Pilates with Ben. Not feeling as bad as I expected following last night's run. Had to be careful though.

Much better run tonight. Started out with heavy legs in the first mile but then livened up and was cruising along easily at under 9's.

Abdomen has eased up a bit overnight due to massage, but I could feel it on the run.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 137/150bpm 89cal 6.49/6.93mph
2) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 152/158bpm 102cal 6.66/7.35mph
3) 1m - 8:41(8:41/m) 156/161bpm 101cal 6.91/7.22mph
4) 1m - 8:41(8:41/m) 154/159bpm 98cal 6.91/7.87mph
5) 1m - 8:41(8:41/m) 152/156bpm 90cal 6.91/7.66mph
6) 1m - 8:36(8:36/m) 153/159bpm 90cal 6.97/7.74mph
7) 0m - 2(8:02/m) 151/151bpm 7.48/6.66mph

Dartford Midnight Marathon: 3:52:41 Pos xx/xx

A pretty mediocre performance that produced a decent time, given that once again this was around 26.5m.

Never really got into this race and went off way too quick in the excitement of starting alongside Craig, Sean and Paul C.

There was the odd moment where I felt as if I was getting comfortable but that all went out of the window after 13 miles when the abdomen started to ache.

I think I ran the first 13.25m in about 1:53 and the second half in about 1:59. It wasn't great. I fatigue early due to the pace but I was also not that motivated to kill myself because I knew I was well under 4 hour pace and I knew it was a long course.

Probably the last time I'll run this, given that I've gone 3:57, 3:55 and 3:52 and each of those it worth 2 minutes less. It's becoming a bit frustrating to lose a decent time to a long course again.

Bit of a weird one. A fairly average performance that I should be pleased with. It's good to run 3:50 marathon pace when you're not feeling 100% again.
Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 8:20(8:20/m) 152/158bpm 94cal 7.2/7.72mph
2) 1m - 8:41(8:41/m) 157/161bpm 103cal 6.9/7.37mph
3) 1m - 8:48(8:48/m) 158/161bpm 103cal 6.82/7.06mph
4) 1m - 8:35(8:35/m) 158/162bpm 100cal 6.99/7.66mph
5) 1m - 8:42(8:42/m) 161/166bpm 103cal 6.9/7.06mph
6) 1m - 8:41(8:41/m) 162/165bpm 103cal 6.9/7.14mph
7) 1m - 8:31(8:31/m) 160/163bpm 98cal 7.04/7.35mph
8) 1m - 8:34(8:34/m) 161/165bpm 100cal 7.01/7.35mph
9) 1m - 8:30(8:30/m) 162/165bpm 97cal 7.06/7.37mph
10) 1m - 8:29(8:29/m) 161/165bpm 91cal 7.07/7.26mph
11) 1m - 8:24(8:24/m) 164/167bpm 94cal 7.15/7.47mph
12) 1m - 8:35(8:35/m) 164/168bpm 96cal 6.98/7.31mph
13) 1m - 8:31(8:31/m) 163/166bpm 90cal 7.04/7.31mph
14) 1m - 8:35(8:35/m) 164/166bpm 93cal 6.99/7.28mph
15) 1m - 8:46(8:46/m) 167/169bpm 101cal 6.85/7.12mph
16) 1m - 8:38(8:38/m) 166/168bpm 99cal 6.95/7.26mph
17) 1m - 8:40(8:40/m) 167/170bpm 100cal 6.92/7.31mph
18) 1m - 8:54(8:54/m) 169/172bpm 104cal 6.74/7.18mph
19) 1m - 8:54(8:54/m) 169/171bpm 104cal 6.75/6.97mph
20) 1m - 8:52(8:52/m) 169/172bpm 103cal 6.76/7.16mph
21) 1m - 9:04(9:04/m) 170/172bpm 106cal 6.62/6.95mph
22) 1m - 9:08(9:08/m) 170/172bpm 107cal 6.57/6.85mph
23) 1m - 9:14(9:14/m) 170/173bpm 108cal 6.5/6.76mph
24) 1m - 9:29(9:29/m) 171/174bpm 111cal 6.33/6.57mph
25) 1m - 9:36(9:36/m) 169/171bpm 107cal 6.25/6.53mph
26) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 171/174bpm 108cal 6.45/7.6mph
27) 0.49m - 4:12(8:32/m) 174/178bpm 52cal 7.03/8.79mph

An unexpected recovery run. I suspected that I'd be out for a few days to recover from Dartford, to let the abdomen ease up, but I felt pretty good yesterday and today.

