Auviour Paris: So long and thanks for the cobbles

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  • 50 is the new 40 now SB so you are still young!!!image Enjoy the next year...............
    Freezing cold here this am, did my last three mile Friday commute, finish here in Bakewell next Thursday and start new job on Monday 4th so apart from renumeration at the new place its a job!!! Looking forward to getting back to printing and finishing as no decent selling job offers just loads of rejection emails and letters.  Anybody want any work doing, digital, litho, large or small quantities give me a message and I will quote you. image
    Mike, Choisty, RR seem to be running well keep at it.  Oscarr hope you are feeling a bit better rocking the baby over in Welsh Wales....??
    Have to run at night I reckon as lunch only 30mins and a 45 minute commute each why. Looking for wheels I reckon as we only have one vehicle. See how we go.......happy weekend.......12 miler for me to do Sunday........looking forward to England v France on Saturday, hope we can sort them out and they dont suddenly come good like some French teams seem to do..............

  • Congratulations on getting the job mcs!  Well done, hope it goes well.

    4m recovery on the treadmill this morning.  Tomorrow looks grim for my 20+ miler.  Forecast is that the cold wind will remain and it will snow at some point in the morning image  Enough now!

  • mcs - very well done on getting the job straight away - I reckon 60 is a good age too which I made it to couple weeks ago
  • mcs imageimageimage

    oscarr - you kept that quiet ya sneaky devil - HAPPY birthday imageimageimage Did your runBritain national ladder position improve? 

    Ten - get those woolly pants on fella - two pairs of gloves/socks - whatever it takes to get you out there and feeling comfy ((( )))

  • Happy Birthday for a couple of weeks ago Oscarr!  60 is a very good age.....

    for donning a cap and slippers, and moaning about the youth of today (anyone below 55).

  • Why thank you Sir Ten of Tenland!  image

    Oh did I mention a very dangerous book I was given for my birthday?  101 countries....500 races.... "World's Ultimate Running Races" - needless to say there are already a dozen or so post its sticking out of pages and I've recommenced operation "Nag-Ben-into-a-marathon" LOLOLOL

  • Hi all I'm on a train heading to Eastbourne for a workshop with Sam tomorrow.



    mcs I shall be in touch if I need anything printing. Good luck and well do e for taking it on.



    Oscarr I missed your imminence as I guess was the intention.



    Jogged up to Hackney marshes this morning looking for a flat and straightforward ish ParkRun, over 2 miles each way so ended up doing just under 10 miles in the gentle snow - the one flake every 5 minutes variety.



    It was cold so cold and I can think of several other excuses but really 24:12 isn't bad eh?!



    Ten I'm not following why your longest run is so soon!



    So glad to be spending the night on the seafront with a sauna and steam spa waiting.



    Do any of you have any tips for the toll this weather takes on hands, even very gloved hands? E45 doesn't touch it.
  • reikirabbit wrote (see)
    Ten I'm not following why your longest run is so soon! 

    Because it's 22m and the advice I've been given in the past (by Sam) was not to run it too close to the marathon (she told me to have at least 5 weeks remaining).  The P&D schedule I'm following doesn't actually have anything above 20m in it, so this is just something I'm doing for the psychological benefit more than anything else.  I've only got one more 20m run scheduled, but a harder run that I have remaining is 18m with 14m at MP.

    I suffer a lot with cold hands in this weather.  It took over two hours before they warmed up this morning.  I tried E45 and had two pairs of gloves.  The only tip I can offer is that I have been able to warm them up a bit by hanging my arms loosely by my side as I run to let the blood circulate down to my hands more easily.  It has taken me ages to work that one out, and it does seem to give some relief from seriously numb fingers.

    SB - I'm looking forward to you counting down your 500 races image

    This has been a good week - my highest ever mileage (56m), highest ever outdoor miles in a single week (52m), and longest ever training run (22m). In mileage terms, this is the peak of my training plan with seven weeks remaining until the marathon.  The emphasis now shifts to more speedwork and race preparation.

    This morning was cold and windy with persistent light snow. I suffer with cold hands and it took two hours before they felt comfortable – even though I wore two pairs of gloves! I resisted the temptation to speed up too soon in spite of the cold. 

    If you read the newspapers you'd be forgiven for believing that there are as many foxes as there are rats, and they camp out in everybody's back garden. However, the one I saw today was the first wild (and alive) one that I have seen in approaching 52 years! I've never seen a live badger either, though there was a dead one by the roadside this morning.

