Found a new website called www.runfinder.co.uk/ that takes your postcode and gives you a map of your local area. Double-click on the point that you choose as a start for your run, then keep double-clicking on the points where you change direction (turn left at the "Royal Oak") and it calculates the distance for your runs. Great idea, you can even save your routes, presumably in case you forget them? Or so that you can eMail them to your jogging buddies? Gave me some more precise measurements than my previous method. (Take a road map of Telford, use a scrap of paper to measure from point to point, and then estimate how far this is equivalent to)!
One problem for me - trying to measure runs in Telford town park - is that it only shows roads. Footpaths don't appear to exist, so the town park is a large blank area. I guess that this is more useful for serious townies.
Another problem is that the training schedule that I downloaded from Runners World will specify, say, 3 miles tonight. So I enter in a training route that I think might do, and it will tell me that I will only be covering, say, 2.5 miles. How useful it would be if, at this point, I could take part of the route, and move it to take in a route round the far side of a housing estate to try to make up the extra distance. But no, the only option appears to be to remove last point, so if the extra distance loop was early in the route, you have to remove each leg, and then restart the route. Not very user-friendly!
I also read that training with somebody else can help your motivation, so I signed up to a free site called Jogging Buddy, which promised to help you to find somebody in your area who also wanted to train. And next day, I had a contact from somebody who wanted to be my buddy - quick work, or what?! So, I responded by telling her a bit about myself, and I'm still waiting for her to tell me that she can't be bothered to reply to me. Ah, well, I'll just have to keep myself company!
So, along came Xmas, and the pressies! Got the running shoes that I wanted, and a Heart Rate Monitor (once I can work out how to work it, that should up my training intensity), and out of a cracker I got a cheap and cheerful stopwatch. Something to take on a run and work out how far behind schedule I am!
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Surfin' UK
A hard week of surfing has given me plenty to think about, so let's get about it...
1/ Running Shoes
Everybody seems to be unanimous that the single most important piece of kit for a runner is his shoes. Money skimped here will probably rebound on you in the shape of unnecessary foot injuries. Christmas is just around the corner, so I now know what my wife is getting me. So, do I just get the most expensive pair that I can find? Or will that just mean that I get the latest piece of keep-fit fashion? Apparently not, this can (and should be!) done scientifically. You should go into your nearest Specialist Running Shoe shop, get them to run you through a Running Gait Analyser, and then recommend the best shoe for your gait.
Whew, the idea of somebody in our local sports shop being able to even say all of that last sentence (especially if you include a comprehension test!) takes the breath away, let alone trust them to give me good advice on how to spend anywhere up to £100. So, we google...
2/Running Gait
And the nearest Specialist Running Shoe shop appears to be in Birmingham. Long way to go for a pair of shoes! But there is, as ever, a rule of thumb way of doing it. Answer a few simple questions, and this website will tell you how to find true love - okay, I made that up, but it will tell you how to find your ideal running shoe. The problem, it seems, is that 70% of us are over-pronators, and 20% are under-pronators. Some of us have fallen arches and some have high arches. And with both conditions, some of us are neutral. I would have said normal, but in the case of pronation, normality is abnormal! Over-pronation, from what I can understand, basically means that you turn your feet out when you walk. Years ago, our CO in the ATC tried to make me feel stupid by ridiculing the fact that I stood with my feet parallel when I stood to attention. What he couldn't overcome was my opinion that people stood with their feet at 90% angles look stupid too! All in all, I answered the questions to the best of my ability, and then got my ideal shoe...well, more like 50 different ideal shoes! I'll try to remember the maker and just go for it, and hope for the best.
3/Drinking during an endurance event
No, they're not suggesting a swift half in every pub along the way (that's not why they call it a half-marathon!), it is apparently vital to stay hydrated during a run, as dehydration can lead to cramp and to reduced performance. But if you end up drinking too much, that too will slow you down, and can even, in extreme cases, kill you. You also need to take in electrolytes (sodium is the one that I can remember) to replace what you lose in sweat, but you can get that from a sports drink that contains electrolyte. And the body - especially in the full marathon - will use up all the calories that are freely availabe as blood sugar, glycogen, and something else that I can't remember, so you need to pump in some more calories in the shape of carbohydrate. Again, available in a sports drink. So far, sounds simple, until you read a post that suggests that you don't need water, electrolyte and carbohydrate in the exact proportion of a sports drink. They seem to be suggesting that you adjust your carbohydrates by using some form of solid food (there are gels and tablets) that you wash down with water, and then you adjust your electrolyte balance by diluting the sports drink you've just drunk by drinking plain water. Sounds as if you need to carry a Spectral Analyser with you to ensure the correct balance of blood chemistry is maintained!
