Ben’s Olympic Dream

Blog Post: Saucony Kinvara 3 - EXPOSED

BenMoreau — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:20:00 GMT

I was apparently the first to receive the new Saucony Kinvara 3, according to the note I received in the very well presented box, that opened like a drawer, and had a t-shirt and a USB stick in there with information about the shoes. The t-shirt was too big, and I threw away the USB stick by accident, but still, it was a nice touch.

I don’t believe I was the very first to receive the shoes, but I was apparently only one of 3 owners in the UK of the shoes until they launch in April. For those that are familiar with Kinvara 1 and 2, they’ll know that they are a lightweight (220g) training shoe somewhere without much support. The heel is just 4mm higher than the toe compared to 12mm from the ‘average’ training shoe and the purpose of this is to create a greater range of motion and give a more powerful stride. I can’t vouch for this, but I’m sure many millions of dollars of research have been pumped into it. I CAN tell you that it’s not hugely noticeable while running, except that you do feel like you’re wearing a racing shoe and ready to run fast.

I’ve always used the Kinvara as a shoe to wear on steadies where I may want to pick up the pace, or for longer runs where I may have some tempo running included. They offer a bit more cushioning than a racer but you still feel ready to run fast in them. My only criticism (and this is a very personal thing) is that the sole feels very ‘soft’ which is nice and comfortable, but I wonder if I get as much back from them as a traditional racer with firmer soles.

For those that have owned a pair of Kinvaras in the past and wonder what’s new, I’d say it’s mainly to do with the ‘feel’ of the shoe and the new Flexfilm upper. This Flexfilm replaces the ‘mesh’ type upper of the previous Kinvaras and means there are fewer layers. The shoe feels more comfortable than previous versions, and I think this is down to the Hydramax lining which has a bit more padding and holds the foot a bit tighter in the shoe. There are some minor amendments to the sole but nothing you would notice when running. The sole also feels less ’soft’, which is an improvement for me.

My first real run in these was a 20 miler, with the last 10 miles at close to 5 minute miling. For me, this shoe is the perfect shoe for this type of run, although some may find it too lightweight (but I only weigh 9 stone so I’m not normal!). They felt comfortable for the first 10 miles, and didn’t cause any calf tightening which I sometimes get when I wear racers for long runs. Once I moved onto the faster running, I felt light and fast and there were no restrictions on my foot movement as I moved more onto my toes. This is where the shoe can come into its own as it really focuses on a smooth heel to toe transition and running at pace tests this fully. I felt comfortable and fast but also that I was being given enough cushioning that a run like this won’t batter my legs too much in the idle of a tough training cycle.

Obviously I’m sponsored by Saucony, and I’m not going to slag off any shoes they send me (but I would just keep quiet instead of lying!). I should also add that very few shoes really give me problems. Saying that, I’ve not enjoyed running in clumpy shoes for a few years now and always enjoy the lighter training shoes. I can’t really find any criticisms of this shoe. I wouldn’t race in them, and I wouldn’t do all my mileage in them either, but for 2 or 3 runs a week where you want to get some miles done and maybe pick up the pace a bit, I’d say they were ideal. They have also carried on the trend of bold colourways and so if you like to look a bit flashy when you’re out running, you’ll be impressed.

Blog Post: My experience of a Kenyan long run!

BenMoreau — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:45:00 GMT

My plan for my first long run in Kenya was to do 90mins to 2 hours and I had 2 options: run with Kenyans on the Saturday or the UKa group on the Sunday. There were pros and cons for each but myself and Ben Hope opted for the Kenyan run, expecting that some runners in the group would run very easy. Kenyan resident Gav Smith told me I would be fine while Lee Merrien and John Beattie were very wary, having been toasted by a group of Kenyans the previous week on a 'steady run'.

I asked Gavin to find out what time to meet and all he could find out was 'sometime between 6.10 and 6.30, at the junction. Randoms always jump in unannounced so just get involved!'. So myself and Ben got up at 5.40 to have a cup of tea and then ambled down at 6.10. We immediately bumped into a Kenyan guy jogging down there who was friendly enough. The group of 20-25 was already formed and I immediately noticed there were no girls there. I'd hoped to run with them at least, but there was no hope of that now. I asked if we could join them and the reply was "25k?". I said that was fine and after a quick pep talk in Kilenji from the leader, we were off!

I was told it would at least start slow, and then build up. It didn't seem slow to me and I sat at the back of a 6.35 first mile. Ben Hope had vowed to get involved and mix it for as long as he could while I was taking much more of a damage limitation approach. The 2nd mile was faster - sub 6. We were moving downhill now but still, this was NOT slow. I let the group go and just kept them in sight as other Kenyan runners joined the group from various paths.

After a 5.28 3rd mile I had resigned myself to running on my own. Ben was ahead and I couldn't see him, not helped by the fact the sun was only just rising. We were following a straight dirt trails and I at least knew the way home from here. I was passing some runners but it was impossible to tell if they were in the original group or just people doing their own thing. As the sun came up, I could appreciate the beautiful scenery of the sun coming up over the mountains with only dirt trails and runners in sight.

I could still see the group and felt comfortable enough at my 6min mile pace so just kept following them. By mile 5 I was definitely catching members of the group and I started running with a guy called Samuel who confirmed he was doing the full 25k. He said he was out of shape and was definitely finding it tough. I made the error of moving ahead of him down a hill - not by much - but enough to wound his pride as he went past me and flew off ahead of me again. At this point, I could see Ben Hope coming back to me and he had had an eye opening experience.

He ran a 5.09 3rd mile and apparently suffered teasing about his running style from the Kenyans. Not long after, he found the pace way too hard and had to slow down. He stopped for a toilet break which is where I left him. He ended up jogging home on a shorter route with 2 women who seemed to have no interest in talking to him but at least knew the way home. I was glad he made it home and not off into the distance never to be seen again.

I followed the dribs and drabs falling off the lead group, although the leaders were well gone by now and I hadn't seen these since mile 3 or so. Two latecomers had come past me with encouragement of "You're good!". I thanked them and let them go ahead. They even checked that I had turned off the road to follow them back to Iten. They saw I was not far behind and motioned for me to catch up.

One guy, Andrew, had run 62 for a half-marathon and won Stroud Half and was 2nd in Cardiff. The other was called John and had never raced in Europe, being a 64 min half runner. We were now at mile 10 and the remaining 6 miles were all uphill, which made conversation scarce, as well as my comfortable 6 min miles. After 95 mins of running we completed the 25k loop and I had averaged 6.07 miling and had actually felt pretty comfortable, except for the hills, but who ever feels 'comfortable' running up hills anyway?! It was certainly a fantastic experience to see so many talented runners meeting up at sunrise for a long run around incredible scenery, and I'll go next week and do a bit better!

See my Run Here

Blog Post: Can talent be a curse?

BenMoreau — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:01:00 GMT

The news about Martin Fagan this week was at first glance another story of elite runners with more money than sense showing utter disrespect for their fellow competitors in a pursuit for glory (more cash). Yet reading a little more into his situation, if we believe it, revealed a side to athletics that we rarely see and one for which there is little support. I think taking drugs to aid performance and deprive others of what they deserve is deplorable. This seems even worse in a tight knit distance community where friendships and camaraderie grow over time. I've never experienced the anger of being deprived of a major athletic achievement due to the action of an athlete who's decided to take illegal shortcuts to get what he wants, and if it was also the action of someone I regarded as a friend, this would be a doubly bitter pill to swallow.

However, Martin Fagan's case is a little different to me. He claims that he had lost sponsorship, was riddled with debt and having to gamble on making an Olympics just to make ends meet and 'survive'. This led to depression and even contemplation of suicide. He was forced to lie to his coach and race directors about his fitness while he was carrying serious injuries just to get into races to receive appearance fees, and then he thought about taking drugs. He claims he only took EPO once and then got tested the next day, and never competed under its effects. This may be a lie but in my eyes it's not important. What is important is what drove him to contemplate the taking of drugs and how there must be others in his situation. His undeniable running talent was his curse. He wasn't a world beater but he was an Olympian and many would give anything for his talent. I am one of them. But I'm extremely lucky that if running doesn't go well for me or I get an injury, then I'll be ok. I have a good job and running has always been an enjoyable distraction outside of this. However much I may envy those that don't have to run and work, I would never ever want to be in situation where I was relying on running to live. Sure, I may find myself able to give up work (theoretically, I know I'm nowhere near that good right now!) but that would be a choice and if that situation no longer became viable, I'd go back to work. I'm sure many of you will say that Martin should have just got a job and got on with it. True, he should have. But that would have compromised his chance of making the Olympics and ’everything would be ok’ if he'd made the Olympics. Couple this with obvious mental turmoil, depression and a compulsion to get the very best out of himself and rational decisions like this don't seem so easy.

