Gade Valley 17 Mile Marathon Training Run

27th Feb (am) 17 miles @ 8:37 pace

Gade Valley Harriers organise a series of runs, each progressively longer, in the lead up to London marathon. A few runners from my club were running there this morning, so I thought it would be a good way to do my long run, and a good change of scenery too.

Standing around at the start was freezing! But, once we got running, the sun came out and it felt like a beautiful spring day. The first three miles of the course are along the Grand Union Canal. We started right at the back, so it meant jogging very slowly for these first miles. Once onto the open road, Martin (club mate) and I were able to increase the pace a bit. We clicked off a few miles at around 8:20, then a few at closer to 7:20. There was some great scenery as we ran through the Ashridge forest area (made note to go back there bikejoring with Olly) and some nice long dragging climbs too - the one from 12-13 miles was really nice! :)

Felt good energy-wise when I finished, but my left achilles is very tight now. Massage and rest tonight and hope it's ok for training tomorrow :-/

Butterfly

26th Feb (am) 65min slow, 6.5miles

Woke really early this morning (530am) and waited for some sun before setting off on a run. Was raining throughout, so the trails were flooded - mid-shin puddles of mud, horse p**s and whatever else has washed onto the trail. Nice! But we did 6.5 miles real easy, just 10-min/miling. Really nice to get out so early when the trails were empty. Some good bonding time with Olly :-) Now getting ready to go out to the Opera. I'm taking my mother to see Madam Butterfly, so should be a nice afternoon.

Recovery

Fr 25th Feb (pm) recovery session
Legs are quite heavy today. Hard run last night and it's the end of the working week, so it's to be expected. So tonight was just a 30min spin, 30min jog on the 'mill and a weights circuit session. Total of about 90min training, but all at low/moderate intensity.

I've couple of days off work next week, so a four day weekend means a couple of big training days, lots more recovery time and more fun time with the dogs. Think I'll get in some bikejoring with Olly and at least two of the days. Pic attached of Olly bikejoring last weekend.

Club runnin'

24th Feb (pm) 8.5 miles, 1:07:28, 7:56pace.

I was feeling tired today after a hectic day at work getting bogged down in 'migrant health data'. Oh, the fun! But a pre-run bounty bar must have given me a bit of a rush as I had a great run. Was meant to be an average of 8min/miles, so I was close. Not a very steady pace though - steep, long hill in the first mile saw an 8:40, then a few miles at more like 7:15 pace, wrapped up with a couple at 8:15. Due to the hills on the course, it's to be expected. They make for a tough run too! But great to run with a group from the club - the conversation makes the run much easier... as does the promise of a cool, frosty pint of Magners waiting at the club-house at the end :-)

I'm back!

It's so long since I posted on this blog, but I figured that I'd start to share my build up for the Kent 24-hour challenge. For those who don't know; I started this race in 2010, but started too fast. The race starts at 12 noon, so I was running hard when it was at its hottest. Result - I got dehydrated and had to play catch-up. I ended up pulling out of the event at the triple mara point (78.6 miles) which I'd hit in just over 17hrs. My legs felt great, but after a 30min nap, I pee'd blood, so knew that was my "time to stop" calling. So, I'll be prep'ing for this one again with the goal of running x4 mara's in the 24hr time limit.

Tue 22nd Feb (pm)
30min spin watching "Indulgence" with Anton Krupicka.
6.5 miles with barefoot tempo run on the track - last mile at 6:19 before cooling down.

Wed 23rd Feb (8miles)

(am)
4.75 miles jog with Olly on very muddy trails and in a nice cooling rain shower. Always a struggle to get out the door when it's raining, but love it once I'm out. Trails empty! :)

(pm)
Very tired after dragging into London for a conference. Home later than usual, so did a light session to loosen out: 30min spinning and 30min jogging on the 'mill.

South Devon Weekend

Friday evening I caught the train to South Devon, Totnes, with a group of Serpentine runners for the Devon Coastal Marathon. After getting to Totnes and the second hire car not being there, a few of us waited for another of the party who was coming on the next train. We then caught a cab, stopping for groceries en route, and still managed to get to our rented cottage way before the hire car group. Country roads without names, no GPS...they had to resort to getting a drunk guy to draw them a map. But, they got to the cottage eventually and we all got to bed at a reasonable hour in prep for the morning run.

My alarm went off at 6am. I awoke, looked at it and thought, "I've not got work today...shit the f**k up!" At 7am laughter from the kitchen woke me up with just 30-min to get ready before we'd to leave for registration. So, a quick coffee and two digestive biscuits...the kinda breakfast you need before a trail marathon!

Race organisation was top notch. From reg., throughout the course and at the finish, it really was well organised. Anyway, we headed out at 9am with a chopper buzzing overhead for the first 10 or 15 minutes. They were filming for Sky TV extreme sports show and apparently trail running's an extreme sport now (no-one's mentioned this to the fell running crowd!).

The first 15 miles of the course were the best – along the coastal trail and a mix of rock, mud, streams and beaches. After there, we wound our way back through the countryside. Still beautiful, as we ran through hamlets, farms and along singletrack, but it didn’t have the same wow factor as running past the lighthouse and cliffs. Maybe it was something to do with my cramping legs though? At around 15 miles we hit the tarmac for about a mile. I cramped within a few hundred metres. I furkin hate the roads! So, the remainder of the run was cramp management. I had to slow down enough so that I could rehydrate on the move.

Around this point I ‘ran’ with a young squadie called Jacko. It was his first marathon of any description and he was suffering after having overcooked it in the first half. I stayed with him, tab’ing (tactical advance to battle – although, I wasn’t sure where the battle was, I wanted to get there!), for a couple of miles. After losing him on a couple of downhills, I decided to crack on as he was really tying up.

My twitching legs continued to threaten to cramp for the rest of the run, and did a few times. Once, just a mile from the finish, I cramped right outside a pub. I had to stand there and stretch for several minutes with people enjoying lunches looking at my wondering “wtf?”

But, 6hr 24min and 1sec after setting off, I crossed the line, grinning and feeling pretty good. When the cramps set in I decided to not get too worried about it. I figured that it was good prep for ultra – learn to manage pain and discomfort. I did that for about 3hrs, so a good days practice, I’d say!

There are three more races in the Devon Coastal Trail Series; Pembrokeshire, Cornwall and Exmoor. I’d recommend them. Scenery’s great, other runners very friendly (trail races are nothing like road races from this point of view) and the organisation is great. For now though...I’m going to see if I can mobilise my legs enough to take Olly for an easy 5 miler.

Next Week's Training

here's a snap-shot of what's planned for the coming week. The week's got an off-road marathon on Saturday in Devon. Normally, if trying to run well, I'd be resting more, but as the mara's prep for the May ultra, I'll be only tapering back slightly. Mid-week's not big anyway, due to work, so not a big diff.

Mon: Spinning (45min) + weights circuit

Tue: Easy 45min run

Wed: Tempo 45min run

Thurs: Spinning (45min) + weights circuit

Fri: Easy 4mile run + travel to Devon

Sat: Devon Coastal Marathon

Sun: REST!!