Wednesday, November 30, 2005

A shoe rant!

Why oh why do shoe manufacturers keep tweaking their brands? I have to keep switching shoe brands each year and I'm getting sick of it!

I always have more than one shoe on the go - I feel it is probably healthier not to stick to one shoe at a time. It also appears necessary so that I have a shoe to fall back on when they do the dirty and tweak a shoe so much that it becomes unwearable. Aaagghh!

I have plenty of shoes at the moment: Asics Cumulus 6, Mizuno Waverider 8, Asics Kanyon, Walsh PB, Mizuno Wave Precision, Nike Pegasus, but it's the Cumulus and Waverider which are my work horse heavy mileage shoes.

I've had a long history of the Asics Cumulus. I'm a wearer of orthotics, and they appeared (past tense) the ideal shoe for orthotic wearers (neutral, stable, well fitting). I started with the Cumulus III (they seem to like roman numerals) when I first got my orthotics. It was a nice shoe! The following year they brought out the Cumulus IV, with the usual tweaks. Unfortunately for me, one of the tweaks was to add a piece of PVC trim across where my little toe was. The result: I couldn't wear them! They caused horrible blisters on my little toe. I tried getting the shoe stretched, but in the end I had to bin them. Time to find another brand. I opted for a Saucony road/trail hybrid. Not ideal, but they were comfortable, and they lasted me for my first London Marathon.

The following year came the Cumulus V, and I thought I'd try them once more. Bingo! Gone was the PVC toe trim, and back was the comfort. I bought a total of 3 pairs over the year. Nice shoe.

Cumulus VI arrived and in their wisdom Asics chose to add 30g to the weight of the shoe. That's a lot! On the assumption that tweaks are improvements, why would you make a shoe heavier? I decided to seek out a lighter shoe and found the Mizuno Waverider - nice shoe. I stuck with the Asics as well though, splitting the mileage, and soon saw the difference the extra grams give you. Fast though the Mizunos were, they didn't last as long as the Asics - at least 100 miles less. Still worth keeping both brands going though - Mizunos for speed, Asics for mileage. I also bought a pair of Mizuno Wave Precision - the racing version - even quicker, and a blister free Cardiff Marathon!

So having replaced the Mizunos with a new pair of the same, a month later it came time to replace the Cumulus VIs with the Cumulus VIIs. Aaaagghhh! They've done it again!

Here is Mr Pig modeling my old Cumulus VI:
Mr Pig and Asics Cumulus 6

And here is a shot of the new Cumulus VII:
Asics Cumulus VII

I'm sure you can see how different they are. The moldings round the upper are all different, the sole is different, and they've tried to make the upper more akin to a sock. This is a completely different shoe! Granted, it's lighter - it couldn't be anything else really - but it's not suitable for orthotics: your feet move around a lot in the shoe, and it doesn't feel like the orthotic is being held against your foot properly. A minor point, but on a freezing cold day, the wind was whistling through the mesh across my feet - this is probably a good thing, but it felt really odd.

I decided not to go with the new model. It just felt wrong on my foot, and I probably would only notice orthotic related problems after too many miles to take it back. Apparently Asics know about this problem - they are now aiming the shoe more at true neutral runners rather than orthotic wearers.

So I had to comb the shop for yet another brand of shoe.

I finally came up with the New Balance 1060, which felt closest to what the Cumulus VI used to be. I hope it works out!


Mr Pig and the New Balance 1060

I wonder what changes New Balance will make next year?

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Hayling 10

I raced the Hayling 10 today, and tried to stick to the 7:30 pace I said I would. It was tough! I'm claiming I had a bad day, but I'm not sure I'll get away with that.

It was cold - around 3 degrees initially. I agonised over what to wear, but went for vest and lycra shorts ( a bit of cover for my cold quads) with hat, gloves and some rather fetching arm warmers a la Constantina Dita-Tomescu. From the start I felt comfortable, but I could feel that all was not well with my stomach. I felt bloated. I'd had too big a breakfast, and knew that this didn't bode well - stitch is always a looming spectre with me.

