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Nick enjoy watford, never done it but heard its lumpy, had offered to pacemake for it but wasn't selected
nice tempo run, dont think I could hold conversation at 7.12 pace either.
Ali well done to both you and your mum, neither of my parents are sporty, dad used to play a bit of cricket and me and him played together about 10 years ago and that was fun, even my sis dont run any more due to knee probs.
Dadagain 50 mile weeks are good, i've managed about 4 of them think my best mileage in a week is 51, its a good feeling 4-6 weeks out from a marathon with the taper fresh i your mind.
Washwood, I've been tempted to get Elles coach on my case but I enjoy writting my own sessions as its all part of the challenge for me. Enjoy the G&T I've enjoyed a bottle of red tonight, and on Friday evening and a few JDs on Saturday lol
Been under the weather this week, so Tues/Wed/Thurs runs have happened Fri/ Sat/ Sun 3x1mile at 10k pace 400m recovery and mile warm up warm down, steady 6 miles and 6 mile progression run starting at 9 min mile and finishing 7.15 which was tough when not feeling 100% and will prob do long run on Tuesday (13/14 miles)
hope everyone is well!
anyone got any experience on watches for ultras where yoy can download files onto the/ set directions on? Carter hows the Suunto Ambit 3 for navigation?
Rob nice progression run. Yeah I don't think Watford is very flat, have looked up route on strava, looks like a few hills but first half net uphill which I think is the better way round for me. Will prob aim for 7:30 pace if I can to start with and then see how I feel at half way.
Had a really good week sports-wise, won a very tight squash game on thurs in our team match, against one of our main rivals for promotion, and after wednesdays good tempo I also had a real confidence booster today. Ran 4.5 miles at tempo pace, then had about a 20 min break, before doing 12 miles at 8:30s which felt very comfortable. This was one of the gade valley training runs, I did the 20 mile version last year. Ran with a couple of club mates and was chatting most of the way. Then had a bit of cake and a drink and a 10 min break, before running 3.5 miles back towards home in 8:45s ish, to make 20 for the day. Was trying to practice fuelling, I had a gel 6 miles into the 12 miler (so about 11 miles in altogether), feel this was about right for me, was struggling a bit on the last bit though so prob should have had another around 5 miles later (I'd only taken one with me as originally planned to get train home). I was sensible and stopped at 20 though, was still a mile or so from home at this point but didn't want to overdo it especially as it was uphill, so did it at a brisk walk as a warm down.
Old one still seems to be available, at least for now, so thought I would copy over the posts that didn't get migrated...
DA- totally admire getting up so early! I just lack the energy in the morning! Especially when it's cold and wet and I can't bear the thought of getting out of bed. Never has been my strong point.
Nick- that logic would make sense RE your fast start runs... interesting! About your HM... if you can run 8 miles at 7:12 pace in training there's no reason why you can't run 13 at that pace in a race- seriously. It's totally different when you're racing. So yeah. Be ambitious.
washwood- well done on getting in some solid training and congratulations on first lady finish at parkrun. I've never done that yet! No matter how fast I run someone speedier always turns up!
Rob- hope you're feeling better soon. You've managed to do a lot of decent training regardless. We all get a bit under the weather from time to time.
Decent enough week from me but didn't run on as many days as I would like.
Did club session on Tuesday which was a warm up, 8 x 800m at about 6:35 min/mile then a cool down. That was good- tiring.
Rest of the working week I never managed anything. Work and other things took over.
Saturday I went to parkrun and went to a different one to usual. Hillier course but really nice. Two and a half loops of a nice park near me. Last half a loop is pretty much up hill till the final hundred metres finish. So quite tiring at the end. Came in at 21:56 which I was happy with for my course. I estimated beforehand maybe being 30 seconds off my PB (21:10) seen as the course was trickier. So 46 seconds off isn't a disaster.
Did another 6 miles after parkrun because I felt like making up for the fact I hadn't had time during the week. Just ran slowly and didn't look at my watch. Enjoyed that.
Yesterday did 13.1 mile training run (anyone else do 13 and then feel they have to round it up to a HM?)
