Monday, July 29, 2013
A bit of a disappointing parkrun. There's always another one coming up soon though!
I got a parkrun in on the weekend, but ended up being disappointed with my time of 21:43 (PB on that course is 21:29 from 2 weeks ago).
I was really "up for" the event and had kind of planned the training week to be in fighting form for the Saturday morning, hence why I'm a bit disappointed. I did 1.5 mile warmup, with some short blasts at my 5K race pace and I toed the start line feeling good. I don't usually do this type of warm-up but I'm sure the warm-up wasn't the issue for my disappointing time.
Unfortunately, I did the classic beginner mistake and set off far too quickly and got slower as the event went on. Splits were 6:31, 7:00, 7:18 and 52secs for the last bit. I glanced at my watch in the first mile and saw I was doing 5:45 which is just stupid and I basically struggled from then on. I can't really explain it except to say I got caught up with a bunch of quicker runners in the first half a mile or so and so I didn't run my own event (I'm being careful not to call the parkrun a race....!)
Maybe it's misplaced, but I'm convinced I've got a 20:XX in me, even if it's 20:59 which is what I was hoping for on Saturday as the conditions were perfect and, like I say, I was feeling good. This would be 6:45 min/mile pace. I'm basing this on what I can do 5x1K intervals in, with each interval being at 6min/mile, sometimes quicker. Am I deluded that I think I've got a 20:59 in me? I hope not!
I'll tell you one thing. The pain from a fast (for me) 5K is a whole different kind of pain compared to a marathon. Not worse pain, just different. I genuinely thought I was going to throw up at the end!
Nevermind - there's always the next one.
This week is a fairly standard week, and it has cooled down. At the moment though there are some very sharp showers so that may be a shock to the system, but I prefer that to the blazing heat.
Monday, July 22, 2013
20 mile LSR, a personal weekly record and marshalling at the Haytor Heller
Long run, and a bit of a look back over my training
I mentioned on my last update that I was hoping to get an 18-mile LSR done on the weekend, and I'm pleased to say that I actually managed 20 miles. I started at around 7.30am and it was much cooler and more pleasant than earlier in the week, but I still drank 1.5L of water on the run as well as making sure I was well hydrated before the run! For long runs, I always run with a 750ml bottle of water/TorQ Energy on a waist belt, and this time I parked my car on the route with another 750ml stored in the cool boot. It wasn't a particularly inspiring route but I'm pleased I got the miles in.
I was a bit worried about how the long run would go because since my marathon at the start of May, I have only done one 16 miler. I've done lots of 10-13 mile runs (and lots of shorter runs) but I was getting worried that I wasn't getting in enough long miles. However, it seems I still have some fitness as the run itself was fine (apart from the amount of water I needed) so I'm pleased. Also, since the marathon I've been consistent with the sessions I've been going as I've clocked up nearly 350 miles over 48 sessions since 7th May.
The main reason for pushing on from 18-miles to 20-miles was due to the fact that I knew this would take me to a new personal weekly mileage record of 45 miles in a week. The majority of these miles have been in very hot weather and I am hoping training in the hot weather will stand my in good stead for when the weather starts to cool again. This was off of 5 sessions a week, which I've now been doing for 4 weeks. The fifth run per week is effectively the parkrun, which although only 5K is a good run out each week.
Below are my weekly stats since the marathon:
I think that is pretty consistent, so I am really pleased with that. The two "3-sessions per week" weeks are due to a) the week after the marathon where I reduced the mileage and did a recovery week and b) a holiday week, where I was just pleased to get any running in at all. The w/c 17th June wasn't 5 sessions because that was the week of the Torbay Half Marathon where I had a lighter week in the run up to that event. I've included the "Calories" column just as a matter of interest really, as I don't know how accurate those numbers are, but it is interesting non-the-less.
There are two things that I think I need to work on, or at least keep in mind, in the run up to the October marathon I have lined up. Firstly, I need to incorporate some hill training as part of my longer runs. This is because the Dartmoor Vale marathon is quite "lumpy". I am hoping that after the summer season is out of the way I will be able to get a long to a few Trotter weekend social runs where there are often some hills thrown into those sessions.
Secondly, I am aware I haven't really been doing enough speed work. This is at least partly due to the hotter weather, where it's harder to get the speed in without feeling quickly drained. On the positive though, I am at least getting a parkrun in which is a good, quick run out and they are enjoyable too.
Haytor Heller marshalling
The other thing I mentioned in my previous post is that I was marshalling at the Haytor Heller, which is put on by my running club (Teignbridge Trotters). It was a brilliant event in hot weather, and it's great to be a very small part of the running of these events. The winner again did the event in under 40-mins which is just mind boggling and equates to around 6.5min/miles on what is very tough terrain.
I had a great marshalling point which was in a shaded area where the runners come down a path, over an old granite bridge and disappear up through the trees before a very steep incline. After the event, I went back to race HQ where I had my complementary burger which went down very well indeed!
I mentioned on my last update that I was hoping to get an 18-mile LSR done on the weekend, and I'm pleased to say that I actually managed 20 miles. I started at around 7.30am and it was much cooler and more pleasant than earlier in the week, but I still drank 1.5L of water on the run as well as making sure I was well hydrated before the run! For long runs, I always run with a 750ml bottle of water/TorQ Energy on a waist belt, and this time I parked my car on the route with another 750ml stored in the cool boot. It wasn't a particularly inspiring route but I'm pleased I got the miles in.
I was a bit worried about how the long run would go because since my marathon at the start of May, I have only done one 16 miler. I've done lots of 10-13 mile runs (and lots of shorter runs) but I was getting worried that I wasn't getting in enough long miles. However, it seems I still have some fitness as the run itself was fine (apart from the amount of water I needed) so I'm pleased. Also, since the marathon I've been consistent with the sessions I've been going as I've clocked up nearly 350 miles over 48 sessions since 7th May.
The main reason for pushing on from 18-miles to 20-miles was due to the fact that I knew this would take me to a new personal weekly mileage record of 45 miles in a week. The majority of these miles have been in very hot weather and I am hoping training in the hot weather will stand my in good stead for when the weather starts to cool again. This was off of 5 sessions a week, which I've now been doing for 4 weeks. The fifth run per week is effectively the parkrun, which although only 5K is a good run out each week.
Below are my weekly stats since the marathon:
| Time Period (w/c) | Number of sessions | Distance | Elapsed time | Calories |
| 15/07/2013 | 5 | 45.19 | 07:45:11 | 6,288 |
| 08/07/2013 | 5 | 36.63 | 05:37:15 | 5,186 |
| 01/07/2013 | 5 | 34.04 | 05:06:00 | 4,851 |
| 24/06/2013 | 5 | 32.44 | 05:11:08 | 4,652 |
| 17/06/2013 | 4 | 29.92 | 04:13:30 | 4,279 |
| 10/06/2013 | 5 | 36.18 | 05:36:59 | 5,153 |
| 03/06/2013 | 5 | 38.9 | 06:19:31 | 5,524 |
| 27/05/2013 | 3 | 23 | 03:28:40 | 3,521 |
| 20/05/2013 | 4 | 31.96 | 05:02:00 | 4,945 |
| 13/05/2013 | 4 | 22.37 | 03:25:19 | 3,369 |
| 06/05/2013 | 3 | 14.1 | 02:15:19 | 2,183 |
| Summary | 48/77 | 344.75 | 54:00:53 | 49,950 |
I think that is pretty consistent, so I am really pleased with that. The two "3-sessions per week" weeks are due to a) the week after the marathon where I reduced the mileage and did a recovery week and b) a holiday week, where I was just pleased to get any running in at all. The w/c 17th June wasn't 5 sessions because that was the week of the Torbay Half Marathon where I had a lighter week in the run up to that event. I've included the "Calories" column just as a matter of interest really, as I don't know how accurate those numbers are, but it is interesting non-the-less.
There are two things that I think I need to work on, or at least keep in mind, in the run up to the October marathon I have lined up. Firstly, I need to incorporate some hill training as part of my longer runs. This is because the Dartmoor Vale marathon is quite "lumpy". I am hoping that after the summer season is out of the way I will be able to get a long to a few Trotter weekend social runs where there are often some hills thrown into those sessions.
Secondly, I am aware I haven't really been doing enough speed work. This is at least partly due to the hotter weather, where it's harder to get the speed in without feeling quickly drained. On the positive though, I am at least getting a parkrun in which is a good, quick run out and they are enjoyable too.
Haytor Heller marshalling
The other thing I mentioned in my previous post is that I was marshalling at the Haytor Heller, which is put on by my running club (Teignbridge Trotters). It was a brilliant event in hot weather, and it's great to be a very small part of the running of these events. The winner again did the event in under 40-mins which is just mind boggling and equates to around 6.5min/miles on what is very tough terrain.
I had a great marshalling point which was in a shaded area where the runners come down a path, over an old granite bridge and disappear up through the trees before a very steep incline. After the event, I went back to race HQ where I had my complementary burger which went down very well indeed!
Friday, July 19, 2013
A hot week!
Everyone is enjoying the prolonged nice weather, including myself. However, it's not good for running, but I'm doing my best to keep going. I'm drinking plenty of water each day and I've completed each session so far this week.
