This week I have rally battled with guilt as I missed training on Tuesday night so had to knock out 10 miles on Wednesday, without excuses or failure of any type. Ok it is very slightly short of 10 miles (9.8miles) and it was fairly slow (72 mins) but we did it. I also did a fartleck on Thursday night which was 1 x 5 mins, 2 x 4 mins, 3 x 3 mins, and 4 x 2 mins with recovery of half the time in between each blast. It felt good, so maybe resting on Tuesday hadnt been such a bad idea. I knew I had to try to push it because that would be my only chance of speedwork last week so I did put effort in up the hills... I did feel at one point that my heart was going to explode. Fortunately it didnt and I managed to put some extra effort in on the 4 x 2 mins which felt weird after weeks of steady marathon pace :o) The guilt (still from missing Tuesday) carried on into Friday evening so I went out and did a gentle 7 miles. My legs felt very tired but I just kept thinking about the mileage... Saturday I rested and then yesterday I did the Bury 20.
Now, I had honestly forgotten about that hill at 9 miles.. how on earth could I forget that BEAST! Yes, it was an absolute BEAST of a hill and I tippy toed up it looking at the top all the way and was glad when it was done. All the way I kept thinking, "London is flat, London is flat". It my way of coping with the fact that I might be losing minutes on the slow climb but that because London is flat I wont have to lose those mins over the first 20 miles of the 26.2. Does that make sense? Its Monday, give me a break!
So I completed Bury in 2:23 something. Ive downloaded my times and my slowest mile was mile 18 when I did 7 mins and 27 seconds. My fastest mile was mile 3 in 6 mins and 34 seconds. Hmm, I think I know what my problem is.. I start too fast. Thats no new to me cos Ive done it for as long as I can remember but the good news is that I started slowing a fair bit at mile 18... whereas looking at my last couple of months of running, I start slowing at about mile 14/15... so maybe if I continue with the training on marathon day , Ill start slowing at about 24 miles.. and I can just hang in there to the finish line?! Forever the optimist?!!
So plans for this week.. Run Tuesday, Weds and long run Friday. Cant run Saturday or Sunday so this week will be a "light week" with regards to training and my legs will be extremely happy about that... little does it realise what I have in store for it instead though. ;o) ha ha (laugh wicked witch style)
Monday, 25 February 2008
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
1 month 20 days 10 hours 28 mins and 45 seconds left!
Bad bad girl not training on a Tuesday night however I did do just under 10 miles tonight. I just felt tired last night and a bit drained and so I will have to run on rest day friday instead.. see? easily fixed, no more guilt.. phew!! It was a "gentle run tonight". Time seemed to go quickly which is always a plus. I then went to a Body Balance class which was really tough. I seem to have a lot less upper body strength tonight.. it may be linked to the long-ish run but I put it down to a 5am start.. its my excuse and Im sticking to it.
My diet over the last 2 days has slipped quite badly. Ive been snacking a bit too much on toast and honey and the weight is creeping back up again. Bad news. Its not like you can "cut down" when you are marathon training either is it cos then the energy levels seem to drop. If you switch to fruit when you get the sweet craving, the fruit upsets the stomach. Energy bars are good but actually after 5 mins, you are hungry again. Toast and honey is the only thing that seems to kill the appetite in between meals... and its quick and easy too.
Training for the rest of the week is Thursday club planned speed traing, Friday is 6 miles fast. Saturday maybe a gentle 3 miles steady followed by the 20 miler on Sunday yikes! NEW TERRITORY!! Gulp. Well Im not the only one thats going to be out there on Sunday and there will be lots of people less prepared than me, so it will have to be once of those "i'll treat it as a training run" races.. (strangely they often turn out the be PBs)
Off to catch up on the 3 hours of deprived my body with last night.
ZZzzzzz
My diet over the last 2 days has slipped quite badly. Ive been snacking a bit too much on toast and honey and the weight is creeping back up again. Bad news. Its not like you can "cut down" when you are marathon training either is it cos then the energy levels seem to drop. If you switch to fruit when you get the sweet craving, the fruit upsets the stomach. Energy bars are good but actually after 5 mins, you are hungry again. Toast and honey is the only thing that seems to kill the appetite in between meals... and its quick and easy too.
Training for the rest of the week is Thursday club planned speed traing, Friday is 6 miles fast. Saturday maybe a gentle 3 miles steady followed by the 20 miler on Sunday yikes! NEW TERRITORY!! Gulp. Well Im not the only one thats going to be out there on Sunday and there will be lots of people less prepared than me, so it will have to be once of those "i'll treat it as a training run" races.. (strangely they often turn out the be PBs)
Off to catch up on the 3 hours of deprived my body with last night.