I kept to my pace plan for the first few miles, running shoulder to shoulder with young Richard, doing his first 10-miler, who'd been told to run with me (!) - he was certainly sticking to his task. After 3 or 4 miles though, the rumblings of stitch were starting to surface, and I had to try to belly breath and lean in to it. I just about managed to keep it in control. I was doing better than Richard though who now started to lag. He finished well though, not far behind.

I was warmed up now though and tried to hit spectator Sara in the face with my hat - drat - missed!

5 miles and we turned back along the seafront for 2 miles of running into the wind. It wasn't too strong, but it did make a difference. I slowed to nearly 8:00/mile in those 2 miles. It was drizzly and cold too!

Now why did the guy in the grey and yellow sweatshirt keep surging? He came belting past me at 6 miles then slowed down. I caught him 3 or 4 times and each time he'd put in a ridiculous surge. Had he been reading too much about elite racing tactics? I beat him by a fair bit in the end, so perhaps he'll learn a lesson.

As we turned away from the wind at the end of the seafront, the running became a lot easier and I sped up once more. I felt good! Then I felt really bad! Dreadfully bad stitch hit me like a punch in the gut. I really wanted to stop! I did all the things I could think of - breathing, leaning, massage, pushing my fist hard in my gut, and slowing, but it stayed with me to the finish. It got a little easier and I got back on pace by the last mile. Why do I get stitch so often? I'm very careful not to drink within 2 hours of the start. I think on this occasion though I simply had too much breakfast. Lesson learnt?

At the finish my watch read 1:17:07. A PB by nearly 3 minutes. So I'm pleased right? Well I ought to be, but I know I can go faster. My heart rate dropped during the stitch as my pace slackened. The result: an average of 154bpm - the same as at Lordshill - I didn't managed to go any quicker HR wise.

Right, technical time. What is my equivalent 1 hour heart rate? The Runner's World race pace predictor says that I'll do 7.89 miles in 1 hour dead. That's a pace of 7:36 compared to my Hayling pace of 7:43. My pace vs HR relationship is a 40secs/mile pace improvement for every 10bpm HR rise. So that's an extra 2 bpm if running for just 1 hour. So my lactate threshold is 156bpm - again the same as Lordshill. Consistent!

I still think I can go faster!

To compound my 'disappointment', my friend and team mate Ruth had a fantastic run - she was 5 minutes ahead of me. Another good team result I hope: Gina way out ahead, Ruth second point scorer, and me in third. (No results as yet)

I still think I could have done better!

Oh well, off to the pub for a commiseration drink and to bid Sara farewell for her 6 months in Oz. Bob then dropped the bombshell. I had won a bronze medal in the over-40s in the Hampshire championships! That's my first ever prize outside the club!

OK, maybe I had quite a good day after all!

Saturday, November 26, 2005

It's not all about slow running

I got a pleasant surprise at Lordshill. Finding that the policewoman conducting me across the road shouting "Go Susie" was actually my training buddy, was pleasant enough, but that wasn't it. Finding I had a sprint finish in me after 10 hard hilly miles, run at an alarmingly high heart rate, was the surprise, and quite significant in what it implies.

I had a surprise in the Cardiff Marathon along the same lines. My pace held up for the whole race. After 26 miles I felt fresh, and was able to sprint round the Millennium Stadium like a mad thing.

These 2 events could be dismissed as 'superior endurance brought on by high mileage training', but there is far more to it than that. I think for the first time since starting my methodical base training, I am seeing evidence that my Lactate Threshold is going up.

