The most intense training week I've probably ever had is finally behind me...and I actually feel pretty good about it.
If you remember from last week, I was planning on 2, 3, 4 and 5 mile runs this week, using the shorter ones to try and have some actual speed and the longer ones to translate that into some pace over more miles.
Family and charity commitments over the next week or so meant I actually had to pull one of Week 4's runs forward into this week so I had an additional 6 mile effort in there too, making it 20 miles for two consecutive weeks which is something to be pretty proud of!
To say I've done 5 runs in 7 days (something I've never attempted before) I feel pretty good and my times have reflected that. My average pace across the last 20 miles is 9:26 minute miles compared with an average of 10:13 for the previous week.
I know for most people, they aren't anything amazing to write home about (and I look at others on Twitter who are training for the same race and they're a lot faster). The one thing about marathon running is that for 99% of people entering you're only really racing yourself - it doesn't matter how everyone else does so I'm trying not to pay too much attention to other people and just focus on doing what I'm doing.
I talked last time about how conditions are something you need to bear in mind when running and managing your diabetes. This week the weather has given me a fair few challenges, varying between warm sunshine and monsoon rain. Fortunately I've managed to take most of that in my stride (pun unintended).
The most difficult run this week was the 6 miler this morning (Sunday). Having been out four times already meant I was pretty tired but I'd had one of those nights with my diabetes that meant it was all the more difficult to motivate myself to get going. I'd replaced my cannula just before bed as the adhesive had lost its usefulness but this is something you should generally avoid because if you put the new one in wrong and you don't get insulin properly, it can be pretty catastrophic and you're unlikely to know during the night.
For some reason I still don't understand, the new one only lasted about 20 minutes so I was still up at nearly midnight putting a third cannula in (and sticking it down with surgical tape to be certain). To make sure I was going to be OK, I set an alarm for 1:30am to get up and check my blood glucose (which was fortunately OK). I then had a hypo at 5:30am so I was up again to eat and raise my blood before I set off to run. That's a fairly good (but thankfully rare) example of a diabetes rollercoaster - highs and lows and the physical strain of dealing with everything in between too.
Thankfully I managed to get round in a pretty decent time and made it home in the rain before it properly bucketed it down.
Next week is relatively easy, two runs and some non-impact/strength work. I'll be doing 5 miles tomorrow (Monday) and then 12 miles on Thursday after work. That definitely won't be fun as I'm not a huge fan of doing my long runs midweek, but needs must this time. The distances are going to start getting bigger pretty quickly now so the next 6 weeks are crucial now.
I'll finish, as always, with a mention of the fantastic work that Diabetes UK do and why I'm raising money for them. Living with diabetes isn't an easy thing to do a lot of the time. Having a self managed chronic illness takes a lot out you and knowing there's someone there who can support you is an incredible help. Diabetes UK offer that help and support to millions of people like me who need it and to say it makes actually living life easier is a huge understatement. If you can spare anything to help me reach my £1,000 target for 2014, then please visit http:www.justgiving.com/broomhead - I'm incredibly grateful for your support.
Thanks
Showing posts with label rain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rain. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 August 2014
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
We're not in Kansas any more
Hello and welcome to my first post of 2012. I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. Apologies if this is a bit of a longer post than usual - I do appreciate that I'm more suited to brevity...
With only 108 days to go until marathon day, I'm going to start each new blog post like this:
Training miles completed this week: 9.5
Total training miles completed: 47
Training miles left: 199
It's as much as a reference for me as anything else, but it saves you reading the whole thing if you're in a hurry... The mathematically minded among you will probably notice that by the time I line up, I'll have banked nearly 10 marathon's worth of training miles.
The official London Marathon 13 Week Training Plan kicked in on January 1st (although I actually started on New Year's Eve). As I've mentioned a few times, they provide you with a few plans depending on what your goal is. Given my circumstances, I've opted for the 'Just-to-get-round plan' which, in practice is the 'Just-to-get-to-the-start plan'
Under this plan, you get a schedule of 3 weekly runs. The overwhelming problem is that I can't physically manage 3 runs a week - certainly not of any great distance. That's become apparent recently with the amount of time I'm needing to recover. Whilst I'm not getting the same pain as I've had previously, the aches are becoming more profound and I don't want to do myself any further damage. The physio exercises do help a bit though.
Instead I've modified their plan into a 2 runs per week schedule, taking the longest 2 of the three runs and adding a little on to the other one. I might post it as a separate entry so you can see what's coming up. I'm going to run each Wednesday and Saturday so I've got 32 more runs before I line up at Blackheath on April 29th. That feels like a long way off yet, but I know it isn't. If you're interested, there's an interactive map of the marathon route
As part of my preparations, I've now got a hotel booked for three nights from Friday 27th April. The non-refundable nature of the booking just adds an extra incentive!
Last Saturday I got up and did, what looked on paper, to be a fairly straightforward 4.5 mile run. What actually happened was that my "local knowledge" conned me into forgetting how unforgiving a couple of hills were and it felt like an incredible slog getting round. I managed it in 52 minutes (just inside my target 12 minute mile pace).
Tonight, I'd learned from that "mistake" at the weekend at chose a flatter route to do 5 miles. Given the howling winds and rain, I managed a respectable 56 minute time. However much I may have been seeking a bit of sympathy, I actually really enjoyed it. It was the first run I've done with music as well and it didn't affect may pace one way or another which was very pleasing. I also discovered that my running top isn't as waterproof as it looks, so that was fun...
