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Will – I've managed to get my easy pace to 9:00 min miles which is where I wanted to be at the start of the plan. My long run on Sunday was 20 miles that included 10 @ MP (from 7-16). The first 6 were ok and then I turned it to a strong headwind where the next 2 were doable and the last 2 were hard going. Sounds like your ‘minimal’ plan is working for you and that’s the main thing and a good tempo run too. And a good long run at the weekend, it makes you feel good each time your longer run gets longer.
Ricky – what’s the weather like over the border at the moment ? Have you got any races lined up yet ?
Ali – nice progress from you with your easy pace getting quicker, that’s always a confidence boost. And a great long run in what sound terrible conditions, all this will make you stronger come race day. Nothing wrong with feeling exhausted and achy, you just now need to rest well and not overdo things. Look after those shins as well.
Washwood – re fueling. Obviously it’s personal to each individual but I wouldn't have thought you would need to take your fist gel at 7.5 miles into a long run. Have you tried to go longer, say 13/14 miles, before you take one ? Great progressive 20 from you and very speedy too, all positive signs for London. I agree with the others as well when they say that you should try for a PB at your half. You should recover reasonably quickly so it shouldn't interfere to much with your marathon training.
Carl – hills/undulations/climbs will all benefit you regardless of their incline and length. Good on you for including some climbs at MP pace, I find that pace really tough to maintain on climbs. I know you won’t have settled on your pace for Chicago yet but do you have any thoughts about if you will really be going for 3:30 and risk blowing up or if you want to ‘just’ get round in a new PB ? My plans for the next few weeks are below.
PS – glad to see you have sorted out your ‘easy’ pace now you are across the pond !!! Glad to see one of the youth of today dealing with a bit of pain without whinging too much. When he does mention it, though, I hope you are totally understanding to him and give him lots of sympathy !
I've just noticed that I have 4 weeks of training before I start to taper ! That seems to have come round rather quick. This week is another big week for me and I’m looking at 52/53 miles again hopefully. My long run on Saturday, which will be my 4th of the plan, is going to be an off road, ‘easy’ run of about 22 miles with a couple of thousand feet of elevation. Next week is a cut back week followed by 2 more big weeks where I will be looking to hit the 55 miles mark each week. I will also be trying to get in more MP miles in my medium and long runs. Then it’s time to take it easy. The only issue I have, that is still hanging about, is my fuelling strategy for race day. I took out some gels with me on Sunday’s long run with the intention of taking them when I was about 6/7 miles into my MP session. That didn’t happen and I pushed on without taking them. I need to make up my mind sooner rather than later as, if I decide I’m going to take gels, then I need to take some on my training runs. There are so many schools of thought about this that I’m not sure which option is best for me.
Hi Guys, Sorry been away for a bit. Heavy week at work and away for the weekend. Been getting my runs in and hitting the right paces but has been hard work. I think it has been the combination of work and early rises. Calmed down a bit this week so getting a bit of rest. Trying to get to bed early.
Hi Will, I have no time in mind for Edinburgh as yet, I want to get through London first! Would be nice to beat my last year time of 3:12....
Hi Carl, I asked the question of swapping around the Saturday and Sunday runs and it was received with a big NO....but sometimes I suppose you just have to do it...
Hi Ali, Alloa a week Sunday....you ready? The shin splints easing?
Hi PS, You settling in ok, as Will said, tough kid there ;0)
Welcome Oaty
Snow today forced me onto the treadmill today. Warm up and cool down with 12 x 400M with 400M recoveries. Then found out the showers were broken in the gym! Well off for a quick Horlicks and bed, up early for 6 miles...
All getting close Carter - you're in good nick & well prepared... signs are good for a cracking marathon!
cold & snow and sleet here over last few days... forced me onto the dreadmill again tonight. Did my first interval session since my return ... 4 miles with 5 x 3mins @ 6.40pace with 1min recoveries in the middle. 'Twas tough! No races booked - but thinking of a mountain/trail HM in June though.
Carter- time is passing very very quickly for me too! This is week 10- wow! Get practising with the gels soon- I have made the mistake of not practising in the past, it really is so much easier if your stomach is prepared for what's coming.
PS- nice to hear from you. Are you enjoying the adventure even if it is tough for space? How are the kids finding things? I can't believe you're still running at all, big props to you for not letting this massive change throw you off.
