Back on The Plan

I stuck to The Plan and everything. I mean if you ignore the entirely missed 8 days from last week anyway. What I mean is I stuck to The Plan today!! (or yesterday actually because it's morning now).

Anywho, after getting held up at a printers all afternoon (yes my job's that fun) and missing lunch, I was slightly concerned that I may not have the energy for this run but then I realised that that would have been just another excuse. I did need something to eat though and as I've given up chocolate and cheese for September (not that I'd eat cheese before a run anyway) there was very little to snack on. That was until I found the pickled onion Monster Munch, 2 packs actually plus half a bottle of Lucozade. 10 minutes later and I was ready to go albeit with slightly disgusting burps.

This weeks Tuesday session was 2 x 1m (at least 8 m/m pace) and then 4 x 200 sprints.

The 2 x 1 milers went very well (7:39 and 7:28) but the 200's?? Not so much. See, I may have mentioned a couple of hundred times that I've moved house. I'm now surrounded by hills and whereas the mile loop ends up in the same place and therefore has as many ups as downs, the 200m is straight up a hill so my times of 40s, 41s, 43s, 39s aren't as good as the lovely flat course I had been doing. Admittedly I could run down instead but where's the fun in that!!!

So a few aching muscles from the speed work (shin pain and yup, you guessed it, left hand side) but overall, I'm marking today down as a success. I'd forgotten how that feels!!

That's another ruined plan then

It's written in the stars. I'm sure of it. Well I would be if I believed in any of that stuff but seriously, why when I get into a more structured training schedule, do I always come down with a cold! I'm only a week into it and had to cancel yesterday's 8 miler as I couldn't stop the nose running and make the sneezing stop. There are also the constant headache's but I'm kind of used to them now. I'm dosing myself on Redoxon and Echinacea in order to beat it and apart from a slight pain in my chest on 2 minor occasions (not constant), it's all in my head so I should be OK to carry on with intervals on Tuesday ahead of Hard As Snails on Saturday morning with eatingtrees.

Saturday's run was a 4 miler which I faltered badly towards the end but was quite happy with my 33:56 (8.29 m/m) overall. My first mile was an 8:04 though so it really does show the current inconsistencies in my pace. I then snotted, sneezed and sniffed my way through packing the flat up. There really is something monumentally wrong in the world when you have to pack a rucksack or suitcase and don't even get to go on holiday!!

As for next weekend, with the race on Saturday am and moving for the rest of it, I really have no idea when I'm going to be able to fit my long run in. The Plan seems to have gone out the window on day 6. Well that's 2 days longer than Juneathon lasted then! I'm just going to have to accept that my 9 week plan is now closer to a 7 week plan and I'm just going to have to work a hell of a lot harder!

The Plan. Exercise Day 2 (and a little milestone)

Another day, another interval session but one with a difference. This time, The Plan called for 2 miles at 8m/m pace, 800m walk and then another 2 miles at 8 m/m pace. This was followed by 4 x 100m sprints giving everything I had left. This turned out to be not a lot. After what can only be described as a truly awful week at work, I had a lot of anger to get rid of. Just a year ago, you would probably have found me in a pub drinking copious amounts of alcohol, drowning my sorrows and trying to forget that the day had happened. Now I'm running instead?!?! AND I haven't even hit my 30's yet! Mind you, I can't deal with hangovers any more either which may have something to do with it!

So, onto the results!

2 miles. Target time: 16:00. Actual time: 15:26. (7:43 m/m)
Hell yeah. That's what I'm talking about!!
2 miles. Target time: 16:00. Actual time: 16:04. (8:02 m/m)
Cock it. So close. Got too complacent after the first effort me thinks!
100m sprint. Target: all out sprint. Actual time: 14 secs
Happy boy. It can only get worse.. and it did!
100m sprint. Target: all out sprint. Actual time: 15 secs
Thought as much
100m sprint. Target: all out sprint. Actual time: 15 secs
More consistent than the 2 mile efforts though
100m sprint. Target: all out sprint. Actual time: 15 secs
Home time and oh crap, I know what's coming now!

