The last couple of weeks have been really busy.
Along with the running, other challenges have been cropping up along the way. I gave my first lecture this week which ironically was on stress in sport. Hopefully the students got something out of it. It was certainly another good step on the academic career, and after some initial nerves at the start I really enjoyed the experience. Big thanks to Tom as he took the first half.
Anyway onto the running. Last week involved threshold running, a couple of 30-40 Min's runs and a 60min run on the Sunday. Fairly easy all round. This week has been tougher. After the lecture on Tue, I headed out in York and along the river ran 5.55miles in 44 Min's. Thursday I set out just as it was getting dark. After a slowish start, when I got to the canal I realised that the night was closing in pretty quickly, so I upped my pace and beat my 5k time by a min or so. This now stands at 23 Min's 32 secs. Yesterday's weather was awful so I headed to the gym for an easy 30min run and a workout.
Today was the big one. Just over 14 miles in 1hr 55 Min's. I ran the half quicker than two weeks ago in 1hr 47 Min's. Along the way I also beat my time for the 10k, now 51min 25 secs. This was also a tougher route than last time because I ran up the hill into Headingley which was a killer. The most encouraging thing was that although I was completely knackered at the end, I think I could have kept going for another mile or two at least. So where as last time I ran over 13 I was feeling more apprehensive about the marathon, this Sunday has boosted my confidence.
Here's to more nice weather and brighter evenings for running when the clocks go forward.
Gareth
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Monday, 8 March 2010
Kenyan Hills and My First Half Marathon Distance
We had a night out with with friends down in Barnsley on Fri - 'Great lasagna and chocolate pancakes Trin'. This meant that Sat was spent eating fry-ups and drinking gallons of water in order to cure the hangover.
After getting back home about 4ish, I headed downstairs to the gym for some Kenyan Hills still feeling pretty groggy. A couple of weeks ago I'd dipped out of the hills, so this was my first attempt. At first I thought I'd give the hill program a go on level 20 at 12 kph. Well, after 2 Min's of this I was hanging on for fear of producing an outtake from SAW or HOSTEL. In other words it was a bit too hard, so I started again. This time with the speed and incline under my control, I increased the gradient to 8.0 and went at 11 kph for 2 Min's before resting at 10 kph for 1 Min and then repeating. All in all I completed 10 sets of 2 Min's, including the mad dash at the start. This was pretty exhausting. Not quite as tough as the threshold training, but not far off.
On Sunday I woke up reasonably early and headed out on the week's long run. The sun was beaming but the water was still frozen in the shady parts. All in all it was a great morning for running. Joanna came along for the first 1.75 miles. This was the first time I'd run with anyone else during my training and I felt a slight sense of loneliness as she turned back for home and I carried on up the canal.
I reached half way - 6.75 miles - in 1hr. As I turned around I thought about every step now taking me closer to home, and how this thought might help me during the marathon. At this point I felt fine, my breathing was steady and my legs still felt strong. This continued up until about 11 miles by which time I was feeling the strain of increasing my pace. The last 2 miles were tough but when I made it to the end of the canal I'd completed the half marathon distance - 13.1 miles - in 1hr 52Min's. I continued home at a sluggish pace and completed 13.44 miles in 1hr 55Min's.
I felt that for my third week of training this was a good achievement, but the more I run long distances, the more I'm starting to realise just how far 26.2 miles is.
Gareth
After getting back home about 4ish, I headed downstairs to the gym for some Kenyan Hills still feeling pretty groggy. A couple of weeks ago I'd dipped out of the hills, so this was my first attempt. At first I thought I'd give the hill program a go on level 20 at 12 kph. Well, after 2 Min's of this I was hanging on for fear of producing an outtake from SAW or HOSTEL. In other words it was a bit too hard, so I started again. This time with the speed and incline under my control, I increased the gradient to 8.0 and went at 11 kph for 2 Min's before resting at 10 kph for 1 Min and then repeating. All in all I completed 10 sets of 2 Min's, including the mad dash at the start. This was pretty exhausting. Not quite as tough as the threshold training, but not far off.
On Sunday I woke up reasonably early and headed out on the week's long run. The sun was beaming but the water was still frozen in the shady parts. All in all it was a great morning for running. Joanna came along for the first 1.75 miles. This was the first time I'd run with anyone else during my training and I felt a slight sense of loneliness as she turned back for home and I carried on up the canal.
I reached half way - 6.75 miles - in 1hr. As I turned around I thought about every step now taking me closer to home, and how this thought might help me during the marathon. At this point I felt fine, my breathing was steady and my legs still felt strong. This continued up until about 11 miles by which time I was feeling the strain of increasing my pace. The last 2 miles were tough but when I made it to the end of the canal I'd completed the half marathon distance - 13.1 miles - in 1hr 52Min's. I continued home at a sluggish pace and completed 13.44 miles in 1hr 55Min's.
I felt that for my third week of training this was a good achievement, but the more I run long distances, the more I'm starting to realise just how far 26.2 miles is.
Gareth
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Tipping the threshold
Yesterday I completed a session of threshold running.
I went to the gym after uni and because I was feeling pretty ropey from an annoying cold, I was planning to switch threshold running with today's session - an easy 20min jog and 40 Min's cross training (i.e. cycling and weights).
Anyway after 5 Min's on the treadmill I'd started to feel OK, so I decided crank up the speed and have a go at the thresholds. This basically involved running as fast as possible for 15Min's then having a 5 min jog, then going again as fast as possible for 15Min's before a 5min jog at the end.
