Weekly Mileage: 102 miles
Thursday: 14 miles
Friday: 4.5 miles
Saturday: 14.5 miles
Sunday: 26 miles
After my deep tissue massage on Wednesday I was feeling pretty sore and as I ached and creaked my way to work on Thursday morning I really wondered how I was going to knock out a 100 mile this week or any subsequent week. I was meeting some old uni friends on Thursday night, so I had to do the planned training session on my own. The session was eight reps of 2.5minutes fast with 2.5 minutes recovery, which I did on the outside path of the meadows park. These sessions are always so much easier with other people to work with and I certainly found the first few difficult on my own. During my first rep I only managed to maintain a 6 minute per mile pace for the 2.5 minutes - not good! As well as being short of club members to run with both my legs and lungs felt pretty tired during my first 4 reps. It was a little disheartening. I even considered stopping after 6 reps. Thankfully the last 4 reps were a lot better and I managed to get down to 5/10k pace for those reps and it lifted my mood greatly, but I was still worried about completing the rest of my planned week's training.
After a few too many drinks on Thursday night I was a little rough on Friday. I had already made the decision to take the morning off, so thankfully I didn't have to run to work. Instead I took a gentle 4.5 mile run home, which eased the legs.
Despite suffering a little bit from the 2-day hangover phenomenon I went to the club's Saturday training session along with Dan, Niamh, and a few others, including Steve Booth. Steve use to come to training regularly when I first started going to club and we used to run together quite a bit. Unfortunately a combination of injuries, uni work and parenthood has meant that he has not been able to attend as frequently as he used to, so it was great to see him on Saturday. The session was similar to Thursday's, eight reps of 3 minutes fast with 3 minutes recovery on the grass. I was quite pleased it was on the grass as my body still ached slightly from last week's race and this week's training. My right hamstring was pretty tight and my right knee was still aching and twitching as well, so grass was much better than tarmac. As soon as we did the first rep I knew I was in better shape than on Thursday, a lot stronger and faster. I started off at 10k pace and finished off quicker than 5k pace by the end of last rep. I was pretty pleased as I still didn't feel as fresh as I should have.
Sunday morning brought the long run. It was another great turnout at Craiglochart and six of us took off in the quicker group, myself, Dan, Colin, Bryan, Niamh and Garry. I planned to do 26 miles, Niamh and Dan, 24, and Colin, Bryan and Garry were aiming for 16, so there would be plenty of company. We set off at a good pace, close to 7 minutes per mile, which we gradually increased as we closed in on Balerno. Unfortunately Dan slowed as his hip began to hurt. He managed to carry on and do 16 miles, but that was the last we saw of him until we all reconvened at Garry's for the post run coffee and scones. When we got into Balerno we hit the usual 2 hills that takes us from mile 6 to 8 and as seems to have become a the custom we push it quite hard. It started with Bryan, who took off and began to leave Colin and I behind. We'd just pulled ahead of Garry and Niamh. Colin seemed keen to pursue Bryan, but I wasn't so sure. I was trying to think sensibly about the rest of my run, which I still had close to 20 miles of. Colin pulled ahead of me and caught Bryan as we reached the top of the first hill. It was then I decided I couldn't let them get away, no matter how silly it was, and as we moved down the small section before the second climb I put a burst of speed in to catch them up. I then moved ahead of them as we took the second climb and the three is us pushed really hard all the way to the top. I stayed ahead, but was always kept within the arms reach of Colin and Bryan.We went so fast that we actually managed a sub 7 minute mile pace up the hill! Very fast.At the top we eased off a bit and carried on together.The next 7miles saw us pick up the pace to around 6.30 minutes per mile, but it felt pretty good for the most of it. I did feel a little wobble between 12 and 13 miles where I felt both tired and sore. At this point it was great to have Colin for company, as it helped keep me going at the same pace. I may well have backed off if he hadn't been there. Bryan had moved on a bit leaving us behind. Niamh, thanks to a quick pee stop by the three of us had caught and passed us. By the time we got back to the canal Colin, Niamh and I were running together. Unfortunately Colin turned off to finish his 16 miles and Niamh stopped for a quick drink and stretch.
I was left on my own for the last 10.5 miles, but as I turned on to the canal path I felt really good. My legs and lungs felt strong and I moved down the canal path. I had planned to drop my pace down to seven minutes per mile pace, and although I slowed a little I still went through the miles at about 6.40 pace. I decided to keep it going for as long as I felt comfortable. I kept expecting my legs to start to ache and tighten up or my lungs to grow heavy and my head weary, but they never did. My legs were tired, my left heal was a little sore and my right knee was also tired, but nothing more than you would expect from such a long run. I turned to head back down the canal and towards Garry's and I felt strong and remained fast. I finished my 26 miles in 2 hours and 57 minutes, with quite a lot left in the tank.
So the end of the week has finished, so much better than the start and middle part. Sunday's long run has filled me with a lot of confidence and successfully finishing another 100 mile week feels really good too. I am beginning to think that the 90+ and 100 mile weeks that I have done in the last 2 months have really started to benefit me with my strength and endurance improving. I feel pretty and fresh going into this week and I really hope I can manage another 100 mile week, another 2 quality interval sessions and another strong 26 mile run.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
23-25 August: Getting back into it!
Monday 23: 13.25 miles (AM: 3.75 PM: 9.5)
Tuesday 24: 17.5 miles (AM: 3.75 PM: 13.75)
Wednesday 25: 12.5 miles (AM: 3.75 PM: 8.75)
It's always tough getting back into training after a race, especially one that you have put a fair bit of effort into and tapered for. It's certainly been tough for me since Saturday's race in Nairn. With Amsterdam now less than 8 weeks away I need to maintain my high level of training to ensure that I am in the best shape possible for the marathon. My 16 mile run on Sunday was pretty tough going the day after Nairn, but thankfully it was along the Moray Firth coastline and the sun was out, so it was both scenic and full of fresh air. Not like Monday, which was very tough, getting up before work and taking those weary steps up the road on my morning run under dark gray clouds, a stiff breeze and a cold air. My legs were still sore and stiff from the race and I would have given quite a bit to be back in bed watching the West Wing with a cup of coffee.
I think this post race period is a really difficult time for training, where it would be easy for me to back off and take it easy for a couple of weeks believing it will be okay and I will get back into it before the marathon. I need to keep motivated and keep working hard. I have adjusted my training to reflect feeling a little bit tired after Nairn, but I have tried to maintain the quality I need to keep improving. On Tuesday, I was meant to be doing 10 one mile reps with 2 minutes recovery at faster than half marathon pace, but my legs still didn't feel that strong or fresh, so I decided to run a 13 mile fartlek home. In the fartlek I did five 2 mile reps with 2 minutes recovery at slightly faster than my planned marathon pace (around 6 minute mile pace). It wasn't quite as intense as doing mile reps, but was still a good training session for my marathon and covered the same distance as my planned mile reps. I actually felt really good after my session on Tuesday and was really pleased with my efforts, which were all exactly where I wanted them to be. It gave me some confidence that I will be back training at full steam by the end of the week.
Today I had a deep tissue massage to help with my recovery from Nairn and to help prepare my body for this next period of tough training for my marathon, as I am moving back to 100 mile weeks. That was also pretty hard going and as I sit here typing this most parts of my legs are aching a little bit. Hopefully I will be fine to do some more intense training tomorrow. I will be missing running club tomorrow, so unfortunately will have to do the session on my own. That is always difficult, as I miss running with my club mates. I will definitely be back at club on Saturday and Sunday to draw on their strength as we do intervals and then the long run.
Tuesday 24: 17.5 miles (AM: 3.75 PM: 13.75)
Wednesday 25: 12.5 miles (AM: 3.75 PM: 8.75)
It's always tough getting back into training after a race, especially one that you have put a fair bit of effort into and tapered for. It's certainly been tough for me since Saturday's race in Nairn. With Amsterdam now less than 8 weeks away I need to maintain my high level of training to ensure that I am in the best shape possible for the marathon. My 16 mile run on Sunday was pretty tough going the day after Nairn, but thankfully it was along the Moray Firth coastline and the sun was out, so it was both scenic and full of fresh air. Not like Monday, which was very tough, getting up before work and taking those weary steps up the road on my morning run under dark gray clouds, a stiff breeze and a cold air. My legs were still sore and stiff from the race and I would have given quite a bit to be back in bed watching the West Wing with a cup of coffee.
I think this post race period is a really difficult time for training, where it would be easy for me to back off and take it easy for a couple of weeks believing it will be okay and I will get back into it before the marathon. I need to keep motivated and keep working hard. I have adjusted my training to reflect feeling a little bit tired after Nairn, but I have tried to maintain the quality I need to keep improving. On Tuesday, I was meant to be doing 10 one mile reps with 2 minutes recovery at faster than half marathon pace, but my legs still didn't feel that strong or fresh, so I decided to run a 13 mile fartlek home. In the fartlek I did five 2 mile reps with 2 minutes recovery at slightly faster than my planned marathon pace (around 6 minute mile pace). It wasn't quite as intense as doing mile reps, but was still a good training session for my marathon and covered the same distance as my planned mile reps. I actually felt really good after my session on Tuesday and was really pleased with my efforts, which were all exactly where I wanted them to be. It gave me some confidence that I will be back training at full steam by the end of the week.
Today I had a deep tissue massage to help with my recovery from Nairn and to help prepare my body for this next period of tough training for my marathon, as I am moving back to 100 mile weeks. That was also pretty hard going and as I sit here typing this most parts of my legs are aching a little bit. Hopefully I will be fine to do some more intense training tomorrow. I will be missing running club tomorrow, so unfortunately will have to do the session on my own. That is always difficult, as I miss running with my club mates. I will definitely be back at club on Saturday and Sunday to draw on their strength as we do intervals and then the long run.
Monday, 23 August 2010
16-22 August: Nairn Highland Games Report
It was always going to be interesting to see how my body reacted to over 300 miles of training in 3 weeks. I picked the Nairn Half Marathon on Saturday 22 August to put all that training to the test and to review my progress towards my Amsterdam marathon goal in October. I did, however, only give myself one week to taper and recover from all this training before the race and I always wondered if this would be enough.
The Nairn Half Marathon is part of the Nairn Highland Games, which was a great setting, as the first 300m of the race was a lap of the grass track, which was surrounded by about 250-350 people all cheering and shouting, which was inspiring and filled my legs with a little extra energy as we hit the roads.
Maybe the cheering influenced my heart more than my head, as I set off too quickly and as a result suffered in the second mile. I have to admit I was also blinded by two runners blasting out the blocks and burning off down the road. I was caught in two minds, whether to hold back and rely on pace judgement and hope they came back to me or chase after and keep up with them so not to let them and the race get away. As a result I ran too hard and I knew it and having made no in roads into the gap to the leaders I backed off. Unfortunately I was left suffering a bit in the second mile and two runners caught me, a Shetland runner and a runner from Metro Aberdeen, Niku Millot. Niku went straight past me and I tried to hang on to his trainers, which I managed to do for a short period and in the process lose the Shetland runner. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold on to Niku and he moved on chasing down second and first places.
My legs felt pretty heavy at this point and they were tired, as I moved up the short, steep hill at the third mile mark I felt pretty demoralised as I was well out of the places and not feeling great. I had to keep telling myself to keep going and it was almost like hitting a wall at mile 18 in a marathon. It was an odd sensation and I didn't like it so early in a race.
