Project Good For Age! Week 1 of 30
Goal : Automatic Entry Into the London Marathon
How? : Run a 3:15 Mara @ Manchester Mara in April (Current PB 4:45)
First Step : Run a 45 Minute 10k (Last Weeks 10k 57:58) www.strava.com/activities/1188827899
This Weeks 10k Time : 48:38 (No Way lol) www.strava.com/activities/1199384035
Here is how I got on in week 1:
Writing this having just come back from this weeks 10k, I can’t quite believe what just happened.
To take nearly 10 minutes off your 10k time in a week is ridiculous.
Everybody was telling me I would need at least a year in order to be able to do this.
What do I put this down to?
It’s clear to me that 4 things are going to play a crucial role in this project.
1) Behaviour throughout the process
A great example of what I am talking about when I say ‘behaviour’ is what happened last night.
I got at least three phone calls from people saying ‘come on Iron Rookie, lets go the pub, it’ll be ace’
Believe me, the devil was rattling the cage.
Having the power to resist temptation is one of the things I struggle with the most.
The thing is, I am not one of those people that can go out and just have ‘a couple’
I go out with ‘good intentions’, but Iron Rookie ends up being the one bouncing around the dance floor at 2am when he really should know better at 40 years of age.
Nor am I one of those annoying people who can go out and have a skinfull then crack on with my training the next day as if nothing has happened. For Iron Rookie, the next day(s) (week) are a complete write off and my training/performance suffers big time.
No, one must resist.
Last night I managed to do it and went the gym instead.
The pay -off was spectacular, as demonstrated above.
This is going to play a crucial role going forward, especially as party season is fast approaching…
2) Diet
Last week I weighed 14st on my scales and 13’8 on the bodytrax scales.
This week I weighed 13st 11 on my scales and 14st on the bodytrax scales and my bodyfat is 25%
This is pissing me off.
I am nearly a stone and a half heavier than Ironman, my bodyfat percentage is ridiculous and reckon I could easily shed a good 2 stone.
For me, losing weight as a tactic in your attempt to run faster is a complete no brainer.
If you don’t believe me, go to Tesco, buy two 6kg bags of spuds, put em in a rucksack, go for a run with said rucksack on your back, then lets have a chat….
The key to losing weight is diet, simple as.
This needs sorting out and watching like a hawk.
3) GPS Watch
I prided myself on the fact that I went all the way from 2.5km fun run to completing an Ironman using a £9.99 argos special.
However, someone told me that in their quest to become a faster runner, a GPS watch proved a game changer.
Having used one for the first time today, I agree.
If you want to run faster, a GPS watch appears to have the potential to be a game changer.
4) Training
Without doubt, the training that I have been doing all week delivered todays performance.
The thing is, I have loved the training, absolutely loved it.
If you want to know what that was, you will have to wait and see. ?
In summary I would put this weeks effort down to a mix of the 4, weighted 70% training 30% watch, underpinned by having the discipline to adhere to point 1 above!
Next update : 1 October – 6 weeks until race day! (Windmill 10k)
By the way, I have written a book, it’s all about how I went from zero fitness to completing an Ironman, it’s only just come out but it has got some fantastic reviews already!- you can check them out here:
To your amazing journey!
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