Sub 3h15

DT19

From races I've done there, they tend to put you on their famous redways as that avoids road closures etc. 
 
6m easy this morning with 4 x 30s strides to just test something faster. Best I've felt so far. Attempting to persuade Lewis to amend this week's schedule to start pushing out the easy miles distances, bearing in mind there's 50 mins in for Sunday and I did 48 today. 

Think I'm a good 15s per mile down on where I was at easy pace. Still just above pre injury weight so when I put a pair of jeans on, on weekend I noted they were no tighter around waist but were very tight on quads so I wonder if part of my issue is that the bike work has added some bulk to my quads. 

OO54

Sounds logical DT. At least your weight is stable 👍
After a heavy week last week I seem to have hit a flat spot the last couple of days. I got badly dropped on the track last night and even today's easy run was an effort. I'm hoping things pick up for the weekend when I'm running my 350 milestone parkrun.

DT19

Hopefully you'll be good for Saturday, oo. Maybe just an underlying bug. 

8m easy today followed by spin this evening. Will drop back down to 5 and 6m next two days then go for 10-12 Sunday. I think assuming that goes well it's time to start introducing some sessions. 

SBD.

Building the mileage nicely DT.

That's a nice parkrun milestone OO - does that qualify for a cake?

I ran a HM at Milton Keynes a couple of years ago.  That was mainly on the redways and I have bad memories of the frequent underpasses under the main roads which broke up the rhythm.  Missing the start by 2 minutes probably didn't help either!

10K at an easy pace early evening.  Almost back to normal but struggling with motivation a bit.  Had a look through some of London photos to drum up some enthusiasm.  This is turning on to Great George Street from The Embankment, just over 1K to go, 2:43 on the watch and the calves cramping like mad!

OO54

Great photo SBD- looking lean and mean there 👍
Agree about MK too- all I remember is those underpasses under all the roundabouts.  It didn't prove to be a fast one for me. 
My local parkrun has cancelled so will have to be a tourist trip which saves me having to baker cake. Still hoping to go fast though if they wind doesn't scupper my plans 💨

DT19

That's a shame, oo. I might have been inclined to take a week off it in order to hit the milestone at your chosen event? 

Sbd, looking like a proper lean racing snake there! 

The two races I've run in MK have involved lots of twists and turns on Redways and the underpasses as you mention. Though they were half maras so I'm inclined to think in a way that the pace and intensity on a mara won't find those so annoying. 

Easy 5m yesterday then 45 min aerobic on spin bike. Off out over lunch for 7m in what looks like lovely conditions. Then hoping another aerobic stint on bike later. 

Rest day tomorrow as off to Cardiff with my Scottish friend for the rugby. I'm much less enthusiastic about it after last weekend than he is. Hoping then to hit 11-12m Sunday, though weather looks grim. 

DT19

12m easy today for 38m week. Best I've felt. Great just to be out running for a decent amount. 

TR

You're super lean SBD

Good news DT, 11 weeks to go ? So a few to get up to distance and then 6ish weeks of mararhon work?

Couldn't face another personal worse performance at Goodwood today in rain and 40mph winds again, so i sacked it off and did 21m yday instead (5.5m easy, 10m steady, 5.5m easy). 8 weeks til Brighton, hopefully will see a bit of fitness building.

OO54

Looks like you are back DT- onwards and upwards 🤞
Makes sense TR- 8 weeks is plenty of time for you I'm sure 👍
My 350 parkrun produced an 18:48 in the wind on Saturday. It was a bit disappointing tbh. Then 16 miles today for a 52 week

DT19

Tr, sensible decision, no point battling round there in these conditions. 

Mk is 11 weeks today so yes I'd guess 2-3 weeks building back up then 6-7 weeks big work with a 1-2 week taper. Should be sufficient from my base to get into a decent shape. 

I note Brighton recently announced their 'elite' standard being sub 2.45 for men and that gets you a free entry. They do seem to struggle to pack the front of the race. 

Oo, congrats on the 350 and not a bad time in the conditions. 

G-Dawg

Congrats on the parkrun milestone, OO. cracking time too.

Great pic, SBD. proper looking runner, there.

I usually do 4 x 20 milers in a campaign, got the second one done on Saturday with a 21 miler on road and tow paths by the Thames and local canals. For the first time in about 9 months, one leg didn't have the glute/hamstring discomfort although I was going very slow but a good sign nevertheless.

The left leg was not as bad but still needs fixing, then, for good measure in the final mile the left side threw in  knee issue which still caused pain yesterday.
I made the decision to have a rest day and treat the niggle instead. I was due to do a 10k recovery which would have brought up a very rare 60 mile week but I concluded a 6 mile gain could result in a 60 mile loss if it the injury niggle worsened and benched me. So, had to settle for just under 54 for the week.
 

OO54

Nice one G Dawg. I've done a 20 miler too. All sorts of niggles going on but the good point was that I could easily have carried on for more. Hope yours get fixed 👍

TR

DT - when i did Brighton in 2019 there were 6 sub 2.20 and the first lady did 2.35, but theres not many sub 2.45. Hopefully with no April vlm there'll get some quicker runners, although most folks serm to be doing Manc.

Dawg - i think itd be worth you spending time freeing up your lower back, i think my similar issues are lower back related.

G-Dawg

TR, I think you're spot on. I started doing lower back stuff yesterday. Booked the fizz for next week to loosen me up before Wokey. 
Got 5 steady miles in tonight, no knee pain, so it was a good decision to bin yesterday's run.

