Training day 62 - 5 miles

Running into the teeth of a gale but felt really good then got caught by a gust and turned my ankle. Managed to get home and now sitting with ice on my foot. Cant believe it. Was feeling really good and was going to do at least 8 miles. This is a disaster because the last time i turned my ankle like this it was 3 months later that i managed to get back into it. Gutted

Training day 61 - 5 miles

Things swem to be getting back on track. Thts the first time un i cant remember how long i have managed to get out 4 days in a row. Not too long ago i would have chosen not to run in the conditions that were out there today. Intermitent rain and a constant strong wind but out i went. Pace was not too bad either considering. Will have a rest tomorrow although we will see how long i have between the opening if the presents and going for dinner and i might go out but who wants to be the looney that goes out on christmas day. Although i always remember Daley Thomson. Who won 2 decathlon olympic golds saying that he always trained on Christmas day because he knew his rivals wouldnt. Not that im comparing myself to him!!

Anyway i will probably have a day off tomorrow then get back out on the 26th and do a 10k. Basically from now that will be my shortest distance unless i am doing hill sprints and then i might do them at the end of the 10k's

Merry Christmas

Training day 59 & 60. 3 mile & 4 mile run

Yesterdays run was much the same as day 58. Just totall knackered after 3 miles. Today was a lot better. Went round my little hilly run and felt ok plus i was going at a nice pace. I think it was just the overall lack of out door running over the last couple of weeks due to the weather tht caused the problems. Hopefully go a bit further tomorrow then Cgristmas day off and back into it on boxing day. Lots of parties to be attended over the next couple of weeks so will really need to keep an eye on myself n make sure i dont over indulge!!

Training day 58 - 3 mile run

Oh my god. I just had nothing in the tank. I think this was my first outdoor run in aboit 10 days. I have done a couple of 5k's in the last week but im not counting them as training days. I just dont think ive eaten enough today. I am sitting here and the sweat is pourinG off and like i said i was empty

Lets see how it goes tomorrow

Training day 57 - 7k run

A 7 k run on a tread mill because we are snowed in again. My training is just going down the toilet. I cant get out. My calf keeps flairing up. I am starting to get stressed. I still got plenty of time. At least i keep telling myself that. Will do a big long treadmill run tomorrow hopefully. Help. Help.

Training day 56. 10k quickish

Thank goodness the weather let go slightly. The wind was gone and the rain was extremely light and it was actually really nice to run in. Did my hilly 10k the hard way round and came in in under 53mins which i was very pleased with considering the problems ive been having lately. At the end i felt great. Lets see what tomorrow brings

Training day 55. 5k

Just too icey out there to do anything meaningful. A slow run due to underfoot conditiond. Decided to stop before i hurt myself

Training Day 53 - 54. 10k fartlek and 5k slow

Privyet!! To all my followers fron Russia!!

Back to going on about my calf. After my long run last week it gave out on me again so i have been forced to lay off for a while. Then the weather really turned and in the last 5 days we have had a foot of snow followed by Hurricane Bawbag so i only just managed the above 2 runs on the running machine when i felt my calf was up to it. The fartlek felt really good. Started off quite steady then in the last 5k i put in 3 x 30 secs, 2 x 45 secs and 1 x 60 secs effort in tht order and a 10k which was going to take me in the region of 53mins was completed in 51. Still not lightening fast but not too bad. The follow up 5k would have been longer but i was knackered. Now about to head out so will report back shortly!!

Training day 52 - quick 7 miles

The weather finally relented for long enough for me to get out there and get a run done and I felt great. I wasnt really going out there to do any quick run but the first mile went past in 8 minutes and i was feeling goid so i decided to try and keep that pace up. I managed it more or less and finished 7 miles in 49mins 11 secs which was just under 8min 12 secs per mile which was actually faster than the run i did on the treadmill the other day.

I was hoping not to mention my calf in this post as i noticed i had mentioned it a lot but i cant avoid it!! Its playing up like hell. Thats part of the reason i only dis 7 miles. I was feelin so good i rekon i could have kept my pace up fot at least another mile maybe 2 but i started to really feel it. After stretchin i put ice on it for 20 mins. I have let it thaw out and now i have some Tiger balm on it for some heat. Heres hoping that it helps. Will put some compression on it through the night and hope it settles down

Training day 51 - 10 miles. Slow

The weather finally relented enough to let me get out there on the roads again. Today was supposed to be a 13 mile run but it just wasnt there at any point today. From the very beginning i was struggling and during the last couple of miles The wind started to pifk up and it was highly unplEasant iut there. It was a bonus that at the 10 mile point I reach my house so i could just nip in. As it happens the wind picked up and the rain started almost as soon as i came in so i was glad. Calf feels a little dodgy but not too bad considering the distance so lets see how it is tomorrow cause i would like to get out and make up for today

Training day 50 - 10K tempo run

The weather out there was still horrific yesterday so it was the tread mill again. Thus makes a tempo run a lot easier or what i understand is a tempo run. From what i have read it is maintaining a pace a percentage faster than your race pace over a distance so yesterday i did 6 miles @ 8 min 20 sec per mile which considering where i am at is 25 secs per mile faster than the 8.45 i want ti be doing for my marathon target time. I even cranked up the pace over the last mile. No reaction from my calf and felt pretty good after the effort. Seemed to recover quite quickly. Ok it was the treadmill but needs must when the weather is as bad as it is just now. Hopefully it will improve tomorrow because by my schedule it should be a 13 miler tomorrow. I have given myself a rest today simply because my calf feels a little tight and the weather is crap today again. Fingers crossed for tomorrow

Training day 49 - quick 6K

The weather has just not calmed down and in fact it has got worse. The rain is non stop and it is still blowing a gale so my quick 6K was on a treadmill. It was going to be 10K but i had a twinge in my calf so erred on the side of safety and stopped after 6K. Plus i have to admit I was rather hung over after a night of whisky madness so i was probably sweating pure alcohol!!!

