forgive me father for ive not blogged....

well ive neglected my blog for a week but mainly because of work!!
its been so busy i have beeen working 14 hr days and weekend work to boot! and to top it off i managed to ruture a tendon in my hand which has been bloody painful and unfortunately ive had to try and work through the pain
Running wise ive had a pretty easy week i was due to cut back a bit before the final big push so i did and due to work i missed a couple of easy recovery runs and had one very poor club run so not a big success on the training front!
on the racing front it was similar really either the 3 20 milers ive done recently caught up with me or the severe tiredness did me in but the ackworth half was not fun! i ran within the target which was 1.55 but it was one of the hardest races ive ever completed it felt shit from the off and ive felt shit ever since! but mustnt grumble just keep plodding on
pyramid session at the club tonight
easy recovery tommorow
steady club run thursday
rest friday and saturday
and aim for 22 miles on sunday as my final proper long run before the mara i will do a 15 the following week but that will pretty much be it then
be good
sng

spen 20

well the spen 20 brought another early start and once again we set off with not much idea ofwhere we were going AND AGAIN we turned up with plenty of time to spare!! the only difference to the previous sunday was the weather ehich was changeable to say the least!
on the journey there we passed through rain, sunshine, hail, snow and the most horrendous winds which were difficult to drive in let alone run!
at spen ac they had great facilitys including changing in a warm clubhouse! so i got down to business and donned my shorts and opted for a longsleeve and shortsleeve top to fend off the cold and then settled to a cup of tea in the club house which was packed until 3 mins before the start where everyone headed out to the start which was on the athletics track and very exposed!
and we were off one lap round the track and then through the center of town and heading out to the hills for the first 4 miles it was a gradual climb and then fairly undulating with steep climbs and decents until you got to 9 miles and then there was the climb of all climbs which lasted about a mile! bareing in mind this was a 2 lap course and so we'd had rain snow and high winds i was already tired at this point and so it was i carried on the loop that took you onto the second lap and at about 11 miles i passed the leaders going back the other way which is always a wrench at 12-13 miles i was almost in tears as the hail was so hard it was stinging my face head and legs so bad and there was no shelter but all this was to change and as i got to the best bit of down hill on the course the weather pulled its best trick out of the bag and sent HEAVY snow which was accompanied by 30mph winds from the side !!!
so just when i thought i couldnt feel any worse i was wet cold and very miserable but only 5 miles to go! i plodded on and again the weather changed bringing brilliant sunshine for a few miles so i thawed out a little and by 18-19 i felt pretty good and then had to climb about a 1/3 of the bastard hill again befor turning and heading back down hill to the club and track as i came back towards what i thought was the finish i had given up worrying and was giving it my all only to find i had to do a lap of the track too! not good its amazing how you can cope when you think your there and then someone moves the line and you fall to pieces!!
all in all a good run - in better weather i bet its a great course
i managed 3.08.32 which on that course and in those conditions i was very pleased which.

Next sunday-Wilkinson Ackworth half marathon
between now and then a hill session, a recovery run, a steady club run and 8 miles off road so busy week for shorty
be good
sng

Bricking it again

theres something about small races that really make me brick it!!
tomorrow im doing the spen 20 which is a 2 lap UNDULATING course but there are not that many entrants and i always worry about finishing last or crossing the place where the line was after theyve cleared it all away!!
i wont be pushing as hard as in morecambe but i will be aiming for 3.10 ish so 9.30 miles but wont be disapointed whatever as last week was as flat as a pancake so its to be expected that ill post a slower time!!
ill let you know how it goes on monday!
sng

club run

last nights club run was a top one i really enjoyed it!
we set off at a reasonable pace for the first couple of miles and then the slower group dropped off and the pace really increased for 4-5 miles we ran a steday 8 min pace which was a bit mental for a thursday night then a couple of us who are racing sunday decided to ease back a bit and add some extra distance to the end at a slightly more sane pace so all in all 8.6 miles in 1.14 a pace of 8.35 overall and one very tired shortarse!
so gentle recovery later today
rest tomorrow
diet fell off wheels last night as my lovely wife plied me with donuts! which really doesnt help!

