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Shades Marathon Training
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7 miles on usual route at same pace as last time and felt very good which isn’t a given since it was after work.
9 miles after work,sounding like a broken record but very good and gradually getting faster for the same effort.
After the initial stage with Hadd, this happens when you can run 10 miles at 70% with no cardiac drift, you move onto doing 2 initial lactate threshold runs but these are only at a few bpm higher than your base HR.
With MAF you will have got to the stage where you're now running at the lower end of the MAF HR, I think that's 10bpm below your MAF HR? You then progress to doing intervals but the intervals are no faster than your MAF HR.
We all like to race (if only
This is a good explanation of BT https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/what-is-base-training/
By the time you are ready/able to race you'll be through the initial base training period.
As Ian says ignore your Garmin, it doesn't know anything about you and cannot tell you how fast you can run, it doesn't know your VO2 and it doesn't know how many calories you've burnt off. All stuff like that is rubbish.
Rcouture, for what it's worth, I don't have that option set on my Garmin, but a site I sometimes use for looking at my running stats shows a similar slowdown. I don't know how the Garmin works but in this case, the site only goes back 8 weeks and if it only sees slow runs, even if it knows HR and Max HR etc, it can't really make any valid predictions so I ignore that part. In my case it's definitely wrong as it's showing something like 4:15 for a marathon. I know I can go 30mins quicker than that at least as I did so in the fairly recent past. But I know it's frustrating seeing the pace drop and also seeing these predictions - but I've always felt that consistency and mileage is a big part of the key to marathons and this method helps with those things (I say "part of" the key as on the day other things can have an impact - hydration, nutrition, weather, wind, transport issues - speak to Mamafox about those..., route profile, how busy the course is, if you're just not "feeling it", etc etc etc).
Rest day has done me good as I'm eager to get out there this morning. MF, interesting what you say about a new favourite route. I've got one that I never, ever did before this HR training, as I never wanted to go straight up a mile-long, steep hill from my front door. But now it's my favourite route as the rest of the run is then basically undulating back down hill. In my case though a large part of it on on trails, some of which aren't any good in the winter, but it's stunning this time of year especially with lots of bluebells, wild garlic etc. I'm heading up there today
How are you getting on with Maffetone's book?
Keith - I suppose Foxy could hire some portaloos and maybe think about starting the events earlier in the day and having tighter time limits so the impact on other park users could be limited. Perhaps when the schools and retail go back there may be less folk out and about if he avoids holding events at the weekend. I'm sure he'd still get plenty of entries midweek.
I bet it is a lot colder up there with you, I think we've only got one more cold night then warming up again.
The home hair cut sounds interesting, be careful
Might have a go at a MP effort today if the wind eases,not the easiest of sessions but good to see how it feels.
Asking how you can run fast in races without speedwork is a most common question but you can, trust me.
I wouldn't expect that you can run 10 below your MAF HR right now but gradually as the weeks go on you'll find that you'll be faster at MAF HR. And you'll be able to drop the HR a few bpm and still run faster than you did at the beginning at MAF HR.
No, you don't need to make any adjustments to your MAF HR, you're doing just fine as you are.
Ian - I think that's a good idea to enter the August one. I'm sure when racing is allowed Foxy will be one of the first to hold an event. I think that's the same weekend as IOM but IOM won't be making a decision about their marathon until 1st July so Foxy's events might be full by then. IOM is eligible for GFA and is all road, undulating course but possible to PB on it, I have, it's also usually a lot cooler than the mainland for August.
Rest day yesterday, although that included 45 minutes of yoga, two 2 miles walks and 30 minutes of conditioning.
10 mile progressive run today. Warm-up mile then three at just over 10 min/mi, then slowly increased the pace until I hit MP on the last mile. Enjoyed this one.
Keith, sounds like the haircut went as well as can be expected
Rcouture, no I haven't found any other site that tracks beats per mile except for Fetch. One of the best trackers I've come across is a site called runalyze.com, but it still doesn't do beats per mile. I did put a request in to see if they're planning beats/mile and they said they're considering it, but it's unlikely.
I went and did 7 miles this morning and was feeling up for it, although interestingly the stats show it was the "worst" run in terms of pace and beats/mile on that route. I knew I was struggling a bit in comparison to other runs on this route as the HR was creeping towards the 142 quite regularly, but I still had an enjoyable run out regardless. We've got a busy day in the garden planned - finishing off some raised beds, and putting a path in - but depending on how I'm feeling I'm planing a 4 or 5 miler later on. I noticed the Council have reopened the car parking along the sea front road, which is a shame. I imagine it'll still be busy with people doing their exercise, but now they'll also have to dodge cars.
