A gentle 10

10M am recovery run at ~6.45min/M

Just a gentle one around Primrose Hill, Hampstead and Highgate today. I fitted in an Ethiopian style afternoon nap - my first since I got back. Very nice.

A solid PB is required tomorrow.

Steady - on tired legs

17M double; recovery & steady runs
7M am recovery run at ~6.45min/M
10M pm steady run at ~6.30min/M with hills

I'm tired! I've taken the decision to run a normal week in the run up to Reading rather than taper. Right now, that feels like an ambitious approach. But London is the target. And it's amazing how re-energised I sometimes feel after one lighter day...

Not my planned session, but still a solid one

17M double; recovery run & hill rep session
7M am recovery run at ~6.45min/M
10M pm incl 20x400m up/down hill off 35s

I was planning a longish tempo run this evening, but my day at work prevented that from happening. Instead, I ran a hill session on my way home from work. Makes me realise how lucky I've been the last month to have freedom just to run.

The session was still a pretty solid one. My legs certainly felt it. Hopefully I won't be too effected by it come Sunday - at the Reading Half Marathon... It's hard to know where the balance lies between running halves fresh in the build-up to a marathon or making sure that they don't interrupt a good flow of training. I have tended to go for the latter previously. So I'm probably right to do the same this week too.

Steady

16M double; steady run & recovery run
10M am steady run at ~6.15min/M
6M pm recovery run at ~6.45min/M

Two easier runs today. Still feeling tired in my quads.

Good low altitude K reps!

15M double; recovery run & K rep session
7M am recovery run at ~6.30min/M
8M pm incl 6x1K at 3.00-3.05 off 70-80s jog & 6x100m hills

I'm still feeling pretty tired after last week. At the top of my quads. Like I often do when I'm in heavy training. So I wasn't expecting much when I headed to the track this evening. I even considered pulling on my racers to make me feel better (but didn't bother).

In the end, I was pleased with how I ran. My splits: 3.00-3.03-3.04-3.05-3.04-3.01 were better than I've run before. And it was off a shorter recovery than sometimes (70-80s jog). Apparently my stride was a bit short and I was leaning back more than sometimes - two things to work on for next time.

Looking back at my previous sessions, I've never run any of my reps faster than 3.04 and my slowest in a session is usually 3.08-3.11. Admitedly that's probably not something to be proud of, but at least it means I'm considerably faster than before.

Steady / recovery

18M double; recovery & steady runs
6M am recovery run at ~7.00min/M
12M pm steady run at ~ 6.15min/M
Core strength exercises

My first proper day back in the real world... Improved by a couple of runs. And some exercises. My legs are achy after yesterday (upper quads - a bit). But they felt more full of beans than they have for a week.

Summary of week ending 25/03/2012

Mon 19/3 - 11M recovery run
Tue 20/3 - 20M double; 8.5M incl 8x1K 3.14-3.20 (at 2300m) & 11.5M recov run
Wed 21/3 - 20M double; 12M steady run & 8M recov run & core strength ex
Thu 22/3 - 23M incl 22M crescendo at 6.50-6.18-6.03min/M (at 2300m)
Fri 23/3 - 20M double; 12M & 8M recov runs & core strength ex
Sat 24/3 - 16M double; 2x8M recov runs
Sun 25/3 - 12M incl 7.6K Southern Road Relay in 24.43 (5.04min/M)
TOTAL - 122M

A good return. I think

12M incl 7.6K Southern Road Relay leg 24m43s (5.04min/M)

I really enjoyed today. Another great Highgate day out and another great result - silver this time, in the Southern Road Relay Championships.

I was also pleased with how I felt and how I ran. I was probably well up time wise compared to the race last year (though the course is different and the Highgate collective improvement confuses things). It was certainly better than I thought I would feel based on my tiredness this week.

I'm looking forward to the Reading Half next Sunday now...