To tell you the truth this is one of, if not the toughest forms of training I've ever done. It puts a massive strain on cardiovascular system for a sustained period, and it's really hard to judge what speed to try and aim for throughout the first 15Min's. This is basically because although 15Min's doesn't sound like a lot, when running at speed, it is. Set off too fast and the lungs burn and the legs run out of steam, leaving no energy for round two. This is basically what I did last night. In the first round of 15 Min's I ran about 3.75km, leaving me completely knackered for round two. In round two only manage to last at round 1 pace for 5Min's before dropping to 8min/miles and then reducing to 9min/miles for the last 5 Min's.
Still I completed an overall total of 5 miles in 42 Min's, which was pretty good. I think for the next threshold session I need to aim for 7'20''/mile which should give me a good chance of making round two as worthwhile as round one. If I can keep consistent pace over the two rounds it will improve my overall speed and strength come marathon day May 23rd.
Gareth
I went to the gym after uni and because I was feeling pretty ropey from an annoying cold, I was planning to switch threshold running with today's session - an easy 20min jog and 40 Min's cross training (i.e. cycling and weights).
Anyway after 5 Min's on the treadmill I'd started to feel OK, so I decided crank up the speed and have a go at the thresholds. This basically involved running as fast as possible for 15Min's then having a 5 min jog, then going again as fast as possible for 15Min's before a 5min jog at the end.
To tell you the truth this is one of, if not the toughest forms of training I've ever done. It puts a massive strain on cardiovascular system for a sustained period, and it's really hard to judge what speed to try and aim for throughout the first 15Min's. This is basically because although 15Min's doesn't sound like a lot, when running at speed, it is. Set off too fast and the lungs burn and the legs run out of steam, leaving no energy for round two. This is basically what I did last night. In the first round of 15 Min's I ran about 3.75km, leaving me completely knackered for round two. In round two only manage to last at round 1 pace for 5Min's before dropping to 8min/miles and then reducing to 9min/miles for the last 5 Min's.
Still I completed an overall total of 5 miles in 42 Min's, which was pretty good. I think for the next threshold session I need to aim for 7'20''/mile which should give me a good chance of making round two as worthwhile as round one. If I can keep consistent pace over the two rounds it will improve my overall speed and strength come marathon day May 23rd.
Gareth
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Week 2 - Hills, canals and colds
It's been a while since my last post, as the more important task of proposal writing has taken over.
I'm going to run you through the week's events from back to front (more to aid my memory than anything else) - so here we go.
Sunday was a long run. This was tough but I managed 10.10miles in 90mins which was an acheivement because the wine had been flowing the night before at Jo's Mum and Dad's (Happy Birthday Sue). Running next to the canal for the first four miles felt easy but the hill into Headingley which stretches over about a mile was a killer.
Saturday was meant to be cross training but this ended up being a walk to the market which doesn't really qualify. I did wake up with the biggest crick in my neck though which still aches now (excuses, excuses).
Friday was a rest day so I watched the Wales v France game which was enough to get the heart rate going towards maximum levels but not really exercise. What a try by Shane but you can't give the French a 20 point lead.
I trained intervals in York on Thursday. This was pretty tough as I had to run at 10k pace (7mins/mile) for 6mins then jog for 5mins and repeat four times. This meant I ran 5.77miles in 46mins which averages out at about 8min/mile. Although it was tough, it was the first run since I started my training where I noticed my legs feeling stronger and better able to cope with the distance.
Wed involved a short but quick hill running session. Finding hills in Leeds City Centre is pretty tough but between North Street and the road which goes to Chapeltown there is a good zig zag route of hilly streets. I worked the legs hard on the uphill sections and completed 2.76m in 21mins (7'49''/mile).
Tuesday was an easy 30min recovery run.
Monday was 5-a-side football.
That was last week.
I now have a stinker of a cold but the show must go on. Easy recovery 30min run today, but not looking forward to the threshold running tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
Gareth
I'm going to run you through the week's events from back to front (more to aid my memory than anything else) - so here we go.
Sunday was a long run. This was tough but I managed 10.10miles in 90mins which was an acheivement because the wine had been flowing the night before at Jo's Mum and Dad's (Happy Birthday Sue). Running next to the canal for the first four miles felt easy but the hill into Headingley which stretches over about a mile was a killer.
Saturday was meant to be cross training but this ended up being a walk to the market which doesn't really qualify. I did wake up with the biggest crick in my neck though which still aches now (excuses, excuses).
Friday was a rest day so I watched the Wales v France game which was enough to get the heart rate going towards maximum levels but not really exercise. What a try by Shane but you can't give the French a 20 point lead.
I trained intervals in York on Thursday. This was pretty tough as I had to run at 10k pace (7mins/mile) for 6mins then jog for 5mins and repeat four times. This meant I ran 5.77miles in 46mins which averages out at about 8min/mile. Although it was tough, it was the first run since I started my training where I noticed my legs feeling stronger and better able to cope with the distance.
Wed involved a short but quick hill running session. Finding hills in Leeds City Centre is pretty tough but between North Street and the road which goes to Chapeltown there is a good zig zag route of hilly streets. I worked the legs hard on the uphill sections and completed 2.76m in 21mins (7'49''/mile).
Tuesday was an easy 30min recovery run.
Monday was 5-a-side football.
That was last week.
I now have a stinker of a cold but the show must go on. Easy recovery 30min run today, but not looking forward to the threshold running tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
Gareth
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