But wait, it's not as simple as that. It's not unknown for you to react badly (usually by throwing up) to an unaccustomed drink. So there is a recommendation that you sample the exact drink that will be provided at the feeding stations around the route of the race on a training run a few weeks beforehand.
So, what is the exact drink that will be provided on the Ironbridge Half? (Ir'nBru sound favourite!) Haven't yet found out, job for next week, but it doesn't sound as if it's Lucozade, because, on the...
4/ Lucozade Web Site
there's a list of events that they sponsor, and Ironbridge doesn't figure.
There are also a couple of other things that looked as if they might be useful, a Pace Band, and a Predictor.
What is a Pace Band? How does it work? You type in your target time, and it then gives you the time at which you need to hit every mile (or kilometre) as you pass it to meet target. You then print it off, tape it to your wrist (advanced hint - strengthen it with sellotape to stop it falling apart within a couple of miles as your sweat drenches it) and off you go. For my target time of 1:45, I need to be running each mile in 8 minutes, so a piece of paper stuck to my wrist reading 8:00, 16:00, 24:00...isn't going to be much of an improvement over me saying, 'that's the 8 mile mark, let's see, 1x8=8, 2x8=16, 3x8=24...'
And the Predictor is like unto it. It takes a recent actual race performance, and converts it into a predicted time for the big event. Type in time and distance actually achieved, and distance to be run, and out spits the time for it.Well, I'm running a 6 miler in a couple of weeks, let's try the logic backwards, and see what time I need to put in for the 6 miles to come out with a 1:45 half marathon. I tried it both ways, on the basis that if, say, a 4-minute mile is equivalent to a 2-hour marathon, then a 2-hour marathon should be equivalent to a 4-minute mile, assuming the predictor isn't predicting a major change in fitness/performance level, and the times matched up. To run a 1:45 half, I need to run a 48 minute 6 miles. Wait a minute, let's look at my pace band, to run a 1:45, my time at the 6 mile mark needs to be 48 minutes. So on that basis, I'm going to take 22 seconds for the 100 metres! The shorter the distance doesn't enable me to run any faster! Pah!
5/ Target times
As you can see above, I have set myself a target. This is in the face of conflicting views on targets. One view says that a target helps to focus your training effort, the other view is that a first-time runner shouldn't set a target, presumably until they know what sort of target is attainable. My target was based on the sort of time needed for a podium finish in my age group, perhaps an ambitious aim when you consider that, apart from a couple of warm-up races that I'm doing in the next couple of months, this half-marathon will be my first competitive race in very nearly 45 years!
Certainly, when you look at the 8 minute miles that I need to achieve to get this time, and compare it with the 10 minute miles that I'm doing in training now, it doesn't look at all achievable. But, I'm not going to beat myself up over it, I'll train as hard as I reasonably can, run as hard as I can, and finish as high up as I can. The bottom line is that if I can run the downhill at my 10 minute miles, I'll reach the Iron Bridge at about the 8 mile mark in 1:20. I know that I can walk the remaining 5 miles in 1:15. That gives me 2:35, well within the time of the last finisher in 2008. At least having a target time will stretch me a bit.
6/ Stretching
I've never really warmed up before any sporting event in my life. The only time was when a guy at BAT polo was trying to turn us into a mean, lean, winning machine, so got into coaching us rather than letting us just play the game. We had to do some warm-up exercises. It was 6 months before my knee was right after that!
But now, reading the posts, it seems that I have been very lucky not to have suffered injuries through over-exerting cold muscles. Perhaps it isn't too late to start stretching my muscles before and after exercise. I've downloaded some how-to for 4 top muscles to stretch, let's see how they go...Quadriceps (sounds like a dinosaur!) - grab your foot with your hand and pull up to your bum. Damn! Can't reach my foot!
