Friday, 9 March 2012

Relaxed run from Grove Park

Was ridiculously busy at work again today and I am out Monday.  I had a last minute panic in the last 10 minutes before I left.  I decide to run and then decide not to run.  I to-and-fro a number of times.

In the end I man-up and decide to do the Grove Park to home run.  My head is still dizzy from work and I decide to take it easy and try and enjoy it.  And I do enjoy it.

I'm squeezing the runs in, they just need to be longer in reality.  That blasted work...

4.5km 26:12

Thursday, 8 March 2012

Extreme Running

Still really busy at work, but I decide to run across London to Victoria.  This is slightly risky as if I am more than half an hour I miss my train.

I therefore start of very fast.  Zipping in and out of people.  This is great fun.  I keep the pace going to.  I suspect I am going to blow soon.

Down by Charing Cross the crowds are dense.  So I skip and bob and weave through them even more.  This is great fun and it keeps the pace going.

I dig in down the Mall, past Buck House.  I get caught at the traffic lights before the final push.

Such fun dancing through the crowds.  Didn't even hit a single person.  Probably a really good fartlek style workout as well.

4.5km 24:24

Wednesday, 7 March 2012

Back from Grove Park Dodging the rain

The plan was a semi-easy run back from Lewisham.  I get to Cannon Street and it is a disaster.  The trains are all over the place.  I jump on a busy train to London Bridge.  There I can see the rain streaming down in the far distance.  I decide to get a train to Grove Park instead and hope to make it back home before the rain.

Having an unscheduled day off (from running, certainly not work) has left me feeling fresh.  I am able to push the pace a little more. One way the sky is dark, dark and yet the other way there is a beautiful sunset.  Depending on which way I am heading it is either dark, dark or mood-lifting sunset.

I hardly get caught crossing any roads.  I zip over the rail bridge and drive up the hill to the Church.

I think the time is going to be good, and it is.  Probably the fastest I have done.  Not the run I was planning or expecting but all good the same.

Also I didn't get wet at all.

4.5km 23:29

Intervals on a rainy day

I needed to be running yesterday but was too busy at work.  Today I decide to ignore all the work piling up and go for a run.

I notice it is a bit rainy.  I decide to go and run 3 minute intervals round the covered high walks of the Barbican.   It is a couple of minutes run to get there and I get a little bit wet.  Because of the rain I run there quicker than I would.

As I start it is a bit slippy and I have to concentrate.  I then go on to bang out 5 fairly consistent 3 minute effort with a minutes rest.  The rain comes and goes but I am dry undercover even when it is hammering down.

A good session.

5x3minutes with 1 minute recovery

Monday, 5 March 2012

Recovery Run from Grove Park

I need to be disciplined.  I took yesterday off as a recovery day.  I think about running back from Lewisham but decide a gentle run back from Grove Park would be more appropriate.  And that is what I do.

A couple of times I reign myself in from zooming away.  Up the hill towards the church I feel the miles in my legs but overall a pleasant evening run.

4.5km 26:52

Saturday, 3 March 2012

Good Long Run

I've been worried about not running long and when I have run long it has not been good.  I have the "magic" training month to get through then a couple of weeks taper into the Brighton Marathon and the sub 3-30 time.

The alarm goes of at 6:30 and I am so tempted to stay in bed.  From somewhere I summon up the energy to get going.  I run down to Bromley Park (confusingly in Shortlands)  Fortunately it is light, if a little chilly.  I then spend the next 2"40 running laps of the park.  Every half an hour I turn and run the other way.  This has the advantage of being totally flat.  There are also no roads to cross.

I aim to run at a good slow pace.  Initially I am running around 6:00 a km which is a fine long run pace.  Then I gradually get faster.  The advantage of running laps is that I have a couple of bottles of drink to sustain me.  I also can strip of clothes as needed.  Running laps also builds mental toughness.

Suddenly I am flying and really enjoying it.  A banana feels like the best food ever and is eaten over four laps.  In the end I settle to a pace of 5:30/km.  Marathon race pace is 5:00/km.

Towards the end it gets tougher but I even manage to throw in a couple of minutes here and there of marathon race pace.  With 10 minutes to go until the three hours I grab my discarded kit and run back up the hill to my house.

One mistake I did make was the nipples.  In a long race I would always remember to Vaseline them.  Today I didn't think to and suffer accordingly, though no blood

This went well.  If I can bang out another couple of these long runs, the Marathon is going to go well.

30.10 km 2:55:04

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Definitely a recovery run

I definitely need a recovery run today as I am feeling jaded.  I decide to run down Fleet Street.  I run up Kingsway and down Holborn to make it into a loop.

The pace is easy and it's quite enjoyable.

4km 25:11