31 Mar - Session 80

1934 BST - Speed work today. I was originally going to get up early and train, but I didn't feel like getting up when the alarm went off. I decided on the spot to run before lunch. One of the nice things about my job is that it is flexible enough such that I can train during the day, and since it is a requirement anyway, it worked out nicely!

Today's program called for 10 90 sec bursts @ +90% with 90 sec recoveries. Admittedly I was dreading it a little bit. It should be no secret that I don't like these interval workouts! One reason is 90 seconds isn't very long for recovery when you are running just about as hard as you can. I felt pretty good after the fist couple of splits. The second one was even a bit longer at 120 sec because I lost track of the time. It was very windy today...26 knots sustained, gusts higher. Splits 14, 16, and 18 (intervals 7, 8, & 9) were double whammies because they were uphill AND into the wind. Add that to the fact I was getting fatigued and you have the trifecta! Ugh! Admittedly it was a bit discouraging, but I kept myself motivated and put fort maximum effort. I think I did pretty good. I felt like it was a pretty good workout. My calf hasn't been hurting the last couple of days and didn't bother me today during the run. I expected it to ache afterwards but it didn't. Maybe it's getting better.

One thing I was NOT happy about was my HR monitor. It's pretty safe to say now I hate the thing and it's the worst piece of kit I have ever purchased. I can't wait until the new one arrives. While I was watching it go screwy during my run I was imagining smashing it to bits with a hammer. I have calmed down now so I probably won't. There has to be some kind of problem. It worked so well for so long and just recently started to malfunction. It doesn't make sense. I was looking at it closely and because of the two piece design, with the electrodes and transmitter thingy being separate (new one is one piece), there are two connections that might be dirty, which could interfere with the operation. I'm going to try to clean them up as best I can and we'll see if that helps. Would be nice if it did, it is more comfortable than the more rigid integrated one I used to use (and will again when it arrives!)

No running tomorrow. SnC only.

Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 80

30 March - Session 79

1953 BST - 8 miles this morning at 70% with 2 miles at 85% in the middle. The training is really working. I'm pleased with my progress. 70% intensity in less than 8 min/mile with 7 weeks to go! One thing I am not please with is my HR monitor. I had alot of problems with with it today. it was so bad I had difficulty training at the right intensity. I've had enough. I ordered a new one (different kind) as soon as I got back this morning. Should be here by the end of the week.

The monitor I'm using now is a replacement for the original one that came with the Garmin. I gooned it up when I changed the battery and ever since it chafed me pretty bad. For over a year I had perpetual sores on my chest where it was rubbing. I replaced it with a soft strap type. Much more comfortable but apparently less reliable. I thought I had solved the problem when I started using the gel, but eventually that stopped working too. The original one is more rigid and a little less comfortable (but really not bad) but it was bullet proof. I never had any problems with it. After so many problems with the soft strap type, I decided to go back to what works. Hopefully I won't be disappointed. I was really upset this morning. I can't properly train if I don't have reliable equipment. Nobody can!


Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 79

29 March - Session 78

2036 BST - Interval training today. I got up early and trained before work. Glad I did. I always enjoy early morning work outs. The intervals went pretty good. Last two we a little slower than the previous, but I do get tired toward the end. The HR monitor was giving me fits too, on the last split. I'm not sure what to do about it...it has really got me frustrated.


Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 78

28 March - Sessions 70-76

1940 BST - Long time no write! It has been a busy week! I had a good week in DC at the Navy Yard. Hopefully I was able to drum up some business. I took a stack of about 30 or so business cards and I gave them all away. We'll see what happens.

So Sunday last I did the 20 miler. I wasn't sore at all the following day. I was glad it was a rest day, but I was surprised I wasn't sore. Good news! Back to training on Tuesday. Not much to say about it really, you can look at the Garmin data, links below. Same goes for Wednesday. Tuesday was an easy day, 6 miles @ 65%. Wednesday was quicker 7 miles at 75%. I was up at 0400 both days so I could get my training in and be at the Navy Yard by 0730. I skipped Thursday's interval workout. My week had been pretty busy up to that point, up early (0400 the pervious 2 days!) gone all day and not back at the hotel until 1800 or later. By the time Wednesday evening rolled around, I did not feel like getting up at 0400 again. I figured I could just go when I was done working, even if it was late afternoon/early evening...except I forgot I had made arrangements to go over to a friends house for dinner. I decided that skipping it all together wasn't all bad. after 2 1/2 weeks of this trip, I was pretty tired. And, up to that point I had done a pretty good job sticking to my program. An extra day of rest would be good. I then figured I could do the interval workout on Friday in place of my SnC workout. I had a good SnC session on Wed.

