I received my final copy of the Marathon News magazine this morning. More excitingly I also received my registration form, so I now know that my running number on 17th April is 38836. With exactly one calendar month to go until the big day I think I can honestly now say this shit just got real.
For tonight's run I decide to go with the "50 mins 2 mins easy 10 mins fast" option from Week 12 of the training guide. I set off with the "slow/fast" playlist on my ipod and it starts well enough with the first slow song giving way to the Rakes' "22 Grand Job" around 2 minutes in. I realise something's up when the breakneck riffing is replaced by Bill Withers' repetitive classic "Ain't no sunshine". As I recall, that's the fourth and final slow song on this playlist. Dammit, I've left the ipod on shuffle.
This is something of a double-edged sword. In one respect it's good because not knowing which song is going to be playing next keeps me on my toes. In another respect it means that any kind of structure to the run quickly goes out the window. So, instead of running at an easy pace for 2 minutes and then following it up with a sustained period at a fast pace the run begins with a quick interplay between slow and fast songs and just 20 minutes in I realise that I've heard all four slow songs already. Therefore, the remainder of the run was done with the backing of 26 minutes worth of fast paced punk and indie from the likes of the Clash, the Ramones and Idlewild. You couldn't ask for better (musical) running companions, but this isn't what I'd planned at all.
Like I say, it kept me on my toes but by the time I got back to the flat I was more knackered than I would normally be after the kind of run that I had planned.
It's an early start (out the door at 6:20am) and the training plan has dictated a fartlek run consisting of "40 mins 2 mins easy 8 mins fast x 4". Given previous posts you could be forgiven for thinking that I'd be dreading this run and normally you'd be right, but last night I finally put together a fartlek playlist and I was looking forward to trying it out.
Compiling a playlist for a fartlek session is quite difficult as the majority of songs lasting for around 2 minutes in my itunes library are 200mph punk numbers. I have a pretty limited number of slow 2 minute long songs to choose from. The second problem is, essentially, the reverse of the first. There aren't a whole lot of fast songs which last for 8 minutes, so I'm left trying to beat match a number of fast songs so as to create a vaguely consistent tempo.
The first 10 minutes began with British Sea Power's slow-building opener "All in it", which lasts for 2:13 secs. This set me up perfectly for the 'slow' tempo start to the run before the Vaccines, Idlewild, The Ramones and The Rakes crashed the party and got me running at a 'fast' tempo for 8 minutes. Run Keeper underlines the effectiveness of this mix as I was running at 6:25 mins/km in the first minute, but when "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" by the Vaccines kicked in in the third minute I was propelled forward at 3:52 mins/km - a pretty impressive change in tempo. While the tempo wasn't constant for the entirety of this 'fast' section most of those eight minutes saw me record an average speed around or below 4:30 mins/km.
The second 10 minutes began with Mark Kozelek's cover of AC/DC's "Love at first feel". This acoustic beauty gave me 2:12 secs of respite before Blur's "We've got a file on you" informed me that it was time to pick up my pace. This was followed by "Oh Yeah" (The Subways), "22 Grand Job" (The Rakes) and "I wanna be sedated" (The Ramones). Again, the effectiveness of the music mix is clear to see as for the two minutes of 'slow' running I was averaging 6 mins/km. For the 8 minutes of 'fast' running that followed this I was able to maintain a pretty fast pace, although I can see that I definitely slowed down for the last couple of minutes (the last minute of this section took 5:41 mins/km).
Relief was on hand at the start of the third section as Michael Cera and Ellen Page (the stars of "Juno") serenaded me with a cover of the Moldy Peaches' "Anyone else but you". The 'fast' section was run to the sound of the View ("Wasted Little DJs") and Arcade Fire ("Month of May"). By this time it really felt as though I was running through treacle and the difference between the slow and fast tempos seemed, if not exactly non-existent, certainly less pronounced. So, I'm pleased to look at the stats on Run Keeper and see that there was still a clear difference between the two paces.
The final quarter began with Bill Withers singing "Ain't no sunshine". It's a good song to slow the pace down, but I hadn't realised how bloody repetitive it is. In one chorus (?) alone he repeats "I know" 26 times. Twenty six. I thought my ipod was skipping.
