Sub 3

Wardi · March 4

SJ.. I guess that tempo session in the grim conditions might have sped you up too get it over with! Nice work on the 18 miler too at the end of a decent week. Good that your achilles is ok, they are a bad injury too cure if they flare up. Is it the Trimpell 20 that you are running? Re. my change to training, my niggle has slowly but surely improved in recent weeks. Less doubles and no races or speedwork seems to have done the trick, I'm about 95% ok now.

TR.. bravo, that's a big weekend of miles, good to see that your ankle & knee is holding up to it. Bad luck on tonight's wetting and wind battering.

After my last 'proper' week of marathon training I celebrated with a Jalfrezi and a couple of beers last night. Today is the first day of taper week so I decided on a complete rest - can't remember the last time I had one of those!

TR · March 5

Wardi - i like the jalfezi, beer and day off approach........we copped a lot of rain again over night and all day today !

Todsy was 10m inc 10x3min which felt way too hard for the pace achieved, but there was snot everywhere and I did some tough runs at the weekend. Ankle liked going quicker, and its kind of refreshing when the limiter is the engine not the chassis as much, back to normal n the warm down though.

Wardi · March 5

TR.. dry up North, gloomy this morning but the sun came out later. That's a good session today though not surprised it was hard work after your weekend's efforts. BTW the local Jalfrezi is very tasty but definitely a touch hotter than average.

An enjoyable 6.5m today in light winds. Got my overseas marathon checklist out today, it's been a while.

OuchOuch · March 6

Wardi - Excellent stuff, love taper week and the anticipation of the run. I remember Barcelona 2018, the night before, eating carbo-rich Valencian risotto with some Sangria, the restuarant served in a John Smiths' pint glass, class, followed by finding a crying Italian outside my hotel door as he had been thrown out of his room by his girlfriend, whom I then reunited as didn't want his sobbing to keep me awake! Post-race went to a fine local brewery tap, more class! Slightly disappointed with a 2.49 then! A super marathon to mark your marathon return. Hope the new course does have that painful climb in the last KMs! Envious, good luck.

TR - That 20m on Saturday and 15m on Sunday schedule is tough, and as you allude can't be sustainable. Good to see the chassis holding-up for the 10*3m, great to get another key session ticked off.

SJ - One thing omitted, Keren from Bananarama (she lives up the road) bought us a drink to celebrate our 39 years together. Another good week from yourself, looking really good but as you say keep an eye on that Achilles. Clearly, as marathon runners and relationships we are all in it for the long haul!!

Joe - Did you see the finish of the Armagh 5K, 130 finishers within 15 minutes. Nuts.

TT / LS - How are things?

My ray of light has extinguished as the ankle/achilles tendinitis (I think its achilles) has been very painful since Sundays' run - I am limping! Am properly on the benc but in pig-headed style will run a HM on the 17/3 as its an important family thing. Will 99.9% knock Manchester marathon on the head on 14/4 and hopefully run the Newport HM on 28/4. My main summer run is the Verbier marathon in early July so I really want to be able to finish that - should be c8 hrs out there to be in the top 15% .

Wardi · March 6

OO.. apparently the new course is flatter, we actually run down Av du Parallel at 22-24 k. Only one out & back that I can see. Finishing through the Arc du Triomphe should be an experience. Nearly 18 months since I ran a marathon so will try to enjoy this one.

Sorry to hear this isn't an injury you can run through. Still, you've given yourself some time to let it heal, sensible decision on Manchester. Love the Keren/Bananarama buying you a drink story, I have to ask.. was Robert De Niro also waiting? 🤗

7m today, grey and misty but stayed dry.. The weather in Barca looks dreadful on Saturday, thankfully Sunday is much better.

