The End of the Speed Build: Westbury 5k

To be clear, this is a picture of my wife. She looks far cooler than I do in any picture so I decided to use her snap from the Serpentine 20k last weekend instead of any of me running around an industrial estate in Wiltshire.

The Westbury 5k took place last night on July 10th. From looking back at my Coros app, my first Park Run this year was on May 4th, where I snagged an 18:30 PB. I was gobsmacked. The last time I’d raced an official Park Run was in Bakewell in the Peak District. My goal was sub 20 minutes, which I narrowly missed, coming away with a 20:08. We were ‘up north’ for a ‘Marathon Talk’ meet up (Holly was co-host for this, the most popular running podcast of its time with something like 13 million downloads). I recall others jogging alongside me, cheering me on - most barely breathing as I hyper-ventilated my way to an ultimately unsuccessful outcome. To run a sub 20, to me, was a fairly elite effort. I tried again during the first months of lockdown. With little else to do but train, I wound up with an 18:48 and a torn adductor. Our path for testing my 5k abilities is known as the ‘Colliers Way’ and, full disclosure, it was downhill. Like, super downhill and then some. Not a legit PB or even close. I had probably reached 19:50-55 shape on a flat road. So, to come away with an 18:30 just 9 weeks ago was a good indicator that my 11 months of training for a sub 3 marathon had made me a better athlete all round. So how did I go from an 18:30 to last nights 17:46? It’s quite simple. I cut back the volume of easy running to what averaged out to be 50 miles per week and I got specific. Weekly Vo2 max work on top of multiple Park Runs. Drills, strides, more roads less trails. I dropped about a kilo in bodyweight. Not intentionally, but hard sessions have a way of stripping the weight off you. 

Practicing racing was huge. Learning the cost of going out too hard. Getting comfortable running threshold at 3:53 per k and reps between 3:20-3:30 per k. I mentioned before that going sub 4 minutes per k during my first year of training was daunting and only ever for very short reps. Now it would become my bread and butter for threshold and over.

I initially found it difficult to pace my Park Runs because you really need to know how it ‘feels’ to hold a (let’s say) 3:36 k and that takes practice. I couldn’t tell you the difference between holding 3:30 or 3:40 initially because it all just felt fast. But the space between these figures can be the difference between racing well and blowing up. At last nights race, I heard and witnessed a lot of blowing up. The change in a persons breathing, the sudden drop off in pace… I know it well.

As a typical early bird, the thought of an evening race put a slight dent in my confidence to run to the best of my abilities. Afternoon running, for me, is almost always terrible. But yesterday I felt pretty good in the lead up to the event. Apart from a 3.2km jog with a client at 7am, I stayed off my feet for most of the day. I drank a lot. I ate simple carbs and kept fat low. I watched videos of runners who inspire me; Floberg Runs, Philly Bowden, Clayton Young, Mitch Ammons and more. I was very hyped and nearly as confident.

We arrived in Westbury an hour before the 7:30 start. I had my final banana and Maurten 40g gel before warming up on the course. I was thrilled to have a pacer for 18 minutes, since it would take the pressure off having to constantly check my watch. As we lined up, a tattooed guy with a big beard stood next to me. He told me that he was desperate to break 18 - his best to date being an 18:01. 

“As long as the pacer doesn’t take us out too hard and I blow up!” He laughed. (For reference, the pace for a sub 18 is 3:36 per km).

After the race brief, the horn sounded and we were off. I looked down at my watch a couple of hundred metres in, feeling like were moving well. A touch fast perhaps, but comfortable.

‘2:55’ is the pace that appeared.

Right.

Shortly after, the pacer backed down to a 3:20. Still much too fast, but by the time we hit the second mile we were bang on. The course consisted of 3 x 1 mile laps, with a little extra at the end. I’m not sure I’ve ever raced such a fast course. The first mile ticked over so quickly, a slight grin crept across my face. I recall giving Holly a big smile each time I passed. 

The first 3 lap splits were as follows: 3:28/3:32/3:34

On the fourth, which everyone knows to be the slowest of a 5k race, I noticed that the guy I had been tailing throughout began to fall off pace. I knew that I could afford to go with him, since we’d only dropped to 3:36 - I could go slower still and come away with a sub 18. It was at this moment that the man I had talked to at the start let out a groan and fell back. I yelled at him to get on my heels but he’d blown up. During the remainder of km 4 another couple of guys also fell off pace or burned out, leaving me running alongside the man who had been my wind break for so long, the pacer just up ahead. As I began the final mile lap I gave Holly a thumbs up, to which she replied 

“Push on then!”

The ability to kick is something I never knew I had. I pushed up to 3:33 per km, feeling like I had more in the tank, but not wanting to go too early. When we reached the final 200, I pulled up alongside the pacer who promptly shouted at me to sprint ahead of him, which I did, remembering to hide my ‘race face’ and cross the line looking like I’d done this before. 

The final 2 splits were: 3:36 and 3:30.

17:46 and an improvement of 24 seconds on my last Park Run in Poole a few weeks back. Damn it feels good to still be able to surprise myself. Age ain’t nothing but a number, and although the focus on short, fast efforts is over for the coming months, I will be back to tackle sub 17, hopefully before the year is out.

Let Marathon training commence!

250kg Squat to a Sub 2:50 Marathon: Preparing for One Last Race

The above picture was taken five years ago whilst preparing for a double distance Ironman. Whilst in good shape, in the water, I sank like a stone..!

