The Virtual Runner Running Blog

Another Sunday and another long run.  This one had me cover over 18kms, but at a slow pace of just over 6min per km. 

My legs were very tired at the end of this one and my knees felt very puffy.  I’ve been on the paracetemol and ibuprofen since the run…

One thing I need to look into is the hydration during the run.  How much should I be drinking?  How do I carry the fluids I need with me?  What do people do during a marathon?  Do they carry a water bottle with them?  Do they take water or an isotonic drink whilst running?  Which is better?

So many questions… any ideas from other runners would be greatly appreciated!

long run, marathon training, pains and niggles, training

Allllllllll aboard!

So far so good with the running; and I mean that sincerely.  Especially since I’ve been sick with a cold off and on since around Christmas time.  In fact, I’m only now just getting over my most recent one which was especially nasty.

Last Sunday I did a long run of over 16km so the build up of distance is going okay.  However!  The pain.  I keep getting pain in my right foot across the top and I end up having to have the laces on that shoe/foot quite loose or it drives me nuts.  Also, I’ve recently bought some off the shelf ortho inserts for my running shoes because the Kayanos do not offer enough arch support and my right foot (again) was hurting on my long runs from the constant pounding. 

I think I see a new pair of running shoes in my future.  I may have to go back to some old favourites like the Adidas Supernova Sequence or even waaaay back and get a pair of Nike structure triax.  They were very cushioned when I last had a pair with loads of arch support. 

So I don’t bore you with all of my runs, here is my long run from Sunday and an overview of my runs since end of Jan:-

Overall summary:-

Now, I suppose you’re wondering why I’m not posting that much?  Well, I’m just busy lately.  But I’ve been running and that’s what really matters.  As for this site, I’ll be making more of an effort to keep it updated over the next few days and updating my spreadsheets with runs and working out the total distance I’ve covered on my run across Canada.

canada run progress, long run, marathon training, pains and niggles, training

I’m very glad I still have some base fitness from running or else the pain I’m feeling would be much worse!

I’ve started running again this week after about 4 weeks off due to laziness and illness.  It’s a little hard going but much easier than I thought it would be!

I started by doing 5.43km on Sunday at an average pace of 06:25 min/km.  Nice and slow so I didn’t insure myself!  On Monday my legs were quite stiff and I didn’t go running but had that as a rest day.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I increased the distance and the speed just a bit:-

Today was another day off to rest my (still) sore/stiff legs and then I’ll be off to the gym again tomorrow morning to visit my friend the treadmill!  Once I get things built up again my long runs will be on Sundays again and I’ll be off on the roads to see where I end up!

It’s all good!  Bring on the Fredericton Marathon!

http://www.frederictonmarathon.ca/

Fredericton Marathon, marathon training, training

Happy new year (sorry I’m late)!  It’s a new year with new challenges coming in many forms. 

I’d firstly like to apologise to both my readers for not posting anything in some time.  I’d also like to apologise to myself for not having the motivation to just get off my backside and get out there running.

For the past few weeks I’ve done nothing but sit on my butt!  Yes, I was ill for a couple weeks out of that and I also had a bout of food poisoning, but there is a major laziness element at play too.

I’ve found it hard to get motivated when it comes to running and I think that the motivation will start to return.  In fact, it started to return last night when I was looking online at future runs/events.

My wife, my son and I are travelling to Canada this year (we have a house-sitter – all you would be robbers) in May for a couple of weeks to visit family.  Whilst we are there an event will be on that we took part in in 2007 – The Fredericton Marathon. 

The Fredericton Marathon is the name of the event, however there is a 5k, 10k, half-marathon and a full marathon to take part in.  We did the 10k a couple of years ago and it’s a small event but all flat because it’s in a river valley.

I was/am intending to do the Brighton Marathon on 18 April, however because of the lack of training going on at the moment I don’t think this will be realistic (do you?).  So, I’m thinking that if I get off my backside today and start running again that I can be ready to plod through my first marathon on 9th May instead!  In Canada!  My home country!

I was originally motivated to do the Brighton Marathon but it’s waned somewhat… not sure why.  The thought of doing the Fredericton Marathon has filled me with a new sense of motivation and also I think it’s fate that I’m supposed to run it!  It’s 17 weeks away which means I’ll have more time to train and get around the course too!

As for all of you and this blog… I will start boring you with my ramblings again.  Whether or not you read them is up to you!

Bring on the training!!

christmas, cold & flu, Fredericton Marathon, marathon training