Again we will wait and see how it feels tomorrow before i decide if i am going to run tomorrow

Training day 48 - a nice, steady 6 miles

Its seems that after the problems with my right calf i have learned to manage my injuries a bit better. Went out yesterday to test out my left calf and did a good 6 miles. I was aware of the calf all the way round but it didnt give me any problems and i dont seem to have a reaction from it today which is good. Was planning to do another 6 miler today to get me back on schedule but it is rainin cats n dogs and blowing a gale out there just now so we will see how the weather looks when i het back from my trip into Glasgow. If the wind has settled down i will go out. Dont mind the wet but hate running in the wind. Nothin worse

Training day 47 - quickish 4 miles

After resting up the calf for another day I was straight out of bed and pounding the pavements (sidewalks for any americans who stumble onto this blog) I had planned to do 5 miles but 2 things came into play. Firstly I was acutely aware of my tender calf and secondly i set out and maintained a reasonably quick pace. The calf started to come into play at about 3 miles so not wanting to stress it anymore than necessary I decided the best thing to do was cut the run to 4 miles. The second factor started to come into play over the last quarter mile or so cause I was seriously starting to run out of steam. Having only ran 3 times in about 10 days I was feeling it. Anyway. The calf feels not too bad just now. We will see how it is tomorrow and it might be the case that I need to rest it up again.

Training Day 46 - gentle 2.5 miles

Had to give my left calf some rest for the last 3 days so yesterday I thought i would try it out with a gentle 2.5 miles. Came through it ok but will give it a day off again today then try and up the miles tomorrow. Im only six weeks away from being at the same time o year when i started training for my last marathon. This time i have put in a lot more miles but already had 2 injuries and a heavy cold!!! Hopefully this will be the end of the injuries and its plain sailing til the day of the marathon!!

Day 45 - gentle 5 miles

I gave myself 2 days off because would you believe my left calf is now playing up and is on the verge of popping exactly like my right one did. I cannot believe it!!

I ran a gentle 5 miles and there was a little bit of trouble from the calf but today it has been bad and i made it worse in the gym and i wasn't even running!! Was supposed to do more hill work tonight but have gave that a pass and will see how it goes tomorrow. If it feels ok i will probably have to give it another day of rest

Day 44 - 13 miles

Hoorah. After all my worries of the other it all went right yesterday with my big run. It honestly could not have gone better apart from the fact my tracker didnt register the first mile of my run but hey ho

I started off at a pace that felt really comfortable but which i thought i could maintain and thats what i did. I just kept goin and it was only really in the last 2 miles that the pace started to drop but thats hardly surprising since this was the longest run of my training so far

I was rightly knackered when i was finished n it did take a wee while to feel normal again!!! Today my left calf is a bit tight and sore, hopefully that will ease and the knees are a bit sore but not too bad other than that. Rest day today and back into it tomorrow

Day 43 - 3.5 miles

Just a short easy run to loosen of the legs and boy were they sore. I have to say that i am really goin through a tough time at the moment. I seem to have hit a brick wall and every run feels really hard. Tomorrow is a tough day goin by my schedule so we will see how it goes. Hopefully i will get over this hump soon. Im hoping its just done to the run of shifts ive been on and the fact im pretty tired

Day 41 & 42 - 10K and hill sprints

Its been a really busy week so i havent managed to get out there as often as I would have liked. Monday I managed my hilly 10k the hard way round. Ended up finishing 35secs faster than the last time I did it. This I think was mostly down to the fact I had managed to maintain my pace on the tough first 4k cause i really was struggling during the last 1k

Today was hill sprints. A repeat of the ones I did last week. This is because I am esentially redoing the second week of my schedule due to not getting put as much as I wanted recently as i already said. This is the advantage of starting my training and following my schedule so early. It allows me to catch up if i miss stuff. Hopefully get out for 4ish miles tomorrow and then a big run on Friday

Day 40 - gentle 4.5 miles

Tonight as the heading says was a gentle run. The legs were still a bit heavy after yesterdays sprints so this was just to loosen them off. I ran round Strathclyde park but when i got to the motherwell side it was pitch black and very difficult to see. That meant i couldn't really run with any confidence as i couldn't really see where i was putting my feet, but its done no mishaps ao thats the important thing

Day 39 - hill sprints

8 x 40secs hill sprints. God i hate these. I would much rather just run for miles and miles rayher than do these but i did do them.

Jog to the foot of a near by hill and try and run up it as fast as i can for 40secs turn round jog back to the bottom and repeat until its done 8 times. I hate it because they absolutely knock you out but i understand what they do and the benefits that can be gained form doing them

Plus all this is helping to lose that holiday weight!!

Day 38 - 6 miles steady

Today was a steady 6 mile run so no speed records. I did my normal 6 mile route but ran it anti-clockwise which is by far the hardest way as the first 2.5 miles are all up hill. This meant that my first 2 miles i was averaging 9min 42secs per mile!! which is particularly pedestrian. I did pick it up though and after 4 miles i was averaging 8min 52sec per mile

Completed the 6 miles in 53.52 which was really pleasing considering as i have said i did it the slowest way. Felt pretty good at the end and just to note it was into a head wind as well for those first 2.5 miles

After the holidays and general moving backwardness of injuries and colds things seem to be moving on nicely again. There we go i have jinxed it!!!

Day 37 - 9 mile run

As per my training schedule yesterday was a 9 mile run and wouldnt you just know it it was blowing a gale and pouring with rain. After a little hesitation i decided i better get out and get it done. I knew i wouldnt do it today as i was going out last night and im a touch the worse for wear today!

Luckily the rain stopped and the wind died down as i was running so it wasnt too bad just the occassional gust. I was keeping up quite a nice pace at around 8.45 per mile until i hit the last mile which is a killer hill and my eventual average went up to 9.12!!

