'burn out' and back

Taking on a Half marathon so soon after finishing a track season involving many hard run races of such short distances was always going to be tricky. Without going into too much detail I ended up being injured, ill and mentally and physically fatigued. I had 'burnt out'.

Obviously after the track season I lacked the endurance necessary for distance running but I've been pleasantly suprised at how quickly that has changed and I'm possibly now in the best shape of my life with a range from 800m to half marathon.

I felt I wanted to share the last few weeks training and how I got to where I am now. Also a few people have asked me what kind of training they should be doing and what sort of things I do so I thought they may find it interesting.

Week 1

Sunday 19th October 

Birmingham Half Marathon - After injuring my calf in the week prior to this I was forced to stop, stretch and walk 4 or 5 times after mile 8. 

Great photo not a great race

Tuesday  -  30 mins - easy (calf still sore)

Wednesday - 30 mins easy (calf improving but still sore)

Thursday/friday/saturday - rest. (Decided not to run to allow my calf time to heal before sunday. I then became ill with a stomach bug on the friday.)

Week 2

Sunday 26th October

Three Counties League Cross country - Wellingborough. 

Pulled out after a mile feeling sick and lethargic. My calf felt tight too so I probably would have pulled out with that anyway.

I felt extremely fed up and disappointed so decided to rest for the remainder of the week until Saturday where I enjoyed an easy parkrun with friends.

Week 3 

(Feeling positive, rested and ready to rebuild)

Sunday 2nd November

11 mile tempo @ 6.04 average

Monday - rest

Tuesday - Track session (vo2 max) 7 x 800m (1min recovery) 2.39/2.37/2.37/2.39/2.40/2.40/2.37

Wednesday - 30 mins easy @ 7 - 7.30 pace

Thursday - rest

Friday - 45 mins relaxed @ 6.45 pace

Week 4 

Sunday 9th November

Three counties League cross country - Wooton

4.5 miles 5.55 average (fairly flat course)
10th position (highest finish to date)

*caught another cold!

Monday - rest

Tuesday - Lactate threshold, 3 x 7 mins (2.30 recovery)

1  - 5.26 avg
2 -  5.35
3 -  5.45

Struggled with this session because I had a cold but paces were still ok although the first rep was possibly too quick.

Wednesday - 6.5 miles @ 6.45 pace

Thursday - rest

Friday - 30 mins relaxed, 4.6 miles @ 6.32

Saturday - (Vo2 max) 7 x 3 mins 10 seconds  hard (1 min recovery). On Abington Park cross country course.

Week 5

Sunday 16th November

Long run - 70 mins relaxed - 10.2 miles @ 6.52

Monday - 30 mins easy @ 7.30

Tuesday - (Vo2 max) 6 x 1k (75 seconds) rec, 3.20 target.
                   3.21/3.21/3.19/3.20/3.19/3.16

Wednesday - rest

*caught another cold!!!!!

Thursday - 4 x 1 mile @ target 5 mile pace (5.30) (2.30 jog recovery)
Struggled to hit paces as I wasn't feeling well but I wasn't far off.
5.39/5.38/5.38/5.42

Friday - rested instead of an easy run because I was ill.

Saturday - rest

Week 6

Sunday 23rd November

Three Counties League  X- country - Wing

14th position (17 higher than last year)
4.85 miles @ 6:10
On a Tough course.

Monday - 35 mins recovery run @ 7.30

Tuesday - (lactate threshold) 3 x 8 mins, 2 min recovery (target 5.40).

1- 5.40 avg
2 - 5.37
3 - 5.39

Wednesday - 45 mins easy. 6.3 miles @ 7.09

Thursday - 20 easy @ 7.40 + 4 x 100m Strides.

Friday - rest

Saturday - Wolverton 5

5.03 miles - 27.47 @ 5.31
my first race over this distance and a very pleasing result considering.

I might add that I ran a 5 mile tempo on Wednesday 9th October a couple of day's before I pulled my calf prior the Birmingham half marathon. I managed to run 29.49 and it was far from easy. I had to push to stay on pace In the last couple of miles (which possibly means it wasn't a tempo) so the improvement from then to now is quite dramatic.

I'm planning to attempt a pb at parkrun this weekend and another the week after at the Milton Keynes winter half marathon so hopefully my form continues and this post is also.........

