January 2012

[marathondan]

Kicked off the new year's running tonight with 9.4 miles, five and a half laps around the green. I can see it's gonna get soul destroying when I'm knocking out 10 or more of those. A lonely half moon kept safe watch over me, and the conditions underfoot were greasy to say the least, which I'm sure added a mile or so to the equivalent effort. Marathon Talk podcast included the first half of an interview with the legendary Steve Jones, still holder of the British marathon record after a couple of decades.

PS - kept track of which lap I was on by changing water bottle every other lap. Overdid the hydration and had to stop for a couple of comfort breaks. The good thing about running at night in an unlit field is that you don't have to bother to find a bush. Very liberating.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Someone sent me that Steve Jones link a couple of weeks ago. A legend indeed, from a golden age of marathon running.

I vaguely remember him running the first half of one of his marathons in 1 hours 3 minutes (don't think it was the world record breaking one).
Well ahead of his time, as were his contemporaries Lopes, De Castela etc...

Good luck with the new marathon campaign, I'll be following it!

[Bierzo Baggie]

Just had to do a bit of research and it was even more amazing than i thought.

Chicago 1985
Jones , keen to reclaim the world record Carlos Lopes had taken from him, recorded a first half marathon split in 61:43. Absolutely crazy.

He finished the race in 2 07:13, one second outside the record.

He wasn't wearing a watch and i've a feeling that there wasn't even a time displayed over the finishing line......

Oh, and he raced on a diet of coca cola, meat pies and the occasional crafty fag....

[Sweder]

That Rocky music is excellent isn't it? Must add some to my iPlod for speedwork/ Fartlek sessions.

[marathondan]

Chicago 1985
Jones , keen to reclaim the world record Carlos Lopes had taken from him, recorded a first half marathon split in 61:43. Absolutely crazy.

He finished the race in 2 07:13, one second outside the record.

I heard that in one of his marathon victories he ran the first half at 1:55 marathon pace - so even faster than the above.

In the interview he flatly stated that he wasn't at all bothered about missing the record by 1 second. So long as he beat De Castela he was happy.

Download the interview (marathontalk.com - episodes 100 and 101) - skip past the other bits of the show if you like. Interesting stuff.

[marathondan]

Week 3 of 18
Lunar phase: waxing gibbous, full moon Sunday

A step-back week, with the long run only 6 miles.

Tuesday night: 3 miles intervals round the green (of which about 1K was warmup). I’ve split up my circuit into intervals of around 450-600m, with about 400m recovery, using features such as path junctions and the dead tree as markers. This gives me 5 sprints if, as tonight, I include the pavement section home as a sprint as well.

Very greasy underfoot, increasing the effort level no doubt. Despite a generously gibbous moon sailing through the patchy cloud, for a speedwork session I found it necessary to use the head torch, to help me stick to (or rather keep to the side of) the muddy dog-walker tracks. I seem to prefer running without the artificial light: with the torch, the eyes don’t adjust to the dark and you end up with eerie tunnel vision, reminiscent of a chase scene from a cheap slasher flick (my own rasping breath doesn’t help with that image, either). Running by natural light, no matter how poor, seems more peaceful and balanced.

Thursday night: two and a half laps at tempo pace, which for me means putting in some effort, but at a level that’s sustainable for some time. Hard work, but good miles in the bag.

Sunday night: three and a half laps at easy pace. Pretty comfortable, and I got the familiar and reassuring sensation that by the time it was over I was only just warming up. A beautiful, clear, mild night under the full moon, no need for the torch, the lightest of mists hovering a few feet above the turf, hedgrerows and trees picked out in silver. Conditions underfoot had dried out somewhat and were much more comfortable that earlier in the week, except for a lot of deep hoof prints. On the audio, the second half of the Steve Jones interview.

This coming week the tempo run increases to 6 miles, which adds a whole extra lap. That’s going to be a hard session, which will hopefully do me some good. I need to pick some high octane sounds to keep me moving. The long ‘un will be 11 miles, which will start to try my boredom threshold, and my new watch will be arriving, so prepare for a splitfest statfest.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

...and my new watch will be arriving, so prepare for a splitfest statfest.

Huzzah! ... RC is getting really interesting now! Good work Dan!

