15/15 week 5 session 1

Warmed up with some around the body passes and some swings. An extra 4kg per rep certainly makes itself felt.

20 rounds of 7 reps with the 16. + bits nd bobs. 2880kg
No rush will be taking my time with this.

Jason

Full body work

Having concentrated on the 15/5 protocol I had forgotten that that should be in addition to usual strength based work.
So opened up with
20x16 around body passes
20x16 swings
10x32 goodmornings
10x32 deep squat
20x16 suitcase
10x32 suitcase
10x32 calf raises
10x16 renegade rows
10x32 reverse fly
20x16 bent over rows
10x32 chest press
10x16 pullovers
10x32 chest press
20x16 upright rows
20x16 presses
10x16 bi curls
10x16 tri extns
20x16 sidebends
10x12 bi curls
5 janda negatives
20x24 elbow raise
10x24 push press
Workload 5640kg nice opening to the week.

Round up

Having completed the target of 80 rounds of the 15/15 protocol my hands are now battered as expected. So having achieved the target I have backed off the kettle this week to allow my hands to recover. Plenty Shaving, filing and moisturising.

Came to Friday and had a decision to make. Give blood and sacrifice the now overdue Parkrun or not. As Quark the Ferengi will tell you "No good deed, goes un-punished"

So another Parkrun has gone by. Taking comfort from doing the right thing. But what a glorious morning for a run. Went out to the run to recce the course and format. So tempted to go for it but with a pint less of blood sloshing around there was always going to be a lack O2 reaching the muscles. Given this is a 5k run therefore quicker than I normally run more O2 than usual would have been required. Sense prevailed. What a morning though. Arrrgh!

Hands now in better shape. Re-tested my snatch cadence with the 16kg. Good to have done the routine prior with he 12kg but always knew it would act as a prelim to the real work starting with the 16kg. Hit 26 in the 5th minute. 26/4 = 6.5. Rounded up new target will be 7 reps per 15 secs.
Done 10 rounds to get a feel for it. This is a whole different story to the 12.
I am hoping the reduced red cells may explain the disproportionate perceived exertion over the 12.

With some other bits and bobs with the 16
20x16 abp, 79x16 snatch, 10x20 side bends, 2x24 bent press, 2x24 press. 15/15 10x7x16
ended up with a workload of a nice round 3000kg.

All rounded off with some barefoot run practice. Increased to somewhere between 1.25 -1.5m. Too soon after lunch but never mind. Today's observation. Very aware of a bolt upright posture.

Jason

15/15 wk4 session 1

Originally was going to set the gymboss for 70 rounds. Set it for 80 instead. Have long felt that the 80 rounds was always doable with the 12kg. Just a matter of time. Have not felt as exhausted as I expected which is a sign the 12 is too light. The hands have taken some stick and are tender but CV/vo2 wise always within capacity.

I hoped for this outcome in the first place. Do it with the 12 to establish a groove and get a good base. Can now move on and start in earnest.

Still 80 rounds of 8 reps at 12kg still = 7680kg.
As an aside I have observed my body mass slightly increase but this is more due to composition. Heavier = yes. Leaner = yes.

Will rest the hands and re-test myself with the 16kg. Then we will see.

Jason

Mixing it up

Done a 9.5m bike Friday. Longest I have gone for quite some time. No side effects. Always seems strange how different activities have different heart rate demands. Cycling is much lower than running.

Practiced my barefoot running, parked up ran a mile from the car in my classics, took them off and ran back to car. Still a back country lane but not as coarse as last week.

Week 3 of my 15/15 sessions. Due to many things going on this week this is my one and probably only session; so upped it straight to 60 rounds. Will hit 80 very soon. Have decided to go back re test with the 16 and do again. 60rounds x 8 reps per round x 12kg = 5760kg.

Jason thinking of going straight to 70 next time.

15/15 wk2 session 3

Done 2 back to back. This is not good for the hands.

