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P&D Spring Marathon 2021
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Macca- fantastic performance at TP100 and I'm really impressed at how you're still improving race by race. I think you've found your training magic session with those weekly Fly 5ks to complement your consistent mileage.
Hamo - well done on a steady sub 2:40, happy for you that you managed to turn around how you felt after Chester. It must be a huge boost now going into your next goal marathon knowing that your last one felt so good. Absolutely agree with macca on the benefits of a spur of the moment marathon, when there's no pressure on yourself you have such a better time of it and surprise yourself at what you can do.
TR - good to see you building up again. The Next% do feel more stable and less pressure on the arch once you've worn them in. I think you'll go well in them at GW part 3. I did exactly the same as you with my first pair, HM 3 weeks before the marathon to try them out and both became my PBs.
SQ - nicely recovered from your marathon. The more I hear from others about their race experiences there, the more I appreciate how impressive you ran that day. Your mate sounds like he's in great shape, I think his endurance in the last 6 miles is the only question mark on what he can achieve, so sound strategy to start conservative and aim for a negative split.
Jools - those are some amazing photos, that is some super scenery that you have to run in. What's lined up next?
Cal - sorry to hear it's not going so well but hope that your on the mend and the rest will sort it out.
AWC - well done on the C2C run, that's a massive PB, and LL100 sounds like it will be an amazing event. Will it be your first 100 miler?
NE - good to have you back and see you've got some nice goals. As Jools said I've been doing quite a bit of TM running over the last 12 months and have enjoyed it enough to combine it with outdoor running. The 2 main types are just slow short recovery/easy runs as an alternative to plodding around local roads, or some longer interval/tempo sessions when I want to be able to keep a certain pace without worrying about traffic, hills or corners. I do find it easier than running outdoors (but then again I don't bother with incline) whilst others find it harder, YMMV. Best motivator for me has been using Zwift as it makes the time pass so much more quickly, you feel like you're running with others and it automatically uploads the activity. It's also free to use, you just download it to you iPad or laptop and then either use a footpod to track your speed or a free app like Runcline (but you need to manually set the speed to match your TM). There's a FB group you can join to read more about it, one guy there even ran sub 3 at Dorney off just TM training. SHout if you have any questions!
My own running has been curtailed for the moment. Pulled up a bit sore after my 10k with the tendon behind my right shin feeling tight. Had a day off but the not-so-smart move was to then launch into a BAC session on the Tues. Did it on the TM and finished it pleased with myself but was clearly more sore the next day. A few more days off and it didn't really improve much, a few test jogs and a few shorter runs to stop me going crazy. That's been the pattern for the last 2 weeks and starting to feel a bit better although not yet 100%. Thought I would be tearing my hair out about it but have to say I'm enjoying the lie-ins and work has been busy anyway. Keen to build back up though and so hopefully can get back to a more regular schedule. Still aiming for GC marathon in 7 weeks but will see where I am with fitness by then.
AWC - That looked like a great couple of days in the lakes and I loved the photos. It inspired me to get my map out - you should be well prepared having seen most of the course - I can’t wait for it either.
TR - logging some good mileage. I found the turbo deceptive when I was doing it more in L1. The legs don’t get the same pounding as a run so they feel ok but everything feels much harder for a couple of days after.
Hamo - legs feeling good suggests you didn’t have to dig too deep last weekend. Good news for the little uns.
The traditional pre race 2@MP felt like hard work this week, I’m glad I’m not running a marathon this weekend and that it will be perfectly acceptable to walk at times 😀
John...Sorry to hear about the injury woes, but good news that you feel ready to start building back up, hope things improve for you.
AWC...That is a serious hill, 1 rep of that would do me, never mind an hour of them
Macca...Love how you still throw in the 2 at MP for an ultra week race
13 mile this morning, further than i meant to go but I felt in decent nick, so extended the loop, and felt decent enough to throw in a 5k at a MP-ish effort/pace in the middle of it too (17.43) just to see how it would go/legs would take it.
AWC - that sounds steep, hope it went well.
Macca - i like it, do the taper you're used to.....I'll probably try some longer efforts on the turbo this sunday and see how the legs react. Im going to do a time on feet long run saturday, so can do something like 3 x 20min sunday on the turbo as i wont have run any mp or +10% Saturday.
Hamo - your legs are feeling good again super quick. Defo shows Cheshire was an underperfomance, which is a shame, but shows you have loads more potential. The tricky thing is to work out why you ran 2.39 in both outings, as you'll want to correct the underperformance next time. Good luck with that bit.
8m easy run in for me, legs weren't quite so ruined.
11 miles in the wind and rain this morning.
What an epic photo, Jools. Keep the trainers clean at least?!
Hamo - great going! Lovely to think about different mindsets and expectations. Hope you feel really positive about it 👍. Also noticed you starirng in the latest Ben Parkes video.
