Maria's Running Blog

Felt very sluggish in the beginning and out of sorts. It happens when I take too many days off. Finally started feeling better by the end. Total time 52:02 (8:31 pace).

Today was one of the hardest long runs I've had. Started with 7.7 mi. easy and the GI troubles started already from 5. So I took a bathroom break and took my first gel. Then started on MP portion. My stomach felt much better, but then Garmin lost the signal only after 0.8 miles at MP! I had no choice but to run by effort. I remembered where I started on the loop, and decided to just run 1:20 at that effort. I might have started a bit too fast, I'm not sure. The last 3 miles were tough. Energy wise I felt okay (took second gel after 6 miles at MP), but quads, calves and hip flexors were all complaining. I'd say the latter miles felt pretty close to the marathon feelings. After about 8.2 mi. Garmin caught the signal again, and I tried to time the last 1.2 mi. Well, the signal laster for less than a mile and then was in and out, so pace was not predictable. On the slight downhill it said I was running 7:40 pace, but on the uphill it went to 8:08 average. But since it was cutting in and out, I can't be sure. I think I ran 10mi. at 8:00 average, but it's an estimation. Afterwards, had to take another bathroom break. It was really hard to start running after that, that's why I never stop in the marathon, tired muscles get very stiff and I'm afraid I won't be able to start running again, if I stop. I wonder if these stops diminish training value of the run.  Anyways, jogged home to make it 21 miles. Total time 3:01:35.

Ridiculous wind today, which made running not very enjoyable. Couldn't get into a rhythm. Did 12x0:30 seconds strides during the run. Still felt some residual fatigue from Saturday's long run. Total time: 58:45 (8:46 pace).

Uploaded the course for my upcoming half marathon next Sunday. Looks a lot hillier than what I read about it.

A very warm day, 54F and sunny! My legs, however, felt sluggish, and I felt slow. Not sure, maybe I'm still recovering from Saturday. Garmin measured 0.4mi. less than usual, must have been in and out again. Time 44:09 (8:49 pace).

Felt better today, finally had some spring in my step. Beautiful day out, around 50F and partly cloudy. However, my Garmin was cutting in and out again, despite clear blue skies. I'm beginning to think something is wrong with it, it hasn't been accurate for at least a week. It's about a year old, so maybe it's time for it to break  - right when the warranty expires, of course! Total time: 53:19 (8:35 pace).

Today I did continious tempo of 4 miles. The plan was to run 7:48 to 7:28 pace. I ran 1.7mi. warmup and sped up to what felt like a good pace. In a few minutes I looked at Garmin - 7:25 pace! But it felt just right, so I kept the same effort. I figured if it's too fast, I will slow down naturally. But I kept feeling good, and the pace stayed around 7:25-7:27. Only in the last 0.5 mile I felt like maybe I was starting to work too hard, but it was too close to the finish to let it slide. Then jogged home 1.4 miles. Total time 58:02 with 4mi. in 29:45 (7:26 pace). For comparison, my 4 mile PR is 29:01 (from 1998).

I am sure this is the fastest tempo run in the last 1.5 years, and possibly my fastest ever. I'm very happy with this workout, but I worry a little if I maybe overdid it before half marathon on Sunday. I hope not, I'll run very easy tomorrow and on Saturday.

very easy recovery run in 48:46 (8:50 pace). Felt fine, but tried to run as easy as possible. If I do anything tomorrow, it'll be a very short run and some strides.

Finally a good race and a PR! The course was 0.1 long, and not only on my Garmin. I asked couple of other runners with Garmins, both 301 and 305, and they also had 13.2 mi. It's a certified course by UK Athletics, but I have to wonder... Maybe 0.1mi. is acceptable margin of error, but it would be nice to have result of 1:41:xx rather than 1:42:xx.

The good:

- weather: absolutely gorgeous day, maybe even a bit too warm - mid 50s, bright blue skies and a lot of sun (which made it feel too warm at times). Miles 8-10 got pretty windy, but the rest was fine.

- course: very enjoyable and scenic through Fleet town center and countryside. Really nice. Not flat, it was constantly rolling up and down, but without steep hills. Even for me, the hills were no problem, and I don't train on hills at all now. Only mile 10 was mostly uphill, the rest were all up and down. I don't know if the net elevation was positive or negative, but it's not a slow course.

