So that's "your thing" now is it?

Unthought Known · 08-01-2019 12:40am

scotindublin wrote: »

Brilliant week A; great start to 2019. Give it a few weeks and your body will adjust to the 6 days a week.

Just make sure that the prescribed easy days are easy.

Thanks C. Starting to get used to them now. My wife asked me tonight "don't you get sick of running 6 days a week?". I said no then went out for a run so that's a good sign. For running. It may not be a good sign for my marriage!

aquinn · 08-01-2019 4:25pm

Heya,

You're doing great. Fair play A.

Sorry for freaking you out on that HR spike. I think I know what's happened as P has noticed of late that the HR can lock onto his cadence and that is what is causing the high HR at the start of the run and then it realises and settles on HR. That might have been it?

skyblue46 · 08-01-2019 4:30pm

aquinn wrote: »

Heya,

You're doing great. Fair play A.

Sorry for freaking you out on that HR spike. I think I know what's happened as P has noticed of late that the HR can lock onto his cadence and that is what is causing the high HR at the start of the run and then it realises and settles on HR. That might have been it?

Yeah that happens me from time to time as well. Normally settles in a half mile or so.

Unthought Known · 08-01-2019 8:18pm

Thanks. How does that work? I suppose it can happen when the watch is a bit loose? I've kept a pretty close eye on HR since and haven't noticed anything unusual so hopefully it was a one-off.

skyblue46 · 08-01-2019 8:40pm

Unthought Known wrote: »

Thanks. How does that work? I suppose it can happen when the watch is a bit loose? I've kept a pretty close eye on HR since and haven't noticed anything unusual so hopefully it was a one-off.

I use a chest strap. I had to tighten it a bit and wet the contacts before putting it on. I now also put it on a few minutes before I head out. Cannot see that there is one solution for both chest and optical monitoring

Unthought Known · 14-01-2019 12:52am

7 January: 6 miles easy at 9:23. Avg HR 127
Easy Monday and a couple of very easy local loops.

8 January: 4 x 1200 off 400 rec. Total 7.6 miles
Plans on Tuesday night so I ran this at lunchtime. Plan was to run the reps in Sean Moore Park, but it turned out half of Dublin also run intervals there on Tuesday lunchtimes.......groups of them.......in the opposite direction to me. I managed 2 reps in the park, but found it hard to keep a consistent pace with so many people there. Not their fault of course, but I felt I was getting in their way.
Anyway......last 2 reps up and down the strand were easier to get on pace, but the wind made the last one much tougher than it should have been. Overall I was happy, strong on the first 3 but struggled a bit on the last. Toughest session of the plan so far.

Splits: 5:00, 5:02, 5:01, 5:05

10 January: 7 miles MP + wu/cd. Total 10.3 miles. Avg HR 143
Thursday sessions step up to 7 miles. Starting to find these easier now, but I might start ignoring the watch for a few miles to see if I can feel the pace a bit better.

Splits: 7:35, 7:32, 7:36, 7:34, 7:33, 7:29, 7:29

11 January: 6.7 miles very easy at 9:19. Avg HR 126
A commute into work, all downhill and all easy.

12 January: 10.4 miles easy at 9:02. Avg HR 130
Felt very good on this, but kept it easy. Miles seemed to tick by very quickly.

13 January: 8 miles easy at 8:52. Avg HR 129
Probably a harder run than than it looks. From mile 3 to the end I was always running into the wind.

49 miles for the week.

That's 1/3 of this plan completed and it seems to have flown by. Happy that so far I've hit the required mileage (253/253) and have managed all sessions without too much trouble. The next 6 weeks will be harder though with increased mileage (325) and tougher sessions. Hopefully the great weather will continue.

Unthought Known · 18-01-2019 11:58am

Might as well do the weekly update now as I doubt I'll be running for a few days.

