September has been a mixed bag when it comes to consistency.
Holidays in the first week, followed by a nasty cold, meant training was not on an even keel.
Before the holidays, I had felt things were going pretty well.
One thing that has been missing this season from my schedule, is the long tempo runs. I hadn't managed anything over 8 miles. I did do two back to backs last Monday, 6 miles at 6:25, and the next day 7 miles at the same pace. My theory was that they would be as good as a 10 mile run, but evidently, they were not.
After Tuesday, I didn't run Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Not intentionally, I had planned runs for both Wednesday and Thursday, but life took over and The schedule went out the window. The darker evenings are not helping, the window of opportunity greatly reduced, or the risk of a belt of a car greatly increased!
Saturday was a dreadful day. Wind, and while the rain held off well enough for the morning, it started to come down hard just before the start of the half marathon. I had the start position better judged this time, just ahead of the 1:30 pacers. I was about 200 from the front, with a starting number of runners at 9000. At the off, the pace, as always, felt easy, and mile one was 6:16. Everyone was pretty static in the order, no great passing, and mile two was also exactly 6:16. I had set the watch to a 'conservative ' 6:30 pace, hoping for 6:25 average. A lot of the course was fairly sheltered, particularly in the early miles, however, it was quite hilly.
The first test came at four miles. I had the pace back more towards the 6:25, and maintaining well. At four miles however, after a gradual, but long climb, the legs started to feel a bit tired. This took me by surprise, as I hadn't expected this so early. I had to up the effort considerably to maintain the pace, and this worried me.
The next two miles were quite flat, and the effort eased somewhat. Mile 3, 6:29, mile 4 6:32, mile 5 6:28, mile 6, 6:28. All good so far,moment time banked, and a consistent pace. Mile 7, 6:30.
This is where I met some trouble. I wouldn't normally on a half marathon, but on this race I decided to take a gel at half way. Eating it, and washing it down broke my stride badly, and getting back to a nice flow took a lot of energy. Very quickly I developed a stitch. This had the potential to be bad, very bad. Nasty stitches have forced me to stop and walk before, even on 10k's. I slowed the pace slightly to try and regain my form and reduce the effort. Mile 8, 6:37. It seemed to work somewhat, and I went from nearly stopping, to a comfortable feeling again, although the next problem hit at pretty much the same time.
It was at this point evident that the lack of longer tempo than 8 miles was going to cause problems. My legs were getting very tired. I knew that it would only get worse, and hoped I would last the distance, albeit a bit slower. Mile 9, 6:33, mile 10 6:35. Pushing really hard at this point, it was slipping away gradually. I just needed to hang on, but I knew the dreaded hill was to come.
Mile 11, 6:37, mile 12, 6:36. Ok, not too bad, just keep going almost there! And then, the hill. As I started the climb, a realisation that I had absolutely nothing left in the legs, and the pace collapsed.
At the top, with about 800 meters to go, I just managed to keep a steady stride, no sprint.
I could see the clock, and unbelievably, it read 1:25:06 and counting. It was unbelievable, I had no glasses on, it was 1:26:06 and counting. Crossing the line for 1:26:20.
So not a great result, but what I deserved. I have a descent level of short distance fitness, but anything over 10 miles at pace will be a challenge.
Sunday was a rest day, and Monday I went out for some easy miles. They ended up being 15 easy miles in just over 2 hours. No gels etc, just a small water bottle which I sipped on. I was quite please with that one, with no soreness afterwards.
Not long left now, 21 planned this week will probably be the toughest training run.
Wednesday 28 September 2016
Tuesday 13 September 2016
Ocean Running
Last week we went on holidays. On a boat.
A bit more than a boat to be fair, it was the Disney Magic ship, a beautiful ship. As we were catching a late flight on Friday to Barcelona, I had hoped to get my long run in Friday morning, but hair appointments (not mine!) and getting ready meant time was limited, so I cut it short to 13 miles.
I didn't run Saturday, we spent the day getting settled in, and there was so much going on I couldn't leave the kids. Sunday was a full day sailing at sea, and I hit the gym. It is always packed on this day as you can't get off the ship, and funnily enough, it is the only day the gym is packed.
Anyway, I did 6 miles on the treadmill which was really tough going. The temperature was 28 Celsius and I don't think the gym is air conditioned. I have always hated running on treadmills, your stride is more restricted I feel than natural running. I did however avail of the excellent weights section, and enjoyed that.
Monday I did 7 miles, two warmup, then increasing to 6:50, 6:40, 6:30, 6:20, and a mile cool down, again with a weights session. Tuesday was 6 miles, although a bit more consistent around 6:50 pace.
A funny thing happened on Wednesday.I had made it a policy of not using the elevators, opting instead for stairs for that extra bit of exercise. As I was descending some stairs, I got a very sharp shooting pain in my left foot and I placed it down. The next few steps were fine, and then the pain again. It seemed to be transient so I was not too worried. I headed to the gym shortly after, and as soon as I had run just a few steps, the shooting pain returned, so much so, that I nearly came off the treadmill. I tried again, unsuccessfully, each time the pain getting sharper.
I had an idea that the sudden change from road to consistent treadmill mileage was not liked by my foot. There was however a backup plan. There was a running deck, and three miles and the more firm surface passed relatively trouble free. The foot however continued to give me problems for the next few days, so I decided to rest it entirely.