OK, here comes the science: Lactate Threshold (LT) is a point on the lactate vs heart rate curve, defined by a specific level of blood lactate (4 mmol/litre I believe). This is of course largely meaningless to the majority of us who don't have access to a laboratory. What it means in reality is it's the point above which you will start accumulating lactate rapidly, get 'the burn', and start to run out of steam quickly. In terms of measuring it, it's generally taken to be the maximum average heart rate you can sustain for an hour of racing. (We'll come back to this point later)

LT is an important notion when it comes to training. For me, it's easier to measure than maximum heart rate - just go out and race. I think it is more relevant to one's training than maximum heart rate. Quoting training paces as %s of maximum heart rate is as much a generalisation as the formulae used to estimate maximum heart rate. It's all very well saying that marathon pace heart rate is 80% of max, and training to that, but in the case of a well trained athlete, marathon pace could be much higher (I believe as high as 90%). The difference is the higher LT of the well trained runner. Training at a level relative to your LT gives a pace far more relevant to the individual and their current state of fitness.

This is all very well but what does the LT mean and why is it so important?

At this stage, I'll issue the usual caveats of me not being a sports scientist, and not being a qualified coach. I'm an enthusiastic amateur. Got that? Good!

Us base trainers bang out loads of slow miles. It gets results! We see our pace improving month by month. We run slowly. We run aerobically. We are developing aerobic capacity. Right?

Well no. Not as I see it.

You'll often hear me say "It's not all about slow running". Slow running certainly has an effect. With plenty of slow running, pace at a given heart rate will improve, but for me this is all about running economy, not about aerobic capacity (although we may be talking semantics here!). For a given heart rate, ignoring possible improvements in the stroke volume of the heart, you are using the same amount of oxygen and hence burning the same amount of fuel as the slightly less fitter you of a few months back. If you are now able to run faster, then it is simply that running at a given speed isn't using so much power as it used to: your running economy is improving. To me, aerobic capacity is something more than this: it is all about the ability of the slow-twitch muscle fibres to burn lactate, and consume oxygen. I'll explain.

We all know that we have fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibres; well you probably do if you’ve found your way to this article. We may all know that fast-twitch fibres produce lactate as a by product of their function. What we might not know is that slow-twitch fibres can use lactate as a fuel, burning it aerobically to power us along. As we run, there is a balance between fast- and slow-twitch, with the slow-twitch gobbling up all the lactate produced by the fast-twitch fibres. As we increase our speed though, the balance starts to shift in favour of the fast-twitch fibres (our anaerobic system), with the slow-twitch fibres (our aerobic system) overwhelmed and unable to mop up all the lactate. Lactate levels rise, and rise ever more sharply as speed increases.

I see aerobic capacity as the ability to mop up lactate. The higher your aerobic capacity, the higher the heart rate you are able to run at without accumulating lactate. In other words the higher your lactate threshold.

So now we see another way to improve our performance. If you can train in a way to raise your LT, then you will be able to race at higher heart rates. We have a double whammy speed improvement: not only is all the aerobic running making us faster for a given heart rate, we can then sustain a higher heart rate and hence go faster still.

You’ll certainly get an improvement in running economy from slow running. It is just possible you may see an improvement in LT from slow running, but far less likely. To see improvements in LT you need to train nearer to your LT, ie faster. You need to run at paces where you are creating lactate, and forcing the aerobic system to work to burn off the lactate. With just slow running there’s not sufficient lactate to provide this type of training stimulus, hence: “It’s not all about slow running”.

The classic way to improve LT is to do Tempo Runs. These are runs where you run the middle few miles at a pace near to your LT. There is a difference in opinion though as to what the best pace is. I’ve been following the Hadd method, where you always run below your LT, keeping it strictly aerobic. Within the framework of the Hadd principles of daily running, the idea of pushing up the LT from below makes sense: the softly softly approach. Other methods have you running much faster, pulling up the LT from above. This may be more ‘optimal’, but you need to ensure this is compatible with the rest of your regime: these runs can be quite tough!

An indicator Hadd uses of improvements in LT, is the ability to sustain a pace and heart rate for an hour. Once you can do your steady runs at a solid pace without any cardiac drift, then it’s time to move your training HRs up a notch: an indication that your LT has risen. Trouble is, during the summer, with the heat, and my love of off-road running, I haven’t had a chance to verify my lack of cardiac drift (although my pace at my steady HR has noticeably improved). Hadd also uses his ‘Hadd test’ to estimate LT. Unfortunately, I’ve not been doing too many of these either, largely for the same reasons. As I race fairly regularly though, I have been trying to get in indication of LT from my races.

