Half way there

Day:        42

Distance: 19.6km

Time:       1:57:00 secs

Calories:  1,553

It's the end of Week 6 of the training plan and this tablet of stone which I have been blindly following has gone a bit vague.

Up until today the plan has been very specific - it's "30 mins steady" here and "45 mins easy off-road/hilly" there - but all it says today is "10 mile or half marathon race". No mention of tempo and, more surprisingly, a choice between two different distances. For the sake of clarity a half marathon is 13.1 miles, which is 31% further than the other suggested distance. That's quite a difference.

To run 10 miles the week after I ran 12 miles seems somewhat counter intuitive, so I opt to follow the same route that I took this time last week. This time I was joined by Jim who will be running a half marathon in exactly 5 weeks, so it's good training for both of us.

It has been decidedly cold all week long, so it was a nice surprise to step outside today and be greeted by blinding sunlight. That's not to say that it was a hot day (it wasn't), but it was perfect weather for running. The cold helped to keep me cool and the sunshine made it feel like a real pleasure to be outside and in green spaces like Brockwell Park. I wouldn't complain if the weather was like this on the day of the actual London Marathon.

So, as I've already mentioned this run concludes the sixth week of the training plan. That means that I'm now halfway through the 12 week plan and I'm pleased to report that I'm still enjoying the training. I had thought that it was going to be a real chore. I had heard many marathon runners talking about how it takes over your life and, to an extent, I can see that as you need to put a lot of time and effort in each and every week. For example, this week I've trained on five out of the seven days and have committed nearly 5 hours to training. However, I'm managing to fit this training around the rest of my life and my wife isn't yet complaining about becoming a "marathon widow" so I wouldn't say that it's completely taken over my life. That said, whilst I'm writing this I'm also looking at the upcoming weeks and the ever increasing time commitments - so maybe I'll have changed my mind in a few weeks time.

One thing that is helping me to keep going (other than the running playlist and my desire to achieve my stated aim of completing the marathon in 3:40) is all the kind donations that I've already received on my JustGiving page. I only sent the link out on Tuesday and I'm already 27% of the way to my target of £1,000. A massive thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me and for those who would like to help me get a little closer to my target please visit http://www.justgiving.com/Darren-Yaxley-marathon. 

Friday night, Saturday morning

Day:        41

Distance: 7.64km

Time:       42:09 secs

Calories:  606

When thinking about writing this post I had "Friday night, Saturday morning" by the Specials running through my head. In particular, the lyrics "I like to venture into town/I like to get a few drinks down" and chorus which repeats the simple line "I go out on Friday night and I come home on Saturday morning" capture, pretty accurately, my Friday night. You may recall that previous Friday nights have seen me going for a run while others have been hitting the pubs and clubs of this fair land. However, you may also recall that 'Lent' is now over and as this Friday came at the tail end of January it gave me the opportunity to meet up with some of my "best good friends" (to quote Forrest Gump) and enjoy some good company, good banter, good beer and a red hot curry on Brick Lane.

Like Terry Hall in the aforementioned song, I came home on Saturday morning. Unlike Terry Hall, I had to get up at 8:30am, with a somewhat fuzzy head, in order to head out for a 40 minute run at 'easy' tempo. As I was running solo I was listening to my running playlist and, as I've mentioned before, it's just not designed for runs of this nature. I started the playlist off with Frank Turner's "The Road", which whilst not exactly plodding isn't a Ramones-esque thrash either. The tempo picked up markedly on the next song when Funeral Party's massive 2010 single "NYC Moves to the Sound of LA" kicked off with its infectious blend of bass and cow bell - this, ladies and gentlemen, is not a song you can run slowly to. Don't believe me? Listen for yourself.

I think this run has finally convinced me that if I want to listen to music whilst running (which I do) these 'easy' runs I'm going to have to set up another, slower playlist. I still want quality music that I enjoy listening to, but I'm going to have to tone down the distorted guitars and find songs with fewer beats per minute.

Alarm clock Britain

Day:        39
Distance: 9.07km
Time:       51:29 secs
Calories:  701

It's 6am. Yes, that's right A.M. As in Ante Mendiem. My wife wasn't even aware there was a 6am, yet here I am up and ready to go for a pre-work 50 minute run. Oh, and my legs, shoulders and pecs are still aching from Tuesday's interval training. Brilliant.

Not only am I up before the sun today, but it would also appear that I'm up before most living souls. I don't think I passed more than 10 people during the entire run and two of those were fellow runners. So, why am I putting myself through this? Well the simple explanation is that the training plan demands that I fit a run in today and as I'm going to see the rather wonderful Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain tonight it had to be before work.

Despite the very early start and the growing collection of aches and pains once I started running I was absolutely fine and enjoyed being up and about before most people. I had wondered whether the aches would mean I'd need to curtail this run, but once I was in the 'zone' (helped along initially by Blur's "Parklife") any thoughts of turning back were forgotten.

