The Qwer Old Fella's Marathon Method

6:00 a.m. Thought I'd be doing 17.5 - 18 miles on the Tralee marathon route but it turned out to be 16.95. I'm having problems loading my Garmin, so I can't get all the splits. But I did the first mile in 8:14 then the next 4 averaged around 7:30. The next 5 miles averaged around 7:10 pace. The next 5 miles averaged 6:30 pace - fastest 6:14. The final 1.95 miles were a jog/warm down.

The run felt relaxed the whole way and there were no mechanical problems, which was good. On the downside, I've decided not to run the Tralee Marathon or any marathon for that matter, until I'm 50 (2.5 years away). I'm going to concentrate on developing a good aerobic base and gaining strength and speed. So, I'll focus on 10k races over the next 12 months, then up to 10 milers and half marathons, before tackling the London or some other Big City marathon when I'm 50, in 2015.

So why the change of mind? Well, I decided the Tralee marathon is a bit of a con. They have the map of the route up and it looks undulating but okay. The fact is, the first 15 miles are a slog fest of glycogen depleting hills - I ran it this morning, excluding a couple of miles that loop off the main course and have some sneaky energy sapping hills. I don't fancy this as a first marathon. Also, I don't want to just run round in 2:35-2:45. I want to race hard (2:20 ish) and I don't think that's feasible, given I've only been running a short while (11 months). If I were to run a marathon next year,  I think I'd end up getting bogged down in a mire of mediocrity- not for me folks: I'm not running 100+ miles a week with workouts to plod around marathon courses for a Tee-shirt, a medal and a master's win. I'm in it for the long haul and to mix it up with the youngsters.

My thoughts and reasons might seem arrogant or disparaging to those who work hard to run 3hrs - 4.5hrs or whatever, but we're all different beasts, with different motivations and aspirations. Anybody who laces up a pair of running shoes and gets out the door deserves credit for taking action and getting on with life and striving to attain their goals, whatever they might be. My goals are driven from a deep sense of unfinished business and wasted opportunities and for good measure, I'm pretty competitive and now armed with some serious life experience. Behind all the japery lurks a serious predator. For now, miaow:)

7:30 a.m. 8 miles recovery run. Felt fine and dan-day; should be okay for tomorrow night's workout: 5x0.5 mile @3k pace - whatever that is - with a 90 sec rec.

Today I want to share a little bit of magic with you: Bam's Breakfast Bar. This comes with a health warning. This bar will seriously change your life. The only thing I'll add is that if you don't want to do the whole bar thing then you can try Bam's Breakfast Booster. Both recipes have a powdered version of the Peruvian root vegetable Maca - and I'm telling the men folk, Maca does what it claims:).

Anyway, Bam's Breakfast Bar:

1. 0.5 cup of raw organic oats.

2. Healthy scattering of milled flaxseed, brazil nuts, almonds and walnuts.

3. A good sprinkling of natural whole Chia Seed.

4. A scattering of milled sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds and goji berries.

5. Here's the daddy - A heaped tablespoon (don't be greedy, this is all you need; trust me.) of powdered Peruvian Maca.

6. A shuffle of shelled hemp.

7. Organic banana (fair trade would be nice too) - sliced.

8. A glutton's scoop of raisins.

9. Splodges of wholegrain peach (or any other flavour) Probiotic yogurt.

10. A few shakes of raw organic cocoa powder.

11. Drizzle Agave Syrup over everything and finally, pimp it up with a shaking of ground cinnamon.

Mix it all together and form it into a bar. You can eat it straight away or leave it for 5 mins. This will sort you out for the morning and you might not finish the bar. Save it for later and enjoy it when you're peckish. 'tis lovely with a cup of coffee, which leads me into Bam's Breakfaster Booster. The Booster is great if you're trying to quit coffee. Simple:

1. Cup of skimmed/low fat milk.

2. Add a tablespoon of raw organic cocoa powder and a tablespoon of magic MACA powder.

3. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top and stir or give it a quick fizz in the blender (this is the better option.)

4. Heat up in the microwave or on the hob.

Drink and enjoy.

