We then went outside to go through the drills we would be using throughout the programme. These split into two basic groupings. The first group were core drills - designed to strengthen the core (yep!) These included: walking lunges, high knee walks, cross overs, rom dead lift walks, medicine ball high knees, step ups, and zig zag hops. We rehearsed the drills and I was surprised at how much they pushed my heart rate up. I was also privately pleased that I wasn't the only one that looked like a clumsy fish out of water!
The second group of drills were power drills. These included: short hill sprints, zig zag hops, bounds, mini hurdles. fast feet, parachute sprints (literally pulling a parachute into the wind), and downhill sprints. I gulped a bit at these because I have avoided doing sprint work for years because it shreds my legs for a couple of days afterwards. Obviously the reason it hurts is because I don't do the short stuff often enough for my body to have adapted to the stress. I am going to have get through that. It might also finally give me some kind of sprint finish too. I do have a vague memory of being a pretty decent sprinter (28 years ago).
We chatted through what signing up to squad training means - attending at least 3 group sessions per week, following the plan, avoiding unscheduled races or major deviations from the plan that will limit the benefit that we'll get from the programme, and so on. We also sorted some administrative stuff out - shared google calendar with the training plan on it, whatsapp group to sort out meeting places for group runs, and so on.
The first week started on 13th July - although I started practising some of the drills during the previous week. Week 1 was planned as a 'low' load week but it was severely disrupted for me and most of the squad by the Doncaster Town Centre 5k race on Wednesday 15th July. Despite the unglamorous location, the Vets and Open races are local favourites and each race tempts out some of the best local runners; most of whom seem to afford it some respect and have a proper go at it.
I lined up in the Vets 5K race at 7:30pm and set off pretty hard with a front pack that included the incredible Anthony Whiteman - the UK's top ranked veteran runner (and still a very competitive senior runner). I stayed with the front pack for nearly the first mile at what seemed like a pretty comfortable pace before the front three started to pull away leaving me and Doncaster runner Simon Wright running together. We worked with each other throughout the race - exchanging 4th place a few times. I controlled my effort much better than at Damflask but I did have a coasting few minutes at the start of the third lap as I tired. In the latter stages of a 5K you should never be able to answer "no" to the question of "are you trying hard enough?" But I'll let myself off because I managed to stay ahead of Simon during the final 400m and record a big 5km personal best of 16:22.
The senior race was a great watch - with Anthony Whiteman fresh from winning the vets race in around 15:30, taking the senior race too - dipping under 15 minutes. Not a bad session - warm up - 2 x 5km at sub-5 minute mile pace off 15 minute rest - warm down.
It was also great to see seven Sheffield RC runners dip well under 17 minutes. The target for the project clearly is for these runners (and several hovering just above 17 minutes) to knock some chunks off their times over the summer. If we could get down to a mean average of 16 minutes for our top 6 we could make a decent impression on the northern relays. Also reminded me that I will have to work pretty hard to stay in that top 6.
| Competitor Name | Chip Time |
| Will Beauchamp | 00:15:33 |
| Joe Sweetnam-Powell | 00:16:01 |
| Alex Plant | 00:16:04 |
| Mike Tanner | 00:16:11 |
| Joe Fowler | 00:16:22 |
| Stuart Little | 00:16:39 |
| Alex Collings | 00:16:47 |
I was looking forward to chatting through the race at the squad's group run on Thursday but I ended up wrestling with a pre-teen temper tantrum at home and missed the start of the group run. So I headed out for the prescribed zone 2 run - a relatively comfortable, if boring 10 miles.
Friday's session was another zone 2 recovery run, which I decided to split am / pm to keep the mileage up whilst still leaving me fresh enough for Saturday's hard hill session.
Saturday's session was supposed to be core drills, 4 x 60m sprints, 8 x 2 min hill efforts, 10 minutes tempo. But I couldn't fit the session in amongst Lola's events at the Northern Premier Athletics league in Birkenhead. Nor could I find a long enough hill near the athletics stadium. So, I split the session into two chunks. The first was core drills, 4 x 60m sprints, jog to hill, 5 x 90s hill efforts, 3.5 mins tempo back to stadium to watch Lola win the long jump. I then jogged back to the hill, did another 5 x 90s hill efforts, jogged for a bit and then finished off with 8.5 minutes tempo. Returning in time to make sure Lola was ready for her 4 x 100m relays. I am no coach but the session seemed close enough to the prescribed one.
During the second set of hill reps I concentrated hard on holding the form I have been practising in the drills: pushing back the elbows, driving my feet through the ground from the glutes, and keeping my knees high. I also tried towards the end of the rep to breath fast and hard. This is quite a departure from my usual 'cover the ground as fast as possible whilst panting like an idiot' approach. I was surprised to find that focusing on form actually helped me get up the hill a second or two quicker. The tempo runs after the hill reps took my heart rate right up into race effort, but they ticked by at around or under 5:30 pace. Overall the session felt like a 'proper workout' - and it felt different enough to my usual training to make the new project feel 'real'.
Most of the squad met up on Sunday morning for an easy zone 1 / 2 run. I topped and tailed the session to keep the mileage up and enjoyed running super-easy in good company. The 15 miles ticked by comfortably at 7:30 pace - with heart rate averaging about 114bpm. Quite a departure from the Sunday runs before my marathon (typically 6:40ish at 134bpm). The idea behind the easy run today is to get the most out of the tempo session tomorrow. Let's see!
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