Gone For A Run

2018 in Summary

2019-01-01T16:45:22+00:00

Wow!! Look at that, 2019 already 😱 and I've just finished my first run of the year. It feels like it was only yesterday that I wrote up my 2017 in Summary post so I guess it's time to sum up what was definitely my best year of running, ever. I ran faster and further than I ever have and am really pleased with my efforts last year.

I quite like the format of last year's post so I'm going to do the same thing this year.

Quick Stats

Strava has done some of the work for me in my 2018 Year in Sport video and finishes off with this summary, which includes all the cycling and running in the same stats:

I'm quite disappointed by the Strava video and summary this year so once again, lets turn to Smashrun for a bit more info as last year was definitely my best year to date, even better than last year:

Interesting to note my average pace is 15s/km quicker than 2017.

A few other interesting stats:

Total running time: 388 hours, 53 minutes
Longest month: August at 555km
Longest week: 160.8km - 3-9 September, the only time I ran over 160km in a week
Longest training run: 35.5km
Number of races, excluding parkrun (they're not races 😜): 12
Number of parkruns: 8, and they were all tourist runs:
- Prospect 🇬🇧
- Abingdon 🇬🇧
- Bedfont Lakes 🇬🇧 - PB and first time under 17 mins 🎉
- Umhlanga 🇿🇦
- Ernest Ullman 🇿🇦
- Tring 🇬🇧
- Basingstoke 🇬🇧
- Dinton Pastures 🇬🇧
Personal bests: 4

Training

As detailed in my plans for 2018 in my review of 2017, I experimented with a slightly different approach to my training last year by concentrating more on becoming a stronger runner than purely concentrating on mileage. I didn't implement or keep everything I'd planned, but did most.

As with previous years, I used a modified version of the 18 week 70-85 Miles Per Week training programme from the Advanced Marathoning book with MAF being the basis, though I wasn't quite as strict on keeping my HR within MAF on the medium-long and long runs. On these runs I often started with my HR within MAF but allowed the HR creep that comes as I tired and went on feel for the last part of these runs. I sometimes did the entire run by feel which ended up with an average HR just above MAF anyway and is probably closer to the real break point for me between purely cardio and edging into anaerobic. I also limited my long runs to 2h30m, though did exceed this a few times, but not by much or by plan.

As Comrades last year was a downhill run and known to be brutal on the legs, I introduced twice-weekly strength training sessions in which I concentrated on hip-hinge movements like deadlifts and kettlebell swings, weighted plyometrics and calf drops. I also threw in the odd quick plyometrics session at the end of an easy run. This change definitely paid off as my stride became noticeably longer and I felt lighter on my feet with way more spring. The calf drops have also proven to be vital at keeping the achilles pain I experienced at the end of last year and beginning of this year at bay and my ankles felt stronger too.

On a whim, in the final weeks of my Chester marathon prep I made the Tuesday medium-long run a bit more marathon-specific by introducing two marathon-paced segments separated by 10 minutes of "recovery" at MAF into the planned long run. For example, if the plan was 100 minutes at MAF, I ran at MAF for about 25 minutes, ran 20 minutes at goal marathon pace, ran 10 minutes at MAF, ran 20 minutes at goal marathon pace and then finished off with 25 minutes at MAF again. I think this whim was a great idea and probably played a huge role in my ability to knuckle down and put in the hard work in the final stages of the Chester marathon.

In the end the general break down of each week was:

Monday: Recovery runs to and from the gym and strength training
Tuesday: Medium long run at MAF or by feel
Wednesday: Swim in the morning and then speed work, generally intervals, in the afternoon
Thursday: Recovery runs to and from the gym and strength training
Friday: Medium Long run at MAF or by feel
Saturday: Easy run at MAF or parkrun
Sunday: Long Run at MAF or by feel, generally about 2h30m in length

All of these changes worked well together and definitely made me a stronger and faster runner and I'll definitely be taking these changes into 2019.

Racing

I didn't think I did much in the way of racing this year, but on reflection, I actually raced more than I did last year. I ran four marathons (two of which were negative split races), three half marathons, three 10k's, two ultras, and eight parkruns.

The most noteable of these were the Comrades marathon (race report coming 🔜) when I easily ran under my goal of 7:30 and the Chester marathon (race report here) where I had the race of my life and smashed my previous PB out of the park.

