Fabulous Tuesday - (Tuesday 29/04)

What a great Tuesday that was - first proper training session since London and United beat Barcelona to get to their first Champions League final for nine years - I was fortunate enough to be at the last final versus Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona and will be desperately trying to get to this final (three weeks today) in Moscow !

Anyway, back to running - the session was a 5 mile run, with 20x30 second 'strides' as part of it - in between each set of strides you do another 30 seconds at a slower pace. So in real numbers the strides were something around 5:00-5:30min/mile pace and the in between bits dropped to 7:15-7:45 pace. I was more than happy with the whole session and took the lead with Kevan and occasionally looped back to link in with the rest of the group - total mileage 7.5 miles.

Lists, lists and more lists - (Tuesday 29/04)

Well first of all Happy Birthday to my daughter Daisy - 14 today, but with the head of a wise old owl (I'm sure she wont mind me saying that!)

I'm always making lists, of things to do, see, remember, buy etc - these are sometimes paper lists, lists in spread sheets, lists on my mobile - in fact I could make a list of my lists. Today is going to be my list consolidation day, get rid of the shitty little 'jobs' that make up the bulk of the lists - and would you believe one of the things on my list is 'update blog' so already that's one out of the way.

Big game tonight - will United push aside Barcelona ? I would not be surprised at all if it didn't go to extra time and penalties - We will see !

50 weeks to London 2009 - (Monday 29/04)

Well the first day of a new training schedule sees me only having to run an easy 4-6 miles - the focus is on quality sessions, speedwork and for the rest of this year shorter races (half marathon and down), and most importantly enjoying it !

The 'easy' run was done on road through New Mills, up the long hill towards Shiloh Road, across towards Charlesworth and a loop back round again, average pace was just slightly over 8 min/miles which is good considering the length of hill - the legs are starting to feel good now and I'm so happy to be back running 'properly'.

Some great noises from the curlews as darkness fell - they were continually swooping down towards the ground - must be nesting sites there.

Another thing on the bird front I have spotted our bull finches in the garden again - my favourite garden bird, with the gold finch a very close second, must get out in the garden for an hours 'maintenence' tomorrow.

Last rest day - (Sunday 27/04)

Well the new training schedule has been sent through and it certainly looks like it will be quality rather than quantity for a while - cant wait. Feel a bit slow and podgy at the moment, but we will soon sort that out.

Some amazing times done by the team at Blackpool half and full marathon today - lots and lots of PB's - amazing - I think it sets the scene for the rest of the summer and I fully expect that out of the core group of 10-12 athletes that train together there will be at least 1 PB per athlete and 2 PB's from some before the end of the year - its even more amazing as the average age of the group must be well over 40 !

I had a nice lie in and then did an IKEA trip today, I think half the North West decided to do the same - think I will leave it till Monday to start assembling the damn stuff ! Never sure whether I like IKEA or hate it - however I did feel better once I had replenished on pear cider later in the day !

Busy day... - (Saturday 26/04)

Nearly two weeks since London and after tomorrow it will be well laid to rest.

Today however a very busy day - up bright and early with daisy to help her with her paper round (Saturdays are really hard paper days with all the additional crap that gets put in with the papers - giant slipper adverts and trousers with permanent creases in..)

Cracked it off in under an hour and back home for a run with Amber and Tony - long route round by Chinley and Cracken Edge and back via Big Stone and Lane Ends - Amber's stressed out at the moment with exam fatigue and I think the run was a welcome break even though she at times didn't appear to be enjoying it !

Back home after the run - bacon sandwich and then off to watch United at Tony's', had to leave before the end to then whisk Declan and his friend over to Macclesfield Town to watch their last game of the season - pretty dull game but Macc won so Declan was happy....

Back home after the game and then straight out as I was cooking dinner - Pork cooked in honey and mustard, boiled potatoes, baby corns, green beans - Apple pie or treacle tart for pudding - Mmm yummy ! (no wonder I'm gaining weight)

Even found time to watch a film after dinner - The Van (one of Roddy Doyles - very good typical Irish humour.

Back to track - (Thursday 24/04)

200m reps at track tonight - time to stretch the legs a little with some speed work, first quick session after FLM - Did every other rep and stuck to lane 4 which meant I had to run slightly further and harder to maintain the same spot in the group, averaged 37-38 for the eight reps which is OK.

Had lunch earlier in the day with Jackie to discuss races and training for the rest of the year - we agreed to stick to the shorter stuff and build in opportunities for a good half marathon or 10k to increase confidence for next years FLM.

