January 2012

[marathondan]

Just back from 12 a bit miles round the green. The going was a little soft but not too bad. A new moon, but the stars were out and at around 5C the temperature was pleasant in cap and gloves.

On the audio was an interview with Bruce Tulloh; I really do recommend you give this one a listen - as it was the Christmas show there was none of the usual guff, just the interview. Highlights included winning the 1959 AAA 3 miles barefoot, bemoaning the introduction of t-shirts leading to slower training (you run faster in a singlet because it's colder), and breaking the record for the 3,000 mile run across the USA (66 days, since you ask) despite a crippling injury in the first couple of days. Some great things to say about old-school training, barefoot running (and that it might not be suitable for those of us not blessed with an 8 stone frame) and how modern easy living leads to poorer runners. And that 3,000 mile run.

This was followed up with one of the most surreal podcasts around (I've made it to frame 3 so far) and then a few choons to bring me home. The run was comfortable and I managed to up the pace for the last mile or two.

A couple of surreal moments:

1. After stopping to a walk and looking down to fiddle with my mp3 player for about 30 seconds. I looked up, and found myself wandering around in the middle of field, at night - what's the hell was going on? Oh yeah.

2. Towards the end of the run, my body clock befuddled by an unnatural late-night drip-feed of endorphins / adrenaline, and the landscape bathed in that pale glow of distant neon, I reflected that it could just as easily be shortly before dawn as 11 at night.

The nocturnal field is becoming a strange and pleasant home for me.

TdJ: Whitesnake, Rough An' Ready

PS - 3 months today till the marathon.

[Sweder]

Do you struggle to sleep after your late night outings? I find the endorphins hang about a bit after a run.
8 stone frame you say? I reckon my frame's about 8 stone. Then there's the filling ....

[marathondan]

Yes, it's not ideal. I got home about 11, but after the obligatory recovery snack (cold roast potatoes and Daddies sauce, followed by oat cereal and extra raisins), cup of tea, surf of RC and shower, it was about 00:20 by the time I hit the sack. I can probably cope wiith that once a week, but no more.

[Bierzo Baggie]

and how modern easy living leads to poorer runners.

I’d agree with that.

How else do you explain how nobody’s got near that Steve Jones record in the last 25 years? And that more people seemed to get under 3 hours in the 1980s than they do now.

The nocturnal field is becoming a strange and pleasant home for me.

Like it.

[marathondan]

How else do you explain how nobody’s got near that Steve Jones record in the last 25 years? And that more people seemed to get under 3 hours in the 1980s than they do now.

He also made the point that, as western levels of affluence have improved, there's no financial motivation to excel at sport. A talented working-class athlete no longer needs a route out of a humdrum or difficult existence. But in Kenya that's still very much the case.

[Bierzo Baggie]

How else do you explain how nobody’s got near that Steve Jones record in the last 25 years? And that more people seemed to get under 3 hours in the 1980s than they do now.

He also made the point that, as western levels of affluence have improved, there's no financial motivation to excel at sport. A talented working-class athlete no longer needs a route out of a humdrum or difficult existence. But in Kenya that's still very much the case.

But athletics was never much of a career opportunity anyway. SJ was probably one of the first long distance runners to make big bucks, but only by relocating to the States. Steve Jones, David Bedford, Peter Elliott, Jack Holden (who? look him up) Sweder's mate Sam Lambourne, ... I suspect these guys just had a higher pain threshold from the very start. I'm not convinced that the African athletes are superior for purely physiological reasons.

Must listen to that Bruce Tulloh interview...

Just found a great little clip of Tipton's finest...click on the pic below, i can't seem to embed it.

[marathondan]

Week 6 of 18
Lunar phase: waxing crescent; first quarter next Monday

Wednesday: another 3 miles intervals along the canal at lunchtime. I increased the sprints to 1:40 with 1:30 recoveries. Next week I add an extra mile.

Saw a great houseboat named "Flattery" - presumably the owners aren't planning to travel far in it.

[El Gordo]

I listened to the Tulloh podcast the other day while out for a longish walk. Enjoyed it a lot, and would recommend it to others. Leading on from the economic argument alluded to above, he (ex-teacher) opines rather mischievously that Tory governments tend to coincide with golden periods in British athletics. I've dipped into the Marathon Talk podcasts here and there, but I haven't quite engaged with them fully. It's not that I don't like the affable chaps, and they certainly have credibility (which can be a drawback with podcasts). I think it's because I'm not in a marathon groove myself just at the moment, so I feel slightly excluded from much of the banter. But I will return to it.

Current podcast fare? I'm still in my Ben Greenfield phase. It shares the same manly guitar lick intro as MT, but they don't have much else in common. I would totally understand people finding BG annoying, but for me, just at the moment, it's right. I like the high energy format (mainly Q & A) and the unpredictability. The guy himself is an elite triathlete and actually wins Ironmans. Full of interesting opinions about nutrition, gym workouts, weight loss, stretching, lifestyle, equipment, running technique... it's a format that works well for me, and the length - 1 to 1.5 hours is ideal for the gym.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Steve Jones and Australia's Robert de Castella (from whom Jones took the world record) are in similar boats. As BB said, no-one in their respective countries have really come close to breaking their records in a quarter of a century. Here in Australia, the typical fastest marathon time by an Aussie each year is about 2h14, and no Australian has come even close to touching Deek's record.

