am: 6 x 2 mins, 90 secs rest on trails at 4000ft
pm: Very easy 45 mins + strides
13.5mi
I got at about 0815 feeling a bit tired this morning but nothing major. I got some breakfast and headed to reception for 9 as we were meeting earlier to drive down the mountain to 4000ft to ensure a snow-free trail for the session. Charles Van Commenee and Spencer Barden came down to observe the session and Aaron Thomas' athletes trained with us for the first time so it was a really big group of us heading to Purgceda. I felt terrible jogging and really concentrated on my drills to try and get myself going. It changed nothing, I simply felt absolutely horrific today I don’t really know why. I won’t be taking a rest day again if I can avoid it as I cannot believe how awful I felt. It is like my body has just switched out of running mode because I had one day off! I am delighted that the session was less than 20 mins in total length as it was easy to get my head round; otherwise I think I could have been in trouble and had a DNF. I tried different ways of running by setting off hard and clinging on or setting off easy and picking up but it made no difference. I pushed pretty hard but there was just nothing in the tank. It wasn’t great underfoot as there were rocks sticking out and it irritated my foot a little. Unfortunately, Hannah was right – my shins were killing today. It was my anterior shins so it's purely muscular and I’m sure they’ll settle down. I warmed down with the Sooses, Barkesy and Challinor and said to them that it was the best I felt all morning as towards the end of the jog I suddenly felt like I had some bounce! Still, I suppose you'd say it is job done. I said to Ricky and Lisa that it genuinely has been a pleasure to train with them over the past 3 weeks and it was fantastic to see Ricky Soos back training; you really could not meet two nicer people in the world. Lisa was encouraging me to come on the next trip to Kenya and I'm not surprised as since I got here I've been leading her sessions out for her for the first two thirds! To get ready for the evening run I decided to take the Kenyan approach by having lunch and then just lying in bed all day. The atmosphere was palpable in our flat as Lewis watched Leeds Utd fight back from a goal and a man down to secure promotion; I think the evening run would have been a nightmare had they lost. After the final whistle I quickly made a beef stew to put on slow cook for when we got back. We ran on the trails from the apartment and after an opening mile of almost 10 minutes I decided to go by myself. I really don’t understand my body sometimes as I felt great running tonight from my first foot-strike; it’s bloody annoying that this wasn’t the case this morning. It was a very, very undulating route around the back of the track and golf course and probably wasn’t ideal for a recovery run. I felt strong and had no real niggles so I was pretty pleased. I felt fine on strides; strong and relaxed. We had a proper British beef stew for dinner which was just the ticket. I had a quick internet browse before we watched 'The Longest Yard' and both airports in Barcelona were closed because the ash-cloud has reared its ugly head once more! If I'm being totally honest, I would be delighted to stay here for another week so I am not fussed either way if my flight home is cancelled!
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Friday, 7 May 2010
Rest day
Phil said to miss a run this week to knock the mileage down a little so I decided to take Friday as a total rest and let my niggles settle. My shins felt fine today which surprised Hannah as she said I’d be really sore today as she went pretty hard – that’s got to be good news! So I pretty much got up late and did very little all day. I went in the pool and the sauna for a bit with a few of the guys and then a big group of us went to the natural hot spring 15 mins away. It was pretty cool but it stunk of egg, apparently due to the sulphur. The stand-out highlight was when Moses walked in on a Frenchman doing a job on his bird in the indoor baths only for them to laugh and finish off! We had to get back for a team meeting at 1600 to discuss tomorrow's training plans and the final arrangements for transport home. Whilst at the meeting we all realised simultaneously that we stunk of rotten egg which was less than ideal when you have 2 big cheeses from UKA and a few Olympians sat next to you. I got a shower to wash the smell off and then went down to the town to have cake for Thewlis' birthday and to print my boarding pass off. I felt pretty exhausted bizarrely and walking up a huge hill from the Cyber Cafe I was in a world of trouble! I think the hot spa was a bit draining as the other guys felt similar. We had a standard Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner and then watched 'Blood Diamond'; a film that I'm a big fan of. Because I wanted to keep my legs awake a bit I tidied around the apartment and washed up for something to do. I was in bed at 2300 ready for the final session of the trip tomorrow.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
A Wasted Vote?
