A Striking Interval

Interval Training - 30 minutes
5 repeats of 3 minutes at effort 4 followed by 2 minutes jog recovery at effort 1

Two new experiences for me – interval training and being on strike. The civil service is striking today to protest against the swathing cuts political parties of all colours are falling over themselves to propose, while making no signs of slimming down their delivery agenda. I’m afraid we won’t bring anything to a stand-still, but a whole load of paper will go 'unpushed' today. See how you like that!

Anyway, to business. I used my day off to try out a new training experience – interval training. This is a run where you intersperse fast efforts of running with periods of recovery. It is supposed to improve the maximum rate at which your lungs can extract oxygen from the air and your muscles use it.

I took the bus (tee hee!) down into Camden and jogged into Regent’s Park as a warm up. It was a lovely day. I figured it would be easier to try something like this in a fairly open space where I would have clear, flat running surface. The Broad Walk in Regents Park is ideal for this, but as I approached the end, it did feel a little bit like I was a place taxi-ing to the end of a runway. Allow me to demonstrate:

After 2 mins gentle jog I did my first 3 minute burst of speed. It’s very hard to maintain a very quick pace for even 3 minutes, so I quickly learnt that it was the effort that you are putting in that counts, not just the speed. By the time I had completed the 3 minute sprint and jogged a 2 minute recovery, I was at the other end of the Broad Walk and had to turn around do the same in the opposite direction. Once again, passers by must have thought I was mad, sprinting up and down the park like that.

It was a difficult session and I was relieved when I did the 5th and final repeat. I’m just not very good at speed work – but that’s why I need to do more of it I suppose. Doing this type of training in the park is ideal, but it might be difficult in future because they are closed after dark and the majority of my training has to be done in the evenings. I am going to try and join one of the club track sessions in Maida Vale (yay!) or in Battersea which do much the same thing, but will have the benefits of i) floodlights ii) a running track and iii) coaches.

In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the rest of my day off by going shopping for yet more running gear – need some Ron Hill jogging trousers because it’s going to get cold at the weekend and I might even invest in another pair of trainers!

Hope none of you were trying to send in your tax return today – man, you guys are sooooo screwed.

Gonna Make You Sweat

Spinning class
1 hour

“Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.” ~Mark Twain

Well said Mr Clemens and appropriate for this evening’s entry – for I may not regret doing these classes when I’m 20 miles around the 26.2 mile marathon, but I do need to make it to the start line.

Actually, it wasn’t as bad as the last session – the usual instructor was away and the guy who stood in for him didn’t seem as hardcore. The music was slightly better as well – Scissor Sisters ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ was a high point.

We did a 10 minute warm up of steady pedalling, and then the session was divided into three sets: i) climbing ii) speed and iii) power.

25 minutes of climbing first (yes, you heard me, twenty five minutes) split into 3 sets of increasing steepness (simulated by adding resistance to the fly-wheel your legs are propelling). It wasn’t too bad – less standing than last time and a more consistent speed, which allowed me to get into a rhythm.

15 minutes of speed work followed – increasing the rotation speed of your legs until you are doing around 80/90 turns a minute. I found this tough – my legs were tired after the first set and I couldn’t seem to get the technique right. I would either be pedalling furiously and wobbling all over the place or, after adding some extra resistance to slow me down, be finding it difficult to keep up!

The remaining 10 minutes or so was spent on ‘power’ – which simply seemed like a combination of the other two to me. We had to stand up and sprint for 10 seconds with heavy resistance and then sit down and keep our leg speed going, as though we had cruised past and imaginary rider and wanted to show that were weren’t tired at all (I love the imagery part), and this was repeated until we all collapsed from exhaustion.

Amusingly, this week we warmed down to ‘Gonna Make You Sweat’ by C+C Music Factory – fitting, as I was drenched. Big shout out to the steelworkers of America – keep reaching for that rainbow boys!!

Feeling good at the moment, but longing to go out for a normal run again. Striking tomorrow, so am going to do interval training in the park.

Train smarter, not harder

Threshold Run: 20 minutes
3 miles covered, average speed 9mph

These are not fun.

After a heavy weekend of training, my legs were about as up for this as Kiera Knightley is for a burger and chips. I have been walking around like a 70 year old all day, either that or someone who has recently soiled themselves - maybe they are one and the same thing? Anyway, it's enough to know that my legs are very stiff at the moment and probably need a bit of a rest.

This should have been a 25 minute effort rather than 20, but I am letting myself off the final 5 minutes. It's been a tough few days and I have some tougher ones ahead. My next rest day isn't until Friday, so I'll be working hard for the rest of the week. I also stopped (well, walked) once during this run - about half way around and for about a minute. I'm not too worried about this either as I worked pretty hard the rest of the time and my training book says you allowed to.

