Sprint 26 - Mid Cheshire build

Photo Credit - Mick Hall

Mid Cheshire Block ! Post Podium to Battersea it's now time to get the hard yards in for a sub 16 attempt.

Plan for this week is to get 1 really good session in on Tuesday - ideally with the group. I'll try and get as many miles in as I can BUT I'll do everything steadier - as I am expecting to be away (depending on Anges mum) - for the end of the week in Tenerife. I'll unlikely get anything over 10 miles in but I'll see and I'll unlikely get a threshold session in - but I'll see. Mainly though the plan is top load the week Mon - Weds and then just do whatever I can! I'll also re-introduce weights this week as that's been sorely missing.

Edit - Anges mum passed away on the day of the Tenerife trip so I stayed back.

Monday 27th April

New week new me. I am off to Lower Mill today, off to Tenerife for a boys holiday on Thursday. This week is all about doing what I can. I'll aim to get a VO2 session in but apart from that I will just be 'running' and I'll try to keep it steady for the most part just to top up the legs. This is easing me in to really hard work from next week.

7 hour round trip with 6 in the car. Get home absolutely battered but after dinner just get out for a steady 6.

5.89 miles @ 6:58/mm. Steady run, no HRM but legs felt pretty heavy (unsurprising). 

53 miles past 7 days which include race prep and recovery so at least I'm on decent volume again.

Tuesday

Busy one. Plan is to get out for 2-3 first thing and then track tonight with the group. Depends how it plays out with Anges mum but most likely scenario. Also Jacob is racing tonight which is likely his last race of NCAA season.

Feel good, just need to get head in the game. With life at the minute everything seems like 95% so it's not too bad just need focus on what needs to be acheved.

Run 1 - easy shakeout. Just over 2 @ 8/mm. Feel OK.

Session - track. 1200 thresh, 4 x 1km @ 3k pace into some fast 200s.

Start with a slow tempo and 6/mm and into main session. Not sure how we fade so bad on first rep but it goes 3.15, 3.10, 3.10, 3.11. Pace feels hard with a decent headwind on the home straight. Not a terrible session just feeling my way into these paces. Come a long way but 3.10 - 3.15 range for km reps is standard now. 

Do some hurdles to get the chase legs going and then do a couple of fast 200s (31, 32) but felt crazy off the pace. 

10 for the day with the cool down. Some good pace work.

Wednesday

Legs feel good first thing. Finally getting some conditioning. Thinking on last night I think that the plan is basically to keep doing what I am doing but add in another session. I'll add in the speedier session on Thursday, keep the mile thresh on Sunday and 3k/5k Tuesday and aim at 60 per week. A 3 week block of this and a full taper should see me good to Mid Cheshire. Main thing is to try and stay fresh in general.

Whats missing is that extra bit of pace. I am super strong and consistent but I just don't have that sub 5 pace in me right now. I'll get there with 3k/5k work as it gets easier but mile pace is going to give my legs that extra bit of headway into relaxing at quick paces.

Run - decided to do 6 easy as will be a 7 days run week and I'm tracking for 60. 6 miles @ 7.09/mm @ 142 bpm. Finally the first run day after session where legs feel great. Post session legs have been horrific up until now but that felt amazing.

Thursday

Sad day, early start as Ange's mum passed away at 4am. No Tenerife, had already made the call yesterday - need ot be at home and be dad / husband. Not quite right to go party at a time like this!

Will try and session later. I'll drop a really easy one as I'm tired and I don't want to open my speedwork account too crazy. 4 x 200, 4 x 400, 4 x 200 (200 jog and 400 between sets).

Session - bleugh. Real CBA obviously today. Ended up doing the minimum productive session - 2 x 4 x 200. First set at 800 (34,34,33,32) in Streakflys  and second set spiked up at 400 pace 931,32,31,30). Moving well but head not in it. 

Relaxed speed session, I could do with mixing these up on sundays really as finding that extra bit of pace is key for getting my 5k and 3k pace down towards 3 min per km.

Friday

Run with John at Milton and then topped up with a run at home.  Recovery day post speed work and long run tomorrow with PR sandwich.

4.63 @ 8.03/mm and 4.05 @ 7.19/mm. Both pretty economical runs at 1021 and 1032 beats / mile. Running well.

Really notice that eating shite yesterday really affects my motivation and energy levels. Pretty low today, need to stay on top of that this block.