Running, in London again

A beer in Addis with Gudisa (and Mike) before the plane

16M double; recovery runs x2
8M am recovery run at ~7.00min/M
8M pm recovery run at ~7.00min/M

It's funny being back. I'm not sure what the running feels like - it's too confusing, having slept not a lot on the plane and also being tired from a hard week or two. I'll know more tomorrow.

Some farewell recovery miles in Addis Ababa

20M double; recovery runs x2 & core strength exercises
12M am recovery run at 7.00min/M effort
Core strength exercises
8M pm recovery run at 7.00min/M effort

Today was about recovery and packing because, sadly, my time in Ethiopia is over. I fly home late tonight.

It has been amazing here.

Great hospitality and company - in particular Gudisa, who has looked after us here in Addis, is a brilliant, altruistic, trustworthy and sometimes hysterical host. Not to mention a very good runner! Running Across Borders have done well to find him. Between Gudisa, Mike, Ibrahim and the Bradfords, I had plenty of good company on my runs and between them.

Plentiful, healthy and tasty food - thanks to Meseret our cook (and lyre player).

Very hard training - 26 days; 46 runs; 14 hard sessions including 4 hard long runs; 432 miles; I don't know how many feet of hills. But also the time to recover well - a nap a day (and sometimes two) plus an extra hour or two every night.

And a fair chunk of luck - no illness or injury. Not even a niggle!

I feel at my fittest ever. I'm nicely lined up for a final four weeks of sharpening up... before absolutely killing the London Marathon.

My first task though is a long leg of the Southern Road Relay Champs on Sunday.

22 lung-bustingly hard (in Addis)

Last night's dinner party - featuring the world's largest loaf of bread (they don't do pudding here it seems)

23M long run incl 22M crescendo (6.50min/M 0-7M; 6.18 7-14; 6.03 14-22)

I've been lining this one up and kind of dreading it for a while. It's my last hard one here in Ethiopia - I fly home tomorrow night. It's the session I needed to feel I've really nailed things while I've been here.

I ran it solo around the same gravel road route I ran on Sunday (the others went off en masse for a shorter sharper run). And I tried to treat it like a proper long one - pre-race-style milkshake for brekkie plus water as I went.

I was a good deal faster than last Sunday... though the timing compared to home is hard to judge with the gravel road and undulations (the last 3 miles are all up hill), not to mention the altitude. Maybe take somewhere in the region of 30-35 seconds off per mile?

But judging from the pain I was in for the last segment, it must have been a good one! Good mental and physical preparation for 22nd April.

The 1000-strong chain gang who I ran past three times seemed to think I was doing ok too.

Steady - in Addis

Injera (with assorted accompaniments)

20M double; steady & recovery runs & core strength exercises
12M am steady run at ~6.15min/M effort
Core strength exercises
8M pm recovery run at ~7.15min/M

A steady day today. I'm planning a long one tomorrow as my final session here. Hopefully my legs will be full of beans - they felt sluggish today for pretty much the first time since my arrival. Hardly surprising given the bashing they've taken. But I'm still niggle-free and counting my injury-free, stomach bug-free blessings...

We've got some friends who run a nearby pharmacy round for dinner tonight (to repay them for their hospitality earlier in the trip). My contribution is that oh-so-British thing, a salad Nicoise. I'm sure it'll complement the injera nicely.

Great K reps & an encounter with Aman + Gebremariam

20M double; 1K rep session & steady run
8.5M am incl 8x1K at 3.13-3.20min/K off 90s (2 sets of 4 separated by 4m)
11.5M pm steady run at ~6.15min/M effort

We were back at the same Army track we ran on a couple of weeks ago - a slightly uneven, but not too shabby mud/cinder affair. Mike and I ran it pretty well pace-wise and I finished half dead, but with one of my quicker reps (3.14). It was good to have a smooth enough track to stretch my legs on.

