Marathon du Medoc

Marathon all finished up.

5 and 1/2 hours
I did the first 21k in about 2hrs 20. Then slowed down to enjoy the festivities for the rest.

I hit all but one of the 23 wine tastings.
Did an 8k recovery walk the next day and drank some more wine.

Wk 23
jog (10 min), swim (10 min)
3.5k run (22 min)
Aqua biking (30 min)
6k run (30 min)

wk 24/25
run (35 min)
bike (1hr)
kayak (1hr15)
run (40 min)
bike (1hr15)
run (50 min)
run (1hr40)

Drinks
Reds: Blasted Church, Vancouver Island. Biggest suprise, velvety and morish.
Calafornian Zinfandel,
Grouse Mountain, Okanagan Valley, Vielles Vignes Cabernet Sauvignan.
See ya Later, Okanagan, Pinot Noir
Chat en oeuf, Ventoux blend, not bad at all.
whites
Mip Niq, Okanagan, very clear, native made
Okanagan Geuwertraminer
Many micro brews, best ones were Herman's black lager and an Ale from Victoria.


Not at all that well prepared for the marathon. There will have to be a lot of walking since I do not want to re-injur myself. I should be able to stay ahead of the 6 hour sweepers with about 18k of jogging.

The road to recovery

Week 22

x ski machine (25 min)
bike 12.5k (30 min)
water jog (30 min), swim (15 min)
swim (10 min)
swim (10 min)

Drinking:
L'Hortus Pic St Loup La Bergerie and La Grande Cuvée. Reds
Banyuls sweet red, reserve vignerone
Neuport white port
Champaigne
Rosés Buzet and Colliore
Pic Poule white
Langluvin whiskey

Apparantly the swelling has gone away in my back though I still feel a little occasional discomfort there. The flexiblity in my hip joint is almost where it should be. Dr. says it is too soon to say if I can run a marathon and the real culprits are my hamstrings, (too short), causing everything else to get pulled out of wack. I will have to do special stretches everyday plus after each sports activity. One thing I was not doing right in my streches was that I did not keep my opposite leg perfectly straight. Both knees should be in a locked position when you stretch your hamstrings.
When one is stretching their hamstrings it apears

Alternate route

So without running I am going to have to get really serious about the cross training.

Wk 21
5.5k run (35 min)
bike 10k (22 min), swim 1k (18min)
Sea swim (20 min)
Sea swim (2 times 5 min)

This week I have started with a x country ski machine and I am going to try to keep mixing it up.

Drinking
Mas de coume red from colliore, very strong and the first non sweet wine I have had from that region.
Duro red from Portugal
Cotes de mont ventoux rosé

Way off course.

That's it 14 days no running, doctor's orders. It was exactly like when you take your car to the mechanic because of one problem and they shake their head and point out a bunch of other stuff that you never even thought of and make you feel like a careless driver.
My lower back pain apparantly has more to do with a hip that is way out of wack and a blockage in the dorsal area of my spine and I may be developing arthritis in my hip and two discs in my spine. So I can't jog or do any sports involving running untill my next check up and if there are still problems I will have to get an x-ray. In the mean time I can swim and take Celebrex 200 and Chondrosulf 400 and keep on stretching.

I don't know if you can prepare for a marathon doing only swimming and biking and maybe some water jogging at a key stage in the preparation but we shall see. If I can still participate in the marathon the goal will be to participate and finish if possible and not run the whole thing but walk for part of it.

slowly slowly

Wk)20

3.5k (27 min)
3k (20 min)
8k (1hr)

Drinks
Terrasses de Larzac red, Bourgogne white, Carolus amber beer from Belguim

These times and distances are less than what I was doing in week 1. This can't be a good sign. Inspite of the obvious need for me to ramp up the volume of kilometers that I am running I am trying to take it nice and slow and not push myself too hard so that I don't have any serious problems with my back.

oh no

Things have been going badly in preparationville. Pain in the lower back and upper ass has drastically cut into my running in what should be the meat of my training weeks.

Wk 18
3k jog, 500 m swim, 13k kayak

Wk 19
3.4k jog, 500m swim
6k jog, 500m swim

Wine wise things have been off to the races. In the course of the last two weeks I have consumed about a dozen glasses of port. Some Vino Verdé white and Duro Red. Numerous Rosés and some St. Joseph Burgundy.
In red wines I have tried Peche Rome from Languadoc (very disapointing). Cheverny, Charrentes, Brouilly, St. Nicolas de Bourguielle and more Bordeaux. The Bourguielle was my personal favorite.

