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Shades Marathon Training
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Just be grateful that the HE don't actually write the article, that's not within their capabilities
John - ouch that does looks painful.
I don't use compression socks/guards as I wear compression tights but lots of runners do and they say they do help. They won't necessarily prevent an injury but they do offer extra support to the calf muscles and are certainly worth trying.
Keith - 'heavy' snow in London will be nothing for you hardened by living up north
Cal - sensible that they cancelled the parkruns, this is not the weather for marshals to stand around.
I guess a lot of runners won't be able to get to the Big Half which will be a shame. One of our club runners is doing it but at the moment there are no London trains, the Dawlish sea wall is being repaired (again) and last night the roads were blocked, with another pile up but I guess he'll find a way to get there today.
I've loved having the snow but once it freezes and becomes a problem I just want it gone, I didn't go out yesterday but was entertained by folk trying to walk down our road which is only a gentle hill. No car has got in or out of our car park since Thursday lunchtime. But this morning it's now raining gently and it's melting the snow, I stuck my head out the window and it feels a lot warmer. it's about +4 degrees I think, and feels positively balmy. I'm starting to get stir crazy from not running but I think I might wait until tomorrow as I can't tell what's frozen and what's not.
But it's been good to see folk being kind and helping each other in this weather. One guy in our running club has put up his mobile number on our FB group page and we can call him if any of us get stuck in the ice/snow as he has a Land Rover.
The roads around are much better and I went over to my friend's early this morning, in Paignton. Her landlord can't get a plumber out today, so (with his permission) I went over to put a couple of valves in to isolate the boiler, so at least she can now use the loo and shower! However, driving up Hamlin Way (which is a steep hill, but a main road/due carriage way) there was a very large line of abandoned cars, from the bottom to the top. It seems a lot of people probably had a long walk to where ever they were going, as there are very few houses around there.
Having not run since Monday, I'm a bit concerned about how that will affect me but hopefully I'll be fine. I did some yoga today and hope that will have loostened me up a bit.
Some folks from my club went and swam in Brockwell Lido (which is not heated) this morning - not all were in wetsuits, either. Absolute nutters!
I still think there are some problems on the roads and today it's black ice after the start of the thaw. Even though the temperature is above freezing now not all of the ground has warmed up and parts are still frozen. Not worth the risk.
Keith - hope you don't spend all day on the train and get home safely
Cal - running a virtual race to get a medal is no substitute for a race. I would be insulted if that was offered to me. What use is a medal for a race you didn't run. They should offer them a place in next year's race at say half price.
Good luck to all racing today.
I've got cabin fever too, leapt out of bed this morning and am dressed ready for my run, haven't run for 3 days. I need to go out early as the pavements still have snow and are frozen but I can run on the roads where the cars have been as that is OK. Yesterday pedestrians were choosing to walk in the middle of our road as the pavements were too slippery. I saw a little old woman clutching her shopping bag determined that she wasn't going to risk the ice and the traffic had to stop while she walked safely down the middle of the road, the cars waited patiently for her.
Apparently there is a half marathon in london today according to the news too. I'll aim for food noonish then as it usually only takes 3-4 hours to go around the zoo i would imagine i'd be back and capable of getting the 3:28 train which in theory means instead of getting home 10pm i would get home 7pm instead. Plenty early enough to drive home home too. Only drawback is seating on train
However, I expect all goodwill will be absent this morning at the supermarkets, there's far more traffic out than normal and someone told me they've all set off early to queue at the shops to make sure they get bread and milk etc as they all think they're going to starve.
Good that your friend is getting a replacement boiler rather than a repair.
I didn't have a good run, went down Brunel and the water is the highest I've ever seen it at the Quay, flooded into edge of road and still rising. Flooding under the railway bridge on the path to Kingsteignton turned me back so I did a loop of Brunel then headed down your way and was fine until near the café and pavements all icy. Quite a few cars around so not so easy to run on the road so turned back. By Sainsbury's at Penn Inn I thought the pavements would be clear there and had to stop 7 or 8 times to negotiate the ice. It's windy too but the wind is warm which feels so nice compared to what we've had, sunny when I went out, sleet when I came home. Anyway a short run done.
Keith - I would imagine the trains will be full of smelly runners after today's race in London.