Getting to the end of third mile my legs didn't feel any worse and with no wind about I at last fell into a reasonable rhythm and lifted my head slightly to see that the front runners had stretched out ahead of me. One of the runners in front of me had fallen off the lead pace and was dropping back from Niku who had now caught up with the Cambuslang runner who had taken the early lead. They were both about 400m ahead of me at this point and seeminlgy out of touch, but I began to think I could catch the third place runner who was coming back to me pretty quickly. He had clearly started off too fast as well and as I closed in on 4th mile marker I caught him and in the process found myself now only 300m behind the two leaders. This was quite a lift and although my legs felt a little tight and heavy I found myself able to pick up the pace. I then spent the next 2 miles trying really hard to catch up with the leaders, but the gap didn't shrink. I put it in quite a bit of effort here as I felt that if I could get on level terms then I would have a chance to hang on and stay with them.
At the 6 mile point the Cambuslang runner visibly slowed. He had clearly been hanging on to Niku for as long as he could, but could no longer hold the pace. By the time we got to the half way mark I caught him and I decided not to hang about, as I didn't want to give him the motivation to hang on. Instead I pushed straight on with a burst of speed determined to put a gap between us. He definitely tried to go with me, but simply couldn't hold on and without looking back I knew he had fallen behind. I went through half way in 37.30 and was well on course for a PB even though my legs were not feeling amazing. I looked up the road and could see Niku was now only about 200m in front. I pushed on and tried to catch him.
We passed the seven mile mark and very nearly missed the turning point. There was no marshal, just an arrow sprayed on the road telling the runners to turn round. I was too busy looking at the runner ahead to notice it and it was the frantic beeping of a car horn behind me that made me realise we were about to over shoot the mark. The driver of the car was the marshal who was supposed to be directing runners around the arrows!! I quickly called up the road to Niku shouting at him to turn, he heard and despite losing a few yards managed to turn round and head back down the road. Following the confusion Niku seemed to slow down considerably and I used this as an opportunity to make up the gap, which had already reduced further to about 100m. I caught him and we actually chatted for a bit about the marshalling chaos. I am not sure what the other runners behind us thought of this as they were toiling towards the turning point, but it must have been an usual sight to see the two leaders gossiping mid-race about good race organisation.
We ran together for a bit taking it in turns to lead, as with the turn and change in road came the very strong wind that was blowing in off the coast. I have never run a road race with such strong winds. The forecast had promised gusts of up to 40mph. I am not sure it was that strong, but it turned 5.40 (ish) miles into 6-6.15 miles, yet the effort felt much quicker.
At about 9 miles I decided to try and make a break for it. My legs were feeling really heavy at this point and a few niggles had started to work their way into my right hamstring. My logic for making a break for it with aching legs was if I could open a gap and hold the pace then Niku might back off and give it up. I worked really hard for about 400-600m and could feel him working equally as hard to hold on. He did, so I backed off and let him take the lead again, and snuck in behind him to shelter from the wind for a bit. After a couple of minutes he suddenly upped the pace and I found I was now trying to hold on to him. It hurt. My legs ached, my lungs burned, but I wasn't going to give up. I think he must have had the same idea as me in terms of getting a gap, because after about 400m he slowed down and accepted I wasn't going anywhere.
We ran together again for a while and then when we passed the 10 mile marker and I made another move pushing to the front. I have to admit I thought this time I'd done it, as a quick glance back saw him not quite on my shoulder. I really pushed hoping to make it stick, but again he found something to get back on level terms and I eased off. He tried a break and I held and then again at mile 11 I tried once more, but with the same result, so we ran together for most of the twelfth mile. However, I was really starting to struggle now and my legs just seemed empty. With the wind dropping slightly our pace picked back up to sub 6 minute mile pace, which was fine, but I couldn't go any faster. I also developed a really painful stitch in my right shoulder, which I couldn't shrug off and it seemed to be affecting my breathing.
As we entered the last mile Niku made a push and I couldn't quite hold on and he opened up a small 5 meter gap. I tried desperately to get it back, but could only hold the distance. The gap increased bit by bit and was definitely past a sprint finish with less than mile to go. It was an awful feeling to see the victory start to slip away. With a half a mile to go the gap was more than a few seconds and I knew the win was gone. It was pretty demoralising. Still I ploughed on and as I entered the Games Ground to the cheers of hundreds of people and the PA system announcing my name it felt pretty good. The crowd support was awesome and the lift helped me find a sprint finish as I crossed the line in second place. My third second place of the year!! Any chance of a PB was literally blown away by the wind as five miles in the second half were almost impossible to run at pace. My time of 1.16.54 was pretty pleasing in the end.
Looking back over the race I wonder where I lost it. I definitely started off too quickly, where as Niku had set off quietly at an even pace and worked his way from about 6th place at the start to first by the 4th mile. I, on the other hand, chased after the leaders who couldn't hold the pace themsevles and then had to recover and work hard to get back on level terms. Those hard 4 miles between 3 and 7 where I chased after Niku to get back to the front had to have taken more out of my legs and I wonder how much that cost me. Then there were the attempted break aways between miles 9 and 11, was I silly to try and force a gap? I wonder if I should have just dug in and held on and left it to a sprint finish? I did think about this during the race , but made a conscious choice not to put it all on my sprint finish, as I wasn't convinced I had one. Ultimately, however, I think a week's taper is simply not enough to allow your legs to get ready for a race of 13.1 miles after 300+miles in the three previous weeks' training. My legs felt heavy from the off, not terrible, but just not fit enough to hit top gear.
Despite two previous second places, this was the first time I was genuinely racing for a victory and I learnt a lot. During the race I did let my mind tell me on more than one occasion that I wasn't strong enough to win or fast enough to out sprint the other guy. This has led me to realise I need to be a little bit tougher mentally and although I am not planning to assume that I will win from that position every time, I need to believe more in myself and my ability.
After we crossed the finishing line Niku and I congratulated each other on a great and enjoyable race after which he asked me if I wanted to race again in the 1,500m 30 minutes later. I have to admit I was pretty surprised and the thought had not entered my mind before the half, however, as soon as he mentioned it (which I read as a friendly challenge!) I knew I would be taking my place on the start line again. A quick drink and I hit the beach for a cool down/warm up jog. My legs felt okay and despite a slight tightness on my right hamstring I felt I would survive the 5 laps of the 300m track.
It wasn't a huge race, in fact there were only 6 people in the race, and it was handicapped. The four men in the race had to start off scratch i.e the full distance. Two women had entered the race and had been given a 200m head start. To be honest I wasn't fussed about anyone in the race, but Niku. I wanted a little bit of revenge. The gun set us off and Niku went to the front, I tucked in behind, but that lasted for about 100m, as I decided to just go for it. I passed him and took to the front. I passed one of the girl's from the handicap, but couldn't see the other girl. I am not sure what my lap splits were, but they felt pretty even and I wasn't slowing. After 3 laps I afforded myself a look over my shoulder and Niku was still there, sitting, waiting. I wondered if I had got my tactics all wrong, but I decided that I was committed and had to keep pushing from the front. With the bell ringing as we headed into the last lap I didn't look back, just forward trying to sprint as hard as possible. I kept expecting to see him appear on my shoulder and go by, but as we turned into the home straight my legs felt pretty good and I felt my speed pick up. I crossed the line in 4.52, one second clear of Niku. I was pretty pleased, but it did make me wonder what would have happened if I had been able to hold onto him until the track during the half. Ah well.
The 1,500m was a lot of fun. I was first male, but I didn't win! Second again. One of the girl's with a handicap start had won the race! Her time of 4.58 and a 200m head start had been enough to keep her ahead of me. Never mind. I am used to coming second now! The evening was finished off perfectly with a couple of drinks and a curry with Gail, her mum, Uncle Martin and Dickson ( who had been watching the Shire win 2-0 in Elgin).
Total Weekly Mileage: 54 miles
Maybe the cheering influenced my heart more than my head, as I set off too quickly and as a result suffered in the second mile. I have to admit I was also blinded by two runners blasting out the blocks and burning off down the road. I was caught in two minds, whether to hold back and rely on pace judgement and hope they came back to me or chase after and keep up with them so not to let them and the race get away. As a result I ran too hard and I knew it and having made no in roads into the gap to the leaders I backed off. Unfortunately I was left suffering a bit in the second mile and two runners caught me, a Shetland runner and a runner from Metro Aberdeen, Niku Millot. Niku went straight past me and I tried to hang on to his trainers, which I managed to do for a short period and in the process lose the Shetland runner. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold on to Niku and he moved on chasing down second and first places.
My legs felt pretty heavy at this point and they were tired, as I moved up the short, steep hill at the third mile mark I felt pretty demoralised as I was well out of the places and not feeling great. I had to keep telling myself to keep going and it was almost like hitting a wall at mile 18 in a marathon. It was an odd sensation and I didn't like it so early in a race.
Getting to the end of third mile my legs didn't feel any worse and with no wind about I at last fell into a reasonable rhythm and lifted my head slightly to see that the front runners had stretched out ahead of me. One of the runners in front of me had fallen off the lead pace and was dropping back from Niku who had now caught up with the Cambuslang runner who had taken the early lead. They were both about 400m ahead of me at this point and seeminlgy out of touch, but I began to think I could catch the third place runner who was coming back to me pretty quickly. He had clearly started off too fast as well and as I closed in on 4th mile marker I caught him and in the process found myself now only 300m behind the two leaders. This was quite a lift and although my legs felt a little tight and heavy I found myself able to pick up the pace. I then spent the next 2 miles trying really hard to catch up with the leaders, but the gap didn't shrink. I put it in quite a bit of effort here as I felt that if I could get on level terms then I would have a chance to hang on and stay with them.
At the 6 mile point the Cambuslang runner visibly slowed. He had clearly been hanging on to Niku for as long as he could, but could no longer hold the pace. By the time we got to the half way mark I caught him and I decided not to hang about, as I didn't want to give him the motivation to hang on. Instead I pushed straight on with a burst of speed determined to put a gap between us. He definitely tried to go with me, but simply couldn't hold on and without looking back I knew he had fallen behind. I went through half way in 37.30 and was well on course for a PB even though my legs were not feeling amazing. I looked up the road and could see Niku was now only about 200m in front. I pushed on and tried to catch him.
We passed the seven mile mark and very nearly missed the turning point. There was no marshal, just an arrow sprayed on the road telling the runners to turn round. I was too busy looking at the runner ahead to notice it and it was the frantic beeping of a car horn behind me that made me realise we were about to over shoot the mark. The driver of the car was the marshal who was supposed to be directing runners around the arrows!! I quickly called up the road to Niku shouting at him to turn, he heard and despite losing a few yards managed to turn round and head back down the road. Following the confusion Niku seemed to slow down considerably and I used this as an opportunity to make up the gap, which had already reduced further to about 100m. I caught him and we actually chatted for a bit about the marshalling chaos. I am not sure what the other runners behind us thought of this as they were toiling towards the turning point, but it must have been an usual sight to see the two leaders gossiping mid-race about good race organisation.
We ran together for a bit taking it in turns to lead, as with the turn and change in road came the very strong wind that was blowing in off the coast. I have never run a road race with such strong winds. The forecast had promised gusts of up to 40mph. I am not sure it was that strong, but it turned 5.40 (ish) miles into 6-6.15 miles, yet the effort felt much quicker.
At about 9 miles I decided to try and make a break for it. My legs were feeling really heavy at this point and a few niggles had started to work their way into my right hamstring. My logic for making a break for it with aching legs was if I could open a gap and hold the pace then Niku might back off and give it up. I worked really hard for about 400-600m and could feel him working equally as hard to hold on. He did, so I backed off and let him take the lead again, and snuck in behind him to shelter from the wind for a bit. After a couple of minutes he suddenly upped the pace and I found I was now trying to hold on to him. It hurt. My legs ached, my lungs burned, but I wasn't going to give up. I think he must have had the same idea as me in terms of getting a gap, because after about 400m he slowed down and accepted I wasn't going anywhere.
