w/c 23 June 2008 - Roadruning: a guilty pleasure

Too much mocking gives away your denial.

For ages I've teased roadrunners. They don't like getting dirty, they like to have the course marked out just so, they like to smile and wave at the camera, they wouldn't know a proper hill...etc etc.

Fact is, there's quite a bit to be said for it. There's something satisfying about the speed, knocking out the miles and the way that you can very quickly and easily measure your progress. Fellrunning is more of an art and your performance is more influenced by the ground and weather conditions, so a slower run over the fells than a previous mark is more easily explained away. Not so roadrunning - there is no hiding place. I like that.

This week has been the first week's training geared towards a road race for many many months. Starting to express runs in mins/mile as opposed to feet ascended is the first symptom. The next one was tight calves which seem ok now.

So, the conversion to road-running is on its way. Here's how it started this week, having just come off a BGR support weekend before this...

Mon - Rest
Tues - 8M, including 4 railways. Ran well and kept Andrew in sight (couldn't catch the bugger tho). Calves a bit tight.
Weds - 5M Track - inc 6*800m. Reps were 2:53, 2:52, 2:49, 2:49, 2:42, 2:42. I was first in the group at CHester Tri, apart from rep 5 where one lad caught and kicked past me having been well back for the previous four. He was going flat out and i kept it steady. He was nowhere on the 6th rep, so I was pleased with the pace control there.
Thurs - 8M Trail - steady, VERY wet. Brisk run home, including good hard pace for last mile on Nick's shoulder before kicking hard at the end. Enjoyable!
Fri - 7M Pace - OK for 5 miles then calves really tightened up and I slowed right down. Ave 7:15 pace, which is not great. Wrexham Ind estate loop.
Sat - 4M Tempo - local loop - Ave 6:29. Calves a little tight and legs a little heavy.
Sun - 16M Long run. Chester and back via river from home. Did 15 miles at 7:30 pace on a hilly route and did the last mile very slowly to warm down. Warm down is a key part of staying uninjured and so that's a good new habit for me. Felt strong for 13 and hung on a bit after that and the pace actually picked up slightly for the last bit.

Total - 6 runs, 48 miles

Legs feel great today (Monday 30/6) so feel really pleased that I've upped the mileage and got those tight calves feeling better. Actually looking forward to this week's training!

What's the wurst that can happen?

After 2 or 3 years of intense fell running supporting and completing the Bob Graham Round, it's time for a change. I've been mulling over doing a marathon for ages but now's the time to start training for one. Berlin now awaits on 28 September 2008!

It's quite a wrench to do this. Training for a marathon means giving up fellrunning and being disciplined about the roads. It's like moving over to the dark side.

Last time I did a marathon was London in April 06. I ran 3:14:52. My main aim is to beat that, but I'd also like to have a serious go at sub 3 hours. That's arguably a bigger ask, in its own way, than the Bob Graham. It means you need to be fast, and I'm not especially fast.

The BGR required frequent training and the inclusion of some very very long days out at a slow pace. A fast marathon doesn't require whole days and weekends to be taken up with monster training days. However, it means training almost everyday and for much of that training to be hard and outside my comfort zone.

I've decided on a pattern of training that builds in intensity throughout the week before resting. I look forward to it, I think.

Bascially, my weeks will now look like this:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Hills (6-9 miles)
Weds - Track (4-6 miles)
Thursday - Steady off road (7-9 miles)
Friday - Tempo (7-11 miles)
Sat - Marathon pace run (8-13 miles)
Sun - Long run (15-22 miles)

The milage will start at the lower end of these ranges and build as I approach the marathon in 14 weeks time.

That training starts today with some Tattenhall hills.

Bloody hell, I'm a road runner!