Week 3 - A Speedy Week!

Week Commencing 19th January

Jan 25th, 2015  /  Week 3/ 13 weeks to go

That's week 3 out of the way. Been a bit of an up and down week morale wise. On writing this I've not long been in from a good 15 mile run and finished week 3 on 45 mile so happy at the moment with the training. Kicked off this week with the usual Monday night recovery run. This time running down McMullen Road and back instead of my usual route to Sadberge. Was another cold and damp one. Tuesday, Speed day was another track session which was a simple but effective 4 x 1600m intervals with a 400m rolling recovery. Tough session. Ran the reps at a controlled 10k paced effort but was hard graft. Wednesday I wanted to run somewhere different so ran towards Aycliffe and back on the A167. I honestly thought this would cover more miles but was only 2.9 mile from my house so I had to make up some mileage when I got back into Darlington. It must of been one of the most soul destroying runs in my life. When I got back into Darlington and I needed another just over 2 mile covering I was just going to jack it in. Felt like shit though and running on your own on these dark winter nights does get hard. Thursday, another speed session! I ditched to planned progressive speed session and join some harriers on the track for a 600/400m speed session. That was great and I found myself highly motivated for this. Was also nice to meet some new runners too. We ran 4 sets of 600/400 which was harder than it sounds. Really got tough on the last two but Peter kept me right with his "controlled" efforts. Really enjoyed that one though. Friday rest day. Saturday morning I found myself down the South Park running the parkrun. Originally was just going to marathon pace this but once I got going I put the effort in finishing 18th with a 19:59 time just scraping sub 20. Admittedly the wheels fell off on the final lap (last mile) but hung in there with Dave and Justin. Was content with the time. Still a long way off to where I was and need to be but on the positive its the first time I've been under 20 minutes since last June. Ideally I'd like to get back down to early 19's in the next 12 weeks. Maybe a trip to Albert Park is on the cards. Sunday I ran a good 15 miler with a mixture of Harriers and Quakers. Nice run up to Walworth Gate then back down to Piercebridge and back into Darlington. Comfortable run out just a tad tired at the end. Was nice to be running in milder conditions too. I am running these long runs on only a coffee to teach my body to become better fat adapted come marathon day. After the run I got a good breakfast in me then went into town with the family and got a nice latte from Starbucks :-)

Only lost a mere half a pound this week on the weigh in but a loss is a loss and to be honest not the best week nutrition wise. Still plenty of tweaks to be made. This week I am concentrating on improving my lunch. More chicken and salad! Still no booze since Christmas so that's over 4 weeks now dry and still no takeaways since the new year. Despite only losing that half a pound I'm still ahead of my target with a total loss now of 5.5lbs in 3 weeks.

Monday - 5 mile recovery @ 8:08 pace

Tuesday - Speed - 4 x 1600m intervals on track targeting 10k pace. 8 mile covered

Wednesday - 8 mile steady @ 8:04 pace

Thursday - Speed - 4 sets of 600/400m intervals on track. 5.1 mile covered

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Darlington South Park parkrun - Finished 18th in 19:59 @ 6:29 pace

Sunday - 15 mile long run @ 7:41 pace

This weeks weigh in : 179 Lbs (Starting weight 184.5 Lbs/Target weight 160 Lbs)
Total loss: 5.5lbs

Weekly mileage - 45.1

Week conclusion

Been a decent week. 13 weeks to go! An increase on my weekly mileage once again. The miles are building up nicely. Next week I expect to run around 49 mile. Its the end of week 4 last year I got injured but I'm feeling strong at the moment so I'm not going to do anything daft.

Build up races planned

• Great North West Marathon
• Albert Park parkrun 5k 
• Trimpell 20 (Marathon pace)

Week 2, A week of all weathers!

