On the 4th August I’m going to be racing in the “Stockholm Ultra Marathon 100km” . If everything goes to plan over the next 10 weeks I will be targeting a race pace of around 6:30m/m. Allowing for a bit of slowing in the latter stages that should still get me in under the magical 7hr barrier…………. SIMPLES

Considering I haven’t actually run further than 50km in one go yet that’s a pretty bold (and pretty bloody stupid!) statement but hey, aim for the stars and you may just land on the moon.
I am under no illusion that my chances of managing a “sub 7″ on my debut  are not very high,  only 2 Brits have managed it this century (one of which just happens to be my club mate Jez Bragg!) and I followed closely as 3 athletes I have huge respect for, debuted  over the 100km distance with faster marathon PB’s than me and did not manage it at the Anglo-Celtic plate this year.

Even before the DNF at VLM, my plan was always to have a go and “dip my toe” into the world of proper ultra running this August assuming I recovered okay from the marathon. Obviously there was no marathon to recover from and I’ve had to have a good few weeks away from running to let the glute fully recover but the idea of doing something slightly different after the disappointment of London is now even more appealing.
I’m not going to post one of my normally quite detailed plans for this campaign as I think I’m going to have to be quite flexible as I see how my body reacts to the LONGER runs and “Back to Back” long runs but I have done my research and have a good idea in my head how the structure of the next 10 weeks will go.

So I guess the real question is….. why do I think I’m going to be any good at the 100km then – it’s a completely different ball-game to marathon running. Rightly or wrongly these are my thoughts.

• I’ve got “enough” speed over 26.2 to convert to a decent 100km time
• I can eat up the training miles without getting injured….. sometimes.
• I seem to get more competitive as the race distances get longer
• I’m willing to put in the time, dedication and commitment to train for a 100km
• I have an understanding and supportive wife

So that’s the plan then, nothing like telling the world to focus the mind………better get on with some training (and start blogging again!)

…. and if you want to see the course I will hopefully be cruising  around 12 times (its an 8km loop) then check out the video below.

Have to say I really appreciated all the “love” from my fellow runners as they passed me, quite a few of which obviously read my blog as they were aware of the glute situation and commiserated me on the situation…..very touching

So there it is, my first bad run at London. I’ll be back and even though I haven’t made use of it, my training this year has shown me that there is still some serious progression to come when I get some luck with it!

Right, I’m off to catch some club mates and friends at later points in the race and then to the pub, I don’t care if I haven’t earned it today – I think I might have to have one of the “Hamlet moments” in the pub…….. You know – the ones where it’s all gone to shit

I’ve decided based on this mornings jog that I’m going to run but with a very specific plan of dropping out at 6 miles (which is the first spectator point my wife Sarah will be) if I feel I’m doing any real damage to myself.
The glute itself is still not 100% but it feels good enough to run on but in the back of my mind I am reliving VLM2009 when I started the race with a hamstring issue and ended up finishing as a cripple. That year due to my stubbornness to finish I put myself on crutches for a number of weeks and to do that again would be unfair to Sarah. I must be prepared to make the difficult decision to stop if necessary.

Having said that, I’ve now got to focus on the race and stick to my original plan so time to get focused…….. See ya!!

I mentioned in Sunday’s blog I had a new niggle to add to the list with a right glute issue. At the time of writing the blog I wasn’t that concerned but a few hours later and I was actually struggling to walk! Glute problems have been the root cause of a number of my previous injuries and to be honest on Sunday night I thought that this might be a 2 week recovery job and a big fat DNS for Sunday.
The good news is things have improved considerably since then with plenty more sports massage and physiotherapy but to put things into perspective, my usual Wednesday night run in the final week should include 2 miles at MP and I didn’t feel comfortable accelerating to 5:15m/m so stopped short of the correct pace and the full 2 miles and jogged home!
Things are improving by the hour though so I’m still adamant that I’m going to make this start line and kick this marathons arse

One good reason for not DNS’ing is just think how stupid I’m going to feel if I don’t end up racing when I’ve already done this to my hair