This season's bests are as follows:

Distance	2017 SB	2018 SB	Notes
5K	17:46	16:56*	I only ran parkruns for this distance and set my PB on a slightly undulating course. Could probably have gone quicker on a flatter course.
10K	34:09*	34:57
5M	–:–	–:–	I didn't race a 5M this year.
10M	57:59*	–:–	I didn't race a 10M this year.
½ Marathon	77:02*	77:20
Marathon	2:43:39*	2:39:46*	Nearly a 4 minute improvement.
50k Trail	-:–:–	3:54:46*	My first ever 50k and entered on a whim.
Comrades (Up)	7:55:16*	-:–:–	I can't run up and down in the same year 😉
Comrades (Down)	-:–:–	7:21:03*	My only attempt so an easy PB 😜

* Are new PBs

I move into the V40 category early this year so should find myself at the pointy end of my age category and if my performances from last year are anything to go by, may even find a few age category prizes coming my way 😁.

Diet

This hasn't changed much and as stated in previous years…

Same old, same old. I'm still predominantly low carb, high fat (LCHF) and still benefitting tremendously from it. I'm not 100% carb-free all the time as I've learnt I need a little more than nothing to sustain my racing and training, and it's also incredibly hard to be carb free in exotic countries with loads of food I've never eaten before. However, I'm no where near "normal" and I definitely notice when I've eaten too much sugar or processed carbs.

That said I did introduce one change: intermittant fasting on most of my recovery days - Mondays and Thursdays. I did this to encourage more fat adaptation, and also to see if I could gain some of the benefits that are meant to come with intermittent fasting…

It reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, leads to increased numbers and quality of mitochondria, and increases autophagy, the cellular self-cleansing process.

— The Sweet Spot for Intermittent Fasting

I'd been hearing more and more about intermittent fasting on the podcasts I listen to so though I'd give it a go as the benefits sound great.

I didn't do any blood tests or anything to determine if the fasting was doing what the science seems to suggest but I think it helped with my recovery and I definitely noticed an increase in mental clarity on those mornings. I've also found it much easier to skip a meal without even realising it.

What's on the Cards for 2019?

I haven't finished planning out 2019 yet. The only real thing on my calendar at the moment is the Boston marathon as my first A race of the year. I'll probably do the Round Reading 50k again too. One thing I definitely plan on doing is seeing if I can get selected for the England Age Group Masters team in the V40 category for the 10k and half-marathon. The marathon would be nice too, but I missed registering before Chester last year and can't run Brighton this year so maybe I'll go for the marathon next year 😉.

As for training, I'm going to keep most of the changes I introduced last year with a few tweaks:

I'm going to bump the mileage a bit to see how I cope and if it continues to help,
improve overall body strength with more concentration on deadlifts,
do more marathon-paced sessions.

And that's pretty much it for 2018 and my plans for early 2019. See you on the roads peeps.

Time to send my first ever pair of…

2018-10-24T15:48:19+00:00

Time to send my first ever pair of @altrarunning shoes to the big shoe heaven in the sky. 2560.7km later and I can see daylight through the bottom of the left.

Race Report: Chester Marathon 2018

2018-10-23T17:32:16+00:00

If you've been following this blog for a while, you may have noticed I got a little potty mouthed recently and there's good reason for that: the Chester Marathon. My fastest and best executed marathon EVER at the ripe old age of 39!! I should have been running these times as a 20 year old, if I hadn't shipped my 🍑 across the world in the quest of ~~fame and fortune~~, I mean a job, and taken a 10.5 year hiatus from running.

Thanks to my previous PB being below 2:45, I got the "Elite experience" for this race. This meant I got to keep my stuff and myself cosy and warm in a room with the other elites until 10 minutes before the start when we were escorted from the room to the front of the race. I'd already warmed up with a lap of the race track and some stretching so was quite warm when we headed out into the cold, which was perfect running temperature.

I went into the race wanting to set a PB by getting under 2:42 and maybe gun for a sub-2:40 if I had the legs and lungs once I knew I'd get the PB - I'd been training for a sub-2:40 so it was definitely on the cards if I played them right. I was feeling incredibly strong and fresh too so had to be very conscientious about my pacing.

I started off quite conservatively but a little on the faster-than-2:42 side of things, though some of this was due to a few downhill sections in the early stages. Once things flattened out and started to roll slightly up and down through the countryside, I settled into a comfortable pace around 3:50/km and tucked in behind a few guys running the same pace - I felt like Eliud Kipchoge as some parts were quite breezy so having a shield was very welcome.

This pacing and company allowed me to tick over the k's very comfortably and I passed through half way in 1:20:05, nearly a minute ahead of schedule 🙈. A quick bit of mental maths confirmed I was now on target for a sub-2:40 finish if I gave it a little push. I was also still feeling strong so I decided to go for it and pick up my pace to ~3:47/km to see if I could get that sub-2:40.