14 January: 6.5 miles easy commute at 9:16. Avg HR 131
The usual run home from work. Nice and easy.

15 January: Pyramid 400,800,1200,1600,1200,800,400 at 6:45-6:50 pace off 400 rec. Total 8.4 miles
In all honesty I was dreading this one. I think I've done just one pyramid session before and I hated it. I also had to be a bit creative with the route to keep it relatively flat as there's a 200m hill I only wanted to use for recovery. Warm-up was all downhill to the industrial estate which was great, but it did make the cool down a bit of a pain, all uphill.
All reps were ok. First 4 were easy enough, but I started feeling it on the second 1200. By the last rep my legs felt like I'd raced a 5k flat out, but it was great to get it all done.

Splits: 1:40, 3:20, 5:00, 6:42, 5:03, 3:22, 1:40

17 January: 7 miles at MP + wu/cd. Total 10.5 miles
If anything the Tuesday sessions make these marathon pace sessions seem easier. I do still feel like I'm working a bit too hard, but that's probably due to doing this on tired legs.

Splits: 7:35, 7:34, 7:31,7:33, 7:32, 7:34, 7:27

If you feel like something's going too well.............
Getting back into the car after the run I felt a tweak in my back and when I got home I could hardly get out of the car. I now feel like I have a trapped nerve or something so definitely no running, I can hardly walk, until that's sorted.

About 25 miles for the week.

skyblue46 · 18-01-2019 12:57pm

Jesus I hope it clears up quickly for you. To come at a time when you are training so brilliantly is rotten luck. Hopefully it passes as suddenly as it happened.

scotindublin · 18-01-2019 4:08pm

Hopefully nothing too serious with the back A you have had some start to this training block....hopefully this is only a bump in the road

aquinn · 18-01-2019 6:02pm

S*it Andy, what's the plan of attack? Are you ok?

Unthought Known · 18-01-2019 6:53pm

scotindublin wrote: »

Hopefully nothing too serious with the back A you have had some start to this training block....hopefully this is only a bump in the road

skyblue46 wrote: »

Jesus I hope it clears up quickly for you. To come at a time when you are training so brilliantly is rotten luck. Hopefully it passes as suddenly as it happened.

aquinn wrote: »

S*it Andy, what's the plan of attack? Are you ok?

Thanks. Hard to know with back trouble. It's feeling a little better, but that could be the heat pad/nurofen combination. A couple of days off won't do me any harm at this stage so I'll start panicking on Monday if it hasn't improved.

OOnegative · 18-01-2019 7:06pm

Unthought Known wrote: »

Thanks. Hard to know with back trouble. It's feeling a little better, but that could be the heat pad/nurofen combination. A couple of days off won't do me any harm at this stage so I'll start panicking on Monday if it hasn't improved.

Any consolation, I twinged my back 4-5 weeks ago & it cleared up quickly enough. Cost me 10 days off but I was probably overly cautious with it. Have been doing press-ups daily since to try strengthen the area. Hope it clears up.

denis b · 18-01-2019 7:55pm

Bad luck Andy but well worth giving yourself a chance for a day or two, not that you have much choice! Have had the same experience once or twice, and its always the car. Fingers crossed that all is well in 2-3 days.

Wubble Wubble · 19-01-2019 10:31am

Best of luck with the recovery A. Frustrating especially when training is going well, but a few days off may make things much easier long term.

Unthought Known · 12-02-2019 1:05am

Soooooo..............

A frustrating few weeks, but things are hopefully looking up.

21-27 Jan: 3 easy runs totalling 16 miles. No pain while running, but very stiff the next day.

28 Jan - 3 Feb: 3 more easy runs totalling 15 miles. Back feeling better every day, but still not perfect. I made the decision to ease back into it until the first strength week.

4-10 Feb: More like it. 5 runs, again all pretty easy, totalling 38 miles. This included 2 commutes and a 9.7m mile run on Thursday at the faster end of easy. It was great to get through that one.

11 Feb: 6.5 mile easy commute at 9:16. Just seen now that totalling time was exactly 1:00:00.

This week is the first week of the strength phase. Planned mileage is a bit high (61 miles) given the last few weeks. I don't really want to make that jump so I'm cutting back a little on each run. I'll try the session tomorrow which should be 6 x MP-10 off 400m recovery, however I'll probably just do 4. Same for the MP "tempo" run on Thursday, I'll cut that a little as well......as long as tomorrow is ok.

