Running

Yesterday I ran a 22 km race as part of a 32 km training session.

Around 8 o’clock in the morning I jogged 9 km, took a shower, dressed in my race outfit, drank a cup of coffee, grabbed my race gear, and jogged the kilometer between where I live and the track and field club, where the start of the Brabantse Wal Marathon was at 10:45 AM. I did the half marathon event, which actually was 22 km (900 m longer than the half of the 42,195 m marathon distance).

The course was mostly off-road, with some steep short climbs and stretches of loose sand, which I had practiced in the past couple of weeks. In the first kilometer there was a single track, and with 270 runners we got stuck now and then, as you would expect. After the field was more spread apart, single tracks were no longer a problem.

I kept a steady pace, though slower than usual, because of the 10 km pre-race jogging. While I struggled to keep from falling, the inevitable fall happened, giving me bruises on my left shoulder and knee. I couldn’t see that tree root on the heavily shaded path. It didn’t slow me down much (like a few seconds).

In the last five kilometers I ran on familiar territory and could pick up pace. The last 1600 m on the road I could pick up even more speed, sprinting in the last 300 m on the track towards the finish line.

The time wasn’t that impressive. But I hadn’t expected that anyway, because of the added distance, and because of the off-road bits that were rather challenging. The 32 km I did in less than 3 hours and 20 minutes I was proud of, especially because of the low average heart rate under warm conditions (21℃). Corrected for temperature (into a result with 8℃), this would have resulted in a 1 hour 50 minutes for a half marathon road race.

Now I will take a few days to recover with easy training. Next Sunday will be my next long run, 29 km at a more leisurely pace.

🏃‍♂️

I know a physiotherapist who refuses to treat runners, because those are the worst patients. In those runners' minds, running is all about getting fit, so how can that make you sick? There’s no patience and a reluctance to see an injury as a serieus affliction that needs careful treatment. 🏃‍♂️

In just 12 days Runalyze dropped my estimated time in the marathon race by 4 minutes, while my marathon shape has reached 99%. By losing some of my excess weight slowly over the next 5 months, I might be able to lose a proportional amount of 15 minutes, provided I slowly speed up my training. 🏃‍♂️

I decided to do my 15 km run inside the municipality of where I live, and run between two of the three historical windmills. Well, the third is a tidal mill, though no longer operational, if I read correctly. With every flood there was lots of damage. With the Delta Works, no more floods, nor tides.

The graph shows what I could expect as a reasonable time on the marathon, based on training data. Two years ago, I could expect 5u30', a year ago 5u15', and now 4u15'. In all cases I was/am preparing for a marathon in October/November. Notice the serious detraining after the 2021 marathon 🏃‍♂️

I tried to add some of my Garmin Connect activities to my Dutch running blog, using iFrame snippets with code running on Garmin Connect. My blog slowed down to less than a crawl. Aside from security risks, using iFrame code seems a bad idea.

One of the advantages of having a blog… I wondered why a year ago I had such poor training regime for running. Then I read: overtrained in January (with complete bed rest for a week), followed by a slew of injuries after I picked up my training far too quickly. I was out of shape, quite a bit 🏃

I think long distance running, certainly above a certain age (read: amount of self-knowledge), is about conquering fear in advance. I’m about to run 26 km, and made it twice 13 km (i.e., back and forth), to make it less impressive. Still, I’m apprehensive 😬 What am I doing this for, again? 🏃‍♂️

On King’s Day, April 27, I ran another half marathon race, in a year best time (see my Strava if you’re curious). I was so tired afterwards I got the hickups for the rest of the day, and had to rest the next day. 🏃‍♂️

One has to plan a lot and far in advance if one wants to enter in a popular marathon, even when to subscribe before there’ll be a waiting list. There’s the preparation as well, a training schedule, either bought, downloaded, or self-made. Also, how to fuel in a race, and how to get there, etc. 🏃‍♂️

Yesterday I passed 1000 km this year. If I keep this up, I’ll pass 3000 km early December this year. As you would expect (or maybe not), I’m not fast, on average 6:44 min/km (10:50 min/mi). That’s because I only run 20% fast, and the rest slow, to keep my running hobby sustainable.

With 3 half marathon races finished, 6 planned, and a regime of strength and conditioning exercises, am I over-preparing for my 2023 fall marathon? From experience I know you can’t over-prepare, as long as you don’t get hurt 🏃‍♂️

Three times is a charm, it seems. After the first two half marathons I ran this year my hip muscles were very sore. However, on April 16 I only finished tired, not exhausted. I also ran the best time this year, without going all out. My PR was safe, though, with more than 20 minutes to spare 🏃‍♂️

I tried the 10 kg kettlebell again, using exercises for runners, not too long, yet long enough to raise my heart rate and feel the resistance of the weight. Now I’ll increase the reps slowly over the weeks, concentrating on technique. In a couple of months I should be able to handle two kettlebells.

I’m reminded by my DOMS that even a measly weight of 10 kg represents a serious challenge to my undertrained (read: old-man) leg muscles. I’m happy I didn’t buy the recommended two kettlebells of 16 kg (36 lbs) each. Since I don’t have a driver’s licence, I’ll pay to have those delivered 🏋️‍♂️

I bought an “el cheapo” kettlebell so I can start strength training to be able to handle two 16 kg (36 lbs) eventually. I appear to lack the strength in my body to do my slow long runs of 26+ km without being exhausted afterwards. These long runs I’ll need for marathon training.

Don’t you hate it when scientists are unsure if running on soft surfaces can result in injuries? The best advice (given how little is known) seems to be to avoid soft surfaces if you’re tired and stiff in your legs and hit the road instead 🏃‍♂️

I suppose if you had a good night’s sleep (>8 hours) and still need a long nap (>2 hours) during the day, it’s a sign to make today a rest day 🏃

Yesterday I was running a half marathon race and was so tired that I didn’t notice the beauty of this scene. I did okay, but am still very tired the day after.🏃‍♂️

I suppose I’ve decided not to run the marathon in eight days from when I write this. Too much has gone wrong in the past four weeks that haven’t yet been righted, not in the least this nasty cold I caught two weeks ago and just keeps buggering on.
🤧🏃‍♂️