Really jealous of those running Black half marathon on Sunday Steve, Lee(s), Tom and co - I am sure there will be a host of PB's if the weather is OK - hope Tom goes sub 90 mins.

Rest day tomorrow - must stop eating so much !

One man and his dog - (Wednesday 23/04)

The legs were getting twitchy by Wednesday so went out on a 75 minute run with Steve, Michela, Tom and Brian - oh and Sasha Brian's dog !

Lovely sunny afternoon and a great run around Mellor and Rowarth and the Roman Lakes near Marple - legs have really recovered nicely and this makes a big change in the way I have rested after previous marathons - hopefully this will bode well for the next few months hard speed work.

Brian and his dog Sasha tempted a young Labrador onto the run who we just couldn't get rid of so in the end Brian had to run back with both dogs and find the owner of the Labrador - I don't think he was very happy.

Went to Dialstone with Amber in the evening and eased myself gently back into the circuits, concentrating the efforts mainly on upper body with Steve and Kevan - good session.

The Kooks - (Wednesday 23/04)

Happy St Georges Day.

Went to see the Kooks on Tuesday night at the Manchester Apollo (as I'm still supposed to be on two weeks no running post marathon) - great concert, I didn't realise before how good they are and how many hits they have had already given that they are still relatively new.

Embarrassing moment of the evening was being told by Daisy (13) to stop dancing as I looked like Mr Bean - thanks !

How come we don't celebrate St Georges day properly - like the Irish celebrate St Patricks Day - there almost seems to be a 'negative' feel once people start to see lots of St Georges or Union flags - barmy !

Guinea fowl - (Monday 21/04)

With the marathon a distant memory, well almost, and the legs recovered nicely it was time to venture out and go for an easy run - checked with Jackie (top coach!) and she agreed to let me out and play as long as I took it easy.

With ace running partners Ruth and Tony to lead me astray we ventured from New Mills, up through Thornsett, across the back of Lantern Pike, up to the Trig point on the top and then down the other side (reverse direction to the Kinder Trog race) and then back on to the Sett Valley trail into New Mills via the reservoir.

A lovely bright day, but misty so most of Kinder Scout was missing from the skyline - loads of birds about (feathered) including some pheasants and a group of guinea fowl who made a real racket. It was a really nice run apart from Ruth getting an injured calf on the way back along the trail.

Ambleside - (Sunday 20/03)

What a great weekend - and no running !

Talk about itchy feet... travelled up to Ambleside on Friday morning leaving the house in the care of a carpenter and carpet fitters (they carpet fitted and carpented well in our absence). Arrived quickly at the Ambleside youth hostel - great place with brilliant facilities right on the edge of Lake Windermere, and what a cooked breakfast !


I'd planned to run the Lakeland trail series http://www.lakelandtrails.org/ at the start of the year but decided (wisely for me) to give this one a miss and take me post marathon rest. Instead I helped Graham, Claire and the crew with the race organisation - marshalling near the start of each race before running (sorry, I mean walking!) back to the finish arena to help marshall at the finish by keeping everyone in order until times/numbers had been registered by the rest of the team.

It was cold and windy, but dry, and very rewarding to see every ones face as they cross the finish line (after the 15km trail race), some very much the worse for wear - only three people had fallen on the descent and needed first aid treatment which is good news.

It was frustrating though to see friends and club team mates running and having legs that could have raced, but I'm sure the extra rest will be beneficial in the long run.

Amber finished third senior lady in her race which is good considering she led half the field the wrong way on the course before realising and having to catch most of them again - its good to see her getting back into her training again.

Ambleside is the nicest of the places I've been to in the Lake district with some great restaurants and places to visit - definitely worth a return trip.

I'm looking forward to getting back into my training hopefully some time later this week before I put on too much weight

Off to the Lakes - (Friday 18/04)

A nice restful couple of days, loads to eat and drink and the legs are on the road to recovery - I was tempted (!) to enter the Edinburgh marathon in 5 weeks time to get that sub 3:15 that I so dearly want, but eventually brains (rather than bravado) and some sound advice from Jackie (coach) made me see sense and I will take a couple of weeks to slowly get back into the running.

Did a very very gentle trail run - 6 miles - with Steve (sub 2:55 London) and Andy Norman down at Woodbank Park Thursday evening whilst watching the 5km time trial that is held each month (well done Steve McClean).

Off up to Ambleside and Hawkshead for the weekend to watch Amber race in the Lakeland Trails race and to have a good family chill out - it will seem strange going to a race that I would normally run and not be running but instead I'll give Graham and Clair (Race Directors) a hand with things.

