From the moment I got my marathon place, I wasn’t short of people offering me bits of advice. One consistent message that came across was that I would need an element of luck for my debut marathon to be a successful experience. Getting to the start line in one piece appeared to be a not inconsiderable challenge. Writing this just under three weeks away, with the last long run done before beginning to decrease the intensity of the training (tapering as it’s called), things look good for the turning up goal to be achieved.
To quote this week’s marathon email newsletter, “it's crucial to allow the body to recover from the hard training you've put in over the last few months”. This allows for any fatigue in the body to leave, and any niggles the chance to recover. In short, this is one of those, creating your own luck moment.
Unfortunately it’s impossible to have one hundred percent control over the luck thing. You can be sensible and listen to the body, cutting back or stopping altogether if you think there’s a risk of a niggle becoming more serious – as I have done a couple of times during the marathon preparation for my left calf. You can take care when running, watching out for potential ankle turners on rough ground and so on, but five months is more than enough time for a freak injury to occur.
There has been something in the two weeks before my last seven races, over the past six months, that has forced me to cut down considerably, or even stop running. Each time the rest and, on occasions visit to a physio has got me to the start line in one piece, with me either meeting, or exceeding the target set for that event.
Running being an individual, non-contact sport, the athlete has a far greater control over luck than those who play team sports. A current case in point is that of Brentford goalkeeper Richard Lee. Having been arguably the best Bee this season, especially in penalty shoot out victories in the Johnston’s Paint Trophy, Lee will miss out on a career highlight of playing in the JPT final at Wembley next Sunday. Whilst pulling off a crucial save in the home match against Leyton Orient last weekend, Lee landed awkwardly and looks set to miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. No one can talk to him about how you create your own luck on this occasion.
It’s with avoiding accidents in mind, as well as making sure the body is as fresh as possible on April 17th that the tapering process starts here. What this means is, nothing that will tire me out, distances and intensity will decrease, and no risks are to be taken.
The past seven days has been, give or take a mile or two, my biggest mileage week of the training period. I followed up Cranleigh 21 with between 8 and 9 on Thursday night, and 14 this morning, including a 21.35 5K at Kingston Parkrun.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Running Music: REO Speedwagon 'Take it on the Run'
See the full list here
Next up:
REO Speedwagon ‘Take it on the Run’
So far this list has included the likes of The Clash, Arcade Fire, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Neil Young. All legendary in their own right – even Arcade Fire despite having a far smaller back catalogue than the others.
What this list is lacking though is an 80s power ballad!
And who better to provide one than REO Speedwagon.
‘Take it on the Run’ was released in 1981, during the band’s most commercially successful era. Much as I love this song, I can’t help wonder how it was received by those that had followed the band from it’s inception in 1967, throughout a decade when their music was far less pop-minded.
I’m sure there are people reading this post that can relate to the moment of mixed feeling, as your favourite band hits the big time, whilst producing music that just isn’t quite the same as it used to be.
Reading the lyrics, there’s not a lot going on here to link to running, other than the title. The song is a blokes message to his girlfriend, after hearing rumours from a mate that she’s been unfaithful.
“Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from another you been messin' around.”
All sounds a bit sixth form college to me.
I hate the term guilty pleasure, I don’t believe you should feel ashamed of any music you like, well, with in reason perhaps.
In short this is a bit of fluffy, catchy 80s pop-rock. Maybe a bit too catchy as I can be pretty damn sure if this gets into my head on marathon day, it ain’t going anywhere!
Next up:
REO Speedwagon ‘Take it on the Run’
So far this list has included the likes of The Clash, Arcade Fire, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Neil Young. All legendary in their own right – even Arcade Fire despite having a far smaller back catalogue than the others.
What this list is lacking though is an 80s power ballad!
And who better to provide one than REO Speedwagon.
‘Take it on the Run’ was released in 1981, during the band’s most commercially successful era. Much as I love this song, I can’t help wonder how it was received by those that had followed the band from it’s inception in 1967, throughout a decade when their music was far less pop-minded.
I’m sure there are people reading this post that can relate to the moment of mixed feeling, as your favourite band hits the big time, whilst producing music that just isn’t quite the same as it used to be.
Reading the lyrics, there’s not a lot going on here to link to running, other than the title. The song is a blokes message to his girlfriend, after hearing rumours from a mate that she’s been unfaithful.
“Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from another you been messin' around.”
All sounds a bit sixth form college to me.
I hate the term guilty pleasure, I don’t believe you should feel ashamed of any music you like, well, with in reason perhaps.
