40 Goals

So the schedule had me down for a 12 miler at 9:15 pace. Sam and I ran a "hilly" (800m of ascent) 11.25 miler at a steady 9:30 pace. I figure this is good enough for a first long run and I certainly could have gone harder since my average heart rate was 137bpm to a max of 158 and felt strong as we stopped for a cool down and gentle walk to home. I have bought a garmin forerunner and so the long run data is below, the polar data is rather boring by contrast so I haven't bothered to show it. You'll notice a 4 minute break at about 20 minutes into the run, I took an impromptu 'comfort' break ... First long run data, sans heart rate ...

What a great resource ! Of course my finely tuned athlete's body requires only the very best surfaces for my speed work...

6th time Lucky then ... The entry form arrived today and we're dutifully filling out the form ... again. How many naff FLM fleeces can we put up with ;-) Having applied every year since 2001 this will be the 6th time my wife and I have entered the lottery for the FLM. This time we will get in automatically since we've missed out 5 times in a row, which is fair enough. I'm not at all resentful of the shisters like Jade who get a preferential place then turn up without any training and last about 2 miles before giving up. Hey, its all for charity after all. If you really want to run the FLM then don't live in the UK and use an operator...

I never could quite work out the speed and pacing stuff, especially when you're on a treadmill and want to run at 9:15 minute mile pace ... wots that in kph then? The above is a handy chart to work it out. Also shows the marathon time you'd get if you did that pace for 26.2 miles.

That was just too easy - got a decent enough schedule from Runners World using their smart coach tool. I even get 3 days to ride my bike at a 'moderate' pace (i.e. rest and corss train). I'll review after the first couple of weeks. Have to admit I am a big believer in higher intensity training followed by enough time for recovery and adaptation. The fact that it comes from Runners World is also re-assuring. Why wasn't bike training this easy? All those meso- macro- and micro- cycles and periodization etc etc. I just wanted a training programme like this ... Wk Date Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Sun Total 1 7/23 7/29 Rest / XT Easy Run Dist: 7mi @9:15 Rest / XT Tempo Run Dist: 6mi, inc Warm; 4mi@7:50; Cool Easy Run Dist: 6mi @9:15 Rest / XT Long Run Dist: 12mi @9:15 31 miles 2 7/30 8/5 Rest / XT Easy Run Dist: 7mi @9:15 Rest / XT Speedwork Dist: 6mi, inc Warm; 2x1600@7:19 w/800 jogs; Cool Easy Run Dist: 7mi @9:15 Rest / XT Long Run Dist: 14mi @9:15 34 miles 3 8/6 8/12 Rest

Well, with only one bike ride of note left to tackle in the 25th anniversary UK Audax Tour of the Surrey Hills on the 19th of August it is time to start focusing on running . I've been out for three one hour runs of approximately 12km over the last week including a lovely run in the Pyrenees and I've chucked in a couple of decent bike rides for fun and recovery. I know I'm not starting from scratch for the marathon training but the recovery time from each run has been about 2 days with really sore inner thigh at the knee joint. It can only improve with more time on my feet. As ever with running listening to the body is a primary occupation. Nice to get running again and not be so obsessed with weather conditions - which is just as well since Northern Europe is getting a pasting at the moment ... I think we're due an indian summer.

Update: Results now in. I came 2,285th of 7,000 starters and 4,357 finishers or 855th of 1,644 Cat C finishers, in a time of 10 hours 4 minutes and 2 seconds. Ride time of 9 hours 37 minutes and 12 seconds, although the stop time is more appropriately described as "recovery time" rather than "feeding or waiting". Anyway, apologies for the radio silence (if anyone is still interested in my exploits). Been a busy old week and I've been staying at a cottage in Mirepoix, about 20 miles from Foix. To say it is medieval is very appropriate - not only did I have no mobile reception the Internet has not been invented as far the locals are concerned. The medieval cathedral and oldie-world town square makes up for it, kind of a mini Stratford-upon-Avon sans traffic jams. Preamble Getting here took 24 hours. Man, France is a big place. The Liversedge family battlewagon got loaded with bikes and all manner of equipment and clothing on Friday and we headed for the train at