Chester marathon is just 5 days away! I'm currently in the taper period that drives many people training for a marathon slightly crazy. The desire to run is so institutional at this point that the reduction in miles and running sessions is counter-intuitive. But it's important to trust the schedule and know that the hard work is behind, making the marathon itself a treat to look forward to.
I ran the Ealing half marathon on Sunday. Normally I'd be running this eyes out, full speed but this time I had to treat it as a training session. It helped that I ran it with two work colleagues, one of whom had not run a half marathon before. This meant I was able to pace the race for them which happened to be at a little bit slower than marathon pace. Ideal!
It meant that I was able to really enjoy the run. Soaking in the excellent support from the locals and run with a smile on my face. I even high-fived my wife as we ran past the road junction nearest my house. I hope I'm able to run Chester with a similar smile although I think that may be a tougher ask, especially during the middle tricky miles.
I had hoped to run the marathon wearing my lighter racing shoes. I wore them for the Ealing half but I found they put a lot a strain on my lower legs and feet especially my arches and ankles. So I've decided not to risk it for the full marathon. Not yet, anyway.
We are travelling to Chester on Friday evening. My wife still owns a house there which we are preparing for rental, but until then we can stay there for the weekend. I'll run an easy four miles on Saturday morning and then I'll be ready for the big one the next morning. Fingers crossed!
I've given myself three goals for the run. My A goal is to run under 3:30 which would make me smile like a loon. My B goal is to run under 3:44:46 which is my previous best that I set in Brighton back in 2010 and would still give me a big grin. My C goal is to get under 4 hours which considering I ran the Richmond Park marathon in May in under 3:55 with very poor training and a surprisingly hilly course I think I should be able to achieve.
By the time of the marathon I will have trained for 18 weeks and run 750 miles. More than any other training schedule I've followed. I don't think I've ever been more prepared. I have followed the schedule to the letter, only missing out on about 30 miles for the week that I was in Cyprus when I had to substitute other sessions due to the extreme heat and humidity. I'm quietly proud of myself. My next post will be a race report where I've either achieved goal A, B or C. Or none of them!
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Sunday, 15 September 2013
Downhill All The Way!
This morning I ran my final long run, a 20 miler, before three weeks of taper.
I had planned to run down the Grand Union Canal to Paddington, then along to Regent's Park before heading down to Oxford Street and back to Ealing. As I set off I decided to go "off piste" and make up a route as I went along. I just fancied running a circular route with my house as the centre point. So I ran down to Acton, up the A40, through Alperton to Harrow and Sudbury, then Northolt where I got a little bit lost, found my way to the Uxbridge Road and back to Ealing. My third 20 miler of the training schedule and also the most comfortable. This plan must be working! Although I did end up with a bleeding nipple. Never a nice thing, especially on a white running vest. I could see the wincing faces of passers-by in the street thinking how painful it must be. The truth is that I didn't realise it was bleeding at all until I looked down my vest with three miles to go. I'd even put vaseline on before setting off but maybe I need to look into using surgical tape in future.
Now I have three weeks of taper with no midweek runs over single-digit mileage. That will either make a nice change or will drive me mad. In my experience it's been a little bit of both.
Over the next three weeks I need to decide which pair of running shoes I will run the race in. I've eliminated one pair due to their risk of causing blisters. This leaves my everyday running shoes or my specialist racers. I'd like to race in the specialist racers but I don't know if they'll last the long distance (or rather if my feet will). I'll use them more in the coming weeks so I can make a value judgement.
In the meantime here's my run from this morning:
I had planned to run down the Grand Union Canal to Paddington, then along to Regent's Park before heading down to Oxford Street and back to Ealing. As I set off I decided to go "off piste" and make up a route as I went along. I just fancied running a circular route with my house as the centre point. So I ran down to Acton, up the A40, through Alperton to Harrow and Sudbury, then Northolt where I got a little bit lost, found my way to the Uxbridge Road and back to Ealing. My third 20 miler of the training schedule and also the most comfortable. This plan must be working! Although I did end up with a bleeding nipple. Never a nice thing, especially on a white running vest. I could see the wincing faces of passers-by in the street thinking how painful it must be. The truth is that I didn't realise it was bleeding at all until I looked down my vest with three miles to go. I'd even put vaseline on before setting off but maybe I need to look into using surgical tape in future.
Now I have three weeks of taper with no midweek runs over single-digit mileage. That will either make a nice change or will drive me mad. In my experience it's been a little bit of both.
