It is not even Christmas yet and it is time to start thinking about training for spring marathons!
The London marathon is in the middle of April next year so if you do an 18 week plan for that training starts next week! Yikes.
In preparation for the P&D schedule I have been upping my mileage: over 40 miles two weeks ago and over 45 miles last week. Included in that was a tempo run and a 15 miler including hills so I should be able to cope with the first week of the schedule.
This Sunday is the Stockport 10 (miles.) There are two decent hills on the course: one at halfway and one towards the end so I am not confident of doing it in under 70 minutes but hopefully everything will come together on the day.
Tomorrow I am going to attempt 10 miles with 5 at 7 min/mile pace. If I can pull that off then I will feel confident about doing that pace for 10 miles in a race.
Now to try to get an early night for that 6 am run tomorrow!
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Chest Infection
The week after my cross country race I did two hard sessions and then on my normal one mile jog to the gym on the Thursday I found that my chest just did not want to get out of first gear. This was a strange sensation - my legs were OK, my head was OK but my chest was not happy.
After a very slow and unpleasant jog to the gym and back I then had the next day off running. My chest was tight and sore and I was considering paying A&E a visit!
Thankfully the next day I felt better so the day after that I attempted a very slow 10 miler. I have never run 9 minute miles before with the feeling that that was all I could manage. Maybe this is how it feels to be over 70? Anyway my pace gradually picked up and I ended up averaging about 8:40 min/mile for the run.
Last week my chest gradually improved until yesterday I felt ready for another parkrun!
This went much better than my previous attempt, doing it in a solid 20:15 without feeling like I was quite giving 100% effort.
This morning I did 14 miles a 8 min/mile pace so things seem to be heading in the right direction.
Two weeks to go until Stockport 10 (miles) - a distance I have never raced before. In theory I should be able to 7 min/mile the whole thing but that seems hard to contemplate at the moment. Thankfully 7 minute miling in a race feels very different to 7 minute miling in training.
After a very slow and unpleasant jog to the gym and back I then had the next day off running. My chest was tight and sore and I was considering paying A&E a visit!
Thankfully the next day I felt better so the day after that I attempted a very slow 10 miler. I have never run 9 minute miles before with the feeling that that was all I could manage. Maybe this is how it feels to be over 70? Anyway my pace gradually picked up and I ended up averaging about 8:40 min/mile for the run.
Last week my chest gradually improved until yesterday I felt ready for another parkrun!
This went much better than my previous attempt, doing it in a solid 20:15 without feeling like I was quite giving 100% effort.
This morning I did 14 miles a 8 min/mile pace so things seem to be heading in the right direction.
Two weeks to go until Stockport 10 (miles) - a distance I have never raced before. In theory I should be able to 7 min/mile the whole thing but that seems hard to contemplate at the moment. Thankfully 7 minute miling in a race feels very different to 7 minute miling in training.
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Wardrobe Malfunction
After a good week's training last week I felt ready for the second cross country event of the season on Sunday. The weather was a very pleasant 8 degrees C with sunshine.
After the normal warm-ups I was happily making my way over to the start area when a club-mate politely informed me that my vest was on back-to-front! Oops! This would have been no big deal to fix except I had to unpin my number and pin it on again with only a few minutes before the start of the race.
I only managed to pin the number on at the top when the gun went and I had to start at the back. Oh dear! That is a lesson learnt there!
Starting at the back is fun as you do a lot of overtaking but it does mean that in the narrow sections you get stuck behind slower runners. Because of this the first mile of the two mile lap was done in about 7:30 minutes whereas on the next two laps I did it in 7 minutes.
After a very wet couple of weeks the course was extremely muddy and many stretches were pure mud baths but this is part of the fun of winter cross country! The second mile also contained a very steep hill but thankfully it didn't seem to last too long.
I gradually worked my way through the field, overtaking people on the flat stretches and eventually worked my way up into the top half of the field. However due to my slow start I was only the eighth placed runner in my club in a time of just under 46 minutes.
The next cross county event clashes with a race I am doing so I have two months now until my next one. In this race I am going to attach myself to a club runner who has been finishing a minute ahead of me and see what I can do.
After the normal warm-ups I was happily making my way over to the start area when a club-mate politely informed me that my vest was on back-to-front! Oops! This would have been no big deal to fix except I had to unpin my number and pin it on again with only a few minutes before the start of the race.
I only managed to pin the number on at the top when the gun went and I had to start at the back. Oh dear! That is a lesson learnt there!