Feeling good about chances, just need to work at the rehab and strength next couple of weeks and get this build nailled on.

Saturday

Easy long run with a Parkrun sandwich today. 12 miles total with a 21 min PR @ 8:05/mm avg. Nice and easy, moving well just still digesting al the crap I have eaten lol.

63.5 for the past 7 days so a nice block and the plan is to run pretty hard tomorrow.

Have found a road mile in London in June so that works and will give me time to get race fit at the shorter stuff. Really need to be looking to go sub 4.40 at some stage this year.

Having a decent week this week, vo2 plus speed and threshold tomorrow as session along with an easy long today. Ticking the boxes just trying to make 3.10 per km feel relaxed. Realistically I can get there if my body keeps cooperating and I keep rolling with the hard work. I will see how threshy goes tomorrow and decide how I am going to play it going forward.

I will swap out the next 3 weeks as [1] this week [2] group, group, hills [3] group, thresh, speed

3 sessions is about right now as I look to start heading for peak fitness. If all goes well I will be able to hit targets off blocks of training as a pose to needing lots of races to get there. I am hoping the relaxed speed sessions do the work that racing is not.

Sunday

Nice lazy start today, I do enjoy the pressure free Sunday sessions! Plan today is to do 6 x mile off 60 and just nudge this to in the 5.5x range today. 

Just realised I am on a 13 day run streak which is a lot more than I would normally do. Tomorrow will def be a rest day haha

Feel like this week has been setting me up for the next couple of weeks. Everything has been slightly under effort, length and pace so just pushing the needle very slightly each week should get me stronger. This block will tell me if I am on the right track (with 60 mpw) or if I just need to back off some and focus more on recovery.

Head feels a bit jaded - which is to be expected - but body is feeling good - which is nice.

Roll out today on the busway and see what happens.

6 x mile. Warm up feeling good. Roll into the reps and basically feel mega easy. Ran to feel. Headwind out and I knew it would be easier back up the hill. 5.57, 5.55, 5.55, 5.51, 5.56, 5.46 last one slightly longer waiting to cross road. Felt a little tired on the cool down so wrapped it at 8.2 for the whole thing.  Had considered doing an extra 2 and making a shot at 60 but think off a big 13 day streak the best thing to do is recover and try and come back firing for Tuesday.

On this Mid Cheshire block the next 2 Tuesday sessions will be the most important and they'll both be off a rest day. 

I am feeling fitter than ever and I just feel like if I can stay on this schedule I'll be golden. I need more time running 3.10s for km reps and they'll get easier as it goes on. Today's miles at 5.52 avg is a step up on the best I have done these and it's feeling easier every time. I think I can knock out 5.45s fairly soon and if I keep it in the rotation I really think these can be 5.40 which is roughly 10k pace.

Training wise I am loving the vo2 plus threshold as 2 x sessions that are set in stone. I think I will keep them in as the bones of my training. I really need to be adding that easy speed session in which pretty much means I do group Tuesday, solo Thursday, long run Saturday and threshold Sunday. At the minute I feel unbelievably fresh and I am improving. I know that I am missing some basic speed BUT it's top (top) end and that is going to come from proper speed work in the form of relaxed speed! 2 x 4 x 200 and watch the pace drop. That should make paces feel easier and more relaxed. The overall mileage keeps me strong and staying on the rehab routine takes care of maintenance.

Also, it's easy to overlook being sensible - and backing off when necessary. I've done this 4/5 times since December.

Speed work - 29.xx per 200m or 30.xx comfortable (currently 31 / 33)

3k/5k pace - 3.05/km or 3.12/km comfortable (currently 3.10 / 3.15)

Threshold (LT1) - 5.40/mm (currently 5:52)

I am actually not far off. I think over the next 6 weeks I can get there off consistent training. It does mean that the likelihood is I don't get to target 1500 this season but I can still run a fast mile on the roads off this style training. If I go back to NYE I am running so much more economically that when I put out a 4.58 mile. 

To keep my head in the game the target is to run sub 16 for 5k. I will just keep focusing on those until I hit that. Mid Cheshire (22 May) Road mile (13 June) Cambs track 5000 (17 June) Shropshire 5k (11 July) Cambs track mile (15 July)

These will be my A races and I'll most likely throw in some vets leagues to keep sharp and use as relaxed speed.

