Thursday, March 08, 2007

Looking Forward

For the last few months I have focused solely on the ultra, but I guess at some stage I have to look past that. Therefore I decided to sign up for another race, the Bantry Half marathon. I don’t know if I will be able to make it, because it’s only 5 weeks after the ultra, and somehow I can’t imagine being able to run again soon after pounding the roads of Connemara for several hours. But since the entry will close on 31 March I had to decide to sign up now, before I knew how I would feel after the ultra. If I feel like running on stumps (or if the mere thought of running will send me into a tailspin), I’ll forgo the race.

I finished my double headers last week, and I’ll run the last long run on Monday, so I had to decide how far I would run for this week’s long run, and when. I settled on 17 miles, mainly because that’s the length of one loop around Caragh Lake plus the Devil’s Elbow, and ran in on Wednesday to ensure sufficient recovery before Sunday’s 10k. After Tuesday’s tempo run the legs were as dead as expected, and the first mile saw me crawling at 9:10 pace. I did pick it up slightly, and went through the imaginary 3-mile marker in 26 minutes, 8:40 pace average. At that point the legs really wanted to speed up, but I told them to relax and that pace was not an issue today. They grumbled a bit, so I promised them to run the last 3 (flat) miles at a strong effort if they behaved through the series of hills that make up the Caragh Lake loop from miles 5 to 14. As a matter of fact the run went better and better with each passing mile, and when I came down the last hill with 3 miles to go I moved the effort up several notches, as promised. I felt fantastic, and not even the barking dogs could bother me this time. I don’t know how I did it, but I ran those miles in 21:15 (7:05 pace), which was faster than the tempo run the day before. I guess the 14 miles had served as a useful warm-up. Whenever I manage a run like that I question the accuracy of my mileage, but the answer is always the same, namely that it should be reasonably accurate. Even if it’s out, I still know that I’m improving, because I can still compare that time to previous times over the same course.

My achilles tendon started hurting again on Tuesday, which I presume was caused by the two tempo efforts in three days. As a result I decided to take it easy today and run very relaxed. I had planned two miles in a sprint/float fashion, but decided to cut that in half. I ran 4.5 miles at easy pace, then did the fast mile over the same course I had done the mile repeats on Sunday. I bet these workouts are easier on a track. For one thing, the road isn’t entirely flat, and sprinting uphill feels like someone is sucking the strength out of your legs with a straw. Secondly, how was I supposed to know when to stop sprinting and when to restart again? I did them purely by feel, and I guess the sprints were longer than 100 meters and the floats were shorter than the sprints, and the whole mile took 6:32. Interesting, that’s faster than the mile repeats on Sunday, though I have to point out that Sunday’s effort was strictly aerobic. I felt pretty good after that and was tempted to run the return mile in the same way but thought of my achilles and just jogged home.

I’ll take it seriously easy tomorrow and on Saturday, and I’m very much looking forward to Sunday. I have run a lot of miles since my last race, and I can’t wait to update my sidebar again.

7 Mar: 17 miles, 2:20:12, 8:14 pace, avg. HR 141, 3 final miles at 7:05
8 Mar: 8 miles, 1:06:12, 8:16 pace, avg. HR 141, 1 “mile” sprint/float in 6:32

P.S.: Note the heart rate. It’s still dropping!

8 comments:

  1. When my achilles was bugging me it was the "starts" and "stops" that gave me the most trouble. If you're able to do the sprint-floats without pain I'm hoping you'll be fine. Pretty Lydiard-esque training lately, me likey. Good luck on the 10K, I hope you're taking it a little easier until then.

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  2. I wouldn't expect a PR on the half marathon but you would be surprised how short they seem after an ultra.

    Get an ice bath or cold water bath as soon as you can after your ultra and try to get back to running in about two days after the race. I like to start with a series of shorter runs then build up to 10-12 then taper down again with 3-4 mile runs before the next race.

    Per your previous post Nike's are are real problem in areas with large thorns like the deserts of Arizona. I worked with Nike for three years in development of shoe materials. The "Nike Air" is actually a large molecule gas that won't leak out of the openings between the molecules of the film that the air bags are formed by. Nike kept the airbag filling proprietary and shipped filled airbags to Asia for installation. That was 12 years ago however so I'm sure a lot has changed since.

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  3. I am with Eric, I think you wil PR at half. Throw in a marathon a couple of weeks later too!

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  4. PR 10k is a given, as is the ultra, and the 1/2 will be a sure thing too given your training. 5k & marathon and the cycle is complete. Have a good race this weekend!

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  5. Thomas,
    You'll be good to go on that half marathon - your legs are strong! Just think - if you can run two twenties two days in a row, you'll be able to race that soon after the ultra. I can't wait to see how it goes, and more importantly, how you like it.

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  6. Great week ... and just look at that HR. It is a fantastic indicator as to just how healthy you are right now. I'm still in awe of the doubles you ran last week. Best of luck this weekend ... you know we'll be waiting out here in blogland for the race report.

    Rest well.

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  7. You are the new ultra poster child dude. So strong...and such solid training. I mean it - you are headed for greatness.

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  8. I'll agree with everyone else and with the mileage you have been running there is no doubt in my mind that 5 weeks later you will be ready for that half-marathon. Let ice be your friend afterwards and recover properly. Good luck with the 10k.

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