Thursday 7 April 2011

10 days to go- its the final countdown!

Training is almost over. Only one more run of significant distance on Saturday on my schedule. I think i'll go to the forest and do my regular Saturday run with Stuart.
The 20 mile run at Oakley was tough and there were loads of hills. It's taken until now for me to feel any real energy when i'm running but i'm told thats normal after running for almost 3 hours ( 2 hours 52 mins ) in a race. Hopefully i'll be raring to go next week as you only get one chance at the marathon.
I hope there will be toilets on the east London runners coach to the marathon as i'm sure I will be a bundle of nerves on the day.
I'm planning on going to the excel next Thursday with Manjit to collect my number. I have just consumed half an easter egg and a caramel mini egg whilst doing this blog post. Hopefully I wont get  too fat before next week!
Check back after the marathon to check how it went. Wish me luck!!

Friday 25 March 2011

3 weeks to go - omg !

 Only 3 weeks to go. Where has the time gone .
I think training has been going ok although I have been suffering with a cold (man flu) this week so I have had to take it easy. I was reading an interesting article today from a respected expert on running and didnt realise that when you do a long run it can take a day a mile to recover ,e;g a 20 mile run can take 3 weeks to recover from , no wonder I cant run as fast as I want when I do my shorter runs in the week. Now I know why the taper period starts 3 weeks before the marathon .
 1 more long run on sunday ,the oakley 20 in bedford. Apparently it's a tough race and a bedford harriers member told me that if you can do oakley without too many problems you can do the marathon . Hopefully I will make it round ok .  Unfortunatlely my friend Karen has a foot injury that wont go away so has had to defer which is a great shame . Not sure if I will be doing the marathin next year ! on the plus side my friend manjit is going well and should go sub 3 hours in the marathon taking into account he did a 20 mile run in under 2hrs 15mins the other week, wow !
 Please check back in when you are bored to see how I go on sunday .
Grant
p.s The orion was a good training run . I did 2 miles befoe the start and was going ok until I lost a shoe in the mud at mile 2 and had to stop a few times to retrieve the shoe and empty out the mud and stones at various points . Never mind , some tough hills  and muddy sections provided some good training .

Saturday 12 March 2011

The end is in sight

It's still a struggle to find the time and energy to keep to my training plan but I am just about managing 50 miles a week with at least 2 days rest per week . My training isn't exactly orthodox but is anything I do orthodox ! I have a nagging doubt that I am not doing enough really long runs but this week I have managed a fast 10 ,16 on wednesday around the elr club run and 15 today at the forest . Just over a month to go till the marathon with about a month of hard training to go with the taper at the end . The finishing line is in sight . I am looking forward to getting my life back again  .

Sunday 6 March 2011

oh my god only 42 days to go

This time in six weeks I should have completed the marathon ! Time is flying by now and apart from being knackered half the time and thinking I haven't done enough training for the other half , things are going ok !
  Going back to 25th feb I did ok in the serpentine 5k . I went under 21 and a half minutes to record 21,28 which is one second over pb for the event  . To achieve good times you really have to have fresh legs and with a week of hill training beforehand I didn't have the extra spring at the end for a sprint finish.  The roding valley half marathon went well with a load of elr runners doing well , in particular my training partners Manjit with his time of under 1.22 and Karen winning 3 medals after running it in 1.30 .  I ran it in just over 1.41 which was another p.b . Conditions were good and I have came to realise that I prefer a few hills to a flat half marathon and you dont actually run much faster on the flat .
 Following last week's efforts I did an enjoyable recovery run with Mary and Dave from elr .Then on wednesday a long run with Jimmy and Tricia in the forest ,thanks for the company guys  . Friday night had about ten of us at track . I think people are improving with the track sessions which is good . I ran about 56 miles for the week , with two rest days which is my best yet and no junk mileage .
Next race is the orion 15 which is supposed to be extremely tough . I will let you know how it goes . Last race is the oakley 20 and then it's the marathon ! bring it on

Thursday 24 February 2011

hills ,hills and more hills - 51 days to go

With more hills to come.  Tried my first long run with a bum bag containing a energy gel and jelly babies over the forest last week . Thankfully Frank accompanied me for the first 6 but then I had 2 hours on my own . It wasn't too bad and I followed Frank's directions to havering park via lots of hills (thanks frank!) and smelly stables but it beat doing circuits in the forest . I also visited havering-atte -bower on the way to havering park . I get around you know. All in all a first time running for 3 hours ,albeit slower than usual to register 18 miles  . I might try 3 and a half hours next week but first is the tough half marathon at roding valley .Will be good to run it with around 30 or so friends from ELR but it cannot be described as pleasant and it is hilly so fast times are at a premium . Last night at ELR we had , yes you guessed it , hill training ! thanks very much to Doug for the idea ,made a change anyway .  Before sunday I am running in the 5k at hyde park ,hopefully I might get close to my event pb or even a pb for the distance .We shall see . I have to think of the bigger picture ,i.e the marathon .
Did you see the o's drew with arsenal , what a team eh!  I am going to miss running club for the first time in months next wednesday as I am off to the emirates . I will try another long run during the day , although I will have work to do .
 Will try and blog again next week so check back to see how I go in the 5k and in the half marathon.

Saturday 12 February 2011

63 days to go -half marathon pb but it's time to crank up the training !

Sorry for the gap since my lost blog ,been busy ! I enjoyed a slightly easier week in the build up to the great bentley half marathon on 6th feb (about 25 miles) .The reviews for this race said it was a fast flat course . It was fast and flat but boring as well .There was also a strong wind which was against you for most of the race , however the miles I have been putting in got me to the line in 1hour 42 minutes for a 5 minute pb so I was quite pleased . Next race on the agenda is the tough roding valley half marathon but I am looking forward to it although much will depend on the conditions. Last year it was freezing with heavy rain , totally miserable . Hopefully we will get better weather this year . There should be a good turnout from my running club so it would be nice to run well although the marathon is more important . I have a long run planned for next friday 18th feb  ,3 hours in the forest in the morning ,anyone want to join me ?
I wont comment about the decision about the olympic park going to west ham and the possible effects on my beloved leyton orient . Will be great for west ham watching championship football with a running track in the way !