am: Very easy 70 mins on trails + strides
pm: Strength & conditioning
10.5mi
I really did feel like I'd gone 12 with Tyson when I woke up this morning. I had some porridge and a coffee to try and wake up for training. We again drove down the mountain to get out of the snow and it was a bit of a boring run to be quite honest with a lot of out and back. It was a nice and easy recovery run which was just what was needed. I was really tired today along with everyone else and hated the first 45 mins or so. After then I felt fine and like I could run forever which shows the run had done its job; early on I just wanted it to be over! I didn’t have any major niggles which is good, apart from irritating my foot on a rocky section and having slightly tight hamstrings from yesterday’s session. We kept on the flat for the most part but any hills were unpleasant to negotiate. We stopped off at the supermarket on the way back as we were running low on supplies but the fact there were only 2 people on the checkouts meant it took forever to get in and out. I checked my phone and my Dad voted Lib Dem for me as I asked. I spent almost all the afternoon in bed watching terrible films such as 'Blue Streak' but dragged myself out to go to the shop again as we needed a few more things. I spoke to my friend and former training partner Sean Dirrane online for over an hour and think I have persuaded a mini comeback via doing easy runs from Headingley with me whilst I'm doing work experience over the next 3 weeks - fingers crossed. We then hit the gym to get huge and hopefully it did the trick. I jogged up to the gym but after a few minutes I had to walk because my right Achilles suddenly became incredibly painful. I walked for a bit and then jogged again and it seemed ok; strange. Finally, third time lucky, I didn’t feel dizzy and weak whilst in the gym! Squats still felt harder than at sea-level but much easier than last week which has to be positive. I adapted the session slightly to protect my Achilles and suffered no twinges. Lewis and I had a mini bench competition (I lost) that we probably shouldn’t have... I walked over to the treatment room for a much needed massage. I was generally stiff from the knee down of my right leg and then had my ongoing sore left foot too. I flet a lot better afterwards and will probably just rest tomorrow to let any little niggles settle. I had to have a quick turnaround as we were going out for a meal with it being Shaun and Ross' final night plus it's Thewlis' birthday tomorrow. They are two cracking lads and it was nice to see them off; we all chipped in to pay for Jonny's meal to wish him bon anniversaire. I stayed up later than usual tonight to watch the election reaction on the BBC and unfortunately it seems most people who said they'd vote for Nick Clegg changed their minds and plumped for one of the two main parties; disappointing.
pm: Strength & conditioning
10.5mi
I really did feel like I'd gone 12 with Tyson when I woke up this morning. I had some porridge and a coffee to try and wake up for training. We again drove down the mountain to get out of the snow and it was a bit of a boring run to be quite honest with a lot of out and back. It was a nice and easy recovery run which was just what was needed. I was really tired today along with everyone else and hated the first 45 mins or so. After then I felt fine and like I could run forever which shows the run had done its job; early on I just wanted it to be over! I didn’t have any major niggles which is good, apart from irritating my foot on a rocky section and having slightly tight hamstrings from yesterday’s session. We kept on the flat for the most part but any hills were unpleasant to negotiate. We stopped off at the supermarket on the way back as we were running low on supplies but the fact there were only 2 people on the checkouts meant it took forever to get in and out. I checked my phone and my Dad voted Lib Dem for me as I asked. I spent almost all the afternoon in bed watching terrible films such as 'Blue Streak' but dragged myself out to go to the shop again as we needed a few more things. I spoke to my friend and former training partner Sean Dirrane online for over an hour and think I have persuaded a mini comeback via doing easy runs from Headingley with me whilst I'm doing work experience over the next 3 weeks - fingers crossed. We then hit the gym to get huge and hopefully it did the trick. I jogged up to the gym but after a few minutes I had to walk because my right Achilles suddenly became incredibly painful. I walked for a bit and then jogged again and it seemed ok; strange. Finally, third time lucky, I didn’t feel dizzy and weak whilst in