Funny how they just don't want to acknowledge that slowing down their long run/easy training pace is such a huge factor in successful marathon running. I'm sure if you told them the opposite and they needed to train faster they would actually go out and do that.
Right I'm off to catch up on last nights athletics, so pleased that Laura Muir has bagged herself 2 medals now.
John-Hope that heals quickly as it looks a bad one.
Sorry for everyone who had their races cancelled this weekend.
Flew to fuerteventura yesterday,90 min delay sat on the tarmac then a slow flight against the wind meant 6 hours sat on a plane,not ideal but at least we got away.
Easy 5.5 miles with the wife this afternoon,will try 1 faster run this week to see how to pace the half on Sunday.
It's an excellent race, but then you'd expect that from the folks who oranise the London Marathon. Everything was pretty slick (aside for the long wait for results - but then they had 15,000 runners so I will give them a pass).
Wore the new shoes, compression tights, a thermal top and club vest. Initially, as the sun was out to start with, I got rather warm, but then it got a bit blowly and grey and I was glad of it. I noticed even Mo dressed sensibly in arm warmers, long shorts and a hat, unlike most of the elite. Didn't seem to hurt him though since he won.
The course is essentially the first half of the London course, run in reverse. The scenery wasn't all that exciting, aside from the run over Tower Bridge. I used to work around London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the 90s and I'm amazed how much it has changed, with so many new buildings and shops and eateries. It's rather nice.
My plan was to follow the 2 hour pacer but he was in the wave behind me so I didn't get the chance and had to make my own way. Lower legs didn't give me any trouble - I guess they appreciated the 10mm drop on the Zoom Flys.
The shoes were good in some ways, not in others. There were a couple of little downhill bits (one into a long tunnel) and I had to steady myself (actually flailed my arms as one slope took me by surprise!) as they're designed to roll you forward and, being a bit dyspraxic, I felt quite unsteady. The other not good thing is that they're even harder on the balls of my feet than my Frees. My feet hurt quite a bit during the last few miles so I may need to rethink them as a marathon shoe, or else look into gel inserts or something. On the plus side, I do feel as though I run quite well in them, and the achilles tabs didn't bother me as I taped myself up.
My Garmin did get a bit confused with the long tunnel and then the tall buildings in Canary Wharf, and to make matters worse I accidentally hit pause at one point when pushing my sleeves up. I got it going again but I had no idea of my actual time when I finished. Watch said 1:57:40 which would have been tremendous, but with the pause it had to be slower. The official result was 1:59:35 - not quite as awesome but still a sub-2, which was what I hoped for, so I'm not disappointed.
I definitely did a positive split as I started to tire a bit after half way - most of the miles were just under or just over 9mm pace. (I have one that was 8:30 but pretty sure that's the one where I paused my watch).
Very nice medal and shirt but only one nut bar to eat, which is a bit crap as I was starving! Fortunately it wasn't a long journey home.
The awful thing is that I was looking forward to a nice hot bath, but a burst water main down the road means I have no water. I had to go to Sainsbury's to buy drinking water (which was mostly sold out - I had to get a pack of small bottles rather than the big jug I'd hoped for) and attend to my hygiene with a wet wipe. Not ideal. I hope it's back on soon. I'd also wanted to clean the shoes as they're now filthy. Ah well.
It will be a very busy week for you.
Ian - have a lovely holiday. You didn't mention the achilles, I hope that's because it's not bothering you.
Cal - well done that's a great time for your half yesterday. Annoying about the lack of water when you got home, hope it's back on now.
You do have a bit of a dilemma now about your shoes. Maybe you need to try a long run in the new shoes and then make a decision. It might be you go back to your usual shoes for the marathon and then for the future look for a shoe that combines the best of both of your shoes.
Chilly this morning but no ice. Pavements and roads are clear of snow now, just the odd patch and still lying in gardens etc. Back to Yogalates today.
I just read about the death of Roger Bannister, a legend from the days when sport wasn’t driven by money. Then I read a quite disturbing article which casts some doubts about 3 major names in British sport, Bradley Wiggins, Seb Coe and Mo Farah, really sad that athletics can’t seem to get away from one controversy after another. It’s currently on the BBC website.
Shades-sounds lime the weather is improving by you,hopefully a good week ahead.
The achilles doesn't bother me when running now,just when I finish it's a bit tender and when I touch it so it's still there but improving.