In fact I was contemplating going swimming tonight (if only so I could dig up another amusing quote), but I am worried that I am not getting enough time out on my legs. I know I should trust in my training plan and Sam Murphy's (my running guru) expert advice, but it's difficult not to let doubt creep into your mind when people keep telling me that they are clocking up 30 miles a week. This weekend's run is a good example - after 9 miles, my legs were beat. The only way to improve their staying power is to build them up through more hard training and that means hitting the streets as often as possible.

But let's be realistic here, I have been putting the effort in and running alone isn't the answer. To quote Ms Murphy:

"just running for the sake of it - mile after mile at the same speed, covering the same distance around the same route is pretty boring for even the most committed runner - and it certainly won't help you reach your marathon potential".

Wise words Sam. It takes a mix of speed, strength and stamina to prepare for something like this. Train smarter, not harder.

I wanted to say something about the mental effort required to keep up this level of training. It's almost as exhausting as the running itself. Organising my life around training is become more and more difficult the more and more of it that I have to fit in - and I'm finding it quite demanding at the moment. Today's examples are fitting in a haircut (no sniggering at the back please) which I am going to do before my 'easy run' on Thursday and making arrangements to go to a friend's party, in Suffolk, the first weekend of March. I have to run 15 miles that weekend, so I'll have to go out early on Saturday morning before taking the train. I am also missing a valuable race opportunity - a half marathon with Stephen somewhere north of London. Anyone doubting that this is a serious commitment is wrong.

Also, as this evening's run proved, mental strength when out running can make all the difference. Tonight, I felt tired and let that get into my head, my determination suffered and I gave up 5 minutes before the end of the session (a rarity for me I'm pleased to say). Sam suggests a couple of strategies for this in her invaluable book - both of which I have already been doing, without realising it:

Use a mantra: i.e. a phrase that you repeat to yourself to keep you going. Sam uses "I am running fast and strong". Mine is "Quit now and you'll always quit" - which, admittedly, is more negative that Sam's, but in my view more effective. It's the realisation that if you give up just when the going is getting tough, you will always feel that way and never improve. It doesn't always work (see above) but it has got me through some tough times in the past.

Visualise success: i.e. 'seeing is believing'. Imagine what it will be like crossing the line at the end of the marathon, feel the atmosphere, picture the crowd, hear the applause, see your friends cheering you on, the look on the faces of the other runners, the feeling that you have truly earned your sponsorship.... it's a powerful image, with a powerful effect. When I imagine that moment, I can almost feel tears welling up. I'm not sure I've even yet fully realised what this might mean to me.

There's a long way to go, and many more tests ahead. It's Week 5 of 16 baby. 86 days to go....

Viva Johnny Vegas!

9.1 miles in 1:15:39
Route: Highbury and Islington circuit 4

My first celebrity spot of the marathon campaign! If this training blog were Heat magazine, it would read:

Spotted: Johnny Vegas walking his dog in Clissold Park in North London.

I had stopped briefly to take a picture of the deer (see the lengths I go to to make this blog so beautifully presented?) when he walked right past me. I’m afraid I was too chicken to speak to him, but I did manage to sneak this log distance paparazzi shot on my phone:

Pretty rubbish eh? Thinking about it afterwards, I wondered if I should have just taken a picture of him up close. If he complained I could (or would, in fact) have just run away. It’s not like the fat lump could have caught me. It would also have given me the opportunity to shout “enjoy your heart-attack Johnny!” in the style of ‘Snake’ the Simpsons as I legged it. Or maybe an ironic “where's Monkey?” Ah well, I know where he lives now, so maybe another time.

Leaving aside my near miss with Mr Vegas (or Mr Michael Joseph Pennington, as his mum calls him) this was a challenging run. I woke up this morning with very stiff legs from Saturday morning’s hill session. I seem to ache all over these days. I’m sure it will be worth it when I can crack a walnut between my butt cheeks.

Yet another Arsenal home game (are the FA deliberately trying to sabotage my training?) so it was gooner-dodging all the way to Finsbury Park. Got around Finsbury ok and enjoyed the job to Clissold Park. It’s been a few months since I was here last and it’s a lovely little place. More gooner-dodging up the hill to Highbury fields and down into Islington. My poor legs were pretty wasted by this point, but my overall fitness felt very good. Finished in an ok time – just short of a PB, but given the knee issues I’m not too disappointed. Knee was pretty bad in parts of the run but, again, stretching it out seemed to help.

