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SL - good mileage, you must be in top shape.
LS - 3st in 10 days?! I went to the physio once (about 10 years ago), got a similar diagnosis to you and haven't been to one since.
Last night was the club's "warm-up" for the midweek 10k league, so we all did a 10k round the country lanes near St Albans. Went out reasonably steady but then my mate (did 8:44 for 3000m the night before) started ramping it up. I hung on until about 5M and then he dropped me on a hill (he weighs 25% less than me which helps on the hills!). I eased back a bit then and finished in about 35:30.
2.5M with the dog this morning, her first run with me since she had the weird throat thing. She seemed to enjoy it and everything seemed back to normal.
CD - Joe has the advantage of youth:-(
Hope you get what you want from WfL.
OuchOuch - one of the advantages of marathon/recover/repeat is carb load/recovery food! It's definitely one of my motivators anyway:-) Can't beat the peanut butter M&Ms, am intending to import some more when we go to the good old USofA later this year - assuming there's still one left to go to by October.........HIM is a nice distance, when you move up to the full it's such a lot of training time. When I started running 100 mile weeks Mark was complaining about the amount of time I was out training but I pointed out that he hadn't had an issue with it when I was doing doubles and training for 20+ hours a week to race long!
Joe - nice arrangement with the girlfriend.
Thanks for the Wings for Life wishes. In principle I should make it a bit further than last year's 56K as the weather will be cooler (but with a net headwind). Though I really don't want to completely bury myself with the 100K to follow. I'll play it by ear a bit, depending on how far back in the field I find myself. There are no prizes for anything except 1st though, and Marigold has a sh!t-hot clubmate doing it apparently (and I have a clubmate who should beat me too), so don't expect me to be the one with the camera-quadbike on him. Could be quite a few places back this year (3rd last time).
OuchOuch - did my first ironman last summer, would thoroughly recommend. nice mention on that podcast, hadn't heard of it until now.
padams - result was 272w which puts me at 3.9 watts per kg. Not a bad starting point, hoping with some solid bike miles this can improve in the next couple of months. very speedy 10k - not bad for a 'warm-up'.
LMH - peanut butter M&M's - I'm drooling.
CW - good luck. I like the concept of the Wings for Life (being chased with an unknown endpoint), so must have a go one year.
They are amazing Joe - looks as though you can get them here now too: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Peanut-Butter-Ms-x1-bag/dp/B0013NE1L2
Hope Charlie is going well.
Joe - Would love to do an IM - maybe 2018. I've done a few tri's and loved them all but more tinman at the moment. Luckily where I live easy to do a decent bike ride to a beach and sea swim.
Gorgeous 15m run on trail, coastal path and beach this morning making 47 for the week....not sure if it was a recovery, training or taper run, but 15m in 7.30 mm nonetheless. A few sub-19 5K the main aim for this week.
Hope CW had a good one.
LS21 - Back into it?
Thinking of entering Barcelona in March - whats the view of those who've run it?
Sounds like a nice run, OO.
I was a last minute replacement at UKWAL yesterday (and saw Speedy, but not sure she actually raced?) and so dragged my definitely not recovered legs around the 3,000m (11.13) and 1,500m (5.30). Who knew 88-90s a lap could feel so painful, and yet the breathing be ok?! 4M this morning to bring up 30M for the week. Then a bit of upper body work, aka orchestra rehearsal.
Had a bit of a read back, so honourable mentions for Padams for the spot-on pacing at MK and Jools for the track performances. Also a belated congratulations on VMLM to anyone I missed in earlier posts, since I see a few new names have popped up!
