Sunday Training (13.1 HM distance)

A quick look at the marathon training schedule told me I had to run Half Marathon distance today.  The distance isnt a problem as I've run further now but as at midnight last night, I had a severe dose of cantbebothereditus.

I went to bed about 12:30am and set the alarm for 7am, to try and get breakfast down me before an early start.

My neighbours house alarm was going off for about 15 mins at 3am and woke the whole street up so I was awake.

As it turns out, I'd set the alarm on my iPhone on the weekly alarm, rather than the weekend so it never went off this morning.  The first I knew was the daylight creeping in from the window.  8am.  Bugger.  Well later than planned.

A quick bathroom pit stop, a quick bowl of porridge then twiddled my thumbs for about 20 mins before getting bored, got into my kit and headed out.

The schedule said run a half or run HM distance at marathon pace.  Wasnt having any of that.  Plan was to run sub 2hr, so anything quicker than an average pace of 9:09 min/mile, which is way inside my target marathon pace of 9:20-9:30 min/mile pace so anything better was positive.

Cracking. 8:59 min/mile pace. 2nd quickest HM time ever and a damn site hillier than anything I've done over a similar distance so very much felt like a very big positive.

At no point did I really think I was pushing myself either, pace-wise, so felt very strong out there, despite a very strong head-wind at times.  For some reason, I never got any tail-wind which I couldnt suss out at all.

Very pleased.  Quads felt a little heavy by the end but thats to be expected at that pace.

HR was good too...

...although I'd slipped into the red a few times, mainly on the hill where I was trying to maintain a good pace, I can comfortably hold tempo pace for a good length of time these days.

Had a good cool down and stretch, 400ml of chocolate milkshake, then walked to Tesco and back to pick up some provisions before lunch which further stretched the legs out and almost 3 hours later, the legs feel very good indeed with little discomfort.

Fitness levels are peaking at exactly the right time.  Very pleased indeed.

Thursday - Sun Update (Rest Day/Friday night 13.1miler/Chest&Abs x2)

Been a fairly hectic few days so a quick update on what I've been up to since Wednesday night.

Thursday: Rest night.  Completely and utterly nothing.

Friday:  Planned long run.  Disrupted by stomach cramps after 3 miles and having to make an emergency stop at the parents, so ended up splitting the run into two as follows:

Part A incredibly slow although I was planning on a nice easy pace. 

Part B much quicker.

Saturday & Sunday: Chest/Abs routine at home:

• 10 x 20 SB ball sit ups + 20 SB sit twists.
• 10 x 10 chest press with 9kg dumbbells + 10 chest fly.
• 3 see-saw shredders (30 secs on/off/on/off/on) with 9kg dumbbells.

Sunday Race Day (Dartford 10...ok, lets run a HM instead!)

Sunday was planned like a military operation.

Alarm set for 6:30, Nanny child-sitting booked for 8:00, estimated time of arrival at Dartford for the 10 mile race approx 8:10...it was literally planned to within 5 minutes.

Alarm went off on time.  Jumped out of bed.  Unfortunately Izzy heard the alarm too and woke up just as quickly.  I shoved her iPad in her hand and told her to watch some Cartoons on CartoonHD, possibly the greatest kids app in history which seems to have almost every single Disney Film and Cartoon on it ever made.  She was occupied, I went to have my bowl of porridge for pre-race fueling.

Then my phone bleeped...email from the race director...

Update Sunday 19th January 0630 hrs

Runners we are very sorry, but due to us being unable to guarantee a safe route to the new start and flooding along the latter part of the route we have had to cancel the race today. Please accept our sincere apologies we have done everything we possibly can to get this race on, and have been on the course all day yesterday and since 5.00am this morning but again been beaten by the weather. 

It has just not been possible to organise a race to the standard we want to offer you and we are prepared to put anyones safety at risk.

We will contact you individually later. Please pass this message on to anyone else that you know has entered or was intending to do so.

Thank you for your understanding.

Bugger.  Race cancelled.  Really could have done with the extra time in bed.  So Izzy and I went back to bed, a quick text to Nanny to tell her child-sitting was no longer required and that was that.

A nice lazy morning, eventually got to my parents and spent some time with them.  Headed up to Bexleyheath to pick a few odds and ends up, a quick light lunch and then I took Izzy home at 1:30am as she had a birthday party to get to.

