Alan Murchison's blog by Alan_Murchison

I planned to start the year as I mean to go on, so I managed to get in a great block of hardcore training whilst on holiday in Scotland. The weather was challenging to say the least and had everything from 80 mph winds where I just couldn't run faster than 7 minute miles no matter how hard I tried, right the way through to minus 5 and sheet ice with a savage tail wind. I needed a sail not running shoes! Not having to think about work, I managed to knock out a solid 90 miles a week. In fact since Christmas training, I have averaged 75 miles a week plus 100 a week on the bike. I'm finding my new Garmin 610 is quite an addictive training tool, analysing every mile. Let's hope I don't get Garmin dependency, I have heard it's a terrible affliction!! The run I have sent a link to is typical Scottish training; 2 minutes a mile difference due to hills and weather, same effort. Unbelievable.

I needed to get some solid miles in as a base, because this forms the foundation for the rest of the year. You do forget when living in the south of England just how tough the training conditions are 'up north'. Maybe I am just getting soft and old? Anyway the year's racing started early with the Hampshire Cross Country Championships. 12,000m of rather interesting and challenging terrain in the New Forest, with something for everyone, hard pack, mud, grass and hills. I drove down with Louise Damen and John Beattie who were also both racing. Realistically we all had a chance of winning our respective races, John being a 28 min 10k runner only really had fellow GB International Lee Merrien for company at the sharp end. And Lou on paper was in a class of her own. True to form, she won, but still has marathon pace legs!

John came second behind Lee and they were both flying! I went through the first mile in 5.04 and reckon John was 20 seconds plus ahead of me at that stage!! And I came second in the M40 category. In fact I ran well and finished 10th overall. I also had a good race with GB under 23 international Phil Bernsten, although in the end he had too much speed (and talent) for me over the last 1k. Winchester's men took second in the team competition and second in the Veterans! So all in all a good start to the year and I feel like I'm getting fitter every week 

I am still really enjoying cycling at the moment and am now thinking about having a serious crack at Duathlon this year. I've got a very fast, exciting and expensive new bike project coming up next week to talk about!!! And I'll be back racing again at the Hampshire League trying to get a lead in the M40 title race. Oh and I am also planning to log all my 2012 training online if anyone's interested?!? Have a great week.

Hi realbuzzers, Happy New Year. Looking back it’s been a mixed year for me personally in 2011. Some great training followed by some hugely disappointing races or two, then a mis-diagnosis for Sportsman’s Hernia which lost me 12 weeks of training. So all in all, a bit of a rollercoaster year, but all good fun mind you and I am looking forward to a very exciting 2012. So with that in mind, I thought I would give my view of the best of 2011. My best race of 2011 was the Bath Half Marathon in March. I ran 71.07 and it felt like a walk in the park, literally. It was hugely surprising given the previous week had been my highest ever mileage week of marathon training and I had done a session 3 days before. But it’s always great when you cruise round a race 'as training'

My worst race of 2011 was without a doubt the Virgin London Marathon. I had such high expectations and felt really good. Training was like clockwork, but nothing is ever straightforward during a marathon. I quote this as my own personal worst race due to my wheels coming off by mile 16 and then having to endure the longest 10 miles of my life. Cramp was to blame and I am still none the wiser why. The last 2 miles took me over 25 minutes and were truly savage. I have re-entered for 2012 as I have a score to settle there. This year I aim to nail sub 2.30 or I am retiring from marathon running.

My best session of 2011 must be during my August Majorcan cross training flare up. A 2 mile sea swim, 4 hours on the bike at 20mph average speed followed by 2 hours aqua-jogging at threshold pace. It was brutal because the temperature was in the mid- 30s, but it was one of those days when I could have kept going all day. My worst session of 2011 must be a swimming session. I never enjoy any of these work outs. Probably my failed attempt at swimming 10k in the sea, when I managed 5k and just could not do any more. A measly 3 miles and I felt gutted. Next day I couldn't move my arms, pathetic.

My best bit of kit in 2011 is a recent addition - a Garmin Forerunner 610. What a piece of technology? The best thing for me is the ability to download all your training and monitor your performance against previous runs. This should prove a great training tool for marathon preparation, but it’s not cheap though, but it is so much better than any of the other systems I have used in the past.

The best sporting moment 2011 for me has to be Mark Cavendish winning the World Road Race champs. The British team put in a herculean effort from the start and had a strategy that just couldn’t be beaten. Bradley Wiggins was a complete animal, pulling the whole peloton along and then with 1k to go you just knew that Cav would find a way through the pack. It was an inspirational performance and a fitting finish to an amazing season. Athlete of the year 2011 must be Mo Farah has for me because he has now truly shown his quality on the world stage. In this year’s World Championships he took on the might of Africa and won, something that has not been done for many years by a British athlete.

