Windermere Marathon Training "Blog"
This is a "blog" detailing my training and preparation for the Brathay Windermere Marathon. This will be my first marathon although I've done a few half marathons so I thought I'd better do some proper training rather than my normal 5 or 6 runs before turning up on the day and hoping for the best.
This is also the first time I've run in something like this for sponsorship so it would be great if you'd consider supporting me and my fellow runners (Matt and Tim). You can donate online at Just Giving. We're running for the BHF who are a very good cause
Weekly Total for W/C 4 May 2009: 44.39km
10 May 2009
Leeds Half Marathon - Tim and Matt stayed over on Saturday for this and we got down to the start about ten minutes before it began. It was a lovely sunny morning and not too hot, perfect running weather.
It was feeling pretty easy up to 8 or 9 miles with no knee problems. At about 11 miles, I could feel my leg wasn't supporting my knee enough so I walked for a bit. Knee seemed fine so I ran the last half mile or so.
Not looking great for the marathon but at least my knee held out for 13 miles. If it's OK for the marathon I should at least make it round even if I'm not going to be setting any speed records!
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.21km | 9.92km/h | 2:08:15 | Road, fairly hilly | View Leeds Half Marathon in a larger map |
7 May 2009
My knee was feeling OK again today so went back on the treadmill. Did some hill training (2x1.6km at 5% 1x1.6km at 10%) and a kilometre at 15km/h. That was painful!
My knee was fine for the whole run and straight afterwards but it's aching again now. Might go to the doctors again to have it checked out. At this rate I won't be able to complete the marathon (without a lot of painkillers).
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.49km | 10km/h with 1.6km of 15km/h | 53 mins | Treadmill with hills. |
4 May 2009
My knee was aching over the weekend so I gave it until today to go running. Felt really good for the first 8km or so. At 14km I was still feeling like I could go on for a few more kilometres but then my knee gave way again and I had to call Kate to give me a lift home. I was walking on it again in a few hours though so I think it just needs a good rest.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.69km | 9.19km/h | 1:35:59 | Road, hilly | View Windermere Marathon Training - 5/5/2009 in a larger map |
Weekly Total for W/C 27 April 2009: 10km
1 May 2009
Couldn't walk on my knee until Tuesday and was limping until Thursday so this was the first chance I got to do some running. Took it east and it seemed OK at the time. My knee is aching now though. Hope I haven't damaged it.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10km | 10km/h | Treadmill |
Weekly Total for W/C 20 April 2009: 8.47km
Sheffield Half Marathon. Started off really well and had just climbed the first big hill and got back onto the flat when my knee gave way. I tried to carry on but couldn't put any weight on it. Had to be taken back by the medical bus. Just a strained tendon so should be running again in a few days.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.47km | 10.7km/h | 49.59 | Race | View Sheffield Half in a larger map |
Weekly Total for W/C 13 April 2009: 11km
16 April 2009
Pretty good run but my shins were giving me problems afterwards again.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11km | 11.5km/h | Treadmill |
Weekly Total for W/C 6 April 2009: 9.6km
6 April 2009
Ended up decorating all weekend so I didn't get to do a long run. Still lots of decorating to do so it's going to be treadmill running most of this week I think.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6km | 11.5km/h | 50:30 | Treadmill |
Weekly Total for W/C 30 March 2009: 8km
2 April 2009
Finally forced myself to get running again. 8km on the treadmill just to make sure my legs can still take it. Seemed fine and I was barely out of breath by the end. If my legs are OK tomorrow, I may well do something a bit longer. I want to do at least one long (10M+) run at the weekend.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8km | 10km/h | 48:00 | Treadmill |
Weekly Total for W/C 23 March 2009: 0km
Er, had a week off this week. Legs hurting, too much other stuff on etc. etc. Yeah, I know, all just excuses.
Weekly Total for W/C 16 March 2009: 14.46km (Erk!)
22 March 2009
It was the South Leeds 5 Mile today. Pleasant run from South Leeds Stadium and twice around Middleton Park. There was a real killer hill which you had to run up twice and it didn't seem like there was much downhill but this should be very good training for the BWM.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8km | km/h | 41:30 | Road/off road |
16 March 2009
My shins were feeling a lot better today but I didn't go too far just in case. I'll see how they are tomorrow.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.46km | 9.69km/h | 40 min | Road | View Larger Map |
Weekly Total for W/C 9 March 2009: 4.18km (Oh dear.)
12 March 2009
I did something to my shins on Sunday so I've been resting them since. They were still hurting today and I had to give up after 23 minutes. I'll give them a good rest again and see how it goes. Not looking good for this weeks distance though.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.18km | 11km/h | 23 min | Treadmill |
Weekly Total for W/C 2 March 2009: 57.84km
Sunday 8 March 2009
My legs were really aching this morning and it was hailing and sleeting on and off so I almost gave it a miss but by the afternoon my legs felt a lot better and the weather had cleared up a bit so I set off for a 12 mile run. It wasn't too bad when the wind wasn't blowing but when it was freezing in the wind. I'm going to have to get a long sleeved top for when it's less than 5°C!
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20km | 10km/h | 1:59:58 | Road | View Larger Map |
Saturday 7 March 2009
Went to buy some more shorts and socks today. With running most days the washing was getting a bit much! My thighs were still aching today but I ran through it again and after about 2 miles they were OK. I'm not sure how the 12 mile run tomorrow is going to go though...
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.4km | 10.8km/h | 50 | Road | View Larger Map |
Friday 6 March 2009
My thighs were really aching from lactic acid build up and I've hurt my achiles tendon on my right ankle today. Normally I'd have the day off to recover but I realised something. When I go skiing, I quite often have injuries and my thighs are always burning but I'll still ski. I can't see any difference with running so I decided to go out anyway.