    My mile splits were:

    10:33/10:55/11:00/10:51/10:34/10:27/10:36/10:32/10:33/9:37/10:21
    9:58/10:06/10:02/10:13/9:58/9:40/9:38/9:38/9:50/9:36/10:13

    Mile 10 looks too fast, but it had quarter of a mile steep downhill at the start and I lost control a bit on the way down (I had fun, though). I consciously slowed in the final mile as a bit of “recovery”, since I was going over the scheduled distance. 

    I took a SiS Go Gel at 11m, and another at 17m. I only drank about 100ml water – sometimes I wonder why I bother carrying it!

    Rest day tomorrow!  Next week is a mini-taper for the Silverstone Half.

  • reiki - soooooo jealous!!  Say hello from us and have an amazing time...  I use Johnson's 24 hour shea and cocoa hand cream - other than some ridiculously expensive but effective OPI stuff - it's the only thing that separates me from lizard scales in the winter image

    Ten - hats off to you sir - that be some awesome training you've achieved this week!  I can totally see the sense in having a good break between longest and race day - if nothing else - that pre-race 'nervously anticipating' wibbling will be optimised guaranteeing that you'll do your very best on the day.  If you bank too much confidence or race too much I reckon it's easy to get blase/too relaxed come the big day!  Drink wise - better to have it and not need it than not and really regret it - besides imagine how light you'll feel when you don't have it!

     

  • Ten that is one excellent run, lots of firsts - I think I drank almost 2 x 500ml waters on my little frolic today!  I'd probably have guzzled 4 gels as well, 

    Last year a vixen came into my garden many times, and I often see foxes out for a stroll in the early evening.  But I've never seen a badger either, despite going to a school on Badger's Hill, where there were sets all over the place.  

    Wish I was doing Silverstone now, although my brother is coming over, and we are doing Spitfire  - a first for me, and my first 20 of the season.

    Thanks for the handy tips you two - I'm not even that cold.  The cracked raw effect is not attractive or fun.

      

     

  • 3rd 8m of the week or should I say in the freezer. Fed up with this now......

    Decided to push the pace a bit so ran it as a tempo in 1:07:xx 8:27 min/m

    Tomorrow I have a 14m planned and will do this mostly off road and incorporate a few long miles downhill i.e 2m repeats to prepare some more for the Boston downhill sections (10 miles out of 26)

    If I manage all that I'll be on 40m for the week.

  • Happy days!!!! Time to relax and have more faith in this HR training lark.  This morning proved to be both my chilliest and most (aerobically and leg strength) comfortable half marathon (including about 2½ miles of off road)

    I set off aiming to find out whether 9 min/miling was still comfortable.  At 10 miles my average pace (according to my lovely new toy) was 8:27 m/m which dropped off a bit to 8.34 m/m by the end! Time on my watch - 1:52:42! Can't believe just how ridiculously easy it felt - have never been so relaxed in a half - it was awesome!  Took a zipvit at 3 miles and the caffeine did indeed last the 90 mins stated on the packet!  Felt great!

    To say I am chuffed is an understatement.  Legs feel ok - hammies are a bit tight but I'm putting that down to the flippin' freezingness and I'm ready to continue with my training using my 10 mile average pace, ½ pace and extrapolated mara pace (8.56) as the basis for next month's effort sessions.

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  • Congratulations SB! image  Great run.

  • Fabulous SB! Ease and fluidity are what it's all about.



    Awesome timing on the Zipvit too by the sounds.



    I'm sitting on a train in Eastbourne waiting for the off, workshop was marvellous and like you I was floating with ease through the lactate threshold session this afternoon!



    I had to do 4x3x2 min laps.
  • Thanks guys - just about thawed out after a hot bath and a snuggle under my sofa-blanket with my two four-legged hot water bottles. 

    Sounds like you had fun reiki - were there many there?  What was the one most important thing you came away with to implement?

  • There were 11 of us plus Sam and Jeff.



    Bounce bounce hop!
  • A 42m week comes to an end with a hill session along the beautiful Wayfarer's Walk in N Hampshire.

    The plan was to get onto the ridge at 800ft (400ft above our village) and then run east to a section where the route drops over 500ft in about 2 miles - and then play around!

