So i was off to the Sandhurst Joggers weekend away with the focus this year on marathon and half marathon training. This was good news for me with the Grizzly and fleet half just around the corner.
The base camp was the YHA Streatley-on-Thames and had booked exclusive for the weekend. The hostel is a Victorian house with 10 bedrooms with good old bunk beds that can sleep up to 48 people. With all the normal facilities kitchen dining room and a class room.
Friday night
I arrived around 6.30 in the evening and was greeted by Nikki & Mark they handed me my welcome pack with all the info for the weekend plus a energy gel and sweets. unpacked the car with all my kit for the weekend thinking do i relay need all this kit the answer was yes ! A quick change then off to the pub to cache up with some of the others that all ready arrived for some food and isotonic beer !
Saturday
A nice and easy run tho the village and out in to the countryside up the hill other side of the valley to be greeted with a great view of the river. We then run down to the the river and along the tow path and headed back to the house a very pleasant 6 miles in the bank . Then it was time for a some breakfast before going to the class room for some workshops. The first was on Nutrition by Debbie Coughlin of performance sport and nutrition and the big focus was on real food more than rubbish food ie brown food
The next workshop was from Ben Barwick from Full Potential and was more about your training and not do every workout at 100 miles a hour (a easy run is a easy run ) all the things i have been telling my athletes.
Then it was time for a spot of lunch that was well need by that time all this listening make you hungry ! The third and final workshop was by Vicki Styles of body reset i had to miss this one as i need to re plan my training session that was coming up next. the feedback i got from all that when to the workshop was prevention is better that fixing the damage when it is done . We all know are body better than any one so if you know you have any weakness work on them.
Now it was my time to run a workshop there was no presser on me trying to follow three fantastic workshops ! So when the athletes when off to get back in to there running kit and getting all worried about the up and coming intervals session. This session was all about pacing than all out speed. the session was 5 * 4 minutes this was a 2 minute out then back and try to get back to the same point.
Then in the evening there was an treasure hunt around the village of Goring i think the residents will be talking for years about the mad runners on that cold Saturday evening.
Sunday
This was the long run time where there was three groups worked out on your half marathon times. The main route was around 11 miles mostly off road and some hills to keep it fun ?
We all tried to put in to practice all that we had learnt all armed with are gels all make shore we where all well hydrated some from there beer the night before. There was no problem of setting of to fast as the first 3 miles where all up hill ! and the red kites where circling above looking for any runners that could be an easy meal . the rest of the run was in in and out of the woods and across fields before the last big hill or as i liked to call it the hill of doom a short run along the top before heading back to the base camp. For some of the marathon runners there was no rest as they carried on and run the Saturday morning run to get there miles in. Then when everyone was back we packed up clean all the rooms then headed home for some recover time on the sofa.