7/ Heart Rate
A coaching manual that I read many years ago worked on the basis that, if you trained over the quarter mile, doing several repetitions, and trained at 60 seconds for each lap, then all you had to do was string together 4 of these 1-minute laps and you had the magic 4-minute mile. Good in theory, but how do you measure whether you are running at 60 second pace, or 62 second pace? Again, something that I saw all those years ago was an athletics stadium (in Japan, I think) where there was a little railway track running around just inside the actual running track, and the train on this track could be programmed to set whatever pace was desired. That will do nicely for getting the right speed, but it's not really a practical option for most professional athletes, let alone Joe Amateur. Besides which, I could be capable of a 55 second lap, and the train is taking me around at 59 seconds. I'm not going to improve much like that.
Enter modern microtechnology. You can now get a heart rate monitor that sits on your wrist, and tells you when your heart rate goes above, or falls below, a set "effort" band. That way, you can decide to do an aerobic run, a recovery run, or whatever, and the monitor keeps you putting in the effort, and thus improving your fitness.
First, you find your maximum heart rate (there are a number of formulas, simplest is 220-age), take away your resting heart rate, and then train at a percentage of the difference. And to find your resting heart rate, you take it first thing in the morning, while still lying in bed. Good move! You've just leapt half-a-mile in the air to switch off the alarm, and that's supposed to be your RESTING heart rate!
1/ Running Shoes
Everybody seems to be unanimous that the single most important piece of kit for a runner is his shoes. Money skimped here will probably rebound on you in the shape of unnecessary foot injuries. Christmas is just around the corner, so I now know what my wife is getting me. So, do I just get the most expensive pair that I can find? Or will that just mean that I get the latest piece of keep-fit fashion? Apparently not, this can (and should be!) done scientifically. You should go into your nearest Specialist Running Shoe shop, get them to run you through a Running Gait Analyser, and then recommend the best shoe for your gait.
Whew, the idea of somebody in our local sports shop being able to even say all of that last sentence (especially if you include a comprehension test!) takes the breath away, let alone trust them to give me good advice on how to spend anywhere up to £100. So, we google...
2/Running Gait
And the nearest Specialist Running Shoe shop appears to be in Birmingham. Long way to go for a pair of shoes! But there is, as ever, a rule of thumb way of doing it. Answer a few simple questions, and this website will tell you how to find true love - okay, I made that up, but it will tell you how to find your ideal running shoe. The problem, it seems, is that 70% of us are over-pronators, and 20% are under-pronators. Some of us have fallen arches and some have high arches. And with both conditions, some of us are neutral. I would have said normal, but in the case of pronation, normality is abnormal! Over-pronation, from what I can understand, basically means that you turn your feet out when you walk. Years ago, our CO in the ATC tried to make me feel stupid by ridiculing the fact that I stood with my feet parallel when I stood to attention. What he couldn't overcome was my opinion that people stood with their feet at 90% angles look stupid too! All in all, I answered the questions to the best of my ability, and then got my ideal shoe...well, more like 50 different ideal shoes! I'll try to remember the maker and just go for it, and hope for the best.
3/Drinking during an endurance event
No, they're not suggesting a swift half in every pub along the way (that's not why they call it a half-marathon!), it is apparently vital to stay hydrated during a run, as dehydration can lead to cramp and to reduced performance. But if you end up drinking too much, that too will slow you down, and can even, in extreme cases, kill you. You also need to take in electrolytes (sodium is the one that I can remember) to replace what you lose in sweat, but you can get that from a sports drink that contains electrolyte. And the body - especially in the full marathon - will use up all the calories that are freely availabe as blood sugar, glycogen, and something else that I can't remember, so you need to pump in some more calories in the shape of carbohydrate. Again, available in a sports drink. So far, sounds simple, until you read a post that suggests that you don't need water, electrolyte and carbohydrate in the exact proportion of a sports drink. They seem to be suggesting that you adjust your carbohydrates by using some form of solid food (there are gels and tablets) that you wash down with water, and then you adjust your electrolyte balance by diluting the sports drink you've just drunk by drinking plain water. Sounds as if you need to carry a Spectral Analyser with you to ensure the correct balance of blood chemistry is maintained!