Speed Build: Week 7: Travel & Training

I want to preface this post with 2 tips to potentially help lessen the chance of injury and improve your running economy. The first is to increase your cadence to help prevent over striding. Without doubt the biggest game changer for me since my real road journey began back in June 2023. To do this, perform your regular easy run and then look back at your cadence data. If you’re given a reading of, let’s say, 165spm, find the metronome setting on your sports watch and set it to 170spm. The key is to run in time with the beeps but not allow your HR to creep out of your aerobic ‘zone’. It takes practice but it’s worth the effort. Over time, aim to build to between 170-180spm. The second tip is to include strides 1-2 times per week on flat or hills or both. These are not all-out sprints, simply controlled fast efforts, focussing on good turnover. For the short amount of time this takes, you’ll receive some incredible benefits with regard to running form and economy over time. Check out the latest podcast from ‘Inside Exercise’ with Dr. Bryan Heiderscheit, episode 86 for some interesting, easy to understand info.

This week has been chaotic. After running an easy 8 miles on Monday and ‘sort of’ taking Tuesday off, barring an upper body lifting session and two mile run with a client, Lemmy and I packed Holly off to Germany where she took part in ‘Pass the Spark’; a carrying of the torch by ASICS for the Olympic Games in Paris. I walked Lem at 5:30am, at which time it was 16 degrees celsius and then trained a client before warming up (!) for my the first session of the week. I wore the Metaspeed Sky Edge in order to save my preferred Sky Paris for racing. These shoes have done a fair few miles and are beginning to disintegrate, but they still seem to provide some level of performance assistance. I walked out into 19 degree heat for a mile plus drills and strides, of which I performed 4x20 seconds, before going into part 1 of todays workout: 6x1 min at 5k effort off 1 min recovery. True to form, I went too fast. Not for a lack of trying to stay controlled, but as mentioned before, I suck at pacing. After a 3 minute jog I hopped onto a treadmill at our local gym, Falcon Fitness, an insane Mecca in the Uk for bodybuilders. Because this is a gym geared toward lifters, the treadmills are usually free. 

Part deux of my session was as follows: A continuous 6 mile run alternating between 6:15 per mile and 6:30 per mile. Despite the climbing heat and lack of air conditioning the first 6:15 actually felt better than expected. I’d presumed it was all going to feel tough today, but this first rep was a pleasant surprise. The shock came during the second mile at 6:30, which almost felt harder. I had expected it to feel like a recovery but it didn’t feel an awful lot different to the 6:15 reps. 

“How can I keep this up for another 5 miles?” I wondered, knowing that I could and I would, but that I also might die.

On returning home, Holly informed me that there should have been a 2 minute jog recovery between each mile… yes, the fatigue of training at this stage crushes my already limited ability to think, which is why I communicate via writing a blog. If I could edit my verbal communication as well as this, I might not come off as the complete and utter fool that I am. 

Thursday was 9 miles easy followed by 6 easy Friday morning, after which I jumped on the train to London. 

I do the occasional photoshoot throughout the year for a bit of extra income, and Saturday was a track shoot for the ASICS FrontRunners. This meant no running on Saturday until we returned home, late in the afternoon. I am not one for training later in the day, but needs must, so I took off into the heat for a 5 mile shuffle with 6x10 seconds hill strides thrown in. It was one of those slow, hard runs that you want to be over from minute one. I wondered whether the 15 miles I had planned for Sunday morning would be affected by this effort, considering that my adductor likes 24 hours to recover from any run. Luckily, Sunday felt entirely different. Getting out early in cooler temperatures makes such a difference. My tell tale sign for a potentially good run is how quick my cadence is starting out. If it’s north of 180spm it’s going to be a good day. Sub 170spm means it’s going to be a long day. I usually run sans headphones, but this morning I played a ‘techno for working hard’ playlist from Spotify which, amazingly, really helped.

At this point I’m not fuelling any long runs, but that will change from next week. I ended up going for 16 miles but knew in the final mile or two how much of a difference nutrition would have made later into the run. I should have been fuelling and knew it, but laziness won out. 

54 miles for the week, which is ample for 5k training. My final chance to pb is on July 9th at the Westbury 5k race series. The temps look warm and the humidity high, but I’ll give it a damned good go, after that, we (as in Holly and me, not the IG ‘we’ which seems to be inclusive of everyone following) move into Marathon training..!

250kg Squat to a Sub 2:50 Marathon: Poole Park Run

Speed Build: Week 6: Poole Park Run

Monotony. 

Holly tells me that she couldn’t stand being a sponsored athlete. The boredom of the wake, eat, train, eat, train, eat, sleep cycle used to drive her mad. I have to admit that I kinda like it. I’m very structured with my routine - or rather, I was. My thirties consisted of uniform days. Wake at 4am, drink coffee, train at 4:30-5am, work all day, come home, eat, go to bed by 8pm at the latest. I don’t recall a lot of happiness or contentment from that time and I’m sure this was felt by those around me. When Holly and I found each other (again) in my late thirties, everything changed. We spent a lot of time, travelling, racing and rediscovering all the fun things that make life worth living. To date this is still very much the case. Training and work tend to fit around whatever plans we have. Neither of us are driven by the desire for more material things - we just want adventure!

That being said, we returned from Cornwall and into a somewhat familiar pattern. I decided to run 8 miles easy on Monday, followed by a few easy miles on Tuesday. I feel good, albeit a little tired after last weeks training. 

Wednesday Session: 

This was a good one. 20/15/12 mins at threshold off 3 mins jog recovery. My LT pace is 3:53 and the thought of running 47 minutes at this pace made me question my ability to do so. Lo and behold I did it and, once again, it went better than anticipated, although I did feel particularly tired for the rest of the day… On a side note, I think it’s interesting how we judge others depending on what we value from a fitness and/or aesthetics perspective. I’ll openly admit that when I was running on the treadmill I felt superior to all the big meatheads walking slowly between exercises or, even worse, walking on the treadmill whilst holding on to the handles (in my eyes, this is the epitome of laziness when it comes to doing your mandatory ‘cardio’. Jesus, you’d get fitter and burn more calories walking down the road). BUT, I also remembered how I judged runners when I was a big old lump. I thought of them as skinny and weak. Not ‘real men’. I stand by my statement that running is almost certainly a negative for building an aesthetically pleasing physique, but frankly, Powerlifting is not a hard sport and I had reached a stage in life where I felt I needed to be truly challenged. As a mid to back pack runner, training to run under 3 hours for a marathon is HARD (if not impossible for some).