Week Commencing 12th January

Jan 18th, 2015  /  Week 2/ 14 weeks to go

That's week 2 complete of marathon training. Its been a bit of a stormy week of all weathers. I've ran in snow, ice, wind, rain, sleet and a little bit of sunshine. At the time of writing this I've just got in from a 14 mile long run with Keedy. A good run out in the snow to Houghton Le Side and back. When we first set off it was bitterly cold after a hard frost though the night to put the layers on today. Within minutes into the run the snow started coming down. I like this out and back route as the majority of it is all uphill for the first half to it makes you work hard. I managed to pick up the pace a little coming back.
So 2 weeks in and 40.8 mile ran this week. Miles going up slowly. Last thing I want is a repeat of last year. Its been a very hard week but I'm starting to feel my fitness levels return. I've lost 2 lbs this week which keeps me well on par for my target loss. 5 Lbs lost in total now. I expected the first 2 weeks to be fairly easy. It will get harder now and will just be case of knocking chips off. Still plenty of tweaks to do with my nutrition though. The most important thing for me that's made an impact is no booze and takeaways for a while. In fact I've not drank since Christmas Day making that 3 and half weeks with no booze. Not had a takeaway since New Years Day either which is brilliant for me. I do love my takeaways especially after a long run on a Sunday but planning ahead with meals now to stop any temptation. I've cut right down on the chocolate but I won't cut this out completely. You do need a treat now and again. But must stay focussed as there is a long way to go yet with the training and weight loss.
Back onto this week, kicked things off with the usual Monday evening recovery run. Tuesday was speed which consisted 16 x 200m reps over the track. Reps nice and controlled at 40-45 seconds but was made difficult towards the end when the wind and snow picked up. Wednesday I ran a 7 mile medium long run. The wind was up and it was very cold. Had the wind blowing rain and sleet in my face for some of it, was awful! Was glad to get that one out of the way. Thursday was a marathon scheduled "marathon paced" run. Again the wind ruined this. Set off out ok but coming back from Sadberge trying for sub 7 minute pace against gale force winds it just wasn't happening! The effort was there though and I got out that's the main thing. Rest night Friday. Saturday I was joined by Keedy for a progressive paced run. Felt great on this run. Weather I was starting to feel fit again, I ran on strong coffee, it was running during daylight? I don;t know but I felt great. I was running into the 6:30's by the end of the run so was pleased. Keedy had a good one as well hanging in there not far behind. Then onto today's 14 mile which I've already mentioned. So all in all a good week, just hard wacking out these sessions on the cold horrible dark nights. Next week

Monday - 5 mile recovery @ 8:06 pace

Tuesday - Speed - 16 x 200m intervals on track targeting around 45 seconds. 4.7 mile covered

Wednesday - 7 mile steady @ 8:06 pace

Thursday - 5 mile with 3 mile @ attempted MP (6:56-7:32)

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Progressive pace run starting @ 7:52 working down to 6:35 pace

Sunday - 14 mile long run @ 7:59 pace

This weeks weigh in : 179.5 Lbs (Starting weight 184.5 Lbs/Target weight 160 Lbs)

Lost so far since 3rd January: 5 lbs 

Weekly mileage - 40.8

Week conclusion

So all in all a good week, just hard wacking out these sessions on the cold horrible dark nights. I've lost 2lbs putting me ahead of my 1.5 weekly target loss. Starting to feel slightly better fitness wise. No where near race fit yet mind. Next week will see me run around 46 mile. weather forecast at time of writing this its set to be a very cold one to more cold dark nights to come. 


Why I didn't run the Brass Monkey?
For one I did not make the effort in scrapping over a place at 6am on the morning when entries first went onsale. I know some had a smooth transaction but there again some lost out. So my own doing there. I have been offered a place but had a think and I'm no where near in race shape yet. I also feel its too early in the marathon training to be "racing" just yet. I ran this last year and this was the race where I torn my calf. Attempting the race at marathon pace on the back end of a very high miles week. I paid the price.

The 16 week road to London starts now!!!

