Mileage: 20 miles (16 miles at marathon pace)
As I am writing this I can barely keep my eyes open. I am shattered! Tonight's session was one of the hardest I have ever done, but I feel great now that I have done it.
Again, my calves have ached throughout the day, but thankfully not as bad as yesterday and I really do think the heel pads were behind the trouble. Running today I noticed the way my foot was landing was definitely different to yesterday when I had the heel pads in. It felt more natural and comfortable, so I think I've made the right decision in taking them out. Garry and Steve gave me some good advice, which was to try using the heel pads on short recovery runs, as they do provide protection to the heel, and over those distances probably won't affect my calves. I'll probably give that a go.
With the ache in my legs and the doubts I have had with my running recently I was nervous before my run today. It's an odd sensation, one I sometimes get before a big race. I guess it shows how important I consider good training to be and what Amsterdam means to me. I am still frightened that something, somewhere in my legs is just going to pop or tear and ruin everything. I am also worried that I won't be able to run as fast as I want to or need to.
I took a slow jog towards the canal where I was due to meet Seamus who planned to come and do the 16 miles too. On my slow run I could feel the calves pulling and aching, but elsewhere I definitely didn't feel too bad. I adopted the attitude that I would simply run as planned for as long as I could or until something physically stopped me from running. I stretched and prodded my muscles a bit while I waited for Seamus and although far from confident I was ready.
When Seamus arrived we jogged a bit further along the canal and at 2 miles in we started the 16 mile run. The plan being to run for 8 miles along the canal and then turn back and do the second 8 before cooling down with a couple more slow miles. My aim to run under 2.40 in the marathon means that in order to secure a time of 2.39.59 I need to run at 6 minute and 6 seconds per mile for every mile. A tough ask. Like last week where I did 14 miles at this pace my plan this week was to step it up to 16 miles.
It went better than I expected and the first mile was fairly easy and I had to control myself to keep from dipping under a 6 minute mile. In fact the first 8 miles were all pretty similar and all close enough to the 6.06 per mile I needed to make me happy. What made it even better was that for a lot of those first 8 miles we ran into a very stiff breeze, as well as having to contend with a lot of cyclists and human traffic. With the canal path quite uneven and rocky in places it was definitely not the easiest 8 miles, but I hit half way in 48.51 exactly one second behind my target time. not bad at all. My legs had felt okay. My left leg felt great and pretty lose and free, but my right leg was tight and heavy and my calf and hip ached quite a bit, especially for the first 4 or 5 miles. At 8 miles I stopped for a quick toilet break and a stretch and Seamus caught me up having been a little bit further back.
We then looked back down the canal and headed for home. I was a little stupid at this point and dashed off at a pretty quick pace. I could tell that I was running fast, but my Garmin was telling me that my pace was around 6.15, so I pushed on. I should have realised that the watch was just adjusting the pace and hadn't settled. When I looked at the watch again it told me that I was at 5.40 pace - far too quick. I slowed a little to try and get back some control, but still finished the mile in 5.51. It was too quick and I felt myself slow quite a bit in the next mile, which I finished in 6.12. It was a tough mile that hurt my body and my lungs. Definitely a valuable lesson for the marathon, running miles too quickly will definitely affect my rhythm and pace. After the bad mile I did settle back into a more controlled, steady pace and actually began to feel quite good. My legs felt okay as did my heart and lungs. I cruised through the half marathon distance in 79.46, thirteen seconds quicker than I needed. Last week I had really struggled in my last mile, but tonight it was no problem and I still felt good. Mile 15 was tougher though and I started to find my lungs and legs working harder to keep my pace up. I did the usual Jedi mind trick on my legs by promising them only one more hard mile, but then keeping it going. If the fifteenth mile was tough than the last one was really hard work. I could feel my lungs clawing at all the air around my mouth as I desperately tried to suck in the oxygen I needed. My legs burned and screamed to stop, but I kept going and my last mile wasn't bad at all. My final time of 1.37.36 made me 5 seconds ahead of my target time. Job done.
I was pretty elated when I stopped, but then the thought struck me - if that was what I was like at 16 miles, how on earth would I manage another 10 miles at that pace!! That would have been impossible. I am trying to convince myself that rest and tapering will take care of that and I'll have the endurance I need to keep going beyond 16 miles. I waited for Seamus who had taken it a little easier on the way back and after some stretching we finished off our last couple of miles very slowly to complete the 20 mile run.
I am knackered, but very pleased! It has filled me with confidence for the marathon, but I've still got more work to do. I need to repeat this session next week. Hopefully I'll run the same pace, but the 16 miles will feel that little bit easier.
10 days to taper!!!
Today's 16 mile splits:
6.04
6.05
6.11
6.08
6.06
6.06
6.03
6.08
5.51
6.12
6.08
6.07
6.01 (half marathon time: 79.46)
6.07
6.09
6.09
Total: 1.37.36 - 5 seconds ahead of schedule
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