I've tended to race according to heart rate. This is not a bad way of doing it if you know what heart rates you need to run at. My marathon HR tends to average out at 145bpm over the whole race. 142bpm seems a sensible level to start out at: my 'marathon pace'. At London earlier in the year, I went off at nearer 145bpm and paid for it at the end - I faded markedly. At Cardiff I made sure I stuck to 142bpm - I breezed in.

I have been using heart rate to train by, according to the Hadd principles. I do regular steady runs, marathon pace, around 140bpm+. As my training has progressed, my pace at this heart rate has got faster and faster, from 8:50 18 months ago, to 8:20 6 months ago, and now around 8:00. The training has been going well and these improvements are great. I also do tempo runs and long intervals at 145bpm+. Finally I think I am seeing, from racing, that my LT is improving and I should be racing and training at higher HRs.

My LT at the start of the year was no higher than 154bpm. This was what I averaged for the well paced all-out Stubbington 10k. My ability to carry a pace for an hour would mean my LT is a beat or 2 below 154bpm. Here’s a way of estimating it: the Runner's World race pace calculator has me running 12.16km in 1 hour dead, based on my Stubbington time. 12.16km/h is 7:56/mile. My 10k pace was 7:46. My current pace vs HR relationship is 40secs/mile for every 10bpm increase, so a 10 second drop in pace is just over 2bpm. Hence My LT was probably 152bpm. OK?

Racing faster than this always seems a bit scary, so I was quite alarmed at Lordshill to find my heart rate up at these levels. How could I sustain that for 10 miles? I have to confess I held back a little! Even so, my average heart rate for the race was 154bpm. I was running for well over an hour though (1:19:55), so let’s try to predict my LT pace again. The Runner’s World calculator predicts I would run 12.28km in 1 hour dead given that 10 mile result – faster than Stubbington, despite the hilly course – a clear improvement over the course of the year. My 10-mile pace is 8:00/mile and my ‘LT pace’ is 7:52. A pace improvement of 8 seconds is a rise in HR of 2bpm. My LT estimate is thus 156bpm, a 4bpm rise over the course of the year.

Thing is, these estimates/predictions are a bit self-fulfilling. Knowing what I believe my LT to be, or indeed my marathon HR at some 10bpm lower, I tend to race at those HRs. The result is I felt I could have gone faster at Cardiff. I held back at the start to try to keep my HR down to 142bm (152-10). Likewise at Lordshill, when I saw my HR shoot past 154bpm, I held back, fearing I would blow up in the hilly final stages.

So the plan for tomorrow’s flat and fast Hayling 10, is to go out at a speed closer to what I used to consider my 10k pace and try to hold it together for the full 10 miles. If I’m right that my LT is now higher, and in fact higher than even the 156bpm predicted from my Lordshill result, then I should be able to do this. It will feel very fast, but I’m going to try to sustain a pace of 7:30/mile, to bring me in nearly 5 minutes faster than Lordshill. Do or die!

I’ll let you know how I get on. It’s going to be a cold one!

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Moody

I had a run today along the beach in the cold air and glorious sunshine. It was a lovely day, but I was in a funny mood. I seemed to feel, and to some extent be, the target of the world and his pet. I'll sum it up by my random thoughts as I ran:

  • Ankle socks? I bet she can't buy tights big enough!

  • No, he's not "Alright" he's growling and clawing at my heels!

  • My god, I thought she was wearing a hat!

  • Ha ha, very funny, but I won't die of a heart attack in my forties

  • I really hope that stupid extendible lead breaks, so I can give that rat a good kick

  • Did you really have to scream like that? I said excuse me!


Good run though!