I was ticking over running while still debating whether to enter another marathon following the disappointment of Boston. Well suffice to say I ignored TR's advice (always dangerous!) and this morning toed the line at the Halstead & Essex Marathon. It's a fairly hilly course, with about the same amount of climb as Boston (though not quite as much downhill) so I was interested to see how I coped this time. The good news was the temperatures were around 12C and very little wind so perfect conditions really. I didn't really have a pace plan in mind, I was just going to run by feel and see how it went. So after tearing down the hill at the start in the lead, I was caught on the uphill by a group of about 8. I tried to hang onto the back but it became clear it was too fast for me, so I let them go and they soon disappeared. I tried to settle into a rhythm but with all the undulations it was tricky and paces in the first 5 miles ranged from 6:12 to 6:36! I could hear a guy behind me but basically I was running alone. There were a couple of nasty short sharp downhills followed by uphills which upset the legs in the next few miles and I wasn't feeling great. Times were around 6:30, but still varying with the terrain. As we passed halfway the watch said 1:24:40. I figured that meant I wasn't on for a PB (negative split didn't seem likely), so just thought the hell with it, enjoy yourself. Barely a moment later, the guy who'd been tailing me ran past, slowed for a short chat at which he explained he was going for a negative split and then ran on. I wondered if he'd spoken too soon...! Sure enough, at around 17M I noticed I was gaining on him, having started to feel pretty good between 13M and 17M myself. Shortly after, I noticed another guy about 1/4M in front of the two of us. So I called out "come on, let's catch him", and my buddy did actually speed up! I reckon we caught the guy in front around 18.5M. I was still feeling pretty good, and after a nasty hill around 20M I caught and passed my buddy. I had slowed to around 6:40 pace but was feeling strong and genuinely enjoying the race. There was a nasty section on grass between 24M and 25M which was also uphill, and that started the cramps going although nowhere near as bad as Boston. As I came off the grass back onto the roads just after 25M, there was some bad calf cramping, but unlike Boston I didn't stop, I just tried to run it off. I must have looked a sight dragging my right leg along behind me like it was made of wood but it worked because it loosened off and I was able to carry on! I got myself across the finish in 2:53:31 which I think was 9th place. That's also my second best ever marathon and I don't think it was 100% effort. So on the whole I would say a good day out.
The legs are actually feeling OK at the moment, although we'll see how bad the DOMS is tomorrow. So it seems that heat rather than hills is my real enemy. Although I did make one other change for today which was to wear my standard training shoes rather than racers. If the DOMS is considerably less than usual then I think I will make that change permanent for future marathons.
An easy two weeks for me now, and then the focus turns to Berlin.
OO - sadly not back to it no. Thought I was being sensible by taking a full 2 weeks off. Tried a steady jog this morn. Abandoned after half a mile and walked back. Entire upper leg (hammy and top of inside of thigh) in a tight tangle. So out for the foreseeable. Will just have to hit the gym a bit more and get on the machines. They've got a cracker just by reception actually - I got 3 Kit Kats and a bag of Quavers on Saturday.
LMH - nice to see you getting back to it
ES - nicely done yesterday. Recover well and then go again for Berlin.
Good progress LMH.
LS21 - sorry to read of your injury woes.
Jools - Well done on toughing out the 2 track races.
I played in a football tournament yesterday (we won), the first time I've played football for 3 years. Needless to say, I'm in bits this morning my 3-mile jog was more of a walk.
DOMS is insignificant this morning which is unheard of for me. So I will be leaving the racing shoes at home for future marathons, and using well-cushioned shoes instead. The difference in weight is probably just a couple of pies
Have you seen the osteopath LS21?
Nice team playing Joolska.
That sounds dangerous Stuart.
No adverse reaction from the knees this morning:-)
SL - don't you go getting yourself injured. That said, I play 5-a-side most weeks and feel it helps rather than hinders.
Enjoyed watching the Wings for Life live stream yesterday; well done to CW on a fabulous run. Looking forward to hearing the details.
Week off for me, other than one shortish run along the coast in southern Spain. Much needed break post-VLM & Richmond half. Was our 20th annual lads' golf trip, so we pushed the boat out and played at some top courses inc. Valderrama which was fantastic. Reckon I drank more beer in seven days than the previous 365 combined
Trails and hills the focus for the next few months as I prepare for a couple of Alpine adventures in the summer. Will still try and find a few low key races locally to keep the speed and fitness there.