Forgot to mention our team won the charity pub quiz on Wenesday night in the Ring o' Bells in Marple - see well done Tony, Ruth, Terry, Elsie - and me !

Great song - (Wednesday - 16/04)

Dont you love it when someone takes a song and puts funny lyrics to it - this is the best I've heard in a while !

Things to do when not running - (Tuesday 15/05)

Its great reading everyones success and not so successful stories following the marathon, it just makes you feel like going out and doing one again - and soon !

I'm not going to fall into last years trap which ended up me running four in a year and two in six days (one of which was Snowdonia).

My legs could cope with a run today which probably is their way of apologising for not wanting to move over the last 5km on Sunday lunch time in London - but I'm not going to listen to them, instead its going to be a week of good food intake - off to Pizza Express tonight with Tony, Ruth and families - its a preview evening with champagne reception for an art exhibition that the restaurant is putting on and Amanda has some paintings being exhibited.

Wednesday is a charity quiz night that has been arranged by Steve - so we will try our best not to finish last.

Our bedroom carpet went in today so that a massive piece in the jigsaw which means we can now move back into our room, Amber can move back into her room, the lounge can start to become a lounge, beds can be moved out of Daisy's room - yippee !

The big day - (Sunday 13/04)

What a great city for a marathon - nowhere in the world touches London for sights and for spectators. From the start all the way through to the finish each side of the road is lined 10 deep in places with people just wanting to shout your name and wish you good luck.

As for crossing Tower Bridge - just awesome, I get a lump in my throat every time.

Well as for the race it went to plan at 5k, 10k, 15k, half and all the way up to about 19 miles - I then regurgitated a gel and some drink at about 21 miles and then my whole body just gave up. I lost about 25 minutes in the last 10k - the last 2000m taking me some 16 minutes !!

Still I did another personal best and how on earth can anyone ever be really disappointed after taking part in the greatest race on Earth against the greatest marathon runners of our time.

I've got to look back and remember that in the last 9 weeks I have set PB's - some of them considerable at :

• 5km - 18:54 (PB by 13s)


• 10km - 39:09 (PB by 41s)


• half marathon - 1:26:48 (PB by 2min 5s)


• 20miles - 1:16:34 (PB by 10mins)


• Marathon 3:24:25 - (PB by nearly 4mins)

So in no way is it doom and gloom - I'm having two weeks rest - deciding which of the jobs on offer I will take and also choosing 4-5 races to aim for for the rest of the year - I doubt there is another marathon in me this year.

I'm possibly looking at the Kinder Trog, Horwich 5km, Great North Run, Alsager 5, Trafford 10k and maybe a half marathon or 10k somewhere in Europe in October.

Great runs and many PB's this weekend - Steve, Pete, Tom, Helen, Tony, Ruth, Chris, Simon, Gerry, Tony, Cath, Jayne - your all awesome.

Last post before FLM - (Friday 11/04)

Its not often I get to go to bed before 09:00pm but tonight I will for sure - more often than not I sleep like shit the night before a marathon so I normally try and get some extra sleep in the bag the day before.

Went for fish and chips for tea, pasta can get boring after a few days - plenty of carbs in The Crispy Cods fish and chips - will travel down in style 1st class on Virgin trains (only Virgin in Macclesfield!!) and chill out listening to music on the iPod and drinking coffee - I like being on trains, probably relates to my dad working for British rail for years and years before he retired and spending most of our holidays travelling across Europe by train - and yes in true geek style I was once a train spotter !

I've decided not to go to the Expo this year as its tiring and to be honest other than picking up your number (mine is already collected) its a bit of a chore - I will just rest in the hotel instead.

So what will it be go for 3hr:15mins or push towards 3hr:00mins and possibly burn up badly at about 20/21 miles and limp in with a 3hr:30min+ - God knows, I think in all honesty I will go out aiming for slightly inside 7min miles and re-evaluate at 10km, then half marathon - if I hit 20 miles (10km to go) in anything sub 2hr:20min then I have to go for it - if not I'll stick with the pace I am at.

Good luck... (and in no particular order) to Tony, Ruth, Steve, Pete and anyone else from Stockport Harriers and also to Tom and Helen who are on a far bigger journey than a simple marathon !

...and finally a special chin up to Simon who is currently injured but will be back running FLM 2009 with the rest of us !

Eat, drink but dont get merry - (Thursday 10/04)

This is the really boring bit - having averaged 70 miles a week for the last 14-16 weeks and now I'm down to a fraction of that - the anticipation is mixed with apprehension.

