The Qwer Old Fella's Marathon Method

6:00 a.m. 13 miles. 7 miles easy and then livened things up a bit. Nothing serious, just put a bit of effort in for the final 6 miles.  

Beautiful morning over here: sun shining, touch of frost and a bit of bite in the air. Kids are back to school on Thursday, so the routine will change - I'll be taking my naps a tad earlier:) 

7:30 a.m. 8 miles easy. Legs feel good to go this week. I dropped the miles of the Sunday long run from 17 followed by a 4 to a 13 followed by a 6, so that my legs would be fresher for the week and ready for the workouts. It seems to have worked.

6:00 p.m. 6 miles easy. Well that'll teach me to say that my legs feel good. Tonight, a dead man could've moved faster than me. Completely flat. See how the old legs function tomorrow.

7:30 a.m. 6 miles slow. Probably ran about 8 min pace. Wanted to loosen up the legs for tonights 10 miler, which will include a cheeky little 4 miles at or around lactate threshold.

Was having a chat with the gaffa this morning. Asked her if she fancied doing some of the 5k races in Killarney, which are fast approaching.

'Nah,' she said, giving me one of those looks that suggest I'm pathetic. 'Why would I run 5k when my Sunday long run is 8 miles?'

I explained the whole warm up/cool down thing etc and all the race buzz stuff.

'Warm up and stretching and all that nonsense - nah, I prefer to just put on my trainers and run. I'm not into all that, 'look at me; I'm great,' stuff. Nah, you go run around the park in your shorts like some qwer old eejit, and l'll take the kids for a walk around the park.'

As she went out into the hall, she called back, 'Do you get anything ?'

'Yeah,' I said, 'I suppose, if you're in the first three you'll win something.'

'No, do you get anything for running. You know, like a medal or something?'

'I don't know,' I said, slightly bemused. 'Maybe. But why would you want a medal if you didn't win?'

She didn't answer.

6:00 p.m. 8 miles, including 4 miles warm up, 3.5 miles @ lactate threshold, 0.5 mile warm down. Disaster. Garmin played up, so I didn't get mile splits. I knew where the 3 mile mark was and hit that bang on 17 mins - A.P. 5:40, exactly what I was aiming for. I felt comfortable and decided not to up the pace but to finish off with another 5:40, that was until half a mile to go...

Felt like somebody shot me in the stomach: G.I. issues. Stopped in my tracks and did the body-popping shuffle home for the last 800m.

After I sorted out the necessaries, I told the wife what happened.

'I doubt you'll be winning any medals in Killarney, if that happens,' she said. 'That sort of thing never happens to Paula.'

7:30 a.m. 8 miles rec run. Legs a touch tired and stomach not the best, but plodded round. The wind was wicked - more like winter than summer. We've had a terrible summer. Wind and rain and very little sunshine. Hopefully, with the kids going back to school tomorrow, the sun will make an appearance.

Once this week's out of the way, I'll have been running for a year and I will be launching my 'pioneering' marathon method; a method that will establish my status as a legend in the world of marathon running - I'll be able to pootle off into the nothingness, knowing that my transient but colourful stay on this spinning orb of dirt has left a mark of permanence, an indelible mark that will change the meaning of life for so many. What a crock of balderdash - that's putting it politely.

At the behest of Jake, I've changed the name from, 'The Bam Method' to 'The Qwer Old Eejit's Marathon Methed.'

9:45 a.m. (Now that's a glorious time to go running on a week day while everybody's slogging their guts out in the office.) 8 miles relaxed.

Opted not to run last night. With the kids going back to school this morning and the fact that I seemed to be battling some sort of stomach bug, it made sense to miss a run. What move. Felt awesome this morning. Might have been more to do with running after having had some breakfast rather than the usual catabolic state.

I think I might only run 13 times every third week - missing the 14th run is like taking a day off and the impact is huge. My legs felt so fresh this morning. Something to consider.

6:00 p.m. 6 miles easy. Legs felt good, which is handy as tomorrow is workout day and that means only one thing - pain...

9:45 a.m. 6 miles. Intended to do 5x800m in 2:28-2:30 (3k pace) off 90 sec, but the wind destroyed the session. Went through 400m of the first effort in 67 sec and felt like I was jogging. Slowed it right down to do a 77 sec second 400m and finish the rep in 2:24. I knew the session was a waste of time: the wind did all the effort in that rep. 200m into the 2nd rep (into the wind) I stopped. The wind was savage and slowed me to a jog. Jogged home.

I need to get the heart and lungs and legs going today, so I might do a fartlek tonight (with the wind behind me).

JasonD asked for the Bam-bar recipe, so here it is along with the Bam Breakfast Booster:

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 of powdered Peruvian Maca (don't be greedy, this is all you need; trust me).

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.

6:30 p.m. 8 miles steady. Opted to go for an honest 8 rather than chase the speed. 

I was looking back over my diary and a week today (Fri 7th Sept) I'll have been running for 1 year exactly. It just so happens that there is a 5k road race on that night - 1km up the road from where I live. I'm tempted...

10:00 a.m. 13 miles steady. First 9 miles were about 7 min pace and then miles 9 to12 were about current mp effort and a final mile to cool down.

I've decided to do the 5k race on Friday night as it seems the perfect way to mark the end of my first year running. Also, because it's just up the road from my house, it's handy enough and I know the route. The course is undulating with a decent hill at the 3k mark, so it's not a fast route. In fact, it's the route I used to run (slight exaggeration there - jog would be more appropriate) when I first joined the blog in October. But the experience of getting in there and mixing it up is what I need. And as Russ said, it'll be an old man PR - no matter what happens.