5 miles slow
5 miles meant to be MP (but all around/under 8:30- so a bit fast really)
3 mile cool down.
Was totally gubbed after that. Chilling today but will go to club again at least one session this week as well as whatever else comes along.
Ali thanks for the vote of confidence! Looking at the course from people's Strava traces last year, after the first mile slightly downhill it is then generally uphill until about mile 7, which looks like it's worth about 15 secs/mile. So what is normally 7:15ish effort may well come out about 7:30 to begin with, then hopefully I can speed up in the second half. I will try to pace it on feel though at the same sort of effort as my 8 mile tempo last week.
Our club's silver standard is 1:38:42 which is approx 7:32 average, I would be well pleased with anything under that really. Probably A target 1:36, B is to get the silver club standard, C target 1:40.
16 miles ...... on the treadmill ...... I have just removed myself from the corner I have been rocking in ever since ..... I will post properly when I have managed to get over the horrendous ordeal ....
Nick- as I say- with the paces you run a tempo run at, and quite a long one at that, your HM goal SHOULD be ambitious. So think big. Don't let mental demons sneak in. 1:38 would be perfectly reasonable for you just now.
washwood- you're absolutely mad- I don't know how you did that. I have run for over an hour on the treadmill but not much over... I watched stuff on my iPad when I used to do that... did you have any distraction techniques?
Tonight decided to take another day off from running but went to gym for a spin class (was really tough and enjoyable- new instructor) and some weights. Tomorrow I will run and the rest of the week too probably.
I *dream* of it being cold and wet! lol... This morning I dragged myself out of bed reluctantly at 5am for a 6 mile run (see I'm trying to think in miles instead of km's just for your guys!) - My head was pounding and I was super-thirsty after hitting a bit too much wine last night. It was a bit cooler than it has been lately - only about 28C at first but soon warmed up as the sun got higher in the sky (its been a 35C day today, so I'm really glad I got out early or it would have been very very unpleasant and potentially dangerous)
By the time I got back I thought I was going to pass out or throw up until I downed about a litre of water straight from the fridge and immediately felt better.
New resolution: ZERO alcohol on pre-run nights from here until end of April!
washwood - I've only ever run for 30 mins at a time on a treadmill (on holiday in November last year), and even that felt a bit boring. Hopefully you at least had something to watch? Or have you gone back to rocking in the corner?
Ali - I'll try and keep the effort as my 8 miles tempos and then just hang on for 5 more miles. Looking closely at the route (found a Strava activity from last year's race https://www.strava.com/activities/252214012) it is very undulating - first half mile is fairly flat, then between about 1.5 and 3 miles is flat, and half a mile around the 7 mile mark. The rest is either up or down! If it was a flat route I might be a bit more ambitious...
DadAgain - the grass is always greener I think! Brits always want it warmer and you guys always want it cooler! Nice 6 miler. I think it's quite important to drink lots of water if you've been out drinking the night before. PS I always think in kms too and convert to miles for here.
Did 8 miles with my running club yesterday. Planned a bit easier than my usual tempo pace since I don't want to be tired for my half on Sunday. However I was slightly late arriving so (along with a friend) had to do a speedy first mile to catch up our usual group. Ended up 1st mile at 7:10 and total 8 miles at a shade under 8:00 pace. Felt surprisingly good. Don't have another run planned before Sunday but might fit in a 5 miler or something with maybe 1 or 2 miles at target HMP, as I've only played squash once this week.
Hi all. Long time no read. Seems like you are all going v well. I did 22:00 at parkrun today v pleased and pacing Watford half tomorrow.
happy running all. 
Hope you're all having a good weekend.
Hills were horrid! Paced well though. 1:59:30.
Just a quick pop by, to say still here, and am 8 weeks into my marathon training. Somehow have managed to keep it going. probably as the Asics plan is lower mileage even though some of the runs are tough. The split long run sessions with fast miles and then comfortable miles are not easy. This weekend is 5.5 miles fast followed by 11.5 miles comfortable.
9 weeks to go and I am hoping to keep this up.
Work continues at 100mph and there are some tough weeks ahead so will do my best.
Not decided on game plan for race day but getting round in a decent time seems like a good goal at the moment.
