The 8th of 18 Weeks

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

Monday: OFF or 10k E. After the long run on Sunday that definitely felt like finishing a marathon I set off on the typical easy recovery run on a Monday morning feeling tired. I wasn't all that sore, surprisingly, but couldn't move very fast at the beginning. As the run progressed I loosened up and felt much better by the end of the run. In the end I managed 10k E at 5:27/km to start off week 8. Later in the day I went to the gym for some strength training and stretching.

Tuesday: 6x800m or 3x1600m. Woke up at 1am, read for a bit, then totally slept through my alarm, which had been set for 5:30. Instead, I woke up at 6:46 and scrambled to get out the door to get my run in and not be late for work! Just as I was getting ready the rains came pouring down to add to my already stressed state, but luckily they stopped by the time I had my shoes on and was heading out the door. The warm up 2k jog to the track was tough and my legs were definitely not "fresh". I didn't allow any doubt to creep in and at this point in the plan I decided to just run on faith given that I'd hit all my paces in the first seven weeks despite the fatigue. As I started in on the first of three 1600m repeats I just kept telling myself that somehow, some way, I will get through this workout and hit my paces. First repeat was tough, but I tried to just glide as much as possible. Didn't really feel the pain until the last lap and ended up doing it in 6:37.9, which was under the goal pace of 6:40. I walked a good half lap before jogging the rest of the 400m rest interval and set off on my second repeat, which was considerable tougher and really made me question my ability to complete the set as I was really huffing and puffing with about 600m to go. I ended up with a 6:35.8 for my second split, which surprised the hell out of me when I looked at my stats after the fact. Again, I walked about half the rest interval lap and just kept telling myself, "Only one more to go!". That one more was also tough, of course, but it's easier to push through the pain when one knows there will be no more. I ended up running the last split in 6:32.0. The average pace for the intervals ended up at 4:07.02/km, so under the goal of 4:10/km. I jogged the 2k home at a pace that was faster than I thought I could manage given how the intervals had felt. The total for the day was 10k SP at 5:08/km. And I did make it into work on time. Just! Later in the day I hit the gym for rolling and stretching, which was very necessary.

Wednesday: OFF. Really feeling the effects of training on the old legs and these days OFF are really quite welcome. I managed a regular strength training session during the day and went for a massage in the afternoon, but it seems that my current state of fatigue will only continue to get worse. In the first seven weeks of the plan the day off made a noticeable difference on my legs and, subsequently, on my Thursday morning tempo run. I am not so sure that this will continue as the mileage and intensity increases.

Thursday: 8-12k T. No idea how I was able to actually manage this one. My legs definitely did not recover after the off day, and as I set out on the first two kilometres warm up I felt like they were more sacks of wet bricks than anything resembling running legs. As I started into the 12k tempo portion of the run I told myself to just be happy if I did manage to hold 4:45/km. I kept things as even as I could and lo and behold I managed way faster than I thought was possible! The second split was my slowest at 4:41.8, and the last one was by far my fastest at 4:25.2. All the rest were between 4:30/km and 4:38/km, and it all averaged out to 4:33.52/km. The total ended up at 15k T at 4:44/km. Nice! We then attended the day session of the Track and Field events at the Pan Am Games and that meant that yours truly got to work rather late and was immediately faced with multiple crises. I managed to get some rolling and stretching done at home in the evening, but it wasn't as good as a typical session at the gym ends up being. Oh well.

Friday: 8-10k E. For the first time all week I woke up not feeling completely drained. I also felt good on the run despite the whole fatigued legs thing that was definitely in play since that 23k effort last Sunday. In any case, the 8k E at 5:13/km felt really easy as I ran it with a very even and relaxed effort. All in all a very good run! Also, I picked up a couple pairs of my current running shoe at a terrific discount from my local healthcare provider where I go for things like massage now and again and this was the first run with one of the new Asics Gel-Kayano 21s. The pair I'd been wearing had a significant amount of wear in particular on the front outside of the sole. An interesting wear pattern especially for the fact that both heals showed almost no wear at all. This last pair of Kayano 21's were at or perhaps past their useful lifespan so it was high time to get some new shoes into the mix. At lunch time I went to the gym for a strength training session followed by rolling and stretching, which was also good.

