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Shades Marathon Training
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In other news, a WAY friend of mine is training to walk a 100-miler. He walked a 100k last year, and did a few LDWA events on the way for training. I'm thinking of walking one marathon with him if I can fit it in - early March I'm looking at. He's a very quick walker though. I think I'm pretty quick at walking, but he's on Strava and does 4.2mph for 4 or 5 hours at time. He walked a very hilly and very muddy one last year in 7.5hrs - I remember I ran/walked one with friends a couple of years ago and we were genuinely delighted with our sub-7! Walking is different to running isn't it - time on feet, different muscles etc, but I quite fancy it as something a bit different.
Plumber is coming around between 12 and 5pm so hopefully he can sort it out.
Whatever you do, or don't do, the Quadzilla is going to hurt.
Big G - £13 a month, I think that's a lot. But I think of it as for non runners trying to keep fit and wanting that competitive edge all the time to make them actually run.
Just be careful if you walk that marathon as you could easily get injured, different muscles. But I'm sure your friend would let you run/walk it, that would avoid injury for you and you'd have plenty of eating time too.
Hope you don't have to wait too long for the plumber, especially as you have outlaws arriving today.
My plumber lives across the road from me, which is so convenient, except he goes to Spain a lot and always seems to be there when I phone him.
It's still icy here and I hear on the news a few accidents and road closures due to black ice.
The next nearest was Roding Valley, another I've not done, though I've been avoiding it as it's very muddy. However, there was no chance of me making anywhere else. I managed to blag a lift with some other parkrunners and we made it to Roding with a minute or two to spare.
The mud was indeed spectacular, and unfortunately I was in my Zoom Flys, so I just took it easy, walked the worst bits and came in with a new personal worst of 32:29. But, at least it was a parkrun ticked off, rather than no run at all!
Cal, well done on being able to get a different run. Hopefully your Zoom Flys aren't too muddy.
Plumber as been and it's all sorted from parts he had in has van. It wasn't too badly priced, thankfully!
Big G-Glad the plumber wasnt too bad.
Think I've decided to give tomorrow a go,todays cancelled runs shows what shades said is possible.
Forecast looks ok and lots of fast runners so should be able to drag me along.Now what pace do I go for.....
Cal - well done on promptly finding another parkrun today. Hope you can clean the worst of the mud off your shoes. Sometimes a good run in the rain can clean them up well.
Big G - that's good news on the plumber, nothing too serious or expensive.
Ian - sorry to potentially put a dampener on your plans only I've seen so many times that something goes wrong with target races and an opportunity is missed.
Can't help with the pace, you know what you want.
I've more or less decided not to run tomorrow, just too cold for me, I knew there was a possibility this might happen with a winter marathon. I'll make a final decision in the morning. If I don't run I'll have to find another race to keep my numbers right but I can do that, annoying but possible.
Ian, best of luck for tomorrow!!
Discovered a packet of peanuts in the cupboard and ate them this afternoon. Turns out OH wanted them for a sauce she was making
Yes, shoes are fine - I have a high pressure shower attachement so I cleaned them in the bath (er, I wasn't in the bath at the time...) Then I had to clean the bath.
Lots of parkruns cancelled today due to ice - seems the muddy ones were a better bet, all things considered. Shades, sensible, honestly - slipping and getting injured would be a bad way to start the year.
Cal - to me it's just not worth the risk running on ice and you can see from the photo how bad it was there. It's annoying as we haven't had any ice on a Sunday for a very long time and I see next Sunday is back to our usual rain and milder temps. Never mind, I will find another race in warmer conditions to do in the Spring/summer.
Glad the shoes are clean again, annoying having to clean the bath though
Ian - good luck today and anyone else racing.
Very heavy frost here but the roads look drier than yesterday, still patches of ice though so will maybe go out for a little run later on when it clears.
I usually love running in new places, but I'm not sure how it's going to be in Marrakech. I'm looking forward to going, but I've read that it can be very, very easy to get lost in the centre (where I'm staying) and it's not runnable as it's packed. There is a run around the city walls that looks good, but I need to get there and see how easy it is get around before deciding if I can do a run on Friday and/or Saturday.
Big G - a step back week will do you good. If Marrakech isn't a great place for running then I wouldn't bother, just save it for the marathon, I'm sure you'll have plenty time on your feet seeing the city before the race. Just stay away from all those pastries that they're famous for until after the race, pastry is usually around 50% fat so a big no for pre race carbs. I'm sure someone told me that the snail stew is amazing and very good for you.
Still icy here, I probably won't run at all today. As soon as it got light I could see there was more ice than I'd thought and it's not thawing at all. Catching up with a few chores at home instead, so that's good.