Over the next three weeks I need to decide which pair of running shoes I will run the race in. I've eliminated one pair due to their risk of causing blisters. This leaves my everyday running shoes or my specialist racers. I'd like to race in the specialist racers but I don't know if they'll last the long distance (or rather if my feet will). I'll use them more in the coming weeks so I can make a value judgement.
In the meantime here's my run from this morning:
Sunday, 8 September 2013
Back To Life, Back To Reality
I've been home from my holidays for about a week and a half and completed 9 runs. I have come to the not very earth-shattering conclusion that I am very much a temperate weather runner. Going out for a run at 6am and the temperature is about 12C is much, much better than running at temperatures twice that.
Both of my pairs of running shoes have come to the end of their lives. They've now gone to the big running shoe shop in the sky, otherwise known as the local charity shop. I'm now using two pairs of running shoes that I had used for about a month before I had to pull out of marathon training because of injury. Why I had bought new running shoes when I started another training plan instead of using these two pairs I cannot fathom but at least I'm using them now.
I'm also taking what may be a risk. I bought a pair of race shoes back in 2010. I used them to run a 10k and a half marathon (getting PBs in both) but after using them I had peroneal tendonitis. They are incredibly light but I used to overpronate and this is what my physio believed caused the issue. It's been almost three years since then and my running style has altered. I think I am now a bit more of a neutral runner. With this in mind I have used them for an 8 mile run and a 4 mile run. Both times I came through with flying colours. I think I'll use them once a week until the marathon with the hope of using them for the actual marathon itself as I believe the lightness of the shoe will give me a big advantage come race day (such hubris!).
I've followed the training plan religiously since I've been home. My long runs have been 18 miles (with 14 at marathon pace) and 17 miles respectively. Because my watch was being fixed I had to guess my marathon pace. By the time I got home, loaded the route up into the computer and checked it I found that my guessed marathon pace was 4:45 minutes per kilometer which is about 15 seconds quicker than what I should be running if I want to get under 3:30 hours in the marathon. Result! Not that I am going to run at 4:45 per kilometer but it's nice to know that I am capable of it.
This morning I ran 17 miles down to Richmond Park, around the trail path along the edge (following the marathon route from 5 months ago, albeit in reverse) and back via Kew Bridge. My watch (third time replaced, third time lucky?) ran out of battery for the last three miles (my fault, should have checked last night) so I had to run them effectively blind although I've been running the streets around here for the last five years and know the distances very well. I had run a 10k "race" yesterday so today's run was on tired legs to simulate the last miles of the marathon. I enjoyed it a lot. There were moments when I wanted to just stop and walk but kept going instead and managed to complete the 17 miles in 2:21:06 which is a good pace even if the last 3 were estimated.
Next week is my last major week of training ending with a 20 miler. Then it is three weeks of taper until the race itself. Looking forward to the taper, it will almost feel like a holiday but without the stupidly hot weather!
Both of my pairs of running shoes have come to the end of their lives. They've now gone to the big running shoe shop in the sky, otherwise known as the local charity shop. I'm now using two pairs of running shoes that I had used for about a month before I had to pull out of marathon training because of injury. Why I had bought new running shoes when I started another training plan instead of using these two pairs I cannot fathom but at least I'm using them now.
I'm also taking what may be a risk. I bought a pair of race shoes back in 2010. I used them to run a 10k and a half marathon (getting PBs in both) but after using them I had peroneal tendonitis. They are incredibly light but I used to overpronate and this is what my physio believed caused the issue. It's been almost three years since then and my running style has altered. I think I am now a bit more of a neutral runner. With this in mind I have used them for an 8 mile run and a 4 mile run. Both times I came through with flying colours. I think I'll use them once a week until the marathon with the hope of using them for the actual marathon itself as I believe the lightness of the shoe will give me a big advantage come race day (such hubris!).
I've followed the training plan religiously since I've been home. My long runs have been 18 miles (with 14 at marathon pace) and 17 miles respectively. Because my watch was being fixed I had to guess my marathon pace. By the time I got home, loaded the route up into the computer and checked it I found that my guessed marathon pace was 4:45 minutes per kilometer which is about 15 seconds quicker than what I should be running if I want to get under 3:30 hours in the marathon. Result! Not that I am going to run at 4:45 per kilometer but it's nice to know that I am capable of it.