Sunday, November 13, 2005

15 miles and a bit of Boston

Talk about the Boston Marathon and everyone talks about Heartbreak Hill. It's a killer hill, the fourth in a series, that comes at 20 miles into the race. I like to be prepared, so have been trying to work out what it's like compared to hills I run in training. I found my hill, and today I ran down it during a gentle 15-miler. OK, it would have been more useful to run up it, but there's plenty of time for that. Actually, killer hill? Naaah!

OK, here's the science. I found a very useful profile of the course (easier to use than the pdf map from the race organisers) using a route mapping tool, based on Google maps, put together by a running club - the Houston Area Road Running Association.

Unfortunately I can't use the same tool to profile my training route, as there doesn't appear to be any height data for the UK yet! All is not lost as I have my GPS software. I've managed to size the outputs of each to the same scale so that I can overlay and compare them.

First up, here's Heartbreak Hill, the blue line, compared with Portsmouth's steepest hill: Glebe Park Avenue (I thought that would be a good place to start, given Heartbreak Hill's reputation):
Heartbreak Hill vs Glebe Park Avenue
Not bad - half the gradient, twice the length.

Next up, there's Portsdown Hill Road. It's a 300ft climb, steadily uphill for nearly 2 miles. It goes up the same hill as Glebe Park Avenue, which joins it half way up. The first bit, up to the A3M bridge, is rather steep, but from the bridge onwards it's not too bad. There's a crest about half mile from the bridge where there's a slight downhill before the road continues upwards. I've overlaid Heartbreak Hill on this half mile section from the start of the bridge to the crest:

Heartbreak Hill vs Portsdown Hill from start of bridge to brow before Woodfield Avenue

Bingo! Now I know how to visualise Heartbreak Hill. I'll add Portsdown Hill to the end of some of my long runs.

Friday, November 11, 2005

The 60 miles per week plan

I've been thinking about how I can progress my training for Boston. Having tried the Pete Pfitzinger/Scott Douglas schedule it's been valuable in teaching me a few lessons:

  • Mileage is good! I can cope with 60-70 miles per week, but at that mileage it's easy to overdo it

  • Schedules can't fit everyone - the good bit is that they encourage you to run when apathy might have held you back (a problem I don't have!), but the bad bit is you might end up running with niggles and picking up injuries when you'd be better backing off a bit. There were times when I was too tired, and I don't think I was getting the best from the training

  • I can do a long slow run the day after a speed session - 2 hard days in a row - something I've never done before. I think the key here is keeping variety - don't do 2 long runs or 2 speed sessions together

  • The schedule gave me fantastic endurance: lots of long runs and 15-mile midweek runs are the way to go

  • A schedule can be a lonely time if you stick to it and avoid doing club runs - most of our club runs are way too short

  • I can't justify this, but I felt I could have done with more marathon pace sessions



  • So for Boston, I'm going to do my own thing, but incorporating elements of the schedule I used for Cardiff. I want to achieve the following:

  • Get comfortable running regular 60-70 mile weeks

  • Stick with aerobic runs (base training) for at least the first 3 months

  • Have at least 1 marathon pace/steady run per week and another faster session

  • Try to fit in around the club sessions of a group run on Tuesday and an interval session on Thursday

  • 15 mile midweek runs

  • Weekly gym sessions

  • Weekend long runs at least 15 miles with lots of 20-milers (fortnightly?)


  • I can't get everything into 1 week, so here is what a typical fortnight looks like. It's not a schedule as such, but a 'principle'. One thing I need to do is know when I'm overdoing it and back off if need be:
    Monday4Recovery
    Tuesday7Gym session am, steady marathon pace club run pm
    Wednesday15Slow
    Thursday5Recovery (with club - need to ensure I don't get pulled along too fast!)
    Friday8Tempo - middle 3 miles at half marathon to 10k pace
    Saturday5Recovery
    Sunday20Slow
    Monday0'Rest' - gym session
    Tuesday115 slow am, 6 steady pm with club
    Wednesday6Recovery
    Thursday7Intervals with club - long reps (aerobic)
    Friday12Slow
    Saturday6Recovery
    Sunday17Slow

    Each month I'll incorporate a recovery week where I drop the mileage a bit and maybe add a rest day or 2 (that's proper rest - not gym sessions!).