The second part of the race is definitely more undulating than the first so I really needed to dig in at times to keep the average pace at 3:47/km or quicker. Thankfully I was still feeling amazing and incredibly strong so kept pushing though I did slow a bit and passed 30k a little behind 2:40 pace in 1:54:13 and then 32k in ~2:01. This did however make things easy to calculate: at 4:00/km, I'd hit 42k at ~2:41 so for every k I ran quicker than 4:00, I'd have some time in the bank for the final 200m with the risk of a mad sprint. I then started repeating to myself as I ticked over the k's: "I've got 40mins to do 10k", "36min for 9k", "32min for 8k" and with each kilometer I saw my "bank time" growing until I got to "nearly 9min for 2k" and knew sub-2:40 was an almost dead cert. I didn't ease off though… I knew the finish was on the race course and anything can happen on grass. As it turned out the race also appears to have been ~200m longer so this extra bank time was needed.

I entered the race track and pulled out all the stops as I watched the clock tick over. In the end I finished quite comfortably under 2:40 and incredibly pleased with myself and my effort.

My final chip time of 2:39:46 smashed my previous PB by nearly 4 minutes with a 19s negative split to boot.

To say I'm chuffed to bits is an under-statement. I'm so happy and would love to get even quicker, though I fear time is now against me. That said, I'm happy to step over to the first old man's age group, V40, next year.

My only gripe with the Chester Marathon is it's not AIMS or IAAF Gold/Silver/Bronze Label certified, which means I can't use it for a Tokyo Marathon Run as One entry in 2020 in my quest to run all of the marathon majors, excluding the Olympics and World Champs (cos I'm really not that good). I'm becoming an old man and sub-2:45 is becoming more of a challenge, though this post and effort would suggest otherwise 😁. I'm running Boston and am considering Barcelona (as a training run with some winter sunshine) next year, so maybe I can get a sub-2:45 on one of those to "Run as One" at Tokyo 2020.

Official Results

I F*CKING DID IT!!! 2:39:46 chip time, 30th…

2018-10-07T10:57:53+00:00

I F*CKING DID IT!!! 2:39:46 chip time, 30th place, and a massive PB by nearly 3mins!! I think I can retire from youngster running now. V40 here I come.

All set for my last marathon as a…

2018-10-06T18:17:20+00:00

All set for my last marathon as a youngster at tomorrow's @chester_marathon 🤞for a PB too

Eliud Kipchoge's Insanely Fast Marathon Record

2018-09-19T17:03:31+00:00

I've been mulling this over in complete amazement since I heard about it on Sunday morning but I've not really been able to properly articulate my thoughts.

Thankfully I don't need to as Mario Fraioli has done a superb job in this week's the morning shakeout:

I'm going to come right out and say it: Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya is the greatest male distance runner-not just marathoner-ever to set foot on this planet. His marathon record-11 starts, 10 wins, an Olympic gold medal, and the world-record-combined with his achievements at shorter distances-two Olympic track medals, world titles in other disciplines, and some of the fastest times in history from 3,000m through the marathon-put him in rare company. Sure, you could make an argument for Haile Gebrselassie or Kenenisa Bekele, or maybe Emil Zatopek or Paavo Nurmi, but none of those men have shown the range, consistency, or dominance in their primary event quite like Kipchoge has over the past 16 years.

Kipchoge's 2:01:39 clocking in Berlin on Sunday should win sports performance of the year, if not the decade. (You can watch the final stretch here.) The best marathoner in history is now the fastest marathoner in history, posting a mark I genuinely don't think we'll see broken for quite some time. He broke the world record by 78 seconds-78!-and finished almost five minutes ahead of countryman Amos Kipruto. His splits: 61:06 at halfway, then 60:33 to close it out. That's 4:38 a mile, or one hundred and five continuous laps of your local high school track at 69 seconds a pop, or cranking up the treadmill to 13 miles an hour for just over two hours (chances are yours doesn't even go that fast). How long could you have hung with him? Fourteen years ago, at my absolute best, I would have made it about 4K (my 5K PB is 14:39). Right now, maybe 1500m with a thorough warmup and slight tailwind. The average person couldn't go 400 meters. It's mind-blowing-and lung-bursting, for that matter-to say the least.

