January 2015

[marathondan]

Well as January dawns, you find me part way through week 2 of 18, and all going as well as one would expect at such an early stage.

This morning the temperature was back up again, so shorts were the order of the day, and a return to a slip-sliding tempo session around the field. Surface conditions definitely have the biggest effect on speed. Garmin shows that the last mile, mostly back on pavement, was over half a minute faster than the previous ones. Still, it's all about effort, not speed.

So, it must be time to check the stats for the year just gone. It was an interesting, educational, and low volume year, with the first five months missed due to the achilles injury, no races at all, and a full cycle of motivation / demotivation. The picture tells the story. Total for the year 220 miles - less than half my usual target of 500, but decent all things considered.

   

[marathondan]

As the marathon campaign is now underway, it's time to remind any newcomers, the senile, and the downright (and understandably) uninterested, of the ground rules for the training. It's Dan's Plan, the Marathon Manifesto, the Danifesto.

1. The event ("The Event") shall be the London Marathon 2015.

2. The charity shall be Scope, as I have failed to turn up for the last two events that I pledged to fundraise for them.

3. The fundraising target shall be £2000 ("Two Large"). I'm taking an ever-decreasing interest in my career, but let's hope I still have a few well-off and generous contacts. (As an aside: if I make this target, the training runs earn about £25 per hour, which is a nice motivator.)

4. The weekly number of runs shall be three (3). Three shall be the number of runs. Thus the risk of injury shall be maximally mitigated.

5. The runs shall comprise the Interval Session, the Tempo Session and the Long Run.

6. Thus the mantra shall be Less Is More.

7. Runs shall not take place on consecutive days.

8. The training shall not interfere with family life.

9. The following shall be stretched after every run: calves, quads, hamstrings, back.

10. Runs shall be conducted on grass wherever possible. Refer to earlier clause regarding injury mitigation. Notwithstanding, at least one long run shall be conducted on tarmac, to mitigate the condition known as "raw hamburger quads". 

11. In case of achilles problems, apply eccentric loading and massage.

12. The Event shall be conducted in Fancy Dress ("The Humiliation" aka "The Desperate Attention Seeking" aka "I Love It Really"). The form thereof shall be determined at a later date. The purpose of the Fancy Dress shall be to maximise the sponsorship by means of "taking it to the next level". This is easier than the real "taking it to the next level" i.e. trying to run faster.

13. The Training is the hard work. The Event (aka "A Million People Cheering Me All Morning") is the reward.

[marathondan]

Week 2 of 18


Another week in the bag. I ended up doing my long run last night, the first time I've done a night run for a while. Somewhere out there was a full moon, but with cloud and mist all around it was nowhere to be seen. After a few goes round this route, I went without a torch (it never crossed my mind to take one) and even in the short sections of wooded trail I had no problems. 

Well, no problems seeing, plenty of problems staying on my feet. The two fields were slippy, but the interconnecting paths, which I had to negotiate four times on my two figure of 8 laps, were quagmire, ankle-deep in places and requiring an action more akin to ace skating than running at times. At least it's flat.

I covered a bit over 8 miles, plus in effort terms I reckon the conditions were worth an extra 1 or 2. A good sound session, hard on the back though as I struggled with traction, something I'm really going to have to watch this year. I guess that's my longest fully offroad run ever. I'm happy that I've now got a decent offroad circuit in the toolbox which can serve me well for the long runs, although there's a couple of others I've mapped out if I get a chance to try them in daylight. On which note, as I planned my shorter efforts for this week, I realised I'll be able to run at lunchtime for the first time in about 4 months. Which will be nice.

On the audio was episode 260 of marathontalk, another shortened Xmas edition which just consisted of an interview with Rod Dixon. So none of the usual banter, just an hour and a quarter of long-form narrative covering the 72 and 76 Olympics, the 83 NYC marathon, and getting kids running. Nothing too earth-shattering, but a great listen in the car or on a long run.

   

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Be careful! Mrs MCLMM broke her arm last year through running in the dark, and that wasn't off road, either. A head torch wouldn't hurt, and would be useful insurance against mishap, yes?

[marathondan]

Wise words, mate. Although I did find last year that a head torch can be counter-productive - most of the light is just thrown back at you if there's a hint of moisture in the air. Food for thought though.

[Charliecat5]

Wise words, mate. Although I did find last year that a head torch can be counter-productive - most of the light is just thrown back at you if there's a hint of moisture in the air. Food for thought though.

I have started using a head torch and concluded that it's a good job it's dark when you use one as it does make you look a bit of a doofus.  I could also do with one a little more powerful... you know, like a jet pack bit more powerful.  

