Dublin Marathon – Session 67 – 8 Miles wtih 5*600m

18 Days to go!!!!

So last night was to be an 8 mile run, featuring five sessions of 600 metre strides.

I picked this 8 mile route :

http://www.runningahead.com/maps/d4f32ae56e1d44a2ab3cb01030c589af?unit=mi

And stopped off on my way back to do this 600 metre stride course :

http://www.runningahead.com/maps/079be46b4d944a9a9b7b7b830e6436db?unit=mi

With temperatures dropping and a strong cold wind about, by the time i walked home i wasn’t really in the zone for running , so by the time i had drunk a hydration drink and eaten a banana and energy flap jack, my usual preparation for a long run straight after work, it was approaching 1900 pm and my slowness in getting ready caused me to decide to rush my stretches. A decision, that in cold weather would come back to haunt me……

The first 4 miles of the long run, went well with me reaching the turn around point in around 31mins45 seconds, so slightly ahead of time, if i wanted to run the 8 miles at 8.20 pace. I made it down to the stride zone 52.59, which was bit more on schedule and my appetite for running had returned by this point. Although, i really wish i had warn gloves as my hands, particularly my left hand, were freezing!!

I made it through the sprints in these times :

1- 2:48

2- 2:42

3- 2:43

4- 2:41

5- 2:44

On paper seemingly a successful and consistent set of speed sessions. However, in reality what happened was this. On my fourth session i felt a twinge in my left thigh….something which has happened before on speed workouts and that research tells me, that in runners, it is likely that this occurs when you have stronger hamstrings and quadriceps. Which would make sense in my case, as ive not been to anywhere near enough gym sessions and im a long distance runner not a sprinter.

On the fifth session, the twinge turned to a pain! And it wasn’t nice at all, but i made it through the session and jogged on home all be it at a much slower pace due to the now painful muscle strain in my left leg. Covering the last mile and a bit in 14:14, giving me a total finish time of 1hr07min12secs which is just over 8.20 pace by around 30 seconds.

Once of the first things, i did when i got home was get on the foam roller and boy was it painful!! But after a shower , tea and sitting about a bit, I gave my legs another role and things were not as bad. This morning and two mile walk to work was slowed down by you guessed it a sore left thigh……this is very annoying with just 18 days to go till the big day.

However, with 18 days to go till the big day, i am not going to panic. Today was going to be a day were i made a rare appearance at the gym, however the smart thing to do would be to skip that, so that is what i am going to do. I will then asses things on my walk to and from work tomorrow to see how i feel. If its still sore to walk on i will skip Fridays session, if its not sore i will run the 4 miles planned for Friday but skip the speed work. There is no point risking causing a serious injury and missing the marathon!! I must be smart and patient with this and if i am i will make the big day ok.

So its rest, muscle rub and rolling today. Hopefully the morning will bring good news.

In other news; a dog completes most of a half marathon by itself :

http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/09/boogie-the-dog-gets-medal-after-gatecrashing-evansville-half-marathon-4140334/

And ive spotted a couple of good cook books, as i attempt to find solutions to be able to put in high milage , after work and get food inside me relatively quickly so that I can perhaps gain more hours in bed :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Runners-World-Cookbook-The-Editors/dp/1623361230

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Feed-Zone-Cookbook-Flavorful/dp/1934030767/ref=pd_cp_b_1

#KeepRunning

@sjpc14