20 Sep 04 - 26 Sep 04

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Wow, awesome advice Nigel, thank you.

In thinking about what you wrote, I realise that I am indeed continually pushing the envelope. No sooner do I manage a new distance than I want to push on to longer distances and greater challenges. That this is foolishness is evidenced by the fact that, apart from the initial 'baby steps' stage of running, my pace has continually slowed, from an average pace of 5:24 per kilometre to my current average of 5:49 per km. Which of course is the exact opposite of what I expected! And therein lies the frustration, but I guess the answer isn't in running the longer distances faster, but building endurance through slow long runs and using the shorter runs for speed work. Which... I think... is what every coaching site says... duh.

Then again, Khalid Khannouchi turned running on its head by doing not just fast long runs, but ferocious long runs, particularly the last 25%.

Yeah, but I know, I'm not Khannouchi. And my speed is falling, not picking up.

Sigh.