Coming off this I'll try and start looking at 3k races as hopefully I will finally nail some targets!!

Week 1

56.7 miles. Managed a vo2 session, a relaxed speed session, long run and a threshold session. All in I ticked all the boxes. With Anges mum passing away it was never going to be a 60 week, plus I felt big fatigue by the cool down on Sunday so happy to bank that (which originally would just have been a 45 if I had gone to Tenerife). Obviously all things considered :(

Good start point. All sessions were about right as an introduction to 3 x per week in this block. I think that I will keep things as they are and analyse post Mid Cheshire. I feel like I am slowly getting faster and more relaxed. Paces are almost where they need to be but I just need to be more comfortable.

The plan for next week is to try and get faster and stay consistent. I am slowly adding in plyos and keeping on top of rehab. Mentally I am just dialling in to hitting that sub 16 goal and then getting some fun races around that.

I am feeling that the speed work will unlock the extra paces so focus is on making sure I arrive there feeling ready.

Monday 4th May

Rest day

Tuesday

Run 1 - shakeout, 3.1 miles @ 8:46/mm. Very easy. Forgot to restart Garmin after crossing road. 

Feel pretty good after rest. Plan this week to to build those session up. Not 100% on what session is tonight but hoping it's more 3k / 5k work as that is the burn zone. 

Just managing my week from here. Pretty sure we are not busy so focus can just dial in to the really good work that I need ot get done.

Part of me is actually looking at where I am at. How easy it is to stay here without pushing on.  No risks, great shape. Waaay under 17 min 5k fitness. How easy it would be to just keep this here doing all the fun stuff. I'm not set on 60 miles per week being optimal. I think that maybe dropping to 50 might be where it's at. Especially if I drop the lower end stuff. I am still not sure I can take the risk to run 800 / 1500 seriously this year. Focus on 5k with some 3ks and 10ks might prolong me. I am really not sure. I'll get through to Mid Cheshre, go on holiday and reasess after that. I still have to draw back to how bad things were in August / September and not take it for granted. Running quick is not a given.

Ordered a new run kit yesterday which is exciting. How I have changed haha.

Session - track. Warm up well, legs feel good. Session is 3 x (800 @ CV [90] 600 @ 5k [90] 400 @ 3k) off lap jog and then a final set of 500, 300, 200 at 3k, 1500, 800 pace all off 90.

End up running probably a pace band too high until the 800 pace haha

(2.41, 1.58, 73) - (2.40, 1.57, 73) - (2.39, 1.56, 73) - (1.30, 49, 32)

Good session, solo, was moving well. Struggled with the real faster stuff. 49 / 32 is obviously faster than 1500 / 800 right now. 73s for the 3k pace are very nice as that's still Ok for 1500 pace at the minute and I def felt like that was fine. 

Session wise, that's a decent amount of volume. 6.4km of around 3k-5k pace. Felt like the intervals were short enough that all the paces were fine and I didn't feel like I went to the well. 

Wednesday

Wake up and legs are pretty tired. Acid test today to see how they have responded after a session yesterday !! Last week I felt really good so this week anything better than toast is a great sign.

Mentally I feel better about everything today. Yesterday I felt a bit anxious going in to the session but today I am good. I think the main takeaway for me was how relaxed the session felt especially running 5.20 pace (that's damn close to 5k pace). The clear thing is that if I can stay in this purple patch now I should stay fresh enough. I am recovering from efforts, feeling on top of my mental game and I still feel like I am only just starting. 

It's tough not racing week in week out but I am enjoying the process right now. 

My paces are so close to where I want to get them I just need time and patience.

I should be able to hit a 15.xx at Mid Cheshire BUT at the minute I am actually in a spot where if it doesn't happen I'll just keep working through to the next one. There's no part of me getting fatigued and stressed lie I was in 2023 where I was hanging by a thread by now. I honestly feel like I have done zero speed work and that's all low hanging fruit. 

This is the year I become fast.

Run - recovery around Eddy on the Maddingley loop. Felt leggy and heavy and was bit slow into wind first 5k up the hill. Then it just clicked and I started rolling again, same as last week. Just felt better and moved really well. 

8.06 miles @ 7:36/mm @ 133 bpm. 1009 beats / mile which day after session is insane.

Just hitting that good conditioning spell, now I keep this rolling. Really pleased with this.

Thursday

Decide to run early and get session out the way so I can get garden work done.

