Another week another PB - Training 7th June to 13th June:

After a few weeks of tough training the plan was to have an easier week of mileage and taper down for the Nike BMC 5000m at Watford on Saturday. The aim is to run as close to 14:30 as possible but anything under 14:40 will be an excellent run. The summer really starts to unfold from here in, with races starting to come thick and fast.

Monday 7th June:
17:52 PM: 10:59 w/u (1.54mi, 7:09/mi)
18:11 PM: 27:40 tempo (5.0mi, 5:32/mi)
18:42 PM: 10:49 c/d (1.48mi, 7:17/mi)
See Blog - http://runninguk.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-world-cup-dilemma.html

Tuesday 8th June:
7:23 AM: 30:55 (5.0mi, 6:11/mi)
18:12 PM: 22:16 (3.0mi, 7:25/mi)
18:58 PM: 2 x 1 mile (10 mins rec), Reps 4:32, 4:31. (3.02mi total)
19:26 PM: 22:46 c/d (3.0mi, 7:35/mi)
See Blog - http://runninguk.blogspot.com/2010/06/typical-british-weather.html

Wednesday 9th June:
6:30 AM: 32:42 (5.0mi, 6:33/mi)
Easy morning run before my massage, went to a different guy than usual and it seems to have had a good effect. Have had a tight left hamstring for a few weeks and he worked on it and seems to have loosened it up a bit.
17:58 PM: 45:21 (7.0mi, 6:29/mi)
Didn't have to work till 8pm tonight so went out for a steady run with Tom and Les Ball. Just an out and back route in Nettleham.

Thursday 10th June:
11:16 AM: 40:00 (6.0mi, 6:40/mi)
Nice easy run with Saturday in mind, in Witham as had a day off work and felt really good.
18:27 PM: 39:17 (6.2mi, 6:20/mi)
Easy run but at every mile mark did 30 second accelerations, was always nice and controlled.

Friday 11th June:
REST DAY
Always intended to have this day off or a five mile easy run. But, after work I felt a little ill and decided it would be sensible to just take the day off. So, settled down to watch the France game which turned out to be one of the worst games I have ever seen.

Saturday 12th June
20:21 PM: 24:00 w/u then strides and drills (3.0mi, 8:00/mi)
21:55 PM: 14:30.74 (3.1mi, 4:40/mi)
22:28 PM: 16:27 c/d (2.0mi, 8:15/mi)
Delighted with the time and how the race unfolded, but there are a couple of reasons why I think I can go quicker. First of all, I had been working all day and was on my feet for most of that time. Secondly, from Friday night I had been suffering with the start of a cold or hayfever and didn't feel sharp all day, so not ideal. Lastly, I arrived at Watford at about quarter past seven and headed straight to the hut to watch the England game and wasted a lot of nervous energy and neglected a proper warm up in order to watch the shambles which unfolded. I have one thing to say to Mr. Capello, get rid of Robert Green - you should never trust an ex-Norwich player.Anyway, enough of the excuses and back to the race, I slotted into the lead group early on and tried to sit in behind my club-mate Tom Doe. After about 1500m I was getting a few knocks on my arm which was affecting my concentration so decided to let a few past me and move to the back of the pack, where I could cover any breaks and focus properly. This seemed to work well and I stayed in contention with the lead pack throughout and despite losing a few places in the home straight was delighted to run a massive PB. When I entered the race a few weeks ago I thought anything around 14:45 would be good, but after my 8:22 my confidence has risen massively and after talking to a few runners I set my sights firmly on 14:30. Hopefully with better preparation I can look even towards 14:20 by the end of the season. I felt pretty rough after the race and drained due to my cold so even happier with how I performed considering.

Sunday 13th June
11:26 AM: 68:19 (11.0mi, 6:13/mi)
After a good sleep just went out to do a fairly steady eleven miler. My cold which I thought would hit me today has subsided and despite my calves being a little tight managed a decent pace throughout.

