Sunday, June 28, 2015

The 4th of 18 Weeks

The fourth week of the marathon training plan went like this:

MondayOFF or 10k E. After a weekend of what I guess one may call cross training, but better referred to as "construction", the fourth week of the marathon training plan started off with those much sought after tired legs. Since the goal is to adjust to running on said tired legs I guess one must get these legs to the desired state and then run on them. Therefore, the trek continues with this in mind... Aware of tougher efforts to come later in the week the early morning meet up with a friend for an easy run was exactly what the doctor ordered: EASY. I asked if my friend minded slowing down and he said no, so we managed 10k E at 5:55/km pace and that was that. Finally an easy run executed properly! At lunch I made it to the gym for a now regular running specific strength training session and a decent amount of rolling and stretching. Maintenance is key.

Tuesday8k E or 6x800m. Boy, this cumulative fatigue effect on the legs that is supposed to be the heart and soul of the Hanson's Marathon Method sure is as advertised! After a restless night due to thunderstorms keeping me awake, I was not feeling energetic as I set off for the track for the prescribed 6x800m repeats. Added to that was a tight left hamstring that seems to have resulted from sitting in an overheated and packed beyond capacity high school auditorium for three hours watching my son's grade 8 graduation ceremony. I told myself to "just get through it at the slowest pace allowed" and that this would still have the desired training effect. So I jogged very slowly and creakily the 2km to the track, stretched for a bit, and then set off on my repeats. The goal was to stay at 4:10/km pace or so, which is 3:20/800m. My Garmin watch was not measuring properly so although it showed that I was running at 4:09/km pace for the first two repeats the total for the two laps was too slow as the watch said I ran 820m. In the end I adjusted my pace to the length of the track and not what the watch was measuring and think I did OK. My 800m splits were: 3:23.6, 3:23.0, 3:20.8, 3:19.9, 3:17.7, 3:17.2. The average ended up at 3:20.36, so I think this can be considered a successful training session. My goal is to run these at 4:10/km pace, and this session averaged out at 4:10.45/km, so pretty darn close I think and close enough given the limitations of using a Garmin anyway. In the end I managed a total of 11k SP at 5:19/km. Before lunch I went to the gym for a full rolling and stretching session, with a bit of sauna thrown in for good measure. Definitely felt like I earned the mid-week OFF day...

Wednesday: OFF. A day of no running with all the proverbial crap hitting the spinning fan at work. Made it to a massage session, which was much needed for both the calves and traps. Also, at the end of the very stressful work day, I went to the gym and still managed to get my running specific strength training and some rolling and stretching done.

Thursday5k E or 10k T. The tempo run is always the start of the 6 days in a row of running block and I guess I can see why this training plan puts it after the off day: because it's challenging! Both mentally and physically I find these runs on the tough side and I keep wondering how I will be able to manage a full marathon at the prescribed pace of 4:45/km when I still haven't managed to "hit my stride" practicing this pace in training. However, I realize that today was just the second time running at PMP so there's lots of time to make it more routine. The trouble I had, yet again, was running a bit too fast. Not as bad as last week (when the average pace was 4:33.76/km), but still not close enough to the desired 4:45/km. Today the 10km at Tempo portion averaged out at 4:38.74/km and I managed a total of 13k T at 4:51/km. Things are trending in the right direction... At lunch time I was able to again go to the gym for a decent rolling and stretching routine. Never seem to get to this in the evenings so it's always good to get this done if possible during the day.

Friday5-10k E. It would have been nice to hit the single track trails again for the easy recovery run on a Friday morning, but feeling the effects of cumulative stress in the legs I decided to keep this to the flat sidewalks and ran a simple 5k E at 5:49/km. Once again at lunch time it was to the gym for some running specific strength training and a good bit of rolling and stretching.

Saturday8-13k E. Drove up to the cottage the night before and woke up with the sunrise so not exactly got to sleep in. Went out the door at about 7am for a nice jog around the lake with my wife and then set off on my own to complete the second half of my 8k E at 6:13/km run. First half was at her pace so it allowed me to practice my cadence while running at a slower pace, which was good. For the first time I did a decent job of it and kept my breathing from becoming too shallow. Rest of the day was spent finishing some construction before the rains came and we drove home through some nasty crap coming down.

Sunday8-14k E. The weather has turned to early November and I totally didn't feel like running in the crap and wind and cold so I joined my wife at the gym and managed 14k E at 5:29/km on the treadmill. This was boring, but necessary. Shortest Sunday run remaining on the schedule completed.

Total for the week: 61 km at 5:30/km average pace.