I’ve been into town this afternoon to buy massage products. My osteo told me to massage my Achilles tendon every night before bed, but I’ve not been doing it because it’s difficult without any oil. Have selected a couple of suitable products – some deliciously smelling coca butter bars from Lush and some more traditional massage oil from the Body Shop.

Anyone want to rub it in for me? I’m pretty toned these days…

The deer of Clissold Park, north London

Punishment

Hill Session - 1 hour
Primrose Hill

Punishment. Yes, for that is what this is. Punishment on many, many levels.

I am in fact punishing myself for some decidedly non-marathon-training-like-behavior on Thursday night. I had planned to come home from work and go out for a second fartlek session - catching me up on my training schedule. Instead, I got home, decided it was too cold and, not only didn't go out training, I ordered a take away curry (delivery!!) and sat and scoffed it in front of Big Brother!

Now then, let's be realistic. There are times when I am going to want to ditch my training plan and have a night off - that is allowed. What is not allowed, however, is to eat a massive curry (and, ok, half a Vienetta as well) in place of that. Behavior like that has to have consequences. it is for my own good if I want to get around the course on 22 April!

So I booked myself on to a Saturday morning hill training session with the Serpentine Club. And here I am. The session is ideal for me: it doesn't take too much time (I would otherwise be in bed on a Saturday morning), it is easy to get to (Primrose Hill is about a 15 minute bus ride away) and it is intensive yet not too stressful for my knee. Also, the surroundings are lovely. To give you and idea of what I'm talking about, here is a pic of Primrose Hill I snapped this morning:

I joined my fellow Serpies at the bottom of the hill and was alarmed to see that they all looked seriously slim and toned. Bastards.

We started with a quick warm up - much to the amusement of the local Primrose Hillers - which involved high-knee running, leg flicks, side stepping, fast steps and skipping. We then ran twice up and down the hill at a slow pace (which was hard enough in itself!) After that, we started proper.

The first session was on a path that ran straight up the side of the hill - quite steep. It probably took 30-45 seconds to do one 'climb' and then you could jog back down. The coaches running the session stayed at the bottom to give instructions, offer guidance on technique and generally tell us we were doing well. We did 3 repeats at marathon pace (i.e. effort 2), 5 repeats at 10k pace (i.e. effort 3) and 3 repeats at 5k pace (effort 4). It was very hard work. The best technique (i was told) is to stay on your toes and 'spring' up the hill using your arms to pull yourself up. It seemed to work well, but was obviously very tiring.

After the first session, we had a 4 or 5 minute break then went to a second path up the hill, about twice as long, with a more gradual climb but a very steep section at the end. On this path, we did 2 repeats at marathon pace, 3 at 10k pace and 2 at 5k pace. Again, it was very tiring, but there was a really good sense of camaraderie amongst the group - we were all in this together!

Looking back, I suppose we must have looked quite ridiculous to everyone else in the park, but I didn't really notice anyone. You just completely shut everything out and concentrate on what you are doing. There's no time (indeed, there is no energy) and very little point in wondering what people are thinking of you. I did hear one chap say "That looks like hard work!" which, I felt, was already apparent to me, but I suppose he was just being nice.

At the end of the session, we stretched and I hopped on the 274 back to Cally Road. I suppose a real marathon man would have run home, but I wanted to save a bit in the tank for tomorrow.

Knee update - it coped ok with the hill session, but I could feel it a bit at the end. Will see how I get on doing a long run tomorrow. Saw the osteopath again this week. She thinks I am doing well (awww!) and congratulated me by stretching my leg back over my shoulder and assigning me two more daily exercises:

1. A strengthening exercise for your quads: place a pencil in front of the second toe on your left foot, take the right foot off the ground, close one eye and then bend your knee down towards a squat then back up to the point just before your knee locks, keeping your knee cap in line with the pencil. Repeat 6 times, do a set of 3 on each leg.

2. A srengthening exercise for your hamstrings: lying on your back, put your legs up onto a chair so that your thighs are at right angles with the floor. Press down with your heels onto the chair until you feel your hamstring tense up, hold and then release. Repeat 6 times, do a set of 3 on each leg.

All in all it's been a very good week of training. I am happy with my performance today and will give it another go next weekend or the one after. Long run tomorrow, threshold run Monday night and then spinning on Tuesday!! If I can do all of those I will have earned another curry...

The lovely Primrose Hill - at the top!

I feel the need, the need for speed!