I don’t know Martin and what was going through his head. I only have the article I read to go on. Sure, it may be bullshit, but I'm choosing to believe it’s true. What I began to realise was how glad I was that I ran because I wanted to and because I enjoyed it. If someone took all I had away and said I would only get it back if I made the Olympics then this enjoyment would be gone. I realise this is not the case with Fagan, but I think that's almost how he saw it in his mind. His words about the relief of being caught for drugs and not having to run anymore spoke volumes. We've all been in a situation where we wanted to quit, but couldn’t actually do it, and carried on regardless, hoping someone would take that responsibility away from ourselves. This is what being caught EPO has done for Fagan.

Whatever your views on the credibility of his story, or the choices he made; when you go for a run today, be thankful its because you want to, not because you have to.

Blog Post: New Years Eve victory, with a difference!

BenMoreau — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:43:00 GMT

So I did the Berlin Silvesterlauf 10km on New Years Eve.

I was in Berlin anyway for New ears Eve with some friends and they had found this race and so wanted to do it in fancy dress. This gave me ideas about running it instead of my tempo run and also join in the fun by seeing what costume I could wear and still be able to run reasonably properly. The only fancy dress costume I already owned was a stormtrooper outfit, from a stag do in 2010. It's basically a thin material suit with foam armour and so is reasonably easy to run in. The helmet is the tricky bit and in the end I had to abandon the helmet as I couldn't see out of it!

My friends all did the 6.6km run, and I started 30 minutes later. I managed to pin my number to the foam armour and felt pretty silly doing a 20 minute warm up in a stormtrooper outfit but got on with it anyway! The race was around a park near the Olympic Stadium and someone told me before the race there were a couple of hills, which wasn't too much of a worry. As I got onto the start line and pushed towards the front, I relaised that a lot of people were taking this seriously and were 'proper' runners. Sure, there were a few costumes near the back but no doubt they thought I was a bit of a twat for getting towards the front in my outfit! Anyway, the race started and I found I could run ok in the suit and abut 8 guys went off quite quickly and I just started off comfortably trying to see how easy it was to run. After about a mile and a half there were about 3 guys at the front and I moved towards the front. As I drew on the leader's shoulder he had a glance to his left to see who was coming up on him and then did a double take as he saw I was in costume. It was hilarious but I actually felt a bit embarassed to be in costume amongst these guys who were taking it seriously! The truth is I was also taking it seriously, but just happened to be n costume too! We passed 2 miles in 10.15 and 2 guys were sat behind me. I had made no push to lose them yet as I knew there was a lot of running to go and wasn't sure how this suit was going t affect me later on! Just after the 2 mile mark we started to go uphill, and man what a hill! It went on for about 3/4 of a mile and was very steep indeed. A guy went past me up the hill and I was working hard but he got a gap on me and I couldn't do much about it. Uphills are never my strength and so I just decided to get this out of the way and gather msyelf once it was over. As we swept downhill again, I gained on the leader and went past him again, getting a small lead myself, before the 'Devil hill'hit at 3.5 miles or so. Now I didn't know about this 'devil hill' until after the race but it spiralled up and up and I was just expecting that guy to come past me again as he seemed so strong the first time we had gone uphill. He never did and eventually we reached the top and then were sent down a very steep offroad narrow path that I couldn't even run down properly as it was so steep and bumpy. I wasn't going to risk a twisted ankle in this race and the suit restricted me being able to stretch out so I didn't expect to be in the lead for much longer.

As it turned out, the guy who led up the first hill must have pushed too soon, as I seemed to have quite a gap once we reached level ground again and I followed a lead bike through a wooded path. There were about 2 miles to go now and the suit was starting to feel quite hot and my legs were tired from the hills. I looked back on a couple of corners on the course and couldn't see anyone so just worked hard, following the lead bike. As we turned a corner a little German kid shouted 'Star Wars!' and pointed excitedly so I gave him a wave and then about 400m later a guy started running next to me singing the Imperial March at me! I also scared a few walkers on the course who turned round to see a stormtrooper running at them and yelped in surprise! I was getting more and more irritated with the suit as the race went on and I have respect for the marathoners who can cope with the suits for so long! Eventually, we turned back into the stadium and all my friends were ecstatic that I had managed to win it. A few were unsure as I had been to bed a bit late the night before and probably hadn't prepared in the orthodox fashion, with a few martinis at some point in the night....

I crossed the line in 32.59, and was 30 seconds clear of 2nd. None of the finishing athletes shook my hand and I don't blame them! I won a giant Dougnut and some champagne - which was useful on New Years Eve! I donned the helmet for the podium and the organiser at least was quite amused and lots of children and random Germans asked for their photo with me. I actually ran quite hard and was surprised I managed a 4.59 first mile! The guy in 2nd who looks like Ali G was taking it very seriously and asked if my suit had special powers. Maybe it did....

Blog Post: Experian agree to sponsor me!

BenMoreau — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:04:00 GMT

Hi all,

I had some great news last week in that Experian (the parent company of Techlightenment, who I work far too hard for) agreed to sponsor me! They will give me some money each year to spend on training camps and physio/healthcare as well as race travel. This is obviously great and takes some worry off my mind when justifying training camps as well as when injuries occur and you have that moment of "Do I really want to spend my money on this? Something that doesn't even guarantee fixing it?".

They have also given me support in extra time off to do all of these extra things. I basically get extra holiday days but can work online in between training. Luckily I can still lead projects and manage things without physically being at work, and although it's not ideal, it can work for a few weeks. Thank you Mr Internet Man for creating it!

This all came about because my existing company used to help me out occasionally but when we got bought it was harder to justify and so I went straight to the head of Experian to just ask if they could help. They do have schemes to help good causes but not for individuals so I was a bit outside of the remit but they made a new scheme just for me and I'm delighted. Experian are seen as a very corporate company - they wear suits to work and everything, but this just shows that they are really enthusiastic and understanding towards ambitions outside of work.

I did hang my proposal all around 'Ben's Olympic dream' and so I hope they aren't too upset if I don't run under 2.12. I did explain it was a long shot and I have ambitions beyond the Olympics but I'm not sure that bit registered....!

Oh well, the first use of this money is to have regular physio every 2 weeks and also I've booked flights to Kenya for Feb. Amelia is going with me and is very excited about learning to make Kenyan 'cuisine' and chase giraffes around. Hopefully a few other people will be out there too.

Ben

Blog Post: My Twitter Q+A project!

BenMoreau — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:20:00 GMT

Hi all,

Some may call this lazy but I have gone to the Twitter World (follow me here if you like) to ask the questions of the people and will publish those questions here. They may be a little haphazard as the questions came from all over the place but you'll just have to put up with that! It was quite interesting for me to see the sort of questions people ask, some are the obvious ones, others are things that perhaps I see as automatic but for others are much less so. Anyway, here we go!

DazReevell
if you could give just one tip to new runners what would it be?

I get asked this a lot and it's not an easy one to answer but I always say something along the lines of - be consistent and sensible. By this I mean don't just rush gung-ho into a crazy training schedule. Start small and very gradually build things up around a training plan that suits your lifestyle and is sustainable. If you just try and run longer than you're used to then you increase risk of injury and also knackering yourself so much it's not enjoyable anymore. Start within your limits, try and run regularly, and very gradually increase the distance (not EVERY run either!).

marathonman4
What is it in your opinion that Kenyan and East African long distance athletes are doing that seems to be leaving Europe behind?

