Well this has been a fun month. It started full of promise and full of hope as I set out on a structured training plan for my half marathon in August. The first of the month, a bank holiday, 35 minutes easy running it said. This should be easy enough! I got about a mile into it and started to feel more and more unwell till I just stopped, turned around and walked back feeling very faint.
That was me for the week. House bound. No exercise. No work. No nothing. By the time Saturday came round I was perking up a bit so headed over to Ruchill parkrun which at the time was the newest addition to the Scottish parkrun family. So I decided I was just going to jog round given the week I had. Well I thought it would be a jog. Its a 3 lap course and somehow it feels like you are always going up apart from one wee bit where there is a short, sharp downhill. I jogged about a mile and a bit and ran/walked the rest.
For the rest of the month I really got into the plan and stuck with all the sessions bar one where I wasn't feeling up to it that day. But I am enjoying the mix of speed sessions, easy runs and slightly longer runs. Before this plan I have always just done loops of a certain distance. But this plan does so many minutes. So I have been doing out and backs trying to keep even pacing and doing smaller loops at the end if required to make up to a certain time. I think I may go back to loops though as I kind of know roughly how long each loop takes anyway.
One run on the schedule which I have changed is the 25 minute easy run on the Saturday. And you will be shocked as to the reason. To do an all out parkrun. The week after Ruchill I did Linwood and did just over 27 minutes and gave a really good effort. Then the next week I did Strathclyde. I wasn't unwell but I just didn't feel like going fast that day so set off conservatively. But I found as the run went on I was gradually getting faster and finished off just under 29 minutes. Then my last parkrun of the month was Victoria parkrun where I surprised myself a lot. My brother came along too who has been running well recently so I expected him to beat me. He shot off at the start and I settled into a nice steady pace. With Victoria being three laps and going round a loch I saw him build a substantial gap. But on the 3rd lap I realised I was closing and I took a point where he passed and counted 20 seconds gap. But I thought that was too much as there was less than a kilometre left. On the straight back towards the loch though I caught and passed him. I fully expected him to overtake me again on the home straight but he never caught me. I finished in a seasons best of 26.06 with my brother getting a 5k PB just 7 seconds behind me.
I have also started the steps challenge again last week where I am aiming to cover 10,000 steps every day for 100 days (till the end of August). I have decided not to do lots of blogs on this, this year though and focus on my half marathon training instead. I am aiming to beat my average last year which was 13,000 steps a day and will give wee updates just to say my progress compared to last year.
Step count as at 29th May after 5 days
2016: 61,620
2017: 75,121
Monday 29 May 2017
Friday 19 May 2017
Flashback - London marathon 2004
As mentioned in my last post, the thing which propelled me into long distance running was watching the London marathon on TV in 2003. I decided then that I could not watch it on TV in 2004. I had to be there. I had to do it. If I remember right back in those days it wasn't a case of enter the ballot during a 5 day period in May. I think the ballot was open for a lot longer than that. Anyway fast forward and I got rejected from the ballot. But I did get a very nice London marathon fleece which I still have today.
Of course there is another way of getting into the London marathon. The golden bond place. Where you pledge to raise a certain amount for a charity and they give you a place. This was the first time I had attempted to raise a lot for charity and at that time I didn't really have a real connection to any charity. So I chose the one with the lowest amount you needed to raise. So I ended up choosing Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland where you had to raise £1,000 and a worthy cause. It was tough raising money as back then I was a student. So all my work friends, school friends and uni friends were also students. So it was a challenging task raising sponsorship. But I made it to £1,000 with the help of a few generous donors.
So now the place was sorted it was onto training for the marathon. Did I learn anything from my first race? Well I knew I could cope with a half marathon, I just need to up my long runs. But at that time I still had no clue what to do in between. I didn't know about tempo runs/fartleks or interval sessions. Of course sometimes I ran faster but I just trained naturally. During the week then I just did runs between 3 - 4.5 miles. I built up my long runs accumulating in a 20 mile long run 2 weeks before the marathon. So I really thought I was ready going into the marathon. Interestingly my long runs followed the same pattern. I would start off easy and then get quicker and quicker as they went on. Obviously I did this by feel as no garmins in those days for mile splits.
