Last year the heat and undulations of the Freckleton Half Marathon killed me, resulting in a severe fade over the last 3 miles. Would this year be any different?
Well the weather was even hotter if anything with few clouds in the sky and the temperature pushing 20 degrees. 20 degrees does not sound like much but when you are running at a steady effort for 90 minutes it does hurt you.
My mood was not helped by the fact that I had managed to forget my Garmin. Major d'oh! I did at least have a stopwatch so I would have some idea as to my pace.
At 2pm the hooter sounded and off we went. Ben Fish and company motored off into the distance while I tried to find my tempo pace with no Garmin to help me. Actually I did pretty well as the first mile was about 6:35 - not far off my 6:40 target pace.
The next couple of miles ended up at about 6:45 pace as we wound around Freckleton and out into the countryside. I went through 5k in 21 mins which would have been a 5k PB 18 months ago.
For the next 3 miles I followed someone who seemed to know what he was doing and looked very comfortable. This dragged me along at about 6:50 pace which was OK. The hills on miles 5 and 6 were duly conquered without much fuss.
At every water station I was taking a few sips of water and pouring the rest over my head in an attempt to stay cool. This seemed to help slightly.
The 7th mile is downhill and felt very comfortable. I went through halfway in 44:40. No PB today then but sub 90 should be very doable.
However my pace gradually dropped off over the next few miles until by the 10th mile I was at 7:00 pace. I guess the heat and the lonely running got to me.
Miles 10 to 12 are on the side of a main road which is straight and slightly climbing. These miles were a complete slog. I just couldn't wait for the race to end! I overtook one runner and he then overtook me back and that was about as exciting as that section got!
The 13th mile is a bit more interesting as it winds through Freckleton and at least you know that you are nearly there! A guy overtook me on this mile and I was able to speed up slightly to keep up with him. He then slowed down to let me do some work and I managed to stay ahead of him and overtake one more guy.
Just like last year I managed to speed up on the final straight, coming home in 1:31:26 and 48th place out of 660 finishers.
I then devoured 4 cups of squash and 4 cups of tea in the next 40 minutes or so in an attempt to rehydrate.
The positives are a reasonably strong last mile and an almost two minute improvement on last year. The negative is my slowest half marathon of the year by over 2 minutes.
I think the course is tougher than it looks. The hills around the middle drain some energy and the 3 miles on the main road just drain all your will power. It is probably the toughest half marathon course I have done so far and the RunBritain handicap factor for the race concurs.
However this beast will be conquered! I plan to return next year for a sub 90 and hopefully a cooler day.
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Hansons Marathon Method
With the London Marathon well and truly behind me it is now on to summer training.
While I could just start the same P&D schedule again to prepare for the Chester marathon I think I am ready to try something a bit different. Step up Hansons' Renegade marathon method!
The plan uses the word "renegade" as the longest run is only 16 miles long, defying conventional wisdom that your longest marathon training run should be at least 20 miles.
However the Hanson brothers are of the opinion that your long run should not comprise more than 25% of your weekly mileage. Therefore doing a 20 mile run as part of a 50 mile week like some Hal Higdon plans proscribe is disproportionate and can result in a 20 mile "misadventure" rather than a run.
The idea is that you start the long run on tired legs and are therefore simulating the last 16 miles of the marathon rather than the first 16.
The other idea is that you do you speed work in the first half of the plan and then "lock" in the benefits by doing slower and longer "strength" workouts. I haven't quite worked out the scientific basis behind this but am willing to give it a try.
I have already done my first speed workout - 12 * 400m with 400m recoveries. Thanks to the nice long recoveries and the use of 5K pace this was not too much problem. 3 * 1 mile with 600m recoveries in a few weeks will be a different matter!
The first 6 weeks are all under 50 miles in volume so I am currently adding easy miles to get each week up to 50.
Apparently the most important part of training is consistency. If I can keep my weekly mileage around the 50 mark for the rest of this year then I should be well placed for another serious marathon push in 2015.
While I could just start the same P&D schedule again to prepare for the Chester marathon I think I am ready to try something a bit different. Step up Hansons' Renegade marathon method!
The plan uses the word "renegade" as the longest run is only 16 miles long, defying conventional wisdom that your longest marathon training run should be at least 20 miles.
However the Hanson brothers are of the opinion that your long run should not comprise more than 25% of your weekly mileage. Therefore doing a 20 mile run as part of a 50 mile week like some Hal Higdon plans proscribe is disproportionate and can result in a 20 mile "misadventure" rather than a run.
