On Plans and Slow Long Runs

So I think I have settled on a marathon training plan. At least it looks a good fit to my schedule and the timing (18 weeks). Although week 2 will be tweaked a bit to accomodate a half marathon race next Sunday.

I did most of Week 1 this week.

Saturday was 5 Miles (8km) at projected marathon pace. I did 7.9km in 37:42 (4:44min/km). Still on the quick side (and still trying to slow down). I would like to dream that PMP is going to be 5 min/km. We'll see...

I few new roads on this route - windmill, valley road, pine.



Sunday was 10 Miles (16km) at a slow speed. I did 16.43km in 1:34:44. I managed to go slower on purpose for 5:45min/km. Work colleague N said to aim for 6min/km to slow myself down but this was pretty good. Run was relaxing, definitely a lot easier almost fun in a slow plodding kind of way. This run had a few climbs in it too but at the slower speed it was fine. Found myself looking around at the scenery a bit more.



Week 1 done!

Downside is it looks like my little toenail has punched a small hole through my sock and the upper of my left shoe. :( These shoes are going to get retired pretty soon so not too big a deal. Incidentally I think this happened on the downhills on run auckland 5.

4 Months Out

4 Months, or rather 17.5 weeks, out from the Marathon. I need to sort out a plan for training quick smart (and allowing for a half marathon in a week and a half). Time to get serious.

Went for a better run Monday lunchtime along the waterfront, pace was pretty comfortable.

10.4km / 47:35 / 4:35min/km.

152km for June which is a bit of a record for me. Hopefully have built up a decent enough base to hit marathon training "proper". When I hit the plan though the miles will go up but I expect the pace to go slow quite a bit. Will have to be very disciplined about this! Save the speed for the intervals and fartlek days.

Last night I went to the pools in the "quiet time" - 7:30pm (it shuts at 9pm). Still reasonably busy but had a lane to myself for about half the time. Lesson learnt though is don't go swimming after dinner. My body just thought about digesting food as opposed to wanting to excercise. :(

Still got through 60 lengths of freestyle in various sets. It was worth going though and I felt much better for it.

A bit flat

Two runs at the back end of last week.

Friday - Lunchtime - 7.52km / 34:04 / 4:32 min/km. Loop along Westhaven, up Curran Street, and back down College Hill. Not a bad run overall but I got pretty hacked off with the intersections towards the end.

Saturday - Early Afternoon - 14.86km / 1:17:16 / 5:10 min/km. Originally I had intended this to a long run (i.e. something over 20) but for some reason I felt pretty flat from about the 4km mark. Not really into it so cut it short. The Waikowhai Park section was nice but after the stairs just wanted to have a sleep.



Didn't get to the pool last week so am going to make it a couple of times this week. Having a bit of a cold last week my eating wasn't that flash either.

Overall this week wasn't that good. Next week will be better!

Manflu

Took Monday off work. Taking sick days is really rare for me. Currently have a bit of a chest cough so haven't run since the 10k on Sunday.

Probably running flat tack with a cold didn't help too much. But will try and get out tomorrow morning.

Half Marathon in 2.5 weeks time, really want to race this course and get a good time. Maybe a shot under 1:35 if I turn up on the day.

Run Auckland 5 - Almost Speedy

Nice weather for Run Auckland 5 in Western Springs on Sunday morning. Made a big change to last year when it absolutely hosed down.

At the back end of last week I could feel a cold coming on and wasn't really looking forward to this. It's not all that much fun during a run when you aren't feeling 100%.

This course features two laps around Western Springs and the Auckland Zoo. The first 1.5 km or so is a gradual climb, followed by a flat section along Surray Cres, Old Mill Road, and then a sharpish decline, and another flat section past the Auckland Zoo.

Saw Andrew E and his wife near the start, about to start the 5km version.