In short this is a bit of fluffy, catchy 80s pop-rock. Maybe a bit too catchy as I can be pretty damn sure if this gets into my head on marathon day, it ain’t going anywhere!
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Cranleigh 21
The Cranleigh 21 is an established, pre-London (and other marathons happening in April) event. The benefits to be gained from it are as much in the routine pre and during the race and miles in the legs as time it takes to get round. I’ve heard stories of people having brilliant runs at Cranleigh, but never making it to the start line of which ever 26.2 miler they’re ultimately aiming for. Simon, the guide I ran with today and who I will be with at London, once came forth, not an achievement to be sniffed at by any stretch of the imagination, but the effort took too much out of him and injury meant London never happened.
With all this in mind, as I lined up for the start, it was an unusual feeling where the first objective was to come out in one piece, the time it took was almost irrelevant. By the 9 AM start, there were objectives for the day already achieved, not least, breakfast.
I used to see quarter to 6 on a Sunday morning quite a lot, but that would be heading for bed rather than getting out of it. With the race off at 9 I wanted to eat by 6:30, no later than two and a half hours before. What I ate was today’s big experiment, as luck would have it I don’t especially enjoy the sort of food recommended for runners to start the day – cereal, porridge, banana and the like. I don’t mind oats though, and it was suggested during the week that Flapjack, with its combination of oats and sugar, might do the trick. The marginally more time consuming part of the meal involved the creation of a fruit salad - basically dumping some cut up strawberries, oranges and grapes in a bowl – and with my essential day starter of black tea (drunk out of my Brentford are going to Wembley mug), I and the day were ready to face one another.
The other consumption issue which needed to be resolved today was that of during the race. I’ve been using these Power Bar gels (which are just about palatable) but up to now the necessity to stop for water during a training run (I don’t carry a water bottle when running) has meant I was yet to use one of these gels whilst moving. The hurdle of keeping going whilst squirting blackcurrent flavoured goo into the mouth and not getting it all over my face has now been crossed.
And the time? – For what it’s worth.
I did 21 miles in 2 hours 51 and 20 seconds which, my dubious mental arithmetic thinks, is 8 minute 10 mile pace average.
The race is made up of a nine mile loop, followed by one of six miles which the runners do twice. It is predominantly run on roads and paths through the surrey countryside, with short stretches through the small town that gives the event its name. Unlike the London Marathon, this race isn’t flat, you would describe the course as undulating. It’s reasonable to call this a slightly harder twenty one miles than the London Marathon, although this field is far less crowded than London will be, meaning it’s easier to get started.
The objective was to aim for 8 minute mile pace for the distance, something which was achieved in the early stages. A combination of feeling so comfortable, and some downhill stretches that inevitably encourage me to increase the pace, meant that at 9 miles I was around 30 seconds quicker than I was aiming for. A bit of self control and, eventually, fatigue meant the pace dropped a little.
So the third of the four race plan is now done, following Tadworth Ten and the Wokingham Half. With London only four weeks away, this will also be my longest run of the training period. So an important milestone reached as I prepare for my first marathon. It also meant I avoided travelling to Warrington to endure what turned out to be a massacre of monumental proportions for Harlequins at the hands of the Wolves. I saw Quins get thumped there last year, and although I thought this would be by far our toughest game of the season, I never imagined it would be anything like that considering the good form we’ve been in. We’ll just have to use Hull as a punch bag to get that out of the system next Sunday.
With all this in mind, as I lined up for the start, it was an unusual feeling where the first objective was to come out in one piece, the time it took was almost irrelevant. By the 9 AM start, there were objectives for the day already achieved, not least, breakfast.
I used to see quarter to 6 on a Sunday morning quite a lot, but that would be heading for bed rather than getting out of it. With the race off at 9 I wanted to eat by 6:30, no later than two and a half hours before. What I ate was today’s big experiment, as luck would have it I don’t especially enjoy the sort of food recommended for runners to start the day – cereal, porridge, banana and the like. I don’t mind oats though, and it was suggested during the week that Flapjack, with its combination of oats and sugar, might do the trick. The marginally more time consuming part of the meal involved the creation of a fruit salad - basically dumping some cut up strawberries, oranges and grapes in a bowl – and with my essential day starter of black tea (drunk out of my Brentford are going to Wembley mug), I and the day were ready to face one another.
The other consumption issue which needed to be resolved today was that of during the race. I’ve been using these Power Bar gels (which are just about palatable) but up to now the necessity to stop for water during a training run (I don’t carry a water bottle when running) has meant I was yet to use one of these gels whilst moving. The hurdle of keeping going whilst squirting blackcurrent flavoured goo into the mouth and not getting it all over my face has now been crossed.