The training plan actually called for a 60 minute run to include 6 x 1 minute hill climbs with a jog back down to recover. However, the route I took didn't have the requisite number of hills, so that part of the plan was largely ignored. As I ran a pretty similar route to the one I took last Friday (without the end loop), there was one significant hill on Lordship Lane in East Dulwich and, upon reaching the hill, I decided that I'd pick up the pace for that part of the run. I didn't job back down it afterwards as a) that would have looked weird and b) I'd have been going the wrong way to get home.

Speaking of which, by the time I arrived back at the flat the sun still hadn't risen and the aches in my muscles had returned with a vengeance, but I was filled with a real sense of achievement at completing more than 9km before breakfast on a very cold January morning.

As a parting note and for those of you unaware of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain I'll leave you with their cover of Baccara's "Yes, sir I can boogie", which I'm hoping they play tonight. In case you're wondering, no this 70s disco classic isn't on my running playlist. Typically, my views on Disco are in tune with Homer Simpson's (who famously sported a "Disco Sucks" bumper sticker on his car) but as it's the Ukes I'll let it slide.

This is Hardcore

Day:        37

Distance: Not all that far

Time:       40 mins

Calories:  Loads ... I hope

When I met up with Big Dave at the weekend he suggested that we go for a spot of interval training at his gym in Canary Wharf. I'm keen to mix up my training, so readily agreed to join him for this 40 minute class.

If you're unfamiliar with interval training the best way to think of it is as a legalised form of torture. At different points I felt dizzy or nauseous and at one particularly memorable stage I felt as though I was going to throw up. 

Having completed five weeks of marathon training I thought that I was pretty fit, unfortunately 'pretty fit' doesn't quite prepare you for the relentless onslaught of interval training. At the most basic level, interval training consists of high intensity bursts of speed followed by low intensity recovery periods - essentially an even more hardcore fartlek training session ... 

It starts with some fairly light exercises (a few squat thrusts, press ups etc.) and a low intensity run round the 5-a-side pitch we were training on, after that the sadist (or 'trainer' as he liked to style himself) introduced some high intensity shuttle runs with a small amount of recovery time between each set. The high intensity runs are followed by some more exercises (e.g. 20 press ups + 10 squat jumps) before the running and sprinting makes an unwelcome return.

I have never known 40 minutes to go by so slowly. Within 5 minutes I was red faced and sweating uncontrollably, 10 minutes in I was about ready to faint, at the 20 minute mark I was willing the clock to pick up speed and by the time 30 minutes had passed my legs had turned to jelly and I was unable to do the exercises properly (though I did manage all the runs). The session was brought to a welcome conclusion with a few stretches and a handshake from our tormentor.

Now, it might seem from this description that I didn't enjoy this session but I think Big Dave summed it up perfectly when he declared that it's something that you enjoy and appreciate in retrospect, but not at the time. You know that all of that effort must have done you some good and, having done a little reading on the subject, I can tell you that interval training can result in improved performance, greater speed and endurance. While I won't be taking an Interval Training class every week I do plan to fit more of these sessions into my training. Who knows, next time I might just feel dizzy and nauseous - now that would be progress.

Take it easy

Day:        36
Distance: 6.37km

Time:       38:46 secs

Calories:  490

After running just shy of 20km yesterday I decided to follow the training plan's advice and take it easy tonight. The slight problem with doing this is that my running playlist consists mainly of up tempo guitar music that is on there to fire me up and get me running quicker. There's not a whole lot of slower numbers on there to help set the right pace for tonight's run. For a lot of the run I found myself willing the music to slow down somehow. Obviously, I didn't always have too much joy in that endeavour - even if it was possible would you want the Ramones to slow "Blitzkrieg Bop" down? (note: the correct answer to that question is an emphatic 'no').

My training plan calls for an 'easy' run at the start of each week. Up until this point I haven't really seen the need to take it that easy, but now I'm undertaking 20km+ each Sunday I think I'm going to have a few more Monday runs like this where an easy run helps me to recover from a longer run. With this in mind, I should probably consider putting together a playlist consisting of songs with fewer bpm. The problem is that I'm genuinely scratching my head as to what I can put on there - Dylan? Laura Marling? Why do I automatically think of folk-tinged music made with acoustic guitars? As with the main running playlist, I'd love to hear any suggestions of songs to set a slow, but steady pace.

On a final note, I've decided to start fundraising for Diabetes UK. I didn't want to start shaking people down for sponsorship until this point as a) it would have been ridiculously early and b) people aren't exactly flush in January. As it's now less than three months until the big day and pay cheques will shortly be finding their way into people's accounts it now feels like the right time to pass round the electronic begging bowl. If you'd like to sponsor me please visit my JustGiving site - all donations will be gratefully received!

Now that's what I call music!