Fartlek Run – effort level 2 with 8 x 30 seconds at effort 4
4.6 miles in 34:28
Route: DfES – Home 1

Another first for me – a Fartlek run. Those crazy Scandinavians! How do they come up with these things? Speaking of northern Europe, it’s turned bloody arctic today. Purchase of Nike running gloves with xmas money tuning out to be a shrewd investment.

The training plan called for 30 mins, so I decided to make this a run home from work. It wasn’t too difficult to find 8 sections where I could fit in 30 seconds of extra effort – not quite out and out sprinting, but almost.

I did two sets at the beginning of the route along the edge of St James Park, one running through Golden Square in Soho, two along Great Portland Street, a further two along the perimeter of Regents Park and a final one at the end of the run at the top of Camden Square. It wasn’t a bad arrangement for a first attempt and I’m fairly pleased with how I performed overall.

By the end of the run, I had rather overdone it, and my knee was giving up. I stretched it out at the end though and it felt fine. Still does in fact (although that may be down to the several glasses of wine I have since consumed with Strachan and Dougan).

Slightly disappointed that I didn’t make a personal best time for this route, given the sprinting element, but it’s still faster than I have run in a while, and I did have to jog rather slowly to recover from the fast sections.

Seeing the osteo again tomorrow, so expect a knee update before the weekend. Am planning to do a second fartlek session on Thursday - giving up opportunity to dine at the Cinnamon Club in order to do so! Assuming I manage it, I will be back on schedule and raring to go for the weekend 9 miler.

Cally Pool

Cross Training - Swimming
50 lengths/1.25km in 40 minutes

Ah chlorine: the perfume of champions!

It's been a while I must say - in fact, this is the first time I've done lengths like that in a pool since the third year of university when Caroline and I used to haunt the Barbican centre pool on weekday mornings. Back then I used to manage 50 lengths, so that was my target for this evening's session. Am I as fit as I was 8 years ago?

Well, yes, but that's not difficult given I was a slacker student back then, whose main interests were lying in bed and dodging lectures (two hobbies which, happily, complimented each other).

The set up was simple enough. The pool was split into lanes - slow, medium and fast. I slipped into the medium lane which seemed to occupied by slow swimmers to embaressed to swim with the old ladies to my left and fast swimmers who couldn't cut it in the lane to the right (and, presumably, also got some kind of kick out of ploughing down the middle of the lane at twice the speed I could manage).

My technique was awful - I splashed all over the place, no doubt annoying everyone else in the pool with my lanky frame and awkward motion. It is not the first time I have looked an idiot for this cause and I doubt it will be the last.

All in all it was a pretty mediocre experience. Swimming is monotonous. When you are running, you are out in the fresh air, you can listen to music, see the cityscape change around you, watch a multitude of people coming and going about their daily lives. In Cally Pool, the only thing you can see are the wrinkles on the feet of the person kicking in front of you.

Still, it was a good workout and, according to the Cool Running calorie counter, burned a nifty 500 calories. I can certainly feel it in my arms as I write this. It was also forgiving on my knee, which is still quite painful. I doubt I will do it often, but swimming as a training option is here to stay.

In a shameless attempt to add wit to this entry, I Googled "swimming quotes" and was suprised to find there are plenty out there and from an array of sources including Mark Twain, Bob Marley and former US President Lyndon B. Johnson. I'll leave you with my favourite, from American humourist Jack Handy. Hats off to Jack, this one is a winner:

"If you go parachuting, and your parachute doesn't open, and you friends are all watching you fall, I think a funny gag would be to pretend you were swimming." ~Jack Handy

Stretched

7.3 miles in 59:09 (PB)
Route: Highbury and Islington circuit 2

My second weekend 'long run' and a second personal best time! I'm a little surprised, as I didn't think I was in the best of shape, but it's good to know I can still cut it.

I have to admit, I was very nervous about today's run. It's the furthest distance I've done since 16 December when I had seriously problems with my knee. Since then, I have struggled over 3 or 4 miles - the idea of doing a long run (and what it might mean for my knee and, therefore, my marathon attempt) didn't appeal at all. However, while it wasn't perfect, this run could be the turning point in my marathon campaign.

I went up around the tried and tested Highbury and Islington route, adding on a lap of Finsbury Park to give me the distance my training plan called for (the fast-trackers amongst you will have noticed that my plan actually says 8 miles, but you can bugger off).

As expected, my knee began to hurt after about 2-3 miles, by the time I'd reached the new Arsenal stadium (playing Man U today, so I had to weave my way around the gooners). In contrast to previous weeks though, it didn't get significantly worse, and - with the exception of the hilly bits of the Finsbury Park track - it was generally ok and I was able to stay in a good rhythm.