the gym! Squats still felt harder than at sea-level but much easier than last week which has to be positive. I adapted the session slightly to protect my Achilles and suffered no twinges. Lewis and I had a mini bench competition (I lost) that we probably shouldn’t have... I walked over to the treatment room for a much needed massage. I was generally stiff from the knee down of my right leg and then had my ongoing sore left foot too. I flet a lot better afterwards and will probably just rest tomorrow to let any little niggles settle. I had to have a quick turnaround as we were going out for a meal with it being Shaun and Ross' final night plus it's Thewlis' birthday tomorrow. They are two cracking lads and it was nice to see them off; we all chipped in to pay for Jonny's meal to wish him bon anniversaire. I stayed up later than usual tonight to watch the election reaction on the BBC and unfortunately it seems most people who said they'd vote for Nick Clegg changed their minds and plumped for one of the two main parties; disappointing.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
An Extremely Proud Day
am: 35 mins very easy on trails at 1300m elevation
pm: 2k @ 5k pace, 12 mins, [200, 700, 200, 600, 200, 500, 200, 400 (90/2.30 rec)] 200s @ 15 pace, longer reps progressing down from 3k pace. Estimated times according to pace run on each rep – 6.02, 1.56, 1.33, 75, 59, ave 31.
14mi
We weren't due to meet until 0930 this morning so I got a bit of a lie for a change. I had some cereal and a coffee, got a quick wash and then headed to reception. The snow was still deep but the sun was out and forecast to stay so until the evening. The decision made was that we will drive down the mountain this morning to do an easy run while George and Spencer look for somewhere to do 2 minute reps. I got in Barkesy car and it was amazing that within 20 minutes of driving we were in green meadows! There appeared to be Spanish police watching us for a bit when we got out of the car but they finally cleared off. We ran very easily this morning and it was good to be down the mountain and totally out of the snow. It didn’t feel any different running at this elevation (3800ft) and to be totally honest I felt leggy for the first few minutes if anything. It was little more than shake out on a fantastic trail path we found. Danny treated us all to doughnuts from the petrol station and I just could not refuse so I suppose combined with a banana it was a good refuel... As we got a little lost on the drive this morning, we didn't finish the run until 1110 or so. After soup and a lot of bread for lunch I wanted to maximise recovery so I just stayed in bed until 3pm. The track had been cleared enough for us to our session but with timed reps rather than distance due to snow obstruction. I did my jog, drills & strides and felt like I had force myself to get up for the session. A huge thanks must go to Coach Li for trying to clear the inside as much as possible with a huge snow shovel! George said to keep relaxed and controlled on the 2k and go a little slower than 5k effort so not to affect the increasing speed of the rest of the session; so I did. I lost a bit of concentration in the middle and didn’t feel very good but I suddenly clicked into gear and felt great in the last 600 – yet again though I had to run a long rep in a hole! I felt decent today without ever feeling fantastic. I was a wound up for some reason beforehand and felt a little sick too. With the constant rescheduling and changing of the session I was just glad to finish what was a pretty good workout. Ryan McLeod recorded some of the session to do a Flotrack WoW type video which should be on UKA soon. I am looking forward to just stretching my legs out on the 2 minute reps on Saturday now after getting the job done today. My shins were a little tight afterwards and so was my right Achilles and my left foot! Presumably it is down to the snow and a hard, cold track. In short, I’m glad I have massage tomorrow evening. I jogged back to the apartment feeling fine. We had a pretty standard evening of sausage pasta for dinner followed by 'What Happens in Vegas' - a pretty terrible film. I also had a nice, hot bath which seemed to do wonders for my tired legs. I decided for whatever reason that I needed some sugar so walked to the vending machine and plumped for a good old-fashioned Kit-Kat. Last but by no means least, I today received the captaincy for the University of Birmingham cross country team for next year and I would struggle to be more proud about it; hence why this is a very proud day for me. I go to bed a proud man but still undecided on who I'll vote for in tomorrow's UK election.
