Training Report:
This week has been very quiet, I'm well into my winters training, and (touch wood) I still seem to be making good progress.
The cold spell we've been having makes my morning runs a lot more enjoyable, but tends to make my evening sessions a little harder. Running first thing, with the morning sun, and faint fog of my breath steaming out ahead of me, seems to make me feel more aware of who I am and what I'm doing and at this time of year makes you really feel that Christmas spirit. On the other hand, once darkness descends and you're forced to pound the pavements things don't seem so fun.
From a running point of view most of my harder sessions are in the evening and great lung fulls of cold air don't tend to make the whole oxygen intake thing a pleasure. Add to this the feel good Christmas spirit manifesting itself in neon signs of bells swinging and inflatable snowmen perched precariously on roof tops, and it all seems hard work, especially when I could be at home in front of the fire eating mince pies!
Like the Glassworks clan I to went away for the weekend. Unlike the hedonistic adventures that awaited them in Amsterdam I headed for a chocolate box cottage on the Isle of Wight! A change of scene is always good, and as much as I love my tried and tested loops from home it does tend to get a little repetitive, so new roads and trails are always an exciting change.
I reckon on my weekend I gave the Glassworks lot a run for their money on who could eat the most, I'm a hundred percent sure they drank the most, and as for what went on into the wee small hours, I was glad to be in bed with a cuppa tea! That's my full time athlete head talking, my party boy head gets me into way to much trouble!
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Sunday 9th December: Hogg's Back Road Race
Result - 3rd
Race Report:
The Hogg's Back road race was my next challenge. An eight mile race that includes a climb well over a mile in length half way into the race. My race didn't start well. For the first mile I felt tired and heavy legged and slightly uninterested in racing hard. But after an undulating second mile I began to feel stronger and got myself into a rhythm and began working hard. I worked my way through to third place by the time I reached the summit of the Hogg's Back. I could see second place ahead but the guy out front was in a class of his own on the day, and was out of sight. For the next two miles I slowly inched my way closer to second, and I really felt that I could catch him in the last two miles. Unfortunately I hadn't accounted for the leader tiring slightly and coming back into view. That was the carrot my opponent needed, and he pulled away from me a little in the last two miles instead. I was happy to finish third and felt it was a strong performance. I had passed six miles in close to a personal best for the 10k which is 6.2 miles in old money on a course not compliant with fast times. So I headed into Guildford town centre happy with my weekend's work, but I'll be well prepared for the the truly hard battle that is Christmas shopping!
Race Report:
The Hogg's Back road race was my next challenge. An eight mile race that includes a climb well over a mile in length half way into the race. My race didn't start well. For the first mile I felt tired and heavy legged and slightly uninterested in racing hard. But after an undulating second mile I began to feel stronger and got myself into a rhythm and began working hard. I worked my way through to third place by the time I reached the summit of the Hogg's Back. I could see second place ahead but the guy out front was in a class of his own on the day, and was out of sight. For the next two miles I slowly inched my way closer to second, and I really felt that I could catch him in the last two miles. Unfortunately I hadn't accounted for the leader tiring slightly and coming back into view. That was the carrot my opponent needed, and he pulled away from me a little in the last two miles instead. I was happy to finish third and felt it was a strong performance. I had passed six miles in close to a personal best for the 10k which is 6.2 miles in old money on a course not compliant with fast times. So I headed into Guildford town centre happy with my weekend's work, but I'll be well prepared for the the truly hard battle that is Christmas shopping!
Saturday 8th December: Bansted Woods
Result - 1st
Race Report:
I decided to turn up to one of my favourite race series: the UK Time trials, and headed for my most local run held in Bansted Woods. With an eight mile race on Sunday I was looking for more of a tempo run rather than an all out race, but my competitive side easily got the better of me when I spotted a face on the start line I recognised from my junior days and I knew if I wanted to win and gain something of a scalp I was going to have to run hard.
Sure enough it was a fast race, I decided to fall back slightly in the hope that he might relax a little and the pace would slow but it wasn't to be. On the second of the two laps I worked hard up a tricky hill to draw level, then waited till we hit the long slope back to the finish to make my move. Thankfully I had enough leg speed down the hill to move clear and held onto the finish to win by five seconds. Having wanted an easy run I managed to produce my fastest time trial time on the most difficult of all the courses and in wet slippery conditions. I even manage to dip under the course record.
