Shades Marathon Training

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  • Hmm, where's Shades? Hope she's OK.

    5Ks today. After my customary 1 mile warm-up I donned my magic shoes and lined up on the track. I was in the slowest race, which was 22:30 and up. There was a 24 minute pacer, but while I thought I'd try to stick with him, I found I couldn't. I ended up running on my own at the back, but kept a pretty even pace throughout despite this. Finished plum last, as per usual, but my time was around 24:36 which is a 5K race PB, even if it is almost half a minute slower to my fastest parkrun (I have still not come anywhere close to that since, so it could be that course was a little short - either that or I was on fire that day). So, can't be disappointed with that, even if I'd hoped to be a bit closer to 24. Still waiting on an official time.
    Somewhat annoyinging, my Garmin had trouble measuring the track so my mile splits seemed to indicate a sub-24 was on, and it gleefully informed me of my new 5K PB afterwards. However, it measured it at 3.2 miles, so it wasn't to be trusted.
    I made up for that disappointment by drinking three cups of mulled wine.
  • Forgot to mention, Steph was there volunteering (I also volunteered and was on lap counting duties after my race) so I talked to her a bit and asked her about her mileage. Amazingly she only does 50-60 miles a week, but also cross trains. Interesting, as the elites often do twice that.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Cal - well done on the 5k PB, and the mulled wine :)   Garmins just don't cope well on tracks, always over measure due the corners.
    Interesting about Steph's training, but she must have found what really works for her.

    Plym Trail for me today.  Conditions were good for December but a little cooler than I would like but it was pleasant to finish with dry feet, my previous 2 marathons had been very wet.   Finished in 5:05, think I could have done a sub 5 but was stopped at 21 miles to let the steam train through.   Some runners had been stopped a couple of times, earlier the guard had hastily waved me through before he shut the gate but I wasn't so lucky the next time.   They were doing their Xmas special, lots of kids, so we waved at them, a steam engine is a magnificent sight.   I deliberately took on as little fuel as possible today, just as a trial, I had 3 sweets, 5 dried apricots and a couple of handfuls of the cheesy biscuits at the drink station, no more.  I felt fine although energy was low at about 18/19 miles.   Didn't increase carbs yesterday or pre race today either, stuck to 40%.   I could feel some tiredness in my legs from the gym too, I've been increasing the weights this week again but legs feel fine now.

    Big G - a few Trotters there today.   Hope you're feeling a bit better now. 
  • Blimey, Shades, never heard of a steam train stopping a race! Well done, though. Nice not to get wet.

  • Oh and...go home, Garmin, you're drunk.

  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Cal-It's done well to only measure 3.2,I've found watches are usually about 10% on a track.
    Shades-Interesting reason to be stopped,good time on the day though.
    Another busy day today,at least I'm well rested for tomorrow.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Cal - I've heard of the odd race warning that runners could be stopped at railway crossing, usually longish ultras.  I doubt now that would be allowed in a shorter road race as some daft runner might jump the crossing.

    My moving time according to my Garmin was 4:56 so even with the drink stations I could have squeezed a sub 5, but it really doesn't matter.

    Legs feel good this morning, just waiting for it to get light and will get out for a short recovery run.   Then I have a lazy day planned, will watch the XC.  

    Ian - good luck at your 10k, and anyone else racing today.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Cal, well done on the 5K. To be honest, the way you’re running at the moment, I reckon your parkrun course must have been short that day.

    Ian, good luck for today.

    Shades, well done for yesterday. I saw a few Trotters were there. I managed to get rid of my number in the end.

    Bruges Marathon had a risk of being stopped by a train crossing. I was relieved when I went past that section as I wasn’t stopped, and I wasn’t aware of anyone else being either.

    I’m feeling a bit better. Wheezing is much improved and although I’m still coughing quite a lot, it’s not as productive now. I’m on the mend but I’m not sure if it’s going to be totally clear at the end of this course of antibiotics (ends Tuesday AM). I’ll just have to see how I am, but I may need to go back to GP.  Obviously Thursday’s marathon is out and I’ve cancelled hotel etc. 
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - glad to hear you're starting to feel better and symptoms are easing. 

    I thought you'd be able to get rid of your Plym Trail place OK. 
      
    RP from SWRR won yesterday, it was his 50th marathon and he said before the race it would be nice to win on his 50th but he knew it wouldn't be that easy and when I saw him the first time, he was probably at about 10 miles, he was in 5th place.  But he runs a good race and runs a steady pace and when I saw him at 22 miles he was in the lead, but the others were trying to catch him.
    SJ from 100MC did his 400th yesterday too.

