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P&D Spring Marathon 2020
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TR...Are you planning on weather watching closer to the time, with both being prone to a breeze, and then deciding whether to plump for Dorney or Goodwood, or doing both?
AWC...
So, I got the half expected email on Tuesday afternoon saying that my marathon was being postponed, as although it technically met the new regulations (15 people max starting in waves), morally the land owners and organisers couldn't justify it, i think there was 400 (ish) people registered across all distances during the day.
However, another email landed on Tuesday night from the race director inviting me to an "invite only marathon" this Sunday at Down Royal Race Course instead. That is the same place where me and AWC have raced before. Tommy Hughes was due to try and break the Over 60's (i think) marathon world record (2.35.xx) , and go sub 2.30 for the 4th decade in a row, at the Maze on Saturday, so they are rejigging it so he can still attempt the record, as he has fully tapered etc in anticipation of Saturday. It has to be a bona fide race to count, so 8 registered runners, plus Tommy and his son Eoin have been invited to run. Which, added to 5 organisers who will be present, makes it 15 people and in complete compliance with the rules. 14.5 x 1.75 mile laps plus a start and finish shute will take a bit of getting my head around, but I couldn't turn the opportunity down, as it's looking more and more likely that it will be the last race of the year, if not until March/April time over here. And how often do you get part of a record breaking (hopefully) race.
So 6 recovery miles both yesterday morning and today have brought the plan back into line with the new race date, and i'm really looking forward to it. It'll be nice to run with no pressure and just see how i get on. Weather is still to be windy, but 30 mph gusts instead of 40 so a bit better, and i think that was part of the reason of changing it to Sunday as well.
Enjoy your break, AWC.
7 miles today - didn't go out until 10am. I think my faster pace is partly down to going out later but may also be due to being more recovered and doing stuff like step-ups on the big (20") box at the gym. I was quicker today too - averaged 9:50 for this but the last mile was slower and my legs felt a lot less bouncy by that point. Not sure if that was fatigue (I did train legs yesterday, although not with weights) or the fact the wind picked up towards the end and I was running into it for a spell.
I felt a bit more confident today so ran down and along Wandsworth Common then back via Clapham Common. Managed to get across all the roads (including the South Circular) without stopping, which was a bonus. Achey bum still in evidence but definitely not worse. Felt the QL a little bit towards the end though. However, achilles is still behaving itself.
I'm actually considering a race on Halloween (it has a nice themed medal, heh) - is that a terrible idea? There's a range of distances and I quite fancy the 10 mile as I don't get to run that very often. (It is a lapped event, mind).
Cracking marathon racing again AWC enjoy the half-term. Mine starts tomorrow night
Good to hear you're back on it Cal & going well.
Glad to say I seem to be off the bench already. 5M Tuesday, 7M yesterday & another 5.7M at lunch today with 2M@sub 7s. Feel good enough to make it a double & run 10K back to the car rather than bike it too.
Cal...Nice 7 miler. I enjoy a 10 mile race, very niche distance i find. I'd say go for it, race when you can at the minute, it'll be nice to run it with no pressure and getting a nice medal. Speaking of which, my London medal came today, the kids are suitably impressed by it.
TR - I’m in for Dorney next April too. Despite the weather the last one seemed to get good press so I expect it to sell out sometime.
AWC - after a string of strong performances I think you’ve aren’t a half term taper.
Jools glad to read you seem to have bounced back quickly. Enjoy half term too.
Cal - glad to hear you are getting out for a few runs. There’s some imaginative medals out there, I keep meaning to display or frame some of mine but somehow they always end up in the sock drawer.
Not much to report here, a couple of steady weeks post VLM were probably much needed, 18 weeks to Dorney appears to start 30th Nov !
Hamo - your post was a rollercoaster, i groaned at the cancellation, but then great news on the invite to the WR attempt. Good news that Sunday has a slightly better forecast.........yes, if its ropey for Dorney, ill sack it off for goodwood. Wish i had entered both last time.
Cal - good to see you easing back to it. I didnt mind the multi laps at GW apart from the ~1m into the wind each lap, as i liked cpunting to 11 rather than 26.
Jools - top news, great healing powers.
Macca - folks said the wind wasnt too bad as it was mostly a cross wind. Its ideal for you as not too far to travel. Plus there were 170ish sub 3, so a lot of decent level runners to chase.
I saw there was a Next % and Alphafly drop today.
12m tonight, body is still groaning, but im getting a bit more done for slightly less groaning.
TR...Yea, my Tuesday night was a bit up and down with the emails too
5 easy miles with strides to finish this morning. I'm looking forward to the clocks changing and a bit more light in the mornings next week, even if it'll only last for a few days.
6m easy for me, long run tomorrow then 1 more week before i start tapering again. Havnt done anything other than easy stuff and a bit of 10% running as ive been creaking, but no big deal. Might get a bit of massage if things are still a bit slow, but some of my issues are from hammering the rehabb. So I'll ease that back.
Fleet 1/2 in March has cancelled totally, no new date for 2021.
You've been piling the miles in for sure TR. What's the weekly tally been since you jumped back on the bonnet? 80+?
Another 10K/5M double today. Leg stiff & grumbly but my Right Glute/ITB is more painful tbh so I'll keep at it though not really sure what it's all for.
Not a fan of the mango - it's more like puke. Glad I got them in the original black/green.
TR, enjoy your taper (when you get to it). Can't really imagine an 80 mile week - my body gets pretty grumpy when I start hitting the mid 50s.