Slight interruption: I think I'd probably be to keep up for just over 800m. Back to Mario's words…

Of course, the performance is already being called into question by those who insist Kipchoge must be cheating and with good reason: many mind-blowing feats over the years-in running, cycling, swimming, baseball, etc.-that seemed too good to be true in fact turned out to be too good to be true. So, like it or not, you can't fault someone for being skeptical when an athlete does something that defies comprehension, as Kipchoge did on Sunday. (And if you've been reading this newsletter long enough, you know that I've been skeptical and cynical of certain athletes and performances more times than either of us care to count.)

But on this occasion, I'm choosing to celebrate Kipchoge. I'm choosing, based on what I know about him, his character, his training and racing history, and who he associates with, to believe that he's gone about his business the right way. I'm choosing to anoint him a global hero during an era when so many athletes have been proven anything but one.

To understand why, read this excellent profile on Kipchoge that Scott Cacciola of The New York Times wrote before the race. It paints as consistent a picture of the man that I've read previously and heard from others who know him personally (I don't) and have spent time with him both at and outside of training camps. Humble, hard-working and honest, Kipchoge "doesn't play games," according to Bernard Lagat. "The guy is fierce, and he's not afraid of anyone."

Kipchoge has also been consistently great on the grass, track, and roads since he won the junior race at the world cross-country championships in 2003 and beat Hicham El Gourrouj on to win the 5,000m world title the same year. He's posted fast times from 1500m to the marathon and his progression has been steady through the years. Not coincidentally, he's also been working with his coach, Patrick Sang, since 2002. Watching the two of them embrace after the finish line in Berlin-Kipchoge sprinted right into his arms upon breaking the tape-made me grab a tissue. Sixteen years of trust, work, and sacrifice went into that one moment and it was beautiful. (Seriously, watch this if you haven't already.) Amazingly, he hasn't suffered a major injury his time as a competitive athlete-just watch him run: that is what running should look like-which means his training has built upon itself year over year for 16 years. That is as magic a combination for success if there ever was one.

And while it can be easy to get wrapped up in the enormity of Kipchoge's physical performances, I think what truly sets him apart is his mind. Listen to him speak. He's playing the mental game on a completely different level than everyone else. "Mental fitness plays a big role during competition," he told the Oxford Union Society last November. "If you don't rule your mind, your mind will rule you. That's the way I think about this sport." If you need further proof, just watch how Kipchoge handled himself when his pacemakers all clocked out of work earlier than expected on Sunday. He wasn't the least bit rattled, despite the fact that he had to forge ahead for the final 45+ minutes with no one else around.

Lastly, Kipchoge surrounds himself with good company. Neither Sang, his representatives at Global Sports Communications, or his training partners from his camp in Kenya have been tied to doping allegations, much less busts, which is both worth noting and keeping a close eye on moving forward.

Of course, I know none of this actually proves Kipchoge is clean, and naysayers like to harp on the lack of testing in East Africa and prevalence of Kenyan positive tests in recent years. I can understand that stance and it's certainly a valid one. And yet others will point to Kipchoge's magic shoes, his special sports drink, and other variables that have been optimized in his favor as the x-factors that led to his out-of-this-world performance. Fine. I understand the disbelief and the need to explain what many deemed impossible without some kind of assistance. But what if, at the end of the day, as Alex Hutchinson wrote for Outside, it was all Kipchoge? What if we were simply watching the greatest distance runner of all-time painting his masterpiece in real-time? What if we were witnessing the greatest feat of human endurance in history? Of course, no one can answer these questions with any real certainty-such is the nature of sports these days, sadly-but that's what I'm choosing to believe. Because if I can't every once in a while, what's the point in watching?

I don't currently doubt Kipchoge's performance and really hope this remains the case going forward. This man is a legend. The links referenced in the article are all well worth the time to read too.

Woohoo!! Spring break in Boston!!! Stepping up an…

2018-09-12T13:57:55+00:00

Woohoo!! Spring break in Boston!!! Stepping up an age category has its advantages 😁

Confirmation all the strength work and plyometrics are…

2018-08-19T14:31:23+00:00

Confirmation all the strength work and plyometrics are paying off. Only 28671 steps to cover 33.82km making my moderate pace stride length ~118cm

I don't think I've ever seen this before…

2018-07-21T09:54:39+00:00

I don't think I've ever seen this before… First 5 in increasing age category by position @dintonparkrun today /cc @tomwilliams1974 cos you like number things like this

Note this is how you recover from Comrades:…

2018-06-10T13:45:09+00:00

Note this is how you recover from Comrades: a great pale ale from @darlingbrew, a cool sea breeze and an amazing view