We reckon that the altitude correction might be 15s/K. Factor in the surface and my clumpy Adrenaline trainers and I'm sure that this was my best K rep session and perhaps one of my best track sessions ever.

The day was improved further by a chance encounter with Mohammed Aman and Gebre Gebremariam - two more Ethiopian world champions - while we were at the Ethiopian Athletics Federation trying to wangle access for Mike to the National Stadium for the rest of his trip.

I retained more composure than on yesterday's meeting Haile. Although I couldn't help but be left open-mouthed by Gebremariam's shameless flaunting of his flirtation skills with the assorted female athletes on show. I'll spare you the details. But it was painful.

Good recovery - with Haile!

11M am recovery run at ~7.00min/M effort

Just one gentle run today... because we had a mad multi-bus rush across town in the evening to meet Haile at his gym!

Not much to say really, other than that I disguised my awe enough to retain my dignity. Just. Quite a day. I got him to sign my Highgate vest while I was at it.

Summary of week ending 18/03/2012

Mon 11/3 - 11M double; 6M incl 10x120m & 5M recov run & core strength ex
Tue 12/3 - 21M double; 16M speed incl 20x450m hills & 5M recov run
Wed 13/3 - 19M double; 9M & 10M steady runs at ~6.40min/M (2700m)
Thu 14/4 - 17M double; 10M incl 2K-1M-2K-3.6K-2K off 150s jog & 7M recov run
Fri 15/4 - 18M double; 11.5M & 6.5M recovery runs & core strength ex
Sat 16/4 - 14M double; 7M incl 12x210 hills off 70s jog & 7M recov run
Sun 17/4 - 22M crescendo long run at 7.15min/M (0-12M) & 6.05 (12-22) 2300m
TOTAL - 122M

22 pretty hard in Addis

22M crescendo long run – 1st 12M 7.15min/M; last 10M 6.05min/M at 2300m

I’ve been anxious to get in some >20 mile runs during my trip, having hit a couple of 18 milers fairly hard but not found the opportunity to go longer. It’s the disadvantage of not being totally in control of your training.

Today, I ran under my own direction around a gravel road route near the apartment that I had identified as fit for my purposes – easy to navigate, safe and fairly easy under foot.

It was just what the doctor ordered. It brings a good end to what must be my hardest week of training ever. Looking back, this week has included four really hard days (today, my epic hill rep session, the long reps at the track and yesterday’s hill reps) plus two fairly hard days (Monday’s sprints and Wednesday’s Bekoji-style ‘steady’ running).

I didn’t want to run this one full throttle given the hard week I’ve had – I’ll save that for next week when I’ll repeat the session.

Mike and I headed out fairly steadily, running the first 12 miles at 7.15min/M pace (equivalent to 6.40ish accounting for altitude and the rough terrain I should think). I sped up so that I was pushing the whole of the last 10 miles, which came out just over 6.00 pace (i.e. perhaps 5.25-5.30 equivalent) and included an uphill segment over the whole of the last 3 miles.

A good day at the office. So we had some St George beer as a reward.

Confidence building hill reps outside the Addis Hilton

The bus to work (if you can call it work)

14M double; speed session & recovery run
7M am incl 12x210m uphill in 39-44s off 210m/~70s jog
7M pm recovery run at ~6.30-7.00min/M effort

Our morning session was another short sharp one today. Good for my legs. And also good for both me and Mike because the reps were short enough for our inferior aerobic capacity not to come into play (too much).

It was a sprint session using the road outside the Hilton Hotel (a favourite with runners here). Various groups were pelting up and down.

We were chuffed to be told to run the whole session with the main squad. And even more chuffed to keep up (or be within a second or two). A real confidence booster. Especially for a slow coach like me.

The evening run was nice and gentle. I’m going to run a solo long one tomorrow on a route I’ve figured out along quiet roads near the apartment.