To be continued..............

Watford Open 800m - last race of the season

Originally I didn't feel like writing a post about this as track races can be very similar and it felt like I would be describing much the same things as I have in previous posts, but scrolling through my posts and seeing that this race was missing just didn't seem right.

That being said this is just a short summery so say I ran another seasons best and finished in second place in my race running well tactically making places in the last 250m with my trademark strong finish. 2.02.89 was my time.

Next season I think I may post once a month with a summery of all races that month but this is the end of my track season this year and I'm very pleased to have finished it so strongly.

Oxford Open 800m

After last week's race in Watford I had been struggling to find motivation. I like running as fast as I can and running well in races but how could I find a motivation like chasing a personal best from thirteen years ago.

It was liberating. I felt I had done what I set out to do and more, so I could breathe a sigh of relief, sit down with a nice cold cider and think no more about running.

I spoke to Chris and discussed ending my season early, as it was we could see no other option. You just can't run to the best of your ability if you are not bothered about the outcome and in athletics or in my mind anyway anything less than the best of my ability on any given day is not acceptable.

We set my next big target as reaching the final of the midland indoors and knowing that if I can chip away at my times now it'll be that little bit easier come January helped a bit but we are talking about January and it seems such a long way away.

I pondered for a while and tried to gain some perspective. This is not the first time I've struggled with motivation and I thought back to what I have done on other occasions. In the past I've tried to rewind time in order to appreciate what a blessing it is to be in the position I am now.  I search for past motives, how would I be feeling if this was me in the same position two years ago. What were my motives then? That is usually enough.

I run because I enjoy it, because it gives me a focus, because it is liberating, it keeps me healthy. It clears my mind, releases a lot of the tension that comes with ADHD. It was a big help in beating depression and gave me an escape route when I felt overwhelmed. It gave me the incentive to stop drinking, smoking and taking drugs! It is empowering!.

Immediate goals are now irrelevant. This is why I run and this is why I will continue to race to the best of my ability. Its not all about goals it's about giving an account of myself, not necessarily to anyone but myself either. On to Oxford!

Steve kindly agreed to take me, and this was another motivation for me. I knew it would make his day if I were to run well and apart from a a bit of petrol money this was how I could repay him for driving me all that way.

I warmed up around the field next to the track running for 11 minutes. The 800's started at 8.10, I had put 1.59 down as my predicted time to make sure I was in the fastest race. My race would then be the last of 5 races and the last race of the evening. This meant I would be running at 8.30 at the earliest and as I suspected they were probably running late so I didn't start my warm up till about 7:40.

As I suspected they were running late so I took my time with my drills and just did a couple of strides here and there until the 2nd of the 800's had finished when I put my spikes on and did a few more strides in quick succession.

I was drawn in lane six. As the gun went I tried to go out hard but already I could feel a couple of others coming past on my inside and the lane outside me moving away. At this point I knew it would be fast. My pace judgement is not great in an 800m as I'm more comfortable with the 1500m nowadays. The whole thing feels too fast so I find the first lap Unnerving especially waiting for my 400m split thinking it could be anywhere between 56 and 66!

There was a bit of pushing and shoving in the early stages whilst fighting for position, I wasn't effected too much but I was forced to run wide down the back straight.
I went through the bell in 60, this was ideal as it was exactly what I had been instructed to aim for.

Three had pulled about 2 or three seconds clear by this stage and I was towards the middle of the chasing pack. Approaching the bell I moved out and started to move up. On the bend a Lad came past me and I chased him hard on the back straight not giving him an inch before passing him again at 250m to go. I was really pushing at this point and felt I was continuously winding up so I was surprised to feel I had more to give with 150m left. I gave it everything I had, I was too far detached from the leaders to catch them but I was closing them down whilst also running in fear of others chasing me down.

I crossed the line in a new seasons best of 2.03.05. Again I feel I can go faster. The margins are getting smaller but I feel there may be a few more tenths to be made in the last 300m. I am not entirely sure where but although I gave it everything I had on the day my strong finish is a good indication that there is more to come.

Running After My Old Younger self: Watford Open 1500m

    My Longstanding 1500m personal best set in September 2001 was set as my priority target for 2014. Back in June of 2013 whilst injured I watched the county 3k in Corby and contemplated what my targets would be if I were to make a comeback on the track. Two months later I would make my comeback over 1500m at the club championships. 