Carl- thanks for redoing the race list! I am also now doing the Jack Crawford 10k this Saturday if my legs feel up to it!
Nell- nice to see you. Fitness wise I actually DO feel ready for Alloa, just worried about the shin.
Ricky- speedy speedster alert on the treadmill. Well done!
I haven't run since Sunday. Yesterday my legs were achy after my 20 miler but I had it planned as a rest day anyway. Today my shin has just blown up massively, was severely sore even walking so I was sad but didn't run. I went to the gym and did other stuff which didn't hurt it at all and got the heartrate up which is good. Tonight it has been rested and iced and looked after and feels a great bit better than it did this morning.
It seems to flare up rather quickly and suddenly and so I guess I just have to play things by ear. I'm meant to be doing a 10k this weekend which I entered as a bit of a speed workout but we'll have to see how the leg is. I'd really like to enter it and see how I do!
Hope everyone's having a good week.
Carter - agree that running MP on hills is not easy. Needs serious effort but is good training.
Cannot believe that your taper is just around the corner. You seem to be coming into form just at the right time so hopefully you can keep it up.
Nell - the problem is that life gets in the way of a 6 day a week running plan. And some weekends you just have to swop things round otherwise it would be divorce. My OH asked me tonight if I was running every day now. I have only being doing this heavy running schedule for 5 weeks !!!
Sounds like everything has been main. Amazing how hard it is when life is busy to get the running and posting on here in. Snowing March. Does the person sorting out the weather not realise that we are all training hard for a marathon and it requires serious outdoor time in pleasant running conditions.
Ricky - the cold is horrible. Do not mind the straight cold but the wind is what gets me. And tonight it was windy.
Ali - Will add that to the list. 10 weeks. It only seems like yesterday that you were telling us that you felt so unfit. And now you are in great shape even with the shin niggles. Have you had any physio or sports massage. Would probably help.
Tonight I collected the 2 girls from running and decided that the Parliament Hill running track was going to be too crowded for my mile intervals. I like doing intervals on a track as you know where you are without having to keep an eye on the watch.
So 2 miles or so down to Regents Park and the running track in the dark.
It was cold and windy and I was into a fierce headwind on the back straight where it is quite dark with the trees next to the canal.
Plan was 5 x 1 mile intervals at MP - 10sec with 400m jog recoveries.
24 laps of the track continuous in the dark.
The best way to describe this run was controlled. It did not feel hard and the legs are absolutely fine a few hours later.
Splits for the mile intervals were :
7:42 ; 7:40 ; 7:39 ; 7:40 and 7:36
400m recoveries all circa 2:20mins.
I intentionally increased the pace a tad on the last lap.
Had no idea of the lap times until now as I was not looking at the watch. Happy with that.
2 miles back home. 10 miles in total.
Rest day tomorrow.
Carter, you seem to be going really well and sounds like your fasted approach is working for you. afraid I can't advise on the gels at all other than I agree - if you are going to use them come race day you need to practise! I would think you will bonk at mile 22 if you don't take any fuel on board during the marathon??
Nell Blue - wow, 3.12 very impressive PB
Nice intervals Ricky, I think you secretly enjoy the dreadmill..
excellent session again Carl, no idea how you run 24 laps of regents park track in the dark. I hear you re that back straight on the canal side - always a bloody headwind there!!
I was out on the track yesterday lunch and hailed for about a mile or so of the run! Took it easy and lost 1 of my quicker miles as was feeling tired from Sunday's 17 miler so did 3.5 miles easy and 1 mile on the track at 6'11 pace..
don't feel too sore today which is a relief - have a few foot aches ongoing that I'm managing
Nell – it’s getting to that time of our plans where the miles are increased and the effort levels increase and we start feeling a bit tired. We just have to make sure we get enough rest and don’t overdo it now. How do you find doing 400m repeats on the treadmill ?
Ricky – aye, it’s soon come round. I’m hopeful for a cracking race too provided I can get my fueling right. Same question for you about running repeats on the treadmill ? No golf at the moment I assume ?
Ali – I am fine with taking gels, or at least I was last year. I have an iron constitution and they had no adverse effect on me previously. However, as you say, I still need to practice with them this time especially considering I have changed my diet and I might respond differently.
Carl – the weather does seem to have turned a bit colder again; it can make speed sessions particularly harder than normal. Great consistent interval session, as usual; you become a machine when running these. Enjoy your rest day.