This morning I ran 17 miles down to Richmond Park, around the trail path along the edge (following the marathon route from 5 months ago, albeit in reverse) and back via Kew Bridge. My watch (third time replaced, third time lucky?) ran out of battery for the last three miles (my fault, should have checked last night) so I had to run them effectively blind although I've been running the streets around here for the last five years and know the distances very well. I had run a 10k "race" yesterday so today's run was on tired legs to simulate the last miles of the marathon. I enjoyed it a lot. There were moments when I wanted to just stop and walk but kept going instead and managed to complete the 17 miles in 2:21:06 which is a good pace even if the last 3 were estimated.
Next week is my last major week of training ending with a 20 miler. Then it is three weeks of taper until the race itself. Looking forward to the taper, it will almost feel like a holiday but without the stupidly hot weather!
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Go Big Or Go Home
Last week my running schedule was pretty much written off, or at least half written off. This week I am returning home from holiday on Wednesday before which my training plan has me doing two runs, an 8 miler and a 9 miler. I was planning on just running a 5 mile loop but this would mean that this week's schedule would also be affected and at would hurt my OCD sensibilities too much.
In the end I decided to push the 9 miler back until Thursday when I am in the UK and I would go all out and run the 8 miler while I am here in Cyprus.
On Sunday I managed to run 6 miles without dying so I thought that 8 miles may just about be possible if I got up early enough to avoid the heat.
It turns out it was possibly my favourite run of the entire holiday. I had mapped out a loop route that would take me from my hotel 2 miles along a coastal path, then cut inland for 4 miles around the back of the hotel where it rejoins the coastal path again for another 2 miles to bring me back to the hotel. Up at 5:45am, out by 6:15am and just over an hour later I was back at the hotel changed into my swimming shorts and cooling down in the indoor pool for 10 to 15 minutes. I got to watch the sun come up over the hills east of Paphos and it looked beautiful, such are the bonuses of running in a foreign land.
So on this holiday I have done 5 runs in total, which is 27 miles, about 30 fewer than my schedule required but given that over 18 weeks I will have run about 800 miles I guess that 30 miles is no great issue.
Looking forward to getting home again. 10 nights is just about right for a beach holiday I reckon. We have done pretty much nothing apart from sitting by the pool reading and swimming a bit to cool down. Not my usual sort of holiday but I have to say I've really enjoyed it. It will be nice to get back home and see the cat again, although I doubt she's missed us at all.
In the end I decided to push the 9 miler back until Thursday when I am in the UK and I would go all out and run the 8 miler while I am here in Cyprus.
On Sunday I managed to run 6 miles without dying so I thought that 8 miles may just about be possible if I got up early enough to avoid the heat.
It turns out it was possibly my favourite run of the entire holiday. I had mapped out a loop route that would take me from my hotel 2 miles along a coastal path, then cut inland for 4 miles around the back of the hotel where it rejoins the coastal path again for another 2 miles to bring me back to the hotel. Up at 5:45am, out by 6:15am and just over an hour later I was back at the hotel changed into my swimming shorts and cooling down in the indoor pool for 10 to 15 minutes. I got to watch the sun come up over the hills east of Paphos and it looked beautiful, such are the bonuses of running in a foreign land.
So on this holiday I have done 5 runs in total, which is 27 miles, about 30 fewer than my schedule required but given that over 18 weeks I will have run about 800 miles I guess that 30 miles is no great issue.
Looking forward to getting home again. 10 nights is just about right for a beach holiday I reckon. We have done pretty much nothing apart from sitting by the pool reading and swimming a bit to cool down. Not my usual sort of holiday but I have to say I've really enjoyed it. It will be nice to get back home and see the cat again, although I doubt she's missed us at all.
Location:Pafos,Cyprus
Friday, 23 August 2013
Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot
I have so far managed two runs on my holiday (out of 5 days). A 4 miler and a 5 miler. Both have finished with me covered head to toe in sweat. The humidity is so high in the morning that the sweat doesn't get a chance to evaporate so just clings to you. Very uncomfortable. The alternative is to wait a few hours so that the humidity goes down. The flip side is that the temperature soars. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.
My marathon schedule is not being followed. It would be nigh on impossible to do so in these conditions so I am just maintaining fitness instead of increasing it. Once I get back home next week I'll get back on track.