Day:        35

Distance: 19.59km

Time:       1:43:14 secs

Calories:  1,514

Lent is over. We went out to meet up with some friends last night and any resolve that I had not to drink crumbled as soon as I saw the ales on offer in the East Dulwich Tavern. A man can only be so strong when faced with Tribute, Ubu Purity and Doom Bar on tap and bottles of Brooklyn Lager, Meantime and Samuel Adams chilling in the fridge. So I made it three weeks without even a snifter of alcohol, not quite what I'd intended but also not too bad either.

Knowing that I had a long run scheduled for the next morning I decided to take it pretty easy. So, why oh why did I wake up with a foggy head and a throat as dry as the Gobi desert? I'd intended on getting up and going for a run at 7:30am or thereabouts but in the event I made it out the door at 9am. Again, not quite what I'd intended but also not too bad either.

Jim wasn't available to join me for a Sunday run today, so instead of the usual discussions about football, music and runner's nipple, I had the running playlist for company. Across a total of 103 minutes of running the compilation which I have been carefully putting together over recent weeks didn't let me down once. I enjoyed a fine mixture of tunes from the Stones, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash amongst others but special mention must go to Idlewild and the Rakes. Allow me to explain why.

The route I took today was basically an extended version of the 3 Park Run Jim and I have done over the last couple of weeks. The route features a number of hills. The first of which hove into sight at around the 9km mark in Brockwell Park. As I approached the hill my legs were feeling somewhat sorry for themselves, but they were given a real burst of energy when Idlewild's 2009 single "Readers and Writers" burst into glorious life with its trumpet and glockenspiel propelling me up the hill with a spring in my step.

The second hill was never part of the route I had intended to run, I ad-libbed and added it in when I realised that the planned route wasn't going to last for the 100 minutes demanded by the training plan. So I found myself on Forest Hill Road - 17km into the run - staring down the barrel of another hill when the Rakes' "Strasbourg" started up with its insistent guitar riff and fantastic lyrics; "our children must have rock n' roll" indeed. Again, I found myself carried along by the simple power of rock n' roll.

I've said all along on this blog that the running playlist is an integral element of my training and that the right song played at the right time can make all the difference. Today's run provides a perfect illustration of this. Despite my wife's protests I fully intend to be running the London Marathon with my ipod strapped to my arm, so if you happen to see me cranking out an awesome riff on my air guitar or maybe singing along with some of the lyrics you'll know that I'm being treated to one of those songs that can make all the difference.

One other thing to note before I go is that this run wasn't too far off of a half marathon distance. The one and only time I've run a half marathon my legs turned to jelly as soon as I crossed the finishing line. My legs were undoubtedly aching at the end of this run, but they didn't turn to jelly and I actually felt as though I could continue running. Of course, it may well be the case that I pay the price tomorrow ... 

Keep on running

Day:        33

Distance: 9.92km

Time:       49:56 secs

Calories:  790

It's Friday night. People up and down the country have finished work for the week and are going out to spend their hard earned money in pubs, clubs and restaurants but, like an over-played song by the Spencer Davis Group, I just keep on running. January will soon be seguing seamlessly into February and the end of my self-imposed Lent, so this won't be the case for much longer. Soon I'm going to have to get creative and think of how to fit marathon training around going out. Or, maybe it's the other way round, I'm not sure yet.

The plan called for a 50 minute run tonight with the added twist of demanding I do this by running for 10 minutes at a 'steady' tempo and then upping the pace to run for 15 minutes at 'tempo' before repeating the sequence. That means that 30 out of the 50 minutes, or to put it another way 60%, of this run was done at 'tempo'. Now, I'm never too sure whether there's much difference between the different paces when I do them. To quote a Nirvana lyric, "my will is good" and I find myself speeding up after 10 minutes and slowing down after 25 minutes, but I also catch myself slowing down in the intervening period. 

For tonight's run I followed a broadly similar route to the one that Jim and I took on Wednesday. Due to the varied pace of the run I figured that it would make sense to add a bit on, so I extended it at the beginning and at the end to create a new route.

By the wonders of Run Keeper I can see that there was a real difference in my running speeds; the first 2 kilometres took around 5:30 minutes each to run, while the next three took around 4:30 minutes each (this pattern was repeated for the remainder of the run). Another indicator of the effort that I put in tonight is that I I ran 1.2km further than on Wednesday and did so in less time.

After that run it should be no surprise that I returned home a sweaty mess. Well, it wouldn't be to most people, but my wife was surprised enough to ask whether it was raining out when she let me into the flat.

Got My Mojo Workin'

Day:        31
Distance: 8.73km
Time:       51:02 secs
Calories:  684

For the first time since starting to train for the marathon I had a general feeling of can't be botheredness. Normally I'm pretty motivated, but tonight I just didn't feel like it. I don't know whether it was the headache I had on the way home from work, the decidedly cold night, wanting to have a rest or a combination of all three. However, I'd already agreed with Jim that I'd accompany him and didn't want to let him down (it later transpired that Jim had been feeling pretty much the same about running tonight).