[marathondan]

Week 4 of 18
Lunar phase: waning gibbous, last quarter Sunday

Tuesday: with all evenings booked up this week, I tried a new canalside route at lunchtime, increasing my list of Canals On Whose Towpaths I Have Run to:

1. Grand Union Canal
2. Basingstoke Canal
3. Er...
4. That’s it.

No. 2 on the list is a short game of Dual Carriageway Chicken away from my new place of employment. It’s a very pleasant, leafy stretch of water, and as you get out of town you encounter some waterside properties which, judging by their size, are probably quite nondescript from the front, but boast party-worthy gardens and an impressive array of boathouses, jetties, decks and all-weather gazebos at the back.

The footpath turned out to be tarmac, rather harder on my joints than I was hoping, but I don’t expect to do this run very often. One and a half miles out and back took me, coincidentally, to the all-weather running track at Woking Athletics Club, but I don’t think there’s any possibility of my using that on a casual basis, other than by scaling the security fence - which could count as cross-training of course.

As for the run: three miles fartlek, hard going, it’s nice when you stop; always the possibility to go faster; I can feel it doing me good.

Friday: unusually, my second daylight run of the week. After dropping Emma at preschool, I headed up to the green for 3.5 laps at tempo pace. I always find running in daylight harder – maybe I’m somehow more aware of how slow I’m going – and this was always going to be a hard slog, at a slightly faster than comfortable pace. After a decent frost the ground was relatively firm, the sky was clear, the air crisp – perfect conditions. I shared the green with post-school-run, Barbour-and-welly clad mums walking the family pooch (invariably a black lab), and a couple of girls gently exercising horses in the opposite direction to me.

Audio accompaniment was a hastily-assembled playlist of uptempo tunes intended to prevent my pace from flagging. Over and over, to a comical extend, I was bombarded with 80s chart rock – apparently this is the mainstay of my musical taste; who knew?. But it did the trick, many a nostalgic smile spurring me on, and the hour or so went relatively quickly.

Track du jour: this came on with about a mile to go, finally ending the relentless 80s onslaught, and turned out to have the perfect tempo run cadence. The feelgood imagery was just right for a winter’s day, and it brought a huge smile to my face as I kicked for home: Beach Boys, Surfin’ USA.

Meanwhile, activity has continued in the brewhouse over the festive period, with the junior brewing assistants making themselves useful.

[Bierzo Baggie]

That's a great brewing blogspot you've got there Dan!

Just to say I'm enjoying reading your tidy, step by step approach to the big day. I've always thought that the classic marathon is the one race that really deserves to be taken seriously...

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Which (maybe all?) of those wines, beers and ciders are you using in training? Which has been most effective? And which ones will you take with you into the marathon?

That IS the plan, isn't it?

[El Gordo]

Tut tut. Drink is the curse of the devil himself.

[marathondan]

Which (maybe all?) of those wines, beers and ciders are you using in training? Which has been most effective? And which ones will you take with you into the marathon?

That IS the plan, isn't it?

I'm thinking a camelbak loaded with still cider. Sparkling cider would be a ridiculous idea, obviously.

Marathon training has given me a taste for delayed gratification: the wines take around 18 months (at least) from start to finish. And even then, there may not be much gratification involved.

Will show the kids how to make beer sometime in the next few weeks. Practical life skills and all that.

[marathondan]

Sunday: 11 miles easy pace. Tucked the girls into bed and then headed out into the night. "Don't forget your head torch" said Emma (3). Nice to see them taking an interest. I did pack the head torch in my rucksack but expected it to be unnecessary with a half moon due. I'd also packed ski gloves and woolly hat in addition to my normal gloves and cap, expecting the temperature to drop during the course of the evening.

A slightly milder frost was forecast for the night, so I guess it was around zero when I set out. It was a clear and starry night, but the promised moon was nowhere to be seen - later research showed that moonrise wasn't due until around midnight; another column needed on my spreadsheet.

Rucksack stowed in a hedgerow, I decided to go without the torch. It was noticeably darker than last week, and for a lot of the run I was blind to exactly what was beneath my feet. After several frosts, the muddy trail had fully hardened, and at last I could follow the path without risk of slipping. I think it's the first time I've run this field that my shoes haven't gained mass. My eyes gradually adjusted to the dark, and I could gain some sense of where the track led - adjustments then being made by feel, as the sensation underfoot changed from the rustle of frosty grass to the crunch of frozen mud. And even in the dark, I pretty much know these paths like the back of my hand now.

Overall it was pretty comfortable; again Marathontalk followed by feelgood tunes making the time pass quickly. The temperature had indeed dropped noticeably by the end, and had I stayed out any longer I would have upgraded to the thicker gloves.

I tried out the new watch - it's just a watch, nothing fancy - but it does record split times, which is a novelty for me. Overall time was equivalent to 4:10 marathon pace, a little slower than my usual training pace but not very much. I wonder whether I should schedule a couple of my long runs on tarmac, just to make sure I'm reacquainted with the feel of the hard stuff before race day.