Wednesday, was the "reccy run" of the Haytor Heller event which is put on by Teignbridge Trotters. It's 6 miles on a tough trail course; I would say it's unrunnable for large parts of it, with large boulders/stones, very steep inclines/declines, a small river crossing etc. However, I had a look at the course record, and it is under 40mins, which is actually quicker than I can run 6 miles on a nice, flat tarmac course which is a bit humbling. The group that I was in ended up being the middle group, and we did stop a few times to let people catch up etc, but we took 90 minutes to do the course! This was on a pleasant, dry evening, if a bit hot. I can imagine it would have easily been 30mins longer if it had been raining heavily.
Generally, I don't like the offroad stuff but I did enjoy it last night even though it was very much a shuffle/walk/climb strategy that I adopted. It was made even better that we all ended up at a hotel owned by a fellow Trotter near Haytor, which we had a meal and a couple of shandies.
I'm marshaling the event on Saturday so I hope I don't send the lead runners off in the wrong direction! I can imagine it would very easy to do in the middle of nowhere on Dartmoor.... Below is the trace of my "reccy run". The trace has gone wrong slightly, as the straight line shouldn't be there and is from the end of the route back to the hotel.
Thursday I did a 10-miler after work and it was extremely hot, but I'm pleased I got the miles in. Also, I happened to find a crispy fiver on the floor, which helped give be a boost! Tomorrow I'm planning a parkrun (plus the marshalling duties) and then I'm hoping to 18 on Sunday. I think the only way I'm going to get 18 in is if I get up early on the morning when it'll hopefully be cooler, so we'll see how that works out!
Wednesday, was the "reccy run" of the Haytor Heller event which is put on by Teignbridge Trotters. It's 6 miles on a tough trail course; I would say it's unrunnable for large parts of it, with large boulders/stones, very steep inclines/declines, a small river crossing etc. However, I had a look at the course record, and it is under 40mins, which is actually quicker than I can run 6 miles on a nice, flat tarmac course which is a bit humbling. The group that I was in ended up being the middle group, and we did stop a few times to let people catch up etc, but we took 90 minutes to do the course! This was on a pleasant, dry evening, if a bit hot. I can imagine it would have easily been 30mins longer if it had been raining heavily.
Generally, I don't like the offroad stuff but I did enjoy it last night even though it was very much a shuffle/walk/climb strategy that I adopted. It was made even better that we all ended up at a hotel owned by a fellow Trotter near Haytor, which we had a meal and a couple of shandies.
I'm marshaling the event on Saturday so I hope I don't send the lead runners off in the wrong direction! I can imagine it would very easy to do in the middle of nowhere on Dartmoor.... Below is the trace of my "reccy run". The trace has gone wrong slightly, as the straight line shouldn't be there and is from the end of the route back to the hotel.
Thursday I did a 10-miler after work and it was extremely hot, but I'm pleased I got the miles in. Also, I happened to find a crispy fiver on the floor, which helped give be a boost! Tomorrow I'm planning a parkrun (plus the marshalling duties) and then I'm hoping to 18 on Sunday. I think the only way I'm going to get 18 in is if I get up early on the morning when it'll hopefully be cooler, so we'll see how that works out!
Monday, July 15, 2013
parkrun PB, plus a busy week planned.
I mentioned in a recent post that Barnstaple parkrun looked flat and fast. My wife and I fancied a weekend away and we like the North Devon area so we decided to book into a hotel in Barnstaple with a view of doing the parkrun on the Saturday AM and relaxing the rest of the weekend.
I mentioned in that post that I thought Barnstaple would be fast and mentioned getting a 20.xx time. Unfortunately, I was some way off of getting this time but I did manage a PB of 21:29. It was only a 3-second PB, but it still counts. It's interesting though as I genuinely though that Barnstaple would be significantly quicker than Killerton but it turns out I was wrong.
The splits were:
1 6:39.3
2 6:48.8
3 7:01.2
3.14 1:00.2 (Avg Pace: 7:04), with an overall average pace of 6:49.
I mentioned in that post that I thought Barnstaple would be fast and mentioned getting a 20.xx time. Unfortunately, I was some way off of getting this time but I did manage a PB of 21:29. It was only a 3-second PB, but it still counts. It's interesting though as I genuinely though that Barnstaple would be significantly quicker than Killerton but it turns out I was wrong.
The splits were:
1 6:39.3
2 6:48.8
3 7:01.2
3.14 1:00.2 (Avg Pace: 7:04), with an overall average pace of 6:49.
Disappointingly, you can see that my second and third miles were significantly slower than the first mile, so there is something to work on there. I would definitely do the Barnstaple parkrun again though, and I hope to keep chipping away at my time to see if can get that elusive 20.xx time. To do that, I need to average around 06:45 for the 5K, although Barnstaple was very slightly long (according to my Garmin) which could be a slight issue for me.
Moving on to this week, I have got a slightly unusual week planned. I am marshalling at a club event (the Haytor Heller) on Saturday and there is a "reccie run" on Wednesday which I am attending also, so I'll be doing 6-7 miles around Dartmoor on Wednesday evening. It should be good, but I expect it's going to be quite hot and I don't love the off road stuff. A fellow member owns a hotel near Haytor so we'll be going back to there for some food afterwards.
Other than that, I have the usual mix of sessions planned with an 18 miler planned for the weekend. We'll see how that goes, as I haven't really been enjoying this warmer weather from a running point of view.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
5x1K session
I was due to do a 5x1K session with the club last night, but there was a last minute of change of training route to one I don't especially like, so I decided to do my own session on a course I know. I did a 5x1K session by myself with plenty of recovery in between (plus 2 mile w/u and 2 mile c/d). It had cooled a bit, but it was a tough session and the stats for the efforts were:
Time Av pace
4:09.7 6:41
3:58.0 6:25
3:56.4 6:21
3:54.5 6:18
3:59.7 6:23, which is an average pace for the 1K efforts of 6:25.
I'm relatively pleased with that as I felt strong on the run, but also disheartened as I did the same session on the same route (the only difference being that it was with the Club and not by myself) back in March and the average pace then was more or less the same (6.24), so I seem to have plateued a bit
Looking back through my training log, I'm pleased that I've kept the consistency going with a mixture of LSRs, speed sessions etc (I've done 300 miles since my marathon at the start of May, covering 41 training sessions) but it seems I need to tweak something if I want to improve. Not sure what yet though....
Rest day for me today as I've ran 3 days in a row this week.
Time Av pace
4:09.7 6:41
3:58.0 6:25
3:56.4 6:21
3:54.5 6:18
3:59.7 6:23, which is an average pace for the 1K efforts of 6:25.
I'm relatively pleased with that as I felt strong on the run, but also disheartened as I did the same session on the same route (the only difference being that it was with the Club and not by myself) back in March and the average pace then was more or less the same (6.24), so I seem to have plateued a bit
Looking back through my training log, I'm pleased that I've kept the consistency going with a mixture of LSRs, speed sessions etc (I've done 300 miles since my marathon at the start of May, covering 41 training sessions) but it seems I need to tweak something if I want to improve. Not sure what yet though....
Rest day for me today as I've ran 3 days in a row this week.
Monday, July 08, 2013
parkrun PB and some inspiration
My wife and I went and did a parkrun on the weekend, and we both got PBs which is great. I finished in 21:32 and was 27/142 with an age grading of 62% which I'm really pleased with. This time is nearly 90seconds quicker than my first attempt on 8th June and nearly 30 seconds quicker than my previous official PB of 22:05 on 15th June. I do have my eye on getting a 20.xx as I think I should be able to do that on a flat course, and I under Barnstaple parkrun is flat so I'm thinking of heading there soon to see what I can do there.
I have recently finished a great book; Running with Kenyans, by Adharanand Finn. It is a great book, but I wanted to blog about one particular section. I know that runners are often asked "Why do you do it?"or "What's the point?" and I think a couple of paragraphs in one section of Finn's book really stand out for me to help explain this.
I have recently finished a great book; Running with Kenyans, by Adharanand Finn. It is a great book, but I wanted to blog about one particular section. I know that runners are often asked "Why do you do it?"or "What's the point?" and I think a couple of paragraphs in one section of Finn's book really stand out for me to help explain this.
"As humans, on a basic level, we get hungry, we sleep, we yearn for love, we run. Just watch small children left unsupervised to play. They can't stop running. It is part of what makes us human."I'm not sure if I should directly quote much more but it is a great book, and Finn was interviewed over two recent episodes of marathonTALK which I also think is definitely worth a listen.
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
A bit of an update
I haven't posted since my win over my sister-in-law in the Torbay Half Marathon, but I've been keeping the training going.
I did a parkrun (my 3rd, at Killerton) on Saturday and went for a medium long run with a couple of club mates on the Sunday which helped me towards a weekly mileage of 32.44 over 5 sessions following the half marathon. This was about 5 miles down on my original weekly plan, but I was feeling quite tired last week so decided not to do the planned 15 LSR but settled for around 10 instead.
