It
would be a great blog if I could continually write about how I\'m
tearing it up each week. Each week better than the last and OMG I\'m
running a new PR each week. Hopefully I\'ll have something noteworthy
to say one of these weeks about significant improvement. I think all
the improvement is gradual and based on a number of factors not just
one that you can nail down and you have to go back many weeks to
compare the improvements. I\'m running better than 4 or even 3 weeks
ago but its not a breakthrough. I feel the improvements have been the
combination of many factors even the weather.
This
last week was focused on the introduction of the marathon pace run into
the training. Tuesday I did my track workout which this week consisted
of 12x400m reps in 68sec with 45 sec rest. Luckily I can say I ran
each rep on target time finally. This workout is what I consider my
baseline workout. I do this workout the most during the year. It
keeps me fairly sharp but doesn\'t burn me out. I try to get this
workout down early in the training so I have the speed and turnover
needed for the longer reps and harder training.
The
theory goes that if you want to run a certain distance well you need to
train not just for that distance but varying distances and speeds.
Each type of effort does a little different thing for the body. If you
want to run a good 10k you need to do some training at 5k pace. To run
a good 5k you need to train a little at 3k pace. The marathon its not
quite that clear cut how far under distance you should go. I
typically start with 400m reps at about 3k pace. Build up to mile reps
at 5k pace. Then do variable pace sessions (1 lap at 5k pace then the
next at MP continuously for 6 miles) and marathon pace runs when I\'m
reasonably fit and can handle the speeds I need to hit.
I\'ll
diverge for a moment, as if I hadn\'t already. The two biggest
contributors I feel reduced my marathon times so far are weight
loss and introduction of regular, timed, 5k and under speedwork
sessions. Before I started doing speedwork I also used to get calf
cramps during marathons which would further limit my performance.
After the introduction of much faster than MP or threshold pace
workouts my cramping issues disappeared.
My
marathon pace run this week went as planned but nothing special to
report. Its hard to start a 10 mile MP run motivated when its 70 deg,
90% humidity and you\'ve only had 5 hours of sleep. You do the run
anyway and just see what happens. I was hoping for under 5:30s based
on how warm it was and how tired I felt warming up. I was kind of
psyching myself out from the start in case I bombed the workout. I
started out a bit too fast 5:17 and ended mile 10 a bit slow 5:27,
probably due to mental reasons more than anything. Most of the miles
in-between were on or under target 5:25 pace and my end average was
still 5:22 pace. I was only able to carry a small bottle of water for
the first 3 miles which emptied quite fast in the heat. After that I
had no water. This is usually how the first MP run goes. Nothing
spectacular just getting used to keeping the hammer down and keeping
focused for a long time. Marathoning, and racing in general, takes a
lot of mental concentration to keep youself in the moment and focused
on what you need to do. This doesn\'t just happen naturaly for most of
us. We need to train mentally just like we do physically. Nothing
really learned from this workout about fitness except I finished what
was planned for me that day and I could actually do it.
The
following two days after my MP run I had scheduled back to back 20 mile
runs as usual. I ran slow and by the second one I was pretty fried and
my legs were a tad sore, probably do to the 10 miles in racing flats
during the MP run. I opted for a 20 mile trail run the second day to
ease the pounding on the legs as much as possible. Long week with 100
miles of running combined with all the PC spinning and little sleep.
The
marathon is such a bigger event than say a 10k or even 1/2 marathon.
In shorter distances you tie up your racing flats, toe the line, and
run hard. No food, minimal water, and no eating or logistics to worry
about during the race. For the marathon you need to come up with a
game plan for many different things: shoes to wear; special tape job
and vasoline for certain areas that chaf; start temperature vs. finish
temperature and if you will need throw away cloths at the start; what
you will eat during the race or not at all; fluid replacement plan;
pacing plan for the race; etc.... I remember the first time I was
going to really \"race\" a marathon. I made the leap of faith that I
could handle racing flats for 26.2 miles ( I do not recommend that most
people run marathons in flats). I asked a friend how he determined he
could run that fast when in training you may max out your MP runs at 15
or even 18 miles still leaving 11-8 miles more you\'d need to run in a
real race. He said the marathon is about \"believing\" you can make it
as much as being physically able to do it. If you hold back to much
you loose to much time and can never gain it back. Its a fine line
between the right pace and the wrong pace either too slow or too fast.
You have to do the training, come up with a plan based on that
training, believe in yourself and give it a try. I remember sitting in
my hotel room the day before thinking about the pace I was planning on
starting out at in the morning and how crazy the whole idea sounded.
I started out per the plan, I crashed and burned the last couple miles,
but I still set a huge PR by over 5 minutes. Now I don\'t think is so
crazy of a pace.
With
just 3 weeks left at 100MPW of running I\'m going to change things up
with my PC training a bit. I\'ve been fried off and on lately with
lack of sleep and workout load. People have suggested I should rest
more before the hard speedwork days, to build confidence and ensure I
hit the target times, and I feel like I need to up the intensity on the
PC workouts and really start \"training\" on them. I decided
to increase some of my PC workouts with either higher RPM (110+ RPM) or
100rpm and higher resistance, we\'ll see how each goes. I want the PC
workouts to feel more like I\'m working out vs. spinning happily easily
along. I will be eliminating the PC sessions the day before hard
workouts and increasing the time and intensity on the other days. The
total time on the PC will be roughly the same just moved around a bit.
Hopefully this will work better for overall fitness.
On
with the show. This next week brings a bag of hard workouts. More
1200m repeats, 12 mile MP run, and maybe if I\'m up for it the day
after the MP run, one of two 24 mile runs. It just keeps getting
better.
Age: 35, Sex: Male, Height:5'3",racing wt: 119lbs, marathon PR: 2:20:54, Occupation: Full time Mechanical Engineer; Family: 2 children ages 2, 4
Background: Ran mediocore in high school. Transitioned to road bike racing in college and was 7th in the collegiate nationals road race in 1994. I graduated and quite bike racing and didn't do much for several years. In 1999 I took up running marathons recreationally with my wife as an excuse to travel. In 2003 I took up marathoning competitively.