Malmomilen struggle, sportpicture.dk

Hayfever and holiday...

10\6 - 16\6
Date\Day          km         Time          min\km
16/06/2013 s     25.68     1:43:00     4:00    
15/06/2013 s     10.77     0:43:00     3:59    
15/06/2013 s     10           0:34:50     3:29    
14/06/2013 f      5.89       0:23:00     3:54    
12/06/2013 w    6.96       0:36:00     5:10    
12/06/2013 w    12.03     0:48:00     3:59    
11/06/2013  t     10           0:36:30     3:38    
10/06/2013 m    11.69     0:50:00     4:16
total:93.02km, av pace:

17\6-20\6
Date\Day        km         Time         min\km
19/06/2013 w  5.26       0:23:00     4:22
18/06/2013 t    14.91     1:00:00     4:01   
17/06/2013 m  8.73       0:36:00     4:07 

Mon 10\6- took a different run to the usual Mon route, down past the arena and round the ponds south of Lund before heading back via a lap of CIP. Very tired and a somewhat slow pace.
Tue- training at Skrylle. 5km warmup, then 5x1k. Could only just manage 3.25\km, tight chest, struggled throughout and felt very tired. Sore eyes after cycling back to Lund.
Wed- am: very easy run south through Klostergarden and back up through Stadsparken in Lund. Done at a very easy pace to try and rest the legs a bit. pm - run up to St Hans Backar via Tuna and back through uni. Bit higher pace, but still not feeling great.
Thur- decide to take a full day of rest, plus Nordic Physics Days conf kept me busy.
Fri - fairly easy 6km round the arena and Stadsparken ahead of the Malmomilen.
Sat - Malmomilen. Rubbish. See sep post.
Sun - definitely felt the hayfever during the night: sore throat, red eyes, horrible headache and blocked nose. Particularly bad due to the amount of pollen sucked in racing - I find it especially bad after hard effort. Took 2 loratadine tablets plus some over the counter nasal spray and eye drops, which reduced the symptoms. Fortunately, it was raining - nothing better than pouring rain to run in during pollen season! Took a long run with gf on a bike down to Lomma and back (after remembering Lomma has no rail station...doh) - rain and a fresh wind off the sea made 25km manageable.

Mon 17\6 - very easy run, late in the evening (9.30pm) to avoid the worst of the pollen, down through Klostergarden and back via Lunds CIP. Felt shocking - like a very bad cold; tired, headache, sore throat, etc...
Tue 18\6 - felt marginally better, primarily through a shedload of sleeping and anti-histamine tablets. Run up to Norra Fäladen, up what I term 'Synchrotron Hill', on the basis it overlooks the new Max IV and the motorway, and back via St Hans Backar (they'd just cut the fucking grass...arrgh!) and Lunds CIP.
Wed 19\6 -
Thur 20\6 -
Fri 21\6 - HOLIDAY!

Summary: hayfever season is here :-( and this year it's a bad one, probably a product of the long horrible winter. In retrospect, the signs were there before the race in Malmo, tiredness and a headache which I attributed to working too hard. Hayfever is something you have to just push through as a runner (it's like running with a permanent cold) - anti-histamines provide some relief, as does timing your runs later in the day, but neither is a complete cure. For me, mid-May (tree), mid June-early July(grass) and late-Aug (harvest, dust+stirred up pollen) are the worst times and I can definitely feel it in Sept when it passes; chest feels less tight and interval sessions become far easier. On the upside, both ankles have felt good these past 2 weeks!

Next week: Off on holiday to the Dolomites and northern Italy, hopefully leaving hayfever behind - training will thus mostly be hills!
MotW - 13 - Black Sabbath's new offering...

MalmöMilen 10k: target: 33.00, result: 34.50....urgghhh!! 

Absolutely rubbish outing in Malmo for the 10k race round the city - a worse 10k time than the DM (whilst injured) and 40s slower than the Skryllemilen, with significant hill climbs. Fuck!

Not quite sure what went so badly wrong. On the tues before the race I'd done 5x1k and found my legs to be very tired, with running <3.30 difficult. However, I rested extensively on thurs\fri - no running thurs and only a short, slow 4 miles early on fri and didn't feel particularly tired before the race. Pre-race preparation was normal, as before more successful races over the last few months.

First indication of problems came at around 2.5k as I was overtaken by another runner (running at my 33min target pace) and I found myself unable to catch back up - and neither could I shake the runner behind. I was able to battle through, running 5k in just under 16.40 but at 5-6k, running into the wind, my legs really started to give up and I was overtaken by 3\4 others. The last 4k really was a struggle to complete.

