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Shades Marathon Training
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201 entrants as of this morning and having resisted for years, Chair's saying he should have gone online years ago! Who'd have thought it!
I have a pacing role today at parkrun, but looking out the window I'm wishing I could have stayed in bed. They've struggled with volunteers because of the rugby, but I'll just come back and watch it on ITV+1 (making sure that I've turned my phone off too as the BBC app has a habit of displaying notifications about the matches!). 27-min pacer which I'm a bit nervous about - it's going to be windy on the open velopark, and very muddy for a stretch, so hopefully I can keep a relatively even pace.
Big G - I bet Chair has loved watching the entries come in, next year he might open at a daft time like 3 a.m. just to see how many enter at that time. It'll be full in a day or less.
Hope your pacing went OK. I went out as I needed a few things not available from my usual food shop, horrendous weather. Nearly got blown away literally at Sainsburys and then drove through a lot of water to Kingsteignton. Now it's all calm again, if I'd known it was just a passing storm I would have gone out later. But the shops were quiet due to the weather and the rugby.
We are definitely going to have wet feet tomorrow at the Cornish, can't see the road by the river having cleared of water by then.
I hear that part of the Cornish route is flooded but if it's still flooded tomorrow they apparently have a contingency plan. I guess whatever they do we'll end up with wet feet again.
Looking closer at my splits from today, I'm quite pleased with that although first mile was a few seconds too quick. 8:41min/miles gives 26:59, so I had planned to do 8:30s on the tarmac knowing the last bit would be challenging underfoot and I did go through 2 miles in 17-minutes dead, so I was bang on at that point. Splits ended up being 8:26 (tarmac), 8:34 (tarmac), 8:42 (a bit of this is off road hence slower), but then the last bit (ankle deep) was 7:15 pace as I was looking at the watch making sure I got under. Room for improvement and although I was running well within myself, it was challenging conditions. I did really enjoy it though and would do that role again. Maybe 25-min pacer next time if that position is available.
Nice one, Big G.
Rested yesterday then went to Ifield Mill Pond parkrun today. It's near Crawley so a couple of trains to get to it, but I wanted my letter "I" for the parkrun alphabet. Anyway, when I was waiting for the train at Clapham Junction, I saw a guy in a cow cowl so I went and said hello. His name was Luke and he was going to Ifield as well so we travelled together. Unfortunately the train was late which meant missing our connection at Crawley so we shared a taxi from Three Bridges. Glad I met him as it would have been a stressful trip otherwise, since I don't use a phone to check on things like connections.
Got to the venue in plenty of time so I managed my usual mile warm-up. At this point the heavens opened and the wind picked up.
The course is flat and paved, but it's a complicated three lapper - first you do an out and back, then do a loop, then repeat the whole thing twice more. With the wind and the rain it felt endless. I'm sure it's a lovely location when the weather's nice but I was happy to have it over with.
My pace did drop with each mile, which I'm not surprised at as this is always the case after a marathon (never mind a marathon and a cold) but I managed to sneak in under 26 minutes and it was good enough for 6th lady. One grey-haired woman came past me towards the end and I reckoned she was my age group and turns out I was right, so just missed out on an age cat 1st but hey, I'm OK with it - first post-marathon parkrun is always tricky.
After that I was soaking wet and cold. I had the foresight to put my hoody in a plastic bag but I was still cold. Luke and I decided to get a cab to Gatwick, grab a coffee there and then get the train back (he was connecting at Clapham Junction for Woking, where he lives).
I didn't feel warm until after I'd had lunch!
Achilles was fine - I think it's settled down now - but I've had a sore groin since the run. Nothing new again but I will have to keep an eye on it. I'll see how it feels in the morning and decide how far to run tomorrow.
Anyway, got my letter "I" and a new friend, so good day all things considered!
Cal - Not sure if my shoes are flyknits, guess they must be. I wore them again today and I LOVE them. My feet feel like they are wrapped in bouncy gloves. I’m not going to wear them again though, they got dirty again today.Will save them just for the races now.
Shades - Thenk you for the advice on the long run. I was just panicking as I know I haven’t done enough. I’m taking your advice and planning something shorter tomorrow.
Good luck Shades and Big G for thé Cornish. The weather forecast doesn’t sound great so take care out there!
Have a good one too Ian!
18 miles walked in the last 2 days so happy I'm not racing it tomorrow but really looking forward to it.
Cal - a good morning out for you.
Mamafox - it's too late to squeeze another long run in so enjoy a much shorter one instead.
Great that your new shoes are so comfy. Don't worry about a bit of dirt.
Big G - Just checked on FB and our race is still on but as I suspected the Fowey valley is still flooded so route is amended to out and back instead, so we'll turn back before Jamaica Inn. That takes out the flat few miles so will be a hillier course.