Jools, glad you're back out there but take care of your sore bits. If you're not racing then there's no harm in taking it easier for a bit.
Run today: the intention was to do a couple of warm-up miles then do three at around HMP to see how that would affect the hamstring. Did three warm-up miles, but after the fourth mile a bit faster (didn't quite make HMP - it was between HMP and MP) I realised I was not mentally and physically on for pushing myself today, so did a cool down mile and called it quits. I've had a couple of patchy nights and I don't think the grey, windy weather helped my mood either - I felt much better during my two runs during the week.
Hamstring didn't seem any worse on the faster mile, but QL is niggling again, which is annoying (it was yesterday, to be fair - perhaps it didn't like some of the stuff I was doing in the gym).
I've entered the 10 mile anyway, so will have to make sure I get more sleep. Extra hour tonight should help.
10m easy, 12m mp + approx 10% was the plan. The +10% section average came out a little slow at 7.24, but as it was mostly an out and back i copped a beating from the wind and hills in the last 5m ( which were all slower than +20%, but its the effort that counts), had to carry my cap in the last few miles, reminded me of Goodwwod.
Hamo - how did you go ? Hoe did Tommy go?
Well played Tommy!
Saw your run on Strava Hamo. Looked a painful struggle from about 30K. I’m sure you’d all have been quicker on a still day.
Cracking 22M TR.
I did 15 out & back along the Grand Western Canal today: averaged 8:02 on the way out & 7:10 on the return which, like yours, was into the wind. Did almost 11 yesterday with a sub20 (not)parkrun. Pleased to report that my crippling injury of last weekend is no more than a slightly tender quad this week. Didn’t even notice it whilst running today nor on the short walk back to the car 😀
Jools - great to hear you’ve bounced back. That’s one way to test an injury😀
Cal - it’s almost a relief when a cold comes out after feeling rubbish, hopefully you can knock it on the head quickly.
I was hoping for a big week last week but had to settle for 80m (off a longest of 15) which is quite good given I wasnt feeling totally on it. I’m still churning out virtual sat am 5ks, collecting a bunch of 18:0x but can’t seem to go lower. One more go next week before trashing my legs at SDW and Wendover.
Macca - I rarely get a proper cold (the last one was the one that stopped me going to Valencia in 2018, it was really awful). I often get sneezing, scratchy throat and a general run-down, tired and crappy feeling but I'm usually able to shake it off after a couple of days. Which I've done this time, thankfully.
(BTW...80 miles seems like a lot to me, though I know you're a beast. Good luck with those two...that's a tough double).
Since I was feeling grotty yesterday and it was also raining, I opted to do absolutely nothing (I literally walked less than 500 steps...very small flat...)
Today I still had a bit of a scratchy throat on waking but felt better, although I could feel my hamstring a lot more (so I guess sitting on my arse all day is one of the things it doesn't like).
Thankfully neither seemed to bother me on the run. I had an enjoyable 8 miles running down to Earlfield, along the Wandle to Collier's Wood then back to Tooting along a trail path I discovered during the summer (which is now a bit muddy) and up the hill back to Tooting Common. Could feel the hammy but it wasn't bad and I gave it a little push around an obscure little road loop near the end where I have a Strava crown. After the hill back up to Tooting Common I felt my HR was a bit too high so had a cool-down walk the rest of the way home.
Scratchy throat has gone but back feels a bit achey so just marinated myself in Epsom Salts.
I should be fine for the 10 miler on Saturday though I'll judge how much I can push myself on the day.
Macca - i was thinkibg its getting near to wendover time again. Is sdw 50 first? How long between the two.
Cal - looks like you are going to be ok for your 10m then. Good news.
Im on a commute run home later.
Got my 4% out last night, as i need to decide between them and my saucony endorphin speed for dorney, and want to use whichever i choose for 13mp this weekend. I only used the 4% once, back in February at the chichester 10k. I tried them on again and still have the feeling of a very noticeable bump under the arches, which feels wrong (and puts me off wearing them for a mara), is this just me ? Do others get the same feeling in 4% anf Next%. Maybe im feeling the carbon?
I don't feel a bump under my arch but they are quite hard on the balls of my feet.
I’m tempted to go for the Vaporfly Next as I’ve still got an e voucher from a pair I returned but leaving them in a box for 6 months seems a bit of a shame.
SDW100 in 2 weeks time with Wendover the week after. If it doesn’t break me it should get me within touching distance of 4K for the year.
Impressive 5K consistency in spite of the volume Macca.
Sounds an enjoyable 8M Cal.
Just 13 hilly miles on N Devon lanes for me today, easy effort but still averaged 8:24 pace in spite of the 1000+ ft & stiff breeze so all is good. Legs were tiring by the end but it was a 2 mile climb.
Jools - we'll see, if i dont get on with them, i wont be using them. N Devon sounds ace. 13m here too, but far less elevation.
13m, back to monday mlr in the dark.
TR - Nice MLR.
Jools - Good race result, despite not being what you wanted.
AWC - Nice training, you seem ready for SDW100 now. Have you run the Testway 40 miler??
Macca - Nice VVLM time!
John - Good pacing for your VVLM.
Well, we did it and are now married, COVID didn't stop us! Weather was great on the day, as it had rained earlier in the week! Spent a week in the Scilly Isles afterwards, so had to run around St Mary's for 10 miles, but have only run 4 times (I think) over the 2 weeks, so legs refreshed.
Back on it this week with 12*400 and 4*200 in 1:31/30/30/32/28/32/30/25/27/30/28/26 and 39/41/39/40 for the 200's with 10 miles in total.