No matter. 50 rounds of 8 reps x 12 kg = 4800kg in 25 mins

Jason

barefooting

Now this years running goals have been achieved I feel much more free to practice running barefoot.

Although coming from the other end of the equation, I tend to agree that starting barefoot is perhaps better than starting in vibram fivefingers. The barefoot way, you cannot do too much too soon, your feet will not allow it. I chose a back country lane for peace and privacy. This did however throw up a less than smooth flat surface. Only managed .62 of a mile. Oddly though, that .62 was at a quicker pace than I ever would have imagined. 9:48 pace. If I can increase the distance covered at that kind of pace I will be a happy bunny.

This I treat as a separate entity to shod running even in minimal VFFs. This is about practice rather than training.

Jason

15/15 wk 2 sesion 2

Continued up the rep range as still feel within current capacity. Either it is within current capacity or as i progress the body is adapting and making the next step possible. on current form I am expecting to get to the required 80 sets with out too much backing off. According to Kenneth Jay I then have two options either move on to the next protocol or return to the beginning and repeat with a heavier bell. he suggests moving on. I believe going for the 16 and repeating is the correct course of action to take. Time will tell.

Still pleased with todays workload. Done outside in a nice bit of sunshine.
46 rounds x 8 reps x 12kg = 4416kg.

Jason

Return of the speed session

First meaningful run since the Nottingham half marathon. Short distance but high intensity. Ran with Leanne and Hannah, this was their first introduction to speed sessions. Used my 1/4 1/2 1/4 routine. Went very well. Good effort from us all.
Next up will be an introduction to hill reps. Bring it on.

Details here.

Jason

15/15 Wk2 session 1

Been away for a day or two so now playing catch up.

Set gymboss for 40 rounds.
warmed up with 20 around body passes and 20 swings. = 480kg
40 x 8 = 320 reps x 12kg = 3840

total workload = 4320kg

Target next time = 46 rounds.

Jason moving along nicely.

15/15 week 1 session 3

Upped it to 36 rounds.

36 rounds of 8 reps x 12kg = workload of 3456kg in 18 mins.

Next stop 40.

Jason

15/15 week 1 session 2

After a nice steady start, upped the sets to 30. Done outside on the patio as plenty of air movement. Increasing from 22 to 30 sets certainly has the effect of ramping up the volume. 30x8x12 = 2880kg in 15mins of work. Still within current capacity though aware of form on last couple of sets on the left side. Have set gymboss for 36 sets next time around.

Must have burnt some fuel today, cycled earlier then the 15 routine then ran with the club later.

Jason needing to sort some swimming out.

Viking warrior 15/15 protocol. Week 1 Session 1

Well I opened up the viking warrior conditioning protocol today with 22 rounds at 8 reps per round. Conveniently the gymboss timer arrived earlier so i could put it straight to the test.

Set the gymboss to 15 secs on and 15 secs off. It automatically treats the second time period as a rest so the rounds you set are work rounds (sets) nice.

Have worked from a clock in the past and is easy to nick a second or two here and there. Not with the gymboss. set it at 22 as expected this to be within my current capacity and it was. I am happy with this and can now move on as I am happy how the gymboss works and knowing I had some left in the tank.

A nice banker session in the bag. Can move forward sensibly from here.

As an aside I have bought some specialised cycling shoes as I move towards things Tri.

Change of direction?

Been a week since the Nottingham half marathon and have not ran since.

With this years running goals achieved I have been thinking about goals for 2011.
Leaning towards going more proper barefoot, trying a mini triathlon and now I am finally in possession of Kenneth Jays (the dane of pain)Viking Warrior Conditioning book; I intend to follow the protocols in there as the carry over to the above ideas would benefit greatly.

Performed the cadence snatch test to establish my cadence number. Hit 30 in the fifth minute with the 12kg.
30/4 = 7.5 round up = 8. Therefore I will perform the 15/15 protocol hitting 8 snatches per 15 secs.
I have ordered a Gymboss timer to help with the timing.
I may well re test myself with the 16kg bell just to see.

