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Shades Marathon Training
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SK - I'm doing the up to 55 miles plan. Wasn't sure if I could cope with the 55-70 plan. I also wear 2 pairs of gloves when it's cold!!
Anyway my first 50 mile week last week since probably July time when I was ultra training. Finished with me doing an 18 miler on Saturday, that didn't end well! I was OK for 15 miles (average pace 8:40 min miles) then stopped at a road as a car was coming and felt a bit funny, but carried on, then about another 0.5 miles down the road felt light headed so had to sit on a wall for a while. Walked to a garage and got a glass of water then did a run/walk home for the final 3 miles (average pace around 11-12 min miles). Got home and had something to eat and drink and felt OK.
I think it was a combination of not enough rest as ran 50 miles in 5 consecutive days (Tuesday through Saturday) and dehydration as was out Friday evening and didn't drink enough water while I was out. Also didn't take any fuel or water on my run which was probably also a mistake.
Anyway another 50+ mile week this week, 10 with 6 at LT pace tomorrow
and a 20 miler at the weekend. Rest day today.
Legs still slightly sore from Sunday today but knew it would ease so went for a run,plan was 5 miles at easy pace,then 5 at MP.Tried a new route but got slightly lost,ended up doing 5 at 4hr MP then 4.5 at 3.45 MP,so slightly quicker than planned but felt decent enough.
Ian - congrats on the HM. Your second fastest was a great result on a hilly course! Sub 1:40 is definately within your sights this year.
Thanks for that, Shades. I'm staying less than a mile from that road
And thanks also for the link about busses.
After my run this morning, the weather was beautiful so on a whim I took a drive up to Dorset to visit a couple of National Trust places. I had a wander around Corfe Castle and also some trails nearby, and then went to a place called Kingston Lacy, which is an old house set in gardens with a trail path around. So I've walked about 5-miles today as well as my run (all at a very, very steady pace!), and I do feel okay. I hope to get out for a run tomorrow AM.....fingers crossed!
I managed 10 miles this morning, felt a bit tired towards the end but I cycled about 30 yesterday so that probably had an impact. Spent afternoon in the garden painting the shed, digging borders and cut back some overhanging branches, bit cold but enjoyed it.
Steve - sorry to hear you had a bad long run too at the weekend, sometimes they just happen, we can't feel strong every day. But I think your analysis on why it was a bad run for you is right.
I usually carry a small amount of fuel, dates/sweets even if I don't intend to use them, just in case. I think mentally it perks you up if you think you've 'fuelled up'. I had a little bags with 4 dates in and I think those dates went out on about 6 long runs before I finally ate them! I also carry a pound coin so I can stop and buy a drink/chocolate if I need it, providing I'm not in the middle of nowhere of course.
Good luck with the LT run today.
Ian5 - there's nothing like getting lost for speeding up a run
Big G - you're definitely better, having cabin fever and wanting to get out and about is a good sign.
Jugula - busy day for you. Any news on the job front or are you not looking yet?
So cold today, about -3 when I went out running so I was layered up and warmer gloves today, although I'm adequately dressed I just find it hard to run comfortably in very cold weather. But dry roads and pavements so fine for running. Going to be a lovely sunny day.
Thanks Shades, I do indeed feel much better, although I was coughing a bit on my run this morning (4.5 miles, steady pace). It's not a productive cough and if it was I'd stop running, but I think/hope I am okay to carry on. But a nagging doubt is that I should stop until the cough has totally gone, which I suppose may be another several days. Hmmm.
But my run this morning had a couple of slight inclines in them and I was actually okay on those. Today, my cough was mainly in the first half mile and the last half mile.
Anyway, I'll have a rest day tomorrow and then see how I am on Saturday. If okay, I'll have a trot around parkrun, and then decide about the race on Sunday.
Regarding Dublin, I see there is a government-ran 3-day pass, which I may get. It includes transport to and from the airport, a walking tour (which looks very interesting from the reviews on TripAdvisor), entry to a museum and also allows me to use the buses and the "hop on and hop off" bus for the duration. It's €33, but I think I'd easily make it pay. I've just emailed them asking them to check when the ticket starts/stops, but if I can use it to get both to and from the airport I think I'll go for it as my flight times would make it viable. Then I wouldn't have to worry about getting around the city as it'd be sorted.
