Shades Marathon Training

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  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Bushy's a bit better at handling numbers - Tooting is very congsted with 600 and we regularly get above that now. Had over 900 in January, which is why I don't do it any more. It was nice to go to a parkrun with normal numbers today (338) - Raphael in East London. It's not what you'd call hilly but not flat either - there's a nasty short but sharp climb on each lap (two and a half laps, all of which include it) so I was pretty content to get 25:17 and age group 1st. Achilles didn't like the hill, though, so I've been icing it since I got home. I'd be doing a lot of rolling today.
    Incidentally, Bushy corrected my time so it's now 25:16, which I'm happy about as it's my fastest time this year.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    edited March 2019
    Big G - that is a big parkrun, must be a sizeable park/venue.

    Hope your marathon goes well today.

    Good luck today to all racing.

    Cal - hope that achilles has calmed down for your race today.

    Robert - enjoy the pacing too.


    Am delaying my run as we gale force winds here at the moment, with massive gusts which sound/look quite scary. 
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Shades, that Trotters hill session is going up and down Buckland Hill...

    Yeah, the parkrun was in the middle of a big common area. The majority on tarmac, but it was cramped in some areas.

    Had a great day yesterday and didn’t really want to leave the party but I left at around 11:30 in the end. Woke up tired but I got to Dorney ok, and although it’s currently dry there is a very strong wind. The nature of the course means that the outward leg will probably be ok, but the return leg could be quite hard to run in I think. I’m not in anyway going for a time. Plan is to go off steady and assess how I feel as I get into the race, and I’ll probably know a bit more about the conditions of the course after the first lap!!  After last week, I just would really like to have a ‘good race’, and by that I mean feel quite strong at the end, so we’ll see what I feel like at the end. 

    Not sure what to wear actually. It’s 10deg so I usually would be totally fine in a shirt or vest, but if the wind is strong and I have to walk into the head wind I could get cold I suppose. I’m going to start in just a shirt and see how I get on as I can always put a top on if I need to. 
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - I don't know Buckland Hill, at Buckland I assume ;) 

    Sorry to hear it's windy there in Windsor too.   At least you can leave a jacket/warmer top at the check point should you need it.  I hope you get a bit of shelter. 

    It's not that cold here but the wind is still fierce, mostly gusts.   I've ditched my run for the day as it doesn't seem to be easing and not due to calm down until late afternoon.   I'm not that bothered about missing a run as I have a 20 mile race on Saturday.

    Spending the time booking final details of my trip to Connemara next month. :)  
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    edited March 2019
    Big G-Hope today goes well.
    Cal-Good luck at London.
    Shades-Weather wasn't too bad here this morning,due to pick up later.
    Chester 10k today,not ideal marathon training but with work sponsoring it i'd agreed to do it a long time ago.nice out and back course with a loop at 1 end,same people who do the full so well organised,went off a little fast but it was downhill so ok,managed to settle into a good rythym and came up the last hill on for a good pb,didn't slow too much and finished in 38:23,a 50sec pb,not ran one since June so was hoping for a nice jump,also a new wava pb of 77.48%
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Ian - great result for you today especially as you've been ill and that's a significant PB for a 10k.  Superb WAVA too.

    You were lucky with the weather, I watched the Big Half and it was so windy there they cancelled one of the shorter events and the festival that was to be in Greenwich park, health and safety reasons.

    I hope that's given you an extra boost of confidence re your marathon plans.😊
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Shades-We got very lucky,it's currently hailing and bad winds.Its given me a decent boost that the speed is there,but just hoping the endurance comes with it after nearly 2 weeks off.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Ian - you'd lose speed much quicker than you would endurance due to a period of illness. 
     I know you're going for a shorter taper but don't be tempted to squeeze in a late long run. Long runs take about 3 weeks to have a training effect. If you want to keep the mileage highish put in a couple of doubles.

    Sun is out here now, still windy though.
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Shades-I was thinking of 20 next week and 20 the week after but that's 13 days before the race,would you say the second one is too close then?if so how long is the longest you would suggest for it?
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Ian - the 2nd one is a bit close to have any effect on your Manchester race.  Maybe drop it to 15/16ish.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Ian, well done on another PB. I keep on saying it and I’m sounding repetitive, but it bodes really well. 