The idea is that you start the long run on tired legs and are therefore simulating the last 16 miles of the marathon rather than the first 16.
The other idea is that you do you speed work in the first half of the plan and then "lock" in the benefits by doing slower and longer "strength" workouts. I haven't quite worked out the scientific basis behind this but am willing to give it a try.
I have already done my first speed workout - 12 * 400m with 400m recoveries. Thanks to the nice long recoveries and the use of 5K pace this was not too much problem. 3 * 1 mile with 600m recoveries in a few weeks will be a different matter!
The first 6 weeks are all under 50 miles in volume so I am currently adding easy miles to get each week up to 50.
Apparently the most important part of training is consistency. If I can keep my weekly mileage around the 50 mark for the rest of this year then I should be well placed for another serious marathon push in 2015.
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Great Manchester 10k
My 10k PB of 43:48 was set about 10 months ago on a hilly course so a sizeable PB at the Great Manchester Run on Sunday was a given as long as I could avoid disaster.
The real question was whether I would be able to dip under 40 minutes. Various online pace calculators told me that based on my half marathon PB I could but then again these pace calculators can be very wrong.
The day dawned bright and breezy. It was possibly a bit on the hot side but over 10k it shouldn't really be a big deal.
The race has a separate women's elite start and I chose to watch this rather than make my way to the front of my wave. It was fun seeing Dibaba and co. warm up and start the race but it did mean that I didn't get near the start line.
Once the race started my legs didn't seem to want to go much faster than 6:35 minutes/mile pace. So this is what they did and that is pretty much the story of my race!
Although I was in the first wave, supposedly containing the faster runners, I had to overtake hundreds of runners in the first half of the race and this didn't help my pace. I also suspect I wasn't fully hydrated. I followed my normal race routine of half a litre of water two hours before the start. However in the heat I could have done with more, and the start was delayed.
I went through 5k in about 20:40. I had now given up on sub 40, it was just a case of trying for a negative split.
The course did open up in the second half and I did manage to get into a decent rhythm, running the fourth mile in 6:30. However I then started tiring slightly and two miles at 6:37 pace saw me home in 41:13.
I am not really surprised that I could not dip under 40 minutes based on my lack of speed work recently and the fact that I have only just recovered from a marathon. At least my PB is a bit more respectable now and I have a nice easy target of sub 41 to aim for in my next 10k.
Freckleton Half on 22nd June next - much more my sort of distance!
The real question was whether I would be able to dip under 40 minutes. Various online pace calculators told me that based on my half marathon PB I could but then again these pace calculators can be very wrong.
The day dawned bright and breezy. It was possibly a bit on the hot side but over 10k it shouldn't really be a big deal.
The race has a separate women's elite start and I chose to watch this rather than make my way to the front of my wave. It was fun seeing Dibaba and co. warm up and start the race but it did mean that I didn't get near the start line.
Once the race started my legs didn't seem to want to go much faster than 6:35 minutes/mile pace. So this is what they did and that is pretty much the story of my race!
Although I was in the first wave, supposedly containing the faster runners, I had to overtake hundreds of runners in the first half of the race and this didn't help my pace. I also suspect I wasn't fully hydrated. I followed my normal race routine of half a litre of water two hours before the start. However in the heat I could have done with more, and the start was delayed.
I went through 5k in about 20:40. I had now given up on sub 40, it was just a case of trying for a negative split.
The course did open up in the second half and I did manage to get into a decent rhythm, running the fourth mile in 6:30. However I then started tiring slightly and two miles at 6:37 pace saw me home in 41:13.
I am not really surprised that I could not dip under 40 minutes based on my lack of speed work recently and the fact that I have only just recovered from a marathon. At least my PB is a bit more respectable now and I have a nice easy target of sub 41 to aim for in my next 10k.
Freckleton Half on 22nd June next - much more my sort of distance!
Friday, 9 May 2014
Recovery
Almost four weeks have passed since the London marathon. I have entered the ballot for next year so I guess I must have enjoyed it overall!
In the meantime I have been gradually building up the mileage, from 12 in the first week to about 45 this week. I have also entered a race - the Great Manchester 10K next Sunday.
My official 10K PB of 43:48 was set in the hilly Offerton 10K last summer and I have beaten that in training several times so a PB should be a given. The real question is whether I can get under 40 mins for the first time. I think I can but we will see.