- mile markers: clearly visible and mostly accurate. A lot of miles were just a tad long, that's how extra 0.1mi. appeared, but I was able to split all the miles, even 13th one, which is often not signed in races.

The bad:

- water stations: since it was pretty warm, I tried to drink at each station, they were positioned every 3 miles, approximately. BUT - when will race directors get the idea that serving water in stiff plastic cups is a disaster for runners who try to drink without stopping! You can't make a funnel with plastic cups like you can with paper cups (they tend to break), so what happens is that most of the water ends up all over your body rather than your mouth. I tried to do my best, but only managed to get a few ounces out of each cup. Oh well.

 Now for my race. I lined up in front seeing how narrow the starting road was. Even though the race used ChampionChip, I didn't want to fight my way through hundreds of people. There were more than 3000 people running, it's one of the more popular pre-London halfs. The race started, and everybody sprinted ahead. I really had to hold back. Tons of people passed me in the first 200 meters. That's when it was very useful to have Garmin (and it was working, too!). I saw the pace dipping under 7:30, backed off big time, and let them all go. Many of them came back to me later.

My plan was to go out no faster than 7:50-7:55, and then either pick it up half way, or run even and kick the last 3 miles. In reality, I ran around 7:50 for 10 miles and then gradually sped up. The splits are not even because of course undulations, but I was constantly seeing 7:40-7:55 on each mile so it was okay. More importantly, I was completely comfortable the first 10.5 miles, and that was the key. I ran at the right effort. My breathing was pretty quiet, and I had a steady rhythm going. After the long uphill section between miles 9 and 10, I started noticably passing people. A lot of them were slowing down. But I felt strong and in control, although I was working a bit harder now. The wind was slowing me down a bit on these miles. I kept rolling until mile 11, and then, using the road protected from the wind, I sped up. I saw 7:20 on my Garmin, and that's when I knew I was going to have a good race. I passed dozens of people in these last 2 miles, and no one passed me at all until the finish! It was a great feeling. I was working very hard, but I still felt strong. In the last mile, though, I started to struggle, because there was some uphill again, and I could feel my legs getting very heavy. I was afraid I started kicking too soon, and will die a premature death. But I managed to hold the pace, although it was a painful last mile.

Last 100m. were on the grass, I was sprinting like crazy and didn't see the race clock at all (it was on the right side, and I was running on the left). I also didn't see (and didn't care for) a photographer. I can only imagine what kind of photos I will get!

Official results are not out till tomorrow evening, so I have no idea about my place or official time, but my Garmin gave me 1:42:04, and I'm pretty happy with it. It's a PR by 2:30. I hit my target time, even not considering that the course was a bit long. Hopefully, now I'll hit my marathon target as well.

Splits:

Mile	Distance	Time	Pace
1	0.99	7:43	7:49
2	1.00	8:01	8:00
3	1.00	7:43	7:45
4	1.04	8:01	7:45
5	1.02	7:48	7:41
6	1:01	7:59	7:53
7	1.01	7:51	7:49
8	1.01	7:56	7:51
9	1.00	7:51	7:51
10	1.01	7:59	7:55
11	1.00	7:40	7:39
12	1.00	7:20	7:22
13	1.01	7:23	7:19
13.1	0.11	0:42	6:30

Update: found race results here. Looks like I was 10th in F35-39 and 59th woman. Overall gun position 541, gun time 1:42:12. Chip time a second faster than I thought, 1:42:03.

very easy recovery run, 50:21 (8:59 pace). My legs feel pretty dead, with sore quads and left hip flexor, for some reason. Ran very slow, but enjoyed the weather - 63F and sunny! It felt summer-like.

went for an easy hour long run. I felt good after a day off yesterday and the soreness was gone. I ran easy, but maintained a pace at the higher end of my usual easy run pace. That tells me I'm mostly recovered from the race. I'll try marathon tempo tomorrow.

Time 1:01:55 (8:44 pace).

did 50 min. marathon tempo and covered 6.3mi @ 7:56 pace. I felt okay, but was hoping it would feel easier. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't effortless either. Towards the end my legs got tired. Maybe I'm still recovering from last Sunday. Total time 1:14:55.

