The first week of the new year has just ended and my log for the week shows 82 miles added to that with a few diet tweaks I’m 4lbs lighter than I was in mid December. I’m into week 4 of  my base building phase for the summer with 6 more weeks to go.  Over the past 4 weeks I have managed to run 77, 95, 74 and now 82 miles. I’ve found that 75 miles is a good target for each week and is achievable  doing only 1 long run per week. The other miles are made up of 2 sometimes 3 sessions (more on that below) and my morning early runs before work.

The results are showing as I’m starting to see a big improvement over where I was in late October. This week I did  possibly my best  interval session in six months on what we call the bank lap in Rathfarnham and then on Thursday I did a solid 6 mile Fartlek  in just over 33 minutes.   I’m running my session very comfortable, never trying to strain or tense up. I’m taking the relaxed approach because strictly I shouldn’t be running sessions during the base but the XC season is still going so I dont want to just drop that for now.

Yesterday I did my first race of the new year. A 4 mile BHAA cross country in Tymon Park.  I accepted a long time ago that cross country is never going to be my strong point but the last 3 XC races have seen me get stronger and stronger with each outing.  Yesterday I was running my final lap and feeling really strong with very little  breathing going on. This inevitably leaves you asking if you had more to give but in truth I ran a good solid race.  The race itself was the first BHAA race to use chip timing, kudos to BHAA they did a great job . Fair play to those guys for showing the AAI folks how you should organize and plan your races. I finished 19th overall in the race, running a 5:42 pace. My form on the downhill has been spectacular since honing my technique in Lanzarote. Uphill continues to hurt

I’m happy to report that starting the new year training is going well. I have plenty of enthusiasm for running right now. I’m trying new types of runs such as running up and across Kilmashogue  for my 11 mile long run this morning. I’m also getting allot from working on my overall flexibility and cardio fitness with a little bit of strength  and core training as opposed to spending most of time time bulking up.  There was a bump when I switched but I’m on track now and breathing better than ever.

I’m traveling to the UK  this week for 3 days, these trips have been the downfall of my diet in the past. I know that this trip will make or break the past few weeks. I need to keep the training going and stick to my 2800 calorie diet.  It feels like I have some momentum so I’ll do everything not to blow it on  late night trips to Sainsbury’s. Having a target for the summer gives you focus, even if it is still 5 months away. I’m also hoping to take in my first park run whilst I’m in the UK next weekend.

This afternoon was the last cross country of the year. The National Novice took place over 4 laps of the Curragh Camp. Despite running hard and feeling like I had a good race I came 118th out of 253. Granted that 10 places is a few seconds in a race with such a large field but it just isn’t good enough.  I’ve tried training hard for most of the year. I’ve tried less miles, long miles and it hasn’t worked. Apart from a few good runs like the last graded (2:04) 800M and the Rathfarnham 5K (15:42) I haven’t hit my targets.

I’m going to set a goal of getting down to 70kg by the end of April. I’m currently hovering around 74kg  (169 lbs).  I eat well but then binge allot, especially when travelling with work on calorie dense foods.  This means reducing my daily calorie intake down to around 2600 and just eating less and better. The two come together.

After a terrible October my millage at the moment is hovering around 70 on average with 3-4 supplemental training sessions a week. I’ve just come off 4 races in Lanzarote where my performance was OK but not amazing. I’m back enjoying running for the first time in a few months. Removing the sessions and bringing my miles up has worked in that regard.

I finish up work for Christmas on the 16th and rather than take a break I’m feeling good to use the time to start the weight loss, catch up on any supplemental training  I have  neglected. I’ve started a plan for the year. It’s 30 weeks until  nationals and I want to run the 800M in 2:01 and the 1500 in a sub 4:10 before then. That means running the road relays mile  in 4:29. According to RW author Amby Burfoot, the table is based on research that runners, on average get 2 seconds per mile faster for every pound they lose. The times you see above are the amounts a runner can shave off his/her race times by losing weight.  Getting to 70kg should see me get to around 15.15 for 5K by the end of 2012.