I had a great result even though injured at this years Virgin London Marathon 3:09:08 was just inside the good for age requirement for the VLM 2012. I picked up a calf injury just before which was aggravated on the marathon, then chest problems in the summer meant I had to rest for the next few months.
A knee problem kept me off the pavements and I decided to start cycling to get some fitness back, recent physio has cleared the problem (ITB is tight so judicious stretching regime now in place).
My goal now is to get fit and complete the VLM 2012 in a reasonable time, also to have a crack at some cycling time trials and hopefully a sprint triathlon in the spring.
I took part in the Stockport boxing day 5K and managed a 23:01 which spookily takes me back to my first 5k in recent years at the inaugural Heaton parkrun in June 2009. Back then I was a bit heavier but in a similar fitness state and managed a 23:00, so it tells me there is much work to do!
I did enjoy racing again though and had second thoughts about doing the hot toddy, the picture above was taken by Rachel Chapman and captures my mood perfectly...
On my Birthday (and anniversary to the wonderful Mrs Kelly!) we went shopping, Clare for an eternity ring and me... New running shoes. It was good to see Rick at Sweatshop again and putting a pair of Brooks Adrenalines felt like seeing old friends, I also picked up a pair of ASIC 2170's which will be reserved for distance training and races.
Wednesday I did a gym session for the first time in some time, I had a tough time on the treadmill, for the next couple of weeks I am going to attempt 5k at each running session. The first mile saw a mild ache in the left calf, the new trainers felt good but my chest was aching. The problem with treadmill's are it is too easy just to stop, so when I hit 2 miles it was getting too much I wanted to give up, instead I upped the speed and made the 3.1 in 26.21 so not a bad effort.
Next I tried the "Glute machine" but man are my glutes so weak! I figured not to do too much on my first trip back into the gym, a quick swim later and I was done!
Back into the gym on Thursday as the weather was seriously bad, another 5k on the treadmill and we have resurrected the Wii fit balance board as it acts as a great motivator for all the family!
On Friday I took to the roads on my bike, my goal is to increase my fitness whilst my legs get back to strength. I have fitted a garmin cadence device to the bike, on my first test before Christmas my average cadence was 66 which means I was turning the wheels 66 times a minute RPM) the aim is to average 90 and as I get fitter the speed will accompany the cadence.
Saturday saw the last Oldham parkrun of the year and 45 runners took part in pretty awful foggy wet weather, in 2012 we hope to grow the numbers back to the 75-100's again. Oldhams' micro-climate can often deter runners but it does not keep everyone away!
New Years Day went well as I put my Adidas Kanadias back on for the multi-terrain 'Joe Salts New Years Awakener'. Last year I managed 19th with 27 minutes and some change, this year, unfit and stuck for sections behind slower runners as the paths are narrow... 33:46 not a bad effort and I learned a lot about caring for my injuries. Remember before running I am to stretch my ITB, this is straight forward at the gym or at home, but as a stretch to be carried out lying down can be difficult to fulfil before a race. My calves were behaving today which I was please with but by mile two the left knee painful, I remembered my physio advice to slightly lift the knees running and drop the pace. This I did for about half a mile and it worked well, coming down the final hill my legs felt good and I turned on the sprint finish, nicking a place or three at the end!!! Andy O'Sullivan made a tanoy comment about my finish which is kind of embarrassing but everyone gets the same treatment.
So 2012 is here and my marathon training kicked off with a good effort, it tells me there is much work to be done to complete the VLM in a reasonable time. My true performance indicator I guess will be the Great North West half in February... Roll on the VLM
Have a great year everyone.
Mark Kelly
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