Partly, the poor performance could have been down to hayfever. My eyes were stinging and I was struggling a bit to breathe at the end, plus a telltale sore throat in the evening after. The 20C+ hot, windy weather and the unusual 3pm sat race time didn't help either. I've run poorly in mid-late June in the past, particularly the DM 10,000m on track last year (although injury played a part in that). Another possibility is the switch to longer runs, away from faster paced efforts slowing me down or that I'm currently overtraining - although this hadn't hindered previous races.

I think more likely is that I've become 'tired in the head' from increased training and racing (and working) over the last month and am lacking some motivation. Years of no track running has always made June a kind of end-of-season point where good race performances are hard to come by. Hopefully holiday in a week should help with that...

3/6-9/6 - Difficult week...

Date\Day           km         Time         min/km
09/06/2013 s     13.66     0:58:00     4:14
09/06/2013 s     13.5       1:01:00     4:31    
08/06/2013 s     10          0:36:10     3:36    
08/06/2013 s     12.26     0:55:00     4:29    
07/06/2013 f      7.07       0:26:00     3:40    
06/06/2013 t      7.06       0:28:00     3:58    
06/06/2013 t      8.67       0:34:00     3:55    
04/06/2013 t      11.33     0:51:00     4:29    
04/06/2013 t      2.5         0:10:00     3:59    
03/06/2013 m    17.16     1:17:00     4:29
total: 103.21km, av pace:  4.08/km

Mon (pm) - standard run along the Hardebergaspåret. Felt ok to start off with, but then increasingly tired towards the end of the run - pace dropped from 4.00/km to closer to 5.00/km. A busy day at work beforehand.
Tues (pm) - worked too late to head up to Skrylle, so ran up to Sankt Hans backar and took a 2.5km lap of the Extreme race course, followed by a run back via uni. Again, quite tired.
Weds - urrrrgh...felt very tired, combination of work and likely not recovering well enough from the race sun. Took a complete day of rest.
Thurs - decided to go back to 2 shorter runs a day to give some mental rest as well as more recovery time. (am) Took a short run down to Källby and back via the arena and (pm) same route, but with an extra loop up to Lunds CIP inc 1km track effort (at a slow 3.50/km...).
Fri- legs again demanded more rest, so threw in a shorter run as Thurs (am) at lunchtime, before taking the train back to Denmark.
Sat (birthday!) - (am) Brabrand parkrun, 5km in 17:10. Was aiming for sub-17 on the tough summer route (appx 1min slower than a flat 5k) in honour of my 28th birthday, but unfortunately it was a very windy day - and the worst kind of wind on that route, against for the faster first 2km rather than the hill sections. Followed by a second, slower lap at 19min pace. (pm) close to 1h run around Risskov and back along the beach to Bellvue strand before heading back up the hill to Skejby; beer and nice food afterwards!
Sun - (am) run down to the harbour in Århus to see the Aarhus City Halvmarathon. Some great performances from 1900 runners on quite a difficult route, with 2 hill climbs in it. I think I might have considered racing this if not for the Malmomilen next week, but just as a test of the ankle and current progress. Definitely aiming for the September 1900-organised Århus half; since it's a flat course and is the DM (and VM qualification race), it will be very quick making it good PB-potential - a summer of training lies ahead for that.
(pm) easy run again round Risskov and to the beach...but not so pleasant stomach cramps at around 3/4 though! a couple of 'pitstops' required, one invovling a rapid dash into the bushes in Mollerup skov :-(
Summary -  probably didn't rest enough after the race on Sun and underestimated how much it'd tired me out - tiredness not helped by quite a busy week at work. But with some rest and switching to shorter runs, I was able to get some good training done and just about get over 100km for the week.Still slightly concerned that the longer runs are at the exclusion of pace - work and tiredness prohibited a proper interval session in the week.
Aims for next week - hopefully intervals on Tues at Skrylle. Easier runs towards the end of the week ahead of the Malmomilen on Sat. Malmomilen target is 3.20/km pace - so 33.20 or better.