Have been playing around with the bike, again looking at a tri next year. Have bought some new cycle shorts and joy of joys, I have managed to get the Garmin cadence sensor working so I can see my cadence on my Forerunner 305. So much better than counting. Have been reading around the subject and 70 80 rpm seems a good base level. Thought it sounded a it high but turns out to be about right. Very happy about getting that working.

Just need to ride now. The sensor is currently mounted on my off road bike, but have a desire to get an out and out road bike. A Moda Mezzo is my current object of desire.

Jason

Nottingham Half Marathon

Second 1/2 for the year. Best time so far, could still be better but that is life. Overall quite pleased, quite warm at times, pleasant enough course. OK up to 11m but had an expensive last two. Hey ho. Had plenty of comments and questions about my footwear.
My intention now is to back off from the running and look towards doing a super sprint triathlon next year. Have already made enquirers about swimming instruction. Bring it on. I also intend to seriously up my kettlebell output. I have often not done or backed off a routine as I was thinking about not leaving myself knackered for a run the next day. I can now commit more effort.

Details here

Jason

John Fraser 10

Should be a happy day, 100% attendance for the winter and summer league. I am pleased I have achieved that goal and the planning that goes into it. Work commitments sliding holidays in between races etc. Not ran this course before, doubt I will again. Tough. Not so much an excuse but with work issues and having picked up some of Deeels cold did not perform at all well today. Went south from the halfway point. Made a point of not pushing too hard at the start all very controlled. Not a good run at all. Ran much better Monday. Ended up 11:07 pace. Poor. No matter, the 100% is in the bag.
Now have to decide on next years challenge/goals. Sprint Triathlon????

Details here

Westend 8+ inreverse.

Out and about this morning with Jen joined by Leanne one of our now, not so beginners. First time she has done a 10 miler. Done a familiar route to Jen and I but done it in reverse. Long gradual incline for the first few miles. Very pleased made the effort to go and place a drinks bottle at the 1/2 way mark pre starting the run. Nice steady pace no heroics just get the miles in.

Details Here

Jason

Club Handicap Race

Felt I ran well last week on the practice and was not expecting to do better, but I did. Pleased with that; especially after the complete disaster of a run Sunday which will not be spoken of.

Details here

Jason

Club handicap route practice

Very rare but raining on a club run. Practiced our club handicap route tonight. Must have been in the zone. Only meant to practice the course but ended up going for it. Obviously this is a relative term, but felt good and kept a good pace, way above what I had intended. Hey ho.

Details here

Jason

Sunday 10

Done the west end 8 from Jen's so ended up doing 10. Tough. Getting warmer all the time. No shame in saying I ended up walking a couple of times. Hey ho. Going for distance today so made no attempt to keep going up Croxton hill.

Jason

Monday and Tuesday

Monday
Revisited the Bilat VO2 workouts. Have neglected these recently. Yikes! Felt tough. Almost rapped it up after the first rep. kept going and pleased I did. Tough but pleased.

Tuesday
Done a 5 miler with Jen now she is back off her jollies. Thought this might feel like a recovery run but felt tough. Accumulated fatigue? Will be having a rest day Wednesday running wise. Might hit the bells though.

Jason

Sunday Westend 8 run

Took myself out for a lap of the Westend 8 course. Not ran anything like this distance in quite some time now. Tough. Glad i got out when I did as just getting warmer all the time. Set gizmo for 10:15 mile pace. Avg 10:05 so happy with that. Started to run out of juice around the 7 mile mark as usual. Will take some energy bar with me on John Fraser 10 and 1/ marathon.

Details here.

J

Barefooter in the making

Had some less than good news today so happy to get out for a little run and clear the mind.