This was a hot run with the temperature in the high 20's.

Felt stiff but pretty good.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:21(9:21/m) 138/149bpm 93cal 6.42/7.16mph
2) 1m - 9:25(9:25/m) 151/157bpm 106cal 6.37/6.85mph
3) 1m - 9:19(9:19/m) 155/160bpm 108cal 6.44/6.91mph
4) 1m - 9:10(9:10/m) 158/165bpm 108cal 6.55/7.43mph
5) 1m - 8:53(8:53/m) 162/168bpm 107cal 6.76/7.91mph
6) 0m - 1(5:17/m) 163/163bpm 11.36/7.14mph

Pilates with Nicholas. Decent session and I was careful not to do my abdomen again. Then went to physio for some treatment.

Easy jog on a hot afternoon with the temperature around 25 degrees.

Abdomen was sore from last night's physio but it never really got much worse.

Enjoyed the heat today; it made for a nice challenge.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:46(9:46/m) 134/143bpm 92cal 6.14/6.8mph
2) 1m - 9:24(9:24/m) 145/155bpm 99cal 6.38/7.03mph
3) 1m - 9:21(9:21/m) 149/156bpm 98cal 6.42/6.8mph
4) 1m - 9:21(9:21/m) 151/159bpm 98cal 6.42/9.02mph
5) 1m - 9:13(9:13/m) 153/156bpm 98cal 6.52/6.99mph
6) 1m - 9:05(9:05/m) 157/164bpm 102cal 6.61/9.1mph
7) 1m - 9:02(9:02/m) 157/165bpm 98cal 6.65/6.93mph
8) 1m - 8:42(8:42/m) 161/166bpm 100cal 6.89/7.37mph
9) 0.01m - 2(5:30/m) 166/166bpm 10.91/7.35mph

Pilates with Luke. Abdomen sore.

Have decided that I'm going to run the July the Turd marathon on Tuesday. I am not willing to let this abdominal strain to get in the way.

This was a rubbish run. I plodded around feeling empty because I'd had no lunch. It was also getting pretty hot with the temperature on the rise to 27 degrees.

The good news is that whilst my abdomen is by no means in good shape, it was not as bad as Wednesday.

I will now rest up with just a short run on Sunday before Tuesday, which will be a 4:30 jog in the heat.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:22(9:22/m) 133/143bpm 87cal 6.4/6.93mph
2) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 143/146bpm 97cal 6.46/7.1mph
3) 1m - 9:38(9:38/m) 149/154bpm 102cal 6.23/6.66mph
4) 1m - 9:36(9:36/m) 154/162bpm 109cal 6.25/8.56mph
5) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 154/160bpm 101cal 6.58/7.18mph
6) 1m - 8:32(8:32/m) 163/172bpm 104cal 7.03/8.52mph
7) 0m - 2(7:55/m) 170/170bpm 7.57/8.29mph

A hot Sunday morning jog, about half an hour after getting out of bed.

Never felt comfortable and can still feel the abdomen complaining, but nothing I can't handle.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:53(9:53/m) 137/145bpm 96cal 6.07/6.87mph
2) 1m - 9:48(9:48/m) 146/151bpm 102cal 6.12/6.78mph
3) 1m - 9:24(9:24/m) 155/159bpm 105cal 6.38/7.01mph
4) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 157/162bpm 104cal 6.58/7.95mph
5) 1m - 8:56(8:56/m) 162/167bpm 106cal 6.71/7.35mph
6) 0m - 1(5:13/m) 164/164bpm 11.51/7.12mph

July the Turd Marathon: 4:18:14 Pos: 4/30

Baking hot day and I got lost, but I made light work of this.

This was a 3-lap event along the silkin way in Telford.

I ran the first couple of laps with a pair of blokes who were as lost as I was and we ended up missing half a mile off the lap.

