Gold Coast Marathon - 6 Weeks to Go
42 days till I run 42km. Doesn't sound like much. Isn't much I guess. In some ways it feels like such a long time with so many runs to do and yet, on other days, it seems too close for comfort and I wish I had another month to get in some more quality training. But it is what it is and it will be over in the blink of an eye; so best I enjoy all of it along the way.
This week's theme is '3.5' as that is how many hours I am scheduled to run for this Sunday. The original Furman plan is for 32k but the O'Donnell plan is 3.5 hours. The Wilson "hybrid plan" is 32k at target pace then 50min easy running to make up the time. I don't want to think about how far that is to run! (Or how i will feel afterwards!) But that is later ...
This week's theme is '3.5' as that is how many hours I am scheduled to run for this Sunday. The original Furman plan is for 32k but the O'Donnell plan is 3.5 hours. The Wilson "hybrid plan" is 32k at target pace then 50min easy running to make up the time. I don't want to think about how far that is to run! (Or how i will feel afterwards!) But that is later ...
Tuesday 27 May
Today's run was four hard reps of 1/2/1/1 km with 400m easy in between; which I ran over my favourite lunch time course along the Yarra. So, whilst there were target times I wanted to hit, with the varying terrain and headwind on the return leg it was just a case of run as hard as you can for as long as you can!
On the plus side, each rep had an average HR of 164 which about right for me on these, especially as the rest is active. Also a positive is the 1k times were pretty even, being 3.58/3.57/4.01. Unfortunately the 2k rep in the middle was about 10 sec slower than I'd wish for (8.16) but it does have the most incline in it so is probably a fair time in any case.
All of which is to say that I ran ok, legs not too bad from last week, and my times were acceptable if not great.
Friday 30 May
Another work week has come and gone and with it another couple of runs. On Wednesday night it was Nike Run Club time. Most recently I have been doing the 5k groups but, at a 'special request' from Marie (from Germany) and Keira (from USA) I was doing the 10k @6m/k group. It was a great night, a small group of only seven and with co-leader Hannah we had a ball as this tight-knit group ran around the MCG, Fitzroy Gardens and Tan Track. Lots of fun!!
Tonight it was back on the streets, this time for an 8k tempo set. Conditions were perfect: cool with hardly any breeze; and after a short warm-up it was straight into the main 8k on my standard course up to North Rd and back down to South Rd.
Ok, as I write this now I realise I have totally stuffed this one up!!! When I check my plan it says target pace of 4.22m/k which, of course, is my mid-tempo pace. But - somewhere out when I was running - this evolved in my head into a 4.12 target pace (short-tempo) against which I ran a 4.09 pace. Aargh!!
I now understand why this felt so bl**dy hard. I thought it was pretty quick for an 8k run. And, yes, it was. If only I paid more attention to what my plan actually says! Anyway, I guess I have had a good workout, and should be pretty pleased that I completed this one at a manageable heart rate too. Amazing what you can do when your mind is convinced of what it must attempt.
Sunday 1 June
Everything had been building up to today. This whole week was themed on today's long run. Oddly enough, the course and exact distance I would go was made up on the day which is rather more organic than you'd expect for such a pivotal session. Whatever happened this would be my longest training run ever so I was a bit nervous.
Weather today was average - rainy and cool, but not cold. I headed out at midday to run a slightly longer version of my 'Big Lap' course from a fortnight ago; going all the way into the city instead of cutting across to the Tan. This would bring it up to 36k which I decided was long enough!
The original 32k session had a target pace of 4.59m/k so I set out to run near enough to this pace. It was a fairly consistent drizzle from the start with a little headwind into the city which made for less than exciting running conditions. It felt ok, but not easy. I didn't seem to have great rhythm and my right knee wasn't good. Turning onto the Yarra trail after 15.5k and my average pace was right on the 4.59 target.