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I have started using a head torch and concluded that it's a good job it's dark when you use one as it does make you look a bit of a doofus.  

Um well yes, CC, you would look a bit of a doofus using a head torch in the daytime. Although i can understand your confusion given cyclists these days all seem to wear those bright flashy things on their helmets at all times of day and night.

[marathondan]

           

[Sweder]

Making a chicken coop, Dan?

[marathondan]

An avian run of sorts is involved.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Dan Dan the mystery man.

[Sweder]

Dan Dan the mystery man.

Oh, I think I'm onto him ... 

   
Birdman

[Charliecat5]

Dan Dan the mystery man.

Oh, I think I'm onto him ... 


Birdman

I was heading along 'similar' lines... 

   

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Dan Dan the mystery man.

Oh, I think I'm onto him ... 


Birdman

I was heading along 'similar' lines... 

Oh please be along these lines...

[marathondan]

Week 3 of 18

This week I have mostly been struggling with:

1. Traction
2. Back

I got two lunchtime runs in for my interval and tempo sessions, as I am still mercifully client-free at work for a few more weeks. Once they're back, and the runs get up to 4+ miles, it's hard to get out, back and showered within the hour mark.

Despite its reputation as an urban jungle, Bracknell town centre seems to have plenty of mud, if you know where to look. After half a mile or so on pavement, my route takes me across three waterlogged football pitches (which would have been a delight on a Sunday morning) and then a few half-mile laps around the mill pond - which provides more soggy turf, a very short but fun bit of woodland trail, and some short tarmac paths. 

So at the slightest hit of a bend or incline (or worse, a bendy incline) I find myself having to stop to a walk, just to avoid drifting off into a tree, or the incoming traffic exiting the McDonalds drive-thru. I can't decide if all these extra lateral forces are good or bad for me. 

Sunday morning, with a bit of a hangover - it's not often I get the chance to start drinking at 3pm - I dragged myself out before 0800 (the hangover wasn't that bad) and took the same offroad route as last week. It was a bit drier, but still the truly offroad parts were swampy and impossible to cover at anything more than the slowest of plods. It felt like a fairly dreary effort, but the record shows that I finished it 4 minutes faster than last week, which doesn't sound much but is half a minute per mile better. I'll put most of that down to the drier conditions.

I spent most of the day feeling tired and experiencing some nasty back twinges, which is what makes me worry that all this slipping and sliding isn't doing me good. Hopefully the tiredness was mostly down to the hangover, a reminder that I can't get away with that too often.

Maybe this week I'll try and stick to the roads for the speed sessions. On the long run, it doesn't matter if I slow to a walk through the most treacherous bits.

Oh I should mention - it was bloody lovely out on Sunday morning. A light frost on the grass - not enough to freeze the mud - and the sun rising into a clear blue sky. It took me a while to notice because I was looking down at the trail so much. This is probably more important than the times.

   

[marathondan]

Interval session before breakfast this morning. I think "shorts and t-shirt, January, 6am" tells us all we need to know about global warming. It had been raining all night and was still going fairly strong, but I decided to go around the field anyway. A few metres in and I bailed out, skipping over the verge and onto one of my old road routes instead. Over short distances I'd rather pound my joints than slip and pull something.

As sprinting in the dark and rain at 6am goes, it was pretty good, 5 of the 8 intervals (90 sec) coming in under my target of 7 min miling. I know it's not all about the numbers, but... for me it's all about the numbers.

Just noticed that my Asics Gel 1160s will need replacing before race day. They're coming up for 3 years old, although I've had two light years (I could, of course, tell you exactly how many miles they've done). It seems that the current replacement is the GT-1000 (the 1170 has been and gone in the meantime) and they're currently available in everyone's favourite discount sports retailer, Sports Direct.

[Sweder]

Love sprint reps. Those last two in any sequence are real lung-bursters.
Hopefully back to those soon. Off out for my first beachfront plod in a couple of hours ...

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Yes, intervals make a huge difference. Recommend 'em, definitely. Though of course they are best done on a treadmill, or failing that, at a track with a loud, angry coach.

[marathondan]

Tried a new route at lunchtime today for the tempo run. 1 mile on pavement, running round a field (yet again) and then 1 mile back to the office. The field looked nice on Google Earth but I guess that was taken in summer. It turned out to be another swamp, really needing cross country spikes and certainly not suitable for fast pace in road shoes. I managed two laps of the field for a total of 4 miles. The effort level was high, but it didn't feel like running. Still, all grist to the mill.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I hate that feeling when you run through a veritable swamp, all the effort going into just getting out of the gloop will no real speed across the ground.

Still, as you say, all good grist.