I keep up with the news on here but have little time to post.
Will try and get back on soon but if I do not keep up the good work all.
IBB - great pacing. I was interested how the pacers would approach it, must be a difficult one with all the ups and downs - presumably you try to aim for consistent effort rather than consistent pace?
Good to hear from you Carl, well done on managing to stick with the plan. I have just been doing 2 runs a week the last couple of weeks as have been struggling to fit in the 3 mile jogs. I figure squash is roughly equivalent to this so probably works out.
Official time 1:37:46 from my half, pleased with that, though definitely could have paced it better. Positive split of about 3:30 even though first half was net uphill!
This week I have my first long faster run, plan says 18.5 miles at roughly MP (8:00ish). I may try to link up with my running club's Sunday morning group, I would run there which is about 4 miles so this would mean a short break (probably about 5 mins depending how well I time it), do people think that negates some of the benefit of the session?
DA- training well and getting fitter.
Nick- I TOLD you 1:38 was a realistic target for your HM... yes, well done.
Hope everyone is doing well and not put off too much by this whole new shiny look. I must say I AM a creature of habit.
I've had a good couple of weeks since I last posted. Been to one club session a week which is good to keep my toe in with some 'serious' training. Done two parkruns- 21:39 at Strathclyde on a very cold day which I was happy with, and then 21:48 at Perth this Saturday. I was even happier with that as I reckon it was worth a quicker time in better conditions- this weekend it was very cold, wet and muddy and there's a stretch of about 800m on grass in Perth which was churned up, uneven and tricky to run on. So I gave it my all and was pleased with the time.
A week past Sunday I did 14 miles at 9:09 min/mile pace and yesterday's long run was 18.4 miles at 8:51 min/mile pace in hilly Perthshire. A beautiful run but I only had 16 planned and got lost. I really enjoyed it anyway. I felt the strongest I've ever felt on a long run. Couldn't believe it. Wasn't looking at my watch and couldn't believe how fast I was at the end.
Which brings me onto my current dilemma. What EXACTLY do I set as a goal for Edinburgh Marathon? I had said that I'd be happy with a PB (3:59:xx). At the other end of the spectrum, some of my times suggest I should be capable of running more like 3:40.
I'm not sure what kind of pace to keep doing my long runs in. I definitely don't want to be running too fast but I don't want to be running too slow either so I don't do myself justice when race day comes. At the moment some of my long runs are getting faster and it's not through deliberate choice but I am feeling them easier and easier and not really trying to run fast but finding the 'easy' pace is more like what used to feel like 'marathon' pace to me.
Do I slow down my long runs in order to not go too fast before race day? Or do I keep running them slightly faster with the goal of a faster race in mind?
If you have any advice I'd be most grateful.
Whichever way you go there's always going to be that element of unsurity around pacing. Do you go hard and try and hit that "A" goal - or play it safe and make sure of the "B" goal? If you're not quite there, aiming for 3:40 could mean you detonate completely and end up missing 3:59 - by the time you realise you've gone to hard its far too late to do anything about it! (I did this in Berlin in 2015 with lots of walking in the last 10km and a 25 minute positive split!), but if you go conservatively you'll never know how much better you could have gone!
I'm still tossing up between 3:35 or 3:30 for London. Training seems to be going really well at the moment and despite the weather cracking 40C on sunday (!!!! WTF?!!!!) I'm still hitting decent paces on my runs (ok it wasnt 40C when I was running - it was only 30C and 60% humidity!).
Last week we had a novelty session at the track. I'd never run on a track before and it was a 3,000m handicap race with handicaps being based on previous 5km PBs. One runner started off with the clock on 0:00 and the last runner of 30 of us left on 11:00. I started after 8:05 for my 7.5 laps knowing I had a bit of work to do to catch up those who'd already spun around a few times and realising those starting a little after me were much faster runners. It was absolute mayhem on the track, nobody had a clue who was winning and the event MC was struggling to make sense of it all on the microphone. I just kept chasing down whoever was in front of me and digging in as hard as I could. As I came around the last bend the MC seemed to get his act together and finally worked out that I was in the lead and about to finish! I crossed the line 2 seconds ahead of 2nd place and took home a bag full of goodies (socks, compression gear, a book, hat etc etc) - and a nice big trophy! I'd covered the 3KM in 11:52 - WAAAY quicker than I expected!.... (Perhaps 3:30 in London isnt such a stupid target?)