Anyway i finished the run in 1hr 22min which i was quite please with and it wAs also the longest run so far in my training and no reaction from my calf so im beginning to think i am finally over that injury. My ankle is a bit sore but thats ok. Today is a rest day so back into it tomorrow.

Day 36 - timed 5k

Today was another day about speed. A 5k against the clock with a goal of 25mins. I had said yesterday that i would have been happy with 26mins especially since i was running round my hilly course. As it happens i did it in

24mins 44secs

That was a bit of a surprise and a delIghtful one at that. I did manage to get a reasonably good sleep last night which may have helped or the fact i had no expectations perhaps took some underlying Pressure off, who knows. The calf still feels decent so with the 5k and the cool down i covered 6k in total

Day 35 - Sprints

Gave myself a rest day yesterday and back into it today. Sprints!!! Hate them. Anyway 10 min jog warm up followed by 10 x 30sec fast bursts with 1 min jogs inbetween with a 5 min jog cooldown to finish. All this meant i covered about 5k and as i sit writting this the sweat is dripping off me cause if you have been following this blog you will know that i have said these knock lumps out of me

Tomorrow is a fast 5k aiming for a 25min time. If this was before my cold/injury problems i think this would have been no problem even over my little hilly course which i will be running it over however i will be happy with a time in the region of 26mins. Obviously i will be trying to get as close to 25 as possible but i reckon 26 is realistic

Still no real reaction from the calf. It still doesn't feel entirely right but i will keeP ugging away!

Day 32 - 34

Miles ran in training - 157.6
Miles ran this week - 12.15

Well this is three training days in 1 blog. I said in the last blog which was last thursday that i was looking to do 6 miles on frIday. Well that did not happen i only managed 2.65. I was absolutely knackered. I am going to put it down to jetlag. So that was friday. Good news was no reaction to my calf which was good

As of monday i am following my official marathon training schedule which follows a traditional week ie monday to monday so monday as i said was my first official day

5.4 miles on monday, slightly over the 5 miles which the schedule called for but felt quite good and again no reaction. Today as per schedule should have been a rest day but i decided to go for a run to make up for lost time so did 4.1 miles ie once round Strathy park. Started off really slowly as it was pretty soon after my dinner and i was feelin pretty bloated but really got into a rythme over the last 1.5K. Its probably the best ive felt running since my injury problem. What i will say is that my times have dropped drastically. I am averaging well over the 5 min per K that i was doing before my injury but the conclusion i have come to is that i probably pushed myself to fast to quickly and that is what has caused the injury.

After tonight i was feeling the tiniest twinge from the calf so i will maybe have that rest day tomorrow but it is quite an easy day per the schedule so we will se how it goes

Incidentally the schedule i am following is for a 3.5 - 4hr marathon time. Its a twelve week programme which should take me up to the new year. I will then switch to the 3 - 3.5hr schedule and barring any further injuries that is also a twelve week programme so that will be the end of march. That will leave 8 weeks to go before the marathon so will follow the last 8 weeks of that programme up to the marathon. The good thing is the end of march is the Alloa half marathon which i will be applying for shortly and thats quite a good one and should give me a good run. The last time i ran it in 2009 i ran it in 1hr 47min so anywhere around that or under will be good plus its another medal to the small collection i have (Glasgow half 08, Alloa half 09, Ek half 09 and edinburgh marathon 09)

Day 31 - 4.25 mls

First run outdoors since 29th SePtember. I was a bit knackered. It amazing how quickly you lose it when you are not running regularly due tO colds, injuries and holidays but at least there was no reaction from my knee o calf which is the main thing. Now i am home, cold free and aPparently injury free the pace and distqnce will pick up quite quickly. Looking to do 6 miles tomorrow and hopefully from monday i will start following my full training plan before the weather really turns

Day 29 & 30 - 5 miles and 6 miles

Miles run in training - 141.2

Could i finally be over theses injuries!! Hooraahhhh

Managed to get to the gym on thursday and did 5 miles. I had to stop at that distance though due to my right knee hurting bad, no reaction from mu calf though. Went back in on friday and could only manage 15 mins on the cross trainer due to my knee

Oh no not a new problem but yesterday i did a comfortable 6 miles with no reaction from knee or calf. The calf is a little stiff in the morning but its encouraging that i have managed 2 runs with no problems from the calf so hopefully i am over that problem. We will see when i do bigger distqnce or when i get an outdoor run done once i am home cause im still here in Florida!!

More injuries

Well, so much for getting out to run after thursday. What was it i said about my calf being 'all good'

Woke up on friday and could barely walk. The pain in my right knee and the calf was just terrible. Hobbled about most of the day so no run that day. Felt a bit better on saturday but thought better of making it worse the day before i set off on holiday.

Its beena really disappointing couple of weeks. I feel as if i have done nothing but i suppose thats the benefit of having started my training so early. I can get these set backs out of the way and still have plenty of time to get over them.

This will be my last update for a good few days as i am boarding the plane in a couple of hours. I will see if i can get a couple of machine runs done whilst im away

Day 28 - 8 miles

Miles ran in training - 130.2


Finally over the cold!!! Managed to get into the gym yesterday and finally got out for a run today and boy did i go for it

Havent managed a run for 10 days or so so what do i do today. 8 miles!!! A tad ambitious but i managed it so thats the important thing and in 1 hour 8 mins. Not my fastest ever but not bad. The calf was pretty good too. Its still not 100% but its not far away got most pain from my right knee this time but it has been Painful for the last couple of days for no aparent reason and only really started to feel the calf in the last K

Was wearimg the new trainers today as well and that made a difference. I could definately feel the better padding. Will hopefully get out over the next 2 days and then its holiday time so the should really help the calf come on

Still injured and still got the cold

Its now been 8 days since my last run. The calf feels a bit better although still a bit tight. The bad thing is i still have this heavy cold and it is not shifting. Friday was a nightmare. I was up all night coughing and did not get a minutes sleep. Had to sit up on the sofa all night so i wouldnt wake everyone else up. I was hoping it would have cleared sufficiently to allow me to go for a light jog today but thats just not happened. Still got the cough and whilst thats still there no way am i going out. Nose is still bunged up too. To make matters worse the weather is really good just now, probably the last good week we will get for another 6 months!!!

