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Shades Marathon Training
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Shades: I think you're right about Frankfurt. I have my eye on Bonn but it's not looking positive at the moment either.
Big G: we are going to do the work Tonight. Flights can be changed pretty easily but accomodation is a bit trickier.
Love the wiggle sweets.
Big G-I was looking at Warsaw on Saturday as they were very determined it was going ahead on their website,nice you can defer,when is the race usually?
Emmy-Bad news on Iceland,I'm still gutted over the race,need to get over it now and concentrate on others.Not sure if any of these are possible but Dresden say they will make a decision by next Monday,and 3 countries and Magdeburg are both still on as of now.
Had a geek look at the results on Sunday and the weather definitely took a turn for the worse on the second lap on sunday,only 1 of the 11 who finished ahead of me got within 30 secs of their 1st lap time,and most were over a minute slower and most fast runners aren't that bad at pacing so could be more time there.
Got out for 6 this morning and the humidity was so bad I wasn't sure if I was doing a run or a swim. Groin gave me a good twinge during the first mile but I jabbed it with my finger and it stopped. Not sure if that actually released something or if it was psychological. Achilles wasn't great either - I don't think the ankle roll on Sunday helped much. But hey ho, the rest of the run was OK considering the conditions.
Gym again later.
We had bad humidity this morning. It felt like I was running in a sauna.
Ian: yeah, Bonn is also currently "on" as well as in Flanders Fields in Belgium. I've done IFF before and it's a good race. Bonn would be good as well as I could stay with friends beforehand.
BigG: I was expecting that New forest might get canned. It's a shame though.
5 miles for me this morning. It really felt quite tough in comparison to yesterday. It's Boyska's 8th birthday today so he's having some fresh fish as a treat.
Has Boyska recovered from his dental treatment?
Cal - whew, that is hot. It's not much better here.
Big G - £140
I expect you've ordered them by now.
Sometimes you just have to take a little risk and splash out. The Nikes are a racing shoe so you really won't know how well they suit you until you've raced in them, I suppose if you're going to run a marathon in them you'll do one long run in them. If they suit you and you keep them for races then a good investment.
About 20 years ago, pre internet shopping, I went to Exeter to the running shop there and tried on a pair of Kayanos, lovely shoes but retailer and I agreed that I needed a half size up. So I ordered them, they were the only shoes on the market that were £100 and I drove home thinking, 'that's a lot of money'. But as the week went on I got past the stage of thinking they were expensive and was looking forward to collecting them. Following week I drove to Exeter, 15 miles, city car park and traffic jams then excitedly went to the running shop. Tried them on and they didn't feel right, the cost didn't come into it, I was bitterly disappointed. Bought a cheaper pair.
Shame about NFM, they did all they could.
Ian - my gut feeling is that those overseas marathons just won't happen. If runners in Germany really thought they would happen, events such as Dresden and Magdeburg would be full of the runners that were going to do Berlin, Hamburg, Munich etc. Increase in Covid cases in Germany too.
I think you'd be much better entering Dorney Lake or similar event, I know it's not the sort of race you want but there will be a lot chasing GFA times there.
8 miles this morning, 18 degrees and 99% humidity, it really was a sweaty run. Used my NB Fresh Foam More, these are only 4mm drop so it took the first half mile for me to adjust to that, then they felt great and I had a lovely run despite the weather. Calves were a bit tired in the last mile, might have been due to the lower drop or could have been from Pilates yesterday.
I stopped briefly on the way back to see if I could spot the kingfisher as he's back in residence and while stopped a girl ran past me and we had a quick chat, on week 9 of Couch to 5k and she's loving the running.
Cal, I sympathise. It was dreadful here too!
Ha, Shades, no I haven't ordered them. I've been watching reviews by some prominent YouTubers and a couple are saying the uppers scrunch around the laces and toes. Also they apparently squelch when wet with sweat. But others love them! I was looking at the equivalent Sauconys but I haven't researched it properly yet.
Emmy, I bet Boyska will enjoy that! What about Rogue though?!
MAF test this morning. No wind, but very humid. I was sweating after my very slow 1-mile warm-up, and as I was running down I thought there was a strong chance I may abandon the test.
I started the test at 6:15am and it was a fantastic view down on the seafront, with the sun just above the horizon, and I got on with it. On this occasion I did take a 500ml bottle of water with me and that had gone within 3-miles, despite me hydrating well before the run.
But, I have to say, I'm really pleased with these splits:
8:23, 8:26, 8:29, 8:40, 8:48 for a total of 42:46.
This is 1min57secs quicker than July's, average pace 8:34. A slight confession that the 4th mile actually averaged 143bpm, but the others were 142 or below, with 141 average overall. Beats/mile under 1200 for the first time on this test, with 1197.