ZZzzzzz
Monday, 18 February 2008
1 month 22 days 20 hours 33 mins & 53 seconds left!
Boy, what a weekend for long distance running! My morning started off with a latte Coffee, toast & honey and a large glass of water. I put on my clothes which I had placed on the radiator the night before so they were nice and toasty and warmfor the morning (and Im pleased to say they were). To then step out into the cold was a bit of a shock to the system... but once I turned to corner into the Sports Club and saw all the other freezing cold squirrrels, I stopped feeling so sorry for myself. There must have been about 12 of us!. Paul made us all stand in the field and he took a little picture of us all which will be a great one for the gallery.
The pace started well with Richard and Mark leading out. The sun beamed down on us pretty much from the start so we had all warmed up somewhat as early as mile 2 probably! We all caught up on eachothers news and then after about 10 miles we must have all found our zones as the chatting had reduced to the odd comment about what a perfect day it was for an 18 miler. We stopped around every 5 miles to re-group and take our various drinks, gels and undress yet another layer. I wore my new under armour cold gear for the first time and I have to say it is amazing. My only complaint is that when I got back home I noticed white specs all over the front of it. This was the salt from my sweat that had dried out and because the top is black it stood out. On the plus side, at least it had dried which is what its supposed to do, so it obviously does exactly what is says on the tin!. I should think so for £35 a pop!
The route thought up by Ian took us from the club, up around Wallington, Ashwell, Bygrave and then back to Letchworth. It was a great route so thanks to Ian for that.
Richard and Mark were quite a way ahead of the rest of us but I managed to catch up with them a couple of times. Richard did an average 7:15/mile which is great. Mine was slightly slower but I didnt stop my watch when we regrouped so I dont know my average page, DOH!
The last few miles were the toughest, but even then I wasnt in any pain, just a bit drained.. Mark and Richard both went on to do 20 miles.
I forced myself to stretch for about 10 mins after, concentrating on the hamstrings which in the past have give me quite a lot of pain at this point in marathon training. Not this time however!!
What was lovely was feeling that Sunday was not all over after the run. NOT feeling like all I was good for was flopping on the sofa for the rest of the weekend. My legs didnt hurt and I didnt feel tired at all! Its SO encouraging to feel like that after an 18 mile run. So, feeling even more enthusiastic about the weeks ahead I started to plan when I would do my 23 miler. In 2006 I did 23 miles 5 weeks before marathon day. I would like to do as close a time to my 2006 time of 3:04 so I dont want to train that differently if I can avoid it. I soon realised however that 5 weeks before the marathon is the day after I return from skiing AND is the date of the XC Vets XC that we are hosting.. so it cant be 9th March. Cant be 16th March as I am doing Oakley 20. So, it will have to be 23rd March, 3 weeks before London.. Im GONNA DO 23 miles 3 weeks before London. Am I mad? well we all the know the answer to that one... but yes, I have no other choice. I have a route that Martyn has kindly sent me so all Ill have to do is get around. If Im feeling as positive about my running on 23rd March as I do today, it will be no sweat... it wont be quick, but it will be no sweat (thanks to my under armour top)!.
The pace started well with Richard and Mark leading out. The sun beamed down on us pretty much from the start so we had all warmed up somewhat as early as mile 2 probably! We all caught up on eachothers news and then after about 10 miles we must have all found our zones as the chatting had reduced to the odd comment about what a perfect day it was for an 18 miler. We stopped around every 5 miles to re-group and take our various drinks, gels and undress yet another layer. I wore my new under armour cold gear for the first time and I have to say it is amazing. My only complaint is that when I got back home I noticed white specs all over the front of it. This was the salt from my sweat that had dried out and because the top is black it stood out. On the plus side, at least it had dried which is what its supposed to do, so it obviously does exactly what is says on the tin!. I should think so for £35 a pop!
The route thought up by Ian took us from the club, up around Wallington, Ashwell, Bygrave and then back to Letchworth. It was a great route so thanks to Ian for that.
Richard and Mark were quite a way ahead of the rest of us but I managed to catch up with them a couple of times. Richard did an average 7:15/mile which is great. Mine was slightly slower but I didnt stop my watch when we regrouped so I dont know my average page, DOH!
The last few miles were the toughest, but even then I wasnt in any pain, just a bit drained.. Mark and Richard both went on to do 20 miles.