    So winding through the foothills I hit a mashed up section of the trail where motor bikes, walkers and horses and the frost, made running difficult. No speed here....eventually, this gave way to a wide farm track and I was able to run more freely.

    Then the section I was looking for - about six miles in. A drink, a gel and I was off down the chalky track covered in spindrift for about 300m and then this gave way to close cropped meadow grass for another 500m.

    First descent in 7:29m/mile pace, touch the gate, press the lap buton and straight back up this time in 9:44m/mile pace. Two minute rest and repeat once more, down in 7:06mmile and back up in 9:47m/mile. So in total:460 ft fast descent and 460 ft (slower) ascent.....

    Overall Garmin is showing over 3,000 ft of ascent in 13.5m so pleased with that after 14m tempo on Saturday.

  • Sleepy - sounds like your half has given you so much confidence and pleasure which all bodes well for the year ahead.



    Reiki - with such a small group you must have had a great time and got lots of tips and encouragement - must have been good to spend some time with Sam as well - do tell more please



    Mike - sounds like great training there ans after last 2 weekends racing so your fitness must be good and rising



    Well, 2 weeks to GG 21 mile hill race - bit confused about where my fitness is right now - had a good winter doing xc then a few longer runs and weeks up to 35 mpw but then a 2 week break, 20 mile catastrophe race and not much running in the 8 days since then - need a steady next 10 days before GG. Not too worried cos official training for The Wall doesn't start till 4th March but its getting close!!!!! (That's a week today!!! aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!)
  • Congratulations MCS, great to hear

    Congratulations Oscarr happy birthday

    Some great runing out there in the last few days good work.

    My weekend was a bit wayward, started nicely running the same area as mike, but got to 3.5M and had what felt like shin splints or a muscle tear, so hobbled on for another 4M before calling my wife, and we met at 13M.  However after a few glasses of it relaxed and there is no trace today, I'm guessing it was a muscle spasm.  Shame really as I wanted to finish a long week well still managed 117M, biggest week ever by 20M.  This week is long but more a focus on quality

  • Choisty - awesome mileage!
  • 117 - mind boggling!!!!

    Looks like I was 7th F40 on Sunday whoop whoop, I think I'm going to like being in this age category image.  Unfortunately no UKA license so no rB update BOOOO

    Can't work out how to do my mile splits off my GPS yet but will keep playing - however I am tickled by my mileages.  In the first 8 weeks of 2012 I did 217 miles, In 2013 - 168.  My first half of 2012 I raced 1:48 and 2013 ran as training and only 4 minutes slower with 50 miles less in the tank.  In 2012 I was doing intervals, in 2013 I've been doing 12 + min/miling and no speedwork.   Easy recovery sesh for me today but legs feel pretty good!

    oscarr - no race that you finish is a catastrophe image.  Take the pressure off - it's all just training.  The Wall is the goal - relax, enjoy - anything else is a bonus! image

     

     

     

     

  • CONGRATS To all Choisty on epic mileage. SB on a great easy half well done. RR on a training session with the great Sam. Ten on epic long miler in very cold conditions and Mike too hard at it. Fantastic running guys well done.
    My weekend was busy but managed a 7 very hilly run with daughter and 9 on Friday. Not enought time to get out for longer.......undertraining is good according to SB hopefully!!!   Did some miles of the GG in freezing weather on Sunday afternoon flip my face was frozen off when I got home. 
    SB I have read that book awesome runs all over the world just need to live three lifetimes to do them all...........................image

  • Hey mcs - I'm becoming a big advocate for training at a level your body can actually physiologically respond to as opposed to just keep up with, whilst trying not to break!  You've had a lot on lately and I bet you'll run better for not overdoing the training on top of that - getting to the start line uninjured and in good health is worth its weight in gold!

    Know what you mean about the book - I think we may be just randomly opening it and making it a policy to do whatever race we land on - though we have some that really jump out already marked.... image

    As for my undertaining I worked out this lunchtime that I haven't continuously run for more than 4 miles since September (been jog walking as HR dictated) and my longest jog/walk has been 10.5 miles back in January - hence the giant and lovely surprise!!!  The only speedwork I've done have been the 4 cross countries that I did - everything else has been at a HR below 151. (Last year - pretty much every run was 152 +) image

  • Wow lot's of solid running going on at all pace levels and altitude!