Saturday: 10-16k E. After spending Friday evening at the Pan Am games track and field competition, watching interesting events such as the women's 3000m steeplechase and long jump finals, first four events of the heptathlon, and both men's and women's 4x100m relays, and getting home rather late, I tried to get up early enough to both avoid the expected heat and humidity and to get out of town in good time to get to the cottage. I was out running before 7:30am and the first bit felt worse than I would have liked for it to feel. It was already hot and humid out, but I felt ok with it for some strange reason. My pace improved throughout the run even though I didn't put in any more effort and I was quite pleased to finish the 10k E at 5:08/km feeling like it was a successful easy run. These types of runs give me faith in the Hanson's Marathon Method: I was feeling like total crap after last Sunday's run and it took me at least four days to recover, but I still managed to hit all my paces for all the runs and never felt like I was anywhere near any edge or close to getting injured. Things will get tougher still, I recognize, but I've been feeling more resilient by the day.

Sunday: 16k L. Went out in the early morning at the cottage in very still and foggy conditions. It was a beautiful morning for running: still, quiet, and not yet hot and too humid. My left Achilles and calf were a bit tight so I have to pay a bit more attention to it, but it's been something I've been dealing with for a while now so wasn't too concerned. More than anything, I was just a bit wary of the hills that I would have to traverse and went out without much of a pacing strategy, but rather just wanted to get a solid Long run in with even effort. As usual the first kilometre was slow, but as I loosened up my pace started to hit paces that I have never hit on the familiar route that I chose so I started to wonder if I'd be able to hit the pace range called for in the Hanson's Marathon Method. The big question is always how I would manage the big hills getting back to the lake. I stretched the run out a bit by running a loop through Stirling, the closest little town, and then hit the hills. I was pleased to find that both my perceived effort and pace showed marked improvements over the same terrain in the last two months. In the end I managed 16k L at 5:01/km, so right in the middle of the 4:54-5:10/km range for Long Runs. Week 8 of 18 done!

Total for the week: 69 km at 5:05/km average pace.

The 7th of 18 Weeks

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

Monday: 7-10k E. The seventh week began much the same as the previous five (first one excepted), with an easy "6 miler". This time I did not have a partner to run with due to tight timelines on his end that meant he had to get going before 5am, and I felt the extra bit of sleep for me was more important than completing an easy run that early in the morning. In any case, I woke up a bit before 6am and was out the door shortly after the hour for a 10k E at 5:16/km. Clearly, the pace indicates that I ran this too fast, but based on effort I'd say I was on the upper end of the Easy run spectrum, but not pushing it. I think as my fitness is improving I am noticing the benefits most in the faster easy paces that I am able to run at the same perceived effort.

Tuesday: 8x600m or Pyramid. Opted for the pyramid option and it was definitely a worthy challenge. 400-800-1200-1600-1200-800-400 was the "ladder" workout, but I prefer to call it a pyramid. I suppose stepladder would work as well, but most don't have steps on both sides. But I digress... The weather was humid, but not particularly hot. All morning it sure felt like rain was imminent and I definitely produced a copious amount of sweat during this workout. Not as much as last week's speed session, but definitely more than I normally do. In any case, the workout itself started off well as I kept the effort quite even as I set off on the first 400m repeat, anticipating the longer repeats to come. Each rest interval I started off with a bit of walking, even after the first loop although I didn't particularly need it. Again, I was readying myself for the pain of the middle portion of the set. Sure enough, when that 1600m repeat came it was both physical and mental battle. Once it was done I felt like the workout was mine. However, that second 1200m was really tough as well! In the end I ran these fairly well, though I did manage the last two repeats a bit faster than average, which either means I left too much in the tank (hard to believe as I was really hurting), or mentally I was really glad this was almost over (much more likely scenario). The average pace for the fast portions ended up being 4:04.33/km, which is great for me and under the goal pace of 4:10/km. In all I managed 13k SP at 5:21/km, which included 2k warm up and 2k cool down sections. Over the lunch hour I went to the gym for an abbreviated session of rolling and stretching. Very difficult to get these sessions in as I've taken on a new role at work and my schedule has filled up very quickly with pressures coming from all angles. However, I must continue with the strength training and flexibility work in order to remain healthy so I will do my best to ensure I have at least a minimum amount of time during the work day to get this done. It remains to be seen how successful I am...

