Yesterday was my first planned interval session: 10 - 20 minute warmup, 4 x 3 mins around 7:35 ish and 10 minute cool down. I will always tend to go for the longer warmup now, particularly when it was as cold as yesterday.
A beautfiul day but very cold and lots and lots of ice around St Annes. I took it very easy on the warmup run to the pier. I had to keep finding dry patches or places where the sun had been to run properly, the rest was slippy and icy.
My left calf felt very tight and my legs weary in general so I decided to do the last little jog along the beach under the pier. Going over the dunes onto the beach I though the sand felt a little crusty and there were lots of what looked like little wet patches on the beach itself. When I looked at them closely and stuck my finger on one it was actually frozen, ice on the beach who'd have thunk it!
I ran to the pier and the normally very soft slow going sand that collects around it was firm and very crunchy, it was in the shadow of the pier so no sun had gotten to it.
I popped up onto the prom and set off on the first interval. I set off a bit too fast (I noticed when I bothered to look at the Garmin) and tried to get a feel for running around 7:35 to 7:40. I found it was hard but doable, probably the exact pace I should be doing intervals at all along (thinks to self that writers of training plan may know what they are talking about).
The next two intervals were a little more interesting and a touch slower as I had to dance around the ice quite a few times. I was finding breathing the cold dry air in quite tough on my throat too, what wind there was I was actually running into. The last interval was pretty much the same as the first and I could have done another one.
The jog back to work consisted of much more ice dodging but my legs felt quite perked up by then. I was really surprised to find that there was no one on the golf course as I went through - such a beautiful day. Maybe they are not allowed to play when the ground is frozen ?
Back to my lurgy filled office where I felt like I had the beginnings of a sore throat (hypochondria again).
I'm having a rest day today, though my legs feel ok and my throat feel a little rough but I think it is from the cold air. The skin on one side of my face was really sore last night as well, I had to get the Nivea grease paint on it. Feels ok this morning though.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Marathon Training Plan
I have been looking at my training for the next few months (still need to get into the detail). I have decided to base my mara training on the First program which calls for three runs a week only and cross training to prepare for the marathon. Traditional marathon programs seems to call for about 5 days of running minimum which is not for me, I want to start and finish the marathon as my primary goal not break any records.
I also know that I am an injury magnet and 4 runs a week tends to be my limit. I'm in love with my bikes again and want to ride them. I want to do some offroad running in there too, miles of tarmac will utterly bore me (exactly why am I doing a road marathon again ????????????). Basically its based on the First program but not slavishly following it.
The program gives pace zones based on my best 10K time which is about 8:20 mm. So intervals are around 7:35 - 7:40 mm (ouch but doable for short distances), tempo runs are 8:30 - 8:50 and long runs are 9:20 - 10 mm. I had settled on doing my long runs around 9:20 - 9:30 pace anyway as it feels like I could keep it going for a long time.
The plan consists of 1 Long run, 1 interval session and 1 tempo run a week. It is the tempo run that most worries me as it calls for anything up to 8 miles at that pace. I may find its these runs that get slowed down, I seem to cope with intervals ok but long fast (for me) runs wear me out. It also has a stepback week every 5 weeks, I'm going to change that to 4 weeks initally to fit in with the XC races. I have used a 4 weekly step back in the past and it has worked for me.
I want to fit in riding to work, general bike bimbling about and some mountain biking as well around that but it will all depend on how the runs go and it may just be lots of easy paced riding (no bad thing).
I was chatting to some marathon veterans over Christmas about my training, they didn't seem alarmed that I wanted to subsitute some runs for cycling as they know they will be proper rides however they told me that the long runs were what mattered above all, if I replaced some of the speedwork with steady paced runs it probably wouldn't make that much difference.
Short, fast races are probably best avoided apparently, in fact it was suggested I don't race much at all but I'll get bored so my race program is:
The three remaining XC races (one a month, step back week)
The GNW Half in Feb(first real target)
The Hawkshead Trail in April (for fun)
I may do the Blackburn Winter Warmer 10K as it was hilly and a good course but I'll see how training goes. I may need to find a longer race to aim for between the GNW half and the mara, I like intermediate targets.
