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Shades Marathon Training
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Ian - you've obviously had an amazing time. It really is a fabulous place and especially the marathon, from the Expo to the race. I know you haven't done London but it pales into insignificance compare to NY. When I did NY it was still when I thought London was a good marathon.
I went with a sports tour company and I'm pretty sure we had a loo on our bus
Big G - in 2017 when I did Loch Ness, we were allowed to use the loo on the bus. This year I was on a double decker so no loo. Maybe it's up to the individual driver.
Steve - hope you're not coming down with a bug, or maybe it's your optical HRM giving false readings?
Cal - yes I suspected it was the leg extensions and also possibly the leg curl machine too. Doesn't hurt when I do the exercises but grumbling knees a day or two later. Last week I dropped the weights back to my starting weights on both machines and have had no problems since. I do all the exercises as slowly as possible to get maximum effect. Both of those machines I'm going to ask for alternative exercises, I think the problem is that no matter how I adjust the chair, they both feel uncomfortable for me and therefore I'm probably not doing the exercises to maximum effect.
mamafox - the Cornish marathon was amazing, tough conditions but a truly fabulous race.
Your training for Saturday is done, just look forward to the event now and enjoy it. You've trained the best you can and you're injury free.
That's great news about the cook, so I guess you're helping her just a bit now?
6 miles for me today, sharp cold wind in places but not too bad. Pilates and back to the gym today
Five recovery pace miles for me this morning. A bit stiff as I did my first yoga class in about 6 weeks yesterday. I'm mulling over whether I want to cancel my membership. One one side, I didn't really miss it at all, and it would save me a lot of money. On the other, hot yoga may well be more appealing when it gets cold, and I think it is beneficial for helping me deal with hot conditions after winter training. Hmm.
Shades, foot is actually a bit swollen across the top, but it's okay to walk. Due to that though I'm not running until Thursday (next planned marathon) just to try and give it some rest. I've been googling and I think it's the tendon to/around the big toe, and it's mentioned that tight shoes can cause the issues. I hadn't realised they were tight at the time, but it's possibly that. All my marathons of late have been pretty flat, so Cornish was probably a shock to the system in lots of ways, which may well have aggravated everything. General advice of the foot is to put my high healed shoes away...
MF, try not to worry too much about a bad run. It can happen to anyone for whatever reason. You've done some decent training, so try and get to the event and see how you get on
Steve, fingers crossed you're not coming down with something.
11 miles today, again not amazing, but better run than Sunday.
Big G-Reading back,with the miles splits it is great for a stat geek after the race,also they didn't have mats,it was a box at the side of the roads that picked up the chips.
Mama-Good news she is back,a lot quicker than last time.
Home now,so went for a 6 mile recovery run,legs didn't feel too bad before it but certainly did at the end.Very busy week in work ahead so i'm quite happy my legs are better than usual.
Tokyo will that be hot and/or humid for the marathon?
Big G- good to hear you've put the high heels away for now
Our feet were wet on Sunday, mine were cold too at times and that has a sort of numbing effect. It's a bit like suddenly finding a blister and as soon as you know it's there it starts to hurt.
How's the hip?
Good you've managed to offload the race entries.
Steve glad you're on the mend. That's a fair distance to do when not feeling 100%.
Ian - have you got jetlag? Any more races this year lined up?
You've had a great couple of weeks.
In Pilates this morning we did the whole class with a set of weights. Very light weights but after 55 minutes of holding these weights in various ways my arms were exhausted at the end, I could feel my muscles burning.
Then straight into the gym for an upper body session, I had to reduce all the weights as my arms were like jelly. Still good workout doing 2 sessions like that, will do the same on Thursday as we're going to use weights in Pilates again.
> I have prepared a training programme based on 3 runs a week with an option for a 4th run.
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> This programme is aimed at busy folk, who work, maybe have children to look after and just do not have the time to run 4-6 times a week. Ideal for first timers, or if your first marathon was a painful experience then this could be for you.
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> This is the same programme I used to coach a group of girls doing their first marathon at Dublin. They all ran well, nobody hit the 'wall' and their finishing times were from 3.44 to 5.27.
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> Email me if you'd like a copy of the programme
I might be 14 years late to the party, but are you still offering your 3-4 runs/wk marathon training plan?
Your comments on gym work remind me yet again that I really should do some strength work,the problem I have is I do it once or twice then just stop and don't do it again as I just find it boring,and would rather run a few more miles.
Ian - I expect in a couple of weeks you might feel like racing again, nice that you don't have to decide right now.
How has your achilles been for Frankfurt and NY?
I wouldn't worry about doing strength work if you're not going to do it on a regular basis. You have a fairly demanding job so it's not like you have any spare time.
Remember I have a specific goal for all this gym stuff and my diet and that is to make the DD cut offs next year.
Re DD the transfer list is up, 17 names on it already, but 2 have already had places made available. That's because there were a couple of entrants that accidentally entered twice.
Big G - that's very promising about the hip recovery.
