4.30am slow 13 miler along the canal in Manchester.

This was the usual early morning sluggish stuff with slow miles.

Felt comfortable and in control all the way but was a bit miffed when the right groin/lower abdominals kicked in at 9.5m.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:59(9:59/m) 131/144bpm 85cal 6.01/6.59mph
2) 1m - 10:01(10:01/m) 144/149bpm 100cal 5.99/6.37mph
3) 1m - 9:58(9:58/m) 148/160bpm 101cal 6.02/6.82mph
4) 1m - 10:04(10:04/m) 149/155bpm 99cal 5.96/6.32mph
5) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 150/153bpm 92cal 6.39/6.99mph
6) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 148/153bpm 82cal 6.39/6.95mph
7) 1m - 9:28(9:28/m) 148/151bpm 83cal 6.34/7.72mph
8) 1m - 9:26(9:26/m) 149/152bpm 82cal 6.36/6.91mph
9) 1m - 9:17(9:17/m) 150/154bpm 82cal 6.47/7.01mph
10) 1m - 9:10(9:10/m) 152/157bpm 85cal 6.54/7.28mph
11) 1m - 9:04(9:04/m) 155/161bpm 89cal 6.61/9.29mph
12) 1m - 8:57(8:57/m) 158/163bpm 96cal 6.7/11.02mph
13) 1m - 8:40(8:40/m) 166/170bpm 104cal 6.93/9.77mph
14) 0m - 1(4:36/m) 170/170bpm 13.02/7.83mph

Tired and sluggish 4.30am run around Peel Park.

Uneventful and a bit boring.

Finished very warm and sweaty.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:49(9:49/m) 131/140bpm 84cal 6.11/42.12mph
2) 1m - 9:51(9:51/m) 141/146bpm 94cal 6.1/6.41mph
3) 1m - 9:48(9:48/m) 145/149bpm 94cal 6.12/6.51mph
4) 1m - 9:40(9:40/m) 148/154bpm 95cal 6.21/6.51mph
5) 1m - 9:21(9:21/m) 151/157bpm 93cal 6.42/6.85mph
6) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 155/165bpm 94cal 6.66/17.6mph
7) 0m - 2(7:21/m) 163/163bpm 8.16/7.2mph

Pilates with Emma. A few twinges from the right side of the groiner.

A pretty laid back Saturday afternoon long run, which didn't go quite as I was hoping.

The right side of my groin gave up gradually after 11 miles and by about 16 miles I was considering packing up and walking back, but I just kept going.

Experimented with gels every 3 miles today, which seemed to go ok, although I'm not sure if it gave me anymore energy later on because I was having to take it so easy due to the groin.

This was a pretty mediocre run, but I'm more bothered about what's going on in my groin. It could be a showstopper.

See what happens overnight, but I'm due at Pilates in the morning, although that is looking doubtful.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:25(9:25/m) 144/156bpm 96cal 6.38/6.95mph
2) 1m - 9:19(9:19/m) 159/166bpm 107cal 6.44/7.16mph
3) 1m - 9:39(9:39/m) 155/163bpm 105cal 6.21/6.57mph
4) 1m - 9:27(9:27/m) 156/159bpm 102cal 6.35/8.39mph
5) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 157/161bpm 101cal 6.39/6.97mph
6) 1m - 9:20(9:20/m) 152/159bpm 87cal 6.43/8.27mph
7) 1m - 9:36(9:36/m) 151/159bpm 84cal 6.25/8.2mph
8) 1m - 9:39(9:39/m) 161/174bpm 106cal 6.22/6.85mph
9) 1m - 9:05(9:05/m) 155/162bpm 82cal 6.61/9mph
10) 1m - 9:12(9:12/m) 156/171bpm 80cal 6.52/6.76mph
11) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 164/170bpm 107cal 6.49/6.8mph
12) 1m - 9:03(9:03/m) 159/169bpm 87cal 6.63/6.95mph
13) 1m - 9:02(9:02/m) 160/164bpm 89cal 6.64/6.95mph
14) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 165/168bpm 101cal 6.48/6.7mph
15) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 165/171bpm 102cal 6.45/6.82mph
16) 1m - 9:36(9:36/m) 171/175bpm 114cal 6.25/6.59mph
17) 1m - 9:06(9:06/m) 166/170bpm 97cal 6.6/6.89mph
18) 1m - 9:01(9:01/m) 166/170bpm 96cal 6.65/8.29mph
19) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 171/174bpm 108cal 6.48/7.81mph
20) 1m - 8:48(8:48/m) 173/178bpm 106cal 6.81/7.97mph
21) 0m - 1(5:24/m) 173/173bpm 11.12/7.53mph