    Shades, I just checked and it’s actually called Chichester Way and leads into Drake Road and then Haytor Drive. I thought it was called Buckland Hill as that’s what we all call it at Trotters :)

    Race went well today in terms of feeling good for the majority of the race. The wind was strong and in fact I did wear a long sleeved top and wore it all race - I rarely do that, but the wind was chilly so it was the right decision in the end. It was very bad in parts (it felt like it was almost knocking me back at one point of the course) but it wasn’t that strong for the whole race - I’d say that the middle 3 or 4 laps of the 10 were mainly runnable. 

    I started off really steady and went through half in 1:55 feeling good, and ended up finishing in 3:53ish. I did fade a bit at the end, but really that was because I knew sub-4 was comfortably in the bag. 

    Not a great time for me by any means but that wasn’t the point today - I felt good physically and mentally, which was the main objective after last week. After a busy week (for me) and a full on weekend I’m quite pleased with it really. 

  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - I don't usually run that side of Penn Inn but there must be some decent hills there and I guess little traffic in the evening.

    Well done today, that's a good race especially as you've been working hard all week and some challenging conditions.  Hope that's shown that last weekend''s race was just a bad day at the office.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Thanks Shades, yes it felt much better compared to last week any way.

    Official result is 3:52:41....which incidentally matches my course best to the second!  
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Ian that's ace, well done!
    And well done Big G!
    Today's race was, well, challenging. The wind wasn't constant but when it came, it was strong. Running into it, it felt like a brick wall. But when it hit me from behind I felt as though I was going to be pushed over and that made me slam on the anchors.
    I started OK but, like last year, my Garmin went nuts in Canary Wharf, and decided I'd run a 6:38 mile. After that, the mile beeps were a good quarter of mile (maybe more) from each mile marker so it became really hard to judge my pace.
    And at the end of the day, I wasn't feeling it either. I felt a lot more tired than in the last two halves and I ached a lot more afterwards (still do). The achilles was not too bad, though - definitely there, but it hurt more at parkrun yesterday.
    My time was :1:55:44, which is two minutes slower than Hampton Court.  So yes, I'm a little disappointed, but I'm reminding myself it's still a minute quicker than the PB I had at the start of the year, and given the conditions and my niggles, I probably shouldn't beat myself up about it.
    Oh and I didn't get to see Mo and co (though I did see the wheelchair athletes). As I started in an earlier wave, I went into the tunnel before the elites came through. Ah well. He won, so that's good.
  • Big G well done, decorating is tough work and wasn't the greatest of conditions today, good news that it felt good too!

    Ian brilliant stuff from yourself! Looks like you've decided MK is a no however I ran it in 2017 and would recommend it as a fast flat course.  As Big G people moan that it's up and down dual carriageways then by canals, housing estates and parks but it's Milton Keynes theres not much there.  I only missed my PB by a minute due to cramp in the final 2 miles.   

    In regards to the London Marathon debate my view was if felt warmer than 23 degrees marshalling and think it was just the shock as a few weeks earlier all our races were snowed off.  Tom Williams makes a mockery of people calling it hot.  He is right describing it as warm and it's probably either ill-informed runners not knowing to re asses your goals or idiots that thought they could run at the same pace regardless (I usually fall in the later).

    Today I had a practice run at Cambridge Boundary Run, stuck to the half and the plan was 2.15 in prep for LLHM in 2 weeks.  Finished in 2.14.36 so happy with that effort.  Really enjoyed the run, mixed terrain, different views even had us running through Sainsburys car park! race measured short so just ran the rest of the distance.   There was a small part of me that wanted to carry on and do the full but was sensible.

    Foot was okay but a bit of pain now and hobbling but have the confidence for 2 weeks time.