Starting at the back is fun as you do a lot of overtaking but it does mean that in the narrow sections you get stuck behind slower runners. Because of this the first mile of the two mile lap was done in about 7:30 minutes whereas on the next two laps I did it in 7 minutes.
After a very wet couple of weeks the course was extremely muddy and many stretches were pure mud baths but this is part of the fun of winter cross country! The second mile also contained a very steep hill but thankfully it didn't seem to last too long.
I gradually worked my way through the field, overtaking people on the flat stretches and eventually worked my way up into the top half of the field. However due to my slow start I was only the eighth placed runner in my club in a time of just under 46 minutes.
The next cross county event clashes with a race I am doing so I have two months now until my next one. In this race I am going to attach myself to a club runner who has been finishing a minute ahead of me and see what I can do.
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Marathon Recovery
Since my last post I have attempted a Parkrun, missed five days due to a virus and then just got back into hard training.
The Parkrun came three weeks after the marathon and I was hoping for a PB as this would be my first real attempt at a fast Parkrun since I started the marathon training.
However the night before the Parkrun I had felt the first signs of a chesty cough and although I felt OK on the Saturday morning before the race I soon started wheezing like an old man when I started running fast. My legs were fine but I just couldn't get the air circulating properly. In the end I was 30 seconds outside a PB but I can safely put that down to the virus.
You are not supposed to run when you are chesty so I then went four days without running. That was tough!
Last Thursday I did a 5 mile tempo, moving up the gears each mile from long slow run pace to 5K pace. The run felt great and pretty comfortable.
After 6 mile and 7 mile runs on Friday and Saturday I then did a longer progressive run today. This consisted of:
4 miles @ LSR pace
3 miles @ MP
2 miles @ HMP
1 mile @ 10K pace
2 miles @ recovery pace
I achieved all the required paces and felt controlled throughout. An awesome run.
I must now be fully recovered and can concentrate on my next race: a half marathon in January.
The Parkrun came three weeks after the marathon and I was hoping for a PB as this would be my first real attempt at a fast Parkrun since I started the marathon training.
However the night before the Parkrun I had felt the first signs of a chesty cough and although I felt OK on the Saturday morning before the race I soon started wheezing like an old man when I started running fast. My legs were fine but I just couldn't get the air circulating properly. In the end I was 30 seconds outside a PB but I can safely put that down to the virus.
You are not supposed to run when you are chesty so I then went four days without running. That was tough!
Last Thursday I did a 5 mile tempo, moving up the gears each mile from long slow run pace to 5K pace. The run felt great and pretty comfortable.
After 6 mile and 7 mile runs on Friday and Saturday I then did a longer progressive run today. This consisted of:
4 miles @ LSR pace
3 miles @ MP
2 miles @ HMP
1 mile @ 10K pace
2 miles @ recovery pace
I achieved all the required paces and felt controlled throughout. An awesome run.
I must now be fully recovered and can concentrate on my next race: a half marathon in January.
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Cross Country Season Begins
The Manchester cross country season began on Saturday at the enormous Heaton Park.
Despite only being two weeks after my marathon I was feeling pretty good so decided to give it a go. I had ordered some spikes for the occasion and had successfully pushed them to the limit and beyond at a muddy park the day before so was keen to get stuck in to a race.
The men's race consisted of 3 laps of a 2 mile loop. The first six finishers from each club count towards the score so my goal was to be one of the scorers.
At the start almost everyone sprinted off down the hill except me who just jogged down sedately! There I am in the picture near the bottom left in a green vest behind an older guy in a green sweatshirt.
Once the pace had settled down I overtook three or four club mates and then very gradually worked my way through the field doing about 7:20 minute miles. I was expecting to do 7 minute miles but the mud does slow you down a bit and maybe that marathon was still in my legs.
Near the start of the second lap I was told that I was in about 190th place. Would I be able to work my way into the top half of the field at least? I overtook about another 10 people on that lap and then another 20 on the final lap.
Near the end of the course there is a steep short hill and then it levels out for the last 100 metres or so. The cheering crowd gave me a surge of energy and I shot past about 10 people to finish in position 155 out of 343. This was the top half of the men's race but in the bottom half of my age category. Hmmm no likey. However I came sixth in my club so achieved my primary goal.
All in all a fun afternoon and a great turnout from the Bramhall Runners with 15 in the men's race alone!