Race Report:
I decided to turn up to one of my favourite race series: the UK Time trials, and headed for my most local run held in Bansted Woods. With an eight mile race on Sunday I was looking for more of a tempo run rather than an all out race, but my competitive side easily got the better of me when I spotted a face on the start line I recognised from my junior days and I knew if I wanted to win and gain something of a scalp I was going to have to run hard.
Sure enough it was a fast race, I decided to fall back slightly in the hope that he might relax a little and the pace would slow but it wasn't to be. On the second of the two laps I worked hard up a tricky hill to draw level, then waited till we hit the long slope back to the finish to make my move. Thankfully I had enough leg speed down the hill to move clear and held onto the finish to win by five seconds. Having wanted an easy run I managed to produce my fastest time trial time on the most difficult of all the courses and in wet slippery conditions. I even manage to dip under the course record.
Monday 3rd - Friday 7th December
Training Report:
Having survived the storms that plagued me for my long run on Sunday morning it was with great relief that Monday brought - joy of joys! - a rest day. Once every two weeks I am embraced by a day in which the world is my oyster, I don't need to worry about running, my life does not have to fit in around my training, I can go anywhere do anything and meet anyone. So I spent the day in bed! What a waste I hear you cry! For many it may seem to be a waste, but for me sleeping is more than just something that all human kind must partake in in order to survive, it is something of a hobby. Whenever I can, I partake in this most enjoyable of past times, much to the annoyance of family, friends and most notably girlfriends!
I once read an article by a wise old man - sadly I forget his name, but that is unimportant - he wrote that rest and recovery is more important than the actual act of training itself - hallelujah! Since that day I have been a hugely vocal advocate of this notion, when I'm not sleeping of course! Its also given me a valid reasoning for being a tad lazy and sleeping as much and as often as I can get away with!
I did manage to raise myself from my slumber to do some training this week, and I'm happy to report I'm back training well and with the same enthusiasm as I had a couple of weeks ago. Tuesdays speed work was greatly improved, 5 x 1200 meters were knocked out easily. Wednesday's long runs were made all the more enjoyable for the company of a training partner for once, which made sure the wind and rain had little effect on my mental focus, I also secretly quite enjoyed getting covered in mud from head to toe. On Thursday I was feeling so good I headed back to Box Hill for the first time since I ran so hard I could actually not remember what I'd done! This time I dealt with it slightly better. I got very tired and worked very hard but I remembered how many times I ran up the hill: five! Not many but at three minutes each time, up the steepest hill for many a mile, I was satisfied that it was enough! Generally a good week and I'm confident i'm back on the up after my two week plateau.
Having survived the storms that plagued me for my long run on Sunday morning it was with great relief that Monday brought - joy of joys! - a rest day. Once every two weeks I am embraced by a day in which the world is my oyster, I don't need to worry about running, my life does not have to fit in around my training, I can go anywhere do anything and meet anyone. So I spent the day in bed! What a waste I hear you cry! For many it may seem to be a waste, but for me sleeping is more than just something that all human kind must partake in in order to survive, it is something of a hobby. Whenever I can, I partake in this most enjoyable of past times, much to the annoyance of family, friends and most notably girlfriends!
I once read an article by a wise old man - sadly I forget his name, but that is unimportant - he wrote that rest and recovery is more important than the actual act of training itself - hallelujah! Since that day I have been a hugely vocal advocate of this notion, when I'm not sleeping of course! Its also given me a valid reasoning for being a tad lazy and sleeping as much and as often as I can get away with!
I did manage to raise myself from my slumber to do some training this week, and I'm happy to report I'm back training well and with the same enthusiasm as I had a couple of weeks ago. Tuesdays speed work was greatly improved, 5 x 1200 meters were knocked out easily. Wednesday's long runs were made all the more enjoyable for the company of a training partner for once, which made sure the wind and rain had little effect on my mental focus, I also secretly quite enjoyed getting covered in mud from head to toe. On Thursday I was feeling so good I headed back to Box Hill for the first time since I ran so hard I could actually not remember what I'd done! This time I dealt with it slightly better. I got very tired and worked very hard but I remembered how many times I ran up the hill: five! Not many but at three minutes each time, up the steepest hill for many a mile, I was satisfied that it was enough! Generally a good week and I'm confident i'm back on the up after my two week plateau.
