Sunday, 7 March 2010

This was the day of the Barcelona Marathon. I am tired but I did finish the course. My time was somewhat disappointing in that I was unable to finish in under four hours. I ran the course in 4 hours, 13 minutes and 52 seconds. My time was almost twice as long as the winner's.
Sunday was a cold day, colder than usual for his time of year. And I suffered from the cold because I should have worn an extra layer of clothing. It would have been more comfortable especially in the parts of the course that were exposed to a head wind.
The first half of the race went reasonably well as I was able to maintain my usual plodding pace. At the halfway mark I was just under a four pace--1 hour 57 minutes 29 seconds. After that and especially after the 30 kilometre mark I gradually faded as my legs felt heavier and heavier. I had no trouble aerobically as I was breathing easily but my thighs seemed to tighten up and it became harder and harder to run. At some point after the 25 kilometre mark I paused to stretch my legs but it had little effect.
Around the 30 kilometre mark I walked fro the first time. Of course the hardest part about walking is that it is so hard to start running again.
The last part of the race was gruesome. It took me almost 16 minutes to run the last 2.2 kilometres
After the race I was in some pain but that lasted for a half hour or so. Later, although I was stiff, I was able to walk reasonably well.

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Saturday's long run was still affecting me today. Nothing in aprticular was hurting or especially achy. The exception being an occasional pain in the sole and heel of my left foot. The pain, when I notice it, is dull and very faint and I doubt that it is anything to worry about.
During my short, 40 minutes or so, run today I had a general feeling of tiredness and lethargy, fatigue to be more specific, that caused me to slow up a bit. While running on the Passieg Maritim I felt awkward with a herky-jerky gait. I ran as far as the riera just beyond the foot bridge.

Saturday, 27 February 2010

After last weekend's fiasco concerning my abbreviated run I was hoping to somehow make up for it today. With a week or so left to go before the marathon I thought that I could still get in a long run without jeopardizing the taper.
In the lead up to my first marathon in 1983 I had put in a long run the weekend prior. Of course I was much younger then and my ability to recover from a strenuous physical effort was much greater. Perhaps putting in a long run at this point was not going to be productive. The psychological benefit of having run at least half the marathon distance, I thought, would be worth it.
So after some careful stretching and the application of vasoline in the right places I set off. I followed my usual route down to Premia, taking care not to run too fast as I warmed up. The weather was agreeable; overcast with a threat of light rain but not cold. I ran in shorts, a polypro long sleeve with a t-shirt over top. I carried my fleece pullover tied round my waist.
At Premia de Mar I stretched again and then set off toward Barcelona. There was hardly any wind. I did not bother to time myself as this was strictly an attempt to put in some mileage. On the other hand I was not feeling particularly fast but I was not uncomfortable either. I had no problem with chaffing.
I followed my regular route to the railway tunnel, then on to Badalona, on to the marina and paused at Sant Adrias de Besos to call home and arrange where and when to meet in Barcelona. Once over the river and in  Barcelona I just kept heading toward Placa de Catalunya. I had some water, a beer and a cheese sandwich in a cafe as I waited for the girls.
Total time for the run including stops and pauses was about 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Thursday, 25 February 2010

Tonight after work I repeated the same route as on Tuesday for my run. It turned out better than expected. I was worried that my legs would be stiff, they were a bit but not as bad as I had feared. As a bonus the weather was warm enough to be able to run in a t-shirt. The jog down to Premia was easy and comfortable. At the sea there was a strong wind blowing from the south at what I estimated to be about 20 to 25 knots. The wind did slow me down on the way out but pushed me along on the return. About a 45 minute run in all.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

A short run this evening down to the beach and out 15 minutes and then back to Premia. Then the bus home.