Despite only being two weeks after my marathon I was feeling pretty good so decided to give it a go. I had ordered some spikes for the occasion and had successfully pushed them to the limit and beyond at a muddy park the day before so was keen to get stuck in to a race.
The men's race consisted of 3 laps of a 2 mile loop. The first six finishers from each club count towards the score so my goal was to be one of the scorers.
At the start almost everyone sprinted off down the hill except me who just jogged down sedately! There I am in the picture near the bottom left in a green vest behind an older guy in a green sweatshirt.
Once the pace had settled down I overtook three or four club mates and then very gradually worked my way through the field doing about 7:20 minute miles. I was expecting to do 7 minute miles but the mud does slow you down a bit and maybe that marathon was still in my legs.
Near the start of the second lap I was told that I was in about 190th place. Would I be able to work my way into the top half of the field at least? I overtook about another 10 people on that lap and then another 20 on the final lap.
Near the end of the course there is a steep short hill and then it levels out for the last 100 metres or so. The cheering crowd gave me a surge of energy and I shot past about 10 people to finish in position 155 out of 343. This was the top half of the men's race but in the bottom half of my age category. Hmmm no likey. However I came sixth in my club so achieved my primary goal.
All in all a fun afternoon and a great turnout from the Bramhall Runners with 15 in the men's race alone!
Friday, 11 October 2013
Chester Marathon
Eighteen weeks of training, countless early starts and a worn out pair of trainers culminated in my first marathon last Sunday.
I told people that I wanted to do it in 3 hours 20 but secretly I wanted to do it in 3:15. Based on a half marathon PB of 1:33 and a successful training period it should be possible.
Chester dawned sunny and still; perfect for spectators, possibly getting a bit hot for the runners.
After failing to get in the main car park before it closed I found another one nearby, got changed, dropped off my bag and got in the queue for the portaloos. Then after some jogging and light stretching I got into the start queue. I was starting to feel hungry at this point and wondered if I should have had more breakfast but then decided to dismiss such pointless thoughts.
The horn went and I started off behind the 3:30 pacers as my plan was to do the first 6 miles at 8 minute mile pace and then do the rest at 7:30 pace. After winding our way through Chester for a few miles we then headed out South into the countryside. Plodding along behind the pacers felt comfortable and even if I had wanted to get past them it would have been a struggle as there was a big crowd of people behind them.
At the 6 mile point I picked up a bottle of Lucozade and overtook the pacers. Time to start working!
The next 9 miles were fun. Keeping to a pace of about 7.30 minutes per mile I overtook hundreds of people. My race position went from about 900 to about 500. I felt a slight energy dip at mile 13 and felt great again at mile 15. In retrospect this was probably due to the gradient of the road.
By mile 16 things were starting to feel hard. My Mum and sister had come out to cheer me at this point and this gave me a lift. However by mile 18 my pace had almost dropped to 8 minute miles again.
Just after mile 20 I had to take a comfort break. This wasted about a minute and afterwards I realised I was on the death march. I had no energy! My pace was a pathetic 8:30 min/mile and the whole course felt like it was uphill.
At the 24 mile point there was a real hill and this sapped all my remaining energy. At the top of the hill the 3:30 pacers sailed past me. If only I had stayed with them all along! It was now just a question of whether I would get under 3:30 myself.
The support on the last 2 miles was great but I was lost in my own world. Finally the route turned onto the racecourse and the crowd here was fantastic but I had nothing to offer. Picking up the pace slightly towards the finish line my calves started cramping and I had to run like a robot, trying not to bend my knees.
Finally I crossed the line and collapsed on the grass. The clock had gone past 3:30 but my chip time was 3:29:48! Phew!
One of the best things about a marathon is the feeling of being able to stop running and rest! This I did, lying on the grass until a steward encouraged me to move on.
After a massage from my physio sister we had a pleasant lunch in Chester and then I managed to drive myself home.
I am not sure why I didn't get the time I was expecting. It could have been a lack of endurance in my legs, a lack of carbo-loading or the heat or most likely a combination of a number of factors.
In any case I have the marathon bug and I will be back!
I told people that I wanted to do it in 3 hours 20 but secretly I wanted to do it in 3:15. Based on a half marathon PB of 1:33 and a successful training period it should be possible.
Chester dawned sunny and still; perfect for spectators, possibly getting a bit hot for the runners.
After failing to get in the main car park before it closed I found another one nearby, got changed, dropped off my bag and got in the queue for the portaloos. Then after some jogging and light stretching I got into the start queue. I was starting to feel hungry at this point and wondered if I should have had more breakfast but then decided to dismiss such pointless thoughts.
