VLM Training Week 14 - know (your) half measures

Three weeks to go - and that means it is taper time. So open the taper rule book at page 1 and follow the instructions. Easy!

Only it isn't. Because there are lots of different opinions about what kind of taper works best. There is the 'carry on as you are but cut your mileage by X% in week one, then Y% in week two etc' option. There is the 'drop your mileage but do more short pacey stuff' option, and the obviously conflicting 'cut your mileage and cut out all speed work' too. Race 3 weeks before. Don't race 3 weeks before. Race but only up to 10K etc etc. Aaaagh!

The only common ground everyone seems to agree on is that tapering should involve cutting your mileage. The general consensus also seems to be that keeping at least some pacey strides going will keep you fresh. My humble opinion is that the mileage needs to come down to allow muscles to recover and niggles to face, but fitness and sharpness need to be maintained. So, I'm going with (approximately) 25%, 40% and 60% reduction in miles respectively over the last 3 weeks. But I'm going to make sure I do enough reasonably pacey stuff to stay fresh and confident. During the last week, I will do active recovery (basically walking) every other day, and easy 3 - 4 mile runs with strides on the other days.

So how did week 1 of the taper play out? Well it started on Monday morning in Cyprus with a textbook active recovery run with Deb -10km along a beautiful coastal path at just under 8 minute miles, with heart rate averaging 108 bpm. The evening run was a slightly quicker jog out to the shop the long way round. Just under 4 miles at 7 minute mile pace - heart rate around 116 bpm.

So, by Tuesday morning, I felt fresh despite running 30 miles over the previous 2 days. 'Recovery running Monday' - it could catch on. Tuesday morning's planned 7 x 760m off 90s session was my last sub-5K pace intervals session and it was hard work in the swirling wind. But average pace on the reps was not far off 5:10 - so I felt lifted and tired by the session in equal measure. The evening session was handed over to the kids as the whole family jogged to the local school's gravel track for a mini fartlek session - got my arse properly kicked by Lola on the sprints, but, again, felt strong when the pace lifted even if I could not get near Lola as she banged out a few 29 second 200m reps!

Wednesday morning was another active recovery run with Deb - just over 7 miles at around 7:20 pace - heart rate nice and low at 113 bpm (my heart rate range is very low as my max heart rate is only 164 bpm). Wednesday evening's session was a low to medium threshold (137bpm) run on the treadmill - 10km in around 37 minutes. Felt like hard work and my heart rate climbed throughout the run - probably because of the heat and cumulative fatigue.

I gatecrashed Deb's progression run on Thursday morning - 2 miles at 7:30 pace, 2 at 7:00 and two at 6:30 on the now very familiar coastal path around Paphos. Good session for Deb - although I wonder whether her target marathon pace of just over 7 minute miles is starting to look a bit soft. Thursday evening's session was a quick 4.5 miles on the treadmill with a few strides - just turning the legs over ahead of a long journey home on the Friday, which would also be my first day off in 4 weeks.

The day off fell at just the right time to grab a bit of rest ahead of the national 12-stage relays in Birmingham on Saturday. I won't go into lots of detail here, but the event was a fantastic experience and the club achieved its target of a top 50 finish, and all involved had a great time. It was especially satisfying to see so many of the club's improving runners starting to show their potential.

Personally, I was determined to run my long 5.5 mile leg sensibly - to limit the wear on my muscles (tapering being about sharpening up not over-training!). I also wanted to avoid the pacing mistake I had made at the northern relays when I went out too quickly. The race went well - sensible levels of effort for the first couple of miles, steady for the middle mile into the wind, and then into top race gear for the last two miles (5:22 and 5:19). I was happy with my time of 30:40 and my legs felt fine by the evening. Sharpen don't blunt etc.

[race effort face]

Sunday was the last long run in my schedule - 14 miles at steady effort. I decided earlier in the week to do this run as a non-racing participant in the Sheffield Half Marathon. I had also decided (after seeking advice on Saturday) that I should just run it on feel and enjoy it without pushing too hard. So, I set off a few rows back and relaxed into a steady Sunday run pace of around 6:30. Only it wasn't: the first mile beep said 6:06. A reminder of how easy it is to get sucked in to going out too fast. With renewed determination, I slowed down, chatted to a few people around me and was pleased to see the second mile pass in 6:30 - that's better. Little did I know that I had also climbed 133 feet during the 2nd mile - meaning the 2nd mile had been just as daft as the first. And so it continued basically. My only comfort was that I was breathing easy (every 5 steps) and I am sure that if my wrist based Mio heart rate monitor had not gone bonkers (again) it would have showed an effort level of well below race effort.

The wind on top of Ringinglow was really strong and I was getting increasingly frustrated with watching club mate Kevin Bartholomew 50m ahead battling the headwind and being too nice to tuck in behind someone else for a bit of a rest. He had quite a following at times - people using him as a windbreak. I decided to kick on to catch him up, have a word and shield him from the wind for a bit. I did the same for John D a mile or so later. With all the distraction I hadn't realised that I was starting to move through the field. I still felt relaxed and not at race effort though, so just decided to roll with it down the hills to Dore. The downhill miles were now ticking past pretty quickly 5:23, 5:24, but I felt fine - and I was supposed to be running to feel. So that's fine.

