A shift in focus

In the previous entry I gave myself two weeks to decide whether to commit to the Robin Hood marathon in September. In reality it took less than a week to decide the race is not for me, not this year anyway. After running 49 miles in a week and a 16 mile long run I was suffering from burn out. The following week every run seemed like a chore and no matter what distance I ran it was a struggle even to maintain a 7:30 min/mile pace. The schedule called for 18 and 20 mile long runs in the following weeks and I just didn't have the energy to achieve this. I could keep training and run the race but hopes of a sub 3 hour time are just impossible dreams. I feel deep down it makes sense to target a fast Great North Run in October and shift my marathon focus to an event (hopefully London) next spring.

Its important to take some lessons from the last 6 weeks on the marathon training plan. 3 hours is a stiff target and I just didn't have the training base in which to maintain training at this level. I also ran most of my runs in a very narrow range in terms of pace. The tempo sessions were too slow and the long runs too fast. I never really put my faith in the schedule pacing guide and ultimately I think my long runs were taking too much out of me. Let's face it the World Cup and frequently watching matches with 2 or 3 pints of beer can't have helped my progress either. I need to maintain a healthy balanced diet and make sure that I get enough sleep during the week. Marathon training puts quite a strain on the body and I have to make sure that I take care of myself to achieve my targets.

A very relaxing family break in Wales in mid July helped me to recuperate and then it was straight back into the running. With 10 weeks until the Great North Run it made sense to follow Runners World's 10-week sub-1:25 half-marathon schedule by Bruce Tulloh. This plan puts an emphasis on fast-paced running and I'll have to work hard to make sure I can keep up the pace. At the same time I also have to understand that easy runs should be easy, and a time to recover from the harder workouts. 1 hour 25 minutes is another stiff target to set myself, but I think its best to aim high with a series of stepped targets beneath that. I'd be very pleased to set a new personal best in the GNR (1:26:33) and failing that my next target would to beat my 2004 time of 1:28:42. Bottom of the pile would be to rack up my 3rd consecutive sub 1:30 half marathon.

Off the pace

I rounded off my last blog entry with "Things are looking good at this point". Unfortunately two weeks later I can't really say the same thing. Last week was supposed to be an easier week, but I took this to the extreme. After running Monday and Tuesday I was exhausted on Wednesday and skipped a run. Thursday's planned run went out the window when the wife didn't get home from work until nigh on 9pm. Its not always easy to fit in time to run when you've got two young children. It was Terry's birthday on Friday and I took her away to the Lake District for the weekend. As the schedule proposed a 10k race on Sunday and I'd already completed the Blaydon Race two weeks earlier I decided this wouldn't harm my training all that much. In any case it was quite an active weekend with a 10 mile fell walk through the low clouds on Saturday.

I wasn't too concerned. It seemed a good time for recuperation and as long as I picked up the distance the following week then I'd be right back on track. An easy run on Monday was followed by a fast run home on Tuesday (9 miles, 1:02:17). Again Wednesday night proved difficult, falling asleep on the sofa at 6:30pm convinced me to skip the run. However, I managed to make this session up the next morning with a very slow 7 miles. Saturday was the day of England's (ultimately disappointing) World Cup quarter final. Terry went into work in the morning and I planned to run when she got home and before the match started. Unfortunately I was laying turf in the back garden and by the time I'd finished the lads were almost kicking off. Another run went by the wayside.

Sunday's run was crucial. A 16 miler that would take me up to a respectable 36 miles for the week. Heading out the door at 9am the sun was already beating down. I resolved to slow down my long runs as suggested in the schedule to between 7:15 and 7:30 mile pace. I started reasonably well, constantly around the 7:15 mark. After mile 6 things started to slow and by mile 10 7:30s were a struggle. It was getting really tough, but for the next 4 miles I managed to maintain a pace between 7:30 and 7:40. The hand held feed bottle I'd bought earlier in the week came in very handy, and even though it only holds 250ml, the slurps of Lucozade Sport were like gold dust in the latter stages. The final two miles were a real killer. The weather was very hot and I was running on empty. Mile 15 was run in 8:06 and I dreaded that final mile up the hill on Marine Avenue. I dug deep into my energy reserves and picked up the pace slightly to record an 8:01. I've rarely been so happy to finish a training run, coming home in 2:01:12 - 7:34 per mile pace.

I'm reaching the point where I really have to decide if I'm going to run Nottingham this year. Part of me thinks its too early to attempt a sub 3-hour marathon. Another part of me doesn't want to give up on it yet. I could lower my target and run the marathon anyway, but the whole point of completing this race was too guarantee a good for age place in next year's London Marathon. If I don't feel up to a sub-3 marathon maybe I should just concentrate on a PB in the Great North Run in October. I'll see how things go in the next couple of weeks. With scheduled long runs of 18 and 20 miles I'll get a good idea of what kind of shape I'm really in. Decision day has to be 16th July.