Yep, it was time to see if there were any benefits to an ice bath. After speaking to the brother-in-law the other week and reading the thoughts of I run because I love food, it was time to try it. I only did limited stretching to see the effects and I must say, the hip/hamstring/back ache pain isn't as bad today so I think this is the way forward with a bit of light stretching especially for the Saturday then Sunday runs. Hopefully it will aid recovery.

One thing I must say though is that the standard tired muscle aches I'm getting at the moment are very similar to when I first started running. It seems they have to learn to run all over again now I'm trying to pick up the pace. I'm wondering if the way forward for any new starter is to run at a faster rate at first instead of just trying to get a longer distance. That way at least you're training your muscles to run faster from an early point?!?! Scientific proof?? Hell no, just my random mumblings as ever.

Enjoy your weekend, I have a 4m pace run on Saturday and an 8 mile relaxed run on Sunday. Oh yes, I'll need to fit packing a two bed flat into boxes somewhere along the line too.

Just realised this is my 50th post!!! Never thought it'd get this far so cheers for reading!

Proper Day 1 now. The actual exercise one.

D-day. The beginning (of the end?). The countdown to the 2009 goal has begun. Here we go with The Plan.

Oh Bloody typical!! HMC goes for a training run and the bloody sun's out which just makes it harder. Hey ho, can't blame the weather come race day so off I trundled to the park for some interval sessions.

It's week one. The Plan will bring me in gently so this should be a walk (or run) in the park. Was it? Christ no. This has continued from what has to be my second worst* ever run that happened on Saturday morning when I didn't even get to my turning point before stopping and run/walking back. Wow, that must have been a tough run you set yourself I here you cry. Was it? Was it fcuk! I didn't even make it to the 2 mile mark before I turned round! Rubbish. Anyway, back to today and the intervals.

The Plan reads that I have to run 1200m (at my target HM pace) so 6 minutes then, walk 400m to rest, then run 2 lots of 800m at a 10k pace (which is 3.48 for me on The Plan) with a 200m rest and then 4 x 200m sprints (with 200m rests in between) just as fast as I can without collapsing on the floor in a puddle of my own sweat and vomit. The results:

1200m. Target time: 6:00. Actual time: 5:42
800m. Target time: 3:48. Actual time: 3:42
800m. Target time: 3:48. Actual time: 3:39
200m. Target: as fast as possible. Actual Time: 36 secs
200m. Target: without vomiting. Actual Time: 35 secs
200m. Target: stay on my feet a little longer. Actual Time: 35 secs
200m. Target: stay alive. Actual Time: 35 secs

I'm not unhappy with that. Timing wise it was OK but I'm sure it shouldn't hurt that much!

I was in new trainers though. My trusted New Balance 1063 (UK 9, Width 2E in case anyone has some they want to send me some in exchange for a shameless plug) turned up which is nice. One thing I've noticed is not a massive difference between old and new though so I can this with confidence. If you're a 14 stone bald bloke with a heavy tread, an extremely high arch and around a 9min mile HM pace then these could be for you. They seem to last quite a while anyway.

'The new dirt and white colour scheme'

Something else I noticed today is the e-mail from the team at the Royal Parks Half. I'm guessing it's fake and a bit of spam though because surely no one in their right mind would think that 'violet and raspberry' are particularly good colours for a fat bloke to be seen in!! Although the clincher for me is the design on the back. They say 'an uplifting message for all those people behind you!'. I think 'will make you an instant hate figure for all those people behind you!' is slightly closer to the truth.

'The picture from the spam e-mail'

*My worst run was just before I started this blog while running home from work at a time my training was going very well indeed. On a 3 mile run, I wanted to stop after a mile. Did stop before a mile and a half and was on a bus before the 2 mile marker. Truly pathetic!!