Total Weekly Mileage - 65.34 Miles - Always planned to cut the mileage for this week and felt nice and fresh by doing so. Hopefully over the next three weeks I can put in a few miles and have a decent run out over 1500m and then hit another 5000m either at Solihull or the England champs. Was hoping to add a video of the race yesterday to the blog, but it turns out it was the only race which wasnt filmed!

Aaron

Typical British weather

Tuesday 8th June:
7:23 AM: 30:55 (5.0mi, 6:11/mi)

What a struggle it was to get out of bed this morning. It was hammering it down outside and I considered hitting the snooze on my alarm but instead braved the conditions. Once out there it surprisingly wasn't too bad and I actually ran fairly quick for a morning run. This was probably because i just wanted to get home for some breakfast but its always nice to run at a decent pace and feel easy. I should probably note here that I always run the same five mile route in the morning. It is out and back along the river on a cycle path and doesn't involve any hills so i can keep things easy - my coach wants me to run 6:20/mi in the morning. Quick shower and change then off to work for another lonely day in the shop, with Keith away doing some testing for Adidas.


18:12 PM: 22:16 w/u (3.0mi, 7:25/mi)
18:58 PM: 2 x 1 mile (10 mins rec), Reps 4:32, 4:31. (3.02mi total)
19:26 PM: 22:46 c/d (3.0mi, 7:35/mi)

After work, which pleasingly wasn't overly busy, I headed straight up the track and had a quick chat with Bowser about his race and exploits in Germany this weekend. It turns out he may well be pacing my race on Saturday, I am just hoping he doesn't do a Bowser special and run a 2:30 first k - only joking mate. The aim of the session was to run at 3k pace so in the region of 4:30 pace which is just inside 8:30 pace and thankfully the rain had eased off. Had Matt Blunden join me on the session, but I still dictated the pace for the whole four laps on both reps. The first rep was reasonably tough and I felt quite stiff in my arms and just didn't seem to have any zip in my legs. However, the second rep felt a lot better and although it was ran at a similar pace, it felt much more controlled. Overall, pleased with the session as it is always hard to hit target pace when you are dictating the pace and have no-one to chase. Still felt fresh after the session and a good sign ahead of Saturday that my legs are in good condition. Was meant to do 4 x 150 strides but forgot and went straight into my cool down, so will try to knock these out after my steady run tomorrow evening. Back to another night of chicken and potatoes (all I can cook properly) as Jenny is still at her parents, it turns out she is useful after all.

Aaron

My World Cup dilemma

Football fever has descended on the country and for two weeks when most will be out enjoying some beer and hopefully some England victories, runners like myself will face a dilemma.

There is a fine balance to be made between training hard and watching those matches which are simply too good to miss.

This is because no matter how much enjoyment running brings me, nothing can compare to those precious moments such as England thrasing the Germans or my beloved Ipswich winning the Playoffs.

This dilemma comes to fore on Saturday when I am due to race 5000m at Watford at the same time when England play their first group game against the US.

For some strange reason FIFA have allowed this fixture clash to stand and it looks certain that I will miss some, maybe all, of the match.

I am used to going to extreme lengths to watch England play, back in 2006 I persuaded the owner of an island off Fiji to get a satellite so we could stay up till 4am to watch the Paraguay game.

Similarly, I rushed through customs in the US to make it to the nearest bar to watch the game against Trinidad even though I had two uninterested girls with me and had to listen to some dodgy yank commentary (they called us the England soccer team!).

And it looks likely that I will have to run a massive PB on Saturday, ideally sub 14:35, in order to get to the nearest pub as quick as possible.

Some might say that athletics should be my main priority but I was born and raised with football in my blood and it will always be my first love (just dont tell the missus).

I know others out there in the running community feel the same way and hopefully Rooney and the boys can do us proud and not make this dilemma a painful one.

I have decided that I will try and update this blog more often, with more in depth views into my day to day thoughts and training.

Monday 7th June
17:52 PM: 11:00 w/u (1.54mi, 7:09/mi)
18:11 PM: 27:40 (5.0mi, 5:32/mi)
18:42 PM: 10:49 c/d (1.48mi, 7:17/mi), 8.02mi total.

I missed the morning run today as I had to drive to work from South Witham which is about an hour and that would have meant getting up really early for my run.

