Shades Marathon Training

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  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - you've done some decent runs for a cut back week.

    Rcouture - through 40km, doing really well, if that ITB holds out he's on for a good PB,  I'm finding this very stressful  😲
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Finished,brilliantly run
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Ian - you did a massive PB at DD this year  :)

    Good chance to finish the year off with another PB though.    :)

    Rcouture - brilliant race, congratulations.   Looking forward to the race report.   Enjoy the rest of your time in gorgeous Florence.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    RCouture, very well done!

    Ian, it is a local race (literally less than 2-miles from me) called Cockington Christmas Caper.  It is on a tough, hilly, muddy, 7.5-miler (approx) route.  I will not be going eyeballs out for it as I want to stay upright(!!), but it will be hard effort non-the-less.  They've changed the course since I last did it so I won't be able to compare times, but it is a good race.  Advance get out clause:  if it is hammering down with rain, I expect I won't bother as it could be a mud bath and/or very slippery!  In the summer I train around the trails there, but avoid in the winter for training runs.  I am also looking at a 5-mile race in December, but I have not entered it yet.  It is on Exmouth seafront and if it is windy, it can be really bad along there.


  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Shades-Indeed I did,forgot about that,thought this was going to be my first year with no PB's.
    Big G-Sounds a tough race,definitely not my type of race.
    Good thing about next weeks race is there will be about 400 with all types of paces and every point counts for the club so you really push all the way,we are top of the vets league so be nice to help us.
  • Tx for the messages all. Had a great race and weekend (well, incredibly painful race but great too😀). Report to follow once I’ve eaten my way through all the pizza in town. 
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Rcouture - enjoy that pizza, you've earned it.

    No rush for the report, enjoy the rest of your time in Florence first.
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    15 miles late this afternoon,had a fair bit if hail and sleet today so waited until it went.40 for the week.
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Chicago entered,OH offered to treat me for my 50th,got a bargain from Dublin,only £285 direct,so even allowing for going there it will be a lot cheaper and currently no directs from Manchester anyway.
  • 12 miles today...felt like far enough in that cold. No frost, fortunately, but an icy wind.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Ian - great birthday present!!   That's a very good price for the flights, guess that's Aer Lingus.

    Cal - I agree, that's far enough in these conditions.


    6 miles this morning.   I didn't think I'd be able to run today as we had a shower of rain last night and when I went to bed I could see that the wet road was starting to freeze.   But this morning the wind had dried the road out enough to run safely although the further I went the roads became a little bit slippery.   Feels like temp of  minus 3 again, very cold, wore two pairs of tights but my leg muscles started to chill and become less responsive after about 3 miles, which is normal for me in this cold weather.   Last day of the cold though for a while, tomorrow at 5 am, forecast to be 10 degrees   B)




  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Shades-No its with American,just booked my flights to Dublin,£47 return so £330 all in,London is currently £520.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Ian - that's a great deal. 

    I only assumed it was AL as I'm on AL's mailing list and see long haul flights at bargain prices.
  • Big well done to Rcouture for his Florence PB!
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Nice one Ian, you'll be ticking al the majors off soon!

    Later start for me today as I had a poor night's sleep but I went out and did 10-miles, part trail and part road, and pretty hilly (1000ft).  I had a nice run out in the end, so I was glad I went out as I was umming and ahhing before I left. 

    I booked a couple of refundable Travelodges yesterday for planned marathons in February, although I haven't entered the events yet, but I don't think they'll sell out.  I want to get to the New Year injury free before booking up the last couple.  If (a big if!) it all goes to plan, and even though it means cramming them in a bit, I would really like to get to 98 by mid-February.  That would mean I will have a few weeks to train for the final two and hopefully do a couple of shorter races in the build up, without the distraction of regular marathons getting in the way.  The planned 3 in Dec (booked), 2 in Jan (booked) and 2 in Feb (not booked) would get me there, so we will see how it pans out!
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - oh those nervous nineties can be quite stressful.   But should you miss any of your planned races, such as bad weather,  then you should easily be able to do other events to keep you on track for Belfast.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    Shades, on paper it looks like it should work fine.  But....well, anything can happen :)  I agree though, it does feel plenty of time.  For some reason though, I don't want to actually book up the fine couple of races until I have ticked a few more off.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - I take it that to mean they're not any of your favoured races but that you'll only do them as you need the numbers 😉

