That devil Marc is trying to tempt me into dangerous territory. First he asked when I was going to change the title of my blog. Well, when I started this exercise I was a 4:06 marathoner who struggled to run the whole distance without succumbing to cramp. I think it's fair to say that I have improved quite a bit since then, but I've grown rather fond of the title. If it turns off a few snobs who don't read past the header, I couldn't care less.
Then he suggested binning the ultra in favour of a 3:0x marathon attempt. There are two major problems with that: firstly, I've told so many people that I'm going to run that ultra that I couldn't possibly change my plans without completely losing face. Secondly, if I tried to run such a time, I might find out that I'm not as fast as hoped for. Neither is particularly pleasant, and my plans are set in stone. There is still time for my next marathon once the ultra is out of the way. I haven't forgotten about marathons. In fact, just about every aspect of my training for this ultra (apart from the long run doubles maybe) is geared towards improving me as a marathon runner.
With that out of the way I can get to the last two training days. As promised by the meteorologists, the weather has been much nicer recently, with a clear sky and little wind. On the downside the temperature has dropped by some margin, this morning it was about -5C/23F, noticeable colder than before. Still, I definitely prefer this to what I've had to put up with the two or three months previously.
Wednesday was as close as I've come to a recovery day for quite some time, just 8 miles at easy pace. At least that was the plan. Despite choosing a rather hilly route for this, I ended up running a lot faster that intended, and came home with a sub-8 pace. I've said it before, sub-8 is not recovery pace for me. It felt easy enough though, and the heart rate wasn't outrageously high.
Today constituted the first part of my sandwich. I went for the Caragh Lake loop, 15.5 miles, and a fair few hills on the way. I averaged about 8:33 for the first 2.5 miles, then the hills started. The cold temperatures once more caused some very slippery icy patches and I had to be really careful in places. If I fell awkwardly somewhere on the mountain road and broke my leg at 6 am in the morning I might have to wait 2 hours in the freezing cold until someone could come to my rescue. Bringing a mobile phone to call for help is rather pointless, there's no coverage in that area. Hmm. Better not think about that. Anyway, the run went better and better as it went on. At around the half way point my hands started to get numb. I should have worn the warmer gloves, but I think it must have gotten a bit warmer over the next 30 minutes or so, because the numbness eventually disappeared. As usual I got faster the longer the run went on. I did time myself for the last 5 miles, and they went by in about 37:40, which is 7:32 pace. I'm definitely happy with that, but I hope I didn't overdo things. After all, I've got 20 miles ahead of me tomorrow.
Oh, and I got a promotion at work (together with a pay rise). You're now reading the blog of the software development team leader in our company. I'm happy with the new job, Niamh is happy with the new salary, and the kids are happy anyway. Life's good.
24 Jan: 8 miles, 1:03, 7:52, avg. HR 146, including 8x100 strides
25 Jan: 15.5 miles, 2:06, 8:07 pace, avg. HR 146
Congrats on the promotion. Take a bit of the extra money and buy something nice for you.
ReplyDeletepat
Arizona, USA
Congratulations on the promotion.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to your report after two long runs back-to-back... if you haven’t done something like this before, error on the conservative side, enjoy!
Way to go on the promotion Thomas! That's great...I like the way you slipped in at the last, after all the running discussion.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your promotion, if you work like you train you more than deserve it!
ReplyDeleteKudos on the promotion. Great job. Wish you the best. ALso you hsve gotten some good runs in. Be careful for the black ice. No injuries needed.
ReplyDeleteA hearty congratulations on the promotion!
ReplyDeleteOk, ok, I'll let the ultra go, but I'll be looking for that 3:0x marathon in the fall.
Looking forward to the sandwich report.
Hooray for sticking in! Don't listen to devil, there is always time to run an ultra and then pile it up with a fast marathon on top of all the good training. Just ask Rob.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, promotion is good too:) No, really, it is. How you got it despite all the running and taking care of kids is a whole different story deserving separate congratulation!
Yes, on both accounts to what Olga said. Ultra training should lend itself to marathon training in many respects. You want to run a lot and put in a lot of miles. I ran my fastest marathon 4 weeks after my one and only 100 miler. There's a guy who ran 52 marathons last year and averaged in the low 2:40's for all the races. It can be done. People can run and train for more than 2 years, but I think we tend to get bogged down by the, "this is how it's always been done theory." We should all know by now that life changes and improvements are made by thinking outside the box and not within it.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm just trying to catch up so whatever you're doing Thomas, you're focused and doing great so a big high five from me.