Day 35 - high on a hill

Type - gradient / hill run

Distance - 3.5 miles

Time - 35 minutes

A repeat of last Sunday's gradient run on the treadmill, though this time at Central YMCA (and including the cycle to and from central London for some added cross-training benefits). I gingerly put the treadmill on to the hill training session, setting level 11 and was pleased by two things: firstly that the programme was not quite as painful as last week, and secondly that my blistered foot did not give me any gip.

I started off with twenty minutes on the cross trainer, nothing too difficult but at a high resistance level and more than enough to start me off on a sweat. I then moved to the treadmill, and did 25 minutes of the hill programme, and then managed another 10 minutes on the level but at a higher speed. I finished off at 3.5 miles, having burnt hundreds of calories and soaked myself in the process.

Back in the changing room, sodden t-shirt sticking like cellophane to my stomach, I pass an old guy who sees me dripping onto the floor and comments that I must have had a good work out. Yes, I think I did. It makes me feel quite pleased.

Day 34 - lidolicious

Another recovery day, but this time mixed up with a little varied cross-training. I woke early to meet Simmo at London Fields Lido. This is a heated outdoor pool (50 metres (164 ft) and heated to 25 ^oC) that is extremely popular in my Hackney-centred corner of London.

At 8am on a Saturday I didn't expect to see the place packed, but the promise of bright sunhine, warm air and a large swimming club meant the place was rammed. Not much productive exercise there, but good fun nonetheless.

Exercise came from a 12 mile cycle down to a friend's BBQ in Borough, riding via the Central YMCA for a thiry minute session on the cross-trainer at the higher resistance level. It is knackering, but feels good!

I must have undone the bulk of any good by having too much carbon-grilled meat, but with London basking in a heavenly pre-Summer warm spell, it seems rude not to indulge. Besides, it is all good protein.

Day 33 - recovery position

A well placed rest day after yesterday's exertions. I spent a portion of the day trying to work out what to do with my right foot blister. T'interweb is useful for advice, but it does give you a myriad of possibilities. I decided to ask three other sources, my mum, Jarlath and the pharmacist. From these four sources I distilled a concoction of savlon, surgical spirits, blister plasters and zinc-lined athlete's tape for future runs.

To burst or not to burst? That is the first question. The orthodox position is to leave the blister alone, allow the new skin to form under the protective bubble of skin-inflating fluid.

"The unbroken skin over a blister provides a natural barrier to infection, and patients should try to keep blisters intact and unbroken in order to avoid infection."

Hmmm. But that means leaving a blister untouched. Unpopped. Undrained. Its just not going to happen. So instead I go for the sterilised pin, drainage and dressing approach. And it seems to have worked out well. Exercise on Saturday and running on Sunday was no problem, and, as long as the athlete's tape works in the future, that should be that.

Day 32 - blistering pace

Type - steady run

Distance - 8 miles

Time - 1 hour 7 minutes 59 seconds

Two firsts today with the mileage increasing to eight miles and the first run sustained for over an hour, as I went for another long run with Jarlath. The intention was to do a steady run, to focus on pacing and to ensure that I finished the eight miles within my comfort zone and with the feeling that more was possible. The route was simple (map) - the same as the riverside run that chalked up 6.5 miles, but extended to the Albert Bridge opposite the far end of Battersea Park, and then back. Another slight kink was to head up Northumberland Avenue to Whitehall and through Horse Guards Parade to avoid the crowds at Parliament. Other than that it was simple - four miles there, and four miles back.

I had stretched inbetween the difficult tempo run on Tuesday and today, targetting tightened calves and this paid off instantly. We set off at a warm up pace, and there was not the same tension and tautness in the muscles, ensuring the first few miles were not uncomfortable and we easily slipped into a steady pace. We were perhaps a little too quick at the outset, and this contributed to a slower overall first four miles when we slowed down to compensate. Jarlath was keen to ensure that the running was well within a comfort zone, that my breathing was even and conversation possible. It felt more relaxed not to be too obsessed with the timing, and the first half went well. By the time we had turned back and got to Chelsea Bridge it was clear that I had a lot more energy than at the same point half way through the 6.5 mile run a couple of weeks earlier.

