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Shades Marathon Training
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Big G - Not surprised on the Boston announcement, I feel we are quite a way off large events, I'll train for Manchester 2021, but not sure if it will happen in April.
Like last week, 8 miles today, so rest day on Sunday.
The Grizzly is about 20 miles but the severity of the course means that for most it takes as long to run as a marathon. Years ago a Trotter friend wanted me to run the Grizzly, I wasn't keen but she got the entry forms (pre online ). I filled it in but didn't post it for a few days, she couldn't understand how she got in and I didn't.
Rcouture - sounds like you've had a great holiday and are refreshed and ready for your race.
Good for you treating yourself to those Carbon X. A lot of runners will train in stability/support shoes and then race in neutral shoes. You may not be able to race longer races, such as a marathon in them but certainly for shorter races you'll be fine.
Good luck for Sunday.
Steve - it's all a bit unknown right now about spring events but time will pass quickly.
With my run today that brings up 1750 for the year,for context my previous yearly high is 1809,so I have 13 weeks to hit 60 miles,think I might sneak it.
I noticed Seville haven't put up their date yet,usually mid feb,so not looking good there still.
I had a quick look around when trying to find something suitable to transfer my flights too but noticed a lot of spring marathons not committing themselves yet. I did notice Pathos is on 21st February, that seems to be going ahead as usual. I had to cancel a trip there a few years ago and haven't got around to rebooking again yet.
Rcouture - there are plenty of support/stability shoes around but not by Hoka, I think they only do one or two models.
Woke this morning and had to decide do I take a rest day and then run 18 miles tomorrow as I have a marathon next weekend and haven't done any long runs...or run 8 miles as usual and 10 tomorrow. Opted for an 8 mile run today, legs tired from gym but had a good run. Chilly morning, back to winter kit.
Gym later.
Ran 3 miles to Battersea Park, had a quick stretch and then set out. I ran at what I thought felt like 8 minute pace, but when I went through the mile it was 8:46. Too slow, so I decided to abort and then try again. Quick breather then second time. First mile this time was 8:30 which was still too slow but I decided just to get on with it. It wasn't a good run - I felt a bit awkward running at speed and legs had nothing. Miles 2 and 3 were in the 8:40s again. Finished in 26:56 which is mediocre for me. When I looked at the data after, stride length was a bit down (under a metre - it's usually just over at 5K pace) so cadence was sky high to compensate. No wonder I felt a bit unsteady. The shorter stride was likely due to fatigue from Wednesday, but my groin's also been slightly niggly so I might have been subconsciously holding back as I don't want to get myself injured before the 10K and marathon.
Jogged the three miles back again so did 10 total.
Tomorrow's going to be fun.
Cal, well done on sticking with it though even though you weren't feeling it.
Shades, are you looking forward to Plym Trail, despite the lack of long runs?
I went out for an actual bike ride yesterday, after giving the bike a bit of a service (and wash!) at home. I enjoyed it. I did about 20-miles in total including an hour on the Velopark, which I had to myself for about 30-mins. That's the first time in a long time that I've been out on the bike. I didn't use it at all last year because of the shoulder.
The Covid test came back negative as expected. Quite a good service I thought in that I ordered it Tuesday, it arrived Wednesday, I did the test and posted it Thursday, and I got the result today. It would have been quicker if I'd gone to a test centre, but I didn't fancy that as it wasn't urgent for me - I think I was just a random selection from a study I'm participating in.
Nike refund came through so that’s good service too.
The Tri Club had a "club only" Run-Bike-Run-Bike-Run event yesterday evening around the track I did my ride at. I hadn't realised until it was too late but I would have gone down to watch if I'd known about it. There were about 30 there. I'm not as involved in the club as I'd like to be really - it just hasn't worked what with my shoulder injury last year that prohibited me doing any running sessions, and then Covid this year. If the weather is okay and whilst the running isn't going anywhere at the moment, I may join them on Monday for their cycling session around the track. The classes are fine, but it's much nicer being outside!