The result of all this? It was a great run. I ran with ease, enjoyed being able to clear my head, concentrated on running and shooting the breeze with Jim. To help keep things fresh and to take account of the fact we were starting later than on previous Wednesdays we decided to take a different, shorter route. This route takes us up a fairly steep hill on Lordship Lane in East Dulwich. I remember including it in a couple of routes that I ran in preparation for last year's half marathon and I warned Jim in advance that it was incredibly knackering. I needn't have bothered with the warning. We hit the hill at around the half hour mark and I was expecting to endure a few minutes of difficulty, but as we reached the brow of the hill I realised that neither of us had had any difficulties whatsoever and hadn't even slowed down noticeably. A sign of progress, I think.

Another sign of progress was that, without even trying, we ran considerably faster than at the same point last week (averaging 5:51 mins per km compared with 6:19 mins per km last week), so for the first time in a few weeks I didn't finish the Wednesday night run with a feeling of disappointment.

I often find with running that it's the runs that you don't fancy, or those that seem like a chore initially that turn out to be the best ones. That was certainly the case tonight as I'm now feeling exhilarated and re-energised.

While I'm in a good mood I thought I'd share a classic piece of music. At Christmas I was given a Muddy Waters' Greatest Hits collection and one song in particular grabbed me straight away with its up tempo proto-rock n' roll rhythms and fantastic harmonica sound. "Got My Mojo Workin'" has gone straight onto the running playlist - how can a song like this fail to pick me up and get me moving?

Three Months until the Big Day

Day:         29
Distance:  6.92 km
Time:        40:23 secs
Calories:   550

Although the plan calls for another 'easy' 35 minute run at the beginning of the week there was a real difference between last week's punk fuelled dash and the more leisurely approach I adopted tonight. Last week I ran 6.55 km in 34:37 secs, this week I ran a similar route but took nearly six minutes more to complete it. Given that this is my third run in as many days it's probably not a bad idea to take it a little easier.

I was reading an article earlier today in which a runner was discussing 'cadence' - how frequently your feet touch the ground as you run. Apparently, one should ...

"Keep turning your feet over quickly ... and you'll move faster, more easily. Short, frequent strides, with your foot landing underneath your body, are the way forward. Literally."

The runner in the article did this by counting the number of strides he was taking in a minute and then concentrated on taking shorter, quicker steps by running to the beat of "Rock Around The Clock". Obviously, I know the song but I don't have it in my itunes library so I couldn't run to the actual beat but as I was running round tonight I did try to take shorter, quicker steps and while it felt pretty odd at first it did feel as though I was running faster and more easily. This was a completely non-scientific experiment, but I think I'll give this some more thought this week.

Something I've already given more thought to is my projected time for finishing the London Marathon. At work today I was asked what time I was hoping to do it and my stated aim (see Day 17 for details) of finishing in 3:40 mins was met with some scepticism. Admittedly, I hadn't used the most scientific method of deriving this target but I thought it was realistic. Stung by my workmates' comments I sought solace online and found a very useful site which features a number of different Marathon Time Calculators. Using the time I recorded in last year's Brentwood Half Marathon I thought I'd consult these calculators to see whether my target was wildly optimistic. The results from each of the calculators is shown below:

          Runworks           3hrs 27 mins
          Runners World    3hrs 28 mins
          Marathon Guide  3hrs 29 mins
          Running Times     3hrs 32 mins
          Hal Higdon          3hrs 50 mins

My projection falls between the first four and the last calculation. I'd be over the moon if the Runworks projection was on the money, but the first four calculators in particular seem to use a not terribly sophisticated method for calculating the time it'll take to complete the marathon. They basically all take my half marathon time (1:39 mins), multiply by 2 and then add c.10 mins of contingency (I've added 20 mins of contingency). Hal Higdon's method takes your 10k time and multiplies it by 5 - again, not terribly sophisticated but at least it's a different answer to the others.

Anyway, I think that all five of these suggest that my target time is achievable. But even if it isn't and I cringe when I look back at this post in three months time I think it's good to set a challenging goal and to work towards it. I've been looking around for a good quote to encapsulate this sentiment and I like what JFK had to say in 1961 when he committed the USA to putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s:

"If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgement it would be better not to go at all"

A run round the park and a trip down memory lane

Day:         28
Distance: 16.82km
Calories:  1,278

So it turns out that it is possible to fit five runs into one week. The last run of the week was a repeat of last Sunday with Jim and I again tackling the "3 Parks Run". After the disappointment which shrouded the conclusion of Wednesday's run we were both pleased to have shaved a couple of minutes off of our time from last week, no mean feat considering that Jim was carrying a cold and had, to quote, a "head full of snot".

