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Windy!!

Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: slow!

The weather was awful today. The wind was so strong in parts it actually stopped me making progress. This run was a bit of a struggle in the conditions, but I tried to keep things as smooth as possible.

My Training Plan

Background

Last year I got back into running on a regular basis after a period of playing football which had been interspersed with periodic injury (shin splints and a couple of stress fractures).

I built my mileage up from January to June to a maximum of 50 miles per week following the Jack Daniels' Marathon Trainning Programme. This resulted in a 3:57:58 in the Edinburgh Marathon, which might have been a few minutes quicker had I not wilted in the heat in the last 6 miles.

From June to October I maintained my mileage in the 50 per week bracket, repeating the types of session I had been following in the Daniels programme. On 3 September I set a half marathon PB of 1:39:02, and on 17 September a 10k PB of 42:35. On 1 October I finished the Loch Ness Marathon in a PB of 3:54:03.

Shortly after the marathon I suffered what appears to have been a classic ITBS knee injury, which left me unable to run for over 2 months. Over the past couple of months I have gradually got back into regular running, and in the last few weeks have embarked upon a new base-building period.

The Plan

This year I want to concentrate on 10ks. If I can improve by just over two and a half minutes, I will break the 40 minute barrier, which is one of those major goals I want to achieve in my running career.

I have started a 12 week base-building period, designed to lead me into a Jack Daniels 10k specific training programme. July/August should see me move from steady mileage into regular faster sessions. September/October should see me begin to introduce a number of 10k races as part of that training regime. At the beginning of November I will taper off the mileage and run what will hopefully be my fastest 10k of the season.....

The key dates are:

May-28 July - base-building phase
28 July - 8 September - phase II of the Daniels programme
8 September - 20 October - phase III of the Daniels programme
20 October onwards - phase IV of the Daniels programme

Prospective 10ks are:

1 September - Moray 10k
15 September - Stirling 10k
22 September - Linlithgow 10k
6 October - Loch Ness 10k
3 November - Stranraer 10k

The Base

To reduce as far as possible the risk of a repetition of my ITBS injury, I intend to build up my mileage gradually, including a cut-back week every three weeks before increasing the mileage. From a starting point of 30 miles per week, I will probably increase up to a maximum of circa 50 miles. My planned base programme is below:


I am sure I won't be able to follow this base-building plan precisely because there's always potential for illness and life in general to get in the way, but I find it helps to put a programme down on paper.

After the base

I will add this post as a fixed link on the side of my blog and update it as my training progresses, and will set out what is involved in stages II, III and IV in the Daniels 10k training programme.

Marathons

I haven't given up on marathons completely and will probably aim to run the Loch Ness Marathon in October in 2008. This 10k phase will hopefully serve as a good basis for a future marathon programme.

End of week 2

Distance: 4 miles
Time 35:28
1 - 8:44
2 - 8:55
3 - 8:54
4 - 8:55

An easy 4 miles this evening to round of the week. The weather's a bit weird in Scotland just now. When I got back to Edinburgh the sky was virtually black and it was pouring with rain. 5 minutes after embarking on my run (complete with waterproof jacket, hat and gloves) the weather broke and out came the sun...

Mileage for the week:
Saturday - 5.5m
Sunday - 8m
Monday - rest
Tuesday - 6m
Wednesday - 6m
Thursday - rest
Friday - 4m
Total: 29.5m

Another 6 miles

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 52:15

Tonight was another run along the canal, this time all at a fairly easy, but not leisurely, pace. Not much to report on this run, other than a little niggle with my right hip. Hopefully nothing to worry about. Another 4.5 miles on Friday will give me 30 for the week, which is my target goal.

6 miles

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 49:40

Yesterday evening I did my 6 mile run on the canal in the Inverness - 3 miles out and 3 miles back. All of my running at the moment is steady miles to build a base, but I'm going to include some threshold miles in 1 run per week just to keep things fresh and to ensure that when I come to embark on my 10k specific training, the speedwork won't be a complete surprise. So, to start things off, I included 1 threshold mile last night. That doesn't sound like much (and it isn't) but its the first semi-fast thing I have done in a few months. I think it worked out close to 7:30 pace, and it was a bit of a struggle towards the end, but I am definitely feeling stronger than the last time I embarked on a base-building period. I am also trying to do some stretches to avoid a recurrence of my ITBS. There's been no symptoms so far, and I want to do everything I reasonably can to ensure it stays like that.

