Pre-Pre-Scriptum: I wrote this in the build-up to the Greater Manchester
Marathon. Which didn't quite go according to plan... there I was, I'd clocked just
2:25'55" for the first 20 miles, so 7’18” miling… 7’55” miling for the
last 6.2 (still a decent pace, but one that allowed for a significant
deceleration) and I’d have hit sub-3:15’…
…but
no, I had to go and have an epileptic seizure, didn’t I? Well that curtailed
things…
…but
hey: I’d already written all this waffle so I might as well publish it. If only
for my benefit!
Oh,
and all those calcs above – I didn’t have a clue at the time. I’d run the first
17 miles with Mike, not once
glancing at my watch. OK, twice: but not to check pace or time, just distance
as I could never see the mile markers! Then Mike went off to record an 18’ PB
of 3:10’44” as I hung on to a few other runners around me and didn’t actually
drop the pace too badly – I just couldn’t up it! Then, three miles later…
kaput.
I’ll
look back on the weekend’s events another time, with a lot less bitterness than
you (certainly I) might expect. For now… here’s the week building up to it.
Pre-Scriptum: I’ve been writing this during the course of the week (there’s a novel approach to diary-writing!) but set it to publish on Sunday morning. Before the race. So what you read and how I wrote it weren’t impacted by how things actually went. Let’s just hope they went well because it’s a fairly chirpy read. By my mardy standards, anyway! So, following on from the success that was “Chester Week: A Diary”, here’s… well, you get the gist.
MONDAY
OK sesh this morning.
‘OK’ considering I’d been out running yesterday evening and I’m no fan of
running last thing (-ish) one day and first the next. Kept it to 7’44”/mi over
six miles, with warm-up and cool-down – 19”/mi more than I’d targeted but not
too fussed, given how I felt. Need to sort this tapering out now: looking to
cut down miles more than speed, yet know I need to get these legs feeling
lighter… Still feeling a twinge in the upper right thigh but that’s just a sign
that there’s a race coming up – didn’t affect me, as it didn’t last night.
Keeping quiet about that on Twitter and Strava least I bring down their server
farms.
71.7kg on weigh-in
day – 0.8kg under race weight. Not that I’d mind being slightly under race
weight come Sunday… another balance to strike, nibbling/grazing and keeping
weight down. So far so good.
Off to Farnborough
tomorrow – round trip. Just found out Joost is also heading that way so at
least I won’t be spending hours on trains, not least since I’d already agreed
with John Harris that he’d get me home. Convenient that we hired someone who
lives around 1.25mi here from here… just off the main road at the point where I
turn round on my undulating runs!
Looked back at my
Chester Mara week entry as I dug out that page for the link. I’d forgotten I’d
run the Grand Pier Half the week before it and that my first four days’
tapering had consisted of 3.2mi runs! Still not sure how this week will pan
out. Trying to cut distance more so than pace so 3.2mi may well come into play.
Trouble is, I was aiming for 3:30’ in Chester. Cometh Sunday, the goal is…
…oh, I don’t know.
I’m leaving Mike in charge of that. I’m fairly sure we’re targeting sub-3:15’
but I’d still be happy with sub-3:30 and delighted with sub-3:20. Sub-3:15’…
well, that would just be a dream. That’s Boston Qualifying Time, man. Not that
I have any intention of running Boston – but I’ve always told people that you
have to be good to qualify for Boston. So… this would mean I’m actually good!
TUESDAY
TUESDAY
A comfortable 5.6
miles today. Technically a progressive run, as I went down from 8’56” to 8’00”
in 15”/mi reductions over five miles before reining back to 8’28” for the final
0.61mi. Let’s call it a prog-jog. I just wanted to give the legs something of a
rest and actually set off thinking I’d stay around 8’30” throughout. But I was
tempted by the opportunity to demonstrate control over my legs, to gear up…
even if I never reached target marathon pace. But, with a round-trip to
Farnborough on the agenda and the incline that an easy day would be a good day…
yeah, I did the right thing.
Am I following a
strict tapering plan? No. Do I have an idea as to what I should be doing? Yes.
And that idea is generally refined by how my legs feel in the morning. Need to
get them feeling lighter – a key reason I’m resisting the lure of hills and
trails. Just up and down Down Road will do me fine this week. Scenic it ain’t;
conducive to the goal… we can but hope.
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Legs felt good today.
