The plan for Monday (19th Jan) was an easy 8 miles or so - with a mile jog up to the physio and then a 7 miler home. I had been feeling the knee pain a bit more than usual during the day - putting it down to the long Sunday run the day before. But, during the jog up to the physio the knee pain felt like it had reached a new level. It was even hurting on the flat ground.
Physio had a good look at the knee and was concerned about the swollen cartilage under the kneecap - some fluid there probably. I could tell from the discussion that I might hear the dreaded "you need to rest for a bit" but I was (just) given permission to continue training. I also got some new exercises to address some inherent weakness and instability down my left glute / hip. No coincidence that my injuries and niggles have all been on the left side: glute, hip, tight hamstring, and now the bloody knee.
About half a mile into the run home, I turned down the back of Endcliffe Park onto a gentle descent. Ouch. Ouch. The knee pain hit 7 out of 10 and I very nearly turned for home. But being a slave to the plan, I carried on. The pain subsided quickly but when I got home, I knew that the injury was on a downwards slide and that I needed to heed the advice I would give to someone else: active rest for a few days. I was also determined to run with Deb round Marrakech Half Marathon on her 40th birthday the following Sunday.
So, Tuesday to Saturday were rest days - meaning the plan lasted all of 2 weeks! Plenty of walking and diligent exercising meant I was feeling fresh and I could already feel the increased stability and strength in my legs. I was still aware that the knee wasn't quite 'right', but it felt a lot better.
On the Sunday, Deb and I jogged down to the start line in Marrakesh. I could feel the knee injury a bit but it felt a lot better so I was cautiously optimistic. There was no baggage drop so we had bought some very cheap sweatshirts (70p each!) to wear to the start line. We were staying in the Medina area of Marrakesh and naked limbs were seriously frowned upon. It was pretty cold first thing - about 8 degrees - but the forecast was a sunny 18 degrees by midday. We stuck the sweatshirts in a carrier bag with some water and tied the bag to some railings.
The start line was bonkers - loads of overweight Moroccan men who looked like they had never run in their life pushing through to the front of the pack, and lots of very confused Europeans unsuccessfully trying to explain their view on race etiquette. At one point a police motorbike decided it was going to drive through thousands of people to the start line - with loads of grinning blokes using the opportunity to follow it to the front!
The race started and about a minute later we crossed the start line. Predictably, we spent the first mile or so getting past people who were barely running, but the roads were wide and we were able to pick up the pace fairly easily. Although we were running down a slight hill, I couldn't feel any knee pain, and I was really enjoying the atmosphere. I had to remind myself that I was supposed to pacing Deb round at 6:40 / mile pace for a birthday PB - so I checked my pace a bit and we hit 3 miles slightly ahead of target but about right given the net decline.
It was at about 3 miles that loads of people started to drop out - ten or so from just around us. Lots of people who I guess don't really train beyond the odd kick off a football had run hard for the first 3 miles and were now basically knackered. The other stand out difference with UK races was the unbelievable cutting of corners - and I mean massive short cuts across patches of scrubland ignoring the marshals frantically blowing their whistles.
About 6 miles into the race we hit a slight descent and my knee sent a sharp pain to remind me that all was not well. The pain passed very quickly though and my knee was fine for the rest of the race. In fact, it felt ridiculously easy throughout and my heart rate rarely climbed above 130bpm. A welcome reminder of the benefits of tapering.
As we circled round the 'less touristy' side of Marrakesh we witnessed a few attempted 'Garmin-grabs' - where locals hold their hand out for a high 5 and then use the distraction to give your watch a hopeful tug. I'd heard this was a feature of this race, but seeing was believing! Deb even saw one of the marshals giving out oranges (yes, oranges in their peel) having a sly tug at someone's watch.
In the last few miles, we started passing loads of people who were starting to slow in the heat. Deb was tired but still maintaining target pace with a bit of encouragement (she gets lazy on the downhills!) and I was starting to think that sub 1:27 would be achievable if she could push hard through the last 2 miles. Unfortunately, the last 2 miles were slightly uphill and Deb did well to hold 6:44 pace with tired legs.