Pain in the upper ass

I have been experiencing what I thought was an upper back pain that I have already had but really it is more of an upper left buttock pain. I was reading something that led me to think it could be something to do with the sciatic. My running has been getting weaker and weaker instead of stronger. I will be away in Portugal for a few days with no running gear so I have to do a run tomorrow before my flight. I am due for a 23k run but I am thinking that mightn't be so wise. In the morning I will do a gentle little run after some warming up and stretching and then enjoy my time off.

This is an article I read about similar problems.

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4220

Running in Paris

week 16

6.5k (35 min)
9k (1h10 min)

Reds: Chiverny, Brouilly, St. Nicolas de Bourgueil, Charente organic.
Cross training: Hoegarden, Organic white Flemmish beer, ciaparina

Plagued by a bit of lower back discomfort, which almost upper ass muscle pain, my running schedule is really being hampered. I have been going easy.
Paris made a nice change of scene. I ran past La Bastille and over pont Oberkampf and around Le Jardin des Plantes. I saw some pandas, wallabies, mountain goats and ofcourse, rats on my run.

Drinking the lighter northern wines went well with my change of pace aproach to this week. We will call this a weak week. I will have to gradually pick up the pace. Next weekend I will be in Portugal without my running shoes, that won't help.

slow recovery

I just took 4 days off after my first 21k outing. Two weeks ago, after my first 19k, took 5 days off. I don't know if this augers very well for my preparation.
My first run after the 21k was today and it was painful and slow getting started but I was able to get up to a 12kmh pace for half an hour without the discomfort getting worse. When I finished I stretched and drank lots of water, ate a big plate of pasta and drank a glass of wine. I intend to get a good nights sleep and hope for the best. Tomorrow will be a day off. The next day I intend to put in 10k at a very decent pace and the next 3 days I will be in Paris without my running shoes. The evening I get back I hope to put in a quality little run which will be my last hard run before doing 23k a few days after that.

weeks 14 and 15

week 14
6k run (27 min)

Week 15
7k run (35 min)
4.5k run (25 min) 5k bike (10 min)
21 k run (1h59min)

Drinking:
Over the two weeks I must have had about 30 glasses of red including two types of Pic Saint Loup, some Bordeaux (specific training), and some Baume de Venise.
I also had a little Rosé and some late harvest from Gard. Muscat. A San Miguel beer and a Cognac.

After my first 19km run at the end of week 13 my legs went on strike. I did not have any serious problems but the level of muscle fatigue seemed to stay the same for 5 days after the run. So I did what I do best and I took it easy for a while.

My last outing was a 21k run. I used the 10 to 1 run to walk formula consistently after the first 12k. I did the last half of the run at a stadium so that I could check the accuracy of my pedometer and it was pretty good, just a tad stingy. I figure that should balance out given that the pedometer continued to tick over while I walked. I was able to keep up a pace of 10kmh during the running segments which I am happy enough with for now.
I need to find a way to reduce my recovery time so that I don't need 5 days rest after every long run. One of the more obvious things I can do is bring more water for my long runs. I only drank 500ml during my 2 hour/ 21k outing. I drank lots more after but it probably would have been wise to have drunken more during. The following day I sat on my but and ate lots of lamb and downed wine and beer and rosé and cognac from noon till midnight.
This is 3 days after and I don't feel up to running today but I may go for a swim and try a light jog tomorrow.

Running from the law, Week 13

Exercise:
8km (45 min, inc 6 times 4min fast)
5km (35 min), 400m swim (10 min Sea)
19km (1hr 50min)

Drinks:
cross training: Kronenberg,Killian Irish red ale, Isle of Jura single malt whiskey.
Specific training: L'Allée du Roy, Médoc, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, 2008. This was exceptional. I was not expecting such finesse from an inexpensive 2008 Bordeaux. If I see any more of this stuff I am going to grab up some more bottles and drink them right away.
Other wine: St. Daumary, Voila la Printemps, Pic St. Loup. This is an old faithfull of mine. It's too bad that I took it out to a social occasion and barely got a glass of it before it was drained by others.

My long run this week was done under 32 degree heat. I hugged the shade wherever I could and drank 1/2 a liter of water as I went. Nineteen km is the longest distance I have ever run and I discovered a problem doubtless known to many long distance runners. Where to run? I am lucky to have a 5 km path near my place but it is not so interesting as to merit going up and back more than once. I was obliged to do a bit of exploring. I found a park which is used for outdoor theatre and music festivals. Currently this park is doing something called "les nuits Tsiganes" which means there were quite a few caravans and circus tents but apart from the scattered security guard and several faux Greek sculptures in the woods there was no one around. When they closed their gates I had to find somewhere else to accumulate the rest of my kilometres. The next place I discovered was an abandoned, half overgrown, high school track. Certainly this was private property but it was a good find for me in spite of its lack of shade. In France it is illegal to have your shirt off, (with the exception of beaches). So, in defiance of at least two local laws I finished the remainder of my kms.
I don't know if it was the heat, my faster runs in the week or a slight lack of sleep but I was far more tired after just 5km than I was, at that stage, last week when I did a 14km long run.
I drank some organic, fair trade chocolate milk after my run and it tasted great without all that after taste of exploitation.

