3:18:30 - disappointment

Going well until 22 and roght quad went into spasm. Left followed. Stopped, stretched, doused it with water, took ibuprofen and set off again and put 2 good miles in before it kicked in again.

Really disappointed once i knew i was going to miss a pb but glad to have finsihed. Enjoyed running though that great city once the race pressure was off. The last few ks and the section along Unter Den Linden was nice to take in.

Leg still sore and there is some brusing above the right knee. Looks like something went during the race. Was on for about 3:05, maybe 3:10 but lost so much time from 22 onwards.

Poss lack of water? Water stations were only on one side of the road and were a melee. People were pushing and shoving. The water was only in small cups too and it was tough to get enough. I missed some stations cos there was no warning signs and by the time i saw it, i was virtually past and it was easy to decide to wait until the next one. That probably cost me a good time as i was going so very well up to 22. Was on for a huge negative split as the mile splits were dropping fromn about 7:20 at halfway to 6:55 at 21.

Never mind! I think 3:18 with aninjury is not a poor show and you do learn from runs like this. Better make sure i do learn and do better next time...

I have enjoyed the training and feel more tempo runs would have helped. Also enjoyed the race. The distance doesn't scare me now - i'm far more at ease with what is such a tough challenge.

So yeah, i'm a bit down about it, but pleased for Alison (3:20, a pb) and Liz (3:19, also a pb) who both ran so well.

Need to pucker up and move on. Others are doing that, better try not and get left behind. I'd have liked to run sub three but didn't. Sometimes, with running as with anything else you just gotta accept you're just not good enough.

Sniff sniff sniff

5 days to go and sniff sniff sniff. I have a cold. Three months of training and I have a cold. It's not a major one, yet, but God Dammitt... I'm on the vitamin C, zinc, Echinacea, paracetamol and ibuprofen. Oh and multivitamins. And fish oil.

No more running now. I was going to do a few little joggettes, but better not risk it.

I hate the taper. It lasted three weeks for the BG and by the time that came along i just wanted to kiiiiill them all. This is only a week, less even after la santa, but grrrrr....

Time to reflect on the training. That'll help...

Long runs (13M+):

21M - 2:45 - easy run. very very easy, felt lovely and easy and could have easily gone on
20.5M - 2:32 easy paced, about 7:35 pace - great run
20.5M - 2:34 easy paced, about 7:35 pace - great run
18M - road and trail around Tattenhall - steady, hilly, good run
17M - +5M shortly afterwards - Sandstone Trail A
17M - boiling hot, 3:20 - with stops, Howgill fellrun
16M - Sedbergh Hills race - 2:56 of tough fellrunning
16M - road and riverside trail run, felt good
14M - terrible run along the Dee!
13M - Lancaster half - 1:23:04 (short? probably a 1:24/5 run)
13M - Club la Santa Half

That's 11 long runs. Listing them like that makes me feel better. For an already fit runner (I had just come off supporting some BGRs so I was doing OK), 12 weeks is a good build up period for the marathon, so I'm happier.

This marathon has seen more quality work, including regular track sessions. The long runs have been faster than for pervious marathons. There's every reason to expect a pb, cold notwithstanding. But somehow, I feel like beating 3:14:52 is a tough ask.

I think it's because I'm not up for it as much. I was really up for London. I was focussing on it. This time, I want to do well but it's not the same. This could go one of two ways. 1 - i stay relased, unfussed, run cool and calm and conserve energy - have plenty left towards the end and get a cracking time! 2 - When it starts to hurt and you need to dig in and really want it, I don't respond and just canter in with a so-so time.

I think the prospect of a pb and the determination i learned during the BGR will push me on. I hope the atmosphere at Berlin does too.

I'm going to stay positive, relaxed, focussed and go for it - after all, what's the wurst that can happen?!

PS Tune in head - Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful

God loves a Tri-er

Back home and the taper starts here. It's going to have to, because, yes, I'm bloody injured.

I'll make Berlin, no worries there. The injury isn't some sinister tear or fundamenal problem that's pounced late on. This, or should I say they are a collection of bruises, grazes and cuts to my wrist, hip, shoulder and elbow which all combine to be a souvenir of my first triathlon at Club la Santa.

It was thw swim I was dreading, but that passed as an uneventful, if a little slow, 400 metres. The bike, which i'd done well on all week in the road trips and Duathlon, threw me off!! I was climbing hard and the chain slipped across about 2 gears at the back and the jolt was enough to kick me off. I was pushing hard and landed on my hip and elbow with a real thud.

