Next Steps

It's now three whole weeks since M day and only blissful, unstructured, smell-the-roses kind of running has followed. It's been a perfect post marathon recovery break with endless sunshine, cool breezes and clear days to amble about the Dales in shorts and sunnies with no sessions to worry about or mileage to reach. I've been truly lazy, eaten too much, slept late but am now feeling race hungry and ready to plan my next marathon. 

This last week I've tinkered with training plans, dabbled with race entries and today was my first official day back to proper training. It marks the last of 11 days off work; a blogging and training free few weeks and I'm feeling kind of refreshed, though also a bit spacey at the thought of being back working in an office tomorrow.

I've now a second marathon planned for October with lots of time in between to do all the fun stuff over the summer, kicking off with the postponed treat of the Calderdale Way Relay this weekend. We dared not risk racing without a good recce and this is my first time on Leg 4; a real beauty of a route from Blackshaw Head to Wainstalls. 

The 9 mile run was slow and relaxed and gave plenty of time to admire the magnificent, and lush Calder Valley. Once upon a time this place was home and it felt wonderful to be back running across the sweeping moors with the wind in my pigtails and warm sun on my legs. It was a pure delight filled with nuggets of teenage nostalgia. 

This week also sees a return to the much loved Harrogate League; a summer race series starting this Thursday. The race diary is brimming with summer race delights; I'm just not sure when I'll fit all the marathon training in.

And It's Kick Off

I've just nicely started colouring in the squares on my training spreadsheet; week 1 of 2011 was kicked off yesterday with an easy-steady 10 miles under dull grey skies. Mr Runningbear was my trusty companion and shared my fatigue following the efforts of Tricky's magical mystery run on Sunday. The 'undulations' over 20 miles nearly did me in.

I'm hoping the last 24 hours are recovery enough to face this first intervals session of the New Year. The 1k intervals; half flat, half uphill should get the legs and lungs burning with a return of sub zero temperatures. I always get nervous on tough days, not sure why... I'm probably just anticipating that sicky, lung bursting feeling that follows running at near enough full throttle. I've got butterflies in my tummy at the thought. Wish me luck.

Flat Out

Woohoo it's 2011! A very Happy New Year to all mates, fellow bloggers and random blog visitors. Here's hoping you've enjoyed some fine food, family time, fun and frolics and are nicely set up for the New Year. As for me, it's time for a fresh start with a fresh pair of trainers out of the box and a lovely new training spreadsheet to tinker with. All those little worksheet cells ready to fill up with marathon miles and track sessions; I'm almost salivating at the prospect. 

After sliding around town for a couple of weeks in snow clogged trainers and slush-filled socks we're back to some bare, naked tarmac. Oh Yes. My last dreadmill session on Tuesday saw me ready for anything as long as it wasn't another session on a flippin' machine. I've had enough of running on the spot staring at a wall. Thankfully it was back to the roads by Wednesday after a major thaw and some fine firm ground to run on. It felt great. 

Work has been sleepy and dead quiet creating a bit of space for catching up on projects and getting home at a reasonable hour. I even stretched the mid-week long run up to 15 with some tempo from mid way. The old leggies have since felt a little mashed and were not quite as fresh for today's tough 20 with company. A change of scene was most welcome as running mate Tricky planned a loopy, undulating route starting from Yeadon, taking in Leeds-Bradford airport at least 3 times I think, [or could that be the double vision?]. Another long one in the bag though with only 12 weeks left to go before the taper...result.

So, it's been a bit patchy 2010; punctuated with illness, iron deficiency, a far-too-busy-new-job and then a poorly camera to top it off. I'm hoping 2011 will see better things. I'm now over two bouts of lurgy, the snow has thawed and I've been very naughty and splurged on a new camera (just to be absolutely sure). 2011 should see a very fit and hungry Runningbear, ready for hard racing with a very fine DSLR by her side. Sweet.

Big News

Another training week starts after another long run in the bag;  survived without incident or injury. I'm building slowly but steadily, keeping an eye on quality and not being carried away with quantity. This weekend saw a return to some pretty tough stuff; a steady and undulating 16 miles the day after a taxing session at the track. The legs are tired and creaky today, but in a good, post-hard-sesh kind of way.