Running debates

www.sport-fitness-advisor.com

If you go to this site and look up the beginer's marathon training schedule you will see the plan that I am roughly trying to follow.
Its basic and has many of the same elements as you will see laid out in other plans such as increasing weekly long runs and a fartlek two out of three weeks. It also has a bit of cross training to mix it up.

In contrast to this plan here are some interesting articles that dispute the precepts underlying the kind of guide I am using.

www.active.com
go to - running
then - Articles
then - Eleven_major_marathon_mistakes
and - 27 Ways to run better every day

The points of contention are:
-walking with running
-weekly long runs
-water and energy drinks
-stretching or not stretching


Walking with running:
One side says it helps prevent injuries, helps people finish marathons and in some cases even imroves people's times.
On the other side they say this notion is absurd, how can you get to A to B faster by doing part of it slower.
I think that both are right. The first aproach is probably the better one for most of us beginners or relative beginners. If you walk for part of the distance you reduce the repetetive strain and doing it segments gives the runner breaks in which they recover a little force, all the while advancing towards there objectives (improved health and the finish line). It possibly even helps certain people that might have run the whole distance but finished with a longer time because their running was hampered by more pains and strains than they would have had with walking breaks and a faster rythm during the running segments which acount for the majority of the time( most are 10 min running for every 1 walking).

Weekly long runs:
The vast majority of marathon preparation plans include 1 increasingly long run each week followed by a tapering off period just before the marathon. The argument raised against this type of preparation is that it does not give the runner sufficient recuperation time to be effective during their other training runs where they should be running harder and faster over a shorter period of time/distance. They argue that there should be fewer long runs to favour higher quality short intensive runs.
I can't say that I have much of an opinion on this. I try to do a little of both. If that helps me finish a marathon great and if not it should probably be good for my health and make me a better all around runner anyways. At least this is my present reasoning.

Water and Energy Drinks
There is one camp which thinks energy drinks should be drunk to the exclusion of water because water dillutes their effectiveness and absorbtion and many people take to mutch water and over hydrate.
I am yet to take an energy drink while running and I am hesitant to start because I don't like sugar, I easily develop cavities and at heart I am a bit of a naturalist. I can more easily imagine myself in the no gels or energy drinks camp than in the opposite -drink energy products to the exclusion of all else.
My biggest marathon fear is having digestive problems mid route, the wine, cheese and raw oysters in the Medoc marathon will already be big enough challenges for this.

To stretch or not to stretch?
Personally I warm up and cool down by walking and I do a bit of stretching before I hit the shower. I have heard people with equally impressive credentials argue vehemenently on both sides of this debate and I don't know what to make of it.

I would be interested in hearing other views on this.

Fartlek

Today's goal was 6 times 4 minutes fast with one minute walking and watering breaks in-between. My first 4 minutes were definitely faster than the rest. I soon realized that there was no way I would be able to hold on to that pace so the subsequent 4 minute segments were decidedly slower. In all, I did somewhere around 6k in 30 minutes. In the first 4 minutes I did around 1.2k but my legs told me that that wasn't gonna happen again. In the next "fast segment" I did about 800 meters and I stayed at around that pace for the others. The last one was actually 5 minutes and I did over 1k because I was feeling the exhilaration of nearly being finished what felt, at times, a bit like torture.
I find these "fartleks" hard to get started and even tougher to finish. However, I have read that these are very important for developing a runner's capacities and varying ones routine so I am going to keep at it.
I prefer to do these in the gym on the treadmill so that I know that my speed is constant for each and during each speed segment. Today I did it at the stadium and I was not always in the same lane so all my measurements of speed and distance are merely estimates.
I have no idea if I am doing these "fartleks" (hate that name) correctly. When I have attempted them in the past at the gym I usually do 13kmh for the "fast" parts and 8kmh for each recuperation minute. This time I walked during the recuperation.
If anyone would like to share their wisdom on the best ratios and duration I am keen to receive their knowledge.

I finished the day with a glass of organic chardonay to go with delicious ginger, garlic, sesame chicken and a glass of Minervoise red to go with some Basque Etorki cheese and black cherry fruit spread.

