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Shades Marathon Training
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Shades-I entered the Rother Valley race and got the affiliated discount.Not sure whether I'll be doing it or not yet though.
21 miles done. I started at 6.40am and saw the most amazing red sky over Tooting Common, before it turned pink and then faded completely.
I wasn't really watching my watch, so I was quite surprised to see how many of my miles were just over or just under 10s. There were some slow miles - the first when I was warming up, the mile through Morden Hall Park (no reason it should have been as slow as it was as it was flat, but I went along a wetland boardwalk and was looking out for interesting wildlife, though I only saw ducks and moorhens) and the uphill miles on Wimbledon Common. The fastest mile was the last one at 9:37 and I did a 9:39 at mile 16 after spotting Liam, a supervet who runs at my local parkrun (he has the V70 record there at 22 minutes).
So, I guess I'm pretty much recovered from Chester! Legs feel OK and my achilles wasn't bad at all.
Ian - Sorry you had a bad day.. that(s a horrible feeling when you're just into your race and you know it's not going to happen. Bet those long shifts had an effect on you, the cumulation of all that tiredness is bound to have made a difference. Hopefully you'll be more rested for your next attempt. Good training run under the belt mind you!
Last longish run for me - 24k on my favourite Wednesday route. I swear I could do this run with my eyes shut. Nothing interesting to report apart from a cat crossing the road just in front of me, being scared of me and shooting into a bush where unfortunately another cat was hiding resulting in an explosion of hissing and spitting. Made me grin anyway!
Thankfully the run went well which has given me a boost for next Saturday.
MF, well done on your run too.
Ian, bad luck on the Half. That’s still a good time. I think it’s worth remembering that probably a couple of years ago you’d have been pleased with that.
As for me, I did Day 2 today in what ended up being good conditions. The forecast was wrong as it didn’t rain all race. Not that I’m complaining!
As I was walking to the start I was feeling really good so came up with a couple of goals a) sub-3:45, which I’d have been over the moon with and b) try not to go over 4hrs.
I set off at 3:45 pace and was feeling good, although there were a few aches and pains, but they went. I probably did go through half way a bit quick as I was through in about 1:51, which was quicker than yesterday. I did have a real bad patch at around 15 miles where I was feeling light headed so I slowed down a bit and it passed in a minute or two.
I kept plodding on and with 2 laps to go I started feeling it a bit, and the last lap especially was quite a lot slower again, and I ended up finishing in 3:50:37. So although not my A-goal, it was still way inside my B-goal so I’m happy with that. Also, it’s my quickest double to date. Today was good enough for 3rd whilst yesterday I was 4th. You wouldn’t get those positions with those times at many events, but I’ll take it.
At the start of the race, Foxy announced that it was his 300th event and so he would give a free entry to any of his events next year to those that were there today. I have to say I thought ‘you b******, please, please do not tempt me!!!’. Don’t worry, I’m not going to take him up on his offer! I have to remind myself that it’s most definitely not free for me, with hotel and travel. I was briefly thinking about his ‘week at the knees’ event and doing 4 in total (which is a goal of mine), but it’s in March which doesn’t really work for me, so it’s a no. I will see if I can transfer it to someone else, but that’s probably unlikely.
Big G - that's a good time for your first part.
Where I thought I was coming down with a cold I decided not to run for a couple of days. Thankfully I didn't take the cold so went out for 6 miles today and loosen up the legs a little.
On a disappointment note I am not going to be able to take part in DD next year. My employers have refused my request for time off in order for me to take part. So it looks like I'll need to wait until 2020 to take part.
steven - I may well join you for that. DD isn't going to work for me next year as it's the week after a marathon and, since I'm not Big G, I don't think it would be smart to tackle my first ultra on knackered legs.
Glad your cold didn't come to anything Steven.
Cal - I can't hide behind the excuse of tiredness due to work.. it's the school holidays at the moment! Back to work tomorrow
That's a great time today and a really good double and top 5 placing in both days.
Ha ha at your free race entry for another of Foxy's events.
Jelly - hope you enjoyed the Cornish today. Good news you've signed up for Tavy13, good DD training.
Ian - 1:33 is still a great time and as you were so tired from working a good result. Hope you're feeling refreshed soon and do line up for the Rother Valley race
Cal - that's a good long training run, I think you've definitely recovered now from Chester, much speedier recovery now from your races too.
mamafox - a good last longer run from you too today, taper now ready for Saturday
steven - glad to hear your cold came to nothing. Shame about DD next year but maybe you will be there in 2020. I have a friend that has moved to Scotland and he ran the Strathearn marathon, 2nd weekend in June, and said that the course is very similar to DD so if you can run that in 2019 it would be great DD training.
