Not much in the way of visuals for this one, so I've included a google map. In many ways an uninteresting run but I'm quite proud of it... Realising that I haven't properly started doing any ultra training and with a 35 miler on Feb 22nd and a 53 miler on April 25th I thought I better make a start. From what I've managed to find on the web about ultra training it seems its generally recommended to have two longish days in a row with rest either side. Wednesday night I went to running club and got my heart rate racing with 10 X 3 min hard intervals with 2 minute jogs in between. (It was meant to be 12 but I had to pull out, that's another story.) Anyway, the night's running was 12 miles altogether including the 3 mile each way run to club. Normally I'd avoid running the day after a club session as I'm just too sore but I thought it was about time to get ultra in my attitude. I couldn't run during the day so it had to be at night. I thought it would be a good start if I went and ran 16 miles at a steady pace, taking into account my muscles were already a bit trashed from the night before. I set off under the moonlight armed with my ipod and ran 8 miles down the coast and 8 miles back. It was cold and icy so the pavement was a bit slippy underfoot, but it didn't cause a problem. I thought I'd leave it to "feel" what pace I should go as this is all rather unknown - and found I immediately slipped into a steady 9 min/mile pace.
And so it went! Peter was rather scornful saying it was a boring boring run and he was off to do something else which made running off into the darkness a bit more daunting but on the other hand it probably made it easier to slip into a steady pace.
Job done in 2hrs 25 mins, 16.14 miles, pace 9.01 min/miles. Its good to have made a start and to not have to run today also. I'm starting a run of nightshifts tonight and long running and nightshifts don't mix very well as your feet swell up! I don't think you get the recovery you need if you don't sleep.
I thought I'd do a bit of a review of the year (2008) as everyone else has, but I can't be bothered going into much depth.
I realised belatedly that I missed the 2000 mile mark in 2008 by 15 miles! But hey its arbitrary, what does it mean?
I ran 23 races which is 2 less than the year before and 5 less than 2006. Going soft? Its just I have a course on a Saturday once a month and I missed a few races I would otherwise really have liked to do because of that.
3 new pbs, discounting new races when obviously you're going to get a pb.
Most proud of; Marathon; 3:28:38. At last! Have been trying to get under 3hrs 30 mins for years. 2007 I missed it by 2 mins.
Half Marathon; I should be proud of cos it was into a headwind (as was the marathon). I can do better though; 1:38:18.
And rather laughably 5k; 22m25secs - a pb by 5 seconds and still slower than half my 10k pbs in fact not just slower than half my pbs but slower than half the time of the hilly 10k I ran earlier in the year on no speed training. How can that be? It must be the 1st mile that kills me off.
Most intriguing races? Lairig Ghru left me wanting to go back and do it better. Its a possibility this year but it clashes with a long Scottish Hill Runners Race so we'll see.
7 Hills of Edinburgh - I know I can do better at this race. Maybe this year.
