Paris Marathon : Update 02

Test Week. This is an important calibration of where my fitness might be positioned right now. A part of the training plan was a 10k race around 5 weeks ago but many local races have been cancelled due to a really tough winter here in Scotland. However yesterday the postponed Nigel Barge Memorial 10k Road Race took place in Glasgow.  The race is staged by the Maryhill Harriers Club and the website gives the background ..

"This is one of Scotland's oldest road races, being run now for more than 60 years. The race commemorates Nigel Barge who was killed in action in Dunkirk during World War II. Nigel was an outstanding officer who trained as a Royal Engineer and was killed at Dunkirk. He came top of his class at Woolwich and helped prepare and map defences around Dunkirk. Nigel assisted in the repairing of small craft to ensure the debarkation of his comrades. He was also a licensed pilot and a keen athlete. Nigel’s father was Kenneth Barge, late of the Bengal Lancers, a member of the committee of Maryhill Harriers. The race has run every year since 1943."


The standard seems very high for this race and a triathlete seems a little out of place in this world of "elite" club runners. The race is normally run the 1st weekend after New Year so it's a super "opening statement" of where you are compared to a year ago. If you're involved in a spring marathon it's ideal. 

Being Glasgow everything is "down to earth" and not taken overly-seriously - the runners might be psyched for this race but the admin is easy going with a light touch: "There are only left turns on this course, if you find you've turned right .. you're lost." "At the wee bridge over the river Kelvin be sure to go over the bridge - not under it." No timing chips here. Old school and none the worse for that. I now have done this race for 5 years and it's become an annual ritual. It's also the only time I'm ever in Maryhill so I need to remember to have a fully charged Sat Nav - unlike yesterday where I improvised a route with 35m to the start. Could so easily not have made the start. Not ideal ! Anyway : I dropped a couple of training sessions this week for a mini-taper and after 2 * 5k loops yesterday afternoon I'm left with a PB of 40m32s. I was delighted with this as the race felt good and I seemed to feel in control (for once). It's also 50s better than last year.


But what does it mean ? Back to Jack Daniels.... (the famous running coach not the bourbon, focus please ! - you can see the background to this kind of stuff on the blog entry : DareToTriLife Book Club 02).  Sadly this performance, while drop-dead-good amazing for me , is not quite where I needed it to be in the hunt for a 3H marathon. But lets explore :  here's the excerpt from Daniel's VDOT (sort of VO2 Max) tables ...

Note the "51" line 


Note the 40m39s 10k time 

This performance suggests a 3h 07m Marathon time


So it seems my VO2Max has improved but by only 1 line from last year ! To secure the 3H marathon goal a 39m 10K time is closer to the required reality. Suddenly a "thud" back down to earth. Yes, "groovy PB John" but way off the mark for where you'd hoped to be at this point. The truth is 800k of running so far on this campaign and perhaps a 5m better time than last year is possible ? Am I depressed ? No. it was a great race yesterday and I loved being part of it. Actually it showed the value of racing as a really important part of training. You'll never get an intensity session as good. The vibe was good. You'll also learn things like : pacing, nutrition, when to "pull the trigger", the importance of charging a Sat Nav the night before an important race and a completely new thing : that wearing an Ironman-branded race belt encourages young runners to surge at you with 200m to go ! But lets face it. I've invested 800k of my and my family's time in developing these chunky calves and thighs - it's great to finally try them out. Burn baby burn !
Today it was back to the Sunday "long-run" after the intensity of the day before. Covered about 33k today in around 2:40: something. 

Lots to think about after yesterday. But mostly had a sense that the training schedule was working and I maybe should start to adjust the pacing sessions a little more in the 5 weeks remaining. There's a little disconnect in training on the trails around home - the pace is necessarily slower than on the road and you're just not always sure if you're really improving. Yesterday shows I am and while today was a tough grind out there I managed it and I'm feeling so much better about the whole project. There are a few more long runs left but there's now a sense of the Paris Marathon as being a real event which is just a few weeks away. There's another test week ahead : the formal Half-Marathon race looms. Mr Daniels and his elegant table think I should be able to cover that distance in 1:30:02. If so that too would be a PB and already I'll have gained a great deal from the last 16 weeks. We'll just have to see. Time to replace the Brooks Addictions - TrainingPeaks tells me their time is up. Maybe Wiggle can do me a deal. So folks get inspired and get out there. If I can you absolutely can. Bottomline : Older and Quicker over 10k. But can I carry this off over 21k ? Find out, next time, right here on the daretotrilife blog.      