Session - plan is 4 x 400 off long walk backs at 1500 pace and then 4 x 200 @ 800 pace.

End up going way too hard and knocking back to 3 x 400, 3 x 200 at 800 and 400 pace lol. 

68, 64, 64 - 34, 31, 31

Not sure where that speed came from but absolutely buzzing with that. Was properly screwed after that 3rd 400 lol Really really happy with that and from here it's a short trip to getting to 59.xx

This is really positive, pace is unreal from the little effort I have put in to speed work and peak strength. Each week building this session up I think I can get back to under 4.20 for 1500m fairly soon off the back of this. 

Plan for the rest of the day is to get some garden work done, do my rehab plyos and get another 5k easy in. The rest of the week now is just to recover and ease through the miles and finish the week with threshold work.  This current plan is working really well.

Friday

Agh - didn't rehab last night. Don't think I have this week yet - need to finish strong! Plan today is a recovery 8 so 8-8.30 pace so I can have a decent long run tomorrow feeling fresher. Good sleep last night. Feel good today. This conditioning lark is amazing, actually feel like I'm alive rather than waking up feeling awful every day lol

Annoyed with myself for not hitting strength enough in any part. Lot going on at the minute trying to sell house and sort Anges family out but it's on the to-do list !!

No double yesterday, was pretty tired and no point pushing beyond. Got what I needed to out of yesterday and now I need to freshen up for Saturday and Sunday.

Interesting development seeing some speed in the legs. I really think that's where I have lost time on people over the past few years. If I can get close without too much focus I think that's a game changer.

Run - 6 easy @ 8.20/mm feeling good today. HR a liitle high but to be expected.

Saturday

Dropped Sawyer in and did long easy solo run on the 12 loop around town. Plan was around 7.30 pace and started feeling a little heavy. Settled in once I got onto busway and Milton -> home is always a little faster.

12 miles @ 7:23/mm @ 136 bpm. Good run BUT guts were wrecked from the outset. Really need to pick up on the diet, too much shit is just giving me gip. 

Didn't need a shite break but just like Tuesday it wasn't helpful.

Running economy is good. Seriously hitting some good form at the minute. May or may not top that up today as plan calls for 6 x mile tomorrow BUT I am quite low on miles this week. 

Sunday

Up early and feeling better. Plan today is 6 x mile again at LT1. Miles this week is lower than anticipated - not sure why but most likely just missing some around session on Thursday. have to accept though that a speed session is equivalent of a 10 easy and adjust milesage target to 55 to compensate.

Bit annoyed I havn't done enough strength or rehab BUT running is going well so I'll live lol. Do better next week.

Session - busway session of 6 x mile off 60 again. Felt pretty heavy today, struggled first 3 into wind but felt ok coming back. Long cool down to get my 55 in for the week.  6.03, 5.51, 5.55, 5.52, 5.54, 5.48 for 5.54 avg. HR again very very low. Just jelly legged. 

Week 2

55.1 miles for the week. Moved the pace dial forward this week and stayed consistent with the miles. No way to get to 60 with a speed session in there but this is needed. Finish the week feeling tired but from here there are only 5 days until taper and see how the legs respond. 

Monday 11th May

Rest day

Tuesday

Run 1 & 2 - Shakeout around the village and then 5k with Ange. Wake the legs up. Slight concern on left glute as tight.

Session - the peaker. 4 x 400, 2 x 800, 1 x 1600 @ 3k pace all off lap jog. Wth Andy & Holly and had Max chasing us down.

75/74/75/74 - 2.31/2.29 - 5.05

Struggled last 600 of the 1600 just faded into the wind. Through in 2.30 and probably 78,77 for last 800.

Really pleased with that. Felt relaxed and moving well until last 800 of the session.

Can't remember last time I did this session pre-Indoors but pretty sure I was 76s, 2.32s and 5.06 and I was running well then. Actually felt pretty relaxed on this and like I say, was just the wind knocking me at the end of the mile.

Last really hard session now before mid Cheshire and from here it's just knocking off a speed session and some easy running and then I can taper !!

Wednesday

Up, legs are tired! Left glute needs work but picking up J from airport today so a happy day, Will roll out 6 recovery on the Caxton route later and just focus on staying as healthy as I can.

Run - nice and easy on the Caxton loop. 6 miles @ 7.52/mm @ 132 bpm.

