The going gets tough and Reece gets
running…
After my
last post, sent in the euphoric glow of getting a place in the London Marathon, I enjoyed a reasonably relaxed few weeks of planning my training
strategy. However, the phase where
physical exertion was pretty much an optional extra has come to an end and I am
now into week 3 of an 18 week programme that is intended to get me in shape for
a sub 4 hour marathon on 13th April 2014!
My intention
has been to have a fairly easy progression towards the 4-5 training days per
week that I expect to hit by late January.
This is partly to allow for the inevitable “distractions” (let’s face it
- excesses) of the Christmas period and also in recognition that there are a
few more aches and pains in my legs than I’m happy to admit to! As I start drafting this post on Christmas
Eve night, having had an early morning 6 miler, I have an ice pack on each calf
and I’m contemplating putting a third down my pants! [sorry about that – perhaps too
much information!]
It was great
to go out with the Bearcat Running Club on Sunday morning (22nd December)
and complete 11 miles of running. That’s
the furthest I’ve run since September when I competed in three half marathons
in a 4 week period (getting a time of
1h51m in the first and 1h47m in the other two).
You’d think that having done the half marathons I wouldn’t see too much
significance in an 11 mile run at a slower pace just three months later, but it
was actually a massive psychological boost.
I’m “looking forward” to extending my long runs to 13-16 mile distance
in the second half of January and then further extending the distance in
February.
Apart from
the once a week long runs I have also been starting to incorporate “interval
training” in my schedule. These sessions
involve fast paced periods of running interspersed with recovery periods run at
a significantly slower pace. I did some
of this in my training for the half marathons and they are certainly not much fun! In these sessions I aim to complete at least 8 five
minute cycles, each cycle split into 3 minutes at fast pace and 2 minutes at
recovery pace (or the other way round in moments of desperation!). The sessions start off OK but by the fourth
or fifth cycle I’m just about hanging on with the very uncomfortable awareness
that there are at least three or four cycles still to do! This is supposed to be very good for my
fitness but, as I say, I could do with a few less aches!
It is important for me to recognise that in the early phase of my training it has been a fantastic boost to
receive messages of support and also contributions to my chosen charity, The Outward
Bound Trust. You will see from my fund
raising page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnReece that I have reached the £100 mark and these early
contributions are hugely appreciated – they have really helped me stay focussed
on my twin objectives – to raise £2,000 and run the London Marathon in less
than 4 hours!
Anyway, as I
finish this post on the night of Christmas Day, having got a “Santa Run”
(another 6 miler) out of the way this morning, I’m looking forward to hitting
a 16 mile run by my next post. For now, I’m
off to try some festive pain relief as an alternative to the ice packs….
Merry
Christmas!!!
John
PS - if you're interested in how I got on in April 2013 at the Brighton Marathon see: http://jrbrightonmarathon2013.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/saga-of-brighton-marathon-2013.html
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