Day 54: Long run at marathon pace
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
I’d awaited this run since the training started; 20 miles at marathon pace. It’s such an important run – one that will give me a true feel for how I’ll perform on The Day – that I’ve scheduled three of them into the plan. However, with three aborted long runs lately that would have eased me into this distance, this would be a challenge…
I’d planned to run a half marathon from church to home, then one of my 10k routes; breaking it up would make it more manageable. Taking a cue from Spoon Kid, “do not try and bend the spoon, that is impossible… there is no spoon,“, rather than try to run 26.2 miles, I run two half marathons. And given how I’d been knocking it out the park with half marathons lately, I imagined a comfortable 13 miles, maintaining the pace for another 7, and – ambitious as I am – seeing how much juice I’d have left and running another 10k to achieve a sub-3 before race day.
The thing about imaginations though, is how perfect they are. Reality is much more messy!
The first 3 miles were tough, running headlong into wind (seriously, I don’t remember any of my previous training seasons this hampered this badly by weather!). I aimed to keep the pace steady rather than try to make it up; this would be on for over 2 hours and there was no sense burning myself out. Aside from a couple of instances of being held up by traffic (though during one of them, cars blocking the narrow road gave me a thumbs-up, which was nice), I’d kept to marathon pace and felt good.
Then came my greatest foe to contend with; Killer Hill allied with Gale Force and used their combined might to throw me back! I fought on, but their strength proved too much and reduced my pace by 50 seconds from target. As I reached the apex, a motorway bridge, I swear Gale Force tried to blow me off! I instinctively moved away from the edge, refusing to let it end like this (being comically blown off a bridge during a run; it’s what he would have wanted, I could imagine my wife saying…). Even as I reached the downhill, the wind kept the pressure up and I was unable to claw much time back. A fleeting thought wanted me to stop; no, I’m not that person any more.
Reaching the 13.1 mile point, it was disappointing that my time was 1:31. If I’m to achieve a sub-3, my half marathon time needs to be significantly lower than 90 minutes. BUT, I told myself, if I can get back to marathon pace, that would do it. My target in mind, I ploughed on.
My renewed vigour was met by the violent rigour of wind! I soldiered on throughout the first mile of the final 10k (only two park… no, stop saying that!), determined to have a strong finish. Fortunately as I turned a corner, the wind eased (no, it wasn’t on my side, no leaves blowing or anything!) and I was able to bring a couple of miles below marathon pace. A drop on my head gave me a mild panic. Please let that be bird droppings, I really could do without rain today. Thankfully, it was neither rain nor poo, and I maintained my pace.
And in typical fashion, the wind pushed against me with violence anew for two miles, destroying any chance of bringing the average down. Oh well, it was a good run anyway. Though the penultimate mile was just as tough, a determination to finish the 20 miles in 2 hours 20 mins gave me the adrenaline to have a fast final mile. Just in time; minutes later it was pouring it down!
Was it perfect? No. If I ran like that on race day, I’d have to finish with a sub-40 10k to achieve the goal. I’m not saying that’d be impossible… but yeah, it’d be impossible. Nonetheless, it was a 20-mile PB by 5 minutes, and considering the conditions, could have been worse. So you know what? It’s not what I’d imagined but the reality is, it was a successful run!
Day 53: parkrun
Something old (my original parkrun course), something new (trainers!), something borrowed (mud from the course), something blue (the trainers again!)
The scent of freshly cut grass. The bounce of a new carpet. There’s something refreshing about experiencing something new yet familiar.
And there’s nothing quite like new trainers! I bought my last pair in June – 1200 miles ago – and so I was overdue. I went cheap last time – Asics GT-1000 4 (affectionally dubbed “Barry Allen”) – though I wanted the slightly pricier 2000 version. However, they worked out well, facilitating PBs despite a slight pinch on the foot’s arch. I finally bought a pair of the 2000 earlier this week (whom I’ve named “Wally West”), breaking them in at work and home, hoping they’ll be ready for a significant challenge next week. Today was their maiden voyage!
Expecting to try them at my usual parkrun, I discovered an old friend needed a ride to the parkrun I started out at, so I decided to help him out and do some tourism at the same time. Just one snafu; that parkrun is very much muddier! My newborn trainers would be put through a trial of mud on their first outing! 😥
Dodging puddles and bogs, I winced every time I felt a splash on the beauties. The pinch I’d had with the 1000s was thankfully gone, though a slight discomfort on the tied lace suggests I need to lace up differently. Replenished grip pushed me along on the brief tarmac path, and for once I kept stability on gravel. Just a shame my glistening trainers were covered in mud!
I’d intended to run it at about 8 min pace, but an unexpected easy burst of speed at the start with a strange inability to slow down meant I’d ran 7:20 overall! It felt as though I could have gone all day at that pace – no heavy breathing, even whistling down the final stretch – so thankfully I met my goal of no exertion.
Power of trainers or power of training?
Day 52: 9 miles alternating pace
Expecting today’s run to be fairly straightforward, I decided to add in some difficulty to get the best out of the session. The best way, I figured, would be to do the faster miles uphill; but where to find a suitable mile-long hill nearby? Ah, of course; the infamous Birmingham half marathon hill (now finally removed from the course)!