Running has taken a bit of a back seat, last few weeks have been difficult with Man flu, work being extremely busy and opportunities for overtime which I was pretty much expected to do, mix that with revision for my final insurance exam (on friday) and have started a degree in Business Management at the start of the month plus been too cold for running I have only managed my long runs and a max a couple of runs a week.
Will have a read when I can.... oh and our car is f*cked not so important for me as I use the train for work but Mrs R needs a car. Time to draw up what resourses and see how we gonna get a car!
Ali - Yes 1:38 turned out to be a very realistic target, honestly in hindsight I think close to 1:36 would have been achievable with better pacing. Good parkrunning from you. If you are doing long runs at around 9:00 pace and feeling fine at the end, I am sure you can get a bit under 4 hours. Maybe figure paces off a target of 3:45 for now and see how it goes? On long run pacing, I remember reading somewhere that running a bit too slow makes hardly any difference in terms of the benefit you get (unless you get really slow), whereas running a bit too fast can be detrimental (i.e. if you are not in the aerobic zone). So if in doubt, keep it on the slow side.
DA - Still can't comprehend those temps. Doubt I would have the commitment to run if it meant having to be out so early. Think I would need some sort of wearable icepack to keep cool lol. Congrats on the race win, handicap events sound like loads of fun. I think my club does 1 or 2 of them in the summer but I missed them last year. Thanks for the advice, I had been thinking I might do the long run that way anyway as 18 miles at close to MP sounds a bit daunting solo.
Rob - sounds like you have a lot going on. Well done on getting the long runs in at least, and good luck for Friday. We need to get a new car too shortly, though the old one is fine at the moment (fair chance we will be getting rid of an Astra in a month or 2 though if it's of any interest)
I've only done fairly easy runs since my HM, did 8 on Wednesday with my running club, went with my normal group who tend to go for 8:00 ish, depending on the route often ends up a little slower though. There was one guy who wasn't feeling great so I dropped off the back with him which suited me fine, ended up 8:30 avg on a hilly route. Then got 5 in on Friday, similar pace, and 6 in last night which came out bang on 8:00 which is target MP. If I'm honest with myself it was the upper end of easy pace, certainly had plenty left in the tank though.
I was really pleased with the consistency, after a first mile of 7:36 (it's always a bit slower as it's a bit crowded at the start as all the different pace groups set off together and we go through an underpass early on with steps), the next 7 miles were all between 7:08 and 7:20, going by Strava's grade-adjusted pace. Found the last mile quite hard work but managed to hold the pace. Think it was partly psychological - my group had originally planned to do 7 miles, but then added on an extra mile loop at the end!
Have a good weekend everyone
Carl- I totally agree! I liked the look and feel of the old forum and this all seems very clinical and strange looking and I'm not sure I'm getting used to it yet...
Rob- nice to see you! Big well done on starting a degree... that's fantastic news! How are you doing it? At a uni/full time/part time/open uni? Hope you're well.
Nick- Yes 3:45 sounds sensibleish for me... I'm just so uncertain going for these things, I always have so much doubt in myself given that I've never got below 3:59 before! So your target pace is 8:00 min, meaning a target of just below 3:30 for the marathon? Well there's no reason why not based on your current training. You've improved a lot even the last few months.
This week I had an almost 40 mile week for the second week running which is high for me.
A few short/mid distance runs during the week including one club session. Yesterday I ran a 5 mile road race in 36:45. It's a really hilly run. I reckon on a flat course I could be a good bit quicker. But was happy with yesterday as I did pace it well and ran a negative split thanks to starting off conservatively.
Today I ran 16 miles at 9:13 min/mile. That felt tough enough as my legs were absolutely shattered. I'm really feeling the effect of a couple hard weeks racing/training! Today's run was a really hilly route but out somewhere different with a clubmate and did really enjoy it. Bit of city running, bit of trail stuff once we got far enough out and into a country park. Lovely.