Very topical! I think it's a combination of a few factors, but I think the overpowering one is sheer numbers. There are so many top class African athletes out there compared to the top 'Western' runners. Whay are there so many? Well, I think it's down to the fact that running offers real career prospects. Prize money in Europe for a Kenyan is worth so much that for many it can make them incredibly rich and with so few opportunities in their own country that ir's really the only way to make money. Also, success breeds success. The national icons in Kenya and Ethiopia are endurance athletes. When I was in Ethiopia, everyone was talking about Haile and he was a god there. Everyone wants to be the next Haile or Paul Tergat and this desire drives them on. Mo and Paula have helped here, but with so many other sporting heroes, the population is divided. Why are they so good? Well, in my opinion this is down to a simple lifestyle, living at altitude and yes, genetic factors. I have no doubt that the East Africans are genetically blessed distance runners. I do not actually believe they train any harder than us or do anything different. I belive they are gifted, full of desire, and have the power of numbers.

MattWang83
What's your guilty pleasure?

Haha, I have a few! Ale is one and my weakness is definitely the urge to sit in a pub and have a few ales with puns in their name! I still do have a few ales but I pick and choose my times. I also love coffee, and Boost bars....

boywhatruns
What would you recommend as a vital speed/interval session for marathon training?

I don't thnk any speed session is vital for marathon running. Long runs and sustained marathon pace running is vital, not speed sessions. Saying that, it's good to add in some 5k/10k pace running just to stress different energy systems and also to reset your pace governance so that marathon pace 'feels' slow compared to the faster work. I do do 5k/10k pace work as part of marathon prep and I tend to add in tempo either side of it to a) increase the session volume and b) learn to run comfortably at marathon pace even when tired as it's not always suitable to simulate that tiredness by having run for 15 miles beforehand! I will do sessions like 3 x (2 x 1k, 5 x 400) at 10k pace for the ks and 3-5k pace for the 400s. Also, standard sessions like 10 x 1k or 5 x 2k are great.

AndyVernonGB
How do you feel when you line up against a great rival such as @leemerrien ?

A celebrity tweet! Andy runs with me at Aldershot and I have known him for years. To answer his slightly humurous question: Lee is a tough competitor and one I know very well having trained/roomed/raced aginst him several times over the years. He usuallly has the edge over me but if I beat him, I know I've had a great run.

AndyVernonGB
How did it feel cruising to victory at the nat 6 stage beating athletes such as @leemerrien @Keith_Gerrard and@scottoverall ?

Haha! Getting silly now Andy. It was great to break the tape at the 6 stage and in fact Scott Overall shouted to me as I jogged to the start line having confessed to my fitness concerns and knowing I would be in 2nd place to start with Keith Gerrard chasing me "I wouldn't want to be you Ben! Good luck!". So it was doubly satisfying to take 1st place and also hold off Keith!

Keith_Gerrard
How did it feel NOT be on the front cover of AW for your 6-stage efforts? Harsh I thought.

Agreed. It was probably my only chance of getting on the front cover. I even remembered not to stop my watch as I crossed the line as it doesn't look good on the photo.

Scullionxc
Do you live by the code of the Garmin, like myself and @AndyVernonGB, or do you run free like @Keith_Gerrard and@scottoverall

By the garmin... I don't use it to pace myself, but I do use it to gauge how fit I am. It won't cause me to slow down or speed up and I don't run to a set pace, but I do like stats as a measure of how fit I am! Also, it adds something interesting on runs, just to see how things are going!

gobi_one
How do you manage getting to race weight but still having the energy to train hard ?

Hmmm, I have never ever watched my weight! It's been about 56kg for more than 10 years I think! Generally I eat when I am hungry, and all the training keeps the weight down!

gobi_one
Do you have a key weekly session you use as part of your marathon buildup?
Not weekly, but I revisit sessions like 8 x 1km every 2-3 weeks. I also do lots of tempo running (at least 1 a week) and my pace/mile gives me a great indication of how fit I am. I know when I am doing 8 x 1km in about 2.50 and I feel quite comfortable that things are going well!

gobi_one
What is the longest MP run you do in your buildup?

I will do half-marathon races at my marathon pace sometimes as part of a build up. I like doing this as my mind is in race mode and so it always feels more comfortable to run at MP in a race than on my own on a canal. Generally the highest volume effort I will ever do will be 22-24 miles with about 10-13 miles at MP. There would only be 1 or 2 of these in my build up though - you can't do these every week!

Keith_Gerrard
Favourite training location in the world?

Very tough one - the hills at the top of Addis Ababa were amzing to run on - seeing Bekele coming the other way was pretty special! But Addis in general is difficult as you need a car to get everywhere. Font Romeu is similar in needing a car but the runs there are so peaceful and the views are amazing.

tim_grose
Marathon training question. How many mpw should you be doing before twice a day runs?

Another popular topic of debate! I would say 70-80mpw is enough in single runs and then anything more requires doubles. No doubt a 10-12 miler in a single run is more beneficial in terms of marathon training than 2 x 6miles, but is it possible to to do a 12 miler on a recovery day and really be recovering? I think not and tend to mix it up with Monday and Friday being days when I will not do a run over 8-9 miles or so and ensure I can recover. For me, around the 10mile mark (or 70mins of running) is where I feel the effects for the rest of the day. I can run 9 miles and notice I've been for a run, but 12 miles and I definitely feel it. This has taken a while to build up to and it will obviously vary by individual.

tim_grose
another question. How much of your running is actually on the road?

A lot. Well, a lot is on canals and footpaths which are pretty solid underfoot. I don't see the point of running through mud anymore in training and I think that this has determined how I've improved as a road runner in recent years. I tend to find myself hitting a rhythm and that my body has become accustomed to good running surfaces. Also, it may be why I'm not as good as XC as perhaps I once was!

Bradford82
What's the most effective change to your training you've ever made?

This is an easy one for me. Long runs with tempo/MP running in. These wiped me out at the start and I couldn't handle them. Now I've learnt to do them under control and feeling like I had more. I started doing 40 easy/40 steady/40 tempo (where the last 20mins would be 'hanging on' and well off MP) and now can do these feeling controlled and much faster than I could before. If you want to run a good marathon, these runs are the key. But again, not every week. I would do this every 2-3 weeks or so.

iaintaggart
do u advise a taper for shorter races? Cross country to 10k.

Depends! If it is a key target then yes, but only for 3-4 days or so. If it's just part of a build up for another race then I wouldn't taper for it and just run it expecting to not feel as sharp as I'd like.

AlexPSullivan
What miles do you do in "off" season before build to mara? And what's ur typical 'foundation' period before final buildup?

80-100 miles per week. I need to be fit before I start the build-up but I won't have done any long gruelling tempo runs and the sessions will be lower on volume than normal. My foundation period will vary really on how long until my next marathon. I never have more then 2-3 weeks out of running at any time unless it's enforced by illness/injury.

racingsnake1
what was the first race you won?

I can't remember! I remember winning a 3km track race when I was 14 or so. First XC race would have been a school race when I was 14 or so as well.

paulhalford
What's the most mileage you personally can run on a recovery day to be ready for a session the next?

This is hard to say. I've definitely done 2 x 10miles and then done a great session the next day and I do get periods where whatever I do, I just seem to recover and feel amazing the next day. As a general rule, 2 x 50mins (8 miles) is what I can do and still run hard the next day.

gobi_one
what pace do you easy/recovery runs ?

Usually 6.45-7.15 miling. I don't ever go much slower than this and when I have a hard session that day, my morning run will be purposefully slow.

Bradford82
How do you judge whether to rest or run through an injury/pain?

This is really tough. Especially given recent circumstances! Generally, if the injury gets worse as the run goes on, this is a very bad sign. If it eases off I tend to think it's ok and just a niggle but then if that starts to worsen day to day or week to week then you have to cut your losses and get it sorted. I've definitely run through injuries that have cleared up, and those that haven't and I've had to just face the facts and take time off. I hate running through pain and if it the injury is affecting your running rather than just 'being a bit sore' then it needs to be sorted.

Too_Much_Ha_Ha
Q: How do you know if you're training volume is too high or if you could do more? Trial and error?

