Day 42 - driving pained legs over steep hills

Type - gradient / hill run

Distance - 4 miles

Time - 36 minutes 36 seconds

Back to the gym, this time Clissold Leisure Centre, for a gradient run. I kept the setting at level 11, and ran at this for a 25 minute programme and then a level run to get up to 4 miles. I still had enough in me to finish with a two minute sprint at 16 km/h. I think I willl stretch the hill programme to 30 minutes next time. I am certainly not ready to increase the intensity to the final level 12 - level 11 is still a tough work out.

But I managed to do an extra half a mile on last week's 3.5 miles in only 1 minute 36 seconds longer than last week's run. So progress of sorts.

I've just transferred all of these blog entries onto a single Notepad document for safekeeping. They amount to 15,000 words, and, perhaps more fitting to the fitness agenda, a total of 98.8 miles in 783.45 minutes (13 hours, 3 minutes and 27 seconds). That is just a shade under 8 minutes per mile, which reflects doing both interval, tempo and fartlek training as well as steady and hill training. I think, on balance, this number will stay pretty steady as the long runs will average between 8.5 and 9 minutes per mile, whilst the tempo, interval and fartlek training will be faster. It also makes sense to keep tabs on the total mileage, as trainers need to be replaced after about 500 - 600 miles.

Day 41 - and rest

Nothing more than a little cross-training at the Central YMCA and running after Alfie who, walking quite freely now, is keen to explore the world as quickly as possible. It is quite an exhausting persuit!

Day 40 - double digits

Type - steady run

Distance - 10.25 miles

Time - 1 hour 22 minutes 43 seconds

There is a special kind of run that comes just when you are feeling listless, down and defeated and, from somewhere, you manage to pull an exceptional performance out of the zip-up sweatband. In the six weeks of uninterrupted training today's run has been the most satisfying. Not only did I manage a step change in distance whilst maintaining a decent pace, but it came after a week of feeling pretty depressed and has managed to put a zing in my step again.

Tuesday's tempo run was difficult and frustrating. I did manage a decent time, but the heat, traffic and delays made it annoying and my constrained chest made it unpleasant. The blister on my right foot had healed to a point, but was still pink and tender. And ominously in the run up to today's run I have felt stiff and sore in my calves and hamstrings. I was supposed to do the long run yesterday, but decided that I would benefit from the additional recovery time. I stretched twice a day in the meantime, and hoped I would be able to loosen the muscles enough to run on Friday.

Another source of apprehension was the faith I was putting in an invisible stick of anti-chafing foot lubricant called Compeed. I had gone to the pharmacist at lunch and asked about a variety of remedies, from zinc-lined tape to blister plasters and the strong recommendation was for the anti-blister stick. It seemed a bit too good to be true - looking like a miniature roll on deodorant and applied to the affected area. It came with positive online reviews, so I slapped some on and put on my Hilly socks and hoped that this combination would ward off any friction and blisters.

Despite these worries I did think that a nine-mile run was possible. I must have been confident enough of my abilities to plan for a mile long extension at the end of the nine miles to take me to ten miles in case I felt up to it at the end. But mentally and physically I was not in the most positive place. I went down to get changed, and headed for the Embankment. My plan was to run 8.5 - 9 minute miles at a steady and, as far as possible, relaxed pace. My route would be similar to the long runs I have taken with Jarlath - down Embankment, veering off through Horse Guards Parade and along St. James's Park to Horseferry Road to avoid Parliament, and then back on the Embankment all the way to Lots Road (map). This would be 4.5 miles, and thus make 9 miles on the return leg. The additional mile would come from a half mile and back further along Embankment past Temple.

I was careful to start off with a decent, slow warm up and the stiffness and aches in my legs soon faded away. Miles 1 and 2 passed in no time, averaging 8.5 minutes for them both and then I was on the long road running by the side of the river. It is a great place to run, with little interruption for traffic (except at the bridges) and wide pavements with few other users. The slowly flowing Thames and some stunning riverside views make it a fantastic route. The mile markers of this run were near bridges - 2 and 7 miles at Vauxhall Bridge, 3 and 6 miles at Chelsea Bridge and 4 and 5 miles at Battersea Bridge. They were easy to remember, and so I could really work on pacing and timing. The pacing was remarkably steady, at 8.5 minute miles for the first half (just under 43 minutes) and then switching with a moderate negative split to do 8 minute miles for the rest (just under 40 minutes).