Will – As things stand, I reckon I would bonk at around the 14/15 mile mark if I didn't take on any fuel. 6.11 for a mile is rather rapid, what is your 5k PB ?
So, fueling decision made. I think that eventually I could run a marathon without taking on any fuel during the race. However, I don’t think I will have given myself enough time to completely fat adapt by the time Manchester comes around. As such, I will obviously need to take on board some fuel. For the 3 days prior to the race I will carb load. My body will still be fat adapted but taking on carbs wont negate this and my body should still respond to the extra carbs. So, for the first few miles of the race my body should still be feeding off my fat until I start getting closer to moving into the anaerobic zone. Just before this happens, I will start taking some gels as my body will be demanding carbs with the extra effort that will be involved in the latter stages of the race. There, easy !!
Good decision carter! what gels do you use?
re the mile I pushed hard as knew I was only doing 1 mile. was surprised to do 6'11 - think it's 20 secs quicker than I've done before for a mile. 5k pb is 21'34 on a hilly course (Finsbury park) but haven't done one for a while - have been working on getting my 3k time quicker as a bit of a long term goal to then have a go at hopefully getting under 21 mins for 5k later this year. That's why I've been running 3k on the track instead of intervals on Tuesdays (my plan says to do intervals!) - I have a bit more motivation that way with a slightly different goal on the side!
Carter. sounds like you've really planned out your fuelling strategy so im sure this will pan out fine for you. Im basically bringing 6 gels and a packet of glucose sweets and eating when required.
Carl. Exactly the same problems for me buddy. I am really struggling to find time to keep everyone happy with all these crazy miles I have to run. To get a 12 mile run in last friday and go out with the missus after work I had to do the run at 6am and shower at work. starting work at 8am with 12 miles on an empty stomach = zzzzzzzz's by 11am.
So I ran 52 miles last week which is my biggest so far. Ran 19.5 miles on sunday over a 15 mile LSR and then a 4.5m X-Country at my local park. It was grueling and character building but geez I wont be repeating that again. I was dead on Monday.
Last night there was a fell session going at the club, so I donned my headtorch and headed off to Golden Acre park for a run that incorporated muddy fields and wooded trails. Despite the gale force winds, sleet and angry sheep I think I had fun. lol, its why non running mere mortals think we are bonkers for what we do.
Nowt bonkers about running in mud in the dark Sean, welcome to fell running !
Will - I use the High 5 gels, the ones that are more liquidy that you can just slurp from the packet. They were the first ones I tried and got on with them so no need for me to change.
Tonight it looks like I'm going to have similar time issues as Sean and Carl. The 17 year old is currently going through a 'Kevin the teenager' phase. From wanting to become a physics teacher, which is within his capabilities if he put his mind to it, he now has decided he doesn't want to become a teacher but wants to get a job. That's fine but he has already turned down the opportunity to become a design engineer where he will receive full training etc. As much as we tell him he is missing out on a great opportunity he just doesn't get it. Basically, if it's too hard for him he just can't be bothered and will give up. Time for a good talking too this evening, which may end up meaning I miss my run. Live goes on despite our training plans......
Morning everyone!
Thanks for all of your nice words about Freddie the 12 year old. Yes Carl you did read it right - basically he fell on the morning of the second day. The doctor on the slope had a look at him and said it was either badly bruised or a hairline fracture which they wouldn't do anything about anyway. Then the weather got bad so they decided not to take him for an xray. When he got back on the Saturday, I had a look and could see straight away something was badly wrong as it was so swollen you couldn't even see where his ankle bone is but wasn't bruised at all (plus I nearly passed out from the smell as he hadn't been able to shower all week!). So, it was straight off to hospital and it's a very nasty spiral fracture.Anyway, he has now taking to beating up his siblings with his crutches so he's getting no more sympathy from me.
Anyway, my big news today is I got a place for the NY Marathon! Am stunned as have never managed to get a ballot place for London and the timing for this couldn't have worked out better.
Carter hope your 17 year old doesn't give you too much grief tonight. Has he said what he wants to do then if he's not going to take the design engineer option? Sounds like a great opportunity.
Sean I couldn't do 12 miles on an empty stomach. I did 8 this morning and was struggling at the end as I just ran out of steam. Hope the night out was worth it. So you're not going to be converted to the early morning runners' gang then? I was out at 5.45 this morning.