It's the start of holidays for M & I too, with some time to catch up with ourselves. So plans are to blog a bit, slob a bit and spend some time watching films we've recorded for rainy days with cats on our laps, sitting in pajamas until teatime if we feel like it. Today was a recovery day, a lazy 5 miles in the late sunshine. The village was dappled in wintry light, I apparently missed the foul play.

Winter Tingles

Sorry, sorry, sorry [hands up]. I really did plan to blog on Sunday. I then just slumped in bed with a book post run for the entire afternoon before an evening of crazed pre-week washing and cooking Sunday dinner. It all left me in a crumpled heap before a return to the crazy scramble of work life. I'm here blogging now though :]

Blogging has suffered the blight of the mid year craziness at work as I appraise and account for my job and my team and defend each penny from the public purse we spend trying to do a hard but wonderfully stimulating and engaging job. I love my work but it's aborbing and demanding and I get as obsessed and intense about that as with lots of other stuff, like erm ...running... cake... Need I say more? I'm a freak but hope I'm forgiven.

Running however is starting to be ace again. Though I've had a very gentle few weeks of getting the leggy going I'm now getting back into some quality sessions, including a 16 miler last Sunday (that didn't almost kill me) and a bit of V02 work on Tuesday. 

Though I'm slow and blobby and far off full fitness I am running pain free (yippee) and can start planning races once again. Tonight was an easy 7 around the village with M. The night was cold, clear and starry and left my chilled legs with their first winter tingles of the season. 

Calf-Hearted

After enjoying some welcome running frolics over the Bank Holiday weekend I'm reminded of how good it is to be running again. Even more so with a return to the mundane business today; train-office-another train-another office-another train-home-eat-bed. I'm hopeful that I might be over the worst of the shinny injury and daily running can be re-inserted into the week's routine pretty soon. 

I plan to have another nursery training week to keep an eye on the leg though I’m thinking this may be less shin and more calf niggle now. I find these things so difficult to determine; having bulging calves of a stout footballer who knows what's going on in there. Plan is: no better by Friday = call to the physio. 

If anything the shinny issues have fired me up again and so I have whiled away a few hours over the weekend planning my winter training and racing. A nice 10 miler building to a half marathon might be a good start before considering more serious race goals into the spring. Jack Daniels has made a comeback on the bedside table and is re-lighting this running fire.

Wrestling Recovery

18.04pm: Am sat here on the train platform waiting for delayed trains, trying to get home after another long day. Though it's a bit of a pain there's some warm evening sunshine and I've an unexpected blogging window... I've been avoiding blogging this last day or two.

Though I'm keen to keep it real as I mutter on about my running adventures, I'm also mindful of the dangers of sounding like a moanywingebag and the need to avoid harping on about my 'troubles' when I'm lucky to have a fully functioning pair of legs and a beating heart in my chest...

However, Runningbear is going through  slightly troubled training times. It seems a bit dishonest to pretend otherwise. After shaking off the lurgy to race in Edinburgh last week I've spent the last week trying to recover and also make sense of the strange empty legs thing on race day. Thursday then brought the start of more lurgy; another sore throat and I'm again filled with a second bout of the stuff! What's going on?!

I've bided my time until Sunday to run anything near a proper session. My last possible chance of a long run; I attempted a 20 at a fairly moderate pace. I was dead by mile 10.

I'm a bit stuck with what to do next and can only assume illness and hard training have combined to bring  this body near complete depletion. I'm properly running on empty!

I'm now taking stock and thinking of my recovery, training and even the racing plan. A May marathon is also under review. A difficult decision to ponder and it feels more like a wrestle right now.

Though I've done lots of work so far to build a good marathon foundation I'm most of all keen to get healthy and feel good whilst running and racing again.  So a week to review, wrestle with  my thoughts whilst I recover and recharge. That's THE NEW PLAN.

Crispy Trees

It's been a great week off work with a return to some tough training miles and the chance to run in daylight and even bright sunshine these last few days. After all those frustrating weeks of ice, snow and Achilles niggles the legs seem to be back in shape. I've completed a full week of sessions with no serious leg worries and it's left me feeling very inspired to get back into the training groove.