Back in Addis, gently, after 127 miles in Bekoji

18M double; recovery runs x2 & core strength exercises
11.5M am recovery run at 7.30-6.30min/M effort at 2300m
Core strength exercises (five cycles)
6.5M recovery run at 7.30-6.30min/M effort at 2300m

I'm safely installed back in Addis Ababa today and relieved to have a lighter day of running ahead of me - I hit 127 miles during my week in Bekoji, a good number of them hard. Even if it's not my biggest 7 day total, it's probably the hardest I've ever trained.

This morning's run was nice gentle one, though still a decent number of miles. And I fitted in some core work around some snooze. Something a bit shorter this evening - 6 and a bit miles, finishing along the road.

Another killer session in Bekoji - this time on the track

A funeral cortege on the road out of Bekoji

17M double; long rep session & recovery run
10M am long rep session incl 2K-1M-2K-3.6K-2K off 150s jog at 2700m
7M pm recovery run at 8.00-6.30min/M effort at 2300m

Today was my last in Bekoji. And I was served up another tough session. This time at the track.

The additional twist to today's session was that I didn't have a clue what it was, even as I was running. Generally, that meant I hit each of the reps harder than I would have.

Coach Sentayehu told me it was 25 laps of the track with 40s recovery. I figured that meant 25x400m. In reality, there seemed no pattern, and we ran long reps up to a total of 28 laps. They were 2K, 1M, 2K, 3.6K and 2K off 2.5 minutes jog recovery. My pace was all over the place, but my mile for example was 5min20s in a state of confusion, so it was no disaster. And I was very tired at the end.

I travelled down to Addis Ababa again during the day to complete my final week's training here. The journey was relatively speedy and I managed to grab some snooze as we went.

Just some recovery miles in the evening. The air feels more oxygen rich down here at 2300m! Though that could well be my imagination.

Steady - in Bekoji

No, it's not me, it's a shot from Town of Runners, a film about Bekoji out in April

19M double; steady runs x2
9M am steady run at ~6.30-7.00min/M in the fields
10M pm steady run at 6.40min/M on the road

Training here happens five days a week - three hard, two steady. The other two days are rest - and we've worked out that they do just that... rest. More than one local has explained that this (and the fact they only train once a day) is due to poverty / lack of food. Which puts the factors that limit my running in perspective.

Today was a steady day. It was much along the lines of the session that I ran my guts out to keep on last Friday... which explains why I kept up with the fast boys. This time, Ibrahim lead me at a steadier pace. It was just what my legs needed.

David, Matt and I also went out for a steady run this afternoon along the road. David was keen to push on and we hit a good rhythm, despite a fair amount of undulation.

I'm heading back to Addis for my final week after tomorrow morning's track session. I'll be sad to leave this little running idyll.

A bit of an epic hill session

Not the hill we ran - just a view of the town

21M double; hill rep session & recovery run
16M am speed session including 20x450m (up) hill reps with jog (down) recovery
5M pm recovery run at ~8.00-9.00min/M

I knew this morning was going to be another toughy – Coach Sentayehu had told me as much. But I didn’t know what was in store.

We headed to ‘the forest’ – which Coach and co refer to as their cross-country training course. Apparently it was a bit of a favourite of Bekele.

We warmed up for 30 minutes before embarking on a 2 hour long hill rep session. I was following Ibrahim’s lead as usual. We were joined by a couple of other male athletes and two or three female athletes. Initially, I thought we were taking them pretty steady, but by rep number four I decided it was going to be a killer and locked down into non-counting mode and waited to be told when it was over (or at least nearly over).

The hill was steep initially and then relentlessly but more shallowly up. A really good slope for our purposes. Each rep took about 1 min 35s – 1 min 40s, so it was probably not far off being a good VO2 max-type workout on top of the power. The recoveries were long. Probably three and a half minutes.

I can see this week in Bekoji will be one of my hardest ever. The intensity is relentless. But I’m feeling good. And niggle free. So I’m looking forward to reaping the benefits.