Oh well. This has probably put me back about 3 weeks and with the holiday comin up thats gonna put me back further. Typical. Was just movin up to 9 milers too!!

Injured and got the cold

Been a few days since i put on a post mostly because i've not been training due to my right calf. I also now have a full blown cold with a terrible chesty cough. I suppose its lucky that i have this cold at the same time as my injury cause it is forcing me to really rest this calf
I honestly really could not do any training just now. Hopefully the cold will be gone in the next few days so i can get for a couple of runs befor going on holiday

Day 27 - still injured

In an effort to manage my dodgy calf i have thrown out the trainers i have been wearing which were quite old anyway and will be using a nice new pair in a hope that the extra life in the soles helps

Today i just did 45 mins on the cross trainer to lessen the impact and just to try and keep me ticking over. We will see how it feels tomorrow and i will try and get out for a few miles. If its still no good i will stick to the cross trainer

Day 26 - 5.4 miles injured

Miles ran in training - 122.6

Miles ran this week - 5.4


I had hoped that a 2 day rest would have cured my sore right calf but its not to be. I am officially injured. Went out today with high hopes and to start with i was moving along nicely. A couple of bowls of cornflakes and a Freddo providing the fuel but was starting to feel the injury from about 3K. When I hit 6K it really started to kick in and I was mostly nursing it til I got back to base. I had really hoped to do 12K today but the calf just wouldn't let me do it.

With 2 weeks exactly til I go on holiday I will have to nurse it along and hope that the 2 week lay off in the sunny climes of Florida will cure it so i can kick on when I get back

Day 25 - 4 miles

Miles ran in training - 117.3

Miles ran this week - 20.2

After last night my legs have been as tight as a drum. I decided to have a wee run roind strathclyde park. I was gonna go round twice but as soon as i started i knew that was just not going to happen. Firstly my legs were just plain tight and sore. Secondly my right calf is really sore. I've got a good bit of strapping on it but it just feels on the verge of popping which is just not in my plans, especially not at this early stage of my training

I managed to get round which worked out at 4.02 miles but i just could not pish it due to the calf. Tomorrow qill be another enforced rest day which is what my calf needs. We'll see how it feels on saturday but it my be prudent to rest it up then to. We will see how it goes

Day 24 - 8.1 miles

 Distance ran in training - 113.3

Distance ran this week - 16.2


Well what a week this has been. Put off by cows, beat by work, bamboozled by the weather

Sunday it was a case of straight out of bed and going to work so no chance to get any running done then Monday and Tuesday was the tail end of Hurricane Katia so no way was I going out running in a howling gale and pouring rain when I didn't need to. So tonight was the first chance I got to get back out. Had to wait until 7.45pm though because of running kids to and from Brownies and Scouts.

Felt pretty good at the start and thought I was moving pretty good but when I got my time check at 1K it was 5.06, practically walking pace!!!! That was a shock but I soon settled into quite a nice pace and eventually got back onto steady 5min/K pace and when I hit the 10K mark it was in 50.08 mins, by far my fastest so far. 12K came and went in 1hr 11secs which was over 4 mins faster than my last 12K last week. Eventually did 13K on the dot which is the 8.1 miles. Was starting to feel the pace at the end but it was my longest run since starting serious training and the first over 8 miles in a looooooooooong time. Probably benefitted from the little enforced lay off so will try to get another 10 K in tomorrow which means I will still have managed over 20 miles this week even though its been very stop start.

Day 23 - 5.4 miles Fartlek

Distance ran in training - 105.2

Distance ran this week - 8.1


Above distances include the 2.7 which i covered yesterday. After yesterdays debacle i got my mojo back today and went out for a 5.4 miler and decided to make it a fartlek session. Every 5 mins i did 1 minute at an increased pace. At the end of the run i had covered the distance in 40.13 mins but i was totally knackered. It didnt help that i got held on at work until after 4 am and had to get up at 9. Did manage to get back to be for a couple of hours but i was still done in

Looks like tomorrow will be an enforced rest day so will get back into it on monday probably with a 10 or 12K

Day 22 - A complete blowout

Today was a weird one. I had set myself up mentally to get out there and do a fast 5.4 miles, really pushing on through kilometes 2 and 6 the murder hill kilometers, to keep that average time per K at 5 mins. Reached Kilometre 3 in an average of 5.08 which I knew I could pull right back over the next couple of K's until I saw a guy standing in the middle of the road. As I drew nearer i knew it was the farmer and I knew he could only be standing there to stop traffic. I knew the only reason he would be doing that was because he was, I was hoping, about to bring cows onto the road from the farm yard. As I got closer still he turned and saw me and started waving and then I noticed the cows coming up the road.

"ye'll need tae wait son 'til we get them in. If ye try tae go by them they'll scatter n run back doon"

I had 2 choices then. turn round and run back the way I had come or wait. I decided to wait. I paused my training app, thinking that I'll start it again when I get moving no disruptions. More than 5 mins passed before I could get moving again and by then I was shot. My resolve had gone and I couldn't even motivate myself to run. I literally jogged the next K then walked from there to the house. I had set myself up mentally for this fast 5.4 miles and when I couldn't do it I was mentally gone.

What a weird feeling

I'll try again tomorrow.

