RW Forum SIx – 3.30 – 4.00

Carl D wrote (see)

What does a week out of a schedule mean to overall performance ?

What impact will it have on my HM next weekend ? 

Well obviously it does have an impact. But...... If you're ill and you try and train through it your training is usually rubbish and therefore you gain little training benefit from it. Plus..... More importantly, if you train when ill your recovery from the dreaded man flu can take longer thus the overall training is less. Make sense? Generally I err on the side of caution and go back to bed.

But..... I am lazy.....

Oirish - sounds like a great valentine's day keep working on those paces. They get much easier and it really works.

Oirish - sounds like you are in fine fettle - in all senses of the word! Superfast 5th mile there! I'm sure those eyes were smilin....

Hannah what a beautiful day for run - your post just reminded me that I haven't seen sun on a run for a while now! Watch that foot.

Carl - scrap the LSR & prioritise getting yourself well.... it won't have a huge impact. I was reading thru my 2006 running diary & my marathon training on the run up to my Spring marathon and note I missed a 20 miler and several sessions due to colds etc. I went on to PB @ HM a few weeks later and achieved my goal of sub 3.45 in the mara.
I feel your frustation especially as your training as been going so well but as the Unstoppable Sex Machine advised me 2 weeks ago - get better & you will come back stronger. And he was right - I have run my fastest mile and fastest 6 miles since and my avg HR is down for comparable pace. Cheers Carter!

Carter - i think I'll keep my 2nd MLR on a sat and LSR on a sun for 2 reasons: 1. Hal Higdon seems to advise that running a LSR the day after a MP MLR with not so fresh legs is great marathon training 2. I work Sat morns and early morn Sun LSR just fits with family life etc so much better.
I will take your advice about swapping my Weds & Thursdays around though

Cheers Spoons, like I say once I get a grasp of pacing these things then I should be fine. I am going to try audiobooks rather than music and see if this puts me in the mood for a slower pace. I was a bit concerned when I was speeding up not to go to fast and then run out of steam but I certainly enjoyed both runs as an alternative to a steady plod.

As for the running whilst ill dilemma, I always site the endurance cyclists, who I appreciate aren't exactly exemplary role models but they stop training full stop at the first sign of a cold. Total shut down, it suprised me when I read that but on reflection there is a logic in it because as you say the training will be poor and you are just putting more strain on an already failing system.

Mind you I bet they don't go short on medication.

Mind you I once ran a HM 4 days after a 3 week hospital stay so don't listen to me, just because I have good advice doesn't mean I have to follow it.

Hal Higdon's plans are better than most. Especially his always running 26.2 miles minimum over the weekend. 

Carter - I'm going for a 30 minute jog tomorrow..... First in over 2 weeks 

Sorry to hear you've not been great Carl. I had to take a week out of my schedule a couple of weeks back and was getting really worried about it. I set me back a tiny bit, but not as much as I would have been set back had I tried to keep on running through it.

I'm looking at the sunshine, hoping it stays like this for the HM tomorrow, and thinking that perhaps I was a bit silly going out for 'just a couple' with the other half and some friends last night. It's never just a couple is it?!

Hannah - oh I'm having a flashback to the glass of wine with my pasta the night before Run to the beat incident of 2010. It's never just one either.

Good luck tomorrow and looking forward to hearing all about it. 

Here's wishing you all a good weekend

Thanks all for the encouragement. Some amazing running going on whilst I have been feeling sorry for myself.

Having gne to bed before the kids last night I am feeling a little brighter today. Hopefully another good day or rest will put this behind me.

I will make a decision in the morning about doing my LSR. I might do a MLR instead just to get the legs moving again.

It was definitely winter when I last ran but it looks positively balmy out there today. There is a massive XC event on across in Hampstead Heath and I can hear it from where I live. Just makes me want to don the running shoes but that would be silly today.

Hannah - best of luck with your HM tomorrow.

Carter - did you decide to run the 20 miles this weekend. I am amazed at your recovery after your HM effort last weekend. Also interested to hear how you get on experimenting with gels.

Spoons - lazy is not a word that I would describe you with. You might be injured but you have been doing all sorts of other activities so well done you. I guess having run so many marathons it is easier not to get so worked up about potentially missing one when injured. Unlike us novices who having invested so much time and effort into training get frustrated so much more easily when we miss a few days.

Ricky - some great training going on there. Having looked at quite a few training plans I tend to agree that Hal's are better than most. At this stage in your training I would not mess around too much with your weekend runs. If it works for you stick with it. You seem to be moving into a great place and I am expecting great things from you.

Oirish - some good sessions from you too. Once you get into the zone with pacing your faster runs there will be no stopping you.

Hi all - thanks for the good luck wishes!

Am getting a little anxious - do I need to get my excuses in early?  I've already mentioned the over-indulging last night, and the sore foot, but I also managed to drop a perfume bottle on my other foot today (ouch, ouch) and have had slightly dodgy stomach, so all-in-all I'm a slightly hobbling, sweet-smelling specimen of loveliness. Anyway, still haven't decided what I'm aiming for, but would seem to make sense to be in the 1.45-1.49 ball park, I think.

