Why Run? Why Run to a Plan?

After diminishing returns & every increasing HM, 10k & parkrun times I felt it was time to run to a plan.

Before March this year I used to run 3 to 4 times a week, generally at about the same pace & without any particular purpose. I'd enter a race, say I was aiming for it & might get a time I wanted. But in 2012 these times got slower. I ran my first HM in March 2012 & it was a respectable 2:01. I then ran an event specific PB 10k at the start of June, 6 days before my next HM & felt I should easily get a new PB. 10 miles into that HM the wheels came off, 2:07.

I then worked shifts over the Olympics, was told I could expense all my meals & started creating my own kind of Olympic legacy, around the waistline. I've yo-yo'ed weight throughout my adult life so to put on weight was of no surprise. The problem was, I had two half marathons planned for the autumn! Shift work played havoc with my training & culminated in me killing my calves. I knew as I lined up in Stockholm for the DN Half in September that getting round was the goal, a return of 2:04 was a pleasant surprise! A three week turn around & a great crowd actually led to a 1:58 Royal Parks Half. Still beaten by the wife, but this was mainly due to a toilet stop, poor race management. Confidence was back, I could break 1:55 next time surely?

As if to compound 2012's misery there were more low points to follow. A week after the Royal Parks Half we decided to run the Ware 10, a friendly local event. For the first km I didn't feel right, had no rhythm & watched as my wife sped off into the distance. By 3km I was walking, pain in my left heel. The dreaded PF had struck!

Overtraining, poor stretching, poor mechanics, everything had combined & I was a mere 8 weeks out from the highlight of our running year, the Reggae Half Marathon in Negril, Jamaica. 5 weeks of intensive physio, ice & golf ball rolling followed. The all clear was given with a mere three weeks to go on the proviso that I carried on icing, rolling, doing whatever was needed to try & keep going. This meant we headed to Jamaica with a realistic aim. It was going to be tough, but finishing was the only goal. My lack of cardio left me walking just past the hour & Paula ran on without me after another break. I then caught here up as her knee started playing up & we crossed the line together at 2:20, still my favourite running photo!

I decided that 2013 the running adventures would continue, Barcelona HM in February came & went, a 2:06 was something to be reasonably happy with as the weather also hindered my training. When the MK Half resulted in a 2:07 I realised it was time.

Time to either give up, or get better.

For the first time I started researching running plans. The problem with the majority of plans is that they focus on 5 to 6 runs a week. I know my limitations & the rest I need a times so I set about trying to find a 3 to 4 runs a week plan that I could adapt. Thankfully Lucozade have such plans on their website & with a quick bit of work I had constructed a nice 10 week plan to take me to the Hatfield Broad Oak 10k & a 16 week plan to follow for the Copenhagen Half.

The plans have paid dividends, my 10k time in New York at the start of April was just below 57 minutes, by the end of the plan I was able to return a 53 minute HBO 10k.

They have also introduced me to easy, steady, tempo, interval, hills & fartlek running. Strangely the hardest type of run is the easy. It takes discipline to run at a slower than natural pace, however lung busting the other runs are, easy running needs more focus.

So the target for Copenhagen remains a sub 1:55. I don't know how close I'll be, but it has been an enjoyable journey.