I'm seeing a mate this lunchtime for fish and chips
Not really, how about you?
Doing a long run tomorrow would make no difference to how I run, might have mentally helped if the long run went well. I am easing up on the mileage next week and will still do the same number of gym sessions but will ease up on the weights so to avoid trashing my legs.
No email yet on any changes to usual routine etc for the race. He said he was going to contact me re marshalling but it's too late now as I've pencilled the gym in for next Saturday.
Hope you get a chance to get involved with your new training club.
Have you tested the 1080's yet? How's the achilles?
I saw Frome Half has cancelled now as well, which was supposed to be in September, after original putting it back from July. I think that's now all my races cancelled that I'd booked before Covid. The small number I've got left I've only booked in the last month or so since restrictions started to lift.
Big G: mine has the same with all my races being cancelled.
Cal: could it be tiredness?
Shades: do you think that you'll be ok with the limited longer runs?
Keith: well done on the 5k.
A 9k for me with the dogs. They were really slow so I took it easy.
I deferred Frome Half to 2021, shame they've had the race pulled so late.
Keith - all that training is paying off. I think you'll have a long wait for parkrun to start again.
Emmy - probably not, but there's only one way to find out how the lack of long runs will impact on my marathon. But mentally this is a tough course especially the last 6 miles so if I can get to 20 in relative comfort I'll be happy to slog out the last few miles. I haven't done a marathon since December.
You're getting so fast now the dogs can't keep up.
Have you found the car keys?
We've got an early start today as we've got a "sunrise Safari" at the local Safari park. So maybe no run today but we'll get to see the animals first thing.
Ive never done Plym. It's just too far for me. Hopefully it'll be ok social distancing wise too :-)
Sunrise safari sounds lovely.
Plym Trail is a deceptively tough course. The village, more a hamlet really, is on the edge of Dartmoor. We have to run up a steep hill right from the start, do a little out and back on a tarmac path then back down the hill to the start and onto the Plym Trail. It's a lovely trail, all tarmac, and goes for 6 miles the first 5 a gentle downhill, then one mile flat to Coypool. We then turn around and run back to the start, approx. 14 mile point and then we run back down to Coypool and back up again to finish. The last 5 miles gentle uphill starts to feel a lot steeper and mentally some of us find that tough. The trail is open to the public and if the weather's good it's fairly busy with walkers/cyclists and families out for a stroll so the narrower part can sometimes be annoyingly busy. The council may have widened it or maybe our race route has changed a bit, we haven't had race info yet. I think it was the last time I ran it I was stopped by the train, they have an old steam train that does short journeys and they close the path.
10 miles this morning, nice running weather. Legs still a bit tired but not too bad, 1.5 miles round the industrial estate then onto my favourite hilly route, 607 feet climb today. Another 50 miles week done.
Hope you had fun with the safari - sounds really nice.
Shades, that sounds quite a nice route (aside from the steep downhill after the uphill at the start - I wouldn't like that). Well done on the 50 miles.
I found myself on a main road so headed in roughly the direction I thought I should be going and eventually a road sign revealed I was on the South Circular, which would take me almost all the way home. While I was glad to be running on pavement again, it was pretty boring and when I spotted Barnes Common on my left, I took a footpath through it. I thought I could hope back onto the South Circular at the end but I came out on a different road (according to the map, Marc Bolan's shrine is here, near where he died in a car crash - but I didn't spot it).
I kept going along the road (there was so, so many cyclists - big groups of them, probably heading for Richmond Park) and eventually came back to Putney. I opted to hop back onto the Thames Path and then ran back through Wandsworth to Wandsworth Common.
I hit 20 miles on the section near Wandsworth Common station and decided that was enough. I walked it in from there - almost a mile but I figured it would do my legs more good than running to my door and then stopping.
Time was 3:28:51 - better than last week, and a strong neg split, though last week had a lot of hills. Legs actually felt a bit more trashed, though - probably a mix of being pre-fatigued (this week was 58 miles) and being a flatter course, which meant the same muscles were working throughout. Epsom salt bath was much needed and I feel much better now.
