Happy New Year Road Runners!

Happy New Year, and a Happy New Website! Massive thanks to Tom Shorey, who has done all the work to transfer the website across from its old platform to a new, more modern, and more secure, platform. Hopefully, in addition to having a very smart-looking new site, users won’t get the security warnings anymore or - even worse - get blocked altogether. Now it’s just a matter of this IT dumbo getting the hang of how it works.

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a few years will know that I’m not into New Year’s resolutions. But this is a good time to look back at what went well and what didn’t go so well last year, and plan to do better this year. From the point of view of our sport, that doesn’t necessarily mean doing more: it could mean smarter running to avoid injury; different running, to add some much-needed interest to your runs and renew your mojo; or more consistent running.

Despite logging all my runs on Garmin Connect, I love to have a proper, hard-copy, running diary too. It’s good to review what you have achieved during the year, and you get an immense sense of satisfaction as those pages fill up.

My aim in 2024 is just to run four times a week more regularly. But a lot of you will have bigger goals: spring marathons. If you are running London, it is only 16 weeks away – yikes! If that’s you, you might like the latest training advice from 80/20 running guru Matt Fitzgerald (it’s not bad advice for the rest of us either).

Matt Fitzgerald’s ‘Foolproof’ Marathon Training Schedule

Most marathon training plans are pretty similar; assuming you already have good base fitness, you gradually build up your distance/duration over the length of your training plan, with maybe a cut-back week every month or so, then you taper in the last few weeks up to the Big Day. But Fitzgerald thinks that most runners – whether newbies or veterans – make fundamental mistakes in their marathon preparation, which increases their chance of hitting the dreaded wall, or just having a tougher time on race day than they need to:

Failing to Run Enough

The single most common mistake runners make in their marathon training schedule – according to Fitzgerald - is simply not running enough. A 26.2-mile run is an extreme test of stamina. You may not have the ability to clock 100 miles plus a week like elite runners, but you will need to run as much as you can manage. You may have more experienced runners telling you that you can get by on a couple of runs a week, and there are always those irritating t%£ts who seem to be able to go out there and kill a marathon with hardly any training at all (don’t you hate them), but they aren’t you, so why risk it?

Of course, you don’t want to risk an over-use injury or burnout. So, if durability is a concern, supplement your runs with non-impact aerobic activities like cycling.

The 80/10/10 Rule

Fitzgerald has developed his famous 80/20 rule (80% of your running at low intensity and the other 20% at moderate to high intensity). It is now the 80/10/10 rule: training 80% of the time at low intensity, 10% at moderately high intensity and 10% at high intensity. A common training mistake running every workout at the same, moderate, pace. But doing most of your training at an easy pace helps you to build up time on your feet and a small amount of training at high intensity helps to increase aerobic capacity and improve running efficiency, whilst avoiding over-stressing your body. Different pace sessions also makes your training more interesting!

The Recovery Factor

The third most common marathon training mistake, according to Fitzgerald, is failing to include recovery weeks during the training process. As I said above, most training plans gradually increase workload as you build towards race day. But doing this continuously over a 16-24 week training plan increases the risk of injury and burnout. Instead, having a cut-back week every three to four weeks where you reduce your mileage will give your body a chance to fully absorb recent training and get stronger ready for the heavier training to come.

Basic 20-Week Marathon Training Schedule

Fitzgerald’s basic 20-week marathon training schedule below avoids the common mistakes discussed above. It features more volume than a typical beginner marathon training plan, but a lot of it is easy running and there is also a lot of cross-training to reduce the risk of repetitive impact injury. Training intensity reflects the 80/10/10 rule and cut-back/recovery weeks are shaded gray.

The schedule assumes that you can comfortably run four miles before you start. Below is a key for the various types of workouts included in the plan. Each workout is rated on a 1 to 10 scale of perceived effort.