Next week I've decided to have a bit of a cutback week. I've totally stuck to my plan so far that I wrote at the start of the year and am really happy with how everything is going. I'll still do my long run next week, plus the National XC championships on the Saturday, but through the week I'm going to cut right back and just do one other run. So mileage should be below 30 next week. I think a cut back every so often is not a bad thing and my legs are telling me they would appreciate it just now. Will still do gym/cross training as usual.
Highlight of my week was definitely the long run which I had to squeeze in on Friday evening. The temperature was down a bit and for the first time in weeks I think my entire run was done at under 25C. As a consequence everything felt comfortable and easy. I ran to a friends place 28km (18 miles) and towards the end even threw in 5km at very close to target marathon pace (5:00/km - 8:00/mile). In the end the average pace of the whole run was a lot quicker (~15s/km - 25s/mile) than I've been running lately so it just goes to show how much of an impact a little drop in temperature has.
Of course there's a possibility that its all good for a *little* drop in temperature, but when I get to London I'll seize up with it being too cold and end up getting much slower again.... who knows!
The plan I am following is much lower weekly mileage than most of my previous plans. Four runs per week with at least one and sometimes two runs only a 3 mile jog. There must be some science to this.
It means that I ran yesterday's run at an average pace of just under 8 min milling. This is fast and the legs are feeling it today. That is another difference from my other plans. Do not remember the morning after feeling so much.
So this week is meant to be a cut back week and then 2 more long runs at pace (18.5 miles and 22 miles) with a shorter long run in between before entering my 3 week taper.
Like you Ali I have no idea at the moment what to go after. I am training to hit the 3:30 mark or a little faster but not sure that I want to chase this from the start and risk burnout. DA makes a good point. Go too fast and risk a major blowout. Go too slow and wonder what could have been ...
So I ave entered a HM next weekend. It is a brutal hilly course Having run it about 4 years ago. I am not chasing a PB as it is not that kind of course but want to see can I run a tidy and controlled race.
My advice Ali for what it is worth. You have been in great running form this last 12 to 18 months and have become a much stronger runner, so a good marathon is on the cards. Getting a sub 4 PB is really important having being on this journey with you for so long. I would not go after the 3:40 as you have to make this commitment before you cross the start line and if you are pushing it the chances are you will blow up. We all have at one time or another. I have. And the risk is that you will miss out on the sub 4 as experience tells me that a blow out costs you at least 30 minutes and closer to 40 minutes. Running it conervatively probably gives you the sub 4 and maybe you will then be wondering what could have been. But you can always run another one and chase a faster time knowing that you have the sub 4 PB behind you.
If you run it conservatively (all non runners would think we were mad having a conversation about running 26 miles conservatively !!) and you get to 18 - 20 miles in really good shape with your sub 4 very much on (you should be targeting 3:55) you can always pick up the pace and knock another minute or two off. However this can be hard to do as teh body and legs have become very much used to your gait and changing it is not as easy as it sounds.
Anyway you have time to decide.
DA - looks like your training is going well. London is a great marathon. Very crowded for the first few miles. Last time I ran it, was a warm day for early April. But would be a cool day for you.
Nick - you seem to be in top form at the moment. You certainly seem to have improved a lot. How much do you put down to the running group ? The pressure of having to dig deep to keep up with people must benefit in the long run whereas on you own it is so easy to slow down and nobody notices.
Rob - good to hear from you again. Life sounds busy and sometimes running has to tak a back seat. But the key thing is to keep ticking over and when you have more time it is then easier to increase the miles and intensity.
Still not used to this new look and feel. I preferred the old colour scheme. However there do seem to be some advantages to this new forum. I started this post last night at home on my Mac but had to drop off before posting so killed the browser. This morning am on a train so opened up teh ipad and when I logged in my half written post was there waiting for me.
DA - nice that it's starting to cool down for you and you sound like you are running really well at the moment. I don't think you will "seize up" if it's cold at London. Just remember if you're cold at the start you will soon warm up! I remember being very chilly on the start line last year but was fine for the race.