As the distance increased and my knee remained ok, my confidence increased and I was able to finish in a good time. I was dreading stopping, as I thought my knee would become very painful. However. when I stretched it out using the osteo techniques, something remarkable happened. The pain just went. Completely. I have no idea how or why, but my knee felt almost normal.

I don't expect it to last, but this confirms everything I should already have known - and what I hope, dear reader, you will remember if you ever try anything like this: stretching is vital.

I am now back home and writing this log, and the knee doesn't feel too bad. I think it will be stiff later/tomorrow, but, the knowledge that I can get around 7 miles without crippling myself has given me back a heap of confidence. My calfs feel very tight - but that is one of the tings that the osteo thought might have lead to the problem in the first place.

Next week is a quieter one on the training plan - which is good because the social calendar is packed - but I am conscious that I have missed a Fartlek session this week, so I might try and make it up, if I can find a free evening.

In the meantime, let's enjoy this moment. It's one of the good ones.

Finsbury Park - spelt backwards it's 'Krapy Rub Snif'

A cheeky one

3.8 miles in 28:29
Route - Highbury Circuit 1

The weather had been bonkers today. Much like my father after xmas dinner, London has been suffering from excess wind.

I was planning to go and see Andrew this evening, but the blustery conditions have ground the railways to a halt, so I didn't even bother trying. Battling my way home on the Piccadilly Line was bad enough! Big shout out to the lady at Green Park who declared the congestion there to be "ridiculous!", as though the poor people running the London Underground can stop trees falling down on the line further out towards Heathrow.

Decided to slip out for a cheeky run in place of my night out in Egham. My training plan says that I should get in a '30 minute steady run at some point this week, so it seemed like a good opportunity.

I started off around Highbury, thinking I would tag on the Islington section if my knee felt up to it. To be honest, by the time I reached Highbury corner, I felt like I'd had enough. The knee still isn't great I'm afraid - I've been doing all my stretching, but after about 2.5/3 miles it just seems to start hurting. Feeling a bit down about it again, but will see how I feel tomorrow and after what I hope will be a long(ish) run at the weekend.

Can't resist leaving this entry on a topical note. If ever I needed inspiration for getting around the 26.2 in April, I can always remind myself that no matter what shape I am in, things could be worse. This then from the Wikipedia entry for Jade Goody:

Goody signed up for the 2006 London Marathon. She did not finish the course, collapsing after 21 miles. Afterwards, she explained why she could not finish the race:

"I don't really understand miles. I didn't actually know how far it was going to be. …. I had four training sessions, that's all I did. At most I could run half an hour on a treadmill."

Crossing the threshold

Threshold run: 20 minutes
3.2 miles covered, average speed 9.6mph

My first 'threshold' run!

If you've been paying attention (and I know you have, loyal readers) you'll know that this is a short, quick run, designed to push your cardio-vascular boundaries and make you a fitter, faster and generally better runner. The key here is not the time (because that is set at the start of the session - in today's case, 20 minutes) it is the distance you cover in that time and, most importantly, the average speed. Well, I say that, but really all that is important is that you are getting your heart rate up above is standard jogging pace and pushing yourself harder than if you were out for a cheeky weekend run. Welcome to effort level 3.

I tried to find some quiet streets to run along - it's harder to dodge pedestrians, weave around lamp posts and avoid traffic when you are going so much faster - and ended up around the familiar Islington and Barnsbury suburbs. I picked long, straight and (so far as possible) flat streets to run along - ended up going in a big square out along Mackenzie Road and Liverpool Road and back along Thornhill Road and Roman Way.

It wasn't easy - oh no. Had to concentrate to keep up a decent pace and not fall into my usual rhythm. Feel like I did quite well, although I wouldn't have wanted to have gone on for much longer - I was quite out of breath by the end! I was careful to warm down properly - walked until my heart rate was back down, showered and then stretched, as per instructions.

Knee update - I'm afraid it's still a bit crap. Have been doing my stretching homework, but no significant improvement to report yet. Am due to do a steady run tomorrow (probably back from work) and then my first Fartlek on Friday. If I complete them, I will be pleased, but the thing I am really worried about it the 8 miler I have planned for the weekend. Is my knee up to it? I'm not sure it is.

Am playing it safe. Put off this run from last night to tonight (and, therefore, had to miss 'spinning' - damn shame) and may have to do the same again. Need to strike a balance between staying fit and staying healthy.

All in all, pretty pleased with tonight's effort. Looking forward to a simple run home tomorrow night.

The new regime

5.2 miles in 40:11 (PB)
Route: Highbury and Islington circuit 1

An unexpected PB!