Wednesday: OFF. Another day of no running, as per the plan, so I took is OFF. However, I was able to get to the gym for a good session of running specific strength training followed by the compulsory twenty minutes of rolling and stretching.

Thursday: 8-12k T. Once more the way I feel going into a potentially tough run and the lack of confidence that is the byproduct of tired legs has little bearing on the outcome of the run itself. Thinking back to the same 12k tempo effort of week 6 I was a bit apprehensive about the same workout, but actually felt not so bad on the 2k warm up jog. Only issue was a bit of trouble here and there taking a full breath, but that seems to come and go with me so I pretty much ignore it. I started in on the tempo portion also ignoring the boredom that accompanies running the same 2.1k loop that I've chosen for both its slightly undulating terrain, but also for the fact that there are no potential stoppages in the form of red lights along the way. I ran the first kilometre as easily as I could and managed 4:33.7 for that split. Feeling that this was too fast I backed off a bit and the second split was 4:36.1. Little did I know that this would be the slowest split for the entire tempo portion of the run! I proceeded to accumulate splits that read more like a race for yours truly than a training run: 4:29.9, 4:33.3, 4:24.8, 4:29.9, 4:27.7, 4:29.1, 4:28.7, 4:24.8. 4:34.3, and 4:26.8. I was quite pleased to see that the average pace for the 12k Tempo part ended up at 4:29.92/km, which of course is under my dream BQ pace! In the end I even managed the entire run, with warm up and cool down, under the goal tempo pace of 4:45/km and managed 15k T at 4:41/km. And although I felt like I had a good workout, I wasn't completely drained by the end as my cool down kilometre was a decent pace and easy rather than closer to the slog I was anticipating. Nice! Later in the day I hit the gym for a good session of rolling and stretching followed by some sauna action.

Friday: 7-12k E. Well into the seventh week of marathon training the legs continued to accumulate fatigue. This was particularly evident on the 7k E at 5:28/km that I managed when I felt like each leg gained about 20lbs of useless weight. Dragged through the first kilometre and then things loosened up a bit so by the end of the run I was feeling a bit better. A good easy run completed as prescribed. During the lunch hour I went to the gym for some strength training and stretching.

Saturday: 10-13k E. For a change we actually were in town on a Saturday morning so I got to run with the running group. My wife and younger son joined me, though they went off and did their own run. I ran a nice 10k E at 5:26/km, chatting with someone the whole way about all sorts of interesting things. It was hot and humid, and it was fun to finish off the run sitting around at the coffee shop that serves as the de facto meeting place for the group chatting with everyone. Later in the day we went to watch the semi final baseball game of the Pan Am Games between the US and Cuba. We sat in the very partisan Cuban section of the stadium and it was very loud and boisterous, but the US ended up tying the game late and won 6-5 on a walk off single in the bottom of the 9th. Good game. Too bad Cuba couldn't pull it out after leading 5-1 early in the contest.

Sunday: 16k E or 23k L. After travelling to the cottage immediately following the baseball game on Saturday, we had a bit of a late night after a full day that was rather poor on the nutrition front. I woke up several times in the early morning, but did get my ass out running until much later than I'd intended. It wasn't so bad at a bit past 7:30am, but the heat and humidity were already quite oppressive. At least I had bought a packet of ELoad energy drink stuff, the same stuff that will be on offer at the PEC marathon, and I mixed that into a new running bottle and brought that along. And thank goodness I did as this was a major struggle on all fronts! Not too bad for the first half, but with about 10k left I really started to feel the effects of the hills, the heat, and the cumulative fatigue in the legs. In the end I managed 23k L at 5:23/km, but had to stop a few times to try and cool off. It of course didn't work very well as I was right back to feeling overheated the moment I started running again. I don't know what things would have been like had I not brought that drink along. After the run I shed everything but my shorts and slipped immediately into the lake, where I lay on my back completely submerged save for my face until my body started to feel something close to normal. I downed multiple glasses of water as well, and ate the fastest thing on offer (4 hot dogs), before I really began to feel like myself again. This Hanson Marathon Method thing really is onto something as this long run definitely felt more like the last part of the marathon and not the first. But holy crap was that hard!

Total for the week: 78 km at 5:16/km average pace.