OuchOuch - Barcelona is an awesome race. 100% recommend it, flat, fast, well run and a great city. DanA will also vouch for it, I believe he's done it about 56 times.
ES - fantastic running from you! Sounds like you paced it really well and finished strongly. You'll love Berlin. Look forward to seeing how you get on.
SL - football always leaves me in pieces! Shame because I do still enjoy playing. Congrats on the win though!
DanA - glad to hear you had a great time and enjoyed some well earned beers. Look forward to following the alpine adventures.
Had a crack at parkrun Saturday but legs just weren't there, ended up with 17.20, still only 8 seconds off my PB but think I can go much faster on the right day.
70ish miles on the bike Sunday with a short run straight off it. Off to Monaco with work today
LMH - good to hear that you're back on the long runs again, must be a relief.
OO - Barcelona is my favourite marathon, and I think Wardi and DanA concur with that. Do it!
Jools - good efforts on the track. Running two races in one afternoon is painful even if they are fairly short.
Dan - golf weekend sounds good. We've got ours in June, but just going to Kent this year (some very nice courses though).
Joe - solid parkrun, but I agree you must be able to go quicker when fresh based on your marathon time.
Not much running for me - just did the parkrun with the wife and mini-Padams (me pushing) plus a couple of miles with the dog. Then cycling yesterday with the usual group - 56M averaging 20mph with some decent hills. It ramped up towards the end including a ridiculous section on the flat in the last few miles where we averaged about 32mph for a couple of miles. It's amazing the speed you can hold in a bunch!
Great stuff in the marathon ES -- I did that one once, and remember a lot of short hills (but not the grassy section, they must have changed the route).
LS -- oh no, you're re-running my VLM hamstring pull experience maybe, which did take 6-8 weeks or something to get over.
Awesome cycling pace Padams, and good going in the parkrun Joe.
So yes, Wings for Life for me. As it only started at noon, I didn't finish until after 4, and then the bus took quite a while to get back, then beer on the green, family supper, work ironing and sandwich-making etc etc... well I didn't get to really put my feet up until 9pm or something, so apologies for not reporting sooner. I do tend to save this forum for my workday lunches, anyway!
In short, it was all very satisfactory. Last year my pacing was well-intentioned but not very well executed. Yesterday though I was much stricter with myself, with Strava mile splits raning from 6:27 to 6:45 (official average 6:35/M), and I didn't fade at all -- I still felt strong at the end, and even jogged back to get the bus after I was 'caught'. Although there was quite a stiff northerly headwind in places, we worked in a friendly group in the first big lap, one guy only there as a training run valiantly taking the lion's share, and it seemed less bad second time round anyway. I got through 5 gels washed down with the supplied water, which I also chucked over my head a lot. I ended up clocking 60.6 km (36.7M) in 4hr08, worth 4th place this time -- beaten by two of Marigold's west-country mates and a 2:33 clubmate of my own.
It was mainly paper cups of water this time (boo), better environmentally but not good for faster runners to grab. The circuit became circular, so static water stations worked even for the last few -- whereas last year they didn't bother with them after a while, and we had bottles given to us personally by bike riders. Much more sensible in terms of road closures etc this year, and it meant we didn't end up so terribly far away from town. I still felt a bit guilty about the villagers who had their high streets closed though, so I did my best to thank the crowds and entertain a bit.
My legs are somewhat DOMSd today of course, but not too bad -- nowhere near how they were post-VLM. So all of this is very encouraging for my first go at 100km in two weeks.
Padams- yes, I found I actually enjoyed the race more because I spent large parts of it running alone, with no worries about dodging people, avoiding tripping at water stations and so on. Also as you say, I had a bit of a mini-race of my own to keep it interesting.
CW, DanA - yes they changed the Halstead route slightly in 2015 I believe. I think there must have been a bit of road they were concerned about and so they put in a section on grass which cuts off the corner. I could have done without it tbh! Funnily enough I did almost fall foul of a Range Rover on one of the many other bends in single-track roads on the route. Fortunately he saw me, although I did have to stop briefly.