    SB - another HR convert here....I went through that process in summer of 2011 and haven't looked back since. I am absolutely sold on it and my favourite mantra is "train slow, race fast" 

    I had the same sort of result as you with new PB's in spring 2012 with no speedwork at all. I ran more miles, but slower miles and yet PB'd from 5k all the way through to HM.

    Some might say, it was just because I was fitter on higher mileage, but I think that misses the point that the higher mileage was possible because I was training slower, therefore not injured or burnt out...

  • LOL Choisty - 117m in a week??!!! You monster.  I bet you still spent less actual time running than most of us too image  

    SB - It took me about five weeks for heart rate training to really kick-in and make progress once I had started it.  This was exactly what John L Parker Jr. had predicted!  It was amazing to be running my previous "hard" (unknown to me) paces at a genuine easy level.  Had I not learned about heart rate training, I would have eventually burned myself out again and given up the running.

    Having finally found out how to set-up my garmin, today I ran my first ever VO2Max (interval) session outdoors!  My target pace was 7:51 for each 0.4m interval, and my actual pace was 7:51/7:51/7:51/7:41/7:48.  My heart rate peaked at 165bpm and averaged 152/153/155/156/158bpm.  The total run was eight miles including 2m warm-up and 3m cool-down.  My only surprise is how low my heart rate was - should really be hitting 178bpm for the intervals??? image  I'm not going to make any changes to my pacing plan just yet, though.

    Really enjoyed running intervals outdoors.  Like the strides, this was much more fun than running on the treadmill (see how I am being converted?? image).  I'm very pleased how it went, because I thought I might struggle after running 22m a couple of days ago.  Gotta love the P&D program!

  • Mike - great running following the tempo session!  Maybe one day I'll get a proper assessment done like yours for the HRM training.  Sounds like it's working for you.

    MCS/Oscarr - good luck for the GG.  Looking forward to seeing the Wall training progress too Oscarr.

    SB - I'm a bit surprised at the lack of speedwork?  It's good to have a blast and really improves the HR fitness quicker than slow running alone.  The plan I originally followed had just one day a week with a hard session working at a heart rate above the threshold floor, and this consistently raised my speed at which I could train slow.  If that makes sense (I know what I mean image)?  

  • Slow, slow, slow is it then?  By default i will be doing this over the next 4 months of endurance work but will be doing one session a week of speed/tempo work - i am not convinced that mixing in a speed session is a bad thing, quite the reverse, but maybe slowing the other runs down will benefit along the lines Sleepy describes.  Interesting, very interesting.  Think i will need to run with an imaginary Sleepy on my shoulder nagging me all the way image.

  • That's really reassuring guys - brilliant to hear - I will persevere.  Ten - I think the reason there's been no speedwork thus far is just because I was in a ultra plan base phase - I'll soon be doing HMP and MP 1 - 2 mile efforts but cos it's for an ultra - I need to focus on completing the mileage (as slow as I need to) without trashing myself!

    Am totally hoping it'll give me an amazing platform to springboard to PBs in the autumn (gonna focus on Mike's results while I chase 'em).image

    My favourite analogy so far is : how can you expect to be fit at the top of the hill if you're not fit at the bottom (which I translate in terms of low HR at the bottom, max at the top).  I think a lot of us are guilty of training at the mid to top end without putting the base in place.  But without it ...

    Right next victim due soon... having some awesome results with my regular massage guinea pigs - one lady has been able to stop taking diazepam for her back for the fist time in years - and all because of a few hours (not all at once) of work on her muscles.  Very satisfying - am liking this new career option! image

     

     

  • Interesting points about training slow, I am an advocate of a multi speed approach, so easy will be easy, I can chat and my heart rate will hardly touch three figures (although I haven't used a HRM in a couple of years) but LT is hard work and reps for VO2 max leave me gasping and wanting to vomit, strides get my HR to near its max at around 200, must do a test. ten if you fancy sorting your HR I'm happy to help.



    SB your book sounds v dangerous

    MCS did you hear Becky James talk about the chimp on radio 4 this morning looks like the British cycling team use the book too
  • Dr Peters is the team physc Doc of the British Cycling Team and he wrote the book The Chimp Mind..............still not finished been too busy lately must get it finished.

    If anyone wants to come along and do the GG a couple of my neighbours in the village have places and cant do the race. Just let me know..............Go on you know you want to Saturday 9th March 10am. image

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