The wind was against us for much of the time as well. It's been a pretty blustery (always wanted to use that word) couple of days and as we ran along the flat, exposed top of Peckham Rye Park a Southerly wind buffeted us from the side. In Brockwell Park the wind changed tack and decided to meet us head on as we were running uphill. At least the views over London's skyline that you get at the top of the park made the fight against the wind worthwhile. We finally began to feel some benefit from the weather conditions towards the end of the run when the wind helped to propel us along the bottom of Peckham Rye Park.

This run concludes week four of my marathon training. There's eight more weeks left on the Guardian's training plan and after that I have a few weeks of 'tapering' when I need to reduce the time and distances that I'm running for. Obviously, there's still a long way to go but I'm really enjoying the training and am feeling good (I've not needed to apply any deep heat in ages!).

Maintaining this blog means that I can easily keep track of the progress I've made in terms of distance (I ran 29km in week 1 and have just run more than 49km this week) and time (I'm up from 2:48 mins in week 1 to 4:45 mins this week). The audit of the last four weeks combined shows that, in all, I have been running for 14:44:29 secs and that I have covered 151 km.

As you may have noticed, much of the time that I've spent blogging has been devoted to music and the running playlist that I'm compiling. Today sees the introduction of the Foo Fighters. Although I was a fan of their early efforts a lot of what they've done in recent years has passed me by and I hadn't listened to them in many years until my Dad asked if he could borrow a couple of albums to put on his ipod. At this point, I should note that my Dad has fantastic music taste (which is to say that he likes much of the same stuff that I do) and his request meant that I drove back to Essex on Friday night with the Foo Fighters' debut album blaring out of the car speakers. I'd forgotten about the winning combination of hook-laden melody and monstrous riffing that the album contains - from the nonsensical singalong of "This is a call" to the hardcore of "Wattershed" this is a cracking debut album.

I've added a couple of songs from that album to my playlist, but the real gem that this trip down memory lane unearthed isn't actually on their first album. I can't believe that I didn't think about adding this song until now, but that oversight has now been rectified. Enjoy.

A post in which music is not mentioned, but food is

Day:        27
Distance: 7.95km
Time:       43:28 secs
Calories:  616

I'm in Essex because my wife, Varoo, came back to have her wisdom tooth removed yesterday. I'd asked her if she wanted to join me for this run, but she cried off citing the wisdom tooth. I believe that I may have snorted in derision and asked what that could possibly have to do with running. It turns out, according to a printout from the dentist, that after having a wisdom tooth removed you really should "avoid alcohol and strenuous activity". Who knew?

I also asked my brother-in-law Rohan if he wanted to join me. When he stumbled in late last night pissed as a fart, mumbled incoherently about feeling sick and then promptly fell asleep during 'Kick Ass' (a fantastic film, by the way) I knew there was no chance. At the end of the film we had to wake him up, but merely telling him to get up and shaking him wasn't enough. I suggested we pour some water over his head. Of course, this being the 21st Century we couldn't just watch, we had to film it. I daren't post the video up here, but suffice to say it's a work of modern cinematic genius. Highlights include Rohan's stoic refusal to wake up after the first soaking, my shaky camerawork and the soundtrack (which consists mainly of my girly giggling).

In the end I went out for this run on my own. It was supposed to be 35 minutes at an 'easy' tempo, but as the stats at the top of this post will show I underestimated the length of the route that I took and ran for 43 minutes. Surely, it can't be a bad thing to do more than I was supposed to do ... unless it affects the longer run that I have scheduled for tomorrow I suppose.

To change the subject almost completely, I'm pretty much halfway through January and my self-imposed 'Lent'. Because I'm not at all religious this fasting is all new to me, so I set about it with all the zeal of a recent convert and have cut out alcohol, takeaways, chocolate, crisps etc. You know, the good stuff.

I've already said in another post that I'm not drinking this month and that this has helped free up some time to go running. I'm pleased to report that I'm still not drinking. It's not much of an achievement though as the first month of the year is generally lacking in social engagements and, thus, I haven't exactly had to try.

Foregoing takeaways is proving more difficult than I'd anticipated. I generally view a takeaway as a treat and not something that I would indulge in every day, but the cold, dark nights that are a feature of January do lend themselves to the comforting embrace of a curry or fish and chips. The problem is exarcerbated because most of the runs I'm doing are in London and take me past a veritable cornucopia of Indian restaurants, Chinese takeaways, Fish and Chip shops and the finest Turkish restaurant in South London. The delicious smells emanating from these establishments are proving off-putting and making this part of Lent more difficult. It's like torture. Not actual torture, obviously. That would be ridiculously hyperbolic, a bit like when we say we're starving yet in actual fact we're merely a bit peckish or bored. Anyway, I digress

How does this relate to running? Good question, I'm glad you asked. I guess that it doesn't really, but I suppose I wanted to document all the efforts I'm putting into training for the marathon and diet should be included in addition to the running and the music playlist. While I'm on the food theme, at some point I'm going to need to think about following some kind of carb-heavy running diet, but at the moment all I can think about is the promise that Varoo and I have made to visit the legendary Tayyabs in Whitechapel as soon as January's over.