What a ramble, will flesh out the details in the next week or so.
I also know that I am an injury magnet and 4 runs a week tends to be my limit. I'm in love with my bikes again and want to ride them. I want to do some offroad running in there too, miles of tarmac will utterly bore me (exactly why am I doing a road marathon again ????????????). Basically its based on the First program but not slavishly following it.
The program gives pace zones based on my best 10K time which is about 8:20 mm. So intervals are around 7:35 - 7:40 mm (ouch but doable for short distances), tempo runs are 8:30 - 8:50 and long runs are 9:20 - 10 mm. I had settled on doing my long runs around 9:20 - 9:30 pace anyway as it feels like I could keep it going for a long time.
The plan consists of 1 Long run, 1 interval session and 1 tempo run a week. It is the tempo run that most worries me as it calls for anything up to 8 miles at that pace. I may find its these runs that get slowed down, I seem to cope with intervals ok but long fast (for me) runs wear me out. It also has a stepback week every 5 weeks, I'm going to change that to 4 weeks initally to fit in with the XC races. I have used a 4 weekly step back in the past and it has worked for me.
I want to fit in riding to work, general bike bimbling about and some mountain biking as well around that but it will all depend on how the runs go and it may just be lots of easy paced riding (no bad thing).
I was chatting to some marathon veterans over Christmas about my training, they didn't seem alarmed that I wanted to subsitute some runs for cycling as they know they will be proper rides however they told me that the long runs were what mattered above all, if I replaced some of the speedwork with steady paced runs it probably wouldn't make that much difference.
Short, fast races are probably best avoided apparently, in fact it was suggested I don't race much at all but I'll get bored so my race program is:
The three remaining XC races (one a month, step back week)
The GNW Half in Feb(first real target)
The Hawkshead Trail in April (for fun)
I may do the Blackburn Winter Warmer 10K as it was hilly and a good course but I'll see how training goes. I may need to find a longer race to aim for between the GNW half and the mara, I like intermediate targets.
What a ramble, will flesh out the details in the next week or so.
Sunday Morning Bimble
We had arranged to meet some friends at Rivington on Sunday morning for a very social paced ride (one friends first offroad ride in a year). I'm ashamed to say I had to be dragged out of bed in the morning. We were supposed to leave the house at 9:30am and I think I finally got up at 9 and had some Christmas Cake for breakfast as it was all I had time for. Whilst its obviously not the breakfast of champions it actually seemed to work ok.
Arriving at Riv there was a considerable amount of faff before we all finally set off, 7 of us in total. It was cold but there was no wind so I didn't put my really thick winter gloves (I hate hot, sweaty hands in gloves) on with the result I had very cold fingers for the first 10 minutes or so, but they soon warmed up. My legs felt ok on the bike, they felt quite stiff walking around but ok spinning along.
A consensus of opinion was not to do the Healey Nab drops, I was initially disappointed but it wasn't meant to be a hard ride so I just attacked the long road hill a bit more, a little too much perhaps. I stood up for most of the first section which caused my left VMO and shins (shins? not sure why) to burn like crazy then sat down for the last slog. My left VMO always makes it presence felt after hard offroad runs so I wasn't too surprised by that. I will get to the top of that climb stood up one of these days. I also really, really need to get some new cleats for my boots.
I made myself sit down for the top section, which felt harder - I seem to have lost my ability to sit and spin, I blame the running. A fast blast down Lead Mines then up the next steep road section, my shins complained loudly once again so I had to sit down, I noticed my left foot was moving around all over the place in the pedal which may be why it was setting the VMO muscle off so much. More easy road to the bottom of the climb to the pigeon tower.
A bit of chain faff at the bottom then we began the steady climb up, a few patches of ice but nothing to worry about. It was fine all the way up to the big sweeping left hander than heads to where the old cottage used to be. It was sheet ice, edge to edge on the track. I decided to take the alternative route, however one of the lads decided to try riding it. I watched with interest....he got about two metres on it before the bike went from under him and the foot he put down to catch himself went too. Ice patches ok ish, ice rinks....no.