On to race day. I was totally buzzing! I had no sleep due to the excitement of it all. But I felt ready. I was determined to start slowly which is exactly what I did. Maybe even too slowly. After 6 miles I was feeling great so decided to start upping it like I did on training runs. I remember the first half of the course being pretty quiet. When I started upping it though I found my self weeving all over the place and going up on pavements. Probably working far more than I should of. Then getting to Tower bridge around mile 12 and there was this wall of noise. It was amazing. I still to this day have never experienced anything in a race like it. I got to halfway in 2 hours 7 minutes. I had not been tracking my time but I knew it was because my first 10k was extremely slow because I did pick it up quite a bit in the 2nd 10k. Just after halfway my parents and brother were there supporting which was great.
However at mile 14. Yes 14. The wheels came off. I didn't know what was wrong at the time but all of a sudden the top of my legs were in agony. Turns out I got cramp in both my quads. I must have walked for about 4 miles. I never thought about quitting once though and was determined to keep moving forward. Then I got speaking to an older women who started walking with me. She asked me if this had put me off running which I said no. Then she gave me drugs which I assume were painkillers. My old school friends ribbed me for years after about this (taking drugs not speaking to an older women!). But although I still found it difficult, I did manage to run bits after that and the rest of it was just a run walk to the finish.
How did I feel when I finished? To be honest I was absolutely gutted. I crossed the line in 4.48. I had been so fixated on a sub 4 hour marathon in the build up, I just did not have any back up goals. My family were absolutely over the moon as none of my family had completed a marathon before. I didn't really appreciate back then what I had achieved. But I certainly do now. I think the fact that you are so knackered after it plays with your emotions too and also everything you have put into it training wise.
Would I do London again? It never really crossed my mind to do it again until this year I got inspired. My name is in the ballot for 2018. I don't think I would do a golden bond place again. Its all about how many people you know really unless you are prepared to do other ways of fundraising. I have done marathons/cycles since for charity but they were not golden bond so no pressure on amount raised.
Of course there is another way of getting into the London marathon. The golden bond place. Where you pledge to raise a certain amount for a charity and they give you a place. This was the first time I had attempted to raise a lot for charity and at that time I didn't really have a real connection to any charity. So I chose the one with the lowest amount you needed to raise. So I ended up choosing Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland where you had to raise £1,000 and a worthy cause. It was tough raising money as back then I was a student. So all my work friends, school friends and uni friends were also students. So it was a challenging task raising sponsorship. But I made it to £1,000 with the help of a few generous donors.
So now the place was sorted it was onto training for the marathon. Did I learn anything from my first race? Well I knew I could cope with a half marathon, I just need to up my long runs. But at that time I still had no clue what to do in between. I didn't know about tempo runs/fartleks or interval sessions. Of course sometimes I ran faster but I just trained naturally. During the week then I just did runs between 3 - 4.5 miles. I built up my long runs accumulating in a 20 mile long run 2 weeks before the marathon. So I really thought I was ready going into the marathon. Interestingly my long runs followed the same pattern. I would start off easy and then get quicker and quicker as they went on. Obviously I did this by feel as no garmins in those days for mile splits.
On to race day. I was totally buzzing! I had no sleep due to the excitement of it all. But I felt ready. I was determined to start slowly which is exactly what I did. Maybe even too slowly. After 6 miles I was feeling great so decided to start upping it like I did on training runs. I remember the first half of the course being pretty quiet. When I started upping it though I found my self weeving all over the place and going up on pavements. Probably working far more than I should of. Then getting to Tower bridge around mile 12 and there was this wall of noise. It was amazing. I still to this day have never experienced anything in a race like it. I got to halfway in 2 hours 7 minutes. I had not been tracking my time but I knew it was because my first 10k was extremely slow because I did pick it up quite a bit in the 2nd 10k. Just after halfway my parents and brother were there supporting which was great.