Stick to the plan

Day:        25
Distance: 7.85km
Time:       40:30 secs
Calories:  604

On Day Seven of this blog I wrote:

"The plan I'm supposed to be following calls for five runs per week, but ...I struggle to see how I'll ever fit five runs in"

Having spent much of the day toying with the idea of squeezing in an extra run after work I decided whilst on the way home that I'd stick my neck out and aim for five runs this week. As memory served I had thought I was coming home to a nice 35 minute run at 'easy' tempo, but upon checking my training plan I realised that I was out of luck as it was time for another course of the dreaded Fartlek training.

The only Fartlek run that I've done so far in preparation for the marathon was on the last day of 2010 and that wasn't too much fun. This one was even harsher as it called for a 40 minute run consisting of 5 sets of 2 mins x 'easy' and 6 mins x 'fast'. Again, I'd like to protest at the imbalance of this method. Why not 2 mins x 'easy' and 2 mins x 'fast'? I'd actually stand a chance of running at something approaching 'fast' for those sections. But no, like an unthinking member of some weird Marathon based cult I blindly accept the wisdom of the plan and follow it to the letter ...

To get myself into the right kind of tempo to begin the run I started off with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's bass-heavy anthem "Spread your love" ...

This was a good idea. To an extent. The song was perfect to set the pace for the initial 2 minutes of 'easy' running, but at 4 minutes in length it's a little too long. Although I started on that song deliberately the rest of the playlist was on shuffle and after "Spread your love" there wasn't really any perfect union between tempo and music. This is largely because the vast majority of my playlist consists of up tempo rock and/or roll songs to fire me up not slow me down.

I did once have a go at creating a playlist for Fartlek runs. The compilation of the playlist was guided as much by length of the songs as tempo (i.e. I was looking for slow songs which lasted c.2 mins and fast songs which lasted for around 4 mins). I ended up with a very odd mix which went from the slow building majesty of "All in it" (British Sea Power) to the OTT Glam stomp of "Ballroom Blitz" (The Sweet) before seguing into Mark Kozelek's cover of "Love at First Feel" (an AC/DC anthem) and so on. I think I managed one run with this slow/fast playlist before deciding it was a rubbish idea. Seeing as I'm going to have to complete a number of these Fartlek runs I wonder if this is an idea worth revisiting? Musical accompaniment that helps guide my pace might just make these dreaded outings bearable. Might.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Fartlek runs. In summary, they are to be feared. I just hope they're doing me some good and their inclusion isn't some practical joke on the part of whoever wrote the Guardian's Marathon training plan.

Time flies when you're having a run

Day:         24
Distance: 10.28km
Time:       1:04:57 secs
Calories:  826

This is the second Wednesday in a row on which Jim and I have ventured out into the dark, rainy night for a post-work run and this is the second Wednesday in a row when I've felt gutted at the end of it.

Last week I was somewhat chagrined to find that what I thought was a 12km run was, in actual fact, just over 10km. This week was different. Neither of us were wearing watches last night, but as we were on the home straight Jim predicted that we were going to "smash" the time in which we'd done this run in last week. It would prove to be a misguided forecast.

It was an uncomfortable start to the run for me as for the first couple of kilometres my calves felt as if  they were made of concrete. If this had been the run straight after the 17km run on Sunday I'd have understood, but Monday's run went off without a hitch so I'm not quite sure what the problem was. At the back of my mind I was wondering whether I would have to knock this run on the head in order to rest a little before the longer run I have scheduled for this weekend. That sounded too much like loser talk, so I ran through the discomfort. No pain, no gain and all that. Probably.

By the time Jim suggested that we were on for a quicker time I was running with ease and was really enjoying being out, so I readily agreed that we would finish in under an hour. A quick glance at the top of this post will show that I was woefully wrong, while a look back at the post I wrote at this time last week will also show that Jim was wrong (we ran the same route in 1:04:48 secs last week).

I'm not too sure why we greeted this time with such incredulity, it's not as though we went out with the express intention of smashing our previous time. I suppose we both wanted to see progress. Being able to see improvements (i.e. getting faster, running further, running for longer etc.) is an important element of training. As with many things, you want to see that you're getting something back from all the effort that you put in.

Thank you for the music

Day:         22
Distance: 6.55 km
Time:       34:37 secs
Calories:  504

Rarely in the field of marathon training have music and running come together in such perfect unison.

I was only supposed to be going out for a 35 minute run at an 'easy' tempo following yesterday's 17km run, but when your ipod treats you to such perfect explosions of rock n' roll as "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" by the Vaccines, "22 Grand Job" by the Rakes and "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones one after the other there's no way you can settle for a slow pace. None of those songs weigh in at more than 3 minutes (in fact "Wreckin' Bar" comes and goes in just 1:24 secs), but they are exactly the kind of songs that really fire me up. I've checked Run Keeper and for the first kilometre of this run I was averaging just under 4.5 mins per km - that's the kind of speed I run at for a 10k race - and I've absolutely no doubt that this tempo was down to the urgent, punky energy of each one of those three songs.