Longer term, I'll see how the next few weeks go, but I'll probably have to revise my target for Manchester. I am starting to worry now that I have a lack of long runs. I know that's the general idea of Hansons, but I'm now missing the cumulative fatigue part of the plan.

Huzzah! · 12-02-2019 11:03am

Unthought Known wrote: »

Soooooo..............

A frustrating few weeks, but things are hopefully looking up.

21-27 Jan: 3 easy runs totalling 16 miles. No pain while running, but very stiff the next day.

28 Jan - 3 Feb: 3 more easy runs totalling 15 miles. Back feeling better every day, but still not perfect. I made the decision to ease back into it until the first strength week.

4-10 Feb: More like it. 5 runs, again all pretty easy, totalling 38 miles. This included 2 commutes and a 9.7m mile run on Thursday at the faster end of easy. It was great to get through that one.

11 Feb: 6.5 mile easy commute at 9:16. Just seen now that totalling time was exactly 1:00:00.

This week is the first week of the strength phase. Planned mileage is a bit high (61 miles) given the last few weeks. I don't really want to make that jump so I'm cutting back a little on each run. I'll try the session tomorrow which should be 6 x MP-10 off 400m recovery, however I'll probably just do 4. Same for the MP "tempo" run on Thursday, I'll cut that a little as well......as long as tomorrow is ok.

Longer term, I'll see how the next few weeks go, but I'll probably have to revise my target for Manchester. I am starting to worry now that I have a lack of long runs. I know that's the general idea of Hansons, but I'm now missing the cumulative fatigue part of the plan.

Sorry to hear this. Would you consider dropping back to the beginner plan? At this stage, I think it's much the same as the advanced, just with slightly less mileage.

Unthought Known · 12-02-2019 4:07pm

Huzzah! wrote: »

Sorry to hear this. Would you consider dropping back to the beginner plan? At this stage, I think it's much the same as the advanced, just with slightly less mileage.

Good idea, thanks. You're right, the sessions looks the same, but there's a drop in mileage, mainly over the easy days.

The Black Oil · 17-02-2019 10:48pm

Ah the 'cumulative fatigue' side of things...

Unthought Known · 18-02-2019 12:22am

To continue the week.......

12 Feb: 4 x 1 mile @ MP-10, + wu/cd. Total 7.5 miles
The first strength session of the plan. Should have been 6x1, but this was more of a test run for the back after last weeks easy running. Overall it felt great, but then again my legs were fresh after the easy few weeks.

3rd split was a bit fast.
Splits: 7:29, 7:25, 7:19, 7:24

14 Feb: 8 miles @ MP, + wu/cd. Total 10.85miles
I had planned to run only 6 miles at marathon pace, but the miles just ticked by so I did the full 8. Only started feeling it in the legs the last mile.

Splits: 7:33, 7:33, 7:24, 7:37, 7:33, 7:39, 7:37, 7:37

15 Feb: Back felt a little stiff so I skipped the easy run.

16 Feb: 7.5 miles easy at 9:18. Avg HR 124
Kept this one nice and easy. Back was fine.

17 Feb: 16 miles at 8:31. Avg HR 144
Took a trip out to PP so I could get a good run in without constantly stopping at lights etc. Beautiful day and the park was packed. Very windy in places, but it wasn't as bad as I thought when I started. Two loops of the park plus the finishing loop from the race series HM (Acres Rd was a tough one into the wind). The first 3 miles were a bit sluggish, but once I warmed up it was comfortable enough.