TR · March 6

OO- bed news on the ankle set back, I feel your pain........I'm jealous of Karen buying you a drink, is love to have a proper job with her.........10m Sunday not 15, but it had some mp in it

Wardi - you should be ok Sunday.....I won't be there

S and C and minimal 5m (wtfp?) Commute home. Whilst I'm in a better place than OO, I was thinking that from various previous campaigns im currently lacking miles, doubles, longer long runs, medium long runs, long sessions, mp miles in long runs, 10 and 5m doubles (replacement medium long runs) and have wayyyyyy too many 5m days in there for my liking.

runjoerun91 · March 7

TR - Not missing much then...I think it's all relative. You run lots of miles still. I know i'd do pretty well if i could handle that mileage.
Wardi - the ol' forecast watching has kicked in I see. Hope Sunday does turn out nice. You don't want to be going to Barcelona for poor weather, although the food and drink must surely also be a plus? Awesome for your clubmate. There's probably something even more satisfactory about 16:59 specifically.
OO - I find Armagh very random but its super quick. No chance of warming up into that one. Reckon you'd get bundled over in that crowd! Sorry to hear about the continued struggles. Good that your main target is probably far enough away to try to get things fixed. Less said about the halfs perhaps the better. Good luck!
SJ - Good luck in the 20. Great timing in the marathon prep. 52 miles pretty solid. Looking forward to getting up to those numbers in the next few months.
Not much to report here as i've been ill yet again. I think it's my 3rd/4th cold of the winter although this time it was a bit worse with some achey muscles and shivering. I've never been one to keep forcing myself out the door with a cold so I had 4 days off running and got back on it again yesterday with 4 miles easy. It's meant that i'll be going into the 5k with just a single specific session but it's not the main goal so that's ok. Just need a run in the next week that gets my legs moving a bit quicker.

Wardi · March 7

TR.. that was my train of thought as I grew through my 50's. We tend to try and stick with the training that usually got us decent results but it gets harder as we get older.

RJR.. you do seem very unlucky with bugs/colds. It's usually parents of school age kids that catch frequent colds when it circulates around the school. Best of luck with the health recovery and the 5k.
Re. Barca, Saturday still looks a bit of a mess but the Sunday forecast has improved - sunny and lighter winds than forecast earlier this week.

An easy 5m today. I'm flying tomorrow so no running planned. I usually do the organised 'Breakfast Run' on the Saturday morning, a 2.5m shakeout. However if the weather is totally abysmal I might just have a swim in the hotel pool!

TR · March 7

Joe - no point training if you feel ropey. If it's just a head cold and I feel ok then I run, but not with the shivers etc

Wardi - I wouldn't have tried to have done all of those Things, it's a list of things I've done at times before.......Saturdays weather doesn't matter, so it's the best way round.

Things are improving, the ankle grief is more localised, its now a real sore spot like shin splints on outside of leg, but more comfortable to run on, so......10m and 5m. Will keep up the heat, massage gun, ice and thumbs. Hoping I can make my 10m build up race next weekend.

OuchOuch · March 8

TR - All those 5m count. Its normal to doubt your marathon training but you are coming at this marathon with umpteen fast marathons in your legs, pacy half-marathons not so long ago and to my mind you are ticking all of the right boxes. Better to under than over-cook which is my downfall as ran too much and too much uphill in Dec/Jan. Yes, a session would be nice.

Wardi - re: Robert De Niro, apparently Bananarama did go on a drinking sess with the man, my wife stalked it on Google, theres an image of them leaving a bar! Sounds exciting and a better/ flatter course. Hope the flight goes well and you arrive fresh and ready to run. Finishing under their Arc de Triumph will be ace.

Joe - Are you not a fan of HMs? Hopefully your running return will coincide with the better weather.

Lovely cycle yesterday, mountain biking over some trails plenty of up and some speedy descents. - cue: a range of other injuries!

Wardi · March 8

OO.. cheers, quite an early flight so arrived here about 11.15. Expo &:number/chip collection done. Mountain biking on lumpy terrain, what could possibly go wrong?

TR.. that's a nice double, good luck with the continued ankle rehab & Sunday race prep.

A nice day though a bit breezy. Sunday still looks promising!

TR · March 8

OO - irecent strong HMs, poor amount of marathons in the last few years.......f i go well then the recent amount could become the new normal. I'm hoping I get to race the 10m next weekend. I feel fresher than I normally would.......don't go hurting yourself by falling off bikes.

Wardi - good one on getting the expo done early. Hope you go well.

5m easy this morning. Few frothies later then hopefully a long run tomorrow.

TippTop · March 8

Afternoon all. Belatedly, thanks for the funeral comments. It was a good send off.

