Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
P & D Spring marathon 2023
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
Well done Steve.
Well I've not had a good time. I was hoping to run yesterday but just didn't feel up to it, so I went out today. Should have been 8 miles with a couple at MP but I felt like absolute crap, so canned it at 4. Thought I might feel better as I went on. I did not. Head full of cotton wool and legs like lead. I can only assume this is the after effects of the shingles virus...the rash itself is healing. Either that or something else is trying to kick me while I'm down.
Quality week Reg. You’re almost there now - no racing down hills on your bike now please 😉
Impressive reps there Steve. Looking great for Newport.
I did a fartlek session yesterday: 4M wu; 3x1K & 2x500m all off 500m. Reps were 4:40/4:30/4:26 & 2:04/2:08 so 7:30 down to 6:40.
Steasy 10M this morning so not really tapering yet but I’ll not be doing more than 13 Sunday if I get out at all - got a party Saturday night 😆
Taper’s not so important anyway given I’ll not be ‘racing’ either Marathon now.
Cal sorry you are feeling rough, the combined effects of the 1/2 you did a few days ago and the virus probably lingering.
Jools - I just don't have the stomach these days to run through lakes like that. Steady 10 the day after the fartlek looks good. Enjoy the party.
Reg - you've had a really good block, almost cotton wool time. You joked about the incontinence pants but I've a race coming up where you're not allowed to leave no 2s behind, you have to use a Biffy Bag. My crew aren't overly enamoured at the prospect of receiving a warm bag from me.
TR - hope you can find a solution to moving freely. As you say, in many ways more important than racing. I had a conversation with a random at the train station the other day about vet drop off. He spotted my race t shirt, don't know how he knew I was a vet !
Steve - they were quick reps, you must be approaching 3hr fitness.
Cal - hope the taper brings better health
Jools - you still need a taper of sorts, 26m is a long way
Macca - M50s like you, keep me plugging away, in a "if he can do it, then......" kind of way
I had a freeing up by the physio on Tuesday whuch seemed to help get me moving better, might need the right side doing now too, as i did a much better 10m yday and the overriding feeling was a tight right hammy.......I got my December Goodwood 2.57 confimed as a 2024 GFA qualifier, but i still want to try to bag a spring 2023 mara, as i only managed one mara last yr, and Oct (Abo) is a long way off.
Agree with you on our M50 mutual motivation club. Long may it continue.
Today was a bit better though, thank god, even though yesterday my right hip/groin hurt all afternoon (they seem to be taking turns...typical taper nonsense). I felt well enough to parkrun, especially as the weather is lovely. I'd agreed to meet my friend Tunde at Highbury Fields, which I've done before but he hasn't. It's a low stress one as the park is literally across the road from the tube, and it's fairly quick journey.
It's well known as one of the parkruns with the most laps (5 and a bit) and is on an incline. They'd changed it a bit from when I was last there (in 2018) so the start and finish were at the bottom and the extra bit was along the bottom rather than up the "hill".
I did a mile to warm up as usual but I didn't push myself too hard, just enough to give the legs a bit of a stretch without burning my lungs (I finished in 29:15). Around what I hope MP will be next week though that might be ambitious!
Feel OK now so I've not overdone it.
I'm hoping I can manage a few miles tomorrow morning but I'm volunteering at Tooting juniors so I'll have to get it done early, or put it off until Monday.
Jools - just make sure you have a real easy 5 or 6 days before then.
Cal - hopefully you're tuning up nicely.
Seeing as i did a strong 10 on Weds, I did an easy 5 Thursday and 8m yday which i was moving ok on (didn't get out til afternoon and it was first T shirt run of the year)...........bit under the weather with a cold, but decided to try a longer run today, as I'd still like to run a spring mara, 8m easy, then pushed on a bit which felt better and did another 13 steady, for 21m. Great to be out in the lanes in T shirt after all the wet and cold out there recently.
Glad to hear of improvements Cal & TR.