This week I've got around 40 miles planned including an 18 mile LSR, but I'll see how that goes. I did a 6 mile easy run yesterday and felt fine, and today I've got an 8 mile with 5 at half marathon pace planned.
For the run up to the Dartmoor Vale marathon I was looking around for a fast half marathon and have settled on Bridgwater Half Marathon in September. It's not the best timing as it's a bit too far away from the Dartmoor Vale marathon but it will be a good test to see where I am with my fitness and general speed. Looking at the course profile (although the course has changed since last year) I will be looking for a PB, but as always, it depends on so many things leading up to the event as well as what happens on the day itself.
My wife and I are also looking at doing an "away" parkrun and may travel up to Barnstaple for a couple of nights. Barnstaple is where we visited prior to my PB at Bideford half marathon but I expect I won't be quite as careful regarding food (and, importantly, drink!) for a 5K. We happen to know of a decent cocktail place in Barnstaple where I hope to be sampling a few drinks on the Saturday evening.
I did a parkrun (my 3rd, at Killerton) on Saturday and went for a medium long run with a couple of club mates on the Sunday which helped me towards a weekly mileage of 32.44 over 5 sessions following the half marathon. This was about 5 miles down on my original weekly plan, but I was feeling quite tired last week so decided not to do the planned 15 LSR but settled for around 10 instead.
This week I've got around 40 miles planned including an 18 mile LSR, but I'll see how that goes. I did a 6 mile easy run yesterday and felt fine, and today I've got an 8 mile with 5 at half marathon pace planned.
For the run up to the Dartmoor Vale marathon I was looking around for a fast half marathon and have settled on Bridgwater Half Marathon in September. It's not the best timing as it's a bit too far away from the Dartmoor Vale marathon but it will be a good test to see where I am with my fitness and general speed. Looking at the course profile (although the course has changed since last year) I will be looking for a PB, but as always, it depends on so many things leading up to the event as well as what happens on the day itself.
My wife and I are also looking at doing an "away" parkrun and may travel up to Barnstaple for a couple of nights. Barnstaple is where we visited prior to my PB at Bideford half marathon but I expect I won't be quite as careful regarding food (and, importantly, drink!) for a 5K. We happen to know of a decent cocktail place in Barnstaple where I hope to be sampling a few drinks on the Saturday evening.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Torbay Half Marathon completed in 1:43:36
I'm really pleased to say that I completed the Torbay Half Marathon yesterday in a course record time of 1:43:36. I'm happy with this time as it is a strong course record for me with my previous best on this course being 1:55:16 from 2007. Also, last year I struggled around in 2:00:16 so this is nearly 17 minutes quicker (i.e., about 1min 20seconds per mile, which is quite a big improvement).
It was a great race for many reasons:
It was a great race for many reasons:
- As well as me running the event, my wife, sister-in-law and my father-in-law were all running the race and we all finished the event being really happy with our respective times.
- It was the first relatively large event that I ran where a large number of club mates were also participating. About 40 Teignbridge Trotters did the event and there were lots of other Trotters out on the course cheering everyone on, which was great and really added to the atmosphere.
- Prior to the race I had arranged to meet up with an old school friend and his brother. I hadn't seen the school mate for probably nearly 20 years, although I do see his brother occasionally when I'm out running. It was great to meet up for a couple of beers after the race with them and hopefully we'll do it again soon.
I'm skirting around the subject, but as I mentioned in a previous post I wanted to do well in this event and I wanted to beat my sister-in-law. We had a bet on which said the loser would buy a round of drinks after the race and I'm pleased to say that I managed to beat her (it could be said that I annihilated her...) quite comfortably with my 1:43:36 against her 1:48:19. This is the first time I've managed to beat her and it's good that her time of 1:48 would previously comfortably have been good enough, so it does show that my training is paying off. She did really well too though, and she's already challenged me for a rematch on this course next year.
In terms of the preparation for the event, I think I learned a few things from it. I have tracked my calorie intake in the run up to the event on MFP and although it was (obviously) way over for the days prior to the event I felt more prepared for an event than ever before. Basically, if I was hungry I ate more or less what I wanted, with the focus on carbs. For example, on Saturday afternoon I found myself feeling peckish and even though it was only a couple of hours until our evening meal I bought a large cheese baguette. I think this mentality and approach really helped.
Also, the event itself went well. The splits for the event were 8:20, 8:05, 7:53, 7:43, 7:48, 8:01, 7:37, 7:49, 7:48, 7:39, 7:43, 8:28, 7:39. It was a slow first mile as it always tends to be at these relatively big events (1500+ finishers) but this suits me really as it forces me to start off steadily. The 8:28 for the 12th mile is due to a hill so although it may look like I was drastically tiring there, the hill is the reason. Looking at the Garmin I negative split by about 20 seconds so I'm pleased with that too!
Weather conditions were more or less perfect I'd say as it was cool with a bit of drizzle in the air for some of it. For about 2 miles (2 lots of 1 mile from Torquay back towards Paignton) there was a bit of a headwind but it was manageable.
It's unfortunate that it's not a PB (1:42:02 at Bideford from March is my PB) but I'm still really pleased as I think Torbay is a tougher course. Yesterday was the end of the the first week of my Autumn marathon training plan, so I'm starting in good shape for that I hope.
So, all in all, a great event...made even better by me getting a couple of cheeky beers in at my SiL's expense!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
2nd parkrun (and the small matter of registering for my second marathon this year).
This morning I got my second parkrun in as many weeks competed, and I'm pleased to say I trimmed nearly a minute off the time from last week on the same Killerton course. The time this week was 22:05. Looking at the results for the event (I'm told I mustn't call the parkruns races....) I noticed that there were 14 SM 35-39 (my age category) and I finished in 5th place so I'm quite pleased with that really. Overall I was 36/174.
The fact that I had completed the course last week really helped. I purposefully stood closer to the start line so I didn't get held up as much as last week in the first few hundred metres. Also, knowing the profile of the course help and I ran quite a good race I think, although I did tire in from about 2.5 miles. I don't think I could have gone any quicker today, so I'm pleased with this as a realistic time and it gives me something to aim for now. It was also great as my wife came along for her first parkrun and came second out of six in her age category, in a time of 25:25.
Oh, and I've entered my second marathon of the year. I entered yesterday evening and I'm in for the Dartmoor Vale Marathon in October. The course is very local to me, so although it is a tough course and a potentially demoralising race as it's a two-lap course, I decided to give it a go. I need to get some hill training in though; the below is a the profile of the half marathon from when I did the race last year. The full marathon is more or less two lots of this route, apart from the last mile or so which splits off towards the finish. The section where it rises from 200ft to about 480ft in about mile is particularly tough.
The fact that I had completed the course last week really helped. I purposefully stood closer to the start line so I didn't get held up as much as last week in the first few hundred metres. Also, knowing the profile of the course help and I ran quite a good race I think, although I did tire in from about 2.5 miles. I don't think I could have gone any quicker today, so I'm pleased with this as a realistic time and it gives me something to aim for now. It was also great as my wife came along for her first parkrun and came second out of six in her age category, in a time of 25:25.
Oh, and I've entered my second marathon of the year. I entered yesterday evening and I'm in for the Dartmoor Vale Marathon in October. The course is very local to me, so although it is a tough course and a potentially demoralising race as it's a two-lap course, I decided to give it a go. I need to get some hill training in though; the below is a the profile of the half marathon from when I did the race last year. The full marathon is more or less two lots of this route, apart from the last mile or so which splits off towards the finish. The section where it rises from 200ft to about 480ft in about mile is particularly tough.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Autumn marathon?
I did a 13 mile LSR last night; it was supposed to be 14 miles, but I somehow miscalculated the route and only noticed when I got home! Anyway, it ended up being 11 miles at 10min/mile pace and then for the last two I purposefully stepped it up and did them in 7:40 and 7:31, which I was really pleased with. I was tired at the end, but felt good.
Part of my LSR yesterday included a loop of the Torbay route. Before I joined Teignbridge Trotters the vast majority of my training was on that route. I used to park at a leisure centre as I was a gym member (I've since ditched the membership) and run from there. I think a relatively large number of Teignbridge Trotters are invading Torbay again for the Half. Last time I checked I think there were 30-odd Trotters entered so it should be a good event.
I'm planning a slow 6-8 tonight after work, and then hoping to get to a parkrun tomorrow for the second time in two weeks (my first ever parkrun was last week).
I've found myself looking at other marathons. I was very tempted with Florence marathon in November as I know a couple of people who are doing it. It looks a great place, but I can't really justify the time off work for it and flying out Friday and back Monday would mean two days off work, and being a teacher my wife couldn't come either. So looking at UK ones I looked at Bournemouth but at 50 quid, that's a rip off so I'm definitely not doing that! Isle of Wight looks interesting, but I hear they sometimes get traffic issues getting over and back. Therefore, top contenders at the moment are New Forest in September or Dartmoor Vale in October. I fancy the New Forest one as it gets good reviews, but timing/training wise it may be a few weeks too early. Dartmoor Vale is local to me so logistically is much easier, but there's a massive hill on the course. I have done the Dartmoor Vale Half a couple of times which means for the marathon course I'd have to do the hill twice, so not sure on that. On the halfs I've done I remember thinking "Hmmm, I couldn't face doing this course twice!".