Carl - well done for getting the run done. they are really hard sessions I think. I am not sure about the low mileage on the plan, personally I don't have a huge amount of time to fit more in so it suits me perfectly. The proof will be in the pudding I suppose! Good luck with your half next weekend. I certainly feel like I have improved a lot. I enjoy the runs more when I go with others (mainly with the running club), it's hard to say whether it's helped or not. I am quite driven so normally pretty good at pushing myself even when out solo. I think the regular tempo runs from this plan are what have really helped my speed, in last year's training I rarely did a hard run longer than 5k.
So I had a really good weekend of running, firstly I got along to parkrun and smashed it. I ran really consistently and managed to push on a little in the last 400m, for a new PB of 19:30 (44 seconds improvement). I haven't raced a parkrun since August so was hoping to PB but didn't expect to get far under 20 mins so was over the moon with that. Especially the consistency as that's always something I've struggled with at parkrun (even though it's a flat course) - normally I start strong and then die on the 3rd & 4th km before willing myself over the line. My Garmin always measures it as 4.9km, but splits were 3:58, 4:04, 3:59, 4:03, then 3:45 pace for the 0.9.
Then yesterday I did a 20 miler at a shade under 8:00 average. The 3:30 plan said to do 18.5 miles at 8:06, but I decided to aim for 8:00 since 1) I am thinking of targeting under 3:30 and 2) I like round numbers
That's the first time I've ever run 20 miles consecutively without taking a walk break (I'm not counting a few seconds here and there to cross roads), and am really pleased with how it went. I didn't want to do another 10k at the end, but I think I would have been able to if I had to (ie in a race). So that seems like it puts me in really good shape for sub 3:30 at Manchester, when obviously I won't have raced a parkrun the day before and will have tapered properly.
One minor annoyance, was that my Garmin randomly changed the time and date about 18 miles in. So it initially said I took 37 hours or something to do the 19th mile. This meant it didn't show up properly on Strava (I think because the finish time was in the future), so I went through the GPX file to edit the times, and for some reason this changed the total distance from 20 to 19.9 miles! Which is really weird since I didn't change the distances at all. But not important really.
Thats 2 runs in a row where the weather has been consistently below 25C - if this keeps up I'll start celebrating the end of summer! (Dont count on it - I'm sure the weather will do something nuts and fire up to 30C+ days again some time in the next few weeks. I wont get let off that easily!)
Nick - dont worry about the Garmin. They are hopeless sometimes. Mine told me I broke an Australian record with a 3:52 mile PB the other day... Unfortunately I know the truth and I was just trotting along at closer to 8:45/mile at the time!
Carl - In each of my marathons to date my plan has been "go out steady for the first 30-35km and then gun it to the line with whatever is left".... Each race has seen me get to 30-35km and be capable of nothing more than clinging on for dear life desperately performing arithmetic in my head to see how slow I can go and still make a target time that the optimistic me at 20km thought was 'locked in'! the negative split marathon still remains elusive for me! (although 90 second positive split in Chicago last year was pretty close to perfect!). In general though I agree: If Ali hasnt 'cracked' 4hrs its probably a good plan to aim to do that with a margin of comfort (Personally I'd aim for 3:50 and give yourself some room for fade in the last 7km or so) - and get that goal ticked off the list. The confidence you'll get from having a sub 4hr race time under your belt will help a lot with the next race (there's ALWAYS a next race!)
Ali well done on the 16 miles, good couple of weeks in the bank and sensible to have a cutback week. I'm currently on a cutback year!!! Doing the degree at open uni, 6 years of slogging first TMA is already in.
DA drop in temperature is probably as welcome as a rise in temp here! Makes a huge difference to energy levels as you've seen. When do you pop over to blighty?
