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Shades Marathon Training
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Not much to report here. 5 recovery miles on Wednesday and 7 miles with strides today.
Please tell your wife stopping is OK, we all do it at times even if we are only pretending to admire the scenery
Steve - a much lighter week for you, you must be enjoying not having to get up quite so early. Is it Bath half you're doing?
Got a sports massage booked for this evening. Hoping it freshens up the legs for next week. Also hoping the weather doesn't get too cold for race day!!
Also signed up to my first race of 2019 (Winter Run 10k again), just so I could get the early bird discount!!
I'm hoping it's not too cold that day either as I have my first race of the year that day too, a 20 miler.
It's worth entering races early for discount, they're pricey enough so a bit of discount does help.
Ian- good to see your injury is improving and your out running more.
Just a update my O/H was tested today and was told they don't think she has COPD but said her lungs are showing signs of damage probably caused by close on 40 years or so smoking I guess. That said the doctors still can't explain her breathlessness even doing the simplest of things so she has to go for further tests which hopefully will explain a few things.
Cal - That was a funny mouse story.. I am sending you my cat on a short term loan basis.
On a foam roller note - do you think it does any good? I have a lovely orange trigger point something one which just sits on the piano gathering dust. I've never felt it does any good. I'm probably doing it wrong even though I've had a look on Youtube for techniques etc.
Big G - Enjoy Malta. I've been there once and all I can remember is a scary ride on a yellow bus. Hope the marathon goes well. I used Ibuprofen for Carcassonne marathon due to my tendon problem and had no ill effects from dehydration or anything in spite of it being a blisteringly hot marathon. Worried myself sick afterwards as I was chosen for drug testing but that all turned out ok in the end too.
SK - That's a milestone birthday for your son.. my daughter will be 18 too in June. We are also looking at universities at the moment. We discuss her choices and I ask all the right questions regarding options/prospects/modules etc etc etc.. I then wait until she's gone before having a quick Google to see what the marathon is like in that area
Shades - My new Hokas are Bondi 5s in a purple/lime green colour. They are extremely ugly but extremely comfortable and their main purpose in life is to stop me getting injured. I am rotating them with my old Hokas which still feel pretty bouncy but I wouldn't race in them. They are just too marshmallowy.
Unfortunately the school cook will not be back after the holidays
I didn't run on Tuesday - apart from base training walking round Ikea - and then spent all yesterday in my kit as things kept happening before stubbornly going out for a 4k run at 7pm. I just couldn't bring myself to take my kit off not having used it if you see what I mean.
Today was better, I got up early and had a lovely 17k run though the forest with the dogs. Saw a couple of deer too which was nice. Charlie the Jack Russell disappeared off for ages at one point then caught up with me absolutely hanging and covered in blood. God knows what he'd been up to.
Come to think of it Cal I think I'll send you Charlie instead of the cat...
MF, I've never been to Malta before but my gran and grandad came here many times in their 70s and 80s. They're no longer here now, but as young whipper snappers they went all over Europe in their car until my gran one day apparently said "'Arry, I'm fed up driving to places...." at which point my grandad (Harry), whilst pointing upwards, said "well, there's only one thing for it Edna....we need to fly" so then they flew to places instead. Rhodes and Malta were their favourites in their later years. They're on my Mum's side and interestingly my Mum had never owned a passport, yet her parents went all over Europe and travelled well into their 80s. My Dad (79 now) has never had a passport either. Something's happened to me, as I love travelling.
MF, all that cooking and logistics sounds a nightmare! Best of luck with all that.
Steven, good news it's not that illness, and fingers crossed the docs find out what it is wrong.
The forecast has basically been wrong as it's been a lovely day today. Sun came out, temperature warmed up a bit (a pleasant 18-20) and I had a great few hours over in Valletta (30-mins by bus). Nice coffee shops, great croissants and cake (I didn't actually have or need a proper lunch...), wandered around some of the old town and stumbled into a really fancy pubic library with some very, very old books. It's a little strange as some of the very old buildings are beautiful with great sea views and lovely gardens etc, but a 10-min walk away and it felt run down with lots of traffic etc.
Afterwards, I came back to the hotel and got a 6-mile run in, mainly along the prom by the hotel, although I did do a loop up through a town which was a bit hazardous with very narrow pavements and lots of cars. I just took it very steady, stopped to look at the scenery etc, and the 6-miles in just over an hour, but I had a nice run. I felt a bit fat (that'll be the cake, I suppose!!) but no issue with the hammie, which is good news!