We ran together again for a while and then when we passed the 10 mile marker and I made another move pushing to the front. I have to admit I thought this time I'd done it, as a quick glance back saw him not quite on my shoulder. I really pushed hoping to make it stick, but again he found something to get back on level terms and I eased off. He tried a break and I held and then again at mile 11 I tried once more, but with the same result, so we ran together for most of the twelfth mile. However, I was really starting to struggle now and my legs just seemed empty. With the wind dropping slightly our pace picked back up to sub 6 minute mile pace, which was fine, but I couldn't go any faster. I also developed a really painful stitch in my right shoulder, which I couldn't shrug off and it seemed to be affecting my breathing.
As we entered the last mile Niku made a push and I couldn't quite hold on and he opened up a small 5 meter gap. I tried desperately to get it back, but could only hold the distance. The gap increased bit by bit and was definitely past a sprint finish with less than mile to go. It was an awful feeling to see the victory start to slip away. With a half a mile to go the gap was more than a few seconds and I knew the win was gone. It was pretty demoralising. Still I ploughed on and as I entered the Games Ground to the cheers of hundreds of people and the PA system announcing my name it felt pretty good. The crowd support was awesome and the lift helped me find a sprint finish as I crossed the line in second place. My third second place of the year!! Any chance of a PB was literally blown away by the wind as five miles in the second half were almost impossible to run at pace. My time of 1.16.54 was pretty pleasing in the end.
Looking back over the race I wonder where I lost it. I definitely started off too quickly, where as Niku had set off quietly at an even pace and worked his way from about 6th place at the start to first by the 4th mile. I, on the other hand, chased after the leaders who couldn't hold the pace themsevles and then had to recover and work hard to get back on level terms. Those hard 4 miles between 3 and 7 where I chased after Niku to get back to the front had to have taken more out of my legs and I wonder how much that cost me. Then there were the attempted break aways between miles 9 and 11, was I silly to try and force a gap? I wonder if I should have just dug in and held on and left it to a sprint finish? I did think about this during the race , but made a conscious choice not to put it all on my sprint finish, as I wasn't convinced I had one. Ultimately, however, I think a week's taper is simply not enough to allow your legs to get ready for a race of 13.1 miles after 300+miles in the three previous weeks' training. My legs felt heavy from the off, not terrible, but just not fit enough to hit top gear.
Despite two previous second places, this was the first time I was genuinely racing for a victory and I learnt a lot. During the race I did let my mind tell me on more than one occasion that I wasn't strong enough to win or fast enough to out sprint the other guy. This has led me to realise I need to be a little bit tougher mentally and although I am not planning to assume that I will win from that position every time, I need to believe more in myself and my ability.
After we crossed the finishing line Niku and I congratulated each other on a great and enjoyable race after which he asked me if I wanted to race again in the 1,500m 30 minutes later. I have to admit I was pretty surprised and the thought had not entered my mind before the half, however, as soon as he mentioned it (which I read as a friendly challenge!) I knew I would be taking my place on the start line again. A quick drink and I hit the beach for a cool down/warm up jog. My legs felt okay and despite a slight tightness on my right hamstring I felt I would survive the 5 laps of the 300m track.
The 1,500m was a lot of fun. I was first male, but I didn't win! Second again. One of the girl's with a handicap start had won the race! Her time of 4.58 and a 200m head start had been enough to keep her ahead of me. Never mind. I am used to coming second now! The evening was finished off perfectly with a couple of drinks and a curry with Gail, her mum, Uncle Martin and Dickson ( who had been watching the Shire win 2-0 in Elgin).
Total Weekly Mileage: 54 miles
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Friday 13 - Sunday 15 August: 301 miles in 3 weeks is bloody hard work!
Weekly Total Mileage: 98.5 miles
Friday 13 August - Mileage: 7.5 miles
Saturday 14 August - Mileage: 22 miles
Sunday 15 August - Mileage: 11.5 miles
This weekend has been a really tough one. My legs have been really heavy and I have felt really fatigued. I spent three hours a sleep in the sofa on Sunday afternoon, as my body craved some down time. I think that was a real sign of how hard I've worked this last few weeks. I didn't quite make a third consecutive week of 100 miles, but I was pretty close and totalled over 300 for the three weeks. By far the most intense period of running training I have committed to. The first two weeks were pretty easy in terms of getting through it and I really enjoyed it. The third week was really hard, which I have alluded to earlier this week in my blog. It wasn't helped by a small cold that I picked up mid-week. The cold may well have been as a result of the heavy training or something that has been going round, either way it has helped to make the week's training harder. I am glad that I am not attempting to do a fourth week like this, as I am certain that would spell trouble.
Thankfully Friday was nice and easy and allowed me some recovery time before my long run on Saturday. I ran with Niamh on Saturday who has also been running lots of miles in training over the last three weeks and as we ran at a pace much slower than in recent long runs we chatted about how we both felt fatigued rather than sore or out of breath. I am quite sure I could have run faster on Saturday, but it would have probably put me at risk of injury and reduced my ability to recover well for next Saturday's race, so I was happy to go steady. I was pleased that all 22 miles felt okay from a cardiovascular point of view and there was absolutely no sign of the wall. Just my legs felt tired.My right knee is still a little niggly, but I am sure it is just muscle tiredness more than anything else.
Sunday's run of 11.5miles with Kim was nice and steady, but my legs were still tired and tight.
I now have a week's easy running and tapering before Saturday's Nairn Half Marathon. I hope that this is enough time to recover sufficiently to run well and put all the recent training to good use.
Looking back over the last three weeks I think I have made some real progress towards my marathon target. I feel fitter, stronger and quicker. I am really confident that with more hard training over the next 6 weeks before my taper I can get even quicker. The only thing I am not a 100% happy with is my weight, which is still a few kilograms higher than it was before I went on holiday. I am trying to eat well and not too much, but even with all those miles it just doesn't seem to shift. Hopefully the final period of training will help me get rid of that and I'll peak perfectly in time for Amsterdam.
Well, now I have a week of tapering so I'll probably be moaning and complaining about how unfit I am and fat I am! My usual pre-race/tapering chat.
Friday 13 August - Mileage: 7.5 miles
Saturday 14 August - Mileage: 22 miles
Sunday 15 August - Mileage: 11.5 miles
This weekend has been a really tough one. My legs have been really heavy and I have felt really fatigued. I spent three hours a sleep in the sofa on Sunday afternoon, as my body craved some down time. I think that was a real sign of how hard I've worked this last few weeks. I didn't quite make a third consecutive week of 100 miles, but I was pretty close and totalled over 300 for the three weeks. By far the most intense period of running training I have committed to. The first two weeks were pretty easy in terms of getting through it and I really enjoyed it. The third week was really hard, which I have alluded to earlier this week in my blog. It wasn't helped by a small cold that I picked up mid-week. The cold may well have been as a result of the heavy training or something that has been going round, either way it has helped to make the week's training harder. I am glad that I am not attempting to do a fourth week like this, as I am certain that would spell trouble.
Thankfully Friday was nice and easy and allowed me some recovery time before my long run on Saturday. I ran with Niamh on Saturday who has also been running lots of miles in training over the last three weeks and as we ran at a pace much slower than in recent long runs we chatted about how we both felt fatigued rather than sore or out of breath. I am quite sure I could have run faster on Saturday, but it would have probably put me at risk of injury and reduced my ability to recover well for next Saturday's race, so I was happy to go steady. I was pleased that all 22 miles felt okay from a cardiovascular point of view and there was absolutely no sign of the wall. Just my legs felt tired.My right knee is still a little niggly, but I am sure it is just muscle tiredness more than anything else.
Sunday's run of 11.5miles with Kim was nice and steady, but my legs were still tired and tight.
I now have a week's easy running and tapering before Saturday's Nairn Half Marathon. I hope that this is enough time to recover sufficiently to run well and put all the recent training to good use.
Looking back over the last three weeks I think I have made some real progress towards my marathon target. I feel fitter, stronger and quicker. I am really confident that with more hard training over the next 6 weeks before my taper I can get even quicker. The only thing I am not a 100% happy with is my weight, which is still a few kilograms higher than it was before I went on holiday. I am trying to eat well and not too much, but even with all those miles it just doesn't seem to shift. Hopefully the final period of training will help me get rid of that and I'll peak perfectly in time for Amsterdam.
Well, now I have a week of tapering so I'll probably be moaning and complaining about how unfit I am and fat I am! My usual pre-race/tapering chat.
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Thursday 12 August 2010: Fighting man flu and a new marathon training session
Mileage: 17.5 miles
AM: 3.75miles; PM: 13.75 miles (including 12 miles at marathon pace)
Well I am fairly certain I have a mild form of man-flu. I still have a scratchy throat and my body feels a little achy and overall I just feel a bit shit. I felt pretty heavy running to work this morning and all day at work I was a little run down and living off lemsips and lozengers.
So when it came to my run this evening I was really in two minds. My training plan said I was due to do 13 miles at 6minutes 25 seconds pace, but this really didn't seem possible as I was sipping a lemsip at 5.15pm this afternoon and craving for my bed. As part of my Amsterdam training I have decided to do some long sustained runs at marathon pace. In order to get a sub 2hour 40 minute marathon I need to be able to run 26.2 miles at 6minutes 6seconds per mile pace, so fairly fast. My plan has been to build up to this by starting off at 12 miles at 6minutes 25seconds pace building up to 16 miles at the pace I need.
I decided to set off for home tonight and do a couple of miles quickly and see how that went before deciding how long to stay out for. My first 1.25 miles warm-up jog along the canal were sluggish and I was dreading my watch telling me to start the faster miles. It was, however, not bad at all. Once I got the first mile in and it popped up at 6minutes and13 seconds I felt lot better. The next couple of miles I just concentrated on maintaining the pace. My chest did begin to feel a bit tight and wheezy, and my legs were a little tight and heavy, but generally everything was going well, so I kept pushing. At mile 8 it did start to feel pretty hard and I began to think that maybe doing 10 miles would be enough. However, miles 8 and 9 were still fairly steady pace wise, so I kept going. In fact the last 3 miles I really picked up the pace. I don't know where I got the strength or the energy from, but I managed and felt good. The last mile was tough going and I was just holding on in the end, but I was really pleased with the 12 miles, which I felt were enough, especially as I was very close to marathon pace for the first 9 miles and for the last 3 I pushed under 6 minute mile pace with the last two miles at 5.47 and 5.45.
If I can just shift this cold now, get a good long run in on Saturday and some good rest next week then I reckon I will be in pretty good shape for the Nairn Half Marathon on the 20th. I still have my eye on a PB, even though the the course profile I was sent this week shows a massive, steep hill at mile 3! Are there any flat half marathons in Scotland away from strong coastal breezes and bad weather???
My mile splits for the 12 miles at pace:
1) 6.13
2) 6.09
3) 6.12
4) 6.08
5) 6.15
6) 6.07
7) 6.13
8) 6.12
9) 6.10
10) 5.59
11) 5.47
12) 5.45
Total: 73.10 (Average pace of 6minutes 6seconds per mile)
AM: 3.75miles; PM: 13.75 miles (including 12 miles at marathon pace)
Well I am fairly certain I have a mild form of man-flu. I still have a scratchy throat and my body feels a little achy and overall I just feel a bit shit. I felt pretty heavy running to work this morning and all day at work I was a little run down and living off lemsips and lozengers.