I had stomach cramps today the whole afternoon, not sure why. I drank Lucozade Energy drink for the first time today, and got cramps about an hour later. Maybe it didn't agree with me. It was carbonated, and had glucose and caffeine. Not drinking it again, that's for sure. Because of cramps, I ran very easy, but my legs actually felt good. Time 45:13 (9:02 pace).

I missed yesterday due to the family trip to Oxford, so I had to run long today. It really wasn't the best day for it - the wind was ridiculous again, steady at 25 mph, gusting to 40. I started off slow and struggling with teh wind a lot. I planned on going 3+ hours, and the thought of circling around Regents Park 7 times wasn't very appealing. I decided to be adventurous and run all the way to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. I took Baker Street to get there (the same Baker street featured in Conan Doyle's works; there is Sherlock Holmes museum and statue there now). It was annoying dealing with many lights, but eventually I got to American Embassy and then Hyde Park. Ran around both parks twice, that gave me 8.6 miles. Still struggling with gusty winds. I had 2 gels with some water, first at 7 miles, and second at 13.5 miles. Thankfully, didn't have much GI trouble and made just one restroom stop. When I got back to Regents Park loop, I noticed that I was feeling pretty good and my pace was picking up. I wasn't planning on it, but I ran last 5.5 miles a lot faster than first 15.5. Even my legs weren't as tired as they usually get. It probably was from having a day off yesterday, but I'll take it! I didn't time this last section because it kind of just happened. When I finished at 21 miles, I still felt pretty good and I could have kept running, although I was, of course, tired. So it was interesting today. Total time 3:04:55 (8:48 pace).

Ran easy recovery today. Legs felt a little beat up, but not terrible. I've felt worse after long runs. I tried to keep the pace slow, but somehow was running 8:30 until Primrose Hill on the way back. Time: 43:25 (8:41 pace). Seems too fast for recovery, but I wasn't forcing it. Maybe I'll pay for it tomorrow.

Easy run with 10x0:30 pickups at 6:30-7:00 pace. I felt good, and my pace was faster than on comparable runs in the past. More importantly, I felt pretty smooth. The weather, however, threw a surprise at me: it wasn't supposed to rain, but around 15 min. into my run, the skies opened up and cold wet snow followed, coupled with terrible wind (AGAIN!) straight into my face.It actually felt sharp, like hail.  I couldn't even see where I was going, so I stopped my pickups until I turned and the snow was coming at an angle. 15 minutes later it was gone, but the wind continued. I was glad I wore my SportHill top, it's really warm. Total time: 52:04 (8:32 pace).

easy run in Regents Park. It was cold again and still windy, although the wind wasn't as strong as few days ago. My hands were freezing though, but it just seemed silly to wear gloves on the first day of Spring! I felt good, but ran slow for some reason, 56:22 (8:56 pace).

After about 5 miles I stopped at the track to do some strides. For some strange reason, I felt fast and decided to time 3rd and 4th.  I got 18sec. for 99m on the 3rd and 17sec. for 90m on the 4th. It's too bad Garmin doesn't register tenths of a second, because 18 could have been 17.6 or 18.4, but was rounded up to 18. But I was shocked by how fast I felt - my turnover was very good, my knee lift was good and I felt real power to my stride. I was spending very little time on the ground and landing on the ball of my foot, like sprinters do :). It was all the more surprising, because I was wearing my heaviest shoes, Asics Nimbus, which are really not conducive to fast running.

On my jog back home I was trying to solve this puzzle why I felt so great doing sprints today, but couldn't come up with any explanation. But it made me think that perhaps I still have a little but of speed left at my advanced age, I just need to focus on bringing it back. Maybe I'll start focusing on 5K again after my marathon and doing more intervals.

 Almost forgot: I watched British Eurosport channel's coverage of Seoul marathon. I was very inspired by Lee Bong-Ju. He ran incredibly gutsy race and never ever gave up. There was a big gap between him and Kirui starting from about 30K, and it grew to about 100 meters.  At that point everyone was already tired, but Lee just held his own, and then somehow found the reserve to close the gap and pass Kirui, who as it turned out, had nothing left and was barely hanging on. When Lee passed him at like, 40K, Kirui gave him this mad look, but couldn't do anything. The gap looked insurmountable, and yet Lee found a way back in. Very very inspiring to watch. Just goes to prove that you should never give up and that your opponent might be hurting more than you are, even if he is in front at the moment. He had screaming and yelling fans all the way to the stadium that helped, I'm sure, but to win in such a way, especially at 36, when people pretty much wrote him off, is really awesome. He also ran the best time in the world this season, I think - 2:08:04.

