Calf Problems in Font Romeu

It’s not quite how it sounds, the evening before last we went for a group run on a trail called the Pyrennes 2000 and encounter a large heard of cattle blocking our path, taking a slight detour off track and thinking we had got round them we rejoined the path only to be met but two baby calfs. Unfortunately they got a bit twitchy and instead of letting us run around them they bolted and ran in front of us for about mile before we finally managed to overtake!

I’ve now been in Font Romeu for 5 days having driven up from Barcelona on Tuesday afternoon and I feel I’m settling well with the altitude up here. Our accommodation is at approx 1850m above sea level but we are doing much of our running down at the lake which is a little lower at 1500m. The Pyrennes 2000 trail is around 1600m, the track is close to the accommodation and another good running area on the plateau at around 2100m or so, although we are yet to run there. Below is a picture from our first harder workout since arriving which we did yesterday, we were wearing our GB kit that day as there was media filming being done for coverage on the Aviva training camp. This is on the bank of lake…

Incidentally it’s approx 5.5miles around, although there are tons great trails
The session went pretty well that day, I was doing 4 x 6minutes at marathon pace followed by 5 x 1minutes efforts a little faster, despite the altitude I was still able to hold the same paces I would have at sea level with my heart rates only a few beats above normal. This is to be expected but a few more days from now my body should start to feel acclimatised to the altitude. Other than my long run tomorrow my next key session is not until Tuesday when I will step on the track for the first time since arriving, so looking forward to that.

I am have really enjoyed my first few days here in Font Romeu and I am making the most of the opportunity, getting extra rest between twice daily training sessions as well as getting some regular treatment from the medical staff to help keep the body in one piece. I must admit though I am missing my family but at least I get to see and speak to Teresa and Thomas via video chat on skype fairly regularly.

Here’s what I’ve been doing training wise these past few days…

Monday am 6miles easy pm 6miles easy + core work, then flight to UK
Tuesday am 8miles in Gatwick pm travelling arrived Font Romeu 8pm.
Wednesday am 70mins easy (10miles) pm Strength work + 40mins easy (6.5miles)
Thursdays am 70mins easy (10miles) pm 50mins -hilly route (7miles)
Friday am 11miles total (session as mentioned) pm 50mins easy (7.3miles)
Saturday am 9miles easy pm 45mins (7miles)

Tomorrow will be a long run of 2hr 15mins, which will likely be around 22miles+ will also be using a new sodium based drinks mix which I tried this evening to see how I found it, settle ok but tastes like sea water!

Race report, plus training camp fast approaching.

On Sunday I ran in the Spearpoint Guernsey Half Marathon, winning in time of 64.54, in what was basically a sole run. Ben Moreau & Fraser Thompson finished 2nd & 3rd respectiviely in times of 67.41 & 68.21. Ben would have likely given me a closer race however he had taken the decision to run as a marathon paced workout. I'm pretty happy with how I ran though given that I had no one to push me and that training is currently geared towards the European Marathon Champs which is now only 6 weeks away.


full results of the race can be found here on the guernsey athletics club website homepage... http://www.guernseyathletics.org.gg/


I only actually have 1 week left in Guernsey now before I head out to Font Romeu for 4 1/2 week training camp, It's something I am looking forward to from an athletics perspective however I think I am going to find it hard being away from home for what will actually be 5 weeks in all. I have made sure that we have skype set up on the home computer so I can catch to Teresa & Thomas regular while I am away. This will be my longest time away from home since he was born and he so much more aware of things now so might find it difficult at first.


I plan to post a bit more regularly while I am there so will keep you posted on how training is going out their. So until then, bye for now.

I'd be lying if I said it was easy...

Been a tough week this week, mileage has been creeping up as planned, with some harder key sessions being re-introduced again so the body has been feeling the effects a little bit. There are some weeks (usually when the mileage starts climbing up) that just feel like one of those weeks, and this is one of those. To be fair I have felt better during the course of this weekend but was pretty tired during the middle of the week, particularly getting up the morning after my hill session on Wednesday to go out for a long run. I recall reading some quote from a GB International runner of the 80's, although for the life of me I can't remember who it was or where I read it... anyway he said the thing about marathon running is you are always tired. It's not quite as bad as that but it kind of sums up how you can feel at times.

You keep things in perspective though and although I needed no reminder of what I am working towards I got an email from UK Athletics this week re putting GB kit order in, this is always kinda cool.