48 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 04-03-2019 12:57am

18 Feb: 6.5 easy miles at 9:23. Avg HR 135.
Nice and easy. Trying out New Balance Beacons as I read some good reviews.

19 Feb: Strength session. 4 x 1.5m at MP-10 off 800 rec, + wu/cd. Total 11.7 miles.
Target pace here was 7:28. Comfortable enough really.
Splits: 7:21, 7:24, 7:24, 7:25

21 Feb: 9 miles at MP + wu/cd. Total 11 miles.
A tough run, but happy to keep the pace and HR pretty steady.
Splits: 7:35, 7:31, 7:33, 7:31, 7:44, 7:37, 7:37, 7:37, 7:28

23 Feb: 10.4 miles easy at 9:19. Avg HR 128
Took a rest day on Friday and, with a weekend of DIY ahead I managed to get out in the morning. Feeling great, no issues with back.

24 Feb: 6:5 miles at 8:53. Avg HR 135.
Didn't finish DIY until late on Sunday and I was aching. I was going to skip the planned 10 mile run altogether, but fancied heading at at around 9pm. Nice run, but maybe not my smartest decision.

46 miles for the week

25 Feb: 8 mile easy commute at 9:21. Avg HR 129
Second run in the Beacons. Felt absolutely great on this for the first 7 miles. In the last mile I started noticing my right achilles felt a bit tight. Didn't think too much of it, stretched the calf and finished the run. That evening I was in bits. Not sure if it's the runners (only a 6mm drop) or the DIY, but I had to take Tuesday off and did a lot of rolling and stretching for a few days. I'll put the runners away untl after the marathon as I should really have known better.

28 Feb: 7.4 miles at 8:40. Avg HR 135
Definitely no MP session tonight. No pain with achilles during run, but it did feel a bit tight after.

160 miles for February.

2 March: 8.8 miles at 9:08. Avg HR 128
Another rest day on Friday to let everything calm down. The run felt great. No tightness before, during or after.

3 March: 20 miles at 8:59. Avg HR 138
Decided after the last week that I needed to get a 20 miler in. Headed out at 9am to try and miss most of the rain. Still got soaked though.
After 2 very easy miles I increased the pace to around 8:25 for the next 6-7 miles. A couple of very slow miles followed as I shuffled out to Poolbeg Lighthouse and back before increasing pace again. Very happy that I was still strong in the last 5 miles as it was all uphill so a bit of a confidence boost.

44 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 12-03-2019 11:48pm

4 March: 6 miles easy at 9:14. Avg HR 125
Can't really remeber this one. Must have been pretty uneventful.

5 March: 2m wu, 2.4m MP-10.
This should have been 2x3m at MP-10 plus wu/cd. Unfortunately it rained so hard I had to throw in the towel as I passed the car on the first pace section. No harm done though, move on to the next run.

7 March: 9 miles at MP plus wu/cd. Total 13.1 miles
The bailed run on Tuesday probably helped here, but the pace felt pretty good the whole way and I paced most of it better than usual, slowing a bit uphill. I'm still not sure if I'll target this pace on the day.

Splits: 7:38, 7:24, 7:27, 7:37, 7:30, 7:40, 7:31, 7:42, 7:32

8 March: 6 miles easy at 9@20. Avg HR 127
2 local loops. All good.

9 March: 10.5 miles at 9:12. Avg HR 130
Not too sure really. It was cold and I ran. Felt fine. Out Saturday night for too many pints.

10 March: 9.8 miles at 8:56. Avg HR 134
Nearly the same route as yesterday. It was colder, I had a hangover and I ran a bit faster. Felt ok considering.

50 miles for the week.

11 March: 6.5 mile easy commute at 9:34. Avg HR 145!
Pretty sure the watch locked onto cadence for the last mile here. At exactly the point I stopped to cross 2 roads it jumped to 169 and matched cadence all the way home. Stupidly windy near the end. Legs felt very tired.

12 March: Legs, especially knees, feeling really tired today. Decided I need a rest day so skipped the planned strength session. Hopefully it will help me have another good MP session on Thursday.

Murph_D · 13-03-2019 12:22am

Why would you be not sure about MP on the day? You chose the MP based on performance (I assume?) You’ve missed some sessions but not a huge amount? I think its better to commit than to waver - take it out anyway and see how it feels. Training at one pace and racing at a lesser one seems like a bit of a waste! It’s going well enough, trust it.

