Life, running and medicine

April and May were busy months. After completing the last ever Flora London Marathon on 26.4.2009 (it will be renamed Virgin London Marathon as of next year) in April, I completed the Edinburgh Marathon on a hot day (27 C) on 31/5/2009. 13104 people applied for the Edinburgh marathon and were accepted. 8419 entrants started on the day and 8257 finished (162 gave up due to heat exhaustion/dehydration). 965 relay teams took part; 933 of them finished the course (32 did not finish). All efforts will n ow turn to autumn half marathons and then hopefully to a third successive Athems Classic Marathon in November.

Edinburgh Marathon Stats:
7hrs 56min 19 seconds
K1-5: 42:43
K6-10: 49:24
K11-15: 52?45
K16-20: 55:02
K21-25: 59:07
K26-30: 1h 05: 36
K31-35: 1h 06:58
K36-40: 1h 18: 57
K41-42.2: 21:16

A beautiful but challenging course: 1953m of ascent and 1956m of descent made for very tired quads yesterday. HR: 156 avg (174max)

22.22km in 3hrs 36min 17sec
K1-7.38
K2-9.31 (17.09)
K3-8.59 (26.08)
K4-8.37 (34.45)
K5-8:53 ((43.38)
K6-9:46 (53:24)
K7-9:40 (1.03.04)
K8-10.25 (1.13.29)
K9-9.47 (1.23.16)
K10-9.33 (1.32.49)
K11-11:09 (1.43.58)
K12-9.42 (1.53.40)
K13-9.40 (2.03.20)
K14-9.47 (2.13.07)
K15-10.29 (2.23.36)
K16-10.02 (2.33.38)
K17-9.47 (2.43.25)
K18-9.45 (2.53.10)
K19-10.19 (3.03.29)
K20-10.39 (3.14.08)
K21-9.57 (3.24.05)
K22-10.32 (3.34.37)
K22.2-1.40 (3.36.17)

The tough weekend weather did not put Hogweeds off their stride! Tania & I travelled to Llanelli for the scenic waterside half marathon. 1500 entrants this year were treated to the most testing of conditions: a hail shower 1/2 a mile into the race; driving rain and 30-40 miles per hour headwinds and sidewinds from start to finish made for a very tough Sunday run. 1172 finished the run, which included glorious views of the Gower peninsula. Tania & I are grateful to the race organiser who gave us the option to continue and complete the race despite the fact that the race marshals had to be withdrawn from their positions after 2 1/2 hours as they were risking hypothermia. All in all a brrrrrrrilliant location but very windy. Our eventual 22K distance (due to lack of signage on the first half of the race) felt closer to 30K with the wind's efforts to peg us back.

The result:
22.14km in 3hrs 41mins 44sec
ascent/descent: 765/763 m
average HR 148 (max 164)
50-57 km/hr winds
6-8 C temp
K1-7:28
K2-10:00 (17.28)
K3: 10:09 (27.37)
K4-9:27 (37.04)
K5-9:24 (46.28)
K6-10:53 (57.21)
K7-10:03 (1.07.24)
K8-9:42 (1.17.06)
K9-10:52 (1.27.58)
K10-12:58 (1.40.56)
K11-9:58 (1.50.54)
K12-9:41 (2.00.35)
K13- 9:25 (2.10.00)
K14-9:56 (2.19.56)
K15-11:18 (2.31.14)
K16-12:18 (2.43.32)
K17-10:50 (2.54.22)
K18-10:54 (3.05.14)
K19-11:42 (3.16.56)
K20-11:14 (3.28.10)
K21-11:42 (3.39.52)
K22-12:34 (3.41.07 for 21.1km)

a warm day that made us run slower to conserve energy.
K1-7:15
K2-7:44
K3-8:15
K4-8:14
K5-8:30
K6-9:21
K7-8:49
K8-9:08
K9-8:19
K10-10:07
total: 10km in 1hr 25min 42sec
average HR 160 (max 178)

attached as a picture: must do betetr this year,as last year I did less than 2007 and the results were all the worse for it!