I've also nearly finished tweaking my training plan; as much as I ever finish with plan faffing. I'm now the proud creator of one daddy of a spreadsheet. [Geek alert] It now includes a pace formula to average my miles each week. Hopefully I'll get a sense of weekly intensity as well as mileage to help avoid over-training in the coming weeks.

Recent running chats and web research has also got me fully immersed again in marathon training theory. I've had some great book recommendations now purchased and soon to be delivered. I've also had this link over a year now, sent by an old club mate. It's only this week that I've explored it and appreciate the amazing Jack Daniels training tables; the spreadsheet is free to download from the link if you're keen... it's truly a great tool, if a bit scary at first. It tailors your training pace, projected race times and heart rate zones as well as lots of other stuff. It's frighteningly accurate and also quite incredible to see the potential for improvement when you cut down on cake and lose the odd pound.

Training wise its been a nippier week; most runs have crept under 7 minute miles with the exception of the odd easy recovery run. Today was a monster after joining forces with club mate Stewart M. I was lulled into a false sense of security for my long one this morning, an 18 miler at a 'steady' pace. Stewart's idea of steady got me home in an average of 6'51'' for the whole run. It's a bit frightening what your body ends up doing if you're absorbed in a bit of running chat and not watching the old Garmin. So, a bit fast and I'll probably pay for it at the track on Tuesday. It was great to be pushed hard though and no doubt I'll be back for more.

Tarmac Tales

Woohoo! What a great day it is today. Not just because its Friday, of course that's pretty good too. But, I've actually run in excess of 5 miles today, all on that lovely, hard and reliably firm stuff called tarmac. My already limited patience has been truly tested and I've been watching the training days tick by with countless sessions unfulfilled on The Plan.

Today I managed 10 miles in total; 5 miles of which were lovely, pacey and 'unslippery' tempo miles. It was wondrous! That's wondrous to be out on steady feet working hard. It was less wondrous feeling like a heavy and tired blob of uncoordinated body matter lumbering my way at a pace I should be able to skip through with little effort. But we wont dwell on that. It was really great to be out running proper again, feeling the wind in my face, the pure physical focus of pushing my body and feeling that tired high that running so reliably provides.

Yours, the running junkie.

Plan B

I've cycled through the phases of shock, then denial and I'm now stuck in bargaining. The onset of the worst winter weather since time began has left me climbing the walls to get out and run. Unfortunately, however much I stamp my feet or drag my bottom lip across the floor the snow just keeps coming and long runs are still not gonna happen.

Rather than continue to make life hell for M I've let go of my mantra, 'I must follow THE PLAN' and am now thinking I can afford another week of chilling out. My new self talk includes, 'the extra rest will do the world of good', 'I'll be fresher and even hungrier by next week' and 'another week wont hurt'. So, for the third night in a row I ran a steady 5 miles in the snow, my ankles seeing more lateral movement than forward propulsion but I got home eventually, unscathed. Should this dastardly weather continue for much longer I've entered Edinburgh as a back up. The extra month's training wards off worries about a shortened schedule. It also falls on my birthday. So. Plan B is in place.

White Out

I can't believe it. Day 2 of THE PLAN and we've got a blizzard on the doorstep. A complete white out. I'm beginning to feel my marathon is doomed. Does that seem melodramatic at all? And apparently there's more of the pesky stuff to come. 8 inches by 7.30am and falling fast has also meant an unexpected day off skool. It doesn't feel much fun when you can't enjoy the pleasures of daylight running though.

Yesterday was a slippy 5m in the early morning darkness. I can at least tick day 1 of THE PLAN. What should I do? Does it really mean dreadmill running? But 9 miles?! With tempo too! What should I do?! When is Edinburgh marathon exactly...

Shopping Suspension

M & I were on our way out on a serious mission this weekend. To kick this marathon training off in true style a bit of running shoe shopping is called for. I'm looking to do a deal with 4 pairs; a bulk buy in the hope of getting a bit of a bargain. Frustratingly this white stuff has got in the way both days this weekend. I'll have to stick to the 12 mucky pairs sitting in the porch for the first week. Poor me. Meanwhile today was the last run of this recovery phase; another slippy, snowy 6 around the village. We've given up on the nice kind of running adventures for the time being and are crossing everything that the evil stuff thaws soon.