Came to a point about a mile out from finish and thought right here we go. Slipped the sprints off and ran back barefoot. Wow! I swear by my sprints and yet, as minimal as they are I am still not barefoot. Still a world of difference.

The single track back road surface was quite course. No super smooth tarmac here. No matter. The gait and everything else adjusted and lost nothing in my pace. The pace may have been the same but I was running easier and lighter. Will be doing this again.


Jason

Joy Cann 5

Not ran for 2 weeks due to work. Very pleased with tonights run. First time done the Joy Cann 5. Quite a quick course. Miles 2,3and 4 excellent consistency within 2 secs. then a 9.20 to finish. Chuffed.

Details here.

Jason

The bells

opened up the account with 10 goodmornings and 10 squats with the 24kg before going work.

Came home and revisited running the bells.
Lined up the 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24. Done 10 swings on each up and down. No warm up just straight in. This is tough. The tops of my glutes were very warm to say the least.

The idea would be to keep going but had rests between each round. Done 4 rounds.

Finished with. 5 left 5 right. 24,20,16,12,8. Shoulder press, row, chest press. 10x8 bottoms up chest press.

Workload 8400kg. See how I feel tomorrow.
Jason

Hungarton 7

Landed back from a cruise Tuesday ran the Hungarton 7 Wednesday. Tough.
Details here.

Jason

Cruise

Done Prestwold Sunday, flew out on hols Tuesday for a weeks cruise around the med. Very nice. No weight gain despite 24hr food. Plenty of walking around the decks and a couple of visits to the gym kept things ticking over. Landed back the following Tuesday and straight into the Hungarton 7 on Wednesday. Now there is a reality check.

Jason

Prestwold 10k

Well outside my PB for this course. By the same token much better than I thought I was going to do. Proper hot by English standards 27+C. Sun blarring from dawn and well into it's stride by 10.30. Couple of runners collapsed. Had another strong finish. Going stride for stride with some other chap, operating at my max velocity he matched me for speed but could not match my endurance. Had meters to spare by the line. Chuffed.
Started right at the back and held a steady pace early on. But only moved forward and generally got faster with neg splits. Even more chuffed

Details here

More KB work

Done the black out routine tonight. long time no do.

opened up with 20x12 around body passes then 20x12 swings just to loosen up.

Then got into the routine. fully explained in an earlier post.

But 270 reps with the 16kg in 15mins inc rest periods.

Rounded off with 5 janda negs and 10x24kg sidebends.

Total workload. 5040kg

It's not just me

nice little read here

KB time

hols fast approaching. Bell time.
With the 16kg
20 around body passes
20 swings
20 cleans
20 press
20 snatch

10x16 upright row
10x16 windmills
20x16 side bends
20x16 rows
10x32 suitcase
10x32 deep squat
10x12 triple crush combo
10x12 bi curls
10x12 tri push backs
10x32 elbow raise
20x16 chest press
cleaned 2x16 pressed above head walked round garden forget the name for this.
10 Janda negs to finish

Total workload 4200kg

Sunday run

Left Jens heading out to Beeby turned left to South Croxton up strawberry hill then headed back to via the Ridgemere. Object of the excersise was to pace myself for half marathon. Happy with the results. Used the virtual partner facility on my Garmin 305. Works a treat. Still ended up quicker than needed for a 2:15. Could afford to back off. Felt a lot better today at same mile point as I did in Hinkley half. Slow and steady seems the way for me.

Details here.

Jason

Rothley 10K

Rothley 10k. First time done this race. Thought it was part of summer league fixtures but it is not. Lots of people telling me it is hilly. Compared to last Sunday run, kids play. Very pleased with numbers just ran my own race did not look at garmin just done what felt right. Good consistency of lap pace and all sub 10 so very happy with that. Super strong finish on the little incline to the line. Plenty positive support and comment on finish pace from other club folks. A good run. Garmin recorded further than 10K so even more pleased. Avg pace 9:43. Only 4 secs out of ideal target pace of 9:39. Which gives a 10k sub hour.

