Still no injury issues as marathon training peaks! I've been trying to keep the training levels up, while also not risking potential injury by overdoing it (and of course, dealing with the ever-present work-life balance issues too).
We were down in the New Forest at the weekend to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary (Well done Mum and Dad!) so I fit in a 14-mile run on Friday morning before we flew down. Went well, and it took me just under 2 hours. I massively over-ate on Saturday on the day of the ruby wedding celebrations, but I did get a little exercise, going swimming with the kids in the afternoon. On Sunday morning Shona and I got up at 7am to do a 5 mile run before breakfast... We know how to have a good time!
We then followed that up with an unexpectedly long walk with the kids, my sister and her family, my Mum and my Aunty. Probably would have taken not much more than an hour if it had just been the adults but having to coax the kids along too it was nearer two hours. Rewarded ourselves with excellent pub lunch at the end.
Then back to Edinburgh Sunday evening and have only managed to fit in a 5-mile cycle home from work one day before today.
But tonight, Wednesday, was club training night, and once again, it was brutal..!
We started with a couple of relay races (with a small hill thrown in for good measure) to get us warmed up, and then on to 20 x 1 min fast. 1 minute recovery between each of the first 10 reps, then on to 30 seconds recovery between each rep for the last 10. Short stuff isn't really my thing and my hamstrings in particular were screaming a bit... But it's all good training and hopefully it will pay off in the long run.
So, next up I'll do a bit of cycling over next couple of days, then I'm doing my longest run before Berlin on Sunday. A group of us are running from Edinburgh to North Berwick (20 miles) on Sunday morning - 3 weeks before race day.
After that, the long runs reduce in length, and the aim is to maintain fitness levels but also let your legs recover so they're ready for the big one when it comes... For me, on the one hand I'd ideally like to have done a bit more training, a couple more long runs nearer 20 miles, but I can also tell my legs are ready for a bit of a rest. I won't give in to the temptation to do another really long one 2 weeks before the race, but I also don't want to sit idle for 3 weeks - don't think I'm fit enough to do that and not pay the price in Berlin. So I'll probably want to do a 14-16 mile run a week or so after this weekend's 20-miler and then taper more after that.
But it's getting close now!
On a final note, I am once again completely humbled by the generosity of friends who've supported me with my training effort and donated to my justgiving pages for Care International and Sick Kids Friends Foundation. It really makes it all worthwhile and I'm incredibly grateful. Thank you!
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Wednesday 17 August 2011
Join our club
Club training tonight. For those of you who don't already know, I'm a member of Portobello Running Club ; the finest, funnest running club in this part of the world.
Tonight's training session was only the 2nd one I've made this year (haven't been fit enough most of the time) and it was pretty brutal! We did 8 lots of 5 minutes fast, 3 minutes slow. Because it was built around time rather than distance, each person will have covered a different total distance within the time. I covered a little over 8 miles. The rain meant some of the ground was pretty boggy and there was one slightly uphill and very wet section that really sapped the legs each time. There's something quite exhilirating and cathartic about flogging your guts out like that in a hard session in the rain, and it's definitely one of the things I missed most while I was injured. (Club training, not the rain. No opportunity to miss the rain in Scotland...)
Anyway, here's a few things I've been reminded of since returning to running club training:
Tonight's training session was only the 2nd one I've made this year (haven't been fit enough most of the time) and it was pretty brutal! We did 8 lots of 5 minutes fast, 3 minutes slow. Because it was built around time rather than distance, each person will have covered a different total distance within the time. I covered a little over 8 miles. The rain meant some of the ground was pretty boggy and there was one slightly uphill and very wet section that really sapped the legs each time. There's something quite exhilirating and cathartic about flogging your guts out like that in a hard session in the rain, and it's definitely one of the things I missed most while I was injured. (Club training, not the rain. No opportunity to miss the rain in Scotland...)
Anyway, here's a few things I've been reminded of since returning to running club training:
- It's amazing how much you can still do in terms of speedwork when your legs are already tired from the rest of your training.
- It's amazing how much sweat you can produce in a one-hour session. Basically right to the bottom hem of your t-shirt. Eeeuuggh.
- You can push yourself much harder in group training than you do on your own.
- It's *much* more enjoyable to do speedwork and long runs with other people.
- There's a huge amount of experience and knowledge to be shared between runners. You'll be surprised who else has been through similar injuries, or has similar aspirations or challenges.
- Club runners are warm and supportive people who will always tell you you look strong and are running well even when it's not true!
- It's nice to be congratulated by colleagues at the end of a tough session whether you were really doing well or not...
Sunday 14 August 2011
A good training week
Still no trouble to report, and - although this has massive potential to be "famous last words", everything is coming together nicely with training for Berlin.
Last Sunday I did the Scottish Gas 10K. Not the bonniest race, but I was delighted to run 45.47. Still several minutes short of my best, but a massive 6 minutes quicker than the last couple of 10Ks I've done, so a good confidence boost and confirmation of current progress. I followed that up with a 14 mile run after work on Monday, basically out of Lothian Road to the canal, along it until the Garmin said 7 miles, then back again... Cycled to and from work another day, and ran in on Thursday (glad it was just running in, got soaked through and would not have enjoyed pulling those damp clothes on again at the end of the day).
