Eighteen early for my birthday

18M am easy

I got up at something with a 5 in it to squeeze in a long one before the day started. It was my birthday present to myself! Yes, I'm a freak.

It was great. And included Parliament Hill, Primrose Hill, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Parliament Square, Birdcage Walk and a loop around Hyde Park and Kensington Palace Gardens.

It took me up to 63 miles for the week. My biggest in ages. Aiming for 70-80 next week.

Nine, steady to Stratford

9M am steady run

I ran fairly hard to Stratford this morning along the canal with my computer and clothes in my pack. I was in a near-race breathing rhythm a fair amount of the way.

Fartlek back from Southwark

10.5M double; recovery run & fartlek session
5M am recovery run
5.5M pm fartlek session with 100-800m bursts

I went to an exhibition in Southwark after work, so used the longer run home for a session. I need a tempo run at some point this week, but it wasn't really a goer with all those road crossings, so I ran a fartlek session. It wasn't the best, but not bad considering the circumstances.

Easy

10M double; recovery runs x2
5M am recovery run
5M pm recovery run

Two easy runs. My legs are recovering finally after Sunday.

More like a proper rep session (on the way home)

10M double; recovery run & 800m rep session
5M am recovery run
5M pm incl 8x800ish metres off 90s jog (mostly)

I managed more like a proper rep session on my way home today - the first time I've done this since Hana arrived. Generally, I've been running five 800 or so metre reps along the direct, three mile route home. This time I followed the same route but then headed into the Heath for an extra three reps. I'll extend it further (another two reps for now) in the coming weeks, but I didn't want to risk things after my run on Sunday from which my legs are still a bit tight.

Just six

6M am recovery run

I ran a nice gentle six in the Chelmsford countryside before clinic today. Quads and hamstrings still tightish (but fine).

Sixteen and half after a holiday

16.5M am steady long run

We're back from our holiday - carbo loaded but without any miles notched up (other than pushing a buggy)... So I got up early early for a longish run at a steady pace before the day started. Great running weather. I concocted a new route including the usual route around the Heath followed by convoluted loops inside the Inner Circle and then to work (to pick up some files on my memory stick to clinic in Chelmsford tomorrow - though I should think GCHQ already have them).

My legs felt tight at the beginning. And at the end. I think it was mainly due to the exertion of carrying our cases down tons of steps to the car yesterday.

A short rep session on the way home

8M double; recovery run & short reps session
5M am recovery run
3M pm incl 5x800m-ish reps off 90s jog

No time for a proper evening session today between work and home and out for dinner with his Hugificence. So I ran the session that has been my recent staple: 800 or so metre reps off 90 seconds jog along the direct three mile route home. It was a good one.

So far I've run 51 miles over the first five days of this week - and my legs have noticed the step up.

10 steady

10M am steady run with pack

I ran a ten miler at a steady pace this morning before clinic. My pack wasn't too full, but my legs were still a bit moody after Tuesday.

Short and steady

10M double; recovery run & steady run
5M am recovery run
5M pm steady run

My legs are fully aware of last night's session, so today was a bit of a struggle. I went gently in the morning but somehow ended up pushing along at a steadier pace on the way home. The last three or so miles are uphill and were pathetically hard work.

Mile reps at Parliament Hill with the Highgate crowd!

15M double; recovery run & mile rep session
5M am recovery run
10M pm incl 5x1M off 4min recovery at 5.54-5.08min/M

Look, 15 miles in a day! This is proper training...

My general pattern at the moment is to get home at 5.45-6 o'clock and we get Hana ready for bed by not long after 7. So I think I'm going to try to run one of my sessions a week at 7.15 or so and then have a later dinner.

This works well for joining in on the Highgate sessions on a Tuesday. I've not joined these much for nearly a year now due to a mixture of business at work and concern that my calves would play up again with too much track running.

Today's session was not on the track, but on a mile loop nearby. We ran five one mile reps off a chunky four minutes recovery. This meant we could really kill ourselves on each rep... not a good recipe for me given the lack of oomph in my legs right now. But great training. Even though we started late, I was still home for dinner by 8.30. Tidy.

Oh how I have missed the pained afterglow of mashed legs...

Recovery

8M double; recovery runs x2
5M am recovery run
3M pm recovery run

One of the advantages of hard training should be more of these proper recovery days. I'm going to try to switch my standard run to five miles rather than three - three to/from work and an extra two mile loop on the Heath.

Back on the road to real fitness... at 5.45 on a Sunday

8M am incl 8x1.2K up & down Parliament Hill reps in 5m12s-5m22s off 90s jog

So I'm going to get properly fit again! My aim is to be fully fit in time to try for a PB in the Great North Run on September 15th... and then potentially a marathon in October (I've entered both Amsterdam and Frankfurt which are in the last two weeks of October and will decide closer to the time which will suit me better).

I'm going to have to be a bit more creative in terms of when I fit in my running. As the lady in Kwik-Fit put it, I'm a family man... And that means I don't really want to be disappearing off for hours on end from home.

But Hana seems to be a good sleeper, so I took advantage of that this morning by waking early (5.45) and heading out of the door for some Parliament Hill reps. I managed to mash out 8 not very fast but plenty painful reps.

I got home again before Hana and Yasmin had woken, a real success and encouragement that I'll be able to manage a proper training pattern without disrupting home life too much. I've never been the biggest sleeper, so as long as Hana remains a good sleeper I think the early morning option is a sustainable one.

Easy on a Friday

6M double; recovery runs x2
3M am recovery run
3M pm recovery run

My legs were not in the mood for anything but slow running today.

A great night to return to the track

10M incl 10K track race in 32m44s

What a night! I hadn't raced on the track since I was 17 (...19 years ago). And even then never raced more than four laps...

It was an amazing way to get back to it. Twenty-five laps on home turf with amazing support, black and white maracas shaking all around the perimeter, motivational tunes at the 200m mark, a jazz band and the dulcet tones of Aitken and Noad on commentary. Did I miss anything? Nothing other than a bit of Pochee stardust.

The hairs were standing up on the back of my neck on the first few laps as we headed out in our paced groups. And that was just me, in the B race, in no kind of racing shape.

The A race was amazing to watch. The party atmosphere turned into a frenzy of excitement on the final laps. And it was great to catch up with so many people from Highgate and across the country I've not seen, or run with, in a while.

Easy again

6M double; recovery runs x2
3M am recovery run
3M pm recovery run

Really easy today. Track 10K tomorrow...

Easy

8M double; steady run & recovery run
3M am steady run
5M pm recovery run

Two easy runs, my second via the track where I caught up with Ron and some of the Highgate contingent. Excitement is building ahead of Thursday's race. And I'm nearly ready myself now I have my Highgate tracksuit and hoody!

Some more short reps

6M double; recovery run & 400m-ish reps
3M am recovery run
6M pm incl 9x400m-ish reps off 45s jog

I kept my reps short again tonight to get some extra speed in my legs ahead of Thursday's track 10,000m race. I'm really looking forward to it - it sounds like it'll be a night to make you proud to be part of Highgate. Pity I'm not in the shape I was in four months ago or I think it be one to slash big chunks off a PB. I'm going to be in the B race and targeting (just) sub-32 minutes.