Saturday, 20 February 2010

The more I think of today's run the frustrated I feel. I had hoped to put in an extra long run, the last one prior to the marathon, of say two and a half hours but it was not to happen. It was cool and sunny morning when I set off  full of expectations. Frankly, I expected a problem before I even got to the beach. The problem was chaffing between my legs caused by my shorts. I had forgotten to apply vasoline before setting out. I was running in my heavier pair of black shorts. I have often run with these shorts without a problem but today was somehow different. By the time I had reached Badalona it was quite painful. I stopped running at the Badalona marina. I walked on to the railway station where I took the streetcar into Barcelona. I then took the bus from Placa de Catalunya to Vilassar. It was all very frustrating and only two weeks to go to the marathon.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

Another short run of less than 50 minutes. The same route as on Tuesday last. The weather is warmer and I deliberately ran without a backpack. I had hoped that the run would have felt more comfortable.

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

This evening after work I put in another short run of about 50 minutes. I ran down to Premia de Mar and from the railway station I ran out 15 minutes before turning back. I timed the run to catch the 6:20 bus back to Vilassar. It was pleasant to put in such a relatively short run.

Sunday, 14 February 2010

This morning I went for a long walk with the dog in the mountain overlooking Vilassar. It was a walk of over two hours and so in the afternoon when I went for my run I was a little leery of how it would go. The previous run after a long walk with the dog had been very sluggish. Today's run, however, turned out to be so-so.
It has been a very cold day. There were patches of ice and snow in the mountain but when I got down to the beach I found myself somewhat overdressed.
I was definately fatigued as my time over my usual timed distance was just over 30 minutes. I ran on to the railway station at Badalona where I took the train back to Premia and from there the bus up to Vilassar.
I was weary by the end . The run had been into the wind and eventually I found myself chilled. It took me a while to put on the another layer.

Friday, 12 February 2010

Today I had a relatively short run of about 50 minutes. It started with my usual jog down tothe beach at Premia de Mar and then along the Passeig Maritim to the riera just past the footbridge of the NII highway. It was a sluggish effort. In particular my thighs felt very stiff. At the riera I turned back and ran to the Premia railway station. As usual I took the bus back up to Vilassar.

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

It was raining when I ran today after work. All I can say about the run is that I ran the Passieg Maritim to the rail tunnel and then back to Premia and the bus up to Vilassar.

Saturday, 6 February 2010

Despite two days off I felt as if I had not completely recovered from Wednesday night's sprints. My thighs felt a bit stiff as I set off down the long decline to Premia de Mar. Perhaps I am putting in more mileage than I can handle and that I am to some extent fatigued. Another factor is that today I was sufferring from a cold, not a bad cold, still a bothersome one.
Once I got down to the seashore I had to run into a strong cross-head wind. It was strong enough to significantly slow me down. My time from Premia station to the el Masnou-Mongat line was 30 minutes 35 seconds. That was not a good time at all.
I ran on to the Barcelona side of the rail tunnel and turned back. Timing myself on the return with the wind helping I had almost time. That seemed to confirm that I am fatigued. When I finished I was very weary and tired.
Except for the wind it was a beautiful day. The wind had a bit coolness in it but the sun gave a noticeable warmth. On Friday I weighed myself in trousers and a t-shirt at 71.00 kg. I have lost a bit of weight.

Wednesday,3 February 2010

I have had two days of rest since Sunday's long run in the mountain. I had considered running on Tuesday after work but by the end of the day I was bone weary and I walked home instead. The rest was welcome and necessary.
So far I have not had any running related injuries and still continue to avoid them but yesterday I developed a problem with my left wrist. Some inflamation developed on the back of the hand. It is a work related problem no doubt. My wife insisted hat I do something about it before it got any worse. The pharmacy around the corner sold braces and I wore it all day at work. It seemed to make things better.
For my run I went up to the park with the cypress trees and did some sprinting on the sidewalk. I did eight laps and called it quits. I am not a sprinter but it was nice to do something different.
The shoes I ran in were the second pair that I bought, lightweight racing pair. The shoe were comfortable and I had no problems with them.
The whole workout including a warm up from the Fornaca took about 40 minutes.