Lots of clothes on Thursday then, is it multi laps so you can access extra kit if you want it?
In other news the OH has asked me to put together a plan for her as she's considering doing one,mentioned it a few times but this is the first she's asked to see how it looks.She's had a couple of years of doing halves and often goes to 15 miles so should be ok.
Shades, yes, it's multi-laps so I'll leave a bag with extra clothes as needed. That was the thing about Cornish because as I wasn't running much, I was getting colder and colder and getting slightly concerned, with no option for getting warmer clothes. I did see Sharon D go running past me on the route and saw she had a big hoody/jumper on. I don't know if she lives on/near the route or maybe she left something with a marshal, but when she started she was in her club kit so she got some extra clothes from somewhere. I'm afraid that I did scowl at her as she ran cheerfully past me looking quite warm - hopefully I wasn't too noticeable.
Foot is still swollen this morning but there's much more movement in it and I can walk without any issues at all. I'll just see how it is in the morning, but if it ends up being more walk than run tomorrow, I'm really not bothered on this occasion.
I know you mentioned that managing injuries is part of doing multi-marathons, but I do feel I'm pushing it a bit with this. However, if I get around tomorrow, I'm glad I will then have 3-and-a-bit weeks with no events to see if I can get a bit better for the next one. Last year was pretty good but apart from a few exceptions this year has been one to forget in terms of running/injuries. I was trying to explain to OH that I think the fitness is more-or-less there from my Berlin and Chelmsford times and I feel I have a base to work on. Certainly I'm fitter (and lighter!) now than when I did Rotterdam in April so that's encouraging, but these niggles are definitely holding me back.
Brilliant news about your OH. Don't make her train too hard for her first marathon, but if she already runs 15 miles then she's well on her way.
Cal - well lets hope it's good weather for you in Tokyo
Big G - I've done the Cornish about 15 times and know what it can be like particularly past the lake so am usually well prepared with kit. East Cornwall is SD's club so she might have even borrowed that hoodie from a marshal or friend. She probably doesn't know how close you were to mugging her for her hoodie
Good that the foot is improving. I know what you mean about sometimes just wanting a couple of weeks to clear up the niggles. Although I love doing my events I've often wished for a longer gap between events at times, but often when I have a weekend at home I wish I was doing a marathon.
I only have one marathon left this year, Davey's Xmas one on 7th Dec so now am cracking on with the gym work plus ticking over with 50mpw, but no long runs.
Circuits this morning then gym, legs today, didn't feel any residue from the Cornish so increased the weights on all of the exercises except the abdominal machine and the 2 exercises that niggle my knees I skipped completely.
Nice seeing that list,7 marathon,all under 3:30 and 4 under last years PB of 3:14.
8 miles for me this morning. A lot of niggles came to the surface today - I have a few residual aches and pains from yoga - back and shoulders, mostly, which won't have helped. Got an on the outside of my left foot which I don't like. Feels like a tendon, maybe - not a fracture. Booked myself a massage for next week.
Speaking of fractures, a girl from my club ran Frankfurt and got a big PB (just over 3 hours) with a broken foot. She started feeling pain around mile 4 but just knuckled down and got on with it. X-Ray afterwards revealed a substantial fracture of one of the metatarsals. Blimey.
Big G - Forecast is mixed for Saturday. It starts off as overcast but then progresses to rain and winds of 60km/h. Marvellous.
Our car situation is still pretty similar. The BMW is off the road as is the classic Toyota and our old Land Rover Discovery has a dodgy starter motor. On a positive note OH's boss has given him a new Clio as a company car which he uses from Monday to Friday. He reckons he has been given the car as they're really pleased with his work, I'm convinced they've given it to him to make sure he gets to work without breaking down in one of our vehicules. Anyway, OH is dropping hints to see if he can have the Clio this weekend which will make me worry less in spite of his reassurances that he can repair the Land Rover "on the spot" if needs be (he is a mechanic). On the prayer mat for that.
Shades - Are you noticing your legs or arms getting any more muscle definition now?
Regarding my work the cook is back part time. This means I do the transport scolaire mornings and evenings and help her with final preparation in the kitchen before she leaves at midday. I then take over the service and organisation of the cantine and clearing up until about 3pm. I have a couple of breaks of an hour or so in the morning and afternoon so use this time to commute by running between the two different schools and the bus depot. It's only about 16k all in but it saves on petrol and builds my mileage up. I need to be pretty organised though in terms of leaving kit places, changing etc and that isn't always the case! Any long runs I do very early or on weekends.
Ian - That's good news about your wife considering marathons. My OH had a couple of health problems earlier this year and started to run a bit. However he irritated me enormously by running too fast, using his phone on loudspeaker, shouting at the dogs getting under his feet and talking too much so now he does a bit of trail running during his lunch break and I continue doing my own thing. I am an anti-social bugger mind you. You really have had a fabulous running year!
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/sports/Girma-Bekele-Gebre-nyc-marathon.html#click=https://t.co/B0lz2YrS7P
You've had a great year and well deserved PB's and GFA times.