    When I was in the 90's and had my 100th all planned I got in touch with a couple of race directors asking if I could have a late entry to their race if something went wrong and I missed a race.   Thankfully I didn't need to take advantage of their kindness.
    Only hiccup I had was the weekend I was doing a double 35 mile off road ultra in Wiltshire with a road marathon the next day in Wales.  Turned out to be the hottest day in May in Wiltshire for 50 years and I was sick during and after the race.  Had to drive to Wales after the ultra and was still feeling unwell the following morning, I could only manage to eat a cake before the marathon.   Wasn't sure I'd get round but I did and even did a course best, my previous time had been run on fresh legs.
  • Florence marathon report: Landed Friday afternoon and went straight to pick up bib at my first actual expo. Not much to it to be honest though I picked up a Florence marathon t-shirt that ended up being nicer than the finishers t-shirt. Then went and had some incredible pasta. Next day had a 2 hour guided tour in the AM of the main sites in town since we’d done nothing like that when we first went 10 years ago. There was minimal walking as everything of note is so concentrated so don’t think it hampered race next day. OH then went around the museums while I sat in a cafe people watching all afternoon, before more pasta. Race day came around and having been worried about rain and cold temps in the lead up, the conditions brightened and it was 8-9c with minimal wind aside from a nasty headwind along the riverfront for a mile or so late in the race. Got to corral and the fastest pacers were the 3:15 ones. Race predictors based on my Royal parks half suggested 3:08-3:15 and although that would be unrealistic to say the least given my lead up, I thought I might as well start with that group and see how I get on. Route is a bit mixed I would say in that the bits in the old town at the start and end of the race are fantastic with tons of crowds and running through the historic areas, but the middle bit in a big park and more suburban areas were a grind. Anyway by mile 2 it was clear I’d lost a serious amount of fitness. I was already in the 170s bpm HR and the pace did not feel relaxed. For reference for my 1:29 half, when my HRM worked, I was in the low-mid 160s running at 30s per mile faster, and my average for my Kempton park marathon was 162bpm. I carried on for a couple of miles to see if it settled but it didn’t so I had a decision to make. Do I slow to something more sustainable, or do I carry on and bank as much time as I could since I was very likely to have to slow at some point for my ITB anyway. I chose the latter and carried on with the big group around the pacers. ITB then started making itself known at around mile 8 or so but was just a minor discomfort. At around mile 11 though, it really went and moved to a 4-5ish on the pain scale. That slowed me down quite a bit and I fell off the group but I think thanks to the magic strap, it never progressed to being acute or totally messing up my form. Much of the rest of the race was honestly a painful grind especially as I was often on my own. However when we made our way back into town from the burbs I pulled myself together and stopped feeling sorry for myself and realised I could actually still nab a PB. I dug in with an Italian chap and we did the last 4 miles together. It was touch and go again at mile 25 when I got my first ever cramps (in any sport for that matter) in both calves. Think if I’d had another mile or so I’m not sure I’d have finished but as it was I crossed the line in 3:21:21 which I’m so very happy with. I might have had faster ambitions earlier in this training block but given I ran c.30 miles in 4 weeks leading to the race and this ITB, I’m so pleased. Had a great time with OH and it’s a top race so thanks for the suggestion Shades. Not sure I’ll ever top having a race ending in surroundings as amazing as at the Duomo! Went for a pizza on way back from race, then out for dinner, and home Monday post huge hotel breakfast 😬. Lots learned this block. Aside from the fairly obvious like not taking rest days for 15 days is a really bad idea, I do seem to lose fitness pretty quickly which is maybe a function of only running for a couple of years compared to you lot on here? Then the fact that maurtens seem great with zero GI issues but the cramps were probably due to not having my usual electrolyte gels and only one salt tablet so will either have to do another tablet or mix in a different gel or two. Now time to rehab this knee and build for Copenhagen. I feel good otherwise but as expected ITB is basically back to square one or worse so no running this week while it settles and will rebuild slowly. Fingers crossed I haven’t made it chronic and I really look forward to the day I can finally have a fairly normal build for a race lol. I’d love to be able to put together 6-7 weeks at >60 miles with weekly tempos and a regular taper to see how that race would feel.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Rcouture - lovely report, enjoyed reading that.

    Congratulations again on a sizeable PB, especially with that ITB bothering you for the majority of the race.

    You made the right decision to ignore your HR.  It's likely that it was raised more than expected by adrenaline, after all this was your key race, and especially subconsciously the unknown about how your ITB was going to behave.

    I don't think you'd have been able to finish if you had damaged the ITB any more by running the marathon.   At least you can relax now, recover and over the next few weeks finish the rehab to stop the ITB from happening again.

    So envious of the delicious food and of your visit to Florence.  💚. Hope your OH enjoyed the trip too.
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    RCouture, great news that you enjoyed your trip!  Recover well, and I am sure you will get that consistent block of training in that you are talking about.  I think that is a very decent time in the circumstances, and you managed a PB even though you were carrying an injury, which is great going.  Keeping in mind the PB and the injury, I am not sure you lost *that* much fitness in your enforced lay off - maybe a bit, but not loads.  You did very well, and it is great to read you are already planning ahead for what you want to do as preparation for your next one. 