If you want to find your limits, running will help you do that. And if you gut out a solid training block or ten, it will allow you to blow past those limits and reward you with the opportunity to create ones you never dared dream of.

My reasons for being strong these days are a little more thought out. Having muscle is important for daily function, metabolism, staving off injury and yes, for looking good. I care about aesthetics and I don’t. If someone tells me that I’m so much smaller than I used to be, it doesn’t bother me - not even a little bit. Years ago it would have crushed me. But I do want to be in fairly good physical shape nonetheless. If I end up looking like an olympic marathoner then I had better be going to the olympics. This looks unlikely.

Anyhoo.

Thursday was another easy 8 miles followed by a 4 mile recovery run on Friday, since I was heading to Poole Park Run on Saturday morning. This is the fastest Park Run I could find within an hours drive. Buoyed with confidence since my speed is increasing on a weekly basis, I was fairly sure I’d hit at least 17:50. As it turned out, I had arrived on the only Saturday where the park wasn’t entirely closed. There was a festival taking place and, as such, cars and vans were going in and out at all times. This prompted the start line to be changed to a narrow road, and those of us starting at the front of a pack of 600-700 runners were then pushed back to make room to make room for the last minute runners at the front. When the start command was given, I spent more time than I would have liked attempting to work my way through a very tight crowd, which was near impossible. My average pace was high 4’s until I broke through, sprinting to try to catch up and in the process, going way too fast. So fast in fact, that my first k was a 3:32 average, putting me in the hole as we turned onto the lake and got hit by the wind. It was hard, man. Not what I was expecting. I ended up trying to hang onto one guy, which I just managed to do. The next 2 k’s ticked off 3:35, 3:35 and then on k number 4 the wheels started to come off. 3:43. My head was full of negativity. I was pumping my arms for all I was worth but it wasn’t enough to maintain the pace I needed. Seeing a k this slow makes you want to throw in the towel, but I gritted my teeth and went deep into the pain cave, bringing it back a bit for the final k. 3:39.  I screeched over the line but forgot to stop my watch. According to my Coros, I went through 5k in 18:01 but PR gave me 18:10 due to not starting my watch until I past the start line (in Park Run, the timer is started for everyone when the ‘go’ command is given).

Not a bad time by any stretch of the imagination but not what I expected to hit. Happily, we found a 5k road race not far from us on July 9th. I’d like to redeem myself if I can. I’ve never raced in the evening before and the temperatures here currently are very warm with high humidity. 

The week was closed at 55 miles with a solid 15 miles over 250+m of elevation at an avg pace of 4:50 per k and an avg HR of 140bpm. 

Bring on next week, it’s going to be hot and Wednesdays session is spicy!

250kg Squat to a Sub 2:50 Marathon: Cornwall

Speed Build: Week 6: Cornwall

On Monday June 10th we travelled down to Helford to house-sit at The Boathouse. Hollys mum, Christine, is friends with the owner. As he spends the majority of his time elsewhere, he very kindly allows us to come and stay 2-3 times per year. It’s hard to describe how unique and special this place is to both of us. As kids, Holly would have spent summers here whilst I crab fished not fifty feet away- we even have photos that confirm this!

I took Monday as my rest day to allow for seeing a couple of clients before making the 4+ hour journey in our home on wheels, Nate. It’s tricky to pass through Helford village in the van, so we park half a mile away in a little car park that skirts the village and then walk in. It was dinner time when we arrived, the sun was out and we relished having the place to ourselves for a couple of days, before Hollys parents arrived. It’s so quiet here. Rather than watching t.v, I lay on the day bed looking out on the Helford river. Holly sat in an armchair reading the paper, confirming without shadow of a doubt that we are in fact a couple of old bastards.

The next morning, Lemmy woke us up around 4:45 to ask to go out. He rarely does this, but I took the opportunity to take him out for a walk whilst Holly slept a little longer. We came back for tea in bed, listening to nothing but the water lapping the shore. It’s funny, this isn’t how my life is supposed to play out. For context, I spent years trying to hang on to low paid jobs, working nights, sleeping in my little sisters room whilst she was at school and then renting a tiny room on the weekends on a dodgy estate in Melksham, a single mattress on the floor and wall paper so fucked up it would trigger panic attacks (a side effect from overdosing on hallucinogens). During these times, the single treat I would allow myself each week was a McDonalds breakfast on a Saturday morning after finishing my night shift in Bradford on Avon. At 7am I would catch the bus to Melksham and wait for it’s finest establishment to open. I would then sleep through the day and spend Saturday night sat alone in my room watching dvd’s. On Sunday night at 10pm, work began again. I ‘progressed’ by moving to Bath to work in Marks & Spencer in the cafe and became a bonafide drunk, living in one of those flats that has the kitchen in a cupboard, averaging 2 bottles of wine per day and then much more over the weekend (which always began on a Thursday). When I eventually sobered up and discovered my purpose in life, a council run gym in Trowbridge kindly agreed to take me on and front the earth credits for my training, I had no transport and no money, so I walked to and from the gym, twice per day, seven days per week. On a monthly basis, this worked out to be the equivalent of walking to Inverness (500 miles).The happiest day of my (then) life was at the age of 27 when, for the first time, my bank balance read £0.00 - the first time in my adult life that I wasn’t living in my overdraft. 