Meanwhile in pretty much all other areas of athletics the record progression continues, with hardly any records being more than a handful of years old.

I'd love to know why marathon is the exception, although in this country it seems to be just the men. I believe the women's times are still improving. What's going on here?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

To put things in perspective, here's a mind-numbing fact: of the 400 fastest ever mens' marathon times recorded, 349 of them were run by Kenyans or Ethiopians!

A further 31 were from Morocco...

Only 8 were run by U.S. runners, 4 were run by Steve Jones and 3 by Aussies.

I think that says something!

Gleaned from this website.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

One more interesting piece and I'll let you have your thread back (sorry Dan!!)...

This astonishing piece about yesterday's Dubai marathon:
___________________________
(27-Jan) -- Today's 13th edition of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon was anything but unlucky, as extraordinarly fast results for both men and women broke many records for speed and depth.

In the men's race, Ethiopia's Ayele Abshero clocked a course record 2:04:23 to become history's fifth-fastest man under any conditions, and the fourth-fastest on a record-quality course. Behind him, compatriots Dino Sefir (2:04:50) and Markos Geneti (2:04:54) and Kenya's Jonathan Maiyo (2:04:56) also broke 2:05 making the Dubai race the first ever where four men broke 2:05 on a record-quality course (four broke 2:05 on Boston's point-to-point and downhill course last year, also).

But that was just the tip of the pyramid. Going down the finish order, eight men broke 2:06 (a world record), and 13 broke 2:08 (another world record), and best times for place were set for fourth through seventh. A finish time of 2:12:19 was only good for 20th place, well outside the ten-deep prize money list.

Results in the women's race were similarly impressive. Ethiopia's Aselefech Mergia won the race for the second time, clocking a course and national record 2:19:31. Indeed, Mergia became the first Ethiopian women to run under 2:20. Behind her, Kenya's Lucy Kabuu --who competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games as "Lucy Wangui"-- clocked 2:19:34 in her debut, while Ethiopia's Mare Dibaba also went under the previous national record in 2:19:52. Those three women became the first ever to run sub-2:20 in the same race.

Down the finish order, six women broke 2:22 (world record), eight broke 2:24 (another world record) and ten broke 2:26.

Both Abshero and Mergia earned first place prizes of USD 250,000, the largest first place prizes in all of marathon running.
__________________________________________

And to think a few years ago an acquaintance of mine was killing himself training three times a day to get his marathon time down to 2h34 in order to win the local marathon with its $600 prize money! (He didn't make it - he got injured a couldn't even start).

By the way, that was Abshero's first marathon!

[marathondan]

I believe that every major men's marathon around the world in 2011 was won by a Kenyan. (No, not the same one). And I think there were around 20 Kenyan men who achieved the GB Olympic qualifying standard (which is 2:12). Kenya have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to their marathon squad, but they seem to have dithered with their selection, and may end up with the London marathon being a head-to-head selection decider - which could leave their chosen runners less than 100% fresh for the Olympics.

Regarding records, of course the big question for the men is whether anyone will every go sub-2. Personally I don't see why not, although it might take another 50 years or so. For the women, it seems increasingly remarkable to have a European holding onto the world record. But it looks like that might stand for a few more years yet.

Anyway, back to us real runners. I knocked out 6 miles at tempo pace on Friday night, around the field, which is getting slippery again. All grist to the effort mill and all that. I found a way to keep my leggings clean - wear shorts. The crescent moon dipped in and out of wispy cloud but there was a good showing of stars; I guess the temperature was around 4 or 5 C. I think I put in a decent level of effort, although of course it's always possible to go harder. I'm at a good base level of fitness now, so I need to really make these sessions count. The old ankle seems absolutely fine, so I might start throwing in the odd road session to begin acclimatisation.

TdJ: Green Day - Church on Sunday. An all-time favourite song, with perfect cadence for a hard pace, and coming just at the right time in the last lap.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I believe that every major men's marathon around the world in 2011 was won by a Kenyan.

Well the Ethiopians certainly put that right yesterday

For the women, it seems increasingly remarkable to have a European holding onto the world record. But it looks like that might stand for a few more years yet.

Maybe there's something Paula's not telling us. Anyone seen her birth certificate?

TdJ: Green Day - Church on Sunday. An all-time favourite song,

Good choice, good run!

[Bierzo Baggie]

One more interesting piece and I'll let you have your thread back (sorry Dan!!)...

Not so fast....

Those times are truly astonishing.

But away from the world class athletes and going back to the marathon boom in the 80s, how do you explain that there were probably fewer people into running and so many more getting under 3 hours?