So when it came to my run this evening I was really in two minds. My training plan said I was due to do 13 miles at 6minutes 25 seconds pace, but this really didn't seem possible as I was sipping a lemsip at 5.15pm this afternoon and craving for my bed. As part of my Amsterdam training I have decided to do some long sustained runs at marathon pace. In order to get a sub 2hour 40 minute marathon I need to be able to run 26.2 miles at 6minutes 6seconds per mile pace, so fairly fast. My plan has been to build up to this by starting off at 12 miles at 6minutes 25seconds pace building up to 16 miles at the pace I need.
I decided to set off for home tonight and do a couple of miles quickly and see how that went before deciding how long to stay out for. My first 1.25 miles warm-up jog along the canal were sluggish and I was dreading my watch telling me to start the faster miles. It was, however, not bad at all. Once I got the first mile in and it popped up at 6minutes and13 seconds I felt lot better. The next couple of miles I just concentrated on maintaining the pace. My chest did begin to feel a bit tight and wheezy, and my legs were a little tight and heavy, but generally everything was going well, so I kept pushing. At mile 8 it did start to feel pretty hard and I began to think that maybe doing 10 miles would be enough. However, miles 8 and 9 were still fairly steady pace wise, so I kept going. In fact the last 3 miles I really picked up the pace. I don't know where I got the strength or the energy from, but I managed and felt good. The last mile was tough going and I was just holding on in the end, but I was really pleased with the 12 miles, which I felt were enough, especially as I was very close to marathon pace for the first 9 miles and for the last 3 I pushed under 6 minute mile pace with the last two miles at 5.47 and 5.45.
If I can just shift this cold now, get a good long run in on Saturday and some good rest next week then I reckon I will be in pretty good shape for the Nairn Half Marathon on the 20th. I still have my eye on a PB, even though the the course profile I was sent this week shows a massive, steep hill at mile 3! Are there any flat half marathons in Scotland away from strong coastal breezes and bad weather???
My mile splits for the 12 miles at pace:
1) 6.13
2) 6.09
3) 6.12
4) 6.08
5) 6.15
6) 6.07
7) 6.13
8) 6.12
9) 6.10
10) 5.59
11) 5.47
12) 5.45
Total: 73.10 (Average pace of 6minutes 6seconds per mile)
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 August: Keeping it going...
Tuesday 10 August
Mileage: 15 miles
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 11.25 miles
I was tired Monday and I was still tired Tuesday. Last week at this point I was surprised at how fresh I felt after doing a 100 miles in the previous week. This week is a different story. I am sure it is because I am facing this week on the back of 2 weeks of 100 miles, as well as two 26 mile runs, including one at 2hours 55 minutes. No wonder I am feeling it. I have already reassessed my training this week, as a result. I am only going to do a 22 mile run at the end of it and I will restrict myself to a 7.30 minute per mile pace, instead of 26 miles at 7 minute mile pace. It means my weekly mileage will come out at around 95 miles, so there will not be a third week of a 100miles. Still, I think this is sensible and by doing a slightly shorter and slower long run I will give my body a better chance of running well in time for the Half Marathon at Nairn that I have entered on Saturday 21st. For this reason I am also going to miss this Saturday's club session and do my long run on Saturday not Sunday to give myself a full week to taper.
Tonight's training session was meant to be 12*800m at around 2minutes 39 seconds per rep with 2 minutes recovery. I met Niamh in the Meadows who was also keen for some long reps. She was also feeling fatigued after her ongoing marathon training so we agreed to just do 10 reps. The '800m' route we use in the Meadows (described in previous entries) is actually about 835-850m so is slightly longer than the track, it also has two sharp turns in, which you have to break for, so times are generally slower than on the track. Tonight, to make it that little bit tougher it was also stuffed with around a million Festival goers! Okay, I may be exaggerating, however, there was certainly a lot and none of them were on the look out for runners no matter what you called out to them. This added some interesting spice to the session, requiring us to make sharp course corrections, jump out of the way of confused walkers and even in one case avoid a police car driving down Middle Meadow Walk. Normally these kind of intrusions annoy me greatly, but tonight, possibly because I just wanted to get through the session, I just did what I had to get round people. There was simply too many, too often to get angry or frustrated.
Overall my legs still felt heavy from Sunday's efforts, but I was pretty pleased with my consistent times for each of the 10 reps and although I wasn't quite as fast as I hoped (2.39, works out at 5.20 minute per mile pace) I was happy to get through the session with no injuries or drop in form. As always it was good to have Niamh for company. Niamh was a little bit slower on each rep so for each one I gave her a small head start. It was really good to have a target to chase and I am pretty sure I would have gone a fair bit slower without that. I think Niamh appreciated having something to stay ahead of, as on those occasions when I caught up with her she seemed to find a kick to stay just ahead or stay with me.
Right, in an attempt to fend off the man-flu I am having an early night. I'll report first thing in the morning on Facebook
Mileage: 15 miles
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 11.25 miles
I was tired Monday and I was still tired Tuesday. Last week at this point I was surprised at how fresh I felt after doing a 100 miles in the previous week. This week is a different story. I am sure it is because I am facing this week on the back of 2 weeks of 100 miles, as well as two 26 mile runs, including one at 2hours 55 minutes. No wonder I am feeling it. I have already reassessed my training this week, as a result. I am only going to do a 22 mile run at the end of it and I will restrict myself to a 7.30 minute per mile pace, instead of 26 miles at 7 minute mile pace. It means my weekly mileage will come out at around 95 miles, so there will not be a third week of a 100miles. Still, I think this is sensible and by doing a slightly shorter and slower long run I will give my body a better chance of running well in time for the Half Marathon at Nairn that I have entered on Saturday 21st. For this reason I am also going to miss this Saturday's club session and do my long run on Saturday not Sunday to give myself a full week to taper.
Tonight's training session was meant to be 12*800m at around 2minutes 39 seconds per rep with 2 minutes recovery. I met Niamh in the Meadows who was also keen for some long reps. She was also feeling fatigued after her ongoing marathon training so we agreed to just do 10 reps. The '800m' route we use in the Meadows (described in previous entries) is actually about 835-850m so is slightly longer than the track, it also has two sharp turns in, which you have to break for, so times are generally slower than on the track. Tonight, to make it that little bit tougher it was also stuffed with around a million Festival goers! Okay, I may be exaggerating, however, there was certainly a lot and none of them were on the look out for runners no matter what you called out to them. This added some interesting spice to the session, requiring us to make sharp course corrections, jump out of the way of confused walkers and even in one case avoid a police car driving down Middle Meadow Walk. Normally these kind of intrusions annoy me greatly, but tonight, possibly because I just wanted to get through the session, I just did what I had to get round people. There was simply too many, too often to get angry or frustrated.
Overall my legs still felt heavy from Sunday's efforts, but I was pretty pleased with my consistent times for each of the 10 reps and although I wasn't quite as fast as I hoped (2.39, works out at 5.20 minute per mile pace) I was happy to get through the session with no injuries or drop in form. As always it was good to have Niamh for company. Niamh was a little bit slower on each rep so for each one I gave her a small head start. It was really good to have a target to chase and I am pretty sure I would have gone a fair bit slower without that. I think Niamh appreciated having something to stay ahead of, as on those occasions when I caught up with her she seemed to find a kick to stay just ahead or stay with me.
Overall, another good session for the marathon.
Here are my times and the pace I was doing them:
1) 2.51 - 5.28 (minutes per mile pace)
2) 2.49 - 5.19 (mpmp)
3) 2.51 - 5.23 (mpmp)
4) 2.50 - 5.23 (mpmp)
5) 2.52 - 5.27 (mpmp)
6) 2.50 - 5.26 (mpmp)
7) 2.53 - 5.30 (mpmp)
8) 2.51 - 5.23 (mpmp)
9) 2.51 - 5.26 (mpmp)
10) 2.49 - 5.18 (mpmp)
Wednesday 11 August
Mileage: 13 miles
AM:3.75miles; PM: 9.25 miles
Well today I woke up with a bit of a scratchy throat and as the day has gone on it has turned into a little bit of a cold. I am feeling okay, just not great. I don't want to be accused of scaremongering or causing alarm, but this could be a case of man-flu.
I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow to see how it pans out. I am sure you'll be one of the first to know if it turns into man-flu as I rarely keep quiet when afflicted with such a disease. I am not surprised to be feeling a little run down. A few people at work and a few people at running club have had colds lately, so it is going around. I guess with the high mileage and feeling a little fatigued after all that training recently didn't help either. Hopefully it'll clear up quickly. I really could do without it with my race coming up in 9 days.
On the plus side my legs felt slight better today. Not as tired as Monday or Tuesday, which would suggest that I am over the worst of last Sunday's mammoth long run. My right knee is still a little dodgy, but again not bad. I am fairly certain it is the muscles around the knee that are the problem too, so I have been massaging and working on them to keep them lose.
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Interview with US marathon and ultra-runner Mike Wardian
Mike Wardian is a US runner with an impressive record in standard and ultra marathons and has his eyes set on winning next year's Marathon Des Sables (MDS) . This year he finished a fantastic third place in the MDS, the best ever finish by a US runner in the competition. Endurance and determination are just two words that fit easily into any description of Mike, who in 2006 won 4 out of the 5 marathons he raced in a 45 day period. Some of his records have included the fastest marathon on a treadmill and fastest marathon pushing a jogging stroller and in July this year he broke the world record for fastest indoor marathon completing the effort by running 221 laps of a 200m track in 2hours 27 minutes and 21 seconds. With a marathon PB of 2hours 21 minutes he is clearly no slouch and he hopes to improve on that and qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.
He has also taken on many of the world's toughest and longest races. Some of the notable ultra-marathons he has completed include the Marathon Des Sables, the Western States Endurance Run, the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race and the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run. This year he has already run 13 races over marathon distance.
What makes this all the more impressive is that Mike fits his training and racing around a full time job and being a full time parent. I contacted Mike by email and he very kindly agreed to take time out of his busy, busy life to answer some questions about ultra running and his experiences of finishing 3rd in this year's MDS. The MDS is 151 mile race ran over 6 stages in the Sahara desert in temperatures reaching up to 50c. Most stages are around 20 miles a day, although the 4th stage is a 45 mile run and the 5th is a standard 26.2 mile marathon.
MRW: I wasn't inspired to be an ultra runner, I was just interested in seeing how far and fast I could run and eventually that led me to try the JFK 50 Miler and I really enjoyed it. (In 2007 he won the race)
How many miles a week do you train and what is your longest training run each week?
MRW: I try and run anywhere from 100-140 miles per week (I would like to do a 200 mile week at some point soon). I don't always make it but that is my goal and each week I try and run some longer runs but longest normally in training is 30 or so miles as a single run (I sometime double up on those days - do an extra run later in the day).
Did you develop any specific training sessions as part of your preparation for the MDS?
MRW: I did some specific pack training and would run to and from work with my backpack on and then again on my lunch run to get used to the weight.
I think I will do some more specific training for 2011 as I think there were somethings that I could definitely improve on.
What is your favorite training session?
MRW: I like every training session and have a lot of favorites but think my favorite run is just to hammer it out with friends. If you mean as specific workout, then probably, 6-10 x 1 mile, hard and when you are done, you feel spent.
What was the toughest part of the MDS this year and how did you get through it?