I say really early because basically I need enough time to get back have a shower and perfect my appearence (hair!) which is time consuming to say the least.

Anyway I met up with Tom and Shane tonight after work to do a controlled tempo around Skellingthorpe. The route is two laps around a cycle track, farm track and quiet country roads.

It felt very comfortable tonight, last time we did it I managed nearer 28 mins and was definitely working harder, and the whole point of the run is to stay controlled.

What makes the workout tough is that you are running fairly quick but you always know you could move up a gear if necessary.

All in all it was a decent run and I am looking forward to easing things down after tomorrow nights session.

Splits were 5:24, 5:30, 5:38, 5:39, 5:27.

Aaron

Training 31st May - 6th June

Monday 31st May
10:44 AM: 51:08 (8.0mi, 6:24/mi)
Felt a bit tired and sluggish, still a bit windy, did the longer run in the morning so just a gentle one to do this evening.
19:35 PM: 33:05 (5.0mi, 6:37/mi)
Legs still not feeling great, just run around witham as we have a house viewing in Peterborough in the morning.

Tuesday 1st June
17:41 PM: 15:44 w/u (2.0mi, 7:53/mi)
18:30ish PM: 8:22.87 (2.0mi total inc strides)
19:08 PM: 15:44 c/d (2.0mi, 7:53/mi)
Wow, was not expecting to run that quick the aim was to break 8:30, so to go 8 seconds quicker was amazing. Felt good throughout the race, Sam took out the pace for the first k and I could see that he was looking around for some help and to check I was still in close contention. I decided at the 1k mark to push to the front and help out Sam and soon enough a few of the others came past us and pushed the pace. With 600 to go the boys at the front upped the pace further and I just didnt have the speed in my legs to stay in contention at the front. Sam managed to run 8:20 which is phenomenal for a lad of 17 and nice to see the club is improving and that we could have five lads be close to go under 8:20 this year.

Wednesday 2nd June
8:49 AM: 62:10 (10.0mi, 6:13/mi)
Started to feel my legs were a bit heavy at sevenish miles but overall nice and controlled.
20:30 PM: 32:57 (5.0mi, 6:36/mi)
Funny how life can knock you down when you are on a high. After waiting a few days to hear about a job in PR, I found out that I had just missed out due to lack of writing experience. After a bit of thought, its not so bad as it would have meant moving to Peterborough and training may have suffered as a consequence.

Thursday 3rd June
7:32 AM: 31:01 (5.0mi, 6:13/mi)
Best I have felt in the morning for a long while, nice to feel my legs are not as tired as they were on Monday.
18:17 PM: 19:07 w/u (2.5mi, 7:40/mi)
19:02 PM: 8 x 600 (400m rec) (5.02mi total). Reps were 1:40.8, 1:41.9, 1:41.9, 1:41.0, 1:41.8, 1:40.8, 1:38.7, 1:36.9.
Slightly better than last time I did the session, the problem was that this time I had to do the session on my own and it was windy. Last two reps I gave the main group a 8 second head start to make sure I managed a few decent paced reps.
19:45 PM: 20:46 c/d (2.81mi, 7:24/mi)

Friday 4th June
18:00 PM: 58:05 (8.70mi, 6:41/mi)
Easy run with Tom, nice and gentle because it was still really warm. Legs a bit tired probably because I didnt have a great sleep as had to pick Jenny up quite late as she had been out celebrating her last ever exam.

Saturday 5th June
7:24 AM: 31:34 (5.00mi, 6:19/mi)
Gentle morning run, no problems, warm already.
19:03 PM: 58:56 (10.0mi, 5:54/mi)
Drove back to Witham after work as Jenny has to work in Stamford next week. Opted for a ten mile run at a decent pace instead of any sort of tempo. Tried to drop the mile split by five seconds every mile. Splits were 6:20, 6:11, 6:09, 5:57, 5:56, 5:53, 5:44, 5:46, 5:37, 5:19. Felt good, worked hard towards the end as the route is fairly undulating and it was pretty humid out there.