Ali hope your shin is ok. How's it feeling now?
Will that's a super fast mile well done you! I ran fast yesterday but that was because I was a bit lost and scared a bear was going to get me. I then got told they're still hibernating so no need to panic.
Winter Storm Thor is due tonight. Eeeeek.
My view across Long Island Sound this morning.
Very nice view PS. The sun is shining here today but it's still a tad cold but obviously not as cold as where you are ! Don't you need to get a qualifying time for NY marathon ? When is it ? The 17 year old said he will do almost anything if it's office based. His mother has just read the riot act to him so I think he is now contemplating the opportunity he has been offered, let's hope he hasn't blown his opportunity. Can I borrow your lads crutches so I can do some beating up of my own !
No I got in through the lottery as they call it. Which is actually more accurate than ballot when I think about it. Need at QT for Boston. That would be 3:45 for me. In theory I should be able to run that from my HM times but we know that I'm struggling with converting my HM form to marathon performance. It's 1 November.
Chicago entry opens next week. I now have it in my head that I should do all of the Majors.
He did manage to put the crutches down yesterday actually to punch his 9 year old brother in the nose and made it bleed. I was always told boys are easier than girls. That is so not true!
Err, it most definitely is true. You girls can be right err....difficult...
Hi Ricky, Nice pace on the treadmill
Hi Ali, Fingers crossed you will be ok for Alloa then..
Hi Will, Nice fast mile there. I have ordered a few gels to try on my training runs. Got a few Torq ones, strawberry cheesecake and raspberry ripple to name a couple. Should be interesting!
Hi Carl, That is a lot of running on a track.Interestly all my interval runs are to be run on the road, not track. Yes, I got in trouble running last Friday. That is always my rest day and I moved it to take place of my Saturday run. I was out the door before my wife knew what was hapening and she wanted to get into work early that day... oops!
Hi Carter, yes sounds as though you would make it around unfuelled but guess you will need some fuel to give you that extra push. I don't mind doing intervals on the treadmill if they are 400 or 800M ones. Anything over that and it is very boring I am afraid. But if the weather is crap you just have to submit I guess.
Hi Sean, Sounds a good run last weekend, the lads around where I live think I am completely bonkers ;0)
Hi PS, Well done on getting NY, that will be something to look forward to. Hopefully get some better conditions for training!
Obviously the 9 yr old's fault, if he can't get away from a kid on crutches ;0)
Easy 6 miles this morning. Legs a bit aching after interval session and S&C Monday afternoon...
PS - amazing pic! All the exploring/new routes must add a new dimension to your training I guess?! Mind you the views at 5:45am wouldn't be great in the dark!
Stonking mile there Will - I've never run just a mile flat out ... That said there is an annual timed mile event on a local track here .... It's open to all abilities but I have never had the nerve to rock up!
Carter - going thru similar with my 17yr old daughter... I feel your pain! Golf - yes, similar to all weather running, I am an all weather golfer - if the course is open on a Sat anoon then I will be on it! Played last Sat in 60mph winds & sideways rain and scored 18pts for the 9 holes... quite pleased with this given the conditions... Lots of half swing punch shots under the wind with a 7 iron instead of the usual wedge approaches into the greens... Worked well. Should have had more but the club slipped in my hands on the 8th tee producing a wild shot into the trees.. No score on that hole as result.
Will & Carter if I'm honest intervals are the only session I don't mind the treadmill for. I find it easy to measure pace, time & distance AND more to the point I find the time passes much more quickly doing intervals than running a constant even paced or progressive session.
Carl- re: sports massage/physio actually I have a physio appointment tomorrow. I booked one at a place near me with a good reputation and I'm hoping to get some pointers
Great mile repeats from you
Will- sounds like your training is going well. Speedy last mile!
Carter- glad you've decided on fuelling strategy. Sounds good. I use the same High 5 gels as you and find them quite tasty. Also this is random but I didn't realise you had kids! You must not have mentioned much before so I read about your 17 year old and went '.....what?!'
Sean- big miles. Well done. Legs feeling ok?
PS- New York! WOWEE! That's my number 1 race on the bucket list, I am sooo jealous of you. How are you enjoying running in some new surroundings? What's it like around you?
Nell- agree with you re treadmill intervals. I actually like doing 400s or 800s on the tready!