MRW: The toughest part of MDS was the 3rd day, I got too hot and about 5K from the finish crashed hard. I wasn't sure I could finish and I dropped from 2nd or 3rd to 4th but I lost about 1 hour on the leaders. That was rough and I got ill a few times, cooled down and then jogged it in. I learned a lot that day and I am thankful for the experience.
What's the most important piece of kit for the MDS?
MRW: Backpack, it is critical
What was you favourite food during the MDS?
MRW: Hmm, favourite food...by the last day, I would have eaten almost anything and everything tastes bad (RM - lots of MDS runners live off dried ration packs and boil in the bag food stuffs). Actually, I like dried mangos...those were key
How did you prepare for the heat?
MRW: I didn't really and that was in the past not a problem but this year it was so I plan to rectify that for next year. (This year the race was run in some of the hottest conditions with temperatures hitting 50c)
If you could give MDS newbies one bit of advice about the race what would it be?
MRW: Get a Backpack that you like and works for you.
What do you think is the key to being a successful marathoner/ ultra marathoner?
MRW: I think the biggest thing that can lead to success is to be consistent.
Do you have a quote, mantra or saying that inspires you during your running and races?
MRW: Time to Shine! It works for me.
Will you be back for the MDS in 2011 and after being on the podium last year do you think you can win?
MRW: I would like to be back to MDS for 2011 and yes, I think if I execute and have the right days come together that I can definitely win. I am as fit as any of those guys but during a race a long and tough as MDS you have to be really fit but also lucky and that takes putting yourself in a position to preform and I intend to do that.
To find out more about Mike check out his website: http://mikewardian.com/
Mike has a number of sponsors who support his running:
MarathonGuide.com (www.marathonguide.com)
The North Face (www.thenorthface.com)
PowerBar (www.powerbar.com)
The USA organizers for MDS (they rock-Lisa & Jay Batchen)
http://www.dreamchaserevents.com/
Monday, 9 August 2010
Monday 9 August 2010: Recovering from Sunday
Mileage: 12 miles
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 8.25 miles
I am shattered today! Yesterday clearly took quite a lot out of me. I felt okay on my run to work this morning, however, the strange niggling feeling in my right knee was still there. It doesn't hurt, it's just there. Very strange, hopefully it's something and nothing. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
My legs stiffened up during the day and felt pretty heavy by the time I came to run home. I set off and headed towards the Glenogle Swimming baths as I was meant to meet Dan there. Unfortunately I was held up at work and was running (excuse the pun) late. I did feel a little stiff running, but generally my legs felt okay, no sore bits or tight bits, which was good considering what I put them through yesterday. The niggley knee appeared towards the end of my run, but again it didn't hurt it was just there. I am not sure what it is and I am beginning to wonder how much of it is in my head. The fact that I think about it when I run means I am about to notice anything odd there. Again I'll just monitor it and hope it eases off. My pace was okay averaging out at below seven and a half minute mile pace, which was fast enough to stretch out, but slow enough to help the body recovery.
I arrived at swim centre and I guess I must have missed Dan as he wasn't there. I set about doing my usual core work out of a series of press-ups and planks and it was half-way through this session I realised I was physically still very tired from yesterday and so called it a day and headed home.
I've been pretty tired all night and have been lying about on the sofa watching TV and trying to stay awake. Gail very kindly took care of my feet cutting my nails, taking off the dead skin and smoothing them off. Not the best job in the world, of that I am sure. It was really nice of her to do it and my feet feel a lot better now!! Thanks Gail.
Yesterday I promised the interview with Mike Wardian, however, owing to my lazing about this evening and general tiredness I am afraid it will have to wait until tomorrow night. Sorry about that. Right I am off to bed, good night all!
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 8.25 miles
I am shattered today! Yesterday clearly took quite a lot out of me. I felt okay on my run to work this morning, however, the strange niggling feeling in my right knee was still there. It doesn't hurt, it's just there. Very strange, hopefully it's something and nothing. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
My legs stiffened up during the day and felt pretty heavy by the time I came to run home. I set off and headed towards the Glenogle Swimming baths as I was meant to meet Dan there. Unfortunately I was held up at work and was running (excuse the pun) late. I did feel a little stiff running, but generally my legs felt okay, no sore bits or tight bits, which was good considering what I put them through yesterday. The niggley knee appeared towards the end of my run, but again it didn't hurt it was just there. I am not sure what it is and I am beginning to wonder how much of it is in my head. The fact that I think about it when I run means I am about to notice anything odd there. Again I'll just monitor it and hope it eases off. My pace was okay averaging out at below seven and a half minute mile pace, which was fast enough to stretch out, but slow enough to help the body recovery.
I arrived at swim centre and I guess I must have missed Dan as he wasn't there. I set about doing my usual core work out of a series of press-ups and planks and it was half-way through this session I realised I was physically still very tired from yesterday and so called it a day and headed home.
I've been pretty tired all night and have been lying about on the sofa watching TV and trying to stay awake. Gail very kindly took care of my feet cutting my nails, taking off the dead skin and smoothing them off. Not the best job in the world, of that I am sure. It was really nice of her to do it and my feet feel a lot better now!! Thanks Gail.
Yesterday I promised the interview with Mike Wardian, however, owing to my lazing about this evening and general tiredness I am afraid it will have to wait until tomorrow night. Sorry about that. Right I am off to bed, good night all!
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Sunday 8 August 2010: Second consecutive 100 mile week!
Weekly Mileage: 101.5 miles
Sunday: 26 miles in 2.55.09
Well I managed it. My second consecutive 100 mile week I am pretty pleased with myself, especially ending it with such a strong steady long run. I have to admit I thought the week itself would have been harder on my body, but actually I seem to have come through fairly unscathed. As I write this on Sunday evening, apart from serious chaffing damage under my arms and in my butt I feel pretty good. My right knee feels a little achy and has done for a couple of weeks now, but doesn't seem to slow me down or get any worse. I am a little concerned about the knee, so will keep an eye on it.
This week I am planning to do my third consecutive 100 mile week, but this week won't be so hard, as I will be doing my long run on Saturday and a gentler run on Sunday, so no Saturday intervals and I plan for my long run to be 22 miles and at a much slower pace than this week. I am doing this so that I can help prepare my body for the Nairn Half Marathon the week after.
However, back to today, what a great Sunday for a run. The weather was warm and sunny with no wind. Maybe not quite perfect running conditions, but I wasn't complain. There was again a group of us setting off together, myself, Niamh, Ben and Kev. Kev was only planning on doing 12 miles so we knew we would only have his company for first 6 miles.
Ben must have had a giant bowl of Weetabix this morning as he set out at a pretty strong pace. We had spoken before of doing around 7 minute miles, which is pretty much where we were after the first two miles. However, after the second mile Ben made a noticeable push in pace. Thankfully I was feeling pretty good at this point, apart from a few niggles and tightness in my right leg, so I pulled up alongside him. Kev also followed, but Niamh seemed happy enough to carry on at 7minute mile pace and dropped back. The next three miles were all around 6.45 pace and slightly up hill so we working hard and to be honest I was letting Ben lead as I would have been happy to run at the 7 minute mile pace. Still I hung on and we pulled into Balerno. At this point Kev turned back to finish off his 12 miles and Ben and I pressed on together.
The hills at Balerno are always a favourite part of the run and as usual I wanted to run them hard, Ben was well up for it two and we moved up them side-by-side at quite a pace. When we got to the top we didn't ease off we carried on and moved through 8 miles in 55 minutes and 38 seconds, about a minute quicker than I have done those 8 miles in recent weeks. Now we had the benefit of seven mile stretch mainly downhill and we obliged by picking up our pace. We went through 10 miles in 68.38 and at this point I was starting to wonder if our quick pace would cost me later in my run. Ben was doing 20 miles, so he was now half way through, but I still had 16 miles left. I was also feeling a little tightness in my lower back and right groin and hamstring. We moved down the road and I did for a few minutes entertain the thought of slowing down and making sure I had enough to get through my run and not injure myself. However, I was enjoying myself. I like running at pace and it was a great day for it, with Ben for company I decided to stick with it and keep going for as long as possible. I went through 13 miles in just over 1hour and 28 minutes, which I was pretty pleased about.
By the time we went through the 16 mile mark we had completed the second 8 miles in 52 mins and 23 secs over 3 minutes quicker than the first 8 miles. Now we turned on to the canal and I was feeling pretty good, the best I had felt on the run. My little niggles and tightness eased off and my lungs felt strong. I had intended to run the final 10 miles on the canal at 7 minute mile pace, but found a nice rhythm at around 6.45s. Ben stuck with me for 2 miles on the canal before he turned round to head back and complete his 20 miles. Left on my own I thought I would slow down, but I was still feeling good and decided to keep pushing for as long as I could hold the pace. I turned round just after 20 miles to head back and this was the first time I felt a little sluggish. I don't know if it was because the gentle breeze that had been blowing in my face was now behind me and so wasn't keeping me cool and I felt warm and a little bothered. I had two rough miles, but it I didn't slow too much, in fact I dropped from 6.41 to 6.51 and another 6.51 at mile 22. With four miles to go I certainly felt a mental lift if not a physical one and my pace picked up again. I got quicker and quicker for every mile finishing the last 4 miles in 6.47, 6.39, 6.35 and the last one in 6.32.
I felt okay when I stopped, neither sore nor exhausted, but I knew I had been working hard. I took the walk back to the car and tried to assess the state of my body. Running 26 miles at that pace I was already beginning to wonder what damage I might have done. I felt particularly tight around my glutes and my legs and my right knee was a little achy too, but all in all not bad. I guess I will understand the extent of any problems when I start running tomorrow morning.
Overall a great week's running and I am thrilled with my progress. I just hope that I can maintain it this week and then have a good taper before Nairn. I would love to get a PB at that race.
In other exciting news Mike Wardian, US ultra runner and podium finisher in last year's MDS, has answered some questions about ultra running and the MDS, how to train and some tips for those taking part. Look out for the interview in tomorrow's blog entry.
Sunday: 26 miles in 2.55.09
Well I managed it. My second consecutive 100 mile week I am pretty pleased with myself, especially ending it with such a strong steady long run. I have to admit I thought the week itself would have been harder on my body, but actually I seem to have come through fairly unscathed. As I write this on Sunday evening, apart from serious chaffing damage under my arms and in my butt I feel pretty good. My right knee feels a little achy and has done for a couple of weeks now, but doesn't seem to slow me down or get any worse. I am a little concerned about the knee, so will keep an eye on it.
This week I am planning to do my third consecutive 100 mile week, but this week won't be so hard, as I will be doing my long run on Saturday and a gentler run on Sunday, so no Saturday intervals and I plan for my long run to be 22 miles and at a much slower pace than this week. I am doing this so that I can help prepare my body for the Nairn Half Marathon the week after.
However, back to today, what a great Sunday for a run. The weather was warm and sunny with no wind. Maybe not quite perfect running conditions, but I wasn't complain. There was again a group of us setting off together, myself, Niamh, Ben and Kev. Kev was only planning on doing 12 miles so we knew we would only have his company for first 6 miles.
Ben must have had a giant bowl of Weetabix this morning as he set out at a pretty strong pace. We had spoken before of doing around 7 minute miles, which is pretty much where we were after the first two miles. However, after the second mile Ben made a noticeable push in pace. Thankfully I was feeling pretty good at this point, apart from a few niggles and tightness in my right leg, so I pulled up alongside him. Kev also followed, but Niamh seemed happy enough to carry on at 7minute mile pace and dropped back. The next three miles were all around 6.45 pace and slightly up hill so we working hard and to be honest I was letting Ben lead as I would have been happy to run at the 7 minute mile pace. Still I hung on and we pulled into Balerno. At this point Kev turned back to finish off his 12 miles and Ben and I pressed on together.