The 6th of 18 Weeks

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

Monday: 7-10k E. Had a good start to the week running 10k E at 5:33/km with a friend as the sun rose in the East, red and round and beautiful. Nothing more to say other than it was executed perfectly.

Tuesday: 12x400m or 4x1200m. Another speed session meant a bit of anxiety on my part wondering how I would fare on these increasingly tired legs. As I jogged over to the track I was really not anticipating much in the way of success. The weather was perfect for anything but fast running as by 6am it was already very muggy and humid, but I didn't mind so much as I figured this would just make for better preparation for a Fall race. In any event, I managed the 4x1200m workout quite nicely in the end, tough as it was. My 400m rest intervals are now definitely starting with a bit of a walk, but I think that's ok. The splits for each repeat were fairly consistent and worked out to paces of 4:08.83/km, 4:07.58/km, 4:06.5/km, and 4:05.25/km. That averaged out to a nice 4:07.04/km, which was under my goal of 4:10/km, but not by too much. In the end the whole workout added up to 11k SP at 5:14/km.

Wednesday: OFF. A rather full day at work meant that my ability to do more than passive recovery was severely limited. I had a massage appointment that I've kept going once every couple of weeks which I was able to keep since I find these sessions focusing on my legs have helped me to maintain a healthy running schedule. As the mileage and intensity of the running workouts goes up I figure I shouldn't be beating myself up too much about taking the one "off" day on the weekly schedule as an actual day OFF...

Thursday: 8k E or 12k T. As I lay on the massage table getting treatment yesterday I talked with the therapist about how this plan seems to make your legs feel dead and give you a decent amount of skepticism in your abilities to complete the workouts at the prescribed paces. He mentioned that this is not unusual and we both agreed that this aspect of training is one of the most rewarding. So, as I ventured out in the morning for the first of three successive 12 kilometre tempo runs I had the same apprehension that is present before every workout of substance. While the two kilometre warm up was happening I certainly questioned my legs' ability to run at planned marathon pace (4:45/km) for twelve K when I thought back to the difficulty I had in completing ten K at that same pace last week. However, I decided to just let those negative thoughts go and started in on my tempo portion trying not to think too far about the task at hand. Long story short, I not only managed the run, but my pace was a bit over 10s/km faster than goal pace! The average ended up at 4:34.44/km and only one of my splits was in the 4:40's (4:40.0/km). My fastest split was the last one and I managed a very impressive (for me) 4:27.5/km! The total for the workout was 15k T at 4:46/km, which is only 1s/km slower than goal marathon pace and included two K warm up and 1k cool down. Legs are tired to be sure, but clearly the body was able. At lunchtime I made it to the gym for a good session of rolling and stretching.

Friday: 7-10k E. Tired legs, as is the norm, but so nice to be able to go out for an easy run and feel no guilt about running slowly and totally aerobically! A lovely morning for a 7k E at 5:19/km run. A trip to the gym in the afternoon for a running specific strength workout and some rolling and stretching completed the work week portion of week 6.

Saturday: 13-16k E. After arriving late at the cottage the night before I had real trouble washing up and felt very lethargic as I ventured out at almost 9am. It was a beautiful Summer day and already quite warm with little breeze to speak of. I ran a familiar loop of 13k E at 5:21/km all the while dreading the two kilometre climb back up to the top of the hill upon which our lake is perched. That was by far the toughest section, but I was happy to find that I maintained a slightly faster pace than I had recently on the same stretch of road. This was a good run even if it was made tougher by the weather and short night of rest.

Sunday: 13k E. Got up early enough to avoid too much of the hotter weather and had a better sleep so this 13k E at 5:16/km felt a hell of a lot better than the one the day before. Only challenge was the climb back up the big hill as I ran the back portion on the out and back route from the cottage. Definitely feeling fatigue in my legs. The Hanson's Marathon Training Plan is designed to get you to run on tired legs and I am definitely experiencing that aspect a third of the way through the program.

Total for the week: 69 km at 5:13/km average pace.

The 5th of 18 Weeks

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

Monday: OFF or 10k E. Drove back the night before to the cottage to start my one week off from work. Didn't bother waking up early, just let my body decide what time to wake up. In the end I didn't get out the door until 9am, which was fine. Not too hot and slightly misty at one point. Found a loop on a residential street tucked into the woods that was almost 1km long and fairly flat so perfect for repeats and perhaps even a Tempo effort. In the end I managed 10k E at 5:25/km and called it a successful start to week 5.