Sunday 6th June
12:44 PM: 80:15 (13.0mi, 6:10/mi)
Run out on usual long run route in Witham but cut through Woolsthorpe past Newton's house. Was tough going towards the end as the humidity took its toll.
19:20 PM: 28:05 (4.0mi, 7:01/mi)
Easy evening run after the thunder storms.

Total Weekly Mileage: 90.03 Miles - Another solid week, legs feel pretty tired now after three tough weeks of training. Will ease down next week ahead of the Watford BMC where I hope to run close to the AAA standard of 14:30. The race on Tuesday has boosted my confidence no end and I really believe that I can kick on and knock out some really decent times over 1500, 5000 and 10000 now. On another note, I have decided to leave the shop after nearly a year of employment after university. Jenny and I both have nowhere to live in Lincoln so will be moving back to her parents just south of Grantham. Hopefully, I can find a 9-5 office job to tie me over for a few years and still concentrate on my training. The good thing is that I reckon I will still be able to train with Lincoln on a Tuesday and Thursday evening, so Tom and Sam will be delighted I am sure.

Training: Mon 19th April - Sunday 30th May (Six Weeks!)

Finally I have had time to post something on here, Here is the last six weeks of training. Its a bit all over the place but I will hopefully edit it all tomorrow morning as I am already late in setting off to meet Tom to drive to Stretford.

Monday 19th April
7:39 AM – 32:08 (5.0mi, 6:26/mi)
Usual morning running, no problems.
17:58 PM – 50:34 (8.0mi, 6:23/mi)

Tuesday 20th April
9:15 AM – 37:35 (5.0mi, 7:33/mi)
Easy morning run in Nettleham with Tom, really gentle felt a bit tired.
18:19 PM – 22:21 w/u (3.0mi, 7:30/mi)
19:01 PM - 2 x 5 mins (2min rec), 2 x 2 mins (2 min rec), 8 x 30sec (30 sec rec), (5.09mi total).
Decent session around the common cricket pitch with Tom and Matt, ran 4.45 and 4.50 for a mile within the 5 min reps and hit the 30 second reps pretty hard.
19:43 PM – 18:20 c/d (2.22mi, 8:15/mi)

Wednesday 21st April
8:56 AM – 62:07 (10.0mi, 6:13/mi)
Usual out and back sort of route, started steady picked it up on the way back home slightly, but always kept things nice and controlled.
20:15 PM – 35:00 (5.0mi, 7:00/mi)
Easy run with Tom around the golf course.

Thursday 22nd April
7:20 AM – 31:17 (5.07mi, 6:10/mi)
Usual morning run out and back along the river, felt a lot better.
18:15 PM – 20:40 w/u (2.71mi, 7:37/mi)
18:57 PM – 8 x 500 (1 min rec), (3.07mi total). Reps 83.8, 82.2, 83.6, 84.9, 82.8, 82.9, 83.0, 80.3.
Decent enough session, Sam stayed with us for 5 of the reps because he has been ill, worked the rest with Tom and Shane.
19:28 PM – 20:00 c/d (2.48mi, 8:04/mi)

Friday 23rd April
18:00 PM – 38:09 (6.50mi, 5:52/mi)
Felt fairly good in the evening so decided to head out and run controlled 6 minute miles. Sixth mile was 5:40ish and it felt nice and easy always a good sign.

Saturday 24th April
7:25 AM – 32:27 (5.0mi, 6:30/mi)
Nice and easy morning run, no problems.
17:50 PM – 15:01 w/u (2.0mi, 7:30/mi)
18:08 PM – 10 min tempo (5 min rec), 10 x 200m (200 rec), (4.81mi total). Ran 2.04mi for the tempo (4:51 and 4:57) then 32.0, 31.4, 30.4, 30.1, 30.0, 30.3, 30.6, 29.9, 29.3, 29.5.
Warm for the session, ran the tempo with Tom and it felt tougher than expected. Then for the 200s went off with Tom and Ronny but they were running 28s as my legs can not manage much quicker than 30! Shane enjoyed watching my legs shuffle along in comparison to the others.
18:52 PM – 16:39 c/d (2.01mi, 8:18/mi)

Sunday 25th April
9:13 AM – 73:42 (11.5mi, 6:25/mi)

Total Weekly Mileage – 88.46mi – Decent week including three good sessions. Just short of the 90 mile target but couldn’t be bothered to do a second run on the Sunday as the weather was good and thought I would actually catch up on my social life (if you can call it that!)