The hill climb wasn't so bad and I felt pretty good after the first lap. The second lap started to feel a bit ragged to be honest, the cold was catching up with me near the end. Down the home straight I heard Andrew shout out "give it a burst Aaron!" so of course head down and bit of a sprint finish for the last 100 or so m. Managed to haul in three people. It absolutely gassed me though and I came close to throwing up in the chute! Lovely.






Almost speedy...

9.91km / 42:57 / 4:20 min/km. (gun time 43:15).

Not too far off my PB for the 10km. I figure it was a good race really especially with running with a head cold. What I thinked help a lot was the hill training I've been doing the last few weeks. This hill is pretty gentle compared to Jacob's ladder and Western park so found I could maintain a reasonable pace immediately after cresting. Not sure I could maintain 4:20s over the half distance (although in the ADRA half I did last year did manage 4:30s). Maybe a pace in between might be possible :)

Run Auckland 6 in three weeks which is a half marathon. There is a free 12km run (called the "ringstinger") in two weeks which might be worth a look.

Beware of Low Flying Pohutekawas

Thursday morning was pretty cold in Auckland. Went out for the short variation of the waterfront loop (10.4km). It's funny how I'm starting to refer to a 10km distance as short.

The waterfront has a number of Pohutekewa trees with low lying branches. A Pohutekawa is sometimes referred to as a New Zealand Christmas tree - lots of red flowers in summer.

I didn't hit my head but came pretty close just ducking in time. Easy to do when "in the zone" or in my case looking out over the harbour. Being a short runner probably has its advantages.


Photo by semuthuthan.

This was a great run! The first 5.2 was done in 23:33, the overall time was 46:42 so a bit of a negative split. Pushed harder on the second half, blowing a little hard at the end but all good. Finally getting a bit more speed back.

This route is reasonably flat and a welcome relief from the hills on my last two runs.

10.4km / 46:42 / 4:29min/km

On the run I was listening to soundtracks from 80s martial arts movies. A bit tragic but (retro) songs about overcoming adversity to ultimately triumph fit quite well on a run.

This Sunday have Run Auckland 5 (10km) so no more running for me until then. I might try and get to the pool on the weekend though.

I have been watching my diet more this week with some positive results - weighed in at 85.0kg flat this morning. I think eating healthy along with training for the marathon (135 days and counting!) should help get down to that magic 79-80kg mark. It'd be good to look lean, but not too mean, for the photos... :)

The only negative this week is I can feel a head cold coming on.

Stating the Obvious

Mixing up my weekday runs a bit this week. Both Tuesday and Wednesday I had good intentions of getting up early but had to settle for heading out at lunchtime.
Organising a lunchtime run is interesting. Given the need to change and shower (and the odd city centre intersection) the maximum amount of running time I can get away is about 35 minutes. So I've been developing a number of loop courses around 7-7.5km from work (ANZ building in city). I have read that horter runs during the week are a good balance to the longer slower stuff required to tackle a marathon.

I try and run these reasonably hard, but still being mindful I'm in building mode and my 34 year old body getting used to the idea of 40+km/week.

Tuesday - lunchtime - 6.9km

The Jacob's ladder, Western Park, Meyers Park and back. Recovery after the climbs is still not great but its slowly getting better. I knocked a total of 10s off my previous best on this route ;)

6.9km / 32:22 / 4:41min/km

Wednesday - lunchtime - 7.52km

Mapped out a new route this time. Took in the westhaven marina, past the harbour bridge, and up Curran Street (at the 4km ish mark) . Keeping a comfortable pace on the flat bits up to this point.

7.52km / 35:13 / 4:41min/km



Curran Street was a bit of a grind after yesterday but no issue with the calves. Worked on reducing stride length and keeping up the cadence (foot strike rate) - a good strategy for me on hills.

A fellow lunchtime runner passed me and commented "its better going this way!". Stating the obvious a little ;)

Rest of the run was down College Hill and then back into town. Bit blatted at the end.

Wednesday is fruit day at work and we get a couple of big boxes to help yourself. Quite nice and healthy after the run to have a couple of bananas, and other assorted healthy stuff.

Been a good boy this week and steered clear of the biscuit container.