#7644

Race day fast approaches. Physical preperation are done. I can do no more. Mental prepartions.

Training hours logged and I’m happy. Had a great couple of weeks. I am making progress, and I’m in this for the long haul journey. I’m not going to feel guilty for missing a few sessions and not doing any runs this and last week (so far) because of commitments on a new project. I’ve not worked out a routine yet. Had planned on doing one yesterday evening but it was just a tad too windy: too many things flying around including the conker that knocked me on the back on the way home from the station in the afternoon. Going to go out this evening after I vote as I haven’t had a run with my new phone and its arm-holder.

That’s the only niggle I have at the moment – and I have a plan B for that. But I know I have put in the hard work including that last long run.

That aside, just need to get safety pins out for my race number, sort out my race kit (including my dry kit) & supplies the night before, as well as pack my dry kit, make sure I have music ready, and have a good night sleep before race night.

2015 #28 – Selfie Sticks Are Annoying

I think my legs are going to go on strike this afternoon and stage a sit-down. Well, the rest of me is pleased to have notched up 18km 6-weeks ahead of the Hackney Half Marathon. 

2015 #22 Please sir can I have some more?

Interval day. 5 short, sharp bursts nearing 4:20 minutes per km rather than my usual 6 minutes+ per km. Hell, at that rate I’d be doing 90 minute half marathons! Just call me Mo Farah.

Oh, imagine. 

But imagine is all I can dream of doing the Hackney Half Marathon (or any half marathon) in at that pace.

And even then I’m not as fast as Mo – he runs around the 4-minute mile pace.  But what harm is it to dream when doing sessions that are about training my muscles not to settle into a routine and not to get to use too, and stuck at, a certain pace.

However, this session had only 5 lots of 20 seconds bursts. And that left me longing for more. Contrary to previous posts that is not my usual feeling after an interval session. Obviously Spring has sprung and put a spring in my step.

2015 #20 Running up that hill

I really didn’t want to go for a run this morning. Excuses I had plenty. I woke up at silly o’clock and was tired. It was grey and miserable outside. I was in a mood because my tablet’s battery appeared on the blink again. But 8 weeks today I’m running the Hackney Half Marathon, so I need to answer my excuses and find some motivation.  So when my tablet started to behave itself, I seized the moment, donned my running gear (with the return of my shed layer from yesterday) and ran to the hills.

This is my long established hill route, which I call 10KDogKennelHill, because its about 10k and about three-quarters of the way along I have to run up Dog Kennel Hill*. This route is my chance to push myself. It’s my fixed route, so I have a chance to measure my progress. And knowing the route backwards, I can focus on running technique, style and posture.

And how am I doing?  Good news. I’m improving – which is a major confidence boost. This is the third time in my training for the Brighton Half Marathon, and now the Hackney Half Marathon.

Back at the start of December 2014, my pace was 07:02 minutes each km.  And I didn’t go as far as I have done on the last two. Today I was a minute quicker on average per km. Baseline is now set and I plan to do this run once a month. Running faster and better is the obvious objective, which I will link to these two specific goals:

1. To run up and over** Camberwell Grove, a gentle incline for about a kilometre, in sub 6minutes.
2. And although it’s not a great distance, given it is a steep incline three-quarters of the way along the route, my second goal on this route is to run up and over Dog Kennel Hill non-stop.

For all my procrastination and excuses, today I enjoyed the run. It improved my mood and I got to take in some views and public art along the way. Thankfully I missed the rain. And I achieved my two goals. The second helped along by my phone playing me the Thompson Twin’s 80’s classic – You Take Me Up, which seemed rather apt.

Booth Hall

Rushkin’s View of St Pauls

Dulwich Art Outside Project – Vale Lane

Ram watching for the wolf – Champion Hill

Burgess Park

*So called because it where the Prince of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne, had the kennels to house his great Danes. He had his royal household in the area, hence Denmark Hill – which I also run up!