Shades - Thanks, yes I plan to carry fuel in future just in case.
So LT session today was 10 miles with 6 at LT pace, averaged 6:39 for the 6 miles. Happy with that as slightly faster than when I did the 10 with 5 (6:41 average). Tough session to do before 7am though! Glad I'm doing the 11 with 7 as part of a 10k race now
Big G - hopefully the remnant cough is just clearing out the airways. It is cold too today so that probably makes the cough more likely.
That's a good deal for the three day pass in Dublin, you could use the hop on hop off to get to Phoenix Park which is fabulous for running, I believe it's the largest park in Europe, the zoo is also there. We run through the park in the marathon and often see the large herd of deer there and pass the edge of the zoo, there's usually a guy that dress up as a rhino and stands outside the zoo gates waving at us.
Steve - that session must be tough early in the morning, do you do that on an empty stomach?
Shades - Yes do all my early morning runs in the week on an empty stomach, just have some water before I go
Since Sunday I've just wanted coffee and cake
. Sunday was Winter Tanners, so an early start leaving just after 6. Arrived in plenty of time, but while I was faffing around in the car park most of the people I knew had set off. Met a couple I knew a little and they invited me to run with them. I said they would be too quick and that's what happened. They ran straight from the start (I would have walked for at least 5 mins), they carried on running up slopes (I would have walked up any 'ups') and on some tricky downhills (mud, rocks, roots etc) they got to the bottom while I was still only a third of the way down and carried on running. Managed to hang on till checkpoint 2 at mile 17, then they dashed off while I was still eating biscuits! Thankfully I had then caught up with the 2 people I'd run with last week (one who was complaining he was about to die 
) so I joined them and was much happier. It rained - sometimes lightly, sometimes a bit heavier - non-stop (and it was also very cold and sometimes windy). There was still some frozen snow and ice in places and (Shades' favourite) mud, mud and more mud. Quite a few hills, but most downhills were unrunnable because of the terrain (and mud).
cont.....
Just before the 3rd (and last) checkpoint we had to climb up the steepest steps I've ever seen. Some were also quite high - in fact I needed a shove from behind to get onto the 1st step
. A brief respite as we crossed a narrow track (with my heart beating so fast and hard I'm sure everyone could hear it) and then up even more steps. Someone said they made Box Hill look like it was for complete beginners! The checkpoint was just over the top of the hill and had very welcome coffee, cake and chocolate. By this time my gloves were soaked so decided to change them for a dry pair from my rucksack. Trouble was, my fingers were so cold I couldn't get them on - my friend had to pull them on for me 
. The last 6 miles were a bit more runnable, so I warmed up a bit before we reached the finish. 9hrs and 9mins for me this time (32mls). I had done Tanners 2 years ago slightly faster, but they have a new route each year and this one was definitely tougher. After coffee and lots of cake 
, I struggled into clean tracksters, socks and trainers, wrapped myself in a warm hoody and drove home. No problems with traffic so was home by 7.30 but it was a long day. Don't think I'm really cut out for winter running 
.
Hope everyone's colds are clearing up. About half of all our customers in the supermarket have been buying cold relief remedies!
Yes please Shades
Steve - that's impressive running on water only. I always have a cup of tea or coffee before I go out for my run, and now I'm not working sometimes two
Jugula - I think you're enjoying this non working too much.
Health and nutrition course sounds interesting..
mowzer - you are one tough cookie. You don't sell that race to me at all and I'm so glad I decline winter (and mud) running.
Rohit - you need to message me your email address if you want a copy of the training plans.
Cold and frosty again here but I think not quite as cold as yesterday. Had a good run, layered up with an extra top and no jacket and find that much more comfortable for running in the cold. Unusual for me I didn't want to get up this morning and lying in bed even considered a rest day but Friday is a short run day for me anyway so I got up and I had my best run of the week. You never regret going out for a run
Mowzer - another great run in what sound like bad conditions, to me!
