Sub 3 - Page 4629 - Spring Marathon

Lord Didsbury

30/12/2012 at 17:37

Another long un today. That's 92 for the week off one run a day. Most miles have been 6.30 ish - much quicker than normal, but I have a knee that is painful at a slow/steady pace so not much option.
I would guess I have averaged about 4 pints of lager each night too - only stayed in twice in the last 10 days - and it's all been very easy apart from today.

Started on the hills today. Did about 7 or 8 surges up substantial hills around Stockport. Grim area generally and I got lost and did a couple of miles on tiring legs.

Anyone else getting a bit sick of Olympic adulation? Hijacking every bloody TV show. I see the para athletes are now having a moan at not getting enough knighthoods. Ideas well above their station that lot.

Righto, back to Seb Coe's book. It's a good un.

Stuart Leaney

30/12/2012 at 18:20

LD - looks like we've had similar weeks, 95 for me all off singles 3x 20 in there and a 5@5.18 which was comfortable.

TR nice to see your running legs coming back.
Jools- top training.
RS - hope things clear up
Wardi - hope you continue to recover from your fal.

Toro

30/12/2012 at 18:31

Al_P - I have 2012 HM of 1:29:58 and 65 min 10M so nothing spectacular but also first time I've been able to string some training together. I am in much better shape than last year. I completed Edinburgh in 2011 in 3:24 off 5 weeks trg and 1 18 mile run following a 1:40 half off no training. I am not underestimating the challenge and tried training for sub 3 in 2008 but got hit by a car which cut short that attempt. Nothing broken but ruined a good build up. I am doing a lot of cross training with triathlon and iron distance possible this year (big 30 looms). My HR data from training at the moment is far better than last year or 2008.

I am going crazy with my wife still at work (she started at 7 and again tomo)! Looking after nipper so can't train yet. May jump on turbo or get up at 4 for 90 min run tomo, although I doubt it. I'll prob just call it a rest day!

postie postie

30/12/2012 at 18:52

Final week of faffing about with 17ish this morning. Once the kids go back next week things should be easier.Now where did that plan go....

30/12/2012 at 18:53

RS, Wardi and Al_P rising from the bench

RS - short frequent runs are a good idea

Dids - that a lot of ~MP miles in a week, your legs must be nice and tough

SL - 3 x 20s in a week, and I was pleased with a couple of 13s and a 16 !

Toro - 4am run would be a bit mad and a good hour earlier than I've ever run at.

Edited: 30/12/2012 at 18:53

Tim Bateson

30/12/2012 at 20:17

My base training for becoming a fat adapted runner continues. In that I am managing to force down loads of food without any exercise,so depositing great energy reserves for when I start running again in the new year. I shouldn't need an energy gel for several hundres miles at least

Going out on the bike tomorrow for 3 hours to check if the man flu is definetly in remission.

Edited: 30/12/2012 at 20:28

A.W

30/12/2012 at 21:01

Good to hear the ribs are getting better Wardi, and the backs improved CW - nice 18 miler too - RS78, hope your back to your normal self sooner rather than later, and hope Al_P's ITB holds up after today's 12.

Good long runs too from Jools, TR, coronium, Cheerful Dave, Lord Didsbury and postie.

Toro - good run at WA, I enjoyed the course apart from the water. I had it as bang on for distance, but guess with those kind of last minute changes there's not a lot they could do.

Just 13 miles for me today and 47 for the week, in to week 3 tomorrow of my schedule for Paris and think the intensity is going to go up a notch over the next few weeks!!!

Lord Didsbury

30/12/2012 at 21:32

Don't know why I said "most miles" at 6.30 pace. I probably only did about 50 miles in the last eight days (110 miles total) that averaged 6,30. Done a lot of very slow treadmill miles as well cos they don't hurt my knee.

Very strange "injury" I have. Can be very painful - sharp pain on right in the centre of the knee cap. As long as I'm running on fresh legs with a good rhythm I'm ok. I suspect I need to strengthen my quad muscle to stop it pulling on ligaments on the top of my knee cap, since its been like this for six weeks, neither getting better or worse. Done a 10k, 5k and 10m race on it with no pain.

The good news is that I may be getting a bit more economical, since I'm having to concentrate on running fast and strong or slow and springy. I doubt if that makes any sense.....

Toro

31/12/2012 at 07:33

I didn't make it out at 4am! Luckily,I should be able to get in a good early PM run as I haven't been long for a couple of weeks. I was in Spain before Xmas and cycled all week with a 4.5km race on the last day. Over Xmas I kept runs to an hour XC.

Padams

31/12/2012 at 08:01

Coro - Pasadena HM sounds pretty cool! Sounds like you're still running pretty well - I bet the 20M was at a fairly decent pace...

LD - 92M off one run a week, blimey. The holiday period makes me realise how much training I could do if I was a full-time athlete!

SL - very impressive training.

Weekend for me was 18M on Saturday (a bit shorter now as only 2 weeks to the ultra), and just over 70M on the bike yesterday (very windy and hilly!). Allowing for punctures and a brief stop at a cafe we were out for over 5 hours yesterday - was pretty hungry and tired by the end!

Lord Didsbury

31/12/2012 at 09:07

Padams - yes, the week before what with shopping, office dos and work was a miserly 90 miles.

In fact, were I an athlete I'd be running em 90 secs/mile quicker (i presume) and would have done 110 miles in the time I ran.