I've got plenty of time to book something, but it's strange I find myself looking at another one now. After my marathon in May I had told myself I wouldn't look to do another one until next year but I find myself researching ones for this year anyway...
Part of my LSR yesterday included a loop of the Torbay route. Before I joined Teignbridge Trotters the vast majority of my training was on that route. I used to park at a leisure centre as I was a gym member (I've since ditched the membership) and run from there. I think a relatively large number of Teignbridge Trotters are invading Torbay again for the Half. Last time I checked I think there were 30-odd Trotters entered so it should be a good event.
I'm planning a slow 6-8 tonight after work, and then hoping to get to a parkrun tomorrow for the second time in two weeks (my first ever parkrun was last week).
I've found myself looking at other marathons. I was very tempted with Florence marathon in November as I know a couple of people who are doing it. It looks a great place, but I can't really justify the time off work for it and flying out Friday and back Monday would mean two days off work, and being a teacher my wife couldn't come either. So looking at UK ones I looked at Bournemouth but at 50 quid, that's a rip off so I'm definitely not doing that! Isle of Wight looks interesting, but I hear they sometimes get traffic issues getting over and back. Therefore, top contenders at the moment are New Forest in September or Dartmoor Vale in October. I fancy the New Forest one as it gets good reviews, but timing/training wise it may be a few weeks too early. Dartmoor Vale is local to me so logistically is much easier, but there's a massive hill on the course. I have done the Dartmoor Vale Half a couple of times which means for the marathon course I'd have to do the hill twice, so not sure on that. On the halfs I've done I remember thinking "Hmmm, I couldn't face doing this course twice!".
I've got plenty of time to book something, but it's strange I find myself looking at another one now. After my marathon in May I had told myself I wouldn't look to do another one until next year but I find myself researching ones for this year anyway...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
A couple of interesting sessions
I was really pleased with the session I did yesterday. It's an 8-mile route where I do 2 miles warmup, 5 miles at quicker than half marathon race pace and then 1 mile warm down. It was a lot cooler yesterday than it was on the weekend and for the 5-mile block I managed 7:28, 7:26, 7:18, 7:15, 7:24 which is an average of 7:22. One week earlier, on more or less the same course when it was hotter I only managed 7:50, 7:39, 7:40, 7:36, 7:45 which is an average of 7:42. I'm really pleased with that and I now have a bit more confidence going into the Torbay Half, as long as it remains cool.
On the Shades thread on Runner's World there is currently a lot of talk about Base Training (BT). There are various methods of doing BT but the simplest seems to be the Maffetone method of building a good aerobic base, based on a heart rate that is the Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF). Someone on the thread has seen some great results from this. When he started, he could run at 12 min/mile at his MAF of 142bpm. After sometime, at the same 142bpm he was running 8:30 min/miles, so it means that he was going a lot quicker for the same level of exertion.
From the Maffetone site:
So, for me I'm 37. I don't have any injury and I more less fall into section 2)c). Therefore, 180-37 gives me a MAF of 143, meaning my MAF zone for base training is between 133 and 143 BMP. This means that all training should be done between these zones (without exception), which equates to quite a low heart rate for most people which can be off-putting as the pace is slow.
There is more about this here and a good blog post from an ultra runner here.
Anyway, I had an easy 5-miler planned today and I thought I'd give it a go to see what pace I'd be running at if I did try BT. I'm afraid I didn't manage to stay in the 133-143 range for the whole run but I was relatively pleased. A screenshot of my HR together with the route elevation is:
You can see I started off too quickly but got into the routine okay. The average for the run was 143, so I was relatively pleased.
I'm not committing to doing this yet as it means lots of slow miles for a period of several weeks but it's interesting doing a quick test to see what it's all about. To be honest, I'm not sure if I have the patience for it but I'll definitely be keeping it mind.
On the Shades thread on Runner's World there is currently a lot of talk about Base Training (BT). There are various methods of doing BT but the simplest seems to be the Maffetone method of building a good aerobic base, based on a heart rate that is the Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF). Someone on the thread has seen some great results from this. When he started, he could run at 12 min/mile at his MAF of 142bpm. After sometime, at the same 142bpm he was running 8:30 min/miles, so it means that he was going a lot quicker for the same level of exertion.
From the Maffetone site:
To find your maximum aerobic training heart rate, there are two important steps. First, subtract your age from 180. Next, find the best category for your present state of fitness and health, and make the appropriate adjustments:
1. Subtract your age from 180.
2. Modify this number by selecting among the following categories the one that best matches your fitness and health profile:
a. If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, any operation or hospital stay, etc.) or are on any regular medication, subtract an additional 10.
b. If you are injured, have regressed in training or competition, get more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, have allergies or asthma, or if you have been inconsistent or are just getting back into training, subtract an additional 5.
c. If you have been training consistently (at least four times weekly) for up to two years without any of the problems just mentioned, keep the number (180–age) the same.
d. If you have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed above, and have made progress in competition without injury, add 5.
So, for me I'm 37. I don't have any injury and I more less fall into section 2)c). Therefore, 180-37 gives me a MAF of 143, meaning my MAF zone for base training is between 133 and 143 BMP. This means that all training should be done between these zones (without exception), which equates to quite a low heart rate for most people which can be off-putting as the pace is slow.
There is more about this here and a good blog post from an ultra runner here.
Anyway, I had an easy 5-miler planned today and I thought I'd give it a go to see what pace I'd be running at if I did try BT. I'm afraid I didn't manage to stay in the 133-143 range for the whole run but I was relatively pleased. A screenshot of my HR together with the route elevation is:
I'm not committing to doing this yet as it means lots of slow miles for a period of several weeks but it's interesting doing a quick test to see what it's all about. To be honest, I'm not sure if I have the patience for it but I'll definitely be keeping it mind.
Sunday, June 09, 2013
First 5K parkrun, plus MFP.
I'm pleased to say I did my first parkrun yesterday, and it was really good. I've heard lots of good things about it through my club, and also they are very popular on Marathon Talk, so I thought I'd give one a go. My nearest one is the Killerton parkrun near Exeter.
For those who don't know, there are various parkruns that are run every Saturday in locations all of the UK (and the world, in fact). It's a free, timed event and it's really well organised. Basically, as a runner you register on the parkrun website and you get allocated a bar code. This bar code is personal to you and to get your results display on the parkrun website against your name, all you have to do make sure you take this bar code with you each time you run any parkrun. Many people print out and laminate their codes, so I did the same. At the end of the event, you also get given a timing token. This timing token, together with your barcode, is what the organisers use to display your results. After the first time registration you can just turn up to any parkrun that is being ran across the country on any weekend. Even if you don't have your barcode, you can still run but your name will not be present in the event results - against your position there will be a name of "unknown", with no time present.
Anyway, back to my parkrun. Killerton itself is a National Trust site so has all the facilities available with ample free parking, toilets and a cafe for after the run. The Killerton course itself is mixed terrain with some inclines, but it's a nice pleasant course. I got around in 23:01 (parkrun send a text an email with your results) which I was pleased with, especially as I had completed a 16-mile LSR the night before. It's something to aim for anyway, as I'm sure I can knock a few seconds off of that based on my 43:40 10K PB.
I will definitely be doing the event again. It's just a shame it's 25 miles from my house as it's a bit of a drive to get to for just a 5K. If there was one nearer I would definitely look to do them more regularly.
The other reason I snuck this session into the week's plan is because it meant that this week I have completed 5 training sessions, which (apart from the December running streak, which doesn't really count) is only the second time I've done that. I ran nearly 39 miles (38.91) this week which is the biggest weekly mileage since training for my marathon.
I mentioned the 16-mile LSR I did on the Friday. I did this after work, and it was very hot. I purposefully kept this at my LSR pace (10 - 10.5 min/mile) but intended to try and run a couple of miles towards the end at my half marathon target pace (8 min/mile) but I struggled, partly due to the heat. This isn't a good sign for Torbay Half in a couple of weeks, but I'll give it my best shot on the day.
I've also been using MFP for the whole week, and I've been honest with what I've consumed and exercised. I need to average 1800 calories per day to lose 1 pound a week. I've decided to take an average of the calories over the week (MFP provides facilities to track calories over a week), as this helps average out any days where more food is needed (i.e., on an LSR). I think for this week I am just about going to be under the target across the whole week, even taking into account that I went to a beer festival yesterday, which isn't the best way to keep a track of calories and eat healthily! Still, I enjoyed the festival and didn't eat or drink a huge amount and even with the beer festival I'm going to be close to the required calories over the course of a week. I'm going to keep MFP going and see how I get on over the next few weeks.
For those who don't know, there are various parkruns that are run every Saturday in locations all of the UK (and the world, in fact). It's a free, timed event and it's really well organised. Basically, as a runner you register on the parkrun website and you get allocated a bar code. This bar code is personal to you and to get your results display on the parkrun website against your name, all you have to do make sure you take this bar code with you each time you run any parkrun. Many people print out and laminate their codes, so I did the same. At the end of the event, you also get given a timing token. This timing token, together with your barcode, is what the organisers use to display your results. After the first time registration you can just turn up to any parkrun that is being ran across the country on any weekend. Even if you don't have your barcode, you can still run but your name will not be present in the event results - against your position there will be a name of "unknown", with no time present.