However, I am tempted to do some HADD training for 4/5 months solid to see how that goes too.
Big G- not a bad idea to skip the intro, not relevant really and a couple of weird comments, like waking up and deciding to become a songwriter.
You can just put another column in the spreadsheet for beats per mile
I think the councils are opening up car parks and public toilets this weekend, ready for the day trippers. I think they need the income from the car parks too as there's been free parking during the lockdown.
Hopefully I will see you there 😁
Steve - you'd be perfect for Hadd training. I bet it wouldn't take you long to be able to run the 10 miles with no cardiac drift and go into the next stage. If you do decide to do it, do a Hadd test ASAP to give you a set of stats for future comparison.
Big G - Glad you've found a new run too! Hope the garden work went ok, you must have made loads of progress by now.
Steve - I've had a quick Google of Tinman and I just came up with some emotional acid DJ clips..
RCouture - Def ignore all Garmin predictions when base training.. or indeed any other time.
Pretty rubbish run for me this morning. Same route as yesterday but HR was creeping up all the time. I'm blaming it on hay fever, my chest was quite tight and I had to use my ventolin twice so that can't have helped.
On a transport note Big G(!), it's funny you should mention that as last night OH came home with a Mercedes. It's a 1974 model and had been left in someone's barn for years. He actually managed to start it, made a deal with the owner who just wanted to get rid of it, and brought it home. Although it wasn't the most sensible thing to do (we have a few other car repair priorities in truth) I am very pleased as I really love classic cars and I think this one is a beauty.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/81-car-french-barn-find/
Sorry to hear the pollen is high again, it will pass soon.
Lovely old car, and I guess that is Charlie inspecting the new purchase. It's great your OH loves his work so much that it's his hobby too. Is the BMW is on the back burner now for a while.
Ian - same here, much more traffic. Shame about your route, the road surface on the fast A roads is usually so good for running.
Big G - have you a garage with room for a car renovation project? Seems to have awakened your interest, and once the garden is done.....
EA have issued an update, a very lengthy one. https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/guidance-update-for-restricted-return-to-activity-for-coaches-leaders-athletes-runners-and-facilities/
But for road runners not worth reading, it just says we can run with one other person and if being coached, coach and one runner. I think we all knew that already. No running club activities.
Lovely morning here, fresh but not as chilly as it has been, really great running weather. The last few weeks would have been good marathon running weather too.
But, on the positive, I had made a promise to myself to shift some weight and this morning I'm the lightest I've been for 5 years. I don't feel hungry or anything, and I feel strong etc, so I'm genuinely delighted with that. I'm 12st8 this morning. That may still sound heavy but I'm tall and generally speaking I'm pretty happy if my weight hovers just below 13st. 13st is totally fine for every day life and I'm not fat, but the few extra pounds off will help if/when we get back to racing. I know I did Rotterdam last year and I was about 13st2 I think, which isn't good for me to run a marathon in. Whether I'll be able to maintain that when I get back to doing regular marathons remains to be seen....but I'm happy for now.
MF, a great project there
Shades, I do have a garage but there's no power in there at the moment. I did get a quote to get power in there (it's not trivial as the garage is at road level whereas the house is set back from the road, plus higher than the garage) and at the time I decided against it on cost grounds as I had other stuff to do. I am interested in cars, and every now and again I come across a website or article where someone has discovered loads of abandoned cars in a barn, and I always find that interesting/fascinating. A car collector has collected these cars and then for whatever reason hasn't maintained them - I'm always intrigued by the back story. A few years ago a large number of cars were found, some with only a few miles on the clock and this picture really piqued my interest - the car on the left could be worth in the region of about £8m and the one on the right about £1m.
I did enjoy the Caterham, but really part of the point for me was in building it as I was a total novice when I started, but did learn a lot. I did really enjoy driving it, but to be totally honest it wasn't really suitable for driving on the roads around here. It was too quick, too loud and not a comfy ride! In terms of investment, I think I had it about 6 years and it hardly depreciated at all, so it was good value in that time too and I'm glad I owned it. Mine was featured on a magazine cover actually, after I sold it - I came across it when I Googled the reg a couple of years ago. But, I have to say, I think Claire was much happier in the old campervan we used to have, rather than the Caterham! We got rid of that too though as it was becoming a money pit.
I remember when I was growing up, my friend's dad used to restore vintage Rolls Royces - I got to ride in the dicky seat once on the way to an old car rally in Greenwich.
