Training Log Archive: IanW

Harvester Leg 2. Tom sent me out in the right place but I didn't do the job this year. Just a crap run all round, a reminder of how secure you need to be with your technique at night.

Splits confirm errors - 2' at 2, 3' at 4, 2' at 6 and 8' at 7 the worst. Muggy out, which might have contributed to the nauseous feelings around the second half of the course.

The rest of the team did really well to pull us back up to third and only 3 minutes down, but annoyed with myself as it's a case of "what could have been".

Calf was fine though, which I wasn't expecting.

Interesting to see that, with the gaffling on Leg 7, that the overall course run by the odd and even teams was different...

Event: Harvester Relays 2013 - Longmoor Camp
 

Test run from home. Calf not feeling perfect by any means, but better when on softer ground and running on forefoot.

Will be fine for tomorrow, but not so sure about the Saunders at the moment... plenty of stretching and rolling for the next week.

Long day, and a bit surprised to see it chucking it down this evening. Calves still feeling sore, wanted to get out for a test jog but that'll have to wait 'til tomorrow now.

Too nice an evening to not do anything - calves sore after yesterday so an easy spin on the bike it was. Quads not liking things either up the hill out of Burton, straight into a headwind, so cut down through Tatenhill to Barton, to rejoin the normal loop through Walton to home.

Up and down the hill, and along the road for a bit. Probably inadequate...

A lesson in how not to pace a 5 mile race:

6'37, 6'13, 7'20, 7'11, 7'01

Speed endurance clearly lacking at the moment, which is no surprise.

Comfortable up the first hill off the start (+40m), second mile has a nice downhill stretch - bombed down the steeper bit and gained on everyone; it soon flattened out though. Surprised by the split at mile 2, but the two together meant average 4min/k pace, which seemed reasonable.

Then it became more of a battle, rolling ups and downs - the ups a lot more tricky when you've been running hard for a while! Slow drag up the hill at end of mile 3/start of 4 - split for 3 a fair bit slower than hoped, bit faster for mile 4, but (as I'd been warned) the worst hill was in the first half of mile 5. Worked hard, hoping to take advantage of the downhill into the finish, but this wasn't really steep enough for gravity to help much, and the legs didn't want to turn over any faster.

So a rare foray into road racing, and an interesting experiment. The climb-adjusted pace on here gives a time of just sub-32, which is reassuring.

Had to shoot off, so little warm down jog from the flat once I got back. Calf had stiffened up quite a bit immediately post-race, but feeling ok during this. Glutes a bit sore.

Now sneezing my head off again. :(

C • Hayfever 4