Beautiful morning this morning (unlike yesterday!) so got 10 miles done. Left hammy is very grumpy, though, so I will have to start taking advantage of that gym I've just joined and get it stronger.
In other news, I just entered my first ultra!
https://www.hitthetrailrunning.com/?page_id=225&fbclid=IwAR0yv13c-uH5koZtpXQcyrPCoE-3_6FfnigABgiAd3x_d_lEof60w2zVqwA
I really struggled today at Cornish. In the Race HQ and shortly before the race started I was quite warm and it was dry, so I was in a real dilemma about what to wear as the forecast showed it getting worse. I looked around and saw lots of people in shirts and vests, so I decided to just wear a shirt and didn't take a jacket. Usually this would have been fine for me, but not today.
The course was changed due to flooding and on the first significant downhill I knew I was in for a tough day as the hip wasn't right. Not especially hurting at this point but just not right, I think because of the steep downhill. In the early stages I was actually running quite well (first 10 miles or so I was quicker than when I last did it) but before halfway I was struggling, at around the same time as when the rain got progressively worse and also my hands were very cold. To be totally honest I was thinking about DNFing and jumping in a car and getting a lift back, mainly as I was getting colder as I wasn't able to run hardly at all. However, I stuck at it, and soon enough there was only 8 miles to go, and then 6, and then 4, and then it was just a hobble back by this point. The last 10 mile splits tell their own story - 10:50, 11:40, 11:30, 10:39, 14:01, 11:25, 13:36, 13:05, 13:21, 14:54. OK, it is hilly, but I would normally have been a fair bit quicker than that..
Also, I do think the course was short. The mile markers on the way back were about 1/3 of a mile out and everyone around me was saying the same, and in the end my Garmin showed 25.67 miles. It'll still count for the 100MC as I entered in good faith. I think something went wrong somewhere with the changed course, as maybe the turnaround point wasn't in the right place.
Anyway, I finished in a watch time of 4:25:51, with the second half taking me around 2.5hrs. Positives are that I quite like the hoody that was supplied and the tea and pasty went down very well indeed!
I'm a bit frustrated with this hip - 2 weeks ago I was nearly an hour quicker than this, and I was hoping for a sub-4 on this challenging course despite the route change. I can't help but keep thinking that I need a total break, but on the other hand I've got quite a lot of events booked. I think I can get around them, but being reduced to walking isn't really what I want.
Anyway, I've got back home and watching a replay of New York marathon whilst also tracking Ian.
Big G - well that was a brutal day wasn't it. You did look cold and pi$$ed off when we passed each other. I also measured the course at 25.67 miles and at the prizegiving the RD said it was short and she would get it accurately measured and then pro rata our times, in a similar fashion that Manchester did when their course was short. It will still count as a marathon as it was an emergency measure to change the course and we all ran in good faith. I don't know how my new Garmin measures a marathon under/over but I'm guessing a bit over so the course was probably short by 0.6-0.7 of a mile?
My Garmin also measured the elevation as 2130ft so that's a lot more than the usual course, the return trip was tough and that particularly long hill was punishing.
I finished in 5:09 which is better than I'd hoped, even with the short course. I had loads of clothes on, the memory of being so cold at my last marathon was still with me so when we started in the sun doing that 2 laps of the village I was hot but as soon as we climbed up onto the moor and I felt that cold wind I knew I'd made the right choice. I had my UA thermal tights and l/s thermal top, with my short sleeved club top and carried a jacket and wore thick warm gloves and a headband. The drizzle started when I got to 5 miles and progressively the rain got heavier and heavier and my hopes of keeping my feet dry only lasted until about 11 miles and a lot of surface water plus the driving rain. I put my jacket on at about 12 miles. The wind and the rain when we went past Colliford Lake was truly awful, horizontal freezing cold rain and wind almost to gale force, then we turned around and had another dose of it the other way on the return trip.
Lots of runners just wearing vests and some DNF'd due to the conditions and quite a few treated for the cold.
Pasty and tea were so very welcome, I sat with the few Trotters that were still there. One called up the DD page on FB and said only 6 places left.
Big G - how is Ian getting on, I guess he's finished now?
I too reckon Cornish was around 0.6 miles short. That rain and wind was terrible....very miserable and I had to tell myself to keep going as jumping in a car was very tempting!
I will never complain again that I find the Fowey Valley stretch tedious.
Great news about Ian, I'm looking forward to his report too.
Cal-Exciting news about the ultra,hope it's an easy one to start with.
