Drawing it forward, pushing it back

Day:         67

Distance: 11km

Time:       59:21 secs

Calories:  843

The training plan is less specific than usual, my sole instruction: "60 mins fartlek". Not 2 mins easy 8 mins fast or anything like that, just 60 minutes of fartlek running. 

With this new found creative freedom I take the opportunity to create a new, less structured, fartlek playlist. It contains many of the usual suspects, but also gives me the chance to throw some different stuff into the mix. The first change in tempo comes around 5 mins into the run when Adele's heartbreakingly beautiful "Someone like you" segues into the Datsuns' pedal to the metal riffing monster "MF from hell". Such a juxtaposition has no right working, but it's fantastic for a run like this and I soon find myself tearing up the streets bellowing out the expletive strewn chorus. It's a good thing that no-one's around at this early hour of the day.

The whole point of fartlek (or, "speed play") is to alternate paces with periods of slow running augmented by bursts of speed. The playlist sees me swinging from slow acoustic numbers like "Don't leave" by Faithless and "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix into punky tunes like "I wish I was someone better" by Blood Red Shoes, "A whole Child Ago" by Biffy Clyro and "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. Good Lord, why have I never thought to add that last one to the actual running playlist? Not only is it a fantastic song, the 70s cop show spoof which accompanied the single release back in 1994 is one of the finest music videos ever made. Fact.

It's fair to say that this new playlist made for a most enjoyable run. While it probably wasn't as knackering as the more structured sessions I've been doing recently it still took it out of me and by the time the last slow song was rolling by I was about ready to stagger home. Until, that is, said slow song gave way for Funeral Party's fittingly titled "Finale". When the driving, insistent riff kicks in after 30 seconds my legs, energy levels and speed all pick up and the 60 minute run ends triumphantly.

But what of the actual run, I hear you say. Well, interestingly the Run Keeper stats for each of the 11 kilometres would suggest to a casual observer that this wasn't a fartlek run at all as they're remarkably constant (averaging 5:24 mins/km). Of course, these times mask the actual highs and lows so it's interesting to see that my slowest minute was jogged at 7:10 mins/km, while the fastest minute saw me propelled along, like a MF from hell, at just 3:49 mins/km. 

Looking for positives

Day:         59

Distance: 9.97km

Time:       53:19 secs

Calories:  767

Note to self: when the training plan suggests you take it easy after a long run at the weekend you should take it easy.

Following last night's AudioFuelled run, tonight was challenging. In my eagerness to try out the AudioFuel freebie last night I ended up covering 8.38km in about the same time that it took me to cover 7.48km the Monday before. Now I see the difference written down it really doesn't seem all that much, but this can be the only reason why I found tonight's run so difficult.

I started out with high hopes for this "60 mins fartlek" run following the successful pilot of my "Slow/fast" playlist last week. However, it never really felt as though I was able to speed up as much as I would like for the fast sections of this run. The only two fast songs that really seemed to pick me up this time round were "Wreckin ' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" and "White Riot" - but they both last for less than 2 minutes!

Although this was perhaps the least enjoyable of all the training runs I've been on so far there are definitely some positives to take out of it. 

Firstly, at least I went out and did it. There were points when I considered turning back, but I'm glad I pushed on. I didn't manage the full hour, but 53 mins isn't far off. 

Secondly, looking at the Run Keeper analysis I can see that, as so often happens, perception is different to reality. While it felt as if every kilometre was a struggle and as though I was wading through treacle at times I can see that despite the varied pace of a fartlek run only one of the kilometres averaged more than 5:30 mins/km. The fastest kilometre was covered in 4:39 and the slowest in 6:02. The average speed came out at 5:20 mins/km which, incidentally, is about the speed I need to be averaging if I'm to complete the London Marathon in my target time of 3:40.

Thirdly, well it would have been nice to have had three positives to take out of tonight's run but I'm afraid I've stretched it too far at this point. That said, tomorrow is designated as a rest day and after a run like this that is most definitely a positive.

Are you going backwards, or are you going forwards?

Day:         53

Distance: 8.31km

Time:       40:29 secs

Calories:  639

It's an early start (out the door at 6:20am) and the training plan has dictated a fartlek run consisting of "40 mins 2 mins easy 8 mins fast x 4". Given previous posts you could be forgiven for thinking that I'd be dreading this run and normally you'd be right, but last night I finally put together a fartlek playlist and I was looking forward to trying it out.

Compiling a playlist for a fartlek session is quite difficult as the majority of songs lasting for around 2 minutes in my itunes library are 200mph punk numbers. I have a pretty limited number of slow 2 minute long songs to choose from. The second problem is, essentially, the reverse of the first. There aren't a whole lot of fast songs which last for 8 minutes, so I'm left trying to beat match a number of fast songs so as to create a vaguely consistent tempo.

The first 10 minutes began with British Sea Power's slow-building opener "All in it", which lasts for 2:13 secs. This set me up perfectly for the 'slow' tempo start to the run before the Vaccines, Idlewild, The Ramones and The Rakes crashed the party and got me running at a 'fast' tempo for 8 minutes. Run Keeper underlines the effectiveness of this mix as I was running at 6:25 mins/km in the first minute, but when "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" by the Vaccines kicked in in the third minute I was propelled forward at 3:52 mins/km - a pretty impressive change in tempo. While the tempo wasn't constant for the entirety of this 'fast' section most of those eight minutes saw me record an average speed around or below 4:30 mins/km.

The second 10 minutes began with Mark Kozelek's cover of AC/DC's "Love at first feel". This acoustic beauty gave me 2:12 secs of respite before Blur's "We've got a file on you" informed me that it was time to pick up my pace. This was followed by "Oh Yeah" (The Subways), "22 Grand Job" (The Rakes) and "I wanna be sedated" (The Ramones). Again, the effectiveness of the music mix is clear to see as for the two minutes of 'slow' running I was averaging 6 mins/km. For the 8 minutes of 'fast' running that followed this I was able to maintain a pretty fast pace, although I can see that I definitely slowed down for the last couple of minutes (the last minute of this section took 5:41 mins/km).

Relief was on hand at the start of the third section as Michael Cera and Ellen Page (the stars of "Juno") serenaded me with a cover of the Moldy Peaches' "Anyone else but you". The 'fast' section was run to the sound of the View ("Wasted Little DJs") and Arcade Fire ("Month of May"). By this time it really felt as though I was running through treacle and the difference between the slow and fast tempos seemed, if not exactly non-existent, certainly less pronounced. So, I'm pleased to look at the stats on Run Keeper and see that there was still a clear difference between the two paces.

The final quarter began with Bill Withers singing "Ain't no sunshine". It's a good song to slow the pace down, but I hadn't realised how bloody repetitive it is. In one chorus (?) alone he repeats "I know" 26 times. Twenty six. I thought my ipod was skipping.

It was with some relief that the Libertines' "I get along" kicked off the final 'fast' section of the run. This was followed by "Readers and Writers" by Idlewild - which I've already mentioned on this blog as being a song that really helps to fire me up. This was trumped by the final song on the playlist, "White Riot" by the Clash - one of my all time favourite songs. As soon as that urgent two chord riff started up I felt completely re-energised and this is demonstrated by Run Keeper which shows that those last two minutes were conquered in 4:11 and 4:51 mins/km respectively.

So there we have it. Proof that a fartlek playlist can be done and can be very effective. I've got some more of these runs coming up in the next few weeks and now I've got this playlist sorted I may even look forward to them, more so when I've found a replacement for "Ain't no sunshine".

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.

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.