2M walk today to keep the legs moving.
ES - I guessed that you'd be marathoning this weekend, pleasing that you got something starting with a 2, although that Boston run was still something to be proud of. FWIW cramp seems to be a lack of preparation at the inensity that is then required on a given race day and can be affected by differences in heat, terrain, pace, nutrition, shoes, road surface.....etc etc so its impossible to fully prep exactly for marathons esp spring ones given the temperature changes from training in Jan to racing on a warm day. Even if you can replicate pace, similar terrain etc then variables like moving from pavement to tarmac come in. My one regret was not to do a smaller autumn race without hoards of people to run with and without water bottles to avoid etc, I quite fancied being on my own for ages trying to hunt down other runners to pass the time, but marathon training through the summer nevers happened for me due to 1/2 IMs and too much cricket. Training through the summer for an Autumn marathon should lead to a much better race day performance than training through the Winter for something like VLM as you'd find race day a lot cooler if its something like Abo.
Sore calf has been manageable (so have the usual issues) so today I surpassed Februarys total mileage (46) on day 8 of May !
Awesome work from CW. Sounds like 100K should be perfect for you.
Great stuff Charlie, I hope the 100k goes equally well for you.
That's a fine low key marathon performance ES, nice one. Berlin is very flat so you shouldn't get the leg/feet problems you did in Boston.
Good effort on the track Jools on still tired legs & congrats on a speedy Park Run Joe.
Nice to see you're managing a few more miles TR.
LMH.. very encouraging, but don't go falling over again will you?
Ouch Ouch.. yes definitely do Barca, my favourite marathon too. About half the size of VLM but easier logistically as everything (start, finish, Expo) is in one place. Just bag a hotel in the Fira Fountains/Placa Espanya area and you're ideally situated. Best atmosphere & setting for a marathon start I've experienced, makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Frankfurt still gets my award for the most bonkers finish however!
Nice to see the mileage building again TR.
I'm trying not to Wardi - it's a bit of a worry.
ES - Really pleased you nailed this marathon. With you and Jooligan on the shoes, I now run in 'relatively' heavy Adidas Boost Sequence - no problems whatsoever.
Wardi / Padams / Joe- Thanks for the heads-up. Barcelona flight booked! So 3 Spanish marathons to run from Nov-Mar 18 - Valencia, Las Palmas and Barcelona. Tienen. Vamos, vamos, vamos.
Looking much better TR - bordering on consistently consistent.
Nice pacing job Padams.
And nice low key marathon ES. Recover well now and ramp up for Berlin.
Sounds like a good run from you too CW.
Good to see the mileage coming back up TR.
Not much to report here. Bloods are there or thereabouts back to normal (took a bit longer as it turns out I had neutropenia too) so I'm getting back to it. Last week was 55m, with a longest run of 14m (paced a friend to a sub-90 HM) and a progressive 3m tempo (17:38 - started about cMP and sped up). Got some changes in the offing which I'm excited about, but can't say anything more yet.
TR - nice to hear you're managing to up the miles a bit.
OO - good decision. As I'm now tempted to have a go at a spring marathon again, I was thinking about Barcelona. But more likely I'll just do London again and save Barcelona for when mini-Padams is a bit older.
6M this morning, 3 with the dog then 3 into work. Taking it easy now until the 10k race on Thursday evening.
Some advice wanted. I would like to a negative split @ Exeter a week on Sunday. Consistently, my 2nd half is 4-6 minutes slower than the 1st. I intend to sub 3 but with my recent faster marathons at 2.50 think I can experiment a bit. At the mo thinking 1.27 and 1.26 for the splits but also like the time in the bank approach. What's your thoughts and especially tips?
Glad that things are on the up TipTop - despite a daily iron supplement my Hb and ferritin are only just at the bottom end of the normal range still.
I must want to do Yeovil - the in laws are inconveniently away that weekend so I've booked us into a youth hostel! Just need to get the dog sorted and I can actually enter the race. Have you thought any more about it OuchOuch?