Marathon Training Week # 1

This week I started my 24 week ( I know it's a bit long - but I'll do other races in between) training programme for the Cork City marathon on 2nd June 2008. The programme is from Matt Fitzgerald's "Brain Training for Runners" (I'll try anything once). The programme I am "intending" to follow calls for 6 runs a week with the option of up to 4 other recovery runs or x-training sessions lasting 20 mins to 1 hour. As most of the runs, especially in the early weeks, are single digit miles I "intend" to add the optional runs to the end of them as I haven't time to tog out twice a day. On Monday I took a rest day (story of my life this weather) and lo and behold the training programme said "day off" when I checked it in the evening. - so far so good. The rest of the week went like this:- Tuesday Programme said...... 6 mile run with 2 x 30 seconds hill repeats at sprint pace Grellan did............... a.m. 6.7 easy miles @ 08:12 pace & 129 HR. p.m. 6.4 miles at the track (no hills) with 8 x 400m repeats (actually lane 5 or 6) in 89 to 94 secs. Legs felt tired. Wednesday Programme said......6 miles @ base pace (for me 07:40 to 08:30 pace) Grellan did..............6.7 miles "barefoot" miles @ 08:31 & 112 HR (HR must be wrong) No niggles with extending barefoot distance. Thursday Programme said.....6 mile fartlek run with 2 x 30 secs @ mile pace. Grellan did.............. 8.6 mile fartlek run with 5 x 30 secs @ mile pace ( I did this route with 5 x 2 to 2.5 mins @ mile pace two weeks ago) 07:33 pace @ 102 HR (HR wrong) Friday Programme said....... 6 miles @ base pace. Grellan did................ 11.4 miles @ 07:33 pace & 137 HR (real HR in 140's). I'm less than 1 week in and already I'm deviating from the programme Friday

Party Season

Only completed 34.5 miles this week as some of my usual morning running slots were taken up with recovery sleeping after some late nights or early morning Christmas pudding making. Following Tuesdays intervals I did an easy 5.2 "barefoot" run on wednesday morning - no niggles at all (so far so good) - 08:28 pace (No HR monitor) Thursday - rest day. feeling tired. Abina got a 5 a.m. to make Christmas puddings before she went to work so I got up to give some assistance/encouragement. Friday - 11.4 mile easy run @ 07:57 pace & 140 HR. Felt tired. Saturday - 2.5 miles on the threadmill while I watched Ani & Saran @ their swimming lessons. Out until 3 a.m. at work party. Sunday - 6.7 miles steady 07:20 pace @ 144 HR. - out until 2 a.m. at friends house party.

"Walking on Water"

This is the proprioceptive (hope I spelt it right) cue I am following this week to improve my stride/efficiency. basically I have to imagine I am skimming over water without sinking into it - i.e. get those feet off the ground as soon as they land. I tried this on an 11.4 mile loop on Monday morning (same loop as Saturdays run). I was fully expecting my cadence to increase and my stride length to reduce accordingly to give me more or less the same pace as Saturday. Imagine my surprise when I finished the loop in two and a half minutes less than Saturdays run and with a lower heart rate also. My stride length had remained the same and my cadence increased to the recommended 90/minute. Drive on. This evening I returned to the track and more or less repeated the 6 x 400m intervals (lane 3 - 416m) with Eagle AC that I did 2 weeks ago. After a 3.6 mile warmup on the road I didn't feel great and was expecting to be dragged around the track. 85 second laps were on the menu with plenty of recovery on an easy walk/jog for a lap. The first lap was the slowest but I got into my stride after a while, giving an all out effort for the last. Here's how they went:- 1:27 @ 144 HR 1:26 @ 154 HR 1:25 @ 159 HR 1:22 @ 158 HR 1:23 @ 162 HR 1:16 @ 162 HR (All out effort - HR Max of 173) The average heart rates were low as I was fully recovered at the end of each recovery (some last over 5 minutes). Mon 11.4 Miles in 01:27:20 (07:40 pace @ 139 HR) Tue 7.3 miles incl 6 x 400m Intervals. .

Cork Simon Christmas Run

I completed the last of the three 4 milers in the run up to Christmas today. This was a race with a difference - no watches allowed, you had to predict your finishing time beforehand and the only prizes were for those who finished closest to their predicted finishing time (6 prizewinners in all).

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The weather was a bit wet and windy to say the least but not as bad as the gale force winds forecast. The run was an out and back from the Marina along the disused Monkstown/Passage railway line (now a walking path) with a bit of a road (footpath really) loop thrown in, between miles 1.8 and 3.

