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A marathon in 4:15 (or maybe less)
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Sometimes we have to try stuff to find out it doesn't work all that well.
Well done with getting out there and sticking with it.
Will you be doing much running in the sun?
In fact the above is probably another example of me being a bit hard on myself over the pace. Steve's comment to me was 'good run - well done' and when I look at the slower paces they were still within MP + 120 which is many camps is fine for an LSR.
I'm thinking about doing a short recovery run today as the schedule had 3 easy miles yesterday with the long run today. Partly just because it is a lovely day, partly because I'd like to head off on holiday with just 20 miles left to achieve my target of 100 miles a month (treadmill at the hotel) and partly because I want to check out whether tomorrow's 200m intervals will fit into a certain bit of footpath which is almost exactly a mile from home.
Didn't do any running yesterday, just family stuff and a nice meal courtesy of Tesco Clubcard in the evening.
Today's session (tomorrow's done a day early) was 200m x 16 with 200m recoveries. Plan was to do the first 2 or 3 at 61/62 and then try to get down to 58/59.
I added a bit to the warm up and cool down to get me to a grand total of 79.99 miles for the month so far.
For some reason I had 62/63 in my head for the first bit so:
63, 62, 63, 63 Felt really rather comfortable
Decided to aim to reduce by 2 seconds for the next 4:
61, 60, 61, 61 This is quite good fun
Thought I'd aim to do the same again:
59, 58, 59, 59 Working a bit harder now but did have to focus on not overdoing it
Then I decided I might try to rev things up a bit:
56, 55, 55, 53 Some heavy breathing by the end
Total run was 7.58 miles in 1:21:26 (I also nipped to Tesco on the way back to get some pencils for my puzzle books).
must go pack some suitcases now
Well I've been running outside as the gym is only open between 10 am and 6 pm which isn't very family friendly.
2 runs of around 3 miles done at 8 am in the morning. Pretty warm but not impossible to run in. Not sure of the temperature but it is above 30 by lunchtime each day.
Planning to carry on with at least alternate days like this to keep my legs moving.
The comedy tan lines are starting to blur
Broke a long held bad habit today and did some cross training. 30 min of aquagym in the pool outside
Tomorrow I plan to run 3 to 4 miles depending on which cashpoint coughs up first!
It was 3.48 miles in fact which took me down to the ferry/cruise ship jetty. I decided to go for the furthest ATM first and then work my way back if needed (it wasn't).
The cash was needed to pay for my daughter's birthday present of a scuba session as she qualified for open water diving last summer. They did a refresher with her and then suggested a boat dive today which she hadn't done before. She was happy to contribute from her borthday money so that was her occupied again today
Did some walking today but no other exercising. Really quite hot - even the lady in the taverna commented on the heat. Having spent just 6.30 euros on 3 lemonades, a 750 ml bottle of water and 500 ml of local beer we are planning to avoid the DJ at the hotel tonight and put some more money across her counter (the free glasses of apple juice and the sweeties she gave A when we refused a free glass of raki helped persuade us too).
Bit behind with this I'm afraid.
Did just over 2 miles on Tueday having done one of those almost falls that has your arms flailing and nearly tripping again while trying to recover. Left my legs feeling rather stiff and achy.
Made up for it today with almost 4 miles after I gave up trying to sleep at 6,30 am (rather strong coffee yesterday afternoon). It's been much hotter this week (35 degrees in the afternoon) and I think going out an hour earlier was actually a good move.
Pace reasonable - probably classed as easy but I don't intend to try anything more strenuous
Swam for half an hour yesterday in deep water as part of a boat trip too
Back to Blighty yesterday - very sad not to look out of the window this morning and see blue skies
After that last run I actually had 3 days off as we did a couple of full days out to a water park and to Heraklion. Plus I had a birthday
On monday I didn't feel too hot in the morning so had a lie in but decided to chance going out at 5 pm instead as there was a nice breeze. I had the quickest run of the holiday with 3 miles averaging 10 min miling. The first 2 miles were sub 9:50 pace and then the last one a bit slower as the road back to the hotel slopes upwards. I actually did the half mile along the sea front to the turning point at a brisk 8:45 mm but may have been helped by the wind behind me!
Not managed to run since getting home on Tuesday. Although not having a full blown cold I have had an achy head, some congestion with a sore face and 'itchy' ears (that feeling of needing to stick something in them and scratch). Dreadful disturbed sleep with head aching all night too. I think it might have been triggered by getting a load of water forced up my nose on a big water slide last weekend
Used a steroid nasal spray last night and slept better but still not right enough to run yet today. I'm going to get some Olbas oil later and try some steaming as well.