Went to run tonight with 7 miles planned but started very very slowly as shin was a bit touchy. Did not ease off after a few miles so I called my run short at 5 miles and kept it extremely slow all the way.
Tomorrow I have a physio appointment, I called a place near me that is meant to be good and got some advice (the place does all kinds of treatments including sports massage and physio) so they booked me a physio consultation which is a 45 minute treatment and I hope it will start me off in the right direction. Getting fed up of being in pain now
Nell - I don't have a treadmill and would never buy one, and I'm not in a gym, so the temptation is never there for me
Those gel flavours sound rather nice, I've never heard of those but I may have to investigate further.
Ricky - I think you've drawn the shorter straw having a girl that is 17 !! 18pts in those conditions is pretty decent, do you have winter greens to play too as well ? I used to enjoy trying out those punchy, under the wind type shots. If they went wrong, which they often did, then I could blame the weather ! I didn't mind playing in the wind to be honest, enjoyed the challenge. It was the rain that got to me with all your clubs getting wet and slipping out your hands all the time. That was my excuse anyway.
Ali - I don't have kids ! Mrs C and I aren't married as yet but she has 2 of them. I have managed to go through my life without producing any little Carters, not that any I'm aware of anyway ! She started very young so one of them is 28, travelled the world, been married and had a kid, now getting divorced so has just come back to stay with us while he gets his life sorted out again. The other is 17 and, as stated previously, is a right pain in the arse at the moment.
As expected, last night's run had to be cancelled. The shit hit the fan and Mrs C finally exploded at the 17 year old; it came after he said he was going to live with his dad. The playstation has been removed, he has been warned about his attitude and he has accepted that if he wants to leave 6th form early he needs to get himself a decent job. He was wandering around the house very sheepishly last night. So, I'm going to take an extended lunch at work today and get 12 miles in along the River Trent, hopefully
Carter. running and family life. Completely uncomfortable. lol. To be fair to the boy I seem to remember being 16 and wanting to leave school to join the RAF and become a pilot. Mum hit the roof and many days / weeks / months of arguments ensued. Im sure you'll do the right thing by the boy and soon he will come to realise that when he sees past all the teenage angst.
PS: Fantastic news on NY marathon. Its just one of those races that every runner has to do once in their lifetimes. I missed your previous posts about Freddie. Jeez that sounds like it could have been much worse thouch. touchwood for a speedy recovery.
Will: great mile there after a LSR. Id be interested to see what parkrun time you could do on a flat course. reckon you could knock 1-2 mins of your PB easy. Is their many flat ones in London though?? Let me know as I may look it up next weekend im down. Im off to Old trafford on Monday, did you say you were going??
Gels; Think ive mentioned here before but I swear by High5's also. most watery consistancy and dont make you wretch. STAY CLEAR of the maximuscle gels they sell in Holland & barrett. Urgh, Had to buy one last year before a run away from home as I forgot to bring my own. eat one 10 miles into a run and had to pull up pretty much immedietely as I was gipping from the gloopy mess that it was. Horrible after taste in my mouth for the rest of the run.
Ali: read on the next bit. Might be worth a try for your injuries
For those of you with niggles and injuries maybe try a bit of Yoga.
So i've been promising the missus for ages I would take her to a class and last night my excuses run out and I was forced to go. 1.5 hours of unnatural contortions, stretching and breathing practice and general pain. But yet this morning my core feels really worked out and ,my legs have stopped aching in the morning when ive got out of bed for the 1st time in as long as I can remember ive not woken up and hobbled to the bathroom like a hunched over old man.
I deffo think im going to do this at least once a week now as most of the moves focused on the hamstrings, glutes, core and posture so is definitely going to o no harm for my strides and speed. Plus the 30 or so lycra clad Leeds Met students who shared the class with me. hubba hubba.
Managed to get 7 tempo miles in last night . 7:21 min mile pace. Felt really good.
Hi Sean, Funny you mentioning Yoga, the Chi running class I attended run Yoga/running holidays up in Scotland. They look prety good, but no chance of me getting away on one. I have been inkling to have a go at Yoga and my sister has been telling me to do it for years. Must find the time to get to a class, your class sounds very appealing
Nice pace on the tempo
Hi Carter, Hear what you say on the TM, but sometimes it is necessary, I couldn't have ran the intervals the other morning on the road and a track would have been covered in snow. I also like to keep my days as they are planned. Hope the 12 miles go ok. Kids, yeh my mother always laughs when I give out about them. Reminding me I was just as bad....karma I think?