With regards to my diabetes, Christmas was as I expected it to be really. A few highs, a few lows and a bit inbetween as well. The effects of a sneaky couple of After Eights is not to be taken lightly. I had a check in with the specialist nurse at the hospital yesterday and she's happy that I'm doing the right things on my own. I've got an annual review at the beginning of Feb where we'll start to really see how much progress I've made. As long as my blood sugar is trending downwards, I'll be happy. I'll have a blood test that works out my blood sugar levels have been over 3 months (as opposed to the tests I do at home myself). Christmas will have affected the results of that test a bit but we'll wait and see what happens.
I'm back on my diet proper after Christmas (where I think I only put on about 3lbs) so I'm confident of a normal return to blood sugar levels very soon.
As an aside, I've realised that as well as pacing myself with running and "hydration strategies" I'm going to have to pay a lot more attention to my blood sugar levels before and after running. I need to monitor what the distance is doing to me and making sure that I don't go low when I'm 6 miles from home.
Finally, you all know I'm fundraising for Diabetes UK and Sheffield Children's Hospital Chairty but whilst I'm not asking for your money (just yet!) what I am after is your fundraising ideas if you have any. These are a few that have been suggested so far. I'm not sure I can manage them all but I'm prepared to have a go at just about anything to raise money:
I'll leave it there for now - you've been very patient if you've made it this far, for which I'm grateful as always. This blog managed just over 750 views between 9th September and 31st December and I'm very thankful for each and everyone one of those. I'm hoping that I can encourage others to spread the message about what this training is like for me and how much it's going to mean to achieve something I've wanted to do for over 20 years.
As always, you can find me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or drop me a line (broomowl@gmail.com) if you'd like to get in touch.
Thanks for reading and I hope that 2012 is a great year for you.
Take care,
Andy
With only 108 days to go until marathon day, I'm going to start each new blog post like this:
Training miles completed this week: 9.5
Total training miles completed: 47
Training miles left: 199
It's as much as a reference for me as anything else, but it saves you reading the whole thing if you're in a hurry... The mathematically minded among you will probably notice that by the time I line up, I'll have banked nearly 10 marathon's worth of training miles.
The official London Marathon 13 Week Training Plan kicked in on January 1st (although I actually started on New Year's Eve). As I've mentioned a few times, they provide you with a few plans depending on what your goal is. Given my circumstances, I've opted for the 'Just-to-get-round plan' which, in practice is the 'Just-to-get-to-the-start plan'
Under this plan, you get a schedule of 3 weekly runs. The overwhelming problem is that I can't physically manage 3 runs a week - certainly not of any great distance. That's become apparent recently with the amount of time I'm needing to recover. Whilst I'm not getting the same pain as I've had previously, the aches are becoming more profound and I don't want to do myself any further damage. The physio exercises do help a bit though.
Instead I've modified their plan into a 2 runs per week schedule, taking the longest 2 of the three runs and adding a little on to the other one. I might post it as a separate entry so you can see what's coming up. I'm going to run each Wednesday and Saturday so I've got 32 more runs before I line up at Blackheath on April 29th. That feels like a long way off yet, but I know it isn't. If you're interested, there's an interactive map of the marathon route
As part of my preparations, I've now got a hotel booked for three nights from Friday 27th April. The non-refundable nature of the booking just adds an extra incentive!
Last Saturday I got up and did, what looked on paper, to be a fairly straightforward 4.5 mile run. What actually happened was that my "local knowledge" conned me into forgetting how unforgiving a couple of hills were and it felt like an incredible slog getting round. I managed it in 52 minutes (just inside my target 12 minute mile pace).
Tonight, I'd learned from that "mistake" at the weekend at chose a flatter route to do 5 miles. Given the howling winds and rain, I managed a respectable 56 minute time. However much I may have been seeking a bit of sympathy, I actually really enjoyed it. It was the first run I've done with music as well and it didn't affect may pace one way or another which was very pleasing. I also discovered that my running top isn't as waterproof as it looks, so that was fun...
A to B and back again...
With regards to my diabetes, Christmas was as I expected it to be really. A few highs, a few lows and a bit inbetween as well. The effects of a sneaky couple of After Eights is not to be taken lightly. I had a check in with the specialist nurse at the hospital yesterday and she's happy that I'm doing the right things on my own. I've got an annual review at the beginning of Feb where we'll start to really see how much progress I've made. As long as my blood sugar is trending downwards, I'll be happy. I'll have a blood test that works out my blood sugar levels have been over 3 months (as opposed to the tests I do at home myself). Christmas will have affected the results of that test a bit but we'll wait and see what happens.
I'm back on my diet proper after Christmas (where I think I only put on about 3lbs) so I'm confident of a normal return to blood sugar levels very soon.
As an aside, I've realised that as well as pacing myself with running and "hydration strategies" I'm going to have to pay a lot more attention to my blood sugar levels before and after running. I need to monitor what the distance is doing to me and making sure that I don't go low when I'm 6 miles from home.
Finally, you all know I'm fundraising for Diabetes UK and Sheffield Children's Hospital Chairty but whilst I'm not asking for your money (just yet!) what I am after is your fundraising ideas if you have any. These are a few that have been suggested so far. I'm not sure I can manage them all but I'm prepared to have a go at just about anything to raise money:
- Raffle
- Finishing time sweepstake
- Have my legs waxed (and apparently ask for extra donations if you want to tear the strips off yourself)
- Bag packing at a supermarket
I'll leave it there for now - you've been very patient if you've made it this far, for which I'm grateful as always. This blog managed just over 750 views between 9th September and 31st December and I'm very thankful for each and everyone one of those. I'm hoping that I can encourage others to spread the message about what this training is like for me and how much it's going to mean to achieve something I've wanted to do for over 20 years.
As always, you can find me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or drop me a line (broomowl@gmail.com) if you'd like to get in touch.
Thanks for reading and I hope that 2012 is a great year for you.
Take care,
Andy
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