March 2012

[marathondan]

Week 11 continued...

Friday - another tempo slog around the muddy field, this time in dense morning fog. My splits were more even - in other words, I probably didn't try as hard. I never really enjoy the tempo runs while I'm doing them - I try to maintain a somewhat uncomfortable pace - but in these conditions, in road shoes, they're really no fun at all. Still, it's all grist to the mill, and I feel that this is one of the most productive sessions - an hour or more outside my comfort zone.

TdJ (for the sentiment as much as the driving beat): Metallica, The Frayed Ends of Sanity

Sunday - struck out around 7.30pm for 18 road miles, with the minimum temperature forecast for 3C.

Main audio distraction was the usual Marathontalk podcast, including Part 1 of a decent interview with Steve Cram. His words "in athletics you'll get found out; you can't just turn up on the day and hope it will come right" rang long in my ears. On the training talk slot they talked about marathon race pacing, and again waxed lyrical about negative splits. Could I do one? I just don't feel that setting off say 30 sec/mile slower would leave enough in the tank to finish anywhere near normal pace. But I have two real long runs left - 19 and 20 miles. Maybe I'll map out mile markers and see if I can at least run the whole thing with even splits, see how it feels. Maybe I'll be surprised.

All was well and good for 15 miles, the pace inevitably dropping, but less sharply this week, only around 1 minute per 5 mile lap. Marathontalk had been and gone, along with Thinking Allowed and the rather average Newsjack - the difference here being that if you don't like it, you can try and do better. Heading into the short 3 mile last lap I paused to walk and switched to the 80s party hits to pick up my mood. Happy Hour kicked in, all well and good, but I realised that I'd be listening to all the same songs in the same order as last week, so again walked to change to shuffle. This resulted in a back twinge severe enough for me to let out an audible yelp. I walked on for a bit, I stretched, I tried jogging, but I was stiff and sore and the temperature was probably now down at that 3C. I didn't want to risk a back strain like last year so decided to can it after 15 miles. It's a shame, because I really want to get the miles in my legs, but on the plus side after 5 minutes walk home I felt in great shape (if rather cold). The back was fine the next day, so it was probably the right decision. If I hadn't stopped, I quite possibly could have made it without any problem. We'll call it the Curse of the Housemartins...

It also made me realise, as always happens at this point in the year, that by race day my shoes will be coming to the end of their life (500 miles). Fortunately I was able to secure a pair on eBay for £40. They should arrive in time for the 19 miler.

[Sweder]

Steve Cram and I may have different views on many things, including turning up and trying to get away with it. To quote my good friends The Pet Shop Boys, I've been getting away with it all my life

I like your progress Dan. Must say I'm left a little green-eyed reading you and MLCman but hey, it's also inspiring. Negative splits? I ran one in Almeria this year. The problem is it felt MASSIVE - I put so much effort into part two I thought 'blimey, this'll be a couple of minutes quicker than part 1'. It was, by about 30 odd seconds.

[marathondan]

Yes I think that even a 30 sec negative split in a marathon is pretty good going. I think the best you can do is aim for even splits and hope there's a few vapours left in the tank at the end.

[marathondan]

Week 12 of 18

Not a classic week for the Man with the Plan.

Wednesday went well, 5 miles intervals along the canal. After my problems on Sunday night I took things a little easy, but still completed the distance a minute and a half quicker than the previous week. D'oh.

Friday morning saw the traditional tempo slog round the field, with the conditions underfoot little better than recent weeks. Overall time was a minute quicker than last week, but I returned to my spreadsheet to discover I was meant to add an extra mile to the distance.

After my recent mullings on even or negative splits, I mapped out the mile points on my 5 mile road circuit in advance of Sunday's 13 mile step back long run. I donned my new Asics 1160s for the first time, aiming for an even 9:20 mile pace, but with alleged mile splits of 8:04, 9:33, 9:28, 7:55 and 11:22 I think my mapping skills were a little off.