In preparation for an autumn marathon I have bought "The Hansons Marathon Plan" to try a different training method. With this method the miles are spread more evenly through the week with a shorter long run but longer easy runs and two workouts a week. I don't actually think there is anything wrong with P&D but it is fun to try something different.
The program will start in early June so for now I am making up my own schedule with a tempo run, a speed workout and a long run each week interspersed with easy running.
Starting some hard training only two weeks after the marathon was a bit naughty but my body seems to have coped and I am feeling good. Lets see what I can do over 10K
Monday, 21 April 2014
London Marathon
Eighteen weeks of training, no injuries, a handful of PBs and a lot of very early starts. Surely I was going to smash my weak marathon PB of 3:30?
All the logistics of staying in London and getting to the start line went smoothly. I had carbo loaded and tapered my training. Whatever happened in the race the preparation and training would not be to blame.
I was put in pen 4 which I was a bit disappointed about but when they opened up the pens a minute before the start people just jogged past runners in pens in front of them and I got quite close to the start line.
At 10 am sharp the gun went and one minute later I crossed the start line.
The first mile was very busy. Rather than expend a load of energy weaving around people I went with the flow, resulting in an 8:13 mile. The second mile was slightly faster (7:49) and by mile 3 I was on pace (7:21).
I was hoping that 7:25 pace would feel ridiculously easy but it just felt OK. I am used to doing my long runs at 8:15 pace so it obviously felt a bit faster than I was used to.
The first half went pretty smoothly. I had two gels and sipped Lucozade much of the time to help avoid the dreaded wall later.
I went through halfway in 1:39:20; about two minutes behind 3:15 schedule but I figured if I was feeling good on the last 10K I would be able to make that up.
The highlight of the race was the 14th mile where I got to see the elite men coming the other way. Kipsang and Biwott were leading at this point and seeing Kipsang floating along was amazing. A few minutes later I saw Mo Farah loping along with his enormous strides. A few minutes after that Chris Thompson still looked strong but no sign of Scott Overall! After seeing Reid Coolsaet (whose blog I have been reading for quite a while) the roads diverged and my TV time was over!
While watching the elite I had maintained a 7:30 pace quite comfortably and the 15th mile was also a 7:30. However on the 16th mile my quads started to feel heavy and I reached a turning point. I could either try to maintain 7:30 pace and hope that by some miracle my legs improved or I could slow down a bit and give myself the chance to finish reasonably strongly.
I allowed myself to slow down and the next 4 miles were about 8:00 pace. Entering the last 10K I slowed down a bit more and averaged about 8:15 for the last 6 miles.
When I slowed down at mile 16 I had hoped that a 3:20 would still be possible. However it soon became clear that this was out of reach and I just wanted to get 3:25 for a 5 minute PB.
This was going to require some effort and I did my best to keep the pace around the 8:00 mark. At 23.1 miles, with 5K left, I had 26 minutes to get under 3:25. I eat 5Ks for breakfast and 26 minutes is warm up pace so this had to be possible!
This is where the benefit of those 20 mile training runs kicked in. I was able to keep going and pick up the pace slightly. In the last 7.2K I gained 300 places just by keeping going rather than fading.
Through the Lucozade tunnel, past the Embankment and Big Ben and then up Birdcage walk towards the Palace. The "800m to go" sign came and I had over 4 minutes to get under 3:25. I sped up but felt my calves about to cramp so had to cap my speed. Down The Mall I went and finished in 3:24:41 - a 5 minute PB.
Based on my half marathon PB of 1:28:23 I should be able to do a 3:15 marathon but for some reason I couldn't! I suspect 18 months of running hasn't built the required leg strength to keep running fast for 26 miles.
The positives are that I didn't hit the wall and didn't fade in the same way I did at Chester 6 months ago. I was actually able to enjoy some of the atmosphere in the last 10K rather than being stuck in my own bubble.
So what is next? I will do a month of faster training in May ready for the Freckleton Half towards the end of June. On June 1st I will start the P&D 18 week cycle again targeting a 3:20 at Chester.
It seems I am addicted to marathons, or at least training for them!
All the logistics of staying in London and getting to the start line went smoothly. I had carbo loaded and tapered my training. Whatever happened in the race the preparation and training would not be to blame.
I was put in pen 4 which I was a bit disappointed about but when they opened up the pens a minute before the start people just jogged past runners in pens in front of them and I got quite close to the start line.
At 10 am sharp the gun went and one minute later I crossed the start line.