I felt strong for the whole 9 miles, without any niggles in my muscles, any issues with breathing or being out of breath, no build up of lactic acid or stitches. There was no question that I would not add on the extra mile that I had plotted to make this a rather special 10 miles. So passed the entrance to the gardens off Savoy Place, and on along the Embankment to Temple Avenue, and then back to the Embankment Gardens to finish with some stretching off and a much needed shower.

I finished strong - tired in my legs, and could probably have dragged out another couple of miles at a 9 minute mile pace or so. But no issues with breathing or stitches, and, miracle of miracles, not even the hint of a blister. All that tender, fresh skin and not even the faintest suggestion of friction or rubbing. Wonderful Compeed, marvellous Compeed - how could I have doubted your sleek, invisible sheen? And, of course, delicious, wicking wonder socks, woven by gently, benevolent faeries. Possibly.

The half-marathon is now within my grasp, and a sub-two hour time should be entirely doable. Just need to carry on and keep improving!

p.s. it turns when plotting the route at home I actually did 10.25 miles, which gives me 8 minute miles overall. Nice!

Day 39 - rest in pain

Just cycling into work today, and trying to stretch my sore muscles. I was going to do the long run this evening, but I decided to postpone until tomorrow.

Day 38 - pained

Just a light spot of cross training in the form of cycling to and from work. Which is probably a good job as, for the first time since I started training, I was in a bit of pain this morning. I had been slightly stiff on my run yesterday, but this had eventually loosened out after running for a while. This morning I woke up and found I had stiffened up to the extent that climbing the stairs was a stark trial. All the more worrying given the toilet is up the stairs.

All day whenever I have got up from my desk the first few steps have been stabbingly painful, and I've been shuffling to and fro. I started the day with some more stretches, and repeated them tonight.

I was planning a long run tomorrow evening, but think I will give it another day and go on Friday instead. Hopefully another day with further stretching and light cycling will loosen things up a bit.

Day 37 - a scenic whirl

Type - tempo run

Distance - 5 miles

Time - 36 minutes 51 seconds

I thought I had planned a lovely run that would take me down the Mall, skirt Green Park along Birdcage and then loop Hyde Park around the Serpentine before coming back. I know that area from cycling, so it should have been a well planned, relatively flat and quick route. And, for the most part, it was. With one major reservation - Hyde Park Corner. Affecting both ends of my run (at mile 1 and 4) this massive gyratory traffic surge separates Hyde Park from its royal brethren the other side of the Palace. From the tip of Green Park you cross one six lane section, and then have a couple of hundred metres through the Wellington Arch to reach another cross to get into Hyde Park. On a bike it is a brief inconvenience, but on a timed tempo run it was an infuriating impediment to my pace, stride and enjoyment.

It didn't start as the most successful run. I had forgotten to take a puff on my ventolin inhaler, and from the first steps my chest felt tight. It would barely improve for the next half an hour, as deeper breathing rasped against a constrained lung capacity producing unhealthy sounding wheezes. My legs didn't feel in much better shape, and took a while to warm up from first step stiffness. The sun was shining, and, whilst ordinarily a blessing, the intensity of the heat made the whole thing more of a chore. It was a scenic start, with the ruritanian perfection of St. James's Park at the side of the Mall, itself a blaze of red, white and blue from giant Union Flags hung out for the Queen's Trooping of the Colour.

The park roads were packed with people pouring out of offices and shops and spreading themselves lazily on the grass. In the distance the choppy surface of the shimmering Serpentine was interspersed with paddle and row boats, shrieks of laughter echoing over the water. I didn't take much of it in, concentrating on just putting one foot in front of the other and fighting the negative thoughts that this might be the run to cut short, or slacken off.

The last two miles were a joy, with a slight downhill stretch all the way along the east side of Hyde Park, down Constitution Hill and along the flat of the Mall. It would have been perfect but for the repeated interruptions of three sets of traffic lights across the Corner.

That said I did manage to finish in under 37 minutes, a time I largely attribute to the flat nature of the route. Without the frustrating stops at Hyde Park Corner it might have been even quicker.

I think, in future, I will stick to the river!

Day 36 - rest

Rest day - just cycling to and from work (via a lovely rendezvous with friends in Spitafields, next to the 'hothouse of despair').