         

   I ran 4:37 that day which was a long way shy of my personal best. Never the less Immediately I felt that taking into account the fact I had been injured for 5 months and before that I hadn't run for over a decade I would surely have a chance at it next year If I could train consistently

          

  Months past, winter training took over and through the cross country season and even into the indoor season the 1500m was put to the back of my plans. I had joined an 800m training group so naturally my focus was on this distance.

          

 Into the summer training intensity increased focusing on sharpness and speed. Planter fascia and Achilles Injuries in quick succession kept me out of training. It was then that we decided It would be more sensible to focus on the 1500m.

My last couple of 800m's had suffered because of the lack of training and sharpness but I managed to run 4.20 for bronze in the 1500m at the county championships which was a surprise considering I hadn't done any specific training for it.

              

  I ran 4:17.1 a couple of weeks later, it was now early June and this meant I was just 1.4 seconds outside my pb and it looked set to fall within the next few weeks. After a pleasing 4.37 at the British Milers Club London city elite mile it looked all the more certain, especially as it was on the road. 

           

   Illness set me back another 3 weeks but at the next opportunity I ran 4.17 again and I was relieved to be back to where I was.  I had another missed opportunity in a slow tactical midland men's league race where I didn't have the speed to make any impact when the race got going. By this time we were nearing the end of July and the realisation that what had seemed a certainty was becoming elusive meant a rethink.

         

 It was time to sharpen up and take a risk by running a couple of 800's. Training went better than expected and I ran a seasons best of 2.03 on a windy day in Kettering. It is now August the 27th the preparation was done and in theory with this extra speed I was ready. 

27th AUGUST 2014

WATFORD OPEN MEETING 1500M

          

          

   I expected to be running at about 9.15 so started my warm up at 8:15 an hour before hand as I usually would. I ran for 12 minutes as usual and casually walked over to the start line to start my drills. When I arrived at the start line I quickly realised they were either running earlier than usual, I had made a miscalculation or there were less races than I thought. There were only two more races before mine. 

        

 Trying to stay calm I put my spikes on and did a few strides ignoring the fact that I had missed out the biggest chunk of my warm up routine. Within minutes I found myself on the start line. I couldn't tell you what I was thinking because I don't think I was thinking at all. I was just there and I didn't really know how I had got there. 

        

   I was about three from the inside as we lined up on the curved line at the end of the first bend on the track. The gun went, I didn't go out particularly hard and found myself tucked in on the inside in the middle of the pack. I liked it here, it was cosy and running felt easy.

           

 The first 400m split was called out as 69 which I knew was a bit steady but so did everyone else. My instincts were telling me I needed to get out of the tight space I was in to be able to cover any moves but I knew not to panic and a gap would open up and it did.

 I moved through the pack on the inside until I was tucked in behind the front two, One lad had already started to move clear but I was pretty sure we had quickened enough already and I decided it wasn't worth expending energy in trying to move around the two in front of me to start chasing him down, at least not at this early stage anyway.

          

  The 800m split was called out as 2.17 and I knew I was back on track. In the back straight I sensed the group slowing. The third lap is crucial in a 1500m so I moved out and went off in chase of the leader. This was good as it gave me no option but to push hard, typically time can be lost by relaxing too much at this point in the race. 

          

  3.07 was Called out at the bell and I remember thinking "it's on!". With 300 to go I was within a couple of metres of the leader and half way down the back straight I kicked for home! I took the lead at 220m out with my legs feeling heavy but the pace still quickening!. 

            

  Out of what seemed like nowhere two lads stormed past me and I chased them hard down the home straight to finish in third. They use electronic timing at watford and I watched the clock stop at 4:11.5. I knew I was only a second or two behind and I had done it!.

          

   I tried to celebrate with my arms but they wouldn't move, I tried to congratulate the winner but I couldn't talk, instead I slowly walked back to the start using the railings to help support my weight with a grin on my face and the world spinning around me. 

         
   It was surreal and even as I think about it now I don't quite believe it. I didn't win the Olympics or the Nationals even but this moment was representative of the positive changes in my life. The will to beat depression and to be determined. The will to live and to set goals and targets and to believe and achieve them.

