Weekly Update

This week I did 9 hours which was slightly lower than planned due to the forecast weather for Sunday which turned out to be totally different. However below is the week breakdown by time.

48% Cross Training
32% Running
11% Swimming
9% Walking


There was no cycling this week (except in the gym).

The cross training include some gym sessions and a match as a football assistant.

The running did include a midweek evening 10 mile run with some at a faster pace. Also on Saturday it include my 3rd fastest time at my local parkrun 5km when I was going to take it easy before a match in the afternoon.

Weekly Weigh-in = Loss

This week I have lost 1 lb (0.4 Kg) and down 0.5% body fat.

This was due to maintaining a high volume of training with only a slight food increase. With another week before the various food temptations at Easter time I must maintain the training volume.

Using and should have used Technology

This week I have had examples of using technology and not using technology, I should have used technology all the time and normally would have.

When I went to watch a football match (was a very poor game) before I decided to go for some post match chips even though it was not yet Fry Day. So beforehand I used GoogleMaps Street view (now for the UK) to find the chip shop near the ground so I knew where head towards, when I got there was a queue and they had ran out of certain foods. However my only comments about the Google Maps Street View was the house numbers where misaligned with the location and that the camera was too high to see their menu in the chip shop!!

Then on the way back I thought I would not need my traffic alert ariel on my SatNav after 10pm, how wrong I could be. On two different motorways they closed all but one lane and on the last motorway this lane was the hard shoulder which I was stuck in a 2 mile traffic jam at 11pm!!! To top all that off they had closed a small section of the town's ring road so I had a minor diversion to the town centre and back, this roadworks I was aware off before hand. It just increased the journey time by 50%.

Then on the cycle rides this week I looked at a map and thought that looks a straight forward route to navigate and not on many major roads. However I did not check their profile which on the positive side did lead to some good training session on undulating/hilly cycle rides.

Weekly Update

This week I did a total of 13 hours of training which was a good mixture of sessions. I am upping my training levels now with two higher volume training on consecutive weeks instead of one high and two easier weeks.

Below is a breakdown of this weeks training by time.

32% Cycling
27% Running
17% Cross Training
15% Swimming9% Walking

The cycling included rides on two days with a lot of undulations and the running included a mixture of fast sessions and longer runs. A fair amount of these where done on Sunday to or at Andover.

The cross training was referee fitness training and being an assistant referee at a match, a lot of sprinting in the wet was done at both!!

For swimming one of the session was an hour long swim with using a pull buoy and not, this is a long pool swim for me.

Andover Sport Relief

On Sunday I took part in the Sport Relief Mile at Andover, I went for the 6 mile event there was also a 1 and 3 mile option. There people of all ages and abilities taking part and was a good atmosphere and there was even a mascot race.

At the start those doing 3 and 6 miles had 1 1/4 laps of the athletics track to do but those doing 1 mile just had 3/4 of a lap to do but started at the same time, this did lead to a bottleneck within 30 seconds and required a lot of dodging around people. Once on the start straight again the amount of dodging around people eased off. For the longer option was 3 big loops and a smaller loop about half the size. Some was on footpaths but mostly was around some football pitches on teh grass which was a bit muddy in places.

I had been there before for matches but always on the pitch in the middle of the athletics track and I did not realise that there was a lake in the park as well. I went off a bit too fast and I was struggling near the end but I think I was in the top 10 doing the longer distance and managed it in just under 50 minutes which I was pleased with after the days previous efforts.

Due difference between their web site, email notification, local radio and the actual run start time I was there nearly 2 hours before the actual start!! So before collecting my number 30 minutes before the start I decided to do a warm up. It turned in to a 7 mile run at a fairly fast pace for me around the course. Luckily I had brought some sports drinks and gels with me.

So that made a total run of 13 miles in just under 2 hours only a short distance form doing a half marathon.

On top of that I got up early so I could do a cycle ride to Andover and back and get changed for the run due to the differing weather conditions. It was a just a 40 mile cycle ride in over 2 1/2 hours but I did learn that the route was an undulating route with over 1,000 ft of ascent. Plus that some of the traffic lights en route are traffic controlled and not just in a loop, which is good to know apart from they did not detect me on my bike so I had to wait for a bit traffic.

So in total I had done just a bit under 5 hours of training on Sunday, I think I will have a well deserved rest day tomorrow.

Weekly Weigh-in = Loss

This week I have lost 3/4 lb (0.4 Kg) with my % body fat down 1%.

I was a bit surprised off the loss due to eating chips (large) and a complete Cinnamon & Raisin Loaf within 24 hours of each other.

However yesterday I did do a bit of swimming, cycling and running which lasted for a total over 3 hours.

Weekly Update

This week on my easier week I did over 8 hours of training with having 3 rest days at the start of the week to recover from the previous week. This weeks training was made up of the following percentages based on time.

37% Cross Training
34% Running
17% Walking
12% Cycling


This week there was no swimming.

The cross training was being an assistant referee at two matches.

The running includes doing a 5km parkrun and was only 1 minute from my course PB and my 3rd quickest time there, despite not really going for a fast time!!

The cycling was a short single ride to check that my cadence sensor is back working again. It is but the other cycle computer is not so I may need to investigate that issue before my next cycle ride.

