How to run a Marathon - part 4
Hastings, famous for the Battle of Hastings in 1066, where William the conqueror defeated King Harold to eventually win the throne of England. It is also the scene for part of today’s blog, but first.
How many calories can you burn running?: It all depends on a variety of factors such as distance ran, time spent running, speed/pace, terrain, elevation, heart rate and weight to name a few.
As a ball park figure you can expect to burn anywhere between 400 and 900 calories an hour.
What's your pet peeve whilst out on a run?: People who don't clear up after their dogs, I mean come on it's not hard is it. I don't want to step in dog mess and then have to deal with that later on. What's
almost as bad is if they bag their dogs mess up but then leave it lying around or on a fence post or even hanging from a tree! Disgusting.
What is Fartlek training?: Fartlek means 'Speed play' in Swedish. It is a method of running which mixes longer continuous runs in with shorter interval runs. There is no specific formula, you just decide how fast your going to
run and for how long whilst you're out on a long run.
I am now one month into my 17 week training plan which means I have just over three months left until the big day, not long at all as that time will fly by. I ran twice this week which has now been established as the bare minimum,
I almost got a third run in but poor planning and organisation on my behalf meant that did not happen in the end. I believe I can accomplish a third run this week now that I've seen how it can be done so here it is...
I PROMISE to have completed three runs by my next blog... there I said it, and now I have to do it.
This week my training consisted of:
Tuesday 40 minute fartlek run... I did a 45 minute steady run instead
Thursday 60 minute steady run... I did not manage
Saturday 10 minute easy run, 2 x (10 minute threshold run, 4 minute easy run), 10 minute easy run... I did not manage
Sunday 1 hour 30 minute long run... I did manage
Tuesday's run was a tough one, I ran the same route as I did a week prior but found it harder. The legs felt heavy and I was struggling to breathe as easily. This is reflected in a drop in pace from 8:18 minute miles to 8:34 minute miles.
It's okay though as the purpose these runs is to get the miles chalked up to strengthen the legs, the pace is more important on the longer weekend runs.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1417084531/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-US&v=1519135058
On Sunday I ran in a completely new place, which was a welcome and refreshing change to my usual route. I was staying in a hotel in Hastings and had to be back before 9am to check out, this meant again getting up at 5am to eat a breakfast before setting off at 7am.
Now I don't know about you but that is commitment! It is often all too easy to say 'Oh I can't do my run this weekend as I am away' or 'someone is visiting' or anything like that. Yes it can be hard to organise training around daily life but in my opinion it can be done,
It all depends on how much you want it.
The run itself was glorious, Hastings is a lovely coastal town and who doesn't love visiting the sea. The air was cold, just above freezing, but the sun was out and with it being early on a Sunday morning there was hardly anyone around, I even saw a fox. It started with a long
downhill stretch to the sea front, from there it turned east and into the wind for two miles to the end of the seafront path. That was the half way point so it was time to turn around and run the way I came. I ran for 1 hour 30 minutes and covered 10 miles with a pace of 9:04 minute miles,
not bad really considering the elevation and wind factors involved. The important thing was that I felt good during and after the run which means my body is starting to adapt to the training.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1424710935/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-US&v=1519547976
Next week I'm looking at a distance goal instead of a time goal for the long run, therefore if I run faster I can finish quicker :-) I'm also facing the challenge of getting a third run in somewhere as well as dealing with the weather from the 'Beast from the east', hopefully I will
only have to contend with the cold and not 2-10cm of snow, ugh.
Happy trails
Scott