Cross Training – a non-impact aerobic activity such as swimming, cycling, or elliptical training. Do these workouts at an “easy” intensity that corresponds to a rating of 4.
Foundation Run – Run at a steady, easy intensity that corresponds to a rating of 4.
Fast-Finish Run – Run the first component at a perceived effort rating of 4, then run the moderately hard portion at an effort level of 6 or 7.
Fartlek Run – Run the “easy” segments at a perceived effort level of 4, then raise your effort level to 8 or 9 for the “hard” portions. You can run hard whenever you like; just allow enough time between hard intervals to fully recover.
Long Run – A long foundation run. Start at an effort level of 4 and increase your perceived effort level slowly as these runs drag on, even though your pace is consistent.
Hill Repetitions Run – warm up and cool down on relatively flat terrain. Perform the hill repetitions on a moderately steep hill at an effort level of 8. Go as slowly as necessary to recover during the easy segments between hill reps.
Tempo Run – Do the easy first and last parts of these runs at an effort level of 4. Do the middle part at a moderately high intensity of 6 to 7.
Interval Run – Warm up and cool down at an easy effort level of 4. Run the “hard” intervals at an effort of 8. Go as slowly as necessary to recover during the easy segments between intervals.

If you are training for London you are already too late for the first four weeks, but it would be fine to pick up at week 5. Swap the days around to fit into your own life.

His Lucky Number is Two

Or should that be three? Well done to Jagbir Bassi, who collected three trophies on Sunday:

· 2nd Male – BRR Cross-Country competition

· 2nd Male – BRR ELVIS competition

· 2nd Male – BRR Chingford League competition

Congratulations, Jag!

Don’t forget!!

The virtual winter handicap competition starts on Saturday 6 January. You have until Midnight the following Friday to log your 5k run, on the course of your choice, then post evidence of your time. If you do parkrun, your official result will be fine but, otherwise, your evidence must show 5k run continuously (i.e. you can’t stop and start your watch). Dennis will post the results a few days after the end of the week. All for fun, and as helpful preparation for the – deadly serious – summer handicap competition.

Greg’s BRR Race Report

Several BRR members ran in the Ilford AC 10-mile race at Hainault Country Park.

Rob, Louise, and Craig at the Ilford 10-mile XC

Stephen Philcox finished in third place in a time of 1:10:42. Next BRR finisher was Craig Chappell 1:29:24, Louise Chappell 1:50:54, and Rob Courtier 1:56:07.

Barking Road Runners finished off the year with round 03 of the South Essex Cross Country League at Hadleigh Country Park. First BRR finisher for the women was Maxine Brown in 50th place followed by Rosanna Fforde 59th, Charlotte Owen 67th, Louise Chappell 99th, Lizzie-Beth Gariaghan 102nd, Nikki Cranmer 103rd, Veronica Barikor 109th and Alison Fryatt 134th.

First finisher for the men was Mark New 105th, John George 111th, Colin Jones 117th, Rory Burr 124th, Jagbir Bassi 125th, Martin Page 144th, Steve Colloff 162nd, Jason Li 174th, James Hall 178th, Dennis Spencer-Perkins 184th, Rob Courtier 190th, and Les Jay 194th.

BRR parkrunners

Barking - John Whan 24:58, Stephen Colloff 26:00, John Lang 27:40, Tom Shorey 29:16, Emma Paisley 29:20, Martin Mason 31:12, Martin Brooks 31:12, Veronica Barikor 33:21, Lizzie-Beth Garraghan 34:02, Cranmer 33:35, Les Jay 33:58, Micky Ball 50:10, and Alan Murphy 53:24.

Chalkwell Beach - Antony Leckerman 26:32.

Chelmsford Central - Debbie Coyle 23:54.

Pavilion Gardens - Heather Haggis 30:08.

Raphaels - Doug King 25:27.

Sedgefield - Dawn Curtis 34:31.

Storeys Field - Sunny Bulchandani 24:12.

Valentines - Andrew Gwilliam 47:43.

Wanstead Flats - Mark New 24:26.

New Year’s Day

Cairns – Belinda Riches 29:50.

Highwoods – Rory Burr 25:16.

And the star of the show is…Alan’s trolley!