Given the amount of discomfort I ended up in after Saturday's 20 miler, I've been surprised by how little grief I've had today.

I skipped Pilates yesterday, but was back in Manchester today and headed out for a very cautious recovery run. I certainly felt delicate but apart from a couple of light twinges, I was fine.

The left side of the groin was actually playing up more tonight, with some stitch like symptoms.

I actually ended this though, feel extremely easy and quite chuffed to get round 5 miles with no fatigue in the right side of the groin.

First run in my latest pair of Vanquish 3's. Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:03(9:03/m) 130/140bpm 80cal 6.63/8.62mph
2) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 137/143bpm 86cal 6.49/6.85mph
3) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 138/148bpm 79cal 6.48/6.91mph
4) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 140/148bpm 80cal 6.45/7.33mph
5) 1m - 8:46(8:46/m) 145/162bpm 80cal 6.84/11.65mph
6) 0.01m - 1(4:13/m) 162/162bpm 14.25/6.53mph

4.30am run out to Salford football ground. Didn't feel quite as delicate as Monday night.

Was cruising along quite nicely by the end and had plenty of miles left in the tank, but the groin was getting ready for a rest.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:31(9:31/m) 131/143bpm 84cal 6.3/9.58mph
2) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 154/160bpm 108cal 6.39/6.78mph
3) 1m - 9:19(9:19/m) 157/163bpm 107cal 6.44/7.08mph
4) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 152/161bpm 98cal 6.4/6.76mph
5) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 151/157bpm 93cal 6.4/6.82mph
6) 1m - 9:10(9:10/m) 155/159bpm 99cal 6.54/7.12mph
7) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 155/160bpm 96cal 6.58/6.99mph
8) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 156/162bpm 95cal 6.58/9.56mph
9) 1m - 8:54(8:54/m) 159/165bpm 99cal 6.74/8.12mph
10) 1m - 9:13(9:13/m) 161/167bpm 105cal 6.51/8.47mph
11) 0m - 2(6:15/m) 163/163bpm 9.6/6.01mph

7am Pilates with Sue. Things felt just fine today.

Had some physio on both sides of the groin and then massage later in the day.

After a 5am WFH start, I had to drop stuff and get out of the door at 9am so that I could get back in time for a hair cut. The pressures of a well kempt man.

This was hardly a relaxing run, as I battled with ambulances, scooters, a shed load of traffic and just nutters in general.

I was a little bit sore from yesterday's physio, but got round this in one piece.

Was frustrated that 8-40 pace was causing the HR to get into the 160's. Lacking some speedier running of late.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 135/156bpm 87cal 6.48/7.14mph
2) 1m - 9:16(9:16/m) 152/162bpm 102cal 6.48/7.24mph
3) 1m - 9:05(9:05/m) 153/161bpm 98cal 6.6/6.97mph
4) 1m - 9:02(9:02/m) 155/163bpm 99cal 6.64/6.93mph
5) 1m - 8:57(8:57/m) 156/160bpm 100cal 6.7/7.18mph
6) 1m - 8:39(8:39/m) 162/171bpm 102cal 6.94/7.81mph
7) 1m - 8:36(8:36/m) 164/168bpm 103cal 6.98/8.37mph
8) 1m - 8:14(8:14/m) 169/174bpm 101cal 7.29/7.83mph
9) 0m - 1(8:19/m) 174/174bpm 7.21/7.68mph

Pilates with Sue. Right calf is a bit sore at the moment. Groin was tweaking a bit

Decided to get my 20 miler in today, despite only having done the last one 8 days ago and still struggling with the right side of my groin.