My second run out after a long break and my fitness was much better – not brilliant, but much better. I didn’t stop, just kept up a steady pace.

I’m afraid my knee doesn’t feel brilliant – I can definitely feel the same pain that I had before, although not as bad. I followed the osteopath’s advice to the letter – have been stretching every day and warmed up and down in the way she suggested. It felt good to stretch it out at the end – I hope it’s having some benefit!

It was a lovely day for running – slightly cloudy, but plenty of blue sky and some nice winter afternoon sunlight. I like this route as it is varied and takes you around some nice parts of north London. It has a couple of hills in it too (one steepish) so you get a good workout. I am pleased to have finished when I did though – the last mile or so back from Angel I could really feel the tightness in my knee. This is my first time out in about a year without a knee support on either knee and I have to say that it didn’t seem to make a lot of difference. Remains to be seen how I cope when the distance increases again.

Busy week ahead – my first threshold run tomorrow, assuming my knee feels ok, and then spinning on Tuesday (ugh). Have yet to work out how the threshold run will work, but doubtless something will occur to me tomorrow!

16 weeks to success: the training master plan!

If only for the official record, I wanted to post a copy of my full training plan from here to marathon day, so you can keep tabs on what I am up to and better understand the different types of training I am doing.

As I said in my previous entry this training plan is based on the 16 week ‘real life’ programme set out in Sam Murphy’s book Marathon: from start to finish. It is designed to start on New Year’s Day, and takes you the full 16 weeks to marathon day on April 22nd. I have adapted it slightly to suit my particular needs. I’m also a week behind following my knee injury, so it starts at week 2.

The training programme combines speed and distance work to give you the optimal blend of strength and stamina.

Different types of run

Easy run – Just that. A forgiving, easy paced run to help your legs recover from all the other training you are doing!

Steady run – a bog standard run at a decent pace.

Long run – done at weekends, this will be the staple of my training, increasing steadily in distance until a week or so before the marathon

Hill runs – running up hills to give your heart and legs a super-tough workout which makes running on the flat seem simple by comparison!

Fartlek – a Scandinavian term meaning ‘speed play’ which involves putting in faster or harder bursts as and when you feel like it (the programme sets minimum goals to stop you doing none at all!)

Interval/Speed sessions – timed sessions of very fast running, followed by a slow jog to recover. These are often done on a running track, so might try and do them with the running club.

Threshold run – running at a challenging pace for a prolonged period, which pushes your upper limits and, therefore, increases them.

Cross training – something other than running! I’ve picked swimming – and doubtless I will do the odd spinning class when I can manage it.

Effort levels explained

Each run is assigned an effort level, which sets out how hard you should be working at any one time (e.g. on the easy runs you will be going much slower than during interval training). The levels are:

Level 1: Easy pace
Used for recovery during interval or Fartlek training, or during easy runs
60-65% max heart rate

Level 2: Conversational pace
Used on steady and long runs
65-75% max heart rate

Level 3: Challenging pace
Used in threshold runs
75-85% max heart rate

Level 4: Tough pace
Hill work, longer speed repetitions and interval training
85-90% max heart rate

Level 5: Max pace
Shorter speed repetitions (200m) and intervals only – with rests twice as long as the length of the effort
90%+ max heart rate

The plan

So this is it – exactly what I will be doing and when. It is structured so that I have three ‘difficult’ weeks and then an easier week to allow my body time to adjust.

Week 2 (w/c 8 January)
1. Steady run, 4.5 miles (effort 2)
2. Long run, 5 miles (effort 1)

Week 3 (w/c 15 January)
1. Threshold run, 20 mins (effort 3)
2. Steady run, 4.5 miles (effort 2)
3. Fartlek, 30 mins (to include 8 x 30 seconds at effort 4)
4. Long run, 8 miles (effort 1)

Week 4 (w/c 22 January)
1. Cross Training, 20 mins swimming
2. Fartlek, 30 mins (to include 5 x 1 minute at effort 4 and 5 x hill climbs
3. Long run, 9 miles (effort 2)

Week 5 (w/c 29 January)
1. Threshold run, 25 mins (effort 3)
2. Interval run, 30 mins (5 x 3 mins at effort 4 with 2 minute recoveries at effort 1)
3. Easy run, 3 miles (effort 1)
4. Long run, 10 miles (effort 1)

Week 6 (w/c 5 February)
1. Interval run, 30 mins (6 x 3 mins at effort 4 with 3 minute recoveries at effort 1)
2. Hill run, 30 mins (effort 4 up hills and effort 1 down and on flat)
3. Long run, 10 miles (effort 2)