TR

Dawg - i stretch my back out using the roller,  also do the laying on back, bend your right leg and lower it to your left, keeping shoulders on floor (and then do other side), this opens the lower back.

SBD.

Good advice on G-D's back TR - hopefully the fizz can sort you out G-D.  I'm always amazed how the sports masseuse finds tight areas in my back I wasn't aware of. 

Good work on the 21 miler G-D and sensible decision on the rest day.

That's an encouraging 12 miler DT.  Hopefully you can get back on the sessions.

Shame about the time OO but a great achievement.  How's the Boston focused training coming on?

Good call on Goodwood TR.  I've organised wind free conditions and moderate temperatures for Brighton.

Managed 10 miles on Sunday and 7.5 recovery miles today, so will push on this week and see if I can get close to 60 miles with 16 miles on Sunday.  Have written off Manchester but may use it as a training run.  Still not sure about Milton Keynes but a GFA for London 2023 would be nice.

OO54

You never know SBD Manchester might be ok if you feel relaxed about it. I'm trying not to get too too excited about Boston too. It's still early days but I'm going ok so far. Many long runs to do before I get more confidence.

TR

Cheers SBD, ive done the decent thing for all the manchester and MK runners, and not entered either. Defo a good idea to tick the 2023 GFA off. You could do that at Manc in a training run anyway.

TR

I just read a book where Matt Fitzgerald trains with the NAZ elite for the summer to see how a 40 something AG runner with a recent mara of 2.49 does off living like a pro. They dont start the mara specific stuff til 8 weeks out, but are obviously putting in plenty of work before that.

DT19

Tr, that sounds interesting. What was the outcome of the experiment? 

Sbd, I've done the maths for my planned session at Manchester. 9m easy at 7.25 mm which in a race and alphafly will be easy then 3 x 5m at 6.20mm off 1m easy gets you in about 2.59.50 so you'd have little bother banking a gfa given yours is sub 3.20. Sounds like you are pretty much back now. 

5m easy yesterday followed by spin. Bike again lunchtime then 6m easy tonight. First attempt at a session tomorrow. 

OO54

I'd just go off at 7ish per mile and try for a negative split and sub 3 if I felt good at halfway. 
Track sesh today after full rest day yesterday. I'm building for a road relay on Saturday- team of 4 running 2.2 miles each.

TR

DT - he did well. Interestingly they held him back a lot (or tried to). All the exras amateurs dont do were in there, better diet, plyos, s and c, mobility, chiro, physio, pre and post run exercises, as well as the run training at altitude.

SBD.

Interesting book TR - might have to get a copy.  Flagstaff sounds like a runner's paradise.

Hope the track session went well OO.  For Boston, it's worth building in some course specificity to the training - so hills towards the end of the long runs and some fast down hill running - otherwise your quads are not going to thank you on race day.

A good plan for Manchester DT - that would be a nice way to run a Sub 3!

11 miles yesterday early evening.  The pace is still a bit slow but it's getting quicker each run.

Feeling very unfit at the moment and a long way from racing weight (it's so bad I'm avoiding the scales!) so a 3:20 at MK sounds challenging.  Will see how I feel in a couple of weeks before making any decisions.

Did London release any information on the 2022 GFA acceptance times?

OO54

Thanks for the tip SBD. It something I'm aware of but haven't done much about it so far. Good luck with shedding a few pounds.

DT19

It'll come very quickly, SBD. 

RE London, no nothing was released which means they didn't need to reduce them from the stated time. 

My first go at a session today, 4 x 1m off 45s walk. Didn't know what to expect, particularly given the conditions. Hugely surprised with a 5.57, 5.52, 5.54 and a 6.00 for 6.16mm overall for about 4.2m. Not actually very far off where I left off. Feel pretty happy that by early March I should be back on point. 

Also weighed this morning, was 2lb lighter than when I got injured and 3lb heavier than my London weight, which is probably about right given I'm 11 weeks out from target race. I guess it shows that a lot can be done to maintain things on the bike.

Almost feel slightly frustrated that I've a weeks all inclusive in Lanzarote kicking off on Sunday, though plenty of time to trim back down before MK. 

OO54

I don't think I'd be frustrated by a week in Lanzarote 🤔

TR

SBD - you still have 11 wks so plenty of time to get into sub3 shape. As DT said i thought everyone was given a gfa place that wanted it.  With a shorter qualifying period i cant see anyone missing out, youll be miles inside it by MK anyway.

DT - nice, your obviously in decent nick, you need impact miles/volume now. Enjoy the break, some warm weather sounds lovely to me, esp to run in.

DT19

To be fair, I won't be shying away from the training whilst away as much as I usually would, got about 40-45m scheduled with a session. 

OO54

I just booked an all inclusive in May DT. Well after Boston in April as I always come home 3-4 kg heavier 😉

G-Dawg

Rather envious of the all inclusive breaks planned. I once went on holiday the day after London marathon, it was a superb way to relax after a campaign.

It's been a bit blowy! Ditched the structure for my Tuesday 10 as the wind was so strong. Bagged a few sub-7 miles to average 7.03.
Ran very muddy trails yesterday morning and then had a track session in the evening. The wind was ridiculous so just used the session as a leg turnover and pushed where I could. Did 5 x 1k with 200m jog recoveries. Best I could do in the wind was around 6.3x pace for the intervals. Bagged 13 miles for the day.

Windy recovery planned for lunchtime.