Week Commencing 5th January

Jan 11th, 2015  /  Week 1/ 15 weeks to go

Well that's my first week of London Marathon training done and dusted. Been a bit of an up and down week. A long tiring week at work. Weather that's the start of rise in frequency of running or just me not getting enough sleep who knows?? Monday kicked off with the 5 mile recovery run which I will do every Monday night after work. Highly motivated that I was running my first training run over the 16 week period. I'm thinking while I'm running that wow thats a long time. But me training for my 8th marathon I know just how fast this goes once you get the first few weeks out of the way. Felt a little sluggish on the recovery run. Tuesday I headed over the track on my own to wack out some 800m intervals with 3 minute rep targets. Tuesday will be speed all the way through the training period. Admittedly this was hard graft. I was failing to reach 3 minutes but didn't want to give it rock all as that was not the point of the session. So just dug in, was very cold too with the track being slippery on some parts. Finished session satisfied. Wednesday is going to be the "medium long run" night. Anything between 8-13 mile typically around 7:30-8:00 pace but this week starting off at just 6 mile. Again felt a bit on the sluggish side. Thursday will be tempo and marathon paced stuff. This week a mere 5 mile with 3 mile at MP which will be around 6:50-7:00 ish. Found it hard hard. Felt more like tempo effort but felt better on the last mile of this! Had Keedy out with me and gave him a slight head start on this so felt a little more up for it using him as the rabbit. Pleasing session as managed to do 3 marathon paced miles (6:54, 6:54, 6:47). Friday will be rest day every week. Really nice getting in from work and just be able to chill so had a pretty much lazy evening. I was thinking of doing parkrun Saturday morning up opted for a lie in with me doing with evening race over Carlton Bank.

Monday - 5 mile recovery @ 7:59 pace

Tuesday - Speed - 5 x 800m intervals on track targeting 3 minutes. 5 mile covered

Wednesday - 6 mile steady @ 7:43 pace

Thursday - 5 mile with 3 mile @ MP (6:50's)

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Hardmoors "Three Sisters" night race (6.8 mile) - 1:37 Garmin watch time

Sunday - 9.6 mile steady @ 8:10 pace

This weeks weigh in : 181.5 Lbs (Starting weight 184.5 Lbs/Target weight 160 Lbs)

Weekly mileage - 37.4


Week conclusion

Been a decent week on the whole. 15 weeks to go! An increase on my weekly mileage and frequency. All about building it up now slowly and steadily. Last thing I want is a repeat of last year. I've also got off to a good start with my weight loss. I have set myself an overall 24lb target to reach for race day which will average out 1.5 lbs a week over the training period. Which is doable to me. With 3 lbs lost this week I'm pleased. First week or two though I'm expecting to be easier. So off to a head start with that. Eating a lot better. Reducing carbs but not cutting out completely and increasing fat intake. At time of writing this feeling shattered. Running just short of 10 mile on top of the night race last night has taken its toll so a chilled day planned with a very easy recovery run tomorrow evening. Just shifted an old crt tv to the tip so my back has had a good workout too! Next week I'm expecting around 41 mile so another slight increase. I've got some planned build up races too which I will be entering next week.

Keedy, Scouse Dynamo Michael King & myself at the Hardmoors night race last night

Build up races planned

• Great North West Marathon
• Locke Park 20 (Possibly as a training run)
• Trimpell 20 (Marathon pace)

Garmin Connect - Profile Information for DarloRunner

Garmin Connect - Profile Information for DarloRunner

Pre Marathon Training Update

Marathon training starts tomorrow!

Virgin Money London Marathon 2015 - The Magic Sub 3 #vmlm2015 #vlm2015 #vlm #sub3

The final straight along The Mall

The long story starts here. In December 2012 I entered the 2013 Marathon of the North with a sub 3 hour target. On Monday 7th January last year I started  a 16 week sub 3 hour specific training schedule. The training would consist of the usual marathon training structure I have followed in previous years which has never failed me for me to obtain my targets. Just more intensity and mileage this time round. In my opinion I ran a good 16 weeks of training. I went into this race strong, fit and in good shape to attempt the sub 3. Race day came and the conditions were far from ideal in Sunderland to run a fast marathon but this did not stop me attempting it. A very blustery and overcast morning greeted me on the start line. The course was also not ideal for a fast time with some cheeky undulations, plenty of twists and some council estates! More about this race in my race reviews section. Anyway, the moral of the story is I failed to finish in under 3 hours. Marathon of the North was completed in 3 hours & 3 minutes (03:03:29). Naturally disappointed of course but relieved to have ran a PB and given the conditions that day I was pleased to have ran 03:03. I know its easy me saying this now as I am typing this but had the weather conditions been perfect and a faster course I honestly believe I was in good enough shape to run under 3 hours that day but I never so the challenge goes on. Just to add to that disappointment, days later it was announced the Marathon of the North course was found to be 264 metres short therefore the time could not be officially used as a PB nor a best known performance for my 'Power of 10' profile. The time sits on there but simply down as a SHORTMar meaning "Short Marathon".  At the time all I could think was 16 weeks of training for ***k all!