However, it transpired that this was going to be close to 27 miles if we'd run all three full laps, so I was quite pleased with the way we corrected the route for the race organise ourselves!

Happy with this performance because I nailed the heat and the route was my type of course with long hills.

Could have won this if I'd tried (4:11, 4:14, 4:14 were the first three finishers)

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 10:00(10:00/m) 146/155bpm 105cal 6/7.85mph
2) 1m - 9:48(9:48/m) 154/158bpm 110cal 6.12/6.74mph
3) 1m - 9:59(9:59/m) 155/162bpm 110cal 6.01/8.47mph
4) 1m - 10:01(10:01/m) 155/161bpm 110cal 5.99/7.08mph
5) 1m - 9:28(9:28/m) 157/164bpm 104cal 6.34/7.01mph
6) 1m - 9:50(9:50/m) 152/168bpm 88cal 6.1/7.1mph
7) 1m - 9:22(9:22/m) 158/165bpm 102cal 6.41/7.16mph
8) 1m - 9:14(9:14/m) 161/169bpm 103cal 6.5/7.7mph
9) 1m - 12:24(12:24/m) 157/168bpm 121cal 4.84/6.76mph
10) 1m - 9:10(9:10/m) 164/169bpm 105cal 6.55/9.48mph
11) 1m - 10:39(10:39/m) 161/167bpm 107cal 5.64/8.01mph
12) 1m - 8:53(8:53/m) 160/167bpm 83cal 6.75/7.35mph
13) 1m - 8:53(8:53/m) 163/168bpm 91cal 6.76/7.26mph
14) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 161/174bpm 85cal 6.45/7.81mph
15) 1m - 9:06(9:06/m) 165/172bpm 96cal 6.59/7.62mph
16) 1m - 9:33(9:33/m) 165/170bpm 102cal 6.28/7.66mph
17) 1m - 9:25(9:25/m) 167/172bpm 105cal 6.38/7.18mph
18) 1m - 13:12(13:12/m) 160/172bpm 109cal 4.54/6.74mph
19) 1m - 9:35(9:35/m) 167/172bpm 107cal 6.26/8.62mph
20) 1m - 9:52(9:52/m) 168/171bpm 112cal 6.08/6.7mph
21) 1m - 9:26(9:26/m) 167/172bpm 100cal 6.36/7.93mph
22) 1m - 9:17(9:17/m) 167/171bpm 97cal 6.47/10.04mph
23) 1m - 9:30(9:30/m) 168/175bpm 100cal 6.32/9.75mph
24) 1m - 9:43(9:43/m) 170/175bpm 108cal 6.18/7.2mph
25) 1m - 9:54(9:54/m) 170/172bpm 113cal 6.06/7.06mph
26) 1m - 10:09(10:09/m) 169/172bpm 112cal 5.91/6.41mph
27) 0.26m - 2:31(9:38/m) 172/174bpm 29cal 6.23/6.53mph

Very easy run that got pacier towards the end.

Felt pretty stiff from Tuesday's race and I was shuffling for the first 3m before I got into things late on.

Hot and humid.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:26(9:26/m) 136/145bpm 88cal 6.36/7.12mph
2) 1m - 9:18(9:18/m) 146/155bpm 95cal 6.46/8.12mph
3) 1m - 9:34(9:34/m) 149/154bpm 98cal 6.27/9.06mph
4) 1m - 9:12(9:12/m) 152/156bpm 95cal 6.52/6.95mph
5) 1m - 8:55(8:55/m) 157/163bpm 98cal 6.73/7.47mph
6) 0m - 2(7:45/m) 161/161bpm 7.75/7.49mph

Now in TRNC on a week's holiday and was out on my first morning for a ropey effort that I didn't enjoy.

This year we are staying in Malatya near Alsancak and we're up a big hill that I had to run down and then run back up (although I ran out of mileage to get back to the top).