Cornish marathon was wonderful, we had lovely weather for the first 14 miles then it started to cloud over and a little headwind in places. By 25 miles it was raining fairly steadily and fog descended too, typical moorland weather. But a great race, really enjoyed it, finish in 5:08 which is 13 minutes faster than last year and my 5th fastest out of the 12 times I've run this race. Lovely pasty and cup of tea at the finish.
We had our own Little Venice and had to run through a flood at 6.5 miles, ankle deep. Took a while for my feet to warm up and dry after that, unfortunately we then had to run through it again on the way back at 22 miles so feet remained wet for the rest of the race. My feet are fine as I'd put stuff on them in case we had a lot of surface water, wasn't expecting a flood though.
Big G-Brilliant 2 days times for you there.Does he have shares in the hotel there and that's why he keeps encouraging people to go back to his races?
Shades-Sounds like you had another really good race,13 mins is a good improvement from last year.
Cal-Thats a good run after your sub 25 yesterday,well done.
Like Big G said,just 13 months ago today would have been a 5 min PB for me,just frustrated as I felt really good in the week and was confident of a strong run but that's racing I guess.1 thing that's worrying me though is since I've been home I've got really bad pain in the knee,ok when I'm sat and moving slowly but when i get up or down the stairs the bending movement is really painful,hoping it doesn't turn in to anything bad.
Shades, great that you had a good race. When I was slogging around that lake today I was wishing I was there instead. Did you get any insider info on if the date change is a permanent thing?
Watched the NYC marathon today,great run by Keitany to run away with it and it was a good race in the men's,started the hints to the wife and she was quite receptive to a trip there.
Ian - oh no! Is it the front or back of your knee? As Cal says hopefully it's just a passing twinge.
I get intermittent knee pain in my right knee, less so now that I've ditched the Yin Yoga, and it can be uncomfortable at times walking and on stairs but bizarrely never hurts when I run. I think it's just wear and tear.
I must try and find NY marathon on YouTube to watch sometime this week. Well done on laying the groundwork for a trip there, the shopping is amazing too
Big G - No, I didn't get a chance to ask the organisers about the date change, they were so busy. But I am going to email them to thank them for a great race so I'll ask then, I also want to mention that runners had thrown gel wrappers all over the course, really dreadful and dangerous as the animals roam freely over a large part of the course. Several other runners mentioned it to me during the race. I also want to ask if they had considered doing entry without the hoodie as I'm sure I'm not the only person that hates them and wouldn't wear one.
Jelly - well done on your run at the Cornish, hilly marathons are always a bit of shock if most of your previous races have been flat, but the hills yesterday are fairly relentless. In DD you would be running at a slower pace and hopefully we'd have better weather too. Having a dodgy tummy would have made yesterday a lot harder for you too. You're very welcome to the hoodie, hope you get that outdoor job soon so you can make use of it.
Cal - my shoes are still wet and I think will take a few days to dry out, my socks looked pretty disgusting as the water was muddy too. Yesterday morning I had contemplated putting on a new pair of race socks as the pair I've been using are white and grey and were looking a bit dingy, so glad I didn't. I've washed them and they're a bit better but think I'll wash them again, they'll never be white again.
5 mile recovery run done, legs are feeling pretty good but I already have the onset of slight DOMS in my glutes and high up on the hamstrings, I expect my quads will be a bit sore tomorrow from the downhills. Yogalates this morning, ouch.
As for me, I don't think I'm going to do a recovery run today but I am planning a longish, but very steady, walk (with coffee and cake, most likely). I've got a minor niggle around my right hip/groin which I'm sure will be fine in a day to two, but probably I shouldn't really run. I think it wasn't helped by the drive home, although that wasn't too bad in terms of there been no delays.
Also, I'm now feeling much better about the remaining races, with just 4 to go for the rest of the year. Getting those last two out of the way suddenly makes it seem much more doable and it's amazing what a good (for me) performance can do for the mood! Next Monday's event is a trail event on good quality trails, but I believe bits can be muddy so I'm not sure what time I'll do on that one, as it'll depend on the conditions really.