Details Here

Jason

Sunday 100 reps with 24kg KB

Having done a 10k this morning, feeling a bit restless while waiting for Deels to finish works thought I would hit the bell.
So rattled off a 100 various reps with the 24kg.
12 press, 20 elbow raise, 3 bi curls, 10 chest press, 5 sumo, 20 suitcase, 20 rows, 10 sidebends. 2400kg Rounded of with 10 Janda negs.

Workload for the week 8240kg

Swithland 10k

Poured it down an hour or so before the start, thought going to get proper wet but not so. Did clear the air a bit.
Only the second time I have ran this course and seemed easier than I remember. Fitter perhaps? I set out with a plan and ignored it. Just went with the flow. 9:07 opening mile yikes. Mile 3 = drink station so lost some time there. Mile 6 incline all the way and temps rising again.
Had a spanking finish. Had been slowly closing in on a Birstall Running Club runner Annie(?)Came level at the 5m mark. This was also the start of the incline. Kept my pace and pushed on. On the incline she was getting plenty of encouragement and advice from her fellow club members as they were today's organising club. She picked it up and came back through. (this may have ultimately been her downfall). We rounded the last bend and now had the finish in sight. I closed her down again and are now side by side and stride for stride. Each time she pushed, I responded, 3 times she tried to break me. It was now my turn. With the line closing in, I summoned up everything I had left and hit the mental "Nitro" button and gave it full taps to see her off. Finishing avg pace 8:56. Finishing speed 9.4mph. Although this is all taking place towards the back of the race still competitive between equal abilities. Clocked over 10k according to the Garmin. Sub 10 miles avg. Chuffed. Really would have liked to have been able to watch this finish. One of my better finishes. Not my quickest 10k but very pleased. Details here.
Jason

Run England Mile

As part of a national program to get people running there have been various mile runs around the country. Friday the 4th time to try it. Quite a warm night. King Lears lake has been very well marked out with a red stripe down the path and marked off every 100m. Given I normally do 10k+ running, a mile at pace, is a very different proposition. Need your heart rate simmering before the off rather than raising as you go. Tough work but done it in 8:06. Good bench mark to have.

KB Stuff

Have continued to incorporate the KB in to the weekly mish mash. Already working. Mass has gone up. Feel stronger and fitter. Eased myself into it but have now cracked open the 300 challenge. Done it with the 12kg so still being sensible. Just as well as no way would I have managed the 16kg. 22mins so quite happy with that. 5840kg for the week so far.

Return of the bell

Having slowly re-introduced the kettlebell last week and witnessed an improvement in my running capacity on Sunday; naturally it was time to up the ante. So a few warm up moves then done the 300 routine with the 12kg in 22mins. This was quite enough having not done any serious KB work for some time. The 16 would have been way too much. The 12 was tough but do able. Just shows how much strength and fitness I have lost not doing KB work in an a attempt to go into the Hinkley Half as light as I could. By light I mean not carrying excess muscle. On reflection I deem this a mistake as mentioned elsewhere.

20 around body passes
20 swings
300 routine
20 side bends x16
10 x 24 chest press
10 Janda negs
Workload 4480kg

Current shoe design

New research highlights problems with current shoe design. Here.

Marathon Winner Wears Vibram Fivefinger Sprints

One for the doubters. Here

Thursday 27th beginners

Ran with Beginners tonight.
They are making very good progress. Suspect will not be too long before they start leaving me. In the mean time. Had a nice night. Mixed terrain one small climb then canal path and trail then road.

Details here

Jason

Sunday 10 with Jen

Ye old Sunday long run. Thankfully no where near as hot as last weeks Desford 10k. Did not really feel up for 10 today but as is often the case done better than thought. Couple of surprise sub 10s in the later miles as well. Nice. Wanted to keep a heart rate in the 150 to 160 range. Happy with that as well. Might be coincidence but have started kettlebelling again this week. Legs felt stronger, did not get the weak hip flexor feeling.