Running up it repeatedly, I was reminded of the Birmingham half, and how I’d struggled with it over the years. It took me FIVE tries to finally achieve the sub-90 I amateurishly thought I’d get first time around! And even on my last try, half-marathon stamina was something I still struggled with; a fellow parkrun runner I regularly and comfortably beat over 5k (tooting horn; beep beep) has always beaten me over 13.1 miles (deflated horn; mwehhh….). With any luck, this round of training has helped me, to be tested this Sunday.
The first couple of reps went well (despite somehow getting lost on a straight road) and I just about managed the target marathon pace against a notable headwind.
Third rep was tough, not least of all because the pace was thrown off trying to cross a road (what is it with me and roads?!), and I resorted to swinging my arms violently for momentum up the hill (good job I didn’t do that during the Birmingham half, that would’ve been a sight for the spectators!)
Fourth and final rep, I was absolutely dying! I read an article yesterday that suggested repeating a mantra to help (until then, I’d only had Rolling Stones’ “Paint it black” playing in my head). But what mantra? Struggling to think straight with half a mile left, I resorted to the most memorable and repetitive thing I’d recently heard, from the Dr Strange movie:
Dormammu! I’ve come to bargain!
Dormammu! I’ve come to bargain!
Dormammu! I’ve come to bargain!
It seemed appropriate, as it felt like I wanted to bargain my way out of the torture!
The mantra working to distract me, I eventually made it up the hill. I gave a final a bit of welly to attempt to bring it under 7:00, but alas I somehow lost time despite that I knew I was going faster!
A good session overall; I can’t bargain my way to a better time, but I can work for it.
Day 51: 7 miler
It’s the first mile that worries me most.
Will being caught in a crowd cause me to lose a minute or two from my pace straight away? Will I burn myself out trying to dodge other runners? Or will just find myself breathing heavy, struggling to reach the pace I’ve been training at? Such a start would be a death knell for the following 25.2 miles, a heartache I’d chastise myself over for 3 hours.
That feeling came at me today. Again, I’d been excited all day for my run (I would have gone at lunchtime, but Google said it was going to rain. What weather was it actually? Clear skies!), a marathon-pace effort I figured would be a walk in the park after yesterday’s great performance. And yet somehow I found myself barely maintaining the 6:45 pace from the start.
Yet weirdly, despite that it felt tougher than it should have been, my pace was fixed for the entire run (except for sprint-dodging cars 9 times!). Despite that I knew I was capable of better. Best I can figure, because I’d told myself that was the pace I was aiming to do, my body refused to budge from it.
Nonetheless, I completed the run as intended. Could I have carried on with it, 3 times over? Or would I have burned out? I guess, either way, it’s all in my head; running starts in the mind before it hits the legs.
Day 50: Long run 8-miler
Work and weather. Two things outside of my control that can ruin a perfectly good run day!
Eager for my 18-miler runcommute all morning, I was disappointed when it practically started sleeting around lunchtime. I thus spent the rest of the workday glancing at the window, hoping it would stop in time. And just when I thought there’d be a chance I’d be able to do my long run home, a meeting dragged on past my finishing time.
3:30 now. I should be almost 5 miles through at this point… 3:45… I should be almost 7 miles at this point.
Meanwhile, the weather couldn’t make up its mind and kept stop-starting. Running late and with the chance of a downpour likely, I made the hard decision to forego my long run again. I considered just taking the bus back, but realised it’d take just as long to run home, with walking and waiting in the rain as well. So, you see, I had to run, I had no choice!
Still determined to get a good workout, I decided to test myself with a pace I’ve struggled with, my half marathon pace. I did surprisingly well, likely aided with downhills and wind support. However, I felt strong on flat terrain even when the wind was against me.
What didn’t help was the rain kicking in halfway through! Good job I didn’t go for my long run, I’d hate to be out in this, I thought, before recalling I was out in this! Yeah, pushing myself flat out made my brain a little fuzzy. Which is probably why I thought it’d be a good idea to change my route home when I spotted a potential shortcut; two minutes later I suddenly remembered why I’d had the sense to plan a different route; a killer hill!
I’m close to a 10k PB! Forget not exerting myself up a hill, try to achieve it! I foolishly thought. Argh! Forget it, just forget it! I thought, 10 seconds later… Nonetheless, I was doing well, and even managed to claw my pace back down from 7:20 to 6:33 within half a mile.
All in all, despite not getting to do my long run, I achieved an 8-mile PB of 51 minutes!
Day 49: Recovery run
Urgh. Mondays. Turning my alarm off (but only oversleeping by 10 minutes thankfully), I prepared for a return to work after being off for two days and a weekend.
Morning meeting. Dozens of emails to read. Data to process. Having to make small talk with people first thing when I’m not evena wake yet. There was only one thing I was looking forward to: Midday, when I could go out for my run!
As soon as I stepped out (missing the rain, fortunately), that’s when I felt alive. The spring in my step! The fellow runners out! The wind blowing through my… err, stubble!
If I hadn’t run today, I suspect I may have felt more tired, and yesterday’s exertion would have become more prominent. But just being out, stretching my legs; man alive, it felt good. So much so, that even though part of me is hesitant about tomorrow’s 18-miler, most of me just can’t wait to be out there again (I even considered doing it today, but didn’t want to push my luck with two runs in one day!)
Back at work, how did I feel? Finally ready to start my week!
Oh, and I caught a Dragonite!
The Shorn Runner 