Wardi - good to see you in the groove and excited about Barcelona

The 18m must have been a big shot in the arm! And oops with the Raynauds drugs! I had to go through trial and error with every drug they tried for fibro as some of them would do weird things with exercise!

rjr - I've traditionally been in the very 'old school' camp - no sports massages, no stretching, basically none of the extra gubbins that floats around running, etc - but am changing my thinking on that. I don't see me getting sports massages frequently, but an occasional one might actually relieve my fibro symptoms. I'm also introducing (slowly) weights, core, mobility, and running drills, as well as wearing compression gear after some runs (note to self: some weight loss required just to uncomfortably fit in my current compression leggings!).
Bad luck on the cold. As Wardi said, kids will do that to you!

TR - nicely done on the unplanned 20m the other day. Tough break on the ankle issues - was there possibly some compensatory link to your knee issues? I sometimes get ankle issues when I start back at track after a break - I completely messed up my left shin/ankle playing football and the left turns contribute to it.
As for the 5m runs, they all add up. You've got a massive engine under you already so you'll be fine (but I totally get your thinking!).

OO - that's crap with your achilles

Sounds like it's improving though based on that 10m! Well done to your daughter on her training 10km!

sj - nice tempo run the other day, and good speed on the track stuff. Sounds like you're getting into the swing of things quite nicely which is great to read!

Jooligan - "riding the rollercoaster of middle-aged running in the covid era" - I think that may sum up a lot of people. Kudos to you for persevering, and it looks like you're heading in the right direction which is great to see.

Not really much to say here. My mojo is still awol, but there's the odd green shoot, and some attempts to identify the cause(s). Week before last was 11m. Last week was 41. This week hopefully a little more. No sessions as such, but did include 8 minutes of diagonals in today's run.
On the more positive side of things though, Jr is currently up in Nottingham for the nationals xc tomorrow. Live broadcast on YouTube so I'll have to watch that.

runjoerun91 · March 8

Wardi - a final "good luck" for Sunday. Hope it's a cracking day out. I think I was mentally prepared for illnesses when she went to nursery or school but all the ones she's had pre nursery have been a bummer. Unfortunately I got this one first and now I've given it to her so she's absolutely miserable.
TR - Do you feel the massage gun does much good? Heard mixed reviews generally. Good to see you're able to get out there with manageable pain. Hope the long run goes well.
OO - Nothing against HMs in general, just in your injury position! Mountain biking is a whole different beast, nice way to mix things up.
TT - Fair enough. I know a few (and some of them much younger guys) who don't believe in doing anything but running to build running strength (I presume they do hills at least!). But you can't really argue with all the pros that do all the extra stuff. If you have the time and in some cases the money then it probably needs to be done. Good luck to the junior tomorrow, very exciting.

8ish miles today with the buggy which is my longest so far. She sleeps pretty much the whole run every run so i'm wondering how far I can push these in training. I reckon if I stayed close to home I might manage an hour and a half which could be a useful 11 miles or so MLR in the week. That said, it's hard to run with natural form so I think it's giving me some niggles I wouldn't otherwise have (or building strength in some random areas if I want to be glass half full).

OuchOuch · March 9

Joe - Ah yes, I misunderstood. I am running it as its a different take on running with your daughter (her first half marathon and a few neices making their run race debuts), so a nice family thing. It shouldn't affect recovery too much but should give a fitness boost and I always enjoy a race. Your buggy set-up sounds very effective/ ideal for all and an upper body benefit as well.
Wardi - Whats your number for tomorrow? Good luck.
TT - I am with you on stretching/massage but my attempts have been half-arsed - probably need to routine it! Good to see you back running. That is very exciting for TT Jr.
TR - Easier week then the 10m race next weekend sounds a good recipe. Then more or less taper time.

Wardi · March 9

OO.. 16245, I go off around 0844 here so 0744 in UK. Our hotel is only 5-10 mins from the start so won't bother with a bag drop.

TT.. the National XC should be a great experience for Jr, the start is always a spectacular sight.

RJR.. good work with the buggy though as you say not an entirely natural running posture. Good double tasking though!

Ran a steady 5k with Mrs Wardi earlier. It was like one of TR's south coast race experiences - persistent rain & 22mph winds!
I am assured that this will blow over and the sun will reappear tomorrow morning.