Not overly impressed with this. The groin fatigued at about 11-13 miles, although it wasn't as severe as last weekend.

What I was less pleased with was my lack of energy all the way round and especially over the last 2 miles. The ROI was awful as my HR was going nuts and the pace was a struggle.

First long run in my Glycerin 15's and I will need to wait and see if I develop any plantar soreness.

My last 3 20 milers have all been about 3:06 and I'm not feeling like I can run much quicker at the moment - i.e. I'm not feeling anywhere near 100% fit; probably more about 75%.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:43(9:43/m) 137/151bpm 92cal 6.18/7.16mph
2) 1m - 9:44(9:44/m) 143/149bpm 97cal 6.16/7.43mph
3) 1m - 9:33(9:33/m) 148/154bpm 98cal 6.28/7.51mph
4) 1m - 9:27(9:27/m) 145/153bpm 87cal 6.35/7.49mph
5) 1m - 9:30(9:30/m) 151/162bpm 97cal 6.32/8.58mph
6) 1m - 9:25(9:25/m) 146/150bpm 80cal 6.38/6.59mph
7) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 143/151bpm 71cal 6.48/6.76mph
8) 1m - 9:22(9:22/m) 148/151bpm 81cal 6.41/6.82mph
9) 1m - 9:33(9:33/m) 148/153bpm 81cal 6.29/7.64mph
10) 1m - 9:17(9:17/m) 152/154bpm 83cal 6.46/6.89mph
11) 1m - 9:24(9:24/m) 155/158bpm 94cal 6.38/6.7mph
12) 1m - 9:24(9:24/m) 159/162bpm 104cal 6.38/8.75mph
13) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 160/164bpm 103cal 6.49/6.99mph
14) 1m - 9:11(9:11/m) 162/166bpm 105cal 6.53/6.93mph
15) 1m - 9:03(9:03/m) 165/168bpm 104cal 6.63/9.25mph
16) 1m - 9:10(9:10/m) 166/169bpm 105cal 6.55/7.68mph
17) 1m - 9:05(9:05/m) 169/172bpm 108cal 6.61/7.99mph
18) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 170/172bpm 108cal 6.66/7.53mph
19) 1m - 8:59(8:59/m) 171/173bpm 109cal 6.68/6.97mph
20) 1m - 8:43(8:43/m) 175/181bpm 111cal 6.88/8.1mph
21) 0.01m - 2(6:51/m) 180/180bpm 8.75/7.51mph

Back in Glasgow. This was a 6am jog along the river that wasn't thought out very well. Need to plot out better routes for the dark if I'm going to be here often.

This was pretty uneventful and I felt fine.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:37(9:37/m) 137/146bpm 90cal 6.24/6.68mph
2) 1m - 9:27(9:27/m) 144/148bpm 96cal 6.36/6.57mph
3) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 145/151bpm 92cal 6.45/6.85mph
4) 1m - 9:17(9:17/m) 149/152bpm 93cal 6.47/9.56mph
5) 1m - 9:17(9:17/m) 154/159bpm 101cal 6.46/7.45mph
6) 0m - 2(8:12/m) 157/157bpm 7.32/6.62mph

A pacier run today in my new Brooks Ghosts.

I decided that I wanted an 8:40 pace controlled and comfortable effort to test out how the groin is and whether I've got sufficient fitness emerging to try and race Chelmsford next weekend.

