I have a coach!

Spoke to my coach (ha ha first time I've ever had one of those!) Monday and got a new plan in place. Starting with a Monday eve session of strength and stretching, easy I thought, then I did it...ouch. She then says that this is my rest day!! oh dear if thats a rest day then I'm scared Squats, jumping lunges, ski seat etc etc today Im walking like John Wayne.
So today it was 90 minutes made up of 15 minute sessions which involved speed work....tired but feeling positive. No matter how I do in this race I'm going to be a much stronger runner!

Back into in "gently" :)

So after a few days of very deadly man flue I finally recovered..phew! I decided, very wisely, to was myself back into it with a hilly, fast, wet and very tough 22km run! (fool!!!!) - that hurt but it felt great to get back into the training! 

I followed my return with a nice 11km hilly run around the hills of Bath which just reminded me of how beautiful the countryside around these parts really is. I was tired by the end but I enjoyed it....sadly my mutt Monty seemed to have picked up some kind of bug and 33km of running in two days just knocked him for six and he was on his bed all days yesterday! Ha ha...thats puts the score at Monty 1 and Daddy 3 (thats how I see it anyway).

Today I decided that my legs has some slight niggles left over from my "gentle" return to running so I pulled my dust covered bike of the wall at home, dug out my ageing turbo trainer and did a very nice hour of cycling...wow forgot how hard that could feel! 1 hour and 37 kms done....really nice to be back on the bike too! going to add some more cycling into my training just to give me legs a rest from the constant pounding!

Cheers for reading and have a great week!

cold cold cold

Well it goes to show that training and being healthy does not make you immune to the common cold! I have been hit by a very dangerous strain of man flue. My wife will have her own view on this but as all men know, this can only be overcome by lots of self pity, lots of doing nothing and eating lots of nice food. I hope to be back on my feet in the next few days...until then I'm staying warm and not running! feels very strange to not run! quite nice though to be honest!

Sooo exited about this!!

Wow its been a crazy week. Very exited to let you know that on March 7th 2015 we will be hosting a charity fund raising event at Bath Racourse! Ive already had lots of amazing gifts offered for the auction that we will do on the night. You dont want to miss this event so please block that night (and the following morning if you're wise!) out of your calendar! Its going to raise money for a great c...ause and were all going to have a really great night! Ill put details out as we get them sorted! cant wait....oh hold on...only 17 weeks until I'm supposed to run the race! agggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please excuse the bad spelling/puctuation...Im at Copenhagen airport draining yet another coffee just trying to keep going so I can get home!

Days in Denmark

This weeks training has kept going well. Another fast run Friday, 2.5 to work with a 3 to 4kg bag, 10k fast run and later another run home (2.5km) with the bag on my back again. Saturday I was back at work so another run in with the bag and back later with much heavier bag thanks to new work laptop (bag must have been close to 10kg). Thursday and Friday I also did some strength work.
This morning I got up and ran 21.5km, 10 with a friend and the rest on my own. Will do some strength work in a little while. While Im away with work I'm mainly on my own so that gives me the time to put the miles. Cant imagine having to do this if I had to commute to work every day! I take my hat of to those that do.

Still at it

Its been a while but Ive just been so busy trying to keep training, working and having some kind of family life! Im still at it and going strong. I have now managed  to keep my weekly avg to above 80km. my weeks tend to looks something like this:
Mon - 10 to 15km + some strength work (bit limited)
Tue - 20+km
Wed - 19 to 15km + some strength work (bit limited)
Thu - 20+km
Fri - 10 to 15km
Sat/Sun - 20 to 40km depends totally on other commitments.

Today I am back in Denmark and ran with an old running mate of mine called Jesper Gønge, total machine. He has a fracture in his foot, hasnt run over 9km in 4 months and nothing in last 2 weeks and today we blasted out a really strong 22km in under 1 hour 30 minutes! my legs are now slightly fried but really nice to push the pace and feel some pressure. Felt strong almost the whole way so Im really pleased. It was a cold 5 degrees and wet so Im thinking it may be time to bring out the spandex again! look out Bath!

over for now :)

Longest so far

After a good double days rest I decided to finish work early yesterday and go for a run around Rutland water, in the end it was exactly 40km. Little more than I had planned and with a 2.5kg bag on my back it was hard work. Today did a 50 minute strength workout so training is going good!
Also, today I sent in an article to Bath Life Magazine that will be published in January's edition! exiting stuff and I hope it starts some sponsorship coming in!