The support down through Ecclesall was excellent and I was properly enjoying myself now. Gravity was doing the hard work, my legs were turning over easily, and I was only a few miles from the finish of a really enjoyable run. My only concern was that I might have irritated my club mates by drifting in and out of the race and offering advice. I also realised that I was probably the club's leading runner in the race - and that felt a bit false somehow.

Anyway, concerns put aside for a bit, I took a caffeine gel with water at mile 10 (more to rehearse for London than anything else) and started to reel more people in as the field thinned out. As I went past Hunters Bar roundabout I could only see one yellow vest in the distance - from the posture and gait I guessed it was probably Kevin Doyle from Kimberworth Striders. I snuck up on Kevin and we chatted briefly before I decided the run would be even better if I nicked another place before the end; so, I set off up Charter Row and caught another (unknown) runner. Before I knew it, I was round the corner and trotting happily up to the Town Hall - the picture that Pete Robertshaw took with 400m to go sums up my mood up nicely.

Obviously a hilly half marathon at target marathon pace was not part of my plan! But it felt good, didn't tire me out as far as I can tell, and it has given me the confidence to taper properly over the next 3 weeks. I'm fit enough now - just need to be as fresh and sharp as possible on the day.

The run also made me realise that my heart rate monitor might not be reliable enough for marathon day - so I'll need a plan b. And, my shoes were uncomfortable for the last few miles meaning I might need to try an alternative. Maybe even my race shoes? But, that's a debate for next time.

VLM Training Week 13 - the Mrs is a hero

Suffice to say that Sunday's packing went pretty badly. Deb was finishing an urgent piece of work most of the day, and whilst I managed to get my running kit and the family gadgets together, my incompetence when it comes to packing for the kids, coupled with my fatigue, meant we had everything left to do on Monday morning. We HAD to leave at around 12:30 for the 2.5 hour dash down to Stansted for our late-afternoon flight to Paphos.

So, I was up early on Monday and only managed to squeeze in a half hour treadmill recovery run at the gym. I was amazed that Deb stood for it to be honest, but with a few weeks left to go, her tolerance for my focus (obsession) has increased. I am sure it will only be temporary but I am grateful nevertheless.

The travel down to Stansted was pretty stress free - until I realised that we had forgotten the driving licences we needed for the hire car we were picking up at Paphos airport. I thought it was sorted after a few phone calls but DVLA managed to send the required fax to the wrong number - the start of a farce that continued for the next 48 hours meaning we ended up getting a 30 euro taxi to our hotel and being without a car for the first day or so. But, I am drifting off topic.

I spent the plane journey watching episodes of Walking Dead and making adjustments to our training plans (as you do). I wanted to make use of the opportunity for us both to do more morning / evening training (doubles). I also wanted to build a bit more marathon effort work into the last few weeks of the plans - 'tune up' stuff to get us used to the target pace and effort..

Tuesday was scheduled for an evening session of long reps, but I was too keen to explore the Paphos coastal path I was planning to do most of my running on whilst away. So I headed out early for an easy 5-miler, looking for decent bits of path for 'intervals' later. The evening session didn't go as planned as the kids required supervising at the jacuzzi (don't ask). So I swapped in a hard treadmill 7.4 mile fartlek session in the gym overlooking the jacuzzi.

The kids are at the age now where they will happily get themselves up in the morning and get their own breakfast. There may be a time when they put down their tablets, clean up after themselves, and get dressed and ready to leave the house unprompted, but I am not holding my breath. Anyway, this means that Deb and I can go out for a run together before breakfast on holiday these days. So, Wednesday morning started with a gentle 10-miler up the coast with Deb at just under 8 minute mile pace.

My plan was to top up with a few more recovery miles on Wednesday evening, but we ended up eating out and going to the cinema (weather wasn't great). Skipping the evening miles was frustrating, but it did mean that I hit Thursday morning's session with fresh legs. The plan was to do a couple of easy miles with Deb and then do 5 miles at marathon effort (heart rate around 145 bpm) before meeting back up with Deb who was doing the same session and jogging a mile back to the apartment. After the easy two miles I kicked on but judged it wrong and found myself struggling to get my effort level right. My heart rate was too high at around 150bpm meaning my pace was up around the 5:40 / mile mark. After a mile or so of getting it wrong, I gave up trying to fight it and just decided to run the session hard. The 5 miles over a mixture of crazy paving and rough ground passed by quickly in about 29 minutes. It felt good to have a blow out.

Thursday daytime was spent sightseeing ("not more old rocks Dad") with a few hours on the beach in the afternoon. I managed to get a bit of sleep in the sun on the beach and by evening felt fully recovered from the morning session. I decided to up the tempo of the scheduled recovery run and tested the hotel's creaking treadmill with a 36 minute 10K. As I have increased my mileage over the last couple of months, I have found that I recover much more quickly than I used to. The relaxing snooze on the beach helped to!