    Shades, it is not so much that they're not favourite events, but I don't want to shell out on entry fees too early.  I know one of them doesn't do refunds (Darwin Day in Shrewsbury), and I am not sure about the other one (Goodwood) as I have not done it before.  The biggest driver for getting them done is so I can hopefully get a decent block of training in before Manchester and Belfast.
  • Shades - Thanks, yes OH had a great time, though we’ve both agreed to take it very easy on the calories after this trip, at least until Christmas 😬. On the HR it’s a bit of a tricky one. On one hand I had definitely noticed in the few easy runs in the  taper period that my HR was much more elevated than usual which is why I thought I was losing fitness. Especially coupled with the fact that my resting HR has now been elevated for a couple of weeks now. On the other hand it’s also a bit odd that I could sustain >170bpm for an entire marathon when my max is supposedly something around 190. At least I thought it was before this but maybe not as it was a rough estimate. 
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Rcouture-Great report,well done again.I seen you had gone off about 3:15 pace and thought you must be feeling good,still a great time though and you should be really happy with it.
  • Nice report...you showed some real grit there. Now take it easy for a few weeks eh?
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Chicago were super fast,my entry has been checked and approved already so good to go.
  • SHADESSHADES ✭✭✭✭
    Big G - very few races do refunds, so doubt Goodwood do.   I had a Covid deferral at Goodwood and then was injured so didn't run.   No plans to enter it again unless I need the numbers, round a racing circuit and the weather can be terrible, TR has done a few of them.


    Rcouture - maybe your MHR is higher than 190, say 195,or even nearer 200.   What was your average HR for the race?


    Ian - that's great service from Chicago.   


    First time since April that I've done my hilly 8 mile town route, 715 of elevation, the downhills are long and gentle the uphills are tough especially the final hill which is in the last mile of the route.   Lovely weather, a balmy 10 degrees so my legs were fine today.

    No Pilates today, hair cut instead.


  • Shades - Average HR was 172 for the race. Enjoy the hair cut. 

    Ian - Great stuff with Chicago. I missed the cutoff by 1 minute so will have to hope my lottery entry gets in otherwise will probably have to fork over for a tour as I do want to do it in 2022 

    Legs and ITB not so bad today surprisingly. Luckily wfh so can take it easy. 
  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭
    edited November 2021
    Ian, that is great news about Chicago.

    Shades, yes, that is the thing.  I confess I am chasing numbers now, but I just want the 100 done and dusted, with my main events being Manchester and Belfast.  The pandemic has impacted many things, and my route to the 100 is one of them, and I want it done now.  It is not that I am fed up of marathons at all, because I am not, but it can be stressful planning things and having cancellations etc (I don't want to even think about how many DNSs I have had over the last few years), and I just want it out of the way now as I have been stuck around 80-90 for what seems like a very long time.  Even this year, with quite a lot of events around, I will 'only' have done 12.  I know that is more than enough for many people, but I can fairly comfortably do more than that usually and still perform well at key races.

    Anyway, a rare night out for us last night, as we went to see a band at Exeter Uni.  They are not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but we went to see The Darkness and they were superb.  He is a real character and naturally very, very funny, with lots of interaction with the crowd, and they played all the hits, plus the best 3 or 4 tracks off the new album.  I saw them in 2003 - 18 years ago now, crikey!  There was one moment when the drummer broke the pedal on the kick drum and the drum tech came out and fixed it between songs - Hawkins, the front man, did an improv with the band encouraging the crowd to let Elliot (the drum tech) know how awesome he was :)  My OH, being something of a fitness pro, was very impressed with Hawkins when he did a headstand on the base drum, whilst moving his legs very quickly in time to the music. "That takes some doing!", she exclaimed.  I concurred. 

    They played their Xmas hit for the encore - "Too early for all that!", I hear you cry.  I would usually agree but they came out in Xmas outfits so big that the drummer could hardly see what he was doign, and the bass player couldn't bend down to pick something up.  Of course Hawkins came out in his skimpy Santa jumpsuit, and I am pretty sure he wore that the last time I saw them in 2003.  I don't sit there taking pics all night (promise!), but I had to grab this one.


    Reading all that back, I guess you probably had to be there :)  But we had a great night and left with a huge smile on our faces.  A bit of a risk wth all the Covid stuff going on I know, but we felt as safe as we could be and actually got seats with a lot more space rather than standing in the mosh pit.  It was a great night, but ears are still ringing this morning!
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