And the time? – For what it’s worth.
I did 21 miles in 2 hours 51 and 20 seconds which, my dubious mental arithmetic thinks, is 8 minute 10 mile pace average.
The race is made up of a nine mile loop, followed by one of six miles which the runners do twice. It is predominantly run on roads and paths through the surrey countryside, with short stretches through the small town that gives the event its name. Unlike the London Marathon, this race isn’t flat, you would describe the course as undulating. It’s reasonable to call this a slightly harder twenty one miles than the London Marathon, although this field is far less crowded than London will be, meaning it’s easier to get started.
The objective was to aim for 8 minute mile pace for the distance, something which was achieved in the early stages. A combination of feeling so comfortable, and some downhill stretches that inevitably encourage me to increase the pace, meant that at 9 miles I was around 30 seconds quicker than I was aiming for. A bit of self control and, eventually, fatigue meant the pace dropped a little.
So the third of the four race plan is now done, following Tadworth Ten and the Wokingham Half. With London only four weeks away, this will also be my longest run of the training period. So an important milestone reached as I prepare for my first marathon. It also meant I avoided travelling to Warrington to endure what turned out to be a massacre of monumental proportions for Harlequins at the hands of the Wolves. I saw Quins get thumped there last year, and although I thought this would be by far our toughest game of the season, I never imagined it would be anything like that considering the good form we’ve been in. We’ll just have to use Hull as a punch bag to get that out of the system next Sunday.
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Running Music: Kate Bush 'Running Up That Hill'
See the full list here
Next up:
Kate Bush ‘Running Up That Hill’
“And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places.”
I wonder how many people have thought that in the last few miles of a marathon?
My favourite Kate Bush song is actually ‘Don’t Give Up’, the duet with Peter Gabriel. An optimistic and encouraging number for a marathon you might think, but since I don’t plan to be considering quitting at any stage, I decided it wasn’t relevant.
Neither is ‘Running Up That Hill’ in the context of the London Marathon, although it could be argued running 5.2 miles more than I will have done before is something of a metaphorical mountain.
‘Running Up That Hill’ can be found on the 1985 album ‘Hounds of Love’, from where it was the first single release, peaking at number 3 in the UK. The track was originally to be titled ‘Deal With God’, but EMI bosses feared this wouldn’t be received well in countries such as the US, potentially sacrificing crucial radio play.
Next up:
Kate Bush ‘Running Up That Hill’
“And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places.”
I wonder how many people have thought that in the last few miles of a marathon?
My favourite Kate Bush song is actually ‘Don’t Give Up’, the duet with Peter Gabriel. An optimistic and encouraging number for a marathon you might think, but since I don’t plan to be considering quitting at any stage, I decided it wasn’t relevant.
Neither is ‘Running Up That Hill’ in the context of the London Marathon, although it could be argued running 5.2 miles more than I will have done before is something of a metaphorical mountain.
‘Running Up That Hill’ can be found on the 1985 album ‘Hounds of Love’, from where it was the first single release, peaking at number 3 in the UK. The track was originally to be titled ‘Deal With God’, but EMI bosses feared this wouldn’t be received well in countries such as the US, potentially sacrificing crucial radio play.
One Month To Go!
At the time of posting this entry, my first marathon should, one month from now, assuming nothing’s gone horribly wrong, all be over.
Believe it or not, I’m already starting to think about what my next marathon might be. Genuine consideration is being given to trying to get another one done before the end of the year, and the reason for thinking about this now is, places go for even the low key ones several months in advance.
The training has gone pretty much exactly to plan, give or take the odd missed run due to a tight calf muscle. I’ve found the really long runs to be the most enjoyable, and have every intention of keeping up with those post April.
Times like 2 hours 23 for 18 miles, and 2 hours 41 for 20 suggest that, were I to keep the training up, aiming for a 3 hours 30 marathon is a perfectly realistic ambition. Given how crowded the course will be at London, the objective of getting round in something respectable remains the aim. Once I have the full distance to my name, the ambition changes to seeing how much I can improve on the London time in a less busy environment. Be that this year, next or whenever, who knows.
The question of where I’ll be and at what time on April 17th has become an issue to think about over the past week or so. As marathon day approaches those showing an interest in coming to watch have been asking for suggestions of good spots along the route, and even what time I think I’ll be there. The first is easier to answer than the second, main problem answering the latter question is I’ve no idea how long it’ll take to get over the start line!