Felt like I was moving well. Have a grumble on left piriformis and right knee but not so much during run. Always the same on the run in from a training block.

Thursday

Chores this morning so no double. Plan is to hit track and do something speedier tonight. Will most likely do the longer option with John tomorrow and then the taper starts properly.

Feels like 16 is there or thereabouts - won't be far off wither way. Just need to start working to bringing the legs home now. It's been a positive block so far. Paces and effort improving. Just need it all to come together.

Enjoying the process. Do feel that 55-60 is pushing my limits but even backing off to 50-55 will be a happy place.

Session - 1200 T - 3 x (500 / 300 / 200) @ 1500 > faster

4.13 (5.38/mm) - 1.30, 49, 31 - 1.27, 50, 32 - 1.25, 48, 31

Really solid. Legs felt heavy but the 500s felt really, really good. The last 500 went through in 67 so moving well. 48-50 for the 300s is operating way below 1500 pace and 31/32 is nearly 400 pace.

Didn't feel like I went too deep just felt unconditioned to that type of speed. Off this I think low 4.20s is on the cards which converts to low 4.40s for the mile right now. Off Tuesdays last 1600 in 5.05 I'd say that's realistic.

The biggest thing here was that I am improving these paces hand over fist. Obviously the injury risk is huge at this pace but I think staying realistic on these paces and operating here and letting the pace come to me I will be in that 4.3x ball park by late summer.

Friday

Up and feeling strong again. Legs are tired but conditioning is so good that I don't feel as battered after a session anymore and I can recover.

Long recovery with John - 9 miles @ 7.48/mm feeling like I am moving well.

Easy to get carried away from here. I am loving the process. If I never reach my targets but I can run like this I would bite your hand off. I am recovering between sessions, all paces are up and effort down. My form is bouncy and I feel happy with my running. Do not jinx it - i.e do not do anything stupid haha

Plan from now is to taper. I will do the full 7 day cycle which goes -

12 easy, 5 & strides, rest, taper session, rest & massage, 5 7 strides, shakeout & race.

I just need to work on delivering the freshest possible legs to the start line. No training is going to improve my fitness. By Thursday I'll switch on my mental game. Stay on top of diet and sleep.

Race thoughts 

OK, so Mid Cheshire is the best possible opportunity to run a 15. I will give it 100% and see what is there. If not, I'll be back for June as there are lots more options on the road to get it done. This is part of the process. My race results since I restarted have been fantastic. Battersea was one that I ran as well as I could on that course. If I keep up what I am doing it'll happen naturally. Forget the time target, just execute a good solid account of myself and keep going forwards. The plan this year is to get an England masters vest and enjoy running when it's warm !!

I am fresh, I do not want to dig myself into a hole and need time off. If I could cut back, run fast and stay healthy I would take it. I want to enjoy it more than I want boom or bust records. Remember the time I had off, the frustration and pain of not being able to run free and bottle what I have now. I am not greedy. Let it come to me naturally. keep in the game, bring others along and stay positive.

Saturday

Up early to drop S in to work and then run 12 with Gabe on the usual Cambs loop. Felt pretty mint tbf, I am recovering really fast, even on fairly heavy legs I can run well enough. Great start to the taper. 12 miles @ 7.12/mm @ 138 bpm. Only 1 extra min of elapsed time compared to 5 last week lol.

That's pretty much everything now. I have a taper session on Tuesday but outside that it's purely 5 & strides or resting! Everything now is about my legs feeling better and better up to the point the gun goes bang!

3 1/2 weeks since I raced and the block has been A1. Everything has improved, I've got as I wanted. Zero complaints.

Sunday

Early 5 with strides with J. Felt nice and relaxed.

Week 3

53.5 miles run. Another solid week. Big 3k session, decent 1500 session and a long run. Taper started Friday afternoon so now the plan is to let the legs come good. Positive position to be in, really feeling good. Toughest thing to control from here is diet. Must make sure I eat cleaner and fuel correctly.

That's the 3 week block done. 58, 55, 53 miles banked. Lots going on outside running but got all my sessions in and more quality this time. Feel strong and starting to get on paces. The biggest thing right now is an overwhelming feeling that if this race doesn't go to plan I'll come back stronger and faster for the next one. I'm crazy fresh right now and I have only done 1 full training week so far. I have so much more to push.

Monday 18th May

Mary's funeral today. Total rest. 

