Mojo back, pacing needs a little work...

Well after a couple of weeks where I've missed my target and struggled with motivation I feel that at last I've nailed a solid week's training, managing to run on 5 days and throwing in a bit of speed work and some weights and yoga too. 

I was forced onto the dreaded dreadmill on Wednesday but, determined to make use of it I did a 6x3min session with 2mins recovery; the efforts were at 7:53 pace which is in the vicinity of my parkrun PB pace. I'm not going to lie - it was hard work but it was "easy" in the sense that I didn't have to think much and unlike a steady or tempo run on the treadmill the time flew by. I was listening to Marathon Talk and happened to have 3 coins about my person so I moved them all one-by-one from one side of the treadmill dashboard to the other (and back) so that I didn't even have my mad mid-run moment (is this number 3 or number 4?) where I can't manage even the basic maths of subtracting the time that my warm-up took and dividing the remainder by the effort plus recovery to work out where I am. I call this "running maths" and it results in some bizarre circumstances where very simple sums become all but impossible mid-effort. Anyone else struggle with this?

A friend and fellow runner has kindly offered to put together a plan for the next 6 weeks which will focus on my 5k times but allow for the Ljubljana Half Marathon too. I was therefore targeted with having a bit of a go at parkrun on Saturday to give us a baseline measure of my fitness (especially since I've not always been giving it my best effort recently). I had a spa day planned with a friend and have missed Cannon Hill (which is my home parkrun) over recent weeks so found myself back there on a morning which was just beautiful - the bright sunshine and autumn leaves along with the time of day being the only things separating this from those "too hot; too hard" summer runs. I warmed up and joined a couple of runners I knew at the start. Unfortunately I got the pace completely wrong from the off - seeing Jude speed into the distance I thought if I could just see her it would get me off to a good start and I'm typically a conservative runner in the early stages, I also thought I would avoid looking at my watch - it might be limiting me to what I thought I could do rather than what I am capable of. Well, now I realise that conservative is not a bad strategy. Looking now at the splits a first mile of 7:36 was clearly a crazy starting pace (according to Strava - which doesn't hold all of my records, just those since January, but is nevertheless a useful guide - I broke my km, half mile, mile and 2 mile records). Then the wheels came off! An agonising last mile and a half, wheezing, people passing me and looking concerned and an unbelievable desire to just stop and lie down. I finally understood the expression to "blow-up". I've had some tough second halves of half marathons and longer races, but I don't think there's ever been such a stark contrast in a 5k race. My last mile was nearly a minute slower than the first. Ouch! 

I managed to squeeze under 25 minutes (24:59) for my best time for a few months, but I feel that I could have shaved a bit more off that if I'd paced it more evenly. 

Nevertheless I've posted a time to aim at next week and learnt a valuable lesson. Next week it's the road relays and I will definitely go for a steady start and try to finish strong!

I've topped off my biggest running week in some time with a 14 mile run along the canal into town with a few pit stops to collect folks en route - it's another glorious day in south Brum and I collected a couple of owls too... Mojo back and up for the next 6 weeks of hard training!

Man in the background looks like he could use some mojo (or a good night's sleep!) #TheBigHoot2015

Another weekly target missed

Having set a 30 mile per week target for my Ljubljana Half Marathon prep with a minimum of one speed session or race per week I have, yet again, missed my target. My excuses; I've had a rubbish week; my windscreen cracked on the way home from a hen weekend in Bath; I got a speeding fine; I'm still tired from last week's work in the U.S. and work's been busy yet again. 

All that said I've enjoyed my running this week and even managed to squeeze in a weights session on Tuesday. Yesterday I finally took part in the JW Relay which is a 30-mile Ultra race or a Relay. I did the last leg of the relay (described by one of the Ultra runners as "the glory leg") as part of a team of Bournville Harriers, called "Canal we stop now?" in reference to the fact that the race is largely along the canal towpath between Stratford and Kings Norton, Birmingham. The race is run in memory of John Ward, a coach and Bournville Harrier (although well before my time), so there were plenty of other harriers there, taking part in the full distance or the relay (some doing two legs as part of their Autumn marathon preparations). 

Preparing for "the glory leg" at the Blue Bell Cider House

My leg was on a stretch of canal that I'm very familiar with, but even so I really enjoyed being part of the whole event. I was reasonably pleased with my time (although I think I should have gone out harder - my leg only ended up being 8.5 miles and I was off my 10-mile pace by quite some way). The goody bag alone was well worth the entry fee - a lovely kit bag, bobble hat and sunglasses as well as some chocolate and a granola bar.