We took a different route up to the bottom of the pike which was fantastically dry - it better be like that in the summer this year. It was soon pretty obvious that the Pike itself was heaving so we decided against riding up to it and headed along to the Commonwealth down, avoiding a few ice patches along the way. The entry to the descent was another ice rink wo we headed along to the grassy field down which we don't do very often these days.
The track itself was icy but the grass was fine so we flew down that. Just one stubborn sheep to avoid and the frozen grass was brill to ride on, last time I came down here I was having two wheel slides all over the place it was so wet. A fast drop down to the gate then a bimble along the bottom back to the cars - we figured the side of the reservoir would be too busy.
Just under 10 miles and I have to say I was actually just getting warmed up and into it, my legs were starting to perk up so it was a little short for me in the end. It was the correct length for the friends just coming back after their layoff though and that's what matters. I'm glad Jez dragged me out of bed.
Arriving at Riv there was a considerable amount of faff before we all finally set off, 7 of us in total. It was cold but there was no wind so I didn't put my really thick winter gloves (I hate hot, sweaty hands in gloves) on with the result I had very cold fingers for the first 10 minutes or so, but they soon warmed up. My legs felt ok on the bike, they felt quite stiff walking around but ok spinning along.
A consensus of opinion was not to do the Healey Nab drops, I was initially disappointed but it wasn't meant to be a hard ride so I just attacked the long road hill a bit more, a little too much perhaps. I stood up for most of the first section which caused my left VMO and shins (shins? not sure why) to burn like crazy then sat down for the last slog. My left VMO always makes it presence felt after hard offroad runs so I wasn't too surprised by that. I will get to the top of that climb stood up one of these days. I also really, really need to get some new cleats for my boots.
I made myself sit down for the top section, which felt harder - I seem to have lost my ability to sit and spin, I blame the running. A fast blast down Lead Mines then up the next steep road section, my shins complained loudly once again so I had to sit down, I noticed my left foot was moving around all over the place in the pedal which may be why it was setting the VMO muscle off so much. More easy road to the bottom of the climb to the pigeon tower.
A bit of chain faff at the bottom then we began the steady climb up, a few patches of ice but nothing to worry about. It was fine all the way up to the big sweeping left hander than heads to where the old cottage used to be. It was sheet ice, edge to edge on the track. I decided to take the alternative route, however one of the lads decided to try riding it. I watched with interest....he got about two metres on it before the bike went from under him and the foot he put down to catch himself went too. Ice patches ok ish, ice rinks....no.
We took a different route up to the bottom of the pike which was fantastically dry - it better be like that in the summer this year. It was soon pretty obvious that the Pike itself was heaving so we decided against riding up to it and headed along to the Commonwealth down, avoiding a few ice patches along the way. The entry to the descent was another ice rink wo we headed along to the grassy field down which we don't do very often these days.
The track itself was icy but the grass was fine so we flew down that. Just one stubborn sheep to avoid and the frozen grass was brill to ride on, last time I came down here I was having two wheel slides all over the place it was so wet. A fast drop down to the gate then a bimble along the bottom back to the cars - we figured the side of the reservoir would be too busy.
Just under 10 miles and I have to say I was actually just getting warmed up and into it, my legs were starting to perk up so it was a little short for me in the end. It was the correct length for the friends just coming back after their layoff though and that's what matters. I'm glad Jez dragged me out of bed.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Offroad Run
Headed to Abbey Village this morning to get in an offroad run rather than pounding out more tarmac miles, my legs were feeling a little tight. I had more faff with my Nalgene bladder as it seems to leak from the filling area, this is the second one I have had that bloody leaks.
The first one came with the North Face rucksac I bought for running with, it leaked from where the hose attached to the bladder. It was ok if you put less than a litre of water in and no stuff in the bag otherwise there was too much pressure in the bladder and water just leaked down my back, not great on cold runs (or any run really). This new one seems to leak from the top and has to be kept upright, will be buying a 2 litre camelbak bladder soon I think.
