20 mile weekend
It's been a while since I've done one of those, and this weekend's mileage has almost taken me by surprise.
At the end of the Brass Monkey I definitely felt like I could have run an extra mile or two, so I decided to make this weekend's long run target somewhere between 14 and 15 miles. I didn't have a particular route in my head. I had a direction I was going to head in, and knew what the first 5 or 6 miles would be, but from there the rough plan was little more than exploring new territory a bit further away before coming out in an area I run round with running club, working out roughly how far I'd gone and working out which running club route would get me to the road home with about the right mileage.
It turned out to be a beautiful running day, bright and cool, and my legs wanted to run. I wanted to avoid walk breaks as far as possible, and I did. I ended up running about 15.5 miles, which was a little further than I'd intended, at a highly respectable 9:23 pace. Which isn't bad considering that I felt like I was running at a nice gentle pace, and (not to mention the three letters that might jinx me) that's about a minute per mile slower (ie about what is recommended) than a pace that would get me round the marathon in 3:45. Not that 3:45 is my target as such at this stage, but it's certainly more possible than it was pre-Berlin.
And then, what to do next. Today was cross country, but at this stage I want my priority to be long runs, not cross country. But I told myself that if my legs felt fine and the weather was good, I might go out and give it a go. I'd done my long run on Saturday so at least I had the option to do the cross country, even if I decided to turn that option down. I woke up this morning and my legs were fine, but the weather wasn't.
What the hell, I thought. It will get me out of the house, stop me nibbling for a few hours and give me an excuse to eat a bit more during the day.
So I went. To the most exposed, windiest spot in West Yorkshire, as far as I could tell. It was bitter up there, and at one point, having been one of the first to arrive I was heading back to my car wondering if anyone had spotted me, and whether I could disappear before they did. Someone spotted me as I walked back. A good plan foiled.
We actually had loads of ladies out today, at least 9 or 10 that I can think of off the top of my head (only the first 4 score) so I was wondering whether it was absolutely necessary for me to run. But I was there, so what the hell. I did have fun scaring the girls who are training for London with the length of my run yesterday - they're not at that stage yet, and their mara is a month before mine. Plus they weren't backing up and doing cross country the day after. I like being scary.
I will admit to struggling a bit round the race. My legs weren't too bad, but they really didn't fancy the hills. One in particular seemed designed to kill off tired legs, and I'll admit to walking a bit of it. I was passed by a couple of club members who I know I can blow away on the road, but who have more cross country experience than me. And quite possibly proper trail shoes (I'm still running in my road shoes, and the lightweight racing ones at that - on the basis that they were the oldest and closest to retirement, and I didn't mind getting them muddy). But I hung on in there, and managed to bag the fourth scoring spot to at least remind me that it was worth me turning up, because my placing counted in the great relegation battle.
So now I get to feel doubly smug. A long run and cross country. Woo hoo. Now I just need to decide whether to go for the triple with a time trial tomorrow night.
Well, it's less than 3 miles...
At the end of the Brass Monkey I definitely felt like I could have run an extra mile or two, so I decided to make this weekend's long run target somewhere between 14 and 15 miles. I didn't have a particular route in my head. I had a direction I was going to head in, and knew what the first 5 or 6 miles would be, but from there the rough plan was little more than exploring new territory a bit further away before coming out in an area I run round with running club, working out roughly how far I'd gone and working out which running club route would get me to the road home with about the right mileage.
It turned out to be a beautiful running day, bright and cool, and my legs wanted to run. I wanted to avoid walk breaks as far as possible, and I did. I ended up running about 15.5 miles, which was a little further than I'd intended, at a highly respectable 9:23 pace. Which isn't bad considering that I felt like I was running at a nice gentle pace, and (not to mention the three letters that might jinx me) that's about a minute per mile slower (ie about what is recommended) than a pace that would get me round the marathon in 3:45. Not that 3:45 is my target as such at this stage, but it's certainly more possible than it was pre-Berlin.
And then, what to do next. Today was cross country, but at this stage I want my priority to be long runs, not cross country. But I told myself that if my legs felt fine and the weather was good, I might go out and give it a go. I'd done my long run on Saturday so at least I had the option to do the cross country, even if I decided to turn that option down. I woke up this morning and my legs were fine, but the weather wasn't.
What the hell, I thought. It will get me out of the house, stop me nibbling for a few hours and give me an excuse to eat a bit more during the day.
So I went. To the most exposed, windiest spot in West Yorkshire, as far as I could tell. It was bitter up there, and at one point, having been one of the first to arrive I was heading back to my car wondering if anyone had spotted me, and whether I could disappear before they did. Someone spotted me as I walked back. A good plan foiled.
We actually had loads of ladies out today, at least 9 or 10 that I can think of off the top of my head (only the first 4 score) so I was wondering whether it was absolutely necessary for me to run. But I was there, so what the hell. I did have fun scaring the girls who are training for London with the length of my run yesterday - they're not at that stage yet, and their mara is a month before mine. Plus they weren't backing up and doing cross country the day after. I like being scary.
I will admit to struggling a bit round the race. My legs weren't too bad, but they really didn't fancy the hills. One in particular seemed designed to kill off tired legs, and I'll admit to walking a bit of it. I was passed by a couple of club members who I know I can blow away on the road, but who have more cross country experience than me. And quite possibly proper trail shoes (I'm still running in my road shoes, and the lightweight racing ones at that - on the basis that they were the oldest and closest to retirement, and I didn't mind getting them muddy). But I hung on in there, and managed to bag the fourth scoring spot to at least remind me that it was worth me turning up, because my placing counted in the great relegation battle.
So now I get to feel doubly smug. A long run and cross country. Woo hoo. Now I just need to decide whether to go for the triple with a time trial tomorrow night.
Well, it's less than 3 miles...
posted by YP at 3:39 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home