Monday 26th April
18:12 PM – 51:30 (8.5mi, 6:04/mi)
Pushed the pace a little bit as I didn’t run this morning as planned.

Tuesday 27th April
7:20 AM – 32:07 (5.0mi, 6:25/mi)
18:22 PM – 23:25 (3.0mi, 7:48/mi)
19:03 PM – 2 x 1000, 600, 400 (400, 200 rec and 10 min between sets), (3.95mi total). 2:48.7, 1:38.6, 63.4 and 2:49.9, 1:37.3, 63.3.
Not the best of sessions but solid enough had to do the reps on my own as Sam wasn’t running.
19:40 PM – 19:55 (2.41mi, 8:16/mi)

Wednesday 28th April
9:01 AM – 61:35 (10.0mi, 6:10/mi)
20:20 PM – 34:48 (5.31mi, 6:33/mi)

Thursday 29th April
18:22 PM – 21:19 (2.84mi, 7:31/mi)
19:00 PM – 8 x 600m (400m rec), (4.76mi total). Reps were 1:42.2, 1:40.1, 1:41.0, 1:41.2, 1:41.8, 1:40.0, 1:40.6, 1:37.1. Good solid session aim was to hit 3k pace which we managed to just dip under.
19:39 PM – 11:12 (1.27mi, 8:49/mi)

Friday 30th April
8:37 AM – 33:52 (5.05mi, 6:43/mi)

Saturday 1st May
17:25 PM – 65:26 (10.0mi, 6:33/mi)

Sunday 2nd May
11:37 AM – 85:22 (14.01mi, 6:06/mi)
Felt good today, kept the first ten miles at a steady pace and dropped below 6 minute mileing for the last four. Ran around Witham into Woolsthorpe and Colsterworth so nice and undulating.
17:55 PM – 28:30 (4.00mi, 7:08/mi)
Out and back in South Witham, nice and relaxed, no problems.

Total Weekly Mileage – 80.1 miles

Monday 3rd May
10:41 AM – 45:32 (7.06mi, 6:27/mi)
17:16 PM – 44:59 (6.62mi, 6:48/mi)
Steady run in South Witham, just nice and controlled with tomorrow’s race in mind.

Tuesday 4th May
10:42 AM – 36:57 (5.0mi, 7:24/mi)
Easy morning run out and back in South Witham.
17:52 PM – 15:10 w/u (2.03mi, 7:27/mi)
18:33 PM – 8:34.0 (Stetford 3000), (1.95mi total). 1k splits were 2:48, 2:52, 2:54. Died a bit towards the end after hitting 8:30 pace at 2k, just think I need a few more races in my legs before I crack 8:30. Good PBs for all of us who went across, Sam just behind me after going off like a rocket and Tom a little further back again suffering in the last k.
19:00 PM – 32:31 c/d (4.0mi, 8:09/mi)

Wednesday 5th May
8:47 AM – 65:05 (10.0mi, 6:30/mi)
Steady ten, just wanted to keep things controlled after racing last night.
20:32 PM – 34:33 (5.0mi, 6:55/mi)

Thursday 6th May
18:27 PM – 20:01 w/u (2.71mi, 7:23/mi)
19:00 PM – 2 x 6 x 250m (150 rec, 8 mins between sets), (3.68mi total). Reps were 39.8, 41.0, 39.4, 40.3, 39.4, 39.9 and 39.3, 39.3, 39.9, 39.9, 41.1, 39.1. Tough to get going tonight legs still a little tired after the 3k on Tuesday and didn’t want to blast anything to hard with the race on Sunday in mind.
19:31 PM – 32:23 c/d (4.28mi, 7:34/mi). Had to run home from the track and went round the common.

