Gr8t!

I'm feeling on a real training high at the moment as some strength slowly returns to these legs. Another good quality session at Seedhill was done and dusted last night. After the long run on Sunday I was keen to see if I’d enough juice left for my planned intervals session last night & was chuffed at how fresh and frisky I felt for the session; this bodes well for those scary lookin' marathon schedules. Again the intervals focused on a shorter recovery and more reps with a view to building this up even further in the winter. I managed all the 800m intervals within 2 seconds of each other, finishing with the fastest two and generally feeling like I did at the start of the year; with a bit of juice left to power through the last 100m. It’s good to be feeling this way again instead of the flat and frumpy RB of recent months.

Anyway, it was bit of a come down to find that I seem to have missed out on an entry to the Burnsall 10m that I'd hope to race in next week. M has just discovered there are no entries on the day (according to some small print in an obscure section of the website!). I can’t believe it as it says nowt on the entry form and we've previously entered on the day without issue. I’m a bit gutted as there’s very little else on that weekend that’s so local and besides, its a lovely race. Have been out for a steam around the Strid tonight to blow the office cobwebs out. Will have to decide on summat else; a 10m at Blackpool or 10k near Warrington look like the only alternatives but involve more of a trek out than planned.

Marathon Meanderings

It was pure torture to be back at the office today. I’ve even got a headache from all that time at the computer, and that’s despite my building endurance base as a regular running blogger. Getting up with an alarm was annoying too. I’ve not really been lazin’ about these last couple of weeks but there’s something about getting up for work that seems so much harder than any other day when you don’t really have to be anywhere. I bet you can tell I’ve been in better moods. The lottery escape plan was a failure this weekend too.

I’ve been cheering myself up with some marathon reading on the way home; ‘Running with the Legends’ is a compilation of chapters from our Olympic greats loaned by running mate Ewan W. It’s an inspiration but also fascinating to see the diversity in perspectives on training. I’m finding it a bit confusing so I’m now compiling a list of all the good sessions that have popped up so far. Some sound frightening and I just can’t imagine being in the kind of shape to survive training at that level unscathed.

In building up to the start in the New Year M & I ran another long one this weekend; a 16 miler with the ever smiley Josie H. We ran a sound and steady pace via a mother of a climb, taking in Guiseley & Yeadon via Hollins Hill, then looping round and down to the canal & Bingley. M was frisky fresh which was great to see after his fears about the longer sessions. Another challenging training week planned ahead for us both before my last race at Burnsall and the fortnight ease down. Bring it on.

Testing

Gosh, it seems that all of a sudden I can access this site at work! Just thought I'd give posting something from my desk a wee try. I'm back at work and miserable now after 3 weeks of mostly rainy bliss. Yuck. I'm in a very strange head space and after weeks away from the Leeds commute and office life I feel like I've just landed on another planet. I want to go home. I'll just have to think about marathon plans to get me through this Monday feeling. I'm gonna press publish now, hope this works...

Foody Europhiles

A nice day was had today, not just because of the easy running but good food also featured heavily. We made our way to Seedhill track for an easy strides session; I trotted out 12x300m with short recoveries for a 'not too tough but good for form' type session. M did his own thing with some 100m strides. We hurried back in time for the European market in full swing in Ilkley - it was food heaven with all kinds of culinary treats.

Our inherent food traits kicked in as soon as M sniffed the giant sausage stalls, (they were almost as big as me!). I remained fixated by the giant Dutch waffles drenched in chocolate sauce and was then hypnotised for 15 minutes by the Breton tart stall. In the end I was pretty good and indulged in a Breton Far, which was a yummy delight and not dissimilar to the traditional Bakewell pud; a sort of set custardy centre wrapped in soft pastry. After dribbling at the sight of gorgeous cheeses and patisserie we dragged ourselves to the park for a sunbathe on the grass, M with a giant chocolate muffin in his paws. Fuel for the long run tomorrow was ample justification.

Panorama

I'm slowly sort of coming back to Earth after three weeks of heaven being off work. I made the best of my last weekday as a free woman with a trip down the road to Burnsall and Hebden, including a visit to Katie's Kiosk for a cuppa with just my trusty camera for company. The views here are just amazing and I couldn't resist a couple of cheesy panorama shots to try to capture the sweeping valley views. I'm so lucky to be living around here. I'll be back in Burnsall in two weeks time racing the 10m; a lovely race but not one for chasing a time. The trip has given me a bit of a taste of the race scenery to come, though I'm not so sure I'll be in the mood to fully appreciate the landscape on my next visit.

A Tempo Tickling

Well the anticipated tempo thrashing ended up being more of a tickling; why do I always build up these sessions to be horrid in my head? M & I both left the house anticipating a gut wrenching session of 12 miles including a 4 mile threshold run. We were unsure if we'd make it. The distance is less of an issue, but a tempo run in the middle?!

Anyway, we ran a couple of miles warm up from home before starting the threshold effort, starting just after Nesfield at Golf Course Corner. We followed a linear route, crossing the iron bridge at Ben Rydding then left towards Burley; a boring course but pretty good for road crossings. We finished the threshold effort just short of Burley roundabout and then turned back for a steady 6 home. We were both pleased to have run very consistent splits and the session felt very controlled and almost comfy! Actually, not that comfy, my head's distorting things in that post-run mental glow. But, I managed to keep the heart rate hovering firmly over 4.9 with a slight rise to 5.1 on the final finishing hill.

So, session done and mucho relief for both of us that it wasn't quite as horrid as we'd expected. Encouraging too as these runs feature pretty heavily in all the marathon training I've read about. I'm loving the planning, though I still have to be convinced of the right approach to the long run. Should one run over race distance for the marathon? Any good reading to get to the bottom of this would be welcome. So, easy Friday and strides at the track on Saturday before my favourite sesh on Sunday; 16 miles of uninterrupted running - even better now I've a marathon to be thinking about.

