Virgin London Marathon training: Week 3
Colder than the tube, but a whole lot more attractive
I’ve still not fixed the puncture on my bike. Call it laziness, an unwillingness to deal with the horrors of Tottenham Hale Halfords, or perhaps pessimism around the longevity of my inner tubes if you will. However, waking up bright and early on Monday morning it quickly became evident that the recent spell of mild weather had broken.
Both Monday and Tuesday were frosty and ended up being double-run days. With daylight saving time still firmly in place in the UK, I generally have to leave the house around sunrise if I’m going to run into work, have a shower and be at my desk in reasonable time. Cutting through the hilly Finsbury Park gives me a great view of the city in the morning light. I packed my camera on Tuesday to make the most of the early morning frost (although in truth the conditions were prettier on Monday).
In all honesty, I’ve not been doing so well at sticking to the runs I’ve had planned. Monday was due to be a rest day, but ended up clocking in at slightly over 12 miles. Wednesday was meant to be a club run, but became a rest day as it was an ideal opportunity to celebrate the successful start of my girlfriend’s freelance enterprise. Thursday became a speedwork/run home rather than a commuter run. Saturday became a steady 6.5-mile run rather than a 13-mile steady run since a lazy morning and preparatory cooking for a dinner party colluded to mean I set out later than I’d originally planned.
However, I don’t see this as a problem. I’m incorporating the key types of run that I’d planned for, and actually running more than I had originally anticipated at this stage in my plan. I clocked up a total of 72 miles this week, which is a good 15–20 miles more than I’ve run previously during my most intense weeks of marathon training. Having built my base over the winter, I’m able to manage this volume without wearing myself down.
Speed is again the thing that I’m thinking about most. Once the cold snap had passed, the end of the week became increasingly windy. My regular threshold run of two loops round Regent’s Park on a Friday was around the same speed as last week (albeit with one mile ducking just under the 6-minute mark). However, with the strength of headwind (and although you might hope for an equally strong tail wind, the wind was only to my back for a small section of each loop) it felt tough and I was fairly pleased with the run.
I feel like I can probably make better progress if I tweak my speedwork run slightly. First off, speedwork should be on a Tuesday so my legs have a chance to recover for the tempo run on Friday. Secondly, I’ve been using a set of three minutes hard one minute easy repeats, which is good for lactate threshold but not necessarily changing gears. The two options I’m thinking about are:
- Taking a pyramid approach, with one minute moderate, one minute hard, one minute moderate, one minute recovery. A shorter hard section means I can run faster, but the moderate minutes mean that I improve my recovery at speed as moderate should be around marathon pace.
- Sprint repeats. Because my speedwork sessions typically take place along Embankment, I will have to use lampposts to measure the distance of the sprint and jog recovery.
In practice, I have plenty of time to find what works and gets the best results. However, where I’d originally thought to have one speedwork session every two weeks, I now think one session every week will help me get the progress that I want.
All in all, though, I’m feeling good. I managed a 2 hour 50 minute long slow hilly run with no carb gels, and although it was hard work I didn’t feel the energy crash I’ve sometimes felt on long runs before. We’ll see whether I can maintain the energy levels over next week’s 20-mile steady run.
The sound of music
Last winter I was running mile repeats in Finsbury Park. It was sunny and with the beginnings of spring warmth I’d embraced the bare leg. On a downhill stretch I overtook another runner, who was wearing earplugs. As I passed him, oblivious to my presence, he turned in my direction and spat on my shins.
He shouted apologies after me as I rushed past, but I’d pretty much made up my mind about runners who listen to music on the run. They’re oblivious to everyone and everything, I’d thought. My prejudices were reinforced over time by cyclists gunning through rush-hour traffic in central London while taking calls on their iPhone, couples running together but blithely ignoring each other via their iPods, and even one remarkable man cycling down the middle of a road in Seven Sisters using both hands to play with his iPad.
So, when Three very kindly sent me an MP3 player armband to take out on my runs, I was a little skeptical about whether it would help my running or just turn me into a hazard. But, in the name of a balanced opinion, I donned it and my iPod and hit the paths around North London.
My first run was meant to be a relatively easy 10 miles. I headed down the Lee Valley, switched to an up-tempo playlist (which I’ve often used to get me in the mood before a race) and tried to keep a steady pace. It didn’t quite work out like that, though, because I couldn’t hear when my Garmin clocked off another mile, so I couldn’t keep tabs on my pace. Consequently my mile splits were a bit all over the place.
It also took a while to get used to the sensation of hearing my pulse in my ears, grappling with the wires as they got tangled with my arm and replacing my ear buds when they inevitably fell out.
However, with marathon training now kicking in, I’m taking my iPod with me on one run a fortnight: the long, slow timed run. With no real emphasis on pace, just finding hills, following trails and spending time on my feet. Rather than listening to music, I’m listening to podcasts as they’re less likely to interfere with my pace. Unsurprisingly, Marathon Talk with its 90-minute-plus episodes makes ideal running material.