A few Spanish motorists slowed down to have a look as I sat there, realised I wasn't local, and sped off!!! I was hurting, esp the hip. I got up after about 3 mins of shocked sulking and got back on the bike. Meanwhile, Alison was getting further away after kicking my ass in the swim.

The rest of the bike went well, and so did the run - a good training session, with a fast flourish at the end!



The week at La Santa was great. Four good bike sessions, duathlon, triathlon, a good steady half marathon, swimming and stretching.....all good. Just need to heal!

So the taper starts here. 9 days to go. 10 miles on Sunday, a few 5 mile runs and one short speed session and i'm there. In one week's time, it's off to Berlin!

Gute Reise!

A dubious PB and trouble in the sun

Greetings from Club la Santa, Lanzarote!

I should be out in the sun, catching some rays and living it up! Why aren't I then? Well cos I'm an idiot and after 2 days of biking, swimming, running (and crazy golf!) the heat has really got to me. Sitting drinking water with a 140 bpm heart rate aint good. Sunstroke i think... :-(

The idea of this break was to put in a good final burst of training before coming home and tapering for 10 days pre Berlin. The first two days were great, lots of swimming in the Olympic pool, 2 fabulous bike rides through the volcano strewn wastes of Lanzarote and some efforts on the track. Even pilates found its way into my world and I loved it´- chilled me out and stretched bits i didn't know i had.

But today is a day off. A sports massage (this place really does have everything) and a stretch class and that's about it (apart from Crazy Golf, obviously). It just feels like all the training and stupid stresses of work and life are all catching up with me. Whatever happens at Berlin, I think I need to change and stop becoming so stressed. For now, it's time to reflect on the training and build some confidence.

And recently the omens have been good. 1:23:04 for a dubiously short half marathon at Lancaster is still a good return. I suspect it equated to a 1:25 run, which is good going on already tired legs.

Tomorrow i'm doing a duathlon (run, bike, run) and then a half marathon after that - a training run really as it's too hot to go for a time. Then a mini triathlon before coming home and I should be ready.

Here's hoping....

w/c 25 August - loadsamiles

I think this is the most miles I've ever run in a week, about 75.

I feel OK, although it's clear that i wouldn't race too well on these legs right now. I guess this is the peak week and I should be feeling like a fitter and faster runner. But I don't. I feel tired, always hungry (and craving crap food) and slow. My long run, a two-phased 23 mile off road effort was sluggish wihout being difficult, and i'm finding that mile one doesn't feel as fresh and easy as it normally does. The good thing is, mile 20-odd feels the same, not much worse, so I guess a good long rest will have be bursting to run well with bags of endurance.

It's the Lancaster Half Marathon on Sunday. I really want to do well, perhaps more than in any race for a while. The last big goal was the BGR, which wasn't a race. Since then, i've enjoyed doing various races but I've never really done one that really mattered to me like this. I really think I'm out of practice. Racing is itself an art. I've trained plenty, done loadsamiles and mixed up the speedwork and long miles, but there's been precious little racing and now's the time to add that particular bit of the jigsaw.

The Lancaster Half is a bit of a landmark. I don't know what to aim for at Berlin. This will help me work that out. If I am to realistically aim at sub 3, i need to be well under 1:25. We'll see...

Training:

Monday - 11 miles, easy
Tuesday - 9.5 miles, 2 figure of eights at Burwardsley. Ran well
Weds - 8 miles at the track. 5 * 1km, all about 3:43, with last one a bit quicker. Good even pace, good speed endurance, felt really good.
Thurs - 11 miles, easy paced run with running club. Felt a bit tired
Fri - 10.5 miles - easy paced run
Sat - rest
Sun - 23 miles - 18 miles on the Sandstone trail, 1900' climbing and then an easy 5 miles with Ian on Steve's feb treasure hunt. Tired and slow from mile one, but kept on chugging and really quite enjoyed an autumnal run on the trails.

Summary - 75 miles, really tired after all that. 6 runs.

Tune in head - The Chain, Fleetwood Mac (dummmmm, dum dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!)

w/c 18 August -- Hurty legs

I never never never never seem to learn

2 months of roadrunning was never going to equip me for a long, tough fellrace. Despite running well at Sedbergh, my legs were sore as hell for 4 days afterwards, putting paid to any chance of quality this week. I still got the mileage in, but the quality of my training has suffered because I indulged myself a fellrace. The lesson is that tough fellraces and tough roadrunning training do not mix. I knew this but find myself relearning it, which i'm not happy about.

I missed the Capenhurst 5k on Weds cos it just hurt to much, so I did an easy 9M instead. I couldn't run hard on Tuesday or Thursday as I usually do. OK I got some mileage in, but I'm not happy at missing out on the type of trsaining that's going to get me moving fast around that marathon course.