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I arrived late as I was dropping my brother to Fermoy to pick up a car so I only managed a rushed 1 mile warmup. I predicted my finish as 26:00 (a PB of 45 seconds - should be achievable as my PB, 2 weeks ago, was on a hilly course)

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We all (about 150 of us) lined up on the footpath and grass embankment along the Marina (quite tight really) and we were off 1 minute after Gerry Forde's wheelchair. As I started on the path, I did not experience too much pushing and shoving in the opening half mile. We ran along the level railway line with the wind at our backs for the first 1.8 miles. I maintained pace with a group of 5 or 6 runners for the first mile but began to fall off the back of the group, first 10 yards, then 20 and 30 - still no one coming up behind me though. At about 1.8 miles (I know this from the route posted on John's Blog) we took a left and headed along the side of the slip road up to Mahon Point shopping centre. This is where the wind took on a significant role in pace setting. I passed a guy who had also fallen out of the group in front (now 50 yards ahead).

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As we turned left past Mahon Point and up towards the Skehard Road the heavens opened up. This is where I began to slow noticeably as the road was rising and I was running into a strong headwind with horizontal rain (I had to take off my glasses and hold them - no wipers). I passed a guy who had stopped and was walking - obviously I wasn't the only one suffering (that's always nice to know) still no one passed me.

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After the left turn onto the Skehard Road it was down a steep embankment and back onto the relatively sheltered railway line for the last mile. I could here runners close behind. 2 guys passed me in quick succession. I decided to see if I could keep pace with these guys for as long as possible as there was some benefit in drafting off them as the headwind was still noticeable. I didn't think they would hang around for long - I managed 100/150 yards and they began to pull away - 5 yards ahead. However the gap did not increase so I kicked just a bit to keep on the heels of the 2nd guy (these guys were at least 50). He must have heard my heavy breathing as he turned slightly - a bit surprised to see that I was still there. I certainly would not have kept this pace on my own (I had been running in no-mans-land for the best part of 2.5 miles - I wasn't going to loose these guys). While the effort felt tough the fact that I could keep pace with these guys kept me going.

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The second guy turned to me with a half mile to go and said something like "fair play to you keep it up. Shoot ahead there, the finish is not far". I replied that it was he who was carrying me home. He may not have heard through the heavy breathing. The other guy was 5 yards ahead at this stage. The two of us ran side by side for the closing stages with me pulling ahead by a couple of yards as we passed the finish line. I think he pulled back a bit and let me, to be quite honest.

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There was a clock on the finish that said 02:40:55 as I passed it. I stopped to chat with my finishing partner (Maurice Tobin - M55) afterwards and thanked him for guiding me home. We both thought that we had come in just under 25 minutes (if we ignore the zero on the clock - wishful thinking) He said he had been running 24 years and while his latest marathon was 03:22 (same as my PB) he managed 02:47 in his prime.

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I spoke with the time keepers later and was told that the finishing clock was not recording the correct time as finishers would speed up or slow down along the home straight to get as close as they could to their predicted time.

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At the prize giving afterwards my work colleague, Tony, came second having come in at 30:29 compared to his prediction of 30:30. Unfortunately for the rest of us we will have to wait until the results are posted on the website (Should be sometime Tuesday afternoon - I'll have to wait that long to see what my 4 mile PB is). I did manage to win a large box of chocolates in the raffle afterwards and picked up a company team prize for the 4 miler two weeks ago - 2nd in class B, whatever that means (my running career is beginning to reap rewards - who'd have thought).

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A relatively easy but tiring 11.4 miles in the wind and rain yesterday gave me just under 55 miles for the week (54.8 to be exact)

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Sat - 11.4 miles in 01:30:50 (07:53 pace @ 142 HR) Sun 6.5 Miles including 4 mile race (no time, HR or anything)

Postscript:- The results are out - I finished in 25:32 (06:23 Pace) and a new 4 Mile PB.

Some Barefoot Running

I took delivery of these yesterday morning. I ordered them from this website. They cost about €67 ($100 - exchange rate is very good at the moment) including delivery from Utah - although they are made in China.

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Apparently they are the nearest you can get to barefoot without wearing nothing. They were recommended by Matt Fitzpatrick in "Brain Training for Runners" - makes sense really - with cushioning on shoes we are not walking or running the way god or 100,000 years of evolution intended.

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I though I'd give them a go to see what changes they would impose on my running stride. The only protection they offer is to numb the feeling from sharp objects (stones, twigs, etc.) - you still feel everything.-I tried them on the threadmill yesterday lunchtime (I was that keen) with no ill effects but gave them the acid test this morning over a 5.2 mile recovery type run. I intended to turn back after 1 mile if I felt the slightest hint of a niggle - after all I had never run barefoot on asphalt or concrete (wouldn't dream of it normally).

