Another 4.5

Distance: 4.5
Time: 35:15

An easy/steady 4.5 miles in between world cup games this evening. I'm still not running very smoothly but at least I'm back running. This is tempting fate no doubt, but tonight and when I was playing football yesterday, there was no sensation of anything being wrong with my knee. I'm not sure why things should change so quickly - perhaps my first two runs loosened up some scar tissue or something?

5 miles tomorrow and 7 on Sunday will give me a high 20s first week back.

5 miles

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 41:14

5 easy miles at lunch time as per the schedule. I didn't quite manage to get off road for the full distance, but I did get some bits on canal-side trails. Still feeling a little tense when running, but hopefully that will pass once I'm back into a routine. No pain in the knee, but still a sensation of things not being 100%. I'm sure the new trainers are helping a bit.

Back to it

Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 45:00

My first run in two weeks, and I can't say it was my most enjoyable. It was a little on the warm side, I felt a little tight and I found it hard to get into a rhythm. My legs felt fine and if anything it was my cardiovascular system which felt most strain. My knee didn't feel 100% As usual there was no pain, just a sensation around the outside of my right knee. There has been no reaction from the knee since the run, so that can only be a good thing.

Changes

Since the Edinburgh marathon 2 weeks ago I've done no running at all, and very little physical exercise in general. I hope that that rest, during which I've had a cold, will have allowed my body to recover from the marathon. I'm also hoping it will have cleared the niggle I was feeling on the outside of my right knee in the lead up to the marathon.

The new 3 month schedule starts tomorrow, building up to the Loch Ness marathon on 1 October, with a 10k and half marathon along the way. Target times as follows:

Marathon target: break 3:45 (3:57:58 PB)
Half marathon: break 1:40 (1:47 PB)
10k: break 43:00 (45:05 PB)

All challenging, but all I believe are achievable if I can get some solid miles under my belt.

I've decided to incorporate a number of changes to my routine this time round. Nothing major, just a series of small refinements which I hope will help me along.

Surfaces: most of my running in the last cycle was on pavements/roads, and this time round I'm going to try and get onto a few trails and some grass. Its not entirely straightforward to do that in Edinburgh, but it just means I'll have to travel a bit further than my front door before starting my sessions.

Mileage: my maximum mileage for the last cycle was low 50's. This Pfitzinger cycle calls for a few weeks of mid to high 60s. I think this increase in mileage should be manageable.

Trainers: I alternated two pairs of trainers since new year and have replaced them both for this cycle. They probably had a few miles left in them, but with my iffy knee it seemed like as good a time as any to make a changes.

Stretching: I've never felt the need to do much stretching, and don't plan to change that too much now but I've found a ITBS stretch which I'll use as insurance against the sensation I was feeling on the outside of my right knee in the lead up to Edinburgh

Core stability: during the last cycle I didn't get into a routine of doing sit-ups, and that's something I'll try to rectify this time around.

Hydration: with the summer (such as it is) upon us, I'm going to try to take on a bit more water throughout the day. It might not make me any quicker, but I'm sure it can't do any harm. So, a few trips to the water cooler at work and a few bottles of water in my fridge at home.

It begins with 5 miles easy tomorrow, hopefully on grass.

Schedule

I'm toying with whether to have another week without running next week. I think there is merit in having an extended rest because I the marathon was so draining in the heat, because I had a niggling knee tendom problem leading up to the marathon and because I've been suffering with the cold this week.

On the basis that I will take the week off, I have prepared my schedule from now until the Loch Ness Marathon on 1 October as per below (the image is larger if you click it....).

Its basically the Pfitzinger and Douglas 12 week "multiple marathon" schedule, tweaked to take account of the 10k and half marathon I plan to run, and also to reflect the fact that I've got just over 14 weeks to play with.

The highlights of weekly mileage, midweek semi-long run and the weekend long, slow run are summarised below. Its not radically different from what I did in the build up to Edinburgh, and I think it should be achievable. My training paces will be calculated on the basis of 8:30 miles during the marathon.

From week beginning 26 June;
Week 1 - 27 miles (7 miles)
Week 2 - 32 miles (7 miles midweek, 10 miles LSR)
Week 3 - 42 miles (9 miles midweek, 13 miles LSR)
Week 4 - 54 miles (12, 16)
Week 5 - 60 miles (13, 18)
Week 6 - 58 miles (12, 20)
Week 7 - 60 miles (13, 18)
Week 8 - 64 miles (15, 15)
Week 9 - 66 miles (15, 20)
Week 10 - 50 miles (11, half marathon race)
Week 11 - 67 miles (15, 20)
Week 12 - 46 miles (14, 10k race)
Week 13 - 47 miles (9, 13)
Week 14 - Marathon week

Post-marathon thoughts

A picture from the marathon. It is a bit difficult to tell, but judging from the background I think this may be from the home straight.



Post-marathon has been a mixed bag. Within a couple of days my legs were completely back to normal and there appears to be no muscular after effects from the race. I had a few twinges of my knee on Sunday but that has also receded. I have, however, succombed to the classic post-marathon illness and have been suffering with a cold since Wednesday. I still haven't been out for a jog and don't plan to do so until next week.

My weekly mileage totals since January are listed below, along with the distance of my Sunday long run and midweek semi-long run. I think they show an honest 6 month training effort - a gradual increase in mileage, a gradual increase of the long run with several 20 milers, and a decent semi-long run during the week. Looking back at it, having begun from a near standing start at the beginning of January there isn't too much I would change. I could have done more miles, or upped the pace on my runs, but at the stage I was at I think that would have been inviting injury.