The rewards of Maca are pretty quick.

6:00 p.m. 8 miles easy. A touch of DOMS in the quads. Hopefully tonight's run will ease the discomfort.

After I finished my housework, I sat down and planned my training paces for the next few months. I’ve become an expert at dividing by 0.93, 0.9, 0.87, and 0.75. I’ve also mastered the fortnightly improvement in Horwill’s multi-tier interval training – how 1,500m pace works on 3k pace, which works on 5k pace, which works on 10k pace. I remember doing this many years back. By my estimations, if all goes well, I should see a 4 second per mile improvement in my fortnightly 4x1 mile sessions, which roughly equates to a 12 sec improvement over 5k, each fortnight.

In the middle of all these frenzied calculations, my two new pairs of running shoes arrived – Asics Nimbus 14 and Asics hyperspeed 5’s. I now look quite the dandy in my new runners. Ran in my usual Nimbus 13’s tonight as the rain was hammering down. But the light and swanky Hyperspeed 5’s will be out for a test drive tomorrow  – they’ll be ripping up the half miles at 3k pace…

9:30 a.m. 10 miles incl 5x800m @ 3k pace off 90 sec jog rec. What a beast of a session. Doesn't sound like much but it's a real gut churner. I'll enjoy my lunchtime nap (sorry Bret).

Warmed up 4 miles incl 6x100m strides with jog back rec and a 200m stride to tune into the pace of the session.  Based on my 4x1 mile session three weeks back, I should've been looking at knocking out each rep in or around 2:42. But after my hill session last week, I knew I was a touch fitter and planned to do these in 2:39. But they went 2:39, 2:36, 2:38, 2:38, 2:36. Happy as Larry. So later in the week, when I do my 4x1 mile @ 5k pace off 90 sec rec, I think I'll aim for 5:32 pace (83 sec 400m's) rather than the planned 5:36 pace. I doubt Mo's quaking in his spikes but I'm pretty pleased with the way things are progressing.

Did the whole session incl the warm up and 3.5 miles warm down in my new ASICS Hyperspeed 5's. What a pair of shoes. I think I'll be buying a few more pairs of these little puppies. Tonight, the new ASICS Nimbus 14's get to go through the motions as I amble round for a slow 6 miler...

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYBODY DOING DES NEWS TODAY AND HAPPY PIONEER DAY, WHATEVER THAT IS - I'M GOING TO GOOGLE IT IN A MINUTE. SUSPECT IT'S SOMETHING TO DO WITH HAWKEYE AND THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS:)

Oops - just read what it's all about. Enjoy the parades, fireworks and rodeos. Learn something new everyday.

7:30 a.m. 8 miles in my ASICS Nimbus 14's. Well, I have to say, ASICS have out done themselves with the Nimbus 14. What a shoe. The 13 was clunky, comfortable, cumbersome and cushioned; the 14 is saucy, sexy, sleak* and snug and you can actually feel that IGS thing working. Great shoe. Well worth the wonga. That's the end of the alliteration.

The legs are heavy this morning and I'm hoping they recover in time for tomorrow luchtime as they have a rearranged date with 4x1 mile @5k pace off 90 secs. I've switched my An. T.  run and my 5k pace session because of the weather. Thursday's supposed to be less windy than Saturday. So, although I'd prefer waiting until Saturday to knock-out the mile reps, I've moved them forward to Thursday. Tonight's easy 8 miler should help shift the fatigue...

*see comments apropos of the meaning of this gobbledegook word.

5:30 p.m. 8 miles easy. Ran without a watch but had to keep pulling the pace - youthful exuberance and all that.

Went food shopping tonight and took the rapscallions. What a mistake. Got to the checkout and there was all kinds of everything in the trolley. They fleeced me. But I did manage to get the ingredients for my leek and potato soup, which I'll make tomorrow.

