Running On A Raisin: London Marathon 2015 (Week 6 of 12)

Week 6

6 weeks down, 6 to go .....

So what did this post marathon week look like then?

In a nutshell, it looked just like all the others really - very steady 8:00-9:00+/miles throughout the week, 70+ miles overall and then a few playing out opportunities at the weekend.

The interest was going to be centred around how the legs had recovered from the 26.2 miler when they were asked to put a bit of effort in again come the weekend.

Firstly, with it being international Pi day, what better location for a parkrun than the internationally famous home of the pork pie, Melton Mowbray.

Then in the evening it was time for another excellent episode in The Podium 5K series at Colne in Lancashire. Chris Barnes, the eminent race director, managed to maintain his 100% record of delivering windy conditions despite pre-race doubts when weather forecasts started predicting mild and calm. He wasn't to be thwarted though, he found the wind from somewhere!

On to Sunday and a very sunny Locke Park in Redcar was the venue for New Marske Harrier's Locke Park 20. Graham Hall should take a bow for getting this off the ground last year.

Week 6 of 12 (Mon 9/3 - Sun 15/3)

Mon 9/3 : 6.21 miles @ 8:52/mile

Tues 10/3 : 4.0 miles @ 9:17/mile

Tues 10/3: 6.21 miles @ 9:13/mile

Weds 11/3 : 8.0 miles @ 8:30/mile

Thurs 12/3 : 4.0 miles @ 8:50/mile

Thurs 12/3: 8.0 miles @ 8:59/mile

Fri 13/3 : 6.21 miles @ 8:54/mile

Sat 14/3 : 4.0 miles (incl Melton Mowbray parkrun 17:57 (3.1 miles @ 5:46/mile))

Sat 14/3: 4.0 miles (incl Podium 5K 17:27 (3.1 miles @ 5:36/mile))

Sun 15/3 : 21.0 miles (incl Locke Park 20 2:08:23 (20.0 miles @ 6:25/mile))

Total Mileage - 71.63 Miles

Sat 14th March - Melton Mowbray parkrun (17:57)

International pi day was a bit of an obtuse reason for visiting the new parkrun venue at Melton Mowbray, home of the famous pork pie, but we're delighted that we did. It is an excellent venue that simply works perfectly for a parkrun, a nice flowing route with no sharp corners, just a stiff little hill at the start of each lap.

Shane Sharkey and the team are doing a great job, a parkrun to be very much recommended if you're passing by that way.

As for the run itself, this was the first time that the legs had been asked to do anything quicker than a plod since the marathon, so a bit of creakiness was expected. I'd already decided not to do the Podium 5K on Saturday evening as that would just be silly the night before a 20 miler and 6 days after a marathon.

That left the way to just go with the flow at Melton to get some idea of how the recovery was going. A 17:57 was a big surprise as going back 12 months a parkrun after a marathon would have been at least a minute slower than usual. Good news! I could now rest until the Locke Park 20.

Of course, while in Melton Mowbray it would be amiss not to sample the local fare:

These Dickinson and Morris pies must do something to rearrange brainwaves or something as after consuming two of these on Saturday afternoon the Podium 5K somehow came back onto the agenda!

Saturday 14th March - Podium 5K (17:27)

So off to Colne we went. This was the early stages of the A race which Chris Livesey went on to win in 14:46:

The floodlights were powered up in readiness for the main event of the evening, the B race :)

Chris Barnes displayed utmost race director professionalism in doing his pre race checks - timers ready?, track clear, Hannah - have you remembered your bra? ........ all the standard stuff ;)

I couldn't afford to make this hurt as I would only end up paying the penalty in the second half of the 20 miler on Sunday.

Or at least that was the sensible head approach which lasted until seeing that the first km had taken 3:25 on surprisingly fresh legs. With one lap to go it was looking like something around 17:30 was on, so it became an opportunity to get a decent time on the board.

By the finish 17:27 and a new comeback PB, ie fastest for 20 years, had somehow appeared out of the blue. No idea where that came from but boy it was fun :)

Hannah was close in behind recording her best Podium by far in 17:42. As a result of no females turning out in the A race she now has to suffer the embarrassment of being the next chocolate wrapper girl alongside Chris Livesey :)

Sunday 15th March - Locke Park 20 Miles, Redcar (2:08:23 7th)

What a glorious morning for the Locke Park 20.

Expectations were for a reasonable first half at maybe 6:30/mile and then a gradual slowing followed by a fairly uncomfortable hanging on in the closing stages.

After seeing the likes of Aly Dixon (Commonwealth Games marathoner), Michael Joyeux and Steve Middleton ease off into the distance the early pace was feeling quite slow.

However, such is the set up of this event that each time you cross the timing mats, ie every mile, an announcement tells you your last lap time and average lap time so far. As can be seen from the table below the information coming back was that the Laps were metronomically around 2:48 marathon pace, not bad I thought 7 days after a 2:48 marathon. But it was still going to tail away quite painfully surely?

Surprisingly, it just became a bit laboured but not too bad at all. Happy days :)

Hannah clocked exactly the same time as last year despite last year not having a 2:52 marathon in the previous week, so we both finished the race wondering how it had held up quite so well.