be good sng

QUICK POST

Well not done too much since race report
went to club on tuesday and did intervals which was testing on tired legs but i felt the benefit more i think -warm up followed by 3 x 1 mile at 85% effort off 3 mins rest followed by warm down
wednesdys recovery run got side lined as i ended up in bed most of the day with a blinding headache so gave it a miss
not feeling too bad today so ill be off to club for the weeks steady pace run
then short run tomorrow and rest saturday before big race on sunday

also made a decision to try and nip they weight thing in the bud ASAP as ive gained a few lbs over the last few weeks so its back to the grind and behave myself

tata sng

Trimpell 20

Sunday 8am- Very bleary eyed me and my dad set off to sunny morecambe not really knowing where we were going but we had plenty of time and no need to rush - i was a little twitchy as 20 miles was a new distance for me and i really didnt wanna be last!!
We arrived bright eyed and bushy at about 9.45 after driving round morecambe for a while!!
chilled out for a bit ate food went to the loo (3 times!) and before i knew it it was time to move to the start and at 11am we were off and within a few feet disaster struck!! my garmin decided that the only thing it could be bothered to record was the time so not a total loss but i was gutted as my race plan was to follow a strict 9.10 min/mile pace which miraculously i did for the first 10 miles which were all pretty pain free so at the half way point the watch read 92 mins but i was dubious about the distance marker for mile 10 which was long and i was proved right when i clocked mile 11 in 7.30 which was not right as i had not increased my pace at all and i just continued in the same vein til about 18 miles which again was long so i was a little concerned that i was not going to make my target of 3.03.20 so i mustered what i had and ran the last 2 at 8.50 ish and crossed the line in 3.02.12 with a very manly sprint finish and a huge smile on me face!!

a top run at a very good pace and bang on marathon pace so if i can get it right and maintain that pace for another 6 miles i WILL go sub 4 hrs!!
so heres to the next 20 miler - sunday 18/03/07 spen 20 @ cleckheaton
tatty bye
sng

wibble!

well only one day to go before i do my first 20 mile race and ill be honest im bricking it a bit!
looking forward to it but quite nervy i know its a small event so think ill be running most of it alone but i know im capable just been daft i suppose!!

did good club run on thursday night 9.8 miles in 1.26 at +-8.50 m/m so ive rested since and taken it very easy
so wish me luck and ill report back later tomorrow
sng

4 days.............

well only 4 days to go til my first test of fitness before the marathon im dheading to sunny morecambe to do the trimpell 20 mile road race
im led to believe its an out and back flat course which is almost all on fotpaths and river bank so sounds like my sort of thing!
had a rest day on sunday and monday after 19.5 on saturday wasnt too sore or stiff just felt done in so i thought 2 days off may be the answer
went to the club last night for an interval session 1 mile warm up folowed by 6 x 1km@ 10k+ pace followed by 1 mile warm down all well and good til last 2 reps when my left achillies became quite uncomfortable and sore but nothing serious i hope -ive iced it a few times since and been for a short recovery run tonight and all seems well if still a little un comfy

Off to club tomorrow night then rest fri/sat before race sunday

OOH friday off work too cos its my lovely wifes birthday

be good
SNG

UPDATE

Well thursday brought a club run of 7.1 miles which was my first of the week
my sore feet seemed to hold up so all well and good
I discussed the trollers trot with club mates and decided as a few of the slower runners had pulled out, i too would give it a miss-which i was a bit peed off about but i didnt want to hold any one back
so i headed out for a 20 miler on my own today which i miscalculated a little so it was only 19.5 in a resonable time of 3.07.00 an av 9.34m/m i included +-5 miles off road just to make it a little more difficult-it was a good run and foot held up well til 10 miles but deteriorated quickly and again is giving me hell!!

Diet wise ive had a few weeks not bothering too much and to be fair it hasnt done that much damage but im back in the saddle now and trying to put the reins on myself and shift some more weight before the lochaber marathon ive enlisted the help of a few paul mckenna techniques which may or may not help but im giving it a try

be good and keep at it

SNG