However at mile 14. Yes 14. The wheels came off. I didn't know what was wrong at the time but all of a sudden the top of my legs were in agony. Turns out I got cramp in both my quads. I must have walked for about 4 miles. I never thought about quitting once though and was determined to keep moving forward. Then I got speaking to an older women who started walking with me. She asked me if this had put me off running which I said no. Then she gave me drugs which I assume were painkillers. My old school friends ribbed me for years after about this (taking drugs not speaking to an older women!). But although I still found it difficult, I did manage to run bits after that and the rest of it was just a run walk to the finish.
How did I feel when I finished? To be honest I was absolutely gutted. I crossed the line in 4.48. I had been so fixated on a sub 4 hour marathon in the build up, I just did not have any back up goals. My family were absolutely over the moon as none of my family had completed a marathon before. I didn't really appreciate back then what I had achieved. But I certainly do now. I think the fact that you are so knackered after it plays with your emotions too and also everything you have put into it training wise.
Would I do London again? It never really crossed my mind to do it again until this year I got inspired. My name is in the ballot for 2018. I don't think I would do a golden bond place again. Its all about how many people you know really unless you are prepared to do other ways of fundraising. I have done marathons/cycles since for charity but they were not golden bond so no pressure on amount raised.
Friday 12 May 2017
Flashback - Great Scottish Run 2003
Just for a laugh and to get something written down to complete my blog, I am going to do a series of training build up/race reports from the pre blog era of my running. I think its a maximum of 6 races but may combine a few depending on my memory! Starting with my first ever race; the Great Scottish Run which took place in Glasgow in August 2003.
Firstly a bit of an introduction of how this came about. I was in my first year at uni in 2002 and my mate Alan and I were cutting it fine to get our bus home for the day. So we had to dash across Glasgow. I was absolutely exhausted by the time we got to the bus stop and Alan took the rip out of me (in a funny way) all the way home. Now I must add here that Alan was one of the best 400 meter runners in the country at this point so I probably should have put things into perspective. But it did make me think that I need to do more about my fitness. Then I started to go on runs quite regularly and mixed it in with gym sessions and five a side once a week. Flash forward to April 2003 I watched the London marathon on TV. I said to myself then that I couldn't watch it next year. I had to be there. That will come in the next post though.
My immediate aim was the Great Scottish Run that year. People might think its a bit of a jump to go from having done no races to doing a half marathon. And yeah you are probably right! But in those days the only person who I knew that ran was Alan and he did 400 metre races. So in short I didn't really have a clue what I was doing and just learning as I went along. There wasn't really a plan at all with training apart from making sure I did 1 long run a week. During the summer I worked in Greaves sports in the stock room. This was a job I loved doing as it was very active especially on a Saturday when it was mega busy. But one thing I noticed was the amount of running shoes I was sending down. I cottoned on to this and bought my first pair of running shoes which made a huge difference.
Anyway onto the race. I didn't really know how to approach the race, I had no plan, no time in mind, apart from take it easy as it is your first one! Unlike nowadays the race started and finished in Glasgow green back then and didn't go over the Kingston bridge. I was really excited by it and the first 6 miles I set out at an easy pace. Then as I approached Pollok Park I realised that I was feeling really good. I had done the first half in 1 hour and 2 minutes. Then I just upped the pace and it felt totally fine. I was overtaking like mad and loving it. I finished in 1 hour 54 minutes so a massive negative split. In those days as well as a medal and t-shirt, you also got a certificate too which I still have.
So that is how it all began, little did I know then, how much time I would spend in Pollok park years later.
Firstly a bit of an introduction of how this came about. I was in my first year at uni in 2002 and my mate Alan and I were cutting it fine to get our bus home for the day. So we had to dash across Glasgow. I was absolutely exhausted by the time we got to the bus stop and Alan took the rip out of me (in a funny way) all the way home. Now I must add here that Alan was one of the best 400 meter runners in the country at this point so I probably should have put things into perspective. But it did make me think that I need to do more about my fitness. Then I started to go on runs quite regularly and mixed it in with gym sessions and five a side once a week. Flash forward to April 2003 I watched the London marathon on TV. I said to myself then that I couldn't watch it next year. I had to be there. That will come in the next post though.