So I had the afternoon free.  I'd made the decision early on that I was going to run but having seen some of the Plums had headed off for a 13 mile run that morning, I felt obliged to follow suit and it would be good training...

First half of 2014 complete. I felt destroyed. Probably should have stuck to the planned 10 and certainly not run it at close to PB pace (only 2 mins off). I need to learn to run the longer runs slowly. The average HR is a dead giveaway how much effort that went into this run. Almost 2hrs averaging 160bpm. Ouch.

My legs felt ok through to 10k but the soreness kicked in shortly afterwards.  It was the first time I'd used energy gels on any kind of run too.  I had two with me.  I took one at 6 miles and the other at 10.5 miles.  I was literally running on empty for the last 1.5 miles so god knows how bad I would have felt had I not used the gels.

Generally though, it was a good run.

I know I cant keep that pace up for full marathon distance so any dreams of running a sub 4hr marathon are way out of the window now.  Maybe 4:20-4:30 is more achievable and more realistic.  Got some well deserved stick from some of my Plums on Facebook when I posted up the Garmin data and rightly so.  Paul said he'd have a chat to me on Wednesday about working out a realistic time for the Marathon and then can work backwards to schedule the training from that, something I've yet to do!

Sunday Training (13.1 mile run)

Having been half term last week, I had Isabelle with me Thursday, Friday and Saturday so today was my first chance for any sort of training.  Well technically it wasnt, I could have quite easily have persuaded Mum to babysit for an hour or two but I see that as cheating and it does no harm to have a few days off every now and then, although I may not like it.

The plan originally was to hit the Gym early doors on Thursday before Izzy arrived but the thought of a nice lay in and taking it easy felt much more appealing (and so unlike me)

So after three days of rest, what does one do with oneself?

I decided late Saturday evening that I was going to go for a long run. Anything about 10 miles for me is considered long. When I finally get in to marathon training, a run of similar distance wont be touching the sides I know but for now its long enough.

I ran from my parents.  Dad was good enough to let me drive home in his car last night as I'd stopped to spend the evening with my brother, on the condition that I had the car back early in the morning.

No problem, the early get up on a Sunday is in the blood these days.  I had the car back at just gone 9am and I was already changed and raring to go.  Unlike me, I had a brain like a sieve this morning as firstly I came out with my HR monitor (and later discovered I'd forgot to bring any underwear with me either!)

It was the first time I'd run without my HR monitor in years.  I hated the first couple of miles.  I'm used to glancing down at the Garmin and seeing what I'm doing.  Checking pace and time is fine but HR is just as important as you know how "hard" you're running.  Same as when riding the bike.  It was the first time I actually listened to my body.  After running down Watling Street, it was like turning into a wind tunnel when I got to Bourne Road.  It didnt actually feel like I was running.  I was running at the right pace but I could feel I was having to work hard into the wind to make any progress.  It was pretty much the same down North Cray Road too.

The plan was to hit the old cycling training loop.  Up North Cray Road, turn left to Maidstone Road, turn left again at Birchwood Road (where Deja Vu used to be) and then head back to Dartford Heath and the drop down into Bexley Village.  Strangely, the climb at the end of North Cray Road and in the middle of Maidstone Road feels nothing like a climb when running it, unlike on the bike.

Round the training loop and back to Bexleyheath.  13.1 miles via a quick detour via Mayplace Road East and Martens Avenue Park just to make up the mileage.

It was a good run. It was only the 2nd time I'd cracked 2hrs for half-marathon distance so have got to be pleased with that.  However, it should be noted I felt as though I had a little more to give but I had other things on my mind.  I can only describe it as exercise-induced IBS.  I cant even begin to tell you what it feels like when you're 8.5 miles into a run, in the middle of nowhere when you get an urge greater than you would when stuffing yourself with indian takeaway.  Thankfully, I managed to get home without mishap but as soon as that gut-wrenching feeling kicks in, every mouthful of drink consumed feels like its reducing any room in your stomach and could end up distasterously, so you tend to cut back on drinking regularly, which leads to cramping, which I had plenty of in my quads by the time I'd finished the run.

I will need to investigate this a lot more in the upcoming months as I cant be dealing with this through marathon training.  That issue aside, it was an enjoyable run albeit very uncomfortable in the last few miles.