Finally felt better this morning so went for a long run along the canal. Distance was dictated mainly by the time available as we needed to take the mother-in-law to Sainsbury's to stock up. I've found out and back is good for that sort of situation rather than trying to work out which loop to do and then worrying about the time.
The only similarity to my run last Monday was that I was alongside water. This time it was muddy brown instead of blue and there was quite a bit falling from the sky too
Nearly got taken out by a cyclist riding out of the tunnel under the canal but no accidents apart from that. Just tired achy legs but I'm used to that now!
Saw a couple of herons (one completely white one), some well grown cygnets and a flock of around 50 geese who landed on the canal in 3 waves. I think they must be gathering ready to fly south. Not many boats till about 9 am but then quite a few who looked to be heading off to finish their holiday. One chap offered me a towel
Did just over 11 miles at a dreadfully slow pace but at least I was back into double figures.
Tomorrow I restart the programme almost where I left off (Week 11) which means I get to do the 16 x 200m again on Tuesday
The intervals ended up getting done last night instead as I remembered I needed to take my daughter for a hair cut this evening (she's quite capable of taking herself but needs me to pay).
Very gusty wind and although I did the reps in the direction that was a bit less windy it still swirled around and made things harder work at times. I wasn't sure how I would find it after 3 weeks with no speedwork so set off at what felt like a conservative pace only to finish the rep in 58 seconds. I then overcompensated somewhat on the next one (65 seconds) before settling down.
I've not added it all up but think it generally a bit slower than last time. Not so much progression in the pace either but I'm happy enough.
59 65 58 60
61 60 59 58
60 61 61 58
54 56 55 53
Got rained on again too.
Wednesday = mid-week longish run.
I hadn't actually looked at the plan till this morning to see how many miles I needed to do but had it in my head that as last week (week 10) was 10 miles this week would be less. Ooops! It said 11 miles. I was going to need to do some working out on the route front as with the evenings already drawing in I would have to be back off the country roads in good time. No problem.
Except I didn't manage to do any planning while at work - partly due to busyness but also because the new IT policy specifically covers (or bans) anything remotely like social networking sites and my routes are stored on Fetch which I think would fall foul of the IT police if spotted.
Add to this a day of dealing with HR 'issues' followed by a 'debat' 'with my daughter over how soon she should have let me know that I didn't need to pick her up from the IT extension class after all
Bingo! You have someone who really doesn't feel in the mood for a long slow run.
However knowing that I needed to do some sort of running and having had a rest day yesterday I decided to do tomorrow's tempo today. Good decision as I think the sense of achievement from this one was what I needed.
Plan said 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at HMP, 1 mile cooldown. Not wanting to overcook things my first week back I started with MP but then increased the pace progressively each mile.
11:25
9:47
9:37
9:15
11:00
Total of 5.02 miles in 51:19.
Now to plan for tomorrow evening.
I did plan a route for tonight but have now ditched the run.
Not going to go into detail why but the words 'teenage daughter' will hopefully suffice
I set off at what felt like a steady pace and was perplexed to see my average pace showing as 13 -14 min/mile. I was sure I wasn't going that slowly. By the end of the first mile which took well over 12 min I was having thoughts of walking back home.
I decided to tackle the second mile and it was a bit more positive as I took no longer despite it including a small uphill track. Because of that I kept going and even entertained brief thoughts of making the run into a circuit instead of out and back. Then I realised just how much I was sweating, far more than in Crete, and decided something was not quite right. So I made 3 miles the turn around poin.
By now my pace was about a minute quicker (but still very slow) and I kept that pace on the way back.
As I ran up the last bit of road towards home my Garmin bleeped for mile 6 and I decided there was definitely something a bit awry. I had turned round at 3.02 miles and run exactly the same route home but the total distance was 6.2 miles!
I'm going to spend tomorrow making sure I eat well in preparation for the Dunstable 20 mile Challenge on Sunday. Mixed terrain with written route instructions. Lovely run
After the start the route climbs straight up the end of the Dunstable Downs and passes through a gate which causes a bottle neck. I'd learnt from my first year that there is really no point in trying to run up here so walked as usual. Then along the Downs into a lively headwind before turning towards Whipsnade Zoo which we skirted on a smallish footpath.
I forgot to say that this run is generally unmarshalled and mostly unmarked. We are given written instructions for the route and there is also a Garmin download. I felt pretty confident about the navigation so put the written stuff in my bum bag and had the Garmin for reassurance.