A nice 6mi, five of which at a good, intense, faster-than-target-Mara-pace. 7’13”,
7’08”, 7’12”, 7’16” and 7’25”, since you ask. I’m not saying they were easy,
but nor did I feel I was giving it my all. Indeed, part of the goal was to
continue to readjust the mind so that it takes 7’25” as its default setting. A
challenging setting, given the distance: but not an extraordinary setting. Least
that’s how I need to perceive it. If I’m feeling that I’m running one long
sprint, I will fail. Because Sunday will be about the mind as well as the legs,
if not more so. I know that to be the case because Gaffer’s told me…
Andrew is our #Gaffer. I sent him a Direct
Message on Twitter over the weekend. He tried to pace me to a 3:30’ mara in
Chester only last October: 3:31’03”
isn’t a bad time, but it’s not sub-3:30. I spent most of those
26.2mi alongside (OK, right behind) Andrew before he went ahead to stay
under three and a half: he’s the best person to gage the sanity of my target
for Sunday. Here’s what he did say:
Asking Andrew felt
like a no-lose option for me. If he said he thought I could do it, great
motivation; if he said he thought I couldn’t… well, equally great motivation.
Just of a different kind. As it happens, I got the better of the two kinds: not
only is it motivating, it helps focus. It helps realise that I need to retune
my mind and believe. Which requires a leap of faith: it’s a pace to which I’m unaccustomed,
as is Mike whose preparation has not included any long runs. It’s a risk. But
it’s a calculated risk: oh, we both “do stats”…
In some respects, it’s
easier to shoot for 3:14’59” (just an inkling
I have as to Mike’s goal…) than it is to shoot for 3:29’59”. The risk is
greater: so is the thrill. And so would my capability of accepting failure, in
this instance – not least if I were still sub-3:20 or indeed 3:30. You’re told
to take an A, B and C goal into a race: last year they were 3:30’, 3:45’ and 4:00’
respectively. I almost hit A, but was well within B. This year, those goals are
3:15’, 3:20’ and 3:30’. And sure, I may blow out in the pursuit of 3:15 and not
even manage to clock 3:30’. But you know? It’ll be a blast to find out. A blast
that blows me out? Maybe. A blast worth going for? Absolutely. Because in my
book (and on my blog) failure is an
option, providing it follows giving it your all.
 |
| (I still get the VLM e-newsletter. I can rarely bring myself to read it, what with not having won a place… glad I did!) |
Focus now is on
getting the rest of the taper and the pre-race nutrition right. I liked this
piece by “Spanish
coach and physiologist Iñigo Mujika, a leading expert on tapering” on the London
Marathon site: it put a lot of emphasis on “maintaining intensity”. It does not
advocate running slowly throughout the taper. And that suits me: it allows me
to retune the brain and reduces my concern about weight gain. Now, trouble is I
should have taken today ‘easy’… whereas I did that yesterday because I was
heading to Farnborough… ooh, now to work out what to do tomorrow, Friday and
Saturday! I’m thinking easy tomorrow… we’ll see.
As for nutrition… I find that extremely challenging. Because you can’t instantly gauge what works and what doesn’t. Because I can’t cook. So… I read and I try, but ultimately I cannot be sure I’m getting it right. Quinoa arrived this morning: I’ve tried it to check my body’s OK with it and I will make it my main meal tomorrow and Friday, after tonight’s pasta with broccoli and carrots which will effectively kick off my carbloading. Chicken burritos yesterday in Farnborough (a healthy option as on-the-road-for-work food goes!), Mrs S’ renowned Aussie pie (eggs, cheese… so protein, right?) on Monday… that’s all fine, right?
As for nutrition… I find that extremely challenging. Because you can’t instantly gauge what works and what doesn’t. Because I can’t cook. So… I read and I try, but ultimately I cannot be sure I’m getting it right. Quinoa arrived this morning: I’ve tried it to check my body’s OK with it and I will make it my main meal tomorrow and Friday, after tonight’s pasta with broccoli and carrots which will effectively kick off my carbloading. Chicken burritos yesterday in Farnborough (a healthy option as on-the-road-for-work food goes!), Mrs S’ renowned Aussie pie (eggs, cheese… so protein, right?) on Monday… that’s all fine, right?
I can’t cook and we
have two young kids, so I’m limited in the adjustments I can make. But I’m
happy with what I am doing: and I’m still over half a kilo beneath my target
race weight, which means I should still be good on that come race day. Besides…
…yes, I’m working on
the legs (which doesn’t just mean running!)… yes, I’m working on the nutrition…
but, most importantly, I’m working on the mind. Doing what I can to tune its
pacing setting to 7’25”/mi. Because yes, the legs will ultimately be the engine
and yes, the nutrition will provide the fuel. But the brain… the brain is
ultimately in control. What’s left of mine will be, anyway.