Day 21 - 7.5 miles

Distance ran in training - 97.1

Distance ran this week - 24.8

The slow cranking up of the milage continues

After yesterdays fartlek session i decided to up the milage today. I went round my hilly 10K course and tacked an extra 2K on to the end which gave me the 7.5 miles, my longest run so far in training. The down side today was the weather again, wet and windy. I managed to start off in reasonable weather but of course as soon as i reached the long uphill slog, 3K constantly uphill, thats when the rain started again, nice n heavy it was too and the wind picked up, right in the face. What it meant was that when I hit the 10K mark I was a minute slower than last time but I wasn't too disappointed. That time last week was totally out of the blue and to pass 10K todat at 52.40 was still a very reasonable time.

The last 2 K were a real struggle though and my time really slowed down so that 12K was completed in 1hr 4mins, an average of 5.20 mins / Km, still not too bad but that equates to 8.35mins / mile. I really want to get that down to 8mins / mile but I still have almost 8 and a half months to go so no cause to worry just yet!!

I have also changed my diet. I have let things slip recently, eating crap (for me) cause I thought i could get away with it with all this training but 4 pounds has crept on so bread has gone and the grazing also has to stop. Also theres a bit of vanity in there too to be honest cause its less than 4 weeks til holidays and we all want to look our best on the beach, dont we???!!!

Shortish, fastish run tomorrow, probably a 4 miler. Will try to get a run in on friday then maybe Saturday will be a rest day, we will see.

Day 20 - 5.6 miles Fartlek

Distance ran in training - 89.6 miles
Distance ran this week - 17.3 miles


A hard one today. Firstly, it was blowing a gale. Second, i was completely shattered and third, my legs were still stiff from the running machine. I was supposed to go out for a run yesterday but having come off the nightshift i was shattered. I know i have said before thats its just mental tiredness but i just could not keep my eyes open. I do feel guilty but not much. Lol

Anyway to make up for it i promised myself i would go out today and as a punishment the weather gods decided i had to run in a gale!! I also decided it was time i did a fartlek run so i did 5.6 miles which was 4 times round a little circuit i have doing a 20/25 second sprint twice per circuit. Doesnt sound to hard but at the risk of sOunding like a broken record it does knock lumps out of you. Still i did it and managed to average 5.08mins per kilometer. With tomorrow n thursday to go this week looks like quite a big milage week.

Day 19 - 10K

Distance ran in training - 83.7
Distance ran this week - 11.7


Yesterday was another enforced rest day, life coming befor training again. My ankle hqs been starting to give me a few twinges so i think it was just as well I had a day off to give it a rest. This is the first real sign of any pain starting to come through. Hopefully it just because the milage and pace is starting to go up and my body will adjust and get uswd to it.

Due to the ankle i decided to run on the running machine today, a little less high impact hopefully helping. Ran at an average pace of 4.50mins per km then really cranked it up over the last km finishing in a time of 47.55 which i think might be the fastest 10k i've done on a running machine.

Hitting the gym now then its off to work. Just as qn aside my weight seems to be going up even though im training like a mad man. Again i hope its just my body storing energy because of all the training and it will stabilise soon

Day 18 - 5.4miles

Distance ran in training - 77.4
Distance this week - 5.4


Today was a toughy. Wind was back and in the face the whole way round. Again I did not really push myself today. Like yesterday it was more about getting the miles done rather than setting any times so no watch or apps today again.

I have been really pushing it lately and I think my body is just tired. A few wee twinges particularly in my right ankle which is the one that gave me all the trouble after my last marathon. What is pleasing is that I'm still managing to get out and do the runs even when I am tired cause today I was REALLY comfy on the sofa.

I did consider doing another circuit which would have pushed todays miles up to 8.1 but though better of it and if I feel up to it thats what I plan to do on Monday. Tomorrow is a rest day due to the Scotland game, C'mon Scotland!! Back to another 5 miler on Sunday then, like I said if I feel up to it 8 miles on Monday!!

Day 17 - 5.4 mile

Distance ran in training - 72

Distance this week - 22

Today was an easy day depending on your definition of easy! After yesterdays exertions it was back to the 5.4 miles. No watch, no training apps today, just a gentle run to go easy on the legs, which are still pretty sore. Will get a run in tomorrow them Saturday will be a rest day as im off to the Scotland match!!

Things are coming along nicely but I have to say I am pretty tired today, no doubt about it.

Day 16 - 10K

Distance run in training - 66.65
Distance run this week - 15.4

After 2 day lay off it was back to the training today. I decided to give my hilly 10K a crack since I was feeling fairly fresh so off I went

Used the nike training app again and I have to say again, its awesome. I.t really motivates you to keep your pace up. I was trying to keep as near to 5min per K as possible which is a really good pace. when I finished the run I have gone round in 51.34mins which I think might be a new PB for the hilly 10K and is certainly a mile ahead of schedule. I would have been happy at this point with 54mins so to do that time is more than pleasing. I will do a 5 miler tomorrow at a nice easy pace, not try to push things.

Day 15 - 3 x 1 mile runs

Distance run in training - 60.65

Distance this week - 9.40

Today was a hard day. I hate doing short fast runs. I would much rather run far at a nice steady pace. Anyway I did the runs 3 x 1 mile runs at a fast sustained pace. I would have been pleased averaging 7 mins per mile for each one but I did slightly better than that

Mile 1 - 5.56mins!!
Mile 2 - 5.59mins!!
Mile 3 - 6.07mins!!

Half mile warm up and half mile warm down with a 4 min rest between each mile run. Like I said on yesterdays blog, these are designed to increase stamina and increase the muscles resistance to lactic build up and they break up the long runs. Although I'm not doin the big milage per week yet I am building up very nicely.

Tomorrow and Tuesday real life will get in the way again and I wont manage to get a run done although I will get to the gym each day. In fact come to think of it Friday was the first day in I dont remember when when I have actually not either been in the gym or done a run!!