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Monday 26th Nov - Sunday 2nd Dec
Training Report:
After my strange week of feeling lethargic but running well - when I actually made it out the house, that is! - things only got slightly better. I was getting up and it was still technically the morning, which was a big plus(!), but I was still feeling a little lacklustre and to be honest I didn't really want to be out running. I managed all my planned sessions I just wasn't running as well as I had done. My Tuesday night's speed work didn't flow as it had done before. I struggled a little to hit my targets and it was all way too much huff and puff. Wednesday was a little better, I didn't run that fast but I did enjoy it and felt fine before and after both runs.
That evening I had a sports massage and my masseuse came up with a possible explanation for what i'd been experiencing. Having got back from LA the night before he had a captive audience for all his holiday gossip, especially as he managed to find a real sore spot on my calf and it was all I could do to breathe let alone tell him any of my goss! Once he'd finished divulging his holiday news and had made me green with envy (maybe that was due my lack of oxygen intake!) he finished with, '..and the weather was magnificent 20 plus degrees and bright sunshine, I hear the weather here has been...', being the polite guy I am lets just say his choice of adjective was not to complementary of our very British weather!!
After discussing this weather issue he hit upon the idea that I could have been suffering from 'seasonal affective disorder', and the daily ritual of heading out in damp dull conditions was making me feel less enthusiastic than normal for my training. Which brings us to Thursday, and it was as if someone had been listening! The sun was shining, the sky was blue and I did three sessions in one day and felt fantastic. My energy and enthusiasm were back with a bang. Whether the sun actually cured any 'disorder' I may have had, or whether I'd been able to trick my mind into believing I'd found a reason my poor training and been given the cure the very next morning I'm not sure, I could take a guess but I really don't want to offend my masseuse and his diagnosis, he can quite easily cause me a lot of pain!
Friday I ran well again in glorious sunshine, Saturday was a little dull but I still felt good, but the less said about Sunday's wind, rain and what ever else felt like falling from the sky the better!
After my strange week of feeling lethargic but running well - when I actually made it out the house, that is! - things only got slightly better. I was getting up and it was still technically the morning, which was a big plus(!), but I was still feeling a little lacklustre and to be honest I didn't really want to be out running. I managed all my planned sessions I just wasn't running as well as I had done. My Tuesday night's speed work didn't flow as it had done before. I struggled a little to hit my targets and it was all way too much huff and puff. Wednesday was a little better, I didn't run that fast but I did enjoy it and felt fine before and after both runs.
That evening I had a sports massage and my masseuse came up with a possible explanation for what i'd been experiencing. Having got back from LA the night before he had a captive audience for all his holiday gossip, especially as he managed to find a real sore spot on my calf and it was all I could do to breathe let alone tell him any of my goss! Once he'd finished divulging his holiday news and had made me green with envy (maybe that was due my lack of oxygen intake!) he finished with, '..and the weather was magnificent 20 plus degrees and bright sunshine, I hear the weather here has been...', being the polite guy I am lets just say his choice of adjective was not to complementary of our very British weather!!
After discussing this weather issue he hit upon the idea that I could have been suffering from 'seasonal affective disorder', and the daily ritual of heading out in damp dull conditions was making me feel less enthusiastic than normal for my training. Which brings us to Thursday, and it was as if someone had been listening! The sun was shining, the sky was blue and I did three sessions in one day and felt fantastic. My energy and enthusiasm were back with a bang. Whether the sun actually cured any 'disorder' I may have had, or whether I'd been able to trick my mind into believing I'd found a reason my poor training and been given the cure the very next morning I'm not sure, I could take a guess but I really don't want to offend my masseuse and his diagnosis, he can quite easily cause me a lot of pain!
Friday I ran well again in glorious sunshine, Saturday was a little dull but I still felt good, but the less said about Sunday's wind, rain and what ever else felt like falling from the sky the better!
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Monday 19th - Sunday 25th November
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!
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, 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.
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