But wait, it's not as simple as that. It's not unknown for you to react badly (usually by throwing up) to an unaccustomed drink. So there is a recommendation that you sample the exact drink that will be provided at the feeding stations around the route of the race on a training run a few weeks beforehand.
So, what is the exact drink that will be provided on the Ironbridge Half? (Ir'nBru sound favourite!) Haven't yet found out, job for next week, but it doesn't sound as if it's Lucozade, because, on the...
4/ Lucozade Web Site
there's a list of events that they sponsor, and Ironbridge doesn't figure.
There are also a couple of other things that looked as if they might be useful, a Pace Band, and a Predictor.
What is a Pace Band? How does it work? You type in your target time, and it then gives you the time at which you need to hit every mile (or kilometre) as you pass it to meet target. You then print it off, tape it to your wrist (advanced hint - strengthen it with sellotape to stop it falling apart within a couple of miles as your sweat drenches it) and off you go. For my target time of 1:45, I need to be running each mile in 8 minutes, so a piece of paper stuck to my wrist reading 8:00, 16:00, 24:00...isn't going to be much of an improvement over me saying, 'that's the 8 mile mark, let's see, 1x8=8, 2x8=16, 3x8=24...'
And the Predictor is like unto it. It takes a recent actual race performance, and converts it into a predicted time for the big event. Type in time and distance actually achieved, and distance to be run, and out spits the time for it.Well, I'm running a 6 miler in a couple of weeks, let's try the logic backwards, and see what time I need to put in for the 6 miles to come out with a 1:45 half marathon. I tried it both ways, on the basis that if, say, a 4-minute mile is equivalent to a 2-hour marathon, then a 2-hour marathon should be equivalent to a 4-minute mile, assuming the predictor isn't predicting a major change in fitness/performance level, and the times matched up. To run a 1:45 half, I need to run a 48 minute 6 miles. Wait a minute, let's look at my pace band, to run a 1:45, my time at the 6 mile mark needs to be 48 minutes. So on that basis, I'm going to take 22 seconds for the 100 metres! The shorter the distance doesn't enable me to run any faster! Pah!
5/ Target times
As you can see above, I have set myself a target. This is in the face of conflicting views on targets. One view says that a target helps to focus your training effort, the other view is that a first-time runner shouldn't set a target, presumably until they know what sort of target is attainable. My target was based on the sort of time needed for a podium finish in my age group, perhaps an ambitious aim when you consider that, apart from a couple of warm-up races that I'm doing in the next couple of months, this half-marathon will be my first competitive race in very nearly 45 years!
Certainly, when you look at the 8 minute miles that I need to achieve to get this time, and compare it with the 10 minute miles that I'm doing in training now, it doesn't look at all achievable. But, I'm not going to beat myself up over it, I'll train as hard as I reasonably can, run as hard as I can, and finish as high up as I can. The bottom line is that if I can run the downhill at my 10 minute miles, I'll reach the Iron Bridge at about the 8 mile mark in 1:20. I know that I can walk the remaining 5 miles in 1:15. That gives me 2:35, well within the time of the last finisher in 2008. At least having a target time will stretch me a bit.
6/ Stretching
I've never really warmed up before any sporting event in my life. The only time was when a guy at BAT polo was trying to turn us into a mean, lean, winning machine, so got into coaching us rather than letting us just play the game. We had to do some warm-up exercises. It was 6 months before my knee was right after that!
But now, reading the posts, it seems that I have been very lucky not to have suffered injuries through over-exerting cold muscles. Perhaps it isn't too late to start stretching my muscles before and after exercise. I've downloaded some how-to for 4 top muscles to stretch, let's see how they go...Quadriceps (sounds like a dinosaur!) - grab your foot with your hand and pull up to your bum. Damn! Can't reach my foot!