Of course normally when I ski, I go for a week and then need to rest for a week to recover. I've got to keep running for at least another 2 months so I'll see how this pans out!
After a mile and a half, I'd stopped noticing my thighs and tendon so I guess that's a good sign. I sitll decided I'd better not go too far though.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.64km | 10.48km/h | 38:03 | Road | View Larger Map |
Thursday 5 March 2009
Another day on the treadmill. Started slowish and then built up the speed until I got to 15 km/h for the last couple of minutes. I've pretty much given up on my training schedule. I figure that if I run quite a long way each week and a bit further every week that should work.
I'll see on 17 May...
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6km | 11km/h speeding up to 15km/h towards the end | 50 mins | Treadmill |
Wednesday 4 March 2009
I missed Monday and Tuesday as I was feeling ill so I tried to do a long run today. My GPS wasn't working so I wasn't quite sure how far I'd gone. Ended up doing 8.2 miles which isn't too bad.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.2km | 10.29km/h | 1:17 | Road | View Larger Map |
Weekly total for W/C 23 February 2009: 53.98km
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Went running in Leeds after getting back from High Wycombe. I needed to do 10 miles today so I did the Leeds Half Marathon route but went from my house instead of Millenium Square. Felt pretty good for the whole way round but I'm aching now!
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17.16km | 9.81km/h | 1:46:05 | Mainly on road | View Larger Map |
Saturday, 28 February 2009
I'm away for the weekend in the Chilterns so thought I'd take the opportunity to have a nice run through fields and woods. Saw a few Red kites hovering looking for food and ran through a lot of mud!
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.65km | 9.98km/h | 58:03 | Road/Off road | View Larger Map |
Friday, 27 February 2009
Another treadmill day. All injuries seem to be pretty much OK so I tried to go for it but still struggled to do 10k at 12km/h. Had to reduce the pace to 11km/h after 4k. :-(
I really must sort out some music to listen to on the treadmill. There's only so much "4 Music daily top ten" you can listen to!
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10km | 12km/h for 4km and then 11km/h for 6km. | Treadmill |
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Treadmill again today. Boots Hydrocolloid Dressing (other dressings are available) seems to be very good for blisters as I hardly felt it when I was running today.
Our sponsorship passed the thousand pound mark today so thanks to all our sponsors. I never dreamed we'd get so much.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6km | 12km/h | Treadmill |
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Another day off today as I played football and my blister burst (ouch). Yesterday could have been a rest day anyway so I didn't feel too guilty.
Monday, 23 February 2009
Ran home from work today as I was too busy to run at lunch time. Went along the canal to avoid the rush hour traffic but unfortunately didn't avoid various dodgy looking groups of people on the unlit canal tow path. :-/ I was quite pleased to get back onto well lit but polluted main roads!
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.57km | 10.56km/h | 48.44 | Road | View Larger Map |
Weekly Total for W/C 16 February 2009: 41.34km
Sunday, 22 February 2009
I was meant to be running with Kate on her bike today but I lost her after about 2km. Also the GPS wasn't working on my phone so I decided to cut the run a bit short so Kate wasn't waiting for ages. My knee was much better today but replaced with a large blister on the arch of my right foot from the arch support in my new shoes.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.3km | 46:00 | Road/Off Road | View Larger Map |
Saturday, 18 Februray 2009
Went to Up and Running to get some new running shoes fitted today. They asked to see my old ones and actually laughed at them. It seems I've been running in shoes which are one and a half sizes too small.
They put me on a running machine with a video camera and worked out my arches were collapsing when I ran causing me all sorts of problems. They were fairly impressed that I'd managed some half marathons without having my problems sorted!
I was fitted in some rather ugly shoes called "The Beast" and shown how to actually tie them properly and the difference on the running machine was obvious even to me. With any luck some proper supporting running shoes will help my knee.
Friday, 22 Februray 2009
My knee was quite painful yesterday so I had a day off. I'm going to the running shop tomorrow to get "gait analysis" done and get some decent running shoes fitted. I took the opportunity to get a brand new Android phone so I can now use the GPS on that to see how fast and far I've gone when I'm running outside. But the best thing is I can record my tracks and upload them here. It'll be useful as I can redo routes that are the right length.
Took it fairly easy today as my knee was still a bit tender.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.34km | 9.57kph | 58:40 | Road | View Larger Map |
Wednesday, 18 Februray 2009
My knee felt better today so decided to actually do the distance the training schedule said. :-) Pretty hard work but nothing too bad. My knee then started really hurting later on. Starting to think it might be the treadmill. Either that or my 4 year old running shoes...
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.2km | 12kph | 56min | Treadmill | N/A |
Tuesday, 17 Februray 2009
Stayed on the treadmill today but started at 12kph and did a bit more distance. My knee hurt a fair bit after this though.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7km | 12kph | 40min | Treadmill | N/A |
Monday, 16 Februray 2009
First day of training so I took it fairly easy to begin with. Went pretty well so I stepped up the speed a bit.
| Distance | Speed | Time | Type | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5km | 12kph | 35min | Treadmill | N/A |
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Just come back from 8 days of skiing so I thought I'd keep the exercise going and start tomorrow after resting my aching legs.
Signed up for the marathon today so I need to start training! I've chosen to try and follow the Runners World Intermediate Marathon Training Schedule. I realise that there aren't enough weeks before the race, and that this is probably meant for people who've already done a marathon but, what the hell. I'll just have to skip a week here and there and hope that I don't kill myself!