Anyway here's what left me a little tired this week....

Mon am 10miles + strength exercises pm 6miles
Tues am 6miles pm (13miles) Intervals uphill 4 x 3' 2' 1'
Wed am 13miles pm rest
Thur am 7miles pm 7miles + core exercises
Fri am 5miles pm 10miles w/10k tempo in, @5.10 min mile
Sat am 11miles easy pm rest
Sun am 20miles

Another big week ahead and then a slightly easy week will follow in the lead up to the Guernsey Half Marathon on Fathers Day.

Until next time.

Barcelona plan in place

I never seem to update my blog as much as I intend to, however here's the lastest installment...


Training has been steadily building up following my Virgin London Marathon run and my short break immediately following. Whilst the muscle soreness took only a matter of days to settle down it took a little longer for my legs to start to feel fresh and bouncey again. The session I ran last weekend was possible the best I'd felt since the race and was a welcome feeling!

As the heading suggests I now have my plan in place following discusions with my coach (John Nuttall), a relationship that works essentially as a partnership. Generally John sets the specific areas within my training such as the key workouts (usually 3 per week), a weekly mileage guide and a general framework to the periodisation. The day to day stuff such as the actual run lengths, strength work and other daily training routines are essentially my reasonability. It's worked pretty well given the logistics though, being that John is based in Loughborough and myself in Guernsey. This is something I am fairly used to though as other than my 2 years when I was at the University of Bath I have always been based in Guernsey. People always ask me if has made life more difficult for me but other than the obvious travel issues and the lack of training partners from time to time I believe being based in Guernsey has been a hugh part in aiding me in getting to where I am. For a start if i was a runner living in the UK I don't think I would have picked up a such a great sponsor as Cannon, many UK based athletes quit the sport due to the lack of support. There are plenty of other bonuses to being in Guernsey too, such as great training locations and very good facilities all within a stone through of home and not forgetting the fantastic local support generally. Anyway back to the plan... basically the key framework is all in place now with just over 9 weeks to go to race day (Sunday 1st August). Final Preparations also include a 4 1/2 week altitude stay at the UK Athletics training camp in Font Romeu. Font Romeu is a small location in the Pyrennes right on the French/Spanish boarder and its at 1800m altitude and probably better known to some as Paula Radcliffe's preferred training base. I am really looking forward to this as it will ensure my final preparations are as good as they can be in the lead up to what will be my most important race to date. I think I will find it difficult initially though, as it will be the longest time I have been away from home since Thomas was born. To be fair though it will be harder for my wife Teresa having to work fulltime and still look after Thomas on her own. Another thing that I am really looking forward to is Guernsey Spearpoint Fathers Day Half Marathon on 20th June, as I plan to run this event as part of my preparations. It will be the first time I have run the event but it fits perfectly within my schedule, furthermore there will be good competition in the to race too. As Ben Moreau (who is also selected to run for GB in the European Marathon Champs) and Fraser Thompson (an aussie based in London) will be coming over for the event. I would have normally had to look for a race away around the same time so to be able to race in a strong competitive race on home soil (or tarmac in this case) is perfect for me as it means more time at home with the Font Romeu trip around the corner.

Anyway thats all for now. When I get round to my next update I will start putting up some training details so people can see what my 120mile plus weeks look like in general. If people have any questions or thoughts on future blog posts please let me know.

Until next time.

Holidays over,time to prepare for Barcelona

Hi everyone,

Im back in Guernsey now after a 10 day family break in sunny Turkey, I must admit it was kinda nice having my days evolve around things other than running for a change. However after a week of no running and the body feeling much better for it I did start to miss the routine!

Whilst away I had my selection for the Great Britain team confirmed for European Champs/European Marathon Cup event, which will be in Barcelona from 27th July until 1st August, the mens Marathon is on the 1st August. The Guernsey Commonwealth Games Association also confirmed my selection for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games which are in October later this year, so plenty of big races to train for and look forward to.

Barcelona and Delhi will not only provide a very competitive stage to compete on but both will provide a challanging climate to cope with too, Barcelona inparticular could potentially be very tough. Running a marathon is hardwork enough but with temparatures likely to be in and about the mid 30's this will be a whole new ball game. This sort of thing can make races more open though so I see this as a excellent opportunity to surpase expectations and to make a name for myself. I plan to run on the track in Delhi in either the 5k or the 10k (yet to be decided) as I don't want to race three marathons in such a short period of time, it would also be nice to finally record a fast track time that i know I am capable of doing.