Tuesday

Taper session. Touch of the 'tism so back to Eddy for exactly same session I always do lol.

2km - 4 x 400 - 4 x 200 - 1.2k tempo

Wear the Pro Evo 1s to test them out for Friday. Yes, they are mint. Super light, pretty stable and good return. Wear them for the 2k then switch to the Puma DNE4.

6.39 - 72/77/73/76 - 35/36/37/34 - 4.10

Paces on the 2k and 1200 were 5.18 and 5.24. The 2k was at 5k current pace and 164 bpm leveling out. Really good numbers. Was windy today too. The 400s were all over the place just couldn't settle in to pace was either way too quick or slightly too slow. The long loop tempo felt crazy easy to start, through in 3.20 then just settled the last bit as Hr raised but was set at 164 bpm.

Positive session, think being slightly nervous about Friday meant that I pushed a little too hard but not to worried about that. Ran a 3.15km in there so obviously feeling a bit punchy. 

Massage tomorrow and then last shakeout and it's game time. Feel good about it, main thing is knowing that I'll be back for more in June if not!

Wednesday

Massage with Jenny. Jury out on whether this needs to remain. Not sure I gained a lot but we hall see on Friday !! Run day rest. Let the legs come good.

Thursday

Warm up and cool down at track with the group. Did 1 mile of 200 off, 200 on. 5.38 for the mile. Legs feel very heavy but very responsive. Weird feeling lol. Better to feel heavy today than on race day.

Friday

Shakeout early pre-brekfast. No Garmin just ran steady. Felt like I went way too quick but legs feel good today. Anxiety is where it needs to be. All I need to do now is eat nutrition at the right time, arrive at the race HQ and do my pre-race ritual. Everything will take care of itself once the gun goes bang.

Obviously I'll do a full detailed blog of the race after the event, but this build has been as good as I could have hoped. Par would be 16.0x - that is where I (annoyingly) should be so we will see what happens.

Game day, need to get my head exactly where it needs to be and line up ready to execute a disciplined race plan.

Mid Cheshire 5k - 16.25 4th in v50. 165 bpm avg 173 max. That was a lot harder than last couple of races and I felt absolutely flat throughout.

Had to seriously dig that out, at no point was I relaxed or having fun. That was a brutal 16 1/2 mins of running and I just wanted to drop out pretty much from the start.

Hey ho ! It is what it is. On the warm up I felt rubbish and just had one of those days. If I can feel that bad and run that hard there is promise. Splits were 5.04, 5.26, 5.16 with a 4.51 pace finish. Actually held it together. Tbf was off the pace from the start and was about 8 secs off where I needed to be all the way.

In fairness, I'd run better on a flat and fast consistent terrain. Also wore the Pro Evo 1s and I should have stuck it out with the R3s. Lessons learned. Marginal seasons best and moved ahead of 3 people 1 sec ahead of me on seasons ranking.

Dust myself off and keep going. That's 16.28 - 16.28, 16.25 this year at least I am consistent !! Hope that does enough to get me an England Masters vest. That ranks me 7th (known) England V50 runner so far this year so fingers crossed.

Saturday

Up early with Dan and just got a very hilly 10 mile recovery done. Was funny watching Dan struggle from half way haha Felt OK after a couple of miles.

Sunday

Pre-travel long run. 11.62 miles with J - stopped for Weatherspoons breakfast at 10. 7.49/mm avg nice and relaxed. The boy is seriously underconditioned!

And that's a wrap! Battersea -> Mid Cheshire. 16.28 down to 16.25. Not exactly inspiring but I did manage to leap-frog 3 people in front of me in the rankings. I believe I'll be 8th in UK (7th England) so fingers crossed enough to secure a masters vest. Mid Cheshire did not go particularly well. I felt shocking from the start and wanted to quit early doors. Never felt in control of comfortable. Just ended up feeling tired and unresponsive BUT I did run a seasons best and my HR was higher avg and max so I still managed to fight. Good signs that I had the fight in me to empty the tank on a bad day.  At 51 I will take what I can get, you just have bad days and you have to roll with it.

Training in this block has been good. Conditioning is really strong and I am recovering fast.

Miles have gone 57, 55, 53, 42 (race week) for the block. Consistent mileage, paces are getting stronger. Just knockiong on the door of making quick stuff feel easier.

I'll be back at Battersea next month to finish the job.