Another problem is that my watch has broken again. This is the replacement watch that I had because my touch screen became semi-responsive. Well this time the touch screen has become totally unresponsive. It's barely four weeks old! To be fair to Garmin I contacted them and they've agreed to replace it again no questions asked. I can still use it as a fancy stopwatch that also tracks my GPS but that's about it. I'll send it off when I return home.
Having said all of that the running paths around here are very pleasant. Pretty much flat as a pancake and nice coastal views. Tomorrow I think I'll try a 6 miler although I'll probably end up as a puddle on the floor.
But now it's time for breakfast and then to hit the pool!
My marathon schedule is not being followed. It would be nigh on impossible to do so in these conditions so I am just maintaining fitness instead of increasing it. Once I get back home next week I'll get back on track.
Another problem is that my watch has broken again. This is the replacement watch that I had because my touch screen became semi-responsive. Well this time the touch screen has become totally unresponsive. It's barely four weeks old! To be fair to Garmin I contacted them and they've agreed to replace it again no questions asked. I can still use it as a fancy stopwatch that also tracks my GPS but that's about it. I'll send it off when I return home.
Having said all of that the running paths around here are very pleasant. Pretty much flat as a pancake and nice coastal views. Tomorrow I think I'll try a 6 miler although I'll probably end up as a puddle on the floor.
But now it's time for breakfast and then to hit the pool!
Location:Pafos,Cyprus
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
Holidays
I'm writing this from a balcony in a hotel in Cyprus. So far I have not missed a single training session but this may well change over the next 10 days. Running on holiday is a curious thing. The intention is always to get out and carry on with the schedule as if nothing has changed but as more drinks are consumed in the evening it becomes more and more clear that things are not the same. Namely that I wouldn't normally be waking up at 6am nursing a hangover in order to go for an 8 mile run to avoid the heat of the sun.
Here in Cyprus there appears to be a very small window in which it is comfortable to be able to run (for me at least). The humidity is incredible. I have put a pair of swimming shorts out on the balcony to dry and by the morning they are still damp! The temperature is around 24C at 6am and this rapidly rises to 30C by 9am. This means I have to either a) get up in the middle of the night to go running or b) adjust my expectations of what I think will be achievable while I am here.
I am sure that if I can get out and run 4 or 5 miles every other day (or more) then my fitness will be maintained and I can get back on the schedule when I return home next week.
There is always the option of using the running machines in the hotel gym but I'm not a fan.
As I write this I can see a path between my hotel and the beach that is being used by many runners. I'm not sure if any of them are training for a marathon or not but at least it's a popular route. It's always good to run on holiday when possible as it gives you a different viewpoint of the place you are saying (I'm pretty sure I've said that before on this blog somewhere). The problem is getting the legs out of bed to do it.
Up until now my training has been going brilliantly. I've got two 20 mile runs in the bag. The second of which I ran 5 minutes faster than the first one which is always a good sign of progress. Last week was my biggest training week so far, 55 miles. Even the mid-week medium long runs don't seem that long anymore. Which must mean my fitness is building up. Lets just hope that I don't lose it during this holiday!
Here in Cyprus there appears to be a very small window in which it is comfortable to be able to run (for me at least). The humidity is incredible. I have put a pair of swimming shorts out on the balcony to dry and by the morning they are still damp! The temperature is around 24C at 6am and this rapidly rises to 30C by 9am. This means I have to either a) get up in the middle of the night to go running or b) adjust my expectations of what I think will be achievable while I am here.
I am sure that if I can get out and run 4 or 5 miles every other day (or more) then my fitness will be maintained and I can get back on the schedule when I return home next week.
There is always the option of using the running machines in the hotel gym but I'm not a fan.
As I write this I can see a path between my hotel and the beach that is being used by many runners. I'm not sure if any of them are training for a marathon or not but at least it's a popular route. It's always good to run on holiday when possible as it gives you a different viewpoint of the place you are saying (I'm pretty sure I've said that before on this blog somewhere). The problem is getting the legs out of bed to do it.
Up until now my training has been going brilliantly. I've got two 20 mile runs in the bag. The second of which I ran 5 minutes faster than the first one which is always a good sign of progress. Last week was my biggest training week so far, 55 miles. Even the mid-week medium long runs don't seem that long anymore. Which must mean my fitness is building up. Lets just hope that I don't lose it during this holiday!
Location:Pafos,Cyprus
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Summer Breeze, Makes Me Feel Boiling Hot!