So, here are my top tips for running with audio:
- Loop the headphone cable up your arm and out of the back of your top so the loose end of the cable doesn’t get in the way or get tangled up with your limbs.
- If you’re listening to music, try to pick tunes that are around the same tempo and that are not likely to affect your cadence.
- Create playlists that get you in the mood for running, and make sure your playlist is a good bit longer than your longest run so that you don’t need to fiddle with your MP3 player mid-run.
- Try something like Audiofuel if you’re looking for exercise-specific tracks.
Enter the 2012 Bath Half-marathon
The 2012 Bath Half-marathon has long since sold out. The over-subscribed race forms a perfect pre-marathon build-up race for anyone running the Paris, Brighton or London marathons, and the flat two-lap course makes it ideal for setting a new PB. And if you’re new to the world of 13.1 milers, it’s an ideal introduction with a carnival atmosphere, scenic route and a big and supportive field of runners.
However, it’s not too late to enter the race. Right to Play is a charity that aims to improve the lives of children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport and play for development, health and peace, and they have 10 charity places for this year’s Bath Half.
Right to play do not ask for a minimum amount of fundraising, and runners can apply for the places through the Right to Play website, here.
About Right to Play
Right to Play works closely with many international organisations such as the United Nations, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation as well as community and government organisations at local level.
Once programmes are set up, the organisation trains local young people as coaches to continue the programmes’ reach for long-lasting, sustainable impact in the community.
A team of top athletes from more than 40 countries support Right to Play. As role models, these athletes inspire children and raise awareness about Right to Play internationally. Their aim is to engage key decision-makers from the development, sport, business, media and government sectors and further ensure every child benefits from the positive power of sport and play.
Money raised can make a big difference:
- £5 is what it costs Right to Play to teach a child about malaria, meaning that they are less likely to contract the disease, and they can detect the symptoms in themselves, their family and friends in time to treat the disease.
- For £25 the charity can include a child in their programmes so that they can participate in regular, weekly sport and play activities for a whole year, with long-lasting impact on their lives as they grow up.
- With £120 Right to Play can train a local member of a community to teach Right to Play games. That leader will access hundreds of children in his or her community and ensures that their programmes are long lasting and sustainable.
Virgin London Marathon training: Week 2
The timed mile races at Iffley Road track in Oxford in the summer of 2011
This week the temperature has dropped from the unseasonably mild to the seasonably frosty. Even so, I’ve not yet had to resort to leggings or running tights, much as I might have wanted to be wrapped up warm while standing on the pavement outside work waiting for my Garmin to catch a GPS signal.
Since I’m not aiming for specific weekly cumulative distances, there is an argument to say that I should just get on with running and let the satellite signal sort itself out a few minutes down the road. However, I’ve started to pay a bit more attention to mile splits and what they tell me about the different stages of a run.
There are a few common mistakes that I think people make in marathon training:
- Not running fast enough (i.e. not pushing the tempo and threshold runs)
- Not allowing sufficient recovery time
- Training with gels too early
It’s the first of these bullet points that has caught my attention this week. My week consisted of five running days, two of which were a plain commuter runs, one was a speedwork session combined with a commuter run, one was a threshold run and the other was a paced long run. Consequently, this means that I should be showing a range of different paced mile splits in my Garmin records.
Let’s take the commuter runs first. These are typically through rush hour in central London with a day’s worth of clothing and lunch or a 600-page novel tucked into my backpack. They’re not exactly optimal for speed. The average mile tends to be around 7:30 or 7:40. They make good recovery runs, but if it weren’t for the fact that they serve as transportation to and from work they could be easily written off as training junk. (However, I find that running at a slower pace and with a heavier load makes me focus more on my footfall, so they’re not without benefit.)
Thursday’s speedwork session was a first for me. I’d decided two things: firstly, it would be in central London to make getting home simple and to get the most out of fresh legs, secondly that I couldn’t be bothered to go back to the office to pick up my stuff afterwards, so I’d just do the speed session with my backpack on. I opted for four sets of three minutes hard followed by one minute recovery along Embankment.
I pushed the first couple too hard, which meant I didn’t get the same pace from the third and fourth repeats, so I’ve got something to work at next time. However, my first mile during the speedwork was in a split of 5:20. For comparison, in the summer I ran a 5:15 mile at the Iffley Road track in Oxford during a race. Consequently I felt the burn in my legs running home afterwards, but the speedwork helped me to limber up and run a fair amount faster than most other commuter runs.
Then we come to Friday’s threshold run, taking the same format as the previous week’s run (run from work to Regent’s Park, two laps round the park, run back to work – a total of 8.5 miles). This time I shaved nearly a minute off last week’s run, and including the slower miles to and from the park (dodging pedestrians, road crossings, etc.) my average mile split was 6:22. The miles around the park were covered in 6:07, 6:12, 6:04, 6:08, 6:14 and 6:01. This is a little slower than my 10k pb pace (still 37:59 from 2010), but a promising training run.