Since my first test in April this is quicker by an average of 56secs/mile and lower by 173 beats/mile.
I know I'm still getting cardiac drift, but I'm trying not to think too much about that. There are lots of positives as this is the first time all the splits have been under 9s, and the average well under 9s (my one and only other time was an average of 8:57 in July), despite the frankly awful conditions in terms of humidity. I'm really pleased with this. As I said yesterday I was feeling something was happening over the last 2 or 3 weeks despite the conditions not being perfect, and I suppose this confirms it alongside my other regular runs. I'm already looking forward to September's when hopefully it may be less humid?
I know I'm looking for patterns but the first 3 miles were pretty even, right? This is when I had water, with the last 2 miles me feeling a bit thirsty (certainly not gasping, but just a bit thirsty). I was totally drenched after the run. Is water helpful do you think, or is it just a coincidence that the first 3 miles were quite even? When I went out I was planning to do 10 miles over all, but the thought of an extra 3 in those conditions just wasn't appealing so I jogged the mile home for 7 in total.
Great results, significant progress. Looks to me like the cardiac drift is improving, I can't really tell how much without seeing a spreadsheet of all your MAF tests. But those mile paces have definitely improved a lot.
I have water when I do a Hadd test, but to be honest it's more to pass the 90 seconds rest in between HR laps. I know you say you sweat a lot but if you're thirsty by mile 4 you haven't drunk enough pre run. I know the humidity was high but temperature was OK. In this weather I make myself drink an extra glass of water pre run even though I really don't want it and I ran 8 miles at a much slower pace than you so I'm out there longer and I'm not even thirsty when I get home.
So maybe next time drink more pre MAF test. Yes, water will help if you're dehydrated.
Cal - Nice 16 milers.
Ian - Superb running from the whole family. I think you are defo in sub 1:22 shape based on that run.
Big G / Ian - Agreed, always easier if you can run in a group but only helpful if they are running your pace.
8 miles on Friday (instead of a rest day), 15 miles on Saturday then rest on Sunday for a 48 mile week. 10 miles today with 4*1.2km reps with 400m recoveries. Reps were 4:30/37/36/26, was 18c at 4:30am!! Super hot and humid, but got it done.
Big G: rogue got a little bit too ;-) she's been a bit out of sorts so we're keeping her on a restricted diet for a while.
Do you know Dom Spayne? He's down by you and I think he has the Nikes.
Frankfurt cancelled - not a surprise. Voucher available for 2021, 2022 or 2023. I’ve said it before but I’ve been very lucky getting refunds etc.
Ian, cracking race well done! Defo gives you an indication you're in a good place. Well done to your wife and daughter too, still hoping my step daughter would take up running.
Shades, Not sure having other races on VLM day will make a difference, people will always moan about not getting a ballot place regardless of other marathons being on the same date. Dorney Lake marathon going to be 4 laps, was measured yesterday so route should follow.
Rcouture, if you're not ready for any set speed work an idea is incorporate some lamppost sprints (couple to 80-100 meter runs every mile) whilst on a steady run put some 10k pace strides in, gets the heart pacing and get to feel what the pace feels like at the end of the run.
Big G, New forest isn't off yet but it doesn't look good, they are considering looking at different routes, one of the landowners refused permission.
Started back at the gym on Saturday tried to take it steady as new I'd be hurting, added a 3 mile run in the sun followed by 1000m swim. Sunday my arms were dead!!! Trying to build things steadily. Ran 5 miles yesterday morning, 1500m swim last night and 5.5 miles this morning, think the swim took it's toll so tomorrow is calling for a rest day!
Now time to make the most of help out eat out, off for a bite to eat at the place of Westmill parkrun without the running part. Sun has just come back out after being pretty overcast all morning.
Just seen that Frankfurt are deducting a €20 processing fee...
Robert, the original course/route isn't happening though. Looks like they're trying to salvage something but it won't be on original route from what they've said, and possibly a different date as well.
RCouture, I do live in a fairly hilly area, although that MAF test route is pancake flat. But it does mean my regular training runs are a lot slower than that.
I have seen improvements over regular routes though:
- a hilly 7.5 miler. Dropped from about 10:45min/mile to a best two days ago of 10:08.
- a fairy flat (370ft elevation) 7-miler. Dropped from about 10:15min/miles to a best yesterday of 9:23. I've got to the stage where I'm running the task majority of this now.
- a hilly 6 miler. Dropped from about 10:45min/mile to a best yesterday of 10:06.
It's hard doing MAF for several weeks and having no real idea of what race pace you're at so I know where you're coming from. What I did was a 5k time trial, which I then used in a pace calculator to figure out what pace is likely for a 10k. That's probably not in any books as such, but if parkrun had been on I'd have used that instead. There are loads of pace calculators and they're not an exact science but I tend to use McMillan. https://www.mcmillanrunning.com
Ian - yes, could be windy at Boston and/or Dorney lake. We're always going to be at the mercy of the weather.