Valentines - Mark New 23:27, Craig Chappell 24:03, Jason Li 28:46, Martin Brooks 29:17, John Lang 29:19, Louise Chappell 29:41, Nikki Cranmer 30:39, Gary Harford 30:52, Emma Paisley 32:23, Joyce Golder 32:31, Martin Mason 33:06, Robert Courtier 33:40, Alison Fryatt 33:57, Clodagh O’Callaghan 36:15, Les Jay 36:54, Dawn Curtis 37:20, Micky Ball 47:35, Andrew Gwilliam 54:50, Chris Anastasi 54:58, Alan Murphy 55:49.

A few of the better looking runners after Valentines parkrun

BRR Diary – January

Download the TeamUp app onto your phone, then enter the calendar key for Barking Road Runners when asked: ks67p21gt8p5gzdo66 to see all BRR’s agreed fixtures for the year. If you have trouble accessing the diary via the app, you can also find it under the ‘events’ tab on the Barking Road Runners website: https://www.barkingroadrunners.org.uk/calendar.

Hadleigh (hosted by Leigh-on-Sea Striders). Yes, it is the wet one! After doing this cross-country race, you will well and truly deserve your New Year’s Eve celebrations! Normal routine, £3 entrance fee for BRR members, pay on the day or directly into the BRR bank account. Make sure you wear a club vest or t-shirt, and TAKE A CHANGE OF SHOES AND SOCKS!!!

7.00pm, Tuesday 2 January - Speed development. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. The first track session of the new year. If you want to improve your speed in 2024, or just make your normal runs feel easier, this is the place to be! This week, Jess will be leading an easy session, after the Christmas break. No, only kidding, of course she isn’t!

· 1 x 3:30 run, 2:00 recovery

· 2 x 3:00 run, 1:30 recovery

· 3 x 2:00 run, 1:00 recovery

· 4 x 1:00 run, 1:00 recovery

· 5 x 0:30 run, 0:30 recovery

w/c 6 January - Virtual Handicap 01. Post your result before Midnight on Friday 11 January.

9.30am, Sunday 7 January – club run at Eastbrookend Country Park. Come along and practice the course for the internal XC race the following Sunday, or just for a social run and a natter in the café afterwards.

10.00am, Sunday 14 January – Internal cross-country race. Eastbrookend Country Park – a chance for those who volunteered at the official Chingford League Eastbrookend race to earn points towards the Club’s internal 2023-24 Chingford League competition.

w/c 20 January - Virtual Handicap 02

11.00am, Saturday 20 January – Chingford League, Epping Forest. Details TBC.

10.00am, Sunday 21 January – Benfleet 15. Hadleigh Country Park. A 15-mile race on mud, trails, and road. To say it is not for the faint-hearted is a serious understatement. Waiting list only (oh, damn, did I fail to enter in time? What a shame!). Some of us may go along to cheer on our clubmates and have a bit of a run by ourselves.

7.00pm, Friday 26 January. Club Curry Night. Curry Mahal, 27 Goresbrook Road, Dagenham, RM9 6UX. We'll do a list of attendees nearer the time.

10.00am, Sunday 28 January – SECCL XC04. Parsonage Farm, Kelvedon Hatch Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA, Parsonage Farm. This is a new race in the SECCL competition, organised by Nuclear Races. Normally £5 to enter but just £3 for BRR members, on the day in cash or directly into the BRR bank account.

Cracker Corner – the Cheese Edition

Would you like to hear something funny about pizza? It’s a little cheesy.

What is a pirate’s favourite cheese? Chedd-aarrr!

What cheese gives you curly hair? Permesan

Boom! Boom!

Quote of the Week

“There will come a day when I can no longer run. Today is not that day.”

Unknown

And finally…

If you think this week’s jokes are even worse than usual, blame Harrison Li. For Christmas he gave me a little box containing cards with 50 cheesy jokes. Why on Earth he thought I might like cheesy jokes is beyond me…

BRR Blog - 1 January 2024

Happy New Year Road Runners!