Friday 7th May
7:36 AM – 31:46 (5.0mi, 6:22/mi)
19:08 PM – 61:54 (10.0mi, 6:11/mi)

Saturday 8th May
7:20 AM – 37:07 (5.0mi, 7:26/mi)
Easy run down the river in full tracksuit as it was freezing.
17:21 PM – 36:14 (5.0mi, 7:15/mi)
Easy run with Tom around the golf course, glad I didn’t do the 1500m at the Counties today as the weather was horrible and freezing for this time of year.

Sunday 9th May
10:58 AM – 15:01.0 shakeout (2.07mi, 7:16/mi)
14:52 PM – 21:50 w/u (2.72mi, 8:02/mi)
15:50 PM – 15:01 (County Champs 5000, 1st), (3.24mi total). 1k splits from memory were 2:54, 3:01, 3:05, 3:03, 2:58. Switched off a bit in the middle of the race probably because it was so windy and the fact that I was just chasing people I was lapping. Solid effort a bit disappointed to not dip under 15 minutes but the wind and lack of competition was probably more to blame. Think in different circumstances I could have run sub 14:50 today.
17:35 PM – 36:06 c/d of sorts (5.05mi, 7:09/mi)

Total Weekly Mileage: 90.41 Miles – Good week with two PBs and a decent week in terms of mileage. Also, pleasing that after both races I feel that I have more to come and those times over 3000 and 5000 can definitely be improved upon.

Monday 10th May
7:28 AM – 32:28 (5.0mi, 6:30/mi)
18:10 PM – 47:29 (8.0mi, 5:56/mi)

Tuesday 11th May
18:11 PM – 23:17 (3.02mi, 7:42/mi)
19:00 PM – 6 x 3 mins (2 min rec), (5.0mi total)
Reps 3:01 (0.61mi, 4:58/mi), 3:00 (0.62mi, 4:49/mi), 3:00 (0.63mi, 4:45/mi), 3:00 (0.63mi, 4:44/mi), 3:00 (0.62mi, 4:53/mi), 3:00 (0.62mi, 4:49/mi).
Good session on the grass behind the track, worked well with Sam.
19:44 PM – 23:06 (3.0mi, 7:43/mi)

Wednesday 12th May
9:50 AM – 49:04 (8.0mi, 6:08/mi)
Cut the run a bit short as I had to fit in a morning massage and a haircut in preparation for a job interview tomorrow.
20:28 PM – 34:06 (5.0mi, 6:50/mi)
Nice easy run around the golf course.

Thursday 13th May
8:09 AM – 40:14 (6.5mi, 6:12/mi)
Comfortable run, feeling really good, didn’t manage a second run due to interviews.

Friday 14th May
7:27 AM – 61:43 (10.0mi, 6:10/mi)
Felt really good and pushed the pace on the second half of the run.
19:25 PM – 40:59 (6.51mi, 6:18/mi)
Arrived at my brother’s house late afternoon in preparation for the Woodbridge 10k on Sunday. Ran in Ipswich, past the hospital towards the track and back through the cemetery. Felt really nice and relaxed and feel ready to run a decent time on Sunday.

Saturday 15th May
9:31 AM – 45:39 (6.75mi, 6:46/mi)
Ran around Ipswich from my brothers house, warm morning and nice to run around some old haunts. Stopped off mid-run at the Sweatshop in Ipswich where I used to work, nice being back home.

Sunday 16th May
8:26 AM – 15:11 shake-out (2.0mi, 7:35/mi)
11:18 PM – 18:34 w/u (2.56mi, 7:16/mi)
12:00 PM – 31:41 (Woodbridge 10k, 1st) (6.24mi, 5:05/mi)
Mile splits 4:54, 5:10, 5:00, 5:21, 5:05, 4:54, 75secs for (0.24mi)
Won the race comfortably by a good few minutes, but it was a lot tougher than I expected. I wanted to run a decent time on my home town course and break the course record of 32:20. However, it is a really hilly course and worth probably a minute in that respect. Was pleased in reflection to see that I ran a decent sixth mile and nice to actually get the course record and win in front of the family.
12:39 PM – 10:01 c/d (1.29mi, 7:47/mi)

Total Weekly Mileage: 78.87 – Cut the mileage because of the 10k and had a busy week with interviews and lots of travelling. On the plus side I felt really fresh all week by just cutting the mileage slightly so hopefully I will feel as good when I cut the mileage for more important track races this summer.