Emmy - yes, Dom is a Nike runner through and through, when he took over the organisation of the club kit, we switched to Nike.
Big G - those are great stats and I think today if you hadn't been dehydrated and feeling thirsty after mile 3 they might even have been a few seconds better. And of course today was in far less than ideal conditions too. Great training. Base training rocks.
Shame about Frankfurt but at least we know. The voucher less €20 valid for the next 3 years is a fair deal, under the circumstances.
Rcouture - what date is your 10k race?
What you could do is one progression run a week, so first mile easy, 2nd mile at MAF rate, 3rd mile up to 150bpm, 4th mile up to 160 bpm, then easy for the rest of the run. I don't know what your MHR is so don't want to make you try and run at too high a %.
If that goes OK you can increase the distance of the 150bpm to 2 miles and when you're ready the distance of the 160bpm to 2 miles too.
I honestly don't think you need to do any more than that to do a cracking PB.
Robert - I know, they will always whinge about not getting into London but at least there are options for some other good races too, especially for those chasing GFA times.
4 laps will be good for Dorney, I take it you get to run around the whole lake?
It's hard getting back to the gym, but that will be the worst part over with now. I ached like mad even though I took it really easy.
Very hot walk to the gym, lovely and cool in the gym and thankfully they have now got the water fountains again, before I was having to ration one bottle to last the session. Much busier in the gym today, up to 25 people and could really notice the difference but still OK, no wait for machines/equipment and everyone polite and cleaning.
Shades-When I get in work tomorrow I will see if the dates are free and probably book Dorney.
Big G-Those are great stats,shows a really good improvement,well done for having the patience.
I really struggled today,legs still a little sore but my head wasn't in it at all,think my motivation has dipped a bit since Reykjavik got cancelled,I was convinced it was going ahead so think its give me a bit of a knock back,need to get back though as Boston is in 5 weeks.
9 miles done anyway.
Re kit, that reminds me I haven't actually worn my new Mavericks vest yet as I haven't raced this year. Better drag it out for a training run at least soon.
Just had an email from RunThrough saying that as Tatton Park went well they are planning to go ahead with Goodwood as planned, I've already entered the marathon there.
Ian, it's not the same, but when I was 4mins away from GFA and I felt it was achievable, I had a bit of a downer for some time when they moved the goalposts to make it harder. Although I was a bit grumpy about the whole thing I totally understand why they did it, but it still set me back a bit. You must feel you're in peak fitness so what are you going to do for 5 weeks then regarding training? Any ideas?
Emmy/Shades, I don't think Dom knows me, but I know of him mainly because he's quick!
Shades, I forgot to say regarding Trotters training. Chair wanted to change the format to 2 speed sessions + 3 social runs, rather than the other way around. This is because not enough coaches for the speed sessions came forward, and you don't need to be a coach to lead the social runs. So that got agreed last night and the booking system opened today for tomorrow's sessions. With 5 groups of 6 to start with, I can see there are currently 22 booked on and going forward the next sessions will be available on Thursdays to book for the following week. The system I found costs $15pm but it manages it all for us in terms of opening up the slots at a set day/time, closing the sessions when they’re full, sending email reminders, allowing people to cancel bookings to free up a slot if they can't make the session, etc and we wanted something hands off. If we reintroduce Mondays at some point or up the groups from 6 to 12 (this is likely I think, but we wanted to start off slowly) I can change that very easily in the same system. Chair can then print out the bookings and tick people off as they come in. I made Chair an admin so he can load up the session details meaning I'm now hands off too, which suits me just fine
In terms of training I'm just looking at maintaining really,thinking 50 this week,them I have most of next week off as I'd booked it for Reykjavik so may get up to 60,I do have a HM at the end of that week but won't be resting for it,maybe just the day before,then it will be taper time again.If Boston doesn't go ahead then I'm going to do a training marathon anyway.
But you've got races the next two weekends and that should lead you to just 2 weeks before Boston.
Good idea to enter Dorney Lake too.
Big G -15 dollars a month seems remarkably good value for that booking system.
So Chair isn't going to do the risk assessments after all, as with groups of 6 there's no requirement to do so.
Are you planning to attend club training?
Now, where are you on your potential purchase of some racing shoes?
Rcouture - If you wanted to turn your legs over, but without doing too much volume, something like 8*600m or 6*800m at 10k pace. Otherwise 5*1k likewise at 10k pace. Go with 400m recoveries. However if you are closer to your race, I'd do a bit less volume than those, maybe just 5*600m.