    Also started Jury service last monday, got myself a case that will last between 4 to 6 weeks! Joy!!!
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    edited March 2019
    Big G-Thats great that you had a good race and are happy with it,puts last week's demons to bed.
    Cal-well done a good time,2 months ago you'd have been delighted with that.
    Rob-I'd do MK if I need it and they extend the deadline,brilliant pacing there,must be hard to pace at a pace that's not usual for you to run at.
    Shades-Thanks for that,I'll shorten the run a bit,only 4 weeks to go now.
    Looking at my Strava I got a mile pb of 5.56 and 5k was 18.55,which suggests my 18.50 pb might now be a bit soft.
  • Cal, thats not a bad performance on a course thats not that quick!  

    Ian, I'm just glad to be running and pacing LLHM gives me a reason to be running slow so not too bad, a few of my splits where all over the place but had to wait for a few lights to turn green which wont happen on the day.  We have been told that we need to be 1 second under our times, no pressure then!!!!

    Not decided what I'll try running after LLHM or just try resting again
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Well done Robert, good result!
    Ian, blimey!
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Cal - well done, that's a great result in trying conditions.  Your race times are very consistent, you should be very pleased with that.   In windy conditions we instinctively battle against the wind and run at a much higher effort than usual and it's exhausting, I'm not surprised you feel more tired after this race.  Achilles behaving itself is a bonus.
    I saw in the TV coverage a long tunnel that the runners went through, I guess that screwed up your Garmin too.

    Robert - great that you ran the half at Cambridge Boundary, must have felt good to be back out.   Good pacing too, that can't be easy on mixed terrain.   Hope the foot eases quickly.

    I'm glad you're doing your duty for the justice system, wondered where you were last week, but don't they allow forum time?  ;)   I bet your employers aren't thrilled about the 4-6 weeks.

    Ian - more PB's to do :) 

    Windy and cold this morning, nothing like as windy as yesterday but enough to be challenging in a few places.   Had a good run though, so nice to be able to get off the main roads now that it's getting so much lighter, 6 miles done.   We've got more gales forecast for tomorrow morning, hope I can still run.  I want to do a Hadd test this week so hope Thursday morning will be calm.
  • Shades is bright an sunny here and little breezy, I was tempted to get up and do a few miles.  Worked weren't overly impressed and has come at a bad time as I have applied for an 18 month secondment project and that starts 1st week of April.  

    The Jury service will impact on my training, transport is an hourly bus, I have to get the bus that gets me there an hour earlier as I can't risk being late.  My gym is 10 miles away from home (15 from the court) and I'm not running much at the moment.

    On the plus side, last night my foot was sore so tried a few stretches to ease it, went to bed and thought I wouldnt be able to walk this morning but strangely could run the half again!  Not counting my chickens, this PF stuff messes with your head!
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Cal, sounds like you had a good race, especially with the windy conditions etc.  Unfortunately, we can't PB all the time.

    Ian, you'll have to break your other PBs now to bring them all in line :)

    Robert, bad news it's come at the wrong time.  Sounds like it's going to be hard to it training etc in :(  

    Shades, RK did his first 100-miler on the weekend.  I think he found it pretty tough (unsurprisingly!) but he did it in 29:41 so good on him for finishing.  He did the SVN one and conditions sounded pretty crap for a lot of it.  Smokes went up and ran with him for a few (i.e, about 40) miles, I believe.

    I did a 3-mile recovery run this, which was very slow/achey.  Often on these I don't feel too bad, but today's was a struggle for some reason.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Thanks folks. I feel a bit better about it this morning. Mo was 2 minutes outside his PB too. :D I think I was just feeling a bit left out as quite a few people in my club and in the Facebook groups I'm in got PBs, but then I realise a lot of them won't have done two halves this year already.
    And Shades, you're right about the wind. My back was acheing something fierce after and this morning so I must have been bracing myself a lot more than I realised. And overall, I am a lot more sore. Not quite marathon sore, but a lot more sore than after most halves.
    Today's a rest day but I'm off to see Captain Marvel so I'm going to walk to Waterloo and get some blood into my legs.
  • 1SteveMac1SteveMac ✭✭✭
    Ian - Superb PB, I'd say you could run low 18s for 5k after that 10k time. You must be confident of going sub 3 at Manchester?
    Big G - Congrats on another marathon.
    Cal - Well done at Big Half if those conditions.
    15 miles on Saturday, then Sunday was a  3 mile recovery in the Vaporflys after a 90 minute cycle.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Cal, I'm wondering if the wind knocked me about a bit more than I had thought as my run this morning was comparatively poor.  It's always hard to know what to do - to keep battling through it, or purposefully slow down to conserve energy a bit.  Yesterday I did a mixture of both....