Big G When I lost my weight originally I put it down to spinning classes and diet, will keep an eye out for a space at my new gym but they are like gold dust. Big G lovely weather for TP, bit breezy maybe but better than the 30+ degrees the NDW100 had last month. Is it a race you'd fancy doing?
Cal glad the funeral was worth going and a good catchup, i feel for those who have lost someone in early covid days and haven't been able to say goodbye. That hangover will remind you why you don't drink too often
Rcouture sounds like a good break, always good to run different routes, I think QE half is flat having ran that way myself however think it's twisty, think Cal did it last year?
Ian hope you get away soon without any interruption. that’s a good year mileage, I know you’ve had your fair share of injuries, is this the first year touch wood no injury?
Keith well done on the unofficial parkrun pb
emmy because I train a lot in Stevenage I’m blind to how dull the underpasses are, I did the half in 2014 so look forward to trying 2 laps.
After feeling positive about my running last week, I felt lethargic most this week but still managed a few shorter runs which obs better than nothing.
yesterday continued with progressing the longer run to 14 miles. I got it done but the final 5-6 miles were a struggle. Made it to the gym for a short blast this morning followed by 1600 (64 lengths) swim.
have 3 more weekends before DL, aiming for the long runs to go 15 and 16 miles then cut back the week before
Had a painful but fun time on this 10k race. Was running late due to eldest being a pain this morning so ended up driving down to battersea park which is about 15mins away and meant I didn’t have a proper warm up. Ran around the venue for maybe 5 mins at best. Was well organised with social distancing and wave starts. I was in the first wave based off my predicted 45mins which surprised me. Quite scary to be setting off with all these club runners in their fancy singlets! Anyway I set off too fast due to the excitement (and some heavy house music which was a mistake). This combined with the lack of familiarity with fast running meant I really struggled with the pace and faded throughout before rallying a bit at the end as you can see from the splits below. Got across the line with a chip time of 44:21 which was my target of sub 45 and a 6 minute PB off only one other 10k ever so can’t complain too much. However it was just more painful than I anticipated. I think it was mostly mental as I worked out that since the beginning of May, I have totalled about 45 minutes of running at anything below 8min and that in the last 3 weeks! Also aside from some slightly tight calves, I felt absolutely fine 5 mins after crossing the line.
RCouture, great effort there - a 6-min PB must be very pleasing! Brilliant stuff.
Emmy, it's great first thing. On a rare occasion I go to the zoo here before the gates are open and it's really good as you hear the animals going about their business. I've also been there after hours in the winter when it was dark, and that's a strange experience too.
Robert, no it's not a race that's on my radar in any way. I've only ever gone over 30-miles twice. Generally, a marathon is (more than!) enough for me! My club mate finished in 19:37 for 27th place which is a brilliant effort. He's commented on Strava "never again", said he went off too quick (his actual words are that he "went off like a ****"), got lost once or twice, and spent way too long in the aid stations. So 19:37 in those circumstances is brilliant really! Well done on the longer run and sounds like you've got a plan forming for DL.
Cal, well done on another decent long run there.
I'm very, very tempted to run but I know last time I had this achilles issue I had quite a few false starts where I'd try a run, hurt myself, and felt like I was back to square one. I think I want 4 or 5 days where I feel I could run if I wanted, and then maybe try a short run after that. Yesterday it was fine as was today, so I suppose if it keeps the same I may try a short run Wednesday or Thursday. I'm still doing the exercises and balancing stuff. I'm almost itching to get out there though, but there's little point in pushing it at this stage. Plus I'm happy with my cycling and spinning at the moment, as that's keeping me entertained for now, but when it gets to winter I won't be on the bike. The classes are okay but they're not a long term thing for me, they're just to keep the weight off.
