gain your position, then slip back into your race pace, then quickening the speed to ensure a strong finish. The rest of the week was a breeze and by Thursday I had to keep telling myself to ease back on my easy runs as my legs just really wanted to run fast!
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Sunday 4th November: Hell Runner
Result - 2nd
Race Report:
Hell Runner is a race that takes a lot of its inspiration from fell races, but rather than one long climb and descent it hits you with what must have been well over twenty short sharp hills on varying terrain, including sand, mud and large rocks. And just to spice things up there are three water sections, one invitingly called the bog of doom! Having never competed in a race like this I was a little anxious as to how I would fare.
The first three to four miles were relatively easy going, not unlike many cross country races I've done before. But for the remaining seven miles the terrain worsened. With climbs that you had to use your hands to scramble up and rocky descents that I would normally look at and run away from! I ran really well and enjoyed the whole painful experience. I was running with the winner until the four mile point. He was an experienced professional fell runner from the Lake District, well used to this sort of race. It was the descents where his experience over me really told. I could keep with him on the flat and up the climbs but he was a lot braver or should it be foolish at running down hill at speed over uneven, near vertical descents. The water sections really sapped the energy right out of my legs. I hit the first water section feeling relatively bouncy and twenty metres later I wondered if my legs had the power to climb the hill that grated you on your exit!
I finished a minute down on the winner in second place, and was well pleased to be so close after eleven miles of running against a more experienced and better prepared runner. However I have promised my legs that I won't go near a hill for a while!
Race Report:
Hell Runner is a race that takes a lot of its inspiration from fell races, but rather than one long climb and descent it hits you with what must have been well over twenty short sharp hills on varying terrain, including sand, mud and large rocks. And just to spice things up there are three water sections, one invitingly called the bog of doom! Having never competed in a race like this I was a little anxious as to how I would fare.
The first three to four miles were relatively easy going, not unlike many cross country races I've done before. But for the remaining seven miles the terrain worsened. With climbs that you had to use your hands to scramble up and rocky descents that I would normally look at and run away from! I ran really well and enjoyed the whole painful experience. I was running with the winner until the four mile point. He was an experienced professional fell runner from the Lake District, well used to this sort of race. It was the descents where his experience over me really told. I could keep with him on the flat and up the climbs but he was a lot braver or should it be foolish at running down hill at speed over uneven, near vertical descents. The water sections really sapped the energy right out of my legs. I hit the first water section feeling relatively bouncy and twenty metres later I wondered if my legs had the power to climb the hill that grated you on your exit!
I finished a minute down on the winner in second place, and was well pleased to be so close after eleven miles of running against a more experienced and better prepared runner. However I have promised my legs that I won't go near a hill for a while!
Saturday 3rd November: Reigate Priory Cross Country Relays
Race Report:
A fast 2.5 mile 6 legged relay, on an interesting course consisting of a couple of steep climbs and one long downhill section. I chose to go off on the second leg, hoping to be in contact with the leaders, with the intention of using them as targets and avoiding the scrum of flying elbows that occurs on the first leg. I set off in eleventh place twenty metres down on a guy I had some hard races against in the previous cross country season. We both moved through the finish well but frustratingly the gap remained the same throughout. I had moved the team up to third and ran the fifth fastest leg of the day. I was slightly disappointed but I was only sixteen seconds off the fastest leg, and I was aware that I was lacking a little bit of speed as my training has been aimed at races of twice the distance and more, but it was a good work out and I hoped it had warmed me up for Sundays race.
A fast 2.5 mile 6 legged relay, on an interesting course consisting of a couple of steep climbs and one long downhill section. I chose to go off on the second leg, hoping to be in contact with the leaders, with the intention of using them as targets and avoiding the scrum of flying elbows that occurs on the first leg. I set off in eleventh place twenty metres down on a guy I had some hard races against in the previous cross country season. We both moved through the finish well but frustratingly the gap remained the same throughout. I had moved the team up to third and ran the fifth fastest leg of the day. I was slightly disappointed but I was only sixteen seconds off the fastest leg, and I was aware that I was lacking a little bit of speed as my training has been aimed at races of twice the distance and more, but it was a good work out and I hoped it had warmed me up for Sundays race.
Monday 29th October - Friday 2nd November
Training Report:
Training went well again this week, I got some good milage in my legs on Monday and Wednesday averaging about 16 miles each day. My Tuesday speed session didn't go as well as they have done in the past. The session was 3 x 2000 metres on the track. The first rep went well and I was hitting my 400 metre lap times dead on, the second set started to get hard at the halfway point and I averaged one second off my set lap times, the last rep was really hard and I was four seconds down for each split, which doesn't sound much but it adds up and meant that I was twenty seconds off the pace. It could have been down to the increased mileage I've been doing, but I felt the real culprit was the temperature. I could almost feel it getting colder throughout the session. It also started to cause my right hip flexor to seize up which wasn't going to help matters.
I was speaking with my coach and we were thinking of a few ideas to help me. We felt that a face mask, like the ones bike riders wear to protect them from car fumes may help as the main problem is taking in big gulps of cold air, the colder it gets the less I'm able to take in with each breath. And as getting as much oxygen as possible into the body, particularly the legs, is the key to running well, taking in less is a problem. Whether I go through with it remains to be seen. After wearing a ladies vest last week I don't know if wearing some strange face mask would exactly make me the coolest guy in town! But I guess if it helps... Thursday's speed session was eased back for my two races over the weekend, and Friday was just a couple of easy runs with some relaxed strides at the end to get my legs feeling a bit fresher than they did last weekend.
Training went well again this week, I got some good milage in my legs on Monday and Wednesday averaging about 16 miles each day. My Tuesday speed session didn't go as well as they have done in the past. The session was 3 x 2000 metres on the track. The first rep went well and I was hitting my 400 metre lap times dead on, the second set started to get hard at the halfway point and I averaged one second off my set lap times, the last rep was really hard and I was four seconds down for each split, which doesn't sound much but it adds up and meant that I was twenty seconds off the pace. It could have been down to the increased mileage I've been doing, but I felt the real culprit was the temperature. I could almost feel it getting colder throughout the session. It also started to cause my right hip flexor to seize up which wasn't going to help matters.
I was speaking with my coach and we were thinking of a few ideas to help me. We felt that a face mask, like the ones bike riders wear to protect them from car fumes may help as the main problem is taking in big gulps of cold air, the colder it gets the less I'm able to take in with each breath. And as getting as much oxygen as possible into the body, particularly the legs, is the key to running well, taking in less is a problem. Whether I go through with it remains to be seen. After wearing a ladies vest last week I don't know if wearing some strange face mask would exactly make me the coolest guy in town! But I guess if it helps... Thursday's speed session was eased back for my two races over the weekend, and Friday was just a couple of easy runs with some relaxed strides at the end to get my legs feeling a bit fresher than they did last weekend.
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