Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
As for me, well a weird day all in. Been doing alot of fast stuff over the last 3 weeks and as I've said, seem to be running deeper and deeper into fatigue and hoping I come out the otherside a changed man... we shall see come 24th December when I start my two weeks taper. Anyway... today.
So, drove through to Conwy for the half marathon which was going to use just as a training run... and still did. However, as I'd not done a long run for 10 days... decided to do 5 mile before the start then take it easy during the race... especially as from around 4.5 mile it's the ascent of the Great Orme, not something I was looking forward to.
Anyway, let the Sub 1.30 go and lost sight and was tootling along breathing dead easy but legs just shagged. As we started the ascent I decided to cut the ole' stride, lowered arms and decided to do the "pitter patter" I've told myself to do many times... and everyone started coming back to me... didn't get passed by a single person I don't think and must've passed 20+ people easily on the way up... then reached the top... and thought you know what, just work hard now and make this a good solid 18 miler... so, pressed on and worked hard from 7 mile onwards... very happy with the pacing and happy with a 39:46 last 10k.
Finish time wasn't fast but 13.13 mile 1:28:28 (6.44 m/m) which I'm chuffed with considering that was the tail end of a 18 mile run then did 2 mile warm down for the 20 for the day. Result. ALSO... mega made up with all the stats and nonsense from this new Garmin Forerunner 935... don't know what some of it means but love that it's recording it rofl. One thing it is stating is estimated V02Max is 58ml/kg/min. Hopefully with more fitness and another 22lbs off, this will only improve
I've gone the other way & have been solely running easy in the week but then doing a parkrun & another race eg XC at w/e. Started it a fortnight ago after destroying myself in the week post-Snowdonia because I felt fine. XC on the following Saturday indicated otherwise. Since going much easier in the week I've had 2 encouraging w/e: somewhat better last w/e & a much better one this time. Still running every day but managed to knock 2 minutes off my 5M PB today after my best parkrun in months yesterday.
Congrats JB, OO. Hope everyone else in Spain had a good run too.
As always there are tough spots in a marathon and at 24km I got a stitch that took nearly 6km to shift and meant I had to dig deep and fight to stay with the group I was running with.
By 33km the group was splintering so I set off chasing 3:33/km (a 2:30 pace), bolstered by catching, passing and dropping people.
At 35km I kept pushing and split my fastest 5km from there to 40km (17:28).
At that stage I knew I'd have to produce my fastest marathon close to dip under 2:29, and I just about pulled it off to get 2:28:58.
Some stats:
Halfway splits 74:28/74:30 - my two quickest halves of the year by some way.
Last 2.195km: 7:31 (3:25/km) - quickest close by 5s.
Great city, great course, amazing buzz to be back marathoning
Two minutes off your five mile time is good going Jooligan.
It sounds as though you are really happy with that TippTop - I bet the post race beers went down well.
No real aches to report. A blood blister on the head of one toe is about as bad as it gets, so I'll take that.
Stunning runs from Joe and OO - congrats again guys.
Fantastic results all round yesterday!
JoeB - great effort to get a 2:3x. I'm probably not as surprised as you as I thought you were in good shape with that off-road HM and various other things you posted. I'm sure you can go a lot quicker though over the next couple of years (if you decide to focus on running rather than tris).
TT - very nice run, as always you paced it perfectly. And pleased to see my PB is still holding up against yours, although I doubt that will last much longer given you were only about a minute down with a reduced build-up!
OO - that's a solid chunk to take off your PB!
Off to check other people's results now. Obviously the post-race beers went down well and that's why they haven't posted yet!
Pug - that's got to be good for the confidence, and to get a 20M run completed will be good for the endurance (and weight loss!).
Really nice weekend on the south coast. Caught up with my mates from home who I haven't seen for ages and some good family time too. Running-wise I just did a short run before I left on Saturday and then about 6.5M mostly along the prom yesterday. I've had a bit of a sore knee so didn't want to do too much. It actually felt better when I increased the pace - downhill is the most sore.
I've entered a local 5M race for Sunday which loads of the club are doing. Doubt I will be anywhere near my PB (25:58 I think), but would be happy with 26:40 or so.
JB -- wow, congratulations!
OO -- likewise, a massive PB!
Pug -- great going too, nice one.
TT -- magnificent :-)
My half was a bit of a let-down by comparison I fear. My legs felt strong enough, but I was just slow -- 1:18:19 in great conditions on a course with a few hills but not major. I should have been more like 1:17. I was more than 2 mins behind a guy I beat over HM and M distances a month or two ago. Now for some reason I was particularly heavy on the bathroom scales yesterday morning -- don't really know why, but it can't have helped. Maybe water retention from an overdose of Marmite for breakfast! Ah well.