With the olympics coming up, I'm sure everybody's looking forward to all the distance stuff and I suspect all of the track and field. But I'll give you the heads up on something super special. The women's boxing. Yep, the women's boxing. The star of the olympics will be Katie Taylor - you heard it here first, on Bam's blog. She plays football (soccer) for Ireland and she's the world champion in her weight at the old fisty-cuffs. Even if you're not into pugilism you must watch Katie Taylor - she's a once-in-a-lifetime sports person. She spars with the Irish men's national team - they'll do very well too - and they go hell for leather at it with her. She'll be carrying the flag for Ireland.

11:30 a.m. 11 miles incl. 3.5 miles w/u, 6x100m strides with jog back rec, 4x1 mile off 90 sec's, and 3.5 miles w/d.

I did this session before I went on holiday and averaged 5.39. I planned to do today's session in 5:32's but thought, after Tuesday's 800's, that I might sneak in with sub 5:30's. Here's how they went: 5:30, 5:20, 5:27, 5:19. A.P. 5:24.

Apart from the wide range in times - I'll get better at pacing with more workouts - I was vey pleased with this workout; my progress is rapid (ok, maybe not rapid, but I'm getting quicker.)

The old body felt as though I'd been weighed-in by 10 geezers with baseball bats - I don't half exaggerate. And now, I'm off swimming with the rapscallions.Tonight's 6 mile plod should ease the pain...

 6:00 p.m. 6 miles recovery run. Nice and easy. Legs felt better than anticipated - might have been the freezing cold water at the Tralee swimming pool. Tired tonight. Early to bed and get ready for the Olympics to kick off, plus the two 8 milers scheduled for tomorrow - one of which will have a cheeky little 8x8 sec's hill sprints thrown into the mix.

7:30 a.m. 8 miles recovery run. Legs know they've done some work this week. But here's some big news for you: I'm going to learn to drive. Ho, ho. Beware if you're on holiday in Ireland - Bam might be on the road. Yep, at the age of 47 I've decided to have another go at learning to drive. Why? So I can drive the 20 or so miles over to Castleisland to use the track. There are other reasons too but the track's the catalyst for change. There is no running track in Tralee, in fact, there are very few in Ireland.

I did start learning to drive in my early thirties. I took my test three times and failed each time - obviously. The first test I thought I'd made it, but no. Failed because of many small things and a general lack of confidence. On my second (with a massive hangover) I failed because I let go of the wheel on a roundabout and screamed, thinking the truck on my inside was going to smash into me. The examiner wasn't too pleased. The third time, I was having a blinder. The examiner told me to pull over and then told me to drive on. I came to a junction and waited for instructions. It was a dual carriageway and I should've just driven straight onto it. He told me he was taking me back to the centre to pass me. He'd told me to pull over so I would see the sign showing the dual carriageway. After this, I gave up.

Anyway, off to read The Rules Of The Road - if anybody tries to overtake me I'll spike them.

6:00 p.m.  6 miles. 3 miles w/u, drills, 8x8 sec's hill sprints off 2min rec, 3 miles w/d.

Great session - can feel the speed coming and it helped cleared the fatigue from the legs. Easy run tomorrow morning and then a threshold session to round off the week.

It's time to plonk myself on the sofa for the Olympics.

7:30 a.m. 6 miles easy. Tired after staying up late last night to watch the Olympic opening ceremony - pretty pants really but the one thing I did like was the whole legacy thing. When Coe won the games with his presentation, he won it based on the children and multi-culture and legacy part - rightly so. To have the kids play such a central role, especially lighting the flame, shows he meant it and it wasn't just vacuous spin. Fair play to Lord Coe. I'm a fan of Coe but I think I could turn him over these days. If your reading Lord Coe, I'll meet you in Killarney for a 5k race...

6:00 p.m. 10 miles. 4 miles warm up (7:25 ) 4 miles An. Threshold (23:15), 2 miles shuffle (9:30).

Was not up for this, but as the run progressed I got into it and enjoyed the feeling of comfortable hard. Splits: 5:51, 5:53, 5:45, 5:46.  A.P. 5:49 -18 sec's per mile quicker than last week and I felt easier this week and that's on the back of a 116 mile week with two hard workouts and a toughish long run. Happy days. And so, on to next week...