Another very good question. If you're feeling continually tired on runs and every run feels like a struggle, you're doing too much. Very very occasionally this is to be expectd as part of a tough week, but if it persists, you need to scale back. There's a little bit of trial and error involved but it has to be small increments and if you introduce something extra or further or harder, then make sure you scale back the following few days/week so the body can adapt. I always have an easier week after a harder week. As a guide if you do a week of 110% of your normal training, make the next week 90%, then 100%, then 110% again and see how the body copes. You can't just bring in more volume and then keep ramping it up - your body just won't get a chance to adapt.

Phew, that's all of them! Thanks for the questions guys! Hope the answeres were useful.
Ben

Blog Post: My return to cross-country and why it bothers me!

BenMoreau — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:48:00 GMT

These relays are 4 x 5km around a wooded park in Mansfield. I've run them a few times in the past and when the conditions are good, have managed about 15.05. As I realised after my 6 stage run, I was fitter than I expected to be and after my best ever river-run session down at Kent A.C this week I actually thought I could get under 15.00 which is one of my little benchmarks I'd like to achieve.

In London we hadn't had any rain for so long that I thought I'd have a decent chance of the conditions helping me out. So I was a little surprised when Jon Quint at Saucony who was setting up the course said it was nice and wet up there. It may be known by some of you that I'm not a mudlover and have lost some faith in my cross-country skills over the past few years, so this didn't fill me with joy.

Sure enough, as I stepped off the train at Mansfield, it was raining. I shared a taxi with Dan Mulhare as he stepped off the same train as me. I hadn't met Dan before and dind't really recognise him. My girlfriend has this view that everyone knows me and I have no clue who anyone else is and me not recognising Dan dind't help my cause as he knew me....

The AFD team was solid but not full strength - I hoped we'd be near the medals all going well. I was set to be on last leg and as I warmed up I wasn't really sure how the team were doing but noticed how muddy the course was but didn't worry about it and just focussed on having a good run.

My coach Nick told me we wouldn't be challenging for medals as I did my last stride before the race and so I could afford to just go off hard and not worry about tactics. "Take a risk, go off hard, and see what happens" was his advice.

I took over in 13th place and immediately realised that someone was chasing me down. About 600m in he went past me and I realised it was Dan Mulhare, probably teaching me a lesson for not knowing who he was in the taxi earlier...!

This put some doubt in my mind as I expected to be just tearing through the field, not lose a place early on but I just tried to stay on the back of him and keep working. I immediately wondered if I was just bad at cross-country and started playing the excuses through my mind, but as soon as I realised what I was doing I forced myself to stop and just run as hard as I can.

Dan pulled away a bit and got a few yards on me, especially up the hills, but I used the downhills to stay in touch. I was finding it hard to really focus as I had to concentrate on finding good lines through the mud and also stay on my feet in the slippy bits. I always find cross-country quite 'chaotic' and that this stops me focussing on just running hard. It was difficult to tell if I was overtaking people as by the 4th leg, there's a lot of lapping going on and so all I was thinking about was chasing Dan and staying in touch.

I passed halfway in 8.00 but didn't know this at the time, but then started to get onto Dan's heels. Once we were in the woods for the 2nd time I got past him and at that point Jonny Mellor flew past me at a rate of knots. I then focussed on sticking with him for as long as possible as I knew there was less than a mile to go now. I followed him past Highgate, Bedford and Salford and got a mouthful of mud from his heels as we zipped around the woods.

With 1km to go I realsied he wasn't getting away and I was actually reeling him in again. As we reached the top oif thew course with about 600m to go I went past him and kicked hard down the hill, fully expecting Jonny to fly past me. To my surprise I had got away and gained about 5 seconds. I crossed the line in 6th place overall and was pretty shocked when I looked at my watch and saw 16.10! I thoguht I'd had a decent run but was still 1 minute behind my best.

Looking over the results, I was about 14th fastest overall, and 10 of the 14 before me came from legs 1 and 2, seeming to suggest that the courtse cut up a bit late on. That's my excuse anyway! Jonny Mellor was only 2secs ahead of me and Dan Mulhare ended up 10 seconds behind so using them as a guide I ran pretty well I think.

My laps were 8.00 and 8.10, and looking back, I think it was a solid run, and I'm actually grateful it was muddier than usual and caused me to run proper cross-country again!

Blog Post: Victory at the National 6 Stage Road Relays!

BenMoreau — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:27:00 GMT

This was a great day for AFD, taking both the mens and womens titles. The women always win so that wasn't such big news but it's amazing that Aldershot hadn't won the men's title since 1981. I remember being on last leg in 2009 and having to chase Neil Speaight down to win but wasn't able to and so had to settle for 2nd.

I was fairly surprised when Mikey B team manager put me on last leg again this year. I hadn't raced since June and wasn't fully fit. To be honest I didn't know how fit I was. I'd done a fair bit of running but not much beyond tempos, and only did my first proper reps session the week before which was solid if unspectacular. We had a strong team and I expected us to medal but knew the win would be tight between a few teams.

I suspect Mikey put me on last leg as I tend to run quite sensibly and can run hard even if not chasing anyone. Of course I'm not going to be the best if it comes down to a finish and even more so right now being short of sessions and sharpness so I would have thought Andy Vernon would have been the obvious choice for last leg but it all turned out fine in the end!

I expected Newham to be the main threat as they had a great team out too and Josh Gorecki had a storming run on leg one to put us right up there from the start. I must admit I was a bit nervous to hear he'd charged to the front early on in the leg to get a lead but he was in control and brought us home in 5th place. Mashers then took over and kept us in contention, losing a couple fo places but only just behind Newham. Jonny Hay then took us back up to 4th, and this leg was the first time I really thought that Birchfield could be a threat, as they moved to the front of the race with a 17.02 leg from Zak Kihara.

I was warming up now and trying not to think about how close it could be by the time it was my turn to run. I was doubly nervous about being unsure about my fitness and also that I could be taking over with a small lead being chased down by Keith Gerrard, fresh from his sub 64 Great North effort!

In theory, our last three legs should be our strongest and Andy Vernon ran a quality leg as you would expect from him and brought us home in the lead for the first time in the race. We didn't have a big lead though but we did have 40 seconds on Newham who were now in 3rd, and Steve Scullion's leg was going to be vital. He was against James Ellis from Newham and James Trollope from Newham.

Both Ellis and Scullion can be prone to have good races and bad races so I was either going to be given a short lead against Keith, or a comfortable one. I had no idea which it was when I took over, but Steve had run well and pulled further away from Newham but had actually come home in 2nd place as James Trollope from Birchfield overtook him late on.

I didn't know the gap I had on Keith, but I was told the Birchfield guy on last leg was an 800/1500m runner so I backed myself to be able to make up the small gap he had on me. I just told myself to be patient and not panic. The temptation is to make all the ground up as soon as possible but as I wasn't sure of my fitness, the worst thing I could do was go off too hard as I may not have the strength to hold on.

I slowly gained on Birchfield and caught them just along the top of the hill. As I passed him he tucked in behind me and actually held on for abou 800m and I was starting to worry if I'd be able to shake him off or not. As we turned the dog leg I had a few seconds and could see I had a decent gap over Keith, but it was hard t judge how much it was.

I started to feel like I was hanging on a bit along here and just told myself to really work hard as once it was out of the way I could relax down the hill and then push to the finish. Birchfield had a lot of support out and I could tell they hadn't given up yet and had to keep extending the lead.

I really felt like I was hanging on as I swept down the hill and I was getting varying messages about the gap I had. I expected that once I had got away I would be ok, but shouts ranged from 50m to 100m and then back to 60m so I was a little worried that I was perhaps slowing down and fading! No-one was mentioning Newham so I hoped that I would now be clear.

With about 800m to go I started to get shouts of 'Bring it home' and 'Great running' so I now started to think that I looked pretty safe and no-one was panicking about people behind me. I still didn't really relax until I could see the finish line though, and in the end AFD had won by 30 seconds, and Keith had made up 20 seconds on me but it wasn't enough. I ran 17.28, which was only 6 seconds slower than my PB on this course and I was hoping that I would run 17.40ish, but was really happy with 17.28 considering my only recent return to training.

Here's my interview taken straight after the race. I was knackered.