Car-depletion went to plan with a final weigh in this morning of 10st 4 (2 pounds lighter than the same point before the 50k in October)

I’ll be following my standard carb loading routine for the next 3 days which basically involves eating around 700g of carbs a day from the following foods,

Porridge (Dorset Cereals Proper Raspberry)
Malt Loaf (Normal and Banana)
Bagels with Strawberry Jam (No spread)
Pasta or Rice Dish Evening Meal
PSP 22 (SIS Energy Drink)

…… and some “Sports Mix” sweets

Will be off up to the big smoke tomorrow and will be popping in at the Xempo Expo stand both on Friday (1pm) and Saturday around midday so feel free to come and have a chat and discuss taper worries with me!

Total mileage – 75.67 miles (6:18m/m)

So it may look like a standard taper week on the surface but this week has been a bit of struggle both mentally and physically!! I have tried to keep the fine balance between doing enough to give me the confidence that I am maintaining my fitness and good form but also keeping on top of my hamstring and calf issues.
With some constant ice/heat treatment through the week and the help of another sports massage from Eamonn and also a complete body alignment and tension release from my physio Tim Cruise-Drew I think I’ve managed it. When I started seeing Tim a couple of years ago he came very highly recommended being Liz Yelling’s physio and he doesn’t disappoint. Through knowing just about everything there is to know about sport physiotherapy he takes the guess work out of the equation and always gets to the root cause of the problem! ……… anyway – so back to the training.

Tuesday’s smaller BAC session was a 10min tempo / 8 x 2min session which started well with a strong 4:55m/m 10min effort but then as soon as I started the recovery jog before the 2min intervals I could feel the hamstring tighten up. Kept the pace in check for the shorter efforts and just made sure I didn’t push the hamstring too hard.
The only other planned session was meant to be a full on effort at the parkrun yesterday. Again it was all about seeing how the hamstring reacted so the plan was to start off at a good pace but ease into the run as long as I got no reaction. All went to plan and my splits got progressively faster for a respectable 15:11 (see link above for full details)
Today’s 13 mile progressive run was done around the same lake as the parkrun and the wind today was very strong! Felt sorry for all those doing Brighton as I’m sure they had similar conditions
Was reasonably happy with this mornings run although the effort levels were a little higher than expected probably mainly due to the wind.

So apart from a couple of slower paced efforts here and there I managed to stick to the plan and I’m out of the woods in terms of the hamstring and calf as they were both fine after this mornings run………. BUT – I’ve got a new niggle! Just when I thought I could have a stress free final week I have picked up some right glute ache which is requiring some roller massage, heat and ice – JOY!!

So to take my mind off my new glute niggle, I’ve been organising my carb depletion meals. Now the science may be bad, the science may be good but the fact is I have followed a depletion/load routine for my last 2 big races ( VLM12 and IAU 50K) and have felt great so it works well for me – placebo or not!
My standard routine now involves making Sunday night’s meal my last carb intake and then I start carb loading after my Thursday morning run.

Breakfast for the next 3 days will be this

which I will cook tonight and then heat in the micro each morning. It’s basically a big omelette baked in the oven!

Recipe here

Lunch will consist of M&S pre-cooked roast chicken (skin on), prawns and “fatty” dip and a green salad

Evening meals will be

Steak with “Avocado,Pine nuts and cheese salad”
Omlette with “Avocado,Pine nuts and cheese salad”
Mexican Tacos without the Taco Shells (Plate of mince,cheese,tomato.lettuce,creme-fraiche,salsa)

I’ll be reporting in mid week with an update on carb-loading and the all important photo of my racing hair cut/bleech

Total mileage – 104 miles (6:25m/m)

As mentioned in last weeks blog, I was going to react to the niggles this week and play it by ear. That meant starting the week off with a rest day as the calf gave me the impression it would appreciate it!