pm: 2k @ 5k pace, 12 mins, [200, 700, 200, 600, 200, 500, 200, 400 (90/2.30 rec)] 200s @ 15 pace, longer reps progressing down from 3k pace. Estimated times according to pace run on each rep – 6.02, 1.56, 1.33, 75, 59, ave 31.
14mi
We weren't due to meet until 0930 this morning so I got a bit of a lie for a change. I had some cereal and a coffee, got a quick wash and then headed to reception. The snow was still deep but the sun was out and forecast to stay so until the evening. The decision made was that we will drive down the mountain this morning to do an easy run while George and Spencer look for somewhere to do 2 minute reps. I got in Barkesy car and it was amazing that within 20 minutes of driving we were in green meadows! There appeared to be Spanish police watching us for a bit when we got out of the car but they finally cleared off. We ran very easily this morning and it was good to be down the mountain and totally out of the snow. It didn’t feel any different running at this elevation (3800ft) and to be totally honest I felt leggy for the first few minutes if anything. It was little more than shake out on a fantastic trail path we found. Danny treated us all to doughnuts from the petrol station and I just could not refuse so I suppose combined with a banana it was a good refuel... As we got a little lost on the drive this morning, we didn't finish the run until 1110 or so. After soup and a lot of bread for lunch I wanted to maximise recovery so I just stayed in bed until 3pm. The track had been cleared enough for us to our session but with timed reps rather than distance due to snow obstruction. I did my jog, drills & strides and felt like I had force myself to get up for the session. A huge thanks must go to Coach Li for trying to clear the inside as much as possible with a huge snow shovel! George said to keep relaxed and controlled on the 2k and go a little slower than 5k effort so not to affect the increasing speed of the rest of the session; so I did. I lost a bit of concentration in the middle and didn’t feel very good but I suddenly clicked into gear and felt great in the last 600 – yet again though I had to run a long rep in a hole! I felt decent today without ever feeling fantastic. I was a wound up for some reason beforehand and felt a little sick too. With the constant rescheduling and changing of the session I was just glad to finish what was a pretty good workout. Ryan McLeod recorded some of the session to do a Flotrack WoW type video which should be on UKA soon. I am looking forward to just stretching my legs out on the 2 minute reps on Saturday now after getting the job done today. My shins were a little tight afterwards and so was my right Achilles and my left foot! Presumably it is down to the snow and a hard, cold track. In short, I’m glad I have massage tomorrow evening. I jogged back to the apartment feeling fine. We had a pretty standard evening of sausage pasta for dinner followed by 'What Happens in Vegas' - a pretty terrible film. I also had a nice, hot bath which seemed to do wonders for my tired legs. I decided for whatever reason that I needed some sugar so walked to the vending machine and plumped for a good old-fashioned Kit-Kat. Last but by no means least, I today received the captaincy for the University of Birmingham cross country team for next year and I would struggle to be more proud about it; hence why this is a very proud day for me. I go to bed a proud man but still undecided on who I'll vote for in tomorrow's UK election.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Here's to you Charlie
am: 45 mins easy at a good pace in the underground car park + hill strides
pm: 30 mins easy at the lake
12.5mi
I had a bit of a joke with George yesterday at drills saying 'if Charlie Spedding can do a session in an underground car park then drills is too easy!' Well, I certainly didn't think that I'd be running 50 laps of the car park the following morning! I woke up at 0800 and the weather was far worse than yesterday with a huge blizzard blowing and the snow three times as deep as yesterday. I had some breakfast and stretched a little before going to reception for 0930. Due to the ridiculous weather there were few options and I decided to run in the underground car park. I did so many laps that I stopped counting very early but surprisingly I actually quite enjoyed it. I felt great today and ran pretty quickly as I got into a nice rhythm. My glutes were a little tight early on but eased off very soon into running. I walked a lap afterwards and it was 273 strides and my laps were 55 seconds throughout. So, at a guess I was running just under 6 minute miling which corresponds with the HR average I’d expect. The hill in the car park was ideal for strides and I felt nice and bouncy on them. I thought I may as well use today for meetings so I had a great 1 hour chat with Coach Li - coach to Bernard Lagat amongst others - and found it very helpful. His philosophy is about strength over speed so he loves threshold & tempo which is very similar to what I'm doing at the minute anyway. I had some ravioli and logged my