Next Sunday I'll be on a plane to Dubai, so like Sweder my next long run will have to be moved to midweek, Wednesday night being the most likely. So about 3 miles in, I remembered... 13 road miles Sunday, 19 road miles Wednesday, is not good for the new convert to the therapeutic qualities of springy turf. I was meant to be running this one offroad. I completed the 5 mile lap, went home, changed into my older shoes, and headed down to the field, putting in 4 laps for a total session of about 12 miles.

It was pretty uneventful, I took it at a very slow pace, my mind already on the big challenge of the 19 miler. Once at the field, I discovered it was a beautifully clear starlit night. I'd run for 45 minutes under streetlamps and not noticed that.

A week overseas will mess the plan up slightly, but I haven't missed a run since mid December so I'm not too worried. Only three weeks till taper time.

[Sweder]

Yes my weekend was shredded, as is this week. Might get out for a short one today but that'll be my lot until Sunday.
C'est la vie.

[marathondan]

Week 13 of 18

Ah, the sweet spot. With nothing more than good intentions and plenty of practice, it all comes together and you hit the shot just right. Last night's 19 miler was such a run. I've had two outstanding training runs this campaign (which is probably the best I can hope for) - the first was related here, this was the second.

Some credit probably goes to the brand new shoes. I think I have to admit that I'm a 100%, heel-striking, cushioned-sole junkie. Whenever my form began to slip, I straightened up, head back, and flicked my foot out in front of me, my straight leg rolling past underneath - and it felt good. Time to fall back on what I know, I think.

I really felt super-comfortable all the way through. The nutrition strategy of one jelly baby per mile seemed to keep my carbs in check. I had the foresight to leave ski gloves outside the front door, so I was able to upgrade to those and don a hat for the last lap, as the temperature fell.

There was loads left in the tank with a couple of miles to go, and I was able to up the pace, putting in an 8:27 final mile. In a training campaign of stodgy offroad slogs and worries about ankle frailty, this was the first time I've really felt the marathon buzz. At 4:08 marathon pace, I'm still a long way off my target speed, but I have to trust the race day pixies to carry me through.

And my finish time? 3:00:02. Those two seconds don't matter a jot.

It's all going to go wrong now, isn't it?

[glaconman]

Au contraire young Daniel. All that hard work paying off now. Wizard.

One week you're p*ssing into the wind, the next you're riding a wave. Very different experiences. Although both involve getting wet legs.

[Sweder]

Excellent work. I can't imagine a better scenario at this stage. From here on in it's all fine-tuning, carb gobbling and resting up. Sadly my own odyssey has come to grief in the rough seas of long working days. A week of 16-hour shifts walking around the brutally hard floors of London's Excel has left me shattered, sea-legs shot, sails in tatters. I will get out there of course, tomorrow most likely. Today is all about eating Rook Pies and drinking a Guinness (note the singular) to mark the passing of St. Patrick's Day.
Come what may I'll line up in Brighton on the 15th.

My favourite St. Patrick's Day joke so far? St. P driving the snakes out of Ireland:
'Alright in the back there boys? Would you like some music on?'
The others were far worse.

[marathondan]

Only managed the solitary run last week. Nipped out this evening for an interval session around the Khalid Lagoon, taking in the spectacular Al Noor mosque and skirting Al Jazeera pleasure park. Sure beats the Basingstoke canal - although before long, no doubt, I'd be pining for its damp, leafy delights. The weather is surprisingly temperate; dehydration wasn't a particular problem. Will try and fit in two laps later in the week for my tempo session, then back to Blighty and a step-back long run at the weekend, before the big week, the final 20 miler and then taper time.

Route map

[Bierzo Baggie]

Only managed the solitary run last week. Nipped out this evening for an interval session around the Khalid Lagoon, taking in the spectacular Al Noor mosque and skirting Al Jazeera pleasure park. Sure beats the Basingstoke canal - although before long, no doubt, I'd be pining for its damp, leafy delights. The weather is surprisingly temperate; dehydration wasn't a particular problem. Will try and fit in two laps later in the week for my tempo session, then back to Blighty and a step-back long run at the weekend, before the big week, the final 20 miler and then taper time.

Route map

Blimey, from Alaska (well, not quite) to Arabia, that must be one of the biggest contrasts in RC history, don't forget to tell us about the second run...and any chance of a photo?

