10k in exactly 50 minutes. 3k home from TS in the late evening after a heavy work day.
Monday 31 July 2017
Recovery day
Recovery lunch run on the usual route. Quite tired today but on balance not too bad.
10k in exactly 50 minutes. 3k home from TS in the late evening after a heavy work day.
10k in exactly 50 minutes. 3k home from TS in the late evening after a heavy work day.
Sunday 30 July 2017
Messi Marathon 3.00.45 (Hilly Long) - 4.17s
Slept through the alarm again after not sleeping well and woke just before 7 with Messi due to pick me up at 7.15. Having pushed back by 15 minutes we headed down through Norman Park and then out on his orthodox Hilly Long route (he running a few ks before picking me up so that he'd get to his 38).
Good to catch up and made time go by quickly and for once I was not moaning. We hit the main hill around 15ks with the average around 4.25s (c. 7s quicker than 4 weeks ago).
At the high point the average was still only 4.26s having pushed a little on the hills - this route covers almost 500m of vertical climbing and so no mean feat.
The good thing is that at 20k by the Indian Restaurant it is pretty much all down hill - this is where we had our only gel (H-5). Messi ordered for us not to push and keep in the low 4s with him having already ran 100+ ks for the week and 6 weeks of heavy training (this week he put in another 140ker).
So that's how we kept the ks, free flowing around 4.10s. I complain when things are tough but today I felt fresh having had easy days Thurs through Sat. I could sense that Messi was tired today which is completely understandable given his recent volume.
Back in Hayes he had 38k on the clock when I bode him farewell with the average on 4.18s. I persevered and had a bee in my bonnet about running a full 42.2k set and so ran loops of the school fields to get me to exactly the full marathon distance in 3hrs and 45 seconds holding the solo 7ks in c. 4.12s. Yes I was tired but with only one gel and just a Beet cereal bar to my name it's given me a touch more confidence. And still 110+ ks for the week despite this being a down week.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1108400536
* Weight post run: 77.3k - the lightest for some time.
Good to catch up and made time go by quickly and for once I was not moaning. We hit the main hill around 15ks with the average around 4.25s (c. 7s quicker than 4 weeks ago).
At the high point the average was still only 4.26s having pushed a little on the hills - this route covers almost 500m of vertical climbing and so no mean feat.
The good thing is that at 20k by the Indian Restaurant it is pretty much all down hill - this is where we had our only gel (H-5). Messi ordered for us not to push and keep in the low 4s with him having already ran 100+ ks for the week and 6 weeks of heavy training (this week he put in another 140ker).
So that's how we kept the ks, free flowing around 4.10s. I complain when things are tough but today I felt fresh having had easy days Thurs through Sat. I could sense that Messi was tired today which is completely understandable given his recent volume.
Back in Hayes he had 38k on the clock when I bode him farewell with the average on 4.18s. I persevered and had a bee in my bonnet about running a full 42.2k set and so ran loops of the school fields to get me to exactly the full marathon distance in 3hrs and 45 seconds holding the solo 7ks in c. 4.12s. Yes I was tired but with only one gel and just a Beet cereal bar to my name it's given me a touch more confidence. And still 110+ ks for the week despite this being a down week.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1108400536
* Weight post run: 77.3k - the lightest for some time.
Missed PR
Slept in as we all did and still fighting a heavy cold. I have a constant flow of gunk.
Got out at lunch for a small potter on the neighbouring Tommy and Jack's school pitches running the whole time on the grass.
9k in 4.38s. Not feeling great.
Got out at lunch for a small potter on the neighbouring Tommy and Jack's school pitches running the whole time on the grass.
9k in 4.38s. Not feeling great.
Friday back in London
Back at midday ish and logging on from home to start the process of paying for the trip - oh my, it was expensive but definitely worth it. I think the boys got a tremendous amount out of it as did J also. Tommy will be 14 in Nov and so opportunities for these special family adventures will be over before we know it.
A good flight and probably got 5 hours of shut eye and thought about a run but granted myself a day off with still carrying a cold and all.
A good flight and probably got 5 hours of shut eye and thought about a run but granted myself a day off with still carrying a cold and all.
Day 7 and out
Packed up and into Central Park for a look around strolling around the lakes, playgrounds and the Mall where they have the street dancers.
A quick run for me, 11k in 4.45s around CP feeling knackered and then more walking.
Subway'd it back to the top of Broadway before doing one final look through the shops.
Early evening food in China Town for Wonton and rice soup before heading back to JFK.
A quick run for me, 11k in 4.45s around CP feeling knackered and then more walking.
Subway'd it back to the top of Broadway before doing one final look through the shops.
Early evening food in China Town for Wonton and rice soup before heading back to JFK.
Day 6 - Egg shop - Central P - Yankees
Forced myself out of bed at 5am in order not to miss any family time. I was back by the time they were rolling out of bed at 7.30.
Session today was the Messi template of 3 times 7' marathon pace + 10' tempo with 2' rest. Had a 3.42 average at the end of sessions 1 and 2 and finished with a 3.43 average for the 51 minutes and just shy of 14k. With warm ups and down 19kms for the morning. Another tough session done and not as bad as Sunday when I died in the heat but there was a constant flow of gunk coming out of my nose.