training before going to meet Barry Fudge the physiologist for my mandatory session. I got some good tips on hydration and nutrition but most of it was just common sense. I have booked in for testing at Loughborough in early June which will be interesting to see how I have come on (hopefully!) from my last test in the autumn. Just to round off the day's meetings Lewis and I went for a chat with George next door. It was incredibly interesting to listen to the philosophies of two world renowned coaches in such quick succession and comforting to know that there really are no secrets and that I'm along the right lines in my development. Probably the best bit of advice I took out of today was not to be afraid to take rest and also that consistency is king. I was planning to take a rest in the afternoon but I decided to just go down to the lake for a shuffle and some fun in the snow. It was very thick snow on the trails but the roads/paths were clear enough to run on properly. This was really just a bit of a laugh in the fresh air. I felt a bit tired and heavy legged to begin with but ok after a while. It was not nice to run in because of the blustery snow in our faces and by the looks of the dam we won’t be doing reps on there tomorrow so there may be another change of plan! The conditions were treacherous driving back as after it had abated for a handful of hours the snow poured once again. Once back at the apartment a huge pot of paella was ready to be served which is just the ticket! A great dinner followed by a great film 'The Butterfly Effect' - it is indescribably weird though. I thought it may be interesting to put up a photo from Saturday morning and one from this morning to see just how ridiculous the weather change has been!
The track at the Fort in all it's glory; this is why we came here.
This is not what I wanted to see out of my window this morning; this is why we almost went to Kenya!
pm: 30 mins easy at the lake
12.5mi
I had a bit of a joke with George yesterday at drills saying 'if Charlie Spedding can do a session in an underground car park then drills is too easy!' Well, I certainly didn't think that I'd be running 50 laps of the car park the following morning! I woke up at 0800 and the weather was far worse than yesterday with a huge blizzard blowing and the snow three times as deep as yesterday. I had some breakfast and stretched a little before going to reception for 0930. Due to the ridiculous weather there were few options and I decided to run in the underground car park. I did so many laps that I stopped counting very early but surprisingly I actually quite enjoyed it. I felt great today and ran pretty quickly as I got into a nice rhythm. My glutes were a little tight early on but eased off very soon into running. I walked a lap afterwards and it was 273 strides and my laps were 55 seconds throughout. So, at a guess I was running just under 6 minute miling which corresponds with the HR average I’d expect. The hill in the car park was ideal for strides and I felt nice and bouncy on them. I thought I may as well use today for meetings so I had a great 1 hour chat with Coach Li - coach to Bernard Lagat amongst others - and found it very helpful. His philosophy is about strength over speed so he loves threshold & tempo which is very similar to what I'm doing at the minute anyway. I had some ravioli and logged my training before going to meet Barry Fudge the physiologist for my mandatory session. I got some good tips on hydration and nutrition but most of it was just common sense. I have booked in for testing at Loughborough in early June which will be interesting to see how I have come on (hopefully!) from my last test in the autumn. Just to round off the day's meetings Lewis and I went for a chat with George next door. It was incredibly interesting to listen to the philosophies of two world renowned coaches in such quick succession and comforting to know that there really are no secrets and that I'm along the right lines in my development. Probably the best bit of advice I took out of today was not to be afraid to take rest and also that consistency is king. I was planning to take a rest in the afternoon but I decided to just go down to the lake for a shuffle and some fun in the snow. It was very thick snow on the trails but the roads/paths were clear enough to run on properly. This was really just a bit of a laugh in the fresh air. I felt a bit tired and heavy legged to begin with but ok after a while. It was not nice to run in because of the blustery snow in our faces and by the looks of the dam we won’t be doing reps on there tomorrow so there may be another change of plan! The conditions were treacherous driving back as after it had abated for a handful of hours the snow poured once again. Once back at the apartment a huge pot of paella was ready to be served which is just the ticket! A great dinner followed by a great film 'The Butterfly Effect' - it is indescribably weird though. I thought it may be interesting to put up a photo from Saturday morning and one from this morning to see just how ridiculous the weather change has been!