Week 7 (w/c 12 February)
1. Interval run, 40 mins (5 x 3 mins at effort 4 with 3 minute recoveries at effort 1) + 10 mins at effort 3
2. Threshold run, 30 mins (effort 3)
3. Steady run, 5 miles (effort 2)
4. Long run, 12 miles (effort 2)

Week 8 (w/c 19 February)
1. Easy run, 4.5 miles (effort 1)
2. Cross Training, 30 mins swimming
3. Long run, 14 miles (effort 1)

Week 9 (w/c 26 February)
1. Speed session, 30 mins (1 min at effort 4 then 1 min jog recovery at effort 1, followed by 5 mins jogging at effort 2, repeat x 5)
2. Threshold run, 30 mins (effort 3)
3. Steady run, 5 miles (effort 2)
4. Long run, 15 miles (effort 2)

Week 10 (w/c 5 March)
1. Steady run, 7m (effort 2)
2. Speed session, 30mins (7 mins at effort 3-4 then 3 min jog recovery at effort 1, repeat x 3)
3. Interval run, 30 mins (7 x 2 mins at effort 4 with 2 minute recoveries at effort 1)
4. Long run, 16 miles (effort 2)

Week 11 (w/c 12 March)
1. Speed session, 35 mins (1 min at effort 4 then 1 min jog recovery at effort 1, followed by 5 mins jogging at effort 2, repeat x 6)
2. Steady run, 5 miles (effort 2)
3. Fartlek, 45 mins (to include 10 mins at effort 3 and 5 mins at effort 4)
4. Long run, 18 miles (effort 2)

Week 12 (w/c 19 March)
1. Easy run, 7 miles (effort 1) plus last 5 mins at effort 4
2. Cross Training, 40 mins swimming
3. Long run, 20 miles (effort 1)

Week 13 (w/c 26 March)
1. Threshold run, 30 mins (effort 3)
2. Steady run, 5 miles (effort 2)
3. Fartlek, 50 mins (to include 10 x 1 min at effort 4 and last 10 mins at effort 3)
4. Long run, 22 miles (effort 2)

Week 14 (w/c 2 April)
1. Easy run, 4.5 miles (effort 1)
2. Interval run, 25 mins (5 x 2 mins at effort 3 with 2 minute recoveries at effort 1)
3. Steady run, 4 miles (effort 2)
4. Long run, 11 miles (effort 2)

Week 15 (w/c 9 April)
1. Interval run, 20 mins (4 x 1 min at effort 3 with 1 minute recoveries at effort 1)
2. Easy run, 4.5 miles (effort 1) plus last 10 mins at effort 3
3. Long run, 5 miles (effort 2)

Week 16 (w/c 16 April)
1. Easy run, 2 miles (effort 1)
2. Easy run, 2 miles (effort 1)

London Marathon, Sunday 22nd April 2007


And if you can understand that lot, you're doing better than me....

99 days to go...

There are now only 99 days until the marathon!

I am feeling a little more hopeful than in recent weeks. It’s true that my momentum and confidence has been dented, but it has just made me more determined than ever to get in shape for race day.

I went to my first session with the osteopath yesterday – Michelle McWilliam at The South Westminster Osteopathic Clinic (82 Vincent Sq, London, SW1P 2PF if anyone is interested). I picked an osteopath instead of a physio because the problems I have had are all to do with my knee, and osteopaths are experts at joints/tendons etc. Michelle’s practice (that of her colleague Claire Webster) was recommended on the Serpentine club’s website and someone had left a review saying that she had helped her with a knee problem.

She was really nice and gave me some excellent advice. She asked me lots of questions about my training programme, looked at my trainers to see how they had worn down (and, therefore, what my running style is) and put me through some simple exercises to test my flexibility (which she described as “rubbish”). For example, she asked me to squat without taking my heels off the floor – you should be able to get so that your thighs are parallel to the floor, but I could only get half way! She also lifted my leg to test my hamstrings – I think I got to about 30° off the table when you should be able to get to something like 50-60°!

It seems that the basic problem is that the muscles and tendons in my leg are far too tight and are pulling my knee out of shape. It’s also likely that the new Asics trainers are correcting my gait much more than the Nikes, which is putting more pressure on my knee than it can handle and is why I am getting the pain.

She told me off for not stretching enough and gave me the following exercises to do every day!

1. Hamstrings – lie down, put a skipping rope around your foot and, keeping knee straight, use it to pull your leg up until you feel resistance in your hamstring. Hold for 10-15 seconds, repeat x2 on both sides.

2. Quads – lie on right side. Bring right knee up square with your body. Pull left foot back up to behind. Keep back straight. Hold for 10-15 seconds, repeat x2 on both sides.