Wow what a way to start the day! After a relaxed but hilly 10k yesterday I decided to hit the trails with my brother this morning and we did a 20km run with plenty of hills. Then I went and met up with MDS veterans Stuart Doughty(Bath Rugby foundation) and David Barnes (ex Bath Rugby star) at a local Bath cafe and chatted all things MDS for over an hour. I can't thank them enough. Such nice guys and so kind of them to take the time to talk to me and be so honest and open about their preparation and race experiences. I can't explain how helpful it was and how much better I feel having chatted with people who have actual done the race!
Buzzing now! going to go watch Bath thrash (gulp) Toulouse on the rec!

Busy busy busy

Ok, my bad but I havent updated this page for a few days now. Its been busy busy but thats no excuse! ok, where to start...oh yes...running :)

Well Monday I rested and did some very slight streching and light strength stuff. Then Tuesday I blasted out a 20km run with plenty (over 450 meters) of climbing. Wednesday I rested and did no exercise what so ever! I did however get my BT youview TV set up so not a total write off! Today I did another 20km, found a new route (again over 450m climbing) but got a little lost and almost got myself and my dog killed on a very short but very busy bit of road..phew, no deaths so thats good.

On Monday I also went to the Childrens Hospice South West HG near Bristol and met some amazing ladies who help to make the whole charity possible. They gave me hope that we can achieve some really great money raising goals (£15000 is the new target!) and I can help them by doing what I do and they can help me by being the brains behind the process! Very exiting and hope to make a big difference by helping to fund the care for at leats one family for a whole year.

Thought of the day...oh my god!

 

23	Weeks
1	Days
17	Hours
27	Minutes
5	Seconds

UNTIL MDS 2015

First injury!

Slight set back today. Been having some small niggles with right hip flexor so decided better get it looked at. Physiotherapist has strapped me up and said no running for two days! going to have to do something tomorrow as its driving me mad!! think my punch bag is going to get a serious workout tomorrow....Anyway, nothing serious so pleased...need to stay on top of the foam rolling, stretching etc etc!

Self motivation required!

Went to the MDS expo on Saturday and left feeling really deflated! It was all about selling stuff and the talk I went to was all about how hard it will be and how were all training wrong. Anyway, I got over it and got back into my running today.
15km in the rain with my backpack of 3.5kgs. Quite hilly and I was tired by the end but hey ho, not a lot else I can do except train! Feeling the blues but sure Ill man up a bit soon! :)

Weekend off then boom 5 kg pack 20km run

Right so I had a weekend off running, Friday watched Bath thrash Saracens at Rugby then Sunday
did some Rugby coaching for this lot!

 

Monday I did 10 km of hills work in the rain in Bath! dog not happy!
Today im in Denmark and did 21km with a 5kg backpack on! wow thats slows you down!!

Struggle .... wine induced slowness

So after a few too many glasses of wine last night, I struggled to get motivated but finally managed to drag myself and the bored hound out for a jog up a hill, around the skyline and back. 14km in all (roughly). Going to go watch some Rugby and eat some pie...come on Bath!

Tired legs and tired hound

Tough 20km today. Up a big hill a couple of times and onto some paths I haven't done before. Hound wasn't in the mood for it today so wasn't much fun to run with. He did decide to try to catch local wildlife so he wasn't that tired! little bugger.

16km ups and downs

Another 16 km in the tank today. Monty came along and want quite so spritely! ha ha! good run, quite tired and it was quite hilly. Great sunny day again. Not sure how easy its going to be to keep this up when its freezing and raining!! doh

Tough 30 kms!

So I created my facebook page last week. Here it is:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/johansmds2015

Got my kms up to around 85km by the end of yesterday and today is a start of another week. Did 30km this morning with my hound but my god that was a tough one today. Felt tired at the start, then felt great up to around 20km then just totally wiped. Got it done though so please with that.

Dog was on fire this morning though! where did his sudden fitness come from? git!!

Feel quite good about how the training is going but still nervous as hell about whats coming up in April!

laters
Johan

PS got to get some food!!

Up up and away

Ive managed to keep the mileage up nicely this week. I started with a big 30k run and every day Ive done a shorter run. Today was my shortest but I made it a hills run! I did my normal sky line start which is up for 2.5 km basically, turned around and did it again and then added some extra small hills. All in all 400 meters of climbing and 10 (ish) km of distance.

Legs now getting tired! think tomorrow Ill do a 10km gentle and flat run just to losten the legs and feet a bit.

Next week Im meeting up with David Barnes (ex Bath Rugby player) who did the race last year. Hoping to get lots of hints and tips!!

