Tag: Marathon Training

2019 week six

Book Read
6. Circe – Madeline Miller

Kilometres Ran
week six – 54.1

2019 to Date: 252 KM

So I decided to read the fantasy/mythology book that was on just about every single best of 2018 list that I came across just to see what all of the fuss was about and for the first few chapters I was not convinced and then Circe finds out that she is a witch and I was hooked. I admit that I don’t know Greek mythology very well. Sure I have the two-volume Greek Mythology set from the Folio Society that I think probably every English Lit major got suckered into ordering *For Free* because while we’re book-smart we sure didn’t learn our lesson from Columbia House. But I didn’t ever get around to actually reading it, and maybe my cursory knowledge of mythology is also why I enjoyed the book as much as I did. It’s just not my bag, so I probably won’t be picking up Miller’s earlier, and equally lauded, Song of Achilles.

Pre-race shake out in the chute through the construction zone under Granville Bridge. On race day this section descends to the 3 KM marker. Coming back it’s the last incline, followed by a 600 metre sprint to the finish.

And speaking of achilles, on Wednesday I did a 10 km load test to see how it would hold up at something farther than the five or six I’ve been running the past few weeks. It was okay enough that my physiotherapist gave me the green light to run the First Half Half Marathon this morning on the promise that if it turned badly I would walk off. My race day plan was to test my achilles tolerance and test my current fitness level so I divided the race into thirds – 7 KM easy, 7 KM at goal marathon pace, and 7 KM at whatever was left in the tank.

This morning was cold, hovering around -6 plus a breeze that put the wind chill at -13. I lined up with the 1:45 pace group and we set out. Garmin got lost going under B.C. Place so at 3 KM in I was guessing pace, trying to stay at 5:00/KM. Achilles started acting up and I was concerned I’d have to quit, but it plateaued and then diminished a bit through 7 KM and I pushed the pace up to 4:30/KM. At 14 KM I caught the 1:40 pace pack and I felt great so I stayed at goal marathon pace through to the finish, crossing the line at 1:37:43. While that’s over five minutes off my personal best, it’s also over five minutes faster than my First Half 2018. I’m still elated with how today went, from expecting to gas out, and mentally preparing to have my first DNF, instead I ran my fourth fastest half marathon race and have a huge confidence boost in my current fitness with 12 weeks until the BMO Marathon. My achilles is still a bit of a concern. While it was just okay through the race and the walk home afterward, it’s less happy with me right now. So we’ll see how it feels in the morning. For now I’m too runner’s high to worry.

Disaster Averted.

2018 week thirty nine

Book Read:
In progress

Kilometres Ran:
week thirty nine — 32.8

To date: 2,104 KM

I’m still reading Roger Robinson’s When Running Made History and it seems sort of fitting that I finish it and write about it next week. I haven’t read much this week but I did pick up a read a pretty great Haruki Murakami short story called “The Wind Cave” in the September 3 issue of the New Yorker and you can read it too here if you haven’t already used up your free articles this month however many that is (five?) but it’s also October tomorrow so new month! or you could clear your cache and browser history or you know get a VPN or something. Or get a subscription and then randomly pick up an issue from a few issues ago from your coffee table one night when the power has gone out and you’re sitting in your darkened apartment with a few bottles of slowly warming ginger beer and a Petzl headlamp. Or just read it online.

North Van Run by WestVanRun. Confused?

I’m tapering and by tapering I also mean trying to rehab a knee enough to convince it to work for just 194 minutes, give or take, next weekend. In spite of that, it was a busy week. I bought a new bicycle, one with more than one gear, which is nice. I decided to try out the indoor pool in my new-to-me building for a few laps of pool jogging and pool jogging sucks but it felt good so I’ll probably do it again (a lot again). And today I ran the North Van Run 10K and it was really great. This week has been a mental drag as I second guess myself on whether or not I’m going to meet my goals in the Victoria Marathon next weekend. Recap: Goal 1) run a BQ which means 3:14:59 or faster Goal 2) set a new PB which means 3:34:40 r faster Goal 3) don’t die. More on Goal 1 later. My plan for today was to run the first 5 KM at goal marathon pace and then run the second 5 KM faster. And it worked beautifully and was a lot of fun. At 5 KM I was right on 4:37/KM average pace and then I followed that with my third fastest 5 KM for a chip finish 43:46 good enough for 28 overall and 8 in my age group (my age group winner was the overall winner at who finished just over ten minutes before me). The weather was awful but I don’t mind running in the rain. The finish on this course, though, is ace. The last 1,500 metres are a nice downhill onto the straightway to the end of Burrard Dry Dock Pier looking out across the harbour to downtown Vancouver. I think it’s the best finish line I’ve run through.

I’m especially happy with my result today because of how everything felt at the start and throughout. Lately I’ve had to fight through pain for the first couple kilometres before everything loosened up but today I felt great through warm up and from the gun. It wasn’t easy to hold back and stick to my race plan; the NVR course is slopey but fast and I’m sure I could have set a new PB out there today. But I definitely didn’t want to blow a tyre a week before chasing a BQ in Victoria. I definitely got a confidence boost from today, but 3:14 is still very ambitious. Then the news this week: BQ times for 2019 are minus 4:52, and they’ve dropped the standard across the board by five minutes for 2020. I’m not interested in running Boston 2019 or 2020. But I want to run that BQ time. But I’m not running 3:09 in Victoria next weekend. But I want to end this somewhat positively so I’ll say that I’m still looking forward to crushing my first marathon time.