Marathon of The North

4 weeks later was the Edinburgh Marathon. I had entered this as a back up and had this silly idea in my head that maybe I could reattempt the sub 3. I had 4 weeks to recover from Marathon of the North and with Edinburgh being a fast course surely this was possible? Well I was to find this out the hard way. Felt great on the day. Conditions were a little muggy but nothing like previous years where there has been heatwaves experienced on race day. Set off at marathon pace for around 3 hours and I was absolutely hanging at the halfway point. At this point the demons inside my head took over. I knew it was not going to happen and I knew a friend (Paul Keedy) was gunning for sub 4 so at mile 15 I decided to start walking. I was not injured like the majority of runners that past me thought I was. I just wanted Paul to catch me up so I could accompany him in for his sub 4 which he easily achieved. Again on finishing this I was disappointed. I met back up with Charlotte at the reunion area and word was round that I was struggling on this race. I remember thinking what I was going to post on Facebook to let friends and family know how I got on. I was hesitating but I am not one for just "sing when you win" type of thing. I remember a lot of kind comments coming in particulary for assisting Paul in. But the bigger picture for me still for the failed sub 3 attempt.

Thankfully weeks later I found out that my time gained at Marathon of the North still stood for a qualifying "Good For Age" time for the 2014 London Marathon. So this would be my next planned attack on the sub 3 target. So the time came round once again. On the 23rd December I started my 16 week marathon training for London. Being just after the Christmas parties, bang on Christmas and just before the new year the training got off to a cagey start but once new year has past it was full stream ahead with the training.

Then week 4 into the training disaster struck. After running a 6 mile warm up I attempted to marathon pace the Brass Monkey half marathon at marathon pace but within a couple of mile into that I felt my calf pop whilst springing off the road onto a kirb to overtake some runners. At this time the pain was only mild so I carried on but by mile 7 I had to retire and resorted to the run/walk strategy. Gutted but accepted that this was early on in the training with plenty of time to get sorted. So had a full week off running and came back the next Monday with a light treadmill run to test and all was ok. But by week 13 it caught up with me. The endless miles of marathon training had took its toll and I was out of action again. Made the hard decision to withdrawn for the marathon and defer until the following year, this April. 

So that brings me back to why I am writing this article in the first place. The big picture and my main aim for 2015 will be to smash the London Marathon. The Gold target will of course be the magic sub 3 but an absolute must will be a new personal best time so will need to sub 3:11. So for now I am going to work towards that. I now have a plan set in place with the usual structure of marathon training. The long run, speed work, tempo & marathon paced runs, medium long runs and more important recovery runs. I need to make it on the start line this year. London Marathon only allow you to defer once so I guess I should be saying my main aim should be to make that start line injury free and ready to go!

Update From Last Year: Week Commencing 5th May 2014

Week Commencing 5th May

May 14, 2014  /  Mark Robinson

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 4.73 mile Club Session 5 x 800m reps

Wednesday - 5.74 mile @ Carlton Challenge Fell Race inc warm up

Thursday - Rest

Friday - 5 mile recovery @ 8:14 pace

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - 14 mile long run @ 8:36 pace

Me & a few Quakers at Carlton Challenge fell race

Update From Last Year: Week Commencing 28th April

Week Commencing 28th April

May 06, 2014  /  Mark Robinson

Bit of a pleasing week this week. Managed to hit 30+ miles. Not done that in 7 weeks. I was set a target of getting back up to 30 miles during injury rehab periodisation by the 5th of May. Its not been easy though. Still get niggley on warm ups. On Wednesday I decided to back down from an all out 5k as felt a little niggley and sluggish on warm up. Plus the wind was howling! However ran with Gary and managed to help him power out a 5k pb. So Thursday I felt quite fresh for the 400m reps which I felt good wacking out. Saturday a very slighter than last time parkrun. Ran on just a few hours kip and beer I'll take it as a positive run. A very comfortable steady 10 miler to cap off the week. Feel like I've made a little progress this week. Next week I hit the fells for the first time in ages! Looking forward to testing the new trials.

