Hard Training - Dawn (Hilly)

Hilly

Another man who does the shopping, just what I like to see!:o)

Blisters

And the cooking.

Hilly

Won't be doing the 10k in 2 weeks time now as I can't get a number. Nevermind, I've still got one left to do on Boxing Day. It's not as fast as the one I wanted to do, but it's still flat-all 4 laps of it round a lake. Only done this one once before and it really was brass monkey weather!

I was good and got myself up at 6am and have done my first run of the day. I can now go to work a happy lady!:o)

Mike Gratton 2

Don't know how anyone can get up at 6am to do anything!

F.oggy

Try getting up at 4 am for a few weeks then 6 am will seem like a lie in!

Welshpoppy

Hilly 6am come it is even nicer getting up at 5am;-)a tad chilly though

SHADES

I got up at 4.45 am, tidied up, did the ironing and went for my run. Best part of the day.

Minks

I admire you early risers, I really do. I just couldn't do it. Especially not at this time of year. I suppose if I ran am instead of pm it would free up more time in the evening, then I could go to bed earlier and would be able to get up without feeling knackered. Problem is that Mr. Minks is often late back from work, so we don't get to eat until 8:30-8:45 and I need a couple of hours for dinner to digest after that or I can't sleep. So I think I'll stick to evening runs for the moment.

Mike Gratton 2

Up at 7.30 on a good day....definitely an evening person.

Hilly

Believe me 6am was a struggle! I tried to get up early on Wed morning, but turned over until normal time of 7am. It's surprising how much difference an extra hour makes:o)

I don't mind during summer months, but winter when it's so cold does put me off. I do feel good though if I manage to do a very early morning run at least once a week:o)

7:30 Mike, now that's lazy!:o)

SHADES and WP your times are still middle of the night!

Minks-it has to fit in and you have to be happy with when you run. I sometimes find early evening the most busy time in my household with a young adult family. I really like to get out about 4pm, which suits me best as I can then get back do our food before settling down for a lazy evening. But now I'm doing more miles I have to try and fit the running in where I feel it will cause least disruption to family life and also spreading the miles out over the week so has not to be doing too many long or hard runs.

Mike Gratton 2

If I didn't have to take the girls to school it would be 8. One thing I'm good at is being lazy!

Pammie*

Fraid i have to get up at 6am -

Have to be at work for 8am

Still i have to admire Shades, WP et al running in the middle of the night

Hilly

Mike, when you were training 100+ miles per week though you must have been running early mornings most days?

Pammie, I normally get up at 7am and have to be at work for 8:30 and then I finish at 3:30. I only work 2 miles from home so no travelling involved, thank goodness. Makes getting home and out by 4pm easy.

ceal

hilly, Mike was younger then!!!!!!!!!!!

Hilly

I thought as you got older you needed less sleep!:o)


Mike, I'm looking at races I would like to do in FLM build-up and one that I quite fancy is a half marathon that falls on 3rd Oct. That's 2 weekends before FLM, so would be the start of my taper. Is this too late to leave doing a half marathon as a race?

[Deleted User]

Hilly,

Hope you mean 3 April and I'm not 6 months in advance on my preps for London! Will be interesting to see what Mike thinks but I think you are pushing it and would possibly compromise your marathon. Need to set your main target and stick with it!!

What other races are you thinking of. On my side planning a 20km in first week Feb and a 25km one month before.

Simon

Hilly

Oops, that's what I meant!:o) I did think it was a bit late, but then I though maybe not as there's still 14 days before the marathon and as I'd be tapering I'd be reducing the stress and work load over those 14 days anyhow.

I've got a 10 miles in Jan and Feb, a 1/2M in Feb and a 20 mile beginning of March. There are others I could do, but I'm trying not to overdo the races in the build-up. I might fit in a 5k though as there's no 10k's for me to do.

Mike Gratton 2

Look, 10.33 and I'm still up, that's why getting up early is out of the question. If I remember, I used to get up at 7.30, bowl of cornflakes, run 5 miles to school, shower and start teaching by 8.45 - I had a bit of a charmed life cos the headmaster was a runner and supported my running career, so I got away with murder. I taught at the Archbishops School in Canterbury, a non-selective church school but as I ran for the Archbishops charity when I won LM I was forgiven not preparing my lessons. Thank goodness we didn't have Ofsted then.

I think with FLM, you need to give up what you want to do and do what you should do, and that is a half no closer than 4 weeks before and maybe a 10k 2 weeks before.

I have just launched a 10km to be at Longleat on Feb 6th - now I would be surprised if that didn't figure in your planning!

Mike Gratton 2

Simon, welcome back.

Hilly

Gee Mike you were burning the candle last night:o)

I'm surprised you achieved all you did with still having to do a full time job-well give or take the odd hour for running here and there:o) Most elites today don't do 'work' do they during the day?