Blog Post: Road to Recovery

BenMoreau — Fri, 06 May 2011 12:36:00 GMT

Hi all,

Sorry about no updates recently. I must admit I lose a bit of enthusiasm for it all when I'm not training properly or in the running zone. I think I'm getting there though, but am still very nervous about a recurrence. Even though I'm up to running most days (sometimes twice) and have done some tempo running, I can still feel the injury sometimes. It's not painful or anywhere near as inhibiting as it was before, but it's still there. I'm pleased with the fact it never seems to get any worse or get overly sore to runs but I can feel the odd twinge after runnign occasionally and it's just irritating.

I'm seeing the physio every 2 weeks, where I'm given new exercises and stretches every time I go! I'm mainly working on opening up the movement of my hip with stretching and also strengthening the muscles around it with one leg squats rotating my hip at various angles and also forward lunges while holding a 4kg bar and turning my body as I lunge. This wrecked me the first couple of times I did and my hamstrings and glutes were sore for days!

I'm doing these daily, although not all of them every day and I'm getting better at them although it's hard to say if it is really improving my hip.

Watching London Marathon was obviously tough, and it wasn't the best day for the British men. Lee ran well, although I know he wanted more than that, and I thoguht he would be a bit quicker. It was a shame that Wicksy wasn't feeling great, and it's surely only a matter of time before he pops out an awesome time. Lemoncello obviously struggled in the 2nd half and can run much better than he did. I don't think MArtin Williams was flly fit and I'm not sure Dave Webb was in the shape he was in last year, althoguh I'm purely basing that on his Reading time and don't know the full story. MArtin Williams had had his problems too and had a brave attempt at 2.15 or so but just couldn't hold it together. Payny had a bad day too and I met up with him later on in the week and he's actually very philosophical about it and has a plan to rectify it with more time down at sea level where he can get some strong fast tempos in.

On the plus side, John Gilbert who I train with at Kent AC, had a stormer with 2.19 as did James Savage who I coach - he knocked 5 mins off his PB to run 2.25! I enjoyed watching the race and tried not to think about any missed opportunities from my side.

I'll try and update more again now - it's always easier when there are positive things to write about!

Ben

Blog Post: London Marathon Aborted

BenMoreau — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:14:00 GMT

I've not run for nearly 2 weeks now and am awaiting a cortisone injectione for my hip, which should make things much better, but it could take another week to recover from that itself. However, I've decided that I shouldn't risk further injury by rushing back too quickly and the only way I can avoid that is by taking the London marathon pressure off. It may be no coincidence that all of those who ran the Euro and Commonwealth marathons last year have picked up injuries (although I actually think it is!). In any case, I put my body through a lot last year and had upped the training load and the long marathon sessions in the last few weeks and perhaps this is a reaction to that. I wasn't feeling tired, but it seems that my glutes, hamstring, piriformis, around my left hip are all tight and I don't have the mobility on this side that I do on my right, and it is impinging my hip movement.

I'm massively disappointed about the World Champs, as I feel I was in better shape than last year and the sessions I was doing were not only a real step up, but I wasn't having to batter myself to complete them. I still had control. I really believe that I could run under the 2.16.00 required, and take another chunk off my PB. However, I'm young and there will be other World Champs and I don't want to be having to reduce training loads to compensate an injury in the long term. The best thing to do is to get it fixed, work on strengthening my hip so it never happens again - Pure Sport Physio have been excellent at diagnosing the cause, and John Rogers at UKa was also a massive help - and come back better than before.

It's also a big disappointment to not be in Kenya right now, but it would be pointless to be over there and not running and not have the rehab support I need.... Again, I'll get other opportunities.

My physio described me as the most laid-back elite athlete she'd ever treated, and in some ways I agree that I don't get too down about these things. But I can't control them and I had a year beyond my wildest dreams last year and the fact I even thought I could make the World Champs excites me more than anything and I really wasn't enjoying running with pain and discomfort for the sake of making the London start line so if we can get this fixed, I'll be much happier!

So now my aims are 10ks and 5ks over the summer to work on my speed a bit more, before bashing out a blistering Autumn marathon!

I'm so so bored of cross training - any tips on how to not get bored of 60mins on a bike in a gym would be welcome!

Ben

Blog Post: Running from Injuries....

BenMoreau — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:04:00 GMT

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of blogs recently - I've been super busy at work and my weekends have been taken up with running and life things. Very annoying!

I'm really happy with my running right now, but I've got two injury niggles which I'm (just about) staying on top of.

The first is a planta fascia issue. I've had a sore heel occasionally for about two years but it's never really bothered me. However since my XC race in Milan it's been much more prominent and has made me wince ona few morning runs. It seemd to settle down after a week but it's now definitely there and I can feel it all day long. In the mornings it's sorest but fades when I get into my run. I'm doing all the classic work on it - rolling a golf ball on my arch, lots of calf stretching, runnign in new trainers. Hopefully it will subside as I know full blown plantar fasciitis is a nightmare....

The second issue is around my hip flexor/quad and feels like a recurrence of a sciatic nerve problem I've had occasionally in the past. Again it eases off a bit when I get into running but is noticeable all day long and I can definitely feel it when I'm running and am conscious that it may be unconfortable enough for me to adapt my style which will only cause more issues down the line.

Both injuries are on my left side which adds to the compensation worries and at the moment I'm not missing training, but it's uncomfortable and the first 2 or 3 mins in the morning are a bit hobbly. I'm stretching a lot and starting uyp my exercises I did when I had a piriformis/sciatic issue last time. Both issues could go either way really and start to affect me greatly, or subside enoguh that they're no longer a worry. Let's hope it's the latter!

I'm seeing my physio twice a week and she's always sorted me out in the past - although the sensation of a load of pins in my glute is very odd indeed! Seems to do the trick though.

Ben

Blog Post: Wokingham Half Marathon - 2nd! AGAIN!

BenMoreau — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:42:00 GMT

I've done some good sessions recently and so felt like I was running well, but still I'd not actually laid down a great time in any race since London marathon last year! Granted this was due to marathons in tough conditions and not having the opportunity to do a quality 10k or half-marathon in the build ups, but still it played at the back of my mind and I was keen to prove to myself that I could still run fast, and I knew this race was a place to do it.

I ran this race last year and found that actually it's really quick - I ran a PB - and so incorporated it into my plans this year again. I'd not done many hard sessions in the week leading up to it but volume had stayed high. I noticed quite a wind on my warm up but a lot of the course is quite sheltered by hedgerows so I hoped it wouldn't affect times too much. Just as we all gathered on the start line I saw that Phil Wicks and Jean Ndayisenga were running, which I had mixed emotions about. I knew it was best for me to race hard and the more competition the better but also I wanted a crack at the course record of 64.48 and the more competition there was, the more chance there was of me being beaten! Still, my race plan was to stick with Phil for as long as possible as I felt confident and in good shape.

That race plan changed after about 90 seconds of the race. Phil went to the front and pushed on the pace and I knew it was very fast so I had to let him go and just run comfortably. My suspicions were confirmed after 1 mile when I looked up at the lead car and saw Phil go through in 4.32, with me following in a very-much-not-slow 4.40. I had Jean for company so just focussed on staying relaxed and trying not to lose track of Phil. Jean and I swapped the lead a few times in the first 3 miles, which hadn't slowed much after two subsequent 4.45 miles and then Jean moved past me and got about 30 yards. I knew we were shifting pretty well and that this was a surge so let him go, making sure that if the gap continued to grow, I'd make an effort to haul him in. A mile later and he started to come back to me and after the 5 mile mark I caught him and moved back past him. I was also aware that Phil's lead wasn't growing very quickly if at all and so made sure I didn't lose concentration on that and slacken my pace at all. As it is, Phil passed through 5 miles in 23.30 with 23.47 or so for me and I was really pleased with how comfortable how I felt at this pace. Just after 10k (30.00 for me), my watch battery died and so all I had to focus on was Phil as I couldn't see the lead clock times anymore. There were a few windy patches but nothing too bad. Until 10 miles that is. As soon as we turned a corner at 10 miles a huge wind greeted me head on and so I just had to push against it as much as I could. Phil was gradually pulling away from me but I just told myself to not give in and keep pushing, as I knew I'd been on PB pace until now. I didn't feel like I was fading too much in terms of fatigue, but no doubt this wind was having an effect. With my watch being dead I had no idea of my pace anymore so just worked hard. The last mile was less windy and I could hear the race organiser getting really excited about Phil taking the course record and as I crossed the line I saw it was 64.55 for me. Again, mixed emotions with this. This was faster than I ran last year, where conditions were much better, but having been on PB pace for so long it was exasperating for it to fall apart in the last 3 miles.

