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Shades Marathon Training
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I've got a half marathon in 3 weeks time, that's it for the year.
I have entered an ultra in November but it's in Wales and I can't see that going ahead. It's in Llanelli which today has gone into lockdown.
It's your MAF training that will give you a good half PB, not any more speedwork than you're already doing. There is no need to run longer than 15 either. Your race training is just about done now.
I saw Russell Bentley saying that Wrexham has been cancelled.
Shades: sorry to hear about your cold and the DNS. I think you've made the right decision. I thought parkruns decision was very hasty.
BigG: hope you have a great time and good weather.
Ian: I don't think VLM has much luck at the moment. I bet they'll have an epic number of GFAs.
Cal: good news about the timing change for you.
I've had a tough week as Noah has been sick and I've not slept enough. Went out this morning with a "we'll see" mentality and managed the entire 23k at marathon pace (ish). Was really surprised but felt good throughout.
Good luck if you decide to run. You can have my flapjack if you can blag it from the marshall at the finish.
No surprise about Wrexham, very disappointing for the runners.
Emmy - exhausting week for you. Well done on today's run.
Hope Noah has recovered now.
Shades, sorry you're still poorly, but the DNS is a wise decision. I had to do the same for Valencia (I seem to be cursed when it comes to that race, what with this year's cancellation).
Still feeling a bit sluggish. I was going to do a hard 5K today as I usually do parkrun a week before a marathon, but it was cold and windy and I decided I'd rather have a rest instead.
I'll start it, but sack it off if its too silly. Will be tempting as you run past the exit to the race car park at the end of every lap.
We've had a nice couple of days and yesterday went to Saunton Sands which is a 3+ mile long, sandy beach. It was virtually empty for most of it, except for some dog walkers. At the main end of the beach there were some kite surfers, and also a brilliant cafe/restaurant serving decent pub food, so we ate there. Today we drove back, and stopped off at a lake that is approx 8.5 miles long, and walked around that, stopping for coffee etc, before driving home. We've done the food shop, but we may well get a takeaway tonight before OH is back at work tomorrow. She's a relaxing time and has managed to switch off, which was the main thing.
Of our break, Lynton/Lymouth were the busiest but all the other things we've done have been incredibly easy to social distance, and we've had a good time. I think the main pain is having to book in advance at places to guarantee a seat at a table, which meant just being a bit more organised than usual (usually we just walk in to somewhere that takes our fancy), but it was fine. Weather has been great for us too - there were a couple of showers, but we dodged those, so it all worked out well.
Zero running done though, so need to get back into the routine of running/cycling etc. Achilles broadly okay, but it hurt the most when driving. I didn't do all that much driving, at most 1hr at a time, but it was sore during and after a drive, so it's plainly still not 100%.
Some pics:
1xWatersmeet (near Lynmouth), 2xSaunton Sands, 2xWimbleball Lake (including the dam).
TR: good luck tomorrow. Hope that it's not too windy
Rcouture- HM is very aerobic in nature so your easy training will have far more benefit than speed work.
Big G-Glad you and OH had a nice break,hopefully she is refreshed.
Easy 8 after work,been a hectic couple of days so nice to get out in the wind
Race numbers arrived for London and Elvington today,along with a snood from Elvington.
TR - good luck today, hope you can resist the lure of the car and an early trip home.
Big G - glad you and OH had a lovely time, great photos. Definitely no problems social distancing there. Annoying about the achilles not being quite right yet and giving some gip after driving. If I have a calf niggle I move the seat one notch further forward and find that takes the pressure off a bit.
Ian - no, I couldn't see anything either about races not being valid.
That's very promising you've got your Elvington race number. Snoods are good race mementos, very useful.
Had a better night, so think I'm on the mend, RHR down to 57 today. Still feeling tired and lethargic though. Another lazy day for me I think.
Achilles is definitely grumpy
I'm a bit confused about the sending out of the London numbers....I suppose if you see others out wearing them you'll know those people are doing the event too, but I won't be wearing mine. Still no real news about when the app is going to be available, which is cutting it a bit fine I think! I wonder if the developers are burning the candle at both ends trying to get the thing to work!? I had assumed that the app was to be used to track the runs for evidence, but I did see something in a recent newsletter that GPS/Strava can also be used for evidence. The bit where they say "as a backup" reads to me like they think there may be issues with the app, but maybe I'm reading into things that aren't there!!
"As well as tracking your run on the Official Virgin Money London Marathon App powered by TCS, we recommend you also track your 26.2 miles on a secondary device, such as a GPS watch or Strava, as a back-up option on Marathon Day. You will be able to upload the evidence from your secondary device through the Official App".
I was supposed to be doing Warsaw marathon today....as far as I am aware the race is going ahead still but not in its original format.