I know there are a few miles of beach/mud/shingles which might cause a few delays, but the weather forecast is fine, and I'm really rather looking forward to my first race in 5 months.

Good luck with all the recoveries to the poorly people and Ricky, I am sure you will have no trouble slaying the beast!!

Until tomorrow then...

Sounds sensible Carter - prob a combination of last sundays race exertions & that manflu you had working on you earlier in the week.

Just a point on the gels though: Are you sure the gels are working the way they should if you are taking them with the sports mix drink? I was always of the understanding that you needed to take water with gels to allow proper absorption by the gut. I'm nearly sure there's something about the concentration of a sports drink that makes the gel sit in a gloop like state in your gut without being effectively absorbed. Could be wrong though - maybe do some googling?

I have used the High 5 4-1 powder before but used it pre & post run, carrying water during the run to drink with the gels.

Hi Carter - sorry to hear your long run didn't go to plan. Take it easy tomorrow. Have you got a log of what long runs, distances and paces you have done this year? Only the Saturday long run, not the other stuff.

Carl/Spoons - I was actually quite happy with how yesterdays run went to be honest, apart from the fact that I cut it short by 3 miles I felt it was a decent run considering that I was running on tired legs towards the end. 

Ricky - thanks for the comments about the gels. I'm sure the chap at the running shop said mix the 4in1 water and use that during and after the run and use the Isogels for an extra boost during the run. The isogels were more liquidy than gloopy so they went down okish. I will check with the shop when I go in again this week.

Carl - well done for being so patient this week and making the frustrating decision not to go out this weekend. You will be fit and raring to go soon and will be well rested to go for a PB at the weekend. For my half I didnt taper and went straight into my training as normal after the race. During the week I felt quite strong, it was only towards the end of yesterdays run that I tired a bit. For my next race I think I will not taper again but cut down a bit the week after and limit my weekend run to maybe 12 miles. With the training times you have been posting here recently I would say you are running really strongly at the moment so maybe a slight taper and receoveryafter the race might work for you ? This is all a learning process for us so we may not getthings right first time.

Spoons - a good 30 minute run under your belt for your comeback. Lets hope all the injuries are behind you now

Spoons - I'm feeling good today so going out for a trot later. Here are the details of my long runs since starting the training plan.

Week 1 - 15 miles @ 9:21

Week 2 - 12.1 @ 9:44

Week 3 - 18.1 @ 10:06

Week 4 - 10.5 @ 10:17

Week 5 - 12.1 @ 10:11

Week 6 - 16.6 @ 9:37

Week 7 - 13.1 @ 8:05 (Liversedge HM)

Week 8 - 16.7 @ 9:43

Hi all - well, I made it!

Having had a slightly dodgy tummy and a sore foot this week, I decided not to go and beast myself and to try and run the half at as close to marathon pace as possible, so around 1.50-1.54 (though I suppose I would have liked to have gone faster)

I went out conservatively and did the first couple of miles at around 8.30 and then found myself picking it up a little in mile 3, perhaps because the wind wasn't blowing straight into my face at that stage.

The roads were pretty narrow and it was tricky to keep to an even pace, especially with having to dodge bollards, pavements, cars and other runners going in the opposite direction; still, it was sunny!

From mile 3.5-7.5 we were faced with an impressive amount of mud, including two short stints across a boggy beach, where I saw one poor man lose a shoe, then numerous puddles and a park that would have been better suited to a cross-country course!

I carried on at a decent pace, but the uneven, squidgy ground and a lack of sufficient drink stations, meant that I was starting to tire. At around 6 miles, my foot also started hurting like crazy - and then the other one also decided to throb underneath.

 I eased back a bit and decided not to overdo it, and try to enjoy a day at the beach!

 Seeing my other half at 9 miles gave me a lift, then it was onto the last few miles along the Portsmouth promenade, into a head wind and dodging what felt like every man, woman, child in the south of England,  plus numerous bikes, dogs, wheelchairs, scooters, buggies - everyone who had clearly come to enjoy the rare rays of sun.

This made the last section a bit tough, especially as there were runners going in both directions, but I made it to the end in one piece (though with flipping sore feet!).

Overall time was 1.53.27, which I am slightly disappointed with, but then it was only won in 1.16, so it wasn't a fast course and I made a decision at the start to be conservative. That's a 8.40 mile avg.

I did also manage almost 3 miles with the warm up and cool down, so all in all about 16 miles (not bad!!)

Phew......

Ricky - Hope you are right. It is so frustrating not to be running. I probably could have run today but it would not have been an LSR and I would not have wanted to push the pace so I decided that giving myself another day or so recovery time might be more beneficial in the long run. Really hard to judge. I guess I will find out.

Will come back on later regarding this weeks planned training.

Great 20 miler from you today. To be able to push on for the last 6 miles must feel great. While it might not have been at the MP you would like you have put in some massive sessions this week so it is no wonder that you were a little tired. Your goal MP is well within your reach as you are some way out from your marathon yet.

Enjoy the rest of the day.