Not long to go now, marathons always made me nervous...

[marathondan]

Two laps round the lagoon tonight, at tempo pace. A shade under 8 miles in 64 mins. Managed a negative split, although the first mile was a warmup so that should be expected. The promenade was lightly filled with people of all ages and races taking the evening air. I guess the temperature was around 25C; in direct sunshine that would be unpleasant for running, but in the dark with a gentle breeze it's pretty great. Spent quite a while pondering how much manpower it took to lay the 4 miles by 10 feet of immaculately tesselated octagonal tiles underfoot.

Sorry, didn't bring a camera!

Not exactly nervous about the marathon... I'm really looking forward to it, but I know that my time target is going to make it hellish, and if I was a betting man I wouldn't back myself to achieve it. I'm now convinced that to plan for a negative split is to plan to fail. When Sweder, aka The Machine, aka The Animal, says that negative splitting a HALF marathon was really tough, I don't think it's the way to go. So I will be carefully pacing myself for a gradual and hopefully graceful decline in pace, as usual. But which also means I have to run the first half at a rather startling 8:27 pace. I'm going to be absolutely spent by mile 20. But I will have a million people cheering me on. So I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out. Such is the mental illness of the long distance runner.

[Sweder]

That echos my strategy for Brighton pretty much. Rely on friends and family to roar life into rubber legs long after the initial bounce and swagger lay sizzling on the sun-baked tarmac. I won't be setting off at 8:27 pace though, something closer to 9 minute miling will be my aim. That was my average pace for the entire Paris Marathon. Given I'll be moving slightly faster than soil erosion by the end I'm looking at somthing like 4:20 which, given the impact of the past three weeks I'll be very happy with. The only down side to all this is I'll probably end up doing another City marathon (I'd hoped Brighton would be my last). I don't think I can hang up my road boots without a sub 4 in my own country *sigh*

[marathondan]

An unpleasant 12 miler on Sunday night to round off week 14 of 18. As it was a step-back week I took to the field and went back to my old shoes (now with around 400 miles on the clock). But after the immaculately paved waterfronts of Sharjah, the surface (and my gait) felt lumpen and stodgy. It didn't help that we've entered the drought season already, and so the going was the firmest it's been for weeks - yes, I know I've been complaining about it being too soft. Wearing the old shoes was probably a mistake, and the back started twinging again, so much that after stowing my kit after the last lap I walked home to prevent further jarring. Maybe the economy flight back didn't help lumbar matters either.

Still, no matter, miles in the bank. This week is the big week, with runs of 5, 10 and 20 miles to complete. Then hopefully three weeks of relaxing taper, and off we go.

The marathontalk interview with Paul Evans was interesting. You can't imagine a more self-effacing elite runner. In his late 20s he was playing Sunday league football and working in a shoe factory in Lowestoft. (Cobblers, I hear you cry. No, it's true.) Then he entered a charity 10K and found himself knocking out a 33:30. He tried training with the local running club for a summer and soon was running sub 29 minutes, and within a couple of years had qualified for the Olympic 10,000m. He went on to win the Boston marathon and is the 4th fastest Brit of all time. Incredible to think this talent was only discovered by accident.

[El Gordo]

An unpleasant 12 miler on Sunday night to round off week 14 of 18. As it was a step-back week I took to the field and went back to my old shoes (now with around 400 miles on the clock). But after the immaculately paved waterfronts of Sharjah, the surface (and my gait) felt lumpen and stodgy. It didn't help that we've entered the drought season already, and so the going was the firmest it's been for weeks - yes, I know I've been complaining about it being too soft. Wearing the old shoes was probably a mistake, and the back started twinging again, so much that after stowing my kit after the last lap I walked home to prevent further jarring. Maybe the economy flight back didn't help lumbar matters either.

Still, no matter, miles in the bank. This week is the big week, with runs of 5, 10 and 20 miles to complete. Then hopefully three weeks of relaxing taper, and off we go.