As this week was the 5th and final week in the big marathon specific block of training, again the focus was on my two keys runs on Wednesday night and this morning. I was a little nervous as to how the hamstring and calf would react to the big Wednesday session as it was the largest and hardest in the build up this year. I was also prepared to take it easy if necessary but fortunately everything felt okay and despite a rather strong easterly wind I was very happy with the end results. (Around 15.5 miles of efforts at an average pace of just under 5:10m/m – see above link for details)

Calf and hamstring were no worse on Thursday morning which was a good sign but the niggles were still lingering so went back for a further massage with Eamonn on Friday evening. Another unscheduled rest day Saturday as the calf was quite tender after the massage and I wanted to make sure it had settled down for this morning’s run which was obviously the main priority!

So the plan for this morning was around 18-19 miles with the Bournemouth Bay Half at target marathon pace (5:15m/m). It’s not the fastest of courses with a big hill early on and then you are at the mercy of the wind along the prom which takes up most of the course. Today there was a reasonably strong easterly wind which meant miles 3-8 were going to be the tough ones.

I was pleased that I was just about able to hit my target marathon pace even into the wind without having to give it “full beans”. Heart rate said it was below marathon pace effort but to be honest it felt a bit tougher although not as hard as a full on half marathon effort. Once we turned around at around mile 8 it was plain sailing with a comfortable tailwind ensuring the pace picked up while not having to go beyond my planned exertion levels

Enjoying the tailwind at 10 miles a little too much!! (Cheers Graeme for the photo)

Final results were 67:54 for 1st place. A tad faster than my planned halfway split for VLM so a great confidence boost as I felt very strong and in control at the end.

FULL RESULTS HERE

I could feel my hamstring tighten up again as the race progressed and the calf was fine during the race but I could noticeably feel it once I had stopped so not completely out of the woods yet on the niggle front but with the taper now starting hopefully they will both magically disappear

Really looking forward to cutting back now, it’s been a great block of training since the new year averaging 111 miles per week even with the scheduled cut-back weeks (1540 miles in total since Jan 1st)……….. bring on the taper!!

Total mileage – 140.05 miles (6:32m/m)

So my first “wobble” in this years VLM campaign on two fronts. A quick glance at the weeks training and you would probably think – another great week!! …… but although the mileage was bang on target again there were issues with my two speed sessions. Wednesday’s 4 x 18min session was not a complete disaster but it was plagued by stomach issues from the 2nd effort onwards with a couple of enforced pit stops which meant that I was never really on the pace I wanted apart from the 2nd effort. Not a big deal and easily explained due to a change in my lunch routine. I still managed to average target marathon pace for the 72min of effort so still worthwhile.
My other planned speed session for the week was yesterdays “Rotary Quarter Marathon” which is a local race down on the seafront. As you can probably guess by the title of this weeks weekly summary….. it was a DNS for me.
I have had a couple of niggles this week, a tense right calf and a tight left hamstring. By Friday the calf had moved from the “aware of it but not worried” status to the “starting to worry a little about this one” status!
My good friend and sports masseur, local cycling “legend” Eamonn Deane (http://www.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk) came to my rescue and sacrificed some of his easter weekend to sort out my calf and give the hamstring a bit of a stretch as well.
Felt a lot happier with both niggles after my Friday evening steady run and so the plan was to do the race Saturday but just take it nice and steady. Did a big warm up, got to the race start , paid my £10 entry fee , pinned my number to my vest and then decided to do a couple more extra warm-up miles. One mile into this and my hamstring started to tighten up again, I did some strides to see how it felt and was just about to head back to the start line when…………

I TURNED AROUND AND WENT HOME

An obvious decision  to anyone reading this blog and also to me in hindsight but at the time it was quite a big thing for me….. the moment I did it I realised what a sensible move it was and smugly jogged home

The plan for today’s Purbeck run was just to play it by ear and react to the niggles. I felt comfortable putting in a steady effort in the 2nd half and felt very strong ticking over under 6m/m pace but no heroics to protect the legs. Both hamstring and calf felt better after the 23 miles than before which is a good sign.

The plan for next week is to be completely flexible, no mileage goals , no excessive pace in the sessions unless the niggles are 100% good…..all about making the start line now.