I'll be going over to the other town this evening to pick up my race number
I managed 5 after work today,still nice and steady,no plans to increase the pace apart from my half.
mamafox - oh yes I remember, we are still in awe of you as having been the only marathon runner on this thread that has been drug tested
Ever practical, you checking out the marathons local to your daughter's potential University choice
I've heard great reports about the Hoka Bondi's. I too wouldn't race in my Hokas, not because of the cushioning but I need a bigger heel drop for a race. But they are great shoes for training, so many runners are using them now to train in when recovering from injury. One of our club runners has the dreaded plantar fasciitis and has been advised to buy some Hokas as part of their rehab.
That is bad news about the school cook. I hope she will be back after Easter, but you're amazing to take that job on.
Jack Russell's are much better than cats for getting rid of unwanted rodents, they never give up.
Big G - that's a lovely story of your grandparents doing all that travelling around and enjoying the sun.
Sounds like you're having a lovely time, 18-20 degrees wow, I've just got home from shopping and it's 3 degrees here. Feeling 'fat' is part of the carbo loading feeling, good news the hamstring niggle seems to have eased.
Ian - 9 miles is great considering your OH had a bad run last week. You're a tough coach
Steve - I've found 2 catch up programmes for last weekend's athletics so will try and watch that later. GP from Glasgow on BBC this Sunday
Short run for me this morning, dry and cold wind but roads are dry so no worry about ice.
Shades - Glad you found some catch up programmes for the athletics.
Went for my massage yesterday.....apparently I have issues with my tibialis posterior so need to carefully manage what I do to help it heal. Can only assume the extra speedwork has caused it as I'm not running more miles than I usually would.
Big G - I just had a quick look at Malta marathon website, can't see any live tracking except the facility for you to link your race number and then when you pass one of the official photographers it will be automatically updated to your FB page with performance stats if you want. If you choose to do this you might want to follow the advice about smiling when you run a marathon
I know you put an elevation pic up earlier in the week, race info says overall drop is 200m for the race, is that an allowable drop, not sure.
Shades - I don't understand.. why do you need a bigger heel drop for a race and how do you know you need one? To be honest I don't know what the heel drop is for any of my shoes
Another forest run this morning but not as good as yesterday. I felt tired and things were compounded by the state of some of the paths. They are in the middle of chopping some trees down and have these enormous machines (not sure what they're called) which have churned up all the mud. It has frozen overnight as well so bits you think look solid are not and I ended up sinking a few times. Anyway, home now and poached egg on toast has gone some way to making me feel better.
Start practising that grin Big G!
Here are your Bondi shoes, if you scroll down the drop is 4 mm
https://runrepeat.com/hoka-one-one-bondi-5
Adjusting to varying drop is really down to what you're used to and also the way that you run, it's not a good or a bad thing, just needs to be suited to your own style. If I run too long in my Hokas I can feel my calf muscles tightening a bit having to work harder.
Shades - Yes, nothing on the plan (except 2 miles at goal race pace next week), but happy to ditch that and just run easy. Need to do some heel drops to strengthen calves and apply ice, will foam roll calves too as that can help.
Interesting about drop, Shades. My Frees are 4mm - that's what I've been using for years. I'm used to them but my calves are always, always tight. I do wonder how much difference the Zoom Flys will make. I think they'll end up being my marathon shoes. I'm going to parkrun in them tomorrow - I'm keen to see how if they make a difference at speed.
mamafox, no two ways about it, foam rolling (if you have a hard roller) is uncomfortable. I have a number of different balls I use for other spots too, where the foam roller is too big to get deep into the muscle. A hockey ball is what I use for my butt.
As for Charlie, I bet he'd sort the mice out, but I don't think my neighbours would be happy about a small barky dog in my flat!
Big G, that looks gorgeous. I've never been to Malta, but I'm quite tempted now!
I had a rest day yesterday (although I did hot pilates, which was brual as usual, so it was only a rest day from running). Six easy today. I wasn't that into it but I got it done.