All moving along nicely. Getting more scary as each day goes by! I know though that I couldnt really do much more training!

Tunnel vision

Wow the weeks are flying by now. I did 80+km last week and plan to hot that again this week. Foot is getting better. Have a slight groin injury but that too is fading away now. My poor dog doesnt know whats going on as he is doing quite a lot of those miles with me!

Im planning to send out my plea for donations this week so will then try to keep this blog more updated but with work, running and coaching unders 7 rugby my time seems to be pretty tightly used up!

Just wanted to share my run from yesterday. I did a loop around Bath and managed to finally find the two tunnels route:
http://www.twotunnels.org.uk/

Wow, 1.6 km tunnel right through a big hill outside Bath! that was really a very odd experience! the next tunnel was only 500 meters. There is music, lights and its cold down there! great fun. Really freaked my dog out though...

Back out running later today!

Cheers for reading

Johan

Feeling greate

Ok so my training week is going really great. After yesterday (another 13km) I was up to 55+kms running this week so when my brother asked if I fancied a quick run today I was less than tempted, however, my dog needed to get out anyway, so off I went. A nice hilly 13km run around the skyline of Bath! The first 2 km is uphill and it felt pretty teriible but then I suddenly realised I was running quite quick and quite relaxed! soon my bro was puffing away and wanted to stop but I actually felt pretty great..nothing against my bro as I know he is a strong athlete but I guess the training is starting to pay off! woop woop.
Tired legs now and ready for a nice rest....I wish!

Things are getting serious!

30 weeks to go! Wow thats going quick...
Training is going well. I have had a few niggles, worst of which is in my left foot and I think it couldbe a slight stress fracture but I seem to be ontop of it now.
Since my last post I spent 2 weeks in Cornwall and put in a good few miles on the coastal path...hilly and hard but great running.
I have started to put together my chairty page and will be raising money for the Childrens Hospice South West www.chsw.org.uk/
As part of my commitment to them I will be trying to keep my blog updated and add in some photos etc.
Yesterday I did a 30km run with a 4kg pack. My legs can feel it today but they arent too bad. Today I plan to do 15k....lets see how that goes!!
Back later with an update.
By the way you can track me on Strava too if you want to http://www.strava.com/athletes/groblerj

Post France update

So the running has been going pretty well. Ive had a few small niggles with my left foot but have it under control for now. I managed around 320kms in July and hope to keep the distances going up and up for a while now. I spent 2 weeks in France running some good hilly road runs in pretty hot weather so Im pleased with that, Next week Ill be down in Cornwall and hope to hit some big miles in big sand dunes! should have done my gaitors already!! doh.

Will get some photos posted from Cornwall.

ciao for now

Longer and faster....July 7th

Back after a good Sunday in London watching Wimbledon. Managed to get teh 70k in last week including a very hilly Saturday morning run. Sunday I did nothing but walk around London and Wimbledon and eat nice food and drink pimms....I deal I know....
This morning I ran 15km with my wife MTBing beside me and my dog, Monty the very stupid but very nice Viszla, running along too. My wife announces that I run funny! awesome. The good news is that tomorrow night Im meeting Macca (2 time Ironman World Champ) and spending two days at a training camp with him where we will have a run clinic! could be useful! I think Im running flat footed and it would be great to iron that kind of problem out asap.
Anyhoot, feeling good and my 15km run today was my fastest in probably nearly a year so I feel really pleased. Tomorrow I plan another 15k but slower and just putting in the Kms.

Going to plan....the enormity of what im trying to do has hit me! - July 3rd 2014

So last week I hit my 60km target and I actually didnt feel too bad. I also hit the gym and did some strength work at home. The running is going too bad, Im finding stuff hard that I didnt when I was fitter but its coming along.
Im away with work this week so have been putting in some Kms in Denmark. I started off on Monday with a 20km run on my own in the heat of the afternoon, it was tough going but I did it. Tuesday I did a 5km run in the morning with my back pack, I guess it must way 4 kgs or so and man did that feel different! I then did an hour of very tough spinning class a friend of mine runs over here. Wed I did a 15km run with another friend and it went well, I was tired by the end and it wasnt easy but again...I did it and thats what matters right now. In the evening I did 100 press up (random) and some core work (plank, pike hold etc).
This morning I again did the 5km run to work with the pack and then another tough 1 hour spin session. I just finished another upper body session and some body weight leg work (calf raises, squats).
Tomorrow I plan to put in another 15km run at a gentle pace which will take me nicely up to 60km running and then Saturday Ill do a hilly 10km so will have done 70 very good kms.
The next week Im going to bring down the distance back to around 55 - 60 km but there will be hills added.
Oh Im also going to watch some tennis at Wimbledon  and then next week Im also meeting up at a UK training with Ironman world champion (ex) Macca and the people from team Maccax which Im a member of...maybe ill get some tips :)

