The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing
Comments
-
-
Wednesday: What a difference a day makes - after feeling a bit 'meh' on Tuesday - I wasn't sure what way the body & head would be for a session.
I had 13-15k at MP in my mind but was also prepared to break it up if required.
3km Warm Up and set off from CK Gate - done a loop to the Zoo and back up (a fig 8 loop) to CK Gate, turning down OS, Furze and onto the Acres - finished just before I completed a lap of the Acres.
The whole thing (15km) - was probably the most comfortable I've felt at that pace on a solo run. Pace averaged about 4.00 per KM which is a bit faster than what I'll be running (at the start) on Feb 18th.
I probably could have went on - but was already balancing the fact that it was 10 days to Marathon and didn't want to overdo it.
I think this was a good lesson in pacing - When I look at previous Marathons - inc Seville '22 - my pacing was a bit all over the place - definitely sections that were too fast (contributed to my cramps) - I want to pace this one a bit better.
For this run - I was careful not to overdo it - going slower was fine - just didn't want to speed up too much and have many fluctuations.
My HR today was in the high 150's - stark contrast to the similar run I done last Friday and I felt much better during and also recovered much faster.
21.1km / 4.22 ave
Thursday 8th: Planned Rest Day
Friday 9th: a run that certainly felt like the brain knew it was in a taper - 7 strides - overall felt terrible.
7.2km
Saturday: A few easy miles - down the Canal and back into the PP at Ashtown - legs still felt a bit 'meh' - done a few MP strides at the end.
12km - 5.00 per km
Sunday: Session - WU / 4km MP / CD
A mini session to keep the legs ticking over and keeping some tension in there - 6k WU and set off on 4km MP from CK Gate - felt tough from Minute 1 and after 1km I thought I'd need to stop!! Kept going for the 4km, quite unsure how I got through 15km at that pace on Wednesday.
15km total
64km for the week.
Taper week incoming.
10 -
Taper week.
Battling something this week - not too sure what - lets call it a head cold - my HRV dropped from high 50's to low 40's for a few days - but feeling back on it now - all the right metrics trending in the right direction.
I had 1 mini session this week - but it felt like a full blown session towards the end - Taper Week is probably the hardest in the whole block.
3k WU / 5k MP with last K faster/ 3k CD - felt tough.
Went through my race plan - working in KM's is good in some ways but frightening in others - the difference a 5 second swing (per KM) can do to you is frightening. So I need to be disciplined with my pacing.
Looking at my training over the last few months, its been good - theres an obvious shift from how I had done things previously;
- Major focus on Long Run - Quality Long Runs.
- Drinks and Gels on every Long Run
- Lower priority on MW runs - they've been good - but prior blocks were better - this impacted my Long Run previously.
- Less Mileage - focus on rest days 1 or 2 per week and not feeling guilty, once I'm getting the sessions in.
- Periodisation - moved from 3 sessions per week to 2 (from Jan).
- Hill Work in initial period every 2 weeks.
For my long runs - the quality is there;
10 Runs over 30km - including 7 over 32k with the longest being 37km.
thats 5 runs at or over 2hrs 30 + 5 runs between 2.15-2.30 - Only 1 of these was an easy 30k run.
Listing my last 10 long runs (for future ref) - Most recent ones last.
- 3x6km MP (30k total)
- 2x13k Steady (32k)
- 3x5km MP (30k)
- 12E/13k MP/ 5k St (32k)
- Vanilla 30k (Christmas week)
- 4x(3k@MP+40/ 3k@MP+20/ 3k MP) (36k)
- 10E (7k/6k/5k MP) / 4kE (34k)
- 32k Steady (Done this the Sunday after Fridays 25k at 4.15)
- 37k Steady (2hr 45mins - 4.30 ave)
- 4x(5k MP+2k Steady) 35k
Last shakeout today and travel on Saturday.
Travelling on Sat on purpose to minimise nerves, focus on Carb loading Thurs+ Fri here, dont want to be playing the tourist on Sat like last time (wifey is coming with me).
See you on the other side.
16 -
Best of luck Alan! That's a great block you have put in.
I see Virgin Media are showing it live so will get up to watch it.
1 -
All the best,super block!
1 -
Advertisement
-
Best of luck on Sunday. That's a very solid block of training.