Labels: ,

Sunday, June 21, 2015

The 3rd of 18 Weeks

The third week of the marathon training plan went like this:

MondayOFF or 10k E. Had a chance to run with someone I'd met through a running group and although it meant I'd have to get up earlier than normal I jumped at the chance. It was nice to be out the door before the Sun was up and running with a purpose in mind, knowing that someone would be waiting for me to show up. So much better to run a recovery type effort while chatting the whole way. Managed 10k E at 5:15/km in the end. In the afternoon I went to the gym for a short running specific strength training session followed by rolling and stretching. A good day heading into my second speed session! I think I will have to slow down on the Monday efforts though. There is nothing to be gained by going even a little bit too fast on these runs and I am afraid that the cumulative effect of doing so when sandwiched between a Long run and a Speed session will be detrimental to my progress. We'll see if my running buddy is OK with slowing down next time we hook up...

Tuesday7k E or 8x600m. Woke up at 4am to the sound of a massive rain storm and got up to close the windows. Not much sleep after that until the alarm went off at 5:30am. At that point it wasn't raining, but within ten minutes of getting up it was steady rain again. Tried to wait it out, hoping it would subside, but at a little past 6am I decided that I wouldn't have time to get my workout in if I waited any longer. By the time I got to the track I was thoroughly wet, but not soaked. Started in on my 8x600m repeats and while running the first rep the rain came down hard again! Soaked through and shoes felt like they weighed several pounds each. Nevertheless, I managed to complete the workout, wringing my shirt out as much as I could after each repeat, and the rain stopped when I was into my last rep. Managed to keep the pace fairly steady with the spread for the 600's being 2:23.6 to 2:30.0, though most were in the 2:24-2:25 range (roughly 4:02/km, with my faster repeat at 3:59/km and slowest at 4:09/km). The repeats in order based on pace per kilometre were: 3:59, 4:09, 4:01, 4:01. 4:02. 4:01, 4:03, and 3:59. With the 2km jogs to the track and back home, and the 400m jogs between each rep, I managed 12k SP at 5:13/km, right on target with the goal of the session. In the afternoon I went to the gym for a full rolling and stretching routine and no weights.

Wednesday: OFF. It's funny how I feel like Wednesdays are earned as an off day, and yet somehow I still miss having a run on the training plan on this day. This week the legs totally deserved the day off and I suspect that each of the coming weeks in the training plan will be much the same. I seem to be somewhere in the grey area between wishing I had a run on the schedule, and feeling guilty that I do not, and somewhat looking forward to not having to add mileage at whatever intensity. It's a weird feeling and I think I may someday benefit from running every day of the week, but for now must be cautious. In any case, I still managed to get to the gym for a lunchtime strength session specific to running (glutes, hamstrings, core, calves, stability, and some push ups and chin ups, followed by rolling and stretching) so the day wasn't a complete wash.

Thursday: 7k E or 10k T. After a day off and a nice massage on the legs I was still feeling the cumulative effect of the mileage building up in my body. A late night after one of the boy's baseball games also meant that I was not going to get the sleep I wanted, and naturally I slept right through my 5:20am alarm. I typically wake up before the alarm goes off, but this time it was my wife who nudged me awake at 5:38am as the radio volume had, evidently, woken her up. I set it to as low a volume as I possibly can so that it doesn't disturb her, but this proved to be a problem this morning. In any case, I got up and tried my best to get moving as quickly as possible. However, in my groggy state I didn't manage to get out the door for my Tempo run until a few minutes past 6 am. The plan called for either a 7k Easy effort, or a 10k Tempo run. I was thinking that I would do something in between, maybe a 2k warm up, 7k Tempo, and 1k cool down for a total of 10k, and given the state of my legs this would have been wise. However, as I ran my two warm up kilometres I decided to play it by ear and see how the run would feel. If I was struggling to maintain the prescribed 4:45/km pace I would only do 7k at Tempo, but if I was feeling good enough to go the full 10k I would. Lo and behold, my first split was FASTER than the goal pace at 4:37/km and I wasn't feeling all that taxed. Yes, it was tougher than Easy effort, but it should have been or else the whole lactate threshold training is not being accomplished! So I just focused on how the run SHOULD feel and kept running based on that. Ultimately that first split ended up being my slowest as well, with the fastest at 4:30/km, and the total Tempo portion of the run, which was ten kilometres in the end, averaged out at 4:33.76/km. In other words a lot faster than the goal pace (Boo!!!), but right on my BQ pace (Yay!!!). The Hansons Marathon Method requires these Tempo runs to be practice of the marathon goal pace, and not necessarily the same type of Tempo runs of any other programs. Therefore, I think I have to watch my pace a bit more closely in the future. However, if this feels right and 4:45/km does not why should I do the slower pace? Perhaps I'm being an idiot for questioning the plan... The total for the day was 13k T at 4:45/km, which interestingly enough was the pace I was supposed to have run for the Tempo portion! Oh well... I'll stick to the plan, but I reserve the right to run on feel when I'm feeling good enough to run a bit faster on the day. Just have to be careful, is all. In the afternoon I went to the gym to do a full session of rolling and stretching, with some sauna to cap it off. A good day of training and a great first Tempo run of the marathon training plan!