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While it required a bit of skill to match up the toes to their respective "holders" (particularly towards the smaller end of the range) it was worth the wait. It certainly felt a bit strange at first, but as each footfall did not yield pain I soon got into a stride at about 08:30 pace. I certainly could feel every variation/texture change in the road/path surface through the soles. While strange at first I certainly felt closer to my environment. After stretching following the first mile I continued on for a 5.2 mile circuit and even felt I could go longer (20 minutes is initially recommended - actually Matt Fitzgerald recommends to only consider using minimalist shoes when injury is a common problem with normal running shoes).

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You will certainly never heel strike in these shoes and survive for long. I did have some tenderness in the ball of my left foot, particularly during the last mile when I upped to pace to about 07:30 mins/mile (I had to find the boundary) however the overall experience was very positive - great to feel the texture of the running surface, splashing through puddles as if I had no shoes on but without the expected discomfort.

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My cadence was slightly higher than for my normal runs (88 versus 86 approx) with shorter stride lengths, which I would expect as the tendency would be away from over striding (heel striking). I will include a "barefoot" recovery type run in my weekly schedule and see how it goes.

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Yesterday morning I went for a tempo run as part of an 8.6 mile circuit. After a warmup mile I upped to pace to between 06:45 & 07:00 mins/mile for about 4 miles, only stopping as I noticed I had lost my glasses from the pocket in my reflective bib, which was also held my headlamp. I put the glasses in when it began to rain and pulled the headlamp out 3 miles later to cover the dark mile on the straight road - glasses must have popped out when I pulled the headlamp out and i didn't notice due to the relatively hard effort I was maintaining. I doubled back to look for them but after a half an hour walking back and forth with the lamp I could not find them and ran for home covering 9.2 miles on the extended run (a further search in daylight was equally unsuccessful - I wouldn't mind but I only got them a month ago - lucky I got a second pair - my old abandoned pair will come out for my early morning runs in future)

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Wed 9.2 Miles in 01:09:33 (07:34 pace @ 143 HR) with 4 miles @ 06:51 pace & 160 HR

Thu 5.2 Miles in 00:42:15 (08:07 pace @ 131HR - Barefoot

"Are You F***ing Well"

This was a comment made to me at 0700hrs yesterday as I passed 2 guys at an ATM machine on their way to work and slightly the worst for wear from the night before (from the smell of beer in the air as I passed). They had obviously seen me on previous mornings and though I was mad! Running obviously didn't feature on their list of "things to do before I die". I replied in the affirmative. I was tempted to say a few more words but I would have had to slow my pace. I must say that I gave this some thought as I rose again this morning shortly after 0530 to do a fartlek run - "what am I doing" , "is this it, - squeezing runs into the early hours - is there any time for rest". I was tired so this was my central governor saying let's quit for today (the slippery slope). The fact that Abina went on a short 2 day hop to London yesterday leaving me to manage the household may have contributed to my tiredness, but not a lot. In any event I persevered and went out for an 8.6 mile run in the wind - the same fartlek run as last Thursday - while the sprints felt slower (and they certainly were for the return leg into a headwind) than last week the overall session was only 12 seconds slower - not bad for a tired old body on a windy morning. Another 2.5 miles on the threadmill at lunchtime gave 10.1 miles for the day. Yesterday morning I rose with Abina as she was leaving at 0530 for her flight to London and headed out shortly afterwards for a relatively easy 11.4 mile circuit in towards Cork along the Model Farm Road and out the Straight Road. The unlit section of the straight road caused me some grief as, for some reason, I could not make out the 2' footpath in the darkness as cars approached and I wobbled like a drunk between the kerb and the ditch until headlights briefly illuminated my world before plunging me back into darkness and forcing me to slow my pace. Sun 2.5 Miles - Threadmill (got up too late for longer run) - total of 54.5 Miles for the week. Mon 11.4 Miles in 01:33:16 (08:11 pace @ 132 HR) Tue 8.6 Miles in 01:07:14 (07:49 pace @ 140 HR) & 2.5 Miles @ 08:14 pace & 135 HR