Definitely now carrying a cold. Cooler today but the initial days here were super hot outside and then absolutely freezing inside with the aircon always on full blast (everywhere!). The constant change in temperature stuffs me up no end. I remember getting sick in 94 for the same reasons though admittedly I was partying pretty hard at the time.
I missed out on the Egg Shop brekkie on Elizabeth a few days back and did not want to miss out again. The food is great and folks come from all over the US to eat here. I had the Scrambler which is a mix of chicken, egg, saled, ginger, garlic and plenty more. The Lattes were also the best coffees we've had all holiday.
A subway ride up to 33rd street to check out Masy's on 34th street with the boys raiding the kiddies section (Lukie buying a Lebron Jaaaaames Cavs jersey and Jack a Beckham Junior one - the American football player and not the soccer player).
Another subway trip up to 57th to walk into Central Park where the boys played 40:40 on the rocks around the kiddies playground. Glorious weather today with warm sunshine but without the intense humidity of a few days ago.
Next stop was the Yankees Stadium high up in the Bronx. I had booked 6 tickets some while back and was something we'd all been really looking forward to. Today was a 1pm start and so we had to hurry to get there. As we came off the subway there it was. It's an impressive arena with a massive exterior wall with the facilities second to none. It got rebuilt in 2009 for a then whooping $2.3bn. The striking aspect for me is that it's situated in a really deprived area of NYC and is surrounded by the grey brick projects which are synonymous with the Bronx. Surprise, surprise I took quite a few pics of the projects backdrop juxtaposed with the new stands.
The game was a lot of fun and we witnessed 3 home runs. 2 to the yankees and one to the Cincinnati Reds with the Yankees running out easy winners. I love how US sports involve the fans through their music interludes and showing the crowds on the big screens - it ends up being a big party with Budweiser being drank at a fast pace all around. The best bit was everyone doing the YMCA dance. The home runs were unreal with lots of high fiving with the boys joining in with the locals. Definitely worth the entry, great fun and another pretty cool experience to share with the family.
Dinner tonight back at Gyu Kaku on Cooper Square. It's been the best restaurant by a country mile so far and so ran the risk of 2nd time disappointment.
* Puzzled by the running. It's not really happening for me. I've already amassed more than 3,000 ks YTD but the form is ragged. I think I have an over inflated ego in regard to my running to go with more generally!
** Tommy being inundated by the locals in regard to his new Zelda cap and where he got it. He's getting constant nods :)
Session today was the Messi template of 3 times 7' marathon pace + 10' tempo with 2' rest. Had a 3.42 average at the end of sessions 1 and 2 and finished with a 3.43 average for the 51 minutes and just shy of 14k. With warm ups and down 19kms for the morning. Another tough session done and not as bad as Sunday when I died in the heat but there was a constant flow of gunk coming out of my nose.
Definitely now carrying a cold. Cooler today but the initial days here were super hot outside and then absolutely freezing inside with the aircon always on full blast (everywhere!). The constant change in temperature stuffs me up no end. I remember getting sick in 94 for the same reasons though admittedly I was partying pretty hard at the time.
I missed out on the Egg Shop brekkie on Elizabeth a few days back and did not want to miss out again. The food is great and folks come from all over the US to eat here. I had the Scrambler which is a mix of chicken, egg, saled, ginger, garlic and plenty more. The Lattes were also the best coffees we've had all holiday.
A subway ride up to 33rd street to check out Masy's on 34th street with the boys raiding the kiddies section (Lukie buying a Lebron Jaaaaames Cavs jersey and Jack a Beckham Junior one - the American football player and not the soccer player).
Another subway trip up to 57th to walk into Central Park where the boys played 40:40 on the rocks around the kiddies playground. Glorious weather today with warm sunshine but without the intense humidity of a few days ago.
Next stop was the Yankees Stadium high up in the Bronx. I had booked 6 tickets some while back and was something we'd all been really looking forward to. Today was a 1pm start and so we had to hurry to get there. As we came off the subway there it was. It's an impressive arena with a massive exterior wall with the facilities second to none. It got rebuilt in 2009 for a then whooping $2.3bn. The striking aspect for me is that it's situated in a really deprived area of NYC and is surrounded by the grey brick projects which are synonymous with the Bronx. Surprise, surprise I took quite a few pics of the projects backdrop juxtaposed with the new stands.
The game was a lot of fun and we witnessed 3 home runs. 2 to the yankees and one to the Cincinnati Reds with the Yankees running out easy winners. I love how US sports involve the fans through their music interludes and showing the crowds on the big screens - it ends up being a big party with Budweiser being drank at a fast pace all around. The best bit was everyone doing the YMCA dance. The home runs were unreal with lots of high fiving with the boys joining in with the locals. Definitely worth the entry, great fun and another pretty cool experience to share with the family.
Dinner tonight back at Gyu Kaku on Cooper Square. It's been the best restaurant by a country mile so far and so ran the risk of 2nd time disappointment.
* Puzzled by the running. It's not really happening for me. I've already amassed more than 3,000 ks YTD but the form is ragged. I think I have an over inflated ego in regard to my running to go with more generally!
** Tommy being inundated by the locals in regard to his new Zelda cap and where he got it. He's getting constant nods :)
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