Along here it started to get harder. Unlike two weeks ago where I picked up the pace and felt great on this stretch; today it was not so enjoyable and my knee was sore. I think between my knee, the conditions, and my confused pace it started to mess with my head. The next 9k along the path to East Malvern was a procession of slow/fast k's as I fought to maintain rhythm and form. Through 29k I was still at 5.03m/k average but knew the next few would be slower as I rose over the railway footbridge and up the Belgrave Rd hill.
Once I got to 32k - average 5.06m/k (time 2:43) to this point - I dropped the pace right back. The next 4k was really running for time so the faster I went the further away from my target 3.5 hours I would be. All counter-intuitive to how I would normally run. It was fairly comfortable - even with a dodgy knee - and I completed the 36.1k in 3:08 at 5.12m/k pace. So both goals partially met at best.
In retrospect, I think having the 'split target' sessions has probably just confused me. Doing 32k at a set pace or running purely for time with no set distance/pace are both ok. When I have combined them it has got weird. Today I felt like I should be going faster in order to make pace for the 32k, but wanted to go slower so as to get as close to 3.5 hours without doing 40-odd k's. In the end I did neither really well - running too slow for 32k and too fast to pad out to 3.5 hours. My learning here is to pick one thing and stick to it!
Nutrition wise, today I had a gel before starting then five more at about 40min intervals. The last two especially were really needed and I felt the kick almost immediately which was great. That said, the last one was a struggle to ingest and I think I chucked half of it up. I think alternating gels with sports drink will work better on race day.
Training Program:
Full session details for my whole training plan are here.
Strava links for the week:
Tuesday - Yarra Speed 10.4k @4.42; 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k efforts with 400m recovery
Wednesday - Nike Run Club 10.2k @5.54; small group run
Friday - Fast 8 9.7k @4.24; 8k tempo @4.09 pace
Sunday - The Bigger Lap 36.1k @5.12; very long run
Weekly Summary:
Week 9 (this week): 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins
Week 8: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins
Week 7: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins
Week 6: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins
Week 5: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins
Week 4: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins (biggest week ever!)
Week 3: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins
Week 2: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins
Week 1: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins
Total: 38 runs, 503.4 km, 42 hrs 51 mins
Today's run was four hard reps of 1/2/1/1 km with 400m easy in between; which I ran over my favourite lunch time course along the Yarra. So, whilst there were target times I wanted to hit, with the varying terrain and headwind on the return leg it was just a case of run as hard as you can for as long as you can!
On the plus side, each rep had an average HR of 164 which about right for me on these, especially as the rest is active. Also a positive is the 1k times were pretty even, being 3.58/3.57/4.01. Unfortunately the 2k rep in the middle was about 10 sec slower than I'd wish for (8.16) but it does have the most incline in it so is probably a fair time in any case.
All of which is to say that I ran ok, legs not too bad from last week, and my times were acceptable if not great.
Friday 30 May
Another work week has come and gone and with it another couple of runs. On Wednesday night it was Nike Run Club time. Most recently I have been doing the 5k groups but, at a 'special request' from Marie (from Germany) and Keira (from USA) I was doing the 10k @6m/k group. It was a great night, a small group of only seven and with co-leader Hannah we had a ball as this tight-knit group ran around the MCG, Fitzroy Gardens and Tan Track. Lots of fun!!
Tonight it was back on the streets, this time for an 8k tempo set. Conditions were perfect: cool with hardly any breeze; and after a short warm-up it was straight into the main 8k on my standard course up to North Rd and back down to South Rd.
Ok, as I write this now I realise I have totally stuffed this one up!!! When I check my plan it says target pace of 4.22m/k which, of course, is my mid-tempo pace. But - somewhere out when I was running - this evolved in my head into a 4.12 target pace (short-tempo) against which I ran a 4.09 pace. Aargh!!