Anyway, back to my parkrun. Killerton itself is a National Trust site so has all the facilities available with ample free parking, toilets and a cafe for after the run. The Killerton course itself is mixed terrain with some inclines, but it's a nice pleasant course. I got around in 23:01 (parkrun send a text an email with your results) which I was pleased with, especially as I had completed a 16-mile LSR the night before. It's something to aim for anyway, as I'm sure I can knock a few seconds off of that based on my 43:40 10K PB.
I will definitely be doing the event again. It's just a shame it's 25 miles from my house as it's a bit of a drive to get to for just a 5K. If there was one nearer I would definitely look to do them more regularly.
The other reason I snuck this session into the week's plan is because it meant that this week I have completed 5 training sessions, which (apart from the December running streak, which doesn't really count) is only the second time I've done that. I ran nearly 39 miles (38.91) this week which is the biggest weekly mileage since training for my marathon.
I mentioned the 16-mile LSR I did on the Friday. I did this after work, and it was very hot. I purposefully kept this at my LSR pace (10 - 10.5 min/mile) but intended to try and run a couple of miles towards the end at my half marathon target pace (8 min/mile) but I struggled, partly due to the heat. This isn't a good sign for Torbay Half in a couple of weeks, but I'll give it my best shot on the day.
I've also been using MFP for the whole week, and I've been honest with what I've consumed and exercised. I need to average 1800 calories per day to lose 1 pound a week. I've decided to take an average of the calories over the week (MFP provides facilities to track calories over a week), as this helps average out any days where more food is needed (i.e., on an LSR). I think for this week I am just about going to be under the target across the whole week, even taking into account that I went to a beer festival yesterday, which isn't the best way to keep a track of calories and eat healthily! Still, I enjoyed the festival and didn't eat or drink a huge amount and even with the beer festival I'm going to be close to the required calories over the course of a week. I'm going to keep MFP going and see how I get on over the next few weeks.
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
MyFitnessPal and running
I had a great holiday and I am pleased to say that I came back from holiday only 2 pounds heavier than when I left, which is a first! Also, I've been getting some runs in and I'm feeling pretty good.
In the build up to the marathon training, from a weight point of view I briefly went down to 12st10 but settled at around 13st in the training and that is the weight I ran the marathon in.
So, turning on to the next challenges with my running, I think I need to see if I can drop a bit more weight. I'm pleased with my weight for everyday things but think I could drop some more to help with my running. I've read that for every extra pound of fat you carrying you can shave 1min 35secs off a marathon time, which is quite significant. Plus there are other benefits in terms of less stress on joints etc.
I have therefore started using MyFitnessPal (MFP). I have had an account for a long time, but I never really got into it. However, I can see why lots of people use it, including a couple of people from the running club. Personally, I won't really use the "social" side of the app/site because it's more aimed at people who are overweight whereas I know I'm not overweight for normal activities.
In terms of a weight target, I'm looking at 12st7, but that is going to be difficult to get to. I think getting from 14st to 13st will prove to have been easier than getting from 13st to 12st7! Also, I am in the "healthy" BMI range, but I'm in the top third of that range. The thing with BMI is that is a very wide range. For me it is a range of 10.5stone to just over 14stone! I know that 10.5 stone is way too light for me but 12st7 is in the middle which is partly why I've chosen that figure. Being realistic though, I will be happy to get back to 12st10 and then reassess from there.
Today is the third day of using the app and site and it is good:
- it allows you to scan barcodes in and tell it the portion size for a meal. I haven't yet found a barcode that it hasn't found the item for.
- for popular/regular meals you can group items together and name them. This helps to easily/simply add a meal with one or two clicks rather than adding each ingredient/part of the meal individually. So, if you regularly have, say, shredded wheat, milk and sultanas for breakfast you can set this up as a meal and easily add it each day.
- it has a mechanism of storing calories burned through exercise, which in practice means that you can safely eat more to offset the exercise.
For me, I started this at 13st2. With a target weight of 12st 7 and a target weight loss of 1lb per week it says I should consume no more than 1810 calories per day. This isn't very many, but is manageable, certainly with regular exercise.
For example, here are the stats from yesterday:
- Breakfast. 319 calories.
- Lunch. 584 calories
- Dinner. 803 calories
- Snacks. 570 calories
This is a total of 2276 calories through food. However, I did a slow 5-miler yesterday and burnt 708 through exercise taking me to 1568 net calories consumed which is below my 1810 target.
I'll see how I get on with it over the next few days, but I think the good thing with it is that it makes you stop and think before consuming things absent-mindedly. For example, I usually have a pint of milk with my breakfast, which isn't really needed. "Only" having a half of pint of saves nearly 140 calories but makes no difference to me feeling hungry etc.
In the build up to the marathon training, from a weight point of view I briefly went down to 12st10 but settled at around 13st in the training and that is the weight I ran the marathon in.
So, turning on to the next challenges with my running, I think I need to see if I can drop a bit more weight. I'm pleased with my weight for everyday things but think I could drop some more to help with my running. I've read that for every extra pound of fat you carrying you can shave 1min 35secs off a marathon time, which is quite significant. Plus there are other benefits in terms of less stress on joints etc.
I have therefore started using MyFitnessPal (MFP). I have had an account for a long time, but I never really got into it. However, I can see why lots of people use it, including a couple of people from the running club. Personally, I won't really use the "social" side of the app/site because it's more aimed at people who are overweight whereas I know I'm not overweight for normal activities.
In terms of a weight target, I'm looking at 12st7, but that is going to be difficult to get to. I think getting from 14st to 13st will prove to have been easier than getting from 13st to 12st7! Also, I am in the "healthy" BMI range, but I'm in the top third of that range. The thing with BMI is that is a very wide range. For me it is a range of 10.5stone to just over 14stone! I know that 10.5 stone is way too light for me but 12st7 is in the middle which is partly why I've chosen that figure. Being realistic though, I will be happy to get back to 12st10 and then reassess from there.
Today is the third day of using the app and site and it is good:
- it allows you to scan barcodes in and tell it the portion size for a meal. I haven't yet found a barcode that it hasn't found the item for.
- for popular/regular meals you can group items together and name them. This helps to easily/simply add a meal with one or two clicks rather than adding each ingredient/part of the meal individually. So, if you regularly have, say, shredded wheat, milk and sultanas for breakfast you can set this up as a meal and easily add it each day.
- it has a mechanism of storing calories burned through exercise, which in practice means that you can safely eat more to offset the exercise.
For me, I started this at 13st2. With a target weight of 12st 7 and a target weight loss of 1lb per week it says I should consume no more than 1810 calories per day. This isn't very many, but is manageable, certainly with regular exercise.
For example, here are the stats from yesterday:
- Breakfast. 319 calories.
- Lunch. 584 calories
- Dinner. 803 calories
- Snacks. 570 calories
This is a total of 2276 calories through food. However, I did a slow 5-miler yesterday and burnt 708 through exercise taking me to 1568 net calories consumed which is below my 1810 target.
I'll see how I get on with it over the next few days, but I think the good thing with it is that it makes you stop and think before consuming things absent-mindedly. For example, I usually have a pint of milk with my breakfast, which isn't really needed. "Only" having a half of pint of saves nearly 140 calories but makes no difference to me feeling hungry etc.
Saturday, June 01, 2013
A great holiday!
My wife and I got back from a great holiday yesterday, where we packed a fair bit in but also got some time to relax and forget about work for a few days. We went to a comedy show on the Friday (Jack Dee), a wedding reception on the Saturday evening and went so see Muse in London on the Sunday. On the Monday we went to York for three nights, before travelling to Birmingham for one night and then travelled home yesterday.
For the first time ever whilst away on holiday I did some running! I got a 6-miler in on a loop around the River Ouze in York and then a 6-miler along some canal paths in Birmingham in the morning. So not massive mileage, but I feel I've kept things ticking over which is nice. I'm pleased to say that although I enjoyed my holiday and ate/drank what I wanted to I only put a couple of pounds on.
The run along the canal in Birmingham was particularly good. It's great having all those waterways within a stone's throw of the city centre. York is very nice too....so much so that I'm considering the York Marathon next year, if I can get a place. It sold out very quicly this year.
If you do ever find yourself in York, I can highly recommend a place called Betty's Tearooms. It was my wedding anniversary whilst in York and we went to Betty's for an Afternoon Tea (we splashed out on champagne as well), and it was fantastic! http://www.bettys.co.uk/bettys_york.aspx I must admit I hadn't heard of Betty's before, but I do believe it is quite famous. They were certainly doing a roaring trade with a queue out the door for most of the days we were there and the quality of the food and service etc was second-to-none. As well as that, I sampled a good few York ales at various pubs around the city and there are some great places to eat and drink, as well as lots of stuff to do whilst there.