I ran out with Deb again on Friday morning for a proper zone 1 active recovery run (might be my first ever) - a nice and easy 49-minute 10K with heart rate around 110 bpm. Friday evening was a 7-mile treadmill recovery at a more typical 125 bpm.

Saturday morning was a short, tune-up run with a couple of steady miles followed by a hard 1.5 mile push down the coast. I only managed to average 5:45 pace for the push due (I hope) to the strong headwind. I kept the evening run as a short recovery with half an eye on the final 20 miler of the training plan the following day.

The start of my scheduled 20 mile Sunday run was reasonably delayed by waiting for the kids to get up for the traditional chocolate egg hunt. When I got out at around 10am it was already 19 degrees and the sun was pretty oppressive. I was glad of the cool breeze blowing in off the sea. Six miles into the run, I bought some water from a beach shack, took a good glug, put my remaining euro back in my pocket and stashed the remainder of the water under a rock for the way back.

I managed to get pretty lost on the way out - ending up on some rough terrain and taking a detour through a plantation of triffids, but the miles were ticking by at well under 7 minutes and I felt pretty comfortable if a little hot. Navigation was less of an issue on the way back as I stuck to the coastal road for a bit longer. With a gel dispatched I was also feeling a bit more lively and the miles started to tick by more quickly - close to 6-minute mile pace on the tarmac. I retrieved my water at around mile 15 (not a moment too soon) and took a caffeinated gel to give me a lift for the home stretch. The plan was to push up to marathon effort for the last 3 miles to get a feel for how fast my tired legs would go with my heart rate at around threshold level - 145 bpm. I managed to set my effort level about right and I was reasonably happy to hold 6:10 pace on rough terrain and whilst dodging tourists. I am hoping that a decent taper and adrenaline on the day of the marathon will give me the confidence to go out on the day at 6 min/mile pace and finish in around 2:37. Starting to feel realistic?

At the end of the run, I was seriously hot, with the temperature now around 23 degrees. I popped into a shop to get some water but found that I had managed to lose my euro! It was a very thirsty jog back to the apartment - although the cold water hamstring and calf massage in the hydro pool was worth the wait!

VLM Training Week 12 - racing weight

Those of you that have stuck with me this long will be pleased to know I need to be very brief this week as I am supposed to be packing for my 10 day training camp, sorry, family holiday, in Cyprus. We fly tomorrow. So, here's the very short version of training week 12 written in 20 minutes flat (now, if I could race as quickly as I can type)...

Monday: Legs felt pretty tired from Sunday's marathon distance run. But 5 mile recovery run felt OK so I jogged a mile to work too. The fatigue kicked in later that afternoon, so the slow 4.5 mile jog home in the evening was tough.

It's Tuesday, so it must be SRC long reps time (read all about them in last week's blog). A few miles warming up done, I started the 6 x hilly 1200m off 90s session cautiously. My quads felt particularly tired, which probably meant they were not protecting my knees as much as they should be. No need at all for any irresponsible training at this stage! As the session went on, my legs warmed to the challenge, and the average pace over the twisty, hilly rep route dropped from 5:44 steadily down to about 5:25. My experience of reps like this is that the pace on the rough paths round Don Valley is a pretty good predictor of 5K pace, so I was reasonably happy with the session.

Wednesday was a double-recovery day with 7 miles on the treadmill in the morning and about 6 miles in the evening. My legs felt surprisingly good, so I picked the pace up for the last mile of the treadmill run (av 6:22 pace), and worked hard up the hills on the evening session too (6:52).

The first 3 days of the week were a good few miles more than my training schedule because I wanted to lower my mileage for Thursday and Friday, and hit the Northern 12-stage relays (4.7 mile leg) pretty hard to test my speed endurance. So Thursday was just under 6 miles with a few strides to finish, and Friday was an easy treadmill session with a few fast 800m at the end (last one at 4:50 pace).

Racing Weight

For the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to control my diet better. Eating more protein throughout the day (tricky when you're a vegetarian) and cutting out the crap. I have been carrying an extra kilogram (2.2lbs in old money!) or two since Xmas and when you consider that every kilogram costs you about 2 minutes during a marathon, it is worth focusing hard on getting your weight right. I will return to this subject in more detail when I have more time because I firmly believe that runners that want to go quicker, should really focus on achieving a healthy, lean weight. The performance gains associated with achieving a healthy, lean weight will far outstrip the gains from training until your eyes bleed (and you can train even harder and faster when you weigh less!)

Anyway, the reason for this context, is that for the last couple of months I have been stuck at around 71kg (just over 11 stone) with my bodyfat around 11%. My target weight for London is about 68.5kg (around 8% bodyfat). If you followed the paragraph above, you will see that this drop in bodyfat should make a 5 minute difference to my marathon time. But, it is one thing to do the sums, it's another thing to lose the weight!