I have been out for a 4 mile recovery run, though. Quite nice out there - enjoyed it. Ball of my left foot is sore. It's not PF or anything - I think I just don't have much fat there (apparently the fat pads in the feet are subject to ageing too). I was blaming my shoes after my last marathon but I think the problem is my feet!
Ian, enjoy your holiday and running in the warmer climes.
Jugula, it's very depressing reading. Over the years, I've been a fan of Brailsford and Team Sky - I guess I believed/hoped that they were clean, and believed they were changing the sport, which lets's face it has had a chequered history! And maybe they are changing the sport in that they're not doing an active drugs programme or anything, but when you listen carefully to what Brailsford says he says things like "we haven't failed a test" which is not the same as stating "we are clean". When you hear him talk about "marginal gains", to me that has come to mean "pushing the boundaries of what is legal". The issue with cycling especially it seems to me is that there are so many rules that the teams push the boundaries (from clothing, bikes, tyres etc, and on to legal drugs). To the letter of the law maybe they're not breaking any rule, but in the spirit of fair competition it just seems dodgy to the average sports fan (i.e., me). And for a team such as Team Sky, which on the face of it seems to be a very professional outfit, to be so lax in their record keeping for drugs administration it raises eyebrows at the very least.
And then even at the Winter Olympics you have this situation where a whole country is being represented under a new flag, and some people in that new team have dubious pasts in some cases, and a small number of that new team getting busted for drugs at the Olympics. The whole thing is a mess, and unfortunately it just seems to me that the ones that are caught are unlucky - you get the impression that it's rife in certain countries. Of course I feel sorry for the people in that new team who are genuinely clean, but at the same time just scratching under the surface there was basically a state sponsored drug programme in that country (and they are probably not the only country). If you haven't seen the Netflix film "Icarus" check it out - it's a total eyeopener, if very depressing.
But yes, Bannister is a legend and his name will be forever remembered and associated with his great achievement. It's still fascinating though that once he broke that barrier, lots of others then followed. It's almost like it was a mental barrier and when athletes knew it was possible, a relatively large number then did it too (plus I am not entirely sure how popular racing a 1-mile event was - it may be it grew in popularity after Bannister? Not sure). It makes me wonder if we'll see similar in the marathon if/when there is ever a sub-2. Here is a list of 4min milers - there was Bannister and one other in 1954, three people in 55, five in 56. http://www.nuts.org.uk/sub-4/sub4-dat.htm
Ian - while you're sunning yourself all is back to normal here in Devon.
That's good about the achilles.
Cal - thank heavens for wipes. Hope you get your water supply restored soon.
Maybe next time you need a shoe with more forefoot cushioning. Great news that you're now doing recovery runs too
Big G/Jugula - yes depressing reading. Winning shouldn't be about cheating or getting as close to cheating and getting away with it.
I'm shocked at UKA, failing to record an injection that Mo Farah had pre his London marathon. If I was an elite athlete I would want to see evidence that all injections/supplements had been listed on record. I do think the athletes should be taking more responsibility too, they are at the mercy of crooked coaches and poor administration if they're dealing with UKA and therefore should ensure that their medical records are correct and scrutinise them on a regular basis.
Ian - Enjoy the warmer weather!
So Bath half was cancelled on Friday afternoon, I'm gutted, but it was the right decision, the roads by me were in a bad state on Thursday, it took me 45 minutes to get less than 5 miles home. It's a shame I can't see what the result of 12 weeks HM training would have been, but the training is done, so I can always run another race. Might do Parkrun this weekend if the weather is OK.
Did a 10k with the GF on Saturday as she was meant to do 8 miles as part of her HM training, so we ran together at her pace to get some miles done in the snow. Was going to do more miles on Sunday, but woke up and really couldn't be bothered, so had a rest day and only 25 miles for the week. Going to start ultra training earlier than planned.
Steve - such a shame about Bath after your careful preparation. At least you're getting a full refund. Any chance of finding another half soon? Taunton Half 8th April still has places, it's slightly undulating but a good PB course https://www.fullonsport.com/event/taunton-half-marathon-2018/profile
I went out to do 10-miles this morning. The weather was okay when I went out, but it started raining and it was a cold wind which I wasn't really dressed for, so I cut it short to 6.