The hills at Balerno are always a favourite part of the run and as usual I wanted to run them hard, Ben was well up for it two and we moved up them side-by-side at quite a pace. When we got to the top we didn't ease off we carried on and moved through 8 miles in 55 minutes and 38 seconds, about a minute quicker than I have done those 8 miles in recent weeks. Now we had the benefit of seven mile stretch mainly downhill and we obliged by picking up our pace. We went through 10 miles in 68.38 and at this point I was starting to wonder if our quick pace would cost me later in my run. Ben was doing 20 miles, so he was now half way through, but I still had 16 miles left. I was also feeling a little tightness in my lower back and right groin and hamstring. We moved down the road and I did for a few minutes entertain the thought of slowing down and making sure I had enough to get through my run and not injure myself. However, I was enjoying myself. I like running at pace and it was a great day for it, with Ben for company I decided to stick with it and keep going for as long as possible. I went through 13 miles in just over 1hour and 28 minutes, which I was pretty pleased about.
By the time we went through the 16 mile mark we had completed the second 8 miles in 52 mins and 23 secs over 3 minutes quicker than the first 8 miles. Now we turned on to the canal and I was feeling pretty good, the best I had felt on the run. My little niggles and tightness eased off and my lungs felt strong. I had intended to run the final 10 miles on the canal at 7 minute mile pace, but found a nice rhythm at around 6.45s. Ben stuck with me for 2 miles on the canal before he turned round to head back and complete his 20 miles. Left on my own I thought I would slow down, but I was still feeling good and decided to keep pushing for as long as I could hold the pace. I turned round just after 20 miles to head back and this was the first time I felt a little sluggish. I don't know if it was because the gentle breeze that had been blowing in my face was now behind me and so wasn't keeping me cool and I felt warm and a little bothered. I had two rough miles, but it I didn't slow too much, in fact I dropped from 6.41 to 6.51 and another 6.51 at mile 22. With four miles to go I certainly felt a mental lift if not a physical one and my pace picked up again. I got quicker and quicker for every mile finishing the last 4 miles in 6.47, 6.39, 6.35 and the last one in 6.32.
I felt okay when I stopped, neither sore nor exhausted, but I knew I had been working hard. I took the walk back to the car and tried to assess the state of my body. Running 26 miles at that pace I was already beginning to wonder what damage I might have done. I felt particularly tight around my glutes and my legs and my right knee was a little achy too, but all in all not bad. I guess I will understand the extent of any problems when I start running tomorrow morning.
Overall a great week's running and I am thrilled with my progress. I just hope that I can maintain it this week and then have a good taper before Nairn. I would love to get a PB at that race.
In other exciting news Mike Wardian, US ultra runner and podium finisher in last year's MDS, has answered some questions about ultra running and the MDS, how to train and some tips for those taking part. Look out for the interview in tomorrow's blog entry.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Friday 6 and Saturday 7 August: Another good Saturday session and a visit to the Turkish baths
Friday 7 August
Mileage: 7.5 miles
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 3.75 miles
Friday as always was as near as I get to a rest day with just a gentle jog to and from work. I was tired on Friday. This was the first time this week I have felt that way and probably a combination of the two hard interval sessions on Tuesday and Thursday and the high mileage. I decided against a visit to the gym and just ran home. In the evening I went for a curry with my brother and Simon and I ate loads, which seemed to do the trick making me feel a lot better and less heavy in the legs.
Saturday 8 August
Mileage: 11.5 miles including Saturday session
After feeling tired yesterday I was really pleased to wake up feeling fresh and strong in my legs. I took the dog out for an early morning walk and as we moved through Inverleith Park I could feel that most of the heaviness that I had felt yesterday was gone. Setting off to get to the Meadows for the Club session I knew I was in good shape.
The session was made up of 4 sets of one short loop of around 0.3miles and one long loop of a 2/3rds of a mile with a minute recovery between the reps and two and a half minutes recovery between each set. There was a mixed group at the session today, but Robert Riddle was there and he his pace is very similar to mine, so we paired up. We did the first two sets together, which was great as I am not sure I would have gone as quick without the company. Despite feeling fresh and lighter in the legs than Friday they didn't feel amazing on those two reps. It was as if they needed the first two reps to get really warmed up, as the last two they felt really great and I could feel my legs really stretch out and go fast. The good thing was that the session wasn't a huge one, so despite working hard I didn't feel as though I had ruined myself for my long run tomorrow morning.
My session broke down like this:
1)
i) 0.31 miles - 1 mins 36 secs at 5.11 minutes per mile pace (mpmp)
ii) 0.66 miles - 3 mins 37 secs at 5.29 mpmp
2)
i) 0.30 miles - 1mins 35 secs at 5.15 mpmp
ii) 0.65 miles - 3mins 31secs at 5.24 mpmp
3)
i) 0.29 miles - 1mins 32 secs at 5.16 mpmp
ii) 0.66 miles - 3mins 29 secs at 5.17 mpmp
4)
i) 0.30 miles - 1mins 28 secs at 4.57 mpmp
ii) 0.66 miles - 3mins 24 secs at 5.11 mpmp
After training I met my friend Jo and we went to the gym at Portabello. The gym and swim centre there has a Turkish bath, which a number of people at the club have used in recent months and keep telling me how great it is. After doing my usual gym work out we went to the baths. Basically you sit in the steam room for about 5 minutes or for as long as you can take the heat and it does get really hot in there. From the steam room you submerge yourself in the cold plunge pool, which is quite a shock to the system as it takes your breath away. Thankfully you get used to the cool water quickly and it feels really refreshing. You then repeat the whole thing again and do this three times. Apparently it is meant to help ease muscle stiffness and aid recovery after a hard session, which coming after the Saturday session and ahead of my long Sunday run has to be a good thing. I guess the real test will come when I line up for that long run and how fresh my legs feel. We'll see.
Mileage: 7.5 miles
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 3.75 miles
Friday as always was as near as I get to a rest day with just a gentle jog to and from work. I was tired on Friday. This was the first time this week I have felt that way and probably a combination of the two hard interval sessions on Tuesday and Thursday and the high mileage. I decided against a visit to the gym and just ran home. In the evening I went for a curry with my brother and Simon and I ate loads, which seemed to do the trick making me feel a lot better and less heavy in the legs.
Saturday 8 August
Mileage: 11.5 miles including Saturday session
After feeling tired yesterday I was really pleased to wake up feeling fresh and strong in my legs. I took the dog out for an early morning walk and as we moved through Inverleith Park I could feel that most of the heaviness that I had felt yesterday was gone. Setting off to get to the Meadows for the Club session I knew I was in good shape.
The session was made up of 4 sets of one short loop of around 0.3miles and one long loop of a 2/3rds of a mile with a minute recovery between the reps and two and a half minutes recovery between each set. There was a mixed group at the session today, but Robert Riddle was there and he his pace is very similar to mine, so we paired up. We did the first two sets together, which was great as I am not sure I would have gone as quick without the company. Despite feeling fresh and lighter in the legs than Friday they didn't feel amazing on those two reps. It was as if they needed the first two reps to get really warmed up, as the last two they felt really great and I could feel my legs really stretch out and go fast. The good thing was that the session wasn't a huge one, so despite working hard I didn't feel as though I had ruined myself for my long run tomorrow morning.
My session broke down like this:
1)
i) 0.31 miles - 1 mins 36 secs at 5.11 minutes per mile pace (mpmp)
ii) 0.66 miles - 3 mins 37 secs at 5.29 mpmp
2)
i) 0.30 miles - 1mins 35 secs at 5.15 mpmp
ii) 0.65 miles - 3mins 31secs at 5.24 mpmp
3)
i) 0.29 miles - 1mins 32 secs at 5.16 mpmp
ii) 0.66 miles - 3mins 29 secs at 5.17 mpmp
4)
i) 0.30 miles - 1mins 28 secs at 4.57 mpmp
ii) 0.66 miles - 3mins 24 secs at 5.11 mpmp
After training I met my friend Jo and we went to the gym at Portabello. The gym and swim centre there has a Turkish bath, which a number of people at the club have used in recent months and keep telling me how great it is. After doing my usual gym work out we went to the baths. Basically you sit in the steam room for about 5 minutes or for as long as you can take the heat and it does get really hot in there. From the steam room you submerge yourself in the cold plunge pool, which is quite a shock to the system as it takes your breath away. Thankfully you get used to the cool water quickly and it feels really refreshing. You then repeat the whole thing again and do this three times. Apparently it is meant to help ease muscle stiffness and aid recovery after a hard session, which coming after the Saturday session and ahead of my long Sunday run has to be a good thing. I guess the real test will come when I line up for that long run and how fresh my legs feel. We'll see.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Thursday 5 August 2010: Meadows and dodging tourists
Mileage: 16.5 miles
AM: 3.75 miles PM 12.75 miles (including club session)
I was certainly feeling up for tonight's session in the Meadows and my legs felt good as I took the short half mile jog from my work to the usual meeting point. It was another warm night and there wasn't much of breeze kicking about to keep us cool. Bryan was back from his holiday tonight, so with Dan, Ben and Neil we formed a pretty useful group. Colin turned up on his bike, but wasn't running. He finished 4th in the North Berwick Law Hill Race yesterday, so wasn't going to push it on tired legs. There was a trophy for the first EAC finisher in the race, which Colin was, so I think he was up looking for his trophy, which Alex promised next week.
Tonight's session was a pretty tough one, 6 four minute efforts at faster than 10k pace, with a 3 minute recovery, which sounds a lot, but was not a static recovery as we had to maintain a steady pace and keep ticking over in between reps, in fact when we weren't stopping for pee breaks our recoveries were all at around 7 minute mile pace for three minutes, so fairly good going. The heat was also a little sapping and a stiff breeze down the back of the Meadows wasn't much fun when we had to run hard down there.
It was hard going, however, we ran really well together taking it in turns to lead, which meant that we ran fairly consistently, especially for the first three reps. Things broke up a little bit on the fourth rep, when Neil took his turn to lead. Neil has been running super quick lately and went off like a rabbit, Bryan and I took off in pursuit, but we had little chance of actually catching him. Unfortunately Dan felt something pull in his right leg so pulled up and that was the end of his session. Neil finished off his rep and that was the end of the session for him too, as he is racing in the Scottish League 5000m at the weekend - sub 15.30 surely beckons! Ben, Bryan and I worked through the penultimate one together, which was pretty tough after Neil's rep. The final rep as always was a bit of a free for all and the three of us set off at pace. I went off way too quick, I guess I was quite keen to stay ahead or at least with Bryan who usually hits the front hard, I found myself clear and with a bit of gap with about 1.20 to go and I then realised that I had gone off too quickly, as I was really fighting to keep my legs going, but I managed to hold an even, if slight slower pace, till the end producing my fastest rep of the night. A good night's work.
This is what I did for my 4 minute reps:
1) 0.73 miles 5.28 minute per mile pace
2) 0.73 miles 5.28 mpm pace
3) 0.73 miles 5.28 mpm pace
4) 0.75 miles 5.19 mpm pace
5) 0.74 miles 5.24 mpm pace
6) 0.78 miles 5.09 mpm pace
Again, I am pretty pleased overall, as that takes me to 56.5 miles for the week already and I am still feeling fairly fresh and strong.With a light running day planned tomorrow, I am fairly confident that I'll get through the weekend and achieve my second consecutive 100 mile week. Bring it on!