I’m told Bermondsey and Embankment are the best answers to the where question. I would also add the bit around Aldgate East tube, not least as the pubs near by are good if watching thousands of tired runners loses it’s appeal.
Race three of my four race plan is happening on Sunday, the Cranleigh 21, a popular pre-London test for Southern-based participants. It’s a 9 AM start for the race, so will be a good opportunity to practise getting up at silly o’clock on a Sunday morning. It also means I should be back home in time for Warrington V Harlequins RL which is a 3 PM kick off. My rugby league away travel has taken a bit of a hit so far this season, but a train ticket to Castleford was booked this week – now nobody suggest I don’t know how to live!
Believe it or not, I’m already starting to think about what my next marathon might be. Genuine consideration is being given to trying to get another one done before the end of the year, and the reason for thinking about this now is, places go for even the low key ones several months in advance.
The training has gone pretty much exactly to plan, give or take the odd missed run due to a tight calf muscle. I’ve found the really long runs to be the most enjoyable, and have every intention of keeping up with those post April.
Times like 2 hours 23 for 18 miles, and 2 hours 41 for 20 suggest that, were I to keep the training up, aiming for a 3 hours 30 marathon is a perfectly realistic ambition. Given how crowded the course will be at London, the objective of getting round in something respectable remains the aim. Once I have the full distance to my name, the ambition changes to seeing how much I can improve on the London time in a less busy environment. Be that this year, next or whenever, who knows.
The question of where I’ll be and at what time on April 17th has become an issue to think about over the past week or so. As marathon day approaches those showing an interest in coming to watch have been asking for suggestions of good spots along the route, and even what time I think I’ll be there. The first is easier to answer than the second, main problem answering the latter question is I’ve no idea how long it’ll take to get over the start line!
I’m told Bermondsey and Embankment are the best answers to the where question. I would also add the bit around Aldgate East tube, not least as the pubs near by are good if watching thousands of tired runners loses it’s appeal.
Race three of my four race plan is happening on Sunday, the Cranleigh 21, a popular pre-London test for Southern-based participants. It’s a 9 AM start for the race, so will be a good opportunity to practise getting up at silly o’clock on a Sunday morning. It also means I should be back home in time for Warrington V Harlequins RL which is a 3 PM kick off. My rugby league away travel has taken a bit of a hit so far this season, but a train ticket to Castleford was booked this week – now nobody suggest I don’t know how to live!
Sunday, 13 March 2011
This Week's Miles: March 13th
Having not run over last weekend, this week began with an 8 miler on Monday night, which took a shade over an hour to complete.
Tuesday sore another steady run, only 6 miles this time. I say steady, that was the plan, in fact this became a session with 3 lots of 3 to 4 minutes of tempo running, sepperated by recovery jogging.
As I finished I became aware of cramp at the bottom of my left calf, the one which I had trouble with before the Wokingham Half Marathon in February.
With London Marathon day being five weeks today, at the time of writing, I’m not about to take any risks that might result in injury, either one which effects my preparation over the next month or worse, puts me out of the marathon altogether.
I decided there was far more to lose than gain from my usual Thursday night run, so stayed at home with what turned out to be a poor Manchester City performance in the Europa League for company. The last time I picked up a calf niggle I wrote about how Sunday morning’s aren’t the most exciting times of the week without running, neither it turns out are Thursday nights.
The rest and attention from the hot water bottle(the latter designed to loosen muscles without putting any pressure on them) did the job, and I was back out this morning. The route was planned with a number of get out points early on in case the calf played up, but an hour in and all was fine. Today’s effort ended up being the 20 miles that was hoped for at the start of the week, the distance covered in 2 hours 41 minutes (or there abouts). There was no pain or stiffness in the calf afterwards.
I experimented with Powerbar Gels again, this time using blackcurrent, which, whilst still not being what I would choose to consume, was a considerable improvement on the strawberry and banana one I used last week.
Aside from some running-based discussions, topics covered with Andrew today included Brentfords win at Charlton yesterday, Tottenham removing AC Milan from the Champion’s League on Wednesday and the fantastic victory for Quins RL at St Helens on Friday night – once I’m done with this marathon my rugby league away trips will be back on.
Instead of a day out in Warrington next Sunday, it’s the final race before London, or, if you prefer, the third of the four race plan. Cranleigh 21 is something of a pre-London favourite. It will also be the longest I’ll run before April 17th.
Total for this week: 34 miles.
Tuesday sore another steady run, only 6 miles this time. I say steady, that was the plan, in fact this became a session with 3 lots of 3 to 4 minutes of tempo running, sepperated by recovery jogging.