Obviously, I can't have a 5 hour long playlist consisting solely of songs like this - for one thing I'd be shattered well before the finish line - but they play an absolutely crucial role. I can well imagine one of those songs picking me up when my energy levels and pace are dropping and today they helped me to forget about my weary legs.

Early dawning, Sunday morning

Day:         21
Distance: 16.82 km
Time:       1:44:31 secs
Calories:  1,278

What are the first things that come to mind when one thinks of Sundays? Lie ins? Check. Recovering from hangovers? Check. A roast dinner? Check. A 17 km run? Er ... not normally, but then this is turning out to be anything but a normal January.

I again went running with my mate Jim on a route that he had devised called the "3 Parks Run", so called because it takes advantage of the expanses of greenery that can be found in our corner of London; Peckham Rye Park, Brockwell Park and Dulwich Park. The route made for a really picturesque run and it was a real pleasure to run on a lovely, sunny January morning. It became less of a pleasure around the 14 kilometre mark as my legs were on fire when they realised they hadn't run this far since the half marathon I ran in March 2010. I'm hoping they feel OK tomorrow as I'm meant to be going for a 35 minute jog after work and I don't fancy slapping the Vindaloo strength Deep Heat on again.

This is now the end of my third week of training, so it's worth doing a quick audit. In this week I have covered more than 39 kilometres, run for just over 4 hours and burnt off 3,076 calories. It all sounds good until I remember that on April 17th I'll need to cover a longer distance (42.195 km) in a similar amount of time and I won't have the benefit of being able to stretch it over an entire week. Oh yeah, and I read in a timely supplement that came with the Guardian yesterday that "To lose one pound of weight in a week, the body must burn 3,500 calories more than it consumes" so all this effort won't even have resulted in any weight loss ...

To leave on a happier note and to return to the Sunday theme where this post started, I'd like to leave you with a couple of songs inspired by Sundays. Neither of these are on my running playlist, but both came to mind whilst out running today.

Friday night's alright for running

Day:        19
Distance: 7.51 km
Time:       40:13 secs
Calories:  590

It's January and I'm off the booze. There are numerous reasons for this, including the month long liver torture that is December and a post-Christmas lack of cash. Other incentives this year are that I want to continue building on the start that I've made to my marathon training and, I have to admit, lose a few pounds.

This means that a typical Friday night at the moment consists of running a few kilometres rather than downing a few pints. No doubt, normal service will resume in due course but for the time being I'm actually enjoying the change in 'health behaviour'.

At this stage of training a 40 minute run shouldn't pose too many difficulties, but this run was a little different in that it called for 10 mins x 'steady', 20 mins x 'tempo' and 10 mins x 'steady'. By the wonders of Run Keeper I can tell you that I was averaging around 5:30-6 mins per kilometre for the two 'steady' sections, while for the 'tempo' sections of the run I averaged around 4:30-5 mins per kilometre.

The difference between my 'steady' and 'tempo' paces might not seem like all that much but running in this fashion certainly meant that at the end of the run I was shattered as I had covered the majority of the 7.5 km at 'tempo'. Normally, I get to the end of a run and feel like I could carry one but on this one I was very glad to return home.

It strikes me at this point that it has been a little while since I posted one of my running songs, so I shall do so now. But first, some background.

I hadn't thought of Sixties fetishists Ocean Colour Scene in many a year, but in the week before Christmas I was driving along listening to the radio when all of a sudden the DJ transported me back to the mid-90s with "100 Mile High City" by OCS. Ten seconds of an absolute belter of a guitar riff and the introduction of the drums was all I needed to know that this would be a most worthy addition to my running playlist. The video below isn't the best (I can't find the official video), but with a song this good that shouldn't matter. Enjoy.

Train in rain

Day:         17
Distance:  10.18km
Time:        1:04:48 secs
Calories:   812 cals

An after work run on a cold, rainy night in January might not sound like the most appealing way to while away an hour of your time but that's how I spent my Wednesday night. To be fair, running in the rain is an improvement on running in snow and the rain actually helped to keep me cool.

This was a run that I had mapped as part of my half marathon training in 2010. On walkjogrun I'd mapped it as 12km, so I was a bit gutted when we got to the end and the Run Keeper App informed me we'd only covered 10 kilometres ... While I may not have covered the distance I was hoping for I did run for the amount of time specified in my training plan and, crucially, this run incorporated a number of hills so it's all good experience.