Phil had gone through 10 miles in 48.20 he later told me and I estimate I must have been about 48.45-48.50, so we both slipped to about 5.05-5.07 miling on average for the last 3 miles. Still, I can be positive about feeling so comfortable at 30.00 10k pace (although we actually had some tailwind obviously!) and at the Hague in a month I know I have the ability to set a new PB.

I won a lovely decanter, and £130 Mizuno vouchers, which isn't much use to a Saucony athlete, so I gave them to James Savage who was 4th and had kindly driven me to the race!

Phil Wicks - 64.10

Ben Moreau - 64.55

Jean Ndayisenga - 66.19

Blog Post: The European Club XC Champs - Milan

BenMoreau — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:21:00 GMT

This race is like the Cup Winners Cup of Cross-country running and as AFD won the Nationals last year and then beat the representatives from the rest of the UK at Liverpool, then we were the UK's team. Looking at past winners, it's gone to Spain and Portugal nearly every year and I think the club system there is made up more of 'Superclubs' than the UK. We took 6 to the race, with 4 to score. Our team was Steve Connor, Martin Mashford, Andy Vernon, Paul Rodgers, Jonny Hay and myself, which was pretty strong and only really missing Chris Thompson and Ben Lindsay.

The course itself was one of the weirdest things I'd ever seen. It was mainly around ploughed fields, but there were a couple really steep up and over ridges, and the danger of these was demonstrated the day before the race by team manager Mikey Boucher who attacked the steep rise, and then stacked it down the other side, as we all fell about laughing. This at least showed that we needed to approach with caution, and probably wear spikes too. In the muddy sections, the mud had been covered with chipped up fir trees that were extremely soft to run on, almost like sponge. By far and away the strangest part of the course was the fact we ran through a working water mill. You literally go through a doorway that can only be done in single file, along a stone corridor with a carpet put down, and then a sharp left up some steps back outside. You then sweep round the back of the mill and come back through from the other side. Bizarre!

Generally, the course was quite good underfoot - there were sections which would slow you down, but in the main it was pretty good. There were a few sections where you had to watch your footing as it was quite uneven but I was mainly just pleased it wasn't too muddy! I got off to an ok start and was in the pack in the 30s or so and just settled into a rhythm that felt comfortable. I was quickly reminded of the fast starts of cross country races and did my best to match it! After about a k I started to move through people and went past Jonny Hay and kept pushing on, wanting to get as near the front pack as I could. I kept pushing on and negotiated the steep hills fine and actually caught a group through the mills as they all got stuck in each other's traffic and had to slow! After about 3k I was catching Andy Vernon and gradually caught him and went past him. It turned out he had a back problem and so wasn't able to run flat out. After about 5k I started to feel quite tired and the course was beginning to sap me. I could feel I was moving slower but was holding my position. I tried to push on and probably gained about as many places as I lost in the 2nd half of the race. The spongey section was really fatiguing me as well as the sharp hills. I held it together though and finished in 22nd place and I think that I'm so used to trying to run even paces in road races that actually XC races are more about going off in the pack and just hanging on! I was pretty happy with my position; it's always hard to gauge these races as I don't know many of the runners around me but the top 10 were similar to the top 10 at the european cross and so to be 90 secs behind the winner (Ayad Lamdassem who Mo blew away in the last lap of the Euro Track Champs 10k) was a decent effort. The team finished 6th, which was pretty good too, and the top 20 were mainly made up of Spanish, French and Portuguese athletes, most of which were the same as their national teams!

Full results here:

Blog Post: The legendary tempo run!

BenMoreau — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:48:00 GMT

What is a tempo run? How fast should it be? How long should it be? How often should I do them?These are all questions that get asked all of the time by the running fraternity about an aspect of training that is fairly modern in its inclusion in the training schedule.

Or is it a fairly modern inclusion? I would say not, but actually that people have only recently started defining it and the term 'tempo' or 'threshold' or whatever you want to call it. I think before the tempo run was born, people had steady runs. But they hammered them. I think there's been a trend over the years for people to take steadies much more, for want of a better word, steady (i.e. you can have a chat). All of my evidence is anecdotal but I get a feel that in 'them days' people ran the club runs hard as they were in a group and when you're in a group you run at the pace of the fastest person. People got their tempo pace this way. The club scene has dispersed recently, barring the hard sessions, and I think with that steady runs have become slower, meaning that people don't operate at 'tempo' pace that much. Hence, the need for specific sessions called tempo runs!

I'm not going to spend too long on what is right and wrong about tempo runs nor give loads of examples about who does what as that's an argument for the coaches! I'll try to give an idea as to what I mean by it and answer the questions of pace, length, frequency in terms of my own training. I think they're essential for any distance runner and arguably more important than hard intervals sessions, but also much harder to judge and execute.

What is a tempo run?

To me, a tempo run is a run with 20-40mins of sustained pace that doesn't leave you knackered. It's not a race, but you shouldn't be able to tell me about what you did at the weekend either. More scientifically, it's meant to be run as fast as possible, whilst remaining entirely aerobic (in other words, the body is replenished with as much oxygen as is being used during the activity - at no stage will the body go into oxygen debt). This is obviously impossible to actually judge and useless for training purposes. But the POINT is that you operate at a level of effort that is just about sustainable for an hour or so. The more you operate at this level, the faster your threshold pace will become, and also the longer you can go at this pace without reaching debt.

How fast should it be?

Myself and Nick define tempo pace as 'half-marathon pace' but ACTUALLY it's judged more by effort levels. I run at a pace that feels like half marathon pace for me on the day and don't get bogged down by tying to hit pace per mile. I actually distinguish threshold/tempo from 'marathon effort' runs which are that step below, and also do lots of runs where I switch between these two paces, but this is a subtle nuance. As a simple answer, I'd say you should run at a pace that you're confident you could sustain for an hour or so without killing yourself. For me, where my half marathon PB pace is just under 5 min miling, I usually range from 5.00-5.10s on my tempo runs when I'm fit. Some people judge it by heart rate at around 85% of maximum heart rate. I prefer to go by feel and just know how high my heart rate should be at this effort, if I wear a heart rate monitor for it, which I do less these days than I used to. I know my heart rate is about 175-180 for tempo runs, and 170ish for marathon effort, so that's a good measure of effort.

How long should it be?

This is a tough question and is obviously going to vary depending on your race goals, mainly what distance you run! I'd say that at the very least, a proper tempo run should be 4-5 miles or so and at the longest, 10-12 miles. However, I run a lot at 'marathon effort' too which is about 10 secs a mile slower and so if this is incorporated than obviously I can go a bit longer at this pace. If you're not fully fit or a bit tired, then do it in blocks, say 3 x 2 miles with a few minutes jog recovery, or suchlike. I do this a lot when I'm getting back to fitness, or trying to stay a bit fresh for something coming up soon.

How often should they be done?

Another very tough one, and again dependent on the distance goal. I stay in touch with tempo pace 2-3 times a week, putting 10 minute efforts at this pace before and after intervals sessions, as well as sessions dedicated to pure sustained tempo running. Speaking as a marathoner, the runs that give me most confidence (because I find them so bloody hard) is 45-60mins of tempo running or 'marathon pace' running within a 20 mile run, with the hard running in the 2nd half. Now this adds an extra dimension as your legs aren't fresh when you begin the tempo, so it'd tough. Anyway, the question was how often and my digression does have a point. I think the long 20 milers with tempo running in or 10miles + of marathon pace should be done 4 times or so in a marathon build-up. I also think that 4-7 mile tempo runs should be done most weeks, maybe 2 weeks in 3, solely to keep the body aware that this system needs to be stressed and improved.

How should the tempo run be incorporated into a training schedule?