Jooligan · March 9

Have a good run tomorrow Wardi. Hopefully your forecaster is reliable & you can enjoy it too.
Have fun at Trimpell SJ.
Hope your lad had a good race TT. Remarkably firm course by the look of it so should’ve been some fast running.
Ankles injuries are obviously the latest trend: just as my piriformis/sciatic issue is almost clear my L. ankle has become painful. It’s on the inside, I’m ok after half a mile & so long as I run with the natural camber it’s very manageable.
50M last week including another 21:37 parkrun & a tough XC at Ponty-y-Pwl: 5.3M, over 900 ft of climbing & lots of mud.
This week has been 0, 5M/4.8M double inc 5x4’ off 2’ float, 14M, 5M, 0, 11M inc a 21:42 parkrun + 95M on the bike. Definitely felt the extra bike miles with tight hip flexors this morning. Decent LR tomorrow hopefully.

TR · March 9

TT - hope you can build back up now. How did yr lad go?

Wardi - sounds like my sort of weather. Enjoy tomorrow.

Joe - probably a good strength builder........I read that you need to buy an expensive theragun type or it won't have the correct percussive frequencies.....I declared that a croc of shit and bought a well reviewed £30 model off Amazon.....I use it on tight spots, seems ok to me.

OO - yes, April will soon be here.

21m on the hillier lanes route, few steady miles in the flatter middle miles and 4m more steady to finish (av 7.10). Ankle was pretty achey after that, but it can have a few frothies later.

saintjason · March 9

Good luck tomorrow Wardi. Hope you get to enjoy it and you are correct about the weather gods being kind. Will read back tomorrow.

Wardi · March 10

The sun did emerge this morning as promised!
I knew by 10-12m that I couldn't race this, lack of proper race prep is found out over a marathon sooner or later. I decided to enjoy myself and have a steady run, eased round in 4.08. Great to be back on a marathon start line again though.

My back was a bit uncomfortable post race, I'm still tilting to the left when running which can't be helping. A visit to the chiropractor is back on.
Just enjoying a couple of Estrellas for rehydration purposes, possibly a curry in downtown Barca later.

TR · March 10

Jools - getting back to it. Shame you're in the ankle club too.

Wardi - great that you enjoyed it, defo well underprepared.

Didnt manage to run today due to mothers day stuff, but a day off will do my ankle good anyway.

saintjason · March 10

Evening all,

Sorry to read of the continuing/worsening ankle/Achilles issue OO. Limping isn't good sign. You seem to be taking a fairly sanguine approach to upcoming races. Frustrating to say the least but it sounds like sensible calls being made. You certainly don't want to risk the main event in the summer. Hope the mountain biking hasn't caused too much additional issues you alluded to. Fingers crossed you are back at it soon after some rest and rehab.

I had to also have a chuckle at the list of runs you are missing from a standard TR campaign. In light of that perhaps this campaign can be viewed as an experimental approach to your training. Better news now I read a bit further that the ankle niggle is manageable. Hopefully you make the startline of the 10 miler and get some positive energy from it. Good that the ankle stood up to the 21 miler yesterday with steady finishing miles. I've stuck to my hilly long run route this campaign and think I saw some dividends at todays 20 mile race.

Rotten luck with the lurgy setbacks RJR. I know of some colleagues and friends who have had similar winters with lurgy that lingers and rolls into another bout. Whilst annoying as hell, in the grand scheme of things a few days missed here and there won't make too much difference. Focus on getting healthy and you'll pick things back up. I'm allergic to 5k's so rather you than me. Nice buggy running. Not something I ever tried with my lad when he was younger.

Sorry also to read you are still struggling TT. However, pleased to read some green shoots appearing. Hang in there and keep turning up. I hope Jnr ran well. I've well and truly fallen out of love with XC. I assume this is the rearranged Nationals which were cancelled the other week?

I have been following you weather updates Wardi. Very un-Spanish sounding. Well done today and good decision to enjoy the race. As you say good to be back out there and I'm sure the post race beers and curry went down very nicely. I hope the back settles down so you can enjoy the rest of your trip. Top stuff.

Thanks for Trimpell wishes Jooligan. Sounds like a more than decent week unfolding although fingers crossed the ankle remains manageable. Your XC race sounded particularly unpleasant (see above). That's a lot of bike miles. No wonder things are aching. You're good at all the stretching so hopefully that has helped ease things.