Around 4 miles in we came upon a runner looking rather warm in his waterproof jacket and gazing with a puzzled look at his pieces of paper. We pointed him at the right path and he joined our merry crew. At this point we'd dropped into a steady pace around 11:15 mm. This turned out to be his first experience of a 20 mile run!
Betwen 5 and 6 miles we had our first checkpoint so had a decent drink, topped up water bottles and snaffled a couple of sweeties. The next couple of miles continued around 11:15 min miling with our companion mostly keeping pace although he was finding it harder to chat. Then we hit what feels like the biggest field in the world.
It was ploughed and the path was fainter than in previous years. There were also loads of flints which have a tendency to shift underfoot. Thankfully the route runs along the valley bottom at least. We spotted a couple of runners heading sideways away from the route (and uphill) so shouted to get their attention before pointing out the route. We kept running and when we looked back they were still stood at the top of the hill! I did think the fact they had run past a sign that said 'Private, no right of way' might have given them a clue that they were going wrong.
Anyway by the end of the field our legs were complaining loudly and our 3rd man was falling back.
As we began to descend through fields towards the 10 mile point L commented that he was 'hoping to get back to running more if he could stay injury ....... ' and then he fell over! While doing a very effective footballer's landing he almost clipped my heels but thankfully I dodged before he could knock me over too. He was ok
A bit after 10 miles was checkpoint 2 and we followed the same routine while watching the first marathon runner go through well ahead of the rest. The second and third runners appeared within a mile or so but then it was a while till the next ones.
We eyed up some flourishing allotments, resisted the lure of some swings and a slide, ran round the side of a school playing field and joined a gravel track for a while (it's a very varied route). 13 miles saw us pausing to refuel with gel type things and wave 3 more marathoners through.
After that it is a variety of tracks, some more ploughed stuff, another checkpoint around 15 miles, a footpath through a very pretty churchyard and then back towards the Downs. I'm starting to think the steam railway spends the whole time blowing a whistle as I always hear it around here.
We'd agreed that L would pick up his pace in the last couple of miles if he felt ok and so once we got back to the open ground off he went. Loads of kite flying going on and the wind was now behind me but it was so strong that towards the end of the Downs I really thought I might be blown off my feet. Down the hill we'd walked up, smile for the photographer at the bottom (thanks Rich) and then what must be the sting in the tail for first timers.
There is still another mile plus some to go to get back to the Race HQ and complete the distance. I'd developed a vicious stitch at the bottom of the hill so had to walk briefly but by waiting till it was definitely gone I did pick the pace up a bit. The total distance was 20.36 miles on the Garmin and I ran that last 0.36 at 10:30 pace. Memento this year was a mug which is just the right size for my coffee machine
I behaved myself and kept the timer going through all the stops. Took around 4 hours and 17 minutes which is quicker than 2009 but slower than 2008. I'm happy with this as in 2008 I ran Dublin a few weeks later just over 4.30 whereas in 2009 I went on to run Abingdon in 4.26.
Sorry to be a bit longwinded but this is a great event which I wanted to promote.
Rest day tomorrow
Sort of rolling/undulating route and I discovered they'd been resurfacing it so a few loose chippings in places as well as the bits they seem to have missed (they won't last long if we have another winter like the last one).
Instructions were to start slowly and aim for 12 min reps.
12:17
12:04
11:52
11:47
For the first time in a while my legs didn't ache for the whole run either. Maybe the fields on Sunday shook it out of them.
Rapid departure again tonight to do 9 miles before a Scout meeting
Despite feeling really rather tired as I drove home I stuck to my plan, had coffee with my bagels and was out of the door just before 6. I'd decided to do the long loop around Stowe as I've not been up there for quite a while and the last 2 miles are on footpath and then in the town.
A slightly sluggish start gave way to a nice run and I was even able to do a good turn on the way when a little laminated sheet that caught my eye turned out to be a list of key codes for various building around Stowe school. The man at the gatehouse was extremely glad to have it handed in.
9.12 miles in 1:43:14 which is an average pace of 11:19 min per mile.
Just right
I decided to head over to club tonight as I haven't been all summer and found myself getting a welcome back mention from the chair
Went with a group doing 9.30 - 10 min miling and turned off at 3 miles so that I'd do a total of 5. The middle bit was prescribed to be MP.
10:27
9:48
9:28
9:41
11:24
Rest day tomorrow
This is a 3 lap race in the grounds of Blenheim Palace with a few hills. Marathon pace would place me at the back of the field but would still give me a PB as last year was used as the last long run before JW Ultra.
First rolling/undulating mile was done in a nice comfortable 9:34
THen as the first proper hill began to flatten out I went over on my ankle. I do get wobbles on it occasionally but with no lasting effects but these don't usually involve me ending up sprawled on the ground.