Week 12 variation

Week 12


This week included various forms of cross training. I had an interesting chestnut beer from l'Ardeche in front of the TV for the Top 14 French rugby final on Saturday after a day spent, mostly lounging in a bathrobe, at a spa. At the spa I discovered a few things I want to do when I finish the marathon. I might not go in for the aqua aerobics again but there was a massaging super Jacuzzi that relieved pain everywhere in my body, particularly the water jets on my feet. That was awesome. The rest of the day I was stuffing myself at the buffet or sun bathing. I did take a few dips in the pool but did not accomplish any real swimming.

On Sunday I participated in a breast cancer run 'MontpellieRienne'. It was a good laugh and a good cause but it did nothing for my training. I had to walk behind a lot of strollers and old people walking 5 abreast. At some points I was almost standing still. I made a few short dashes to get around people when I saw openings so that I could catch up with my girlfriend who, being smaller, had managed to worm far ahead amongst the throngs pushing through the narrow medieval streets of Montpellier.

On Monday I did my long run. Looks like Monday is the last day of the week for me now. I only did 14km this time. I decided not to push it after all the week’s activity and it was getting latish. I need to try to make that long run a morning run. I wonder if the time of day you run has a big impact. I know I don't like to run too late or it prevents me from sleeping well but is there an ideal physiological time to run or is it best to vary the times. In reality most people are just happy to be able to slot it in whenever they can but I wonder if the pros have a theory beyond the strictly practical not running on a full stomach or just before bed time?

Next week my goal is to try to do one proper fartlek for at least 25 minutes and do a long run of 18.5km.

The week in review:

6k run (30 min, inc 10 min fast)
5k run (25 min, inc 4 times 60m sprint)
4.5k rowing machine (20 min)
Aquagym (20 min)
4k run (23 min)
14k run (1h 20 min)

Drinks: 4 reds, 1 white, 1 beer.
Chestnut beer. It was good but I have had better.
Domaine lasvabre -Les Demoiselles -Pic St. Loup 2006 red. Very impressive this. It went down a treat with my lamb. I had this at a fancy restaurant and I was not disappointed though it does leave a significant amount of sediment, at least I didn't have to do the dishes.
Clos Fantine -Faugères 2006 red. Love this stuff. Unmistakably Languedoc wine with its heavy herbs and berries flavours. We had duck breast from one of three whole ducks that we purchased on the farm and carved up last October in Gers.
Club Des Sommeliers -organic white chardonnay. Functional.
Mas Des Brousses -red. This is one of my wine bar old reliables. It did not disappoint and went down well with all the sausage cuts and cheese tapas.
Jardin Suspendu -red. This one went down even better than the Mas Des Brousses. It was also my signal to leave because it went down so well I could have stayed and ordered a whole bottle for myself but this was a school night. I am dying to go back and have another; I just need to find a gullible friend that I can lure back to that wine bar.

Week 11, longest run so far.

Wk 11
1.4k swim (25 min)
5.5k run (32 min)
8k run (45 min, inc 3 times 4 min fast)
4.5k run (25 min)
17k run (1h 40min)

I just finished the 17k. I tried the run 10 minutes -walk 1 formula while I took sips from my water bottle. I am fairly certain that this is the longest I have ever run in my life and I am going to have to do more than twice that distance in September. This is a terrifying thought. Week 11 is a bit of a cheat since I started on a Monday and included the following Monday of this long weekend. I would not have otherwise been able to fit in the long run. On Thursday I tried to do some fractioned runs but got tired and decided it would be easier to continue for 45 min at a reasonable pace. It ended up being more running than I intended so I was a bit too tired to do a long run this weekend so I did a little run and took advantage of the long weekend to do my big run today. Weirdly, my hand is what hurts the most now.
Drinks for the week:
This week I went for the French tricolour
Picpoul de Pinet (white), a great value white wine that always pairs well with shell fish. I enjoyed this one with some Moules Mariniers. Brilliant.
A semi de-alcoholised rosé from Domaine de la Colombette, Coteaux du Libron. Sounds weak tasting I know but it actually went down a treat on a sunny 30 degree day whilst enjoying my organic milk fed lamb liver covered in sesame seeds. The vintner extracts a portion of the alcohol to run his farm equipment. I didn't notice any change to the taste but with only 9 percent alcohol I could enjoy an extra cold glass in the sun without falling asleep.
I had some Champaign yesterday and I have to admit that it is not my favourite drink.
For some specific training I am getting ready to drink organic Bordeaux. I have never heard of this one before, Chateau Moulin de Romage, 2008. Let you know how it goes with the steak.