People mistakenly assume that running 70 - 80 miles per week will make you thin. I find it just makes me bloody ravenous. But, over the last few weeks I have been doing my best to stay disciplined and on Saturday, after a couple of lower mileage days (equals less food eate, equals less food making it's way through my digestive system) - I weighed in at 69kg (9% body fat) for the first time since November.

My newly lightweight self, and the hard training over the last few weeks, meant Saturday's 4.7 mile dash around Sefton Park went pretty well (25:54 - around 5:30 pace). I went off much too quick of course (having not raced for a while), pegging it for the first mile in 5:12, but, that aside, I was pleased with the run. More importantly, the whole 12-strong team of men and 6-strong team of women ran well and we finished 13th ladies team, and 19th men's team - meaning that we all get to go to the 12-stage nationals in 2 weeks time to compete against the best clubs in the land.

Anyway, out of time. Just long enough left to say that Sunday's run was a pretty uneventful 22 mile run along the valleys to Rotherham and back with Mike Sprot and Kevin B. Legs felt OK after yesterday and the run passed at reasonable pace (6:38 average). The last few miles up through town (we held the pace) pushed my heart rate up close to lactate threhold levels, and I was tired at the end. But, that's the last 20 mile plus run out of the way now.

Starting to feel ready.

VLM Training Week 11 - fitting it in & the importance of sleep

The Monday morning alarm clock sounded well before I was ready to get up, and with an early start at work, there was no time for the few recovery miles I had planned. Sunday's 25 miles had left my legs very tired though, so maybe it was just as well. My legs got rested and loosened up during the day at work - one advantage of having a job that involves a lot of sitting on your arse with the odd brisk walk to meetings round town. A late finish at work, and a promise to help Lola with her maths homework, meant I had to fit my Monday recovery run into 30 minutes. So, just over 4 miles - a couple of miles short of schedule.

Tuesday started with a light ('no sweat') 1.3 mile jog to work. The evening session was my scheduled return to the long established Sheffield Running Club (SRC) long reps session. 

The SRC Tuesday evening reps session has been using the same Don Valley paths and trails for 1000m, 1200m, and 1500m reps since the 90s - meaning that the (many) vet runners at SRC can pretty accurately work out how fit you are, how fast you are likely to do a race and so on from your split times.

There is an accepted 'way' to do the reps: couple of miles warm-up, faff around with bags and jackets etc (stowing in bushes or a car), do some half-arsed strides and drills, and then pick the groups based on recent race times and do staggered starts so that the last reps all end about the same time. A couple of gentle miles warm down completes the session. The number of reps means the session is generally between 6km and 7km of hard effort with 90s rest between reps in the winter, and 2 minutes in the summer. You can expect to be gently chastised if you don't at least try to run all the reps at the same pace - it's not about who wins the first one or the last one. 

The Tuesday reps are my toughest and probably most beneficial session of the week. I regularly think about them at the end of a hard race: "one more Tuesday night 1500m rep to go - gasp and get on with it". I dropped out of the session for a couple of months after Xmas when I was recovering from injury, flu and then the Grindleford Gallop. But, perhaps I have been subconsciously finding reasons not to do them! With the 12-stage relays fast approaching, I thought I had better test my leg speed.

But, DISASTER has struck! The building work at Don Valley has closed some of the paths used for the reps. The Tuesday night veterans are doing their best to cope with the disruption to decades of consistent data (some might need counselling) and they have measured a few new reps out. The new routes involve using the Don Valley bridge and bowl more (which has a nasty climb and a few twisty bits) so they are not as good or as quick, but we're making do!

Anyway, the session went OK with each of the 5 x 1500m reps out of the way in just over 5 minutes (about 5:30 pace). Nothing to compare it with, so not sure 'where I am' pace wise at the moment. The 12-stage relays next Saturday will answer that question. 

Wednesday was scheduled as a double-recovery run day (3/7) but I felt pretty fresh in the morning, so pushed the morning treadmill recovery up to top end of recovery (130bpm, 6:20 treadmill pace) and ran a pretty comfortable 7 miles before breakfast. A late finish at work combined with Deb taking the kids to athletics, meant I had a bit more time in the evening than usual, so I got a decent 8 miles in at just over 7 minute mile pace (up through the mayfield valley).

A light jog to work on Thursday morning confirmed that the extra miles hadn't taken too much out of me, so I pondered on what quality session to do that evening. My schedule said 12 mile progression but I knew I wouldn't have time due to late meetings and a stupidly complicated array of stuff going on in the evening (parents evening at King Edwards, music recital at Westways, Deb physio appointment, Lola had come home from school ill etc).

I decided that I would do a few 400m reps in Crookesmoor Park. But, when I got there, a large posse of student-age skaters had taken over the path I use for my reps and littered it with their grungy detritus - sachels, bottles of pop etc. A quick diversion to the S10 gym next door allowed me to squeeze some quality in - a threshold (145bpm) 10K in just under 35 minutes (probably equivalent to a 37 minute 10K on the road). I felt like I could have gone on for longer, but no time.