The point of the above is that I’m not someone who has had everything given to them on a silver platter, but the truth is that I feel guilt any time I talk about how my life has played out. The fact is, I live a very good life. I’m able to travel to the alps once per year for 4-6 weeks on top of other trips away, like running the Three Passes in Nepal last year or coming to the Boathouse twice per year, but I don’t earn a massive wage (far from it). We simply work enough to do what we want to do and live within our means, and importantly, we don’t have any debt. The Alps for 6 weeks in our camper van cost as much as it cost our friends to go for a long weekend in Ibiza. The Boathouse is free. I don’t drink, smoke or buy expensive clothes (Holly only shops in charity shops) or eat at expensive restaurants. We have one vehicle between us. As well as coaching people in person, we have online clients which allows us the freedom to be away from home. We’ve always been drawn to the ‘dirtbag’ (climber) lifestyle, which means a perfect day to us involves waking up in the mountains, running or hiking for hours before returning for coffee and cake. The afternoon is spent reading and the evening could be anything depending on where we’ve parked up for the night. It’s a cheap way to live and I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my time.

I digress.

The session on Tuesday was: 5x3 mins hard off 2 mins jog recovery followed by 5x3 mins at threshold off 30 sec jog recovery.

The roads were typically Cornish (undulating) but I managed to average out at 3:28 per k on the first 5x3 going out and back on a windy lane. I felt good. The second 5x3 mins was supposed be at threshold working off 30 seconds recovery, but since Holly wanted to complete the second half as a run home in a different direction, I ran by her side. Hr was at 158bpm and honestly, I just loved this run. I feel insanely fit right now (spoken whilst touching a large chunk of wood).

Coming back to a home by the water with no-one else around and no pressure to do anything is about as good as it gets. After a chilled few hours we headed to the Shipwrights Pub for fish & chips and a booze-free Guiness before returning home to close out the day by watching a couple of episodes of the new season of ’Tour de France: Unchained.’

On Wednesday we ran to breakfast at the ‘Fat Apples’. I made the mistake of having quite a large feed beforehand. In fact, I was still burping up oats and banana when we arrived in Porthallow, but couldn’t leave Holly to eat all on her lonesome, so forced down toast and jam, yoghurt and fruit. Holly had ham and eggs which the waitress assumed was for me. Funny how biases like these still exist in todays world, but tbf, normally I would have smashed all the bacon and eggs they could bring me. 11 miles in total for the day.

Thursday was an LT session. 40 mins continuous: 20 mins at 4:05 per k followed by 20 mins at 3:55 per k. Avg HR 158. I don’t even know who I am anymore. It blows my mind to be able to run this fast (for me). I even increased pace during the final 10 minutes, pushing as high as 3:32 (that’s 5:41 per mile) for the final 5 minutes. And I felt good. Really good.

The next day was an easy 10 miles (except it’s Cornwall and ‘easy’ translates to ‘fucking hilly’), followed by a Saturday long run, which was 14 miles and - depending on who’s watch you believe - 600-700m elevation over 2 hours and 14 minutes. Avg HR was 131 but fatigue was huge. It just sucked. I’m not used to running such ridiculous hills. We ran point to point before catching the ferry back to the Boathouse. The life saving moment was finding a coffee van where our run terminated. We picked up a latte and a millionaire shortbread and hopped on to the boat. The rest of the day was spent horizontal. Holly kindly brought me a vimto electrolyte drink (we forgot our awesome electrolytes so diluted vimto squash syrup with water and a teaspoon of salt. Frankly, it was horrible. 

Our last day of holiday was 6 miles easy to close out a 100km week. We still have 6 weeks of speed training left before marathon training begins and I can’t wait to see how far I can bring my 5-10k times down before then.

250kg Squat to a Sub 2:50 Marathon: Speed Build

Speed Build: Week 6

I took Monday and Tuesday off. I had a rare morning where I didn’t need to be out early to train or to train clients. I jumped out of bed at 5:45am on autopilot without realising what I was doing. I could have taken my time, but my quick bed-exit was an unconscious culmination of a prior dream state, which I recall quite vividly. I was sat on a hospital bed after taking a tablet form of a general anaesthetic. The nurse told me to follow her downstairs to another ward, where we would wait for the affects of the drug to take hold. As we descended the spiral steps, my vision blurred, quickly followed by falling unconscious; the last sensation being that of my head cracking against the wall. The next thing I knew I was stood, conscious, by the side of my bed. Waking from deep sleep can leave you feeling like a zombie… I was so glad to not be running on this morning. Aside from lifting, my day was fairly relaxed. Tuesday was more of the same. 

I had contemplated taking Wednesday off, but when I heard about the session Holly had been set, I couldn’t resist. I felt well recovered from my short break, and since we’re in Cornwall next week, I felt I should probably do as much productive work as I could before we go.

The set up was this: 5/4/3 mins hard off 3 mins recovery. Rest 3 mins then run 20 minutes at half marathon pace. I completed the VO2 work outside and the 20 minutes on the treadmill. 

The first 5 mins were at a 3:34 pace. My plan was to hold 3:36 since this was just faster than my 5k pace and would allow me to run faster on the subsequent 2 reps. The second rep was a 3:32. I thought I had worked harder than this and so decided to really hammer on the final rep, ticking off a 3:24k. That last rep really hurt. The idea of running 3:53 per k for 20 minutes on the treadmill felt like it might be tough, and in fact, I’ve never run a sub 20 minute 5k on the treadmill as part of a session. Incredibly, it felt like I was running marathon pace. At first I thought my cadence must be slow, having drained a little speed from them during the VO2 work, but no; when I looked my cadence was at 200spm. I guess I’ve just become much more accustomed to running sub 4 minute k’s. I passed 5k in 19:48 feeling comfortable - this speed work seems to be, well, working. 