I forced myself to stretch for about 10 mins after, concentrating on the hamstrings which in the past have give me quite a lot of pain at this point in marathon training. Not this time however!!
What was lovely was feeling that Sunday was not all over after the run. NOT feeling like all I was good for was flopping on the sofa for the rest of the weekend. My legs didnt hurt and I didnt feel tired at all! Its SO encouraging to feel like that after an 18 mile run. So, feeling even more enthusiastic about the weeks ahead I started to plan when I would do my 23 miler. In 2006 I did 23 miles 5 weeks before marathon day. I would like to do as close a time to my 2006 time of 3:04 so I dont want to train that differently if I can avoid it. I soon realised however that 5 weeks before the marathon is the day after I return from skiing AND is the date of the XC Vets XC that we are hosting.. so it cant be 9th March. Cant be 16th March as I am doing Oakley 20. So, it will have to be 23rd March, 3 weeks before London.. Im GONNA DO 23 miles 3 weeks before London. Am I mad? well we all the know the answer to that one... but yes, I have no other choice. I have a route that Martyn has kindly sent me so all Ill have to do is get around. If Im feeling as positive about my running on 23rd March as I do today, it will be no sweat... it wont be quick, but it will be no sweat (thanks to my under armour top)!.
Friday, 15 February 2008
1 month, 25 days, 16 hours, 13 mins and 30 seconds left
Today is Friday and its my second rest day for this week! hurrah! My legs felt like wood when I was out running last night so thats a sure sign that my body is going to pack up if I dont give it a break for today at least.. When I say break I actually mean "no running" That doesnt actually rule out all forms of excersize Id like to add. This evening will consist of a swim, sauna and steam. The 5 miler last night started very slow as I knew my muscles were tight and it felt really cold out there. Whilst I was running, I secretly hoped it would snow but hey ho... no luck. I remembered the last few winters a few of us have managed to get out for a run starting from Willian in the dark and snow. The sound of the fresh snow be crushed under foot is great. Ive even got a couple of pics... Left to right is , me, Mark Y, John F, Martyn & Gary. Please let there be some snow this year for more of that fun! It must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel when I chose my running attire that night! eeek!
Anyway, yes that 5 miler last night. I did it early as it was Valentines night and wanted to get back and cook a nice dinner and have a glass of wine before the night was over. I had contemplated a take away but thats not marathon training food so decided to cook a Thai Green Chicken Curry from scratch. It was yum... followed by 2 Jack Daniels and Diet Coke.. oops thats not on the plan! Ive given up cakes, sweets, biscuits, chocolates and deserts for lent so no puddin' was to be had ;o(Whilst running last night I also reflected on my weeks training so far. I tend to measure Monday to Sunday so I dont count the Stamford 30 K this week within my mileage.. even though I can still feel it in my legs.. So as at Friday I have done 22 miles so far this week with a plan to have done 39.5 miles in total for the week. That doesnt count of course the effort that went into the Body Balance class on Wednesday night after the 10 miles. I highly recommend to all marathoners to do a form of Yoga/Stretch & Relax/Body Balance class at least once a week....unless of course you are all well disciplined and are sat in front of the telly every night with your legs behind your heads stretching those ham strings.. I doubt there are many of you, unless you are all just closet Green Godesses in your leotards and tights! - Diana Morgan eat yer heart out!
Anyway, yes that 5 miler last night. I did it early as it was Valentines night and wanted to get back and cook a nice dinner and have a glass of wine before the night was over. I had contemplated a take away but thats not marathon training food so decided to cook a Thai Green Chicken Curry from scratch. It was yum... followed by 2 Jack Daniels and Diet Coke.. oops thats not on the plan! Ive given up cakes, sweets, biscuits, chocolates and deserts for lent so no puddin' was to be had ;o(Whilst running last night I also reflected on my weeks training so far. I tend to measure Monday to Sunday so I dont count the Stamford 30 K this week within my mileage.. even though I can still feel it in my legs.. So as at Friday I have done 22 miles so far this week with a plan to have done 39.5 miles in total for the week. That doesnt count of course the effort that went into the Body Balance class on Wednesday night after the 10 miles. I highly recommend to all marathoners to do a form of Yoga/Stretch & Relax/Body Balance class at least once a week....unless of course you are all well disciplined and are sat in front of the telly every night with your legs behind your heads stretching those ham strings.. I doubt there are many of you, unless you are all just closet Green Godesses in your leotards and tights! - Diana Morgan eat yer heart out!
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