Another glorious, sunny day on the Tyneside. 52000 runners, live music, plenty of support along the way.

I managed it in 3hrs 17min 32sec (for 21.75km), which is almost 5 min faster than I did the Bristol Half. More important though is the fact that I felt I had energy left in the tank for the second half (i.e. after the first 13.1 miles), which bodes well for Athens in November. Cardiff Half Marathon is next in 2 weeks time, and then Athens looms large in the horizon...

A scenic run through Yate's countryside with a rolling, mildly undulating terrain and forgiving weather (not as warm as the 20C predicted, and with a slight breeze to cool us down). Well marshalled and with enthusiastic crowd support during the final 200-300 metres which encouraged me to a sprint finish and a new personal best for 10km of 1hr 08mins 54 seconds, a mere 15 seconds faster than my previous best. My last km (6:43) was my third fastest of the race (after the 1st-5:55 and the second-6:18, which were both slightly downhill). The following new PBs were set today:

6km-40:08
7km-47:18
8km-54:31
10KM-1:08:54

1521 CALORIES BURNED; HEART RATE 167 (MAX 185)
AVERAGE PACE 6:52/km
ascent/descent: 426/425 metres, respectively.

New PBs in bold type:

1K 5:38 4/2/2007

2K 11:58 16/5/2007

5K 31:22 8/8/2007

6K 40:46 4/2/2007

7K 47:30 4/2/2007

8K 54:34 4/2/2007

9K 1:01:43 4/2/2007

10K 1:08:48 14/5/2007

11K 1:20:42 25/3/2007

12K 1:28:17 25/3/2007

13K 1:35:33 25/3/2007

14K 1:42:52 25/3/2007

15K 1:50:09 25/3/2007

16K 1:57:59 25/3/2007

17K 2:05:35 25/3/2007

18K 2:13:05 25/3/2007

19K 2:20:40 25/3/2007

20K 2:28:23 25/3/2007

21K 2:35:45 25/3/2007

21.1K 2:36:46 25/3/2007

22K 2:54:47 24/1/2007

23K 3:11:47 22/4/2007

24K 3:21:27 22/4/2007

25K 3:32:21 14/2/2007

26K 3:42:07 22/4/07

43.14K 6:30:08 22/4/07

I did the 5K on the back of a VO2 maximum cycling test in the morning at Brunel University: a 30-minute cycle test to exhaustion, where the incline and difficulty increases every 2 minutes until you can no longer pedal at a pace of more than 60 rotations per minute. Elite cyclists manage 420 watts; triathletes manage 390 watts; average 40-year olds who live sedate lives manage 270 watts. I managed 330 watts and was very pleased with that.

The 5K race on tired quads was a challenge, but I finished it in 32 mins 22 seconds, a new PB by 13 seconds. In the process I also set new PBs for:

2K-11:58
3K-18:29
4K-25:18
5K-32:22

I reckon by the time the second race comes along I'll be able to improve on this, as my tired quads could not up the pace from 3K onwards, except for a sprint finish in the final 100 metres. The weather was excellent for running though, with a gentle breeze and clouds keeping us cool.

Another relatively quiet week. Mostly cycling and cross training rather than running. The stats:

10.08 km running
52km cycling (RTE: 14.72km)
2783 calories burned
53-week running stats: 1969,36 km (37.15 km/week)
2007 average: 44,4 km/week

The first of the Easy Runner 5K races is due on Wednesday 16/5 (evening), and the cycling test in London is for the same day (morning).