(They
took a bit away, remember? The bit that couldn’t stand running?)
Five miles this morning. First one at an easy 8’23”, progressively down
to 8’01”, 7’38” and 7’25” before a final recovery 8’21” mile. I wore my spare
(i.e. without ‘GIA’ ironed on) Totley AC vest and the older of the two pairs of
Green Silence I currently have on the go. All good. Looking forward to the
Totley AC short-sleeve running shirt release later in the year, with an
enthusiasm that the launch
of the new England kit certainly couldn’t muster. But my club membership
says I need to wear club kit at races, so Manchester – get ready to shout
GIA!!!
I touched upon nutrition yesterday – ‘nutrition’ as in “stuff I eat when I’m not running”. Another aspect of nutrition, one that is totally new to me, is represented by gels. I’ve been defined a ‘hard-core’ runner because I run without an iPod: and I’ve earnt similar comments by not using gels. Truth is, I’ve always been happy with my Shot Bloks: that and I have been averse to take too much ‘stuff’ during training runs. In the winter I won’t even take water with me on a 20-miler, because I’m usually home before dawn and thus perspire little. But, as Mike’s raised the bar and lowered the target time for Sunday, I’ve reconsidered the help I’ll need on the day. Indeed, the organisers themselves are offering Clif Gel Bars at 22.5mi. Which seems a bit too far down the line to me…
I touched upon nutrition yesterday – ‘nutrition’ as in “stuff I eat when I’m not running”. Another aspect of nutrition, one that is totally new to me, is represented by gels. I’ve been defined a ‘hard-core’ runner because I run without an iPod: and I’ve earnt similar comments by not using gels. Truth is, I’ve always been happy with my Shot Bloks: that and I have been averse to take too much ‘stuff’ during training runs. In the winter I won’t even take water with me on a 20-miler, because I’m usually home before dawn and thus perspire little. But, as Mike’s raised the bar and lowered the target time for Sunday, I’ve reconsidered the help I’ll need on the day. Indeed, the organisers themselves are offering Clif Gel Bars at 22.5mi. Which seems a bit too far down the line to me…
 | |
| A pocket full of krypt... er, energy! (Obscure musical reference there. Wonder if anyone got it..?) (and what you can't see there is the Bakewell Tart Energy Gel!) |
…so I’ve had a word
with Mike and, as well as the official race gel, tried a ZipVit
Sport gel. Now, I’ve done so at the start of relatively short and paced
runs: I cannot tell you how much of an impact they had. Other than… it did feel
yesterday as if I got a kick out of the Double Espresso. Maybe because it
doubled up as breakfast (well, pre-run snack, anyway); maybe because I’d been
off caffeine for a few days, for the very reason that such an approach is meant
to enhance the impact caffeine has when you do take some, rather than your body
being used to it; maybe because my mind expected it to have an impact; or
maybe, quite simply, my legs were in better shape for yesterday’s less intensive
session. Who knows?
We runners can
theorise and analyse, indeed over-theorise and over-analyse: but so many
factors influence our ability to put one foot in front of the other that we
cannot establish a direct cause-effect link, let alone confidently apply our
findings to fellow runners with their different make-ups. Regardless, I’m
taking gels to Manchester… and I will definitely be taking a double espresso shortly
before the start!
And as for why the Clif Gel seemed to edge it against the ZipVit… it didn’t
help I didn’t order the right one! I’ve now sourced a ZipVit Sport ZV7C Caffeine
Energy Gel. That’s right – the all-important word is caffeine! Pricey, at
£5.62 – but then how much is a pint these days? How memorable is a pint? And
how long will I be able to go on and on about a Marathon PB?
So my running belt’s all set: two Clif Gels, one ZipVit Caffeine and one
ZipVit… Bakewell Tart. In case I get peckish, like. Now, these tests were aimed
solely at ensuring my body would not react negatively to the gel’s impact. Just
exactly what that impact is, just how positive it is, I’ll figure out on
Sunday. To some extent.
For someone who
spends as much as I do writing about running, tweeting about running, thinking
about running and… well, running, I do take a relatively simple approach to…
it. My shoes are £32/pair; my shirts either cost me less than a tenner or were
part of a post-race package. My Garmin
Forerunner 410 was a steal at £142.99: it’s by far my most expensive and sophisticated
running item. That’s not because I dismiss the impact of nutrition: au
contraire, one of the first running books I read was “Runner's World Performance Nutrition for
Runners”, a book I’d
recommend to anyone (especially at £7.59!) as I would “The
Art of Running Faster”. I guess I just don’t want to overcomplicate things,
especially in training. Now, only two of my long runs ahead of Sunday have been
sub-9’/mi and I’m aiming for 7’25”: should I have taken some gels to improve
performance and bridge that training (actual) – race (goal) gap? Yes, most
likely. Bit late now, though!