I'm not a betting man, but I was looking around yesterday for a place to give me odds on Bekele winning Dubai, London and the World Champ marathons this year but no one would give me odds. I went into two bookies and they called their office but no joy there, and nowhere online would give me odds either. However, it looks like I saved myself a tenner as Bekele fell near the start of Dubai early this morning, and pulled out just after half way... Will he set a world record in London? Time will tell, but I'm going to say "no" as it's not a super fast course like Berlin or Dubai.
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/01/kenenisa-bekele-drops-dubai-marathon/
Rest day today, but I'm going to go for a gentle walk around Killerton (a localish National Trust place) with the step-dog.
Big G - I think the bookies will be kicking themselves today for not taking your bet on.
I think usually the focus is to win London and maybe a course record as that pays well enough without trying for a world record.
I hope Bekele is OK, that's a cruel way to get injured.
Shades, yes hopefully Bekele is okay. It's strange, as there was a bit of running chat in places about Bekele's potential 3 marathons this year, but yet the bookies weren't aware of it and wouldn't give me odds. Yet, a friend of mine got odds on his new baby playing for England at football, so they do take on all sorts of bets!
I had a great day. I walked around two parkrun courses (one in Exeter and one in Bovey Tracey) with the dog. It was muddy, but nice walking as it was quite quiet. Of course, I stopped for lunch at one of them
It was good, as I wasn't coughing/spluttering on the hills!
I'm definitely feeling a bit better again today. I'm going to do a parkrun this morning, but I'm not yet sure how I'm going to run it
I ended up doing a 1.5 mile warmup, then parkrun, followed by a 1.5 mile cool down. After the warmup, I hadn't coughed at all so decided to give parkrun a bit of an effort and did 21:45. Again, the last mile was slippery, but I'm happy with that in the circumstances. Seems a long way of my 20-min 5K goal for this year though, but hopefully the times will start coming down in the right conditions etc.
As it stands, I'm going to race this 10-miler tomorrow, but I'll decide for sure in the morning. I'm definitely travelling to the race, as I'm seeing friends; actually I'm travelling up this afternoon and back on Monday, to make the weekend of it in North Devon.
Big G - I don't know how much betting goes on in marathon running, maybe it's a bit early in the year? I would think as marathon runners we're less predictable than a racehorse
Hope the parkrun went well, weather is slightly less cold today.
My lake run this morning, I like doing this route on a Saturday as there's so little traffic and just the odd dog walker and a lot of ducks at the lake. On the way to the lake I run through a sleepy Devon village and sitting on a wall were 2 Goths looking so out of place. Not sure if they'd been partying or what, but we exchanged pleasantries and they were gone by the time I was on my way home.
Another epic run from you, mowzer!
Big G - bloody good effort given you've not been feeling great. Good luck for tomorrow.
Shades - I must confess to being a bit of a goth back at uni. I was into The Cure and Sisters of Mercy and did the whole Siouxsie Sioux eye-make-up thing. Funny to see a pair in a small village, though.
Battersea 10K today. Bloody freezing, so I layered up and ended up being a bit hot during the race. The park lake was frozen over, though, so it seemed better to be safe than sorry.
I didn't get a PB but I did pretty well considering I'm carrying my winter weight plus some, uh, hormonal bloating. My first mile was 8:30 which is a bit fast, and I couldn't maintain that. I managed two more miles in the 8:30s but then a horrible 9:05 for mile 4 before kicking myself up the bum for a couple of slightly faster miles and a strong finish. My time was 53:48 (PB is 53:35 on the same course) which is my second fastest, and only my second time under 54 minutes. No major problems, either, though as usual my left glute was grumpy as it always is (but fortunately the ache goes away when I run). I feel quite good about my next half marathon effort. Wish I could shift this extra weight, though.
Cal-Sounds like a decent time,tough time of they year to get a PB so it's promising you were close to it.