The track at the Fort in all it's glory; this is why we came here.
This is not what I wanted to see out of my window this morning; this is why we almost went to Kenya!
Monday, 3 May 2010
From Sunshine to Snow
am: 40 mins easy in snow
Drills with George + lots of strides
pm: 45 mins easy/steady on trails at the lake
12.5mi
We'd read the weather forecasts and prepared for the worst but I don't think anyone expected to see over 2 foot of snow after peeling the curtains back this morning. I was up at 0800 and I was pretty nonplussed to be honest - there's no point in getting annoyed; just make the best of it. I had some breakfast and wasn't planning on running but drills was put back an hour so I just did an easy run beforehand instead of warm up & warm down. I was a bit antisocial and boring on the run as I didn’t throw any snowballs or mess around as I stubbornly wanted to get it out of the way and avoid running stupidly slowly. The road was very clear so I just took the risk and ran with the traffic on the road up to the track. Once we got there I ran in lane 1 with a kicking running style to get the snow out of the way and then it wasn’t too bad. I just kept lapping and then ran back along the road – job done. I warmed myself with up with a hot mug of tea and then headed into the underground car park for drills! My glutes were still sore/tight today so I was careful what I did and missed an exercise in the middle – I had a good stretch here instead. It was a bit different to last week as we did more clawing-type exercises like the regular ‘cycling’ drill that I am used to. Lots and lots of strides. I had a shower and some porridge with Rocky Balboa on the TV - I paid little attention! We went to Super-U and the roads were remarkably clear - credit to Font Romeu and the surrounding area. I had a general massage as soon as we got back, focussing on my tight glutes that are still there from Saturday's session! I felt nice and loose afterwards. I got a few league games in the bag on PES and then found out Bogdanovich has played his last game for the Reds - not the sort of uplifting news I wanted on a snow day. On our way to reception Paula Radcliffe had just arrived for physio but I didn't manage to catch a glimpse of her! The trails at the lake were great as the snow was not an issue down there; it was very wet underfoot but it was a relief to be able to run naturally given the conditions. It was really cold and blustery and not pleasant to run in but had to be done. It started out at very easy and then we gradually picked it up to a good pace that seemed relatively easy but my legs were heavy to begin with. I didn’t do strides as I just got straight into the car to get warm. Barkesy and I agreed that you feel incredibly satisfied getting the scheduled training done in adversity so morale was high. We had a proper British dinner of steak, mash, veg and gravy before a meeting at 8pm to discuss the changes to training plans for the week. The decision we came to was to move the session on the dam from Saturday to tomorrow so fingers crossed the weather will hold off a little but I'm not holding my breath. I Skyped Phil again this evening and altered my schedule a little due to the weather. A big well done to one of my best friends James Wilkinson for taking on the 1500 guys at BUCS and bagging bronze.