Two of the year's goals have been achieved already: a sub-50 10k was never going to be difficult, and my PB of 45:05 makes a handy next target. As does the sub-4 marathon time of 3:57:58. The only goal not achieved so far is a sub 1:45 half marathon, and hopefully that will be achieved before the end of the year.

What next? Well, the main target is the Loch Ness Marathon on 1 October. I plan a little more rest and then a gradual build up into a 3 month training plan. Between now and then I'll probably try and complete one 10k and one half marathon. Target time for Loch Ness - on the basis of last week's effort, I don't think a target of 3:45 is unreasonable.

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Weekly mileage January - June 2006

1 - 29 miles (8 miles long run, 6 miles mid-week)
2 - 13 miles (illness) (10 miles long run)
3 - 23.5 miles (12, 4)
4 - 29 miles (8,6)
5 - 35 miles (14,6)
6 - 32 miles (16,6)
7 - 35 miles (10,6)
8 - 14 miles (illness)
9 - 20.5 miles
10 - 37 miles (12,6)
11 - 37 miles (14,6)
12 - 33 miles (18,6)
13 - 42 miles (half marathon, 12)
14 - 46 miles (20, 12)
15 - 47 miles (20, 8.5)
16 - 50 miles (20, 12)
17 - 50 miles (20, 12)
18 - 22 miles (taper for 10k)
19 - 40 miles (10k, 12)
20 - 51 miles (20, 12)
21 - 44 miles (20, 120
22 - 20 miles (taper)
23 - 15 miles (taper)

Edinburgh marathon - 3:57:58 (watch-time)

A hard marathon in the blistering heat of Edinburgh! Having trained through a Scottish winter I was somewhat peeved when the weather turned last week to glorious summer weather.

The marathon was mostly enoyable. The first 13.1 miles went past without any problems. I took on plenty of water (enough to require a couple of pit stops over the race), got into a nice rythmn of 8.30-ish miles and was feeling very good. The temperature was warm, but there was a cooling breeze and parts of the course were shaded. 8.30-ish miles was very slightly faster than I had been planning, but not by so much that I felt the need to slow down. At the 13.1 mark I was 1:54 into the marathon which was just where I wanted to be for a 3:45 marathon.

Miles 13-18 I decided to up the pace because I was feeling so good. I didn't up it by that much - just about 20 seconds a mile or so - but it made a noticeable difference to my position in the field and I overtook a substantial number of runners in the process. This was my basic race plan - get to the halfway point, and if you feel good then push things a little.

Miles 19-21 was where thing started to get interesting. The course moved from a relatively sheltered industrial and residential area down to the open shoreline of Portobello. I think this coincided with a drop in the wind and a rise in temperature as we approached noon, and I really began to feel the heat quite badly. At 20 miles I was at 2:52, which was still on course for a 3:45-ish finish but I was beginning to realise I had used up all of my "good" miles. What I find most interesting (in retrospect at least) was that my last few 8:00-8:30 minute miles didn't feel strained at all. I wasn't breathing heavily and my legs weren't feeling very tired.

But from mile 20 on I just buckled in the heat as did a lot of other runners and my splits below demonstrate how quickly I began to slide. Lots of local residents had thankfully taken to their gardens to hose down the passing runners and I zig-zagged through as many I could on the last few miles. I had a wobbly moment at 22 miles when I started to feel naseous and wondered if I could keep going to the end. But at 24 miles I reached the last water station and decided to walk through it until I finished my water - the first time I had walked in the marathon. It was probably the most sensible thing I did all day - after a couple of minutes of comparative rest (although my legs were pretty stiff as I walked along) I broke back into a jog and completed the last couple of miles feeling a little bit fresher than I had for the previous 4.

I spent yesterday afternoon in my bed with a sore head and feeling sick - dehydration and/or mild heat exhaustion I assume. I managed to drift off for a brief sleep and felt much better after that.

So after all that, I'm just pleased to have broken 4 hours. I would like to think that on a cooler day I could have gone a little bit quicker. Should I have tried to speed up at the halfway point? In retrospect probably no, but I was feeling good enough to try it and I don't regret it. It also takes 30 minutes off my PB from only previous marathon - 4:29:58 at the 2003 Loch Ness Marathon.

Some reflections on training etc. later.

1 - 8:53
2 - 8:44
3 - 8:27
4 - 8:08
5 - 8:57
6 - 8:40
7 - 8:24
8 - 8:59
9 - 8:36
10 - 8:50
11 - 8:46
12 - 8:35
13 - 8:32
14 - 8:21
15 - 8:25
16 - 8:35
17 - 8:17
18 - 8:26
19 - 8:19
20 - 9:06
21 - 9:19
22 - 9:42
23 - 10:17
24 - 10:37
25 - 11:30
26 - 9:49
26.2 4:32 (26.52 according to the Garmin)

Sunday run

Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:06

8 miles early this morning. Not a hugely enjoyable run. Temperature was a bit warm and I was struggling a bit with a steady pace - 8 minute miles for me - which is usually a easier than it was today. Not sure whether it just the after effects of last week's cold but, beyond this blog note, I'll not worry about it too much.

Up the hill

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 34:30
Route: Arthur B

I was feeling pretty stiff and sore yesterday following my football on Thursday so I took it as another rest day. Today I was still pretty stiff and sore but went for a run anyway and felt better for it. Only a week to go now. Knee appears to be OK after last week's rest and my cold has essentially gone, so full steam ahead....

Football

My cold is gradually receding but my nose remains a bit red.

4.5 miles yesterday round Arthur A - 45:155, which was a touch faster than I expected from a comfortable effort.

This evening was football, which is probably worth a couple of miles in the weekly total.