NYC today and what an experience it was.As I'd said I had no interest in time and it was purely about enjoyment,so obviously I set off too fast
There are a few bridges and small hills but nothing too severe but it starts adding up by the end.Got to halfway as we head across to queens and realised I was on 7:30mile pace and knew it was too quick,at 16 miles is the first real hill since mile 1 and I dropped to 9 there,headed across the queens boro bridge,the bridge is eerily quiet then a wall of sound on 1st ave as we head towards the bronx,the bronx is as you picture it on tv but really encouraging,then down 5th ave and towards central park,mile 24 has the biggest hill with near enough 100ft which isn't ideal at that time,looked at my watch and seen I was on for around 3:30 so was happy with that,last couple of miles the crowd is great in the park and got home in 3:29:42.
1 week after frankfurt,18 miles of walking and completely enjoying it I'm really happy with it,even had 2 beers and a tequila shot on the way round.
Blimey Ian, that's an excellent result under the conditions - glad you had a blast. It doesn't sound like the easiest course but it does sound a bit of a party.
Cornish sounds tough, Big G and Shades...don't really envy you that one! Big G, I would definitely consider sacking off your remaining events for the year and coming back fresh and healed for 2020. Hip stuff is tricky.
Missed you at Pensilva, I sat with ST after the race, tried to persuade her to enter DD but I didn't have any luck there.
Ian- cracking report, you obviously really enjoyed yourself, all those bridges does make it a fairly challenging course for a big city marathon. The Bronx is something, so much to see on that course. I laughed at the tequila shot, might this replace your vinegar in your future races?
Big G - hope the hip isn't too sore this morning. I don't think you could expect to do such a tough course such as the Cornish without expecting some discomfort in a hip niggle/injury. Even walking up those steep hills is a lot of work for the hips.
5 miles recovery run done. My legs feel remarkably fresh, they are usually pretty trashed after the Cornish hills but I won't be smug about it until tomorrow just in case I get DOMS later today. I'm hoping the gym work has made my legs stronger, we'll see. Last night I had the best night's sleep after a marathon that I've had in years, not sure why. Rest now for the rest of the day and back to the gym tomorrow, I have nearly 5 weeks until my next race so time to ramp up the gym work.
Jelly, sorry to hear about your Mum. Take care of yourself.
Shades, it’s strange as I can walk around without too many problems, although I can feel some bruising on top of that foot. Maybe I had my laces too tight or something. I’m taking a rest day today.
Ian, great report. What were logistics like on the morning with transport etc? It’s an early start isn’t it, but I presume it all went smoothly. Where did you stay? I noticed there were mile times produced so presuming there were timing mats every mile, which I’ve not seen before. I see there was an unknown Ethiopian who came 3rd, who the commentators were saying runs for NYRR - I think he got a $40k pay day!
Your bruising on the foot probably wasn't helped by the hills and having wet feet. My feet felt a bit sore and battered last night.
Cal - I have a basic lower body routine, I'm going to ask for some alternatives at my next review as I sometimes have to wait to use the machines which I find frustrating, plus I think 2 of the exercises niggle my knees.
Anyway this is my routine, I started with 3 x 15, now on 4 x 15 increasing weights when I can, not by much so far though!
Leg Press
Squats using Smith machine
Leg Extension
Straight Leg Deadlifts - I use barbell
Hip Adductor machine - outer
Hip Adductor machine - inner
Leg Curl
Calf raises - I use Leg Press machine for these
Abdominal crunches on machine
The foot is a bit swollen across the top but not sore to touch/prod. It's a bit tender with shoes on and also when I extend the foot but hoping it'll be okay and I'm taking Ibuprofen. It feels like it's been one thing after another this year, which is very frustrating
We stayed in Manhattan,got a cheapish place,but if you're willing to travel in theres cheaper around.
I was on the american tv coverage for a few seconds so waiting to see if it ends up on youtube.
If the entry,travelling etc wasnt so expensive I'd be back here every year,maybe in a few years for my 50th birthday.
Big G & Shades - Great running as well.
Cal - Nice on the first ultra!
5 miles and strength work on Saturday and 15 miles on Sunday, didn't feel great, HR was high for the pace and didn't enjoy that one...but ticked off a 40+ mile week.
Jelly - Hope your mum recovers soon.
Ian - Fab report and it really does sound like a wonderful race. I would love to do that one day. That was a great time as well considering you were sightseeing and knocking back beer and tequila!
Cal - Wel done on entering your first ultra! Had a quick look at that link and it looks an interesting run with those castles to look at. I like the idea of doing a point to point too.
Pants running from me. I ran/walked 7k yesterday. Conditions were awful and I just wasn't feeling it. One of those things but doesn't bode too well for next weekend
On a positive note the cook is back part time (not in her happy place mind you) so I'm off the hook for December's menu planning including the dreaded Christmas meal thank God.
At the airport now ready to fly home,I've loved my time here but it's a crazy busy place,never heard as many car horns in my life and the driving is madness,now to map out next years plans.