Broadly consistent splits until the war of attrition starts around mile 14 (note mile 19 was hampered by waiting at traffic lights to cross a road)
And then we come to Saturday’s paced long run. This year I’m alternating between hilly runs for a set time and flat runs of a set distance with a target pace. My long run target pace is 7:00 per mile, but generally aiming to run comfortably and consistently. This week I ran 19 miles (I’d intended to run 18, but hadn’t bothered to measure the extension to my route before setting off) along the canal paths of the Lee Valley.
I’m trying to avoid building a dependence on carb gels over long distances, so ran without water or energy snacks. Once off the roads and on to the canal paths I was hitting a comfortable stride and clocking off miles in around 6:40. Around mile 7 (I believe there was a runner in front of me who I wanted to overtake – these things keep me amused while I’m running) I knocked off a 6:28 mile. However, with various fiddly turns to get back on to the canal path and steep slopes around locks to navigate, mile 14 fell back to a 7:00 split, which I (over)compensated for with a 6:37 mile 15, for which I paid a 7:04 price until I knocked out mile 16 in 6:51… I’m sure many runners recognise the pattern of this war of attrition with mile splits.
In the end, despite having to wait an age to cross the A10 in my last mile, I finished the 19-mile run in 2:10 and an average mile split of 6:50. I’m happy with that and by and large I felt strong, but I need to try to avoid pushing the pace up until I’m at least halfway through. There’s some work to do on the mental toughness required for the last few miles of a long solo run, but that will come with time.
And so we come back to the point of all this: people often don’t run their marathon training runs fast enough. Granted, my paced long run approach isn’t directly comparable to a long slow run pace, but it is telling that the fastest split on my steady run is 14 seconds a mile slower than the slowest split in my threshold run. So what does this mean? To a small extent, my long run was a little too fast (more consistent pacing needed), but to a greater extent my threshold run should be faster.
This week consisted of 56 miles in total, with three solid hard runs. I’m feeling good and positive about my training, but ideally should avoid stacking the hard runs in consecutive days like I managed this week. Either way, with a timed long run due next week, Friday should hopefully be the perfect opportunity to try to push the threshold run harder.
Virgin London Marathon training: Week 1
Destination Edinburgh, the venue of my second marathon of 2012
January is the start of many things – a new year, resolutions, and many a marathon training plan. Consequently, I spent the final couple of days of 2011 thinking about my training plan for this year’s marathon campaign. Yes, I’m running the Virgin London Marathon on 22 April 2012, but I’m also running the Edinburgh Marathon on 27 May 2011.
With two marathons to train for – the first pretty much pancake flat and the second undulating for the first six miles or so before becoming flat – I decided to try something a bit different with my marathon training plan. You can read about the rationale for its structure in this post.
With the training plan meticulously drawn up, it only seems inevitable and in the fevered spirit of January that I failed to keep to it.
My first run fell on a bank holiday, so I had decided that this would be the first of my paced long runs. I had set myself an average pace of 7:00 minutes per mile for 17.5 miles (the first and last mile and a quarter of the route are along busy roads with crossings, so maintaining pace the whole time is difficult if not dangerous). In the event, it turned out to be a perfect day for running and I managed an average pace of 6:52. the exact pace needed for a 3-hour marathon.
Tuesday was meant to be a rest day, but since I’d not quite got round to fixing my bike (a repeated flat tyre had blighted the end of 2011) I caught the tube to work and ran home using the Innov8 running backpack my girlfriend got me for Christmas. Despite carrying a full day’s clothing and negotiating rush hour traffic, I managed a few decent splits.
By Wednesday I still hadn’t got round to fixing my bike, so I decided to run into and home from work. I considered including the scheduled workout (a 7.2-mile tempo run with Serpentine) in my plans, but common sense made me think twice about clocking up 19 miles mid-week.
Thursday was a rest day. Or, more accurately, Thursday was a rest day on my training schedule. Instead I tubed in and ran home.
My mile splits from the tempo run around Regent's Park
Now, Friday was scheduled to be a commuter run. However, having skipped the tempo run on Wednesday, I knew that I needed to include some faster running if I was to get the best out of my week’s training. So, at lunchtime, I ran down to Regent’s Park, did two laps of the park and then ran back to the office. The whole run is around 8.5 miles.
When I take this route, I time myself round one lap (which is around 2.75 miles) and then try to match or beat that time on the second lap. I tried not to focus on my mile splits, but couldn’t help notice they were faster than I had expected (and kept reminding myself that despite this I was feeling fine).
Last year, my final training run before the London Marathon had been a 10k tempo which I’d finished in 39:45. I had taken the sub-40 in training as a good sign of being marathon-ready. On Friday I crossed the 10k mark (despite the first mile of my run including the crossing of – the very busy – Marylebone Road) at around 39 minutes dead and kept the average pace at sub-40 10k speed for the full 8.5 miles. I took this as a good sign.
