The Road to Paris - On a Plateau - Asics Target 26.2 Training

Hi Ady, I imagine it wasn't easy to do 800m reps in today's conditions! Bloody weather - doesn't it know we have marathon training to get done? Your rejig is very sound (always spacing out the harder days, like tough or long runs) but as you say, it might be 'challenging' to do that progressive pacing long run now that there's snow on the ground. I'm counting on it all disappearing before training day and Canterbury 10 next weekend 

Just a word on your recovery pace. It DOES NOT matter! In tough interval sessions like that, the key thing is that you recover, not that you maintain a specific pace. I don't mind if you even walk. Pace is not important. So don't worry about speeding up next time round...

To be honest, I am quite happy not to be doing Paris! With my mum living at the 1st mile marker of the London Marathon, I'm a big fan of hassle-free marathons where I can get up at 7 and saunter down to the start, rather than negotiate foreign travel systems, expos, hotel breakfasts etc. I'm very happy to be devoting my energies on you lot My husband will be running though - he was 2nd Brit last year - so high hopes there!

RunnyRunRun wrote (see)

Evening Ady!

Thought I'd drop in and say Hi!! Wow 18 miles sounds a LONG way to go on an exercise bike! How long did that take?!

I cant believe that you managed that in an hour...I can only managed about 15!

RunnyRunRun wrote (see)

Evening Ady!

Thought I'd drop in and say Hi!! Wow 18 miles sounds a LONG way to go on an exercise bike! How long did that take?!

Malcs wrote (see)

DS2 - feeling much much better thanks. Done two runs this week and survived so I reckon I'm back in the game. All I need now is a packet of deep fried, lard covered tea cakes and I'll be right as rain

the thought is stimutating my gag reflex!

RunnyRunRun wrote (see)

Evening Ady!

Thought I'd drop in and say Hi!! Wow 18 miles sounds a LONG way to go on an exercise bike! How long did that take?!

Malcs wrote (see)

DS2 - feeling much much better thanks. Done two runs this week and survived so I reckon I'm back in the game. All I need now is a packet of deep fried, lard covered tea cakes and I'll be right as rain

Xyloid wrote (see)

Naive you may be, but a young boy?! You wish! 

lol

We havent had any snow as yet Ady...im hoping that the weather man has got it wrong so we dont have any and my half marathon on sunday stlll goes ahead!

SamMurphyRuns wrote (see)

 My husband will be running though - he was 2nd Brit last year - so high hopes there!

Go Mr Murphy

Malcs/Shady - I did my 9 miler this morning after consuming my new pre-race meal (for practice before the Canterbury 10 Sunday week) of 5 lard covered tea-cakes.

Sam - are you running Canterbury as well?

Lard-covered tea cakes? Must have missed that in Ruth's dietary guidelines

Yep, I'm down to run Canterbury 10, too. Let's hope it's not scuppered by the weather...

Haha! Shady suggested it as a good pre-race meal for Malcs!

Yes - let's hope not. Been looking forward to for a while as an indicator of where I am with my training. About this time last year I drove all the way to Deal for their half only for it to be snowed off at the last minute!

What is your hubby's name? Is he running Canterbury, also?

He is Jeff Pyrah - he will be manning the stall (we have a specialist running store called The Emperor's New Shoes) not running this year. Just heard that tomorrow's Southern XC called off so he'll be gutted he chose that over Canters!!

Aah! yes, I've heard of that store - didn't realise it was you!

I assume the Southern XC was called off because of roads and logistics rather than the state of the course?

I shall look out for his performances in the future. Always nice to know of somone at the sharp end! Is Canterbury much of a trek for you?

Lard-covered tea cakes? Must have missed that in Ruth's dietary guidelines

Yep, I'm down to run Canterbury 10, too. Let's hope it's not scuppered by the weather...