Unthought Known · 13-03-2019 10:35am

Murph_D wrote: »

Why would you be not sure about MP on the day? You chose the MP based on performance (I assume?) You’ve missed some sessions but not a huge amount? I think its better to commit than to waver - take it out anyway and see how it feels. Training at one pace and racing at a lesser one seems like a bit of a waste! It’s going well enough, trust it.

It's the usual self-doubt kicking in. A bit earlier than usual probably because of the missed runs in weeks 7-9. On the day I'll more than likely go for it. If I nail tomorrow's session I'll be on a high again and start talking about 3:15! Confidence is a fine balancing act.

Unthought Known · 15-03-2019 7:29pm

14 March: 10 mile MP plus wu/cd. 14m total
As close to a perfect run as I can tell. Felt comfortable all through. Drizzly rain for the whole run, but that probably helped me.

15 March: Bad choices. Went for a sneaky lunchtime pint that turned into a bit of a session. No running today.

Unthought Known · 18-03-2019 12:54am

16 March: 8.2 miles easy at 9:08. Avg HR 130.
I swear if it rains on me again I'll..............Lovely run until the horizontal rain hit.

17 March: 20 miles at 8:27. Avg HR 140.
Another Hansons rule breaker, but I thought I'd run my last long run as a bit of a steady session. Ran the first 2 miles easy before picking the pace up to between 8:10-8:30 for the next 18. Very windy in places, but I felt strong and very relaxed for the whole run. Passed quite a few runners on the route and every single one gave a nod or a wave. Must have been the sun.
Just noticed that this run had over twice the elevation of the Manchester marathon. I'll remind myself of this on the day.

49 miles for the week. 3 weeks to go, but not quite taper time. It will be interesting to see how I react to a shorter taper.

Murph_D · 18-03-2019 10:12am

Is that twice now you’ve substituted the ‘signature’ Hanson 16-mile steady LR for a 20? What’s the thought process behind this?

Unthought Known · 18-03-2019 12:19pm

Murph_D wrote: »

Is that twice now you’ve substituted the ‘signature’ Hanson 16-mile steady LR for a 20? What’s the thought process behind this?

Looking back at my training so far:
I hit every run for the first 6 1/2 weeks before injuring my back. In weeks 7-9 I ran 25%, 30% and 25% of the planned total mileage, all easy, no sessions.
Since then, for the last 6 weeks, I have hit most sessions and have averaged just under 50 miles pw, but this mileage is between 80-90% of what's in the plan. That is semi-intentional by the way. I made my mind up after the injury that I would take an extra day if I felt I needed it.

The Hanson plan is based on the idea that the 16 mile long run is meant to simulate the last 16 miles of a marathon. The week before is about building a base, and fatigue, for that run. I felt that that I hadn't built up the cumulative fatigue to get the physical and phsychological benefit from a 16 mile run. Yes, that goes against the Hansons ideal, but they also say that a long run should not exceed 3 hours. It's relative to ability and at this stage I am able to complete a 20 mile easy/moderate run in less than 3.

I've rambled a bit, but the short answer is that I felt, 3 weeks before the marathon, that I would get greater benefit from a longer run.

Murph_D · 18-03-2019 8:33pm

Well I think the method suggests you add miles to the easy runs rather than the SOS workouts if you need to increase mileage. Therefore accumulating more fatigue to bring into the important sessions. Anyway best of luck with the rest of it.

Unthought Known · 18-03-2019 11:21pm

Thanks.
Yes, to increase mileage. My problem has been that I've gone the other way and missed mileage that I wasn't able to get back by increasing other easy runs. Sticking to max 30% ratio this week would have meant a 14 mile run and I felt I needed more for my last long run.

Unthought Known · 24-03-2019 11:17pm

Ah FFS........