So with 12 weeks to Barcelona my recovery seems to be coming along ok. I am just steady running at the minute and probably will do this for at least another week to ensure that London is completely out of my legs.

One other I would I like to mentioned is the overwelming feedback and messages I had following London. I had a tons of messages (i tried to reply to most of them although I did lose track of which ones I actually replied too!) I also had a lot of people just simply coming up to me to congratulate me. I think this is one of the reasons why Guernsey has so many people doing well in sport for a small place, as the recognition and support from local people makes it all the more rewarding.

Until next time.

12th at the Virgin London Marathon

Hi folks


I'm writing this up from a guest house, myself Teresa and Thomas head off to Turkey tomorrow for a well earnt family holiday so I wanted to get a race report up before I headed out as I probably won't get online while I'm away...


So, I finished in 12th place as the title suggests in a time of 2.16.47 inside the qualifying time for the European Championships which are in Barcelona later this summer. Qualification will be confirmed tomorow (tuesday 27th April) on the UK Athletics website http://www.uka.org.uk/.


I must admit I'm not completely satisfied with the time as I believe I was capable of running 2.15, possibly faster, however all things considered it was a solid debut, perhaps if I hadn't missed the couple of weeks of training at the start of March the time may have been quicker but still much to be pleased with and a good starting point to build on for the future.


London was a fantastic experience and has taught me a lot for future marathons, the crowd support was awesume and I could hear lots of familar voices cheering me along the course. Thanks to all who sent through well done message over the past 24 hours too.


Before I sign off here are a couple of piccies courtesy of Mark Shearman from Sunday...

Last weekend race & looking ahead to London

I'm a little bit slow in getting this post out but on Easter Friday I raced in the Guernsey 10k, well I say raced, technically it was training. Having missed a bit of training a few weeks back we decided (that's John, my coach & I) that it was better to get a key marathon paced session in... the session planned was a 20k split up run, which was 10k at race pace and 10k faster but rather than run this completely on my own I ran the first 10k at race pace before the race, iterally finishing a minute before, threw my vest on and then turned round and ran the 10k race. The route that I have been using for my marathon paced sessions has been along the west coast of the island anyway which is same stretch of road used for the race so it made sense to combine things. It was nice to have some company too on the second 10k and the pace that the guys around me were running (at least the first 5k) was pretty much what I was aiming for. Unfortunately the second 5k slowed down a bit, it got a bit tactical and was also into a strong wind. In hindsight I should have just pushed on as after all it was training session, however I got a sniff of victory so I sat in for a couple of km's while running into wind. With 1km to go though I did pushed on (in what turned out to be a nasty stretch into the wind), this broke up the group of 5 runners, all except a young lad called Jonny Hay, who sat in for the ride and then took advance of the 19.5km in my legs and out kicked me. Overall though I was pleased with the workout, generally I felt pretty good within myself, although strangely my heart rates were a bit higher than I would have expected. As it turns out this may have been an early warning sign as the following evening I came down with stomach bug! unfortunately missing my sunday run. Luckily it was just a 24hour thing and I was out running again on the following day, it wasn't pleasant being in the same room as though on Sunday though!

It's only just over 2 weeks to London now and I'm starting to get that excited and nervous feeling that comes with the build up to an important race. This is definately one of the best bits about racing and knowing that I'm feeling this way is always a good sign for me. When I starting to feel like this I know that i'm starting to get both body and mind ready to race. When I feel nothing it usually means one of two things... either the race doesn't mean anything to me and I'm unlikely to raise my game or I'm simply to tired from training to get excited, which I tend to feel sometimes during heavy periods of training. Funnily enough I was listening to radio one yesterday on the way to do my last marathon session and a song came on which kind reminded me why I like racing, its song called Everybody's Free (to wear sunsreen) by Baz Luhrmann, the lyrics are apparently from a essay which was publish in US newspaper in 1997 (thanks to wikipedia for that the info :@) the lyrics are basically all spoken and is essentially advice but one particular line says 'do something everyday which scares you', racing feels a bit like this, I guess a bit like riding a roller coaster, the anticipation can be scary and gets the adrenaline pumping but afterwards you are buzzing and you want to do it all over again. Perhaps not straight away in the case of the marathon mind you!