Pasta for breakfast along with a banana, a macchiato and some tea! Then some snooze.

We went for a dead slow recovery run up at the track in the afternoon with Ibrahim.

They like to run here, it seems

11M double; recovery run x2 & core strength exercises
6M am including 20x120m off I don't know what recovery
Core strength exercises (five cycles)
5M pm recovery run at ~7.20min/M

Another day in running paradise. And the temperatures here are low enough that there's no massive hurry out of bed in the morning - we're out of the door at 7. Better than Addis's 6ish.

I had today down as a recovery day. But they like to run here and to run hard, it seems...

So, perhaps inspired by my lack of kick in the final few hundred metres of yesterday's 18 miler, coach Sentayehu arranged a special strides/speed session for me at the track this morning.

As is the pattern here, it was me and the trusty, smiley, not to mention speedy, Ibrahim against the elements. Mike and David sensibly stuck to something more measured.

Ibrahim and I warmed up for 15 and then ran 20 'diagonals' of the track infield. I tried to run them as strides, but Ibrahim was too fast for anything but all out effort to suffice. The recovery was probably about 40s. I was gulping for air after the first few.

We finished off with the usual arm and leg-waving warm down (above).

I fitted in some core strength work late morning. And we squeezed in a properly relaxing recovery session this evening.

Summary of week ending 11/03/2012

Mon 5/3 - 13M double; 9M & 4M recovery runs
Tue 6/3 - 22M double; 15M x-country tempo & 7M recovery run
Wed 7/3 - 17M double; 11M steady run & 6M recovery & core strength ex
Thu 8/3 - 7M speed session incl 15x300m at 50-53s off 44-55s jog
Fri 9/3 - 20M double; 10M tempo & 10M steady runs & core strength ex
Sat 10/3 - 16M double; 10M & 6M recovery runs
Sun 11/3 - 23M double; 18M crescendo long run & 5M recovery run
TOTAL - 118M

18 hard in Bekele's Bekoji hills

23M double; crescendo long run & recovery run
18M am long run at 5.53min/M at 2700-3000m with hills (crescendo)
5M pm recovery run at 7.20min/M at 2700m

I was a bit miffed when I pitched up at the track today to be told that my planned 25 miler had been revised to an 18 miler. Coach Sentayehu was insistent despite my firm pleas for something longer. I'll have to engineer the longer one I want to nail while I'm out here once I'm down in Addis. It may be better - I'll be better acclimatised and at lower altitude.

Instead, we ran a pretty brisk 18 miles.

After 15 minutes building our pace (to about 6.00min/M pace) around the infield of the track in our warm up, Ibrahim and I headed out to the roads heading South from Bekoji.

It was an out and back route with Ibrahim setting the pace. He can run 63min for a half marathon at altitude and used to train with Bekele when he was younger, so pacing me poses no great difficulties.

Coach Sentayehu followed on a motorbike shouting instructions about our pace and style.

It was brisk from the beginning and I was happy just to tuck in on Ibrahim's shoulder. By half way I was pretty tired - partly due to the fact it was up hill on the way out. Our return time was 2 minutes quicker, which meant the outward leg averaged 6 minute miles and our return was 5.45min/M.

I was faster than last week despite an extra 400-700m of altitude, worse hills (1000ft ascent) and more wind. So I'm pretty pleased all in all. I think the altitude correction around here might be nearly 30s/mile (it's 22-25s in Addis). And 18 miles with hills at 5.23min/M equivalent ain't to be sniffed at.

I've forgiven coach now for taking away my 25 miler. Seems churlish to doubt his wisdom. And he's so nice and smiley too.

My legs were burning all day in a pleasing way. Even when I was having my now customary doze. So I went for a gentle spin in the evening with Matt. Nice and gentle. Legs feel better for it.