My uncle used to run the Wolverhampton marathon between 2:50 and 3 hours. Now this was a city marathon with a field of a few hundred and I remember plenty of people used to finish ahead of him (perhaps 100 or so?)
A couple of years ago they staged the race again for the first time since the 90s. His best mid-1980s time would have given him third place!

In the western countries over the gruelling marathon distance I'd say that everybody (except Paula Ratcliffe) is running slower than they were 25 years ago (elite athletes, club runners, fun runners...) I've got the same build as my uncle but no way would I ever push myself to the limits that he did!

[marathondan]

I believe that every major men's marathon around the world in 2011 was won by a Kenyan.

Well the Ethiopians certainly put that right yesterday

Indeed. It'll be interesting to see if he can do anything at the Olympics. Anything less than a clean sweep for Kenya would be a surprise.

[marathondan]

In the western countries over the gruelling marathon distance I'd say that everybody (except Paula Ratcliffe) is running slower than they were 25 years ago (elite athletes, club runners, fun runners...) I've got the same build as my uncle but no way would I ever push myself to the limits that he did!

Hmm, OK, so if I hopped into my DeLorean and went back to 1985, would I be running faster, and if so, why? Maybe running was considered a more serious sport, and so if I had got into it, there would be more peer pressure to achieve? The chances are though that if there was more pressure to achieve, I would have stuck to tiddlywinks instead.

[glaconman]

In the western countries over the gruelling marathon distance I'd say that everybody (except Paula Ratcliffe) is running slower than they were 25 years ago (elite athletes, club runners, fun runners...) I've got the same build as my uncle but no way would I ever push myself to the limits that he did!

Hmm, OK, so if I hopped into my DeLorean and went back to 1985, would I be running faster, and if so, why? Maybe running was considered a more serious sport, and so if I had got into it, there would be more peer pressure to achieve? The chances are though that if there was more pressure to achieve, I would have stuck to tiddlywinks instead.

Analysis like THIS tells you how things have changed. It seems to be the number of people between 20-40 that take the sport seriously that's declined. What are they all doing instead?

[Bierzo Baggie]

My uncle used to run the Wolverhampton marathon between 2:50 and 3 hours. Now this was a city marathon with a field of a few hundred and I remember plenty of people used to finish ahead of him (perhaps 100 or so?)
A couple of years ago they staged the race again for the first time since the 90s. His best mid-1980s time would have given him third place!

Analysis like THIS tells you how things have changed. It seems to be the number of people between 20-40 that take the sport seriously that's declined. What are they all doing instead?

There's no doubt about it in my mind. In the UK (and elsewhere? ...Europe? the US?) everybody's running a lot slower than 25 years ago, for whatever reasons. In Spain we're probably talking about a shorter timespan, but the tendency is the same. More people are running, but almost everybody is running slower. In El Bierzo local hero Chus Alonso is still finishing in the top 3 in many races and he's just turned 50! Most of the new runners who are coming through still can't keep up with the old guy.

Now this is not altogether a bad thing as more people are getting involved in all sorts of athletic events and that can't be bad can it? But I'm still not convinced that the African athlete dominates solely because his/her calf muscles are smaller and more compact or whatever the theory was. I'm sure that socio-economic reasons are at least as relevent and Bruce Tulloch seemed to suggest the same.

[marathondan]

Sunday - last run of the month, 9 miles step back easy pace around the field. Completely overcast, but I know the paths well enough now to not need a torch. The going is getting really sticky again and my road shoes gained a few pounds over the course; also there are some deep hoof prints which are occasionally testing my ankles.

I was chased by the big dog again - I guess his owner was around somewhere - he (the dog) doesn't seem to want to catch me, just hang back about 10 yards so I can hear his panting and footsteps. This does tend to quicken the pace somewhat, although I'm not worried about him now. Fine until next time it's some escaped rabid mutt, abandoned after a Dangerous Dogs Act prosecution, and I don't realise until it's too late.

Talking of predators, I also saw a couple of blokes with a bird of prey. They set it off, replete with reflector, for a little flight just as I plodded past. Given the hour, I guess it was an owl.

Audio was Marathontalk again; it was their second birthday episode so had put together a best-of compilation of interview clips. A couple stood out for me:

1. A reminder of the Steve Jones definition of a marathon: a 10K race with a 20 mile warmup.

2. The story of Liz McColgan's 1991 New York marathon. She'd just won the 10,000m world championship, and a couple of the world's best marathon runners (Ethiopians I think) were asked at a press conference whether they thought she could move up to the marathon - answer no. The race director rang her and mentioned this, so she cancelled her rest period, rocked up in New York 6 weeks later and won her debut marathon.

Post-run snack (me, not Liz): leftover roast veggies (mostly sweet potato).

January total: 13 runs, 86 miles

[stillwaddler]

The Owl Flyers weren't wearing Hogwart's uniforms I take it?? When I lived in Norfolk the locals used to tell of huge black ghost dog who would follow people along the cliffs at night - be afraid, be very afraid