It's not just running events though. On Paignton Sea Front, which is about 0.5 mile long, there must be 10+ massive bins. If you go down there early on a Saturday or Sunday morning especially in the summer there's often rubbish everywhere. I suppose a small amount could be because the gulls may get hold of it out of the bins (although that's increasingly unlikely as the newer bins are gull proof), but the vast majority is from people just chucking their takeaways on the floor, even though they're never more than 1-min away from a bin. Of course the Council come around and get rid of it all as early as possible in the morning, but when I've been running along there early it's just depressing.
And breathe!
Hope the hip is just a tight flexor that should ease in a day or so. Good to know you're feeling more positive about your remaining marathons for the year, it must have been the 'lake' that was getting to you.
We had a pre race briefing, but only about half the runners were there and I don't think they mentioned litter. There were a lot of spectators yesterday, far more than I'd ever seen and runners can always hand litter to them, they are only too happy to help. They need to threaten disqualification for littering in this race, as they do with DD, there is no need for it.
But you're right, littering is rife. As with Paignton it's bad here too but here there are very few litter bins. Was a joy in Germany, no litter and everything so well maintained and clean.
Ian - maybe just a little inflammation there, glad it's feeling a little better today.
Yogalates was tough this morning, we did a hip/glutes series of exercises which has left my butt feeling like I've been kicked by a horse.
I just found this off Sports Tours website
*Running and Cycling events in Italy
Following the decision from various Italian Marathons to enforce the rules as set by the Italian Athletics Federation more strictly, the medical examination required for 2017 competitors is significantly more extensive than for previous years.
For your entry into the event to be accepted your medical certificate now has to contain the following:
All previous medical certificates will not be accepted by Rome Marathon and any other Italian Marathons and all runners are required to have the attached medical certificate completed by a medical professional along with the required tests. Full details can be found HERE
Alternatively athletes holding a membership card of non-Italian Athletics Federations recognised by IAAF, upon registration these athletes may upload a scanned version of the membership card recognised by IAAF; the card must be valid on the date of the event. The card must be consistent with competitive road racing according to the current legal provisions enforced in the athlete’s country of residence. A copy of your IAAF membership card and attached declaration must be provided to Sports Tours International.
In simple terms if you are part of a running club and your club is affiliated with the national athletics association of your country then your membership card is sufficient.
Manchester Institute of Health and Performance
The Manchester Institute of Health and performance offers a testing package specifically designed for runners looking to take part in Italian Marathons. All tests as specified by the Italian Athletics federation will be performed and a certificate will be issues by a trained professional. More information below.
I can only assume that the guy I spoke to wasn't in a running club, or they didn't tell him that if he joined a club he wouldn't have to pay for an ECG. It's a farce really as we have no medical tests to join a running club, they do have in Italy though including ECG.
Big G spose the MK events do help load up the numbers esp if plans don't go to plan, I'm sure you'll enter for ballots and need more slaps, that's without the temptation of the (not so) freebie you were offered yesterday. If you looking for a track marathon Eastbourne (done by Sussex events have got a good name) they also do Southend (i think) Pier, Round Brighton FC and they did a multi storey carpark until it was demolished. Great couple of races and well done on being sensible when you felt ill!
Shades, seen a few errors on the marathon list myself, however much better to have too many on then you search and find that they are no longer than for them not to be on there. Venice is firmly scrubbed off the list.
Cal that's some super pacing for the parkrun, congrats on the sub 25!
Ian tough day yesterday by the sounds of it, wouldn't let it worry you too much as you've had a super year top date. Good work on dropping hints about New York, mention of a few shops will help. Hope the knee isn't too serious,
I'll hold my hand up, if I'm doing a big city race where there is a big clear up, I'll drop my bottle/ gelwrapper but I drop it either by a bin or by a sign that will be picked up, I don't launch them into bushes where they are lost which I see some people do. When doing a smaller event or anything off road I take full responsibility to make sure my rubbish isn't littered everywhere and carry to aid stations or finish to dispose.
Robert, yes I think a lot of the regulars do those events mainly to keep their numbers ticking over. On a rare occasion you may get someone there for who it's their first marathon, but generally speaking the majority are marathon addicts (like myself, I might add!). There was one lady who did the ultra on the Fri and Saturday, and then the marathon on the Sunday. I'm sure if he'd provided an Ultra on the Sunday she'd have done that too. There are a few now going around with those Marathon Maniacs T-Shirts which show they've done 100 in a year (as it happens I don't like those shirts - a. they're £40 and b. they're quite loud!). I think I'm doing quite a few, but really it's not a lot compared to many. The thing is, even something like 10-in-10 or 52-in-52 is done by quite a large amount of people now. Admittedly, it's just because I associate with them and I guess non-runners just couldn't comprehend it, but quite a large number have done them now. It seems to be coming a thing now too where they're doing the same milestones, but making them Ultras instead. Bonkers really.