Recovery and a wander around the market

16M double; recovery runs x2
10M am recovery run at 7.15min/M at 2700m
6M pm recovery run at 7.20min/M at 2700m

Today is a recovery day ahead of tomorrow's 25 miler...

So I headed out for a nice early morning run with David and Matt Bradford, the other foreign runners in town - also thanks to Running Across Borders. They are both 33 minute 10K runners, so are good company running-wise. David is here also in his role as a freelance journalist to write a piece for The Times on Town of Runners, or at least the story behind it.

Our run took us about 10 miles, out and back along the road we arrived along. Beautiful and sweeping (until 'sweeping' means a long drag up hill). Through the countryside. If anything the weather is even better for running here - the morning are fresh and I wore leggings and long sleeves without getting hot.

After a breakfast of omelette sandwich, we headed into town to see the market (Saturday and Tuesday are market days here). The town is pretty poor aside from a few running-related riches. Bekele's Hotel and the one we are staying in (owned by ?Aselefech Mergia, a past female winner of the Dubai Marathon) stand out amongst the mainly mud and wooden tumbledown buildings.

I headed out with David for a shorter recovery run in the evening. Plenty of support from the village-dwellers on their way home from market.

My evening was spent fuelling myself for the morning...

Training (hard) with Bekele's coach!

20M double; tempo run & steady run & core strength exercises
10M am tempo run at 7.00-5.15min/M effort at 2700m
Core strength exercises (with the group)
10M pm steady run at ~6.00min/M effort at 2700m

Oof. I was expecting a gentle run this morning here in Bekoji after yesterday's track session in Addis. But the timetable here is different, with Saturday and Monday being the light days.

On top of that, I suggested a light one in the afternoon and was served up a fair portion of steady running.

The town has a population of about 30,000 and about 200 of them turn out for the regular training sessions overseen by coach Sentayehu. There are different groups, from middle to long distance. I was assigned to the long distance group who headed off across the fields for an hour's run (athough I was told it was 40-50mins before we started).

From about 15 minutes in the pace was picked up to a pretty healthy lick. And we were flying by the end.

It's the home of Tirunesh Dibaba, Kenenisa Bekele and Derartu Tulu among others (all of whom were coached by Sentayehu) and boast something like 8 Olympic golds, 10 world records and 32 world champ golds, so I thought it best to put up a fight and try to stick with the pace, despite the altitude and my inferior running heritage.

I didn't do a bad job and was really chuffed to stick with the front of the pack for all but the last sprint for the line. I was really done for!

The guys were really encouraging to me all the time, saying things like 'good', 'very strong', 'strong British' and 'hup, hup' to keep me going.

We ended with 20 minutes of core work and form exercises. Just like in the trailer for the Town of Runners film shortly to come out about Bekoji. Made me feel like a proper Ethiopian!

Anyway, the effort was well worth it and I've been assigned one of the fast runners (Ibrahim) as my guide for the week I'm here. I imagine Ibrahim will be hard to stick with, he looks intimidatingly scrawny!

Sure enough, my afternoon session with Ibrahim was no easy ride. The coach, he and Biruk (our minder here) picked me up at 4pm after my snooze and we took a horse cart up to the Bekoji cinder track. Ibrahim and I ran for an hour around the surrounding grounds - some light cross country. The first 15 minutes were gentle. The ensuing 45 were at a building pace, but never crazy... which was good after this morning. We finished with more Ethiopian arm and leg waving warm down exercises plus some extra jogging and walking. I've never warmed down so thoroughly.

It's so weird and amazing to have such great attention here in the home of Bekele. I couldn't stop imagining him flying around this afternoon's circuit as I ran. Unreal.

I'm pretty tired now, but tomorrow will be lighter (though with a good number of steady miles if I can engineer it).

Coach Sentayehu has latched onto my 6 weeks to London needs and Sunday is 40K of 'asphalt training'... better get my long run head on.

I'll stop typing now. I think I'm a little over-excited!