An easier week in terms of miles at this end due to racing up in Lancaster today. I was due an easier week any way having clocked up 50+ weeks for the last 6 in a row post nasty virus at the end of January.

Conditions today were ok. A bit cold and windy in places but the rain stayed away which was good. The wind was pretty fair too with tailwinds and headwinds interchanging due to the loop-back nature of the course.

Rough plan was to start out easy and pick things up in the second half. That is pretty much how it panned out. Ran with LS21 for the first 5 miles, very relaxed and conversational. Lovely to be chatting to LS21 who is so easy going. He then moved on sticking to his pre-race plan which left me to keep things ticking over. Through halfway in 70:07 (6:58/mi) and feeling good. The first 4 miles were all low 7:00/mi so a good progression over the first half.

Its a relatively small field so spread out nicely but always someone in sight to catch. The wind wasn't too bad heading out. I caught a guy and we ran and chatted together for the remainder of the race. Nice guy too who will debut at London. Me being me I was offering some advice as we ran. He seemed receptive LOL. Moving nicely now and working well with my new friend. Saw LS21 on one of the loop-backs and also Njord too. Both looking in control.

After the final loop-back (one I'm not a fan of) we got back onto the cycle path heading for home. A little more progression here and my friend was working hard by now. I was trying to steady him which had a great effect on helping me control my pace. My breathing was noticeably smooth and we powered on crossing the line together and feeling strong. Second half ran in 68:05 (6:34/mi). Finishing time of 2:18:14 on my watch for 20.15 miles.

Really happy with how I ran that. A confidence booster for sure with how it felt and my legs felt strong too so presumably the hilly longer runs run as time on feet paying dividends as mentioned. Rounded the afternoon off with a nice lunch with LS21, Njord + Caz, LS21's mate Rich and his pal (I'm useless with names of folks I just met). I even treated myself to a pint of beer! First for quite some time.

Jooligan · March 10

That sounds a very enjoyable way to race SJ. Sounds like you’re in Sub3 shape for sure. By running so controlled you won’t have compromised the final few weeks of training either.
Well done in Barca Wardi, opting for an enjoyable race experience sounds like the way to go.
Decent LR yesterday TR. A day off certainly won’t hurt your chances of making the upcoming start lines.
My ankle was much happier on today’s LSR for not having done a brutal XC yesterday. Repeated last Sunday’s route & was 7 minutes quicker over the 17M even though I’ve clearly picked up a cold: sore throat, runny nose & headache.
Biggest week since October too.
Looking forward to my Monday off now.

TR · March 10

SJ - you sound in good shape. Well controlled run. You put a good mix into your week and the tempo/long run back to back days are a strength builder........I.note the beer, nice...........whilst I had a long list of things I havnt done, I've been doing something to make up 60 to 70m weeks.

Jools - running XC on a dodgy ankle would not have been a good idea, so good decision. Sounds like you're getting fitter too. Hope the cold is minor.

TippTop · March 11

Wardi - excellent stuff at Barca! It does sound like there's a definite issue there that needs properly fixing though!

sj - good run out at Trimpell. Looking good.

rjr - I'm even rubbish at doing hills properly/consistently. I'm happy if I do 6 reps of any hill. In fact my attitude to hills led me to devise a workout called 'Hills+Stuff'. It loosely consists of some type of fast running either side of 6 hill reps of 400-700m. The fast stuff varies depending on where I'm at and which races I've got coming up, and to be fair, there's a physiological reason for doing it like this too.
Which running buggy do you have/would you recommend it?
Massage gun - it sounds like TR and I probably have the same one. Definitely worth the money.

Jooligan - good to see things starting to pick up for you! I agree with the course; it looked very runnable.

TR - hopefully the day off has helped your ankle! Excellent stuff on the 21m! Positive signs (ankle stiffness aside).

Jr ran well. 110th out of 265 starters which was good enough for 3rd scorer for Berkshire. He thoroughly enjoyed it, and is only a first year u20, so has 2 more years in this age bracket. He has the schools equivalent this coming weekend, so I'll be spending another Saturday in front of a live stream trying to spot him!