I'm writing this from my garden. The barbecue is on the go, I have a beer in front of me and the cricket on my ipad (England vs Australia, although with all due respect to my Aussie friends, it's not much of a contest at the moment).
The weather has been glorious. Maybe a little bit too glorious. Britain is in the middle of a heatwave. I feel sorry for those runners who like to run in the evening. The radiation heat off the pavement built up during the day must be dreadful. Fortunately I run in the morning. It's generally cool although the thermometer has topped out at 20C at 6am which is basically unheard of in the UK. Even so, I've not missed one training run yet which makes a difference from my last marathon where I must have missed about two weeks' worth of running in the 16 week programme.
My runs are getting longer and longer, even in midweek. This week I had to run an 11 mile midweek run which meant me having to get up at 5:15am just to get out of the door by 5:45am. These extra miles have made a noticeable difference though. Normally a long weekend run would seem quite daunting but due to the midweek runs being in double figures mileage-wise the weekend runs are not really much of a deal.
This morning I had to run 18 miles. I had a bit of a hangover (went out for lunch yesterday and then stopped off in a pub on the way home and got sidetracked by a blues festival in our local park which we stopped to watch for a couple of hours with more beers naturally!). My back has also been a bit poorly this week. I have pulled a muscle on the left shoulder blade and it has been annoying me for the last four days. It does that clicking noise every time I rotate my shoulder when I think it should be helping to sort out the pain but probably does nothing at all.
Anyway, I set off this morning on an 18 miler. I had planned a route to take me down to cross Kew Bridge run along the south Thames Path all the way to Putney Bridge, cross over and head back to Ealing via Hammersmith and Chiswick. The first two miles were a bit of a struggle as I had a bit of difficulty finding my pace. Once I did though it clicked. And not just in "Oh this is a nice pace" but in the way that you want to run for ages. You feel like this is the best run you've ever done and what a great day to choose to come out and run along the Thames to see it in the morning when it is at it's best. I ran over Putney Bridge and decided then and there to come back along the north Thames Path to take me back along the Thames to Kew Bridge and home to Ealing. I love those sort of runs and I really feel that it's because of the new training plan that my fitness is greater and why this run felt so great. I'm looking forward to next week's 20 miler. I just have to decide what route I want to take. If I can make it as half as good as this morning's route then I will be one happy camper.
Here's the route map:
The weather has been glorious. Maybe a little bit too glorious. Britain is in the middle of a heatwave. I feel sorry for those runners who like to run in the evening. The radiation heat off the pavement built up during the day must be dreadful. Fortunately I run in the morning. It's generally cool although the thermometer has topped out at 20C at 6am which is basically unheard of in the UK. Even so, I've not missed one training run yet which makes a difference from my last marathon where I must have missed about two weeks' worth of running in the 16 week programme.
My runs are getting longer and longer, even in midweek. This week I had to run an 11 mile midweek run which meant me having to get up at 5:15am just to get out of the door by 5:45am. These extra miles have made a noticeable difference though. Normally a long weekend run would seem quite daunting but due to the midweek runs being in double figures mileage-wise the weekend runs are not really much of a deal.
This morning I had to run 18 miles. I had a bit of a hangover (went out for lunch yesterday and then stopped off in a pub on the way home and got sidetracked by a blues festival in our local park which we stopped to watch for a couple of hours with more beers naturally!). My back has also been a bit poorly this week. I have pulled a muscle on the left shoulder blade and it has been annoying me for the last four days. It does that clicking noise every time I rotate my shoulder when I think it should be helping to sort out the pain but probably does nothing at all.
Anyway, I set off this morning on an 18 miler. I had planned a route to take me down to cross Kew Bridge run along the south Thames Path all the way to Putney Bridge, cross over and head back to Ealing via Hammersmith and Chiswick. The first two miles were a bit of a struggle as I had a bit of difficulty finding my pace. Once I did though it clicked. And not just in "Oh this is a nice pace" but in the way that you want to run for ages. You feel like this is the best run you've ever done and what a great day to choose to come out and run along the Thames to see it in the morning when it is at it's best. I ran over Putney Bridge and decided then and there to come back along the north Thames Path to take me back along the Thames to Kew Bridge and home to Ealing. I love those sort of runs and I really feel that it's because of the new training plan that my fitness is greater and why this run felt so great. I'm looking forward to next week's 20 miler. I just have to decide what route I want to take. If I can make it as half as good as this morning's route then I will be one happy camper.
Here's the route map:
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