A sharp session at the track

7M am speed session incl 15x300m at 50-53s off 44-55s jog

I only have time for one session today as I'm heading to the hills of Bekoji a few hours drive away for a week. It's the home of Bekele among other Ethiopian greats. It's also the focus of an upcoming documentary film called Town of Runners (out in April in the UK I'm told).

More of that in the coming days I should think.

Anyway, the travel meant that we had an early start so that we could head to the track in time not to disrupt travel arrangements. It was a cinder track of less than 400m in the grounds of an army barracks (judging from the number of soldiers watching).

Mike and I were assigned the task of running 15 300m reps. It felt good after some longer stuff recently. Plus, I think I've acclimatised to the altitude a fair bit since last week's speed session (which left me gasping). Our splits were pretty even, even once we shortened the recovery a bit.

Steady - and plenty of sleep!

17M double; steady run & recovery run
11M am steady run at ~6.15-7.00min/M effort
Core strength exercises (five cycles)
6M pm recovery run at ~6.30-7.00min/M effort

An easier day between two hard days... though the terrain here made the 'steady' run this morning still fairly tiring. It would have been good to train her in advance of the cross-country season - it's good for ankle stabilisation etc.

The evening run was gentle. It was a bit later as Mike got back from his voluntary placement at 6ish.

I managed to fit in some core strength exercises today too. I reduced the number of cycles so that I could add in some 'lateral plank' exercises.

I've been getting loads more sleep than usual here, which should really help. I've been getting 8-9 hours most nights plus managing an hour or two during the day too!

Long tempo - in 'hard place'

22M double; long tempo run and recovery run
15M am long tempo run at 6.00-5.15min/M effort at 2600-2700m
7M pm recovery run at ~7.00min/M effort at 2300m

We went to what was described as 'hard place' this morning. Sendafa was the name of the place. Rugged countryside. Paths, ploughed fields, gulleys, meadows, wooded areas. A bit of a mixture. A fair amount of up and down too. All at 2600-2700m altitude.

I was told to stick with the main group for as long as I could. I managed it for somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes. And that was mainly because we started off slow and built up our pace.

Still, I was well ahead of the female athlete, so that was ok.

It was HARD. At about half distance I felt gone, but if anything the terrain got easier and Gudisa kindly paced me and encouraged me. I couldn't quite get up the head of steam I can on the road (a bit like what I find in cross-country generally), but it was still a good session.

I went out on my own for a gentle evening run. Seven miles along the pavements heading out of town. Plenty of support from the locals.

Another light day - with home-roasted coffee!

13M double; recovery run x2
9M am recovery run at ~7.00min/M effort
4M pm recovery run at ~7.00min/M effort

Two easy runs today. From the front door. Nice and slow. Good recovery in preparation for the long one coach Mersha has planned for us tomorrow...

Importantly, we (by which I mean Gudisa and Michael, the other Brit who arrived yesterday) bought coffee. And made a very fine brew for ourselves here in the apartment - home roasted and everything.

Summary of week ending 04/03/2012

Mon 6/2 - 4M recovery run at ~7.00min/M effort
Tue 7/2 - 16M double; 11M tempo (5.45min/M) & 5M recov run
Wed 8/2 - 16M double; 10M steady & 6M recovery run
Thu 9/2 - 14M double; 8M speed incl 6-4-2min hard x2 & 6M recov
Fri 10/2 - 17M double; 12M steady & 5M recov runs & core strength ex
Sat 11/2 - 18M long run at 5.57min/M (7.00-5.45min/M)
Sun 12/2 - 13M double; 8M & 5M recov runs & core strength ex
TOTAL - 98M

Easier

13M double; recovery runs x2 & core strength exercises
8M am recovery run at ~6.30-7.00min/M effort
Core strength exercises (six cycles)
5M pm recovery run at ~6.30-7.00min/M effort

An easy Sunday after yesterday's long run. My calves could feel the effort I put in - which is a good. No niggly, just a bit tight.