My immediate aim was the Great Scottish Run that year. People might think its a bit of a jump to go from having done no races to doing a half marathon. And yeah you are probably right! But in those days the only person who I knew that ran was Alan and he did 400 metre races. So in short I didn't really have a clue what I was doing and just learning as I went along. There wasn't really a plan at all with training apart from making sure I did 1 long run a week. During the summer I worked in Greaves sports in the stock room. This was a job I loved doing as it was very active especially on a Saturday when it was mega busy. But one thing I noticed was the amount of running shoes I was sending down. I cottoned on to this and bought my first pair of running shoes which made a huge difference.
Anyway onto the race. I didn't really know how to approach the race, I had no plan, no time in mind, apart from take it easy as it is your first one! Unlike nowadays the race started and finished in Glasgow green back then and didn't go over the Kingston bridge. I was really excited by it and the first 6 miles I set out at an easy pace. Then as I approached Pollok Park I realised that I was feeling really good. I had done the first half in 1 hour and 2 minutes. Then I just upped the pace and it felt totally fine. I was overtaking like mad and loving it. I finished in 1 hour 54 minutes so a massive negative split. In those days as well as a medal and t-shirt, you also got a certificate too which I still have.
So that is how it all began, little did I know then, how much time I would spend in Pollok park years later.
Sunday 7 May 2017
Change of plan
In the last 6 months I feel like I've changed my mind a lot about my running and since my last post I have again. In fact it was about a week after my last post I changed my mind. I was aiming to do the Mamores VK in September. While it is plenty of time to train, my lack of fitness at the moment especially on the hills is there to see in my parkruns. I have done Tollcross, Drumchapel and the new Ruchill parkrun which are all pretty hilly in the last few months and struggled in all of them. In each one I have got half way round and then had to walk/run for the remainder. In Ruchill, which I did yesterday, I had been ill in my bed all week and actually tried to take it as easy as possible and still had to walk. At the moment doing hilly parkruns or hilly 10ks are tough enough never mind doing actual hill races.
The funny thing is that in the last year I have still not gone a week where I have not been running. And I think this past week is the first time I have been ill in the last year which is quite impressive. But it does beg the question of what is going wrong, especially on the hilly courses. I did do Harlow and Springburn in April which I did times which is more of the kind I would expect of around 27 minutes. That's still a minute off what I was doing last year. But I think it comes down to a bad diet and not being active enough when I'm not running. Also in terms of actual runs they are a bit of a state - no actual structure. Also a big thing I think is that even though in the last 3 months I have been averaging 2-4 runs a week, I have only gone over 10 miles in one week, once. This definitely needs to change.
So what is the plan now? Well first things first. The 10,000 steps a day for 100 days challenge starts on the 24th May. This really changed things for me last year and hopefully will bring along the same kind of results this year. The difference this year is I have entered a race at the end of the August when the challenge finishes and that is the Great Aberdeen half. No pressure on time just want to finish. In order to bring structure I have got a training plan which doesn't focus on distance, but on time on feet. This is something I haven't done before as I have always done certain distances, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I'll see how the rest of May goes then if I can run for 45 minutes without stopping, I ll enter the Mens 10k in June.
The funny thing is that in the last year I have still not gone a week where I have not been running. And I think this past week is the first time I have been ill in the last year which is quite impressive. But it does beg the question of what is going wrong, especially on the hilly courses. I did do Harlow and Springburn in April which I did times which is more of the kind I would expect of around 27 minutes. That's still a minute off what I was doing last year. But I think it comes down to a bad diet and not being active enough when I'm not running. Also in terms of actual runs they are a bit of a state - no actual structure. Also a big thing I think is that even though in the last 3 months I have been averaging 2-4 runs a week, I have only gone over 10 miles in one week, once. This definitely needs to change.
So what is the plan now? Well first things first. The 10,000 steps a day for 100 days challenge starts on the 24th May. This really changed things for me last year and hopefully will bring along the same kind of results this year. The difference this year is I have entered a race at the end of the August when the challenge finishes and that is the Great Aberdeen half. No pressure on time just want to finish. In order to bring structure I have got a training plan which doesn't focus on distance, but on time on feet. This is something I haven't done before as I have always done certain distances, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I'll see how the rest of May goes then if I can run for 45 minutes without stopping, I ll enter the Mens 10k in June.
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