27/5 - 2/6 - Bjergløb buildup...
Date\Day           km         Time         min/km
02/06/2013  s    5.56       0:18:45     3:21    
02/06/2013  s    12.15     0:51:00     4:11    
02/06/2013  s    2            0:00:00     0:00    
01/06/2013  s    6            0:25:00     4:09    
31/05/2013  f    22.22     1:35:00     4:16    
29/05/2013  w  10          0:38:00     3:48    
28/05/2013  t    6            0:20:35     3:25    
28/05/2013  t    8            0:32:00     3:59    
27/05/2013  m  17.16     1:07:00     3:54
total:89.12km,   av pace:3.52/km 

Mon - (eve) run along the Hardebergaspåret, same as previous weeks out past the road crossing and back with a lap of Stadsparken. Gave it a bit of gas this week and went a bit later in the evening, such that there were fewer flies to inhale!
Tues - (eve) Training st Skrylle with Björnstorps IF. 3km red route warmup, then 6x1km, hilly - first 5 at 3.25-3.30\km pace, final with the hammer down at 3.05/km. Legs felt very tired after the distance put in over the previous days, very sore calf muscles and backside. Warmdown 5km at appx. 4.00/km. A very good preparation session for running hills at speed ahead of the race on Sun.
Wed - (am) standard 10km route to Källby. Did it in the morning to avoid some flies along by the ponds, unfortunately even at 7am it was quite bad!
Thurs - rest day.
Fri - (am) for the first time since the morning back in Sept I suffered my initial ankle injury, I ran the same route as the run on which it occurred - the full distance along the Hardebergaspåret to Sodra Sandby (including an extra loop in SS to get above 21km). I took it very easy at the start - lesson learnt from Sept - running around 4.30-4.40/km until the outer edge of Lund, before increasing the pace gradually thereafter. I was probably the most aware of any slight strain, complaint and my running style of any run I've done for many months, but I came through it! Now, just to increase the pace gradually...
Sat - (am) Brabrand parkrun in Århus. I was 'efterløber', starting 10min after everyone and running a very easy pace behind to make sure everyone got round. Extra 1km loop since I managed to catch the backmarker before the end. A nice, easy run to loosen the legs before racing Sun.
Sun - (am) Midtjysk Bjergløb 5.4km (see sep post)
Summary - a good week, with some longer distance runs (at the highest av. pace for some time) built in to build stamina, but still at a low mileage for the week due to the race. Slightly concerned this is at the expense of pace however. I again avoided the track, with the ankles ok on the longer runs but not on high speed track intervals (and still not quite right on hill intervals or racing either). Fly season has begun, but more importantly so has hayfever season - I found it hard to breathe running where the grass had been cut along the river in Lund. But, it's something I just have to cope with...
Aims for next week - try and push back up to 100km and build in more pace, via intervals or higher tempo runs.
MotW - The Isley Brothers- Who's That Lady . Another very 'summer' song...

Midtjysk Bjergløb, Bjergspurten 5.4km (appx. 120m climb) - 1st, 18:44 

Trip to Virklund near Silkeborg for the shorter version of 'Denmark's Hardest Mountain Race', organised by SMT Silkeborg. A quite early start to catch the bus from gf's parents house near Horsens, got to the race around 9.15 leaving a long time to kill until the 11am start. Very windy and (relatively) cold day, the race number tent was nearly airborne at one point!

Decided to do the less prestigious 5.4km to protect my ankle. The 27km full-bjergløb at this time is too much and 12km, with a hilly final 6km, was too much of a risk at this stage of recovery - especially since this race would contain stiffer competition and I'd potentially have had to push harder than I wanted to on the hilly section rather than setting and controlling the pace. The competition was somewhat weakened today, with the winners of previous years absent - likely on account of the Århus City Half next week. I'll be skipping that ahead of the MalmöMilen the week after; it takes more than a week to recover from a 1/2 and I'd rather take one decent race time than 2 crap ones.

Probably didn't quite warm up enough before the start as I ran the first km in a lethargic 3.28km - on tarmac, with downhill sections. Two runners stuck with me through this section, up to the start of the hill when I started to pull away. To try and get back some time, I pushed a bit and ran the 2nd km, up the main 70m climb, in 3.19/km - even catching and overtaking the lead bike! :-) The 3rd and 4th km were mainly downhill, however I covered these at the same 3.18-3.19/km pace - partly to recover from the hill effort and partly because I'm still very cautious descending after injury. I passed 5km in just inside 17min, slowing slightly for the final 0.4km slightly into the wind.

Afterwards took a 14km easier run at 4.00/km from Virklund to Gjessø and back - much better to do some after-training at an easy pace than re-injure myself over the longer race routes.

Overall a top day out and a good run. Nice walk back to Ry via the Himmelbjerg on the way back - walked some of the course covered by Himmelbjergløbet in October, one of my all-time favorite races due to the challenging course, the lovely autumnal woods and the epic Rocky-esque final km 15 with the huge climb from Julsø to the tower.

Big box of takeaway chow mein in Ry, def needed after racing and walking so far! Hope to be back sometime to run either the 12 or 27km routes...