Macca, you are loving a taper week at the moment. Good luck in the 50 - bit of a short race for you 😆.
AWC - a twenty minute PB in C2C is very impressive. You seem very strong at the moment. And absolutely loved you Lakeland photos.
That’s frustrating Jon. Hope you get a decent run in to GC from now. Good mindset though.
A buggy 10 on Saturday and a hilly 8 on Sunday led to a first 60M week since the marathon. The hill was certainly a shock to the system, but it felt incredible to be up there and to run with a friend. Perfect running therapy for us both!
Met spoons (come back to the P&D thread mate 😀) for a grass track session. His first faster running since January 2020 😆.
Very similar session to last week, with an extra 400 tagged on the end for at least a hint of progression. Rain, hail and beautiful views of the cathedral. What more could you ask for?
4 x 200 in 40s (all 200 jogs)
2 x 400 in 83s
4 x 200 in 41s
1 x 400 in 87s
So good to see a progression from last week on the middle 400s.
Just ticking over otherwise, with work busy and half an eye on pacing at Peterborough this Sunday. Temperatures look ideal, wind not so! I’ve said to my friend, however, that having me clocking the wind the entire time will really help. I don’t know if that is practically true, but it wouldn’t certainly make a massive mental difference were I in his shoes.
SQ - hope the wind isnt too bad (or at least not slways as a headwind - is it laps ?), i imagine Peterborough as being pretty flat. Hopefully there some hedgerow shelter. All the best to your mate anyway. Hope it inspires him to aim sub3.
6m mininal easy toddle today, long un tomorrow hopefully.
First proper race yesterday. 7M fell race with over 2,100ft of climb!
Yep, turbo day. Was thinking of running after ydays long jog, but stuck with the turbo as planned. Made it more marathon relative with wu, 3x20min, wd.
Some good performances noted by the weekends racers.
Jools - great result in the fell race. Agreed you cant beat trying to reel someone in or stay ahead for pushing yourself harder than in a TT format. That said, sounds like you held something back for the warm down marathon🤣
TR - that time on feet run shows the endurance is there, as Jools says, hopefully leaving you fresh for some speedwork.
Hope P’boro went well SQ and JPR Hamo.
NDW50 went well for me Sat. Loose plan was to bury myself for something around 8hrs depending how well the legs had recovered from the Thames Path. Solo start, quite relaxed, a bit of rain but nothing like forecast so pretty good conditions. It felt a brisk start but I had some splits for an 8hr finish and I was bang on through the first 2 aid stations at 7m and 14m. There were a few downhill miles to the next AS at mile 24 so a couple of 7:xxs popped up. There’s a decent climb at mile 25, Box Hill steps, 300-400 ft straight up. I dont think the legs ever properly recovered after these and time started to slip from 4mins up at 24miles to 8mins down at mile 31, 11mins at mile 38 and 16mins at mile 43. So 8hrs was gone but a low 8:xx was on the cards. The 2nd half is definitely harder than the first, it was also very solo (one person seen in about 15 miles) and by mile 47 I was definitely in let’s just get this done mode. So entering a field I managed to convince myself the route wasn’t up the incline Of the field but along its border, into another field then towards what looked like a farmers back garden.....oh oh, wrong way. Probably only about 3/4 mile but maybe 10 mins or so. Annoyed with myself, punishment was to crack on with walking breaks forbidden. So 8:29:40 all in for 20th place. All things considered a good run, even if maybe 25miles at little brisk, 15miles a little tougher than needed to be and 1 mile completely unnecessary. Really enjoyed the day, wanting to go back next year to crack it. Now a 3 week recovery/taper to SDW100.
Macca - cracking run again, you are a tough nut for sure. When i looked up yr result i saw the headline that it was 3 wks to the sdw100, i knew you'd be in for that too. Box Hill steps sounds nasty, ive run and biked the wiggly road up during the Ballbuster......you ultra runners are a tough bunch i noted Sam Amend ran too, she did that ultra track race as well as Dorney.
13m run commute home, hoping for a better 3min reps session in the morning than last wks sorry affair.
TR...Nice time on feet long run, you know you are strong when you are wanting to do more exercise after that. Nicely backed up with a marathon specific turbo fest too. I wouldn't worry too much about the 3 min reps and pace at the minute, you are in the middle of a block, and being so soon after finishing your last one, cumulative fatigue etc will be playing a part in your paces. You are putting the effort in and that's what counts.
Jools...That is a cracking result from your fell race, 8th overall and 1st age graded, class work. Good job showing the young fella up over the final sprint too. However to cool down from that with cycling and then a marathon home is just clean mental
AWC...Brilliant work on the marathon, 6th out of 100 is not to be sniffed at all, especially if you weren't giving it the full beans. Class, and bound to have you heading into the taper with soaring confidence, well done.