I will get back to running Wed, Thur n Fri so if I get 5 milers done each of those days that will mean about 24 miles this wek which is still a steady build up and if I do say so myself I am coming along nicely. Hopefully my goal of breaking 4 hours for the marathon will be well within my reach.

Day 14 - 5.40 miles

Distace run in training - 56.65

Distance this week - 5.40

Now that Im using this new Nike app it is telling me that my run is actually 5.4mls, so I'm gonna stick with that!!

Never got out for a run yesterday, life got in the way again. It was my Wedding anniversary so too much going on and not enough time. So out I went today.

Today I felt great the whole time. I was like a streak of grease lightning all the way round. Dont know if it was because of the extra rest day yesterday or that I was running an hour after my dinner so was full of energy, but god I felt good. This Nike app really encourages you to keep pushing your pace and boy did I keep pushing. Today was also the first day that I actually felt like I was running properly. Its hard to explain but I really felt that I had economy in my running style and that I wasn't using up energy because of the way I was running, I had that small, pitter patter stride pattern that you need when running long distances. It means you are not as I said, using up energy because of the way you are running and it meant today was also the first day that when I finished my run I could have kept going and did at least another circuit!!!

The main point is that when I finished my run I had whizzed round in 41.39!!!!!!!!! a Full 2min 13secs faster than my first 5 miler on the 15th August, 13 days ago!!. I seem to be improving really quickly at the moment. I know I cant go on improving at this rate so I will enjoy it whilst it lasts. Tomorrow I plan to do 3 x 1 mile timed runs, 4 mins rest between runs. Basically run a mile as fast as I can them rest 4 mins and repeat. Another stamina builder plus it breaks up the big miles.... CIAO!!

Day 13 - 5.25mls

Distance run in training - 51.25

Distance this week - 16.25


After a nice rest day yesterday, no running but I was in the gym as per usual, it was back to the running today. After a brekkie of shreddies, I love that stuff, I even treated myself by having it with semi-skimmed instead of my usual skimmed milk, I went out and did the 5.25 mile route.

Back to going round anti-clockwise. Its definately harder anit-clockwise because between the 1 - 2 km and 5 - 6 km mark I hit the murderous hill that really saps the legs and you dont really get a sustained down hill, unlike going round clockwise when the murder hill becomes a welcome down hill that you can really up your pace on

Decided to utilise the Nike running app I have. I usually use imap my run so this was new and I love it. Gives you an update every kilometer on time and average pace so you can really see where your pace is dipping and you get a real good idea of how you are going. I think this is going to become an invaluable training aide. The only gripe is that it goes into screen lock, which imap doesnt so at the end you have to unlock the screen to stop the timer, so i am going to take 10 secs off the time it tells me. So with that in mind today, even going the hard route was 42.31!!! That was a real surprise to me as I really thought of chucking it after 2 miles n 4 miles so Yeahhh me.

Tomorrow will be another 5 miler. Had a look at the training schedule I will be following and I dont think I'm quite ready to follow it yet as the end of week 1 is a 9 mile run and I'm not sure I could do 9 miles just now, still another few weeks away.

Day 12 - Hill Sprints

Todays blog is going to be a bit like me..............short and sweet!

Today was hill sprints since I never managed last week and to give myself a little break since it was only 14 hours ago that I completed my last 5 mile run

8 x 30 sec hill sprints, jogging back to start between each sprint. As I've said before, a lot harder than it sounds and they really knock hell out of you.

Hopefully the road works on the hill I normally sprint on will be finished as it has a steeper gradient than the hill I am using so it will be my intention to move up to 40 secs but cut back to 6 sprints.

Rest day tomorrow then back to buisness on thursday. Means the milage will be much the same as last week but each individual run will have been longer and I have managed sprints this week.

Day 11 - 5.25 miles

Total distance ran in training - 46 miles

Total distance this week - 11 miles

This is probably going to be a recurrent theme throughout this blog, bu goodness was I knackered today. training whilst on shifts really is hard going. the last time I did this I was on a 9 - 5, Monday to Friday and let me tell you that was a lot easier.

Although I've mentioned this before today really was about saying, I'm mentally tired, not physically tired, get out there and get it done.

I got home at 7pm and got changed and got straight out. I dont know if it was because I was having to concentrate or just the lack of expectation because I felt tired but I got out there and felt really good all the way round, my breathing felt good and I felt I was really moving and no real tail off over the last half mile or so.

When I crossed the line it was 42.45 !!!!!! A full minute faster than yesterday, go figure, especially since I had had virtually a 12 hour sleep on Saturday night. Maybe it was the 6 slices of nimble, tin of tuna and banana I had for lunch so I had plenty of fuel in the tank. Now I'm gonna have a big bowl of boiled rice and some salad for dinner, yum

Day 10 - 5.25miles

Miles so far in training - 40.75
Miles this week - 5.25


Well I ended up not doing hill sprints on Friday because life got in the way. Just too busy running (excuse the pun) around getting things orginized for a wee get together at our house so last weeks running finished on Thursday.

A night of carnage ensued on Friday so Saturday was also a rest day although I did manage to get to the gym, heavy shoulders and bi's and put in a good sesh although it was spoiled a bit by the small tikka kebab and veg pakora for dinner at 8pm!!!!!  not exactly athletes food!!

Tiredness was the main problem today, just couldn't seem to drag my lazy ass out of bed, drink and training really do not mix. Why is it 1 night of drinking equals 5lb weight gain for me!!

I did promise myself that I would start on the 5 milers this week and I did keep my promise to myself. I started off at what felt like a reasonably slow pace, mostly cause of the being wary of the drink still affecting me. I decided to run in the opposite direction today for a wee change, in that I usuallt do the circuit anti-clockwise but did it clockwise today. It doesnt make it any easier just a change of scenery.

felt pretty good and I actually got a second wind about 1n half miles from home so that was a wee sign that the milage was going up n that i was coping. When I got back I had done it in 43.55 which considering everything was A. a shock and B. really pleasing, cause I honestly thought I was moving quite slowly so good, good.

