Friday 24 August 2012

PM: Been fine all day long and as soon as I step out of the door it starts raining!!  Had a message today that might be needed to do a Southern League Match next Saturday, but I am not sure what kind of shape I'm in as I've had the easy month and and not raced since mid July. So thought I would tonight just go out and run hard and see what I could do! The route was two laps of Lyminge and the results was as follows: 6.57/ 7.01/6.37/6.56/6.40/6.28  -  Not to bad perhaps I hadn't lost as much as I though!!

Distance: 6 Miles           Time: 00:40:44      Ave Pace: 6.47 m/m

Thursday 23 August 2012

AM: Easy run went out up to Tolsford Hill along the North Downs Way which is cross country and quite hilly, it was a nice morning and I thought it would make a change! So due to the nature of the route the first three miles were very slow and the second half which changed to road at Postling Frith and followed Brady Road all the way down into Lyminge and then round it and back across golf course, was a bit quicker as can be seen by the splits: 9.03/ 8.30/ 9.15/ 7.26/7.12/7.29

Distance:  6 miles             Time: 00:48:58   Ave Pace: 8.10 m/m

Wednesday 22 August 2012

First run in 8 days and felt really fresh and eager to start new season. Did two laps of Lyminge. Pace was left to how I felt. Splits 7.16/ 7.30/ 7.18/ 7.46/ 7.07/ 7.19

Distance:  6 miles.            Time: 00:44:20      Ave Pace: 7.23 m/m

READY TO GO!!!!!!

After about a month of easy running having had days off as and when needed, and doing any harder session at striding pace rather than flat out and after a week in some glorious sunshine in Greece I now feel refreshed and ready to start the Autumn training.
After the reflecting stage at the end of July I have now used this period to set my main GOAL for the Autumn and hopefully how I am going to achieve this. Planning is vital, my goal Sub 59 mins at the GREAT SOUTH RUN in Portsmouth on Sun 28 October 2012.  I have one mesocycle to plan to get me fit and fast ready for this race, which I will break down into 10 weekly microcycles, building the endurance and speed on a weekly basis with a taper at the end so I am refreshed and ready.  I will be doing other races along the way, but will not be easing off for them but training through them. Therefore I will be using these as pointers and indicators to how my training is going but will not be disappointed if the times are not to hot.
The Cross Country Season will also be starting in October and hopefully I will be looking for strong performances in these as well.

Easy Running Period

14 -21 August 2012      - HOLIDAY Santorini Greece. No running.
Mon 13 August 2012    - Easy 5 miler with Tim & Louis
Sun 12 August 2012     - No Run
Sat 11 August  2012     - Track Ashford 600m/400m/200m x 3 with 2 barriers per lap
Wed-Fri 8-10 Aug        - No Runs, decorating
Tue 7 August 2012       -  Club 6 x 3 mins with 1 min recovery.
Mon 6 August 2012      -  Easy run with Tim & Angela & Lucy. 5 miles
Sun 5 August 2012       -  Went to London to watch Olympic Women's marathon
Sat 4 August 2012        -  Easy running with some hurdling.   6 miles
Friday 3 August 2012   -  Easy run whilst Ashford 5km taking place - 3 miles
Tuesday 31 July 2012   -  5x 4 mins striding out only.
Monday 30 July 2012   -  Easy Run Tim, Louis & Lucy.  5 Miles
Sunday 29 July 2012    -  Long Run, with Tim, Angela, Steve & Lucy.  10 Miles
Saturday 28 July 2012  -  Interval session 1x800m, 3x400m, 4x200m only performed at stride pace.

A TIME TO REFLECT!!!!!!!!

The time has come to assess my position and work out the plan for the next year, following the visit from a good old friend of mine from Canada, who I used to train with many years ago I have decided to follow his wisdom and ease off and have a break. It would be very tempting to push on racing and try and continue the fine vein of form that I have acquired over the last few months, it has been a long while since I was able to get two sub 36 min 10km’s in the summer. The head says keep going, push on for some more good times however the body is getting older year after year and being closer to 50 rather than 40 I will have to listen to the body.

So I have decided to have 10 days off from running all together whilst I am at Scout Camp, and then training very easy for the next four weeks but trying to start some core and strength and conditioning. Then start up a build up again around the 20 Aug, which will include training through races in Sept & Oct with the end goal of the Great South Run on 28 Oct, with the aim to try and see how far under the hour I can get. Following that have an easier four weeks through November ready for the start of my Marathon training in December getting ready for London 2013.

It is important to sit back and take some time to plan out your training and take some breaks otherwise you will find that you can get stale and not get those improvements you seek. By having a break before you get to this stage it will help with your motivation and hopefully keep your mind and body fresh.

I am sure this approach will be quite difficult, as with the Olympics coming up I will get caught up with the excitement and want to get out running hard!! But remember those guys have all planned their strategies very carefully, which will have included some breaks each year.

As you advance your running you start to realize that it’s not quite as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and plodding on. You want to push yourself on to get those PB’s and challenge yourself.

So remember to take some time out to do your own planning!!!!

Tuesday 17 July 2012

PM: From the club we went around the Three Kings course, but with a "twist".  Easy running for first 20 mins then (5min hard 5 min easy)x3 followed by easy run back home. Last effort included 2.5mins up Hospital Hill!!!!

Distance: 8 miles    Time:  01:02:39