The good, the bad. And the ugly…

Posted on by unironedman

So the last post made some cheesy references to how I plan to tackle the 50k race in the woods. Well, this weekend, as training continues, I made sure to ignore my plan and over-do things.

Looking at the training plan I have picked (a ‘beginner’s 50k’ plan) I can sense I will struggle to get the distances in, even if I do the miles as kilometres. On the plus side, I am doing the suggested core work.

After a shortish run during the week with Mark, I missed out on the Thursday run (busy and tiring week in the office), so took off on Friday morning and decided to ignore the watch beep every kilometre and just run at a pace that felt comfortable. Even though I wasn’t feeling ‘too spritely’ (I note my Garmin page uses that phrase, so I will cadge from myself), but I was surprised to find that I came home in under the hour (59:20) for bang on 11k. Which is 5:24 pace, as you know 😉

Well if that was the good run, then the bad one followed the next day when the plan called for a mild little 18 miler. No chance of that. I set off with the new hydration backpack and a couple of gels, hoping to get at least a half marathon in. The legs weren’t there. Well, okay to be pedantic, they were there, at the bottom half of the body, but they were feeling the effects of the previous run, and we only managed 16.56 k in 1.44. Much more the sort of pace I would be training at for the longer runs, but not the distance. But in there are a few trails and hills, so mustn’t grumble. But overall, the Friday run should have happened on a Thursday and the long run yesterday should have been followed up with a handy 10k today.

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The 10 quid Sterling backpack did the trick. Just have to remember to bleed the air out or it sloshes something terrible. The pouch around the waist is grand for a few gels, the tiny FM radio, and my fire station alerter. The Garmin makes up the gizmo count; pretty much ready to rumble for the long distance runs…

Mind you, it is my birthday today, so perhaps I can be forgiven for slacking off. Some lovely gifts, and of course, there was at least one running-related pressie in there. Off now with the family to watch a film; nothing better than an evening with the squids, coz they are getting older now, and hanging out with the old pair is not always the coolest thing!

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One of my other gifts which is a companion to a previous present from S, namely ‘Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way’. Yes, I am a TOTAL nerd.

And lastly, the ugly. I can’t show you a pic of the ‘tash coz it’s truly awful, close-up, but rest assured, from the pic above, that a 70s porn star ‘tash sure gets you some odd looks when you’re out sweating in the park…

9 thoughts on “The good, the bad. And the ugly…”

  3. Hi Dec,

    What training plan are you using for the Donadea 50k. I’ve been laid up with injuries of late but need to start some training. Especially after seeing the km’s your already putting in!

    Sent from my iPhone

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    1. Hi Eamonn. Sorry to hear you’re out of action, but I know they can’t hold a good man down for long. I just cadged a freebie online, as per usual. It’s from Competitor Magazine (America’s leading running magazine, apparently…) and this is the link: http://cdn.running.competitor.com/files/2012/11/46_nat_r1.pdf
      As with all these plans, your mileage may vary, in every sense. But you’re coming off the back of an ironman and a marathon, so miles under the belt are not an issue. And you’re a better runner than I am. Have you officially signed up for Donadea?

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  4. Many happy returns fella. Hope you’ve had a good one.
    One thing i”d say about going Ultra is to make sure you do the back to back days. They get you used to (?) running on tired legs. The mid week ones can be done (if needed) as cross training etc.
    Take care and have fun

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