Hi Ali, Fingers crossed that the physio can get her/his magic to work... wise to cut the run short.
Hi Ricky, This is RW not Golfers World
I am with you and Ali on the TM, intervals I can just take intervals but a long run would kill me I think....
Wind was pretty brutal this morning and it was MP/tempo run. 1.5 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down with 8 miles at MP/Tempo, wind kicked the @rse out of me on two of the miles but rest was ok. Legs were screaming at me at the end, been a heavy week and the S&C on Monday didn't help I think, lunges and squats always come back on you a couple of days later! Cold bath when I got in today though
Morning everyone!
Well Winter Storm Thor has arrived here and it is snowing very heavily. I got out just before 6 to do my intervals. I stuck to the roads which are pretty clear but it was still rather dicey in places.
Ali I'm starting to enjoy the running a bit more now that the jet lag has gone and I'm finding my way around. In England, I could run half a mile from home and be in open countryside and it's very different here even though we are so close to the sea. I've got 20 miles to do this weekend and if I manage to not get lost I should get to see quite a bit. At the moment I'm running with a map in my pocket and keep having to stop to check where I am!
Ricky - the snow and ice is adding an interesting new dimension to the running not just the new routes!
Sean I did some yoga (just on YouTube) yesterday and felt much better for it. I can't wait to start pilates again. At the moment I can't join the Y (as they all call it here) as we don't yet have a cheque book. You need to produce a cheque book even when paying by card. That is the rule and there is no deviating from it. Considering we are in the land of the free (allegedly), the bureaucracy in this country is quite something.
Nell I've not attempted the ice bath again. Maybe after Sunday's LSR. It's been a heavy 3 days running wise but my S&C has fallen rather by the wayside the last couple of weeks so my legs aren't too bad. Must make an effort to do some tomorrow.
Carter hope Mrs Carter is ok. I find dealing with conflict with the stroppy 12 year old utterly exhausting so she must be finding this awful.
Sean - how is Mrs Sean's marathon training going ? Are you running together or does she have her own target time ?
Nell - yes, it could well be karma. I'm hearing myself say all those things my mum said to me all those years ago. Keep digging in with these tough sessions and you will be well rewarded come race day.
Rachel - are you running your longer runs at a more appropriate pace yet ??? Looks like you've had plenty of snow out there so well done for still managing to get out and showing those yanks how it's done. Mrs C is similar to you when dealing with conflict. In can knock her off kilter for a couple of days and she can get rather down. I guess we all deal with things differently....
12 easy miles done at lunchtime mainly down by the river. It was a new, extended lunchtime route for me and I have to say it was rather nice. Literally running on the waters edge and passing a couple of marinas and a nature reserve before turning round and heading home. It was flat as a pancake and mainly a nice surface to run on. This was one of those runs that felt nice and easy and I was even running 25 seconds per mile quicker than I planned. There was hardly any fatigue in my legs which is the first time in ages so all is good.
I think we mums take it very much to heart whereas the men see it as more about the other person rather than a reflection on them.
I haven't done a long run for a few weeks as the one I had scheduled had to be abandoned as I was ill and then last Sunday I did 13. Going to do 20 on Sunday and will make sure it's slow. So I'm only going to get 3 20 milers in but I decided better to do less rather than more given my previous experiences. Hope that's the right decision. I'm on week 9 of 16 so have still got a lot of running to go.
Had a rest day yesterday and took my eye off this. Come back and an explosion of posts.
Will read back and catch up tomorrow.
PS - one of the golden rules of marathon running is never to try and catch up lost miles. Best to get back on the bike and carry on. 3 quality 20 milers is good and it might actually benefit you come race day.
And well done on getting a place in NY. That is on my list. Will see how the jaunt to Chicago works this year and you never know. Might enter the ballot for next year.
------------
Tonight was 10 miles with 6 miles at MP.
I am taking MP to be 7:50 to 8:00 at the moment as it is too early to settle on a precise MP.
Completed 10.16 miles in 1:22:36 at 8:08m/m average.
This was a funny run. Tuesday night was comfortable. Tonight was anything but. Was not feeling in top form when I went out and I got my eating all wrong today so was not sure if I had the energy to hit MP for 6 miles.