My spontaneous speed experiment on Wednesday did not go unpunished. Yesterday, almost exactly 24 hours after I ran sprints, my legs started killing me. Both quads and hamstrings. It's hard to believe, but it took only 3x100m at close to full speed (the first one wasn't that fast)!!I haven't done strides in a while, not to mention at full speed, and so that was the result. On top of really sore legs, I just plain got lazy and ended up not running at all. It would have been better to run easy for few miles, I know.

So today, my legs were still very sore, no better than yesterday, but I had to do my speed workout. I planned on at least 8x800m, but got a late start and ran out of time before I had to get home and take my daughter to her swim practice (her regular pool is closed for inspection for 2 weeks, and we have to go to a far away pool that takes an hour to get to!). So I ended up with only 7x800m.

The whole time it just felt very hard, starting from the first one. There was significant wind on one of the straightaways and it seemed to always pick up when it was time for me to start the next repeat! Coupled with very sore legs, it made for really tough workout. I did 7x800m with equal time jog recovery. Splits were all over the place:

Repeat	Time	Comment
1	3:26	hard, stiff legs
2	3:21	a little better
3	3:19	pushed too hard, and I knew it. This repeat broke me.
4	3:21	very hard, surprised at the time, thought it would be slower. Things are going downhill from here.
5	3:27	dying out there, wind a killer
6	3:21	barely hanging in, again surprised at the time. Feeling a little nauseuous afterwards.
7	3:24	done, finally, can barely jog afterwards

Not really pleased with this workout, few weeks ago was a much better, consistent effort (and one more repeat, too).

easy recovery run, 43:49 (8:45 pace). Very strong wind again, and cold. Not a pleasant run, although my legs are almost back to normal.

Today was a disaster. I was supposed to run my last 20 mile run before the taper, but I didn't realize that UK moved the clock one hour forward last night!!! I only noticed it after midday on my laptop, and it took me a while to realize that nothing's wrong with it, it's really a change in time. Because of this, I didn't have time for a 3 hour run anymore - other obligations kicked in, so I had to do a regular easy run. Time 52:18 (8:34 pace). Not happy about this, but will try to do the long run tomorrow.

Finally got out for the first time. This week has been crazy - after months of generally unsuccessful job hunting, I finally got a good contract offer, and at the same time, another company took interest in me. When it rains, it pours. This other company went to great lenghts to persuade me to join them, and I went there 3 days in a row this week for various interviews. They made me an offer too (but for a full time position, not contract), and I had to think really hard, because even though the work isn't very interesting, the location and working culture are great. It would be good for my running, probably, as they hardly have any overtime, it would be 20 min. commute and low stress overall. In the end, however, I chose the contract - it is with great company, the work is more challenging and more in line of where I want to go in my career, and there is potential to get involved in their other projects. But location is on the outskirts of London and it'll take me 1:20 to get there (one way). Not to mention the very possible overtime as is often the case with contracting. With all this I was pretty stressed out, and running went into background. But I'm excited that my "bum" days are over and I'm getting back to work. I have to start next Monday. I do worry how it'll affect my running, having gotten used to running in the middle of the day, sleeping late, etc.

So, today I tried to salvage the week a little by doing marathon tempo. I didn't really feel any effects of 3 missed days, and ran 6.3mi in 50:00 (7:56 pace). Also did 4x100m strides afterwards. I'm concerned that I missed my last long run before the taper, and I was hoping to do it on Monday, but due to the above mentioned developments it never happened. It's too late now, so I'll just run 16-17 miles this weekend and hope I didn't lose much endurance.

It was gloomy and raining, but I had to go running, because this week has been already screwed up enough. As usual, I wasn't bothered by the rain once I started. Time: 48:39 (8:50 pace).

I'm really enjoying longer days since we moved the clock forward. Went out at 6:30PM, and it was still daylight! I didn't take Garmin since it's been acting up so much with low cloud cover and what not. So I wore regular watch and didn't worry about the pace. It was very windy again, but I felt great today, and whenever I would cross check my watch at familiar spots on the course, I could tell I'm running decent pace. Ended up with 52:45 (8:30 pace).