2014 was awesome, 2015 could be even better...

A belated Happy New Year from me.

Its been a while since my last post as not a lot has been happening, well not from a training point-of-view.

My last update was man-flu related.

I ended up losing 25 days to whatever the hell I had over December.  It wasnt much fun.  Even after a course of antibiotics, a 7 day dose of additional steroids followed by a super-strength course of antibiotics, I was nowhere near 100%.  At one point I ended up in Queen Mary's at Sidcup for a Chest X-Ray, just so that the GP could rule out possible Pneumonia or some other nasty.  I cant tell you how relieved I was to find the X-Ray was all clear.

Thankfully, the almost constant coughing and wheezing has now stopped which has allowed me to start training again, all be it very slowly.  I'm now religiously taking my steroid inhaler, something thing I've never done since my teens and I'm carrying my Ventolin inhaler around with me everywhere.

As you'll see from my Strava feed, my first run back was on the 29th December.  That was a huge eye opener for me.  That ended the longest break I've had from training since I started taking my fitness seriously and it has affected me badly.

My stamina has gone, my leg muscles are aching after each run, so much so that my quads have felt bruised upon return and stretching and my HR, both active and resting has gone through the roof.

I've since run 5k on Jan 1st, 5k on Jan 2nd and then what I would call a very conservative 10k on Jan 5th, despite my average HR being much higher than it should be for a run of that pace.  However, that is to be expected after the time off.

As I build up my training again, no doubt my HR will come back down again.

It's disappointing and very frustrating to know that I ran my quickest 10k in almost a year in my last run before coming down ill but its one of those things that you just have to accept.  Illness and injury will occur and there's not much we can do about it.  We need to manage our bodies and try to look after ourselves as much as we possibly can.

I ended 2013 with a review, so I really should officially end 2014 in the same way, all be it a week later than it should have been.

2014 was pretty awesome.  Here are my final stats:

Not only did I run my first marathon in April, I ran another three, making it 4 in a year.  I managed a fraction over 1,016 miles for 2014, a little less than the 1,055 I racked up for 2013.

In terms of my 2014 targets, I achieved #1 (successfully running Paris all be it not sub 4hr as planned) and #5 (running more marathons). Target #2 of running a sub 50 min 10k totally evaded me as I didnt actually run one competitive 10k in the year.  I'll leave that one as a work in progress.

As for Targets #3 and #4, neither really happened.  I think my cycling days are well and truly over, if I'm being honest with myself.  Although I enjoyed a few of the rides I had last year, cycling doesnt physically challenge me any more.  I cant be hassled with the maintenance required for a decent road bike and I certainly cant be hassled with traffic.  The last two rides I had ended up with me getting a sh*t-load of road rash, thorns and my life flashing before my eyes.  I've got an 8 year old daughter and I want to see her grow up.  I know I can trust myself on my bike but sadly I cant trust other road users.  As much as cycling is becoming popular, the roads are becoming unsafer.

As for social life, mixed really.  Hopefully that will improve in 2015.

However, totally out of the blue I met a woman and she's put a smile on my face.  Its a  pretty tough thing to do in all respects so 2014 has been a pretty decent year.

Unlike NYE on 2013 when I went running just before midnight to totally forget the New Year was coming, NYE 2014 was spent partying.  Talk about a change lol.

So on to 2015.  Hopefully it'll be even better than 2014.

As for objectives & targets, I'm going to leave them as open as I can...

1) Achieve a new marathon PB.

2) Achieve a new 10k PB.

Stating numbers is counter-intuitive.  I'd desperately like to run a sub 4:00 marathon and a sub 50min 10k but until I actually do it, I wont know if I can.  2014 taught me a lot about my body and a lot of the time is down to timing.  I was in decent shape ahead of Amsterdam but being ill the night before the race ruined the run for me.

If its going to happen, it will.  Of course, we need to train to give our bodies the best chance of making it happen but I'm going to try and run this year without putting myself under any pressure.  I want to enjoy my hobby and not get overly compulsive about my targets, although I intend to train as hard as I can.

To give my body the best chance to succeed, I've now knocked the booze on the head for the foreseeable and I'm back to counting the calories religiously again in an attempt to drop a few more pounds (25 days of no training over the Christmas period is not a good scenario as you can imagine).

So here's so a happy, successful and most importantly injury/incident free 2015.

JB.

Back on the wagon...

Following Amsterdam, I was determined not to make the same mistakes as I had done after Paris.  I was going to properly rest for 2 weeks before running again.

However, it didnt quite turn out like that.