Friday7-12k E. After a late night for a variety of reasons to do with the younger son's grade 5 "graduation" and such, I had real trouble once more waking up. By the time I was in my car en route to the trails at Crothers Woods it was well past 6am and I didn't really feel all that awake anyway. However, I had been looking forward to this break from the road, having abandoned the trails last week due to the rain and mud, and I was still happy to be out running in unfamiliar territory. The run itself was tougher than expected, which is not particularly surprising given that I have not run any trails in a long time, but it sure was fun. I had to stop now and again to get my bearings as I am prone to getting lost even on the streets in a city built on a grid. In the end I managed 7.2k E at 6:55/km on the single track trails and definitely used muscles that are ignored on the sidewalks. That slow pace was not indicative of the effort required, but I did manage to keep it pretty loose and easy most of the time, but forced to work a bit harder on the many steep and technical uphill sections. In the afternoon I went to the gym for some more running specific strength training, rolling, and stretching.



Saturday: 7-10k E. Arrived at the cottage late Friday evening and set my alarm for a reasonable 7am to try and get a decent start to what promised to be a long day of construction. Woke up long before the alarm went off and set off on a nice 7k E at 5:26/km. Barely broke a sweat. The rest of the day was taken up with demolition, shopping for materials, then construction. It was tough to eat during all that, and by the end of the day I was so beat I barely had enough energy to make dinner, but I forced myself to do so.

Sunday: 8-16k E. Woke up so stiff and sore it was like I'd never worked out before. I guess construction uses your body in unique ways, or at least abuses it. In particular my lower back felt completely jammed. Nevertheless, I finally made it out the door at 8:30am for my run. Unlike the day before the heat and humidity had me sweating before the first kilometre was through and I knew this would be a battle for the entire distance. And it was, all 16k E at 5:29/km of it. The hills around the cottage felt bigger and longer than ever before, but I kept telling myself that these are the runs that help you get through the last few miles of the marathon and never gave in to stopping and calling it quits. Only took a short rest break after I crested the last of the hills of the day at a bit past 15km. By then I was toast...

Total for the week: 65.2 km at 5:24/km average pace.

Labels: ,

Monday, June 15, 2015

The 2nd of 18 Weeks

The second week of the marathon training plan went like this:

MondayOFF or 10k E. A bit sore from the hills on the roads around the cottage so I cut the run a bit short and managed 8k E at 5:25/km in the end. Since my other option was not to run at all this was a good option and I think it was a wise choice to hold back a bit with the first "Something of Substance" run, in the form of track repeats, to follow. In the afternoon I managed a running specific strength training session and a good rolling and stretching routine.

Tuesday4k E or 12x400m. Slowly getting the body used to waking up earlier and earlier. Today it was 5:30am and out the door at about 5:50am, heading to the track. Used the 2k on the way as a warm up, then stretched for a very short spell, and got right into the 400m repeats. Never stopped between, just kept jogging each 400m recovery interval. Each repeat was a bit faster than the intended 1:40, but I think that's ok. 1:37 was about the average with the fastest being 1:34.2 (the last repeat) and slowest 1:39.8 (the first repeat). Jogged home to cool down and the total ended up being 13k SP at 5:19/km. Went to the gym at lunch to do only stretching and rolling with some sauna thrown in for limbering up and such.

Wednesday: OFF. A day with no running doesn't mean I simply sit around. I figure going to the gym to do some running specific strength training, focusing on glute and core strength, is important so that's what I did at lunch. Nothing difficult and I would say that it's not the type of workout I'd typically go for, but I'm trying to keep the big picture in mind and staying healthy is the only way I will reach my goal. Won't be breaking any personal records on the bench press any time soon :(

Thursday5-10k E. Still feeling the effects of my first speed session of this marathon training plan I went out with the intent on running in the early morning as easy as possible. Mission accomplished! Although I still ran too fast according to the pace range that I should have been aiming for. Started off nice and slow, never really increased the effort, but the pace kept getting faster. Ran the last kilometre at a bit faster than goal Marathon Pace of all things! In the end I managed 10k E at 5:17/km, exactly the same distance and pace as last Thursday. At lunch time I went back to the gym for a full session of just flexibility work including rolling, stretching, and sauna.