Details here

Jason

Round up

Been busy on the kettlebell had race last sunday.
Having left the KB to one side pre 1/2 marathon I have now swung the pendulum the other side and have picked it back up again as leaving it off certainly did not improve the situation. Shifted 9620kg for the week. Steady stuff breaking myself back into it. All done with the 12. Sensible.

Ran the the desford 10k sunday, bearing this is mind finished with a vest tan. Hot hot hot. Winter league and scorching. Odd , but prefered when it was freezing the other year. Cost me 3 mins on last year. Purely down to temps.

Hey ho

Sunday 10 miler

Had a 10 mile trot round this morning. Quite sunny. Sprints, shorts tech top. 1 square of flapjack.
After last couple of bad weeks thought would go with a slow steady run keeping heart rate in my fat burn zone. (155ish) Trying to identify why things start to go wrong at 8ish miles, hence the flap jack. Had a bite @ 5 and 8m. By 8.6 familiar fatigue appeared in the hip area. CV barely working all muscles fine. Can now rule out running out of fuel. Comes back to hips and more specifically hip flexors.
Next I will breakout the kettlebells, have purposely left them off recently. Will do plenty of swings to re? strengthen the hips.

Details of run here

Hinckley Half Marathon

Well the day of truth has arrived. Based on recent training runs does not bode well. The maths say I should be good for 2:10. Wanted 2:15 got 2:30. That to be fair was exactly what I expected. Quite warm and a good headwind for most of it. Miles 2,3 and 4 beautiful consistency, probably too quick though. Did not feel it though. But just like recent training runs get to mile 8 or less and run out of go. Quads, hams glutes, carves absolutely fine. CV well within parameters. Need to work out what has changed. Had a great (for me) 9 mile run a few weeks back. Pace was good and felt good. Have done no good since.

Observations
Feel like torso leans forward. Tight hip flexors?
When run out of go. Legs do not seem to want to lift. Hip flexors?
Muscles day after = fine. Do not feel it is fatigue in usual sense.
Wanted to go into race as light as possible. Therefore left off the kettlebells so not carrying extra muscle. This I think was a mistake. Have missed out on CV and fat burn workouts.
The one other thing that ties in on a timing basis. Have been doing some Z health mobility drills. This was after the good 9 mile run. This needs further exploration.

Will sign up for another 1/2 marathon and breakout the kettlebells and compare.

Details of run here.

A poor 8 miler

Went out with the intention of doing 10 miles and possibly 11. Ended up doing a poor 8.
Arrgh!

Time of day?
temp?
fuel?
dehydration?
one of those days?
all of the above?

Not the run I had hoped for.
Details here.

Jason the disappointed.

Bilat Tuesday 3 routine

Details here

As only going to be short distance got away with short shorts. Also went for a vest option. Bit cooler than it looked but good once going. Small insect type flies on the increase. went berserk on lap 3 for some reason well over cooked it. Good to know body can move at that pace though, perhaps not for long but it can.

Bilat Tues 2

Intervals night tonight. felt good.

Details Here

10 miler

Had the correct mind set this week. Set out to do 10 and did without stopping. Very pleased. Some good milestones along the way as well kept going at croxton hill round corner and up next hill. That was a goal in itself.

All Here

Bilat tues1 night again

For once felt my Garmin 305 was not telling me the truth. Interval 2 felt like I was giving all I had got and yet it was telling me to speed up. Interval 3 in comparrison felt easier and yet pace shows I was cooking. Strange.

So here it is.

Easy run and techno

Not ran since last Sunday, but out and about with Jen this morning. Both on a no pressure lets just get the legs moving again kind of a run. Good to be out. Rest may well have done my knee a good turn.

