So, when I had signs of rubbing after my 15-miler last week, the alarm bells should have started… but I ignored the signs. This week, after my 16-miler, I have fully-fledged blisters on the outside of both big toes. The shoes are well worn-in – over 180 miles – but not even close to retirement. Do running socks have defined lives like shoes? That’s two different pairs though.

Maybe it’s just the increased mileage.

I’ll look at different lacing strategies too – I have worn my shoes quite loose for the past couple of years (since I got sore shins in a half marathon), maybe it’s time to tighten up a little.

I thought that it was supposed to be. Until I read the plan again. On the contrary, it was the longest week so far.

It was hard too.

I couldn’t face the 9 mile tempo run on Tuesday – my quads were still sore from the race on Sunday – so I ran a nice gentle 5-miler round the lake in Ferry Meadows. I did the 9-miler the following day and it was good. And relatively quick.
Maybe running a 10-miler about 12 hours later wasn’t a good plan, but I thought it would be a good recovery. I definitely flagged towards the end though – especially running into a strong headwind along the A14 and being battered by the wind coming off the juggernauts as they rumbled past. I made it though, so that must be a good thing. Mustn’t it?

Friday’s recovery run around a different part of Ferry Meadows with Matt was good though and recharged the batteries.

Sunday came, and with it the prospect of a 16 mile training run. I woke at 4:10am, but really couldn’t face getting up that early in the cold. So I wimped out and went back to sleep. I didn’t manage to wake up until 6:45am so I didn’t have time to go in the morning. Bad idea. I really didn’t feel like going out when the time came.

I did manage to drag myself out though. And I managed the 16 miles as per the plan. It was pretty slow though, but it’s the furthest I have ever run (again) and I don’t feel too bad on it… so there’s another plus.

And next week really is the recovery week that I thought this week was supposed to be.

I ran the Folksworth 15 this morning – further than I have ever run before. And I ran it faster than I hoped. And it felt good. Really good.

As it was a two lap race, the plan was to run a negative split strategy and see where I was at the half-way point. As it happens, my slow start was a little less slow than I had planned – 8:20 min/mile – but it didn’t seem to matter, because I felt good. The first hill wasn’t too bad – except for the headwind. The second was a little harder. Then there was a nice flat run for a couple of miles, with a tailwind and side wind coming over the fields. Then at about 6 miles, I met up with a guy from work. That was definitely a good move. I’ve never trained with anyone before, or run with anyone in a race, but I might have to re-think that strategy in the future. The second lap was tough – not least the climb up hill #1 into a headwind that felt like a gale but (that mile apart) we managed to knock about 30s off each of the other miles. I ran the first half in 60 minutes, the second half in 58 minutes.

There is no way that:
a) I would have run that pace in a training run;
b) I would have run the back 7 miles in sub-8 min/mile without Matt to keep me focused;
c) I would have recorded a sub-2hr time.

I do believe all the training is paying off. Which is good – there is plenty more of it to come!
I’m looking forward to the next 14 – though I’m quite glad that next week is a recovery week.

Two or three months ago five miles was a proper run. It’s amazing how quickly things change. These days, it counts as recovery run. Or at least it would do if I could remember to run a bit slower.

So I went out for a recovery run at lunchtime today in the cold rain and really enjoyed myself. That takes me up to 20 miles for the week – not as many as I hoped (or planned) but then I didn’t plan for feeling quite so rubbish on Wednesday.

Hopefully, the slightly reduced mileage will help me run a good quality 15M in the Folksworth 15 on Sunday. If the 9M I ran last night is anything to go by, I’m getting fitter and faster – maybe the training is starting to pay off!

It seems incredible really – I don’t know where the time has gone.

Week Two is going to be more challenging. More miles plus working evenings should make it tricky. I’m determined to do it though… starting with an 8-miler tonight.

126 miles in total with a weekly mileage of between 15 and 40 miles is a pretty good result for me. Not least because I don’t have any races lined up in the near future with which to motivate myself. I have also discovered the joy of running different routes. Thanks to the genius that is Fetchpoint of my 23 runs in November, I’ll bet that 20 of them were different. For a bloke who had one ‘usual’ route and a couple of alternative routes, that’s pretty good progress. It is also amazing how far you can run while still staying within a 1 mile radius of your house – I have managed 4 or 5 miles running up and down streets without ever leaving my 2 mile diameter circle.

I’ve been reading Advanced Marathoning this month too. I plan to run the low-mileage 18 week plan in there, starting just after Christmas. Whether a newbie should be reading a book with “Advanced” in its title is questionable, but we’ll see where it takes me.

An excellent month’s training under my belt… here’s to 5 more of the same!