[Antonio247]

It must be hard to train so late , in very cold weather, in the dark and doing 11 miles, that is, a half marathon alone. It is really amazing, Dan.

By the way, which watch did you get? I´m interested in getting one which is not too difficult to use.

Best of luck with your marathon training, Dan!

[marathondan]

By the way, which watch did you get? I´m interested in getting one which is not too difficult to use.

Thanks for the good wishes Antonio.

I got this watch. It's not particularly high quality (hence the price) - for instance I wonder what will happen if the strap wears out, as it is moulded to the watch - but it does the basic job well. It can record up to 60 split times, which you can then review after your run. So good enough even for a marathon measured in km.

It's also smaller than I expected, so if you like a big manly watch then it's not for you.

[Antonio247]

By the way, which watch did you get? I´m interested in getting one which is not too difficult to use.

Thanks for the good wishes Antonio.

I got this watch. It's not particularly high quality (hence the price) - for instance I wonder what will happen if the strap wears out, as it is moulded to the watch - but it does the basic job well. It can record up to 60 split times, which you can then review after your run. So good enough even for a marathon measured in km.

It's also smaller than I expected, so if you like a big manly watch then it's not for you.

Thanks a lot, Dan. Muchas gracias.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I'm thinking a camelbak loaded with still cider. Sparkling cider would be a ridiculous idea, obviously.

A kind of runners' scrumpy? Excellent!!

Will show the kids how to make beer sometime in the next few weeks. Practical life skills and all that.

Good man. Look forward to reading about the first kiddy brew. I suggest you start them on milk stout and dark ales. Always a hit with the young 'uns.

[marathondan]

Good man. Look forward to reading about the first kiddy brew. I suggest you start them on milk stout and dark ales. Always a hit with the young 'uns.

Those sound a bit advanced for me yet. (For brewing I mean. I'm more of an expert at drinking them.) I'm still at the basic bitter stage. But I think the way to go is novelty ales, interesting to drink in their own right, but which won't provoke comparison with commercial brews of unattainable quality. So I'm planning to make a double batch of bitter, half to remain standard, half to be individually flavoured in bottles with experimental ingredients (apple, ginger, cinnamon, raisins, etc) to try and hit upon a quirky taste.

Talking of hits with the young 'uns, it's become apparent from the "country wines" I've been making that these are essentially fermented cane sugar flavoured with other ingredients, such as fruits or flowers. The alcohol is very much coming from the cane sugar, straight out of a packet. Which makes me wonder what you'd get if you didn't bother adding the flavourings... alcopops, I guess. Add some blue food colouring and you could probably make a tidy profit selling it outside the gates of a senior school...

[marathondan]

Week 5 of 18
Lunar phase: waning crescent; new moon Sunday (when I'll be out for 12 miles)

Wednesday - having said I won't do this route very often, the lunchtime canal session is remarkably convenient and I found myself out there again this week, and probably will do for weeks to come.

A 10 degree rise in temperature overnight dismissed any concerns of being underdressed. With a watch I was able to make this a proper timed interval session, which I think worked well. I opted for 90s sprints with 90s recovery, which felt just about right. Of course, you can make the session as hard or easy as you like, depending on the speed of the sprint. But maybe next week I'll add an extra 10 seconds to the sprint, to make it a little harder psychologically.

[marathondan]

Slidy Friday - back to the green for a late night tempo session. The mild spell and on-off rain had made the surface slicker than a week ago, although not quite back to quagmire levels. No moon or stars in evidence, but as ever the gentle glow of the suburban sprawl was enough to light my way well enough, so didn't bother with the torch.

Emma has taken delight in pressing the buttons on my watch and somehow changed the split display, so I wasn't able to view my splits en route, but afterwards was pleased to discover my offroad tempo splits in the 3.30 - 3.45 marathon pace range. Of course 3.45 is my target time for the whole damn 26.2 miles, so I will have to improve on that in the next 3 months - but that speed will come. I also kept up the pace for the short pavement journey back home, and unning on tarmac is like running on a moving travelator after muddy grass.

Was chased by a big dog in the pitch dark towards the end of the circuits; I spent some time fumbling with the headtorch which was wrapped around my wrist before finally illuminating the beast. Shortly afterwards his owner, some 50 yards away, lit up too and called the hound to order. Not too worried about rogue canines, so long as I can see them.

TdJ: Bullet for my Valentine - Your Betrayal