Macca...Well done on the 50 miler, that is a brilliant run so soon after the Thames path. We already know you love your mad miles though, so there really was no need to tack on an unnecessary 3/4 mile just to prove it
SQ...Chapeau for a well executed pacing job, even more congrats to your mate though.
Quiet enough weekend running wise for me, with just an easy 10k and 8 miler both on the treadmill on Saturday and Sunday. Though i did climb a few mountains with the kids on Saturday and "ran" the Junior Parkrun on Sunday morning as well. The kids where delighted to have it back, they have really missed it, and it was lovely to see 40 plus smiling kids enjoying running, even in miserable weather.
I'm enjoying the "no pressure/no plan" at the minute and just running what and when i feel like, so it was nice to have a quieter weekend, and finishing the week on 56 miles. Though i am conscious that my new block will be starting in a few weeks, so I plan on building the mileage back up from now til then.
This week started with a steady/hard 10 miler yesterday afternoon, averaging 5.54 min miles over a rolling route, and I backed that up with an easy 10 miler this morning.
Hamo - you deserve some “run what you feel like”, that said, you must be feeling quite good for a sub 60 10miler😀. Great that the kids enjoyed themselves despite the weather.
AWC - should be just about light at 4:30am,😱 I do like these relaxed rolling starts but then it can get a bit lonely for long periods, swings and roundabouts I guess.
After a first dot day in 7 months on Sunday and feeling a bit drained I’m feeling better for a few easy miles. The SDW is a rollover from last years cancelled race (as was NDW50) so I probably wouldn’t have entered it but in for a penny...
The session is a bit of a fartlek really, ive not taken it up to 20 reps recently as i want to keep the effort to approx 40mins.
Onwards and upwards, we'll see what happens in saturdays mp run.
Macca - that's some run so soon after TP100, well done again. You're clearly made of the same stuff as Mike Wardian. It must be doubly hard when you're solo for so long. Enjoy ticking over until SDW100.
AWC - great marathon with serious elevation. You must be in fantastic shape. Watched some Ben Parkes videos last year when he ran it and looks scenic but tough.
Jools - amazing day, I can't imagine fitting all that in, let alone having the energy to do it. Love how you casually throw in that you did a hilly marathon in half a sentence, just another weekend for you
Hamo - recovering well, seems like that last minute marathon did you wonders. Great to have junior parkrun back, unfortunate that it's proving so difficult to get landowner permissions for a parkrun restart.
TR - don't be so hard on yourself, it's not been too long since your last one and you've still got time. Good luck on the MP run, you seem to be able to bang this out on pace usually.
Still stuttering along, managed to get a few easy runs in last week and tried a longer one up to 2 hours on Sun. Managed to get it done getting a bit faster but this week it's still not feeling 100%. Backed off again and I think if I'm not back to a normal week of daily running by next week, I'll give GC a miss. Will be a shame to miss what should be a great event but not worth trying to push through and risk longer term injury. Still have Sydney marathon in Sep even if it's not quite as fast.
TR...Exactly, its done and banked, so onwards and upwards is right. Just don't put too much pressure on yourself/Saturdays run though, don't go chasing it and annoying yourself.
John...Agreed, though I think over here, on the whole, landowners, or the majority of them anyway, seem to be keen to help parkrun restart, which is encouraging. Sorry to hear that you are still not a 100%, but encouraging you are still able to run and got a 2 hour long run. Sensible to give it another week and see how you get on before making any decisions.
13 mile at a steady +10 pace this morning, wasn't planning it, but felt good so pushed the effort along after the first couple of miles. It ended up almost farlek like as i went after (and got
Hamo - bouncing back nicely. Yep, if mp isnt on then it'll become a 10% run saturday.
13m run home tonight. First s and c session in a while yday inc squats and deadlifts and my running legs bizarrely felt better for it, except for the bum cake doms.
Anyway, it seems my run of bad luck continues.
I thought, after the antibiotics, I'd start to feel better. My gum is no longer sore (dentist still wants to take out that back tooth, though, as it's acting as a food trap) but I had a rough couple of weeks with a sore throat, tight chest, feeling spaced out and very fatigued. Instead of going off to ride coasters with my friends, I ended up at the doctor having tests. Blood tests and chest x-ray came back normal but doc didn't like that my HR had been high on my runs so she's booked me in with a cardiologist in July. I, personally, don't think my heart is the problem, but since my mum had a leaky valve that ended up with her having a stroke, I figure it's a good idea to get it checked out anyway. (I'm not sure what the actual problem is, but I did go through something similar the year I turned 40 and eventually it resolved on its own).