Have registered with Garmin connect, so now should be able to see exactly what I have been up to.
So might as well test it here with the 9 miler I done in Feb.

The Kettlebell moves

Very poor week this week. No running thus far due to weather and other commitments. Did a the kettlebell moving this afternoon, nothing special ran through a couple of Jeff Martone routines twice on each. Then some free style stuff nice and light and easy but good to be moving. 3 months to serious beach time, time to get them moving a lot more.

Long Sunday run

Done another 9 miler this Sunday. Much easier course and an easier pace and yet felt more like hard work. Not a good run at all. Strangely or not I think it was down to going too slow. Will see about upping pace again next time.

Barefoot

Actually went proper barefoot today. Having a stroll around Bradgate Park and decided to take shoes and socks off. Felt great to feel the different textures below the feet. Grass bracken rocks stones twigs all sorts. Most enjoyable. Will be doing that again.

Bilat rest week

Fourth week of the Bilat V02 routine, done usual 4 reps of a 1/4 mile hill. Nice and steady.

Thrussington Fun Run Sat 20th

My annual trip off road. Considering I ran 10k last Sunday non stop, had to walk some parts of this little fun run course. Stream crossings hay bales more stream crossings muddy banks. Great stuff. Seems some much tougher than the road. Good fun though.

Bilat Tueasday 3

Tough ole night tonight. Operating at 105% of V02 max pace. Avg 8:08 pace. Short but intense.

the Bells

Now race calendar has slowed down a bit, thought best get the bells moving again. Especially as how quick the year is going. Will be holiday time before you know it. Best do some work on the physique.

Kept it light and simple with a 12 KG.
20 around the body passes, 20 Fig 8 to hold, 20 sidebends, 20 windmills, 10 hack sqt, 20 suitcase, 10 behind neck goodmornings, 10 sumo, 20 press, 20 elbow rasie, 10 triple crush, 10 upright row, 20 rows, 10 bi curls.
Workload 2640kg. Nice intro back into it.

Markfield 10k

Markfield 10k today. Set off like a Loon. 8:50 first mile, what was I thinking? No matter. Come the finish another personal best. knocked 2 mins 10secs off previous best so happy with that. No warm up just straight into it. Probably explains scatty heart rate for tyhe first 3/4s of a mile. Suspect tech glitch with garmin as did not feel like that high to me.
Bit of a rest on the race front now. Concentrate on the Hinkley half.

Bilat Tuesday 2

Ran with Jen. Done the BilatTuesday 2 routine. Went rather well. operating at the low end of the pace range so going well.
Carrying bit of a calf issue after Sunday and perhaps ran a day too early but too late now.
The Splits.

Stilton 7

Have done no runs since Tuesday, not ideal. Bit of an issue with left knee, something needs clicking back into place.

So the Stilton 7. Not done this one before. 2 laps of an undulating course. Oddly seems to have a disproportionate amount of down hill. This seemed to give me some grief in the calf area smack on the 6 mile mark. Seems calf was in compression rather than tension as normal. Might be that might not. Ended up having an expensive last mile. Overall even with poor last mile came in at an avg of 10:02 pace. I am happy with that. Was sub 10 at 6 miles but hey ho.

Billat Tuesday 1

Some how it is now March and I have not done a speed session, Put that right tonght. Done the first Tuesday in the Billat v02 routine. Good to have done it, tough as usual but good.

Committed

Have taken a rest day after Sundays 9 miler, I have used the time to sign up fo rthe Hinkley Half Marathon on Sunday the 9th Of May.

In line with what I tell the beginners at our running club, choose an event and train for it, rather than, train and pick and event when you are ready.

Adds some focus to the job in hand.

Bring it on.