Recovery Rocks

What a difference the sun makes. Had a great day today, out and about with my camera again, this time scrambling around the Cow & Calf on Ilkley Moor. A perfect day for pictures with lots of cumulus casting dramatic shadows across the valley floor and a deep blue sky to add some interesting contrast. I could definitely get used to spending my days like this; a nice & early start for a short run with M before breakfast and then chores out of the way in the morning, a bit of fiddling about on the laptop followed by an afternoon walking on the moors snapping the glorious views.
The old legs are a bit weary today after the heavy hill reps last night. M was feeling pretty done in too so we stuck to a much more relaxed pace tonight and treated it as a second recovery run. It'll be no good if we can't muster some energy for the threshold run tomorrow. Threshold workouts are my least favourite training session of all and probably the most important for that very reason. Is it true that the toughest bits are usually your weakest bits? I reckon it must be so. I'm just gonna have to be a brave soldier and give it my best. Maybe some baking should feature tomorrow afternoon to ensure I've a treat or two ready to reward myself after the run.

Pics & Elvis Tricks

I enjoyed a rather nice and lazy start to the day after dropping M off for the train this morning; ambling home with a paper and mooching about for an hour or so before a nice & gentle social run with the Complete Runner this morning. Of course, marathon talk featured heavily in the topics for discussion. I then spent the remainder of the day fiddling with my camera and software whilst it mostly drizzled outside. I'm getting quite used to this lady of leisure lifestyle, I think it suits me.

However, I didn't get off too easily as a tough training session soon followed M's return home tonight. Back to hill efforts, which felt like very hard work after the toughest training week ever last week. The plan was 8x3mins; a little ambitious after the weekend. M was also a bit wobbly so neither of us really attacked the session but sort of whimpered through it. We pulled off 7 reps in the end on a real killer hill. My legs were tying up after #5 so by #7 I had proper Elvis wobbles and thought it best to call it quits. I'd rather save myself for a good session on Thursday; a 4 mile threshold thrashing in the middle of a 12 mile run.

Running Double

Another week off work ahead (woohoo!) which was also blessed with a bit of sun today. Just in time for my plans to give the monster living around our front door a bit of a haircut, or rather a scare-cut given the state of the finished article. Our Clematis has been threatening to take over the house and after M had resorted to crawling on hands & Knees through the front door I thought I'd better get on with some pruning. Clem is looking a bit bald now and our lush, green canopy will no longer shelter us from the elements whilst we fumble with our door keys. So, no more rain for a while please.

I've been building doubles into my training very gradually and this Summer I hope to have embedded this practice so much so that when Winter marathon training starts it wont be such a shock to the legs to be covering all those miles. The merits of the double are several but I've noticed in particular how it shifts any stiffness from my legs after a heavy session and freshens me up for an evening run. I ran a very leisurely recovery 5 this morning and then came to do my 6 steady tonight and I was tanking round. My legs couldn't turn fast enough to keep my heart rate up. More importantly, doubles also mean more room for cake and other equally nice baked goods.

Its All In The Planning

Have been truly inspired in my running these last couple of days with a proper marathon to look forward to next year. I've done nothing this weekend but obsess about the training and have googled the subject to death. I've come across a pretty hefty but impressive training programme from a former running star. Mike Gratton's site gives two parallel programmes (relating to how many miles you are prepared to train). I think you need to be running 80+ miles per week to be in the mix for a very competitive time. Its a serious commitment but I can't help but think how well friends have been running since taking on marathon training and am already imagining how great my HM and 10k racing would feel. I kind of want to get started already which I'm sure is a wee bit premature. Anyway, it'll be no surprise to my mates that I've already a spreadsheet on the go and am planning my 18 week build up to that special day in April 2010. I realise getting round in one piece is the first priority but its all so exciting.

Today was also a step towards building a sound base for the marathon mileage, M & I ran a steady but strong 15 again on the canal. I've also had the biggest training week ever in my 4 (or is it 5) year running career and I feel really good. This is the stuff I have to watch though; once I start with that invincible feeling it could all end in tears. I'll be good and not get carried away; only 3 more weeks before my recovery fortnight. I'll try to distract myself with designs for my comic London costume.

A Big Decision

After the extensive rainfall this week and then being advised to wear my scruffiest pair of water wings for the Round Hill fell race on Sunday, M & I decided against the bog trotting option and decided instead to do a 5k time trial on this fine and drizzly Saturday morning; giving us space for a nice long run tomorrow. The time trial was the usual, gut wrenching, lung bursting slog around Leeds Hyde Park. All this at far too early an hour for the porridge to have settled but at least it got us home for 10.30am; in time to pick up the Saturday papers and wallow for the afternoon.

The 5k was a great replacement threshold session for the race plan tomorrow and added to my continued efforts to sharpen up for the Autumn. We were also very pleased to bump into Mark H from another local club, Rothwell. Mark has been known to visit this very blog from time to time and he (as well as being a very lovely chap) is a very experienced road runner. He inspired us both with his accounts of races near and far, including some fine tips on marathon preparation. This, coupled with one or two other recent chats with some local marathoners has inspired me to take that final step. Oh yes. I have decided, ahem...[drum roll] ...I'm going to enter the 2010 London Marathon!

There. Wow. My first marathon. Have now said it out loud. Have been getting all excited about it and after looking on the website today I qualify for a championship entry (and possibly even an elite entry) based on my HM time. Bonus! So. Have spent the rest of this afternoon planning it all. London in April, Berlin in September. And lots of miles in between. I'm sooo excited.