runography

I’m back, and this time more hopeful of keeping an up-to-date blog of my progress as I start my 3rd attempt at Marathon training. A brief summary:

Started running:  January 2008 (not really intending to be a runner, but caught the bug very quickly)

Tom Scott 4mile Road Race: April 2008

MHFS 10k: June 2008

Great Scottish Run 1/2 Marathon: Sept 2008

Attempt 1: Edinburgh Marathon 2009 – 10 weeks into training and struck down with IT Band issues.

Attempt 2: Edinburgh Marathon 2010 – Completed in 4:23 but it was run/walk from mile 18. Very disappointed, weather was a killer as it hit 25C and was more like 30C on the road.

Attempt 3: Edinburgh Marathon 2011 -  Started official 16 week program countdown yesterday.

Currently I’m feeling very fit, although my weight is back up to the 13st 4lb mark, but it was 13st 8lb at the start of January. I’ll be looking to bring that down fairly quickly due to the high mileage I’m going to be putting in (starting week 1 at 31 miles, going up to 54 miles by week 13).

I had been training consistently well from around august until the end of November, when training got curtailed due to SnowMaggedon. Only put in 25 miles in December as there just wasn’t any way I was going to run in the -14C temperatures, or the depth of snow we received.

Managed around 80 miles of pre-marathon program base building during January to get back into the swing of things.

First Marathon Program session – 7miles – 1:00:04 – averaging 8:45min/mi

Currently targeting for Edinburgh – 8:50min/mi (this will be adjusted as I get into the program)

Over the past year I’ve been very sporadic in my training, some months doing as little as 6 miles of running. I’m not close to the way I felt when I did my the Great Scottish Run in under 1:48. It’s been getting me down, not to mention increasing my girth. Manged to get back up to 13st 4lb, from my 12st 2lb slimmest.

Well, that’s all about to change again, Marathon training starts this week. 16 weeks to go and I’ve been preparing myself nicely over the last few weeks. I’m now running 10km in 56 mins, not fast I know, but it’s a good start since I had managed to drop to just over an hour. It’s fairly easy to see why, if you only run once every 4 weeks or so, you aren’t going to keep the pace.

Aim is to not miss any sessions, training program has tempo/speedwork on Tuesdays, long runs on Fridays and recovery runs on Sundays.

More to follow, including a link to my program, if I can get the link to work properly. In the meantime, I’ve just realised my road tax is due today, so better sort that out before midnight.

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/runners-world-smartcoach/3057.html?uan=3057&hour=0&mins=50&secs=0&rlen=tenk&rdst=mara&mpwe=16&startf=123xyz&diff=vhard&lrdy=5&slen=16&trainstart=ds1265063237084&metr=miles

Unfortunately this year I won’t make the Edinburgh Marathon. My training was cut short through injury due to an overtight IT Band. I had been really looking forward to it and had raised a couple of hundred pounds for charity.

I remember sitting on the bus last year on my way to the relay drop off point and thinking John was crazy to be attempting the marathon. A year down the line I was hoping to do it myself. I’m not sure where to go from here, do I re-try for Inverness in October? Do I wait for a 2nd shot at Edinburgh next year? I’m going to get back into training and build up slowly, making sure I stretch out the IT Bands as much as possible.

My current target is the Glasgow 1/2 marathon in September, will try and beat last years time of 1:47:33… fingers crossed no more injuries.