I picked today to do my weekly 5K but wasn't sure how it would go what with the illness last week and then doing a 10 mile progression yesterday (rather than an easy run, which would have been the sensible option).
Did my two mile warm-up and threw a few sets of strides into the second mile of that to get the legs turning over.
I went back to my usual triangle (which several of my clubmates are now using as well) and set off. Pushed a bit for the first mile and got 7:56 which I was happy with, then 7:53 for the second and 7:52 for the third mile (by which point my breathing had transitioned from dog with a squeaky toy to full-on porn star). Gunned the last .1 at an average of 6:47, which is going some for me, to finish in 24:29. That's my third fastest 5K ever and fastest on my own, so I'm pleased with that - it bodes very well for the virtual relays next month.
Quick break to get my breath back and then a further three miles to cool down.
Wore my lava pants and matching black/orange Hampton Court T and Zoom Flys - I like to think of this is my fast outfit.
Ian, I can't remember the precise details now, but a few years ago I was in decent shape and a good weight and I did my Half PB (1:33). It's still my Half PB (I don't race them regularly enough) but I remember working out at the time that the jump from around 1:45 to 1:33 could have been attributed to weight loss, as opposed to any training I had done! As you say, it's probably a combination of the two - I'd guess that being lighter means you're more efficient, which means you're not working as hard at a certain pace, which means you're less tired, which means you can do more training.
That's a great memento of your Caterham on the cover of the magazine.
That car collector had probably been dead for a few years by the time those cars were valued at that price, judging by the state of the garage
Well done on reaching your target weight, I'm sure you won't let it slip when racing again. If you read the dietary part of Maffetone's book you won't be eating all that junk food pre race. What with your HR training and the weight you'll be in great shape when the next marathon happens.
Ian - I'm sure you're right and it's a combination of the training and the weight loss, certainly not weight loss alone.
Cal - you're definitely back on form now, great running for a virtual race.
Cal - that’s a great run. I also love that Hampton ct t-shirt. It’s really well fitted and the orange bits aren’t too flash. For a good month after that race I must have seen 3-4 others running in it so must be popular.
Big G - did you see Plym Trail June events now transferred to end of July?
11 miles for me this morning, my favourite hilly route with an add on at the beginning and another in the middle to make the distance up, lovely morning again, nice to see a few runners out early on a Sunday. My first add on was round the industrial estate and as I passed the quay I thought I'd check on the swan's nest as I thought she'd lost her eggs due to the high tide a couple of weeks ago. I went closer to the nest for a look and it was abandoned, then thought I'd just go under the railway bridge and have a look and there was the swan proudly protecting 3 tiny cygnets, must only be a few days old. So they managed to survive after all.
Shades, yes, I saw that about Plym Trail. I reckon there's a small chance it may just be able to go ahead then, if things are relaxed a bit more and EA change their guidance. Lots of ifs, buts and maybes, so we'll have to see. From my own point of view, I'm actually pleased as now I know I can go through May, June and most of July doing this HR training. That'll be 3 months, which I think will be a good test to see whether there are any improvements or not, and one that I would never have been able to do when racing regularly. I may at some point later in June or July do an occasional 5k effort, but other than that it'll all be at my HR training. I haven't been on Strava much of late so haven't seen if Robert is back running - I too hope all is fine. Good news on the cygnets.
I was tempted to run today but toe is still a bit tender, so I walked to work with OH and tacked on a couple of extra miles on the coast.
Rob's posted on Facebook this week so I daresay he's fine. I have given him a poke.
Another Wandle Trail discovery run today. I tried to follow the early section but went wrong again, only I went wrong in a different way. I will try to find the path through that bit on a shorter run some time this week.
I still managed to pick it back up at the Tooting end and then stayed on it until Hackbridge, which was a little further along than I've run previously. I decided to turn for home at that point as I was already going to exceed my plan for 14 miles, but looking at the map, the next bit takes me to Beddington Park which is where the new parkrun will be, once that starts up again.
Enjoyed the Wandle bit - heard a yaffle in Morden Hall Park and looked up to see a green woodpecker in flight. What I didn't much like, though, were the endless clouds of midges. I guess that's what you get for running by water in the summer.
I wasn't even in Tooting when I hit 14 miles and I was flagging by that point (while I did wear vest and shorts today, I didn't take water) and then had to run up a big hill. Strangely, that was my second fastest mile (after mile 2 which was net downhill).
Arrived at my house at 16 miles so two more than planned, but I'll take that as a positive. That takes me to 52 miles for this week.