As it turned out, the pace was all over the place, the groin ached and the HR was way too high. It wasn't ideal.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 8:53(8:53/m) 148/159bpm 95cal 6.76/7.35mph
2) 1m - 8:53(8:53/m) 160/163bpm 106cal 6.76/7.01mph
3) 1m - 8:47(8:47/m) 161/167bpm 105cal 6.83/7.51mph
4) 1m - 8:24(8:24/m) 164/169bpm 102cal 7.15/7.99mph
5) 1m - 8:26(8:26/m) 167/172bpm 104cal 7.11/8.01mph
6) 1m - 8:06(8:06/m) 167/172bpm 100cal 7.41/8.01mph
7) 1m - 8:10(8:10/m) 170/176bpm 102cal 7.35/7.76mph
8) 1m - 7:53(7:53/m) 172/175bpm 100cal 7.61/8.12mph
9) 0m - 1(4:08/m) 174/174bpm 14.51/7.7mph

Session 1/2: Pilates with Charlotte getting back late last night following a 10 hour trip from Glasgow to London. Wasn't really with it today.

Friday morning Pilates with Ben. Quite a tough session today.

What has happened to my pace control? This was a 9:30 to 9:40 easy effort that never really hit pace. It's a lack of concentration and discipline.

Mediocre stuff that is getting boring.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:35(9:35/m) 137/151bpm 91cal 6.26/7.1mph
2) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 149/161bpm 100cal 6.4/7.66mph
3) 1m - 9:21(9:21/m) 151/164bpm 99cal 6.42/6.89mph
4) 1m - 9:22(9:22/m) 148/155bpm 92cal 6.4/6.93mph
5) 1m - 9:29(9:29/m) 152/164bpm 96cal 6.33/8.39mph
6) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 155/162bpm 94cal 6.67/7.53mph
7) 1m - 8:58(8:58/m) 158/164bpm 99cal 6.69/7.39mph
8) 0.01m - 2(6:31/m) 163/163bpm 9.2/7.26mph

Pilates with Sue. Scatter brain.

Easy run from my hotel to Drinkwater and Philips Parks.

Felt really good tonight despite tweaking my groin at Pilates yesterday. I was flowing along with a really easy stride and feeling tall (I always know I'm good when I feel tall....bit weird).

Had to hold myself back and felt as though I could easily run 10 mins quicker.

Very windy as we've got the back end of some hurricane called Ophelia.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 8:59(8:59/m) 135/148bpm 85cal 6.68/9.71mph
2) 1m - 8:58(8:58/m) 145/152bpm 93cal 6.7/7.16mph
3) 1m - 9:16(9:16/m) 143/148bpm 89cal 6.47/6.72mph
4) 1m - 9:25(9:25/m) 145/156bpm 91cal 6.37/6.99mph
5) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 150/153bpm 94cal 6.45/7.22mph
6) 1m - 9:56(9:56/m) 152/166bpm 99cal 6.04/6.82mph
7) 1m - 8:56(8:56/m) 151/162bpm 87cal 6.71/7.33mph
8) 1m - 9:30(9:30/m) 156/173bpm 99cal 6.31/6.91mph
9) 1m - 8:55(8:55/m) 159/172bpm 95cal 6.73/7.03mph
10) 1m - 9:02(9:02/m) 155/163bpm 85cal 6.64/7.2mph
11) 1m - 8:58(8:58/m) 154/160bpm 76cal 6.69/7.18mph
12) 1m - 9:06(9:06/m) 160/165bpm 100cal 6.59/8.14mph
13) 1m - 8:42(8:42/m) 165/174bpm 100cal 6.9/9.48mph
14) 0.01m - 2(6:34/m) 160/160bpm 9.14/5.89mph

5am easy jog feeling a bit sleepy from my hotel and around Peel Park.

Uneventful, but good that the groin both sides was not playing up too much following Monday's 13 miler.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:32(9:32/m) 129/140bpm 84cal 6.3/9.75mph
2) 1m - 9:36(9:36/m) 138/144bpm 95cal 6.25/6.78mph
3) 1m - 9:47(9:47/m) 141/147bpm 94cal 6.14/6.62mph
4) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 145/149bpm 94cal 6.45/8.68mph
5) 1m - 9:03(9:03/m) 147/151bpm 91cal 6.63/7.39mph
6) 0m - 2(6:07/m) 150/150bpm 9.81/5.68mph

Pilates with Nick. Quite hard at times

Easy jog around the Hammersmith loop feeling a bit tired.