It was pretty cold when I set off though at least there was little wind. The first reservoir I ran past out of the village was frozen solid, don't think I could see anywhere where it was open water. The track was ice free and bone dry but I had a feeling there was going to be some skating today.
There was very little ice in the woods, just more bone dry track though there was some fantastic icicles hanging along the side of the stream. The light levels were really not great and I struggled to get a decent picture with the little camera, it just wasn't sharp enough. It was the kind of light where you need the SLR and a tripod (and some Ilford HP5 film ?).
I got an ok one of some ice shapes in the stream itself:
I headed to Mill Lane, which was clearer and more runnable than last time I came this way but there was still fair amount on ice around. When I got to the top section with the water run off it turned to sheet ice and I had to pick my way up the very edge (think it was an old wall) until I could run again.
There was not much more ice until heading up to the moor on the Lyon Den path, there was one patch that covered the whole track that I had to hop over but not much else. I warned an MTBer heading down that way about it as it was right on a bend and may not have been obvious.
No more ice for ages, just very dry track and easy running. I headed round the single track I could barely move on last time and it was lovely and frozen, a few bits and bobs of ice but great running.
I sat on the bench opposite Darwen tower to have a drink and put the camera away (it was in my pocket and bouncing) as there seemed to be loads of people at the tower itself. At some point when wrestling my rucksack off I paused the Garmin, I noticed as I was passing by the Tower and set it off again.
I took the long way down this time and the first half was excellent for running, dry track and no ice to be seen. About half way down that all changed and there seemed to be a sheet of ice all the way down to the bottom (didn't expect that one).
There was a steep path dropping down to near where I was headed anyway. Its normally a boggy looking mess (one for climbing rather than descending) but it was frozen today and I set off down it, one or two slips but I got down ok and headed round to the road where I had a lot of problems last time.
It was clear today so no hanging onto the hedge to get down, up the steep track and I decided to head across the field today to Ryal Fold, its usually a boggy sheep trodden mess but it was hard today. The frozen sheep prints are a little hard on the ankles I discovered.
From Ryal Fold I took the concessionary bridleway back down to the bottom of Mill Lane, which was ice free, then easy down through the woods back to the car.
In the end it was 9.84 miles in 1:44 - 10:34 pace so not bad considering I was skipping ice and felt slow on the climbs.
The first one came with the North Face rucksac I bought for running with, it leaked from where the hose attached to the bladder. It was ok if you put less than a litre of water in and no stuff in the bag otherwise there was too much pressure in the bladder and water just leaked down my back, not great on cold runs (or any run really). This new one seems to leak from the top and has to be kept upright, will be buying a 2 litre camelbak bladder soon I think.
It was pretty cold when I set off though at least there was little wind. The first reservoir I ran past out of the village was frozen solid, don't think I could see anywhere where it was open water. The track was ice free and bone dry but I had a feeling there was going to be some skating today.
There was very little ice in the woods, just more bone dry track though there was some fantastic icicles hanging along the side of the stream. The light levels were really not great and I struggled to get a decent picture with the little camera, it just wasn't sharp enough. It was the kind of light where you need the SLR and a tripod (and some Ilford HP5 film ?).
I got an ok one of some ice shapes in the stream itself:
I headed to Mill Lane, which was clearer and more runnable than last time I came this way but there was still fair amount on ice around. When I got to the top section with the water run off it turned to sheet ice and I had to pick my way up the very edge (think it was an old wall) until I could run again.
There was not much more ice until heading up to the moor on the Lyon Den path, there was one patch that covered the whole track that I had to hop over but not much else. I warned an MTBer heading down that way about it as it was right on a bend and may not have been obvious.
No more ice for ages, just very dry track and easy running. I headed round the single track I could barely move on last time and it was lovely and frozen, a few bits and bobs of ice but great running.
I sat on the bench opposite Darwen tower to have a drink and put the camera away (it was in my pocket and bouncing) as there seemed to be loads of people at the tower itself. At some point when wrestling my rucksack off I paused the Garmin, I noticed as I was passing by the Tower and set it off again.
