So since Leeds I ran a few local races, mainly as tempo runs, some were good, some were bad but as they weren’t really focus races I wasn’t too bothered.
Ribble Valley 10k, however, I was hoping for a good fast run out. Unfortunately when I turned up on the morning to freezing temperatures, hail, and near gale force winds I knew straight away that any chance of a fast time was out of the window!
After Ribble my focus turned to my upcoming marathon. I’m back onto the big miles but not as big as my previous marathon cycles and loving it. The weather has been a bit of a nightmare when it comes to training but you just have to be imaginative and work your sessions around the conditions. When the snow first came down and it was nice fresh powder I did a session of mile reps around Farringdon XC course. The reps were slow due to the snow but I just looked at it as added strength, kind of similar to altitude training, you train slower than usual but gain more from it. For my faster sessions I was lucky enough to use the facilities at Sunderland University so I could jump on to a good standard treadmill and do my tempo runs and fast paced sessions. Thanks to this I didn’t miss a session or a run during the bad weather, I even ran a full 22 miles on the Sunday all of which was in lovely deep fresh powder snow!!
The only bad thing about having to adapt your sessions due to the weather is not quite knowing what shape you are in. You can finish a session feeling good but because you have been running through 6 inches of snow it’s hard to gauge exactly how it went. The reps are slower than usual but is that because of the snow or because you’re not quite as fit as you thought you were. Then you do your tempo on the treadmill and feel great at a good pace but is that because you are running on the treadmill and its taking some of the effort for you or because you are in good shape. | "I did a session of mile reps around the Farringdon XC course. The reps were slow due to the snow but I just looked at it as added strength ..... you train slower than usual but gain more from it" |
Even with the treadmill set on 2% gradient it’s still hard to judge compared to running outdoors. Thankfully after 2 weeks of ‘indoor’ running I managed to get down to the seafront for a 6 mile tempo and it was awesome! I felt really strong and it was just such a good feeling to have the road beneath you again. And then came the wind!!
Just as I am about to race to find out what shape I am in, the wind decides to blow and blow strong! I had entered the Dewsbury 10k with the aim of it being one of my semi peak races, I’d done a mini taper for it to make sure I was fresh, but once again all thoughts of a fast time were shattered when we walked out of the hotel and nearly got blown over by the wind!!
As the course is an out and back route I was hoping that we would have the wind into our faces on the way out and that I could find a nice kind gent to sit in behind to guard me from the wind. Luckily it was mainly in our faces for the first half but then it hit us again, hard, in the last 2k. I managed to sit behind Iain Twaddle (Thanks Iain!) for the first mile and a half but then he managed to get into the pack that was slightly ahead of us but I couldn’t quite get there which meant I took the worst part of the wind all alone! I worked hard to try and get in contact with the group but the wind was just too much. I turned at half way in about 17.17 and with the wind on my back at last started to push hard and chase down the guys in front.
I finished with 34.05. I’m slightly disappointed with the time but a win is a win and I’m happy to win. My mile splits are interesting – 5.20, 5.23, 6.08, 5.14, 5.14, 5.33, 1.14 – you can clearly see where the wind was at its worst.
So block 2 of marathon training starts today. I’m already back into ‘marathon runner’ mode with a 10 mile run before most people were even out of bed this morning! My next outing is the Signals Relays a week on Saturday and then the Bath Half Marathon at the beginning of March. Hopefully the weather will play ball and I can get a PB to give me a confidence boost going into my final marathon block, although looking at results lately I am starting to get more convinced that a fast half during a marathon build up doesn’t always equal a fast marathon! But I’ll save more on that one for another time!