Another 20 miler for me today was the plan.Wasn't too sure how it would go as from Sunday I've already ran 30 miles,which is near my top end for a week.Started off well until 9 miles,then my watch decided to freeze,it was still recording the time but no distance so thought I'd try and run easy for 3:12 which is about how long my 20 miles take.After another 2 miles or so it started working again but I knew it had messed up the distance by the average pace so decided to ignore it and still run by feel for the time.
The rest of the run generally went well. I ended up running for 3:08 and ran 19 miles according to my watch.When I plugged my watch in I looked at where it had gone wrong and worked out the correct distance ran as 20.2 miles, so great judging of distance but about 5 mins too fast.
Shades - are you sure they weren't vampires?
Cal - well done on your 10k. Another speedy time.
Ian 5 - It must have been the cold that made your watch freeze! Well done on getting a 20 miler in.
A very lazy week for me this week with just short runs on Tuesday and Thursday. I was going to go a bit longer on Friday after dog walking. But it was much colder than I thought (I was freezing after just 30 mins) and instead of the usual 45 - 60 mins the dog just kept walking and walking for 2 hours
. When we got back I was cold and hungry, so sat at the computer instead watching the little red dots of the trackers on the Spine Race.
Big G - well done on your park run. That's a decent time considering you've not been well and the horrible weather conditions.
Big G - nice parkrunning and good luck for the 10 mile race tomorrow.
Cal - well done on Battersea. A friend ran a PB there today but is now worried that the course may be short as apparently lots of people made it 6 miles. But if it's an established course, maybe it was just a GPS problem.
Steve - you're doing so well with the LT runs, knocking out some really speedy miles. I'm really struggling with them. Yesterday was supposed to be 9 with 6 LT miles, but I only did 5 and most of those were on a track.
I've been housebound for a couple of days as my youngest son has had a bug. Luckily my mum came up yesterday so I was able to escape for an hour for a run. Did parkrun today in 20:09. Was 1st lady but must have been a problem with the scanner as I'm 'unknown' in the results. Have emailed so hoping they can change.
SK - pretty sure it's just a GPS issue due to being four laps of a tree-lined route. Mine usually makes it around 6.15 miles but if I zoom in to the map, the lines cut the corners a lot rather than staying on the actual road.
Well done on 1st lady - hope you get that sorted.
Big G - xpost yesterday. Good result at parkrun after your cold. Good luck today for your 10 mile race. Have a nice weekend up North (Devon that is)
Cal - ex Goth
I have a bit of admiration for Goths as admire the effort they put into their appearance. The couple I saw, she was beautifully made up, the guy just looked pale and tired.
Well done at your 10k, great result. A difficult time of year to decide on what to wear in a race especially with the hanging around at the start.
I do hope the course wasn't short, surely all the recent publicity about short courses should ensure that race organisers are laying out the right course on the day.
You're up early today
...or up late
Ian5 - another good run from you. Annoying about your watch, has it done that before?
mowzer - ha ha, never seen vampires (yet) out running. I have seen vultures but that's another story.
How can you say you've had a light week after a tough ultra last weekend and probably another marathon or ultra today.
SK - hope your youngest is better now and the rest of the family don't catch it.
Another good run for you at parkrun, I take it your hamstring is better.
Very cold here this morning, have decided either to take a rest day or run later when it's warmed up a bit. Can't face a long run today in cold weather.
Slowkoala - well done on 1st lady
Shades - no event today or next weekend
. Just got to man up and get out for a run today (beautiful sunshine, but the frost is still thick on the ground!)
I went out knowing a 10-mile PB was on the cards and as the conditions were good I gave it a go and ended up knocking over 2mins off with a watch time of 1:15:23. So that's two PBs this year, although both previous bests were a bit weak. Still, I'm pleased!
Next up I have a 5-mile race in two weeks, then the week after I have a half marathon which will be a good test - to be honest, I'm not sure I'll get a PB there but I'll give it a go all being well.
Training wise I'm hoping to get a long run in over the next week or two, so hoping to get back to proper training now.
In summary I'm pleased, mainly because I felt strong today, especially after my cold that has knocked me about over the last 10 days or so.