71.1kg and 12.4% body fat at today’s weigh-in, by the way.
 |
| In case anyone thought I was joking about my ZipFit Bakewell Tart Energy Gel, here it is - standing proudly alongside my #twitterblades Zip Thingy on my running bag |
Yup, weigh-ins are a daily occurrence during race week. A sanity check,
if you will – with the honesty caveat that I generally undertake it straight after my
run and before breakfast…
0.6kg down on Monday and 1.4kg beneath my target race weight. Which is a
totally arbitrary figure, by the way: a throwback to a youth gone by, but not
to when I was a tad on the skinny side. All today means is that I needn’t
whittle too much about putting on weight over the next few days. I’ve been a
good lad over the past few days, not snacking too much but hopefully grazing
enough – a, er, ‘thin’ line, if you get my drift. Probably also helped that I
had a ‘normal’ portion of pasta last night, rather than going OTT as is my
habit! Which means plenty left over for today… so the quinoa may have to wait.
Tried some yesterday and went down a treat alongside an off-the-(Tesco
Express)-shelf stir-fry. Unlikely to set the world on fire for taste on its own
but hey… that’s secondary. This week is all about what’s good rather than about
what tastes good. Besides, I’m sure even I could learn something simple to perk
quinoa up a little…
…and don’t worry: I’m not expecting the (polluted) Manchester air to be
set alive with cries of ‘GIA’. Few ever risk it, their efforts all the more
appreciated for it. And the kids and their outstretched arms… yeah, I always
appreciate your support. Thanks as of now to anyone who’ll venture onto the
streets of Trafford, Altrincham and whatever else is Greater about Manchester:
thousands of us really, really appreciate it.
Right… last pre-mara
diary entry! Off to Sheffield tomorrow morning! Walking out that front door at
07:29!
What – haven’t you
seen my schedule? Here you go:
(some
of those meeting times are guesstimates… oh I do like to live on the edge!)
Hope it’s detailed
enough… It’s built on the ones I used for 2013’s Manchester and Chester
marathons. They seemed to work OK… we can but wait and see. As always. Still
tempted to buy myself an extra hour in bed by booking a taxi for 8:40, mind… £24.70,
mind…
As for today’s run, I
made do with three easy miles. That’s what it told me to do here – and I behaved. Indeed,
I cut my target four by a mile mid-run: couldn’t see it making much difference so
took the opportunity to rest the legs ever so slightly. Not least because
Trevor’s back in the UK and will be keeping a close eye on my taper runs…
Oh, and 71.4kg and
12.3% body fat, should you be wondering. Or indeed worrying. So weight up a
little (0.3kg) but that makes perfect sense, given my double serving (lunch and
tea) of left-over pasta from Wednesday and quinoa. More importantly, fat
unchanged – if my scales are to be believed. No bad thing. 60.0% water, clear
urine… BMI of 21.09, just like Mo… all
set.
Ah, lies, damn lies
and statistics… “just like Mo” – ha! But we cling on to our stats, do we
runners. Especially us blokes, whose brains are more appreciative of them… or
so I read once! I’ve tried to find corroborative evidence, but you try googling
“men prefer statistics women” and see what you get..!
Anyway – all set. All
packed, too. Well, just about, anyway: but the gear’s been packed for a
fortnight, I packed the shoes yesterday, now I’ve packed the food… I’ll sleep
better for all that. I need to. Betcha I don’t sleep much tomorrow night. Just
need to keep standing up and walking around a little throughout the day to keep
the legs nimble – might even have a bath later. That Radox
stuff is gooood..!
SATURDAY
5k at target HM pace,
notwithstanding a little warm-up and cool-down. Too much? Not enough? Ah, the
pre-race taper run – the hardest run of them all! Harder than tomorrow’s,
26.2mi, in some respects… not that you’ll hear me say that during or after the marathon! And it won’t
be long now…
…right folk – I’m
off! Sheffield calling!
Yup, I know the
mara’s in Manchester… indeed, Greater Manchester
(misnomer, methinks?)… but off to Sheffield first, to watch United-Leyton Orient. Won’t reach
Manchester Piccadilly till 18:37 – and we’ve had to bring our Team Manchester
2014 pasta party at Stresa
forward to 18:30, so hopefully they can keep my carbonara warm… I HATE cold
food! (when it’s best served warm, anyway)
Team Manchester 2014
consists of (and apologies for any twitterati I may be overlooking!):
01.