As I finished I became aware of cramp at the bottom of my left calf, the one which I had trouble with before the Wokingham Half Marathon in February.
With London Marathon day being five weeks today, at the time of writing, I’m not about to take any risks that might result in injury, either one which effects my preparation over the next month or worse, puts me out of the marathon altogether.
I decided there was far more to lose than gain from my usual Thursday night run, so stayed at home with what turned out to be a poor Manchester City performance in the Europa League for company. The last time I picked up a calf niggle I wrote about how Sunday morning’s aren’t the most exciting times of the week without running, neither it turns out are Thursday nights.
The rest and attention from the hot water bottle(the latter designed to loosen muscles without putting any pressure on them) did the job, and I was back out this morning. The route was planned with a number of get out points early on in case the calf played up, but an hour in and all was fine. Today’s effort ended up being the 20 miles that was hoped for at the start of the week, the distance covered in 2 hours 41 minutes (or there abouts). There was no pain or stiffness in the calf afterwards.
I experimented with Powerbar Gels again, this time using blackcurrent, which, whilst still not being what I would choose to consume, was a considerable improvement on the strawberry and banana one I used last week.
Aside from some running-based discussions, topics covered with Andrew today included Brentfords win at Charlton yesterday, Tottenham removing AC Milan from the Champion’s League on Wednesday and the fantastic victory for Quins RL at St Helens on Friday night – once I’m done with this marathon my rugby league away trips will be back on.
Instead of a day out in Warrington next Sunday, it’s the final race before London, or, if you prefer, the third of the four race plan. Cranleigh 21 is something of a pre-London favourite. It will also be the longest I’ll run before April 17th.
Total for this week: 34 miles.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Running Music: Neil Young 'Long May You Run'
See the full list here
Next up:
Neil Young ‘Long May You Run’
Having written about an obvious, well known song last week, I thought I’d go for the opposite this time.
Neil Young is someone whose music I’ve been aware of for as long as I can remember, yet I’ve never really explored it to the extent I probably should have. I’ve heard ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ on the radio loads, I saw Pearl Jam do an excellent cover of it at the Leeds Festival one year. Recently, thanks to Planet Rock, ‘Harvest Moon’ has gone from being a song I knew to one I listen to almost on a daily basis. My Neil Young knowledge has, until recently, been a bunch of songs from throughout his career. I’m slowly but surely filling the gap in my musical knowledge by discovering more.
When I compiled the list from which I was going to pick a song from each week to write about, I added this one simply because the title was relevant, and I thought it would be something a little different to include. Along with the Thin Lizzy track from a couple of weeks ago, ‘Long May You Run’ is one of my favourites on the list.
To be accurate, this song is actually by The Stills-Young Band, and is the title track from a 1976 album which, at one stage, was meant to be a full offering with David Crosby and Graham Nash involved. The latter pair were only briefly on board however, instead releasing their own album in the same year.
The song ‘Long May You Run’ was written about a car Neil Young was especially fond of, and was the album’s first single. Young performed the track at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver – 2012 take note of what can be done. Let’s hope the Spice Girls rumour remains nothing more than an idea.
The only version I could find to link to is a live one, but very good it is too.
Next up:
Neil Young ‘Long May You Run’
Having written about an obvious, well known song last week, I thought I’d go for the opposite this time.
Neil Young is someone whose music I’ve been aware of for as long as I can remember, yet I’ve never really explored it to the extent I probably should have. I’ve heard ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ on the radio loads, I saw Pearl Jam do an excellent cover of it at the Leeds Festival one year. Recently, thanks to Planet Rock, ‘Harvest Moon’ has gone from being a song I knew to one I listen to almost on a daily basis. My Neil Young knowledge has, until recently, been a bunch of songs from throughout his career. I’m slowly but surely filling the gap in my musical knowledge by discovering more.
When I compiled the list from which I was going to pick a song from each week to write about, I added this one simply because the title was relevant, and I thought it would be something a little different to include. Along with the Thin Lizzy track from a couple of weeks ago, ‘Long May You Run’ is one of my favourites on the list.
To be accurate, this song is actually by The Stills-Young Band, and is the title track from a 1976 album which, at one stage, was meant to be a full offering with David Crosby and Graham Nash involved. The latter pair were only briefly on board however, instead releasing their own album in the same year.
The song ‘Long May You Run’ was written about a car Neil Young was especially fond of, and was the album’s first single. Young performed the track at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver – 2012 take note of what can be done. Let’s hope the Spice Girls rumour remains nothing more than an idea.
The only version I could find to link to is a live one, but very good it is too.
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