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 7.3 mile steady @ 7:53 pace

Wednesday - Spring Coast 5k - 3.13 mile @ 6:40 pace with 1.8 mile warm up

Thursday - 4.17 mile (6 x 400m intervals @ club session)

Friday - Rest

Saturday - South Park parkrun - 3.1 mile @ 6:23 pace (19:46) with 1.99 mile warm up & cooldown

Sunday - 10 mile steady @ 7:59 pace

Weekly mileage - 31.5

Spring Coast 5k (20:53)

Post Injury Update: Week Commencing 21st April

Week Commencing 21st April

April 27, 2014  /  Mark Robinson

Been a bit of a strange week. Very low mileage but high intensity the running that I have actually done. Also had man flu so the running I have done has probably not been intense as I think. But I have ran THREE races this week! Onto this week I was glad to get into some sort of routine as being off for 10 days previous just put everything out of pot. Things such as eating, sleeping, being off work does have an affect on my running. Not being negative but I do find it a lot easier to be on the straight band wagon when I am more active and in normal work day routine. Monday I chanced the track session. Was a good session. Powered out some 400m reps on the morning over Eastbourne track. Then Tuesday it was back to work. From here onwards I have been knackered going back to work with long busy days and had man flu so Tuesday was a definite rest day. Also rested as I was running the Sedgefield Neptune relaysthe following day at Hardwick Park. Onto that, I ran just a mere 1.7 mile leg as part of a 4 man team and it was HARD! By hard I mean very intense and tough on the chest and lungs. I probably should not of ran it but it was only 1.7 mile and I thought I would survive. Thoroughly enjoyed the event though and was pleased to come in at under 10 minutes. Great friendly event which I will happily do again. Later that evening I planned to enter the Fountains 10k but word had it that it was full so bang went that idea. Fox & Hound fell race it was! Thursday a very tiring day at work again. Purchased my new trials but they look so nice and colourful I don't want to get them muddy. That evening I ran the first of the summer Tees 5k trial series at Wynyard Woodland Park.Again thoroughly enjoyed this one. Such a friendly event with no competitive edge to it. Just a good hard run out on the trials. Fairly decent course with only mild undulations except the "steps" that a lot of runners were talking about before the race. Will do a race review on this one. One to recommend anyway. On the way home I received an email from the organisers of the Fountains 10k that there was a few duplicate entries so a race number was allocated to me so I opted for the shorter distanced 10k race. Core work and some stretching Friday night. After a long week at work and 2 races in my legs I rested Friday and Saturday from running. Onto the Fountains 10k race itself . A nice and undulating race with some naughty sections underfoot on the moor. Will do a race review on this later. Felt fairly tired on this one and slightly disappointed with my 44 minute finish time but I've ran 3 races this week so just thankful I am running these injury free. Just need to really knuckle down over the summer now and work on getting these times down. Now that I am back to a routine this week the eating and sleeping part is easier.

Monday - 4.15 mile inc warm up & cool down 400m intervals x 6

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday - 3.28 mile @ Sedgefield Neptune Relays (1.59 mile @ 6:11 pace)

Thursday - 3.43 mile @ Summer Tees 5k Trial Series Wynyard Woodland Park(Provisional time 20:30 @ 6:46 pace

Friday - Core work and stretching

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - Fountains 10k - 44:05 (6.11 mile @ 7:13 pace)

Weekly Mileage  - 17 Mile

Fountains 10k - 44:05

Another post injury update from last year

Week Commencing 14th April 2014

April 20, 2014  /  Mark Robinson

Me, Paul, Mark & Daz starting our Osmotherley to Clay Bank run

Been a very relaxed week this week lifestyle wise. I have had the week off work. I had this week booked off for a post VLM recovery week but still utilized this week with some good family time. I'm still working towards getting to 30 mile for my weekly mileage. I started the week with a QRC 200m shuttle rep interval session over Eastbourne Sports Complex. Took the reps really light though as I don't yet feel confident do be doing any fast sprinting. Ran 1 or 2 at a moderate effort but ran the rest easy. With Mermaid 10k in mind for Friday I opted for an 8 mile steady on Wednesday. Felt tired still as also had a 4.5 walk with the family earlier that day. Ran the Mermaid 10k on Friday in a time of 41:44. Not the best of times for me but that's a benchmark I will be working on over the course of this summer now. More on Mermaid 10k can be found on my race report page here. A little demoralising to run over 3 minutes slower than last year but to be fair I was injury free then and in a lot better shape going into Marathon of the North. Moving onto Sunday, ran a great trail/fell terrain steady 9 miler with Paul, Mark and Daz running from Osmotherley to Clay Bank. A lot more of this to come over this year!