We crossed the line together in 1:27:31 - with Deb taking just under two and a half minutes off her PB. During the walk home, my knee started to ache again, and the injury cloud settled back over my head. Our mood was not helped by the numerous dirty looks we received walking back to our hotel in our shorts and running vests - our sweatshirts had disappeared!
Back at the hotel, our wonderful host, Khalid, made us a slap-up breakfast and we settled into relaxed post-race mode in the sunshine on the roof terrace. Deb was well pleased with her time - although her efforts meant that she fell asleep for quite a bit of her birthday celebrations!
The stats...
The week went a bit off plan at times due to work and other time constraints but got to target mileage in the end without too much catch-up.
Mon: 9 (ran 10 - 4.5 am / 5.5 pm)
Tue: 10 long reps (ran 12.1 miles inc 6 x 1200m @5:30 pace off 90s rest)
Wed: 10 (ran 7.4 miles - out of time)
Thu: 10 progression (ran 11.5 with 5 easy am, 4 mile progression to MP pm with wu/wd
Fri: 8 - hard on the hills (ran 10.5 @ threshold)
Sat: 5 (missed run REST due to 18 hours of cleaning for and bar tendering at deb's party)
Sun: 14 @ 7:00 min/mile (ran 15.5 miles with 9 miles easy with deb @ approx 115bpm / 7:30 min/mile , 6 miles steady @ approx 132bpm / 6:20 min/mile)
Total: 66 (ran 67.1)
The week felt fairly well balanced between endurance and quality - much the same as last week.
How did it feel?
Monday: was intending to run easy am and pm, but had to push the late run on to get the physio on time. time to have the knee looked at
Tuesday: Long reps day - opted out of usual undulating trails to give knee a rest from downhills - did a horrid 6 x 1200m on pavements in attercliffe with John D. Felt like very hard work, bitter wind in face and everything
Wednesday: Time poor running - felt OK though
Thursday: Easy run in morning, with a short hard progression in evening. Starting to feel cumulative tiredness and suspecting that this is affecting quality work
Friday: Felt suprisingly fresh and had a hard day at work so went out on the hills at threshold and pushed it a bit
Saturday: Does cleaning and bar tendering at Deb's 40th birthday party count as cross-training?
Sunday: Slight knee pain in morning but went out and did an easy 9 with a hungover Deb and then pushed 6 miles on my own at low-threshold heart rate.
Healthcheck
Knee isn't getting better or worse when I run - but it aches after a hard session and it isn't going away. Feels like there is a little pocket of swelling above the kneecap and it hurts when I go downhill. Physio view is that I have aggravated the tendon / cartilage - probably from picking up intensity of training and / or running awkwardly on ice and racing a very snowy cross-country just after Xmas. Got some quad strengthening exercises to do. Fingers crossed...
The stats...
The week went broadly to plan.
Mon: 9 (ran 10)
Tue: 10 long reps (ran 9.8)
Wed: 7 (ran 9.7)
Thu: 10 progression (ran 9.4)
Fri: 8 (ran 9)
Sat; REST (rested!)
Sun: 18 @7:00 min/mile (ran 18.5 @ 6:45 min/mile)
Total: 62 (ran 65.3)
I tend to run to feel most of the time - judging effort by my breathing pattern. I have tried to use a heart rate monitor regularly, but I find it pretty unreliable - especially on easy runs in the cold when I don't get sweaty enough to make it work!
The week felt fairly well balanced between endurance and quality - and this is supported by analysis of the gradient adjusted pace that Strava works out (below). I am not sure I agree with the categorisation of the pace zones that strava uses (I would use threshold to describe hard effort - about the same pace range as Strava's 'tempo'). But, it's a helpful guide nevertheless.
How did it feel?
Monday: split the run 2 morning, 7 evening. Felt nice and easy - conscious of need to save legs to get the most out of Tuesday's long reps session.