Modelling the JW goodies - bobble-hat, bag and sunnies!

I finished the week with a 7-mile run averaging 9mm - I'm trying to get to a point where that feels like a comfortable pace and tonight it really did. I need to really start to focus on my half-marathon training now, with 6 weeks to go it really is time to get serious if I've any chance of a PB in Ljubljana! 

Out of order... & Running My Life, Sebastian Coe

When I first started this blog it was always intended to be about my three favourite pastimes; running, reading and eating. I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't been making the time to read for pleasure over the last 12 months. I have bought books but never seemed to get going with them. And, whilst having a bit of business travel to do in the U.S. this week proved to be limiting for my running it did give me the opportunity to finally read Seb Coe's autobiography (up until the end of the 2012 Olympics anyway) on the flights.

Hotel treadmill in Syracuse, NY. Fortunately there was another one, but I only managed 5k

The book was really in four parts - the early years and family history, his running career, his political career and finally the bid and delivery of the Olympics. It was actually incredible to think of his three careers, which, apart from the political one perhaps, have been extraordinary. With the recent news of his appointment to the top job in the IAAF the story doesn't quite come up to date but it was at least a topical read.

I have to say I was surprised a bit by his background, but I felt that he was, throughout the book, trying to present himself as more of a down-to-earth adopted Yorkshireman. I can see it must have been frustrating to have been portrayed as something other than his working class roots (East end of London, via Warwickshire to Sheffield) but I did sometimes think that the point was rather laboured. Still I enjoyed reading about his family background and his early life especially once we were on familiar territory in Sheffield, where I went to University.

Reading back over his running feats was really amazing. I think the first time I really paid attention to athletics was the Seoul Olympics (I would have been 9 years old then), so although I do remember being aware of Coe and Ovett, I really can't recall watching a specific race of his and I hadn't realised quite how much of a legend he'd been, not only in winning medals but also setting world records. 

From a runner's perspective the insight into some of what it took to achieve that was fascinating, especially to see some of the application of sports science (getting under the bonnet as he described it) and the strength work that he did too. Pre-race build up and controlling the variables all featured strongly and if I was to take anything from that into my running it would be that even an elite runner can have a bad day if they don't get a decent meal and a good night's sleep before a big race. It seems pretty obvious I guess, but some things bear repeating! 

The Coe/Ovett rivalry is interesting viewed through the lens of history. This type of rivalry is part of sport and our enjoyment of sport. Much as we may have all got carried away with the "good vs evil" story that built up around Bolt and Gatlin going head to head in the recent world championships, it adds a frisson to watching a sporting event when there is a true competition and the characters become more of a caricature, often fuelled by the media's representation of them as much as anything else.

I was less aware of Coe's political career, knowing no more than that he had been a Tory MP. I hadn't realised how closely he had worked with William Hague, a rare example of a politician who garners respect across the political spectrum and who I personally have a lot of time for. The seeds of his future success in the Olympic bid were sowed here, but, in spite of usually finding politics fascinating I found this section a little bit dull in places (perhaps because I was waiting for a connecting flight reading that part and just struggling to stay awake).

Reading back over some of the highlights of the Olympic bid and the games themselves was a joy. To imagine the sheer amount of work and dedication too - just phenomenal. I genuinely believe there is no one else that could have done what he did - his background, personality and interests coming together at a perfect moment in time. To hear it from his perspective though also gave a sense of the others involved and he was generous in his praise, particularly giving credit where it was due to those whose political affiliation didn't match his own, such as Tessa Jowell and Tony Blair. 

I still feel that I am left with an uncertainty about what kind of leader he will be at the IAAF. He has recently been very quick to defend the federation against the accusations that they have not tackled doping in the sport as well as they might. He was disparaging in his remarks regarding the scientists and journalists involved, seeking to dismiss them quickly rather than examining their allegations. I therefore read his comments on doping with great interest in the book, but even more so, given the recent FIFA scandal, I found his regard for a certain Mr Blatter curious too. I'm left with many questions about whether he will genuinely seek to deal with problems such as doping or corruption. One thing is for certain I'll look forward to seeing what happens next and reading his side of it in any future chapters or a sequel.

I really hope that I will also now start to read a bit more, especially autobiographies of runners and other sporting figures. Among my favourites have been Charlie Spedding, Chrissie Wellington and Paula Radcliffe. I'd love to hear some other recommendations too!