Weekly Weigh-in = No Change

This week my weight and % body fat has remained the same.

This was better than expected after having 3 consecutive rest days from training this week after last weeks effort and eating a bit more "recovery" food.

Weekly Update

Last week I did over 14 hours of training!!! This week I am having a well deserved easier week.

Below is a breakdown by time. It is now more accurately shown on my blog as I am using the weekly total values in to a information analysing tool (Excel) to get the percentage rather then doing it by eye from a stacked bar graph.

34% Cross Training
25% Running
22% Cycling
11% Swimming
9% Walking

The cross training includes a long gym session and being an assistant referee (controlled speedwork) at two matches.

The running includes a running speedwork session (not referee fitness training) and the Salisbury 10 mile race.

The Cycling was a single ride of a few hours out and back on a undulating/hilly in places route.

The swimming was a few longer (for me) sessions.


From my records I can see that I have been steadily increasing my training hours and distance which peak every third week with two easier weeks in between. This was not exactly planned but a bonus however I will have to start maintaining the higher volume weeks from now but still with a easier weeks built in to the training.
This was also a good mixture of training so not overusing one set of muscles.

Salisbury 10 Mile - Race Report

This will be the longest run of the year so far after only doing 8 miles a couple of times in training. I was not going to race this but treat it as a long training run but practising pace control and nutrition.

The start was the closest to the car park that I have ever been to. Some how I missed the fire station where it started outside and had to ask for directions to the start!!




The finish was on the athletics track which they had still to set up when I arrived early to enter on the day.



The sky was clear with only a few small clouds and a bright day as seen in the photos but it was cool and cold with the occasional breeze. So I decided to have two full length leggings on, 3 tops plus my a tri club top and a hat and gloves.

I also was trying out a new race number belt for the first time, in a race which they say not to do. I had not left my car before the number ripped from the tri belt, it appears that they make the race numbers out of different stuff for running and triathlons!!! Luckily I also brought some safety pins with me so I clipped the number to the belt, the gel loops were ok and where comfortable while running.

I started about 3/4 through the pack to ensure I did not go off too fast as I had been told there were some hills in the last half of the race.

For the first few miles there was a few gentle undulations, the main issue was on the narrow lines with the traffic blocking sections of cars from moving the other way into a stalemate, we were able to run around the cars. For the first half of the race I was averaging about 9 minute mile pace which was my target, I then started to pick up the pace up a bit before the hills started.

When the hills came I maintained my form and pace which allowed me to overtake a few people on the three noticeable climbs which were a testing length but not as bad I was thinking they would be.

The course was effectively a single loop going out and back either side of the valley with only the first and last 1 miles being along the same route. When I got to mile 9 I was feeling strong and picked up the pace again which I maintained to we got to the track which I then picked it up again to overtake a few more people.

Which I completed the run in 86 minutes which averages out to be about 8:35 /mile pace. Looking at my GPS data I did do a negative split (second half quicker than first) despite it being hillier in the second half. The average for the the miles 5 to 9 was about 8:30 and the last mile was 7:23 pace.

This was a great race for me in great scenery and somewhere else I had not visited until then with also some learning points and things that worked to apply to other races/training.

Learning Points

Check number is ok on number belt or top. This would normally be done on the day before the race but as I entered on the day I left it to about 15 minutes before the race. I also could have tightened the belt a bit more before the race.

Not use cycling top for a running race. They are designed to be used when your body is not moving around but in a static position(s) on the bike, I ended up having to pull the top down a couple of times for each mile.

Check the course profile pre race. There no route map prior to the race and then on the day there was no profile so I was going on what I had heard about the course. So I was pleasantly surprised when the hills were not as bad as I was expecting, however this could have meant if I was racing this I could have gone faster in the fast half.


Things that worked

Pre-race nutrition. As I had to travel earlier to the race it allowed extra time for my breakfast to digest while I still had some drinks and a small snack bar before the race.

Race nutrition. When I got there I found out there was only water at the 5 aid stations on the route. So I had the two gels that I took with me at about mile 2 and 6 with some water. I also had a bottle of isotonic drinks which I had added a salt tablet too. This was enough for the race and help me be ready for the next session an hour later.

Layers. I had a few layers on my top and legs which allowed me (core muscles and organs) to stay warm. Some of the tops had zips on so I could cool down a bit if I was getting warm. I also was taking hat and gloves off or on depending on how I was feeling. If I did not I would have got too cold which is harder to get warm when doing a longer run.

Pacing. For the start I did not get carrier away and adjusted my pace when I felt I was speeding up. This meant I had to run my own pace and not stay with a group of runners. I was running at what I felt was right with occaoisinly looking at my GPs watch pace, but 8 of the miles were with in +/- 15 seconds 8:45 pace.This relatively even pace allowed me to pick up my pace at the end as I had not gone off too fast.

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I lost 1.5 lbs (0.7 Kg) with my % body remaining the same.

Nutritionally this week I balanced my food better based on the amount of exercise I did or was plannign to do the following day.
Exercise-wise I had a mixture of sessions which did include some longer than normal sessions, this looks like it is set to continue this week.