August 2014

               

September 2001

Paris pour Amys Anniversaire

SAMEDI

We flew to Paris from Birmingham international airport at 9:25 on saturday morning landing at Charles de Gaulle airport just outside Paris approximately an hour later. France is an hour in front of the UK so in effect we landed 2 hrs later. After a 30 minute taxi ride from the airport we arrived at our hotel which was called the Timhotel on Boulevard Jean Jaures, Boulogne Billincourt on the outskirts of Paris in the western suburbs, a short walk from the Siene River but a bit of a way from any attraction's.

The weather was good. The sun was shining and it was about 20 degrees so we decided to go for a walk and see what was around. We walked along by the river where we found a cafe and had something to eat. We had Tea, Coffee and baguettes before continuing our walk. We could see the Eiffel tower from where we were and knew you could get to it by following the river. We walked and walked! Little did we know at this stage that it was actually 7 or 8 miles away!.

We walked through some parks and Garden's past a few bridges, over some and under others. We crossed roads and nearly got run over a few times expecting the traffic to be coming in the opposite direction. It felt like a marathon!. For ages it didnt seem to be getting any closer, eventually however a couple of hours later we arrived at our destination!.

The Tower is pretty big believe it or not!. Perhaps this is why we didnt think it was so far away!. We opted not to take the 600 steps to the top and instead hobbled around it whinging about how much our legs ached we took a few snaps before contemplating how we were going to get back to where we were staying.

We eventually managed to find a bus map and caught the bus most of the way back before getting lost again and walking a couple of miles in the wrong direction. We found our hotel at about 10:30 at night. We were all so tired from the walking that we all we wanted to do was sleep.

DEMANCHE

After yesterdays antics we decided on Sunday that we needed a plan of action if we were to make the most of the time we had left. 

We knew which bus to catch to the Eiffel tower and we knew there were tour buses that stoped there. You could purchase hop on hop off day tickets for these buses. 

We got off the tour bus on the Champs Elysees at the Arc de Triomphe

We paid to go in the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the steps to the top where the view was magnificent.

After climbing back down the 275 steps that we had counted on the way up the Arc de Triomphe we stopped off for lunch before getting back on the bus to see more of the city!. We quickly realised we had made the right decision by taking the bus tour as there was so much to see.

Academies national de musique

La Madeleine

Hotel de invalides

Jardine du palais-royal

Musee du Louvre

Obelisque de la concorde

 Amy really wanted to go to Love lock bridge and Julie wanted to stop at Notre Dame so we decided we would get off again and visit them both as they were fairly close together

Notre dame

Julie and Amy AKA Mario and Luigi

Ryan and Amy sharing a moment. Ryan is conscious of his baldy but Amy loves him anyway.

Me and the wife. I'm a bit sceptical of the whole padlock thing. 

Love lock bridge is the Pont Des Arts, a bridge across the river Siene where couples go to lock a padlock to the railings symbolising their love. The keys are thrown into the river once the padlock is locked. A perfectly good waste of padlocks if you ask me but the girls seemed to like it!.

We had obviously had enough of France by this time as we then had a quick drink in an Irish bar before eating in an Italian restaurant after which it was time for bed!

All in all a great weekend!

Kettering Open 800m

After not being able to make the most of Wednesdays opportunity at Watford I was determined that I would run a seasons best today. If for whatever reason I didn't I would still be leaving it all on the track.

Whilst on Wednesday the conditions were perfect for 800m running and watford is quite sheltered from any wind, Kettering is out in the open and the wind was up!. However I was feeling so confident that I was pretty sure I had a couple more seconds in me regardless of the weather

My old training partner and now coach Damien very kindly agreed to pace me to at least 500m because we were unsure of what the competition would be like. Chris's instructions on Wednesday were to really start pushing at this point and to an extent I did but with the first lap being too slow it made it difficult to run a fast time.

This time it was much easier, all I had to worry about was following Damien. 10 of us lined up on the curved line, this time I made sure I was towards the outside Damo was on my inside. The gun went and Damo hit the front I slotted in right behind him. After about 150m three of us started to move away from the rest of the field with a young lad from kettering harriers taking advantage of the pacemaking.

  I crossed the line at 400m in 61 seconds feeling relaxed and comfortable ready to push on. At 500m Damo sensed I wanted to get going so moved out to Let me through on his inside. At 600m he dropped out calling my 600m split at 1:31/32. This spurred me on as I knew if I could push on I was definatly on for a seasons best quite possibly by 2 or 3 seconds!. At this point I was on my own and pulling clear of the lad in second.