I love the sound of Longleat 10k, is it flat, where can I get an entry form and what are the race limits? Questions, questions!


So no racing half 2 weeks before, but what about doing a half at marathon pace 2 weeks before as a final long(ish)run. Would that be ok? Obviously I would have to be very disciplined not race.

[Deleted User]

Got to butt in here - but you have been told not to do it!!!! What would be the benefit? You will hopefully be in the best possible condition at that point and you never know how - despite being disciplined you just might get carried away. Even just run round the opposite way if you want to be there. Use the entry fee for a nice big bar of chocolate!

Mike Gratton 2

Hi Hilly, You could of course get away with the half, but there is also a good chance that it will still bein your legs 2 weeks later and that would be a pitty. As FAS says, if you feel you want to be at the event go and have a run around the other way and cheer people on - FLM is too big a target to mess up this time around and the half will always be there to do in the future.

Most of my generation did work of some kind - Charley Spedding ws a pharmasist and also worked for Nike for a while, Steve Jones was in the RAF, Eamon Martin worked for Ford. Hugh Jones was a full time student so I guess he was closest to being a pro runner. I think to bridge the gap between what we did - 2.08 & 09's to what they do now you would have to be full time with full time medical back up.

Longleat is available to enter on line on this site, I will have an entry form on my website in the next 24hrs. It is a figur 8 course starting and returning to the Marquis of Baths little house each time - pretty flat, with just a short rise on each loop, but no real hills....having done the risk assessment and planning of the course I think it is going to be a beautiful run.

[Deleted User]

Hi Hilly,

Well done on yr training and also your times.I am trying to work on getting my times down as well.Just a question I am going to direct to mike.


Hi mike gratton2:Do you have any advice or tips/programmes that I can do:Any advice is greatly appreciated.I do a track session on a tuesday evening:But get confused because I am training myself.I do a speed session down at a park on a saturday morning usually 180x10 reps.I have been doing this for a while and seem to be getting nowhere.Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Daisybop!

Daisybop!!

[Deleted User]

Mike,

Just thinking about some of the runners you mention there - shame there are no biographies or autobiogrpahies out yet on any of you.

Simon

Mike Gratton 2

Hi Simon, I think that there is a book coming out about the hitory of LM by John Bryant, but don't know how much background will be in it on the past winners. You would have to go back through the archives of RW and AW to get the life stories I guess.

Hi Daisybop, It's difficult to give advice on speed work without knowing what you are aiming at as any speed work needs to be done in relation to your target race - speed work for 100m sprinting is very different to that for the marathon. By-the-way, I did get your e-mail and sorry I didn't get chance to reply yet, bit trying to move office and BT have messed up my internet connections.

Tigger's mate Roo

Risk assessment at Longleat ? - Eaten by lions (or tiggers):-) ?

2:08 - what about the British men who aren't acheiving that and are full-time ? How many British runners (in actual numbers) do you suppose there are who currently are regularly running 100 mpw (apart from Big Tim and barnsley runner) ?

Hilly

Thanks DB, hope you find a training programme that works for you. Do you have a target race or distance you're trying to improve?

Mike-thanks for the info on Longleat. I think I'm going to do that one as it sounds really nice.

Simon-you like your autobiographies!:o) I'm reading Paula's at the moment, which I'm enjoying. Do you plan on doing one Mike?

TmR-I'm sure there must be a few guys doing 100miles per week. Well you'd think there would be. I don't think runners are as tough as they used to be (not meant in a put down way)due to better standards of living today.

[Deleted User]

Hilly,

Just finished Steve Ovetts and got my hands this week on the Frank Shorter autobiography which I had been looking for for ages.

Particularly when injured, found it a great way of keeping motivation up.

Simon

Hilly

I think I'm going to be buying a few more to read. I love reading about how others have trained and their achievments.

Glad you're over those awful months of stress fractures!

JEvaNs

Just thought I would pop in and say hello!

I think I am being blessed and not being given an FLM ballot place - phew! I am really busy with 'stuff' at the moment so am just running to rack up miles - I take it this is sensible? I am seeing these few months as this 'rest' period of training I hear so much about.

I AM going to run Snowdon though. Not a race I will be able to go for time in, but it will get me back into the habit of running over Caerphilly mountain which in turn should line me up for some lovely fast flat autumn races!

Ooo! On the subject of books, Paula was in my home town of Loughborough the other week and I do believe my lovely mum may well have got me a copy of her book for my birthday!! I will let you know next week! My mum is top and is really proud of my running stuff so I would like to think that Paula knows of the ins and outs of my running history now!!!!

And another thing too - I am doing the Woburn 10k - is this another of yours Mike? I saw it in Race Service in RW mag this year and the report suggested it was a wee bit windy for a PB. I am not doing any specific training for it, but I am definately going to 'go for it'! Hoping sub-50 or sub-whatever-I-get-on-the-12th-in-Western!