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Wednesday 4 August 2010: My first taste of the Sahara and Garmin is back!
Mileage: 12.5 miles
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 8.75 miles
Running today was the same as Monday in terms of route and distance, however, I was tired and a little niggley in places. I guess that's the downside of running plenty of miles, but also a sign of how hard last night's track session was. Thankfully by the time I had finished my 9 miles this evening everything felt good and I certainly feel as though I can do a hard session tomorrow. I am now feeling pretty confident that I will be able to do a second consecutive 100 mile week, which will be a first for me.
Yesterday I got my first taste of the Sahara Desert, quite literally. My brother, who works in the oil industry, has been out in Lybia in the desert for the last 3 weeks. In duty free on his way home he picked up a couple of bottles of gin for himself and Gail, but as I am off the booze he kindly brought me back a bottle of something non-alcoholic. He brought me a bottle of sand from the Sahara! He reckons my training will improve if I pour some of the sand into my socks before every run. I have to admit I really like it. I reckon it's going to become some kind of motivational icon, that I'll I look at everyday to remind me what's coming, so thanks Stephen!
In other exciting news Garmin sent me my new Forerunner 405 today. It's all shiny and working, which is great and a step up from the last one. I have to admit Garmin were pretty good about it. I rang their helpline and explained that my old watch had died and asked them if there was anything they could do about it. It was out of warranty, nearly 3 years old and had over 4000 miles on it, so I was not expecting too much. A friend of Colin's had suffered a similar fate and Garmin had offered to replace his watch with a refurbished one for £75. I was given the same offer, which I gladly took, as £75 for a watch as good as new that normally costs as much as £250 and one I would have ended up re-buying, is a good deal.
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Tuesday 3 August 2010: Track session marathon style!
Mileage: 15 miles
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 11.25miles (Including 20*400m with one minute recovery all at 75secs)
Tonight I returned to the track for the first time in a couple of weeks. I was, however, not doing the normal club session. I am now well into my marathon training and everything needs to work towards that. There is still a role for the track in my training, but it has to be geared towards building endurance, as well as speed. So tonight's session was one I borrowed from Hailey Haining the Scottish marathon runner who was on stand-by to run at the 2008 Olympics in place of Paula Radcliffe. Unfortunately for her, she did not get the chance as Paula made the start line.
As I understand it this workout is designed to make marathon pace feel easier, increase confidence that you can run at speed while fatigued, and is also good for VO2max, lactate threshold, and running economy. It's part of a cycle of training I plan to do on a Tuesday night that will build my endurance and as well as keep me running faster than marathon pace for a considerable time, so that when I run at marathon pace it feels more comfortable. My upcoming Tuesday sessions include half mile (5k pace), mile (faster than 10k pace) and 2 mile reps (half marathon pace), all I also plan to return to this 400m session in 5 weeks, but add another 5 reps, so make it 25 reps of 400m at the same pace to keep my speed work up.
Dan, Colin and Niamh joined me for the session. Dan and Niamh are both training for Amsterdam too and Colin is training for the Glasgow Half Marathon in September, so a good session for them too. I normally run 400m at around 65-70 secs, so on paper running them at 75 seconds sounds pretty easy. It is not. It's not the outright pace that is tough, it's the relentless nature of the session and the small recovery time that's the killer. The pace is still pretty high too, exactly 5 minutes per mile pace, so faster than 5k pace by some way. I was pleased to say that most of my reps were exactly 75 secs, 2 were a little slower and 3 were a little quicker, but only by only by a second or two either way. It was pretty tough towards the end. By the time we reached 15 reps I could feel it a lot in my legs, they were wobbly and fatigued, but I held my form and the later reps were where I actually went a little faster than I was supposed to. I think this was because we were getting closer to the end of the session and I felt as though I could push it a little harder. Having said that I was pretty close to the limit, so I am not sure how much more time I could have shaved off if I'd tried to push it. The rest of guys felt the same, we were all pretty tired by the end of the session and agreed that it was a tough one. It was really good to have a group to work with and we took it in turns to lead a lap, which helped us to keep the reps steady and meant that we each had responsibility for keeping the pace right. It was also very windy in the back straight where we finished off the rep, so it was good to have different people leading home.
All in all a really good session, which has made me feel pretty good. I am already looking forward to Thursday's session and then another bash at 26 miles on Sunday!
AM: 3.75 miles; PM: 11.25miles (Including 20*400m with one minute recovery all at 75secs)
Tonight I returned to the track for the first time in a couple of weeks. I was, however, not doing the normal club session. I am now well into my marathon training and everything needs to work towards that. There is still a role for the track in my training, but it has to be geared towards building endurance, as well as speed. So tonight's session was one I borrowed from Hailey Haining the Scottish marathon runner who was on stand-by to run at the 2008 Olympics in place of Paula Radcliffe. Unfortunately for her, she did not get the chance as Paula made the start line.
As I understand it this workout is designed to make marathon pace feel easier, increase confidence that you can run at speed while fatigued, and is also good for VO2max, lactate threshold, and running economy. It's part of a cycle of training I plan to do on a Tuesday night that will build my endurance and as well as keep me running faster than marathon pace for a considerable time, so that when I run at marathon pace it feels more comfortable. My upcoming Tuesday sessions include half mile (5k pace), mile (faster than 10k pace) and 2 mile reps (half marathon pace), all I also plan to return to this 400m session in 5 weeks, but add another 5 reps, so make it 25 reps of 400m at the same pace to keep my speed work up.
Dan, Colin and Niamh joined me for the session. Dan and Niamh are both training for Amsterdam too and Colin is training for the Glasgow Half Marathon in September, so a good session for them too. I normally run 400m at around 65-70 secs, so on paper running them at 75 seconds sounds pretty easy. It is not. It's not the outright pace that is tough, it's the relentless nature of the session and the small recovery time that's the killer. The pace is still pretty high too, exactly 5 minutes per mile pace, so faster than 5k pace by some way. I was pleased to say that most of my reps were exactly 75 secs, 2 were a little slower and 3 were a little quicker, but only by only by a second or two either way. It was pretty tough towards the end. By the time we reached 15 reps I could feel it a lot in my legs, they were wobbly and fatigued, but I held my form and the later reps were where I actually went a little faster than I was supposed to. I think this was because we were getting closer to the end of the session and I felt as though I could push it a little harder. Having said that I was pretty close to the limit, so I am not sure how much more time I could have shaved off if I'd tried to push it. The rest of guys felt the same, we were all pretty tired by the end of the session and agreed that it was a tough one. It was really good to have a group to work with and we took it in turns to lead a lap, which helped us to keep the reps steady and meant that we each had responsibility for keeping the pace right. It was also very windy in the back straight where we finished off the rep, so it was good to have different people leading home.
All in all a really good session, which has made me feel pretty good. I am already looking forward to Thursday's session and then another bash at 26 miles on Sunday!
Monday, 2 August 2010
Monday 2 August 2010: Reflecting on a Summer of sport
Mileage: 12.5 miles, AM - 3.75miles; PM - 8.75miles
Today's running was pretty much the same as last Monday and many others that have passed in recent weeks, so I thought I would talk about other stuff.
There has been loads of sport this summer from the World Cup, to the Tour de France, Wimbledon, Test Match cricket and the recently finished Eurpean Athletics. I've watched quite a bit of this sport, particularly the Tour de France and the athletics and what I've seen has really inspired me in my own sport. I wonder how much, if at all, it has inspired other amateur sports competitors.
Why has it inspired me?
For me its the dedication, the passion, the emotion and commitment that these guys give to succeed. In some cases they give absolutely everything, like in the epic 5 set match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon. They played for over 11 and half hours over three days and never once did they give an inch. They must have known at some point during that last set that they would never recover suffuciently to play well enough in their subsequent rounds, so in a sense that match became their final and they just did not give in. They treat it as a final. It was inspiring stuff.
Then there was the rivaly and competition between Schleck and Contador in the Tour de France and again watching them go hammer and tong up the mountain to decide who would be the winner was breathtaking. Neither would give up. They were clearly hurting and I am farily certain they would have dropped down dead before letting the other get away. Having a huge strength of character and will power to succeed must be crucial in order to peform at that level and to achieve what they have. When I am out running, especially on my long runs and things start to get a little tough and sore I think of sporting moments like that and try to let it motivate me to keep running hard and not to give in.
The athletics was also really good this summer. I am not a big believer in country and nationality, but I do cheer the British on and like to see them do well. It was great to see so many of them do so well too. I really loved watching Andy Turner's response to his victory in the 110m hurdles, you could simply see the emotion pour out and you knew exactly what it meant to him, or Chris Thompson's silver medal in the 10,000m and Mark Lewis Francis in the 100m. I love seeing that emotion, as it shows you just how good you can feel through achievement in sport. I know it's unlikely that I will win international medals, but I have my goals and even though I might not be able to reach their heights I can train as hard as them and achieve the goals I have set myself.
I was also impressed by the coolness under pressure shown by a number of the athletes, especially under the intense media and personal pressure put on them. Jessica Ennis in a truly world class field, always seemed to do exactly what she needed to get the points on the board to win the gold. In an event that spans 2 days and seven disciplines I am sure there are plenty of opportunities to crumble under that pressure, but she didn't, not once. Nor did Mo Farah, who won both the 5,000m and 10,000m. As a runner, his events and the marathon were the ones I watched most keenly. I was particularly impressed by Mo's tactics. He has often been criticised for getting things wrong, and he didn't have the best start to the season with some poor cross country performances, but he did everything right at the games. The way he controlled both the races he ran was a great lesson in running. It wasn't about running PBs it was about beating the other runners and winning gold.
So this summer of sport has been really inspiring so far and helps keep me motivated to run well and train hard, as I know it can lead to my goals.
Today's running was pretty much the same as last Monday and many others that have passed in recent weeks, so I thought I would talk about other stuff.
There has been loads of sport this summer from the World Cup, to the Tour de France, Wimbledon, Test Match cricket and the recently finished Eurpean Athletics. I've watched quite a bit of this sport, particularly the Tour de France and the athletics and what I've seen has really inspired me in my own sport. I wonder how much, if at all, it has inspired other amateur sports competitors.
Why has it inspired me?
For me its the dedication, the passion, the emotion and commitment that these guys give to succeed. In some cases they give absolutely everything, like in the epic 5 set match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon. They played for over 11 and half hours over three days and never once did they give an inch. They must have known at some point during that last set that they would never recover suffuciently to play well enough in their subsequent rounds, so in a sense that match became their final and they just did not give in. They treat it as a final. It was inspiring stuff.
Then there was the rivaly and competition between Schleck and Contador in the Tour de France and again watching them go hammer and tong up the mountain to decide who would be the winner was breathtaking. Neither would give up. They were clearly hurting and I am farily certain they would have dropped down dead before letting the other get away. Having a huge strength of character and will power to succeed must be crucial in order to peform at that level and to achieve what they have. When I am out running, especially on my long runs and things start to get a little tough and sore I think of sporting moments like that and try to let it motivate me to keep running hard and not to give in.
The athletics was also really good this summer. I am not a big believer in country and nationality, but I do cheer the British on and like to see them do well. It was great to see so many of them do so well too. I really loved watching Andy Turner's response to his victory in the 110m hurdles, you could simply see the emotion pour out and you knew exactly what it meant to him, or Chris Thompson's silver medal in the 10,000m and Mark Lewis Francis in the 100m. I love seeing that emotion, as it shows you just how good you can feel through achievement in sport. I know it's unlikely that I will win international medals, but I have my goals and even though I might not be able to reach their heights I can train as hard as them and achieve the goals I have set myself.