First long run in nearly 2 months

Ok so the phrase long run can mean many things but to me anything over 15km is classified as a long training run.
My plan this week has been to cover 60km and it started Tuesday morning with a 10km run with a military friend of mine who basically runs at a billion miles an hour and can still chat! so my legs were a little sore and tired when I woke up today...BUT I had already made the plan to run with my younger brother this morning and he was here at 5:45 raring to go (slight enthusiasm anyway) so off we went and we covered 20km in just about 1 hour 45 minutes. Not my fastest every by a long way but it felt great to be running longer distances again.My trysty hound Monty following us the whole way and still looking pretty bouncy by the end (git!). My legs felt it but nothing went wrong so im pleased. Couple of recovery shakes, few hours work then Im off to the gym for some circuit training...doh.

So thats 30km so far and I have 4 days to go so I think the 60km goal will easily be reached this week. Tomorrow I think ill do a really easy 10km just to give my legs a chance to recover more.

Over and out for now... have a nice day!

So far so good

Week 1 down and I managed a good 50k of running, almost all of that was off road too and in some decent warm weather. Woop woop. My legs are holding up well so far and my new shoes are doing good. This week I need to take it up a small notch and Im going to do that by trying to add 15k runs into my routine rather than just 10ks. I want to remain very careful about adding distance and speed so Im going to just take it up small notches at a time. I have also been doing my Tabata circuit training to keep the upper body and core training too as I think this will help to carry me and my kit across the sand.

I hope in a couple more weeks ill be able to join some other local Bath people who are taking part in the same race as me. It'll be great to share the training with some like minded people.

I think Im already boring my family about it :)

Over and out for now.

eat sleep run repeat

My excitement  at getting a place on the Marathon Des Sables 2015 has now simmered down to a low bubble of nervousness. I have had a mixed year of injuries and since completing Celtman 2013 I haven't really been able to hold down any decent, consistent training. Ive had lower back pain, foot problems and most recently a very odd bleed in my right calf caused by surfing. So 4 weeks of no running or cycling has been my start to training for the hardest race of my life so far...great.

I have no completed my first 2 10k training runs and have decided my body is ready to start the long and hopefully more scientific than usual training needed to carry me over the 150 odd miles of sunshine and sand (making it sound nice).

My plan is to follow a 4 week training cycle:

This week (60k):
Mon - 10k
Tue - 10k & circuit training
Wed - 10k
Thur - 10k & circuit training
Fri - 10k
Sat - 10k
Sun - nothing

Next week (70k):
Mon - 15k & circuit training
Tue - 10k
Wed - 10k & circuit training
Thu - 15k
Fri - 10k
Sat - 10k
Sun - nothing

3rd week (75k)
Mon - 15k
Tue - 10k & spinning session
Wed - 15k
Thu - 10k & spinning session
Fri - 10k
Sat - 15k
Sun - nothing

4th week (46k)
Mon - 10k
Tue - 8k
Wed - 10k & circuit training
Thu - 8k
Friday - rest
Sat - 10k
Sun - rest

5th week(65k)
Mon - 15k
Tue - 10k & circuit training
Wed - 10k
Thur - 10k & circuit training
Fri - rest
Sat - 20k
Sun - nothing


My plan is to run the first 4 weeks very gently and just make sure I dont pick up any injuries. If my legs are too sore ill just drop that days session. Form and recovery is my main goal. Once I build up to 80+ km a week ill let that settle and then add my pack into the equation and slowly load it up.
My plan is flexible as it cant take into account family needs and holidays so ill just adjust as I go. Ive been doing this for long enough to know if my training is on target. My pace goals after a couple of months will be to run between 4:30 and 4:45 min kms. That gives me room to slow down.

Im going to blog my journey as a record for myself this year and to keep me motivated. Ill add pics as I go and see how my weight adjusts to the training (Im starting at 85kg). As I go along ill also do some cycling but Im not yet sure how ill slot that it. The whole thing is a work in progress but my aim is to be very run fit by Christmas and then just hold that until the race. I want to build a very solid base fitness and just not worry about speed.

Over and out for now.