Also, this morning I marshalled at my first ever event. My running club (Teignbridge Trotters) hold several races a year and this morning was the club's flagship event. It's known as the Dartmoor Discovery and is a 32-mile event around the roads of Dartmoor. The event itself is quite tough, with a few big hills to content with.
Having never marshalled before I was a bit nervous and my station was in the town of Ashburton. Ashburton isn't what you'd call a busy town, but my station was on a road junction with a car park so I was pretty active ensuring cars stopped to let the runners through. It all went off with no issues, and the organisers provided all marshals with a packed lunch which was great. I was also able to keep an eye out for my fellow club members who were running the event and cheered them all on.
For the first time ever whilst away on holiday I did some running! I got a 6-miler in on a loop around the River Ouze in York and then a 6-miler along some canal paths in Birmingham in the morning. So not massive mileage, but I feel I've kept things ticking over which is nice. I'm pleased to say that although I enjoyed my holiday and ate/drank what I wanted to I only put a couple of pounds on.
The run along the canal in Birmingham was particularly good. It's great having all those waterways within a stone's throw of the city centre. York is very nice too....so much so that I'm considering the York Marathon next year, if I can get a place. It sold out very quicly this year.
If you do ever find yourself in York, I can highly recommend a place called Betty's Tearooms. It was my wedding anniversary whilst in York and we went to Betty's for an Afternoon Tea (we splashed out on champagne as well), and it was fantastic! http://www.bettys.co.uk/bettys_york.aspx I must admit I hadn't heard of Betty's before, but I do believe it is quite famous. They were certainly doing a roaring trade with a queue out the door for most of the days we were there and the quality of the food and service etc was second-to-none. As well as that, I sampled a good few York ales at various pubs around the city and there are some great places to eat and drink, as well as lots of stuff to do whilst there.
Also, this morning I marshalled at my first ever event. My running club (Teignbridge Trotters) hold several races a year and this morning was the club's flagship event. It's known as the Dartmoor Discovery and is a 32-mile event around the roads of Dartmoor. The event itself is quite tough, with a few big hills to content with.
Having never marshalled before I was a bit nervous and my station was in the town of Ashburton. Ashburton isn't what you'd call a busy town, but my station was on a road junction with a car park so I was pretty active ensuring cars stopped to let the runners through. It all went off with no issues, and the organisers provided all marshals with a packed lunch which was great. I was also able to keep an eye out for my fellow club members who were running the event and cheered them all on.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Back into the swing of things
I seem to be back in the swing of things training-wise. This week I've done 4 sessions totalling 32 miles, and have done a mix of sessions.
I am a bit concerned that I've lost some pace though.
On Wednesday, I did a club session which was 5x1k loops. It was on a trail as opposed to road, but the splits were slower than my best.
On Wednesday they were:
- 4:38, 4:29, 4:31, 4:39, 4:31
A few weeks ago on 13th March on a flat road course they were:
- 4:14, 4:15, 4:08, 4:09, 4:03, so you can see I've slowed considerably, even taking into account the session this week was on a trail! This isn't good news and I just hope I get the pace back before my half marathon in June.
Also, I did an 8-mile run with 5 at half-marathon pace and it was extremely tough. The 5 mile block was done in:
- 7:57, 7:57, 7:44, 7:34, 7:36, which is more or less what I need to do for 13.1 mile in only 4 weeks time. At the moment it doesn't seem likely.
On a positive, I today got a good 12 mile LSR in, with the last two miles at 8min/mile pace and I enjoyed the run and generally felt fine.
I am a bit concerned that I've lost some pace though.
On Wednesday, I did a club session which was 5x1k loops. It was on a trail as opposed to road, but the splits were slower than my best.
On Wednesday they were:
- 4:38, 4:29, 4:31, 4:39, 4:31
A few weeks ago on 13th March on a flat road course they were:
- 4:14, 4:15, 4:08, 4:09, 4:03, so you can see I've slowed considerably, even taking into account the session this week was on a trail! This isn't good news and I just hope I get the pace back before my half marathon in June.
Also, I did an 8-mile run with 5 at half-marathon pace and it was extremely tough. The 5 mile block was done in:
- 7:57, 7:57, 7:44, 7:34, 7:36, which is more or less what I need to do for 13.1 mile in only 4 weeks time. At the moment it doesn't seem likely.
On a positive, I today got a good 12 mile LSR in, with the last two miles at 8min/mile pace and I enjoyed the run and generally felt fine.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
A quick catchup
I haven't blogged since the marathon a couple of weeks ago but I'm pleased to say that I've been keeping the running going.
Since the marathon I've done a total of 7 sessions with nothing too severe and totalling about 36 miles. I've generally felt pretty good with no major niggles. In fact this morning, I did a cracking run near the town I was brought up in and took this photo along the way. Although I hd my Garmin with me, it was nice not worrying about pace and I just went out and ran for the enjoyment, which was great.
I'm turning towards getting a plan sorted out for the next event, which is the Torbay Half Marathon in June. There's not long to train now, but I've got a plan sorted and I'll give it my best shot. If it's hot though, any chance of a PB will be scuppered and it's also a fairly hilly course so we'll see how that goes. Torbay traditionally has been my "A-Race" and I want to do well in it, especially as my Sister-In-Law (who is younger, fitter and faster than me) is running it this year. A (not so!) secret aim for me is to beat her at this event!
Not that I consider myself "advanced" in anyway, but I've purchased a copy of the renowned Advanced Marathoning by Pfitzinger and Douglas (commonly known as P&D). I feel I'm a long way off of going for their training plans which start with a plan that peaks at 55 miles per week and go up to 85+ miles per week). Never-the-less, some of the concepts in their book are really useful for a relatively low mileage runner like me. Also, it is interesting to see what is required to get the best out of yourself for the marathon, so it's a good/motivating book to have from that perspective too.
I do feel in a position where I'm really motivated to build on the fitness I've built up over the last few weeks and months and other than the Half in June and a 10K in August, I'm trying to work out what my next steps are. I still think the Half marathon is my favourite distance and I'd like to chip away at that time and I think that is my main aim. I am already thinking about another marathon and I haven't got a short list or anything, but a secondary aim is to do another marathon and get under 4 hours.
I'll see how the training pans out over the summer months and see where I am with the fitness. Although I'm now building up again for the June Half, I must admit that I still don't feel that I've got the marathon out of my legs.
Another decision to make is around my weight and food. I've stabilised at 13st (which traditionally is a very good weight for me) but deep down I know that this isn't the perfect running weight. The easy thing to do would be to keep doing what I'm doing and I think in reality this may be the option I choose. I've lost the last stone in weight relatively easily, but I think if I try and lose another (say) half a stone it will be tough to do and some changes will have to be made to my diet. I don't know if I'm ready to do that just yet!
Since the marathon I've done a total of 7 sessions with nothing too severe and totalling about 36 miles. I've generally felt pretty good with no major niggles. In fact this morning, I did a cracking run near the town I was brought up in and took this photo along the way. Although I hd my Garmin with me, it was nice not worrying about pace and I just went out and ran for the enjoyment, which was great.
I'm turning towards getting a plan sorted out for the next event, which is the Torbay Half Marathon in June. There's not long to train now, but I've got a plan sorted and I'll give it my best shot. If it's hot though, any chance of a PB will be scuppered and it's also a fairly hilly course so we'll see how that goes. Torbay traditionally has been my "A-Race" and I want to do well in it, especially as my Sister-In-Law (who is younger, fitter and faster than me) is running it this year. A (not so!) secret aim for me is to beat her at this event!
Not that I consider myself "advanced" in anyway, but I've purchased a copy of the renowned Advanced Marathoning by Pfitzinger and Douglas (commonly known as P&D). I feel I'm a long way off of going for their training plans which start with a plan that peaks at 55 miles per week and go up to 85+ miles per week). Never-the-less, some of the concepts in their book are really useful for a relatively low mileage runner like me. Also, it is interesting to see what is required to get the best out of yourself for the marathon, so it's a good/motivating book to have from that perspective too.
I do feel in a position where I'm really motivated to build on the fitness I've built up over the last few weeks and months and other than the Half in June and a 10K in August, I'm trying to work out what my next steps are. I still think the Half marathon is my favourite distance and I'd like to chip away at that time and I think that is my main aim. I am already thinking about another marathon and I haven't got a short list or anything, but a secondary aim is to do another marathon and get under 4 hours.
I'll see how the training pans out over the summer months and see where I am with the fitness. Although I'm now building up again for the June Half, I must admit that I still don't feel that I've got the marathon out of my legs.
Another decision to make is around my weight and food. I've stabilised at 13st (which traditionally is a very good weight for me) but deep down I know that this isn't the perfect running weight. The easy thing to do would be to keep doing what I'm doing and I think in reality this may be the option I choose. I've lost the last stone in weight relatively easily, but I think if I try and lose another (say) half a stone it will be tough to do and some changes will have to be made to my diet. I don't know if I'm ready to do that just yet!
Monday, May 06, 2013
North Dorset Village Marathon - done!
I had been carb loading all day Thursday and Friday and also up to Saturday lunchtime and I was feeling pretty full by this point, but all was looking good. My wife and I jumped in the car and travelled up to North Dorset as we had a B&B booked for the night before the race. I packed a lot of stuff, but I'm glad I took it all even though some of it I didn't need.