I now understand why this felt so bl**dy hard. I thought it was pretty quick for an 8k run. And, yes, it was. If only I paid more attention to what my plan actually says! Anyway, I guess I have had a good workout, and should be pretty pleased that I completed this one at a manageable heart rate too. Amazing what you can do when your mind is convinced of what it must attempt.
Sunday 1 June
Everything had been building up to today. This whole week was themed on today's long run. Oddly enough, the course and exact distance I would go was made up on the day which is rather more organic than you'd expect for such a pivotal session. Whatever happened this would be my longest training run ever so I was a bit nervous.
Weather today was average - rainy and cool, but not cold. I headed out at midday to run a slightly longer version of my 'Big Lap' course from a fortnight ago; going all the way into the city instead of cutting across to the Tan. This would bring it up to 36k which I decided was long enough!
The original 32k session had a target pace of 4.59m/k so I set out to run near enough to this pace. It was a fairly consistent drizzle from the start with a little headwind into the city which made for less than exciting running conditions. It felt ok, but not easy. I didn't seem to have great rhythm and my right knee wasn't good. Turning onto the Yarra trail after 15.5k and my average pace was right on the 4.59 target.
Along here it started to get harder. Unlike two weeks ago where I picked up the pace and felt great on this stretch; today it was not so enjoyable and my knee was sore. I think between my knee, the conditions, and my confused pace it started to mess with my head. The next 9k along the path to East Malvern was a procession of slow/fast k's as I fought to maintain rhythm and form. Through 29k I was still at 5.03m/k average but knew the next few would be slower as I rose over the railway footbridge and up the Belgrave Rd hill.
Once I got to 32k - average 5.06m/k (time 2:43) to this point - I dropped the pace right back. The next 4k was really running for time so the faster I went the further away from my target 3.5 hours I would be. All counter-intuitive to how I would normally run. It was fairly comfortable - even with a dodgy knee - and I completed the 36.1k in 3:08 at 5.12m/k pace. So both goals partially met at best.
In retrospect, I think having the 'split target' sessions has probably just confused me. Doing 32k at a set pace or running purely for time with no set distance/pace are both ok. When I have combined them it has got weird. Today I felt like I should be going faster in order to make pace for the 32k, but wanted to go slower so as to get as close to 3.5 hours without doing 40-odd k's. In the end I did neither really well - running too slow for 32k and too fast to pad out to 3.5 hours. My learning here is to pick one thing and stick to it!
Nutrition wise, today I had a gel before starting then five more at about 40min intervals. The last two especially were really needed and I felt the kick almost immediately which was great. That said, the last one was a struggle to ingest and I think I chucked half of it up. I think alternating gels with sports drink will work better on race day.
Training Program:
Full session details for my whole training plan are here.
Strava links for the week:
Tuesday - Yarra Speed 10.4k @4.42; 1k, 2k, 1k, 1k efforts with 400m recovery
Wednesday - Nike Run Club 10.2k @5.54; small group run
Friday - Fast 8 9.7k @4.24; 8k tempo @4.09 pace
Sunday - The Bigger Lap 36.1k @5.12; very long run
Weekly Summary:
Week 9 (this week): 4 runs, 66.4 km, 5 hrs 39 mins
Week 8: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 4 hrs 37 mins
Week 7: 4 runs, 60 km, 5 hrs 10 mins
Week 6: 4 runs, 54 km, 4 hrs 36 mins
Week 5: 4 runs, 46.3 km, 3 hrs 57 mins
Week 4: 5 runs, 71.7 km, 6 hrs 24 mins (biggest week ever!)
Week 3: 4 runs, 57.7 km, 5 hrs 9 mins
Week 2: 5 runs, 48.6 km, 3 hrs 51 mins
Week 1: 4 runs, 41 km, 3 hrs 28 mins
Total: 38 runs, 503.4 km, 42 hrs 51 mins
Nice interval session Tuesday Paul. 4 min ks is quick. The 32k at 'target pace' + extra sounds incredibly hard if target pace is marathon race pace. Anyway, you're going well.
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