Wow, it's really coming down now around here... hasn't stopped for last couple of hours. Bit of a question mark hanging over Dartford 10 on Sunday apparently. 

DS2 Yes I guess it's just a lot of runers wouldn't make it to the start.  I'm not too far from Canterbury - at Rye in East Sussex. What about you?

Hey Sam....before I catch up on all messages today, I just wanted to know your thoughts about running my training runs on a treadmill this weekend, due to the weather conditions. Are there any better alternatives than doing this?

It was fairly tough conditions running today in the blizzard (maybe over exagerrating the amount of snow a little there!), but underfoot it wasn't so bad as the snow was still soft and new. Walking home from work tonight, a fair bit of snow where people had been walking was already freezing over, becoming slippery and icy.

I'm a little worried to be attempting to run outside in these conditions, especially if doing my 15.5miles and building up my pace every 5 miles? I don't want to slip and injure myself. Therefore can I do my run on a treadmill or would you prefer me to do my run outside, but not worry about pacing so much? I'm happy to do as you say (as always!) 

Is it the 5 mile comfortable and long run you've got left? I remember you switched sessions around a bit.

Hmm, it's a tricky one, I wouldn't wish 15 miles on a treadmill on anyone really, but I agree that it's a safer option and am keen for you to try the progressive pacing in this run (not very transferable to next weekend as will follow the training day's antics!). Is it perhaps possible to run some of it outdoors and finish on the treadmill? Eg. run to the gym when at the more comfortable pace, and then get on the treadmill, and er, get Mrs Shady Ady to pick you up afterwards!? 

The other option is to forget about exact pace but to work on increasing effort level throughout the run by speeding up. But this will be dependent on the conditions where you live and how confident/compentent you are on snow. To be honest, I'm pretty hopeless but my OH just seems to run on it without effort, annoyingly!

I'd recommend doing the 5 miles comfortable outside (off-road for better grip, less slip) as pace isn't important on that. Email/call if want to dicuss further.

Hi Sam.........I could only do the 5 miles comfortable today, due to the conditions. I did attempt to do the intervals across a playing field, but found the surface uneven and almost went over on my ankle. I also tried to do it on pavement, but kept slipping as the speed picked up.

Therefore I still have my long run and interval session left. I know I shouldn't attempt these 2 days in a row, so was wondering if I could re-jig an easier run next week to Sunday and then move the interval session to Monday or something?

I could easily do some of the miles outside to start with. I have a gym on the ground floor of the apartment block I live in, so was going to use the treadmill there. The only problem I might have is that if I come back from running outside and someone is on the treadmill, I'd have to wait until they were finished before carrying on my run. I'll call! 

Just tell them you are Shady Ady from the Asics 5 - they should step aside, you're a VIP for crying out loud! Darn peasants. Failing that, whip out the photo of you in the lycra, that'll scare them off . 

...and if it doesn't then show them the pic of Bacon in his lycra, that's guaranteed to have them running for the door!

So tomorrow or Sunday, depending on which has the best weather forecasted, I'll be doing the majority, if not all of my long run outside. I might not be able to keep to the original pacing targets, but I will still be able to run at different speeds and therefore test my lungs and still get a good workout!

As off-road running should be less slippy than on the pavement, I'll test out the pavement first and if struggling, then I'll use the canal towpath instead. If it is too slippery still then I'll run the last 5 miles on a treadmill so to be able to run the last section at a faster speed than the first 10.5miles.

As I didn't manage my interval session today (although I did still get out and run) due to the weather, I'll have to admit this to being the first 'failure' of my training. It wouldn;t be wise trying to do this on Sunday after my long run (or the day before my long run), as this will be too hard sessions after each other. Damn weather messing up my training! 

I'm sure I'll make up for this next week and next weekend on the track with Sam and the rest of the Asics group!

