Stability Through Motion

I realise I’ve been hopeless keeping this blog up to date with this year’s marathon progress. Sorry! After religiously following the Furman schedules based on a 18:19 5k time, aiming at 6:50 marathon pace, I’ve reassessed my marathon target time.

The Furman plan would predict a 3 hour marathon based on that 5k time, but that would be a 14 minute PB from my last PB attempt marathon, two years ago. I’ve decided to be cautious, or sensible, depending on your own relationship to sense, and aim at 7 minute miling throughout, leading to a 3:04 marathon. If I can achieve this, it’ll leave me with a lot more confidence that I can go sub 3 either this year or next, with a bit more training. What’s a matter of five minutes over 3 hours after all?!

Here’s a grey-clouded picture from last Sunday’s long run in the Lampeter area – fantastic quiet country roads on the Sunday morning of the hour change. Hills – they take you higher.

Mynydd Llanybydder 15 mile run

This target reassessment is partly due to the Half marathon time, which is a 3:03 predictor rather than a sub 3 predictor, and anecdotal evidence suggests that you need a 1:23 time to really feel confident about going sub 3. I’ve also felt that 6:50 is really hard to maintain during marathon pace training runs.

I’ll continue the next couple of weeks – yes it’s only a couple of weeks, argh! – training for 6:50, which means a really hard 20 miler this weekend at 7:05. I hope this will all make the eventual marathon itself feel a little more achievable.

Although I’ve now run six, or is it seven marathons, I really have very little skill at computation, I’m already very nervous about this one. 26.2 miles feels like unknown territory yet again, especially at this kind of speed, a good 20 seconds per mile faster than 2 years ago.

One more hard week of training which will consist of the following:

• Tuesday: 10 x 400m @ 1:19 (5:17 minute miling)
• Wednesday: 1 hour biking
• Thursday: 8 miles at marathon pace (6:50 mm)
• Friday: 1 hour biking
• Saturday: run easy 5 miles (no watch, no aim)
• Sunday: 20 miles @ 7:05mm = MP + 15 seconds
• Monday: collapse in a heap

I was reminded the other day of my trip to Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, near Indore, India. This was way back in 1992, but the memory of my few days on this promontory, overlooking the Narmada river to the south, still lingers.

Rani Rupmati's Pavilion, Mandu

I was approached, via my Flickr photos, to add a photo of Hoshang Shah’s tomb to the Wikipedia page about Mandu. Read more about the history of Mandu, including my photo in the Wiki article.

View towards Songarh hill, Mandu, 8th Feb 1992

I visited in the dry season, but I still dream of returning in the rains, when the 15th century pavilions and palaces would be running with water.

Map of Mandu

The week I spent in Mandu was one of great food, quiet nights in an isolated room, long walks to watch the sun setting over the Narmada river valley, and rise from Chishti Khan’s palace. Ooh, I have to log off, this is becoming emotional.

Accommodation in Mandu

Years ago I read some M R James stories including ‘Warning to the Curious‘. This haunting story is set in Seaburgh, Suffolk, but the 1972 BBC version of the story is filmed partly along the beach at Holkham Bay.

Last weekend I was in the area for the Wildlife Sound Recording Society‘s Winter Meeting. Standing on the beach at 3.45am on a Saturday morning was quite chilling in both senses of the word. The predominant sound was the constant roll of the waves against the shore much further out across the beach, but facing inland across the salt marshes there were birds to record later on:

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If you’re interested in the M R James angle, Chris Priestley’s well written blog holds a depth of information about the story, and here’s a clip from the BBC version:

Oh yes, and in running news, later the same morning I ran 18 miles along the Norfolk Coastal Path from Burnham Deepdale to Wells-next-the-sea and back again, right along Holkham Bay yet again, this time in clear daylight but fierce cold winds.