Need to decide what to have for dinner, something healthy obviously, no more tikka kebabs, it wasn't even that good so bad all round!!!

Day 10 - 3.92mls

Miles run so far in training - 35.5

Miles this week - 21

Bed at 4am this morning but got a decent sleep and was up at 1140am. Felt particularly inspired so decided to go straight out for my run. I was going to do 5.25mls so started off with that in mind but by te time I got to the 2.5 mark I was running out of steam, so ended up doing 3.92 after all,  probably because I never had anything to eat before my run, lesson learned!!

When I got back I was sweating like a sweaty thing and had done a time of 31.10. A bit of a backward step but I put that down to the skightly slower pace I started off at and the lack of food. So thats the last 3.92, probably. I will probably throw in a couple for speed work later in the training to see how my pace is really going compared to the last couple of weeks. Hill sprints tomorrow, then a wee drink tomorrow night so a well deserved rest day on Saturday, maybe Sunday too. :))

Day 9 - 3.92mls Fartlek

Miles run so far in training 32.6mls roughly, not counting the hill sprints

Milage covered this week so far, 17mls approx. my week being friday to friday

Today was a bugger. Night shift at the moment, so got home and got to bed about 3.30am. Woken up at 7.30am as its my sons first day of High School. Back to bed 10 mins later and took a wee while to get back to sleep. Woke back up at 12.40pm.

It was raining before I went out so after a breakfast of a banana sandwich, I decided to put a rain jacket on and boy, was that a mistake. The rain had stopped and it was not too cold so I was burning up half way round!! Threw in 3 sprints up smallish hills as I was going round but it was a real struggle to keep myself going, had a few moments where I really felt I was going to stop but kept myself going n got back in 31.05 which I think is 2 secs faster than the last Fartlek I did, which considering how bad I felt was ok.

I've got the gym later, heavy chest day and I dont see me being woken for anything tomorrow so hopefully with a better sleep I'll feel a bit better and maybe the time will improve. Tomorrow is my last 3.92mls. Friday is hill sprints. Friday night I'm having a drink with family n friends so Saturday and maybe even Sunday will be rest days!!! then its on to 5.25mls. This drink will be my last before going on holiday so 5 weeks dry so should work off all those empty calories by then!!!

With tomorrow being my last 3.92mls that will be about 21mls done this week which is a nice build up. So with moving up to 5.25 mls the weekly milage will really start to build up.

Day 8

Its still windy!!!

Bloody hell, if theres one think that sucks its running in wind so what do I decide to do.......run further!!!

5.25 miles today, just to mix it up a little so hopefully when I go back to the 3.92 miler I will be a little quicker. Felt quite good all the way round today, not so heavy legged. Turned out I went round in 43.52mins which surprised me greatly but was within the 45 plus or minus 1 min that I had in my head.

Now I gotta get a shower then get ready for work. Night shift, wooohooo...........not. Got the gym too, heavy back today so its all go.

These blogs seem to be getting shorter but I suppose thats natural cause I got no great problems or eureka moments just now, relly just loggin runs. Hopefully it'll get a little more interesting later??!!

Day 7

The sun is back!!! but its still windy :(

Bit heavy legged today but felt not bad after 10 - 15 mins in. Wind in face almost all the way round, how is that possible??!!

Before I went out, at half 5, I had to wolf down a banana n some cold meat cause i had had nothin since cereal at half 10, probably why I had the heavy legs. Quite enjoyed it today despite the wind and when I got back the 31 min barrier had been broken!!!

30.49 for my 3.92 miler so good steady progress is being made. Back out tomorrow, same again then a wee rest day on Tuesday. By Friday that will be 20 miles for this week, 16 last week so the milage is building up nicely too.

Day 6

Out last night with friends to see Jason Byrne in Edinburgh and a good night was had by all so an enforced rest day. 8 beers were had during the course of the evening so I was reasonably good!!

Today was back into the training and it was probably just as much about getting the beer out of the system as getting more miles in the legs. Back to the 3.92 miler and thankfully the weather was not too awful. Still a little windy but the rain of the last few days has gone so the roads had dried out a good bit.

A breakfast of wholemeal toast and a small bowl of shreddies meant i had a fair amount of fuel in the system. Out I went and didn't feel great for the majority of the run. I felt I was running at a slower pace than the last few days but when I finished I had gone round in 31.07 which was ok. Although i felt I was going slower I did feel a bit stronger at the end so hopefully that is a good sign that things are still going in the right direction. No pain from the hip that was giving me trouble so the 2 days off have probably done me good

Rest day

Real life got in the way of training. Straight in from work, quick bite of food then straight back out to take Lewis to his football match. Didn't get back home til 9pm. Probably a good thing actually cause the left hip has been giving me some pain and my wee route was flooded due to 2 days of torrential downpours. Another rest day today due to actually having a bit of a social life so will get back into it on saturday, all refreshed n ready to go

Day 5

Day 5 and the training is still going strong. Toady was hill sprints, which I have always quite liked even if they do knock hell out of you.

The first obsticle i had to get over today was the fact i was early shift. Anyone who knows me will know that I am a burst baw on early shift so its never easy to train especially running. The second obsticle was the weather. First we had wind, then we had wind n heat now we have pouring rain!! Ah, the lovely Scottish weather.

So it was my gym session first after work then when I got home it was out to the hill

6 x 30 sec sprinting up a hill, not quite as simple as it sounds. Start at the bottom of the hill, sprint up the hill for 30secs when you hit the 30secs turn round, jog back down then turn n sprint back up the hill for 30 secs!! Thats why they knock hell out of you!! The target is to get to 10 x 40secs. You will always go furthest on the first sprint but again you are aiming to go a consistqnt distance on each sprint. This means your stamina is getting a lot better and you are keeping the lactic build up in the muscles at bay.