The forecast was good so I went down the velopark again today. This time I stuck to MAF and had an enjoyable ride out. It was a bit busier today but still loads and loads of space - I think at most there were 10 people on the approx 1-mile long track and it was nicer with a few more people on it, whereas I had it to myself for much of Friday's session. I stuck to MAF apart from the penultimate lap where I gave it a bit of effort and managed a PB for a lap of the circuit
Cal-Nice 20 for you.
Rob-I've only really had 1 serious injury which is the Achilles,other than that it's just the odd few days,this has been the best year,but importantly my most focused and also as I have a decent base now,I've been able to increase weekly mileage more than before.
Shades-Nice 50 week,will you rest before next week or just train through?
Shades: that's a great mileage week. The course does sound a bit challenging. Not sure I'd like the last few miles uphill!
Cal: if you like the Thames, have you ran the Thames Meander? Starts out in Kingston and runs through to Putney bridge for the full.
BigG: it was really lovely. So nice to see the animals. You could see they were thinking: isn't this a bit early? I shared a video on FB of the Tigers swimming. I've never seen the Tigers so active.
Robert: could it be the changing seasons for why you're lethargic? I know a lot of people are struggling with that at the moment.
I would advise not to ever have music in a race, it's really important to focus on the race and your fellow runners, it is a social occasion after all even with social distancing.
Brilliant result, you should be really pleased with yourself.
Cal - that's a great long run. Yes, I hate those stony uneven trails and the more tired I am the more they annoy me, can be quite niggly on the ankles too.
The steep downhill at Plym Trail is actually quite runnable and a comfortable run, any steeper and it wouldn't be.
Robert - that's good about the gym booking, our popular classes are oversubscribed too, they do operate a waiting list and that works well. But around 7a.m. in the middle of our circuits class on a Wednesday, when the instructor says 'grab a drink', I quickly book Pilates for the following Monday, otherwise not much chance of getting a place.
Your training is going well, we all need an easier week now and then but you're on target for DL.
Big G - KW did well, 100 miles is a phenomenal distance and rarely does anyone manage to stick to their race plan.
Seems like you're keeping busy fitness wise and being very patient before trying a run again, but you are right to try and avoid those false starts that you had last time.
Incidentally, I've tracked down a pair of 1080's v9 for £82.50, need to do a bit more research first, only looked at runrepeat and on their the v9 gets a higher rating than the v10. The v9 don't have the flared heel tab, but that's fine for me.
Ian - I will take the day before the marathon off as a rest day. The other 4 running days I will drop the mileage to 6 miles a day instead of the usual 8, with the marathon that will still give me 50mpw. Same number of gym and classes but will lower the weights for all gym sessions on my legs. Hopefully that should be enough to have fresh legs next Sunday.
Emmy, love tigers! I've done Thames Meander half four times in various conditions including one occassion where it was like the Battle of the Somme with ankle-deep mud and horizontal rain. Absolute carnage! I've never had a particuarly good run there so the marathon isn't that tempting. I much prefer running on road.
Big G, I must admit I just ignore my achilles for the mostpart and run anwyay. You're being incredibly sensible.
Rob, it'll get easier I'm sure. Do you have a time in mind for Dorney or is it just a get around kind of deal?
Emmy, have you ever been to Emmen zoo in NL? They’ve got an incredible elephant enclosure.
Ian - Yes there was a pretty wide range of abilities in the end though it was weird that over half the folks in my wave seemed to be club runners.
The guy who won the 10K today is in my club, but he's borderline elite at the ultra end - he won NDW 100 last year and has a sub-2:30 marathon. Not too shabby over short distances though - he's done a sub-15 5K. But obviously, there are a lot of slower runners (like me, heh). You also get £2 off most races as a club runner.
Rcouture - most of the races I do are mostly club runners. There's a good social side to most running clubs too. As you don't care for speedwork it's a lot easier and fun to do it in company. And as already mentioned usually £2 off race fees for affiliated runners. Clubs vary a lot in price of membership and benefits so worth doing a bit of research first. My annual club subs are only £5, but some clubs charge anything up to £40+. Most clubs will allow you to run with them before committing to joining, with Covid some clubs might not be taking on new members right now.