In other news, yesterday I was sent an online entry form to complete to guarantee my place in the 2011 London Marathon. The form asked for some fairly standard information (e.g. name, address etc.) and then threw a curveball by asking what time I anticipated completing the marathon in. Now, I've never run a marathon before so the very act of completing it will be something of an achievement but I have also given some thought to the time I'd like to complete it in.

When I ran the half marathon last year I aimed for a time of 1:40 mins. This was based upon the 50 mins it had taken me to complete a 10k race. I figured that a half marathon is essentially 2 x 10k (actually, it's just over 21k, but I didn't know that at the time), ergo 2 x 50 mins was doable. In the event, I completed the half marathon in 1:39 mins - which I was really happy with.

So, on the basis of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" I'm aiming for:

                 1:40 x 2 + a little contingency = 3:40 mins

Just seeing that target written down has made this whole marathon running lark seem a lot realer ...

A new running partner

Day:        15
Distance: 4.86 km
Time:       31:29 secs

This was the first day of the third week of training and my plan called for a 30 minute run at an 'easy' tempo. With these factors in mind I enquired as to whether my wife might fancy joining me for her first run since November. Despite her initial reluctance I persevered and in the end she decided to brave the cold. I'm not sure whether it was my powers of persuasion or the fact that she wants to run the Richmond Half Marathon in May that signalled a change of heart, but I'm glad that we went running together. Hopefully, I'll be able to get her out for some of the longer runs that I've got coming up.

After yesterday's technology-related ballsup I tried using the Run Keeper App again and I'm pleased to report that it worked perfectly this time, or in other words I pressed all the right buttons this time. Upon completing the run the app tells you distance covered, time taken, average speed, calories burnt (396, if you're interested) and even provides a map of your run. A pretty handy app and just another 'pull factor' which is convincing me that I need to get my own iphone.

The White Heat of Technology

Day:         14
Distance: 13.8 km
Time:        1:14:18 secs

The first run of the new year was done back in Essex. As a starting point I based the run on the Billericay 10k route and then improvised an additional 4km so as to meet the goal of 75 mins as laid down by my training plan.

I decided to use the Run Keeper App on my wife's iphone to track my run for the first time. Up until this point I'd been mapping my runs, after I'd done them, on http://www.walkjogrun.net/. WJR is a good website but as my training plan calls for progressively longer distances it is taking me longer to map out the route I've followed, so I figured that an app that tracks my run as I do it was just what I needed. All that was required was for me to get a decent GPS signal, press start and then head off for 75 minutes of running.

As I was running round I began to reappraise my self-assigned status as a Luddite (see definition in the very first post on this blog). Here I was running round with an ipod strapped to my left arm listening to a playlist I'd created, with an iphone in my pocket measuring my every move thanks to the wonders of GPS and at the end of it I'd be adding my own voice to 'blogosphere' in order to record what I had done. All in all, I was feeling pretty proud of myself. At the dawn of the second decade of the 21st Century I had finally made my peace with the technological advances that I had held in contempt until very recently.

The air of post-Millennial self-satisfaction came to an abrupt halt though when I retrieved the iphone from my pocket and discovered that Run Keeper had recorded just 3 seconds of the 4,458 that I'd been running for! Apparently, I'd left a crucial stage out at the beginning - I hadn't locked the damn phone. Luckily, I was wearing a running watch throughout so I knew how long the run had taken but I still needed to turn to walkjogrun to track the route I'd followed.

Clearly, giving up my Luddite ways is going to take some time yet.

The last run of 2010

Day:        12
Distance: 6.86 km
Time:       36:46

New Year's Eve began with a short run using the Fartlek method. Fartlek may sound like a piece of Ikea furniture, but in actual fact it's a form of training which is similar to interval training in that slow jogging/running alternates with short fast runs. My training plan called for a 35 minute run consisting of 5 sets of 2 mins x 'easy' + 5 mins x 'fast'.

I don't look forward to these runs at all as the fartlek method is incredibly draining. The balance between slow and fast never seems particularly fair as I spend the 2 minutes of slow jogging both recovering and dreading the impending 5 minutes of fast running. That said, I do think that this method is very good for getting quicker and building up stamina so I reluctantly follow the training plan.

The interesting thing on these runs is that the 'fast' tempo gets progressively slower across the 5 sets. The contrast between the slow and fast runs is really pronounced first time round as I accelerate out of the initial 2 minutes to pound the pavements for 5 minutes. By the fifth set I'm not sure whether there's any discernible difference between the two tempos.

Aside from the fartlek method, the other crucial element in my marathon training is my running playlist which I've been compiling for some time now. As this was my first solo run for a little while it gave me a good opportunity to try out the new songs I've added to my running playlist. I'm pleased to report that both "Suffragette City" (David Bowie) and "Thou Shalt Always Kill" (Dan le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip) are both excellent additions. The playlist is now around 4.5 hours in length, which *should* be plenty for the actual day, but to be on the safe side I want to get up to 5 hours so I'll continue to hunt around for songs that will fire me up on the day.