Tuesday: Long reps day - 5 x 1500m on trails with 90s rest. Averaged 4:55 and felt strong. Added on a hard 800m at end when some club mates doing a different session came past me during the warm down
Wednesday: Split the run again - 2 / 7.7. Felt nice and easy again - used heart rate to keep it that way (120bpm)
Thursday: Went out to do 3 easy / 3 steady / 3 hard - got a bit excited on the 1st steady mile (5:33) and failed to get much quicker in remaining miles (although headwind played a part)
Friday: Took it dead easy again - knee was sore (more on this later) so avoided any descents
Saturday: Had a nice rest day. Went to a mate's house for the evening determined to limit alcohol to a couple of beers - failed miserably (there was even whisky involved).
Sunday: No knee pain at all in morning (due to rest day?) but had to go out at 6:30am as kids were getting dropped off at 9am and I needed to fit 18 miles in before that. Felt hungover and tired and was disappointed with tired legs during miles 9 and 10. But, got a second wind on the way back to town and then a third wind after a 5-minute toilet stop at the 24 hour Mac D's on Penistone Rd (top choice - toilets in foyer). Dropped a marathon pace mile in at mile 17 (6:09) and felt good. Happy with that. I should have probably had some fuel or water at some point but I was pretty carbed up from a night of beer and crisps. Knee was sore after run. Had a cheeky snooze by the fire whilst the kids were entertained by each other.
Healthcheck
A bit of spare time over Xmas meant I managed 80 miles in a week round New Year. However, about 30 miles was on snow and hard ice, in fell shoes. I think this has contributed to a sore left knee, which is going to get some physio attention tomorrow (Monday 12th). It isn't getting better or worse when I run - but it aches afterwards and it isn't going away. Hurts most when I go downhill so I have been limiting myself to runs along the bottom of Sheffield's valleys.
My longstanding PF in my right foot is still with me, but apart from being a bit painful first thing in the morning, it's manageable.
Struggled a bit this week with 'over-compensating' for calories lost. And the booze blowout on Saturday after a sober week was disappointing. I know that food control will give me more performance gains than hard training. Isn't it funny that most people (including me) find it easier to train hard than eat well!
Planning for the big day
Booked a swanky river apartment in Greenwich for the Friday and Saturday night before marathon day (apple apartments). The apartment is about 10 minutes walk from the start line. Not cheap, but worth it to avoid the stress of traveling across London on the morning of the race. Thanks to Gareth Lowe for the tip!
Completed Deb's training plan for London. Deb has finally committed to running it and the 54 mile week she has just put in would suggest that she isn't planning on jogging round either!
Signed up for an email alert when the saver train tickets become available for the 24th April.
I've been neglecting my running blog for a while. Short update is that I have been running well and still getting a bit quicker despite my advancing years. I've had another decent stretch of eating properly and I've benefited from a higher training load of 55 - 60 miles per week and a lower bodyweight (down around 70kg).
This has helped me chop some decent chunks of my best times. I was particularly pleased to end the year by breaking 17 minutes for 5k for the first time (16:44 at Hallam Parkrun) and then getting under 34 minutes for 10K (33:44 at Percy Pud). I guess I haven't blogged about any of this because the races have come thick and fast and it has all been a bit 'business as usual' really.
The next few months is different. The next few months is all about the London Marathon on 26th April 2015 at 10am. If my body survives the training, I'll be aiming for somewhere between 2:38 and 2:42. Hopefully under 2:40. I'll then be hoping to see Mrs Fowler cross the line 20 - 25 minutes later.
I am planning to use this blog to record my progress each week - training, niggles, how it feels etc. Whether it goes amazingly or badly, it will be nice to have a record of the preparation - you never know I might do another marathon one day. And, I guess marathons, more than any other race, are as much about the journey you take as you prepare to race 26.2 miles.
The 15 week training schedule I am using was pieced together from a range of online tools and advice. I shared a draft of the plan with a load of knowledgeable runners on a facebook group site and refined the plan based on the useful advice received. I went with high (and increasing) mileage every other week - including long Sunday runs that, at their longest, go above marathon distance. The weeks between the higher mileage weeks are still 60+ miles, but they lean a bit more towards quality work. The plan is not a massive hike in mileage for me - peaking at about 84 miles in week 9. However, I plan to add in a few extra miles if I feel up to it - but only in the first 12 weeks of the plan.
