Training Log Archive: Whitesheep

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