Friday was another double recovery day - 7 miles treadmill in the morning and (another!) time restricted 4.3 miles in the evening. This time the constraint was the kids coming back to school late from various sporting events (Isla came 4th in South Yorkshire Primary Schools XC Champs and Lola's school Rugby team was undefeated at an event in Barnsley due in part to her ridiculous sprinting ability - she scored more tries than she could count).

I had been looking forward all week to a Friday night out with friends to see Mr Scruff at Queen's Rd Social Club. I was however slightly daunted by the prospect of going out late as Saturday morning involved getting Lola up and out to music academy for 8:45, and Isla to the schools XC relays at Norfolk Park for 9:30. I also fancied dropping on a parkrun or at least getting a few short reps in on Saturday ahead of a long run on Sunday morning. I didn't want to lose the weekend.

In the taxi over to my mate Ben's house, Deb and I decided we'd limit ourselves to a few drinks and come home at about 1am. Needless to say that plan was a complete failure: the night spiraled quickly and pleasantly out of control and involved lots of laughing, a degree of excitement at discovering that other people our age still go out dancing, and way too much beer (Chocolate Oatmeal Stout cask ale at a gig - how times have changed!) The taxi home pulled in at gone 3am and we were up again 4 hours later - shattered.

I managed to get the kids to where they needed to be - and enjoyed watching the primary schools relays (Isla ran well again, gaining a few places on the last leg to bring her team in 4th). The cake stall was also a big hit - a few too many visits for me perhaps. I managed to get to the gym and do 20 minutes on the bike and 20 minutes on the treadmill, but it was very low intensity - enough to help clear the toxins from my body, but no training benefit. Saturday was an early night!

Sunday morning was scheduled for a long run of around 26 miles. A quick post on the Sheffield Project facebook page quickly led to a decent posse wanting to go out - with people joining the run at various points so they could do the distance they wanted to do. I set off at 7:25am - picked up Mike Sprot at Hunters Bar, Trevor Neville and Kevin Bartholomew at Infirmary Rd (about 4.5 miles in), and Joe Sweetnam-Powell and Alex Collings at Hillsborough Corner. We ran out around Damflask and Agden reservoirs and returned the same route. People separated off on the way back, and I was back on my own by Hunters Bar. I topped up the miles to marathon distance (26.2 miles in 2:57) and flopped into the house for breakfast at about 10:30. Deb headed out shortly afterwards for a 20 miler - wearing a heart rate monitor for the first time. Must be serious.

5 weeks to go and all I have to do is that Sunday run again - about 45 seconds a mile quicker. Gulp.

VLM Training Week 10 - the business end

Monday morning still had the afterglow of an eventful weekend after my race win at the Grindleford Gallop and the girls doing great at the final event of the South Yorkshire indoor series. But Monday also signalled the arrival of DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. 

Unsurprisingly it was my quads and lower calf muscles that were sore - from hard descents and racing effort climbs respectively at the 'gallop. I only had time for a short 5-mile recovery run home anyway, so the DOMS didn't cost me anything.

By Tuesday, my legs were feeling reasonably OK so I jogged 3 miles to club training night and then went out on a comfortable 10 miler with some club mates - with the last mile gradually winding up to around 5:10 pace. My legs felt OK and it was good to hold a hard effort for a few minutes again. I also discovered that my maximum heart rate is higher than I previously thought - as I briefly hit the dizzy heights of 164bpm. I will get round to checking my zones this week.

Wednesday was a recovery double (6.2 / 7.5). I lost a bit of discipline on the evening run and tipped into zone 3 of my heart rate a bit too much, but felt fine afterwards. Just as well as Thursday was a hard session day.

I opted to go on the treadmill to get better control over the session and decided to go for a varying hard pace fartlek instead of a classic 'rest for a bit between efforts' intervals session. My instincts tell me that fartlek must be better for marathon training - but it's just a hunch. The session was tough - alternating between 5:25 and 6:00 min / mile pace - bringing in the 10 miles in around 57 minutes. I was hanging on a bit at the end but was glad to get it done.

Friday was another uneventful recovery double splitting the 12 miles reasonably evenly between morning and evening, holding back on the effort so that I could hit the Saturday threshold run harder. The threshold session had to be squeezed in amongst all the kids' activities but it focused the mind and I held threshold heart rate of 145bpm (target marathon effort) reasonably comfortably for 35 minutes and ran bang on 10K. I know from measuring my heart rate that the treadmill, even with a 1% incline, flatters me by 15 or 20 seconds per mile, but hey ho, it'll do.

I had scheduled a 20 mile+ run for Sunday having missed my longest marathon training run (30 miles) the previous weekend in exchange for the Grindleford Gallop. Concerned about the tedium, I invited a few club mates to join me for some or all of the 8am run and got a good little posse together. I ended getting up a bit earlier and getting 5 miles in before we met, and then did 13 miles or so with the group, another 5 with just Chris Ireland (training for Manchester), and then another few miles on my own (including joining the Varsity 10K stragglers along Harcourt Road). The overall run was 25.5 miles at just under 7 min/mile pace, and, critically, it was over in time to do some mother's day stuff at home. I was knackered at the end of the run but having basically eaten all day, my energy is returning. Just as well, the next few weeks will see the end of the business end of marathon training culminating in two weeks of warm weather 'coastal path' training in Cyprus and then a two week taper.