I would treat it as any other hard session - have an easy day before and after it. It certainly needs to be respected and your body needs to recover from it. You should find that over time they get faster and you can go further. However if you have a day where you're slower than last week or whatever, then remember it's part of a training block and not everyone is going to be stellar. I get plenty of runs where I just feel tired and the key here is not to force yourself to hit a pace you were doing last time, but just run by feel and accept that today is a Tired Day (upper case intentional).

You can also play around with pace: I do 20-30k runs that start at 5.30 miling and end up at 5.00 miling; or a 90 min run with an hour of 1 mile tempo/1 mile marathon pace in the middle. These may pass the time a bit better than one pace for what seems like forever and stress the body in a similar way!

So, that's my take on the tempo run! Vital for any marathoner, and although you think it should be easier then a flat out reps session (how hard can running at slower than race pace, for shorter, be?) it's actually extremely tough and, just like a marathon in that it just slowly drains you. The only way to get them right is to practise, and I would definitely advocate starting at a pace slower than tempo and picking it up as you go along. This is much better than starting hard and slowing, and also much more beneficial!

I heard Ron Hill recently say that there was no secret to marathon running and all of this 'tempo running' he keeps hearing about is just rubbish. I agree that there is no secret, but I think Ron Hill did LOTS of tempo running with hard steady runs and the amount of times he raced at distances over 10 miles, he just didn't call it that. He was also a talented bugger who worked hard, and tempo runs are all about working hard.

Good night.

Learn more about training techniques in The Bug's Running Training Advice section.

Blog Post: My training last week!

BenMoreau — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:30:00 GMT

So I've not spoken much about my specific training, so I'll start posting my training on here with the odd comment about certain sessions to give some context. My steady runs are at a pace where I can easily chat and I'm not one of those runners who hammers every run. If anything isn't clear or anyone wants more info on some aspects of it then please ask and I'll elaborate! This week is an example of a pretty high mileage week for me but is pretty typical of a standard week for me.

I go and train with Kent A.C. on a Tuesday night for my faster session but tend to add extra bits on here and there to keep the volume high and the recoveries short! The rest is usually on my own, except for when I can meet up with someone occasionally!

Sunday - 20km tempo run with Dan Robinson along Brighton seafront. Started off at 5.35miling then got faster to sub 5 min miling. Felt pretty comfortable. 10k splits were 34.05/31.40 with last 2k in 6.12. Also did 3 miles either side as warm up and down. (18.5)

Monday - AM - 57 mins easy on the Finsbury Park loop at 6.49 miling. Legs felt ok. (8.5)

PM - 50mins brisk back from work. legs felt pretty good. 6.28 miling and 135 bpm, which is pretty low for me so means I'm fit! (7.5)

Tuesday - AM - 42 mins easy at 7.09 miling and 126 bpm (6)

PM - 3 x 2.4km with 3-4 mile marathon pace either side. My watch died so no idea on distances really. Kent A.C. were doing 4 x 2km off 3mins but I felt that recovery was too long so carried on for about 4-500m further and jogged back. Was going through 2k on the road loop in 5.45 or so (I think it's a couple secs short though) and was feeling fine. My marathon pace was probably too fast too based on what other people were doing. Estimate of 5.00-5.10 miling. Happy with the session though. (15)

Wednesday - AM - 82 mins easy around the Finsbury Park loop a6 6.50 miling and 136 bpm (11.5)

PM - Very easy 43 mins with Nick around the roads and Heath. 7.35 miling but got a bit quicker later on (5.5)

Thursday - AM - 63 mins run to work. Legs felt quite good but kept it relaxed. 6.37 miling (9.5)

PM - 63 mins at lunchtime along the canals. Met up with Jim and he was doing a 20min pick up so did some fo that too so some of run was 5.30miling or so. Felt very comfortable though. 5.59 miling (10.5)

Friday - AM - Ran to work steady at 6.28 miling (7.5)

Saturday - AM - 4 x 10mins Kenyan hills on PArliament Hill. Was very muddy so even in spikes had to made sure I stayed on my feet! I was supposed to do a Parkrun but my alarm battery died in the night so I missed it...! Mile pace was 6.03, 5.59, 5.54, 5.59. (11)

PM - 42 mins very easy at 7.25 miling (5.5)

116.5 miles. A pretty good week and definitely feel I'm in pretty good shape right now.

Blog Post: Olympic criteria Released!

BenMoreau — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:06:00 GMT

Well, the Olympic 'A' standard is 2.12, and the 'B' standard is 2.16. And a B standard can only go if no-one with the 'A' standard is on the plane, well, tube. These standards are 3 mins harder than for Beijing 2008, which I found pretty surprising. Seeing as only 2 British men have run sub 2.12 in the past 14 years, the chances of the British public having 3 men to cheer in the 2012 marathon are pretty small. The philosophy of UKa is certainly one that we should only have people competing who are going to be right in the mix at the front of the field.

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

-The Olympic Motto

Does the UKa selection policy follow the philosophy of what the Olympics stands for? A Games where the best of all the nations in the world are sent to compete against one another, and participation is paramount? No one ever skips the Olympics - it's the one Championships that's always at the top of everyone's list and is never compromised for another event. No one is too good for the Olympics, but this statement sent out by UKa certainly suggests that we have athletes who aren't good enough for the Olympics, despite the standards the IOC themselves have set out. If all governing bodies followed this philosophy, we certainly wouldn't see the number of competitors from all over the world that make the Olympics so magnificent.

In 2012 I doubt we'll have as many athletes taking part as we could have; whether the criteria set by UKa are for the good of British sport, who knows. Some will argue it should drive athletes to higher standards, but I believe this would happen naturally once athletes are competing amongst themselves to run faster than everyone else. I expect several of our leading athletes will look at this and see it as a step too far and focus on other things. I certainly agree that a Great Britain vest at any Olympics shouldn't be given away 'cheaply' and it should be an accolade of great achievement, and perhaps to have athletes down the field doesn't provide the inspiration to the public and youngsters that British athletics needs? This is certainly a valid point, although not one that I personally agree with.

The point I forgot to add is that a top 20 World Champs position counts as an A standard. What's the criteria to get to the World Champs? Who knows, that's not been released yet. I see a top 20 place at the World Champs as much easier than a 2.11.xx marathon, but would UKa take an athlete who only had a PB of 2.14 but finished 20th at the World Champs? I expect their clause about athletes needing to be in contention for a top 8 finish at the Olympics would answer this question but we shall see.

So how does this all affect me? Well, obviously another 5 minutes off my PB is a big ask at this stage, and realistically means a massive step-up which is unlikely right now. But, I still want to run as fast as I possibly can for the marathon, and if the World Champs has a qualifying time around the 2.14 mark and I am lucky enough to be selected, then this now seems the best route into the Olympics. I'm sure I'm not the only athlete who believes this, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a qualifying time for the World Champs in line with their Olympic criteria.

Ben

Blog Post: My weekend in Brighton!

BenMoreau — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:15:00 GMT

Hi all,

I thought I'd write a little note about my jaunt to Brighton at the weekend. I was asked to attend as Saucony are the Brighton Marathon sponsors and apparently 'I add value'. Hardly... I also feel guilty about choosing London over Brighton so it makes me feel better to go and help. And I like Brighton, despite it having about a billion vintage shops.

Anyway, the point of the weekend was to explain the importance of the tempo run within a marathon build-up, and consisted of a seminar given by Richard Nerurkar about its value and also examples of how it has previously fitted in to marathon legends' training programmes. Richard actually attributes the emergence of the Kenyans at the fore of marathon running (2000 onwards) to them introducing 20-30km tempo runs into their training. Common sense dictates that a race that is 42 km long will need some sustained running at a pace similar to that you will adopt on the day, so it's no big surprise. I was interested by Richard's definition of the pace used in a tempo run. To me, I call tempo running somewhere between half marathon-pace and near marathon pace. So 5.00-5.20 miling (for me!). Richard seemed to suggest that it should be slower than this, at around 5.30-5.35 miling. I guess if you're running for 20-30km then this pace is sustainable for this long, but I still feel it's not quite fast enough. Having said that, I have never gone over 20km of sustained pace at my tempo pace and perhaps the slower pace trade off against the higher volume would benefit me...