The only thing you can change at this late stage is the fuel and rest you get between now and race day. So plenty of carbs, plenty of fluid - I try and have several (can sometimes be 5 or 6) small meals a day rather than 2 or 3 big meals that leave you feeling bloated. Lots of fruit, cereal bars, rice, no red meat - I have a reasonable diet anyway so no major changes - I'm just wondering when to take on gels during the race. 14 miles for sure as that worked well for me at the Trimpell 20 mile race a few weeks back, I'm inclined to also think mile 8 and mile 20 as well - still needs some thought though.

House project has moved on loads in the last 10 days - all plastering is done, all decorating is done, fire is now working as it should be i.e. smoke in the chimney not in the rooms ! Last two carpets get fitted next week and then its just a case of moving things back to the rooms that they belong to - word of advice never ever try and do 5 rooms at once.

Make time for a massage - (Wednesday 09/04)

After hammering the legs for what feels like months now and giving them a few days rest I try and remember to treat them to a massage. Lots of runners resort to a physio only when they are injured or have niggles, but a good leg massage even when injury free is a great way of treating your legs, it loosens any knots you didn't even know existed, clears out lots of lactic acid and other crap that is lingering from your hard training sessions and also makes you feel better in general.

I've used Fountain Square Physio for a few years now and normally get treated by Matt (see pic). The good thing about seeing the same physio is they get to know the level of 'pain' you can cope with (!) but more importantly they remember your legs and any problems you may be trying to treat.

Theres quite a bunch of us from Stockport Harriers that use the Fountain Square (me, Tony, Ruth, Steve, Simon, Michela, Paul, Rachel, Gerry, Simon K, Amber to name but a few) and Sue runs a good treatment centre there http://www.fountainsquare.co.uk/index.asp

So massage over with - stir fry for lunch and then an easy 5-6 miles through the Torrs this afternoon and will call in at my other great love this afternoon... which is the Torrs Hydro project in New Mills where we are building a Hydro Electricity generator next to the river http://torrs-hydro-new-mills.blogspot.com/ - its a complicated project, very challenging but at the same time something completely different.

Five days and counting - (Tuesday 08/04)

Arctic conditions this morning and then brilliant sunshine this evening - thats Derbyshire for you ! A good day of rest then down to track for some 400's with 2 mins jog recovery (did 8 in 86-90 seconds) with a mile before and a couple of miles after - nice easy session with Steve, Pete and Tony - had planned on doing a 6-9 mile run with 3 miles at marathon pace but wanted to be running with friends who are also doing London - there should only be 10-12 mins between the four of us.

Caught up on some sleep this morning and will do even more catching up the next few days as the family are off down South in the morning for a week.

Will make my marathon 'to do' list tomorrow to make sure nothing is forgotten.

Five days and counting.

Lazy Mondays - (Monday (07/04)

This is the week to rest, sleep, eat and generally take it easy - all the hard work is long gone - will still run each day but a maximum of 30-40 minutes to keep the legs turning. No gym session on Wednesday, a few 400m reps on Tuesday, 5-6 miles Thursday and nothing at all on Friday.

I always like to run alongside the river for 20 minutes or so on Saturday from the Tower Thistle hotel - I've not checked what the weather will be like on Sunday in London yet as that will be the big differentiators between a good time and a very good time - ideally for me I want it to be about 10oC, very dull (I hate racing in the sun no matter how cold it is) and hardly any breeze - I don't ask for much do I...

Its great being in the same hotel as the elites, there's always familiar faces to look out for - its also great running for Leukaemia Research, its a very humbling feeling and makes you realise how fortunate you are to have good health and actually be able to run the event when in hospitals all around the world young and old alike are suffering from this terrible disease - I hope in some small way my contribution and fund raising efforts can make a difference.

www.justgiving.com/sean_whewell_lrf

Tomorrow I'll start to think about mile splits and look at the route again and split the race up into targets - probably four chunks 10k, half, 20k, full and have targets for each.

But now - now is the time to sleep...

Snowy Sundays - (Sunday 06/04)

A nice 90 minute run through the snow in Lyme Park this morning with Jackie and Amber - we used a route that we have often used on Sunday mornings over the last few years starting at Disley station up past the church towards the Park gates then left and through the farm and alongside the reservoir before heading up to Bowstones, back down the other side and back into the Park near to Lyme Hall.

This morning was blue skies and a nice amount of snow, by the time we got back to the car park there was a queue of cars waiting to take children sledging.

