Getting Ready

It's the evening before the big day and I'm still not exactly sure what time I should aim for. Training for this run has been up and down throughout and that continued into the final month. I ran two long runs on consecutive weekends (10.25 and 11.35 miles). The first was excellent at a consistent and comfortable sub 7 minute mile pace. The second not so good, not comfortable at all and a slower pace of 7:16 per mile. On the bright side I've managed a couple of excellent fast paced 6 mile runs.

So what do I go for tomorrow? I guess I'm going to just have to go with how I feel and respond to what my legs tell me. If everything goes well I'll shoot for sub 1:26, but sub 1:28 and sub 1:30 are alternative targets. I've run this race many times before and I know what to do. Don't push it too hard early on and listen to what my body is telling me. The weather is looking quite good for tomorrow. Around 14 or 15C and just a gentle wind.

My wife has belatedly decided to take up her entry. She's doing it on a very short training schedule but I'm sure she'll be fine and it's great for us to be doing the Great North Run together again. I just hope she doesn't beat me for a fourth time!

Time to step it up

After a good start August didn't turn out to be the greatest training month for me. Determined to get a very long run in before going on holiday I ran 13.7 miles on the 12th. It turned out to be a poor effort and I limped home 1:42 (7:29 min/mile). What's more it only gave me 3 days recovery time before the Exhibition Park 5k. I set my PB in this event last year and was hoping to crack it again this time around. The first kilometre went well but by the 2k point I had started to slow. The rest was a bit of a struggle and I came home in 19:12. Not disastrous but somewhat disappointing. All my PBs are challenging now and I have to accept that it's not going to happen every time I race.

I wanted to continue training through our holiday but it didn't quite turn out that way. Managed three runs of around 5 miles in the first week but nothing in the second week. Back home now and the next two weeks are crucial. A long run of 10 miles tomorrow and then 11.5 next Sunday. After this I'll be in a position to set my goals for the Great North Run. I suspect 1:25 is out of the question but let's just wait and see how the next 8 days go.