Chiropractor on Friday and no real problems detected, just minor adjustments. So Saturday the plan was to do parkrun and then join a couple of others from the running club to run back home from Cramond. Ruth had mapped out a route to help us avoid the dull stretch along the front past Granton and Newhaven (nice in parts, but pretty monotonous for long stretches). We went along to end of prom at Cramond, cut up through Granton and on to cycle path near Crewe Toll. Then back along cycle track to the Shore at Leith, through Leith Links, and then up past the cat and dogs home and along Porty Prom. Ruth and Jenni were heading on to Musselburgh, but I turned at Milton Road, up to Brunstane Road, along Argyle Crescent, over the A1 and back past the golf course and Figgate Park to my front door.
It was pretty warm and so it took most of the rest of the day for my body temperature and hydration levels to get back to somewhere near normal, but all in all meant I'd run a little short of 17 miles, including a 5K race at the start that equalled my best time this year. Pretty happy with that.
Next week's planned training includes a gym trip on Monday, cycle on Tuesday, running club training on Wednesday, cycle Friday, the Haddington half marathon on Saturday and a 6-8 mile run on Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to report another good training week next Sunday...
Last Sunday I did the Scottish Gas 10K. Not the bonniest race, but I was delighted to run 45.47. Still several minutes short of my best, but a massive 6 minutes quicker than the last couple of 10Ks I've done, so a good confidence boost and confirmation of current progress. I followed that up with a 14 mile run after work on Monday, basically out of Lothian Road to the canal, along it until the Garmin said 7 miles, then back again... Cycled to and from work another day, and ran in on Thursday (glad it was just running in, got soaked through and would not have enjoyed pulling those damp clothes on again at the end of the day).
Chiropractor on Friday and no real problems detected, just minor adjustments. So Saturday the plan was to do parkrun and then join a couple of others from the running club to run back home from Cramond. Ruth had mapped out a route to help us avoid the dull stretch along the front past Granton and Newhaven (nice in parts, but pretty monotonous for long stretches). We went along to end of prom at Cramond, cut up through Granton and on to cycle path near Crewe Toll. Then back along cycle track to the Shore at Leith, through Leith Links, and then up past the cat and dogs home and along Porty Prom. Ruth and Jenni were heading on to Musselburgh, but I turned at Milton Road, up to Brunstane Road, along Argyle Crescent, over the A1 and back past the golf course and Figgate Park to my front door.
It was pretty warm and so it took most of the rest of the day for my body temperature and hydration levels to get back to somewhere near normal, but all in all meant I'd run a little short of 17 miles, including a 5K race at the start that equalled my best time this year. Pretty happy with that.
Next week's planned training includes a gym trip on Monday, cycle on Tuesday, running club training on Wednesday, cycle Friday, the Haddington half marathon on Saturday and a 6-8 mile run on Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to report another good training week next Sunday...
Monday 1 August 2011
Interlude, then reprise
Right, so where am I at? Recently back from a fabulous holiday to Portugal with the family (immediate family and also more removed - cousin's wedding while were out there). I ate too much, had a few late nights where I drank too much, and spent a fair bit of time sitting around in the sun.
However, I did also fit in a couple of runs, a bike ride (you can hire them for free in Cascais), some swimming and a few strolls. Plus the thing that made me sweat most - giving Zoe a shoulder carry up to the Moorish Castle at Sintra. (Worth it, it was stunning. By the way, I'm not sure when, despite regular threats, we will decide Zoe actually *is* too old to be carried...)
Had a great weekend on return to Edinburgh too. Saturday started with a season's best at Parkrun. Still nearly two minutes short of my all time PB, but very pleased to have things moving in the right direction again. And always good to see my running colleagues - and make some plans for a Sunday run too.... More on that later. Anyway, the sun was shining so the family decided to go for a picnic lunch after. We headed to Harlaw reservoir in the Pentlands and sat waterside for lunch. Quite a few people had the same idea and some were even swimming in the reservoir, although personally I didn't think it was *that* warm. Then had a lovely short walk round the reservoir with the littl'uns. Zoe and Gregor were inspired to shake off their usual negativity towards anything that might constitute hard work - and even became mildly enthusiastic as we talked to them about the different trees and flowers around the reservoir and in nearby Harlaw Wildlife Garden.
Took advantage of being out Balerno way to quickly visit Malleny Garden (NTS) too, which was looking fine in the summer sunshine. Not sure what the other older visitors who were relaxing on the benches there made of our two running around and shouting, but hopefully we weren't too disruptive...
(Pictures at foot of blog post are from Harlaw and Malleny.)