How it all began

I started doing some little jogs last autumn because of a fall. It was my first "sports" injury of any lasting impact. I fell from a granny style electric bicycle while doing a wine tour in cote de Mont Ventoux. I tore a ligament in my hand and it has been incredibly slow to heal. Almost a year later and I cannot lift weights and I can't swim too hard without taping my pinky and ring finger together or I feel it for days after. I know what you are thinking.. and no I had barely started the circuit, at the time of the incident I had a fimble full of white wine in my system at best.
The jogging was the result of a limited selection of activities I could do to get in shape this year and some vague talk between my brother in law and I over the prospect of doing a crazy marathon in Bordeaux.

Barolo and wine runner's lexicon

I just missed an opportunity to go to Rome because I am still waiting on my "carte de sejour", French for permission to go in and out of the country as I please without getting deported. Fortunately, I have been before and my girlfriend and her family were kind enough to bring me back some Italian treats. Yesterday was a multi course Italian meal with Barolo wine and no running. Today, I drank Minervois from my trusty bag in a box with some left over pizza pie and fusili in pesto. I continued with some goat’s cheese, Basque Iraty cheese with black cherry fruit spread. The finisher was left over Tiramisu and a small pot of coffee from my Italian coffee maker. Then I went for a 1.4k swim (25 min). Dinner tonight will be steak, Swiss chard and sweet potato. Probably I will drink the Minervois again to see if it has matured since lunch time. I'll have a couple squares of dark Italian chocolate to finish.
I have been reading up a little on how to prepare for a marathon. The shortcoming of the literature that I have found is that it is based on people who are only doing one event... running. So I have decided to use the same techniques for preparing for the drink stations. I may use some terms that you are not familiar with so I have created a mini lexicon:
I will refer to drinking other alcohols as "cross training". For example, on Sunday, I watched a rugby match while drinking a fabulous Basque amber ale- that was cross training, in case you missed it.
"Specific training" refers to when I am drinking Bordeaux.
"Endurance training", I suppose, would be a massive night out but this seldom happens anymore, not that my endurance has deteriorated. It is my recuperation phase which has become critical and drooling on my slippers for days on end is not going to help me finish 42.2k.

The first 10 weeks in brief

I am training for le marathon de Medoc in September which requires me to drink 23 different Bordeaux wines and run 42.2 Kilometres. Ok. Perhaps I am not actually required to drink all 23 but I think I should make a concerted effort or it would be just as well to do some other more conventional marathon.
I have never run in any competition before, however my alcohol consumption skills have a much more solid foundation. I am going to try to turn this to my benefit.
I am in year 17 of my drinking preparation and week 10 of my anticipated 27 weeks of running before the marathon on September 11.
In this blog I will attempt to document my jogs and wine consumption. I welcome advice and encouragement. I have kept a written record of my main physical activity (including the raising of glasses) so I will put that down here for further reference


Wk 1
1k - swim (25 min)
3k - rowing machine (10 min), 600m swim (12 min)
5k run (28 min), ski machine (5 min)
3.5k run (24 min)

Wk 2
5k run (27 min), bike 2 times (15 min)-warm up/cool down
5k run (25 min,inc 4 times 4 min fast), bike 2 times 20 min-warm up/cool down
3.5k jog/walk (35 min), bike 2 times (15 min)
7k run (45 min)

Wk 3
3k run (20 min), 1k swim
3k run ( 20 min, inc 4 times 4 minutes fast)
6k run (31 min)
7k run (40 min)

Wk 4
5k run (20 min),bike (2 times 20 min), ski machine (15 min), 500m swim (10 min)
5k run (30 min)
8k run (50 min)

wk 5
5.5k run (33 min)
6.5k run (25 min, inc 4 times 4 min fast)

Wk 6
2k run (15 min), cardio (15 min)
5.8k run (26 min)
12.4k run (1h 27 min)

Wk 7
6.5k run (40 min)
3k run (20 min), cardio (20 min)
1.5k run (10 min), cardio (30 min), ski machine (8 min)
8k run (50 min)

Wk 8
5.6k run (30 min, inc 5 times 4 min fast, ski machine (12 min)
4k run (30 min)
12k run (1h 7 min, inc first 10k 51 min)

wk 9
4k jog (40 min)
6.5k run (45 min)
13k run (1h 15 min)

Wk 10
6.5k (45 min)
cutting down and uprooting a tree (35 min)
15k (1h 20 min)

wines consumed wk10: coteaux d'Aix en Provence, Chateau Flaugeres- Montpellier, Minervois, Pic St. Loup, Vaceyras = all red and all yummy.