Personally, I feel that if I WAS to do a 30km at a sustained effort, I would approach it by starting off at nearer 5.35miling and very gradually wind it up so perhaps my last 10k was inside marathon pace if that still felt comfortable. I think that has definite benefits.

I digress, there was a Q and A with Dan Robinson, and most of the take-outs were that he often runs on a treadmill, as that was how he got into running, and that he rarely runs with a watch on when he does run outdoors. He also cares little for 'science' and stretching, core, nutritional products. He's old skool. Doesn't seem to do him much harm either. We then all had dinner and a couple beers (I had 2 Guinesses) before retiring, fresh for the 20km tempo run at 8am the next day.

There were set paced groups for the tempo run, 5km out along the seafront, back, and then repeat. I was in a group of 5 in the 5.36 miling group (3.30/km) and Nivk wanted me to start steady and gradually wind it up. Dan was up for this too and we started off at the right pace and then it crept up and up. Our 10k splits were 34.05, 31.40 and we were sub 5 miling for the last 2 miles or so. A pretty solid training session and we weren't battering each other so it was very constructive, without needing to recover much over the next few days.

Splits are here for those who like that sort of thing!

Blog Post: Race plan for London: Complete!

BenMoreau — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:55:00 GMT

Hi all,

so now the recovery period is over and I'm focussed on my plans for running PBs in 2011! this week was my first 100 mile week since September and Nick and I have sat down and planned the races up until London marathon. Seeing as last year worked so well, it predictably follows a similar structure. The training is not 100% nailed down yet but I'll write more on this later on. For now, I'll just outline my race plan, and describe the logic behind it!

Saturday 29th Jan - 5k Parkrun. This is just a sharpener to get out and do a hard effort. I haven't raced for ages and will be doing the European Club Champs the following week so it would be good to really blow the cobwebs out with a hard 5k. It will make up part of a bigger session.

Sat 5th February - European Club Champs XC (Milan). Will be running for AFD and will be great to do a competitive hard XC effort. Hopefully it will be a good surface too, as I don't enjoy the mud as much as I used to! I'll be tapering for this and really hitting it hard.

Sunday 13th Feb - Wokingham Half. I'll run this hard but won't taper so will just be a hard effort at the end of a big training week. The course is actually really fast - I ran a PB last year which took me by surprise and ran the race on my own in chase of Jean Ndayisenga. This will be a good benchmark at least.

Sunday 27th Feb - South of London 10k. This is just a hard 10k effort to sharpen me up. I won't ease down and will do a good run after it to make up the miles.

Saturday 5th March - 5k Parkrun. Just a sharpener before the half-marathon in Hague next week. I am wondering if I'm focussing too much on running a half PB, rather than getting a good marathon session in for London, by doing this race so this may change.

Sunday 13th March - Hague half-marathon. The aim is to run a PB, so will be tapering for this and hoping to get dragged round! This went well last year with a hefty PB and the course is dead flat. The only problem is you can get a bit of a wind, as we did last year.

Monday 14th March - Off to Kenya! Will be living with Tom Payn for 3 weeks and some Kenyans, so that'll be an experience. No idea what's happening out there yet!

Sunday 17th April - London Marathon! Don't need to say much about this really. PB please!

Good, hope you're all well and enjoying 2011!

Ben

Blog Post: Garmin Geeky stats!!

BenMoreau — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:42:00 GMT

I like stats, and I just discovered the Reports section of Garmin Connect and so thought I'd have a look. Now, it's not the whole story as I sometimes don't turn my Garmin on for warm-ups, or now and then it crashes and I have to use a stopwatch, or the data never gets transferred for some reason but I expect only about 300 miles extra for the year need to be added on.

Well, this year I ran 3,900 miles or so. Which is pretty much 11 a day, or 75 a week. This doesn't sound like the mileage of a marathon runner, but I guess the average gets dragged down a lot by weeks off running, of which I had about 5-6 weeks completely off this year after the 3 marathons. There were also some taper weeks included and so on.

I'll pull out a few things that are vaguely interesting:

11 weeks over 100 miles
Highest mileage week of 130 miles (I know I did 140 miles in a 7 day period though)
Average 85 miles when rest weeks are removed
Averaged 6.40 miling
Ran for over 400 hours
430 runs/sessions in the year
Each run averaged 9 miles

Interestingly, it's nearly 1,000 miles more than last year, so that shows some progression, although I did miss most of Feb and March with injury that year.

I guess my main aim is to increase this in 2011 and get more weeks over 100 miles. 11 isn't bad, and many were very high 90s too, but the more of these weeks that occur the fitter I should be. Now, I'm not going to get obsessed with miles and I'm not naive enough to think that if I just run more miles I'l get better - it's what makes up the miles that's important and running miles for the sake of it gets you nowhere. However, the more consistent I can be and the more runs that are marathon specific, the better I should perform.

Geekery over now. Sorry if it was boring.

Blog Post: Winter kit!

BenMoreau — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:49:00 GMT

Hi All!

So: it's freezing cold. Literally. We all have our own preferences as to what kit we wear when the temperature reaches Arctic levels and I'm not going to use this as a sales pitch for Saucony gear but I'll mention my preferences and dislikes!

The issue I always have is that you layer up, and feel cosy warm, for 5 minutes and then you start overheating and realise you've completely overdone it. I also hate things like tracksuit tops much of the time as I seem to lose a lot of freedom of movement. I may pop one on for a very easy jog on the morning of a session but I just find it irritating at any other effort level. Most of the time my staple cold weather kit is lycra leggings and a long sleeved top. The core of your body will always stay pretty warm: it's forearms, hands and face that become painfully cold. I sometimes throw an extra t shirt over the top of my long sleeved top to make the transition from warm house to cold outside less painful but really you don't need or want loads of layers on your torso.

I find lycra leggings unrestrictive and necessary. I have never had an issue with running hard in them and perhaps psychologically you don't feel as 'fast' (and I'd never race in them), but in reality you can move pretty well in them. Again, tracksuit bottoms are just annoying! Too flappy and not the warmest things you could wear anyway.

My biggest recommendation, and this may not be their intended purpose, is some of the compression gear! Saucony sent me all of their new range recently and I thought I'd try some out, more out of curiosity than anything, and I found a brilliant use in the cold weather! Arm warmers are AMAZING. You don't notice you're wearing them and even though they're very tight, you never feel too hot in them, unlike some long sleeved tops I wear. They're like a second skin and have found them really valuable. Also, under a short sleeved top it looks like a base layer, as they go underneath the sleeves, so for those who are conscious of looking weird (like me), no-one notices! My fore-arms used to be freezing when I got back from runs, not any more!

Along the same lines are the compression tops. They're basically a base layer and great for a second lining under the running top on bitterly cold days. The point of all this compression stuff is to promote oxygenated blood flow and thus recovery and flushing of lactic acid with extra blood flow. This may well be, but in the cold weather they are awesome.

Gloves go without saying. Absolutely essential! Same with the thin 'skullcap' hats. Wooly beanies are too hot, and often I even find the skull cap hats too hot too. It's only really the ears you want to guard from the cold and you can get an ear warmer hat - which is just like a hat but no top to it. Almost a tube that covers the ears. Good for those who find hats too hot.

I know when it comes to hard sessions you don't want to compromise freedom of movement for layers of clothing, and I think the tighter fit the better. Definitely invest in lycra leggings, a base layer top or some arm warmers and you won't notice they're there and you'll stay warm too!

That's it for my essentials really. I have loads of jackets, but I rarely run in them - they're too restrictive. I only jog in them and stand around at races in them. I may wear one if it's pouring with rain as then the rain just turns my running top into a useless, heavy item of clothing. They are very good at keeping the rain away from your body. I also often wear a gilet in the rain or heavy snow too, so as to keep it from soaking my skin but also allow my arms to move easily.

I also find the extra thick long sleeve tops just too hot. My core stays warm when running and they are just too thick, unless I'm running very easy, in which case the warmer the better.

I would avoid thick material like hoodies, sweatpants and woolly beanies. They're too hot, they get in the way, and if it rains they get so heavy you can barely move!

That's Ben's top tips for staying warm and practical clothing. I'm sure you all already knew it all and I wasted my time. Oh well.