Training Log Archive: Whitesheep

core, thought I might have really dropped off but not too bad

played tag team with mrs whitesheep. realised i have not been carrying any excessive arm strength lately! but felt ok.

Easy hike along rio serpis, quads still battered but was nice to get moving

Event: Valencia Marathon
 

Valencia marathon. PB by 2 mins or so.
On the day, i was really pleased to get my b goal of a decent pb. For sure that was the best i could have got out of myself, and given how the last couple of shakeout jogs went i was worried i’d be able to do no more than jog round. I can’t help but wonder what i’d have managed had i felt like i did in the last full thursday group run or in my canova double day.
It was frustrating not to race at 100% but i guess that is the risk you take building up to just one race, and the reason why we have a/b/c goals. Also a bit of a shame not to relax and enjoy things a bit more - though it was great sharing the build up with sally (who ran a perfectly paced first marathon) and having so much family support on the course.

Memories from the course:
0-1km - such a slow start, 4:25 despite ducking and diving as much as i felt able to. Clearly have been spoilt by london’s gfa start and abingdon’s small field! Stuck behind a whole load of people who had started too far forward, but decided to go along with it for the most part as i was obviously not on top form.
5km in 20:45 - gradually worked up to nearly goal pace and was pleasantly surprised not to feel terrible
5-10km and 10-15km in 20:14 and 20:15 - gradually got up to the 3hr pacer at 11km when i saw team cochrane for the first time. This was a nice boost, and for stretches here running felt almost normal.
15-20km and 20-25km in 20:24 and 20:34 - passed halfway in 1:26:30. Started to get jelly legs far earlier than ideal, but hoped i might hang on to a reasonable second half pace to finish in 2:55. Still keeping the km splits under 4:10 so i was well up on my worst case scenario.
25-30km and 30-35km in 20:48 and 21:08 - knew this would be the hardest part as the course twisted and turned a little, the temperature was up out of the shade, and we were going slightly uphill and into a slight breeze. Had i felt great i might have tried to push through, but as it was i backed off a little.
35-40km in 21:19 - going through 35km i saw family again and got a boost. The hardest stretch was done and 7km isn’t so far - it was going to be alright! I was still capable of a 4:08 at this point but that was my last quick one, as i went quite quickly into thinking, 6km is really far! At this point i needed to be working flat out but i just couldn’t breathe well enough and i started to fade.
40-42.2km in 10:05 - saw family for the last time at 2km to go and the consensus was i looked like shite! But kept putting one foot in front of the other as best i could, and in context dropping out to 4:27 pace wasn’t a disaster. I did really enjoy the finish over the water and mustered a bit of a kick to the line.

Utterly spent afterwards and still not breathing right a week later. As with london 2013 my quads were really shredded with at least 5km to go, and if there is a next time i might try to work on that specifically. If it had been any other race i might not have run, especially after thursdays effort which made me wonder if i was being sensible, but i’m glad i did. It does leave me with a lingering sense of unfinished business though...

Looking forward to some recuperation and family time, then having a crack at some shorter distances.

C • NICE 6

again felt i should loosen off
at least i was able to jog without hr spiking - but i’ve been going 2+ mins/km faster than this for the same effort level!

probably the most worrying run of the whole build up
thought i’d do best to go out really gently, turn my legs over, and try to clear out my lungs. This was slower than i’ve run at all in this build up, but my hr was well up. Things definitely not right.

Morning shakeout
Legs felt ok and i managed a marathon pace km. But the avg hr was too high...

yoga

Didn’t exactly feel like a well oiled machine, but not too much of a clapped out rust bucket either. 2x 9am lie ins thanks to emma have done me a lot of good.
HR monitor absolutely all over the place, but never felt like I was working too hard.

yoga

Me on weds: been really lucky with illnesses
—> catches cold from daughter the following day
Me on friday: d’oh

Entirely my own fault. Don’t know what i was thinking, tempting fate like that.

Usual route around Harpenden, legs not v bouncy but running v easy

5 longest (target 165-175 km)
32.4 steady
35.0 steady
33.2 steady
38.0 steady
33.5 steady

Total 172.1

Plus a 40km mixed pace double day, which if it counted on this list would bring the total up to ~180km. So actually although I missed a fair bit, in terms of the long stuff I did what I wanted to.

Today was my last run of any significant length. From here on I’m aiming for two rest days a week and nothing more than an hour or so at a time. I might throw in some strides one day and occasional 10-15 minute marathon pace bursts, but nothing strenuous.

St Albans
It was the bad weather route which was a tiny bit annoying. Bit weird as well because with three sharp slippy corners it is probably more treacherous than the regular route.
Had half a mind to try for a quick time, but the route plus some heavy legs out paid to that.

Got going a bit on the flat and dry bits, but mainly this was just very chilled

Shorter route to rothamstead Park with lil

Usual out & back route
Feeling really good today, and pushed on after a steady couple of miles. Most of the run was at a decent tempo pace and it was a good confidence boost to finish well clear of paul and Camilla.
9 miles in 57 mins for the main portion

Easy plus some strides

Nursery pick up