Monday Training (13.1 mile run)

Having had the pleasure of a return visit from British Gas today to fix my boiler (to change the heat exchanger), I had the day off work today.  No choice in the matter really.  So made the most of it by going on out on a training run.

Deliberately went out with just some blackcurrant and apple squash in my water bottle and off I went, with a view to running about 6-8 miles but yet again got carried away and ended up running 13.1 miles.

 


The run was brutal. It was the first time I'd run a distance like that with no energy drink and I was beginning to suffer around the 7.5-8 mile point. The legs felt heavy and a huge blister was forming on the inside of my right foot, my real weak point in my armour. The last 2 miles was by far the most painful I have run since I took up running again.

After some food and a soak in the tub, I walked down to Welling Corner to stretch the legs out a tad and they feel reasonably ok as I type this at midnight.

Monday Training (Long run - Half Marathon distance...and a bit)

Off the train at 5.35pm.

At Tesco's by 5.40pm.

Walked in my front door after picking up the weekly shop at 6.02pm.

Little boys room, quickly changed into the running kit, filled up one 500ml bottle of High5 4:1, a quick stretch...then off I went...

Back just over 2 hours later. Think I clocked 13.1 miles just a fraction over 2hrs, not at all bad considering I hadnt done half marathon distance since April and I'd only done 10 miles once since May. Ok, I was off my 1:56 PB but my average HR was lower and I was taking it relatively easy. A throughly enjoyable way of beating the Monday blues and I'm feeling damn good right now.

(Edit:  Strava confirmed the 13.1mile segment at 2:01:20)

If I'm totally honest, the legs dont feel as if they've done anything almost an hour later :)

Having checked back on my Garmin data, I've only ran further than 8 miles on 10 occasions this year and most of them were before the East London half in April.  Due to the knee injury I've been suffering with, I have only run further than 10k once in the last 3 months so to run a half off the cuff tonight was excellent.

runs greater than 8 miles in 2013...click to expand

East London Half Marathon

Today was the East London Half Marathon. I was feeling fairly confident beforehand, knowing I was already capable of running the distance, having run 13.2 miles about four weeks ago but had only just recovered from a second chest infection in as many months so some doubts were there. My last training run on the Monday went well although I only ran 10 miles at under the 09:09 min/mile threshold which would get me a sub 2hr Half Marathon time.

The alarm was set early. Plan was to get the 486 bus to North Greenwich and then jump on the tube. All went to plan until I got to North Greenwich. Due to overrunning engineering works, the first tube Eastbound to Stratford wasnt until 8am. Bag check in closed at 8.20am so had no alternative but to get a cab. Thankfully got there just in time.

The organisation was a shambles. Queued up for 45 mins to dump my bag then queued up for another 30 mins for a quick comfort break in one of the portaloos which there was nowhere near enough of which left about 2 mins to stretch and warm up before we were off.

I started quicker than I'd really wanted but felt comfortable but then within the first 2 miles, I felt both quads cramp up and I literally ran the rest of the race in a lot of discomfort. I knew I'd be able to make it round but the one thing I couldnt do was stop. If I'd stopped, I would not have got going again.

Pace-wise, I never intended to go out as quick as I'd gone out. According to the Garmin data loaded into Strava, I ran the first loop of 7 miles in 1:01:16, which was 08:45 min/mile pace which was a lot faster than the 09:09 pace needed for sub 2hrs which was my target. On I plodded. There was a distinct lack of distance markers around the course (well I didnt actually see any if there was). By the second lap, the temperature had risen sharply. East London was bathed in a mini-heatwave. The Garmin data recorded a temperature of 57f which of course isnt too warm by any stretch of the imagination but bearing in mind we'd been more used to training in temperatures a lot lower, it caught a lot of people out and runners were dropping out like flies in the last 3-4 miles, quite a few needing oxygen from the medics which was worrying.

Anyhow, crossed the line in 01:56:39 as per the Garmin but the official chip time was 01:56:29 which equated to 08:52 min/mile pace which I was absolutely delighted with. With the right preparation on race day next time, I know I'll be able to go quicker.

Something I do need to work on is my post-race strategy. By the time I'd got home, I was really hungry. My body doesnt allow me to run within an hour of eating otherwise I experience severe stomach trauma. Once I'd eaten some pasta, I was experiencing stomach trauma again for 2-3 hours that afternoon but felt a whole lot better afterwards. I guess more experience of these events and what to do afterwards will help greatly.