9 Miles. Yay!

Having decided to do a 1/2 in May thought it best to get some longer miles in. Planned out a 9 mile route with the intention of doing it at Planned Half Marathon Pace. Which, for me, just happens to be 10min/mile pace. Derived from best recent 10k time x 2.222 / 13.1. Set Garmin 305 up for 9 miles in 1.5 hours and off we went. Have used the virtual partner feature in the past, but really came into its own today. Much better over longer distances that short ones. Designed an undulating course with some long drag out hills and some short and sharp. Feet totally wet by mile 3 or so, but no problems. Around mile 6 and 7 slipped into some sort of zone. Pace was cock on but the CV part of the equation felt under no stress at all. Which was nice. New longest distance in sprints. Ended up with an AVG pace of 10:04. Very pleased. Even closed out with a 9:50 last mile.

Run off

Up, jumped on the scales 64.9kg as expected. Big surprise was snow. Went bed clear woke up to snow, the Kibworth 6 race was cancelled. Sad for those that had put a lot of effort in organising it but have to say it is my least favorite course so a little relived.

Went for run with Jen instead. Mix of X country and road. Quiet enjoyable. Legs had a lactic bath 2/3rds of the way up the first field hill. Hmmm not good.

Sat 20th fo Feb

Body weight has yo yo'd a little this week. 65.7kg to 64.9kg.

Have been keeping a daily log of body weight and noting what and when I eat. One observation I have made that backs up fairly common knowledge is, DO NOT eat, too late. If, I have eaten before 7pm I WILL record a reduced weight in the morning. If Delia is working(does not finish till 8pm +) I therefore eat later, I WILL record a higher weight in the morning.

Basic and in some sense obvious. But providing you DO know how your body reacts you can adjust as required. I will be running the Kibworth 6 in the morning 10.30, so have made a point of eating earlier tonight. I also backed this up with a 1 mile brisk walk after eating. I expect to be 64.9kg or less in the morning. We shall see.

Jason

Casual run

Low key casual run tonight. Ran with jen a couple of last years beginner ladies who are returning after christmas. I know I know.

As pace was very steady gave me chance to play around with different techniques etc. One observation I have made is sometimes merely thinking about a technique seems to invoke a change whether I actually intend to make it happen in the physical or not. Thinking of feet as if on a cycle for instance. Not deliberately trying to make a change just thinking.

Is the change real or imagined? will observe further.
One thing that is for sure though as from "born to run" run easy run light run smooth.
Getting the first bit. The Sat run and tonight felt so easy. No stress on the CV side at all.

Set off on road then about 1 1/2 mile in we took a left across some fields. Again another revelation. The feet seemed to take control of the situation and decided to land in a toes down manner. The going was very soft and sludgy and yet just seemed to glide across. The other three had clumps of muck stuck to their shoes, particularly in the heel region. Hmm wonder why that is? :)
Next field after they had de-clumped we set off again. me with smooth bottomed zero grip footwear, they with tread left them in my wake.
I put it down simply to being in touch with the environment. The feet are allowed to do their job feeding the brain with info so it can do its job.
Rambling on now.
Bring on the hills Wednesday

Sat run

Had a nice easy run this afternoon with Jen. Purpose, to get some miles in the legs. No time or pace targets just distance. Clocked 7.8 miles. Pleased on many accounts. Not done that distance since pre christmas. Some proper hills involved. Done the lung bursting hill better than ever before. Overall felt comfortable. Not race pace like I said but not bad for us either. Something has changed how I run. Adding bits from born to run, barefoot ted, ken bob etc. Something has changed and for the better. Just feels easier and joyful. Done the 7.8 but felt like could just keep going. Really impressed with how I done the big hill. Still taxing but previously I have been wearing my heart and lungs on the outside.
Will have done 24 ish miles this week. Not done that for a long time. No where near the miles of some, but not bad for a short fat bloke.

Ashby 5

Well the LRRL winter league kicked off with the Ashby 5 today.
Even though have a cold (still) and felt crap all day Saturday went and posted another PB. 47:22. Prev best 49:01. Very happy with that indeed. After the turn point even done negative splits. 9:23 pace. It must be the footwear