Monday - 3.65 mile @ 200m track session

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday - AM - 4.5 mile trail walk @ Hamsterley Forest/PM - 8 mile steady @ 8:30 pace

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Mermaid 10k in 41:44 @ 6:38 pace

Saturday - Rest & slightly hungover!

Sunday - 8.90 mile steady trail run Osmotherley to Clay Bank @ 11:02 pace

Weekly Mileage : 26.8 mile

Pleased with this weeks training. Been a little out of routine with me being off work but still working towards 30 mile. Falling just shy of 27 mile I'm very steadily getting back there. Next week back to normal daily routine. Going to try and get my nutrition back on track. Cutting back on the caffeine intake too next week!

Another post injury update from last year

Week commencing 7th April

April 13, 2014  /  Mark Robinson

A quiet week planned running wise. Almost feels like I'm part of the London marathon taper. Still not 100% recovered from this injury and I think it's going to take time. Longer than I thought but as long as I am running that's the main thing. Just want to work on getting some fitness back with some easy running. As much as I was tempted for the 200m reps and Indian File speed work Sessions this week with the club I think it would be unrealistic for me to be firing out some sharp reps. Now back on the foam roller this week with the calf. Still stretching daily with some self massaging and calf raises to re strengthen calf.

Monday 7th April - Rest. Opted to rest with calf feeling tight and slightly niggley. But for the time being I don't intend on running much on a Monday apart from a Quakers track session maybe. 

Tuesday 8th April - 6 mile steady with Paul. Very slow to start as I had a bad feeling I would need to turn back. Again running form feels all to pot. Feels like using my left leg a lot more to prevent me pushing off my right calf. Once warmed up legs felt fine just very sluggish in myself. Achy quads later that same evening. 

Wednesday 9th April - Rest

Thursday 10th April - 4.97 mile steady run with intermediate group at running club @ 9:44 pace.

Friday 11th April - Rest

Saturday 12th April - 3.98 mile (Inc warm up) @ parkrun - Ran my 46th parkrun at Darlington South Park. Not a bad run. Finished 19:47 and finished 10th. Really felt it on the last lap though. Main thing is though calf felt ok. Just feel like I've lost my speed.

Sunday 13th April - 8 mile steady run @ 8:24 pace

Weekly Mileage: 23 mile

Not a bad week. On writing this today I am now niggle free when running where at the start of the weekend things were looking a little sketchy! Michael has issued me with some aims and targets with some A races and weekly mileage to attain throughout this year. More on this next week but for now just slowly building my mileage back up to around 30 miles a week and get some sharpness back in the legs. Next week Mermaid 10k!

Another post from last year: The Road to Recovery

The Road to Recovery

April 06, 2014  /  Mark Robinson

For the first few days from injury I done nothing other than foam rolling and stretching my piriformis and hamstrings as instructed by the physio. The idea for this was just to get some movement from the core going again. Working more on the tender area of the glutes which can be felt if hitting the right spot. Days later I introduced light calf stretching. Pain free but the injured area was very tight. The stretching was needed to iron out any knots or scaring in the muscle as it was healing.

Thursday 27th March - This was my first bit of exercise in a week. Also my seventh day of no running. Starting to get itchy feet now. In another way though it's been nice getting in from work without having to worry about the usual midweek 10 miler or a speed session. So with no niggle or pain on my calf I decided to venture out on the bike. Nothing too intense. Just a gentle ride out. Michael asked me to accompany him round his 1 mile rep session so I biked to his, powered round the reps then back home again getting me 14 mile in. To be honest I didn't feel very worked but I kept the cycling intensity gentle and made sure I remained mostly on the seat so my quads and hamstrings done most of the work. Anyway got through this pain free which was the main thing.

Saturday 29th March - Set off out on the bike with the intentions of going out for at least an hour or so. Within 4 minutes I was back in the house. My arse was killing my from my previous cycle out and I just wasn't motivated at all. Cycling just isn't for me. Yeah its ok for a ride out with someone, or assist someone on their running but as for cross training or a main sport. No thanks!

Sunday 30th March - Not only did British Summertime begin but I also started to do calf strengthen exercises. Starting with 10 x 2 sets of seated raises. This felt quite easy so done the calf raises off a step with caution.

