Week 3/18 Roundup

Week 3/18 of my marathon training program is bought and paid for. Well I got through it at least.

Apparently it is a step-back week which is just as well because still initially I was still feeling the HM a bit from last Sunday.

It didn't go exactly to plan (still need to slow down more on Sunday) but still it was good. Here is how it went down:

Tuesday: Plan said 3 Miles (~4.8km) at normal pace. I'm not quite sure what normal is these days though.

Actual:
4.76km / 22:26 / 4:43 min/km. The route was just a rectangle around Peary, Mt Eden, Fairview/Croydon, Dominion.

Wednesday: Plan said 6 Miles (~9.6km) at a comfortable pace. Plan said "I wouldn't push the pace too much".

Actual:
9.68km / 48:45 / 5:01 min/km.
This route was a new one for me leaving work, along Quay Street, along the Strand, up the domain, round the park and down the same way but this time along Lover's Lane. I've never gone run that track and it was like being in Titirangi with a waterfall and bush surrounds. Shown around 6km on the map below. Skived off work at lunchtime and was the best run of the week. Great to get out of the office for a bit too.



The path up to the Auckland domain. Photo from "InternetAge Traveler's".

Thursday: Plan said another easy three miler (~4.8km)

Actual:
4.9km / 22:37 / 4:37min/km. Dead flat route around the Tank farm in Auckland.

Friday was a rest which sounded like a good idea to me :)

Saturday: Plan said run 6 miles (~9.6km) at marathon race pace

Actual:
10.81km / 52:58 / 4:52min/km.
Pretty happy with the pace its a whisker too fast as I was aiming for 5:00. Did this route - nothing special really, terrain was rolling.

Sunday: Plan said run 8 miles (~12.875km) at a slow pace.

Actual:
13.68km / 1:12:33 / 5:17 min/km.
Too fast. Must slow down a bit more. Run was OK apart from that - rain stayed away.
Did a loop towards the city and back.

Total : 43.83km. Sat and Sun were a little longer than planned but nothing to really worry about.

Mapping a running route adds a bit of fun to training. It's like planning a little adventure. I also find doing different routes provides variety which helps...

Male running bravado

A couple of interesting perspectives recently with a couple of people I know that run.

(Female) work colleague N talks of running early in the morning down in Taupo. Recently she mentioned going out with 4 layers of clothing. It is pretty cold down there to be fair. Cold and frosty as in -4 deg C or something.

On the other end of the spectrum I had a conversation with my (male) friend J here in Auckland.

J: "Bit cold this morning on my run. Might have to look into some of the winter running gear. Do you run in it?"
Me: "I haven't got any. But if it gets really cold I might wear a second t-shirt."
J: "..."

Nothing like a bit of dumb male bravado amougst friends. I have to quantify that though Auckland never really gets "cold", 10 minutes or so into any run one layer is plenty.

In the same conversation J mentioned doing the Lydiard Legend Half Marathon (www.thelegend.co.nz) coming up. I will be interested to see how he goes on what is supposedly the toughest road race in the country. To put it in perspective J is a faster runner than me with a HM PB around 1:32. I'll catch him one day though ;)

Race Result

From the HM last weekend...

Gun = 1:42:10 / Net = 1:40:56.



I'm still a little dissappointed with how it went to be honest. I think largely because I've run the distance faster albeit that was on a flatter course. Do other people feel the same way after a race?

By Tuesday my legs were feeling relatively normal so could tackle that days running (3mi/4.8km) OK.

Week 3/18 of marathon training is progressing well but I'll cover that in a separate post. Suffice to say I'm enjoying the structure of a plan. Training is fun!

Being Sensible

Got back from Run Auckland 6 / North Shore City HM this morning. Conditions were pretty cold and blustery but the rain mostly stayed away. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I felt good to turn up and do the thing even though my family and some friends of mine told me I was mental. :)

In terms of the race itself it started well but both my calves started to tighten up around the 6km mark. Trouble on this course the first 6km are pretty easy and the rest is a mixture of beach, hills, North Head, hills and beach. It is a pretty tough course.

Coming back towards the finish along Takapuna beach was interesting with the tide coming in. Needless to say my shoes got a bit wet.

No point risking injury so was sensible and took it relatively easy for the back half of the race. Got passed by quite a few people which was a bit demoralising. Times haven't come out yet but I think it was around 1:41 or there abouts. Not what I was hoping for but at least I didn't pull anything.

One positive I'll take out of this it was under my projected marathon pace and I felt quite comfortable from an aerobic persective. Just wish my legs would behave themselves! I think the answer could partly be new shoes and I plan to go shopping for some very soon.

No more racing for a while now...

Mostly Sticking to the Plan

Week 2/18 of marathon training this week. It's going ok but this is early days where the mileage is low. The weather here in Auckland has been a bit wet* but I'm finding that the structure of a plan is keeping me accountable.

This week is a bit disruptive as I have a half marathon tomorrow morning.

Following of from the long slow run on Sunday (16.4km) I did the following:

Tuesday: 4.9km / 21:17min / 4:19 min/km.
Flat round the tank farm - good but in hindsight what the hell am I running that speed in a training run? Interesting thing the run itself didn't feel that tough. Maybe my aerobic capacity is picking up.

Was a lunchtime run and good fun.

Plan said 3 miles - OK.

Wednesday: 8.48km / 40:28 / 4:46 min/km.
Pace more circumspect this time this route along westhaven, up curran, along ponsonby road, down franklin and then back to town. Another lunchtime run.

Plan was 5 miles - OK.

Thursday: 5.15km / 25:12 / 4:52 min/km.
Flat route out east along the water front to just past the end of the red fence and back again. Felt comfortable going slower.

Plan was 3 miles - OK.

Overall the midweek running was too fast however my excuse is peaking for a HM.

I'm supposed to do 5 miles (PMP) today and then 11 miles (slow) tommorrow. However instead I'll do 13 miles (hopefully fastish) in the HM. Normal programming should resume next week.

* Weather forcast is absolute pants for tomorrow. Supposedly rain and wind. Should inspire me to hurry up and finish to get dry.

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.