Despite my schedule calling for a 13-mile paced run on Saturday, I was sensible and took a rest day. (Recovery is as important a part of a schedule as the running.) This meant that I was fresh for the following day’s timed hilly run.
In previous years, I’ve used a paced long run each weekend to build my distance. However, this has often meant that I’ve stuck to the same routes and so built mental blocks around certain landmarks (for example, reaching Hyde Park I’d always inadvertently reinforce the feeling that things were going to get tough because I wasn’t yet headed back home). So, alternating between paced and timed long runs should help me get past this. Similarly, a change of surface and incorporation of hills should help me build strength and endurance and reduce the risk of a foot injury.
So, on Sunday I headed up to Highgate and Hampstead Heath for some off-road hilly running, aiming to be on my feet for around two and a half hours. I spent most of the run exploring the woods on the Heath – alongside loads of other runners. At one point, I was running slightly in front of a guy going about the same pace as me, and seeing a crossing of paths ahead took the one that seemed most interesting. Sadly it was quickly apparent that it was a dead end, and the other runner had followed me! We joked briefly about this before setting back off on our different routes. Maybe it’s a New Year thing, or the solidarity of winter marathon training, but people seemed much more friendly out this week.
Anyway, due to heading back up the immense hill to Highgate a little early, I was only on my feet for 2:22, during which time I clocked off 19 miles and 441 metres of elevation gain. On returning home, before I did anything else, I cooked up the mushroom and Stilton omelette I’d been craving for the last six or seven miles of the run. It tasted every bit the recovery food of champions.
So, despite going off-piste, I still managed 70.25 miles of running – pretty much bang on my target mileage for the week. But more importantly, I’m feeling strong and fast this early into the training plan. 2012 is already beginning to feel like a good year.
The 2011 carve-up
The start of a new year is always a time of simultaneously looking forward and backward. So this is a summary of my 2011 and some things to look forward to in 2012.
I recovered from a foot injury at the tail end of 2010 in time start my marathon training in January. It took a while to build form, but my form returned and I got into what I considered to be PB shape.
Not the course of the Waltham Forest Half-marathon. Note there are cows everywhere.
My pre-marathon build-up race went badly wrong. I was on track to finish in a PB of around 1:23, but there was a problem with the marshaling and a few of us ended up running a few extra miles as we missed one of the turns on the course.
Disappointing, but I’d run strongly. The remainder of my build-up and then taper went well until the last week before the marathon. At which point I felt a cold coming on, and despite doing everything I could to shake it off, I wasn’t at full health on marathon day.
The Virgin London Marathon itself was hot. I knocked out the first mile or two too fast and spent the rest of the race getting progressively slower. The niggles of a burgeoning cold are one thing, but never underestimate how much of a marathon is run in your head. I finished in a good-for-age time, but disappointed with how the race had gone.
There then followed several races over the summer months where I came within seconds of my PBs, but just didn’t seem to be able to break through them. I had reached a plateau and had lost some of my racing confidence.
With the Royal Parks Half-marathon on the horizon, I tried something a bit different. I normally keep a close eye on my pace in training, but instead I left my Garmin at home and opted for a simple stop watch. I ran an unmeasured circuit around Regent’s Park, then tried to cover the same distance again in the same time or less.
Royal Parks Half-marathon
The half-marathon itself went well, particularly as I’d started focusing on how I felt rather than whether a split was too fast or too slow. Every few miles I’d remind myself that I was feeling good and maintain the effort. I finished in 1:21:53, knocking a good couple of minutes off my PB.
Winter came and I found a way to focus on building my base fitness. So, while at the same time the previous year I was off running through the time and effort required to move to London and a foot injury, this year I’ve clocked up to 80 miles in a week.
2012 holds two marathons – London and Edinburgh – with the Silverstone Half-marathon as a build-up race. The first quarter of the year will be focused on building distance and speed, then recovering and maintaining between the two marathons, but then I’m going to need a running project post-May.
Perhaps a winter half? Go for a 10k or 5k time to mix things up?
Having had a tough 2011, I’m looking forward to seeing what 2012 brings. It could be a great year.
London Marathon training
Like (I suspect) most runners with a spring marathon lined up, I’m using the gap between Christmas and New Year to work out what I’m going to do with my marathon training plan. Before I draw up my plan, I thought I’d set out the principles that I’m going to follow in 2012.
After a conscious push to increase my mileage over November and December, I’m starting from a much stronger base than this time last year where I’d effectively taken most of November and the whole of December off running. Despite this, I kicked off January a 16-mile long run before building distance to 22 miles by the end of the month, all the time grinding along slowly at 8-minute miles. In December this year my fastest 17.5-mile run was at consistent sub-7 minute mile pace.
So, here are the ingredients I’m thinking about including in my schedule.
Speedwork/repetitions
A stronger foundation means that I can build in some tempo and speed work earlier into my training, which should help to temper the slow pace of progressively longer runs. I’m not a great follower of the Yasso 800s method, so I’m thinking of using repeats of anything between a mile and three miles. Technically more threshold runs than speedwork, this should be good for both physical and mental toughening.