  

Paris Marathon : Update 01

Hi Folks,

special welcome to all of you involved in spring marathons in 2011. How is your perspective ? Does it still seem a good idea ? Are you managing to train through one of the more severe winters western Europe has seen for some time ? Here's my stats to 31st Jan.

Training started with base volume on 15th November. Since then we have the following training "in the bank" :

 That's over 600k of running distance and 52 running hours. Last year the total distance run in preparation for the Barcelona marathon was 1000k so this looks right on course.

This year I'm feeling much more fatigue than last year - in part due to a very hectic start of the year at work and also due to keeping going with the swim and run elements. I actually feel I'm progressing better on my bike than on my running. Today was the inevitable Sunday long run and I notice that the training plan is scheduling a tempo run each Saturday - so yesterday was 24m at threshold pace. I don't seem to be able to recover from that workout to be fresh for the long run. The 26k in 2h10m today was in the right pace zone but it seemed tough going. Actually I have to tell you about a podcast that's new to me : Phedippidations by "Steve Runner". The episode on the link was very special and I commend all of you to download or subscribe (for free) on iTunes. If you have long runs for marathons or half-marathons then please check this podcast out.

I have entered the Stirling Duathlon on 27th March (10k-40k-5k) and am looking forward to that. I don't feel I can treat it as an "A" race as an injury would be unthinkable with 2 weeks to Paris - but I am keen to hit the road on the bike rather than the trainer workouts. The guys from the local tri club will be there in force so that will be fun. Need to get accommodation booked.

A few "late-homes" this week gobbled-up Weds, Thurs and Friday runs - I was somewhat selfish and swam on Thursday morning - arriving late for work. But I'm glad I did & I don't think my boss will begrudge me ! This is the worst week I've had for dropping workouts - but you gotta eat : right ?

From late Feb to 1st May there are endless possibilities for the marathoner :

• Tokyo
• Barcelona
• Rome
• Tel Aviv
• Paris
• Milan
• Antwerp
• Vienna
• Zurich
• Madrid
• Boston
• London

If some of these capture your imagination you can make this happen for you in 2012 : Olympic year. Which reminds me if you are thinking of visiting any of the Olympic venues in 2012 tickets are on sale from 15th March (& briefly). Follow this link (Olympic Tickets).

So where are we in my very public quest for 3h in Paris ? Not quite in the right place I think. Training this year seems much more of a hassle and my recovery from workouts seems slower. The races I selected as "tests" for my pace were both cancelled (snow) and I'm just not sure how this is going. The thought of the race in 9 weeks and spending the time with my sister is really exciting (I sent my medical form this week - Paris asks you to get a GP to sign you off as "fit" enough to enter the race).

Perhaps it's just a spell of "mid-training blues". Or perhaps not enough sleep ? I'm not sure. Days here in the northern hemisphere are gathering pace so that will help and I'm sure 5 weeks from now the whole thing will seem much more "possible". We have the travel tickets booked and will travel on Eurostar - a high speed train from London to Paris but that's assuming the increasingly dreadful British Airways can get me from Glasgow to London. My sister is planning the stuff we do when we get there so loads of new experiences and much to look forward to. Given that I'm not injured, that Tesco paid most the fares (via Airmiles - thanks very much) & I've avoided flu this winter so far I am really really lucky. I think the problem is the 3H. So perhaps I need to think of ...finishing 1st, PB's 2nd and 3H's if all goes extra-ordinarily well (and the course is downhill).

There's a few folk on Athlinks training for Paris so I've left messages and let's see where they are in all this. And what about you ? Boston and London are so close in time to this race - are you feeling "on top" and "where you want to be" - leave a comment and let us know. Have a great week.

A life-changing meeting

On Friday I first met my grandson. It is a few precious moments I will remember for the rest of my life. Some 45+ years after my own birth in the last century there exists a person who has every chance to glimpse life in the next century. A new life - a blank canvas of potential and possibility. It was an arresting and deeply moving experience with all manner of chaos in my mind - a whirling infinity of practicalities and emotions. Yet there he was - oblivious to any of my concerns and fears, utterly helpless, yet somehow commanding our universe  - giving my own son a smile that would instantly melt any heart. A 100% pure, complete and honest-to-God miracle. This poem by poetrywriter191 gets close to the mark ...

Welcome to the world and to our family,
May your life be filled with love

In everything you see.

You have a precious mother

Who will give you love and tender care.

Your father looked so proud of you

As you peacefully slept there.

He too was our first child,

Not so many years ago.