I didnt run for 8 days but I was itching to get out again by then so I thought I'd go out for a gentle plod.  As it so happened, it was a Tuesday night and I was staying with Alison in Petts Wood so I thought why not go for a run with the local club, Petts Wood Runners.

In comparison to the Plums, PWR is a much bigger club with much larger number of runners and it was quite strange turning up for a club run with about 70-80 people, where as 20 would be a great turn out for the Plums.

The advantage PWR have is that they can put on a selection of runs, covering various different paces.  7 groups, all bases covered.  Everything from the slows peeps through to the fast guys and girls.

Because I was recovering from Amsterdam, I chose group 5, which stated from the outset that the average pace for the run of just over 10k would be 9:15 min/mile pace, something I can usually do with my eyes shut and without not too much effort.

If I'm honest, I felt pretty good throughout the run and didnt feel as though I was busting a gut but one alarm bell was beginning to ring. Well, lets say bleep. My average HR was 168bpm. Now thats my race pace average HR. Uh-oh. From previous experiences, seeing a highly elevated average HR for a run of not taxing effort is a sure sign of tiredness and overtraining. Thus I decided to have another 6 days off before attempting to run again.

Now, PWR.  The run was good, it was a decent route but it was so different from a run with the Plums.  With the Plums, its a really happy camp.  Everyone is pleased to see the other members and you hit it off instantly.  A 8-9 mile run is usually peppered with conversation from the usual suspects and we discuss everything and anything from the football, women...you name it, its constant chat all the way round, no matter how hard the run is.  Its that kind of bonding, down to earth and very personal.  PWR didnt strike me like that.  I introduced myself to the group leader at the start of the run and that was pretty much it for the conversation until the last half a mile or so.  Very strange.  I hope if I run with them in the future it will be a bit different to that.

During that extended 6 day rest period, I spoke to Alison about how I tend to take longer than most to recover from a marathon and I really needed to get back on the wagon as I knew I'd put on some weight but I needed to lose it.  Alison was keen to join me on the regime and we decided to get some new scales.  Not just any scales though.  Luckily for me, Alison is a keen gadget lover too and we opted for some wi-fi linked scales, the Withings WS-50.

They're expensive but they're definitely worth it.  You get on the scales first thing in the morning, your weight is then transmitted by wi-fi to the Withings app on your iPhone (also compatible with Android smartphones) then you can tie your Withings account to your My Fitness Pal account and you have the complete weight loss tool at your disposal, as long as you're committed to counting the calories.

(Talking Alison being a gadget lover, we've bought her a Garmin Vivosmart.  Its a fitness activity tracker which plugs into the Garmin Connect system that I've been using for years, which can sync with My Fitness Pal.  She's been experiencing a few teething problems but once we've sorted them, I'll attempt to write up a brief review!)

Anyhow, 17 days in...

...one 'bad' day which took me 200 calories over but I'm running a calorie deficit for the 17 days and I've lost almost half a stone and my body fat percentage is between 14-15% which I'll take gladly. Now thats progress.  I could do with losing 4-5lb more then I'll be happy.  It'll take a couple of weeks but I'm moving in the right direction.

I can already feel the difference in my running in that short space of time.

Since running in Petts Wood on a regular basis, I've made a short 2.8 mile out and back loop from Alison's road which is nicely undulating and creates a sort-of fartlek if you like, as the pace can change throughout due to the gradient.

The loop is here...

Now the four times I have run the loop since the start of the weight-loss kickstarter, you can see my times have improved and my HR is steadily dropping...

Data captured from Strava...via Garmin Connect

Last week's Wednesday night Plums run was brutal and was quite possibly the hardest run we've done on a Wednesday night in a long time.

Three big climbs in Shooters Hill, Eglinton Hill and Bostall Hill with a nice little flattish bit in the last mile and a half to open the legs up and kick for home. My HR was reasonably stable and increased where I would expect it to be, so more evidence that I'm getting over Amsterdam and I'm getting back to where I should be.

I think we can safely say I'm back on the wagon of consistency and discipline. Damn it, did that bacon roll just pass my lips?

Changes to the blog...

As most of my readers would have assumed by now, I'm one for the small details.

In my last post, I said that I'm trying to reduce my percentage body fat totals so I'm recording a food diary and looking closely at the nutritional content of what I'm putting into my body.

I thought it would be a good idea to publicise three key indicators on here:

• Calories consumed
• Net calories consumed
• Fat consumed

Check out the new Diet and Nutrition tab.  I'm now going to post the reports from My Fitness Pal in here as a record.