The pace shifted noticeably upwards in the next four miles, but for miles 5 and 6 it did not seem too difficult. Only as a passed into the last two miles did things get a little more taxing. The last mile was run with an increasingly painful and jarring blister developing on my foot. It also felt as though my energy levels were failing, with the dead legged feeling that you have little else to give. That, and the usual last climb up Arundel Street to the Strand, meant we didn't finish with quite the same gusto as had been anticipated by the steady plan. But it was a strong finish, and came in exactly at 8.5 minutes per mile. We had run the first half in about 36 minutes, and slashed this to 32 minutes for the last half - an impressive four miles, and a good example of negative splits in action (more on this later). I noticed that the lack of energy was the only niggle, and I didn't have any issue with breathing or developing a stitch.

I now have a blister the size of my thumb spreading across the arch of my right foot. This is the spot I have developed blisters in the past, and obviously I will need to try and target this area. Blister pads, surgical spirits or savalon - I will pop in to the pharmacy tomorrow and see what they have to say about the effective treatment and prevention of these annoying pain sacks.

Other than that it feels pretty good, and I just need to focus on stretching out the miles and thinking about nutrition, hydration and stamina.

Day 31 - resting

Just a cycle into work today.

Day 30 - after sharp showers

Type - tempo run

Distance - 5 miles

Time - 37 minutes 26 seconds

It had not been a good day, and by 7pm I was not in the mood for running. Going back to work after an extended bank holiday (at the wedding in Liverpool at the back end of last week, and off for Bank Holiday Monday) is never much fun, and when I woke to the sound of rain splashing great globs down my bedroom window. Threatening grey skies, ceaseless curtains of water and a stiff breeze made for a miserable cycle. I wouldn't have bothered with the bike but I needed to get it into the bike shop for a well overdue service I had booked last week.

I finally got to work, and peeled out of sodden clothes in the changing room. I discovered I had packed my phone at the bottom of my panniers, and it was now sodden and malfunctioning. At best it would dry out (eventually) and work, but chances were that my nearly new Nokia N95 was finished. Straight to the desk, only to have to go over to Borough for an unanticipated meeting, and a rushed, miserable day. I finally went to collect my bike, paying over £130 to cover the long list of repairs and replacements needed to get my bike back into working order - the final bludgeoning of a crappy day.

But by now the sun was shining, and riding home on a fixed up bike was a delight. I sat down to plot my route (a slight variation on the previous 4 mile run down Petherton Road, but this time going across Upper Street and up Liverpool Road and then back across Holloway Road into Highbury Fields (map)) and did not feel like getting up to run, let alone to pace out a tempo run over five miles.

This is where setting the challenge, training for a specific event and writing this public blog makes all the difference. These three factors combined to push me out onto the road, and, ultimately and after much internal griping, it was worth it. Today's run was not much fun, lacking the willpower to push forward, worsened by a stiffness in my calves that took a while to dissipate and a general lack of fluidity and pace. At least that is how it seemed for the first three miles. This was the first run I have done in this series of training sessions when I wanted to cut the mileage down significantly, to give up and walk home. I told myself all the way to mile 3 that I would cut off the last loop and be home in 4 miles. It was sapping, defeatist and unpleasant, but I just wasn't feeling it and I couldn't seem to snap myself out of the thunderous mood the day had produced.

But then, as suddenly as black clouds displaced by the sun's brightest rays, the last two miles were actually quite enjoyable. I managed to kick up a gear to finish in a highly respectable 37 minutes 26 seconds, under 7 minutes 30 seconds per mile and a minute quicker than my time running the 5 miles at home. It wasn't as easy or as quick as I had anticipated, but then perhaps I need to be reminded that this whole running lark is not easy, but the more challenge and adversity, the greater the reward. And that is kinda the point - that after sharp showers the sun shines brightest; no weather is warmer than after watery clouds.

Day 29 - its fun to train at the Y M C A

Cross training at the Central YMCA gym and cycling back from London (after keeping my bike at work over the weekend). I used the eliptical trainer, raising the intensity to level 11, and did a forty minute session that was intensive enough to leave my top soaked in sweat, but not so much that the exercise was unpleasant. A serious amount of house-work in a belated spring clean only added to a generally active bank holiday Monday!