1 -
Best of luck, Alan, plenty of reasons to be very confident. Run well. 👊
1 -
Great block of training as always A, very best of luck, go smash it😊
1 -
Seville Marathon 2024
Context:
After a real good Spring of racing – I made a royal Fcuk up of NOT keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing – and as a result tried to train for 5k’s, HM and Marathons all at the same time. The result was a hamstring Tendon issue that would scupper my summer races, and also my plans to run ¾ Mara, DCM and Valencia – So I signed up to Seville with the thought process that even if I didn’t make the start line, I’d get a good few days away with Wifey.
Heading into end September, I’d only done a few noteworthy sessions in an extended period of time and running the Race Series HM told me my Endurance was quite low due to the struggles I had.
My Plan was advised from a couple of plans – the BAA Mara plan for the 1st few weeks to Christmas – and then a Runners World Sub 3 plan for the Mara Specific part. I was using them as a guideline.
The BAA Plan had me doing 3 sessions a week – (2 + quality long run) – Hill Work every 2nd week. I had to replace some of the faster sessions with steady runs due to the hammy still impacting me.
Within each plan – I was changing the long runs slightly – but keeping progression intact but changing to ensure the body had the correct stimulus in lieu of the missed faster sessions.
I used a few of Matt Foxs long runs from Sweat Elite – notably 4x(3k MP+40/3k @MP+20/3k@MP) and 4x(5kMP+2k Steady).
Both these runs gave me a lot of confidence that a decent performance was on the cards.
‘Decent Performance’ – this was not going to be a PB race – I wanted to run well – not cramp.
For once I had no real time goal and it was refreshing – but my training was leading me to a 2.55’ish (+/- 2 mins)
Taper:
My last session was a 15k solo MP effort that went very very well – I done this about 10 days out. It made me wonder if I should have incorporated more of these longer MP segments rather than breaking them up as I was doing.
As the taper went on – I began to feel terrible, despite taking multi vit’s and additional Vit C – my Heart Rate Variability dropped off a cliff and each run became a struggle – my last couple of shakeouts at MP effort felt like 5k efforts – ‘its normal’ – I tried to convince myself 😊
Another consequence of the lower training was that my Hamstring Tendon suddenly wasn’t ‘loaded’ as much and as a result, it was giving out a bit more to me.
I put a lot of stock in Carb Loading this year, heavily informed by my 40k training run in the lead up to DCM ’22 – so on the Thurs/Fri/Sat – I consumed over 630grams of Carbs each day.
As I traveled on Saturday – this was a small miracle – I had last meal about 4pm and took a Maurten drink that evening – I certainly wasn’t stuffed or anything.
A very sharp headache on the Saturday and into Saturday night – coupled with still feeling a bit ‘meh’ made me re-consider my plan.
The Race Plan:
This changed a bit in the few days before the race.
Initially – it was to run the 1st 10k at 4.10 per km, the 2nd 10k at 4.05 and then try to run the 2nd half at 4’s with parts slightly faster – but how I was feeling led me to a more nuanced plan of running to feel but not going faster than 4.00 per km at any point (bar the last bit if I could manage it………..as if)
The Race:
I didn’t sleep great on the Sat night – but at least my HRV was ticking upwards. A breakfast of pancakes and Maurten had me nicely filled. I filled up my 3 soft flasks, packed my gels and set off.
I noted that it was chilly at 7.30am – I was wearing an old long sleeved top that I was going to discard – but it definitely felt colder than when I rant his 2 yrs ago – that’s a good sign I thought!
The Bag Drop area in Seville is very well organized and I dropped mine off and made my way to the starting pen – once there I realized I had left my White Hat in my bag - $hit – a moment of panic before thinking – sod it.
After 42 Seconds of Silence for Kelvin Kiptum – we were set off – I was feeling remarkably chilled about this.
KM’s 1-5: (20:37) 4.12/4.08/4.04/4.05/4.05
Keep the 1st couple of KM in control I was telling myself – run into it.
At the end of the 4th km – we cross over a bridge. All good in the hood – I’m running to feel at the moment and glance at the watch – 4.05’s for the last couple of K’s and feeling good.
KM’s 6-10: (20.16) 4.04/4.05/4.02/4.03/4.00
This piece of the race was quite nice – I remember thinking that I wasn’t ‘bored’ unlike previous Marathons and was looking forward to the remaining miles. I recall doing a systems check and feeling quite good – the hammy issue wasn’t an issue and the body was moving nicely – the effort didn’t seem in anyway tough and felt like I was out on a steady run.
At 6k I reached for my gel pouch – 90g of Carbs – the plan was to consume this by 15km (60 mins) – sipping every couple of k.