VLM Training Week 9 - Gallop On

So after a whopping 3.9 miles of training in my 'lost to flu week', I woke up early at the start of training week 9 feeling pretty human again. The plan for the week was simple: lots of recovery running; regain control over my diet; and, let my lungs clear out all the dead cell debris that collects during the battle between the flu virus and those heroic white blood cells. The week started to plan with 6 easy miles on the treadmill before breakfast and another 6 on the evening commute home.

The plan for Tuesday was to jog to the club training session and do a 'pack run' at recovery heart rate. But, with work being continually manic, I ended up having to run a couple of 6 minute miles to get to training on time. The first 7 miles of the 10-mile pack run was more sensibly paced at around 6:20 (sub-threshold 130ish bpm), but I couldn't resist the traditional push for home over the last 3 miles and I ended up chasing young Alex Plant through Attercliffe at around 5:40 pace (and full on race heart rate of 155bpm). I chastised myself quietly whilst coughing up crap for a few minutes afterwards, but, to be honest, it felt good to let the legs go and 12 miles at just over 6:00 average pace was a decent training run providing I hadn't damaged anything.

Wednesday was a much more sensible recovery double (11.2 miles total split evenly morning and evening) and Thursday was another easy recovery (6.3 miles) with a few strides. My legs felt tired (after effects of Tuesday), but my lungs were clearing out and I felt pretty free of post-flu fatigue. I decided that I would have a rest day on Friday and do a long training run round the 21 mile Grindleford Gallop trail race on Saturday morning, with another 10 - 20 miles on Sunday to take the weekly miles over 70.

On Saturday morning, I subconsciously went through my usual pre-race routine: decent breakfast of oats and protein, choosing proven kit, shot of beetroot juice, hydration, caffeine etc. I dropped Lola off at music academy, and collected fellow club member Helen Pickford from Walkley for the short drive to Grindleford village. When we arrived I had a jog round the village green with Doug Banks and Mike Sprot, and, during conversation, realised that my legs felt pretty bouncy. The rest day had definitely done its job. I decided that I would do the first mile with the leading pack so I could deduce how hard I would have to work to win the 'veteran 40' male prize. I could already feel the disapproval of wiser runners than me (focus on the long-term goal you idiot), but a quick look around at the competition couldn't hurt could it?

The start of the Grindleford Gallop is great fun - 500 runners sprint 100m across a field, across a muddy stream, through a couple of tight gaps, and then along a single file rocky trail for half a mile or so. If you are not in the first 20 or 30 people at this stage, it can cost you minutes. Obviously, my plan meant I needed to see who was at the front, so I set off at pace and got onto the trail in about 7th place...

Pic credit to Grindleford Gallop

At the end of the first mile, the leading pack reached a short section of road and I had a chance to look up from the technical footwork to work out what kind of company I was in. First thing to note was that there were clearly no wildcard 'national class' fell-runners here; the pace was comfortable and it was Mike Sprot (Dark Peak) that was setting it. Steve Franklin from Totley AC was up front too. What did bother me was a couple of unknown people in the front pack who looked like they might just have reached the magic milestone of 40 years of age! I decided to stay with the pace whilst it was comfortable and review things again in a mile or so.

Mile 2 of the race involves a challenging 500ft of ascent out of the valley on open fields so I settled into a nice steady effort – making sure I was not breathing too hard. The ground conditions were notably better than last year thanks to a few days of drying sun and wind. My favourite feather-light Saucony Kinvara Trail shoes were gripping the rough ground easily and skipping lightly over the tarmac and trails.

Pic Credit to Jen Regan

As we crested the hill I had a look around again and was amazed to see that me, Mike Sprot and Steve Franklin had broken well clear of the rest of the pack. The three of us descended into Eyam together and I realised I was thoroughly enjoying the run: the weather was bright if a bit windy, the scenery was peaking beautiful, and I was relaxed and breathing easily meaning I hadn’t charged off like a nutter, and I could just about continue the pretence that I was out on a ‘long training run’.

I had two main deliberation points at this stage. Firstly, I was now setting the pace and occasionally pulling away from Mike and Steve, but I hadn’t recce’d the course since last year meaning I was worried about getting lost! Secondly, I had over 40 miles of training in my legs from the previous 5 days and I still had a rattly chest. I wasn't sure that I would have the stamina for the last 10 miles of the run so I needed to take it easy.

I decided that I would set a comfortable pace for a bit but slow down if I pulled too far ahead of Mike and Steve. This should, I figured: (a) make sure I didn't go too hard and burn out; (b) keep the pace up and me ahead of any fast finishing veterans in the chasing pack; (c) stop me getting lost (Mike knew the way!); and, (d) mean that I might even nick a top 3 position, which was a 2015 running goal I had set myself that after months of injury and illness seemed a long way off.