I didn't do a good job of keeping track of time while at my friend's house. I had a good time talking and before I knew it it was 0030! I didn't get back to the hotel and into bed until after 0100. Needless to say I didn't get up to go running. That was ok too as I knew I'd have a long day traveling home and all. My flight left DC at 1700 with a connection in Newark to Heathrow for a 0630 (GMT) arrival. My flight was 3 hours late getting into Newark and I ended up on the 2305 flight to Heathrow arriving at 1015. By the time I got through immigration, baggage claim, etc it was almost 1200. I arrived at home just before 1400. I was pretty wiped out. It was a long journey home after a busy three weeks in the US on both coasts. I had taken 3 extra days off, but I figured that I probably needed it all things considered. It also gave my calf a few extra days rest. That pesky calf is still bothering me.

So my final session of the week was a half marathon at 85%. I was still pretty tired from the trip, but I needed to get back on the wagon! Overall I suppose it was a good run, but I felt it was a less than stellar performance. Even though I was tired, I felt pretty good the first 6 miles or so. I started to get very tired around mile 10 and my stupid calf started bothering me too. When it starts to ache I always wonder if the next step I take will derail my training with a pulled muscle or worse. That didn't happen and it seemed to not be too bad. Usually on runs like this I do two splits: the first and last half. So I could better review my performance, I did another split when I felt myself getting very tired around mile 10. If you look at the data you'll see a significant drop in performance those last 3 miles. That is a trend I have notice the last 3 sessions. If you look at my other runs from earlier in the week, you'll see the second split was much slower than the first. I'm not sure what is going on, but it has me a little concerned. Good thing I still have 9 weeks to go.

It is good to be home. I missed Tanya and the kids and I was very happy to see them. We had a very nice weekend. Interval training tomorrow. I haven't decided if I will get up early or train at lunch time.

Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 71
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 72
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 76

20 March - Sessions 66-69

1930 EDT - Washington DC...only 1 week left on this trip. I am looking forward to returning home. I really miss Tanya and the kids. My training has been going pretty good, all things considered. It has been tougher than I anticipated to maintain a good training regimen while on this trip. I have been more tired than usual and I feel like I haven't been working out with the same intensity and effort as I normally would. I have also been eating and drinking more than I normally would  as well. Ugh! Anyway, I have stuck to the program and I continue to be please with the results. Hard to believe I have been doing this for 10 weeks already. 2 months to go!

I was up early (0500) Thursday morning to do my training. Ran to the base track and did 4 x 1 mile repeats with 2 minute recoveries. 2 minutes ended up being less than 400m but I wanted to stick to the 2 min time. They were cooking bacon the the chow hall which was very distracting! This was a pretty tough workout but I pushed as hard as I could. You can look at the data, I think it was a good workout.

Friday was my dedicated SnC day. I learned that in the "Bee Fit" center there is a TRX (Bee is short for Seabee...this is a big Seabee base...get it??!! :) ). I was pretty excited. I didn't know that last Friday. Both my SnC routines use the TRX a lot and I enjoy it so I was looking forward to using it. I did my warm up and non-TRX exercises in the gym and walked across to the Bee Fit center. They were closed. They close at 1300 on Fridays. I guess you can Bee Fit anytime you want as long as it isn't on Friday afternoon. I walked back over to the gym and did several non TRX exercises.

Saturday was my travel day to DC. I was up early to get my short (4 mi) run in. I almost didn't go because I was up late washing clothes. I'm glad I decided to go because as you can imagine I spent most of the day sitting down!

I reached another personal running milestone today...20 miles. I got a decent night's sleep and was up about 0600. I left about 0645. I would have left earlier, but I didn't want to wear my headlamp so I wanted to minimize running in the dark. I couldn't have picked a better morning nor a better place to do this LSD. It was a cold clear morning. Much colder than sunny Southern California! The sun was coming up over the city as I was running along the Potomac River. What a treat. Of course I ran across the river and around the National Mall. I was listening to music on the iPod shuffle (on shuffle mode) and as I came across the bridge behind the Lincoln Memorial "Born in the USA" came. Corny, but absolutely true!! As I was running around the mall past all the monuments I was thinking about how much I am looking forward to teaching my children what it means to be an American. Zetta of course has never lived here in her short life. It will be a while before she is old enough to understand. We will probably have moved back to the US by then. Marshall hasn't lived here since he was 18 months and doesn't remember it. He is aware though that he is from America. We talk about it often though and we read some patriotic books from time to time. I bought some more books and other Americana today. It was fun shopping for that stuff and I'm sure the kids will like it.