Well – I opened it and the top fell out of my hand. $h!t, I thought – I tried to fold it and put it back in my shorts pocket – but it would be leaking – so had to carry it – it was still leaking over my hand, causing that sticky hand feeling. At least it served as a distraction to me.
I also took some of my drink – I was carrying 750ml of Carb/Sodium drink (3x250ml soft flasks) – so about 90g of Carbs in the drinks in total, with a high amount of Sodium. But trying to take the drink out with one hand was comical – but it was working.
We passed 10k in 40.53 and I was feeling in fine fettle – deciding to keep the pace at 4.05’s for the foreseeable and not push it too much.
KM’s 11-15: (20:21) 4.02/4.05/4.04/4.04/4.04
This part of the race came back over a different bridge and back onto the same stretch as the start of the race.
All during this part of the race, the sun or the temperatures weren’t an issue – there was a lovely breeze along this stretch (along the river) and all was good – again – I was really happy with how I was feeling and felt quite comfortable with the pace. I was overtaking people along the way – running my own race and not getting too comfortable in any groups that would be going too fast/ too slow – the thing with this race is that there are always groups to run with at this level.
Finally finished my gel pouch and happily discarded it by a water station.
KM’s 16-20 (20:15) 4.02/ 4.01/ 4.05/ 4.04/ 4.01
Nothing too out of the ordinary here in the early K’s of this block – I’m still taking water at every station and pouring it over my head (as I have been since the 1st water station) – I want to keep my core temps in check.
As we get to 18km I begin to notice my left quad tighten up – whats that about I wonder – I remember it happening at this race 2 years ago but that was a lot further into the race after I had ran a very quick 5k split – theres no reason for it here – its very noticeable to the point that I try to run on the opposite side of the road thinking that it might be the camber of the road impacting it (or at least changing it might help it).
At this stage I have went through the 1st 250ml bottle and I discard it – onto the 2nd bottle – these are going down a treat.
At this stage – just before half way – I’m noticing walkers for the 1st time – possibly people who went out too fast or were carrying a niggle – so I make a decision to reduce the pace slightly for the coming few KM.
KM’s 21-25 (20:34) 4.05/ 4.03/ 4.09/ 4.07/ 4.07
Despite saying to myself that I’d slow down – the 1st couple of km’s around halfway were a tad quicker – a lot of people around and going through half way gave me a boost (1.26.33 – ave pace 4.04 per KM – just perfect)
I managed to keep the next few KM’s under control – still drinking the drink but taking the larger Maurten gels (40g carbs in each).
I think just after half way I had thoughts of a DNF as I didn’t want the quad to suffer any permanent damage – it wasn’t hurting me, but noticeable. If it got worse, I’d pull the plug. This thought made me think about my daughters – they had put a card in my suitcase with instruction not to open it until after the race – I couldn’t DNF now!!
KM’s 26-30 (20:32) 4.00/ 4.10/4.00/ 4.10/4.09
This part of the course – it was noticeable how warm it was getting – it was a bit more open in places and I was regretting not having my hat.
I missed water at this stage – it was crowded and by the time I made my way over to get water to throw over me – it was sports drink – so I left it.
Trying to run in the shade where I could rather than on the Green line that marked the course.
The quad was still impacting – but hadn’t got any worse, so I was living with it – and apart from that all was good.
I was not looking at the watch too much – so paces a bit all over the place – the buildings around here cause a lot of issues with GPS – so not too sure if the km splits are accurate.
KM’s 31-35 (21.02) 4.07/ 4.07/4.13/4.17/4.15
Between 31-32km we pass by a football stadium – I think its Betis and the crowd here is fantastic – a real ‘fanzone’ – gives you a lift.
I’m also beginning to count down the KM’s when I’ll see my wife – As we pass by 32km and right on Q to where it was 2 years ago – I note the familiar feeling in the legs – the onset of cramp – I take some of the Cramp Fix (pickle Juice) and it seems to help – I smile and keep going.
I’m looking at the watch more and change the screen to check my average splits – I wanted to see how my ave was so I could workout my finish time. This was a big mistake.
I get a huge cheer from my wife in the park and it gives me a real lift – we go up and exit the park and I’m passing the area where I nearly DNF’s 2 yrs ago – outside the hotel I was staying in back then. I’m smiling thinking to myself – I’ve beaten cramp – yes, I’ve slowed to manage it – but it hasn’t got me.
Every now and then, I get the feeling of it coming on, but I’m taking the pickle juice and its working.
I look at my watch and see my pace is 4.07’s – this feels great.