For example, in lighter evenings or on the occasional lunch break, a timed two-lap circuit of Regent’s Park is a great way of pushing the pace. Complete one circuit at a decent clip, then aim to complete the second circuit in the same time or less – a break between laps being optional.
Regents Park – an ideal measured lap for repeats.
Long runs
I’ve always approached long runs with a specific pace and distance in mind. I find it useful to stick to a pace and get a feeling for maintaining that pace over a substantial period of time, which makes it easier to judge the pace you’re shooting for on race day. However, this comes with a couple of downsides:
- Obsessing over mile splits can quickly become demoralising if you find your route busier than planned or have to wait at traffic lights.
- This approach can embed the ‘time in the bank’ philosophy that leads to horrific positive splits. So, it’s easy to knock out the first few miles substantially faster than target only to blow up in the second half of the run, struggle to the end with dreadful splits and still look okay overall when your average pace hits your target.
While I’ll keep long tempo runs in my schedule, I’ll probably use a two-week sequence where the second week’s long run is judged solely by time. So one week will be a 19-mile run at around 7-minute miles, the next week will be a 2:15 run.
This means that every other week I’ll be able to experiment with different routes, take in some of the hillier surroundings of Alexandra Palace, Highgate and Hampstead Heath without flogging myself over pace.
Tempo runs
Last year my tempo runs went up to 13 miles, which was probably a little short. They also took in Tower Bridge and Liverpool Street, both busy places where pedestrians tend to dawdle, amongst other major road junctions. Consequently, there was always a bit of waiting around for lights to change or trudging along behind tourists.
This year, with some new (and better) routes in my arsenal, I can push the pace a bit more effectively on the tempo runs. Similarly, I need to make sure I run more regularly with the Serpies on the Wednesday run. Running with others is a much easier way to push the pace and practice race conditions.
Time-efficient running
One of the challenges I faced last year was getting home, going for a run and then having dinner. It usually resulted in eating late, heading out when I felt a bit lethargic and generally not getting the best from the exercise.
Now that I’ve worked out decent running routes to work (and especially since my girlfriend got me a proper running rucksack for Christmas), I’ll be making much better use of the six miles separating me and work. Hopefully that should mean fewer late meals and a bit more spare time in the evening.
Better-chosen routes
It sounds simple, but this was something I completely neglected last year. New to London, I was keen to take in the sights while on my runs. Consequently, long runs looped through Camden, Regent’s Park, Baker Street, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, the South Bank, Tower Bridge, Liverpool Street, and back up through Dalston and Stoke Newington. Although I saw a lot of landmarks, I also saw a lot of pedestrians, busy road crossings, and tourists.
Now I’ve found a number of relatively traffic-free routes I will be able to keep to my own pace.
So, while I’m drawing up my training plan, what sessions are the absolute must-haves for you? What are they and what do they add to your marathon training?
100-mile challenge: Weeks 8 and 9
Coming to the tail-end of my self-set challenge, it was becoming abundantly clear that a bit of advance planning could have helped…
Week 8
So, Week 8 was never going to be a resounding success, what with it being my last week at work for the year and the small matter of Christmas shopping to contend with. It was helped somewhat less by some bad luck with my bike.
The serious runners at the Virgin London Marathon will have regularly clocked up 100-mile weeks during their training.
Having finally fixed the slow puncture that had been slowing my cycles, I found myself marveling at the easy progress a well-pumped wheel afforded me. However, after a particularly long day, I set off home after 7 (sometimes it’s best just to man it up and get tasks cracked rather than saving them until the next day). Passing the British Museum, I hung a left to Russel Square (currently being substantially repaved as a priority transport route for the 2012 Olympics). In the dark I merrily cycled over a big pot hole and found my bike slowing with the inevitability of a puncture.
Two punctures, actually. Holly and Ivy. Sugar and spice. Ant and Dec. Yep, the full double act.
I wheeled my crippled bike back to work, locked it up and caught the tube. In my luminous jacket. Grumpy and day-glo.
The next morning I ran to work with my cycle repair gear in my Camelbak, ready for the inevitable faff at the end of the day. The double-puncture repair was accompanied by a trip to Evans to stock up on inner tubes and borrow the spanner necessary to remove my front wheel.
An hour later, I was fully pumped up and more than ready to head home. I sped off, only to find that my brakes weren’t working. For whatever reason, I wasn’t able to adjust my brakes at the roadside, so I made my way home gingerly, grinding to a halt at every junction or red light through clasping my front wheel with both feet. Slow progress was slowed further by the need to get off and walk down any hills on the way home.
The next day I ran to and from work. But not before I’d sorted my brakes.
And finally Friday rolled round. After work I popped along to an over-crowded, over-priced bar (£4.40 for a pint? Really?) and then headed back to my bike. Only to find the rear wheel flat, the tyre curiously hanging off the wheel.