Monday 31st March - Started to self massage my calf to help with blood flow to the healing muscles. Still doing daily foam rolling along with the daily calf stretching.

Thursday 3rd April - After a few more days of the usual stretching and foam rolling 2 weeks was up. The minimum time had been taken out and I was still niggle free so I decided enough was enough and braved the Quakers Running Club 5k time trial session. Was actually a little nervous getting out again incase the worse happened. The session was at the South Park so I knew I could get a very slow warm up in prior to starting it. Felt strange to get going again a good bit of banter with some fellow runners on the way down kept my mind of it. Run down was fine so cracked on with the time trial with the intend of setting off very easy and work into it progressive pacing it Splits were:
1) 0.62m - 4:19(6:58/m) 83cal
2) 0.62m - 4:21(7:02/m) 85cal
3) 0.62m - 4:19(6:57/m) 85cal
4) 0.62m - 4:06(6:37/m) 85cal
5) 0.6m - 3:45(6:19/m) 80cal
More or less identical and steady first 3k then picked up last 2k vastly. I probably ran this a bit harder than what I should but I felt good and pressed on. Pleased with the 20:52 finishing time. Could feel I've lost some fitness but at the moment that's the least of my worries. I'm just glad to be back out again. I have no immediate A races for the time being so I'm in no rush to get back to where I was. Slow and steady progress to come. At time of writing this on Thursday evening legs are good but just going to rest for two days as don't want to bite off more than I can chew. Planning on running a slow 6-8 mile on Sunday. If that goes well then slowly start getting back to some normality next week with the running but keeping the miles down for now. So rest for the next 2 days with more stretching and foam roller.
Club Session - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/472957096

Sunday 6th April - I ventured out for 6 mile with Keedy keeping the pace nice and steady. Felt very sluggish but it also felt very mild out. Was my first Sunday run out since Trimpell 20 3 weeks ago. So not a bad run out but I've got a lot of work to do over the next few months to get in good shape for some up and coming A races before the year is out. A mere 11.7 mile ran this week with just 2 days of running but my weekly mileage will remain low for the time being until I'm fully convinced I'm 100% recovery and focus on QUALITY rather then quantity.
Today's run - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/474437684 

A post copied from last year regarding my London Marathon deferral

D-Day (Deferral Day)

March 22, 2014  /  Mark Robinson

Today I announced to my social network that I will be 100% pulling from this years Virgin London Marathon. Gutted but in another strange way it feels like I have had a weight lifted off my soldiers. My post was
"

A visit to the physio has confirmed I'm injured. Its also confirmed London Marathon is a definite no go So please take this update as a 100% deferral which I will be doing today. Its NO rash decision. Its NO excuse. Its called practicality.

I have a grade 1+ tear in my right calf and possible Medial tibial stress syndrome in the same area. Physio was confident my previous calf injury from back in January has not healed properly and with the overload of marathon training its finally bit me in the arse. So my advice to any runners with injury that think just "rest" works, don't be naive like I was and get it sorted. Its likely back then I've had a grade 2 tear and just having a week off with foam rolling I thought I sorted it.

What now? No running for 3 weeks. In meantime its a case of swimming or some other cross training to keep ticking over with hamstring, piriformis and glutes stretching to improve my movement or motion or something. A lot to take in on that appointment, head was baffled! Will maybe look at Mermaid 10k as a starting benchmark then work towards Leeds Abbey Dash in November as my "A" race.

Thanks to everyone that's been supportive. Lucky for you there will be no more training ‪#‎vmlm2014‬ updates. I wish everyone who is running it success. Everyone I know who is training and running it has graft and all deserve their PB's/Targets. I'm pissed off, envious and gutted I can't run London but I'm no hero, professional or superman I've mentally prepared myself for this and I'm in a positive frame of mind about it all. I'm going to enjoy the next few weeks off the running and enjoy a few nights out, time with family etc. I'm even going to work on a running blog to save these heavy running updates that get a bit tedious on here. There is more to life than worrying about my next training run. After that look forward, focus on coming back ‪#‎EvenStronger‬than before. Yes I said this for London Marathon but when marathon training takes over us as a runner can become stubborn and ignore tiredness, niggles and injuries. Time to recover, become stronger, get faster and absolutely smash London next year!

Right I need a drink!"