We arrived at the B&B at 3pm-ish and as we had some time we decided to drive the course. This probably seems like a stupid thing to do, but in a way I'm glad I did as a) it's a nice picturesque course and b) I had a better idea of where the hills were. It turns out there were only really 2 main hills, and on the day of the race itself I didn't really notice them. We had a meal booked at Prezzo in nearby Blandford so we went out for that at 6:00pm. I had the same as what I had at the Bideford Half which was garlic bread and meatballs/pasta but I was still hungry, so back at the B&B I had some flapjack and Jaffa Cakes which went down well.
I got a reasonable night's sleep and Sunday morning the alarm was set for 05:45 as I was having breakfast at 6am. The B&B owners were great (and even got up with me) and I had my usual pre-run breakfast of shredded wheat, sultanas and a coffee. Staying at the B&B were 2 South Africans also doing the race, one of who had done the renowned Comrades Marathon (on a year when it was ran going "down"). This year he is to do it on the "up". Comrades is a 54 mile race and is supposed to be pretty gruelling. I caught up with the two guys at the end of the race and they had both down really well, one of them bagging a PB.
On the morning of the race, I walked up to the school (which was the race HQ) and picked up my number and dropped of my bag, and then wandered back to the B&B for final preparations. I was incredibly nervous, but also pleased that the day had finally arrived although it was forecast to be quite sunny which was a worry. I walked back up to the race HQ at 8:15 and I'm pleased I managed to see Shades from the Runner's World thread I'm involved in. It was great to meet her and her last bit of advice was to not go out too quickly, which I kept in my mind. The race start was literally 10 metres from our B&B, so I'll remember that if I do this race again.
Onto the race itself and it was more or less perfect conditions at the start. The sun was out, but there was cloud cover and there was virtually no wind. I started off gently just to get the first 3 or 4 miles under my belt and to see how I felt. Everything was feeling good with no sign of my knee niggle or any stomach issue rumbling so I was going well. I remember thinking at about 13 miles and also again at 16 miles that I was doing well but to just keep it steady and see how it goes.
At around this time I had a bit of a strange (very brief) conversation with someone on a moped. I had seen this moped earlier and then I saw that she had pulled into a lay-by. She still had her helmet on but as I came up to her she made eye-contact with me and the conversation went something like:
- Moped driver: "Do you know where the air field is?".
- Me: "Eh?"
- Moped driver: "Do you know where the air field is?".
- Me: "Urrrm...sorry, no"
.....and off I trotted, without breaking stride.
The route itself was very picturesque with lots of nice scenery, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and and some horses all along the route. The course is quite a rural one so there wasn't that much support along the way, but the marshals were great and in fact the whole organisation was brilliant. I had a personal drink at the station at mile 19 so I picked that up and carried on.
At around 20 miles I was just about on for a sub-4, which was at the very top end of my expectations but by this time I was beginning to struggle slightly. The sun was out (I have a red face this morning to prove that!) and by mile 22 my calfs were cramped and I was reduced to having to walk a few times, which is a shame. At around this time I was running near a fellow Trotter who I later found out was also struggling. He tried to drag me along, but I wasn't able to go with him unfortunately. I then reassessed with the true main time goal to finish under 4:30, but kept pushing (firstly trying to do 4:05 and when that slipped by to get under 4:10).
The final mile was tough. It was a very slight gradient on a gravel track and it just seemed to go on and on. About 200 metres from the finish I caught sight of my wife and she spurred me on. She took this picture and I have to say I don't look too bad here! I was feeling a lot worse than I look as my legs were shot by this point.
I'm pleased to say that my official finish time is 4:08:12 and I am genuinely over the moon by that. My one and only previous marathon was 5:15 at London 2010 (which admittedly was a pretty soft target for me) but I'm pleased to say that I smashed that time so all the training, weight loss, change in drinking habits etc seems to have paid off.
I picked up my race medal (picture below) and t-shirt and caught up with my wife. There were a few fellow Trotters at the finish and most of them had struggled in some way, I think due to the heat. The organisers had put mini-buses on to get back to the start but I decided to walk back as I thought the walk would do my legs some good. I got back to race HQ 10-mins later, grabbed my bags and had a shower. I also had some food (scotch eggs, flap jack and Jaffa cakes....) which went down well and also did a bit of stretching.
We jumped into the car and drove home, where I promptly had a large mixed grill and a pint which did go down well, but I was very tired so I did go to bed fairly early and I'm glad it's a Bank Holiday today!
So, what have I learnt from this race:
- There are no short cuts to training. It helps me to be pretty well organised and disciplined in the marathon training and remembering to ease off a bit if injured.
- Even with the above, the marathon is a distance that has to be respected. It can smack you in the face, and it's good to expect this to happen and have ways of dealing with it. For me, it's along the lines of "get to that lamp post" or "get to that spectator" and just trying to keep my form and relax my shoulders.
- I think the carb loading helped a lot. I may have to practice this some more as it wasn't really right that I was still hungry after my Saturday evening meal so I need to look at what I can eat the night before. I worry about stomach issues though (which I have suffered a lot with in the past), so I do need to practice this before an LSR.
- I had some Jaffa Cakes with me on the race, and these were an epic fail. I had practiced with them through the winter months and had some at Bideford but whilst running this race they just didn't want to do down so I didn't eat them. I had some jelly beans and melon at one of the food stations and that helped kick start me. I need to look at this if I'm to do another marathon, maybe revisiting gels again. I have used gels in the past and I didn't get on with them but I need to think about this again.
- I learned that I could dig in when times were tough and get through in a good time for me. It's a shame that I had to walk a bit, but even this was tactical as I walked up the slight inclines and trotted down the other side, thinking that I as probably walking quicker than I could run at that point anyway.
So, all in all I'm really pleased. I must say I'm looking forward to going back to the 10Ks and halfs, but I reckon there's a good chance I'll be putting my name down for another marathon at some point!
Saturday, May 04, 2013
North Dorset Village Marathon - the final preparations!
Well, this time tomorrow I'll be well on my way in the North Dorset Village Marathon. I'm feeling nervous already and wondering if I've forgotten something. I have a long list at the top of this page, which I'm in the process of going through to make sure I don't forget anything.
Over the last couple of days I've been carb-loading for the event, and using the basic rule of trying to get 8-10g of carbs down for every 1Kg of body weight. Getting that many carbs down me is difficult as I should be looking in the region of 700-800, but I've given it a good shot. I didn't really measure it yesterday but on Thursday I had 4 tea cakes, a large bowl 75g bowl of porridge, 3 bananas, a large pasta-based meal, garlic bread, flapjack, 2 shredded wheat, juice and a sports drink which came to a mere 550g. I had similar on Friday, but I'll be easing back a bit today as I am feeling pretty full!
I am having a mild panic about the drinks that I use. I use Torq Energy which is a powder that I add water to and it comes in big tubs. I noticed last night (because I stupidly checked...if I hadn't checked, I would have been non-the-wiser) that my current pot is a month or so past its "best before date" and another pot I use I have a very very slight doubt over as there is 0.0000000001% chance it caused a stomach issue I had recently on a run. I think I'll just go with the pot that is past it's "best before date" as I'm sure it won't be an issue.
Shades from the Runner's World thread I frequent a lot is also doing the race. I haven't met her face-to-face before, but I'm hoping I bump into her on the start line so I can say a quick "Hi" and wish her well. That thread has been a great source of advice and general good banter and I check it regularly.
On a light hearted note, there was a thread on Runner's World this week about a guy who seemed to have got a bit confused with his race number. Having a read through this is good for a bit of laugh.
So, this time tomorrow I'll be about 3 hours through the race, with probably another 1-1.5 hours to run. I know I've done everything I can so I've got everything crossed that it'll go well!
Over the last couple of days I've been carb-loading for the event, and using the basic rule of trying to get 8-10g of carbs down for every 1Kg of body weight. Getting that many carbs down me is difficult as I should be looking in the region of 700-800, but I've given it a good shot. I didn't really measure it yesterday but on Thursday I had 4 tea cakes, a large bowl 75g bowl of porridge, 3 bananas, a large pasta-based meal, garlic bread, flapjack, 2 shredded wheat, juice and a sports drink which came to a mere 550g. I had similar on Friday, but I'll be easing back a bit today as I am feeling pretty full!
I am having a mild panic about the drinks that I use. I use Torq Energy which is a powder that I add water to and it comes in big tubs. I noticed last night (because I stupidly checked...if I hadn't checked, I would have been non-the-wiser) that my current pot is a month or so past its "best before date" and another pot I use I have a very very slight doubt over as there is 0.0000000001% chance it caused a stomach issue I had recently on a run. I think I'll just go with the pot that is past it's "best before date" as I'm sure it won't be an issue.
Shades from the Runner's World thread I frequent a lot is also doing the race. I haven't met her face-to-face before, but I'm hoping I bump into her on the start line so I can say a quick "Hi" and wish her well. That thread has been a great source of advice and general good banter and I check it regularly.
On a light hearted note, there was a thread on Runner's World this week about a guy who seemed to have got a bit confused with his race number. Having a read through this is good for a bit of laugh.