The good news is that the long run, this time on Friday because of weekend commitments, went very well. An easy paced 21 miles with no hint of difficulty whatsoever. I've done the 20 milers fairly quick, but decided to ease back on this one and get some time out. So I dawdled, took in the smells and sights of the Tattenhall countryside, through in some strides, jogged a bit at times and just ran free and easy and without any effort. 21 miles doesn;t sound like it should be easy but it was.

The next long run will be harder. I'm going to do 22M, with the last 8M at or close to goal pace (about 7 min/mile) and the first 14M at abour 7.30. That'll tell me something, as will the Lancaster Half the week after that. Sub 1:25 is the goal....

Monday - 3M - loops around Marford quarry. Very slow, very sore legs after Sedbergh
Tuesday - 7M - easy run with Dave S and Alison off road. Legs really sore, esp quads. The run felt better as I went along, but it was slow
Weds - 9M - Run from home to Marford quarry. 7 * 0.8M loops very slow and very wet around Marford. Legs still very sore. It's clear my legs aren't in fellrunning mode
Thurs - 9M - off road with the club, again slow, but with some faster efforts. Ran well towards the end on the road.
Fri - 21M - Ran more slowly this time - averaged 7.50 min/mile and ran really within myself. Felt like I could have gone more quickly and kept going at the end. all about time on my feet on the roads. Ran for 2:44 and it really did feel easy. Mile 21 felt like mile 1 - a really good sign.
Sat - rest
Sun - 4M - easy jog up north at A's folks.

Totals: 6 runs, 53 miles.

Tune in head - I am a Rock, Simon and Garfunkel. :)

w/c 11 August - at last, some legache...

Before I started training for this marathon, I associated marathon training with having sore and tired legs every Monday. Funnily enough, I've not had that feeling this time around - well not until this week.

After the 20 mile road runs, I felt tired but not sore like I often did when training for the BGR. I put this down to being a bit stronger this time around generally, and also by virtue of the fact that I was mixing rest and training without too many junk miles.

So I lined up on the start line of the Sedbergh Hills race on Sunday feeling confident that I was in good shape with plenty of endurance, but slightly worried about the lack of climbing in my training (this race has 6000 feet of climbing in its 16 miles). I decided to do this race because I wanted to 'treat myself' to a long, classic fellrace during a campaign focussed on roadrunning.

It was wet, misty and windy; muddy underfoot in places and just plain tough. I ran 2 mins slower than last year when I had all the BGR climbing in my legs, and 5 mins slower than 2 years ago when i trained for this race specifically with climbing and a good taper. Weirdly tho, I think I ran just as well. I struggled with the climbing more than i would have liked and found the early stages tough but as the race went on and the ground improved, I got got quicker and quicker and finished strongly. It seems like the endurance and running speed is good, but the climbing is not surprisingly lacking.

It's Monday today and my legs bloody hurt. So do my arms and back. And body. Descending the stairs is a bit of a laugh. Still, it's strangely satisfying. It reminds me of the BGR training days: all sore legs and getting stronger by the week. Which begs the question:

Q: If this is the first time I've felt like this during this training programme, have I been training hard enough to really improve?

A: Yes, it's been smart training, with good mileage, good paced long runs, plenty of quality mileage and rest. This approach carries less risk of injury and a good build up for the last 6 weeks of training. I can pick it up now and put in a big 3/4 weeks and enjoy a good taper.

or

A: No, to improve significantly, which is the aim, I need to push harder than I ever have before. Right now, I'm going through the motions and am set to run a similar time to last time. I need to up the ante and pick it up.

Both are right, which means I've done OK so far but have 6 weeks to make it all count.

This week's training:

Monday - Rest, rest, rest
Tuesday - 8M, efforts on Maiden Castle and closed XC loop - really tough session
Weds - 5M track, 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m - all at 80 sec laps or quicker. Ran really well.
Thurs - 5M, took Trev's group, ran slowly with a couple of efforts in the middle
Fri - 7M, hilly route up to Llay, ran brisk pace 6.30 pace on the flat, 7.30 on the climb
Sat - 0 miles, planned to run, but got glued to the Olympics! Certain irony there - was not training cos I was watching people who trained instead of watching TV
Sun - Sedbergh Hills, 16M, 6000' ascent, 2:58. Happy to break 3hrs in those conditions but slower than last time despite strong last third.

Totals - 41M, 5 runs, 3 quality runs (inc 1 bloody tough fell race).

Song in head - Road to Nowhere, Talking Heads. Got me up that git of a climb on the Calf during the fell race. All good - better than bloody Toto.