18 March: 4.9 miles easy at 9:21. Avg HR 127.
Not much to it really, just a very easy local shuffle.

19 March: 1m wu, 1.5m MP minus whatever, 0.5m cd. Total 3 miles
Too much going on so I didn't get out until after 9pm. Plan was for 4x1.5m MP-10, but as it was so late I planned to do 2 local loops with 3x1.5m. About half a mile into the first rep I got the, erm, feeling that I should have gone to the toilet before I left. What followed was me getting faster and faster until the point where I couldn't risk running fast any more.
Fail to preare and all that. I didn't bother going out for the 2nd loop.

21 March: 10 miles MP plus wu/cd.
I was looking forward to this as, despite my troubles on Tuesday, I felt I had a real spring in my step. 2 miles warmup and then just over 4 laps of the business park. It's a testing enough triangle with 1/3 flat, the next 1/3 with around 60ft steady drag followed by a steady descent. Not too bad, but each lap I give myself a pep talk "only 3 more drags to go" etc. Seems to work and I felt pretty comfortable again at this pace. According to Garmin this run has 13ft more elevation than the Manchester marathon so I should see a benefit right? Also had my 2nd and final test with Maurten gels, taking 2 at marathon pace with no issues (that's an expensive dress rehearsal!)
Splits: 7:34, 7:32, 7:24, 7:36, 7:30, 7:37, 7:29, 7:30, 7:35, 7:29

22 March: Ah FFS. After such a positive run I woke up with a bit of pain in/on my right knee. No running.

23 March: 3.5 miles easy. Went out to test the knee on grass. Not too bad, but I could feel it. Feels like a bruise, but I don't want to take a chance that it's more.

24 March: Knocked the planned 10 mile on the head. I did have a few little jogs while walking the dog and didn't feel anything, but there's nothing to gain at this stage and plenty to lose.

Only 25 miles for the week. Disappointing as the Hanson plan shouldn't really taper until this Thursday.

aquinn · 25-03-2019 5:54pm

Are you going to see someone about the knee A? Probably adviseable so you know you're ok rather than rest and see approach.

Unthought Known · 25-03-2019 8:06pm

aquinn wrote: »

Are you going to see someone about the knee A? Probably adviseable so you know you're ok rather than rest and see approach.

Yeah I'm booked in tomorrow morning. I'll have another rest day tonight and watch the (not so) mighty England.

scotindublin · 25-03-2019 8:42pm

Good luck tomorrow.......just be thankful you are not from North of the Border......2 horrendous performances from us over the last few days! Looking forward to proper football being back this weekend!

Unthought Known wrote: »

Yeah I'm booked in tomorrow morning. I'll have another rest day tonight and watch the (not so) mighty England.

Unthought Known · 26-03-2019 10:29am

scotindublin wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow.......just be thankful you are not from North of the Border......2 horrendous performances from us over the last few days! Looking forward to proper football being back this weekend!

Yep, international football is an unwanted distraction!

All good at the physio. Tight hamstrings meant quads have been doing too much work which pull on this and pulled on that etc. until I felt it on the knee. Hope I wasn't too technical for you there! Anyway, no need to stop running, I have some specific stretches to do for the next
2 weeks and after the marathon I need to concentrate on strengthening.

aquinn · 26-03-2019 10:57am

Excellent news, be diligent with those exercises now.

Very pot, kettle here but anyway.

aquinn · 05-04-2019 10:52am

How are you doing? Manchester bound?

Unthought Known · 05-04-2019 12:32pm

aquinn wrote: »

How are you doing? Manchester bound?

Ooh, long update........

I will definitely be there. I've been concentrating on stretches and exercises to loosen my quads, hamstrings and glutes. That's been more important than running really, but I'll do one more easy run tonight.
I was back at the physio on Wednesday and she put me through it (no damage anywhere) before a sports massage. My right quad is dominant which is causing tightness over the knee, but all much looser after the last week. I have specific active stretches to do before the race to get the glutes and hamstrings firing. I'm also taking the foam roller to Manchester!
I asked the physio straight out and she said to absolutely run. It's not an injury risk, but I should expect some tightness as I tire or lose form. She actually said then that I should run through it if this happens.

