Case in point, I went running yesterday and today even though the weather was all but inviting. I somehow managed to time both runs to perfection; both Saturday and Sunday featured downpours of biblical proportion, and yet I managed to squeeze in a run into a nice window of opportunity. I hardly got wet, and the rain either held of or was down to a mere drizzle. I got lucky, because on both occasions it started raining very heavily within minutes of my return.
I was tempted to remove the whining last paragraph from Friday’s entry as soon as I posted it. In reality, running easy isn’t as bad as I made it sound, and most of the time I’m perfectly ok with it. I can relax, and enjoy my me-time. If the weather is nice I can also enjoy the surroundings because after all Caragh Lake does have some stunning scenery, and I never get tired of it. As I found out today, mentally I find it easier to run for 10 miles; 5 miles are so short that it hardly seems worthwhile.
My Garmin started acting up this morning. Initially it didn’t report any HR data at all. When I re-paired it, it picked up the signal again, but as soon as I started running I noticed that the HR was stuck around 100 bpm, which cannot be right. I suspected the battery in the chest strap might be empty, but after 4 miles it suddenly started behaving again, and the readings were fine afterwards. Because of these problems I didn’t get any initial feedback on my HR and it didn’t sound the alarm if I went over 152, so I might have run a little bit fast on the inclines. It was still an easy run, and I enjoyed it. Our garden is water-logged, some local roads are closed, parts of the country are bound to be flooded, but at least I managed to get my runs in.
I started working on my training plan for Boston. I will be following the training schedules outlined in Ron Daws’ book Running Your Best, which is basically Lydiard training. Starting tomorrow there will be 4 weeks of building the mileage, 6 weeks of aerobic base, 4 weeks of preliminary speed, 4 weeks of anaerobic training, 3 weeks of sharpening and 2 weeks of taper. I haven’t got the details worked out yet (and they’ll change as the weeks go on anyway), but I know what I’m going to do over the next few weeks at least.
- 8 Nov
- 7 miles, 57:56, 8:15 pace, HR 145
- 9 Nov
- 10+ miles, 1:22:12, 8:10 pace, HR 144
When is the last time you changed the battery in the HR strap? Mine was doing something similar a while back, and the battery change fixed it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the Boston plan. I'm curious to see the specifics.
Don't forget the real Boston planning - getting a room near a T line, or the finish. Is the family traveling with you? If so, start planning the sightseeing as well!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a good read, I'm going to have to pick up a copy for myself. I always found making a plan 'almost' more enjoyable than running it.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be well recovered already. Planning is fun to do and I hope to see some details. Your book seems hard to come by on this side of the pond.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I've blocked my IP from Kenza's computer until she's about 35 or so. I'm glad she has no interest in her Mama's personal life.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the 8 min paces.
good luck with the new training cycle,
ReplyDeleteif its lydiard based then you should get an impressive result at BOSTON!
I love that book by Ron Daws. He has such a plain-spoken, get down to business approach, even while telling his readers that anyone in decent shape can run under 2h30m for the marathon without too much difficulty.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, with his inspirational writing you really believe the guy.
Just curious, since I'm not an experienced marathoner....isn't it dangerous to be planning the speedwork/anaerobic phase during what are probably the coldest months where you live? I know there's no solution, and there won't be a "warm" time probably anytime before April, but shouldn't the most intense phase occur in late March/early April, rather than in late Jan/early Feb?
ReplyDeleteSorry if this is an idiotic question.
Anonymous, the Irish climate never gets cold, especially not if you live at the West coast like I do.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, doing intensive speedwork in April when the marathon is on 20th April would be a bad idea.
You never told me that Ron Daws can get you to a 2:30 Marathon. I'll have to get it now.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the plan. I'm still undecided about Boston. Have you entered/been accepted?
Thomas, your blog is pretty tame compared to Susan's. I think the worst I can recall is when you said I was a "bloody colonial" or something similar.
ReplyDeleteGrellan, if Thomas runs a 2:30 marathon, I'll run Boston in my speedos.