Overall I felt pretty good on this run. I did it too without carrying any water (good thing it was cold) or energy source (gel, etc). Probably not a wise choice, but I didn't bring my water bottle along. I didn't bring any gels along because the guy at Road Runner Sports recommend to eat them with water. I ate one before I left and he was right! Water is essential when eating these things. The are very gooey and sweet!. I probably would have been sick and very thirsty had I eaten one along the way without water. My legs started getting pretty sore about mile 12. Unusual for me since I don't usually have problems on the half. Even so, it didn't really bother me until after mile 15. My legs were pretty sore those last 5 miles...not enough to stop though! Overall I was pretty pleased with my performance. I was disappointed  with my pace on the last 5 miles...about 50 sec slower than the first 15. I'm not sure why that happened. Maybe it was because my legs were so sore, but I'm not sure. I could have run faster, but I wanted to keep my HR down at the required intensity (136 bpm) Weird I thought. Nonetheless I was very happy with how things went today. I am confident now that if I stay injury free, I can finish the marathon under 4 hours. I am looking to do much better than that, of course.

I was also happy that I didn't have the urgent need to use the toilet, like has happened previously! Frankly, I thought that would happen. When I left I wasn't overly concerned because there are some porta-potties in the park just north of National Airport ( I have run here before) and I knew there were some public toilets on the mall. As it turned out though, I didn't need them. I did wish I stopped to pee at the aforementioned porta-potties on the way back though.

My HR monitor has been working pretty good since I stopped using the rogue gel I bought at the pharmacy in Bristol. A few spikes here and there, but nothing like before. I think the spikes will go away completely when I get some better gel.

Well that's about it for now. Did you make it down this far? I pontificated a little bit, but this wouldn't be nearly as interesting (for me or for you) if it was all business! Tomorrow is a much needed rest day!

Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 66
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 68
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 69

16 March - Sessions 64 & 65

2107 PST - Yesterday was an interval day. I ran in the afternoon after school. The weather was beautiful but it was a warmer (17 deg C) than I have been used to. The prescribed workout was 6 miles, run to a hill and 11 x 30 sec @ 90%, or fartlek 12-15 30 sec bursts @ 90%. Since there are not hills here in Pt Hueneme, CA,  I did the latter, 14 30 sec bursts. I wasn't sure about the recovery time. Mostly I did 30 sec recoveries but this was a pretty tough workout (and it was warm) so 3 or 4 times I did a minute recovery. Once I did 1:30 to avoid a dangerous situation. All in all a good workout I think. I continue to be surprised and amazed at my performance...on average about 5 min/mile pace on the short bursts.

If you look at the garmin data you'll see I had problems with the HR monitor. Second run in a row. I had problems Sunday too. I'm pretty sure it's the gel I have been using. I bought some at a local pharmacy in Bristol and it isn't the same as I have been using and I think it isn't allowing a good "connection". I managed to rub it all off while I was running an it seemed to be fine.

An easy 6 miles for Wednesday. I was pleasantly surprised at my pace. Quicker than I thought. I didn't use the gel and went for the saliva method instead. No problems with the HR monitor today. I'm pretty certain it is the gel. I'll guess I'll continue to use the saliva method and order some more gel when I get home. DOes anyone know where I can buy some?

My calves haven't bothered me too much the last couple of days. Just a little sore on the runs, but not too bad. Perhaps they're getting better.

As part of the class we did a little TRX workout today, so I counted that as my SnC. I'll hit the SnC hard on Friday. We'll be done early so I will have plenty of time!

More intervals tomorrow...4 mile repeats...ugh! I'll have to get up early because I won't have time after class.

Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 64
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 65

15 March - Session 62

1835 PDT - I visited my parents in Tempe this past weekend and did my LSD as scheduled Sunday morning. I was a bit concerned how it would go because my calves have been bothering me so much this past week. Also at 17 miles, it was the furthest I have ever run!

Turned out it was a great run. My calves didn't bother me too much and the distance wasn't as overwhelming as I thought. It was a bit warmer than I had anticipated, but it didn't bother me until the very end.

Even though my training has been going well up to this point, there has always been just a little nagging doubt in my mind whether or not I could actually go 26.2 miles. That's a long way. I have especially been stressing over that the past week with my hurting calves and all. I finished the 17 miles in 2 1/2 hours. I felt pretty good when I was finished. Tired of course but not injured or sore. I reached a new personal running milestone on this run. I also gained the confidence that I can finish the 26.2 miles and probably do so to meet one of my goal times (more on that another time). The middle 5 miles of this run was at marathon pace and I was pleased with my times...faster than I had ever dreamed of. It was only 5 miles but I felt I could go further. And I'm only half way through the training plan. It is exciting to think of the possibilities.

Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 62

14 March - Sessions 56-61

2057 PDT - So far I have failed at doing better with the daily updates! In my own defense, I am on travel attending a school in beautiful Pt Hueneme, California. I have been busier than anticipated and at the end of the day, the blog updates aren't a priority. It took several days to get over the jet lag too, which didn't help.

I have kept training though. Good thing Monday (7 March) was a rest day. After traveling all day to California, Monday was a much needed rest day.

Not much to say about my training runs this past week. You can look at the data. My interval day on Thursday was tough. Like usual I misjudged my warm up distance and the distance I would cover while doing the intervals, so I ended up doing almost 8 miles instead of the prescribed 6. Also on one of the intervals I miscounted the laps and did an extra 400m. It was good though. I was surprised I averaged less than 6 minute miles on fast portions. Wow!

I did modify my SnC routines though. As part of the class I am taking, we do PT twice a week. This week we did a body conditioning class on Tuesday and some kind of workout in the pool on Thursday, so I skipped the Wednesday SnC session. I went to the gym Friday as usual, but there was no TRX so I modified the routine a bit. I still had a good workout I think.

My calves have been bothering me quite a bit this week. I felt like I needed an extra rest day prior to my LSD on Sunday (more on that later) so I skipped Saturday's workout. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I am a little concerned. They haven't been too bad today as I write this (14 March), so we'll see how this week goes.


Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 57
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 58
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 59

6 March - Sessions 53 - 55

1708 GMT - It has been a busy three days getting “back on the wagon” and preparing for my trip to the US. I am currently in flight over northern Canada on my way to Los Angeles. I will be in CA for two weeks attending a school and then on to Washington DC  for a trip to the Navy Yard to do some business there.

As I predicted Paul put me through a ball breaking SnC workout on Friday, which is good because I skipped both of my interval workouts this week. After warming up I went through several circuits working all the major muscle groups. I was spent when it was over...but in a good way. I have to say though my press-ups (push up for the Americans!) were less than impressive....need to work on those and my performance did provide some comic relief during an otherwise intense work out. I started the day off in the pool for 30 minutes to warm up. Perhaps I shouldn’t do that anymore....Nah. I really do enjoy swimming, almost as much as running, and I like the cross training aspect. Besides, someday I might want to do a triathlon...but first things first. I need to get through the marathon and achieve my goals.

Not too much to say about Saturday. Saturdays are easy runs (65% max HR...136 bpm for me) for recovery. This week my program prescribed 4 miles, but I did 5 because I felt guilty for skipping out on two workouts. As I mentioned in my last update, I forgot my HR monitor on my trip to France and based on today’s performance, I was probably under target on Wednesday.

Today (Sunday) I was up early to get my workout in before leaving for Heathrow airport. I had an 1100 flight so my ride picked me up at 7. I like having a good workout before traveling because then I don’t feel so lethargic sitting on a plane for 10 hours. 13 miles at 85% (161 bpm) was the prescribed workout. I figured it would be tough, but I didn’t realize how tough. I got to bed late and didn’t sleep well, anxious for the trip I suppose, so I was a but tired. Plus my hamstrings were a little sore from the workout on Friday. After warming up a bit once I got going and up to (or at least close) to the right intensity I felt pretty good. But I was unsure how long I would be able to keep it up. To be honest I didn’t think I would be able to maintain for the entire 13 miles. I was disappointed at the thought because if I couldn’t do 13 miles how in the world was I going to do 26??!! I dismissed that thought and just concentrated on doing my best. I figured would maintain for as long as I could and what ever happens happens. One of the “techniques” (for lack of a better word) I use in situations like these is I think of Dori from “Finding Nemo” but instead of “just keep swimming” I keep repeating “just keep running...just keep running”. It seems to work.