The other thing about today was I was constantly starving. Dont know if the training is kicking in and i was craving more energy or it was just one of this "eating days" as i like to call them, we will see. Anyway, today is back to the 3.92 miler, steady pace the I get a nice rest day or 2 ( see previous post for explanation)

Day 4

Well today is a mixed bunch. Sunny and warm but also windier that yesterday.

A good breakfast of shreddies about, but also got really hungry about half 1 so had a big plate of salad and a full packet of lean turkey ham. I know its processed but it was quick, easy, low fat, high protien n tasty!!

Dinner is on just now, a small baked potato, more salad and some savoury rice, yum

it was the 3.92miler again today at a steady pace. I have to say that the legs felt really heavy the whole way round and as I've already said it was deffo windier than yesterday. At the end I was a bit cream crackered but was extremely surprised to find that I had gone round quicker than yesterday 31.02 so I'm not far off breakin 31 mins. Gonna do the hill sprints tomorrow then get back to the 3.92 on Thursday. friday Im off out with mates so that will be a rest day, probably saturday too depending on how much drink I have on friday though I dont plan on having too much. I would like to move up to the 5.1mls on Sunday, that being the case I think 2 days off will probably be good for the body.

Day 3

Well, after a rest day yesterday, but not really cause i am still sticking to my gym routine, it was back to the running today.

A not great sleep, jackie has the loudest mobile phone in the world and it insists on announcing that it has received an e-mail at 0630!!!  which it has done for the last 5 feckin days!!

Anyway, eventually up at 1030, some breakfast consisting of 2 slices of toast n 2 cups of coffee, a true athletes brekkie I'm sure you will agree!. Had to wait for Jackie coming in from work before I could get out so 3pm before I got out there.

Today is pretty windy which I always hate running in so that was a test of my resolve right there. I stuck to the 3.92 mls that I've done the last twice but decided to Fartlek, thats fartlek, it. For those that dont know what that is its basically interval training. Whilst going round the route I stuck in 5 x 20 second sprints. Doesn't sound much but if you haven't done it before just try it before makin your mind up. Been a while since I did that during a run. When you are really on top of it after the sprint you can continue straight back to the pace you were running at, however when you are just building up your pace tends to drop after the sprint til you recover n your pace picks up. Its really good for stamina building.

Anyway the 3.92mls were covered in 31.07 which was slightly faster than Saturday which I was really please with. Meant I managed to keep my pace going throughout and not drop too dramatically after each sprint phase, so all good. Tomorrow will be a normal run, still over the same distance, then my intention is to do 6 x 40 sec hill sprints on Wednesday to break up the running a bit and again is another good stamina builder.

After the run today I had a nice big plate of ravioli, for the carbs, also low in fat n a nice slice of seeded batch loaf, but just the one, so no more bread for me today.

Things seem to be ticking over nicely just now, no niggles or pains so far. Now I'm off to take Megan to her swimming lessons and to have a dip myself.

CIAO.

Day 2

Well woke up after an not altogether bad sleep. Managed to get to bed about 3 and got up at 11. Had a nice big bowl of Shreddies to get some carbs in. I think that was another of the mistakes I made last time, not eating properly. Although I'm not doing the miles yet where I need to start upping my calorie intake it will come soon enough so I really need to get that right.

Also mananged to pretty quickly overcome the old 'I'm knackered' feeling when I got up. I think thats a big barrier for the casual runner. What needs to be remembered is that its just your head that is tired not your body so get out there. I have to say I also felt pretty energised as well. Its good to know there is a purpose and ultimate goal to what i am doing. Although I do enjoy running and I have to say when I trained for the marathon last time it felt great going out there and after a few miles being in a zone where you dont even feel like your breathing but I'm not the type who can constantly keep going out without a goal. Thats probably why my running, well not probably definately why my running has been going down hill.

Anyway. I was tempted to go do my 'hilly 10k' today but I resisted. I know I can do it. I did it about 4 weeks ago in 53.55 but having started this early I want to get good ground work in an build up slowly. So out I went and stuck to the same run I did yesterday. I remeasured it, just to check the distance n it turns out its actually a baw hair under 4 miles at 3.92 (according to iphone GPS).

Today was almost 2 mins quicker than yesterday (33mins on the nose) Today was 31.11 I will probably do this run another couple of times then move up to 5.4mls. Thats twice round a little 2.7 mls circuit. Its also pretty hilly so all good, then I will move onto my 10k.

I've not started following any particular guide yet but once I'm onto the 10k I will, probably the same Runners World guide that i followed last time.

Well tomorrow is a wee rest day, just the gym (no gym today, its a rest day from that). Monday I will get back out n do that 3.92miler, probably do 5 or 6 x 30second hill sprints at the end on the hill at my house. They knock hell out of you especially when you are up to 10 x 40 seconds but they are great for stamina.

Right, shower, some lunch, then work.

Its not all running you know. Here i am now in the gym doing strength work

Day 1

Well today i officially decided I was going to do the 2012 Edinburgh marathon. I did the Edinburgh marathon in 2009 and although I managed it in just over 4 hrs, I was alittle disappointed in the time as I had hoped to break 4 hrs. I had foolowed a Runners World guide with this in mind but I did a few things wrong and have wanted to right these.

So today, out I went and started off with a 3.7 ml run which took me 33 mins. Not the fastest or the furthest but I have let my running go recently so I'm starting, not exactly from scratch but nearly. In my defence all the routes I do are particularly hilly, which will make the times slower than running on the flat but benefit me more in the long run. There, got my excuses in early.

Its my intention to try and keep a regular blog mostly so I can track my own thought processes throughout but it might benefit some other people too. I have also started pretty early with the training. last time I crammed the training into 5 months but I was at a higher level when I started so i figure I need and will benefit from the extra time.