The horn went and I started off behind the 3:30 pacers as my plan was to do the first 6 miles at 8 minute mile pace and then do the rest at 7:30 pace. After winding our way through Chester for a few miles we then headed out South into the countryside. Plodding along behind the pacers felt comfortable and even if I had wanted to get past them it would have been a struggle as there was a big crowd of people behind them.
At the 6 mile point I picked up a bottle of Lucozade and overtook the pacers. Time to start working!
The next 9 miles were fun. Keeping to a pace of about 7.30 minutes per mile I overtook hundreds of people. My race position went from about 900 to about 500. I felt a slight energy dip at mile 13 and felt great again at mile 15. In retrospect this was probably due to the gradient of the road.
By mile 16 things were starting to feel hard. My Mum and sister had come out to cheer me at this point and this gave me a lift. However by mile 18 my pace had almost dropped to 8 minute miles again.
Just after mile 20 I had to take a comfort break. This wasted about a minute and afterwards I realised I was on the death march. I had no energy! My pace was a pathetic 8:30 min/mile and the whole course felt like it was uphill.
At the 24 mile point there was a real hill and this sapped all my remaining energy. At the top of the hill the 3:30 pacers sailed past me. If only I had stayed with them all along! It was now just a question of whether I would get under 3:30 myself.
The support on the last 2 miles was great but I was lost in my own world. Finally the route turned onto the racecourse and the crowd here was fantastic but I had nothing to offer. Picking up the pace slightly towards the finish line my calves started cramping and I had to run like a robot, trying not to bend my knees.
Finally I crossed the line and collapsed on the grass. The clock had gone past 3:30 but my chip time was 3:29:48! Phew!
One of the best things about a marathon is the feeling of being able to stop running and rest! This I did, lying on the grass until a steward encouraged me to move on.
After a massage from my physio sister we had a pleasant lunch in Chester and then I managed to drive myself home.
I am not sure why I didn't get the time I was expecting. It could have been a lack of endurance in my legs, a lack of carbo-loading or the heat or most likely a combination of a number of factors.
In any case I have the marathon bug and I will be back!
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Running like a gazelle
Two weeks of taper complete and one week left.
Last week the schedule only called for four runs - what sort of nonsense is this?
However there were some hard sessions. Doing 3 x 1 mile at 5K pace requires some effort, especially if you end up doing them as fast as you can like I normally do. My first 1 mile effort was seconds away from 6 minutes flat - fast for me!
My 12 miles on Sunday almost ended in disaster. As normal I was pushing the pace at the end, getting my average pace down to eight minutes per mile. Running fast in the dark on bumpy pavements is not very sensible and about one quarter of a mile from the end of my run I went over on my right ankle. Fortunately my joints seem to be built of strong stuff and two days later my ankle is fine. Phew!
The obscure title of this post comes from a thought I had this morning when I did 2 miles at planned marathon pace as part of a 7 mile run. 7.30 min/mile pace has never felt so comfortable and I wondered if this is how gazelles feel when they are running? Probably not.
Wed: 5 miles recovery with 6 x 100m strides
Thu: 8 miles with 3 x 1 mile at 5K race pace
Sat: 7 miles recovery with 8 x 100m strides
Sun: 12 miles slow
Tue: 7 miles with 2 at planned marathon pace.
Last week the schedule only called for four runs - what sort of nonsense is this?
However there were some hard sessions. Doing 3 x 1 mile at 5K pace requires some effort, especially if you end up doing them as fast as you can like I normally do. My first 1 mile effort was seconds away from 6 minutes flat - fast for me!
My 12 miles on Sunday almost ended in disaster. As normal I was pushing the pace at the end, getting my average pace down to eight minutes per mile. Running fast in the dark on bumpy pavements is not very sensible and about one quarter of a mile from the end of my run I went over on my right ankle. Fortunately my joints seem to be built of strong stuff and two days later my ankle is fine. Phew!
The obscure title of this post comes from a thought I had this morning when I did 2 miles at planned marathon pace as part of a 7 mile run. 7.30 min/mile pace has never felt so comfortable and I wondered if this is how gazelles feel when they are running? Probably not.
Wed: 5 miles recovery with 6 x 100m strides
Thu: 8 miles with 3 x 1 mile at 5K race pace
Sat: 7 miles recovery with 8 x 100m strides
Sun: 12 miles slow
Tue: 7 miles with 2 at planned marathon pace.
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