Friday5-10k E. Decided that to truly stay healthy I should follow the sage advice of many a better runner than yours truly and to not only change up the types of runs that I do during the week, but also the surface upon which I run. So, I decided to take my easy run to the trails despite the rain and slipped and slid my way through the woods until I found a much more agreeable crushed gravel path, on which I proceeded to finish the bulk of my 5k E at 5:41/km run. I've also decided to keep the Friday and Saturday runs to the lower end of the goal distance given my injury history and the fact that even with this modification my weekly mileage will be appreciably higher than it has been in quite some time and surely enough to go on as I prepare for a marathon. In the afternoon I went to the gym for another running specific strength training session complete with rolling and stretching.

Saturday5-10k E. After a late night driving to the cottage on Friday, I woke up on Saturday and had a tough time getting moving. Finally made it out at about 8:30am for a creaky 5k E at 5:18/km run around the lake. Rest of the day was spent clearing the property of debris and hauling it to the dump. I was definitely ready for a break by the evening...

Sunday7-13k E. Not as much trouble waking up for this one as the day before. Managed to keep the effort nice and loose knowing that the route I chose would have me running down a considerable hill on the way out, and back up the same considerable hill on the way back. It was tough! Managed 13k E at 5:24/km in the end to cap off the second week of marathon training!

Total for the week: 54k at 5:21/km average pace.

Labels: ,

Monday, June 8, 2015

The 1st of 18 Weeks

So, marathon training is officially under way. The first week of the 18 that lead up to my goal race is now completed and it went something like this... (In the form of "Day of the Week": "Training Plan Prescribed Workout". "Summary of day's events.")

... But I guess that's obvious ;)

Monday: OFF. Went to the gym and did some running specific strength training as well as rolling and stretching, which was especially required after the 5K race from the day before.

TuesdayOFF. Plan called for an off day, but I went out in the morning and ran 5k E at 5:31/km. Focused solely on cadence and managed 178spm, which is pretty good for me when taking the easy pace into account. Later in the day I went to the gym for some more specific strength training and rolling/stretching.

Wednesday: OFF. This was a true off day as per the plan. No gym, no running! This is to be celebrated I suppose given that I have a real problem with taking time off. I did get a massage though, which was good, and the therapist even taped up my back at the end of the session on his own initiative to try and change the way my body is "feeling" that pain in the left ribs. It's been there since last September, but it doesn't seem to impede my training. Just a constant gnawing pain that hurts with each step when I walk, but seems to be kept in check when I run...

Thursday: 5-10k E. As per the plan I manage the goal quite nicely and ran 10k E at 5:17/km. Again, I focused on cadence and hit 180spm bang on! However, the goal pace for E runs is to be 5:22-6:09/km so I went a bit too fast. I find it hard to maintain my goal cadence while running slow in particular because the slower I go the more trouble I have with my breathing pattern and I start to hyperventilate. It's better when I run just a bit faster though and this was still a very easy effort so I count it as a success. Went to the gym for some basic strength training specific to running and lots of stretching and rolling. Good first official day of of the training plan!

Friday: OFF or 10k E. Another early morning run, but not as early as I'd hoped. Could not sleep after 1 a.m. or so. Then I think I actually passed out around 5 a.m. so when my alarm went off at 5:45 I was in trouble. Took nearly a half hour before I was actually out and running. Wanted to focus again on cadence and trying to slow down at the same time so I went and did loops of a local park that has a good steady incline on one side for about a half kilometre or more. Managed 10k E at 5:16/km so failed on the pace as it was still too fast. Came close to the cadence goal at 178spm, but I have no idea how it averaged out to anything other than 180spm based on the graph from my Garmin data. Oh well... Later in the afternoon I went to the gym for a basic strength training workout and a decent amount of rolling and stretching. I think the rolling and stretching routine will be an important component to maintain health in order to allow the running part of the training plan to take place uninterrupted so the plan is to do this religiously!

Saturday: 5-10k E. Decided on the lower mileage goal since I had run on what was supposed to have been an OFF day on Tuesday. Best part was making the local running group regular Saturday morning run! I hadn't run with this group in over a year and a half. Managed a nice 6.5k E at 6:11/km. while chatting and catching up with the folks in the group! Really a great way to begin the day and this really kept my pace and effort in check.

Sunday: 7-13k E. At the cottage so got to run on the beautiful country roads around and near the lake. Not a single red light to have to stop for and very little traffic to navigate over the course of my 13k E at 5:22/km run. Toughest part was the hills, especially that 2km long steady climb starting at about the 8.25km mark. Good way to finish the first week of marathon training!

Total for the week: 44.5k at 5:27/km average pace.

Labels: ,