Drills with George + lots of strides
pm: 45 mins easy/steady on trails at the lake
12.5mi
We'd read the weather forecasts and prepared for the worst but I don't think anyone expected to see over 2 foot of snow after peeling the curtains back this morning. I was up at 0800 and I was pretty nonplussed to be honest - there's no point in getting annoyed; just make the best of it. I had some breakfast and wasn't planning on running but drills was put back an hour so I just did an easy run beforehand instead of warm up & warm down. I was a bit antisocial and boring on the run as I didn’t throw any snowballs or mess around as I stubbornly wanted to get it out of the way and avoid running stupidly slowly. The road was very clear so I just took the risk and ran with the traffic on the road up to the track. Once we got there I ran in lane 1 with a kicking running style to get the snow out of the way and then it wasn’t too bad. I just kept lapping and then ran back along the road – job done. I warmed myself with up with a hot mug of tea and then headed into the underground car park for drills! My glutes were still sore/tight today so I was careful what I did and missed an exercise in the middle – I had a good stretch here instead. It was a bit different to last week as we did more clawing-type exercises like the regular ‘cycling’ drill that I am used to. Lots and lots of strides. I had a shower and some porridge with Rocky Balboa on the TV - I paid little attention! We went to Super-U and the roads were remarkably clear - credit to Font Romeu and the surrounding area. I had a general massage as soon as we got back, focussing on my tight glutes that are still there from Saturday's session! I felt nice and loose afterwards. I got a few league games in the bag on PES and then found out Bogdanovich has played his last game for the Reds - not the sort of uplifting news I wanted on a snow day. On our way to reception Paula Radcliffe had just arrived for physio but I didn't manage to catch a glimpse of her! The trails at the lake were great as the snow was not an issue down there; it was very wet underfoot but it was a relief to be able to run naturally given the conditions. It was really cold and blustery and not pleasant to run in but had to be done. It started out at very easy and then we gradually picked it up to a good pace that seemed relatively easy but my legs were heavy to begin with. I didn’t do strides as I just got straight into the car to get warm. Barkesy and I agreed that you feel incredibly satisfied getting the scheduled training done in adversity so morale was high. We had a proper British dinner of steak, mash, veg and gravy before a meeting at 8pm to discuss the changes to training plans for the week. The decision we came to was to move the session on the dam from Saturday to tomorrow so fingers crossed the weather will hold off a little but I'm not holding my breath. I Skyped Phil again this evening and altered my schedule a little due to the weather. A big well done to one of my best friends James Wilkinson for taking on the 1500 guys at BUCS and bagging bronze.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Inspired for the Long Run
am: Easy 1hr 45 + strides on trails
16mi
Week: 92mi - A good week & thankfully no illness/injury on the horizon
Today started earlier than usual as the alarm was set for 0640 so we could watch Thommo's 10k debut. Lewis & Ryan had spoken to John Nuttall yesterday and he said the target time was 27.30 which seemed very ambitious if I'm being honest. I logged onto CBS Sports and it turned out we had to bloody pay $9.99! After getting up so early we thought we may as well pay it between us so having missed the opening 2k we finally had it on - it was worth every penny. There was a knock at the door and surprisingly it was George Gandy! George was as enthralled as us for the next 20 mins and although the Americans went wild for Solinski's sub 27, Thommo running 27.29 was arguably a bigger breakthrough for British endurance running. Imagine becoming one of the fastest ever white men on 10k debut after so many years of unfulfilled promise via injury and poor form. Andy Vernon shouldn't be forgotten for a solid 28.10 but it was Thompson's night; he has shown that it can be done. Hopefully most Brits feel as inspired as I do and see some light at the end of the tunnel for distance running in the UK. Congratulations to my good friend and former (still sometime) training partner Luke Cragg who ran 29.10 in the 'B' race which is a 1 minute P.B. - maybe he can sneak the 28.50 Commonwealth standard next time out. Unbelievably motivated and fuelled up on muesli, toast and coffee I bounced down to reception where everyone was buzzing. We ran on the trails & road on a new loop starting from the lake. I felt great this morning and I was so close to doing 2 hours but decided against. If I had done so and then got ill or injured I’d be so annoyed at myself. I ran with Sonia Samuels as the group split and I was comfortable running at a quicker pace with her. My aerobic fitness seems pretty good currently and I've considered cashing in on a good 10k but having discussed it with Phil we decided 15 & 5k is what I should focus on this summer. My glutes were so sore today and everyone who did my session yesterday was exactly the same – presumably it was the hill reps. That was my only niggle and it is a good one as it just shows I worked hard. I sometimes feel heavy legged and can't be bothered with post-Sunday run strides but today I felt so fresh and bouncy on them. It was a nice feeling and shows I didn’t over-fatigue in the latter stages. I had a jam sandwich and yoghurt as soon as I could get in the car! I got a lift back from Mary Wilkinson and she had to stop off at the shop so I did half an hour of stretching outside the car in the sunshine - I was thankful I'd brought some food with me. I ran a nice hot bath whilst watching Flotrack's video of Thommo's race from about 20 mins in. We had a big flat clean up before watching Chelsea all but sew up the Premier League title whilst making sure I had plenty of carbs to avoid the depletion of Wednesday. Having lazed around for a bit we had a scheduled team meeting at 6pm. The meeting was good and most if it was about how inspirational this morning was! We watched a bit of Avatar after having chicken pasta for dinner but generally did very little - I felt very drowsy this evening.