    Fizz had a cracking run yesterday too, she's running really well.


    5 mile recovery run done, bit windy in places, we have severe weather warning later today so good to get the run done.  
  • Glad you are starting to feel a little better, Big G. At least you're not coughing blood!

    I had 18 miles pencilled in for today. I didn't like the sound of the wind when I woke up but the forecast indicated that it wasn't going to get any better so I told myself to put my big girl pants on and get out there.

    Honestly, the best thing I can say about the run was that I did the 18 miles. I spent the first half the of the run (particularly the part I did in the dark) freaking out when I was being pushed around by the wind, freaking out at the downhills that aren't very steep and I've run many times before, and even crossing roads that normally I wouldn't worry about, despite the fact traffic was light and I wasn't in any danger. It's almost like a phobia that comes and goes. I was fine all summer but I've been feeling it the last couple of weeks - I even felt a bit uneasy doing my warm-up mile on the track yesterday. I'm much happier when I'm running with a wall or a hedge on one side of me and I was a lot happier once I got out of Brockwell Park and did the last 8 miles running around side streets. (I needed to get out of the park as there was a Santa Run taking place, so I didn't want to be there when it started).
    Oh and I saw the woman with the three legged dog and the terrier again - gave them a wide berth!

    Consequently, I was incredibly slow - a lot 11+ minute miles. It wasn't until the last few miles that I got up to my normal easy pace - 10:20-10:30. Legs felt a bit heavy too and my left SI joint/QL were playing up a bit and causing the left glute/ham tendon to ache.

    Anyway, glad it's over.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Cal, yes, its good that's stopped!  That was worrying, but obviously was very relieved after all those tests came back as nothing to worry about the other night.  Well done on the long run!

    Shades, yes, Fizz is coming back into some form.  She's lost some weight I think and enjoying it again.  She went past me at Cornish and looked good, and had a strong run there as well.  She completed the Club Champs again this year too.

    I sold my place for yesterday to the chap who collapsed in the summer.  He finished 4th yesterday I think.

    RP is a really strong runner.  I know he's gone sub-3 (in Paris, I think) and he does all sorts of races/terrains, and trains well in the week too.  He's vegan, so obviously has found something that works for him in terms of nutrition etc.  I think I said before, but comparing his marathon splits on City to Sea to mine was eye opening.  He is very, very strong on the hills....I'm talking 4 or 5 min/mile quicker than me on those really steep, off-road ones on City to Sea.  It made it seem like I wasn't trying, but I was!

    I have a decision to make as my club's trip next year is to Cologne.  It's a city I've only ever been once and that was only the train station which is a hub, and I had to change there to go somewhere else in Germany.  Trouble is, it's the same day as Chester and I've already got a place for that, but I strongly suspect I'll be able to transfer that one, especially at the early-bird price that I paid (they do allow transfers, but not deferrals).  There is a very small chance that I could make it work for my 100th, only if absolutely everything goes well next year.  I did mention it to OH yesterday and although she's not overly keen for a Trotters weekend away, we could possibly coincide it with a trip to NL to see her family, and then drive to Cologne for the race....if we did that, we'd drive over for a week or two, so I could potentially look for another European race before Cologne too.  I need to make my mine up - one downside is it's quite expensive, starting at €72 for the first 1000 places.

    (PS, I'm obviously on the mend, as for the the last few days I haven't even thought about next year in terms of races etc....!).
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Cal - well done for slogging out that long run today.   Maybe you'll have to stick to your favourite routes in the winter to try and make the long runs more enjoyable.

    Big G - MD finished 5th yesterday, he was in the lead at one point but admits he went off to fast, I caught him walking in the latter stages.   He should have learnt his lesson after his previous run here, he knows that just didn't do it.

    Big G - you are healing if you're race planning again. ;)

    Cologne would be a good choice for your 100th, with your OH and some of the Trotters there and a good chance of doing a good time/PB there too.  And as you'd travel independently you should avoid the Trotters bad behaviour on tour.
    There should be plenty of events to use during the year if you need to do any catching up on numbers, even some of the 20 in 20 if you really had to.