So...I'm running. I'm going to start a little slower than originally planned, but this is also because most of whatever climbing is in the first half.

Huzzah! · 05-04-2019 1:28pm

Ooo, good luck!

ariana` · 05-04-2019 3:29pm

Hope you have a great run on Sunday

scotindublin · 05-04-2019 4:34pm

Good luck A!

Unthought Known · 05-04-2019 9:11pm

Thanks all.
It's going to be epic. Maybe for the wrong reason, but it will be epic!

skyblue46 · 05-04-2019 9:23pm

Just adding my best wishes A. Give it your best shot and above all enjoy it.

Murph_D · 06-04-2019 11:43pm

Glad you're making it to the event. Cut the cloth to suit the measure and it can still be a good day for you. All the very best.

Unthought Known · 09-04-2019 12:08am

26 March: 5.1 miles easy.
29 March: 4.8 miles easy
1 April: 4.4 miles with 1 mile at MP
5 April: 4. miles easy.

That's the sum total of my taper. At each run I felt my knee after 2-3 miles. Not enough to make me stop, but definitely something. A couple of physio visits at least confirmed that I could run the marathon, would feel my knee, but it would just be an inconvenience.

7 April: Manchester Marathon

A quick recap on my Hansons advance plan (18 weeks):
Weeks 1-6: Perfect. Hit every run and all mileage/
Weeks 7-9: A random back injury (caught a guy that collapsed on the Luas) meant nearly 3 weeks of rest and easy running totalling around 50 miles.
Weeks 10-16: Back on plan, but not quite hitting all the runs/mileage.
Weeks 17-18: As above. A knee issue meant a very aggressive taper.

650 miles completed for the plan

Murph_D wrote: »

Cut the cloth to suit the measure and it can still be a good day for you. All the very best.

Thanks for this. I had decided to dial back my target to sub 3:30, but I read this on Sunday morning and it confirmed my decision.

So, a sub 3:30 target. Not a "3:29:59" target, but really just to stick with the pacer until halfway and see how I felt and how the knee was holding up.
I felt I nailed carb loading and hydration this time so I was confident fuelling wouldn't be my downfall. As usual I had a coffee, porridge and a banana for breakfast. Sipped on a Nuun drink up until 8am when I took my first Maurten gel (a suggestion in the book, to use a gel rather than solids). That was it until the race.

It's a bit of a walk from the bag drop to the start, but it does give you time to calm down and go over the plan for the first few miles. "Slow start, don't weave, take a gel and water (not the whole bottle) every 3 miles without fail, don't push the pace at all for 13 miles".
The start pens are something they could really improve on. They check your number going in to make sure you're in the right zone, but then the sides are open so anyone can get in. You get runners standing there with husbands/wives/parents/children 5 minutes before the start. Crazy.

Miles 1-3: 7:50, 7:49, 7:57
I lined up behind the 3:29 pacer. A different guy to the one last year that went off at about 3:15 pace so that was good. Quite a big group so I started and stayed about 30m back. Pretty crowded, but that suited me and I was surprised how quick the miles ticked over. So quick that the first water station took me by surprise and I ended up doing a Mo Farah and running back to get a bottle. Have to pay more attention. Starting feeling tightness in my knee at mile 2. Gel and water taken (3).

Miles 4-6: 7:48, 7:47, 7:52
Out towards Sale. I can't say I remember too much here, but I was still surprised how quick the miles were ticking over. Still a pain in the knee, but by this stage it seemed to have reached a limit and stayed there. Gel and water again (6).

Miles 7-9: 7:55, 7:59, 7:47 (10K: 49:04)
Through some residential areas and still very crowded. I was sure it wasn't this crowded last year. Knee pain still the same, but it's not an issue. Feeling really comfortable and I'm hovering just behind the pacer group. One thing I noticed was the pacer seemed to put a little spurt in coming up to each mile marker. Each mile I watched the group pull away from me a little before they slowed down a bit. Maybe that's a problem with only 1 pacer. Gel and water taken at mile 9. I really don't mind the texture of these Maurten gels as much as I thought I would.