They are a right set of pussies aren't they? Anyone see them on Superstars that was around to see the original 70s shows? Bloody hell, this lot were completely useless weren't they?

No wonder they all need grants, I doubt if most of them have the strength or muscle co-ordination to even stack shelves.

PhilPub

31/12/2012 at 09:51

All right Coro!

Welcome Toro!

SL - Bloody hell, I thought I was doing well with 5 x 20 milers over four months. 3 in a week?!

I managed to keep up a decent level of training over the festive eating period. From Xmas Day: 14, 9, rest (dog walking), 13, 8. The 13 was a mixed hill and tempo interval session and the 8 was a pissed-up run back from a pub in East London at 2am yesterday, incl. an undefined distance (no Garmin, and I was pissed) tempo section of the Regent's Canal when I got a bit carried away trying to keep up with Prog in a 9/8 beat. (#iPlod.)

So has anyone done the Finchley 20? I know JAP has cos I saw his lovely mug on the home page.

Padams

31/12/2012 at 10:06

PP - yep, I've done it a few years ago. I like the 4 laps as it's good for marathon training e.g. you could aim for 34 mins first lap, then 32, 30, 28, or something like that. Dan had a really good run there one year (2:03 maybe, beat me), and Marders did a ridiculous time there at least once.

Nice training by the way. I've never tried doing a decent length run when drunk, so would be interested to try it - in your mind you think you can run really fast but maybe that doesn't happen in reality. The closest I came was on a running pub crawl where we started racing the last few.

31/12/2012 at 10:27

Dids - 50M at not much slower than MP is still impressive, I'm chugging out 8mm at the mo. Agreed, its not good seeing olympic heroes struggling in other sports, I'm probably a better all round sportsman than some of those. Wouldnt mind a few gym tests with that Helen Glover though !

Padams - good long run and bike combo, windy day for biking y'day.

PP - pissed up run home, in your disco dancing shoes ?

I did Padams 3x20min in my 90min turbo today, pushed a biggish gear (~80rpm) on the efforts. One more ~90min run tomorrow and then I'm back to normal training, thats 90min to 2 hrs every day since Weds 19th (except for a rest day Christmas day).

saintjason

31/12/2012 at 11:05

Seasonal greetings... long time etc etc

Not sure if I'm the first of the returnee's but I just had to. Posting again in an attempt to legitimise another campaign and hopefully instill some much needed discipline.

I've had a hellish couple of years with work taking over my life (bad times). Went freelance and now sort of wish I hadn't. Busy is good but too busy is bad. I still need to adjust to that side of things.

Goals: If I can get anywhere near where I was FOUR years ago I'll be made up. So far I've only entered Wilmslow Half but probably looking at Manchester for the 'A' race. Its the one I bailed on last spring and its not sold out yet.

Glad to see familiar faces. Reading about all the training makes me feel a proper lazy git - which is inspiring. I'm hoping with some more free time (I'm making space for some and a contract ends in 2 months) I can get back on track.

TTFN SJ (long time lurker, recreational poster from a few years back)

CC2 - Speedy Goth

31/12/2012 at 12:45

Saintjason, that name sounds familiar....

First run of marathon training today - a recovery 5 miler. It was hellish. Admittedly I needed some recovery from yesterday's 16 mile point to point run straight into a monster headwind on the route of the Northumberland Coastal with extra added in, and it was pretty windy still today, but really, 8.55 pace? And it didn't feel *that* easy. Not helped by a cramping stomach. Cereal instead of porridge for breakfast was clearly not a good choice. The only way is up I suppose.

Al_P

31/12/2012 at 15:30

Ho hum, not doing well at the moment. Yesterday's inadvertent 12M has proved to be a bit much for my left IT band and it's relapsed a bit

tried a joy this morning, but it was sore for the start, so just a little bit to warm up followed by some stretches to try and free it up. I'm figuring that it's likely to be glute related so I'm focusing on stretching there and doing a bit of manual massage too. Not got many other options being away from home on holiday... I'm entered in the Hampshire XC Champs on Saturday, so going to be off running for another day or two so it hopefully recovers sufficiently.

Lord Didsbury

31/12/2012 at 17:14

Saintjason - the years when I worked hardest (setting up a business ) were also ones when I started doing big miles. Both sort of fuelled each other. I was often working away, running late, eating late, sleeping about 5/6 hours/night...and coping fine with it all.

That included running at 4am prior to a flight to Cork, in Amsterdam at midnight, using airport and train station left luggage so runs could still be done.

(When I went on holiday, however, I would feel completely drained once there was no work to be motivated by.)

Now the demands of work aren't so great I just sleep a bit more instead. Maybe that's why Thatcher slept 4 hours/night when she was PM.... always something better to do than snooze.

As Huggy Bear once said "put the body forward and the mind will follow"

Joolska

31/12/2012 at 18:02

Evening all. Nice to hear from Saint Jason (it's been a while!). Looks like some (Dids, Phil, SL) are training very hard. To think I was pleased with myself for getting out for 12M this morning in the rain whilst on a long NYE weekend away in Devon. Undid the good work with crumpets and cake in Totnes this afternoon, however

May 2013 be a year replete with PBs for the thread!

31/12/2012 at 18:36

Nice to see SJ back again, hope you find enough time to bag another sub3.

Al_P - a bit of roller and stretching should see you ok, esp if it let you do 12M y'day.

more good miles there Jools, I'm not training hard yet its all easy paced stuff here, I'm not looking to see any peaks until April.