Carl, sounds like you finally got a decent bank of training in? I know that pained 'wasted look' you've experienced. Have you given any idea to race plan? Great news about the posts being saved thats going to be a huge time saver, usually right half a post get bored/ run out of time/ close page by accident and lose the lot.
tried to keep myself ticking over, time is running out fr WGC half and MK mara but maybe my legs will cherish the rest? thats what I'm telling myself. Life isn't quite as hectic as it has been, currently training the newbies at work so no need for overtime from now on which gives me a few hours back, passed my insurance exam last week so now Cii qualified so don't have to bother with that any more, just need to fit in the time for the degree now. Also bought a car (which was a bit of a drama) private sale tested all seemed fine had a couple of short drives felt okay, bought it did the paper work and it wouldn't start, came back swapped battery over with our old car, all seemed to be working fine then went to petrol garage, went to move off and wouldn't start. Gave the starter a bash and it worked, just needed a new starter which the guy who sold it has agreed to pay half which was a nice gesture. meant I never got to do my long run as planned on Sunday but got out to run 9 miles middle 5 sub 8 miles. Yesterday went to the gym for intervals but I packed 2 shirts no shorts.... tonight got out and ran 10 miles at a steady/ slow pace.
Hopefully I'll get a few good weeks under my belt now. Everyone seems to be on track looking forward to reading the race reports come April
I'll probably go out for a gentle 12km run on the saturday after I land to shake things out a bit, and a short but quick session (4 x 1km with 400m jog recovery or something similar) on the tuesday. Pre-race thursday I'll have my last bit of a run and that'll be no more than 5-6km at easy pace, perhaps before heading to the expo.
After the race I have until the following saturday to relax and recover before I fly back again and I have a plan to spend lots of time in pubs drinking and catching up with friends and family.
DA - nice reps, hope the weather stays good for you.
IBB - You're getting into your pacing I see! Hope you are well.
Did another 8 mile tempo run with my club last night at around 7:20 again, then we had our annual awards night, which was a first for me as this time last year I'd only just joined the club. Lots of people got well-deserved prizes for various things, I was pleased to get my Bronze "beechnut" award. They have 8 distances 1 mile, 5k, 5 mile, 10k, 10 mile, 1/2 mara, 20 mile and marathon and you get age-graded targets for each, your 4th best one defines your grade (e.g. I had silver 1 mile, 5k, 10k, and bronze half so got bronze). There's 6 levels with bronze being the 5th so plenty of room for improvement! Was quite an inspiring evening looking back at what everyone has achieved over the year.
Should definitely be able to get silver this year, it's almost just a case of doing enough races - I already have a gold 5k and silver 1/2 and then would just need to repeat last year's performances in a 1 mile and 10k race.
Getting the gold award would be a good challenge though, at the moment I feel like I could do it on the shortest 4 distances (have done 5k already), but I won't get any of those races in before the marathon so will see how I recover and if I manage to fit in some good training. We are expecting our first child in June so it's all a bit up in the air what I'll be doing the second half of the year!
A few possible reasons - started off a little fast with first 4 miles avg about 7:35, didn't get a great sleep, had some mild tummy issues last night, and didn't have any water until 10 miles. Also possibly not fully recovered from last week's 20 miles? Still, could be worse, got the miles in and not injured, so will just write it off as a bad run. Next week is planned cutback week, though I have quite a bit going on outside of running.
Congratulations with the child on the way, I'm sure it'll turn your lives upside down! I've found out going to become uncle Rob this week as sis is due in August.
IBB fantastic stuff how was the course, I did consider the race myself but was going to wait to see how the 1st year went. Hope you got some plans to increase the miles for London? Your sub 4 awaits :-)
DA Drinking in pubs sounds like a fantastic recovery plan after London, I've never seemed to have suffered from jetlag getting to Australia but usually its been a start to a holiday so just got on with it. Also even in London beer converts cheaper with the Aussie dollar these days.
Better week this week, after 10 miles on wednesday had the day off on friday 13.6 miles with middle 8 miles at sub 8 and miles either side sub 9. Today 17 miles slow run averaged at 8.50 between 8.36 and 8.54 so pretty constant pacing very flat along river lea out and back. 40 miles for the week something to build on over the next few weeks.
IBB - well done on a great PB!
Rob - yeah I was probably a bit too fast to start with. After last long run felt good I wanted to see what a little faster felt like as I had been getting ideas of aiming for 3:20-25. Think that's knocked on the head now and will be going for 3:29:xx and no faster! Also in hindsight I think I had a tailwind for first 4 miles as well. Didn't notice until I turned round 4 miles into 2nd lap into what felt like a massive headwind! Even so, pace was slower than my recent half marathon so doesn't really explain how bad I felt.