The 2 warm up miles were sluggish.
The first mile of MP was horrible and then I was ok for a few miles and then it was hard again.
I had to work hard and splits were pretty good :
7:49 ; 7:49 ; 7:47 ; 7:48 ; 7:49 ; 7:49
On the face of it that is almost perfect but it felt anything but .....
PS - yes, totally agree there. As Carl says, don't try and catch up. 3 x 20 milers will be enough for you considering you are doing plenty of other runs and miles too. Even better if they are nice and slow long runs
Carl - are we getting to that stage of our plans where we are review our runs to the minutest detail and wonder why one run was easier than the previous, why we felt different from our previous MP miles etc ?? Those splits are brilliantly consistent, did you have to check your watch often or were they all done on feel ?
Weigh in today for me and for the first time I wasn't looking forward to this as it's not been a good week. There was a very hectic weekend last week, plus it was Mrs C and we had some birthday celebrations and there have been a few trials and tribulations in the house this week that necessitated in the consumption of alcohol and takeaways. However, no weight put on but not nothing lost either which can count as a decent week considering the events.
Oops, been a bit absent via drinking tues and thur this wk. naughty! No beer for me tonight with my first 20 miler up tomorrow!
Thanks for nice comments on my fast mile! Sean, not sure about knocking off 2 minutes from my 5k PB. would be really happy knocking a minute off which feels possible later this year. There are definitely some flat ones - avoid Finsbury park unless you want hills! it is a nice course though. I hear Hackney marshes is flat as a pancake if you are after one. Highbury is kind of flat (gentle rise one side and gentle drop the other) BUT is a 5 lapper which I'm not a fan of myself.. great that you were comfortable @ 7'21 pace for your 7 mile run. I'm not at the arsenal game Monday but will be watching from behind the sofa on Monday - we hardly ever win at OT. not feeling confident about this one..
Ali, how was the physio and your shins?
Nell - I've heard good things about the torq gels so would be tempted to try em at some point. I've never got on with high5 for some reason!
PS - 5.45am?! Amazing to get an NY mara spot. Well done on running in the snow. that's really tough. Maybe you'll have to consider buying a treadmill ;o)
Carter - how do you fit 12 miles in at lunch?! excellent work
Carl excellent 10m tempo last night
I got out for a tempo run yday am; 2 miles @ 8'45 pace and 4 miles at 7'29 pace. Was blowing a bit on the 7'29s but felt strong at the same time, weird sensation!
Will I am contemplating a treadmill as my husband is due to travel quite a bit over the next few months and without any childcare out here I could find myself a bit stuck on the running front. We're in a temporary apartment for the next month though so can't have one here. I'm also going to join the Y (as they call it here, I still feel the need to break out into a dance every time someone says it) so will see what the crèche facilities are like.
Did my first strength workout for 3 weeks this morning as with the move that had slipped. I think I'm going to suffer tomorrow.
Carter not to have put on any weight this week sounds like a good result and I guess you'll be expecting your weigh loss to slow now anyway. How much more do you think you want to lose?
Carl those miles are so incredibly consistent. I'm in awe!
I'm feeling better about not making up the missing 20 miler. When I did London I only did 2 and finished in 4:12. When I did Chester I did 4 and finished in 4:11 so I think we can safely say that the extra ones didn't help me much!
Hi guys
Sorry been absent a few days and a lot to catch up on. I have flicked through but will read through properly later tonight.
Bit disheartened here- visited the physio last night. She assessed me and was very worried about my leg. Shin splints, damaged left calf muscle, and the combination of these affecting my ankle apparently. She instructed I was to stop running NOW. I asked for how long she imagined. 'Hmmm... I would imagine about 4 weeks' says she. I am not kidding when I say I nearly burst into tears. Of course she did say that's just her opinion based on previous experience of similar and that there could be change to that. I am in pain even walking just now on my left leg and she says once I'm not in pain walking we can look at starting running again. I'm trying to be optimistic and think that even a week off might be enough to recover me if my leg just needs a really good rest!
So haven't run since Wednesday which was very painful and not exactly sure when I will again. I am however allowed to do as much non impact stuff as I can to keep fitness up- the list of allowed exercises includes spinning (thank god), rower, yoga/pilates, strength training... so I'll pour my energy into those.