Looking brighter
My last post, entitled “What’s next?” (which I struggle to write without hearing Martin Sheen in my head) was as long ago as August. It’s hard to decide whether a lot has happened since then, or not very much. Whatever … Continued
What’s next?
Well, before I get on to what’s next, first a reflection on the months since April. It’s been too long since I last posted any running news. In part that’s because there was relatively little positive to say, running-wise, but … Continued
Not the Boston Marathon
Sunday 19 April should have dawned with me in a Travelodge near Boston, Lincolnshire, ready to drive the final distance to the town to arrive about 8am ready for the marathon later in the morning. Instead, I rose at 6am … Continued
Marathon preparations
So, in 2018, I stuck to my beginner’s training plan, but I was probably too ambitious about my target pace, and more problematically I had knee niggles going into my first marathon, and they duly manifested themselves a little over … Continued
A report from the inaugural Woolpit parkrun
The volunteer team was small but very efficient and friendly, setting up the course, conducting the new runners’ briefing, and even finding time to help with the all-important selfie. Some of the equipment for the course seemed non-standard: apparently the … Continued
Keep on running
It was a week where the UK started to shut down properly as the coronavirus epidemic intensified (though with much more to come), and we staggered from one extraordinary government announcement to the next with barely time to take breath, … Continued
Boston Marathon (UK) postponed
So the almost inevitable has happened, and the Boston UK marathon has been postponed, until 13 September (maintaining the link with Boston USA). I will be contacted in due course, and offered one of three options: 1. Do nothing and … Continued
Coronovirus dominating thoughts
At the end of last week’s blog, I reported on my plans for my personal marathon on 19 April in the event that the Boston UK marathon is cancelled. By Tuesday morning, as the evolving situation worsened, I was suffering … Continued
Victoria Park half-marathon
I started the running week on Tuesday with 10km comprising a 1.5km warm-up, then 3 lots of 2km brisk with 500 metres recoveries, concluding with a 1.5km jog. Wednesday saw me setting out before dawn from Whittlesford station for a … Continued
A week of running and Covid-19
So, what’s been in the news this week? Very little reporting of my running in week 9 of the 16-week training plan, but a fair bit on Covid-19. Let’s start with my running. Tuesday saw me travelling to Bury for … Continued
Dorney Lake Half-Marathon
Week 8 of my 16-week marathon training plan had a half-marathon race, and I’d chosen Dorney Lake. This is only a small race, but is simple, almost flat, and I hoped would give me what I needed – a little … Continued
First outing for the Vaporflys
As I mentioned last week, for my birthday I received a pair of Nike Vaporfly Next% running shoes. They weren’t a surprise – they’d been sitting in a box in the spare bedroom since just after Christmas when a discount-on-a-discount … Continued
Distances build
Week five saw another 11km slow run before work on Tuesday which at the moment still requires a fair bit of running in the dark. Wednesday was what I suppose you could call fartlek, being 3km of my normal slow … Continued
A quarter of the way there
So, I’m four weeks into the 16 week marathon training plan. The long Sunday runs still aren’t all that long, but the weekly mileage is consistently above what it typically is, and my legs are hopefully getting more used to … Continued
Marathon training plan one week in
The first week of 16 in the marathon training plan is complete. As I said in my previous post, this was an odd week, with the original plan mauled about a good deal. Let’s see how the remaining 15 weeks … Continued