Anyway, half way through I was a little surprised that I was able to keep it up that far and I felt like I could perhaps make it the rest of the way. I was on my way home after all. About mile 8 or so I started to focus on how tired I was getting and how sore I was (nothing bad or unusual for me, but enough for me to notice.) I had worked hard up to that point but I thought I might have to slow down. I was so close! I pushed harder and kept on going. The last 2 miles or so were tough but I kept imagining Paul saying “don’t quit” over my shoulder. I wanted to push myself and see if I could maintain the intensity until the end. I finished the run in 1 hour and 31 minutes. I blew away my previous PR by several minutes. A quick review of the data showed that I ran just under a 7 min/mil pace. I never would have believed I could run that fast for so long. I was even under the target HR by a couple bpm. This training program has been amazing so far and I’m only barely half way through. Fantastic. In some ways I’m glad I took it easy this week but my performance today serves as motivation to work hard to stick to the program the rest of the way. I hope you’ll stick with me too!! 

Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 54
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 55

3 March - Sessions 47-52

1735 GMT - So far this has been a dismal training week...it’s like i’ve fallen off the wagon! I was in Lorient, FRance this week for a conference. I fully intended to continue my training as normal, but the conference got in the way! I skipped 2 days of training and ate & drank way too much!! I’m on my way home now on the ferry crossing the English Channel. I will upload this tomorrow. Internet is available, but it is a but pricey and I’m not sure how good the service is anyway.

Sunday was my LSD...15 miles. It was the longest run I’ve done in over 2 years.  Slowly building up to the marathon distance. I was tired and a bit sore afterwards, but it was good nonetheless. Not too much else to say about it except that I didn’t have a repeat of last week! I might have psyched myself into a repeat episode, because I kept thinking about it, but I didn’t. Sunday night I left for the conference, driving down to Plymouth to catch the overnight ferry to France.

Monday was my rest day, which worked out nice since I was travelling anyway. My legs were a tad sore after Sunday’s run. The ferry docked at 0800 and I drove 2 hours to Lorient where the conference was. That afternoon I scoped out the town for a good place to do my workouts.

I never sleep well when I’m travelling, especially the first night, so I opted not to get up early to train. I figured I’d have plenty of time that afternoon/evening after the conference (mistake number 1). The conference ran about an hour late, but that was ok. I was all set to leave right away (my running shoes were waiting!) But they were offering a tour of the museum where the conference was being held. I decided at the last minute to go along because I had come all this way and I might was well take advantage of the free tour (mistake number 2). After the museum tour was a reception and I stuck around for that too (mistake number 3). By then I was too tired to train and I figured an extra day off was ok after my first long run of the program. Only problem was I ate way too much of the yummy finger foods that were served and drank too much champagne! I had champagne and wine at lunch too (isn’t France great?!)

I did get up and run on Wednesday morning...8 miles. I was so angry though...I forgot my HR monitor! Ugh. I almost didn’t go I was so mad. If I don’t know what my HR is what’s the point?! I have been following this program long enough that I had a pretty good idea of the intensity I should be running at. Only problem is I will never know. I figured running was better than not so I went. Besides, I always enjoy running in new places. I had an enjoyable run but I was afraid i might get lost, which has never happened to me before. The Garmin has a feature that you can use to find your way back to where you started, but it wouldn’t have been much help since I didn’t know how to use it anyway. Perhaps I should learn. Usually in a new place I run straight out to somewhere and turn around and come back the way I came. Here that wasn’t so easy. There weren’t any straight roads! I ended up running in a circle and figured out how to get back. and it worked out perfect...I arrived back at the hotel right at 8 miles. I couldn’t have planned it better if I had tried.

Wednesday is also and SnC day. I almost skipped out on that too, but I did a abbreviated routine in my hotel room that lasted about an hour. Was glad I did. More champagne and wine was served at lunch and I was meeting some of the other delegates for dinner where I knew I would consume copious amounts of food and drink! We met in the hotel lobby at 1930 and I didn’t get back to my room until almost 0100! I had a good time, and a good meal too! 

Needless to say I did not get up early to run. I slept in until about 0900 and I had to be on the road no later than 1100 to make the ferry for a 1400 departure. I am feeling somewhat guilty for blowing my training regimen by skipping sessions and eating and drinking way too much. I’m not setting a good precedent for my upcoming trip to CONUS...and I’ll be gone for almost 3 weeks! I can’t afford to keep this up and essentially lose 4 weeks of training.

That won’t happen. I’ll get 3 good sessions in tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday before I leave, starting with a ball-breaking SnC session with Paul I’m sure. When I am in CA, I’ll  have the facilities to prepare proper meals, so I won’t be eating out all the time. There won’t be so many social engagements either. I’ll also have access to a proper gym and plenty of time to train. Most importantly I’ll have to remember to keep my priorities in order, which shouldn’t be a problem. I figure a little break from training won’t hurt and now that it’s over I’m ready to get back to work.

Anyway, I think I have written enough. Thanks for reading!


Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 48
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 51