I took the long way down this time and the first half was excellent for running, dry track and no ice to be seen. About half way down that all changed and there seemed to be a sheet of ice all the way down to the bottom (didn't expect that one).
There was a steep path dropping down to near where I was headed anyway. Its normally a boggy looking mess (one for climbing rather than descending) but it was frozen today and I set off down it, one or two slips but I got down ok and headed round to the road where I had a lot of problems last time.
It was clear today so no hanging onto the hedge to get down, up the steep track and I decided to head across the field today to Ryal Fold, its usually a boggy sheep trodden mess but it was hard today. The frozen sheep prints are a little hard on the ankles I discovered.
From Ryal Fold I took the concessionary bridleway back down to the bottom of Mill Lane, which was ice free, then easy down through the woods back to the car.
In the end it was 9.84 miles in 1:44 - 10:34 pace so not bad considering I was skipping ice and felt slow on the climbs.
Friday, January 2, 2009
First Run of the Year
I finally actually did some exercise today. I did take (almost) all my running kit up to Scotland with me and I was all set to go out for a 6 - 8 mile run near my folks house on Hogmanay but I forgot my sports bra. Not a chance I can run without it unless I want to do myself some damage so I stropped around their house for a while instead.
I managed to survive Hogmanay reasonably intact for a change, despite not going to bed until 6:30 am yesterday due to talking nonsense with friends all night. I was too busy talking to be consuming stupiud amounts of alcohol it would seem. Jez gave up around 3am and had already been awake for a few hours before I surface around 2:30 pm. I knew I had been drinking but just felt tired rather than hungover.
We had been thinking about staying with my folks until the 2nd or 3rd but as we were feeling fine we decided to drive down on the Ne'er Day instead. My parents are smokers and everyone else that we were around on Hogmanay was a smoker and it had started to really get to me. I was wheezing a little and my chest was feeling tight so we decided to drive down.
I had a productive afternoon cleaning and disinfecting the greenhouse (which I didn't do last year as I thought it would be really messy) which took a few hours. There was a little frog in there which made me jump when I saw it hop around the floor. I moved it out of the greenhouse before starting the cleaning, not sure Jeyes fluid agrees with frogs.
I set off for my run at 3:30 pursued by the smell of Jeyes (I can still smell it on my hands even after a long shower and several hand washes, though it is better than the smell of cigarette smoke).
I did just over 5 miles and my left calf and achilles feel disturbingly tight. I had intended on kicking off the long road based runs I will have to do over the next few months but think I'll run offroad tomorrow instead though it will probably be shorter than my planned 10 miles or so.
I could feel a definite wobble all round the legs/thigh and belly area. Time to get the miles in on both bike and foot.
I managed to survive Hogmanay reasonably intact for a change, despite not going to bed until 6:30 am yesterday due to talking nonsense with friends all night. I was too busy talking to be consuming stupiud amounts of alcohol it would seem. Jez gave up around 3am and had already been awake for a few hours before I surface around 2:30 pm. I knew I had been drinking but just felt tired rather than hungover.
We had been thinking about staying with my folks until the 2nd or 3rd but as we were feeling fine we decided to drive down on the Ne'er Day instead. My parents are smokers and everyone else that we were around on Hogmanay was a smoker and it had started to really get to me. I was wheezing a little and my chest was feeling tight so we decided to drive down.
I had a productive afternoon cleaning and disinfecting the greenhouse (which I didn't do last year as I thought it would be really messy) which took a few hours. There was a little frog in there which made me jump when I saw it hop around the floor. I moved it out of the greenhouse before starting the cleaning, not sure Jeyes fluid agrees with frogs.
I set off for my run at 3:30 pursued by the smell of Jeyes (I can still smell it on my hands even after a long shower and several hand washes, though it is better than the smell of cigarette smoke).
I did just over 5 miles and my left calf and achilles feel disturbingly tight. I had intended on kicking off the long road based runs I will have to do over the next few months but think I'll run offroad tomorrow instead though it will probably be shorter than my planned 10 miles or so.
I could feel a definite wobble all round the legs/thigh and belly area. Time to get the miles in on both bike and foot.
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