Sarah.........I completely agree. Over on the continent horse meat is seen as a delicacy and is a really lean, good quality meat. People are probably getting better quality in their burgers from it. I find it very interesting that taboo food here is eaten in large quantities elsewhere and is the norm - Horse (Belgium), Guinea Pig (Peru) and Dog (Korea) and Cat (China) to name but a few. If it's part of a places culture, I never have an issue trying these if offered out of hospitality. Where I lived in China, during the Summer I often saw a variety of weird and wonderful things being grilled on sticks - silkworms, baby sparrows, chicken anus! It was like being on I'm a Celebrity! 

DS2......Yes, there seems to be a very positive correlation between eating takeaway and drinking. I would have a McDonalds on average once a week, and that would always be on Saturday after a few pints. There was always feelings of guilt when I went into the kitchen on a Sunday morning and saw the wrappers reminding me of my sins!

Malcs......You probably made a killing yesterday on selling that lot of plastic sledges, so if you want to give up on a lost cause and get rid of those Shady Ady posters, I don't blame you in the slightest! 

Glad you're starting to feel better and glad to see you're back in the running game. What are your running plans for next week. Are you going to try and catch up on your marathon training, or take it slowly getting back into it? In the past when I've had to miss training, I've tried to increase probably too much in order to catch up.

RRR.......Nice to see you dropping in! 18 miles wasn't too bad. I could have changed program, increased the resistance and intensity and managed only half that! It only took an hour. It was good stamina practice trying to keep my speed up!

Ziggy.........Thanks for posting and saying hi! I deeply apologise for any lasting traumatic effects that photo caused. I will hold myself personally responsible for that! But I'll use this photo as motivation to never fall into the same fatty, sugary loving diet as I once had.

Congratulations on your weight loss. That's an excellent amount of loss and even more impressive is your 5k time. I've always wanted to go under 20mins and this is another of my running goals this year. What time are you aiming for London? Did you find it difficult to lose that weight?

I'd also be interested to hear if there are increased risks of injury or detrimental effects on training if you are reducing calories during a marathon training plan?

Good luck with your training and good luck for London Marathon!

Xyloid wrote (see)

Naive you may be, but a young boy?! You wish! 

Xyloid........You really know how to crush an old man's spirit! I always thought thirties were the new twenties? Failing that, I hoped my cheeky smile could knock at least 10 years off my age! Yet again, more naive thinking! Time to move on and admit reality!

Sam.....I forgot to add earlier......thanks for clarifying regarding recovery pace during speed and interval sessions. That makes me feel much better. Initially I was thinking I'd let myself down slightly by not pushing myself harder during the recovery sessions and running at about 10-12m/m pace.  I suppose the key is in the name of it - 'recovery'. I'll carry on as I have been doing!

I have high expectations of myself and good motivation, but I don't think I'll be challenging your husband as best Brit this year! Probably not the following year either!

Sarah......I can't believe you had had any snow when you sent your last message. Have you had any now? I was secretly hoping that I could stay in the indoors and do my weekend runs on a treadmill, but I'm going outside to brave the elements. It might not be as fast as on a treadmill, but it should be just as testing! Expecting my calves to be burning by the end!

DS2......glad the lard covered tea-cake diet is catching on! Will be off shortly for my weekend long run. Hopefully the snow will keep everyone else inside and I'll have the pavements and towpaths to myself! Good luck for Canterbury.

Malcs wrote (see)

Just tell them you are Shady Ady from the Asics 5 - they should step aside, you're a VIP for crying out loud! Darn peasants. Failing that, whip out the photo of you in the lycra, that'll scare them off . 

...and if it doesn't then show them the pic of Bacon in his lycra, that's guaranteed to have them running for the door!

Malcs.......maybe I should be using this Asics 5 fame for more VIP treatment. Along with flashing my lycra photos, this should at least get me free cinema entry, free use of public transport and breakfast brought to me in bed for the next 3 months! I'll get working on this! 

Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Thursday 17th January 2013

Mrs. Shady Ady is so good! After a very busy day at work and having to work late, I got home to find my dinner already prepared and waiting for me on the dining table. Maybe I should feign stressful, busy days at work every weekday from now on!

Not many carbs in my lunch, but as the size was bigger than the 'rabbit food' salads I was attempting to eat before, I had no issues with hunger pains.

6:45am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre cereal with semi-skimmed milk. Glass of tropical fruit juice.

8:00am - Cup of tea

9:30am - Cup of tea, 500ml bottle of water.

10:30am - Banana, bottle of water

12:00pm - Lunch – Leftover curry from the previous evening's dinner - carrot, courgette and chickpeas in a variety of curry spices haphazardly thrown into the mixing pot! It actually tasted better cold for lunch than it did for dinner the night before! Finished this off with a Clementine and water.

2:00pm - Cup of tea, bottle of water.

4:00pm – Cup of tea, bottle of water. Half eaten apple. Got called away to  a meeting and when I got back is had turned brown and manky looking!

7:30pm – Dinner - Steak, Roast Potatoes, Broccoli and Peas in a mint sauce. Pint of blackcurrant squash.

8:30pm – Cup of tea, pint of water and a small bowl of yogurt with a handful of dates, apricots and raisins.

10:00pm – Small glass of water.

Day 33 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (18/01/13)

Target: Intervals: 2 MILE COMFORTABLE then 3 x acceleration strides then 5 x 800m (or 3 mins) at 6.30-6.50 pace with 3 min jogs in between each. 1 MILE COMFORTABLE (6.5 MILES) (Changed from Thursday to Friday)

Actual: Weather affected 4.5 miles at Comfortable pace @ Approx. 8:40m/m in approx. 39 mins.

"Are you mad?" "You're seriously not going out running?" These were just a few comments received as snow hurled itself down from the heavens. There was already several inches of snow lying on the ground and the wind was blowing the white stuff in at near horizontal angles.

Secretly I was jumping for joy at getting the chance to run in snow. I definitely wouldn't enjoy doing it every day, but as a special treat you can't beat it. Leaving the office in shorts, t-shirt and wind jacket, some people offered me luck, as though they would never see me again once I ventured outside.

To be honest, today's running wasn't too bad at all. When you have fresh lying snow, it's not difficult at all to run in. It's a few days later when the majority that's left has turned to ice when the trouble really starts. Even I was surprised though to be keeping a speed faster than most moving vehicles.

The idea was to do my interval session from the previous day today. This was a tough ask though considering the conditions. The path I do my speed sessions on is a little uneven in places and the snow had covered this and the adjoining grass verge. Testing the conditions, I tried to speed up, but kept slipping. I attempted the same on grass as well, but found the surface uneven and the snow had sneakily hidden several depressions. I found this out when falling down one, twisting my ankle slightly and falling over in the snow.

I decided it would be foolish to risk running at a fast speed on this surface with the potential for doing further damage. Instead I made best use of the conditions and my time constraints and did a comfortable 4.5 mile run instead. I returned back to work with legs a nice shade of red, and the tepid shower burning my cold body. I hadn't enjoy this feeling since my football days as a teenager!

In retrospect, I shouldn't have postponed my interval session the day before for forgetting my watch. I would have still gotten a good session in before the snow came. I had my Garmin today. The night before I checked it and the battery was full. This was a cunning lie, as only a mile into today's run, it decided the battery was empty and died. So my pacing and time is approximate, but knowing the route, the distance is more or less spot on.

So although I didn't manage the interval session I set out to do, I'm still happy to have managed to get out in the weather and at least get a run in. Let's see what conditions tomorrow brings! At least I'll have a fully charged Garmin this time around!

Ady -  Well done with the training, I ran 5 in the snow yesterday and really enjoyed it.  18 planned for today but way too slippy, fortunately gym was open so 18 done on the tready, works on the mental as well as physical strength.