And we're not ashamed to tell you

How we loved him so.

May your life be filled with laughter,

And always wear a smile,

For we're only on this earth

For just a little while.

So as you grow from baby to toddler,

From boyhood to man,

We'll always remember the first time

We saw you...love from your

Grandad and your nan.

What are you at such a moment of meeting ? What prepares you for this new relationship and what will unfold ? The Emailed pictures are as nothing compared to the reality. The love and stability in this new young family is simply inspiring. The maturity and care my son shows is moving. Instant bonds are made - deep ties created that you know, no matter what, will never break. There has been a sudden immediate time-flip, former roles broken and new identities and responsibilities beckon. A new future is unfolding. But in the days and years ahead we will always be there for you Dylan and after today I have a renewed and profound sense of what is truly important.   

 

Athlinks - Stuff You Should Use 01

Athlinks

Say What ? OK in 25 words or less...

Athlinks keeps all your race results in one place, allows you to post planned races on-line and enables you to keep intouch with other athletes. It's easy and free. It links with FaceBook and Twitter.

Your racing history can be tracked with the click of a mouse ...

So what do you do ?

1. Go to Athlinks.Com & Sign Up (very easy and very free)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   2. Give yourself a profile (upload a photo)  ....
   
   
   
   
   
   3. Check out what results are already registered in the Athlinks.Com database. You can be very lucky and find that your races have already been registered by someone else. In that case it really easy. Lets say your name is "David Warden"... so type David Warden in here (the box at the top of the home page) ....
   
   
   
   
   
   Athlinks then provides all the data it has on David Warden as follows ...
   
   
   
   
   
   Unless you are the only David Warden on the planet then it's possible that not all these results refer to you. But if you do see a result you recognize then "claim" it using the blue link on the right (see above). This enables you to build up your result history. 
   Suppose then that you have taken part in a race not registered in Athlinks so far ? If you are outside the US that's quite possible and the smaller the event the more likely you are to be the 1st to register it. Anyway it's easy to do. So lets do that ... lets add the 2005 MacQueen Bros Mid Argyll Sprint Triathlon....
   
   
                                                                      On the top right of the home page is an invitation to "add a race" . The blue arrow is pointing this out. Click on that.... 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   ...then up comes this screen shot offering you the ability to search the Athlinks database to find your race.
   
   
   
   
   
   Type in the date and location of your race, then click "search" - the dialogue box tells us that Athlinks does not have a match for this event. So click on "Add Race". This brings up the 2nd step where you get the chance to tell Athlinks the race name, location and website address. So fill in the empty boxes below ...
   
   
   
   
   
   You'll notice it's picked up information from earlier so this is pretty fast. You also don't need the race director's name, the time or special instructions most of the time. The critical bit is the website address and the formal event name. Next we're asked what type of event this is : select this from the drop down box : In our case that's Triathlon/Multisport.
   
   
   Now Athlinks is going to ask you some details about the event and where they can find the race results. So it's a good idea to have the race website windows open in the background to cut & paste. Here's what it looks like ...
   
   
   
   
   
   With triathlon you can take the option to build the course (swim, bike, run) distances. Add the url link for the web location where your results can be found. Tick the box to denote that your results are at that location and finally confirm that the race organizers spelled your name correctly. If they didn't you can use this box to spell your name as it appears on the results list. Click "Save Course". This logs your request and this box appears...
   
   
   
   
   
   Give the guys and gals at Athlinks a few days & simply type your name into the "Type your name here to find your results box" on the home page. Simples.  So having done all that what then ? Well you can 
   
   add your planned races in exactly the same way as above (via the "Add a Race" route) and these future events get logged on your profile page ... but more than that. You get to add some information on your goal times, what you hope to get from the race etc etc. Athlinks also searches for other members who might be also registered for the event and allows you contact them - "send them some love". And more ... all your registered friends get notified that you're competing - so they get a prompt about what you're up to. Then you can set up "Friends" and "Rivals" and track them - and this is very powerful as you are able to call up their splits from each of their races.
   
   
   The Athlinks "Rivals" section is particulary interesting. You are able to search through all the database to find people (whom you may not know) that you have raced against maybe twice or more. If they are member you can contact them easily through Athlinks. Of course there are far more options to upload video, join groups eg. Cervelo, Garmin, Nike, Planet X, IMTalk etc etc. But the most compelling reason will be to have all that race data in the one place - broken down by splits and positions. Check it out for yourself and see what rivals & friends are already out there. Let Athlinks be your athletic legacy.