Cal - hope that foot pain clears up quickly.
Superb running by your clubmate at Frankfurt. just shows how important the mind is in distance running. I guess that will take a while to recover from.
mamafox - I remember when you gashed your knee, you couldn't run afterwards for a long time.
I get stressed about how you are going to get to the start line of your marathons.
You've certainly got the logistics sorted with military precision so you can take advantage of your 'free' time at work to get some miles in.
I can understand you not wanting to run with your OH. Your running has always been your 'me' time.
Yes, I've noticed some definition in my upper arms and also on my abdomen as I've lost fat there too. My legs are a little slimmer but no change in muscle definition as I haven't been doing enough work on the lower body yet. Because I've had marathons lately I've only been able to do one leg session a week which obviously isn't enough. This week it will be 2 leg sessions and from next week I will be doing 6 sessions a week, 3 upper and 3 lower. When I had my last analysis done instructor said no/negligible muscle gain on legs so we spoke yesterday about working really hard on that for the next few weeks.
6 miles this morning, cold wind but had a good run , legs are complaining a bit from the weight increases at the gym yesterday but not too much to spoil my run.
Good luck for today, hope you have a good run and better weather than your last marathon.
Slept well last night and the forecast seems ok - better than the forecast a couple of days ago anyway. Fairly chilly though. Not really sure how this one’s going to go, but I guess I’ll soon find out.
Shades - Sounds like the strength work is going well. Do you run every day to hit 50 miles a week with no long run?
Cal - Yes, that was a cracking run in Frankfurt, don't think it'll be long before she goes sub 3!
8 miles yesterday and 4 today with some strength work too.
Shades-We're looking at maybe Manchester,she was going to come to Barca but cant get the time off work,I wont be doing Manchester this year so can help her with the logistics and take her as that drive back after a first marathon isn't fun.
Steve - if I have a marathon in my week, I train 4 days total of 24 miles then the marathon to top it up to 50. If I don't have a race I run 6 days a week and don't plan to run over 10 miles at any one time. I must say that I'm looking forward to the winter with no long runs.
Ian - oh that's a real shame about Barcelona but good that you'll be at Manchester to look after her and do the driving etc.
Pilates and with the light weights again. As soon as we started I realised that my poor arms hadn't yet recovered from Tuesday's sessions but she changed the routine and I was just at my limit when we stopped doing arm stuff and went down onto the mats. However, then I went through another wall of pain/tired muscles as we did some tough leg stuff and my poor legs are still aching from yesterday. Anyway I survived and then into the gym for upper body session with reduced weights again. Tomorrow is a rest day from the gym, I think I need it
Did yoga this morning (Vinyasa flow) - definitely out of practise on this one - found it quite tough.
Unfortunately I've not been able to do anything else. Last night I felt something crunchy in the gum I was chewing and realised it was a bit of tooth, so it was off to the dentist this afternoon. Fortunately it turned out to be a broken bit of white filling, so it was all fixed in 20 minutes. Still, it was £100 I wasn't planning on spending this month.
I also woke up with a sore toenail - seems it's ingrown a bit. I used to get this a lot when I was a kid but no idea why it's happened now. My shoes are plenty roomy enough and I spend most of my day in bare feet. Not what I need on top of the foot issue (which I think is peroneals) and hammy flare up.
Hopefully I'll feel a bit better tomorrow after today's rest day.
This was 5x5.25 mile laps, and the strategy today was take it really easy for 2 laps and then see how I felt. If I could run 2 laps, I knew then I’d be able to finish the event even if I had to walk the other 3 laps.
However, after 2 laps I was feeling really good so carried on running through the third, and then the 4th lap was also good (and increasing pace) and my 5th lap was the fastest of the lot, even with a small number of sub-8s thrown in for good measure, finishing in 3:44:40 (watch time). Hip was totally fine and foot, although a bit tender, was manageable. Really pleased with that in the end, and it adds more ammunition to the theory that it was the hills that did my hip in on Sunday, as this was flat. I hadn’t ran at all between the two events so wasn’t sure what to expect so I’m genuinely pleased with how this ended.
Forecast in the week was absolutely terrible but it ended up being good running conditions. A bit of a head wind on the way out, but it was fine, and no rain at all. Also, drive home was good and I didn’t event stop for a KFC. Go me!
It’s still the right decision to get rid of those two off road events. If I can be sensible and tick over for 3 weeks, fingers crossed the hip and foot get better in time for the next event and I’ll keep up with the stretches etc.
Splits below. The couple of 9s from 11 miles just coincide with the water station so no issue.
Oh dear, but at least you managed to get your tooth fixed quickly.
You seem to have a few niggles, must be a bit frustrating.
Big G- that's a fabulous result, after your difficult run on Sunday. Splits are really good too. Must be reassuring about the hip, your next race is flat too so hopefully the hip will have healed properly before you have a hillier race to do.
I'm very impressed you ignored stopping for a KFC.