Monday 17th May
7:09 AM – 34:49 (5.0mi, 6:58/mi)
Legs stiff so kept the run nice and easy.
17:59 PM – 51:32 (8.0mi, 6:30/mi)
Run with Tom to Skellingthorpe and back along the cycle track, legs still feel tight from yesterday.

Tuesday 18th May
9:25 AM – 35:00 (5.0mi, 7:00/mi)
Run with Tom around Nettleham, quads still sore.
18:02 PM – 24:47 (3.14mi, 7:54/mi)
19:01 PM – 3 x 1200m (10 min rec). (4.15mi total) Reps were 3:30, 3:26, 3:19.
The aim was to run the reps at 3k pace so around 3:24s but the first rep was a bit of a shambles and the second was controlled but we just switched off a bit. So, on the last rep I had a lot left but still felt a bit tired in my quads so couldn’t finish off with a decent last 200m.
19:35 PM – 15:36 c/d (2.0mi, 7:49/mi)

Wednesday 19th May
8:37 AM – 50:56 (8.0mi, 6:22/mi)
Tom was only doing 8 mile and I felt a little tired so cut the ten mile run a bit short.
20:19 PM – 31:17 (5.0mi, 6:16/mi)
Easy run around the common and the golf course felt good this evening.


Thursday 20th May
7:28 AM – 31:52 (5.0mi, 6:25/mi)
18:16 PM – 20:57 w/u (2.63mi, 7:57/mi)
19:03 PM – 10 x 400m (400 rec), (4.95mi total). Reps 63.4, 62.8, 64.0, 64.2, 63.3, 63.4, 63.2, 63.9, 63.5, 62.0.
Solid session worked well with Sam and Will to keep the reps at a consistent pace.
19:42 PM – 16:38 c/d (2.0mi, 8:20/mi)

Friday 21st May
18:53 PM – 34:50 (5.0mi, 6:58/mi)

Saturday 22nd May
7:23 AM – 31:48 (5.0mi, 6:22/mi)
Usual morning easy run out and back along the river.
17:27 PM – 16:51 w/u (2.4mi, 7:02/mi)
17:52 PM – 4 x 5 mins (3 min rec), (4.84mi total). Mile splits within the reps were 4:44, 4:53, 4:53, 4:52. Ran the session around the cricket pitch on the common, ran around groups of people playing football or sun-bathing because it was still extremely hot. They looked at me as if I was some kind of freak on the first rep but once I kept going they kind of accepted that I was crazy and let me get on with it.
18:23 PM – 18:51 c/d (2.53mi, 7:28/mi)

Sunday 23rd May
8:58 AM – 75:02 (12.19mi, 6:09/mi)
Hardest run I have done for a while as it was so warm even when I started. I usually don’t mind running in the heat, however the problem is that in this country the weather change is so sudden it makes it hard to adjust for those one off hot days. I was shattered by 6ish miles and only ran the rest of the run at a decent pace so I got home quicker.
19:23 PM – 34:13 (5.0mi, 6:51/mi)
Waited till the weather cooled down a bit then went for an easy run around the common and the golf course.

Total Weekly Mileage: 91.83 miles – Good solid week of running, may cut the mileage slightly next week if I can get into the inter-counties. The weather looks set to change again next week and get a lot colder, why cant we just have a few weeks of constant warm weather, it might make up for the weeks of freezing weather this winter.