    That's about the going rate for an early bird price for a German marathon.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    I've only watched the first race of the XC so far, U20 men.   If you haven't already seen it then it's worth watching, a fine example of great running. 
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Big G-Sounds good about cologne,you'll definitely be able to shift the Chester place,they let you transfer it at the price you paid rather than the current price like some races do.
    Cal-Well done on grinding out the 18,all helps with the mileage.
    Not a great race today,its billed as a very fast course and I can see it is,but there was too many people at the start for me,and too many places where you cant overtake due to the width of the path,ended up on the mud a few times trying to get past 1st km was crazy for being pushed and pushing to get into pace.I was in the sub 40 wave which I though would be a help but actually I found it a hindrance,because so many were a similar pace it was really hard to move up so a lot of sudden sprints when you seen a gap and it was wet and muddy in places.Anyway finished in 38.08,30 sec slower than my best.The winner of wave 1 was 28.31  :'( and sub 30 came 17th.My overall position was about 350th out of 1150 which is crazy for that time.
  • I'd say morning folks as it's 2:03am and I'm doing a night shift so thought I'd check in with my race report from Saturday's race. 

    My OH and I took part in the "run before Christmas" timed event hosted by Saturn running. We opted for the early start because my OH had decided she was going to attempt a marathon which gave us 7hrs to run as much as we could. 
    It was mild for the time of the year as we lined up for the start.  There was only about 15 of us doing the early start so a nice small field. The remainder of the entrants would start an hour after us. At 8:30 we were sent on our way and I set off in front of the pack and wanted to try settle into a comfortable pace.  The ground was very wet with large squelchy, muddy patches and a mixture of gravel towpath and tarred pathway.  It was a multi lap event and each lap was 3.28 miles. It was pretty tough underfoot and the more we ran over the mud,  the tougher it became. Each lap had a couple of foot bridges with wooden slats which got quite slippery.  I got to the turn around point and realised I was way ahead of the next person so I  should of eased off the speed a little but,  me being me,  I didn't.  I was happy running at that pace and got to half way in around 1:34 and then the soggy ground started to take its toll on my joints, Which did slow me a little.  I could feel my pace slow so every time I saw my OH I was able to make sure she was ok cause she was struggling as well. With 2 laps to go to marathon distance,  I could feel my stomach getting angry at me so had to make a small detour to the toilet but was soon back on the course but the short break made it very difficult to get going again.. the next 2 laps felt like I was running through treacle but I sucked it up and got to marathon distance in 3:34, just as my OH finished her 4th lap. She looked disappointed cause she knew her goal was out of the window and was beginning to feel quite broken so I said to her that I would do the next lap with her.  We trudged through the mud to the turn point and she looked at me with tears in her eyes saying she was done Ann's everything was sore.  We managed to get back to the finish where we both rang out and ended our race. I finished with 29.5 miles in 4:38 and she did 16.3. I said to her that she should still be proud of what she did as the conditions were really tough. It was the right decision to end when we did and now her focus is on her next race on NYD where she will attempt a marathon on a much more forgiving course and a generous 7.5hr cutoff 
  • Well done to you and Ann for toughing it out. It sounds pretty brutal!
  • Cal - for a second I thought "who is Ann" then I re read my post and realised that auto correct had changed the word "and" to Ann..😂. My OH's name is Carol though oddly enough her middle name is Anne..
  • Oh... :D Well, well done Carol!
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Ian - what a shame, too many runners I guess for the course, all chasing PB's.

    Iain - that really was a tough day for both of you, credit to both of you for toughing it out, I would have quit long before.   Carol has done so well in such a short time, tell her not to be so hard on herself.   I hope conditions are good for NYD.

    I was wondering who Ann was, don't you love predictive text which your phone insists on altering ;) 


    8 miles for me today.  I could hear the wind howling in the night and the odd recycling box bouncing down the road, we've had storm conditions here.   I knew it was due to ease so I waited a while and went out an hour before it was due to calm down as I decided this would be a good test for my new jacket.   The wind nearly knocked me over twice and had some heavy but short rain showers but my jacket is fab, kept me warm and dry.  Will be perfect for the next time we have horrendous weather over Connemara/Bodmin Moor/Dartmoor.   Although it's unisex and quite a roomy fit it doesn't move when on or flap and it's long enough at the back to come down well below my bum, keeping me dry.   £25 very well spent.
    Was a tough run in the wind though, and having to dodge all the recycling rubbish flying around in the wind.   Saw a bloke out in his dressing gown chasing his rubbish down the road, not a pretty sight ;)
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Shades, I watched the XC too, and then watched the snooker, meaning I hardly left the sofa all day.  I did take a walk into Lidl (1-mile each way) as I needed some more milk and eggs and promptly coughed my guts up when I got back :(  I've 3 more tablets to take, but I think I'm going to need to call the GP first thing tomorrow to go in again, as although much improved, I'm not right.  I think the infection has pretty much gone, but I don't know if it would come back if it's not fully cleared, so think I'll need to see him again.