Couldn't get going at all and didn't like the heat or the terrain.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 10:04(10:04/m) 122/138bpm 78cal 5.96/6.41mph
2) 1m - 9:35(9:35/m) 138/148bpm 93cal 6.26/6.66mph
3) 1m - 9:27(9:27/m) 148/154bpm 101cal 6.35/6.68mph
4) 1m - 9:34(9:34/m) 155/159bpm 107cal 6.27/6.55mph
5) 1m - 9:46(9:46/m) 161/165bpm 114cal 6.14/6.49mph
6) 1m - 10:52(10:52/m) 171/178bpm 135cal 5.52/6.3mph
7) 0m - 2(6:10/m) 173/173bpm 9.72/6.3mph

Was up before 4.30am and headed down to the Lapta Coastal Path, which I found out is now twice as long as it was when I last used it (now 2 miles).

Started the run at 5.30am whilst the sun was still down and was comfortable until about 5 or 6m when I get pretty hot, with the sun having appeared.

Felt tired due to the time of day, but was moving well. Could feel the abdomen kicking in late on. I thought that was getting better!

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:48(9:48/m) 127/137bpm 79cal 6.13/6.37mph
2) 1m - 9:11(9:11/m) 143/151bpm 89cal 6.53/6.74mph
3) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 149/153bpm 94cal 6.58/6.87mph
4) 1m - 9:16(9:16/m) 153/158bpm 98cal 6.47/6.82mph
5) 1m - 9:16(9:16/m) 156/160bpm 101cal 6.48/6.72mph
6) 1m - 9:06(9:06/m) 159/164bpm 102cal 6.6/7.12mph
7) 1m - 8:59(8:59/m) 160/165bpm 101cal 6.68/8.01mph
8) 1m - 8:36(8:36/m) 167/171bpm 103cal 6.97/7.35mph
9) 0m - 2(6:08/m) 167/167bpm 9.79/7.28mph

Woke up late following a bad night's sleep and didn't get out until 6am.

Then decided to run up the hill, thinking I would get to Igaz, but hit a dead end after a mile and had to turn back. Ended up going all the way down the hill to Alsancak and then looping back to come all the way up again.

Very slow, very hot but not that hard today.

Bad news was that my abdomen kicked in after about 6 miles when I coughed. It was quite sore.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 11:10(11:10/m) 133/145bpm 98cal 5.37/6.07mph
2) 1m - 10:24(10:24/m) 137/156bpm 93cal 5.77/7.49mph
3) 1m - 10:07(10:07/m) 126/133bpm 62cal 5.93/6.59mph
4) 1m - 9:47(9:47/m) 137/149bpm 81cal 6.13/6.45mph
5) 1m - 9:34(9:34/m) 140/149bpm 83cal 6.27/7.68mph
6) 1m - 9:25(9:25/m) 146/151bpm 89cal 6.37/6.68mph
7) 1m - 9:42(9:42/m) 153/159bpm 104cal 6.18/6.59mph
8) 1m - 10:55(10:55/m) 165/174bpm 131cal 5.5/6.24mph
9) 0m - 2(7:15/m) 174/174bpm 8.27/5.8mph

Felt rubbish this morning as I returned to the Lapta coastal path. Only got about 4 hours sleep and I am lacking carbs.

Plodded the first lap and decided I'd do a 2nd lap, but I was really sluggish and sweating buckets.

Didn't enjoy this and will be glad to run in the UK next (which happens to be a very hot marathon from the sound of things, but it can't be as bad as this.....surely?)

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:56(9:56/m) 129/142bpm 85cal 6.04/6.51mph
2) 1m - 9:32(9:32/m) 142/149bpm 94cal 6.29/6.53mph
3) 1m - 9:29(9:29/m) 147/152bpm 96cal 6.32/6.55mph
4) 1m - 9:28(9:28/m) 150/156bpm 97cal 6.34/6.68mph
5) 1m - 9:22(9:22/m) 156/161bpm 104cal 6.41/7.28mph
6) 1m - 9:13(9:13/m) 159/163bpm 106cal 6.51/6.87mph
7) 1m - 9:02(9:02/m) 160/163bpm 103cal 6.64/7.74mph
8) 1m - 8:53(8:53/m) 164/172bpm 105cal 6.76/7.51mph
9) 0.01m - 2(6:16/m) 171/171bpm 9.57/7.49mph

Ghost of Roadrunner Marathon (Gravesend Cyclopark) 4:08:50 Pos: xx/xx

Pretty decent performance in really intense heat on a 17 lap course that had no shade.

