What a difference 11 weeks can make. After a rubbish performance in the Reading Half Marathon in March, followed by an unlucky outing in the British 10K in July, I managed to set another PB at Berlin in a race where I wasn't expected to, after the less-than-impressive start to the running year.
I can't even stress how badly I started out this year. Over Christmas and New Years, I had a much deserved holiday back in New Zealand where running was pretty much put on the back burner. Those times that I did go running, I found it tough due to lack of fitness and the hot summer conditions, which is unlike running in the UK on a summer's day. January was pretty much Holiday Month, while February was Sickness Month. During mid-February I struggled with illness so much that it sidelined me from quality training. Finally when I got well again, on came March, or Moving Month. I had to settle back into life in the UK once more. The Reading Half Marathon came around and I pretty much struggled through the entire run.
When I first moved to the UK and wondering what I could do in Reading, I remembered checking out the Reading Roadrunners website as I was keen to join the club. Unfortunately I was living on the other side of town and without a car it wasn't convenient for me to get there. Any thoughts of figuring out how to get there were quickly squashed when I decided to move to Spain, and then Norway. This time I made a conscious decision to find a place close by. It was also the time that I learned about parkrun, a weekly free 5 km timed run held on Saturdays throughout the country, and it just so happened that Reading also had its own parkrun in Thames Valley Park. So, if I could find a place that was close to the running club and Thames Valley Park (and also my workplace), that would be a huge win for my running.
Going to club nights and Reading parkrun has basically transformed my running and introduced me to a great group of people with the same common interest. Over the weeks, I've been put on a diet of short, fast stuff. The group environment is fun, enjoyable and very competitive, and this has made me work harder than if I was running on my own. And parkrun has brought back the pace in my 5K times, a distance I wasn't really familiar racing. Slowly and surely the times did go down, finally breaking the 21 minute barrier. In my mind I knew I could run a 20 min 5K, and parkrun has affirmed that. Now I just need to break the 20 minute barrier and become a 19 minute 5K runner.
The aim of parkrun was to prepare mostly for the British 10K and get the speed back into my marathon running. Unfortunately I had tummy trouble which handicapped me for the last half of the race. Still it was an okay time of 47:15, if I was running at full health I would've set a 10K PB. With only 11 weeks to the Berlin Marathon, it was time to ease off the throttle at parkrun and focus on marathon-specific training. During the hardest weeks, I put in 30 consecutive days of training, averaging over 90 km a week. This was where I found out that I was capable of that volume of training, without feeling weak, run down, sick or injured. If I could put in that volume of training consistently, and take good care of myself, I was sure that my running will reach new heights. I was sure that the increased volume was reaping benefits - my timed runs on the track were improving every time. I was just hoping that it would lead to a marathon PB.
And come race day in Berlin, I did run a PB. In fact, I ran a controlled marathon with a negative split. Had I started out faster than I did, there was probably little chance of getting that PB.
This year has taught me a lot about my running. The only way that I will improve is to keep running, to be consistent, to put in the miles day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. Forget the radical training plans that promise quick results with less time and effort; running has no shortcuts and to be at your very best you need to put in the time and effort. I've found what works for me and I hope to be consistent with the approach.
Since I ran Berlin, I've been putting some work into reducing my times at shorter distances. I've managed to set a parkrun PB of 20:21, which is a lot faster than what I ran a couple of weeks before Berlin. My timed 2-mile time has gotten slightly slower unfortunately, not sure what the reason for that was. But I'm quite confident that I'm at the same fitness level as when I was running Berlin, and the best thing is that I still have some time to prepare for next year's events. In April 2012, I'll be running the Reading Half Marathon (for the 4th time!) and making my debut in the Paris Marathon, a marathon I've always wanted to run since I moved to the UK. I'm hoping to run sub-3:15 in Paris, but if I can run sub-3:10 and get a Good For Age place for the London Marathon, then I'd be very stoked as I never seem to have much luck getting a place through the public ballot system.
As much as I love Berlin and running the Berlin Marathon, I've decided not to run in Berlin next year. Instead I'll be entering the Chicago Marathon in October, making this my first marathon in North America and getting one step closer to completing a marathon grand slam (finish the 5 marathons in the World Marathon Majors). It's supposed to be a fast course so I'm hoping to use this race to set a huge PB, as long as I can stay consistent with my mileage and volume from now to Chicago.
2012 looks to be a great year for running. I don't believe there will be any disruptions to distract me from training, and I've found a training approach which works for me. Above all, I've got a perfect base from which to work off, and provided I can stay consistent then I can look forward to faster times and better races. Bring it on!
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