Miles 10-12: 7:46, 7:44, 7:58
Out to Altringham and at mile 12 we see the faster runners on their way back. The pacer seemed to push it a bit too fast in 10 & 11. I followed, but I couldn't work out why he would vary pace so much. Still crowded at the mile 12 water station, but I was more organised at this stage. Legs still felt full of running and the knee was becoming less noticeable. Gel and water (12).

Miles 13-15: 7:45, 7:53, 7:49 (HM 1:43:37)
Just before 13 miles I moved ahead of the pacer. I didn't want to push anything, but just wanted to open up a gap for some room. Our turn to be the faster runners as we loop back towards Manchester. One thing the crowds seem to do here is narrow the road which means any pacing group has to slow down. Reminds me of the Tour de France (on a smaller scale). Gel and water taken (15).

Miles 16-18: 7:54, 7:58, 7:51 (30K 2:27:18)
Knee pain has gone. No pacer to watch now, but there were a few people running with me and we all seemed to be dragging each other along. Not sure we ever really dropped the pacer, but I didn't look back to check. One thing I remember thinking here was how great the Zoom Fly Flyknits are (NOT the 4%). I have never worn a shoe that felt so comfortable from start to finish in a marathon. At marathon pace this far in it really does feel like it's helping you. Gel and water (18)

Miles 19-21: 7:50, 7:54, 7:50
Quite sunny now and I could feel the heat. This is the lonely section by Carrington where I fell apart last year, but no such chance this time. I'd locked on to a very strong runner who looked like she was in the zone. I did nothing for 2 miles but follow her feet, never looking more that 10 yards ahead of me.
Water and last gel take at 21.

Miles 22-24: 7:58, 8:04, 7:57
Digging in now and I could feel myself working harder. The female runner had pushed ahead, but by this stage I'm passing people just by keeping the pace up and that's a great feeling. Mile 23 was the first time I felt a breeze against us. It was also the start of a very very minor, but constant incline until the last mile. Normally you'd call it pancake flat, but this far in you start noticing the tiniest elevation. Time for head down again and just get through it. Water at 24, some poured on head this time.

Miles 25-26.2: 8:04, 7:59 and 7:45 pace for the last bit.
It's a nice finish here. You seem to see the finish line from a long way back which can work both ways. This time it worked the right way as I just focussed on the gantry and, after checking my watch, pushing enough to come in under 3:28.

Chip time: 3:27:51

Legs are in bits today and the knee is very tender.

Given the interrupted training I'm not sure I could have pushed this one any more. I did feel in control the whole race, but also do not think I could have done anything more over the last 6 miles. At the finish the tank felt pretty much empty. Gels were a revelation, as were the shoes. Hansons plan is definitely something I'll try again, but hopefully I'll be a bit luckier with injuries.

No running at all for 2 weeks now and I have to concentrate on strengthening hamstrings and glutes.

scotindublin · 09-04-2019 6:14am

Brilliant result and also what looks like a pretty much perfectly executed race plan; delighted for you.A just reward for the hard work you have put in the last few years. From the Novice thread in 2016 to where you are now is great progress.

Enjoy the couple of weeks of well deserved rest.

Wubble Wubble · 09-04-2019 12:12pm

Delighted for you A. Like C said, it's a very impressive progression from where you were back in the DCM 2016 Novices days. Enjoy the recovery!

aquinn · 09-04-2019 4:28pm

That all sounded so relaxed and no issues at all. Well done Andy, fantastic going. What a time! Congratulations.

shotgunmcos · 09-04-2019 6:46pm

Well done and nice pacing throughout.

skyblue46 · 09-04-2019 6:48pm

Great stuff A. That was a really solid and relatively drama free race...perfect in every way. Well done.

AuldManKing · 09-04-2019 7:39pm

Sounds like a drama free and well executed race, well done!
Might look at Hansons at some stage myself.

So that's "your thing" now is it?

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