500th parkrun for me today. Lovely day for it & as I’d chosen to do it at my home run there was plenty of support. Tired from an emotional few days away so didn’t have the heart to hurt myself. 22:22 for 13th place - hopefully no bad luck coming 😆
Jools, I saw that on Strava - awesome! How long did that take? I've only been parkrunning since 2016 and am up to 210 so not even half of that.
Took a rare day off yday, as still a bit under the weather. Then 13m inc 15x3min in the pissing rain and wind today (always a good sign of being motivated), did it as an out and back, so the earlier reps were mostly into the wind and the later ones mostly wind assisted. Thought of tagging another mile or 2 on, but got pretty cold quickly when i cooled down a bit after the reps, due to the wind chill and being wet through. Was a bit light headed at times, hopefully just due to the lurgy, rather than more post CV issues.
Good luck Macca on your Boston travels, I would think you will see the benefit of that Tokyo run coming through. When do you travel out?
Reg - Impressive Reading time, training looks fantastic.
Steve - Have a good taper to benefit from your really good training investment.
Jooligan - 2 * 26m is a pretty hefty challenge, be really interested in how you do. Would like to do this one day.
Cal - Good last run/ good luck.
I've jumped ship and decided on Saturday to run the Newport marathon as for domestics (taking son to the football and rugby tournament) going to miss London. I enjoyed Newport in 2021 and luckily they have a late entry option and want to run as feel in pretty good shape after my 83.23 in Las Galletas, last week.
16/4/23: Manchester Jooligan (race), Cal, SQ?
16/4/23: Newport SteveMac, OO (sub250)
17/4/23: Boston Macca
23/4/23: London Jooligan (enjoy), Macca, Reg (Target TBC!)
30/4/23: North Dorset Villages TR (womble round the countryside).
Jools - Nice reps backed up with the 10 miler. Congrats on the 500 parkruns, that's a massive amount!
Macca - Nice reps too, yes easy street now! Enjoy Boston!
Cal - I wouldn't worry about paces, I'm normally shuffling about at 9-10 min/mile pace tbh! Nice parkrun, not sure I'd like 5 laps!
OO - good luck at Newport!
Finished last week with a 13 miler on Saturday and 6 miles with strides on Sunday for a 43 mile week. Today was 7 miles with 2 at MP, those came out at 6:55/6:57, just ticking over from here.
TR - Hopefully just he lurgy, good job getting it done.
500 parkruns Jools! Wowzers and there's me on 23!
In fact my 23rd was on Saturday, in the middle of an easy 11 miler. Just did enough to finish first in 18:08.
Did my final long run on Sunday, 18.6 miles @6:29 average which was a good return firmly in the middle of the GA zone. Having said that everyone in my house is ill and I have a slight sore throat, so yesterdays run showed an obvious increase in my HR. Fingers crossed this passes quickly as I had to run my last marathon whilst seeing off a cough and cold and on a very windy day. I'd like no caveats this time.
Steve - You too. Nice little 7 miler. Yes, very easy for me too, as with 60m slightly overdid it last week as wasn't intending to run a marathon this.
Nice work on the 13.
Hope it doesn't turn into anything, Reg, or if it does, it doesn't inconvenience you too much. I'm still waiting to feel truly well myself.
Speaking of, I did run 5 miles today and nothing hurt too much, but I've still got that vertigo-type feeling (it's hard to describe, it's not light headedness or postural hypotension - it's more of a weird feeling when I move my head, particularly when I bend down). It's better when running, actually. I did have this before Christmas too and eventually it went so hoping it does the same in time for the weekend.
Casual late entry OO. You’re in great shape so I’m sure you’ll go well after an easy week.
I’ve done marathons on consecutive weekends 3 times previously. I’ve raced the first, plan to go out easy on the 2nd but feel good so go out too fast & regret it in the 2nd half 😆 Always a few minutes slower for the 2nd: 16 in 2016, 5 in 2022 & 34 in 2018 but that was Abo vs Snowdonia & only 5 days recovery between races.