7/ Heart Rate
A coaching manual that I read many years ago worked on the basis that, if you trained over the quarter mile, doing several repetitions, and trained at 60 seconds for each lap, then all you had to do was string together 4 of these 1-minute laps and you had the magic 4-minute mile. Good in theory, but how do you measure whether you are running at 60 second pace, or 62 second pace? Again, something that I saw all those years ago was an athletics stadium (in Japan, I think) where there was a little railway track running around just inside the actual running track, and the train on this track could be programmed to set whatever pace was desired. That will do nicely for getting the right speed, but it's not really a practical option for most professional athletes, let alone Joe Amateur. Besides which, I could be capable of a 55 second lap, and the train is taking me around at 59 seconds. I'm not going to improve much like that.
Enter modern microtechnology. You can now get a heart rate monitor that sits on your wrist, and tells you when your heart rate goes above, or falls below, a set "effort" band. That way, you can decide to do an aerobic run, a recovery run, or whatever, and the monitor keeps you putting in the effort, and thus improving your fitness.
First, you find your maximum heart rate (there are a number of formulas, simplest is 220-age), take away your resting heart rate, and then train at a percentage of the difference. And to find your resting heart rate, you take it first thing in the morning, while still lying in bed. Good move! You've just leapt half-a-mile in the air to switch off the alarm, and that's supposed to be your RESTING heart rate!
Monday, 15 December 2008
In for a penny, in for £14.00
Another week has gone by, and another day has been lost to real life intervening with my dream. At least I've followed up on my "note to planning department" and found another route (one that also complies with the requirement that there be street lights so I don't break my neck in the dark) although it suffers badly from the seasonal problem of lying water after a fortnight's heavy rain - one stretch of about fifty yards saw me running on the wrong side of the road as both footpath and half the road were under water. So, of the 14 miles that the schedule had planned for me, I only covered 11 miles, but I'm already one mile ahead this week, and feeling good about the running.
Then, while I was checking my training diary for the facts upon which this literary masterpiece is based, I realised that I still hadn't got my entry in for my first warm-up race - the Delamere Dash on 4th January - only 3 weeks away! And, while I'm in the cheque- and entry-form writing mood, I'll complete my Ironbridge 1/2 Marathon entry. Quick walk to the post box (only exercise of the day!) and the dice are cast, my bridges all are crossed...I'm committed!
Then, while I was checking my training diary for the facts upon which this literary masterpiece is based, I realised that I still hadn't got my entry in for my first warm-up race - the Delamere Dash on 4th January - only 3 weeks away! And, while I'm in the cheque- and entry-form writing mood, I'll complete my Ironbridge 1/2 Marathon entry. Quick walk to the post box (only exercise of the day!) and the dice are cast, my bridges all are crossed...I'm committed!
Sunday, 7 December 2008
After Thursday's effort at least got some miles on the legs, the weekend and family commitments came along, and instead of a nice daylight run on Saturday, it was after dark before I could get out there. It's too dark to head for the town park, so it's round and round the sports field again, 3 times, again, but at least I managed to shave another minute off Thursday's time. Sunday, I did manage to get out in daylight and extended my run through the town park right to the edge of the town centre itself, and then kept on along the Silkin way until I'd been running for nearly 40 minutes before turning for home, which took a further 5 minutes. That should be pretty close to the 4 mile mark.
And then, to round the day off, I took Katherine for a walk up the Wrekin. I was stiff!
And then, to round the day off, I took Katherine for a walk up the Wrekin. I was stiff!
Thursday, 4 December 2008
OK, now where had I got up to? I know, I'll just type "Keep on running blog" into Google, and check my last post...
3 days later, and it seems that the world, his wife, dog and next door neighbour have all got a blog that entails keeping on runnning. Not to mention all the Spencer Davis quotes...
So I'll have to rely on my ever-failing memory, and hope that I'm not repeating myself. As I recall, my last post related to my run up the Wrekin, which was an OK day. Sunday, and I had a slow 4 mile run on the Running World training schedule, so I set off into the town park, following some rather muddy paths, but at least it was in daylight and I could see and TRY to avoid the worst of the puddles. Half-an-hour later and I'm back home, suspecting that it's more like 3 miles than 4. Good job that I've got a few weeks of slack in my schedule, it looks like it's going to be harder than I thought.
