Adam in Runderland

It’s a difficult week. I’m on a taper in preparation for Sunday’s marathon. Hence, I feel tetchy, frustrated and antsy. I’m not sure if I will make it through the whole week without a run. I’m already itching to get out and it has only been 3 days. I feel ready for it. I have plenty miles under my belt this year – 1000 so far – and I have done a couple of 20+ runs in recent weeks. I’ve also done a lot of hill work whereas the course I will be running is pretty flat. A daily yoga routine is keeping me supple and I don’t have any twinges so far. The marathon is taking place in Thanet, which is an area covering the north eastern tip of Kent. Starting in Margate, it does a small loop before heading out to Ramsgate and back. There are a few small hills but nothing major. It is described as undulating. My goal is to come in under 3:30 but a small part of me wants to go sub 3:25. I think it is possible, but it will need me to be on top form and for everything to fall right on the day. Tha...

On Sunday I set out with my running buddy John to run to Wye, a village outside Ashford. We had been planning it for a while. Our goal was to follow the North Downs Way from Folkestone to Wye for 13 miles, and then continue the 5 miles to Ashford to catch the train back. My only job was to recce the route, but when I arrived at John’s house I realised I had left the map at home. Still, I had a rough idea, how hard could it be… We set off in high spirits at 6:30am. Within a couple of miles, we were on top of the downs over Folkestone and heading west along our usual route towards Summerhouse Hill. As we approached the hill we took the route towards Etchinghill which I remembered from the map. That’s as far as my memory went unfortunately and this was the point that we started to lose our way. After crossing a field, we faced the choice to go down to the village or up the hill away from the coast. My instinct said up so off we went. WRONG. By now we had lost our bearings and w...

Over recent months I have focussed on my mileage. Every run has been a distance challenge, and this has improved my stamina. With a regular 150 miles a month regime I feel good but unfortunately, it has also led me to neglect my speed work. The result has been slower parkrun times and a lack of variety in my training. After realising John was feeling the same way we decided to make our Thursday night training a speed session and decided on pyramid fartleks. A fartlek is simply a form of interval running with periods of hard effort interspersed with shorter times of rest. The pyramid aspect involves increasing the length of time or distance the maximum effort is held for and then reducing it back down again. Over time this enables you to run shorter distances (5k / 10k) faster. It was Dover’s turn to host this week and we met on the seafront where there is a long, curved esplanade hugging the harbour coastline. It is overlooked to one side by a row of five story Victorian hotels, 19...