We got back on Saturday after an early flight, and I managed to get a sneaky 6 mile run in that evening. The first mile, my foot was sore, however, as the miles went on, the pain eased, so that by the last mile it was all but gone. As I ran on the hard road, I could almost feel my body realign its self with each footstep.
Sunday was long run, plan was 18 at 30 seconds slower than target marathon pace. The previous weeks had gone well at 7:20 target, always coming in around 7:15 average, however with the break in running I was doubting myself, so I set the watch to 7:30. The pace actually felt easy enough for most of the run, it was quite breezy, but nothing too drastic. I finished the 18 miles with a 7:19 average, and I was pretty happy about it, particularly as the previous evenings 6 miles had been only 16 hours earlier it meant I did 24 miles in less than 24 hours.
Monday was a rest day, and wouldn't you know it, I started to get a cold. It was inevitable really, my wife got sick towards the end of the cruise, and both kids followed suit.
I really didn't feel like running today, my throat felt like sandpaper and my head was really hurting, but I decided I would try an easy few miles anyway. The first mile all I wanted to do was turn back. I planned 9 miles, but decided to shorten the course to 6. Funnily, after the third mile, I started to feel much better, and had gotten into a nice stride, so I changed the plan again. I did 4 easy miles, and then a 6:50, 6:40, 6:30, and 6:20 mile. The 6:20 mile felt easier than the 6:50 mile for some reason. I did a further two easy mile to cool down for 10 in total. As soon as I got in the door, I started feeling pretty miserable again though, and even had to lie down for a while, with some disapproving looks from the wife and gentle questioning as whether I was sure it was a good idea!
With the Dublin half marathon less than two weeks away, i need to keep training sick or not. Already I can feel my fitness going down from where it was three weeks ago. But at least if I am ill now, it is unlikely I will be ill again before the actual marathon like last year.
A bit more than a boat to be fair, it was the Disney Magic ship, a beautiful ship. As we were catching a late flight on Friday to Barcelona, I had hoped to get my long run in Friday morning, but hair appointments (not mine!) and getting ready meant time was limited, so I cut it short to 13 miles.
I didn't run Saturday, we spent the day getting settled in, and there was so much going on I couldn't leave the kids. Sunday was a full day sailing at sea, and I hit the gym. It is always packed on this day as you can't get off the ship, and funnily enough, it is the only day the gym is packed.
Anyway, I did 6 miles on the treadmill which was really tough going. The temperature was 28 Celsius and I don't think the gym is air conditioned. I have always hated running on treadmills, your stride is more restricted I feel than natural running. I did however avail of the excellent weights section, and enjoyed that.
Monday I did 7 miles, two warmup, then increasing to 6:50, 6:40, 6:30, 6:20, and a mile cool down, again with a weights session. Tuesday was 6 miles, although a bit more consistent around 6:50 pace.
A funny thing happened on Wednesday.I had made it a policy of not using the elevators, opting instead for stairs for that extra bit of exercise. As I was descending some stairs, I got a very sharp shooting pain in my left foot and I placed it down. The next few steps were fine, and then the pain again. It seemed to be transient so I was not too worried. I headed to the gym shortly after, and as soon as I had run just a few steps, the shooting pain returned, so much so, that I nearly came off the treadmill. I tried again, unsuccessfully, each time the pain getting sharper.
I had an idea that the sudden change from road to consistent treadmill mileage was not liked by my foot. There was however a backup plan. There was a running deck, and three miles and the more firm surface passed relatively trouble free. The foot however continued to give me problems for the next few days, so I decided to rest it entirely.
We got back on Saturday after an early flight, and I managed to get a sneaky 6 mile run in that evening. The first mile, my foot was sore, however, as the miles went on, the pain eased, so that by the last mile it was all but gone. As I ran on the hard road, I could almost feel my body realign its self with each footstep.
Sunday was long run, plan was 18 at 30 seconds slower than target marathon pace. The previous weeks had gone well at 7:20 target, always coming in around 7:15 average, however with the break in running I was doubting myself, so I set the watch to 7:30. The pace actually felt easy enough for most of the run, it was quite breezy, but nothing too drastic. I finished the 18 miles with a 7:19 average, and I was pretty happy about it, particularly as the previous evenings 6 miles had been only 16 hours earlier it meant I did 24 miles in less than 24 hours.
Monday was a rest day, and wouldn't you know it, I started to get a cold. It was inevitable really, my wife got sick towards the end of the cruise, and both kids followed suit.
I really didn't feel like running today, my throat felt like sandpaper and my head was really hurting, but I decided I would try an easy few miles anyway. The first mile all I wanted to do was turn back. I planned 9 miles, but decided to shorten the course to 6. Funnily, after the third mile, I started to feel much better, and had gotten into a nice stride, so I changed the plan again. I did 4 easy miles, and then a 6:50, 6:40, 6:30, and 6:20 mile. The 6:20 mile felt easier than the 6:50 mile for some reason. I did a further two easy mile to cool down for 10 in total. As soon as I got in the door, I started feeling pretty miserable again though, and even had to lie down for a while, with some disapproving looks from the wife and gentle questioning as whether I was sure it was a good idea!
With the Dublin half marathon less than two weeks away, i need to keep training sick or not. Already I can feel my fitness going down from where it was three weeks ago. But at least if I am ill now, it is unlikely I will be ill again before the actual marathon like last year.
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