43.14km in 6 hours 30mins 08 seconds
9:08 min/km, or 6.6 km/hr average
top speed: 15.2 km/hr (the sprint finish)
average heart rate 148 (max 172)
4941 calories
ascent/descent: 2160/2168 metres, respectively

splits-individual (cumulative time in brackets):

K1-5: 7.34 -> 7.45 (15.19) -> 7.51 (23.10) -> 7.52 (31.02) -> 7.43 (38.45)
K6-9: 7.38 (46.18) -> 8.14 (54.32) -> 7.34 (1.02.06) -> 8.27 (1.10.33)
K10-13: 7.40 (1.18.13)-> 7.46 (1.25.59)-> 7.49 (1.33.48)->7.52 (1.41.40)
K14-17: 7.42 (1.49.26)->7.41 (1.57.03)->9.38 (2.06.41)->7.38 (2.14.19)
K18-21: 8.03 (2.22.22)->9.45 (2.32.07)->9.39 (2.41.46)->9.53 (2.51.37)
K22-25: 10.53 (3.02.30)->9.17 (3.11.47)->9.40 (3.21.27)->11.24 (3.32.51)
K26-29: 9.16 (3.42.07)->10.53 (3.53.00)->10.35 (4.03.35)->10.03 (4.13.38)
K30-33: 11.10 (4.24.48)->9.59 (4.34.42)->9.19 (4.44.01)->9.47 (4.53.48)
K34-37: 10.45 (5.04.33)->9:29 (5.14.02)->10.19 (5.24.21)->10.25 (5.34.46)
K38-41: 9.49 (5.44.35)->9.46 (5.54.21)->10.07 (6.04.28)->10.33 (6.15.01)
K42-43: 10.33 (6.15.01)->9.49 (6:24:50)->5:39 (6:30:29)

37,03 km (22.28km running and 14.85km RTE from 57.04km stationary cycling)
4186 calories burned
1hr 48min 29 seconds cycling
2hrs 50min 23seconds running

47-week running average: 38.23km
2007 13-week running average: 51.68km

It is a simple equation: speed is affected by weight in a linear fashion: more weight, less speed.

Current best times:
5K-30 minutes
10K-69 minutes
1/2M-2hrs 36 minutes

Projected 5K best times with weight loss:
28min 34 sec (120 kgr)
26min 02 seconds (110 kgr)
23min 49 sec (100kgr)
21min 26sec (90 kgr)
20min 14sec (85kgr)
19min 03sec (80kgr)

Projected 10K and other distance best times with weight loss:
40min 35sec (80 kgr)
1hr 32min 12 seconds (1/2M)
3hr 22min 50sec (Marathon)

If I did manage the latter I'd be accepted as automatic entry for London as well as I would have a chance for the Boston Marathon as well. So if I needed an incentive, here it is!

Lack of sleep and an injured left hamstring meant I had to cut the 32-36km run short after 16.5km today, rather than risk making the injury worse and missing out on the marathon which is 3 weeks away. The stats:

16.5km in 2hrs 16mins 16 seconds (7.3km/hr average, or 8:15/km)
max speed: 11.9km/hr; calories burned: 1754
ascent/descent: 547-566 metres, respectively.

I'll see if I can put some more mileage in later tonight and over the next week to make up the shortfall.

If I seriously wish to improve then losing weight and getting close to my target weight is a must. This is a long term plan (it will take me at least 2 years 4 months to get there) but it is a goal worth planning for.

The task: reduce current weight from 136 kgrs (already down from 156kgrs this time last year) to 80-85kgrs (which would be a reasonable weight for a 6ft 2in large frame person like me).

Total projected weight loss: 56kgrs, or 124lbs
At a rate of 1lb per week: 124 weeks-> 2 years 4 months 19 days (due date: 20/8/2009)
At a rate of 1.5 lbs per week: 83 weeks -> 1 year 7 months 5 days (due date: 6/11/2008)
At a rate of 2lbs per week: 62 weeks -> 1 year 3 months (due date: 1/7/2008)

I feel that 1-1.5 lbs/week is a realistic goal; higher rates of weight loss whilst running will make me feel weak; I will under perform and thus end up disheartened and frustrated).
I will start with 1lb per week in mind and anything more will be a bonus.