Cutback week this week, then last really long run next which I might do as the Finchley 20 race (would run at MP). Have squash match tonight but tweaked my back while getting ready for work this morning and it's quite painful at the mo so hoping that clears up sharpish. Will try and go for a walk at lunch to see if I can loosen it up a bit.
Carl- great advice as ever. I'll take your advice and head for 3:50-3:55 on the day and see if I can speed up second half. Best not blow it. You've done well recently and you're really picking up the pace.
Nick- again, thanks for the good advice. Yes, I think best to go slightly conservative than to blow it for myself. Your running has really picked up in terms of pace recently. Your long runs seem quite fast actually. Is there a reason for doing them so fast or is it part of your plan? Don't worry about your long run that felt crap. I think you started off a bit fast and then were probably mentally demotivated. Still a good long slog. I like the sound of the club awards you get at your club. It sounds quite motivating. My club doesn't do something exactly like that but has other incentives/awards through the year and is also a greatly encouraging place to be! Also congrats on the baby- very exciting times ahead for you. Thank god you're doing the marathon before baby comes along!!!
Rob- well done, I know a few people who did open uni and loved it, it's tough work but really rewarding. I'm sure you're a very motivated person when it comes to studying as you are in other areas of life!
IBB- dead chuffed for you- great PB! Well done girl. How did it feel?
I've had a fairly busy time at work but still had a decent week running. As I said I would I had a definite cut back week this week only running just over 25 miles (or 28 if you include the fact I tail-ran at parkrun- but it was mostly a walk as the last runners walked most of the way).
A nice off road run on Friday with colleagues. The National XC champs on Saturday. 10k through a very muddy and hilly course, but I did enjoy it. I didn't have any goals in terms of finishing times/positions. I just wanted to pace it well and finish strong. I did that so was pleased.
Sunday I ran 14 miles with a friend but legs were sapped after the XC. So it was a very slow and unnotable run- but hey- it was done.
This week I have a 10k coming up on Sunday. I'm quite excited for it as I've not raced a flattish 10k in a while and I want to see what I can do.
When I wrote myself this marathon plan I factored in a very long build up....like 21 weeks... which meant I could afford to have the odd week (actually just this one) where there is no long run, so I could race the 10k instead. So this will be a nice week where I don't have a LSR but have the focus on racing a 10k instead. Shall report back afterwards! Current 10k PB is 45:06 so would sure love to beat that.
I haven't done any running at all this week so far, have been too busy really. Had squash matches on Monday and last night, was out on Wednesday for my birthday, and we're out with friends tonight too. Tuesday was the only day I could have run but I felt pretty tired and thought an early night was better as I would have late nights the rest of the week. This was meant to be a cutback week anyway, I'll probably try and get a couple of easy runs in over the weekend.
I was really pleased with how my legs felt on Monday at squash considering the 18.5 miler the day before, was moving well and felt really fit. Last night I felt a bit more sluggish and my right glute was complaining a little, but nothing too serious. Both matches were quite similar, enjoyable close matches that I won 3-2, and the team won 3-2 as well, so was feeling pretty good about that
Nick, well done with the squash, i usually find 2 days after a long run i hurt more, hope you manage to get out over the weekend the weather looks crap tomorrow mate.
Been a weird week this week, intervals on treadmill tuesday 7miles 4x1 mile 400m recover, then wednesday 7 miles steady and thursday 11 miles steady which is what it had in the plan, felt like i just plodded them but miles in the bank I spose. Today did my long run plan sai 18 miles 2nd half at marathon pace, pretty much stuck to it but decided to run 8 miles slow (9min miles) then 8 at marathon pace (8.20ish) then finish off 2 at 9 miles, all went to plan and has given me confidence. Still not dieting and weighing alot more than I should!!!
2 weeks till my 1st race of the year and i cant wait, however not too sure of the result pending! went 1.38.50 last yer at silverstone which i'd like to get under but wouldn't be too upset falling just outside 1.39.xx would be acceptable.