Fortunately for me, another cyclist was unlocking his bike at the same time this unfolded. He immediately helped me assess the state of my inner tube (slow puncture), get the wheel back together and pump up the tyre. It’s the kind of thing that restores your faith in humanity. And following his sensible advice, I cycled home quickly before I got another flat.
And so, with Week 8 I’d changed as more inner tubes than I’d had runs, clocking up a less-than-impressive 12.5 miles. It was, however, a shorter week than others due to my slightly miscalculation about when Christmas fell.
Week 9
Yet, despite having a whole week off, things didn’t go entirely to plan with Week 9. (Granted, the plan was to have five 20-mile runs. In retrospect, that’s a bit mental.)
Sunday, true to plan, I set off for a 20-mile run. For whatever reason, I got a painful cramp in my calf after 7 miles. Despite stopping to stretch it out, the pain was unrelenting. Yet I still decided to run the remaining 13 miles, just slightly limping and in pain. Less than ideal.
The next morning my calf still hurt, and given impending family visits and Christmas, I decided to let things slide and crack on with Christmas shopping.
The rest of the week, I slotted in two additional runs. One a neat 10-miler at a decent pace, the other an 18-miler that included a small section lost around Canary Wharf.
And so, Week 9 came to an end at 48 miles. A far cry short of the 100-mile target, but not bad going for a three-run week.
And the lessons learnt…
My highest mileage week (ever) clocked in at 80 miles. No mean feat alongside a full-time job, but all the time it made me think of the non-professional athletes gunning for a space in the 2012 Olympics.
The majority of professional-standard distance runners regularly clock up 100-mile plus weeks. To compete with them, un-funded runners need to make serious sacrifices in order to put in the running time and intensity in order to compete for the same qualifying standards as the funded full-time athletes.
And so, when the 2012 Virgin London Marathon rolls round in April (the final event for 2012 Team GB marathon qualification) and both professional and amateur athletes attempt to seize the remaining two men’s and one ladies’ places, remember the amount of work that’s gone into that one make-or-break race.
100-milers, you have my respect.
100-mile challenge: Week 7
After last week’s relatively poor show, I was back on the mileage wagon this week. And having benefitted from unseasonably warm weather, spending more time outside coincided with a distinct turn towards the chilly scale.
Rather than running last Sunday, I spent the evening trying to fix an annoying slow puncture on my bike. Bike oil, banging around and foul language ensued until the inner tube had been removed, the hole located and patched up, the inner tube slotted back in, the tyre returned and the rear wheel knocked back into place. So it was a little more than irksome to get back downstairs in the morning to find my rear wheel fully deflated.
So, although Monday morning meant reacquainting myself with the rush-hour tube, it provided a good opportunity to run a looping 11.75 miles first along the Thames before cutting back at Vauxhall Bridge, heading inland at St Pauls to Bank (briefly considering whether to pop by the Occupy London movement, if they were still there) and then heading up through Shoreditch, Dalston, Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill before arriving back in Seven Sisters.
A bit of forward planning meant that I’d left a few spare changes of clothes at work on Monday, so Tuesday was a double-run day, with an extension over Tower Bridge and back up the long, straight road to Seven Sisters, clocking up a day’s total of 15.6 miles. A good start to the week, then.
Wednesday was always going to be a rest day as I was in the valleys around Cardiff for some filming. I could have run that day, but my legs felt like they needed a rest, and the kind of hill-work I’d have found in that environment would have been killing.
And so to Thursday. While Scotland was being battered with 60mph winds, London was being dusted with relatively sedate 18mph winds. No matter the relative clear weather in the capital, the outward stretch of my 10-miler along the Thames, through Battersea and back to Holborn through Chelsea and Westminster was brutal. With considerable effort I was able to keep my outbound mile splits around 6:52, but the moment I had the wind to my back the splits dropped to around 6:35. I got back to the office soaked, though, after a short, sharp, cold downpour hit me on the final mile. (Not that it mattered, since my inner tube had miraculously healed itself and I was able to cycle home… only to find that I’d put my bike wheel on slightly wonky so my tyre was rubbing against the bike frame, giving me an extra resistance workout.)
For the sake of simplicity, I opted for a commuter double-run on Friday, feeling the burn in my legs on the way to work and running alongside my cycling girlfriend on the way back. (That is to say that my girlfriend was cycling, not that I have multiple girlfriends defined solely by sporting activities.) I clocked up 12.85 miles to add to my week’s total.
All of which left me with 30 miles to run at the weekend. A sunny-but-chilly Saturday presented a perfect run down to Limehouse and back, clocking 17.5 miles at 6:51 pace. Having felt particularly pleased to both bust the 2-hour mark for my regular long run and sustain sub-3 marathon pace for that distance, I woke the next morning feeling a little stiffer in the legs than would have been ideal. My Sunday 12.5 miles (all I needed to cap off the week’s total) was a rather slow and hard affair back down the Lee Valley Towpath.