It was with some relief that the Libertines' "I get along" kicked off the final 'fast' section of the run. This was followed by "Readers and Writers" by Idlewild - which I've already mentioned on this blog as being a song that really helps to fire me up. This was trumped by the final song on the playlist, "White Riot" by the Clash - one of my all time favourite songs. As soon as that urgent two chord riff started up I felt completely re-energised and this is demonstrated by Run Keeper which shows that those last two minutes were conquered in 4:11 and 4:51 mins/km respectively.
So there we have it. Proof that a fartlek playlist can be done and can be very effective. I've got some more of these runs coming up in the next few weeks and now I've got this playlist sorted I may even look forward to them, more so when I've found a replacement for "Ain't no sunshine".
Lent is over. We went out to meet up with some friends last night and any resolve that I had not to drink crumbled as soon as I saw the ales on offer in the East Dulwich Tavern. A man can only be so strong when faced with Tribute, Ubu Purity and Doom Bar on tap and bottles of Brooklyn Lager, Meantime and Samuel Adams chilling in the fridge. So I made it three weeks without even a snifter of alcohol, not quite what I'd intended but also not too bad either.
Knowing that I had a long run scheduled for the next morning I decided to take it pretty easy. So, why oh why did I wake up with a foggy head and a throat as dry as the Gobi desert? I'd intended on getting up and going for a run at 7:30am or thereabouts but in the event I made it out the door at 9am. Again, not quite what I'd intended but also not too bad either.
Jim wasn't available to join me for a Sunday run today, so instead of the usual discussions about football, music and runner's nipple, I had the running playlist for company. Across a total of 103 minutes of running the compilation which I have been carefully putting together over recent weeks didn't let me down once. I enjoyed a fine mixture of tunes from the Stones, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash amongst others but special mention must go to Idlewild and the Rakes. Allow me to explain why.
The route I took today was basically an extended version of the 3 Park Run Jim and I have done over the last couple of weeks. The route features a number of hills. The first of which hove into sight at around the 9km mark in Brockwell Park. As I approached the hill my legs were feeling somewhat sorry for themselves, but they were given a real burst of energy when Idlewild's 2009 single "Readers and Writers" burst into glorious life with its trumpet and glockenspiel propelling me up the hill with a spring in my step.
The second hill was never part of the route I had intended to run, I ad-libbed and added it in when I realised that the planned route wasn't going to last for the 100 minutes demanded by the training plan. So I found myself on Forest Hill Road - 17km into the run - staring down the barrel of another hill when the Rakes' "Strasbourg" started up with its insistent guitar riff and fantastic lyrics; "our children must have rock n' roll" indeed. Again, I found myself carried along by the simple power of rock n' roll.
I've said all along on this blog that the running playlist is an integral element of my training and that the right song played at the right time can make all the difference. Today's run provides a perfect illustration of this. Despite my wife's protests I fully intend to be running the London Marathon with my ipod strapped to my arm, so if you happen to see me cranking out an awesome riff on my air guitar or maybe singing along with some of the lyrics you'll know that I'm being treated to one of those songs that can make all the difference.
One other thing to note before I go is that this run wasn't too far off of a half marathon distance. The one and only time I've run a half marathon my legs turned to jelly as soon as I crossed the finishing line. My legs were undoubtedly aching at the end of this run, but they didn't turn to jelly and I actually felt as though I could continue running. Of course, it may well be the case that I pay the price tomorrow ...
Day: 22 Distance: 6.55 km Time: 34:37 secs Calories: 504
Rarely in the field of marathon training have music and running come together in such perfect unison.
I was only supposed to be going out for a 35 minute run at an 'easy' tempo following yesterday's 17km run, but when your ipod treats you to such perfect explosions of rock n' roll as "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)" by the Vaccines, "22 Grand Job" by the Rakes and "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones one after the other there's no way you can settle for a slow pace. None of those songs weigh in at more than 3 minutes (in fact "Wreckin' Bar" comes and goes in just 1:24 secs), but they are exactly the kind of songs that really fire me up. I've checked Run Keeper and for the first kilometre of this run I was averaging just under 4.5 mins per km - that's the kind of speed I run at for a 10k race - and I've absolutely no doubt that this tempo was down to the urgent, punky energy of each one of those three songs.
Obviously, I can't have a 5 hour long playlist consisting solely of songs like this - for one thing I'd be shattered well before the finish line - but they play an absolutely crucial role. I can well imagine one of those songs picking me up when my energy levels and pace are dropping and today they helped me to forget about my weary legs.