Thursday was an easy 8 miler, and despite having been bored out of my skull the last time I attempted to do so, I took the easy option of the treadmill. I’m attempting to diversify my reading as I get older. My go-to favourites are biographies, without shadow of a doubt. I can’t do fiction. This morning I attempted to listen to a podcast on establishing good business practices (I rarely listen to anything whilst running) and, as invariably happens, I almost instantly switched off. ‘Building a bigger, better, more profitable business’ talk just sends me to sleep. Politics, on the other hand, I do find interesting. I’m midway through a book called ‘All Out War’ which explains everything ‘Brexit’. It’s a biography of sorts, non-fiction, and full of crooked politicians doing what crooked politicians do - highly recommended.

Friday was a 9 miler easy.

Saturday was a threshold session of sorts. A continuous run on the treadmill, 1k at 3:49 followed by 1k at 4:20, for 10k. Average HR was 158. This sort of session always brings me back to one of the very first sessions Holly set me just 12 months ago; 6x3 mins at 3:55 per k. The reps were way too fast for me back then. I don’t remember the length of the recoveries, but I know that I walked them. The final couple of reps saw me flailing my arms, totally out of control, collapsing on completion of the last rep. In contrast, todays reps were longer and faster, and my ‘recoveries’ were just shy of sub 3 marathon pace. And it felt totally comfortable. I need these very clear delineations to really recognise the difference a year has made to my fitness, otherwise I doubt how much progress I have actually made.

Sunday was a 12 mile easy run. Easy as in I spent the first 6 miles between 5:30-6:30 per k. Just like last week, it took me forever to warm up and find a rhythm. I understand that it would have felt better had I not had a session the day before. Luckily the last 6 miles clicked and I rattled off between 4:18 to 4:59 per k at an avg HR of 132.

Not a clue how many miles I hit this week and honestly, I’m not interested. My focus is on executing the sessions as well as possible. The volume will come, but at the moment, the work I am doing feels like plenty. 

17:59 Park Run Pb!

Speed Build: Week 5

Monday May 27th.

This Thursday, May 30th, marks the one year anniversary of my foray into road running and specifically, the goal of breaking three hours in the marathon. On April 14th 2024, eleven months later, I managed to hit 2:59:19 at Manchester Marathon; a 36 minute pb in just under a year. As of May 30th 2024, at 44 years of age, the goal posts have been moved, and a sub 2:50 marathon has become the target at Amsterdam Marathon on October 20th of this year. 

My last marathon appears to have provided me with a huge bump in fitness. My heart rate is dropping lower and lower as my speed is continuing to improve. 

After hitting a new 10k pb last Sunday, our Monday morning run was a super easy 6 miler at 5:45 per k with an average HR of 114. It was excruciatingly painful. The weird tendon issue around my pelvis has been manageable but after racing the day prior, it felt horrible for this ‘recovery’ run. Tuesday felt much better for an easy 7 miler. 

Wednesday was a session day…

For the first time ever, Alan set us a session which required Holly and me to train at the exact same pace.. A 48 minute continuous run consisting of 3 minutes at 3:55 per k and 3 minutes at 4:20 per k. My HR averaged out at 153bpm. Not bad. The paces felt doable and the pelvis didn’t cause any problems. I definitely feel a little more fatigued, even though I’m only clocking 50 or so miles per week. Intensity is a harsh mistress, as they (who’s they?) say. And as much as I’m thoroughly enjoying the progress, I miss the 2 or 3 weeks post-marathon where I got to experience the feeling of having energy. Boo hoo.

Thursday was an 8 mile easy run at 5:25 per k with an avg HR of 124. This is one of the biggest benefits of having a larger engine. I can now run at a truly easy heart rate that feels like I’m still moving at a respectable clip. A few months back, I would have had to almost walk to keep my HR in the 120’s. 

Friday was pretty much off (bar a 3k easy plod with a client). I’ve actually stopped tracking or thinking about mileage until the end of each week. My focus is on getting faster, and moving to higher mileage around August will be, in a way, a new stimulus to adapt to. I’d rather hit marathon training in a fresh and fast state, rather than arrive as I did last time. Knackered. 

Saturday: Testing out a new Park Run close to us. I always get nervous. Not because I think of it as a race (which it isn’t) but simply because I get nervous before every session I’m set. Today I was especially nervous as our coach, Alan, and his wife Nicky were coming to watch. No hills on this course and no excuses for not doing my fitness justice. We had our usual breakfast of toast with butter and jam or honey and peanut butter. A pint of electrolytes, some L-Carnitine and coffee. The Radstock 5 Arches Park Run is a 20 minute drive from where we live and has 25m of elevation. Nearly half that of Frome. I was determined to PB again, hoping for around 18:10 but always thinking about sub 18.

We warmed up on the course, noting how narrow the path is. I could see how things might become problematic if members of the public were out for a dog or push-chair walk. The course is set on a cycle path that runs under railway arches 5 times and is lined with bushes or fences each side. It didn’t look like it would be easy to pass others, so we decided to try to start at the very front. There was a slight gradient on the way out and then a slight downhill on the way back but were barely noticeable. My goal was to run 3:40 for the first k and then pick up.

As always, my pacing was a complete disaster. 

We started in the sub 20 group with the usual suspects; the guys who haven’t run since they were kids, dressed in the most inappropriate gear you could imagine; ten year old lifestyle shoes, cut off jeans, trail packs and an overtly serious looking man (perhaps a boxer) in jogging bottoms and a hoodie on what had to have been the hottest day we’ve had this year. And me, an elitist sounding twat. One particularly hyped up guy who started out at the front of the pack was offering words of encouragement to everyone around him in the 3:20-3:30 per k group for the entirety of the first kilometre - I offered him a couple of encouraging words of my own as I passed during the second k, although I’m not sure he heard me as his efforts at this point seemed to be largely concentrated on trying to suck air through his bum hole.