    Well done Steve.  Building the miles nicely.

    I'm not sure what to do at the moment as Trotters are booking up to go to Valencia later this year as it's the club trip.  I'm in two minds but need to make my mind up as I expect flight prices will only go in one direction, and that's up.  OH isn't keen and these days as I'm not boozing even I'm not quite so keen, so I'm 50/50 at the moment.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Robert - maybe your jury service will be your PF cure as you just aren't able to train as much as you'd like, so could be a blessing in disguise.  That is positive news that your foot seems to have recovered from yesterdays race.    Not much you can do about your work situation.  

    Cal - you've already done 2 good half PB's this year, I doubt your fellow club runners have done that.  Running in the wind makes us tense our muscles especially shoulders and core, it's unavoidable we do it without realising at the time.

    When is your appointment with the biomechanics specialist?

    Big G - I can't think of a worse place to do a 100 miler, very windy and I believe not a nice course of 3 mile loops, but generous time limit.  Each to their own! :/ 

    I expect you too are suffering from running in the windy conditions yesterday.

    Re Valencia, maybe just travel with them but stay a decent distance away and skip some (or all) of the social stuff.   I haven't been to Valencia but it's a big city isn't it?   But if OH isn't keen then maybe you two go somewhere else and do Valencia another year.   I think OH might like Florence if you want a race late in the year, lovely marathon, last Sunday in November and fly to Florence or Pisa. 
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Shades, she is very, very keen on Florence.....but it clashes with the John Scott Trophy which I'm the RD for (I use RD in the loosest sense as it's just a Trotter-only event).  It's a shame it's clashed as I think we'd definitely have gone this year, and then Valencia would be a definite no, which would make it an easy decision.  Last year I just did the handicaps for JST, but this year I'm doing the other bits and pieces needed too (sorting out the few marshals needed, photos, time keeping, the social afterwards, wherever else is required).  I have suggested we just stay somewhere on our own for Valencia, but she's still not keen at least partly as she's currently working that weekend so would need to sort time off or swap the weekend.  I can still go if I want but I'd have to share with someone else, and I think the person I would probably end up sharing with is a massive boozer....the same person I shared with in Munich.  She is also very keen on Istanbul, but I'm not so sure of that one for some reason although I do like the idea of running through two continents.  The main one she seems to be pushing heavily is Two Oceans, which suits me just fine but it's also dependent on costs/funds, which I am keeping a close eye on - basically if the flights end up being reasonable, we're going!  Two Oceans for me is probably at the top of my event list.  I know Comrades is the main one in that part of the world, but it feels too far for me to be enjoyable (87km), whereas Two Oceans looks fantastic whilst still being an achievable distance for me (56km).  I think I'd be worrying about Comrades which would possibly impact my enjoyment for the rest of the trip, whereas Two Oceans, whilst still be challenging, is doable for me.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - as RD can you pull rank and change the date of the John Scott Trophy, it's only open to club runners isn't it, so no permit to amend?

    Two Oceans would be my choice too for SA.   


  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Steve-think you missed a number off there,be really happy with sub 3:08.
    Cal/Big G-I remember having a tough run the day after wirral half which was really windy so definitely something in it.
    Rob-Is the court not bikeable to? Can't remember if you have a bike though.

  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    edited March 2019
    Shades, I was tempted to pull rank, but with my Club Champs hat on there wasn't really another weekend that we could do it (JST is part of the Club Champs).  We combine the event with an Xmas pressie event, so it couldn't be much earlier in the month.  Also it couldn't be much later as the Club Champs is a big part of the awards night which is happening mid-December and things need to be ordered/finalised in time for that.  Edit, but correct, there's no permit or anything needed.
  • 1SteveMac1SteveMac ✭✭✭
    Ian - No, I'm sure Shades will back me up that your 10k time indicates sub 3!! But yeah, 3:08 would be a nice PB for you too.
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