……. and in other news – listen to this weeks marathon talk to hear me chatting on this weeks “training talk” section

http://www.marathontalk.com/podcast/episode_168_sophie_raworth.php

Total mileage – 89.42 miles (6:08m/m)

So even though this week was a mileage cutback week I wanted to make sure I still got in my two key runs on Wednesday and Sunday. The trouble with that was with a big session on Wednesday, a marathon today and a couple of 4 mile jogs on each of those days – I wasn’t left with many miles to play with if I wanted to stay under 90 miles for the week! Just about managed it with no other runs during the week over 8 miles…… very odd!
Wednesday’s club run was a marathon pace “sandwich” interval session which now always has an important part to play in my marathon build up ever since it was introduced to me by Liz Yelling a few years ago. It took the format of 25min / 4 x 5min / 25min with the 25min efforts around marathon pace and the intervals at threshold effort. I had already decided that as this was my one big run on the week I would try and do the longer efforts slightly faster than MP and was pleased that I managed to hit both at 5:05m/m. The 5min intervals all came in at low 4:5x pace so very pleased with the combined effort totalling almost 14 miles of speed work at just over 5m/m pace average. In 2 weeks time I have the same session again but with 30min efforts instead of 25 and that will be my last big session…… something to look forward to

This morning’s run is also now a tradition in my marathon build up and consists of 26 laps of a marked mile grass loop around a local leisure centre. I normally do it 5 weeks out from VLM but due to the timings of the 20 mile races I wanted to do this year, it had to be scheduled 4 weeks out instead.
The original plan when I put it together back in December was to run at MP+45s pace which would be around 6m/m but with my fitness and weight where it is at the moment (pretty much at race weight already) I was thinking before the run that I would be looking for more like 5:50m/m as a good effort without pushing myself too hard. Would also base that pace on the marked loop rather than the Garmin as the Garmin tends to get a bit generous with all the tight corners on the loop.
Conditions were not great this morning with a bit of a breeze and a very soggy grass field with some muddy patches but compared to what the rest of the country is having to deal with a the moment I was quite grateful!
Set off and before long I was locked into a pace around 5:4x which felt about the effort I wanted. Assumed with the normal generous Garmin reading on this loop that it would be about 5:50 “real” pace but turned out the Garmin was actually pretty accurate this time so I ended up running a “real” 5:46m/m average (2:31:10 marathon). Felt pretty strong the whole way although past about 20 miles the muddy patches were taking their toll on the tired legs! Heart rate was a little odd because after it had warmed up and started giving accurate readings (after 3 miles) it turned out it was actually quite high at around 150bpm (marathon race HR around 165) where as I was actually looking to run the first half in the low 140′s. However – as the run progressed it actually settled back down to around 145bpm which is where it sat all the way to the end with no drift which was pleasing.

So now time to up the mileage one final time with 2 more bigger weeks before the taper, less than a month to go…….. this shit is getting real

Total mileage – 140.59 miles (6:25m/m)

Don’t worry, you haven’t accidentally clicked on last weeks summary….. there are a few differences honest. ( a few good ones!)
Joking aside, the plan for this week was always to basically copy last weeks structure with similar mileage, a monster session on Wednesday and a 20 mile race today.

I was concerned after last weeks Mad March 20 that I may have overcooked it (even though effort levels said I hadn’t) and was worried that it might impact my Wednesday session but after 2 easy days running on Monday and Tuesday I was relieved to find the legs were well up for the 4 x 15min efforts.
The target pace for these intervals was between marathon and half marathon pace so I would have been happy to hit anywhere in the 5:05-5:10m/m range. Was surprised and pleased to find after a 5:05m/m first effort I was then able to gradually pick it up over the next 3 and finished the last one at bang on 5:00m/m pace and 3 miles clocked up for the 15min. More than happy with that! (See above link for full details)
Nothing exciting going on Thursday – Saturday as I recovered from the session although again like last week, legs felt recovered enough on Friday evening for me to get a nice steady pace going without too much effort.