Another heavy snow flurry late afternoon and more to come tomorrow and Tuesday.

Watched the match with Tony, Tom and George - great game between Middlesborough and United, and just about a fair result.

This time next week it will all be over - cant wait !

Middlewood Way - (Saturday 05/04)

Well just when I thought I would be struggling next week at London with a couple of mediocre sessions in the last seven days I did this mornings 12 mile run with Steve, Pete, Lee, Lee and Gerry on the Middlewood Way - I was actually feeling nervous going into it thinking that if I didn't hit my own personal target for the session then I mights as well throw away any thoughts of a PB at London.

But sure enough the 12 miles in 1:27:00 where just what the Doctor ordered - each mile was somewhere between 7:00 and 7:15 and gave me just the confidence boost I needed before next weekends race.

On the way back we got hit by a sudden hail/snow storm and the temperature dropped by 4-5 oC in a couple of minutes leaving my head feeling like I had just eaten a load of ice cream - you know the one where you get that cold headache type thing !

Right time to go and get my bets on for the Grand National.

Last hard session - (Thursday 03/04)

Well if I look at the next 10 days then tonights track session should be the hardest one of the lot, everything else being part of the taper before the London marathon - so 16 x 400m in sub 85 seconds with short jog recovery.

The decorators have now finished the lounge - at really does look great - and have now made a start on my bedroom. more carpets being laid on Friday and Monday and this afternoon off to choose some nice big comfy leather sofa's.

Great result by Fernabache last night against Chelsea in the European Cup - I took Declan to watch them last year in Istanbul and the atmosphere in the stadium is breathtaking - talk about 'crazy Turks' they just don't know when to stop.

I'm starting to get hooked also on The Apprentice again - they get a really good balance of people who are really smart and could run a business and those that couldn't even wipe their own arses. Felt a bit sorry for the girl who got kicked out last night as she was reasonably bright - for a girl anyway !

Old Newspapers - (02/04)

Old newspapers are great - I found an old Manchester Evening News (1975) whilst decorating and some of the stuff in it is brilliant - especially the old adverts, charts and TV pages. At number 1 David Essex with 'Hold me close...' At number 6 Carl Malcolm with 'Fattie bum bum...' pure class. On TV we had Playschool, Magpie and the Old Grey Whistle Test and if you went shopping soup was 10p, butter 22p, coffee 37p and shredded wheat 20p !

Anyway enough of that - it was mile reps last night, still felt tired but managed to bang them out in 6:15 to 6:30 and then a short 6 miler this morning followed by gym session later.

At last a rest day - (Monday 31/03)

Long overdue - or at least it feels like it with only 13 days till London.

Had a really nice meal with Ruth and Tony last night at Grumbleys in Hayfield - great food and great company. http://www.grumbleys.com/Index.html

Had another interview for the Running Fitness magazine today, sounds like David Castle (Editor) is injured which is a shame - I need to concentrate on getting lots of sleep in the next few days and not to worry over the odd bad training session.

I hate canals with puddles - (Sunday 30/03)

Time for a longish run so took Tonys invite and we headed off through the Torrs, Llama farm and then two steady miles before going into alternating 6:50's - 7:30's for the next 12 miles. Now I'm not sure if its because I was continually running through puddles or just generally run shit with Tony but I ran really shit - it felt like I was making an effort on the efforts but it just wasn't happening for me - I know I am tired and the Isle of Man last week was hard on the legs so perhaps a few days recovery (tomorrow is a rest day) will do the job. (back to the puddles - when I say puddles they were 10 or 15 foot long). By the way Tony is running really strongly although he is still fatter than me !

Train tickets now booked for London Marathon - have I peaked too soon ?

Out in the hills - (Saturday 29/03)

A nice hilly, in fact very hilly run with Tony Lee - through New Mills, up around Latern Pike and then following the Kinder Trog route for a couple of miles before heading back towards Kinder and down into Hayfield via Twenty Trees and then along the Sett Valley trail and home !

About 11-12 miles in total but a nice sunny run before the weather would change later in the morning

What a crap day - (Friday 28/03)

Well if it could go wrong it did - The Crispy Cod chippy ran out of fish, I got stuck in traffic on my way to Sportmed for a massage, we then lit the new open fire in the lounge and smoke everywhere ! In the cellar, the bedroom, the lounge !

On the positive side the new TV is in and looks ace and the last bedroom is finally plastered, partly thanks to my excellent technique with plasterboard - not !

Did a nice easy 5 late in the afternoon and also had a massage at Fountain Square Physio as well.