We all dibbed our dibbers together at the first checkpoint in Eyam and I led the way up the hill as we climbed up the rough trails towards Longstone Moor. As we turned to cross the fields, I was a good few seconds ahead of Mike and Steve, which was a bit daft as there was a strong headwind and nobody to share windbreak duties with.

As we passed 5 miles, I took my first gel, knowing that there would be drinks at the checkpoint near the top of the hill about a mile later. I was planning to take a gel every 5 miles and then have a decent gulp of drink at every checkpoint. This plan had worked OK during my marathon the year before, and it had the major advantage of meaning that I started the run carrying just 300g of 'luggage'.

After the next checkpoint we ran together over the top of the moors, dibbed again, and then hit the descent into Great Longstone side-by-side, chatting down the hill about how Steve's club mate Dan Hardy had led me down this hill like a complete nutter last year, before running way too fast down the Monsal Trail (a few miles that had a devastating effect on my race last year).

We cruised down the Monsal Trail with only my garmin mile 'beeps' and the encouraging words of walkers breaking the silence. I looked at my watch for the first time at the end of mile 10 and was surprised to see that we had covered the last mile in 5:53 - I shrugged to myself and put it down to the slight descent. It reminded me to take another gel though. Little did I know that we had just covered the last 3 miles in less than 18 minutes.

It was around this point that I started to think about the potential for a top two position or even the win. My legs definitely felt better than at the same point last year and I could hear Mike was breathing harder than I was. Then, when Steve set the pace for a bit after the Hassop Station checkpoint, the pace definitely dropped... I decided to tuck into 3rd position and see how the rough 400ft ascent out of Bakewell went.

As we hit the bottom of the climb after 11.5 miles, I could feel the fatigue in my legs and I was glad that Steve didn't go at the hill too hard. I managed a few sneaky 'walk rests' as we climbed the rough path, which was basically a stream of drying mud. I was happy to concede a few seconds in exchange for not taking my heart rate up too high on the hill. As we passed through the next checkpoint and into muddy mile 13 (above Chatsworth Estate), I made up the few seconds I had lost to Mike and Steve and we were together again.

I didn't make a conscious decision to push on at this point, but after half a mile or so along the fields I realised I was 10 seconds or so ahead of Steve, who also seemed to be opening a gap up on Mike. I felt good so I stopped looking back and took aim at the open gate leading down into Chatsworth. The trail was full of walkers but they were good at letting me through and in no time at all I was heading down the steep grass bank towards the narrow stile and stairs to the main estate. I was enjoying the run so much at this point that I literally held my arms out like an aeroplane and said 'weeeeee' down the hill. Can't believe I just admitted that.

The trails through Chatsworth are pretty dull and busy but at least they are quick and reasonably forgiving on the feet. The miles were ticking over now at around or below 6-minute mile pace and as I turned the corner into Baslow after my third gel (with a timely shot of caffeine) I had 5 miles to go and was feeling increasingly up for the win. The checkpoint and a sweet drink flashed by and I got a lucky break on the road crossing and headed up the beast of a climb onto Curbar Edge. A quick glance behind me confirmed that I had a circa 30 second lead on Steve and it was at this point that I consciously switched to 'race mode' - increasing my effort so that I was breathing out hard every third step (and taking my heart rate up to around 150bpm). The extra oxygen coming into my lungs, the sugary drink, and the caffeinated gel all kicked in as I had hoped on the big climb, and I was up on the edge in less than 13 minutes (unknowingly breaking Gareth Lowe's strava segment record by over a minute).

Pic credit to Mike Nolan

The edge was windy and congested with Sunday sunshine walkers and there were a few times when I wish people had let me open the gates myself (instead of fumbling incompetently with the catch). However, I was moving quickly at around 6 minute mile pace over the rough trail and there was no sign of Steve. I took the long way round at the very top of the edge having made the mistake last year of doing a clambering short-cut that ended up with me face down in the heather, and pretty soon I was approaching the tree line that told me I had just over a mile to go. My legs were getting seriously tired at this point so I squeezed down most of my fourth gel.

The trees passed in a blur during the drop into Grindleford - apart from the one that I smacked into when I lost my footing. Unscathed and fortunate, I got to the bottom of the hill and turned onto the rough trail and strode out for the finishing line. I got flickers of calf cramp as I turned onto the road and nearly wobbled into the kerb. But, I managed to turn right safely into the car park and cross the finishing line for my first 'proper' race win.

Pic credit to Grindleford Gallop

The fabulously friendly marshals at the finishing line told me at this point that I had missed the course record by just 24 seconds and, as my head cleared, I looked at my checkpoint print out and saw that I had finished the course in 2:24:56 - over 8 minutes quicker than last year. I couldn't believe it to be honest and started to worry that I had unknowingly taken a short cut (I hadn't!)