The first 2km was an out and back, followed by a slightly longer out and back for the next 3k. Not running with Holly left me to focus on my own pacing strategy, which entailed not looking at my watch at all. I found this to be quite effective. I had expected a nearly flat course to feel so much easier than our hilly home PR but Holly and I both agreed at the end that it actually felt slightly tougher. The second out and back felt physically and psychologically, much harder. I had moved into second position but first place was so far ahead of me it would have been insane to attempt to play catch up. I did, however, have company from a guy pushing a buggy who was sat on me throughout. It didn’t bother me. If anything I felt like I was holding him up as it was tough to pass another person due to the narrowness of the path (Holly overtook a woman who was out jogging with her dog and was subsequently yelled at for getting too close, which makes me wonder how long this particular PR will remain open - apparently there have been a few complaints from the locals). 

The man and his offspring (I’m assuming it was a kid, it may have been a kilo of heroin, a Chihuahua or a freaky looking doll with human hair) were apparently just going for an easy jog as he conversed with spectators he clearly knew (Mornin’ Dave!) whilst I did my best not to vomit all over my shoes. As we headed into the final 400m, the guy and the sprog took off, leaving me in the dirt. I put my foot down in a futile effort to give chase, screeching over the finish line and, luckily, remembering stopping my watch.

I wandered over to Alan and Nicky..

“What time did you get?” Alan asked.

I scrolled back on my Coros to see a 17:59 time appear, but the distance was marked as 4.96km. Both Hollys watch and my own had struggled to hold GPS for the first k of the race (perhaps due to the bridges and trees?) but the marshal assured me that the course was correctly marked and the man who had come in ahead of me showed me his data and told me he had no gps issues - he had hit 5:01km exactly.  

The Park Run results later confirmed a 17:59. I’ll take it! We returned to Frome to sit outside Moo & Two, celebrating with lattes and pain au raisins, people watching and petting each and every dog that passed.

Sunday was supposed to be an easy 12 miles and, as far as pace, it was. I just felt tired. It took 6 whole miles to warm up and honestly, even though it was a glorious day, I was working to stay focussed. We headed to the Frome Market post-run for coffee and the most insane peach & cream doughnut. I think it weighed about three quarters of a pound. Unquestionably the best doughnut I have ever tasted. And for £3.50 it bloody well should be. 

Another week of speed training ticked off over the course of 53 miles and tbh, I might just take the next three days off because I feel like I need it…

Another Week of Speed Training & a ParkRun & 10k PB!

16th/17th May: Super easy 10km on Thursday followed by 8 miles on Friday around a grim old industrial estate which I circle to accumulate as little gain as possible. I switch up the route slightly on most days to add some variety. My goal for this block is to run recoveries as recoveries - sub 133bpm. For every other aerobic run I’m aiming to stay roughly around 140-145bpm (over 148 pushes me past my aerobic threshold and into the dreaded ‘Zone 3’). The 8 miler on Friday saw me run 4:45 per k with an avg HR of 141bpm. My best aerobic run to date. 

Park Run: After taking Lemmy for a walk, we had our standard breakfast of bagels, a banana and a massive glass of electrolytes, before lacing up the Metaspeeds and jogging one mile to Frome Park Run. The pollen was so heavy in the air it felt as though you were “breathing through porridge” as Holly put it. We both get hit pretty good with hay fever each year. 

By 8:55am it was already 15 degrees celsius and 90% humidity. I could feel that this was going to be a tougher run than last time.

The woman on the megaphone yelled go and, after a few paces, I pressed start on my watch and we shot off. As always, quicker than intended. My plan was to stay with Holly on the first lap as the ability to pace myself is non-existent. We hit a 3:41 and with that, I pushed on. The next k brought me down to a 3:33k and the realisation that I had gone too fast. The memories of the pain I had experienced in my first ever ParkRun came flooding back. I was able to maintain this pace on the flats, but the hills put a quick end to the idea of maintaining sub 3:40’s. I hit a 3:47 followed by a 3:46, overtaking a couple of the younger, faster lads which helped to keep me focussed. I could see that I had lost time on k’s 3&4 so decided to fully empty the tank on the final k and try desperately not to throw up. 3:35 for the fifth k, crossing the line and crashing to the floor. Stupidly, I’d forgotten to stop my watch. When I finally got it to bleep, it told me I had gone just over 5k in 18:29, but my 5k split was 18:18. A 13 second pb since 2 weeks prior. 

“Life is not work, life is a series of projects.”

How insane does it feel to be approaching your mid-forties and just getting better and better at something? For the sake of my sanity, I need to feel like I’m always improving at… well, anything. Seemingly superficial wants from earlier decades of my life contrasted serious needs; the need to get out of debt and into making money, to buy a house, to cultivate relationships… it’s no wonder that something like improving my physique became a strong focus outside of work. Normally I would consider having a sixpack and a year-round tan to be a superficial want, but how you present yourself to the world as a twenty-something carries more importance than it might to someone of double the age. To be seen as a professional is to (hopefully) be judged as competent. For a young person without a decade or more of experience, you must do everything within your power to be seen as professional. As a coach, being out of shape would probably not have helped to grow my business. Now, at an age where my business is established and I don’t have the financial hardships or relationship worries that I used to, I have more bandwidth to focus that same energy into other things that bring genuine feelings of return on investment. Maybe sustaining a just-manageable level of stress is a learned behaviour from my twenties and thirties… whatever it is, I can never fully relax. I actually don’t like being in bed. When I do turn in, I am just waiting to jump out of bed as soon as my eyes open to get the day started. These aren’t hard times, they’re good times, yet I know that hard times will return, sooner rather than later, and perhaps this focus, determination and dedication to improving as a runner will help me to navigate the inevitable storms on the horizon. I believed in my thirties that Powerlifting would do the same thing. Turns out being strong in the gym doesn’t remotely translate to how you handle the stresses of real life.

