Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Hmmmmm
Well I didnt feel great when I woke up this morning and thought running would certainly be out of the question, but as the day went on I felt better, but not great. I've not got a full on cold, but I'm not 100%, still chesty, bringing up flemy crap as well. But as it was interval night I decided to do them. The reality is that I probably shouldnt have. I felt crap after the 5th 200m (I do 8 x 200m sprints at around 75-80%), but tonight I did them at between 60-75% instead. However I did them, but I wonder if there was much benefit in doing it. I guess with me it's mainly psychological again, and the fact that I've stuck to my schedule. I'm really proud of the fact that I don't think I've missed a session since October last year. I may have switched some days around, but I've done everything I said I would in terms of mileage. And I want it to stay that way!
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2 comments:
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the comment you left on my blog. I am registered on the UK MdS forum and find its a lot better than the US one.
Definitely up for swapping tips if you like, although I think it may be a little too late for me to be changing much ;)
Good luck with all the training and Canberra Marathon.
Cheers
Becky Oliver
Hi Dan, Thanks for the comments. Now I've been and done the marathon my observations are that a standard three week taper is ok, but wouldnt taper down too much too quickly - I reduced my long runs first. I think I was running 60 miles normally so tapered down to 50, 40, then 20 before race day.
I think the long run was key to overall strength and thus why I didnt hit the wall - as you are doing something similar I think you are well on target. To be honest even though my longest run was 21 miles the extra 5 although challenging were not as difficult as I thought, - think it was because I was well used to 21 miles by the time of the event. the extra mileage is just a mental thing.
Getting your pace right is crucial - to be honest it felt like I was jogging early on so dont be tempted to go too hard too soon. On the flipside you should still be running faster than training pace (as a I guide my fastest 21 mile training pace was 7.06 - and I was pushing it!, yet the first half of the marathon averaged 6.45 and felt really comfortable). Dont be afraid of giving it the beans in the last quarter if you still feel up to it. Remember hitting the wall is partly mental, partly physical - tell yourself that YOU WONT HIT THE WALL! I felt that towards the end my mind was playing tricks (like I kept forgetting how far I had run), but knew as soon as I let myself slow down I was going to be on a downward spiral.
Finally I went 7.5% quicker than my fastest 21 mile run, and about 10% quicker based upon the second half of my marathon (interestingly I had heard from others that race pace is roughly 10% quicker than fast training pace). I think its something you should bear in mind as I think you are faster than you give yourself credit.
No advice intended as everyone is different, but just thought I'd share how I found things. Hope training is going well.
Lloyd
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