I was also impressed by the coolness under pressure shown by a number of the athletes, especially under the intense media and personal pressure put on them. Jessica Ennis in a truly world class field, always seemed to do exactly what she needed to get the points on the board to win the gold. In an event that spans 2 days and seven disciplines I am sure there are plenty of opportunities to crumble under that pressure, but she didn't, not once. Nor did Mo Farah, who won both the 5,000m and 10,000m. As a runner, his events and the marathon were the ones I watched most keenly. I was particularly impressed by Mo's tactics. He has often been criticised for getting things wrong, and he didn't have the best start to the season with some poor cross country performances, but he did everything right at the games. The way he controlled both the races he ran was a great lesson in running. It wasn't about running PBs it was about beating the other runners and winning gold.
So this summer of sport has been really inspiring so far and helps keep me motivated to run well and train hard, as I know it can lead to my goals.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Friday 30 July - Sunday 1 August 2010: Reaching a 100 miles
Weekly Mileage: 100.75 miles
Friday: 7.5 miles
Saturday: 26 miles in 3hours and 3 minutes
Sunday: 10 miles
As I sit here late on Sunday afternoon I can't quite believe how quickly this weekend has gone, in fact I can not believe that we are now in August. Where is the time going? Weekends definitely seem to be getting shorter, but I guess one of the reasons they seem to be so short is they are fun and packed with plenty of activity and lots of training!
Friday, as always was my usual easy day with just a run to and from work. After Thursday's hard training, I was pleased that my legs still felt in one piece.
This weekend I had to swap my long run from Sunday to Saturday, as Sunday was the Scottish Gas 10K and I had agreed to help out. Thankfully Niamh and Garry were both up for a long run on Saturday too. Garry was looking to do 16 miles, Niamh 22 miles and I was hoping to get to 26 miles.
I have never ran 26 miles before as part of marathon training, normally I only go as far as 24 miles. I have decided, however, to build it up further this time as having spoken to several marathon runners who have run sub 2.40 and 2.30 on several occasions they have done it and talked about the importance of making sure that they can go the distance comfortably. In each of my last 4 marathons I have hit the wall around at around 18-20 miles. I hope that by doing some 26 and 27 mile runs I will better train my body to deal with those later miles, so I can hold my pace for longer.
We started out on Saturday at a fairly steady pace and the three of us chatted as we went. I was more than happy at this pace as my legs were feeling a little tight and achy. At 4 miles we picked up the pace slightly and have to admit I found this a little hard. I stuck in with them and we worked are away up to Balerno. I like getting to Balerno because we hit the roads and two rather good hills that really work the legs. The second one is pretty steep and I really enjoy pushing it up there, especially as we get to the top it flattens out and then the next few miles go gradually down hill giving you the chance to recover and get your breath back. Today Niamh kicked a little at the start of the second hill and even though I was still not feeling super fresh in the legs I decided to go with her. I pushed hard to the top and pulled a little gap on Niamh and felt pretty good as I reached the top. Garry had dropped back a little bit. Getting the top Niamh pulled alongside me and I thought we were going to ease off slightly and Garry catch us and then move off at the same pace we had enjoyed to Balerno. Niamh clearly didn't have the same plan, as no sooner had I allowed myself to slow and pull a deep breath she kicked on. I had to think for a second and decide whether to go with her or hang back and wait for Garry. I decided to stick with Niamh as I knew Garry wasn't going as far as Niamh. It was a tough choice, as Niamh was really pushing the pace and I was quite close to the limit just keeping up with her. After we passed the 8 mile mark we really pick up the pace. Thankfully it was a nice cool morning with a good breeze. I really needed it as I my whole body was working really hard to keep going and that cool air stopped me from over heating.
We barely spoke over the next 7 miles, just ran and ran fast, and we did those seven miles in about 46 minutes an average of just over 6 and half minutes per mile. We reached 15 miles and slowed for a quick chat about how fast we were running. We left the Water of Leith route and turned on to the canal path. With Niamh running 22 miles and not 26 meant she would run 3 miles along the canal and then turn back to finish at the usual finish spot. I had to do 5 miles before turning round. I remember looking at my watch at the 15 mile mark and thinking with a certain amount of dread that I still had over an hour left to run. Once on the canal path we continued at a good pace and again I was struggling to hang on to Niamh who was running really strongly. In fact she opened a very small gap, which I couldn't make back up. I was pleased that I didn't fall back further and when Niamh turned round to head back my pace didn't drop drastically as I expected it to without her to drag me along. I turned round at just past 20 miles and began the run back. It's amazing how much of psychological lift you can get from simply turning round and knowing you're heading for home. Between 16-19 miles running had felt pretty tough and uncomfortable and my mind had begun to entertain thoughts of reducing the planned mileage. The turnaround though brought a spring in my step, as I knew that every stride took me closer to home.
Those last 5 and bit miles hurt, but I was really happy to maintain both a good pace and form. The 10 miles out and back along the canal were fairly evenly paced. I did lose a bit of pace, about 45 seconds over the five miles, in the second half, but it was good. Crossing the finishing line I felt pretty good. In fact, I reckon I could have done a couple more miles if I really had to, which bodes well for ultra training later in the year. The pain and discomfort I was feeling in those last miles was definitely manageable, which was a good sign also. My only concern was the mini-wall I felt during miles 16-19, however, with 11 weeks training still to go before Amsterdam then I have time and more long runs to get that right.
On Sunday morning I got up early to go for a wee run before helping out with the Scottish Gas 10k. I set off along the cycle path and brought myself out at the coast at Newhaven. After a couple of miles running I was amazed at how well my legs felt, especially the day after running all those miles. I decided to go a little further then I had planned and take in the 10k route that would be used later that morning. After a four or five miles I did start to feel a few tweaks, but I was definitely going a little too fast for a recovery run. I did ease off as I finished the course, but I felt good and really pleased with the way my body has held together following such a long and untried training run.
Helping out at the Scottish Gas 10k was a lot of fun. It was good to see such a good turnout from the club and there were some good performances too, especially Neil Calder who ran 33.04. Colin ran his first race as an EAC runner, and although he didn't get the time he was looking for he still enjoyed it. Adam finished second in the 5k, and there were loads of other club runners out in force and running well. It was also really well organised too and the 400 odd competitors seemed to have had a great day.
Friday: 7.5 miles
Saturday: 26 miles in 3hours and 3 minutes
Sunday: 10 miles
As I sit here late on Sunday afternoon I can't quite believe how quickly this weekend has gone, in fact I can not believe that we are now in August. Where is the time going? Weekends definitely seem to be getting shorter, but I guess one of the reasons they seem to be so short is they are fun and packed with plenty of activity and lots of training!
Friday, as always was my usual easy day with just a run to and from work. After Thursday's hard training, I was pleased that my legs still felt in one piece.
This weekend I had to swap my long run from Sunday to Saturday, as Sunday was the Scottish Gas 10K and I had agreed to help out. Thankfully Niamh and Garry were both up for a long run on Saturday too. Garry was looking to do 16 miles, Niamh 22 miles and I was hoping to get to 26 miles.
I have never ran 26 miles before as part of marathon training, normally I only go as far as 24 miles. I have decided, however, to build it up further this time as having spoken to several marathon runners who have run sub 2.40 and 2.30 on several occasions they have done it and talked about the importance of making sure that they can go the distance comfortably. In each of my last 4 marathons I have hit the wall around at around 18-20 miles. I hope that by doing some 26 and 27 mile runs I will better train my body to deal with those later miles, so I can hold my pace for longer.
We started out on Saturday at a fairly steady pace and the three of us chatted as we went. I was more than happy at this pace as my legs were feeling a little tight and achy. At 4 miles we picked up the pace slightly and have to admit I found this a little hard. I stuck in with them and we worked are away up to Balerno. I like getting to Balerno because we hit the roads and two rather good hills that really work the legs. The second one is pretty steep and I really enjoy pushing it up there, especially as we get to the top it flattens out and then the next few miles go gradually down hill giving you the chance to recover and get your breath back. Today Niamh kicked a little at the start of the second hill and even though I was still not feeling super fresh in the legs I decided to go with her. I pushed hard to the top and pulled a little gap on Niamh and felt pretty good as I reached the top. Garry had dropped back a little bit. Getting the top Niamh pulled alongside me and I thought we were going to ease off slightly and Garry catch us and then move off at the same pace we had enjoyed to Balerno. Niamh clearly didn't have the same plan, as no sooner had I allowed myself to slow and pull a deep breath she kicked on. I had to think for a second and decide whether to go with her or hang back and wait for Garry. I decided to stick with Niamh as I knew Garry wasn't going as far as Niamh. It was a tough choice, as Niamh was really pushing the pace and I was quite close to the limit just keeping up with her. After we passed the 8 mile mark we really pick up the pace. Thankfully it was a nice cool morning with a good breeze. I really needed it as I my whole body was working really hard to keep going and that cool air stopped me from over heating.
We barely spoke over the next 7 miles, just ran and ran fast, and we did those seven miles in about 46 minutes an average of just over 6 and half minutes per mile. We reached 15 miles and slowed for a quick chat about how fast we were running. We left the Water of Leith route and turned on to the canal path. With Niamh running 22 miles and not 26 meant she would run 3 miles along the canal and then turn back to finish at the usual finish spot. I had to do 5 miles before turning round. I remember looking at my watch at the 15 mile mark and thinking with a certain amount of dread that I still had over an hour left to run. Once on the canal path we continued at a good pace and again I was struggling to hang on to Niamh who was running really strongly. In fact she opened a very small gap, which I couldn't make back up. I was pleased that I didn't fall back further and when Niamh turned round to head back my pace didn't drop drastically as I expected it to without her to drag me along. I turned round at just past 20 miles and began the run back. It's amazing how much of psychological lift you can get from simply turning round and knowing you're heading for home. Between 16-19 miles running had felt pretty tough and uncomfortable and my mind had begun to entertain thoughts of reducing the planned mileage. The turnaround though brought a spring in my step, as I knew that every stride took me closer to home.
Those last 5 and bit miles hurt, but I was really happy to maintain both a good pace and form. The 10 miles out and back along the canal were fairly evenly paced. I did lose a bit of pace, about 45 seconds over the five miles, in the second half, but it was good. Crossing the finishing line I felt pretty good. In fact, I reckon I could have done a couple more miles if I really had to, which bodes well for ultra training later in the year. The pain and discomfort I was feeling in those last miles was definitely manageable, which was a good sign also. My only concern was the mini-wall I felt during miles 16-19, however, with 11 weeks training still to go before Amsterdam then I have time and more long runs to get that right.
On Sunday morning I got up early to go for a wee run before helping out with the Scottish Gas 10k. I set off along the cycle path and brought myself out at the coast at Newhaven. After a couple of miles running I was amazed at how well my legs felt, especially the day after running all those miles. I decided to go a little further then I had planned and take in the 10k route that would be used later that morning. After a four or five miles I did start to feel a few tweaks, but I was definitely going a little too fast for a recovery run. I did ease off as I finished the course, but I felt good and really pleased with the way my body has held together following such a long and untried training run.
Helping out at the Scottish Gas 10k was a lot of fun. It was good to see such a good turnout from the club and there were some good performances too, especially Neil Calder who ran 33.04. Colin ran his first race as an EAC runner, and although he didn't get the time he was looking for he still enjoyed it. Adam finished second in the 5k, and there were loads of other club runners out in force and running well. It was also really well organised too and the 400 odd competitors seemed to have had a great day.
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