The first mile was very busy. Rather than expend a load of energy weaving around people I went with the flow, resulting in an 8:13 mile. The second mile was slightly faster (7:49) and by mile 3 I was on pace (7:21).
I was hoping that 7:25 pace would feel ridiculously easy but it just felt OK. I am used to doing my long runs at 8:15 pace so it obviously felt a bit faster than I was used to.
The first half went pretty smoothly. I had two gels and sipped Lucozade much of the time to help avoid the dreaded wall later.
I went through halfway in 1:39:20; about two minutes behind 3:15 schedule but I figured if I was feeling good on the last 10K I would be able to make that up.
The highlight of the race was the 14th mile where I got to see the elite men coming the other way. Kipsang and Biwott were leading at this point and seeing Kipsang floating along was amazing. A few minutes later I saw Mo Farah loping along with his enormous strides. A few minutes after that Chris Thompson still looked strong but no sign of Scott Overall! After seeing Reid Coolsaet (whose blog I have been reading for quite a while) the roads diverged and my TV time was over!
While watching the elite I had maintained a 7:30 pace quite comfortably and the 15th mile was also a 7:30. However on the 16th mile my quads started to feel heavy and I reached a turning point. I could either try to maintain 7:30 pace and hope that by some miracle my legs improved or I could slow down a bit and give myself the chance to finish reasonably strongly.
I allowed myself to slow down and the next 4 miles were about 8:00 pace. Entering the last 10K I slowed down a bit more and averaged about 8:15 for the last 6 miles.
When I slowed down at mile 16 I had hoped that a 3:20 would still be possible. However it soon became clear that this was out of reach and I just wanted to get 3:25 for a 5 minute PB.
This was going to require some effort and I did my best to keep the pace around the 8:00 mark. At 23.1 miles, with 5K left, I had 26 minutes to get under 3:25. I eat 5Ks for breakfast and 26 minutes is warm up pace so this had to be possible!
This is where the benefit of those 20 mile training runs kicked in. I was able to keep going and pick up the pace slightly. In the last 7.2K I gained 300 places just by keeping going rather than fading.
Through the Lucozade tunnel, past the Embankment and Big Ben and then up Birdcage walk towards the Palace. The "800m to go" sign came and I had over 4 minutes to get under 3:25. I sped up but felt my calves about to cramp so had to cap my speed. Down The Mall I went and finished in 3:24:41 - a 5 minute PB.
Based on my half marathon PB of 1:28:23 I should be able to do a 3:15 marathon but for some reason I couldn't! I suspect 18 months of running hasn't built the required leg strength to keep running fast for 26 miles.
The positives are that I didn't hit the wall and didn't fade in the same way I did at Chester 6 months ago. I was actually able to enjoy some of the atmosphere in the last 10K rather than being stuck in my own bubble.
So what is next? I will do a month of faster training in May ready for the Freckleton Half towards the end of June. On June 1st I will start the P&D 18 week cycle again targeting a 3:20 at Chester.
It seems I am addicted to marathons, or at least training for them!
Friday, 11 April 2014
London Marathon Taper
For the last two and a half weeks I have been in taper mode.
The first week after the taper didn't feel very restful as my legs were getting over the Wilmslow Half. At the end of that week I started coming down with a cold which I am only just getting over now. Consequently my 5 * 1200m session that Saturday was less than stellar with a bit of a fade for the last two reps.
On Thursday last week I was still under the weather but attempted the 3 * 1 mile session and this went rather better with the miles being around 6:10 pace as required.
On Sunday I had a rest day and my strides the next day were the fastest I have seen in a long time. My legs had their bounce back.
Yesterday and today I have been attempting to carbo load. I am really not that interested in the nutrition side of things but I have been working my way through a couple of packs of cereal bars between meals so hopefully that will help.
Tomorrow I will do a slow 4 miler and then get the train down to London for the expo. After a restful evening in my hotel it will then be the big day.
I have calculated that at my race pace I should see the elite men coming in the other direction when I am just after halfway. I am very excited about this - hopefully at that point I will still be alert enough to appreciate it.
Time for some more carbs! So long.
The first week after the taper didn't feel very restful as my legs were getting over the Wilmslow Half. At the end of that week I started coming down with a cold which I am only just getting over now. Consequently my 5 * 1200m session that Saturday was less than stellar with a bit of a fade for the last two reps.
On Thursday last week I was still under the weather but attempted the 3 * 1 mile session and this went rather better with the miles being around 6:10 pace as required.