I swore, picked myself up and tried a walk. Sore but possible.
I started a gentle run. Sore but not impossible.
I considered the idea of doing just the one lap ........... and then I thought about the bigger picture of a marathon in 4 weeks time ........ so I stopped after just 1.37 miles.
As I started to walk back along the course I passed the last 2 runners and the tail bike who offered to ring the first aiders. I declined as I had no intention of being ferried back in an ambulance if I could manage under my own steam.
As I returned to the first mile marker I met Mr USB who had made the right decision by walking in the same direction as the race. He made it clear that he wouldn't be carrying me and we continued the slow walk towards the Palace and the little train which would save some walking to the car park.
We began to meet the leaders on their second lap. As the next train was not for another 25 minutes I opted to continue the walk rather than sit around on a bench cooling off. This meant I saw all the other runners. There were so many sympathetic comments from clubmates, other friends as well as complete strangers.
The first aider applied an ice pack while I was distracted by 3 little girls chatting to me and their puppy who fell asleep under my leg. When I checked with Mr USB if we had any ibuprofen in the car the first aider produced a couple without any fuss beyond recording my name on his sheet. He also gave me an extra icepack to use in the car on the way home.
The lovely ladies at the finish let me have a goody bag so I had a drink and a KitKat to keep me going (obviously I haven't kept the medal).
This morning I am doing as planned and sitting on the sofa watching the GNR. I am not too bad on the flat but the stairs are being done one step at a time as I can't put that much weight on it without pain. There is some swelling but no bruising visible which is a good sign.
The easy 3 miler this afternoon won't be happening and then tomorrow is a planned rest day anyway. After that? A case of 'wait and see'.
I don't often post on a rest day but thought I'd do an ankle update
I debated about going to work or not. Driving not an issue due to having a semiautomatic but there is a short uphill walk with some steps to get onto the main site. The current staffing levels and the possible impact on the rest of the week was what made the decision for me.
Quite a tiring hobble into work but used the lift once inside. The morning went quite quickly and wasn't too bad as I was able to spend quite a bit of time on the floor with the leg stretched out.
Ibuprofen at lunchtime when I realised that it was aching because I'd forgotten to take the next dose
At 3.30 our PA was commenting that I was hobbling less but by 4.30 and hometime it was aching like billy-oh. I think that was probably down to sitting at a desk without putting the leg up at all.
Slow walk back to the car (I let someone go ahead of me on the steps) and an achy drive home.
I've now got an icepack stuffed down the side of my slippers which luckily are like boots and have a zip down the front.
Any sort of run tomorrow is looking increasingly unlikely
*waves bye bye to the 5 x 1 mile intervals*
Things are looking better. Swelling is down and the aching is less although there is a localised area of pain when prodded. I'm managing to walk pretty normally to although when I forgot and walked up the stairs I did notice it.
Hopefully if things continue to progress in this direction I feel confident enough to try an easy run tomorrow but won't be counting my chickens just yet.
OK! The sinsible hat is well and truly in place.
Last night I'd thought out where I'd go if I ran today so that I could adjust the length if needed and get back out of the lanes before it got too dim.
This morning I got up and things felt good so I put some ibuprofen in my bag and headed for work
By the time I'd walked up from the car park there was a proper ache in the ankle
Clearly running on it when I am still getting pain unless I take drugs is not going to be a good idea so tonight I am thinking of baking some seed cake instead.
I actually have a physio appointment next Wednesday which was booked simply to check things over ahead of Abingdon. I think we'll be focussing on the ankle now. Not sure whether to try for an earlier cancellation or not (he is very much in demand)
Took a slightly different tack today and took some ibuprofen when I got up despite it not hurting. I then wore my trainers to work and only put my work shoes on when I got there as I was wondering whether walking to and fro from the car in loafers was not helping.
It felt fine through the morning and I took more ibu at lunchtime before donning my trainers for a walk to Smiths which felt pretty good.
By the time I got home I was trying to decide whether some of my reluctance to run was down to paranoia about doing damage rather than real discomfort. I could move the foot up and down as well as rotate it without pain but felt it slightly on the stairs and very occasionally when walking.
Discussed it with Mr USB (ex- A&E nurse) and decided to go for a short run without taking any ibu first so I would know straight off if it started to hurt.
It didn't really hurt but felt 'odd' each time the foot hit the ground and when I stopped at the bridge into the park there was a bit of an ache. The odd feeling might be due to the remaining swelling but I stayed in the sensible zone and just ran back home again.
So less than a mile but at 10.35 min miling. I'm going to see how it feels tomorrow before I decide if I was daft to try it or not.