Sunday long run was just 10 miles at 5:30 per k to cap off a week of somewhere around 55-57 miles. As the mileage and intensity has increased, I’ve started to notice a slight drop in my energy levels outside of training. Normally north of 50 miles isn’t an issue, but I’ve been running faster than I ever have before twice per week, and I think that might be the reason the feeling of wanting to lie on the couch and not move is becoming more familiar to me again. 

Week beginning 21st May 2024.

Monday: 8.5 miles at the fastest pace I have ever ran at an aerobic heart rate. 4:39 per km at an average HR of 141bpm. Since I began my ‘speed project’ in June of 2023, this last month has brought the biggest, most tangible fitness gains to date. 

Tuesday: 4 miles recovery at 5:16 per km, avg hr 124bpm, followed by a 2 mile easy run with my client, Jane.

Wednesday: Session day. A day to see where I am in terms of how fast to run at the Wells 10k this Sunday. For some reason I’m going through a bit of a bad patch with sleep. I woke up at 5am on this day feeling like a total zombie. Three bad nights is what it takes to really affect my energy and performance. Luckily, the session went well but I felt like shit, went home and passed out - and I NEVER nap in the day! The workout was 15/12/9 minutes off 90 sec jog recovery @ threshold - 3:53 per k. My threshold hr is 165bpm. The first 15 mins saw me climb to 164bpm. The 12 mins went to 165. The 9 mins took me to 166bpm. A ‘whatever’ kind of workout is how I’d describe it.

Thursday and Friday were 8 & 10 miles respectively. My Thursday run at an avg HR of 127 was kept at 4:59 or less throughout. Not to beat a dead horse here, but my fitness is improving quicker than it ever has done before - and I turn 44 on Wednesday!

Saturday was an off day since we had the Wells 10k to race on Sunday. I have to admit, I had a lot of self doubt going into this one. The second 10k I’ve ever raced and a target pace of 3:53 per k (it was supposed to be faster but we pulled it back, taking into consideration the half-mile long hilly hills). Whenever I am required to run a pace that starts with a ‘3’, my head tells my body that this will be a 3 minute effort or quicker. My first ever session back in June 2023 was 6x3 mins @ 3:55 per k, and I physically collapsed on the final rep. How could I possibly maintain a faster pace for nearly 40 minutes?

Even though I been slightly quicker than Holly on recent ParkRuns, we both know she is a diesel engine, which is why she dominates Ultras. She sets a pace and she doesn’t deviate. It’s impressive. She was laughing and joking when we crossed the finish line at Manchester, whilst I was trying to concentrate on vomiting before passing out- not the other way around. 

Could I stick with her for most of this race? That was my plan. Hang on as long as possible.

After a mile warm up and drills/strides we met with our mate Adam. He had just raced the 5k in 15-something and was now joining us for the 10k. I don’t know what to tell you, except that this guy is from another planet. Believe it or not, he had raced TWICE the previous day. His Marathon pb is, I believe, 2:23 and he has never been coached or even followed a plan. He runs when he feels like it and uses races as his sessions. I first met him last year in Lake Orta where he was running 10 marathons in 10 days. The average daily temperature was around 43-44 degrees celsius. Absolutely baking. His average pace for each marathon was mid 2:40’s. This was not a flat, smooth course by any stretch of the imagination. 

I digress…

The fog horn blew and we were off. 2 laps of an undulating course. Adam disappeared into the distance, not to be seen again until we crossed the finish line. He had warned us to watch out early on for the path around the farm yard as it was ‘a bit slippery’. This turned out to be the understatement of the century. It was almost funny. We managed to make it through in an upright position at least and then hit a trail path which, as far as I recall, turned into a very slight but long incline not long after. There were a couple of guys who stuck around us, desperate to get past. I could hear their breathing - a good indicator of how hard someone is working and I believed that, this early in the race, they might pay later on. Nevertheless they managed to push past and we continued at what felt like a solid clip. I noticed my heart rate was riding between 167-173, depending on the gradient. It felt hard but manageable. Then we hit the hill. Half a mile of straight up. Our average pace dropped from 3:50 to 4:20. I remembering trying to comprehend running this hill for a second time- and couldn’t. The thought hit me that I was going to have to run two sub 20 minute 5k’s, on a not-easy course. I dwelled on this thought for a minute before my focus quickly shifted, as we began to crest the hill. I knew Holly was going to run fast off the top, and she did. We went into a nice downhill section heading into the final kilometre but my HR jacked up as she pushed the pace. My watch beeped to alert me that we were 5k down and, before I knew it, we were once again circumnavigating the farm yard. Puddles, cow shit, corners - all made for slow going and the occasional slip. 

As we hit the trail again, I saw a couple of familiar looking runners up ahead. The guys who had bolted early on had begun to slow. I knew exactly what was going on in Holly’s head. As we began to reel the nearest one in, it occurred to me that I wasn’t feeling any more battered than I had in the first half, and we only had a couple of miles to go. We approached the first man and Holly put her foot down - I quickly followed suit. I was all too aware that the final hill was just up ahead, but I made the decision to stick with Holly and take the hill just as we had the first time. At around half way up, I felt ready to go. We gained and gained on the next man who had passed us earlier on and then, once we had crested, I took off. As I passed the guy (who was now breathing doubly hard) I felt like I was wearing rocket skates. I pushed as hard as I could, but I was aware that Holly was chasing me, which only served to make me run faster. I looked down at my watch; 200m left. I opened up and pumped my arms as hard as I could, running the final kilometre in 3:18 and passing the finish in 38:39. Holly was just seconds behind. 

No collapsing on the floor this time. I suspect that, to some, I might have even looked fairly composed. Hiding behind a large pair of sunglasses undoubetdly helps to conceal the look of being totally and utterly smoked.

