Some progress being made

Six weeks into recovery and I'm pleased to be able to say I have remained injury free and gained some fitness. I'm still some way off where I was last summer but I feel confident that so long as I don't pick up any new or recurrent injuries I can surpass last years PB for 10k.
Another bit of good news is that I have a place in the great north run this year so hopefully I will also be in a position to break my half marathon PB although the vast number of people running the race may affect the time accomplished.
In general though I'm happy with my training at the moment. I've introduced some shorter and slower runs into my schedule along side longer or quicker sessions, the idea being that I give my muscles time to recover and therefore avoid injury. I'm also including cycling or cross trainer work once a week and a leg workout at the gym to round off my training... so far so good.

So much for not getting injured.

It has been some time since my last post. I made a slow start to training in October and then became a father for the 2nd time on the 20th so running was put aside for a couple of weeks. Then just when I was hoping to get started again my knee flared up without any real cause. I got a physio appointment sorted within a couple of days and the theory is that I had a small tear in my quadracep. So I've been trying to recover for the last 2 months and more. No impact training, lots of strengthening exercises and cycling and eventually cross training and I was discharged by the physio last week. I've managed 3 short runs in the last 5 days without incident so hopefully I am on the way to a full recovery. Fingers crossed. So my aim for January is to keep injury free and to run frequently but only short distances for the time being. I've done 6km today and it's shocking how much fitness I've lost in the space of 3 months. If I can manage 10 runs I'll be thrilled especially if that equates to >50km.

End of another month

Well I never made it to 100km this month in the end. I can partially blame a mild cold in the last 10 days but I should still have made it out in all honesty. Still I passed 80km for the first month ever so I'm still happy and got a new personal best for a half marathon.
With the earlier sunsets now and worsening weather I am anticipating a reduction in miles achieved in the next couple of months. I would like to think I can compensate for these problems by running at the gym but how long I can spend on a treadmill depends how busy it is at the gym. I'll just have to wait and see. The Richmond Castle 10k is in 2 weeks and I am still hoping to enter.
I had a game of squash the other day too so maybe that is a way to maintain my fitness during the winter months. My muscles were aching from it today but I loosened them up with a 12k run so feel ok again now.

Interval training is unreasonably painful

This month's target of 100k is looking tough but it's still a possibility provided I don't get ill, everyone seems to be full of cold at the mo and I really hope I can avoid it. I followed Middlesbrough up with a 13.6k run on the 5th in which I felt really good, especially since I limited myself to 6oo calories that day. Then on the 7th I settled for a gentle 7.5k stroll.
Tonight, to mix things up a bit, I opted for an interval session. I managed 8 reps of 600m flat along an old railway line that is now a cycle path. I restricted recovery to 2 minutes between efforts and averaged about 2:11:80 per 600m. It seems slow considering the idea is to really kick up the pace but I was knackered by the end of the session to the point I thought I would pass out before making it home. My knee is a bit sore now too so I'll have to be extra careful if I decide to do any more similar training sessions.
I'm hoping to manage a longer run on Sunday. It's the Great North Run and although I didn't get a place I've designed my own half marathon course from home. So assuming I'm fit and healthy, in three days I'll be 21k closer to that target for September.

Letting things slip

Well, the enthusiasm of the last post didn't last. I failed in my bid for 80k last week. I haven't really got a good excuse either, the best I can think of is that I've had car trouble, which has led to late returns home from work, in turn giving me less time to train. I managed a 16k on the bank holiday though and felt comfortable.
Today was the Middlesbrough 10k, I was hoping for a time under 44 minutes but only managed 44:43. It was really hot though and the whole race felt like hard work. So, with only one race to go in 2012 it looks like the first target for next year is to break 44 minutes. There's nothing to say I can't do it in training but it's more likely in a race I think.
The aim for September remains 100k but after last month's poor late showing 80k is the minimum I want to manage.

Two runs in three days

It isn't very often I manage to make it out so soon after a run but today I ran 9.5km following Friday's 13km effort. Both runs weren't particularly fast although they both felt pretty tiring. It's been fairly hot for the last few days, although showers and a slight breeze have helped keep cool during running, and I think that is probably why I've felt a bit slow. However, I'm happy at the regularity of my runs and hopefully I can continue to get out plenty. I've never really managed more than two runs a week for any amount of time so if I can make that three I should be able to increase the distance covered in any given month.
The aim for August was to complete 80km (50 mile) without getting injured. So far I have managed 50km so I'm on course to complete my target. If I do manage it, next month's target will be 100km, something I have never managed before so that will be a real challenge. But that's for next month anyway, step one is to complete the remaining 30km this month.

Darlington 10k 2012

I ran the Darlington 10k this morning and finished in 44:10 - not quite a PB but pretty damn close. I'm certainly happy with the time, conditions were close to perfect except slightly too warm. I ran the first half of it with Andy and struggled to keep pace with him but ended up ahead by 40 seconds at the end. He lost a couple of seconds around 6k I think and it's always a struggle to get back even a slight difference when you're tired. I had the same thing happen to me running the Great North Run a couple of years ago, I was running with a work colleague and found myself unable to close a gap of about 2 metres and ended up well behind. We're planning on doing a couple more longer runs and then trying the Middlesbrough 10k in 3 weeks, I suspect he'll beat me given a bit more training but I'll make it as hard as possible for him.