    I'll build gradually to this through November, hold this through mid-December onwards, and maybe add some sharpening/VO2max sessions in March.

    Sunday, November 06, 2005

    League running: The Lordshill 10

    I had a new perspective on racing today. I did the Lordshill 10 in a time of 1:19:55 (unofficial), a PB by over 7 minutes (told you I would!). I was pleased with the time, but the best bit is I was 33rd lady, my best position ever, and along with my 2 team mates Ruth and Gina ahead of me, we finished 2nd ladies team. Gina was 3rd lady - brilliant! Given the foul, wet and windy, weather and the hilly course, I was very pleased with my performance.

    The race for me was characterised by my tussle with a runner from another club. I spent the first 7 miles about 50m behind her. As the race went on I was passing other lady runners, but it was still Viv (I found out her name afterwards) whom I was trying to reel in. At 7 miles came the big hill and I finally caught her. I also overtook one of my male team-mates walking up the hill - poor Mark had some bad stomach problems and had to later visit a bush!

    Viv and I were clearly well matched. It was interesting to compare us. On the steep bits, both uphill and downhill, I seemed to have the edge. On the flat, we seemed fairly matched. As soon as we turned into the wind though, Viv had the edge: maybe it was simply that she was shorter and had less windage? With each hill I would overtake her, but on the intermediate bits she would get me back as the wind held me in check. I was behind with only a few hundred metres to go, but in the run-in I was stronger and outsprinted her.

    My only race used to be with myself, but increasingly I can engage in these little battles with other runners. Being a road-race league event makes these little tussles important. Each place gained is an extra point for the team. I now regularly score points for the team (first 3 to count for the A team) and it really adds to the experience. It's good to be racing for the team not just yourself.

    I realised the significance of my battle after the race. Apparently, we were only a point ahead of the 3rd place team. Without my battle for the extra placing, we wouldn't have finished 2nd!

    What a great race!

    Saturday, November 05, 2005

    New marathon, new title

    Cardiff is over, and the Boston Marathon is 23 weeks away. Considering there's a 24 week training schedule in the Pfitzinger/Douglas book that doesn't seem too far away!

    First item of business is a change of blog title. Of course, I've done a marathon since Cardiff, but I thought "Running towards Beachy Head" might have got the Samaritans on my case.

    Lordshill 10 tomorrow, then the rest of November building my mileage back to 50-60 miles/week. I think I've recovered well from Beachy Head, and I predict at least 5 minutes off my 10-mile PB tomorrow. How's that for confidence?!

    Tuesday, November 01, 2005

    The Beachy Head report

    "Are you Tracy?"
    "Susie says she's really sorry, but she's running on without you, to try to get under 6 hours"

    This is what greeted Tracy at the 3rd checkpoint, about 16 miles into our little stroll around the Beachy Head marathon. After promising to walk round with her, I'd left a message with a marshal, to try to ease my guilt, and run on without her, the red mist clouding my judgement. My final attempt at absolution would later see me adding an extra 4 miles on to the end of the marathon: well I'm not scared of ultras anymore!

    It always happens! I learnt a while back to exercise extreme caution when tempted to use races as training runs. I always have to create little targets for myself. I run PBs instead of steady pace. I try to out-sprint the finishers in 10-mile races, while I still have another lap to go to do my 20-mile 2-lapper. I decide I have to beat my team mentor up ahead and score points for the team, when I have a marathon in a few weeks. No matter how level-headed I am on the start line, a change always happens in me and the red mist descends. Races for training really don't work for me.

    The first 13 miles or so had gone well. Brendan Foster could, as usual, have said "Perfect weather for distance running", and incredibly, have been correct. Cool, cloudy and very little wind. I'd walked most of the way with Tracy, and she'd even got ahead of me a short way after I walked a few miles with the awesome Plodding Hippo. PH was struggling somewhat, on her 27th marathon in 3 years, and the 4th in the last 2 months. She got round OK, but today she was Strolling Hippo.