I've been joined here in Addis by another athlete visiting Running Across Borders - Mike Crawley. He's a 5K & 10K speedster who is getting faster all the time, so he'll make a great training partner (if my aged legs can keep up with him).

I fitted in some core strength exercises mid-morning.

We went for a shorter gentle run this evening - in the fields outside our apartment.

A cracking long run - at altitude!

18M am long run including 15.6M crescendo at 6.10-5.45min/M at 2300m

I had a great run today. Really confidence-boosting.

I didn't know what I was doing in the session until we got to the spot - about 30-40K out of Addis. It was a beautiful smooth road rolling through the countryside. Virtually traffic free and just passing the odd village to receive cheers of support from the locals.

The coach told me my job was to warm up gradually for a couple of miles and then hit 5K splits of 20ish minutes, gradually speeding up for the next 25K. I headed out with Gudisa and the female athletes.

I was a bit stiff after yesterday's core strength work, but felt good pretty soon. We obediently hit 19.51 for the first 5K and then sped up. I averaged 5.57min/M and ran the last 10K in 36.00 (5.45min/M - ie about 5.20-5.25 pace at sea level). I was pushing for the whole of the last 10K and really working for the last few K which were a bit uphill.

The set up was great. We were running different distances depending on our needs (and at different speeds), so I had imagined an out and back route. But we ended up running point to point with the coach driving along in the minibus and stopping at various points to clock our splits and shout instructions. The funniest bit was at 3K, before I knew what was going on. He pulled up just ahead of us, jumped out and scrurried across the road, drew a chalk line in front about 2 metres in front of us and shouted '3K. Very good. Slower'.

No run this evening. Instead we went out for dinner at the house of the friendly pharmacists we met the other day. Plenty of injera on offer, along with other tasty Ethiopian goodies.

12 in the fields from our front door

17M double; steady run, recovery run & core strength exercises
12M am steady at ~6.15-7.00min/M effort
Core strength exercise (six cycles)
5M pm recovery run at ~7.00min/M effort

A longish steady run today in the fields leading away from the apartment. We're in a newly built suburb of Addis, a mixture of houses for rich people and apartments (like ours) for the salaried but not rich. They're still building, but at the moment our apartment is at the far end of the development, which means we can head out into countryside immediately.

The running we've done from here pretty much all off road and some of it fairly hard going. Plus there's the occasional cow or goat to dodge.

I managed some of my usual core strength work mid-morning (after a nap!) The only adaptation I had to make was to use 2 litre bottles of water in place of my 3kg weights. So I upped the weight based exercises to 30 cycles rather than 20 to compensate.

Gudisa and I went on another light one this evening in the hills above the apartment.

I'm feeling good and I don't have any niggles.

...A solid start to my trip. We'll see what the session tomorrow morning brings. If Thursday is anything to go by, it'll be a killer.

A HARD session at the Addis cross-country course

14M double; speed session & recovery run
8M am rep session incl 6min-4min-2min x2 off 60s-90s-120s jog
6M pm recovery run at ~6.30-7.00 effort

We went to the Addis international cross-country course this morning for our session. 15 or so of us. 3 women. The rest men.

It's not Hampstead Heath! Pretty flat and not very green. But there were plenty of runners out. All of them running FAST.

Our session was pretty hard. 6min then 4min then 2min hard twice off 60s, 90s and 120s jog recovery. I'm never the best at reps. But these were particularly hard. I was hurting within a minute of the first rep and things didn't get better. By then end, I was more spent than I can remember.

I was way behind the main group. But I wasn't the slowest (and the women did a different session).

Now for some sleep and recovery.

A light one this evening. In the hills above the apartment.

Followed by a constitutional walk and a coffee with some pharmacist fiends of Gudisa - we're going round to theirs for lunch at the weekend. Should be fun.