Along with an amazing win over 10,000 in Eugene which had one of the highest quality fields ever, I am also interested by his 60 min win over the half marathon, which shows there's a good marathon in him. But he had a brilliant year with a very exciting 2012 coming up. My best TV moment of 2011 was watching my training buddy Louise Damen running the last 400m of the 2011 London Marathon to run the 4th fastest marathon debut by a British female and to post a time 1 minute inside the Olympic marathon 'A' standard. Even though I was watching a recording and so I knew the time she’d run, I was still shouting at the TV! Having shared a fair few miles with her, I knew how much work had gone into this result. Fingers crossed this year she runs even faster this year. And finally some of my goals for 2012. A sub 2.30 marathon at the age of 40. A sub 70 minute half marathon. To complete a Half Ironman Triathlon. Swim 10k in the sea And win the British Masters Cross Country. No pressure!!

Ho ho ho, it’s getting close to Christmas now and the busiest week of the year. It’s great for business, but less brilliant for training and racing. Have done lots of hours at work this week so mileage pretty poor, only about 60 miles for the week and 4 hours on the bike. That’s not ideal preparation for the weekend’s racing. I had planned an easier week to try and be a bit fresher for the Southern Masters Cross Country Championships held in lovely Croydon. It’s a good course with hills and some pretty fast running, but unfortunately the mud didn't materialise.

The men's 40 plus race was the last race of the day as it was also the Inter-Counties with lots of fast kids tearing about and with the sun fading fast the course was icing up and the going was firm. I got into a really good race with my old adversary Andy Morgan Lee & John Clarke. We managed to break away from the main field, however when Andy put the hammer down with 2k left, I just couldn't respond. So 3rd place and a South of England medal, but I do need to keep working hard as I’m still not race fit. I am though progressing in the right direction.

I have 10 days off work, starting on Christmas Eve, which means I can focus on my running more in preparation for the next big race which is the Hampshire County Champs on the first weekend in January. I need to get lots of quality training in as opposed to lots of Quality Street chocolates! One of the best things about running is having good company to drag you along and share the beautiful days and a well as to help each other when doing sessions or feeling rough. I am really lucky with running partners as for the last few years I have always been able to run with either Chris 'the racing snake' or Louise 'the demon'.

My latest partner has 4 legs and is my Siberian husky pup, Teako. I have had 2 huskies in the past and as running buddies they are exceptional. They will quite happily run all day, in fact the colder and wetter the weather, the happier they are. And they can run at 8mph or 20mph (I can't manage that). Teako is now 7 months old and only thing I need to be careful of is doing too much too soon with him. He looks like an adult dog, however he's still a pup inside. There’s a lot of satisfaction to be had running with your 4-legged friend as this is what dogs should be doing. Five minutes around a park is not what they are designed to do.

I have a friend, Sandra, who has 5 huskies and 2 of Teako’s brothers and she regularly does ultra marathons (50 miles plus) with her dogs and they take it in their stride. Teako gets genuinely excited when the running shoes come out and especially likes running twice a day! It’s no problem to him. He even comes to the track and watches me running round in circles, dogs are not allowed ON the track unfortunately! Even Louise who is not a great lover of dogs has joined us for training runs. I think she is jealous of his effortless gait and 4 legs....

Hi realbuzzers. It’s been busy at work, with festive nonsense and doing lots of hard training as well. Now we are into the festive season, I have been working on lots of new ideas for the food in 2012 and given my, some might say 'obsession' with health & exercise, I have been looking into the nutritional balance of the menus we offer. We are now cooking a lot on a 'Big Green Egg' which is a great piece of kit that we grill, barbecue & smoke lots of different foods on. It also makes the most amazing pizzas!! Now pizzas are actually almost a perfect meal if you make them yourself, because you have carbs from the dough, calcium from the cheese & protein from the meat. And if you load it up with passata tomato sauce and roquette salad you have your vegetable intake. Like everything it’s all in the balance with food.

My new favourite ingredient is beetroot & apple juice. We are using this in various ways and serving with hot smoked salmon and also marinated mackerel, a really tasty way of improving athletic performance! Beetroot juice has been proven to increase the absorb ion of oxygen into the blood by 16% and also increase endurance! Allegedly a certain Paula Radcliffe uses it, although I’m not sure if she is using it with hot smoking salmon. Probably as likely as me running a 2.23 marathon this year! The only issue is that drinking lots of beetroot juice does some very strange things to your tummy, so be warned!

I raced again this weekend after a very stressful and busy week at work (I had 2 x17 hour days midweek). I’d also had a couple of very tough training sessions, so I just wanted to use the race as another stepping stone towards getting race fit in the New Year. Popham Cross Country in the Hampshire League was one of the most boring and unremarkable races I have ever run. It was basically three laps of a rutted playing field and quite honestly the course was set up for the ease of officiating rather than for the athletes. There was no mud and no hills so for me, that is not cross country! It’s a track race on grass. Anyway I started fairly steadily and worked my way through the field.

It felt solid but a heavy work week took its toll that’s for sure, although I did manage to finish first in the M40 which means I am in joint first position in the Hampshire League with 2 races left in the series. This is good news as I am getting fitter every week and certainly progressing....albeit slowly. These races are tough going though as I am training hard through them all which means you are never 'race sharp'. In fact at the moment I am trying to fit the following into a week’s training; one track/interval session; one brick session (run/bike/run); one race and a long run of 15/16 miles; then a couple of easy days to recover which means I am gaining fitness although I am tired constantly. Hopefully this base training will see me stronger than ever in 2012, fingers crossed. Next week the Southern Masters Cross Country Championships and running with husky dogs.