Demi and I were recently given an opportunity to spend a running holiday at the lovely Gite La Fleurieu, in the Lot Valley in SW France, on the occasion of a Channel 4 programme which is due to be filmed there. I have never been on a running / cycling holiday before, but ever since…
Author: Leonard
Back in the Park
Every third week, my programme prescribes a reduced training volume (say by 15% or so), to allow the body to recover and prepare for another gradual increase the following week. In such rest weeks I have decided to swap the harder Long Runs (LR with Fast Finish, or LR with speedwork) for easier, steady runs…
Joy Cann 5, 2016
It was the Joy Cann 5 (miles) last week, and I have to admit I felt a bit nervous as it approached. It would be my first race under half marathon distance since May 2014 (so very different pace to what I’m used to recently), and a first indicator on how my new training approach…
Καλοκαίρι
(Summertime – for some reason this post’s title only felt right in Greek!) We came back to England from our holidays to find summer ripened; the fields have lost their bright green colour and turned yellow and the roads are still empty. I did very little running while I was away: The Penny Marathon, of course,…
Penny Marathon 2016
Summer holidays started on Saturday, and what better way to start two weeks of rest and relaxation, but to wake up at 6am and run a half marathon in support of Greek stray dogs and cats? Unfortunately there is a serious problem with homeless dogs and cats on the Greek streets, a situation which has…
New approach to training (Pt 2): A review of “80 20 Running”
In my previous post on this subject I explained that my quest for an enjoyable and effective training approach led me to read “80 / 20 Running” by Matt Fitzgerald; that its main proposition (namely that best improvements in running performance are brought about by a training regime that is made up of 80% low…
Muddy Saturdays never disappoint!
Boys grow up (to the extent that they ever do) convinced that muddy legs and grazed knees exude an air of – dare I say heroic- adventures: They then marry to have it explained to them that it’s just muck! 😃 (To be fair, I did stink!) The run itself was a muddy Saturday classic:…
My new approach to running and training (Pt 1)
I have mentioned in a few posts now how my whole running approach has changed after the Manchester Marathon in April and a few of you have asked to hear more about it. I’m not sure I have anything earth-shatteringly new to reveal that will change the sport of running forever, it’s more a case…
Summer running
Wow, I can’t believe it’s already been a month and a half since my last blog post! A number of distractions have kept me away from my keyboard all this time, but I’m pleased to report that I have at least filled the days with lots and lots of happy running! As previously advertised, I’ve…
Long Live the Long Days!
With Manchester Marathon out of the way, and after the requisite period of recovery, binge eating and taking frequent naps on my laurels, I’m back in training. I’ve no race lined up, but the past year has certainly been a long slog, spent primarily in recovery mode: recovering from last Springs’ reverses, letting myself go (certainly as far…
Sisyphus AC 