Not to be for me sadly. The nerve issue I mentioned mid week started bothering me at 25k and got worse.
The rest of the race was a bit of a death march as I couldn't spring off from that leg properly. I managed to sustain an undistinguished shuffle to finish in 3.43.43 which is at least numerically pleasing ☺
Still smiling at the finish as I almost consumed a full bag of oranges given out in the goody bag. Live to fight another day etc.
Joined the other chaps for beers and hearing of their successes cheered me up no end. As TT said a top event with no hills at all if you like that sort of thing.
Here until Friday so will continue to enjoy the warmth here and a few more beers.
Charlie. . That's not too far off your usual excellence so well done anyway.
Pug.. well done in your half too; particularly on tired legs.
Jooligan.. Nice double racing at the weekend.
Had to make a decision; either over-exert to stay with it and risk a total blow-up, or drop to a slower pace in exchange for a more modest time. Took the latter, and ran a pretty even pace thereafter (35-40k was actually a bit quicker than 25-35k).
Very enjoyable beers with the guys afterwards. Great to see such a good array of performances. Certainly a marathon I'd recommend for 2018.
The start/finish of Valencia Marathon and 10k, in front of the City of Arts and Sciences Photograph: Kai Foersterling/EPA
Taken from Kate Carters running blog in the Guardian says it all (though still shocked Joe and Dan A turned down the oranges!)
Any race with a beer in the pre-race goody bag, and a bag of oranges presented as you cross the line, already has me in the palm of its hand. Add in sunshine, perfect temperatures for running, palm trees, wide, flat roads and you have an official contender for my favourite 10k ever. I’ve spent the weekend in Valencia, eating oranges, running that 10k and cheering on the marathoners on the same course (my race route was essentially the last 10k of the marathon). The start/finish area is one of the most picturesque I’ve ever seen, and I swear I have actually felt my Vitamin D levels rising in the Spanish November sun.
Some stats:
2.45.19 finish /av 3.55 mkm. 331 st place - so seems the race was faster this year compared to last - there were lots of earnest Spanish marathoners running.
10K splits : 37.58 / 38.25 / 39.25 / 40.36 / last 2.2k 8.58
Wava: 85.18%
New record of 5 successive sub 3 marathons (av. 2.52) after a run of 6 post-3 marathons (av 3.11).
Journey back home: 14 hrs via Barcelona, London, Portsmouth and then finally Cornwall - a lot of sitting down.
TT - I am really pleased with my run, and then I saw what you did - especially as you surprisingly came rushing past at km 1 - absolutely phenomenal on a very non-classical marathon training lead-up! But take a plastic bottle with you next year mate.
CD - Fine margins but a solid time (Marmite?)
Thats a good run Pug - nice one.
Padams - How did the 5m go?
Joe - Massive congrats to you too, sub240 is a massive achievement especially as IM is your main thing. Thanks too for the pace-making.
Wardi - Its a bugger when that happens, but great to finally meet with you and look forward to next time. Enjoy the rest of the week and the sunshine.
Pug - really good half as part of that long run, sounds like the fitness is definitely on an upward curve.
CW - don't be too disheartened by the half, sometimes things don't quite come together, it's still a very decent time - maybe stay off the marmite next time.
Padams - In some ways the result has definitely raised more questions than it has answered. I'd love to focus purely on running and see where that could eventually take me, but I also really do enjoy my triathlon and want to say how far I can go in that world. Would also like to give trail/ultra running a good crack - there's just too much to do! Good luck for the race this weekend.
Still on cloud 9 following the weekend. I was genuinely going to be thrilled with a sub 2.45, so to dip under 2.40 was quite a shock. I'm having a few weeks of proper recovery with no structure - it's been a long, long year, so I'm really looking forward to a bit of down time.
I'll get around to writing a full report in the next couple of days to bore people with!
Nothing very exciting here. 6M recovery plod last night and then plenty of stretching/foam rolling. Feeling a bit creaky after 3 weeks @ 60M for the first time in ages!
Dan/Wardi - tough luck but still solid results. Wardi - 34343 is much more satisfying than nondescript time such as 3:11:19 or 3:27:48.
JoeB - will be interesting to see which route you go down, I'm sure you'll do well in any of them. I decided to focus on running for about 4 years, then I got bored of running every day and did tris for about 4 years, then a few ultras. Not really sure what I'm doing now, not a lot!
OO - nice report, and I like that photo. The 5M race is this coming Sunday.
6M inc. 4x1k just now, efforts were around 3:15-3:20 with 200m (about a minute) jog recovery. I've got a cold but seems OK at the moment.
