Following - as in really following - a program by spoogie37

Well, yesterday was the day, time to see if the training would pay off. First song I heard on MP3 was Pink Floyd's Run Like Hell, perhaps not the best thing to do in a half! Didn't start off too promisingly, got to Reading Station to find there were delays on one of the lines to Wokingham, at least the other one was OK. And as I was walking from the station to the race start it was raining. Got to the start, used the loo, and then headed back towards my starting pen. I saw the signs - Sub 1:10, Sub 1:20 etc, seemed to stop at Sub 1:50, proceeded further back but eventually settled - if anything a bit too far forward as there were plenty behind me.

Said 10:07 on my watch (just a bog standard wristwatch, not even a digital) as I crossed the start line, and then 10:17 after mile 1, 10:27 after mile 2, more like 10:38 after mile 3. Felt fairly comfortable though - this seemed like about 10:20 per mile. First drink station just after 2 miles, walked a few paces as I drank some water and then off running again. Felt a bit of a stomach ache early on but this seemed to go, and also by now the rain had stopped. Heard a bit of shouting behind me at one stage - turned out to be a guy pushing his mate around in a wheelchair. And he must have beaten me because I didn't see him again. Still kept up th eroughly 10:20 pace through miles 4, 5 and 6, very brief walk breaks to change the album on my MP3 album, had been The Beatles to start with (Abbey Road), then Blur (Parklife) and a Britpop compilation. Took on more water at miles 5, 7 and 9 I think it was, and at 9 miles was still at 10:20 pace. Maybe did slow up a bit now, but still went through 10 miles in 1:43, but probably twelve minutes for mile 11. Last water round about here, and first significant walk break to go up a hill to a bridge across a motorway (only 100 yards of so, and course more or less flat apart from these small hills). Started runnig again when I got to the top, time round about 2:05 as I went through 12 miles. Walked a bit as well as I came up to the 13 mile marker but then beack into the run as I came to the finish.

Official clock said 2:24, but I think it took about six minutes to get to the start, so I am claiming 2:18 - and thats what my watch seemed to say! So thats a PB by six minutes, waiting to see official time on website.

Will be doing Reading in four weeks, that has two quite steep hills in it, but there's a couple of weeks training still to go before the taper.

Understand some folks were doing Sussex Beacon, well done to them, and best wishes

Love

Spoogie

xxx

Bit frightening really - all of a sudden its almost race time.

Tuesday 26th seems to be my last entry - that night did the first serious roda test of new trainers with a tempo run - 8 miles altogether with 6 at race pace, was if anything slight outside 10 minute pace. Early next morning set off to run into work , actually made 8 miles, feeling a bit stiff by then and had also reached Wokingham Station, with a train due in five minutes, so finished journey to work by train and did an easy 3 miles next day. On the Saturday ran to the football and did it as a tempo run, six miles at race pace along part of Reading Half Marathon course (which finishes at the Madejski Stadium) and managed to actually beat 10 minutes per mile. Reading won as well, so I was a happy bunny.

Did 11 on the Monday, from work to a rambling group social in the centre of Reading- and walked home (another 1.5 miles) after the social, and then a slightly broken up speed session on the Wednesday: mile threshold and mile jog x 3, then half mile threshold, then train back to Reading, then mile threshold home. More speedwork on Friday, mile threshold then mile jog x 3 (should really have been five - but time was limited). Recovery week this week so gentle 5 miles on Sunday, gentle 4 on Tuesday. Went to Reading Roadrunners last night and did speedwork with fast lap followed by slow lap x 9.

Back to work now, all the best

Spoogie

xxx

Didn't realise it had been two weeks since my last entry.

While the snow was there runs were just a certain distance along the Oxford Road (often long enough distances so the name changed!) and back again, generally in the road to avoid the snow, which was taking my life in my hands a bit as there was a lot of moving into the side to avoid traffic. Had a copule of the sessions on the treadmill as well. Went up to London to see my parents on the weekend of the 16th and bilss! No snow on the roads (or, more to the point, the pavements) so actually able to go for a normal run! Just five miles because of moving the recovery week, and reasonable pace.

On the Monday evening did a speed run, mile at 9:16 pace and half mile recovery jog x 5, and first two of the fast miles were actually quite a bit quicker than that. One was a bit outside and the other more or less on the pace, so I was pleased. Last mile was slower, was getting a bit tired by then. Easy run on Wednesday, on the treadmill as it was rather drizzly and yucky outside. Tempo on Friday, that was interrupted because of a hole in the pockets of my tracksuit bottoms and my keys going down the lining (for a while thought I'd lost them altogether, which would have been a disaster. The last 2.5 miles after all that were, however, at desired pace. Was dirty wetty that night as well, perhaps should have done that on the treadmill.

Birthday at weekend, and got a new pair of trainers. Had a gait analysis done as well, need a fair bit of cushioning as my left foot pronates quite a lot. Very thorough though, they tried four different pairs on me. Like that though I didn't do a long run on Sunday as I had intended, thought 3 mile easy would be better to wear in the new pumps a bit. Will do the long run later in the week.

Anyway better do some work now, will be in touch again later.

Best wishes

Spoogie

xxx

Did tempo run last Monday (4th) and at end of it heard someone in my rambling group talk about the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. On a couple of occasions during the run encountered groups of teenagers - about four to six in each - and one of them each time said "keep on going" and started running with me and then sprinted off a bit up the road and came back again. Must say this made me a bit apprehensive - thought he might attack me or something but fortunately he then went back to his mates.

Then the snow came and there was no more running for four days: though on the Wednesday I could only get a train as far as Wokingham so had to walk the rest of the way to work (about four to five miles), and was phoned by my Mum and my brother during the walk. They would have nagged if I'd said what I was doing, so I told them I was at home and not going into work. I had a nightmare bus journey home on Thursday and my mum phoned me at 10 past 10 Thursday night saying "don't go in tomorrow, I've seen people slipping and falling over on the ice".

In fact I didn't go in on Friday and instead I did my speedwork session on the treadmill at the local gym (£8 so not cheap): mile at 9;16 pace and half mile at 11:25 pace x 4, fourth rep cut short as treadmill went into cool down mode after an hour. Pity as I had coped fine and could easily have finished the session. Saturday I did 5 miles easy and Sunday 10 miles easy, just along the main road (in the road, but not too much traffic about so safe).

Will probably, because of the weather, bring forward next week's recovery to this week - when its just easy runs and you're not worrying about speed then main roads and icy pavements aren't so bad, but rather difficult to do anything that involves faster speeds under these circumstances.

So take care everyone in the snow, hope its gone by the time I write my next post.

Love

Spoogie

xxx