Had some massage and physio last night and my right calf has been a bit gnarly and the groin is a bit tender.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:31(9:31/m) 133/148bpm 88cal 6.3/6.72mph
2) 1m - 9:17(9:17/m) 143/153bpm 96cal 6.46/6.89mph
3) 1m - 9:28(9:28/m) 148/155bpm 102cal 6.34/6.99mph
4) 1m - 9:11(9:11/m) 150/156bpm 97cal 6.54/7.03mph
5) 1m - 9:06(9:06/m) 154/163bpm 100cal 6.6/7.2mph
6) 0m - 2(7:14/m) 158/158bpm 8.28/6.91mph

Chelmsford Marathon: 3:54:42 pos 224/570

This was a cracking effort, given the weather conditions. Ran this in the middle of Storm Brian and the first 20 miles were pretty windy. Mixed with the undulations, this made for quite a challenging first 3 hours.

I'd had a good week of training leading up to this and had a good feeling that I could produce a decent run today.

After a congested first mile, I got into my running and settled down after about 5 miles. Managed to run pretty much even splits and was fairly consistent through to 24 miles, when I think I hit the wall and ended up with intense breathing problems and my insides were killing me.

After plodding the last 2 miles, I was really pleased to get round in 3:54.

The groin behaved pretty well today, although it is pretty sore after the event.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:22(9:22/m) 146/160bpm 100cal 6.41/8.22mph
2) 1m - 9:01(9:01/m) 160/164bpm 109cal 6.66/7.47mph
3) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 161/165bpm 109cal 6.66/7.43mph
4) 1m - 8:57(8:57/m) 163/166bpm 109cal 6.7/6.93mph
5) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 163/169bpm 110cal 6.58/6.82mph
6) 1m - 8:57(8:57/m) 167/170bpm 110cal 6.71/7.01mph
7) 1m - 8:54(8:54/m) 166/171bpm 108cal 6.75/7.31mph
8) 1m - 8:51(8:51/m) 164/172bpm 103cal 6.78/7.28mph
9) 1m - 8:52(8:52/m) 165/171bpm 100cal 6.77/7.12mph
10) 1m - 8:44(8:44/m) 166/171bpm 101cal 6.87/7.28mph
11) 1m - 9:16(9:16/m) 170/174bpm 113cal 6.47/6.72mph
12) 1m - 9:08(9:08/m) 169/174bpm 109cal 6.57/6.95mph
13) 1m - 8:44(8:44/m) 165/169bpm 96cal 6.87/7.16mph
14) 1m - 8:43(8:43/m) 168/173bpm 101cal 6.88/8.06mph
15) 1m - 8:51(8:51/m) 170/175bpm 105cal 6.78/7.16mph
16) 1m - 8:58(8:58/m) 170/174bpm 107cal 6.69/6.95mph
17) 1m - 8:48(8:48/m) 171/175bpm 105cal 6.81/7.12mph
18) 1m - 8:49(8:49/m) 172/176bpm 108cal 6.81/7.06mph
19) 1m - 8:49(8:49/m) 174/178bpm 109cal 6.8/7.78mph
20) 1m - 8:50(8:50/m) 173/178bpm 108cal 6.79/7.24mph
21) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 174/177bpm 112cal 6.67/7.18mph
22) 1m - 8:57(8:57/m) 172/176bpm 107cal 6.71/7.12mph
23) 1m - 9:03(9:03/m) 172/177bpm 107cal 6.63/9.08mph
24) 1m - 9:05(9:05/m) 174/178bpm 111cal 6.61/8.1mph
25) 1m - 9:34(9:34/m) 176/179bpm 120cal 6.27/6.7mph
26) 1m - 9:24(9:24/m) 178/181bpm 122cal 6.38/6.87mph
27) 0.11m - 56(8:16/m) 183/185bpm 12cal 7.25/7.18mph