I did go out today, early (half five). I stuck to well-lit main roads until it started getting lighter (which happened around 10 miles) as there were a lot of slippery spots - standard pavement slabs were fine, brick was fine, some tarmac was OK and some was very slippery, and then there were the metal drain covers and patches of frosty leaf mulch to avoid. My intention had been to do 18 with some at MP, but I ended up going very slowly indeed (average pace was a hair under 11!). To make up for that I threw in a mile's worth of hill sprints between 14 and 15, which was the only part of the run I enjoyed.
Still, better to do a slow 18 than stack it and hurt myself six weeks out from Tokyo.
https://theculturetrip.com/africa/morocco/articles/10-peaceful-running-routes-in-marrakech/
We are trying to sort a day trip on the Friday out to Atlas Mountains, so if that happens I won't be running on the Friday anyway as that would be a long day. I saw a guy on Trip Advisor who had fantastic reviews for an Atlas Mountains tour, but reading the reviews they all had a similar writing style and the majority of them were made on the same couple of days, which seems dodgy to me
For currency, the hotel has said it's best to take sterling or euros on a card, and then they'll show us an ATM nearby to get the local currency. They've said to definitely not get currency from the ATM at the airport as it's more expensive. It seems a total bargain whilst there though - £105 for four nights including breakfast for two in what looks like a great hotel and as I've said they've been very helpful in emails so far. The race wasn't especially cheap though - €75. I've read some conflicting reviews of the race; some have said it's great, others have said some of the roads are poor quality. Due to my lack of training, I'm not "racing" it as such so just hoping to enjoy it and get around it in one piece and from that perspective I'm looking forward to it.
First 7 miles are a bit up and down but nothing too noticeable,from 7-10 is where it gets tough as there are quite a few hills,then 2 fast downhill and a flat mile to end.Think I took the first few miles too easy,then the hills were hard but through them ok and had lots left for the fast 2 miles,averaged just under 6m/m for them,and finished in 1:24:21.So 18secs behind my best but on a far harder course than the one I set it on,and after 4 weeks with 240 miles so got to be happy with it.
Big G - I don't think Marrakech is a place anyone goes to go running except in the actual races. I think you'll be too busy to run any other time. I'm sure you'll both enjoy your time there. Don't forget to try the snail stew.
Ian - that's a great result, you must be pleased with that. Super running.
And a 20 min CB,but I've not ran it since 2017.
Re your early miles being too slow, the first mile is always tricky, setting down, avoiding congestion etc but after that you want to hit target race pace from mile 2 if you can. Same with the marathon, from mile 2 you need to be on predicted race pace from the race calculator or at a pace that would get you to halfway 4 or 5 minutes slower than your half marathon PB.
You ran a great race though, 5:27 pace for the last stretch is some sprint for the line.
6 miles for me this morning. Bloody freezing, -3 and a heavy frost again. Roads/pavements looked a lot drier than the last couple of days but once I was out there was far more ice than I thought so the first half mile was a bit dicey. Then I could run normally as was dry and/or I could run on the road which was better and safer surface and there were just a few icy patches I was well wrapped up but my muscles just don't like the cold, and I did actually do a warm up today. Did my core exercises before my run, which I do Tabata style so I get really hot so I was very warm when I went out for my run.
First 20 of the plan for me (well 21!)! Started really slow due to the frost and warmed up nicely, ended up going from 9:30s for the first few miles and ended up on the last few with sub 8:00s which was nice, 8:45 average overall, but HR nice and easy and felt good for my first 20 miler since May 2018!! 11 miler on Sunday to finish with 68 miles for the week.
Ian - that's a lovely memento of your trip to NY, you look very happy.
Decided to finally do some paperwork this morning that's been on my overdue task list for quite a while Typically just as I was nearly finished the ink cartridge ran out so had to pop down the road to get another. Sunny now but pavements still very icy in places and it's so cold.
Steve, great 21-miler and to finish feeling strong is brilliant too.
Shades, I went out a few hours after you and although cold (around 3deg when I started) there wasn't much ice to dodge. I did 7-miles at an easy pace and although it was cold, I was dressed with gloves and a hat, and had an enjoyable run.
I started thinking about what pace to aim for at Marrakech. Although I know it won't be anywhere near a PB, I still need a target in mind as I know in the past if I've not had some sort of target in mind I've had a bad day out. I expect I'll set out at roughly 4hr pace for the first few miles and just see how I get on. If I'm slower than that overall, I know I can still get around in the 5.5hr cut off, but if I end up feeling good after the first few miles I can push on slightly if I want to.
Shades, have you ever been to Topsham? We went over there yesterday afternoon and it's really nice! The reason we went is there are loads of Dutch-style houses there, but it turns out there are some really good pubs and restaurants there too. I had a steak at a smokehouse which was probably up there with the best steaks I've had. I think I may go back in the summer for a day out, and take the ferry over.
4 hour pace is far too slow, set out at 3:45 pace at the slowest and see how you get on.
Yes, Topsham is a most desirable area, very pricey but so nice. I used to work at Darts Farm, did you call in there? If not make sure you do next time, worth a visit.
Gym for me today.