    Iain, well done to you both.  Sounds like tough conditions for that event.

    Ian, often when we're rammed in like that, we waste more energy too, in trying to find the right line.  That's still a great time, in what is obviously a very quick field!

    OH has been off this weekend but is at work tomorrow so will find out if she can get the time off for Cologne.  I've decided I'm definitely not travelling on my own with the Trotters to the race, so if she can't get the time off I won't be going.  I've said it before that I love the Trotters, but I can't be doing with all the drunkenness these days, plus the flights aren't brilliant as we arrive late Friday so not a massive amount of time in the city (and it's RyanAir flights).  If she can get the time off, I did check and there are marathons either side as well (Munster the weekend before and Eindhoven the weekend after), which we in theory we could travel to also as I expect we'll go for 10 days or so.  It does depend on her work schedule and if anyone else has already booked the time off.  If it isn't possible, I've got Chester in the diary anyway, which is high up on my list having never done it before.  All being well I hope to tick off a couple of others on my list next year as Manchester and Windermere are booked too (I DNSd Windermere this year due to the shoulder), plus I'm hoping to do one of the Thames Meander ones as they do seem like good events.  On the other side of that though, this year I stuck to my guns and did zero around TBL, but next year I've got 3 planned....hopefully my first triple.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - I haven't yet watched all the XC, still got the senior races to go.   Nice course this year so makes good viewing.

    You obviously need some more recovery time but at least you are on the mend now.

    We've said similar about the Trotters on Tour before, it's such a shame.  I went to Slovenia with them, didn't stay in the same place but I still ended up having to apologise for their behaviour (not all but a couple) to the waitress and the other staff in the restaurant we went on the first night.   I stayed away from them after that as much as I could.

    But if your OH can get leave then your plan is good.

    Thames Meander are off road events, but not rough courses as far as I know,   Organised by Dave Ross so he'll probably talk you into doing Comrades, he is South African and I believe helps a lot of folk out with logistics etc for Comrades.

    When are you doing the triple at TBL?


    Right, better get to the gym :)
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Shades, Foxy does a "week at the knees" event, and I'm hoping to do 3 consecutive ones of those in March.
  • Big G - Glad it's nothing serious.
    Shades - Nice marathon, yeah not the best time of year, but I'm used to the weather now.
    Cal - Nice track 5k time. Interesting about Steph's mileage, I'd have expected more than that, but then if it works, it works.
    Ian - Still a good time, pity it was so busy!
    15 miles on Saturday, then 9 miles and kettlebells on Sunday, so 54 miles this week.
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Shades-Sounds like a tough run today,hate the wind.
    Steve-Another solid week,do you have any shorter races before Manchester?
    Big G-Sound's like you're still not right,hope it fixes itself soon.
    I'm over yesterday now,was annoyed that I had a poor run,but at the end of the day,that would have been over a minute PB a year ago,so it's a good reminder that not everything goes right all the time.
    8 miles after work were good today,nice weather and out just before it went dark,will try and run each day until Friday as I am off to Barca for the weekend with a couple of friends,surprised to see it is showing as 18 there so need to dig the shorts out.
  • Big G, I've done the Thames Meander half four times. The first time (November '15) was awful - deep, slippery mud up the Kingston end (it's paved a bit further on) and horizontal rain. People were falling over, numbers disintigrating - absolute carnage. The next time was Spring - fine, cool weather but still a lot of mud. Third time was the Summer one - dry but very warm, and the fourth was Autumn again but dry underfoot.
    The course is flat but I've never had a very good time there - it's rather stony but apparently there's been some work done on the path and it's a bit better now.
    Aid stations are well stocked but it's cups and you have to grab your own most times. If I did it again I'd take my own hydration pack.
    The nice thing is you can shelter in the YMCA until the start and use the changing rooms afterwards. Medals are good, too.

    Thanks Steve.
    Ian - have fun in Barca.
    Shades, I would not have enjoyed that wind at all.

    Rest day for me - decided against the gym and took the tube up to the factory outlet in Wembley as I wanted to visit the Haribo shop (to buy sweets for Colin). Ended up buying myself some treats from the Lindt shop...oops... There's a Nike outlet there but they didn't have any interesting shoes. Not that I need any after Black Friday.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    Big_G said:
    Shades, Foxy does a "week at the knees" event, and I'm hoping to do 3 consecutive ones of those in March.
    Big G - good luck with that, they've often had the most awful weather for that event.   I struggle to think you'd enjoy 3 days round TBL though.  ;)

    Steve - that mileage is ramping up again :) 

    Ian - is this a football weekend you're going on?