16mi
Week: 92mi - A good week & thankfully no illness/injury on the horizon
Today started earlier than usual as the alarm was set for 0640 so we could watch Thommo's 10k debut. Lewis & Ryan had spoken to John Nuttall yesterday and he said the target time was 27.30 which seemed very ambitious if I'm being honest. I logged onto CBS Sports and it turned out we had to bloody pay $9.99! After getting up so early we thought we may as well pay it between us so having missed the opening 2k we finally had it on - it was worth every penny. There was a knock at the door and surprisingly it was George Gandy! George was as enthralled as us for the next 20 mins and although the Americans went wild for Solinski's sub 27, Thommo running 27.29 was arguably a bigger breakthrough for British endurance running. Imagine becoming one of the fastest ever white men on 10k debut after so many years of unfulfilled promise via injury and poor form. Andy Vernon shouldn't be forgotten for a solid 28.10 but it was Thompson's night; he has shown that it can be done. Hopefully most Brits feel as inspired as I do and see some light at the end of the tunnel for distance running in the UK. Congratulations to my good friend and former (still sometime) training partner Luke Cragg who ran 29.10 in the 'B' race which is a 1 minute P.B. - maybe he can sneak the 28.50 Commonwealth standard next time out. Unbelievably motivated and fuelled up on muesli, toast and coffee I bounced down to reception where everyone was buzzing. We ran on the trails & road on a new loop starting from the lake. I felt great this morning and I was so close to doing 2 hours but decided against. If I had done so and then got ill or injured I’d be so annoyed at myself. I ran with Sonia Samuels as the group split and I was comfortable running at a quicker pace with her. My aerobic fitness seems pretty good currently and I've considered cashing in on a good 10k but having discussed it with Phil we decided 15 & 5k is what I should focus on this summer. My glutes were so sore today and everyone who did my session yesterday was exactly the same – presumably it was the hill reps. That was my only niggle and it is a good one as it just shows I worked hard. I sometimes feel heavy legged and can't be bothered with post-Sunday run strides but today I felt so fresh and bouncy on them. It was a nice feeling and shows I didn’t over-fatigue in the latter stages. I had a jam sandwich and yoghurt as soon as I could get in the car! I got a lift back from Mary Wilkinson and she had to stop off at the shop so I did half an hour of stretching outside the car in the sunshine - I was thankful I'd brought some food with me. I ran a nice hot bath whilst watching Flotrack's video of Thommo's race from about 20 mins in. We had a big flat clean up before watching Chelsea all but sew up the Premier League title whilst making sure I had plenty of carbs to avoid the depletion of Wednesday. Having lazed around for a bit we had a scheduled team meeting at 6pm. The meeting was good and most if it was about how inspirational this morning was! We watched a bit of Avatar after having chicken pasta for dinner but generally did very little - I felt very drowsy this evening.
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