Here Comes the Rain Again

The Weather Rain is the subject of my post today. Not that I've seen too much of it but it has come back into my runs after an absence of a month or two - which is strange for Ireland in November. Despite what Thomas is experiencing in Kerry (where most of the country's rains falls as the south westerlies coming in off the Atlantic unburden their load on the first landmass they meet) the country has been pretty dry over the last number of months with river and lake levels much lower than usual for this time of the year. The winter rains normally start in early October and aquifers begin to recharge for the winter. Apart from the odd day of frost the temperature has also been fairly mild. Ireland has the quintessential temperate climate - one long season of overcast days with showers and sunny spells. If it's sunny and above 25C for more than two days we call it a heat wave and if it's cold, wet and windy (above 50mph) we have a storm. And we love nothing better than to talk, and generally moan, about the weather. The un-seasonal weather could be put down to “global warming” but experts are divided as to what exactly is happening to the earth’s weather systems and what the likely outcome will be. Our ancestors didn’t have the forewarning of meteorologists & Climatologists afforded to them when the ice age hit some 10,000 years ago. They just said it’s a bit cold around here let’s move south for a few millennia. I can see history beginning to repeat itself with more and more people buying that “house in the sun” and our old and infirm heading to the south of Spain (or Florida) to live out their final days. Sorry didn’t mean to rabbit on for so long about the weather………… Running…………. After Tuesday’s intervals I did an easy 5.2 miles in the rain on Wednesday morning. The rain was light and the temperature mild. While my legs felt fine I had a general overall tiredness as I didn’t get to bed until 0030hrs (I’ll have to stop this blogging lark). Thursday morning saw me heading out for another speedwork session – this time on the roads in the form of a fartlek run. I had intended doing an 11.4 mile loop from the house but I got up too late to get back by the 0700hr curfew and so headed out on a shorter 8.6 mile loop with 5 hard efforts at about 06:00 pace lasting between 2 and 21/2 minutes. While I managed to complete them all (the last one was the shortest and on a downhill) I was glad they were over – still not used to putting that much effort into anything so early in the morning. When I got home at 0700hrs I went to wake Keevsa and Safan for school – a little surprisingly they were both less than responsive - when I went back downstairs I noticed that the time was in fact 0600hrs. Somehow I had risen an hour earlier than I thought – the watch I use for running is still on summer time which I had neglected to notice in my half groggy state when rising. No harm done except that I could have made that 11.4 mile loop with plenty of time to spare. Starting at 0445hrs, this was my earliest run ever (so a new PB of sorts). Friday was another recovery day with 6.7 easy miles in the morning with a bit of rain thrown in. I also threw in a 2.5 mile (4km) threadmill run in the gym after work with 1 km each at 11.5, 12, 12.5 and 13 kph. I recorded the following stats for each km using Adrians super duper watch (still borrowed):- 11.5 kph: 126HR, Cadence 87, Stride length 3'7" 12.0 kph; 137HR, Cadence 89, Stride length 3'9" 12.5 kph: 145HR, Cadence 89, Stride length 3'10" 13.0 kph: 152HR, Cadence 89, Stride length 4'00" While my cadence was steady at 89 for the last 3 km my stride length is what changed to keep with the faster paces. Don’t know what this means but it may have more to do with running on a threadmill than anything else. I notice that both my cadence (99/100) and stride length (4’10”) increased during my interval session on Tuesday. For this mornings long run I was expecting wind and rain as the weather forecast predicted storm conditions coming in from the west as 14m waves were predicted to hit our western shores. So heading out at 0830hrs I was surprised to find calm dry conditions with a little chill in the air. While I felt some drops of rain after mile 1, which prompted the title of this post, it cleared up and the sun even came out for a few miles. I ran into Cork along my usual route (straight road) and along the north quays heading down Patrick Street at 0930hrs (main shopping street) – glad I wasn’t caught up in the Christmas shopping frenzy that was just beginning - before heading out past the University and the Model Farm Road. My pace was fairly even and comfortable throughout and everything felt in working order. I did begin to feel some fatigue towards the end but nothing out of the ordinary. I finished 15.3 miles just under the 2 hours. My average HR of 138 was quite low for the 07:47 pace sending a clear signal that I am at or near pre-marathon fitness or my HR monitor is malfunctioning. I may go for an easy run in the morning to get the weekly mileage up but if the predicted “storm” conditions arrive I may give it a miss – no pressure. Wed...5.2 Miles in 00:43:53 (08:26 Pace @ 132 HR) Thu... 8.6 Miles in 01:07:02 (07:48 pace @ 144 HR) with 5 x 6:00 pace fartleks Fri..... 6.7 Miles in 00:56:29 (08:26 pace @ 132 HR) & 2.5 Miles in 00:19:31 (07:50 pace @ 140 HR) Sat.... 15.3 Miles in )1:59:12 (07:47 pace @ 138 HR)