So, this time tomorrow I'll be about 3 hours through the race, with probably another 1-1.5 hours to run. I know I've done everything I can so I've got everything crossed that it'll go well!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
North Dorset Village Marathon - it's the final count down now
The North Dorset Village Marathon is fast approaching now, and there are only 12 more days and 5 more training session until the event.
The course
I mentioned in a previous post from March about having a look at the propfile of the course and the below image shows the profile from Garmin Connect.
All in all, it looks like a good undulating course. Some notes for me are below:
The course
I mentioned in a previous post from March about having a look at the propfile of the course and the below image shows the profile from Garmin Connect.
All in all, it looks like a good undulating course. Some notes for me are below:
- There are two hills near the start. One right at the start and one 1.5miles in. This is probably a good thing as it will force me to go off relatively steady.
- It's then fairly undulating but nothing too taxing from about 3 miles to 18. 12.5 to 18 tends to a downhill slope.
- At 18 it looks to be an undulating/uphill section until 21.
- From 21 to 24 it tends to a downhill.
- Finally from 24 to the end it's slightly uphill but nothing major.
If (and it's a big if) I can get to 21-ish in reasonable shape it looks like a good run in to have a crack at. Like I say, that's a big if though and I may be just hanging on by then.
Race instructions
The organisers have released some final instructions available off of this page. The important points to note seem to be:
- Race registration is on the morning of the race and opens at 7am. For me, I expect this will mean leaving the B&B to get the race number and then heading back the B&B for final preparations etc. There are two numbers (front and back) with the front number having a detachable strip for a kit bag.
- There are water stops approximately every 5K, with water bottles being available at 9.5miles and 22.1 miles.
- Personal drink stations are set up where I can leave my own drinks. These are at 12.45 (20K) and 19 (30K) miles. I'm currently not sure how to make use of these of these yet as my wife has also offered to stand on the course at around half way.
- There are mile markers as well as 10, 20, 30, 40K and half marathon markers.
Race strategy
I think this will remain to be seen and I'll see how I am on the day. At the time of writing this I think I am probably 80% sure I'm going to do the event. I'd be absolutely delighted to get sub-4 and my current thought is to go out at just over 9min/mile and see how I am after 20-miles or so.
If I am on target, this would bring me in under 4 hours with a little bit to spare. With 09:09 bringing me in dead on 03:59:59. I wouldn't want to be that close as a) the Garmin may not be that accurate and b) I'll probably ending up running slightly more than the 26.2 miles I don't expect I'll be exactly on the racing line for all of it. This is why I've settled on targeting the 9min/mile as a first target.
If after a few miles it seems obvious that this isn't going to happen, my secondary pre-race target would be 4:30. Regarding paces, these are the main ones for me:
9min/mile - 03:55:58
09:15 - 04:02:31
09:30 - 04:09:05
09:45 - 04:15:38
10:00 - 04:22:11
10:15 - 04:28:45
10:30 - 04:35:18
10:45 - 04:41:51
11:00 - 04:48:24
If before the race I don't think that 4:30 is possible due to injury I expect I'll pull out. If I make it to the start though I'll endeavour to finish no matter what the end time.
Monday, April 22, 2013
LSR, stag do, VLM and a sports physio session
It's been nearly a week since I last posted, and there has been a fair bit going on in that time.
As I mentioned, I have a knee niggle and it is still there but I'm pleased to say that I got the miles in that were on my plan last week. I actually managed 35 miles last week with a 16 LSR, which is slightly more than what was planned but I did this because I basically missed the whole of the previous week.
I had the day off work on Friday to a) get the LSR in and b) go to a stag weekend. The LSR itself wasn't great as I suffered with toilet issues for the first time in a long time. I needed to stop 3 times and I remembered after about 12 miles that I had absent-mindedly been very liberal with the semi-skimmed milk that morning, so I think that is what caused the issue. Importantly though I got the mileage in and in the end was out on my feet for about 2.5 hours, and overall the knee wasn't too bad.
After the run, I had a couple of things to do around the house and then headed off to the stag do weekend which was just a short train ride away. I was really in two minds about drinking alcohol on the weekend as I didn't want to disrupt my marathon training too much. However, I am not able to attend the associated wedding so I decided to have a few drinks on the Friday and not have any on Saturday. I was quite pleased with this and think I struck a good balance and I don't feel that I had too much to drink on the Friday.
Sunday was arguably the biggest day of the British running calendar as it was the Virgin London Marathon. I got up early from the hotel to get back in time to watch the race and I'm really glad I did. I knew about 25 runners who were doing the event and the VLM website made it really easy to track runners who I wanted to follow. The website gave 5K, half marathon and full distance splits together with an estimated finish time. When the elite runners had finished, the BBC provided a "red button" service whereby I could watch the finish line and I'm pleased to say that I saw 5 people I knew cross the line to finish their marathons. The data on the VLM site together with this red button service really added something to the whole viewing experience. Also, by club's Facebook page was very active on that morning so it was a great time to watch the VLM this year. I am definitely going to enter the ballot (which opens on 29th March) and this time hope I actually get a place in 2014 rather than hope that I don't!
I mentioned that one of my friends did Paris a couple of weeks ago. He managed 2hr58 that day and he also did VLM where he managed a brilliant 3hr09 only two weeks later!
After I had watched a lot of the race I went out for a short 5 mile run which was okay but my knee was playing up a bit. I had actually booked a sports therapist/massage session for tonight (Monday) as I was still worried about my knee and I wanted to give myself every chance of getting to the start line in 2 weeks time. It's the first sport therapy/massage session I've attended and the therapist was very well recommended by my running club and he offers a discount to club members.
Before doing any treatments, he insisted on doing a pretty thorough examination of me and took notes relating to certain things about my stance, my spine, the length of my legs etc. He thinks I have one leg slightly longer than the other one which could be causing some issues. Also, he confirmed that my hamstrings are tight but concluded that the root cause of this is because I have tight hip flexors. After giving my legs a thorough massage using a massage machine etc, he gave me some specific stretches to help with the tight hip flexors. All in all, I was in there for 1.5 hours so that was £15 well spent! I think I am going to have another session the week before my marathon to give myself the best chance of getting to the start line in good shape.
As I mentioned, I have a knee niggle and it is still there but I'm pleased to say that I got the miles in that were on my plan last week. I actually managed 35 miles last week with a 16 LSR, which is slightly more than what was planned but I did this because I basically missed the whole of the previous week.
I had the day off work on Friday to a) get the LSR in and b) go to a stag weekend. The LSR itself wasn't great as I suffered with toilet issues for the first time in a long time. I needed to stop 3 times and I remembered after about 12 miles that I had absent-mindedly been very liberal with the semi-skimmed milk that morning, so I think that is what caused the issue. Importantly though I got the mileage in and in the end was out on my feet for about 2.5 hours, and overall the knee wasn't too bad.
After the run, I had a couple of things to do around the house and then headed off to the stag do weekend which was just a short train ride away. I was really in two minds about drinking alcohol on the weekend as I didn't want to disrupt my marathon training too much. However, I am not able to attend the associated wedding so I decided to have a few drinks on the Friday and not have any on Saturday. I was quite pleased with this and think I struck a good balance and I don't feel that I had too much to drink on the Friday.
Sunday was arguably the biggest day of the British running calendar as it was the Virgin London Marathon. I got up early from the hotel to get back in time to watch the race and I'm really glad I did. I knew about 25 runners who were doing the event and the VLM website made it really easy to track runners who I wanted to follow. The website gave 5K, half marathon and full distance splits together with an estimated finish time. When the elite runners had finished, the BBC provided a "red button" service whereby I could watch the finish line and I'm pleased to say that I saw 5 people I knew cross the line to finish their marathons. The data on the VLM site together with this red button service really added something to the whole viewing experience. Also, by club's Facebook page was very active on that morning so it was a great time to watch the VLM this year. I am definitely going to enter the ballot (which opens on 29th March) and this time hope I actually get a place in 2014 rather than hope that I don't!
I mentioned that one of my friends did Paris a couple of weeks ago. He managed 2hr58 that day and he also did VLM where he managed a brilliant 3hr09 only two weeks later!
After I had watched a lot of the race I went out for a short 5 mile run which was okay but my knee was playing up a bit. I had actually booked a sports therapist/massage session for tonight (Monday) as I was still worried about my knee and I wanted to give myself every chance of getting to the start line in 2 weeks time. It's the first sport therapy/massage session I've attended and the therapist was very well recommended by my running club and he offers a discount to club members.
Before doing any treatments, he insisted on doing a pretty thorough examination of me and took notes relating to certain things about my stance, my spine, the length of my legs etc. He thinks I have one leg slightly longer than the other one which could be causing some issues. Also, he confirmed that my hamstrings are tight but concluded that the root cause of this is because I have tight hip flexors. After giving my legs a thorough massage using a massage machine etc, he gave me some specific stretches to help with the tight hip flexors. All in all, I was in there for 1.5 hours so that was £15 well spent! I think I am going to have another session the week before my marathon to give myself the best chance of getting to the start line in good shape.
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