So, in summary, 80 miles in the bank this week. Next week I’m taking it easy to rest my legs and prepare for the one last push. Speaking of which, I realised today that Christmas falls on a Sunday. I need to work out how I’m going to get enough runs into the week to make the total, which may involve moving the boundary of the final week so it starts next Sunday. I also need to improve my recovery after long runs to make the combination of long runs more manageable.
The rise of ultra running
Martin Stone and Helene Diamantides ascending through the Black Mountains in South Wales on the fifth day of the Dragon's Back Race. Photo (C): Rob Howard / www.sleepmonsters.com
Ultra running in the UK is coming on in leaps and bounds. It’s gone from being the ultimate niche sport, only known to a few and participated in by even fewer, to the charity fundraising event of choice for celebrities.
In 2009, for Sport Relief, Eddie Izzard ran 1000 miles in seven weeks, off a base of five weeks’ training. In 2010, James Cracknell ran the infamous Marathon Des Sables, a six-day 156-mile race across the Sahara desert (and finished 12th – the highest placing ever for a Brit in the race). In 2011, David Walliams swam 140 miles of The Thames (again, for Sport Relief). And so the world of endurance events beyond the marathon has gradually permeated the public consciousness.
In most running clubs you’ll find a runner who has run an ultra or two. A bit over a year ago, having run the Paris Marathon (my first 26.2-miler), I was at a club training session with the memory of burning quads, cramping calves and searing blisters still fresh in my mind. The Abingdon Amblers attract a wide range of abilities, but Paul Fernandez was one of the club’s best-known elite runners. He had a local reputation for versatility, performing equally well in 10k smack-downs and 24-hour endurance races.
Paul had recently been selected to represent England at the 50km distance. ‘The problem with marathons’ I overheard him say once ‘is they’re a bit too fast.’ The idea of just easing off the pace (and by which, he would have meant easing off the pace to a consistent mile split still considerably faster than the equivalent of my marathon PB) a little to squeeze out an extra few miles seemed almost inconceivable.
So, what is the attraction of ultra running?
Anyone running a marathon for the first time will tell you about the pain of the 20th mile and the sheer willpower that goes into just… keeping… moving. Despite this, millions of people worldwide (in fact, 2009 was the first year that more than half a million people in the USA completed marathons over the course of the year) run marathons. Running 26.2 miles is a physical and mental test, and completing a marathon is a significant achievement. But surely that’s achievement enough? What makes someone want to run 50 or 100 miles in one epic slog?
In June 2011, Tom Williams and Martin Yelling from the Marathon Talk podcast ran Comrades Marathon, a world-famous 56-mile endurance race in South Africa. The direction of the race alternates on a yearly basis, resulting in ‘up years’ and ‘down years’ (and in case you were wondering, yes, it’s hilly); finishers are awarded different medals based on their finishing time, and at 12 hours the course is closed. Get to the finish line a second behind the 12-hour mark and it’s a harsh DNF for you.
I decided to ask Tom Williams about his ultra-running experience and why he thinks ultra running is becoming more popular:
My father’s South African and through first him, and then my interest in endurance sport, Comrades seemed like the natural thing to do.
As the marathon becomes more and more popular I think people are constantly looking for something to stand themselves out from the crowd, and also to challenge themselves in a different way. I guess you can try and go faster or longer? Of course, as more and more people show what’s possible with a little focus and dedication then more and more feel capable of taking on those challenges.
The challenge of ultra running is undeniable, and arguably the thing that first attracts runners to the extreme distances. It’s something that comes up time and again in conversations around ultra running, as regular distance-runner Eric Dol told me:
It’s a mental as well as a physical test. You have to be mentally strong enough to push past the tough times.
Since Tom has talked to so many elite ultra runners, I wanted to know whether there were any common traits that makes for an ultra runner:
Definitely… an open mind to what the human body is capable of. The top ultra runners are currently achieving things that not so long ago most of us would have thought impossible, and from talking to them it’s clear they believe there is plenty more to come.
And if you want an example, Josh Cox is a US-based ultra-distance runner. A couple of years ago, he had a crack at winning Comrades, only to be thwarted by his digestive system (proof that it happens to the best of us). If you have a few minutes to spare, the video below is about the most inspirational running video I have ever seen.
A growing market
With 19,591 entrants to the 2011 race, Comrades is a big event and carries the same kind of history and prestiege as the Virgin London Marathon. This is in stark contrast to the majority of ultra-distance races in the UK, where the field of competitors is rarely more than a couple of hundred runners (the largest ultra in the UK has a capacity of around 850), and often significantly fewer.
I spoke to a couple of race directors to get their take on the rise in ultra running and the challenges facing race organisers.