    Cal - that's mixed reviews of Thames Meander.   

    I don't think you'd ever find a trail event that uses bottles, even less likely now, and it's normal that you help yourself as they don't want to encourage runners to run on carrying a cup.   At Plym Trail you have to stop and drink or carry the cup to the next drink station as there are no bins/bags for litter except at the drink station and they are literally at the drink station not a few yards after.  You get DQ for dropping any litter at that race.

    Nice bit of Xmas shopping, sweets and chocolate :) 


    6 miles today, windy again but not as bad as yesterday, stayed dry, just starting to rain now.

    Pilates, gym and dentist this morning.  :):) :(
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Cal, I expect I’ll do the summer one. I think it’s quite similar to some of the Running Miles ones I’ve done on the Thames path so no problem regarding aid stations/terrain etc. A lot of the smaller events that I do you have to get your own drink, so I’m used to that.

    Shades, it was at one of those ‘week at the knees events’ that I did my first sub-4 in 2017.

    Just called the GP. They’ve got a system currently where they call patients back before deciding if they should come in, which is fair enough.  I’ll be getting a call back this morning. I expect they won’t prescribe antibiotics without seeing me, and indeed they may not think I need any more anyway. 
  • I think about half the races I'd done before I did my first Meander had cups, so it wasn't that I wasn't expecting cups - more that I was used to having them handed to me. (Sometimes they have boy scouts or cadets or something who hand them out, but they're not awesome at it). On one table I grabbed an empty cup and had to go back, and another time I got some horrid energy drink instead of water. Even back then when I was slower, I didn't like to waste time in a half by stopping to drink, so I ended up wearing my bottle belt on the last two and that was better.

    This week is a cut-back, mostly as I have a 10K on Sunday which means no long run, and I've done three big weeks in a row (45/51/51) so I'd like my legs to be a bit fresher so I can at least attempt to PB the one distance I've not managed this year.

    I still managed to do 9 miles today, though. I'd like to call it a progression run but in reality, it was a MP tempo run where I failed to hit MP. I did three miles working up to it (10:49/10:22/10:31 - mile 3 had a bit of a hill and a road to cross, which was why it was slower than the one before) then went into what I thought felt like marathon pace, only it turned out to be a whole minute slower (10:04). I got a bit closer with the next one (9:24) but still no cigar, and then the third wasn't much better (9:22). I finally hit 9:02 on the fourth attempt which I figured was good enough. At that point there was a spectacular sunrise, so I did two very slow cool-down miles rather than one so I could enjoy it.

    The thing with this is that MP, and speeds approaching MP, feel like 5K pace in terms of effort. I compared it to the 5K I did on Saturday and my cadence for the three fastest miles today was the same as it was running an average of 7:45 min/mi on the track, because my stride is so much shorter.
    I think the lesson here is do my speed work later in the morning when it's light and I'm not worried about tripping over paving stones or running into people. And wear the bloody Zoom Flys, since that is what they're for, and not the Epic Reacts which I wore today.
  • Ian - Nice bit of perspective there, you have had a stunning year, so no need to be disappointed. I haven't signed up to anything else yet, but plan to get a half in and maybe a 10k if I can squeeze it in.
    12 miles this morning.

  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Cal, I know at those types of events I'll never get a PB.  Even with being fairly quick at the stations, it's very easy to spend 5mins faffing over the course of the event.  But I don't mind that at these types of events.  I still set myself goals on occasion, whether it be a course best, trying to do a negative split, or whatever else.  If I am running well and conditions are good, when I come to do that triple I'll aim to do 3xsub-4s if I can, so not PBs but still something to keep the focus.  Over the races, I have found I do need to have something to focus on.  At a couple of races last year I went in with a "don't care what time I get"-attitude, but those races ended up being shockers - I very nearly DNFd one, even though I wasn't injured/ill, but I lost it mentally.  I did get around it but I hated that one.  I think I had kind of forgotten that a marathon is still a long way, and it needs some respect even if not going for a quick time, so something to focus on helps with that.  So I do need goals of sorts, but it's within the scope of what the race offers in terms of terrain, drinks, etc.

    Been to the docs and got more antibiotics.  I felt it was touch and go whether he was going to give me them, but I didn't try and sway him either way - I just told him the symptoms along with what has improved over the last few days, and he did some basic tests.  So it's another 5 days and if still no good, he's told me to go back again where I expect at that point he'll prescribe something else if needed (I imagine steroids, or stronger inhalers).  But fingers crossed this second course clears it.
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