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.

Why bother running?

This is something people ask quite often when I mention that I've been out. They can't see what joggers get out of it. I don't understand it completely myself but I definitely feel better when I've been out running and I get somewhat moody and short tempered when I'm injured.
The main reason I go running though is for the satisfaction of being able to run at a reasonable pace. Originally it was more about keeping fit and losing weight and these are still important to me but there's nothing better than finishing a run and getting a good time (although very rarely anything like a PB). I went out this afternoon and ran 9.3k and the time was mediocre. This time last year I'd have been happy with it but I've improved quite a bit in 12 months. I've got another race on Sunday so I'll hopefully get a couple more steady runs in during the week before that and hopefully a good time in the race.

I must not Over-do things.

I haven't overdone it yet but I might be pushing things a bit. I haven't done the planned leg session or cycling to help strengthen my knee and I've just been out and done a 15k run. Granted it was fairly slow but might be a bit much three days after a race. That's the thing with running though, when things are going well I tend to press on and see exactly what I can do (and usually end up injuring myself).
Still, I'm happy to have managed a longer run, it took 1:14:45 but as I said it was just steady. I had a running partner for a change and I'm not used to talking while running. It was nice to have some company and helped to keep a constant pace.
Anyway, knee was ok, felt a bit of pain but not much. The plan for the next few days is as it was; leg session at the gym tomorrow and exercise bike on Friday.

Completed Gateshead 10k

Another race completed, another T-Shirt and Medal for the collection. Managed to get round in 44:40, A minute slower than my personal best but good for so soon after injury. The knee is aching but I'm not limping so I hopefully just need to keep exercising it, I'll factor in some cycling on the exercise bike and a full leg session in the gym. I have 3 weeks to prepare for the next race event, the Darlington 10k. Happy with the progress at the moment in general so just need to be careful and avoid overdoing things.

Another 10km completed

Having suffered through two days of butt pain I found the energy to get out for a practice run before Sunday's race. The plan was a slow steady pace to ensure fitness but as usual I got a bit carried away when the pace was reasonable early on and finished 10km in 45:49. A good time for me at the moment especially only three days after a race. It is now an hour post-race and I am experiencing a little knee pain around the tibial tuberosity, where I have recently been having trouble through over exercising. It's nothing excessive so I'm not overly concerned at the moment but I'll just have to see how I feel tomorrow.

My Poor Aching Muscles

Well it turns out hilly runs work different muscles to flat courses. My butt cheeks and hips have been aching pretty badly all day and I look like I've shit in my pants when I walk. I hope I recover enough by Wednesday to get a warm-up run in before Gateshead at the weekend. On a much lighter note the results were published today and my official time was better than I thought. I must've had blurred vision at the finishing line as my time was 48:50 not 49:50! I'm chuffed with that on a tough course. I finished 60th out of 289.

Hamsterley Forest is Hilly!

Well, I can safely say that was the hardest 10km I've ran. I managed to stay under 50 minutes though and I'm happy with that. Legs were reasonable too so hopefully I'll be able to get a slow run in on Wednesday in advance of the Gateshead 10km next Sunday. The one disappointment about today's run was that I had to walk up part of one of the hills but there were a few people doing likewise and I recovered in the second half of the run. It was quite pleasant except for the tiredness actually, very scenic and not too muddy, I'm glad it wasn't wet though as the footing may have proven traitorous in places.

First Post - About Me

I've decided to keep track of my running training by creating a new blog. The idea is that by doing this I am more likely to get my arse into gear and get out more often. I guess the best starting point would be to note exactly where I am in the grand scheme of things. So far this year I've managed about 300km running, which isn't bad for an injury prone overweight chap. I would like to have managed more but I have a tendency to injure myself quite regularly. I have a permanently torn ligament in my ankle and I think this causes other problems like regular calf and knee problems. I'm hoping the more exercise I can manage to get through the stronger my ankle will get. With this in mind I have entered a few races this year and have already completed 10km runs in South Shields and Sunderland as well as finishing the Blaydon Race and getting soaked in the process. The next one is in Hamsterley Forest tomorrow. I'm hoping to get round in about 47 minutes although the course is likely to be challenging as it is called "undulating", which I believe is a running term meaning "You're gonna suffer". As long as I get round in one piece I won't be too disappointed with any time under 50 minutes. I managed a personal best of 43.47 in April but I've gone backwards since then so I'm not sure how it'll go, there's only one way to find out.