3. Calfs – pushing against a wall, stretch calf until resistance is felt – bend knee slightly for extra stretch. Hold for 10-15 seconds, repeat x2 on both sides.

On running days, I have to do her stretches in the morning, then again when I warm up. Before warming up I should jog for 5 or 10 minutes to get my body and muscles warm, then stretch, then do my run. Interestingly, she also advised that I don’t stretch the moment I finish running but go and have a shower first and do her stretches after that when my muscles are cooling down.

She also said that because my calfs are so tight, I should massage my Achilles tendon every evening for 1-2 minutes before bed, which will help prevent a serious injury which could have me in plaster!

She said that I shouldn’t use knee supports – your knee starts to rely on them. I have been using one for some time, so am going to try and go without this weekend and see how it feels. She also advised that I do less distance and more speed/hill work (which is good because my training programme is about to switch to that anyway). I am allowed to go to more spinning classes (so long as I am careful not to add too much resistance) and swimming is ok so long as I avoid breast stroke!

It was a very informative session and I have booked to see her again the week after next. I will probably continue to see her right up until race day. The initial fee was £44 and follow up sessions are £30 each. If I see her every two weeks until the marathon, that will be 6 or 7 sessions – which may seem quite a lot of money, but 1) is cheaper than knee surgery and 2) insignificant to the amount of money I spent on cocktails in ‘Akbar’ last night.

In other news, I have finalised my training programme! I am following the 16 week plan set out in Sam Murphy’s book Marathon: from start to finish with a few adjustments here and there to suit my training style. It's too tricky to publish it here, but the basic principle is to do a mixture of speed/hill work in the week and a long run at the weekend. It needs to be a little flexible, as I will follow Michelle’s advice about when I am ready to take on very long runs again (if she says no, she means it) but I think it is achievable. My fitness has suffered these last few weeks, but I have a lot of training in the bank and think it will come back when I get some miles on my legs. Am also planning to do more general fitness – spinning class this Tuesday (dreading it) and bought some swimming goggles today (from Lilywhites – London’s shittest but cheapest sports shop) for an imminent trip to Cally Pool.

Finally, I should just say that I have just this week broken the £1000 mark in my fundraising! A massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me – you have been brilliant! It’s great not to have to worry so much about the cash – and it’s all in aid of such a good cause. I have a few people to chase up over the coming weeks to take me to my target of £1500. If you haven’t sponsored me yet, the link is on your right!

So that’s where things stand at the moment. It’s a new year and a new phase of my training. You can expect to see more posts and more hard work as we get closer to April.

There are times when I feel a little overwhelmed at what I’ve taken on, but I know that when I’m running down The Mall in April, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Happy new year???

4.5 miles in 37:45
Route: DfES - Home 1

Apologies for not making an entry for almost 4 weeks. I'm afraid the knee problem that I described in the previous entry has forced me out of action and, while this didn't actually prevent me from blogging, it took all the fun out of it for me.

I rested my knee for a week and a half after my last entry and went out for a run back in Lowestoft on 27 December. I got as far as the South Pier (that's about 3 miles) before I had to stop - it simply wasn't getting better and I didn't want to risk a serious problem. I have an appointment to see an osteopath tomorrow morning, where I hope to get some expert advice.

It's been a miserable Christmas I'm afraid. I had loads of great runs planned and I haven't been able to do any. Not one. Being unable to run has affected me more than I ever thought it could. I hadn't realised how much I have come to rely on it to keep myself in good shape - both in body and mind. Of course, the copious amounts of sausage rolls probably didn't help either...

But let's think positive. After the prolonged rest over xmas, I completed my standard run home from work tonight without too many problems. My fitness was appalling, but that's something I can work on. The important thing is that my knee was ok - not great, but ok. Other highlights of this evening's run were seeing a drug deal going down in a doorway in Camden (such a lovely town), having to take my long-sleeved running top off because it was too warm (in January!) and nearly taking out a flyer-girl at the top of Carnaby St (you can all thank me for that one).

Now then. Three important goals for the next few weeks:

1. obtain and follow expert advice on my knee;
2. work hard on my fitness - finalise a training plan and stick to it;
3. eat well - read up on nutrition and improve my diet;

I also need to start thinking about the next phase of sponsorship - I've raised about £1000 until now, but have to hit the magic £1500 to seal the deal.

There's a long way to go and I've lost a lot of momentum. Going to need good will-power to get back on track. The real work starts here.

It feels like my marathon bid is on a knife edge at the moment. Let's hope I come down on the buttered side.

Life's a beach - Lowestoft beach that is!