I never intended to race this and I jogged the first 16 or so miles, before putting some effort in late on when I realised that I could get a high finish.

Ran roughly 2:02 followed by 2:06 for both halves. The slow miles indicate where I had to stop to refill my water belt.

Pleased with how I managed the temperature today, which climbed to about 29 degrees by the end of the race. I used a pretty simple technique of drinking every mile and pouring water over my head at every mile. It worked well.

Knackered late on and had to work a bit too hard in order to keep two blokes behind me at a decent distance.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:14(9:14/m) 138/147bpm 86cal 6.5/6.93mph
2) 1m - 9:19(9:19/m) 150/158bpm 99cal 6.44/8.31mph
3) 1m - 9:10(9:10/m) 149/159bpm 93cal 6.55/6.99mph
4) 1m - 9:12(9:12/m) 151/159bpm 95cal 6.52/7.58mph
5) 1m - 9:06(9:06/m) 156/161bpm 98cal 6.59/7.31mph
6) 1m - 9:03(9:03/m) 154/162bpm 92cal 6.63/7.06mph
7) 1m - 10:29(10:29/m) 151/163bpm 92cal 5.72/7.31mph
8) 1m - 9:08(9:08/m) 155/161bpm 90cal 6.57/7.37mph
9) 1m - 8:52(8:52/m) 154/161bpm 84cal 6.76/6.99mph
10) 1m - 9:43(9:43/m) 154/163bpm 88cal 6.18/7.12mph
11) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 157/164bpm 87cal 6.59/7.12mph
12) 1m - 8:45(8:45/m) 157/164bpm 83cal 6.85/8.68mph
13) 1m - 9:04(9:04/m) 160/165bpm 94cal 6.62/9.46mph
14) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 160/166bpm 87cal 6.67/9.31mph
15) 1m - 9:39(9:39/m) 159/168bpm 90cal 6.22/7.2mph
16) 1m - 9:03(9:03/m) 164/169bpm 98cal 6.63/7.08mph
17) 1m - 9:00(9:00/m) 163/172bpm 92cal 6.67/7.06mph
18) 1m - 9:40(9:40/m) 165/170bpm 102cal 6.21/6.91mph
19) 1m - 9:23(9:23/m) 166/171bpm 102cal 6.39/6.93mph
20) 1m - 9:10(9:10/m) 164/170bpm 92cal 6.55/6.91mph
21) 1m - 10:28(10:28/m) 164/169bpm 102cal 5.73/6.99mph
22) 1m - 9:49(9:49/m) 169/173bpm 110cal 6.11/6.7mph
23) 1m - 9:34(9:34/m) 168/173bpm 107cal 6.27/6.78mph
24) 1m - 10:21(10:21/m) 168/172bpm 111cal 5.79/6.55mph
25) 1m - 9:39(9:39/m) 170/173bpm 109cal 6.22/6.97mph
26) 1m - 9:06(9:06/m) 173/176bpm 110cal 6.59/7.37mph
27) 0.53m - 4:46(9:03/m) 175/179bpm 58cal 6.63/6.91mph

Pilates with Gavin. I've felt pretty fresh today with no ill effects from yesterday's race, so I took it steady tonight.

Could feel the abdomen complaining but it wasn't as bad as when I was last in Pilates a couple of weeks back.

Easy recovery run feeling pretty good. The weather has cooled off a bit.

Don't have any lingering issues from Sunday.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m - 9:05(9:05/m) 132/149bpm 84cal 6.61/8.47mph
2) 1m - 9:15(9:15/m) 138/145bpm 89cal 6.49/6.87mph
3) 1m - 9:11(9:11/m) 143/151bpm 91cal 6.53/8.43mph
4) 1m - 9:07(9:07/m) 145/149bpm 88cal 6.59/8.87mph
5) 1m - 8:58(8:58/m) 146/149bpm 86cal 6.69/7.35mph
6) 1m - 8:50(8:50/m) 150/155bpm 90cal 6.8/7.74mph
7) 0.01m - 1(4:12/m) 156/156bpm 14.29/7.74mph