Anyway, I started feeling a little less awful this week so went to the gym on Tuesday, did 20 mins on the elliptical and some glute/ham stuff and survived. Then did 45 mins on the elliptical yesterday and decided I would try a little run today. I walked a mile to warm up then did 2 miles very slowly. I don't feel amazing and I do feel very unfit but it's a start, anyway.
Cal...Sorry to hear about your troubles, you aren't getting a break at all. 100% the best thing to do is getting the tests and getting it checked out, your heart is not to be messed around with. I hope, and am sure that the results will all come back fine for you, but can't be too cautious.
10 miler in the sun this morning, almost tops off weather
Great going with the fell race, Jools. What a day!
Great long running, TR.
Cheers, AWC. A really fun day. Brilliant running from you. Some proper climbing in there! Super result.
Very impressed with that, Macca. Especially the determination after going wrong – I fear that would really disrupt things. Looking good for the SDW100.
Seems sensible to miss GC, John, painful though that will be. Hope your build back up continues smoothly.
What an unlucky run of injuries/illness, Cal. Fingers crossed for some positive news soon.
Up early for the drive to Peterborough. Left home just after five for a really smooth journey. Stopped at Rugby services for the toilet and a chance to loosen off. Got a couple of funny looks doing various drills in the car park. And for the parents amongst you – there was a brilliant outdoor playground and multi-level indoor soft play.
Stopped to collect my friend and was met with a mixture of nerves and excitement on his behalf.
The pre-race set up was really smooth. Numbers had been sent in the post, loads of space in the enormous grassy parkland, short toilet queues. We were called to the first gantry and then held in group of 25. The start was essentially a single file walk/run over the line. So quite a good way to be with people of the right pace yet distance everyone appropriately.
Ben said he was pushing for sub 3:20 with anything under 3:25 a great result. I think his current PB was 4h something. To be honest, it was 20 miles of trying to hold him back then a few miles of making him dig in.
The course was scenic – certainly more so than I had been led to believe for the city. Lots of river-, canal-side and bike paths. It was great to run within myself, and I was having to consciously slow us both down as we tended towards 7:20 miling.
1:37:11 first half, chatting away and enjoying each other’s company for the first time in a while, before a tough second half. There was significantly more headwind on the return and several section of rooty paths or very slippery mud. Not ideal on tired marathon legs. We split the second half in 1:40, which I think is pretty good for an even effort given the conditions.
I had forewarned him, but it was interesting to see how quickly his effort went from very controlled, to suddenly hanging on – at about the 21-22M mark. I was politely asked to stop talking at this point! You could tell it was a well-paced effort though as we were rapidly overtaking many runners.
Overtook one poor chap who was doing a ‘full-Foster’ in the closing metres. Had to be met by paramedics with 7 or 8m to go. Hope he is ok.
Ben’s family were there to cheer us on – a pretty epic day for him and a very fun one for me. 3:17:11 on the clock so an absolute result for him. A very well organised event (Sublime Racing) and the goodie bag was good – locally made peanut butter by the jar (x2) - yum.
Tired this week, but obviously nothing like after an all-out effort. Although did have my second vaccine on Monday. Only recovery running so far: 4, 4, 6, 7, re-joining the 5am club last couple of days.
If for some weird reason, a heart condition or something, you told me I could never full on race a marathon again, but I could do this sort of hardish effort, I would take it. A lot to be said about running the whole thing with a smile on my face and helping a mate out.
Hamo - almost tops off? I took my gloves off during this mornings commute run, that's a starter!
SQ - sounds like a great day, very rewarding too. I saw your result so guessed yoir mate had nailed it. He did very well esp off the low miles. You could always consider pacing at maras?......that poor guy looks like he's having a breakdance before he finishes.
8m run commute this morning, turns out Tuesdays S and C gave me quite a butt kicking after all.
TR...I think i jinxed it with the tops off comment, was back to cold this morning
10 easy miles along the tow path for me this morning.
SQ - sounds like a great day all round. Like TR, the first thing I thought was that bloke is break dancing in the finish funnel.
TR - all the best for tomorrow’s MP session, hopefully not too warm, at least compared with the beginning of the week.
Hamo - some good mileage this week. Yep it’s your fault we’ve gone from sweat fest yesterday to drizzle today🤣
Similar week here to SQ’s although I’ve had my 2nd jab today preceded by a few 4s and 6s. I did squeeze in a sweaty 8miler yesterday with 4x1k. The out and back reps were all over the place but it was nice to do something different. Usual fare tomorrow then another tick over week.
Macca - Might be a shock by 11ish tomorrow but im happy to run in the warmth after a winter in the cold, wet and dark. I did a few strides today (to go with my s and c return) and feel better for it. I need to try to make my body work functionally more often in different ways rather than 8mm plodding all the time. Use it or lose it.
Best have a few frothies later to mentally and physically prepare for my long run.