Shane Ohly, the race director of The Dragon’s Back and the Great Lakeland 3Day, told me why he decided to bring back an ultra race that was last run 20 years ago:
Personally, I like long mountain adventures, difficult terrain and races that take you on a journey both physically and mentally. The original Dragon’s Back Race held in 1992 seemed like one enormous adventure and an incredible challenge, and once I starting thinking about resurrecting the race my enthusiasm just grew and grew. I’ve just spent 10 days in Wales thoroughly recce’ing most sections of the race and I am completely reassured that the race will fulfil all mine and the competitors’ wildest expectations.
The Dragon’s Back Race is already sold out (there were 100 places originally) but additional places become available as competitors become injured, ill or just lose motivation. Also, I am planning to increase the overall number of competitors in the New Year after I have finalised some arrangements with the major stakeholders that I am liaising with. If someone’s entry is accepted now, they are added to a waiting list.
My plan is for the Dragon’s Back Race to be held annually or biannually, but I waiting to see how what the final workload is like before committing. I am also organising the Great Lakeland 3Day in May 2012 (www.GreatLakeland3Day.com), which is a more grass routes and low-key three-day mountain race. In fact it’s ideal preparation for the Dragon’s Back Race and many of these competitors are also doing the Great Lakeland 3Day as part of their preporation. Also, I am working on two other ultra-running concept events at the moment. Whether these see the light of day or not is yet to be seen.
Shane touches on an interesting point: the ultra-running community in the UK is still comparatively small, so runners are signing up for both of his events. Although ultra running is becoming more and more popular, at its heart there is a small, tight-knit, hard-core of regular ultra runners. Over the course of miles, hours, days strong bonds can be formed amongst the runners.
Joes Faulkner, Rune Larsson and Steve Dubienec (left to right) on the fifth day of the original Dragon's Back Race. Organising an ultra race takes a lot of time and effort, from planning a route and recruiting volunteers to gaining permission from land owners and providing refreshment stations and first aid provisions. Photo (C): Rob Howard / www.sleepmonsters.com
As anyone who has organised a race will tell you, volunteers are critical to an event’s success. With marshals at the head and tail of the race field, refreshment (and at ultra distance, feed) stations strategically placed throughout the course, first aid support, timing and logistics, ultra distance races take a lot of organisation and support. Some races see a ratio of almost 1:1 runners to volunteers, although others manage the challenges by requiring runners to provide their own support crew. Add to this the need to gain permission from multiple land owners over a course of at least 30 miles and the job of a race director can be immense.
Despite all this, the price of entry to ultra races remains resolutely low. Big city marathons and half-marathons typically cost around £40 or £50 to enter; lower profile races tend to set runners back between £10 and £20. It’s not unusual to find an ultra race that’s around the £40 mark (giving you considerably more miles for your pound than races with larger fields), and if you don’t mind an early start the Winter Tanners 30-mile run is just £5 (including tea and cake).
If you want an example of the passion that underpins the ultra-running community, you need look no further than the generosity of the race organisers. Since ultra runners are often drawn to destination races – Comrades, UTMB, Marathon des Sables, etc. – and all the associated travelling costs, race directors could conceivably increase their fees without affecting the number of race entries.
How do you train for an ultra?
Many runners will be familiar with the trials and tribulations of marathon training. Weekend after weekend taken up with three-hour or more runs, hitting the roads after work for a sly 15 miles in the cold dark winter months. So, how on earth do you go about training to run twice marathon distance?
Tom Williams thinks it might be a whole lot easier than you might imagine:
Don’t overdo the training! Although that sounds like a rather lazy approach, when training for Comrades I did a large number of long runs (22, 24, 26, Yorkshire Three Peaks Marathon, 28, 30, and 36 miles) and looking back feel like my training tired me out too much. At the same time I coached two athletes for their first Comrades, both had spring marathons as ‘A’ goals and both raced in South African off pretty much standard marathon training schedules… both achieved silver medals.
(Comrades awards different finishing medals depending on the finishing time achieved (assuming you don’t get handed an automatic DNF for coming into the stadium finish after the 12-hour mark has passed) and the silver medal is awarded to finishers who cross the finish line in between 6 hours and sub-7:30.)
With new ultra races arriving on the scene to fill the gap for endurance races in the UK, more runners may be in better condition to go really, really long than they think. It may be a long time before there is a UK equivalent of Comrades (and since many ultra runners are escaping the swelling marathon hordes, there’s certainly a question about whether there’s support for any ultra getting so big), but behind the tight-knit community of ultra runners lies a super-dedicated group of race organisers who need your support.
So next time you’re eying up flights to Boston, New York or Berlin and looking for a destination marathon, spare a thought for a home-grown ultra. A smaller field and a bigger challenge, perhaps, but certainly something you’ll always remember.
Martin Stone and Helene Diamantides winning the original Dragon's Back Race. More than any other type of running event, an ultra is a journey and the experience contributes to the sense of community that surrounds endurance races. Photo (C): Rob Howard / www.sleepmonsters.com
Special thanks go to Tom Williams and Shane Ohly, amongst others, who kindly gave their time to help with the research for this post. Please share and comment, especially if you’d like to see more of this sort of article on Foot4ward.