Tuesday: 8k E or 5x1000m. The month of June is now complete and I am quite pleased to have not missed any runs at all and amassed a decent total of 245.7km. This morning was the final effort of the month and I jogged over to that residential loop that I'd discovered the day before for my 5x1km repeats with 400m recovery. Definitely feeling the cumulative fatigue of the training plan I was a bit concerned with how these intervals would go, but I also realized that I will have nerves such as these before every key workout. Just have to work at not worrying so much. In any case, after the warm up jog I stopped on the side of the road for a minute to stretch out and then before my brain could talk me out of starting I hit the start button on my watch and off I went. The repeats were made tougher than anticipated by a section of the loop with a slight incline, which felt bigger and bigger with every repeat. I had to walk a bit after each hard section as I was definitely pushing it to stay on pace. In the end my repeats were pretty consistent coming in at 4:08.2, 4:06.9, 4:06.5, 4:05.3, and 4:05.3 for an average pace of 4:06.44/km. Not bad! The total was 11k SP at 5:39/km. As the overall average shows I took it real easy on the sections in and around the hard repeats. Hopefully July will prove as positive in training terms as June has.

Wednesday: OFF. Took the whole day off, other than playing baseball with the boys a couple of times in Stirling. Needed it, though the diet could have been a lot better. Oh well. Such is vacation...

Thursday: 7k E or 10k T. This tempo run was a very tough test as I came into it with not that much energy (likely as a result of the poor diet while on vacation at the cottage). The legs definitely had that fatigue in them that I think is the point of the marathon training plan as the fifth week rolls along. I jogged two kilometres to the spot where I would run laps and loops on a relatively flat area, which is in short supply around the lake. Then as I started into the first kilometre of the 10k tempo portion I knew right away that this would be a battle all the way. More than a few times I talked myself out of stopping for a break and was quite pleased to have completed the entire tempo portion without a stop. My goal was 4:45/km, but I had run two of these workouts in the past two weeks and both were quite a bit faster than that. When I hit the first split at 4:46.1 I knew I was in for a fight. After that it was just trying to maintain something resembling relaxed form and normal breathing as I hit splits of 4:44.6, 4:44.4, 4:45.7, 4:47.8 (ouch, this one ended on an uphill and I just couldn't keep it loose and maintain pace), 4:43.4, 4:45.2, 4:46.1, 4:39.7, 4:37.8. I clearly knew the end was imminent with those last two splits... The average for the tempo portion ended up at 4:44.08/km and I was very happy with that result. The whole run ended up being 14k T at 4:58/km.

Friday: 8-12k E. After that tough Tempo effort the day before, and a weird pain in my right ankle (i.e. the wonky one) from cracking it in the middle of the night, something I do all the time that doesn't bother me at all, I was apprehensive of what the easy run would bring. Got out the door really late (9:30am), and started really slow. As I ran things loosened up and I felt better. In fact, I was likely running a bit too fast in the second half of the run, but the effort remained consistent so either the Garmin was way off or I am starting to see the benefits of this training plan in my easy pace. In the end I managed 8k E at 5:15/km.

Saturday: 7-10k E. Similar to the effort the day before, I started out late (9:10am), got into the run slowly, and finished faster than I thought I would given how I was feeling after a very lovely, but long and draining, day at the beach. I managed a nice 7k E at 5:12/km and kept things as easy as I could in anticipation of the 20k run to come, the longest of the plan so far and longest for me since Easter.

Sunday: 10k E or 20k L. Made it out slightly earlier than other days during the vacation at the cottage, but still not very early at all (8:41am). The weather was already hot and sunny so for the first time I carried a small bottle of water with me. First half of the run was mostly descending, which meant that the second half was mostly ascending. Stopped every 5k for a drink, but even when the going got tough in the last 5k and I had visions of stopping a few times I never did. In the end I managed 20k L at 5:19/km and all told it was a successful run. Sat in the lake for a bit right afterwards cooling down. Now back home and back to reality as vacation is over :(

Total for the week: 70 km at 5:19/km average pace.