The decision was made to find a coffee shop for a latte and a large slice of Guinness cake, which we did, happily ticking off another week of speed training.

50 miles done and dusted.

Speed Up, HR Down. Body Comp Changing. The Sub 2:50 Build Continues

Speed Build: Week 2

After a weekend of back to back sessions (which is rarely a wise idea) I took Monday 6th May as a 10km recovery run at 5:30 per k with an avg HR of 128. Tuesday was more of the same. 

I’m feeling good at the moment - no doubt the result of taking time to recover from the marathon and then building mileage back up slowly. I’ve had to learn most things in life the hard way, and returning to training in an appropriate manner has been no different. For those of you who absolutely cannot wait to return to high mileage weeks, just remember how you feel during a marathon build - “A tired, useless zombie” as Luke Keogh so eloquently put it  on a recent episode of the Sweat Elite podcast.

This week will likely top out at 48-ish miles, up from 42 last week and 30 the week prior. There’s no real mileage goal for the next few months, but I imagine I’ll climb into the low 70’s come August. 

Wednesday was session day. 8x4 mins at threshold (3:53 per k ) off 1 min jog recovery. 2 mile warm up, 2 mile cooldown for 10 total miles. I ran in the Metaspeed Sky Paris which I’m totally obsessed with ATM. It’s far easier for me to crank up cadence in these shoes (in comparison to the Edge). My avg spm was 188 including the jog recoveries. Hr avg 158, getting up to 166 during the reps. 

I’m almost afraid to tell Holly when she asks how my session was, usually attempting (and often failing) to downplay just how fit and orthopaedically healthy I feel at the moment, but at the same time being mindful to make statements like this in hushed tones. I remain in permanent fear of something/anything coming along to shove a hot poker up my ass. Regardless of strength training, good recovery, eating well etc. we are all going to deal with injury at some point, and at my ripe old age of 43, I am certainly more susceptible than those half my age. In terms of getting fitter and faster though, I still refuse to acknowledge age as any kind of limiting factor. I am going under 2:40 at some point in future years, so there. I also like being this light. I weighed myself after Wednesdays session and I bottomed out at a low that I haven’t hit since my twenties - 86kg. Feeling fit and healthy (for me at least) beats out big, bloated and lethargic. ‘Big’ at my age = health problems. There’s a reason you don’t see many big, jacked dudes from 50 years old and up; yes, I’m sure there are those of you who know someone, but ‘big’ is a relative term. There are some incredibly lean, muscular individuals out there who are 10kg+ lighter than I am. That’s not ‘big’ that’s ‘ripped’. For context, let’s use a 55 year old guy of average height who is fairly lean and weighs somewhere north of 105kg. Chances are their health markers probably aren’t anywhere near what they should be and are far more likely to be pretty damned awful. YES, I’m sure anomalies with sound ecg’s and bloodwork exist too, but never try to use the exception that tests the rule to satisfy your confirmation bias. The fact is, you can’t fight time. Even with anabolic assistance, everyone declines fairly rapidly from half a century - fight to live big, risk dying young.

Thursday: Easy 8 miles on the Treadmill. Surprisingly boring - give me a session any day of the week over a slow run indoors. 

We left for Hay-on-Wye Thursday evening for an ASICS FrontRunner event. Friday morning was a recce of a 4 mile easy run which I was to take team out on, again, later that evening. So a double day of what was supposed to be 8 miles, but ended up being 9 because I can’t seem to navigate my way out of a wet paper bag. Also, the first of the really warm days - 22 degrees. 

The rest of the weekend involved filming, photography and lots of short bursts of climbing and running back and forth. On Sunday morning I went for an 8 mile easy run over 200m of elevation with an avg pace of 4:59 and avg HR of 140. Much better than I had expected. 

Monday: Time to start pushing the mileage up a little. Last week was 48 miles. This week looks like it could be closer to 55-57 miles. I began the week with an 8 mile easy run over the flattest course we have in Frome (only 87m of gain). With an avg pace of 4:50 and the same HR as Sunday, it was one of the better general aerobic runs I’ve had. Strength training is consistently 4 days per week - Chest/Back/Legs & Core/Shoulders. Tuesday was 4 miles of recovery.

Wednesday - Session day. 2 mile warm up with what you might consider a ‘warm up pb’: 2 miles at 4:53 with an avg HR of 134. Drills and strides were followed by 12x3 mins @ 4 mins per k and a 1 min jog recovery. 2 mile cooldown. Felt great. My cadence has shot up as of late. Considering I was averaging in the 150’s for tempo-type work last September, todays average cadence, including jog recoveries, was 187. During the reps it stayed in the low to mid 190’s. They say that logging miles, consistently over years, is the way to improve as a runner. The little nuances you begin to notice when training; shoulders relaxed, arm swing, turnover, pacing, breathing etc all become a little more finely tuned as time goes on, amalgamating into the construct of a fitter, faster, more efficient runner. Body shape changes with purposeful training, eating well (enough but not too much) and with a targeted approach to strength training. I undoubtedly look more like what a decent runner does (to my mind) than I did a year ago. For so long I wanted to resemble a character like Nick Bare, but that has no interest for me now. I’d prefer a look closer to Tommy Rivs (and a beard half as cool), “More Bird, less Bull” is how he described his racing weight a few years ago. I realise by saying this that how I appear to others is still a factor, as much as I tell myself that it isn’t, but it mainly boils down to ‘this look = this level of performance’ and I’m ok with that. The priority is function first, appearance second.

I will say that it becomes harder to affect body composition as we age. I used to believe this was an excuse but I am no exception. I have to be more controlled with how I eat in order to make changes in comparison to my earlier years (it may also be down to how many pain au chocolat’s I eat these days. In fact, I’m quite certain of it..!)

This Saturday brings another shot at ParkRun. My goal is drop under 18:30. I believe I have much faster times in me… let’s find out.