**And my past training is coming back – you don’t run up hills, you run over hills.

2015 #19 Sluggish

Commitment has been made to my next race: I’d better get some training in. Although I brought my trainers and running kit with me on my trip to North Devon this week, I didn’t wear them. I managed a fair bit of walking around some lovely scenery, taking in some large artworks and enjoying the sunsets. But no running.

I know I had better get started and soon: so shoes on, kit on and out the door I went. The weather is a bit up and down at the moment, but today it was sunny and seemed warm. I risked one less layer than I have had on all winter. Thankfully it was warm and glorious, and so very not needed. Clocked up another 7km. First few at a nice pace and easy enough going; the last two very sluggish and hard going. Maybe too long a rest after the Brighton Half or maybe too big a portion of vegi lasagne and chips for lunch, not quite sure which.  Either way, I guess no resting on any laurels for the

Hackney Half Marathon – I ‘m going to have work hard for it. Which is good, it gives my running a purpose, gives me a goal and stops me from being lazy. Well, not lazy. But I have a comeback, a reminder, to myself when I don’t feel like going out.

2015 #17 – Camberwell Beauty

A little run to ease me into the weekend. And I tried to be arty, using the using the colourful streets of Camberwell to draw a picture. Based it on the butterfly named after the area, the Camberwell Beauty, a mosaic of which I run past on a regular basis, including today.Ok.  It is a tad unsymmetrical and wonky, and if it could fly would probably fly around in circles and it’s only got one antenna – so, let’s just call it a work in progress, a bit like me.

Pleased with training today, all in all, a good run.  My cold is no worse than yesterday and feels like it might even be in abeyance. Nice pace – at the start.  But still need to build up my stamina.  Weather not as nice as Monday’s but the sun was trying to pop out.

I have also reached my target for sponsorship, but don’t let that put you off.  All money raised is going to support the good work of CoolTan Arts, and who knows, your click on this link and your donation might help me run a bit faster.  Thanks. 

2015 #16 Intervals

It’s been a week or so since my trainers saw the light of day and pounded the highways and by-ways of South London.  Had a couple of physio sessions, to help me get over a back issue, and didn’t feel able to do any running afterwards. And Tuesday was yoga to help with my flexibility and mindfulness.  The other days I

The 12-minute test

My training app of choice is Endomondo.  And my training plan I am trying to follow is curtsey of it, with my own additions, in particular, my long running sessions.  At the moment I am mullering the paces it says I should be training at  – and boy, it feels good.

Each of the last few of weeks one of the suggested session is a 12-minute test, so it can recalibrate itself.

Question:  if I do, and the paces it says I need to run at are closer to where I am, will I become disheartened if I miss those on a training session?  Decisions, decisions, decisions.

2015 #15 – 18km like a bullet

I did it.  I upped my distance. I chalked up another long run and covered 18km of my 21km race distance.  I am only 3 weeks from race day, and I just just 3km to add on to my long runs.

Checking my times too, seems I was 18km like a bullet or however that song went (well like this actually).

It’s been a week or two since my last long run.  So I peered down the gun-barrel of today’s planned long run with equal measures of desire and dread.

2015 #14 -Have jump under-

Just a short run, pushing myself to keep up the pace.  Been averaging 6:00minute+ kilometres of late and felt like seeing how far I could go at a sustained, faster pace. And the answer is 3km, with an average of just under 5:30 minutes per kilometre.

At the start of #4 my legs just went NO!  I won’t be doing that for 21km, so no sub 2hr half marathons for me this time around.  But I still have a little something in my legs, and its the start of my journey back into running so there I know that there is some room for improvement if I can maintain the training for the rest of the year and if I loose more weight.

-Have jump under-?  I have no idea what it means but it is what my predictive text decided was the name for the run as I tried to enter “Short, sharp run” on my damp screen with my sweaty digits.  #TechnologyFail

Thanks again to those that have sponsored me as a run for CoolTan Arts, supporting the invaluable work that they do. Every penny helps motivate me, especially in the winter weather as I will describe.  My sponsorship page can be found here.