KM’s 36-40 (22.02) 4.16/ 4.17/ 4.16/ 4.21/4.50)
I’m onto a nice part of the course now – but it is exposed and its warm – I know there is building cover up ahead and I’ll soon by passing my hotel and then it’s a straight road down to the finish (more or less).
Check pace and see that I’m doing 4.09’s now and feel great about it.
Wow – check that – nope I’ve been looking at Ave Pace – my lap pace is 4.16’s – what a schoolboy error. I get annoyed briefly with myself before asking myself if I could have ran a few seconds faster in the past few KM’s – I’m not sure – but we’ll never know – they are gone so just deal with it.
I tell myself to keep it at sub 3 pace and try to keep it at 4.15 per km – theres just 3-4k to go – so don’t lose a couple of mins due to cramp for the sake of gaining a few seconds.
Out of nowhere – as I can see the 40km sign – I get a massive bang in the hamstring – I have to stop. I stretch it out – I’ve no more cramp juice left – I take the remaining carb/sodium drink – I’ve finished all 750ml. I manage to get going again but I know I’ve bled some time.
KM’s 41-42 (4.26/4.26/4.24 (last 0.5km)
We pass by my hotel and the famous Cathedral and I’m moving ok, I’m doing slower than 4.15’s but that’s ok – I don’t want to cramp and lose minutes.
I pass by the 41km sign and know that I’m nearly there,
Despite running at this pace – I’m still passing people, theres a lot of suffering going on around me. This is quite an exposed road and the sun is quite hot.
I’m approaching the final turn – just a few hundred meters to go – BANG – my right hamstring gets a terrible shot – at the same time, I hear my wife shouting at me – I’m thinking – oh no, she’ll have the video out and I’m cramping, running funny and punching my leg like a lunatic. (She did, I was and I am :))
I remember 2 years ago having to stop on this part of the course – I can see the finish line – I’m not stopping again – If I stop its game over – I can feel the cramp moving everywhere – the inside of my hamstring feels like a big knot that’s being tightened beyond all possibility.
The finish line comes to me and I’m holding my arms out – done it – finished - what a race.
What a relief.
2.56.47 was the official Finish time – so the 2nd half was 1.30.14
My immediate thoughts as I shuffled down the finishing chute;
· My Christ it is HOT – when I stopped running and noticed my surroundings – the sun was scorching!
· I really enjoyed that one – perhaps my most enjoyable marathon todate.
· Yes – I cramped – but I only lost 30-40 seconds when I stopped and managed the last 10k quite well.
· I’m 51, had a crap summers training and ran my 2nd fastest Marathon.
I’m not going to say – ‘That’s it’ for Marathons – but for the foreseeable future I feel like I’m moving into a new phase of my running life – running with a training group.
We’ve a new track and a great group to train with – something I really need and am really looking forward to.
19 -
Excellent report and well done for keeping the show on the road....could easily have dnf'ed there but coming away with a great time again.
1 -
Advertisement
-
Really enjoyed that, A - congratulations on another fine performance.
51 years young and still banging out performances like that, great to see it
1 -
Super report. Seems like it was a really well executed marathon and you managed the setbacks superbly.
1 -
Great report and a great run. Glad to hear you really enjoyed it too. Well done Alan.
1 -
You continue to inspire A, super report & what a time, your 2nd fastest marathon even with those setbacks, sometimes it's hard to realise just how fookin fantastic we did because of being so hard on ourselves with targets etc but now the dust has settled I hope you realise it!
I too have seen a different side to running & will not solely be focusing on PBs all the time, bringing the pure enjoyment back into it has brought a new lease of life to my running which hopefully it will do for you! The group training & new track sounds brilliant, very best of luck with it.
Keep logging, I love reading up on your stuff, you never know who you are inspiring 😉
1 -
Very nicely raced and reported pal. I think I now need to run faster than not only my own very soft marathon PB but yours as well, just to entice you back to the marathon fold :)
I don't know if I remember you mentioning the Cramp Juice before? Pickle juice...it sounds rather disgusting!
1 -
Great read and very well done on the race, congrats 👏
1 -
Yep, inspirational. Fantastic stuff. Can't believe you carried a gel for 9kms, what's that, 37 mins! Well done for pulling off a great result.
1 -
thanks all.
Managing recovery - eager to get back at it now.
Updates will be less I'm afraid due to the nature of the training group & the coaches wishes (both on here & Strava) but I may still give some updates on how things are progressing and the odd race report.
5