Saturday evening passed without incident, and I downed a huge plate of pasta in prep for Sunday's effort. Regular readers will know it has been a long comeback from injury for me, but that I'm still committed to doing the Berlin marathon at the end of September. This means I'm having to increase my mileage, and especially the length of my weekly long runs. The furthest I'd managed before Sunday was 13 miles, so I wanted to increase to 14+. Bert had advertised a '16mile+' Sunday run on the club website's bulletin board and I figured that it would be good to have some company. Even if I couldn't manage the full distance I could just turn at 7 miles and come back the same way so I had company for some of the run.
We met at the Commonwealth Pool (currently closed) at 9am and the route was explained. Turned out the planned route was actually more like 18+ so no way I was ready for the full route, but there were options to cut it short.
We headed down past Cameron Toll, then onto quiet roads and tracks along through Hermitage of Braid and over to Colinton. Joined the Water of Leith path heading for Balerno - and could have turned back there for a 12-mile route. Instead, stuck with the main group until 7.5 miles had gone by and then Andrew and I turned back. Instead of going back the same way, we took the path for Slateford and on to the canal path back to Bruntsfield. Through Bruntsfield links and the Meadows and back to the Commonwealth pool. All in all, about 14.5 miles on a very nice route (we really are extremely lucky with the variety of trails and paths we have in and around Edinburgh), in about 2 hours. I'm VERY pleased with that. It was hard work, especially the last couple of miles. Faster than I've been used to on my solo long runs and obviously that wee bit longer again, but a good confidence builder and most importantly, no ill effects after. That's the best I've managed since June 2010.
Plan for this week is to cycle to work once or twice and to hopefully make club training for the first time in over a year on Wednesday.... Then Scottish Gas 10K on Sunday, plus hopefully a few more miles afterwards (Shona's working Saturday so I have to get the miles in on Sunday). I'm ever more optimistic about Berlin, which can only be a good thing.
However, I did also fit in a couple of runs, a bike ride (you can hire them for free in Cascais), some swimming and a few strolls. Plus the thing that made me sweat most - giving Zoe a shoulder carry up to the Moorish Castle at Sintra. (Worth it, it was stunning. By the way, I'm not sure when, despite regular threats, we will decide Zoe actually *is* too old to be carried...)
Had a great weekend on return to Edinburgh too. Saturday started with a season's best at Parkrun. Still nearly two minutes short of my all time PB, but very pleased to have things moving in the right direction again. And always good to see my running colleagues - and make some plans for a Sunday run too.... More on that later. Anyway, the sun was shining so the family decided to go for a picnic lunch after. We headed to Harlaw reservoir in the Pentlands and sat waterside for lunch. Quite a few people had the same idea and some were even swimming in the reservoir, although personally I didn't think it was *that* warm. Then had a lovely short walk round the reservoir with the littl'uns. Zoe and Gregor were inspired to shake off their usual negativity towards anything that might constitute hard work - and even became mildly enthusiastic as we talked to them about the different trees and flowers around the reservoir and in nearby Harlaw Wildlife Garden.
Took advantage of being out Balerno way to quickly visit Malleny Garden (NTS) too, which was looking fine in the summer sunshine. Not sure what the other older visitors who were relaxing on the benches there made of our two running around and shouting, but hopefully we weren't too disruptive...
(Pictures at foot of blog post are from Harlaw and Malleny.)
Saturday evening passed without incident, and I downed a huge plate of pasta in prep for Sunday's effort. Regular readers will know it has been a long comeback from injury for me, but that I'm still committed to doing the Berlin marathon at the end of September. This means I'm having to increase my mileage, and especially the length of my weekly long runs. The furthest I'd managed before Sunday was 13 miles, so I wanted to increase to 14+. Bert had advertised a '16mile+' Sunday run on the club website's bulletin board and I figured that it would be good to have some company. Even if I couldn't manage the full distance I could just turn at 7 miles and come back the same way so I had company for some of the run.
We met at the Commonwealth Pool (currently closed) at 9am and the route was explained. Turned out the planned route was actually more like 18+ so no way I was ready for the full route, but there were options to cut it short.
We headed down past Cameron Toll, then onto quiet roads and tracks along through Hermitage of Braid and over to Colinton. Joined the Water of Leith path heading for Balerno - and could have turned back there for a 12-mile route. Instead, stuck with the main group until 7.5 miles had gone by and then Andrew and I turned back. Instead of going back the same way, we took the path for Slateford and on to the canal path back to Bruntsfield. Through Bruntsfield links and the Meadows and back to the Commonwealth pool. All in all, about 14.5 miles on a very nice route (we really are extremely lucky with the variety of trails and paths we have in and around Edinburgh), in about 2 hours. I'm VERY pleased with that. It was hard work, especially the last couple of miles. Faster than I've been used to on my solo long runs and obviously that wee bit longer again, but a good confidence builder and most importantly, no ill effects after. That's the best I've managed since June 2010.
Plan for this week is to cycle to work once or twice and to hopefully make club training for the first time in over a year on Wednesday.... Then Scottish Gas 10K on Sunday, plus hopefully a few more miles afterwards (Shona's working Saturday so I have to get the miles in on Sunday). I'm ever more optimistic about Berlin, which can only be a good thing.
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