Things got in the way here over the weekend, so only managed a single 4m yesterday, but that brought me to 43 for the week, so a slight uptick on the previous 41.

runjoerun91 · March 11

TT - Nice one on junior. Field must be so stacked for someone capable of a 57 min 10 miler coming half way down the field! I've a similar attitude to you to hills. I want to do them, I want to like them. But they are such hard work. However, knowing Cork is a slightly hillier marathon I know I need to factor them in. Annoyingly I can't actually find out the elevation of the course. The strava runs of last year's finishers have climbing ranging from 150-350m. Not sure how that's possible. I have a out n about nipper sport which is on the cheaper end but does a great job for me so would thoroughly recommend.
TR - Can't go wrong at £30 I reckon. Might have to treat myself to one as I can never seem to get in the swing with foam rolling.
Jooligan - 7 mins quicker! That's good going. Hoping the cold does one very quickly.
SJ - Great negative split there and feeling strong by the sounds of it. Bodes very well for the coming months. Well earned beer I would say!
Wardi - solid effort and sounds like a good trot out. I wish I could some of my longer runs in Barcelona! Sounds like an ideal rehydration strategy. Hope the curry worked out too.
OO - Yeah totally understand. Life is too short to always been racing at 100%. Should be a very wholesome experience for you.

Buggy parkrun on Saturday. Chuffed with an 18:59 which wasn't an all out effort but did require a sprint finish at the end. I think i'm warping people's time expectations ("I should be running ahead of this buggy") because I ran the most consistent 5k I think I ever have (3:46-3:51 mins/km) but some people running with me for 600m finished about 3 mins behind me in the end. I guess that's parkrun for you! With warm up and cool down that was around 8 miles. Followed that up with a completely soaked through 9.5 miles yesterday. I don't normally struggle for motivation or to get through a run but that one was really grim towards the end. 4.5 miles this morning and another 4.5 miles later to collect the little one.

TR · March 11

Well done young TT then, esp with another 2 years in that AG.......40m weeks would be ideal for a few weeks

Joe- that's a solid few days.

12m as 2 easy, 8 av 7.02, 2 easy. No chance of hitting mp in those early commutes, so reckoned approx 7.0X would do. Was going to make today the double day to sort the weeks logistics, but decided my ankle probably didn't need to run home again, so walked home instead.

Jooligan · March 12

Cold turned out to be Covid AGAIN FFS🤬🤬
Feel rough as a 🦡 arse. Running not on the cards for a few days at least. 😞

OuchOuch · March 13

Well done Wardi, for finishing the Barca marathon. That looked a mission impossible a few months ago. Sounds like you enjoyed it.
Well run SJ - in the sweet spot.
Good to see Jooligan get a faster LR and a good week, very unlucky with the CV, hope you make a quick recovery. Some downtime for the ankle!
Joe - the 18.59 PR somehow sound very satisfying.
TR - Really good 21m and a good call not to push the ankle with a double day.
A good performance from TT junior against older runners - chapeau.

A few 4m runs for me - for mind and body - ankle/ achilles seems not as sore/ stiff! No performance expectations for this Sundays HM beyond finish ideally in under 95 minutes (in hindsight, so I do have a performance expectation!)

Wardi · March 13

Jooligan.. very bad luck on the severe Covid symptoms, there are still folk out there catching it. When I got it 2 years ago my symptoms were akin to a mild head cold so just nuisance value really.

SJ.. beautifully paced run at Trimpell, that's a good confidence boost. Bet you enjoyed that beer! Almost snap.. my 20m PB from about 20yrs ago is 2.18.22. One of the rare years when it wasn't blowing a gale at the East Hull 20!

RJR.. that's a decent weekend of exercise, pity about the Sunday soaking though. Congrats on the buggy Parkrun, sub 19 is impressive.

OO.. good that you can run on the ankle, even if it's short distances for now. Hope you're good to go at the half marathon. Yes I did enjoy Barca, to think I almost pulled out in Jan. The new course is flatter than the original and does seem to stay closer to the city. The central tower in the Sagrada looks almost finished now.

TR.. that's a good long run at the weekend, a decent 12m Monday too. Hope your ankle is settling down.

TT.. an excellent run from junior, best of luck to him for this weekend too.

I did have Mon/Tues as rest days so booked an appointment with a local chiropractor for next week. The lady who my wife sees has recommended a male partner as he too is a runner and used to work at Bournemouth FC apparently.

I did get out for am easy 5m shakeout today, legs not too bad. Very mild here so got a sweat on.

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

Sub 3

Comments