Monday 24th May
7:01 AM – 31:54 (5.0mi, 6:23/mi)
17:55 PM – 10:27 w/u (1.42mi, 7:21/mi)
18:12 PM – 28:00 (5.0mi, 5:37/mi). Mile splits were 5:32, 5:46, 5:38, 5:36, 5:27.
Aim was to run a 5 mile run at 5:35s with Tom and it was pretty much ran to plan except a slowish second mile.
18:43 PM - 11:28 c/d (1.6mi, 7:11/mi)

Tuesday 25th May
16:45 PM – 22:06 w/u (3.0mi, 7:22/mi)
17:21 PM – 2 x 8 x 1 min (75 sec, 6 mins between sets). (6.4mi total)
Good solid session on my own round a cricket pitch in Woolsthorpe, as I was still in South Witham after being for an interview in Ely. Felt nice and strong even at the end of the session, which was quite long for a session at this time of year.
18:12 PM – 21:19 c/d (3.0mi, 7:07/mi)

Wednesday 26th May
9:30 AM – 43:23 (7.10mi, 6:07/mi)
Usually run a ten miler on Wednesday mornings but had some writing tasks for an interview I had been for the previous day. So cut things a little short and will run an extra few miles to make things up this evening.
19:57PM – 47:12 (8.0mi, 5:54/mi)
Ran home from work, felt good so intended to run 6 min miles but went a little quicker.

Thursday 27th May
6:44 AM – 31:55 (5.0mi, 6:23/mi)
Easy morning run had to wake up a little earlier as Jenny had a job interview and needed the car.
18:11 PM – 23:29 w/u (3.0mi, 7:51/mi)
18:59 PM – 400 (4 min rec), 600 (6 min rec), 1000 (6 min rec), 600 (4 min rec), 400. (3.33mi total). Reps 60.6, 1:38.3, 2:44.7, 1:36.1, 61.2.
Decent session the idea was to run the 400s at 800 pace, the 600s at 1500 pace and the 1000 just a bit quicker than 3k pace. So the only rep which was a bit slow was the first 600 as I misjudged what pace we were running. Ran most of the session with Sam and Will but they pulled away on the last 400 as my legs gave up after front running the two previous reps.
19:35 PM – 24:57 c/d (3.2mi, 7:48/mi)

Friday 28th May
18:07 PM – 35:57 (5.0mi, 7:12/mi)
Set out for an easy run with Tom who led me into some fields and through some stinging nettles in search of a bridge to cross over a river so we could get back to his, he had no idea where it was. Once we found it the field on the other side was so rutted we had to walk till we reached the road, rubbish run Tom, one to definitely not do again, shocker.

Saturday 29th May
7:30 AM – 31:51 (5.0mi, 6:24/mi)
17:55 PM – 22:26 (3.04mi, 7:22/mi)
18:21 PM – 2 x 2 mile (5 mins rec), (4.61mi total). Times were 10:14 (5:14, 5:00) and 9:59 (5:04, 4:55). Did the session on quiet country roads and cycle paths and worked pretty hard as I was on my own because Tom was running the BMC at Sport City. I had aimed at running around 10 mins for both the reps but started a bit too easy on the first mile, I think this was just simply because I didn’t have anyone else to work with.
18:48 PM – 18:15 c/d (2.4mi, 7:37/mi)

Sunday 30th May
11:05 AM – 73:22 (12.0mi, 6:07/mi). Did out and back route in South Witham because of the fact it was ridiculously windy and after the first six miles were into the wind, I decided that was enough and just turn back and it was so much easier. First time I have ever felt like the wind was actually blowing me along and opened my legs for the last couple of miles. Mile splits were 6:24, 6:16, 6:20, 6:20, 6:16, 6:21, 6:05, 6:02, 5:57, 5:56, 5:45, 5:35.
19:21 PM – 30:05 (4.5mi, 6:42/mi)
Easy evening run in South Witham, undulating loop, still really windy.

Total Weekly Mileage: 91.6 miles – A solid week again, was planning on doing the 5000 at the inter-counties, however, Lincolnshire seem not to be interested in letting athletes compete for them. Really disappointed to miss out running a 5000 this weekend as I didn’t bother entering the BMC at Manchester with this in mind. Just found out that the race was won in 14:50ish so I could have easily been in the medals if not winning the race, so even more annoyed at the incapability of our county now. However, life goes on and I intend on running a 3000 at Stretford on Tuesday instead, looking at breaking 8:30, and then all being well running around 14:45 for 5000 at the Watford BMC a week on Saturday, work permitting.