Today’s plan in the Finchley 20 was slightly different to last weeks Mad March. Rather than a continuous pace for the whole 20 miles, I wanted to run the first 5 steady followed by 15 miles at target marathon pace. The course was well suited to this as it is a 4 lap race on a “rolling” course which should be reasonably even paced and also meant I could “turn on the gas” after lap 1
Target pace’s I had in mind were around 5:50m/m for the first lap and then 5:15m/m for the final 3 laps.
I was aware at the start that Ben Fish and Phil Wicks would be lining up and so that basically took racing for the win out of my hands which was a good thing as it meant I wouldn’t be tempted to deviate from the plan!
As expected, Ben and Phil shot off and I started clicking off the steady miles in around 10th place. As the lap progressed I was already gradually picking off a few people as I clocked up some consistent 5:45 miles. As we neared the end of the first lap I was in 6th with just 3 guys close in front and then Ben and Phil way up ahead (a good 3-4mins after the first lap apparently)
I upped the effort at the start of lap 2 and it wasn’t long before I moved into 3rd which is where I would stay for the rest of the race for a solo 15 miles. There was a breeze and some rain at times but conditions were not too bad and I found myself clocking up miles just under 5:10 pace most of the time. Faster than expected again but it felt right so went with it. Even with the rolling course my mile splits were pretty consistent and it was only miles 18 & 19 that dipped the wrong side of 5:10 pace. (Wind had picked up a little along with the rain and the “lumpy bits” were now taking their toll on the legs!)
Finished in almost 1:46 dead just under 2 min behind the leaders (Ben took the win) which is over a minute faster than last weeks effort which was an easier course and no steady start…… very pleasing progress especially seeing as this concludes a 280 mile fortnight.
Full results HERE
Really pleased with my current form and I think it has a lot to do with the fact I have already made it down to race weight (See VLM13 training tab for full details). Normally I’m still trying to lose weight the week before the marathon where as I’m pretty much there now with still a month to go.

I now have my scheduled mileage cut back week with a total of around 80 planned for the next 7 days. Hopefully once again this will give the legs time for recovery and training adaption again!

Total mileage – 140.33 miles (6:37m/m)

Big miles this week but as planned, only 2 runs which had any requirements in terms of pace and effort which were Wednesday evenings club marathon session and the Mad March 20 today. All the other runs were an easy effort and most of them were at a very easy pace as I allowed my legs to recover from Bath last Sunday and the big Wednesday session.
The mid week club session was the first of the planned 5 weeks worth of long interval sessions with a 24min/18min/12min/6min/3min set. Was very pleased with the results as I planned to start at marathon pace for the 24min effort and then get gradually faster. First effort was a little faster than target MP coming in at 5:13m/m but I was still able to make each effort faster. Total distance covered during the intervals was 12.34 miles with an average pace of 5:06m/m……. almost as far and as fast as my efforts at the Bath Half last Sunday! (See link above for full details of session)
More easy running through to Saturday morning when I had to put in a little more effort than planned as I was helping out at a “Steve Cram Marathon Workshop” event in the New Forest and my job was to sit at the front of the Fartlek session in the forest blowing a whistle to signify the start and finish of the efforts All good fun but I was aware that I needed to keep “a lid on it” as I had a big session planned in this mornings Mad March 20.

The plan for this morning was to run the whole race at a consistent target MP +15s so about 5:30m/m. I was half expecting to have to adjust this pace based on the predicted winds but even though it was quite windy, it was not actually as bad as I expected.
My hopes were that I would be able to achieve my target pace of 5:30m/m at an effort level of around 150bpm and so I was surprised that when I started to run at my scheduled effort levels it was getting me closer to 5:20m/m.
Had some small “arguments” in my head whether I needed to slow down or not as I am always very contious of not hitting a 20 miler too hard in the build up as it can seriously impact the next weeks training but in the end I decided to stick to my planned effort levels and let the time do it’s thing!
Ended up with a very consistent run finishing strongly in 1:47:09, a good couple of minutes faster than I expected. We shall see in next Wednesday’s session if it was a good idea or not!
My usual praise has to go to the guys at Zoom Tri who organise this event. Can never fault their organisation and they always have the friendliest marshals you will ever come across Thanks again guys.

Full RESULTS now available HERE