On a more exciting note (depending on your anorak tendencies), below is a bit of a preview of my intended approach to VLM. After lots of spreadsheet faffing and fiddling I've decided to have faith in someone else. I've taken Pfitzinger's schedule as my guide. I've embedded the file for those who are keen as mustard to get a sneak preview, (you know who you are). I've not detailed the miles, being a bit undecided yet on how high I can safely go but have written out the weekly structure. Its my first marathon and a drastic departure from my usual approach to training. A bit of a gamble you might say and I may end up looking very silly by April 25th. Any road, we'll see how it pans out. So. Day 1 tomorrow it is. An easy 5. Perhaps with crampons on. Check out THE PLAN. Only 112 days to go.

Second Run Of The Year

After a party-less New Year's Eve, a short 5 miles training run along the Lob Wood Loop and a bit boggly-eyed from too much telly, M and I were tucked up in bed by 11.30pm and oblivious to the turning of the year. We haven't done New Year for quite a bit which no doubt seems a bit dull but is generally fine by me. I'm not so good at late nights or drinking any more and prefer to make the most of the daylight and feeling hangover free for running. Today was the only attempt at quality for the week with a bit of fartlek over local trail; a random efforts session with one of us calling and leading an effort and then a bit of a race to a landmark ahead. The Strid is a lovely undulating and runnable trail with very few interruptions of gates or stiles. The going was good up to mile 3 or so when we hit ice. Sliding our way Silver Surfer style for the end of effort number 2 led to a more cautious jog for the middle section. The efforts were resumed after the river crossing but interrupted again by sheet ice in places. It's been a frustrating couple of weeks, battling the ice and snow but at least it's a recovery week and so no bad thing. If it carries on much longer though I'm thinking dreadmill. Its a hellish thought I know but desperate times call for desperate measures.

You Fat Rascal

To continue an easy week of running and resting these old pins before THE PLAN kicks in next week I bobbed over to Ilkley this morning for a run and chat with Mr Complete Runner. Conversation of course turned to VLM and race plans ahead, Terry's 47 years of racing make him something of an expert on all things road running and I reckon he's competed in most local events at least a dozen times to know what's what racing wise around these parts.

I'm still toying with the 'to do' or 'not to do' of a 20 miler in the coming weeks. This distance seems all the rage after checking out a few well seasoned marathoners on the Power of 10 site. I'm now exploring the Bramley 20m in February, which is nearish to M's folks or the Stafford 20m in early March. Both are a safe distance from the taper and afford plenty of time to recover and revise the training if necessary. I'm probably driving M up the wall with my race planning too, having already had a mini tantrum upon finding that the Salford 10k is a week earlier than thought, thereby destroying my deft plan for a tune up 10k after the HM at Wilmslow. It's now crunch time and I'm finalising those key dates though the race plan is looking strangely bare. A stark contrast to 2009 which saw me compete 34 times or so; it'll be 4 races in as many months before London. Something for me to chew over. My pootle to Ilkley today also required a pit stop at Bettys. An easy week includes lots of food recovery and fat rascals are a favourite treat. The cherry eyes are particularly good saved till last.

No Frills

These old legs have been feeling heavy and tired after XC racing and that super long run this weekend. A nice and supposedly easy 5m on Monday was a reminder of the necessity of these recovery days being exactly that. I dragged myself around the village at dawn wearing a pair of wooden legs wondering where my bouncy & bendy ones had got to.

The last few days have included lots of reflective training chats with M, his pa and some revisiting of our dog-eared running books. I've also been looking back at what I've done since I started a structured training plan two years ago, (a great advantage of keeping a log). All these elements have combined to form a really useful process; reminding myself of the running basics that I've somehow forgotten in recent months.

In trying to capture what made all the difference to bring the big improvements over the last 2 years, one of the most striking things was the simplicity of my training. My efforts to find new and sophisticated ways of doing intervals or drills or some other fancy session is all a bit unnecessary. I've been reminded of the basics, proper recovery around high quality work. Giving the body enough space to respond to hard training is a key discipline and rather crazily, is just as tough for me as it is churning out those yucky intervals at the track. The wild distractions of hilly drills and the like all now seem to be just a bit of nonsense. Keeping it simple is the Runningbear motto. So tonight, simple hills, definitely no drills & no more frills.