The marathontalk interview with Paul Evans was interesting. You can't imagine a more self-effacing elite runner. In his late 20s he was playing Sunday league football and working in a shoe factory in Lowestoft. (Cobblers, I hear you cry. No, it's true.) Then he entered a charity 10K and found himself knocking out a 33:30. He tried training with the local running club for a summer and soon was running sub 29 minutes, and within a couple of years had qualified for the Olympic 10,000m. He went on to win the Boston marathon and is the 4th fastest Brit of all time. Incredible to think this talent was only discovered by accident.

I'm sorry to say I'd not heard of Paul Evans, which is probably one of the consequences of him being 'self-effacing'. Just one small correction though - I was curious enough to google the fellow, and it seems it was Chicago he won rather than Boston. I'll add the podcast to the list. (It used to be an ever growing pile of "must read" books by the bed; now it's an ever-expanding "must listen" playlist on iTunes.) I've dipped into Marathon Talk a few times, and enjoyed it.

Good luck for the big week ahead.

[marathondan]

Thanks for the correction. As ever, the podcast is also filled with community banter, so if talk of 5K "smackdowns" between the hosts is not to your taste, look at the audo archive notes and skip to the interesting bits. Tony's Trials is always recommended though - a classic running blog, in audio form. He's probably even good enough to have a blog here.

And I forgot to mention that the de facto track du jour - being the only piece of music I heard - was the Thai national anthem. Very stirring.

[glaconman]

After what seems like years of you talking about this podcast I finally had a look through the archives the other day and I've started to pick out a few to listen to. I'm not that keen on the presenters but they're enthusiastic and knowledgeable enough and they may grow on me. The training talk stuff is pretty useful. But the interviews are what most interests me. Listened to 5 or 6 so far. Tim Noakes was excellent (apparently it was my decision to let those 2 runners go past me in the last 100 yards of the Bradford 10k on Sunday hahahahahahaha) and I've got Rob de Castella lined-up next.

Thanks for persisting with the plugs for this Dan. Looks like I'm going to get alot of enjoyment out of them over the next few weeks. And all this 'marathon talk' might even persaude me to actually run another marathon. After all, it is Olympic year and Chariots of Fire is being re-released in the cinemas.

[El Gordo]

I have podcast phases. Current faves are the Motley Fool - http://www.fool.co.uk/money-talk/ and Laura's German Grammar podcast. Does that one sound a bit dull? I've even downloaded all the accompanying PDF transcripts and read them along with the audio. I learnt the hard way that this doesn't work well with the treadmill. If you fancy rising to the challenge -- http://germangrammarpod.blogspot.com/ .

Then old stand-by Richard Bacon on 5 Live. And running-wise, I also still catch the Ben Greenfield podcast which I always get something from. http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/category/podcast/

[Er, that's enough podcasts - Ed]

[marathondan]

[Er, that's enough podcasts - Ed]

Of more interest is what's going on with you and this treadmill?

[marathondan]

And all this 'marathon talk' might even persaude me to actually run another marathon.

Hurrah! That's decided, then.

[El Gordo]

[Er, that's enough podcasts - Ed]

Of more interest is what's going on with you and this treadmill?

Actually, very little. Or patchy.

Thanks for asking though. TBH, I've had a rotten year so far, healthwise. Most unlike me. But that's another dismal story that you shouldn't want to get too expectant about. Part of the reason I'm having a break from the site. I need a breather, and I need to get better.

I also need to concentrate on work for a bit which has given me a richly-deserved smack on the nose recently.

The good news is that yesterday my appointment with the Zurich Sports Clinic finally came up and I had a very profitable -- for them anyway! -- hour with a gait specialist. After 2 years of dithering I'm throwing in my lot with proper customised insoles plus the more specific exercise regime they've suggested. The analysis was totally convincing, and supported by some slick software. The chap I saw pulled no punches when cheerfully explaining that hoping to run long distances in your 50s while carrying a beer belly and an equally wobbly attitude was always going to end with "a persistent body crisis" as he put it.

Anyway, I think it's next year that my guaranteed London Marathon spot comes up. And M is already planning our Tasmania trip for November 2013 (with rather more vigour than expected at this stage). So at least there are a couple of very distant peaks to squint at.

We'll be open again for business shortly.

(Donation on the way soon, incidentally.)