On Sunday I had a rest day and my strides the next day were the fastest I have seen in a long time. My legs had their bounce back.
Yesterday and today I have been attempting to carbo load. I am really not that interested in the nutrition side of things but I have been working my way through a couple of packs of cereal bars between meals so hopefully that will help.
Tomorrow I will do a slow 4 miler and then get the train down to London for the expo. After a restful evening in my hotel it will then be the big day.
I have calculated that at my race pace I should see the elite men coming in the other direction when I am just after halfway. I am very excited about this - hopefully at that point I will still be alert enough to appreciate it.
Time for some more carbs! So long.
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Wilmslow Half Marathon
If London Marathon is my A race this spring the Wilmslow Half was my B race. A big local event (about 4000 runners) on a fast, rural course with loads of club mates running this was not to be missed.
The forecast looked dubious with wet and windy conditions predicted but on the day it was fine with quite a lot of sunshine and only a few showers.
After a short warm up I located my club mates and we agreed to run 6:45 miles until mile 10 when it would become a race. I was the only one to have broken 90 minutes before so the hope was that I would pace them all to a sub 90.
After a nice steady first mile of 7:05 we settled into a rhythm of banging out 6:42 miles time after time! This pace felt very comfortable, no doubt aided by the fact that the first half of the course is slightly downhill.
We went through halfway in about 44:30. This is 1:29 pace but the second half does contain hills!
At about 7 miles some club mates were spectating from a pub and the delightful photo below was the result:
As you can see I was having a lot of fun although Frank on my right doesn't seem too happy.
After mile 7 the hills kicked in and we had three slightly slower miles of about 6:50. At some point in these three miles Frank dropped off so it was down to four Bramhall Runners.
At the 10 mile marker (reached in just over 68 minutes) I sensed that my club mates were struggling and I upped the pace slightly. My last 3 miles were 6:30, 6:40 and 6:30. By the time I reached the 12 mile marker I knew that I would get under 1:29 for the first time and wondered if I might get under 1:28. If I hadn't ran wide so much I think I might have but as it was my Garmin measured my run as 13.19 miles and despite doing the last 200 metres at sub-6 pace my time was 1:28:23.
I then waited to see if my club mates would get under 90 minutes and thankfully 3 of them did. Frank probably paid the price for racing a parkrun the day before.
I am very pleased with my PB and especially with how comfortable 6:45 pace felt for 9 miles. In my next Half Marathon I can confidently aim for a sub 1:28.
With regards to marathon pace I should probably aim for 3:10 but I don't want to risk blowing up in the last 6 miles so I think I will aim for 3:15 and see what is in the tank at mile 20.
The forecast looked dubious with wet and windy conditions predicted but on the day it was fine with quite a lot of sunshine and only a few showers.
After a short warm up I located my club mates and we agreed to run 6:45 miles until mile 10 when it would become a race. I was the only one to have broken 90 minutes before so the hope was that I would pace them all to a sub 90.
After a nice steady first mile of 7:05 we settled into a rhythm of banging out 6:42 miles time after time! This pace felt very comfortable, no doubt aided by the fact that the first half of the course is slightly downhill.
We went through halfway in about 44:30. This is 1:29 pace but the second half does contain hills!
At about 7 miles some club mates were spectating from a pub and the delightful photo below was the result:
As you can see I was having a lot of fun although Frank on my right doesn't seem too happy.
After mile 7 the hills kicked in and we had three slightly slower miles of about 6:50. At some point in these three miles Frank dropped off so it was down to four Bramhall Runners.
At the 10 mile marker (reached in just over 68 minutes) I sensed that my club mates were struggling and I upped the pace slightly. My last 3 miles were 6:30, 6:40 and 6:30. By the time I reached the 12 mile marker I knew that I would get under 1:29 for the first time and wondered if I might get under 1:28. If I hadn't ran wide so much I think I might have but as it was my Garmin measured my run as 13.19 miles and despite doing the last 200 metres at sub-6 pace my time was 1:28:23.
I then waited to see if my club mates would get under 90 minutes and thankfully 3 of them did. Frank probably paid the price for racing a parkrun the day before.
I am very pleased with my PB and especially with how comfortable 6:45 pace felt for 9 miles. In my next Half Marathon I can confidently aim for a sub 1:28.
With regards to marathon pace I should probably aim for 3:10 but I don't want to risk blowing up in the last 6 miles so I think I will aim for 3:15 and see what is in the tank at mile 20.
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