And then real life commitments intervened, and all of a sudden training on every other night became a little bit like Alice Through The Looking Glass, who gets offered a job which pays, among other things, "Jam every other day" - "But I don't like jam" - "That's allright, it's never any other day!". And for 4 days it was never any other night. Thursday, I braved the cold and wet, and did 3 laps around the sports field in 33 minutes. 50% further and about 10% faster than last time I tried that course! I know that there will be weeks when my speed and endurance seem to be worsening, but for now the improvement feels good. Note to planning department, find a wider variety of courses, I could get very bored running round and around and around...the same path.
After the diversions, I think that I'll repeat week 1 of the training schedule, and do it properly this time. And, while I'm at it, I think that I'll repeat week 3 as well - that coincides with Xmas week, and I suspect that I won't really do it justice the first time around!
3 days later, and it seems that the world, his wife, dog and next door neighbour have all got a blog that entails keeping on runnning. Not to mention all the Spencer Davis quotes...
So I'll have to rely on my ever-failing memory, and hope that I'm not repeating myself. As I recall, my last post related to my run up the Wrekin, which was an OK day. Sunday, and I had a slow 4 mile run on the Running World training schedule, so I set off into the town park, following some rather muddy paths, but at least it was in daylight and I could see and TRY to avoid the worst of the puddles. Half-an-hour later and I'm back home, suspecting that it's more like 3 miles than 4. Good job that I've got a few weeks of slack in my schedule, it looks like it's going to be harder than I thought.
And then real life commitments intervened, and all of a sudden training on every other night became a little bit like Alice Through The Looking Glass, who gets offered a job which pays, among other things, "Jam every other day" - "But I don't like jam" - "That's allright, it's never any other day!". And for 4 days it was never any other night. Thursday, I braved the cold and wet, and did 3 laps around the sports field in 33 minutes. 50% further and about 10% faster than last time I tried that course! I know that there will be weeks when my speed and endurance seem to be worsening, but for now the improvement feels good. Note to planning department, find a wider variety of courses, I could get very bored running round and around and around...the same path.
After the diversions, I think that I'll repeat week 1 of the training schedule, and do it properly this time. And, while I'm at it, I think that I'll repeat week 3 as well - that coincides with Xmas week, and I suspect that I won't really do it justice the first time around!
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Climb every mountain
Okay, reality check - when I measured the route I'd run on Tuesday, it turned out to be only 2 miles (in 23 minutes). That works out at about 5mph, or over 2 1/2 hours for a 1/2 marathon, so I'm not quite ready for the Olympics yet - good job I've got 16 weeks yet. Which is good news - the training schedules that I've seen reckon on being race-ready in 10 weeks, so I'm taking this week as a sort of warmup before actually hitting the schedule, and then I'll still have time to spare. I'll just re-arrange the 10-week schedule so that I repeat the last 6 weeks, rather than making it up as I go.
Thursday night, nearly 2 hours of football (we book one hour, but nobody had booked the pitch after us, so we just played until we fell over!) no definite training mileage, but some good fast/slow work and a decent overall cardio workout.
Saturday morning, up the Wrekin. Thick fog, and the car thermometer reading -1 degrees. Where it wasn't slippery with wet mud and fallen leaves was in the more exposed areas, where what had been wet mud and leaves was now frozen. So walk/running up and run/walking down, but taking it easy on the steeper slopes to avoid breaking my neck! About halfway up a guy walking down told me "Keep going, the view from the top is worth it!" The fog started to clear by Hell Gate, and the actual summit was blue sky and sunny, but the view - nothing but the tops of clouds as far as the eye could see!
Anyway, what about the training result? About 3 miles of steep up and down, in about 39 minutes. About the same pace as Tuesday, but further, and harder. As I recall, the winner of last year's race over the same course ran about 18 minutes, that's about 46% of my time! Now, if he was running as hard as the winner of last year's Ironbridge half-marathon (who won - again from memory - in about 1 hour 15 minutes), if we assume that the same ratio of 46% applies, that gives me a time of 2 hours 43 minutes - ties in with the calculation at the top of over 2 1/2 hours. Hmmm...
Thursday night, nearly 2 hours of football (we book one hour, but nobody had booked the pitch after us, so we just played until we fell over!) no definite training mileage, but some good fast/slow work and a decent overall cardio workout.
