It’s just over two weeks since London and I’m finally moving on from that day. I spent the days after the race getting into the swing of things in my new job.
Unfortunately I was also struggling with another virus, but I was much less bothered about this one - with the race behind me this was a great time to be laid low.
My legs were well beat up after London, and I didn’t run until the Thursday. My calves were a right state. It took a few runs for this to ease off. I then ran a gentle 55 mile week in the second week, all easy running. It was great to do a few easy runs off road with Janesy as he returned from his calf injury. I'm looking to push on now with a few sessions over the next couple of weeks.
What stood out for me from London was the performances of guys who ran solid times compared to their build up races and vice-versa. There were some good performances at London off the back of some really mediocre half marathons and cross-country results in the weeks beforehand. One lesson I’ve learned from this is that build up races just do not really matter when your primary focus is the marathon. They are no indicator of what to expect in the big one at all.
So far this week I’ve been feeling pretty sluggish and my Achilles has been a bit niggly. I need to take real care with it. I’ve got some races planned now and I’m definitely thinking about an autumn marathon. I think I need the goal of another marathon to drive my training on. I’ve got some options already and am excited by some possible opportunities that may come up. I’m 37 this summer but have seldom enjoyed my running quite as much so I really want to capitalise on this.
Next up is the BUPA London 10k on 30 May. After I ran the Lisbon Marathon at the end of 2008, my form into the new year really took off and I was flying in training and racing once recovered. I’m hoping for more of the same this time and the 10k would be a good opportunity to crack out a quick one before a fairly low key half marathon in Southend mid-June.
Team prize money is generous in the 10k, which doubles up as the UKA Championships. It’s a shame Neilson Hall and Janesy won’t be competing as together with Darren Deed we surely would have come close, however we’ve still got a decent team entered and should feature well up the field. Mo Farah’s inclusion in the field makes this a high profile event. It should be a great day as we’ll be running one loop of the likely 2012 Olympic Marathon course.
I’m going to change my training a little over the coming weeks, certainly until I turn my thoughts towards 26.2 again. I’m going to tackle some shorter sessions and run steady mileage. I found a ten week build up rather than a longer 12 or 15 week specific period worked well for me in the lead up to London, so I’m going to look to do this again prior to my next marathon, albeit with the additional fitness I will have as earlier this year I wasn’t exactly fit before commencing my build up for London. That’s the plan anyway.
I’m not blessed with a great deal of speed, which is why I didn’t cut it on the track. Clearly slow twitch fibres predominate where I’m concerned. It’ll be interesting to see what happens this summer. Either way I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can.