Got out for another 6 on Saturday as I guessed (correctly) I’d not get out Sunday. Took yesterday off too so I was helluva creaky today. Did 8M finishing w 2K@MP. HR was a bit too high even by my recent standards but it is what it is.
Almost there.
Steve - I've got the 2@mp tomorrow, after that it just feels like all there is to do is pin a number on.
Jools - congrats on the 500, I think I started at a similar time but am stuck on 50. Just got out of the habit with lockdown. With a 2:56 in the bag I'd like to push on a bit for something closer to 2:50.
OO - shame about London but run well in Newport. An hour outside London I forget sometimes what a logistical pain it can be for anyone travelling.
As OO suggests, I feel like Tokyo provided a little training stimulus although I've got a slight stiffness in an abductor which may dictate how much I push Boston. Flying out Friday and hoping to take in a baseball or basketball game as well as Arsenal on tv in a bar somewhere hopefully. I've also a brewery tour booked so that all might impact on my target more than any strain.
Reg - hope the lurgy soon buggers off you are in great shape
Jools - hope you feel a bit looser by Sunday
Cal - we have the same issues again, I get that esp after CV or colds, I can run round a corner and feel like ive gone straight on.
Macca - hope you go well. Celtics tickets would be tough to get hold off, baseball is a good afternoon out, Fenway is an iconic stadium. Not too many Samuel Adams (beforehand).
Yday beat me up a bit, im not feeling as healthy or as fit as id like at the mo. Anyway, i copped another soaking today for 11 hilly miles. There's nothing like running in the spring sunshine......and it was nothing like spring sunshine.
TR - Nice 11 miler, yeah, with the temps we have had recently, feels more like winter than spring!
Anyway, yesterday was 5 miles with strides in the morning and 4 miles in the afternoon. Today was an easy 7 miles (120 bpm HR average). Short run on Saturday, then Sunday race!
Good luck Steve!!!
I'm still not awesome. My last pre-marathon run is usually 4 miles with 2 at MP (last aside from parkrun, that is) but I didn't quite have that in me today so I just did a progressive 4 and only topped out at 10:05 for the last one. I guess that'll have to be enough.
Weather’s wearing thin for sure TR. Your dedication is admirable.
Best of luck for Newport Steve. Looks like the wind is fading out just in time as those lanes are pretty exposed.
Definitely not just you Cal.
My legs still feel wooden & my back is tight to boot.
Managed 5.8M though with 2x1K@ME off 500m & 2x1’@5K today. Paces were flattering as I was running slightly downhill for the Fartlek half of the run.
TR - hope your luck turns with the weather and aches. Sounds like you know Boston. I managed to get a Celtics ticket up in the rafters on Sat and a Red Sox ticket for the Sunday. I figured sitting down activities were good. A dry week here so a couple of pints will probably knock me out.
Cal - IIRC you've had some decent LRs, hold onto those and run well Sun.
Jools - nice little sharpener there, I think we all need any help we can get.
As above, looking forward to a weekend of wall to wall sport, hopefully time for a quick run tomorrow am then it's off to Heathrow, which the Elizabeth Line makes getting to a doddle (touch wood).
Macca - my wife's brother used to live just west of Boston, so I've been twice (I never ran back then though). Enjoy yourself.
Ydays 10m had gales (storm Noa), rain, and hail, had sense of humour failure by the end. Was out early today for 5m inc 8 x 30sec strides, gadget said that I had a wind assisted few seconds at sub 6mm pace in a stride, hopefully a good sign. But then had a real sciatica pain in the arse (literally) in a car day trip.
Best of luck too Cal and you too Steve, might catch you there. Let's DBS.
16/4/23: Manchester Jooligan (race), Cal, SQ?
16/4/23: Newport SteveMac, OO (sub250)
17/4/23: Boston Macca
I agree with the weather too, I have been pretty lucky to just get out when the weather has been at its best, or least worse. Just ticking off the taper runs now, today's recovery 6 felt like a waste of time, in that it was like going for a walk. I guess this is a good sign. Yesterday was 9 with 3 x 1 mile which came out more like HMP than 5k pace (5:30, 5:37, 5:42).