I stood stunned for a bit waiting to shake Steve's and then Mike's hand as they crossed the finishing line. We had a quick drink of water and then went to sit down for soup and cake (and to geekily compare split times). My post-race confusion cleared slowly over the next half an hour and I was back in the land of the living to watch club mate Helen Pickford and 'third lady' cross the line in just over 3 hours (not bad considering she'd done an ultra the previous weekend!) You can read all about Helen's run in her entertaining blog.

My post race analysis was illuminating. I basically ran the first 11 miles of the race in almost exactly the same time as the previous year, but I ran the last 9 miles, on average, a minute a mile quicker. So, just a little bit of extra fitness, a few long runs, some sensible pacing, and a nutrition strategy can really make a massive difference! 

Most of Saturday afternoon was spend doing the housework that is generally required when I take several hours 'off' to do a race, but I allowed myself a few beers in The York and some great food in Thyme Cafe with Deb during the evening.

Sunday was spent at the English Institute of Sport watching the girls finish off the South Yorkshire Indoor athletics league in fine style - with Lola finishing 2nd overall in the series and Isla 4th.

I wasn't sure whether to run home or not when the event finished about 5pm as my legs were still stiff, but I was so keen to try out my new wrist-based Mio heart rate monitor that I couldn't resist it. And so, a gentle 10 mile home completed a decent week's 'training'. Fingers crossed I haven't over done it...

VLM Training Week 8 - 'Lost'

Monday (23rd Feb) was a scheduled easy day - fair play after a hard 85 mile week with a 24 mile Sunday run 'kicker'. A good job too given that my legs felt seriously tired as I creaked out of the bed in the morning.

I had to be home for the kids at 3:30pm so the day flew past at work in even more of a blur than usual. I knew that I would have to sandwich my recovery run between leaving work, and picking the kids up as I usually end up spending a few hours working in the evening when I have to do a short day at work.

As I jogged up to the gym in the afternoon, my legs felt absolutely shocking and I was working much too hard to get up the hills. I was worried about how much the long run had taken out of me so I decided to just do a few miles on the bike in the gym. However, after 10 minutes, it was just too irritating, so I hopped on the treadmill for the last 15 minutes before I needed to be home. The whole experience was crap to be honest - I had no motivation at all. Still 4 miles done at recovery pace - with a few miles on the bike. Schedule compliance at least.

Later that evening, serious fatigue settled in, and I started to realise that this was more than being knackered. I took my temperature and was gutted to get a reading of 102 degrees. Shit - proper flu, not even the man-flavoured pretend variety.

The next few days followed a similar pattern: struggle out of bed for work, take paracetamol, walk to work, splutter about at work, walk 1 mile home, recover from 1 mile walk as if it was a hard 10 miler, eat too much crap food, go to bed, wake up several times in night with crippling calf cramps. By Friday, I skipped the going to work bit, and spent the day rotating the hours between working and sleeping.

Obviously, I am wondering whether my immune system was too low after the hard week's training, and whether this let the flu virus take hold. Or was it just bad luck? I don't know. What I do know is that when you have an aggressive virus like flu, your body's white blood cells are sent as an immediate priority to fight the virus. This means they neglect their other duties - like repairing tired muscles. And, this is why even a bit of exercise can leave you feeling shattered. It is also why there is no point trying to keep fit whilst you have flu. It's like withdrawing money from your bank without ever topping up your account. You are just going to overdraw and pay the penalty.

Saturday morning was the Sheffield primary school cross-country championships and Isla's Y5/Y6 team was in with a shout of a medal. So, I wrapped up super-warm for a chilly hour or two at Graves Park and wisely changed Isla's spikes for some monster 12 mils.

Isla did great finishing 1st in her team and 11th out of about 150 kids (despite being a relatively young Y5). The team finished 3rd in the championships and the league. Isla looked strong as anything coming up that last bloody hill (light blue t-shirt, bright long socks) - and as I jogged towards the finishing line I realised my legs had a bit of bounce too. I still spent most of Saturday afternoon asleep though, and was back in bed for 10:30pm.

Sunday morning was supposed to be a warm-up race at the Norton 9. But, despite waking up feeling loads better, I knew that the amount of crap in my lungs, and my partial state of recovery, would not be a recipe for a good race. Anyway, I had the kids to look after as Deb's VLM training is continuing in full flow and she had the same warm-up race in her schedule.

It was good to see so many SRC runners having a good race in seriously tough windy conditions. But, obviously, I was at my proudest when Deb came storming down the hill in the kind of company that would have beaten her by several minutes last year. Deb was 3rd woman but missed out on any prizes because she entered on the day. It's the taking part that counts though!

So, all in all a crap week. I am now going to have to revise the schedule to allow for a gentle 1 - 2 weeks whilst I clear my lungs, and get the knots out of my calf muscles (from the nightly cramps that have now thankfully stopped). But, recovery week 1 starts tomorrow.

Obviously, the PB-smashing VLM is a fading hope now, but I am not going to let it get me down. If I can train for the next 8 weeks, I should still be more than capable of getting under 2:45 and securing a champs place for next year if I want it. And, and there plenty more races to run and PBs to challenge.