I kept pushing around the bend and into the home straight my legs getting heavier and heavier but I'm not giving in holding my form but gritting my teeth. With 80m to go I could feel myself slowing despite my best efforts. In my mind this was now about damage limitation!. I knew I was slowing and I may not run 2.01 but if I get to the line as quickly as I can It will still be a seasons best.

Little did I know the Kettering town harrier behind me was closing me down again too but he seemed to slow more than me in the last 50 and I held on for the win in a new seasons best of 2.03.8.

I don't think it could have gone much better and this time I gave absolutely everything. The great thing about it again though is that I know I can run faster still because the conditions weren't ideal.

Watford Open 800m

This was my first 800m since May having moved up to 1500m to reduce training and racing intensity after having to take a few weeks off with an achilles injury.
Training for the 1500m has been going well but we felt I needed a bit more sharpness to make any real improvements over the distance so opted to take a risk and increase the intensity again. The plan is to squeeze in a couple of 800's before attempting to break my longstanding 1500m pb which has stood since 2001.
I was pleasantly suprised at how much 800m speed I still had when I re attempted the speed work. The most encouraging session I did was 600m/300m/200m/150m obviously the shorter reps were way below 2 minute 800m pace but the 600m in 1:29.3 was what really gave me confidence.
The watford open meetings are great for running times. Athletes travel from all over the country to run in a race seeded in such a way that everyone has similar targets and ability which means they are able to work together and push eachother whilst also racing each other.
A couple of days before the race I was feeling great, confident that I'm in the best shape over the distance I have been since my comback. This quickly changed though as I started to suffer some quite severe withdrawal symptoms after I stopped taking the antidepressants I've been on for 6 years. I was extremely dizzy on Monday and Tuesday and I couldn't sleep on Tuesday night suffering what I now know are described as "head shocks". They were making my whole body jolt causing me to wake up. This along with a horrible anxious feeling, lethargy and a general feeling that everything was a bit pointless including running were not ideal while preparing for a race.
I decided if I was going to race I would have to take a tablet so at about 1 o clock on Wednesday I took one with the intention of trying again after the track season. Things didn't improve as quickly as I had hoped I nearly pulled out but felt it was important to try and push through it. I was still suffering symptoms whilst doing my strides in the final moments leading up to the race. never the less I still found myself on the start line and attempted to focus on what was about to come.
12 of us lined up on the bend at the start finish line. I found myself on the inside and knowing I'm a pretty slow starter I knew I had to get out hard, The gun went and I did just that, I ran hard for 20 or 30 metres before settling into my rythm and found myself at the front. my dramatic slowing in pace caused others to que up and to push and stumble behind me and I felt an arm on my back causing me to stumble forwards. I was in an unexpected position a position I didn't want to be in and I kept looking behind me hoping someone would come past me. Eventually at 200m I moved out to lane 2 to let someone through on my inside, he darted into the lead but no one followed. In hindsight I shold have gone too but I was almost in a state of confusion, I had expected to be at the back of a strung out field getting ready to use my strength and make my move at the bell.
We ambled through 400m in 62/63 two or 3 seconds down on what I had hoped for. Everyone woke up and began to push on at the same time. Just after the bell people started to trickle past me, I hung on to the back of a group of three or four others and waited. I didn't make another move until I was 100m from the line where I took one and finished within a couple of tenths of 2 others in 7th place. I had left it way to late and hadn't trusted in my strength to kick 300m out and continue to the line. Many decisions I made in the race were influenced by the negativity of the last couple of days events. I didn't run the last lap with the agression I needed and was overly cautious throughout the race.
I still managed to clock 2.05.63 and within 15 mins of finishing I ran 2 x 400's in trainers the first of which was at the pace I should have run the first lap of the 800m in.
Obviously I was disappointed knowing I can run faster, realising the mistakes I made and knowing I had saved too much and not left it all on the track, however I have to take from it the fact that I got myself there in the first place. I'm pleased that I was determined enough not to be beaten by negativity even if it didn't quite work out on the track. I am also optomistic ahead of Sundays race knowing I have tasted 800m running again. I also take confidence from the fact that I had so much left at the finish!