Saturday morning, up the Wrekin. Thick fog, and the car thermometer reading -1 degrees. Where it wasn't slippery with wet mud and fallen leaves was in the more exposed areas, where what had been wet mud and leaves was now frozen. So walk/running up and run/walking down, but taking it easy on the steeper slopes to avoid breaking my neck! About halfway up a guy walking down told me "Keep going, the view from the top is worth it!" The fog started to clear by Hell Gate, and the actual summit was blue sky and sunny, but the view - nothing but the tops of clouds as far as the eye could see!
Anyway, what about the training result? About 3 miles of steep up and down, in about 39 minutes. About the same pace as Tuesday, but further, and harder. As I recall, the winner of last year's race over the same course ran about 18 minutes, that's about 46% of my time! Now, if he was running as hard as the winner of last year's Ironbridge half-marathon (who won - again from memory - in about 1 hour 15 minutes), if we assume that the same ratio of 46% applies, that gives me a time of 2 hours 43 minutes - ties in with the calculation at the top of over 2 1/2 hours. Hmmm...
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
In the beginning...
They say that being in love means never having to say you're sorry, and that having children means ALWAYS having to say you're sorry: certainly mine are responsible for a few things in their time. This time, it's my son, Owain, who has to take the blame on his ever-broadening shoulders.
When, at the end of September, he announced his intention of taking part in the Devizes to Westminster Kayak race over Easter weekend (first weekend in April) 2010, it seemed like a good idea, about time he started doing something with himself, hrrmphh, etc. However, over time, it has started a sort of guilty feeling in me, that I never did anything quite as ambitious when I was his age (no, it's NOT a mid-life crisis!), and a feeling that perhaps I should join him in this hairbrained scheme. Except that I don't have a friend of my age whom I could con into joining me.
So, if I'm going to do DW, it has to be in small, easily-defined chunks. And the first chunk is a half-marathon. I mean, DW is 125 miles of kayaking, involving 77 hoists out of the water, and 77 puts back in - a half-marathon is just over 13 miles of running (that's using legs, that were intended to get you from place to place), as opposed to kayaking (that's using arms, that were designed for holding your pint glass), so it's got be well over ten times easier!
March 22, 2009 is the date, and the training schedules in Running Weekly seem to suggest that ten weeks should be enough to get me into trim to complete the event. So, tonight it begins - first training run, twice around the circuit that goes around the local sports field, past the local pub, and down a rather dark path between our housing estate and the aforementioned sports field, somewhere around 23 minutes for the 2 circuits. Now, if that's 1.5 miles per circuit, keep up that pace for a total of 9 circuits, and you have a half-marathon in 1:43:30 - good enough (I think) for 3rd place in the over-60 age group in last year's event. Podium finish in my rookie event - I'll take that! Tomorrow I'll have to check the distance that I ran.
When, at the end of September, he announced his intention of taking part in the Devizes to Westminster Kayak race over Easter weekend (first weekend in April) 2010, it seemed like a good idea, about time he started doing something with himself, hrrmphh, etc. However, over time, it has started a sort of guilty feeling in me, that I never did anything quite as ambitious when I was his age (no, it's NOT a mid-life crisis!), and a feeling that perhaps I should join him in this hairbrained scheme. Except that I don't have a friend of my age whom I could con into joining me.
So, if I'm going to do DW, it has to be in small, easily-defined chunks. And the first chunk is a half-marathon. I mean, DW is 125 miles of kayaking, involving 77 hoists out of the water, and 77 puts back in - a half-marathon is just over 13 miles of running (that's using legs, that were intended to get you from place to place), as opposed to kayaking (that's using arms, that were designed for holding your pint glass), so it's got be well over ten times easier!
March 22, 2009 is the date, and the training schedules in Running Weekly seem to suggest that ten weeks should be enough to get me into trim to complete the event. So, tonight it begins - first training run, twice around the circuit that goes around the local sports field, past the local pub, and down a rather dark path between our housing estate and the aforementioned sports field, somewhere around 23 minutes for the 2 circuits. Now, if that's 1.5 miles per circuit, keep up that pace for a total of 9 circuits, and you have a half-marathon in 1:43:30 - good enough (I think) for 3rd place in the over-60 age group in last year's event. Podium finish in my rookie event - I'll take that! Tomorrow I'll have to check the distance that I ran.
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