Bednall, Catherine
02.
Churchward, Melanie
03.
Jones, Robert
04.
Jones, Tracey
05.
Kelly, Philip
06.
Marritt, Christopher
07. Squintani, Giacomo
08. Sykes, Melanie
09. Taylor, Simon
10.
Walkden, Simon
11.
Wells, Michael
There are a few
fitness doubts in there: hopefully we’ll all be able to run it. And enjoy it.
But before all that…
…I’m taking an old
friend to The Lane
today – someone who’s not seen them since September 6, 1994! A whole 7,151 days
between United games – and 959.46mi from where he first saw them, too..!
Later today (around
1320hrs, if there are no disruptions to The Plan) I’ll be meeting up with
Mauro, a friend of mine since 1990, when he started High School at the “Liceo
Linguistico Giovanni da Vigo” in the year beneath mine. Not wanting to
offend anyone, I don’t mean ‘friend’ in the Zuckerberg friend: Mauro is a
friend in the… in the… in the true meaning of the word. Friend and on many
occasions adversary, mind – from tennis courts to Fantasy Football leagues!
 |
959.46mi… wowzer,
that’s some distance. I mean,
I’ve not run 800mi yet this year – it’s going to take me till the end of this month to hit 959.46! |
Having just moved
back to the UK at the start of that summer to start University, on September 6,
1994 I was at the Stadio
Leonardo Garrilli in Piacenza to watch the Mighty Blades in the
Anglo-Italian Cup, as interpreter for the coach of traveling Blades. I’ve waffled
about that elsewhere so much it’s untrue, so won’t do so again here:
suffice to say, Dad drove over from Santa Margherita Ligure for the game,
bringing Mauro, Matteo and Filippo along to share in the delight of
international cup football. A dozen years later, those same three friends were
at my wedding in Bristol – but that’s boring stuff. Albeit a glowing testament
to the bonds that we can make at school, if we’re lucky…
…anyway: almost two
decades on from that Piacenza night, having in the meantime qualified as an
interpreter and translator, Mauro has left behind the seven hills of Rome for…
yup, the seven hills of
Sheffield! Talk about an upgrade!
So yes: whilst I
linger on the Bristol Channel, one of my biggest friends is living it up in
Sheffield. Jealous, moi? Not at all… ahem… Regardless, delighted to be seeing
him later today and proud that I’ll be introducing him to Sheffield United
F.C.. Again.
Don’t worry Lad: not
a lot will have changed with dem Blades. Or, to be more precise: everything
changes at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane, yet everything stays pretty much the
same. If you’re one of us you’ll understand.
 |
Mauro and I when he
came over to see why I loved Sheffield so much in 1997… I didn’t expect him to
move there some sixteen years later!
Wonder if anyone from
Sheff can recognise where we are… Clue: 9 irons and putters out of shot. I still
remember Mauro asking me if I’d “meant to do that” when I chipped my
tee-shot onto the green on the seventh!
|
Anyway – time to hit
that road. It’ll soon to be time to hit many of those roads: try not to pound
them, try to ‘glide’… yeah, right! Mid-foot strike, front-foot strike, we’ll see. Just try to
avoid the heel.
Let’s see what I can
manage. Sub-3:30’ and I’ll be happy: PB, a psychological barrier broken… If
then I get lucky, or if the hard work pays off (you choose), all the better. I
like to think I’ve put in a decent amount of training but with a bit more nouse
than in the past: I’ve not overtrained, I’ve done more speedwork, more tempo
and progressive runs… I’ve done more than just run. Because it’s not just about
the running. It never is.
So aye, let’s see
what I can manage. With Mike by my side and my brothers in my heart, ready to
lift me over that wall as they did last year – let’s give it
a go. When every mile’s been run, they remain one of the main reasons I do
this. Here are some words I
wrote after last
year’s race.
But
what truly matters is that the energy that my connection to my siblings, to my
flesh, blood and soul generates is […] no burden. Sure, at times I cry.
Depending on what’s going on around me, I can go from ‘mardy’ (my normal,
default setting) to ‘weeping’ within seconds, and not many will notice, let
alone understand. But oftentimes it energises me, motivates me, invigorates me.
That’s why I didn’t think I would hit the wall on Sunday: I figured that, if I
approached it, they would lift me over it. Turns out that’s pretty much what
happened. Hey – they ain’t heavy, they’re my brothers. And my heart is all the
richer for carrying them.
Let’s go, Boys. Time to go home. We’ve
got another marathon to run. Together. As always.
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