Steve - Yes I have 4 kids.. but I am also a wuss. I think I am the only person on here who is incapable of doing a Shades recovery run because it hurts too much
Cal - Charlie only barks when he is chasing something or when someone big and scary comes to the door. Come to think of it he is a bit of a wuss too.
Went and picked my number and shirt up last night, from a very posh hotel. No expo, so I was in and out in 2mins. Far different to Munich where there was an annoying one way system around the expo!
There's a booklet in the bag, and everyone who registered before 31st Jan is listed, which is a nice touch. From a quick look it seems the Half is about two or three times more popular than the full marathon.
Shades, I think it counts for gfa, not that I'm going to get that time!! For world records it's a 1m drop per 1km so this is inside that. It wouldn't count as a world record though as I think the start and finish are too far apart as the crow flies. It definitely counts for 100MC purposes though.
Cal - what drop are your new shoes?
I really do notice the difference if I run further than 10/12 miles in my lower drop shoes, not pain but a feeling of tiredness and a bit of tightness in the calf muscles. I always make sure the following day I go back to a higher drop shoe.
mamafox - that is my favourite shoe website, lots of info. If you select a certain shoe and then scroll to the bottom it does suggest the nearest alternative models that have similar characteristics which I do find helpful too if I'm looking for an alternative training shoe. I've used the price watch too and they email you when the price drops below the current price, managed to pick up a couple of pairs of my Guides that way.
Big G - I know it counts as an 100MC marathon, they're not concerned about drop, and the 100MC wouldn't be there if it didn't count. I'm sure it counts for GFA.
If for world records it's 1m per km as allowable then at 200m it's way outside! I don't know about the distance start/finish, what an earth difference would that make?
Emmy - oh, I remember you had a horrible day there
Jelly- sorry to hear that, that is one of the downsides to passive smoking. I am not a smoker so my O/H would never smoke in front of me even going outside at home to smoke.
Bad news I've had to cancel my Berlin marathon due to my work changing my holidays therefore they won't allow me time off for it. So have lost my deposit.
20 miles today a little overnight frost but thankfully no wind. Was a really good run as I learned a lot in terms of pace and more importantly I know I'm not eating properly to fuel my runing. So it was a good learning run.
Shades-She's doing really well,hopefully she keeps going.
Steve-That looks a brilliant run by you,pace was really consistent,what time are you aiming for next as that looks like 3.15-3.20 training pace.
No running here,stupid exercise instead as I want to run tomorrow and don't want to do 4 on the run.
Steven, that's really not great about Berlin! Can your work just change your holiday like that? Well obviously they can, but that's really rubbish.
It's been a bit of a washout here today so I didn't do what I had planned, which was go to a beach on the North West of the island. I still had a nice day going to museums etc, and managed to avoid most of the downpours. It did ease late afternoon, so I got a 6-miler in again at a nice an easy pace. I may do 3ish in the morning, before going out sightseeing again but I'll see. The forecast on various sites looks to be improving again for Saturday and Sunday.
On race day, I'm getting an organised coach to the start, which leaves promptly at 6am. It's a 10min walk away so i think I'm doing to have to set the alarm for 4:00am or something like that! The hotel are putting a light breakfast on of croissants and cereal, so I may grab some of that too.
Big G- to be fair to my work they wouldn't normally change our holidays however our work has went through a massive change in working practices lately so I suppose it's just one of those things. I will just need to find another marathon for my new dates next January.
Shades - 10mm.
steven - oh that is bad news about Berlin marathon. Was that because you had booked the marathon before work rotas were completed? I hope you can find an alternative marathon to do that fits in with your work schedule. If you want a bit of warmth and a very fast race Dubai marathon is in January.
With shift work it's even harder to get your food intake right for running. Well done getting out in this cold weather for 20 miles. Being able to run the whole distance at a consistent pace shows you that your training is going well
Ian - exercises just don't cut it do they, it's not running
Big G - that's a fairly early start for you on race day. Good that the hotel are doing an early breakfast for runners. The one good thing about early starts and getting a coach to the start is that runners naturally build a great camaraderie pre race and that can be more relaxing than just arriving independently at the start. Loch Ness and Connemara have coaches to the start.
Cal - will be interesting to see if the higher drop in your new shoes is kinder to your calf muscles.
Just waiting for 7 a.m. Pilates booking frenzy then I can get out for my run. I've stuck my head out the window and cold wind again, I won't be doing any long runs in this weather