    I left 'Hipps' and caught Tracy back up to be greeted by the gurning mugs of my support angels Gill and Margaret at checkpoint 2 (thanks girls!). I walked on with Tracy along the ridge and we were soon at half way in just over a respectable 15 minutes/mile pace. 6 hours 30 minutes seemed a reasonable target at this stage.

    Tracy seemed OK so far, but my heel ached a bit and the side of my leg felt a bit stiff. I felt I needed a rest, and so started to run for a bit (for any non-runners reading this, you might have to get a distance runner to explain that to you). I felt good, much better in fact, so carried on for a bit.

    I'd soon reached checkpoint 3, and realised that my average pace had speeded up considerably. I'd made up 15 minutes in only a few miles. I'd intended to wait for Tracy, but I realised I'd now have to wait 15 minutes! The cogs started to whirr and the plan formulate.

    I'd made 15 minutes on 6:30 in the last 3 miles (mostly downhill), so surely in the last 9 miles I could make up another 15 to 20 minutes and finish inside 6 hours? In order to get my name on the results sheet I'd have to be inside 6 hours. As club statistician, this seemed to matter. It might also help if I ever have the opportunity to join the 100 marathon club. Don't laugh - I've only done 5 marathons and already these thoughts are entering my head.

    So the plan was made. What about Tracy though? I'd promised to get her round. Oh the pangs of guilt! I explained my hesitation to a nearby marshal, and this, dear reader, is where we came in.

    I decided to press on with my plan, but after a steep hill and 2 flights of stairs realised that this might not be as straightforward as it had seemed.

    Apart from regular clouds of red mist, another thing that happens to me during distance races is mental gymnastics. I've become quite practised at my 26.2 times table. By various means I worked out that an average pace of around 13:30/mile would bring me in under 6 hours.

    So I've done the first 17 miles at an average of 14:30 so I need to knock off another minute by the finish, but that's a minute spread over 26 miles, so 26 minutes gained over the last 9 so 3 minutes per mile better than 14:30 so 11:30 from here on in. Have I got that right?

    Sometimes the sums can get a little tricky.

    I was soon being greeted by Gill and Margaret at Cuckmere Haven, and quickly explaining my 6 hour deadline plan to them, pressed on.

    7 miles in 90 minutes. Just under 13 minute miling. That's easy! Then came the Seven Sisters.

    I was now on a mission. Mere hills were not going to stop me. I think some of the others I was passing, including Nicola, were a little surprised to see me running up the hills. I think my heart was a little surprised too! Any thoughts of a nice gentle stroll around the South Downs had now truly evaporated.

    I managed to run over a few sisters, but 13 mins/mile was feeling a lot tougher than it sounded. Why do I always put pressure on myself in events? By Birling Gap, and the final checkpoint, time was tight, and then there was the small matter of Beachy Head to get over. I dashed past Gill and Margaret, dumping my tee-shirt and camera with them, shouted encouragement at Bob, whom I passed at the checkpoint, and raced on.

    My GPS was counting down the miles for me. It wasn't until I reached the top of Beachy Head, with 1 mile to go, that I was finally convinced that I would make it and could relax. It was somewhere around here that the solution to my guilt feelings for Tracy began to take shape.

    I ran down the last section, crossed the line, 5:55, quick celebration, quick drink, and to Gill who had just arrived at the finish:
    "Let's get back to Birling Gap - quick!"

    I walked the last leg again, with Tracy. I hope it helped her. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I confused RichK, taking photos at Beachy Head, who thought I had a twin. I ended up doing 30 miles. It was fun! Anyone for an ultra?


    Will you forgive me Tracy?


    Well done to all the Victory AC runners. Well done to Dave J in 29th place - only one girl passed you Dave! Well done to Dave W on his first marathon, finishing with Paul who, like Dave J, did the Clarendon Marathon 4 weeks ago. Well done Ian, Malcolm, Marilyn, Nicola and Bob. Finally, major commiserations to Pete, who for the second year running (or not!) retired with a dodgy ankle. Ooh!