Main concern at the moment is whether I'm going to be able to do my second (and last) 20 miler this weekend.
Tomorrowmorning involves an early start to drop my daughter off for her Bronze DofE expedition followed by shopping with the mother-in-law. That means I can get out in the afternoon and will look to do an easy 3 miles.
Keep fingers crossed for me please
This morning I could actually see the bony bump on the side of my ankle (official name is external malleolus) for the first time this week. So I went for a run just now
3.07 miles
32:15
Average pace 10:30
Splits:
10.46
10.26
10.22
I went out and back on a path with ups, downs and a not always even surface in order to properly check what might or might not produce pain. There were occasional twinges in the side of my foot but nothing continuous. The rest of my legs felt a bit achy but I think that may be me running slightly differently to protect the ankle without realising it.
As long as nothing rears its head before the morning my plan for tomorrow is to attempt my 20 mile LSR. I am going to head over to the canal and run Londonwards for 5 miles before running back to the car. Then I'll run in the other direction for 5 miles and back again. That way I can reduce the distance fairly easily if needed, can carry a small water bottle instead of using my Camelbak and if the worst happened I'd only be a maximum of 5 miles from the car and could hopefully hitch a lift on a boat
Best of luck with your run and hope the ankle holds out!
Thanks Flo!
Watched Berlin this morning while doing the ironing (got to earn those Brownie points). Thought the German TV coverage was pretty crap! Then sorted myself out and headed off to the Three Locks.
First 3 miles were nice and comfy although I started a bit too quick really - 10:52, 11:17, 11:21
By then I was into Leighton Buzzard and the towpath was busy past Tesco (British Waterways have a 'Shopping Stop' marked with a 2 hour limit on the moorings) followed by a fishing match. The fishermen are lovely about moving poles if needed but it does do for your rhythm a bit. That mile was 11:50
Next mile was better again and I did think about carrying on to 6 miles as I had enough drink for that but I hadn't realised that beyond the lock and pub the towpath changed to grass so I didn't! 11:15
In mile 6 I slowed down as there was an ache in the side of my foot below the injured ankle. I also decided that 10 miles would be enough in that case. Mile 7 was also slow with the fishermen again but not quite as slow as on the outward stretch. Both those miles took 11:34
I'd had a brief stop at Tesco to use the facilities and that seem to have a positive effect on me as I suddenly round myself going quicker - 11:06, 11:07, 11:12
The ache had also gone so I cancelled the 10 mile decision. Stopped at the car to refill my water bottle and top up the jelly baby supply and then headed onwards towards Milton Keynes.
Mile 11 was slower but I put that down to getting past all 3 locks and then the steep little bridge to get over - 11:35
Miles 12 and 13 went by in 11:10 and 11:16 but then in mile 14 I began to feel rather crap. The hormonal central heating kicked in with a vengeance and the breeze did nothing to cool me down. I knew I was going to come to a gate across the towpath soon so I decided to turn around there. I carried on feeling yuck for the next 2 miles as well - 11:38, 11:53, 12:00!
Then for some reason things picked up again. I did wonder whether helping to open a lock gate might have loosened me up a bit (I was having a sweetie break but there was only so long I could sit and watch). Mile 17 took 11:23 and Mile 18 took 11:29.
I began to think about doing the last little bit back along the other bit of canal but my ankle was feeling rather stiff/tight so I decided that I would definitely stop at the car. Ran the last 0.44 miles at 11:05 pace.
So 18.44 miles in 3:30:26. Average pace 11:25
Not the full 20 but a good test of the ankle.
Got home to find Mr USB had been brave and tackled Miss USB's pigsty but forgotten about getting meat for dinner. Luckily Waitrose had 10 minutes left before closing so I managed to grab some pork steaks (bad mummy focusing on running instead of feeding the family).
Rest day tomorrow
What plan are you following? I am not sure which plan to follow for London next year. The runner's world ones all seem to have the long runs very slow much slower than I would normally run them. Not that I am fast but my comfortable long run pace is about 11mm most of them are nearer 12/13.
I found when I did a sub 2.15 half plan a couple of years ago the long runs were about 12mm pace and while it was nice and easy it meant on the day I couldn't run the intended pace.
When I did London 2010 my first Marathon I ran it slower than most of my long runs...Although I i did achieve my target of sub 5.
This time I want to be nearer 4.45. Any ideas?
I have looked at Shades and it is ok but there seems to be 3x20 and a 22 which seems a lot.
What do you fink?
By the way off to France for 3 days so not back now until Friday so not ignoring your response when it comes.....Hope your ankle is ok?