Padams - nice reps! Sore knee, better at pace, and downhill most sore - tight quad?
CW - why step on a scales on race morning? It'll only play on your mind if you're a little heavier. I suspect the knowledge will have affected you more than the actual weight.
OO - that's a great pic. You've pipped me on WAVA (I got 84.81% apparently).
Dan/Joe/OO/Wardi - great to put faces to names (or re-meet in Dan's case) over a few beers.
Last bit from Valencia for me. Time was revised down by 1s to 2:29:57, which makes my splits 74:28/74:29.
Paces for each section (more meaningful than times as there was no 20km mat).
0-5km: 3:34/km (actually ~3:45/km for 1-2km, 3:26/km for 3-5km!!).
6-10km: 3:30/km
11-15km: 3:32/km
15km-HM: 3:32/km
HM-25km: 3:32/km
26km-30km: 3:35/km (I got a stitch about 24km that stayed with me until almost 30km - it was a bit tough to hold onto the group here).
31-35km: 3:33/km (km 34 & 35 were both 3:30/km - the group were slipping a little for 31-33km).
36-40km: 3:30/km
41-42.195km: 3:25/km (closing time was 7:30, so 6 seconds quicker than when I ran my pb in Amsterdam).
My garmin registered 26m just at the 800m to go sign, so I can see from Strava (I don't bother with splits during the race - the above are the official ones) that I apparently covered that last 800m @ 5:19/mile pace.
It looks like that will put me 17th on the Irish national rankings for the year at the moment, and 9th v40 in the UK. From where I was a very short time ago that has to count as a good result
TT - "9th v40 in the UK" That my friend is stunning and superb. Very very well done. I've give a left testy (only the left) for that kind of ranking coming the end of the year. Superb stuff.
Well after 5 mile recovery run at 8:39's yesterday, decided I'd so some short stuff today... legs very heavy and tired... but measured out 0.13 (200m ish) on a pathway that was quiet and behind bushes hahaha...
1.25 mile warm up, then 12x200m (all between 32.7 - 33.8s) with a dog slow jog back to start followed by a 1 mile warm down so hardly any mileage for me today.
Joe - You appear on the blue mat at 2.42.08 and the footage captures your finish and elation.
OO - some of them were a bit emotional alright. I allowed myself a little smile as I turned the last corner in a 'job done/good to be back' kinda way. Maybe it was their first time under? I have, and will, run quicker. Can't see myself in floods of tears and rolling around on the floor over it though.
Pug - you've got good speed!
TT - well run, those 70M weeks worked well, its nice to see you having a good experience.
OO - top bombing, I was a bit concerned that your pre race prediction contained too much handbrake, but you were well rewarded for letting if off.
Joe - that short run block did you good (even with the marathons in it). You can do VLM and IM but you would need to bike hard and run easy (which works well).
good to see Pug getting fitter
CW - blimey, I didnt know that marmite was a non-performance enhancer, there cant be too much of that being delivered in jiffy bags.
In a bid to find out how fit I wasnt and if racing would set me back, I decided to run the Gosport 1/2 (madly ?) where I did 1:18 in 2013 and an untapered 1:19 in 2014, but both were after spring VLMs and summer 1/2 IM so I was properly fit. No idea how fast I could run now, but I knew what 1/2 effort felt like. Unsurprisingly my first race since VLM 2015 was a shock, and my legs objected for 13.1M. The positives were minimal stomach/groin soreness during or after........the postitves ended there, the rest was a complete humbling.
The SPO laughed as I wandered back to the car in disbelief at being 7 minutes slower than 2013. I wasnt sure if I should be inspired to find more run time to get better or quit totally. But I had pre empted that with a Stubbington 10k entry for January a few weeks back.
so SEVEN, 7, se7ven minutes (Len Goodman would be loving it) slower, which is outrageous. I keep finding myself sitting there shaking my head in disbelief................I could have sworn that I havnt eaten any Marmite in that 4 years too !
Thanks too for the congrats. The plan was to turn off mentally and stalk Joe for as long as possible. If he ran left, I ran left, if he ran right, I ran right - thankfully he didn't need to go to the loo because that could have been awkward. The handbrake was always in reach, but I now know where to keep my pace so I don't red-line, get a silly late race injury or blow-up and say hasta la vista to a good time.
Looking forwards to how you do in the 10k in January.
Had to LOL at Charlie and the Marmite.
How is your recovery going OuchOuch?
Club session last night: 4 x 2 mins, 4 x 4 mins, 4 x 2 mins, all off 1 min. Pace not amazing (6.30s), but it was on muddy grass in the dark, so I'll take it. I could definitely feel the legs were tired!