Sorry to hear about your grumpy Achilles.
Shades: hope you can enjoy a relaxing day!
I did 8k recovery this morning and feel much better but did get caught in a few showers.
Requiring people to use an app isn't the way forward - a lot of people won't to lug a smartphone with them and then there are luddites like myself who don't use smartphones at all. It still pisses me off how many things seem to require a smartphone these days. I have a PC - why would I want to faff about with a mobile when I'm at home most of the time? Ugh.
I've stopped thinking about what races I should have been doing on what days. (Today would have been Ealing half).
Shades, glad you are starting to improve. I think sometimes we forget how bloody ill we actually feel with a cold.
Got my fat arse out at 6:30 for my last longish run before Dorney. I aimed for 10 but with the route I took, it ended up being 11. I did a truncated version of the Thames Path run I did a couple of weeks back - ran down to Battersea, through the park then along the Thames to Wandsworth. Instead of continuing there, though, I turned off after crossing the mouth of the Wandle, crossed all the nasty big roads (fortunately I managed to make it across without stopping) and then up through St George's park, along the Wandle for a bit then back home via Tooting.
It was definitely windy and I had to run into for a bit along the Thames, though it was no way near as strong or relentless as the headwind I had to deal with at the end of Liverpool Marathon last year. Which was a blessing.
I slowly increased my pace from easy to what I term steady, and did miles 9 and 10 at 9:50 pace, then 9:59 for the last mile (which included a hill, then a stretch into the wind on Balham High Road).
Fairly happy with it - legs feel a bit better now but I still have niggles and QL was noticeably worse after I finished the run. It doesn't seem to like the running, even when I'm paying more attention to my form, which I was today.
Anyway, that's me done - will do two or three shorter runs during the week and then it's showtime.
That's not good having about the achilles, maybe the walking on the sand has aggravated it along with the driving. Have you been using the heel lifts?
I understood that the app for London virtual is the same as the GNR app, you'll have celebrities along the way (I can't think of anything worse) giving you pep talks to keep you going.
Emmy - glad you're feeling better, hope Noah is no longer grumpy too.
Ian - still using the vinegar?
Cal - glad the run went well. Restful taper now. What's the forecast for Dorney?
Rcouture - sorry to hear you've got a cold too. No running until it's gone and I would ditch all speedwork now before your race to get rid of that niggle too.
Rcouture: sorry to hear that you're poorly too. Hope you can rest today.
Shades: nope. He's still grumpy unfortunately!
Cal: well done on the last long run.
Emmy-Gherkin juice is my go to remedy for cramp. I have always suffered with it and read about tests that suggested it was neurological rather than physical as no-one has ever got to the bottom of what caused it, the vinegar is meant to give a shock to the brain parts that control it and reset it, hence getting rid of the cramp.it sounds hocus-pocus but it has got rid of my cramps very quickly, rather than the minutes of stretching it had taken in the past, so I decant the juice into small spirit bottles and drink one as I feel the cramp starting.
I think im in 255 shape, but made my peace it wasnt going to happen, so decided id try to keep just under 3hr pace and drop out at the end of whichever lap i fell behind sub3 pace.
I ended up running all the way, as witj a few laps to go i thought id only just miss 3hrs.
A bit of slowing for hammy cramp twice in the last mile wasnt balanced out by a desperate dash for the line. Chip time 3,:00:00. Which is amusing me. Dorney lake nov 22nd, no 5k or 10k runners to wriggle through late on.
Another trip cancelled for me. We were supposed to be going to NL in November but easyJet changed our flights and the new timings didn't work. Plus, NL is on the quarantine list, so we were weren't going to travel anyway. Because they changed it by more than 5hrs a refund was possible rather than getting a voucher that was only valid for 12 months, so it's worked out well really.
I got my first smartphone for nothing from my mobile provider, basic but it was useful. I have a better one now and use that a lot at home when I've switched off the PC.
Ian - why don't you just use vinegar, that's all gherkin juice is?
TR - that's a great result in those conditions, not tempted to DNF then.
Big G - I suppose that's all your 2020 trips cancelled now.
Shades-Don't know really,just got into the habit and seems to work so just keep to it.
Pretty crap run today,legs felt dead and no energy,had a sore throat the last week and bit sniffly so hoping it passes.
Maybe you're getting a cold too, hope OH is OK now
BigG: sorry to hear about your trip being cancelled. If you guys need anything from here, I'm happy to send it over. We're the same restrictions wise. I'm pinning everything on Christmas but that's looking slim
Ian: Yep, gherkin juice is really common here. In fact, I was given a jar of gherkins after a race once. They're also recommended to pregnant women for cramp. That's a good idea to put it into a little bottle