8 miles

Distance: 8 miles
Time: to be added

This morning I ran the furthest I've run in quite a while: 8 easy miles on an overcast morning in slight drizzle made for a fairly enjoyable run. Not much to report other than I need to start thinking about getting a second pair of trainers so I can rotate rather than use the same pair every day.

Morning running

Distance: 5.5 miles

An easy 5.5 miles yesterday morning, following the route I ran the previous Saturday. I had the same feeling of sluggishness on this run as I had the previous week. I'm guessing this was caused by running in the morning as this is something I haven't done in a while.

End of the week

Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 37:20

An easy run back in Edinburgh on a drizzly evening. I wasn't feeling great on this run so just concentrated on keeping an easy rhythm going.

Mileage for the week:
Saturday - 5.5m
Sunday - 4m
Monday - rest
Tuesday - 6m
Wednesday - 6m
Thursday - rest
Friday - 4.5m
Total: 26m

This is broadly in line with my aim for the week. With the addition of a semi-long run, I aim for the next couple of weeks to be about the 30 mile mark. At some point in the next few days I wil definitely make the time to post my training plans.

Rest day

I took a rest day today just to ensure I don't do too much too quickly as I build my mileage back up, particularly after having suffered from a nasty flu-like virus only a week or so ago. My back is still a little sore, but is definitely on the mend.

Another 6 miles

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 51 minutes

This evening I did the same very enjoyable out and back run along the canal in Inverness. My back still hurts, mostly when I get up after having been seated at my computer for a prolonged period. Interestingly, both tonight and last night there was a marked improvement in how it felt after completing my evening run. Maybe I should just run all day!

Thomas (who continues to knock impressive lumps out of his PBs) asked whether I intend to run the Edinburgh marathon. Short answer is 'no', and the longer answer, which I will post shortly, is that I'm hoping to get back into races around about the autum but will probably focus on 10ks and half marathons.

Nice view - ouch my back hurts

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 51 minutes

The title of this post sums up my day. My back is still giving me grief, mainly when I stand up after having sat down for a while. But I've decided to just run through it, and tonight I did an easy 6 miles along the scenic banks of the Caledonian Canal in Inverness. My back feels a bit better having done the run, but that could be down to the ibuprofen rather than the exercise....

Rest day, and a sore back

I brought my rest day forward since my back is a still a bit sore. I could run through it if necessary, but I'm not keen to aggravate it further. It's only really properly sore when I stand up or sit down. Hopefully with a day off and some ibuprofen I'll be good to go tomorrow.

4 miles

Distance: 4 miles

4 easy miles today. I have a sore lower back, caused I think by yesterday's run which in parts was over rough terrain. Hopefully its just a minor glitch and I intend to run through it.

Start of a new week

Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 49 mins

My cold has now cleared and I went out into the blazing sun for a run this morning. I kept it very easy in the heat and felt a little tired at the end. A combination of the heat and the after effects of my cold I think.

I'm going to post my plans for the season shortly.

Being ill sucks

Over the last few weeks I've average a steady 20 miles a week without any knee problems, and was ready to start increasing the mileage, (and with that the blogging frequency) particularly with the clocks having gone back and better weather arriving. Lo and behold I've picked up some sort of flu bug and have been suffering with a sore throat, runny nose, cough and achy muscles and joints for the past week. It's just starting to subside, so I may get a 20 mile week in next week before thinking about increasing the mileage.

End of week

Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 6 miles with watch, at 8:15 average per mile

If I claim 3 miles for my 90 minutes football on Saturday, my total for the week was 21 miles. More of the same next week, but probably aiming to creep up to the mid-20s.

4 miles, again

Monday: 4 miles easy
Tuesday: 4 miles steady
Wednesday: rest

Not much to report. The running feels fine, and no niggles to complain about.

Rounding up last week

The rest of last week went as follows:

4 miles on Wednesday
Rest on Thursday
4 miles on Friday
90 minutes of football on Saturday
Rest on Sunday

That gave me 20 miles for the week.

I'm feeling all stiff and sore after my first 90 minutes of football in a long time, so I'll try and ease that with an easy 4 miles (in the snow!) tonight.