It was funny as one guy I know a bit from the circuit did his 100th a short while ago and he vowed he would be taking a break as he was tired. However, he turned up on Sunday, 10-days after his 100th, as he felt he was missing out and wanted to get going again. I can understand that actually, even though I've not got to the magic number. Probably Shades may know for sure, but I've been told that a lot of people in 100MC kind of get stuck on 101-105 and don't go any further in doing events. Or maybe it's just because they join the club and then don't keep up their subs, but keep doing events? I know I've heard loads of people say they'll stop when they get to 100, but in my mind that's at least partly because they may get bored going around lakes all the time!
For me, and I'm sure for a lot of runners, I've got a lot of smaller goals. They're not all of equal importance, but the sub-4 count is there in my mind - my spreadsheet automatically keeps a count of sub 4s, sub 3:30s and sub 3:20s (of which I have one!). I suppose 50 sub-4s within the overall 100 seems achievable to me now (I'm currently on 26/53). It won't stop me entering slower events (i.e, City to Sea, LDWA or DD where I won't get under 4hrs), but that number is in the back of my mind. Similarly, just doing different events is a big part of it for me. And obviously chipping away at my PB if I can. And 20 parkrun locations, like Cal. I've got loads of goals, so hopefully I won't grind to a halt if/when I get to my 100th, presuming I remain injury free, but I believe it is a fairly common occurrence. In any case, there's a long way to go yet!
Shades-Thats full of overkill for Italy races,lot cheaper to join a club.
When I did rhyl half marathon this year,they threatened to disqualify anyone seen dropping litter,they had bins at each Marshall point and also 100 yards after each point so no excuses.
Did my local undulating parkrun on Saturday, went racing off 1st mile in 7.09 which included a shoe lace stop! Backed the pace off to sub 8 min miles to finish mid 23 mins. Far too fast but hopefully no harm done. Instead of a healthy breakfast had a sausage and egg sandwich after parkrun at 3 lakes café, then went home sat on the sofa and had Dominos deliver for lunch. Not really aiding with the weightloss.
Stevenage half on sunday, aimed to pace a few clubmates at 2 hours, one wanted to go out at 1.50 pace and hold one, one didn't turn up and the other wanting to start at 2.10 pace and run a progressive race so started with her.
After a mile she told me to run my own race so decided to run a progressive race started at 9.08, had a bit of a mad moment between 3 and 4 as went from 8.40 to 8.11 so made it a nice little challenge got down to 7.35 at mile 11 as I raced past my physio at 7.20 pace then knew there was no benefit going faster and steadied to 7.43 amd 7.51. Tried to encourage anyone walking including some younger lad with about 500m to go told him 4 mins running or walk 8 mins? got him up the little climb before the track finished. 100m to go I thought I can have him within a second of the sprint he took it up a notch and knew I couldn't race that! The only person that I overtook to overtake me.
Finished 1.46 but was feeling a bit of discomfort. Now resting and focusing on recovery as I only have a 5 miler at start of December and a 10 miler at the end of the year that I don't really need to target anything other than to get round.
Not raced since my last ultra in October but have been going to club sessions and trying to get used to swimming and cycling which is much harder than I thought.. My next race is the phoenix rememberance day marathon on Sunday and there will be the 2 min race freeze at 11am which worked well last year. The entry list is alot bigger this year, last year there was 150 runners, this year is closer to 450 so the course will be quite busy.
I wasn't going to race again this year after rememberance day but for scientific research I'm running an ultra on the 16th December.. A research team from the university of Kent were looking for volunteers that were ultra marathon runners to study the fatigue and recovery as a result of the ultra.. It's quite an involved 4 week process with various tests before and directly after the ultra.. 2 weeks before, I go in for a vo2 max test, lactate threshold, sub maximal test and blood tests, then a week before I have a track session and more blood tests and various questionnaires. On the day I have a diet questionnaire and more bloods. Then the second lot of testing is repeated 48hrs post event and again 3 days later.. I also have to log various things like hr and training logs.. The researcher seemed quite interested when I told her that I don't use carbs to fuel and she said we will have a chat as it could help them from a diet perspective. It will be interesting to get the data from a fitness point of view..