Rightzone Triathlon

2 days to go…

// April 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Races

2 days to go till the 2010 Virgin London Marathon. I was going to write about the last week and how it’s been pretty textbook. Then I reaslied I already wrote the post in April 2008 (before the last London Marathon).

See – click me

So without looking at the article I already wrote…..

1) Sore knee – yep, just went for a 30 min (what else!) run and was convinced I was developing a right knee injury. It cleared up when I forgot to think about it!

2) Skinny legs – yep, I’ve got em and boy do they look weak. But only in certain lights. Funny how you convince yourself that 4 months of training will suddenly disappear off your legs as rapid muscle atrophy sets in.

3) Worries about not doing enough miles – even though I know I did as much as I physically could this time I have still had a few niggling doubts that I haven’t done enough. Silly boy.

4) I’m ill – I’m not ill but I was convinced yesterday that a frog in the throat was the beginnings of a serious cold. Today…..there’s no cold but there’s still time right?

5) General feelings of tiredness – I was so tired on Mondays 30 min run that I had to stop. That was running @ 8 mins per mile too!!!

6) Self doubt – this is a strange one. I haven’t really got the self doubt this time quite as bad. The self doubt has been replaced by nerves. That’s right, I’m nervous. You lay it all on the line, you put the work in, you tell everyone, you publically blog about it……you don’t want to fail right?

If you can think of any other classic last week before a race things then let me know. I’m sure I’ve had them too!

Off to pick up my number soon. Roll on Sunday, whatever happens, I’m going to give it my all.

Kingston Breakfast Run….the 16

// April 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Races

More analysis! With only 2 weeks to go till the London Marathon I ran the Human Race Kingston Breakfast run 16 miles. Results can be found here. Main goal of this race was to run within myself, not hurt myself and to try and run at marathon pace. Racing this race would be disastrous for a good result at London. Could I resist the chase?

So the gun went and I tried my best to hold back. With the new super lighweight Asics Gel Hyperspeed 4 running boots on I was feeling great and went through the first mile too fast. Thankfully it really did feel like I was holding back though so I wasn’t too concerned. I gradually eased back down through the field from 8th to 14th over the next 15 miles. I resisted the temptation to go with people as they came past and went through half way in just a shade over 47 mins.  I averaged 157 on the heart rate (about Marathon pace), averaged a shade under 6 mins per mile and finished with a time of 1.35.55. A time I wouldn’t be happy with if I was racing but given it was a restrained effort I’m more than happy. Leg’s felt great at the end and the only problem was the soles of my feet. Badly blistered from the new running shoes. So I’ll be wearing my training shoes in the marathon itself. Not worth risking the whole thing for 100grammes (the difference in weight between the racers and the training shoes).

In 2008 I ran this race 3 weeks out from the marathon and only managed a short 1.35 when going flat out. I believe for sure I could have raced close to or under 1.34 (my time from 2006). So happy with the result and very little soreness the day after which is exactly what the Dr ordered. I gained a lot of confidence from this run and am chuffed to be able to run this fast whilst holding back. I’m not going to change my marathon race strategy of going out on 6 mins 10s per mile though. I just want to get to 20 miles ready to run the last 6 miles properly.  The marathon is basically a 6 mile race that starts at mile 20. If you can arrive in good shape at that point you stand a chance of achieving your goals. Any other approach is madness. Not to say it’s not possible to PB but doing a massive positive split….but generally it doesn’t work out. See previous marathon results from yours truly.

100 Consecutive days of running

// April 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // Training

At some point I’ll post up exactly what run training I’ve done. But hey, I’ve gone through a major milestone. 100 consecutive days of running and an average per day run time of 55 mins! That’s only 25 mins per day more than the target (which was 30 mins per day). After the marathon we’ll slip back into just (sorry) 30 mins per day. As somebody pointed out that leaves only 265 days of running to complete the goal. Now that’s a proper running streak. None of this running 1 mile per day American stuff that is supposed to count as a running streak. I’ve got to say it’s a lot harder than I imagined. There have been a few occasions now where I’ve been tired, it’s been late and I’ve simply not wanted to go out. The challenge of the streak and the pressure of publically declaring it keeps me going though. I did convince myself the other night at 10pm at night that I was ill and needed a break. Then I put my kit on, stepped out the door and felt fine once I’d been running for a few minutes. The mind is a strange tool that sometimes seems a little disconnected from the body.

I’ve detailed some stats below. It’s pretty much got every step logged in it. I’ve been using the Garmin 310XT religiously and it’s a fantastic piece of kit / tech. Feel naked when I’m not wearing it.

I’ve been thinking…

// April 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Races

I’ve been thinking about the taper. There’s a slither over 3 weeks to go and today I ran 21.6 miles (3 laps of Richmond Park) with the boys from Thames Turbo. Nice ‘n’ slow at a shade of 3 hours but nevertheless it was a tough run being on the feet for that long. I digress, getting back to what I’ve been thinking.

I’ve been thinking about the taper. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Mark Grattons Hard marathon training programme but have never really tried to follow it seriously. Certainly didn’t think I’d be able to run twice a day every day. However having completed a run every day so far in 2010 I’m thinking that I could probably do this in 2011 if I chose to (which I won’t).

But what I’ve been really been thinking about (god I’m dragging this out) is the taper. Having run so consistently and put in so many miles I’m almost tempted to think that it’s all in the bank and just knock in the 30 mins a day. I know that’s not the right thing to do though. So going back to Mark Gratton’s Hard marathon training schedule I see a nice format for the last 3 weeks of running. Here’s how it looks (beginning Monday 5th April – my biffday)

Mon 5 Apr: 45 mins steady
Tue 6 Apr: 12 x 400 @ 3km pace, 200 jog rec.
Wed 7 APr: 10 miles – picking up pace.
Thu 8 Apr: 8 x 1km @ 10km pace, 2 mins recovery.
Fri 9 Apr: 8 miles steady.
Sat 10 Apr: 5 miles steady.
Sun 11 Apr: 16 miles Breakfast run (@ 6.10 per mile)
TOTAL – 53 miles

Mon 12 Apr: 6 miles steady
Tue 13 Apr 10 x 400 @ mile speed, 200 jog rec.
Wed 14 Apr: 10 miles steady
Thu 15 Apr: Marathon pace fartlek run – hold efforts of up to 5 mins at marathon pace, interspersed with recovery at steady pace (relaxed fartlek style 8 miles)
Fri 16 APR: 40 mins steady
Sat 17 Apr: Threshold run 30 mins
Sun 18 Apr: 11 miles steady
TOTAL – 47.5 miles

Mon 19 Apr: 8 miles steady
Tue 20 Apr: 10 x 200m hard strides in racing flats, 200 jog rec.
Wed 21 Apr: 35 mins steady
Thu 22 Apr: 30 mins steady – start carbo loading with pm meal.
Fri 23 Apr: 30 mins easy – highest carbo intake on this day, high water intake
Sat 24Apr: 30 mins easy – reduce food intake after 6pm, high water intake
Sun 25 Apr: London Marathon – the big day run sub 2.45