Marathon training is progressing well and I have now reached the "strength" section of the plan where you do longer intervals at MP - 10s pace rather than the VO2Max sessions.
The Sunday before last I did my first 15 miler of the plan. I took in the hilly Stockport 10 route for a different challenge and did the run in 2:05 (about 8:20 pace.) This felt very comfortable so I think I still have a reasonable endurance base.
Last Thursday I raced the Foodbank 5.5K - a trail race in the scenic Happy Valley. This year you have to cross the river on stepping stones and then on the way back you ford it so a bit of an extra challenge this time.
When I raced this last year it was a bit bizarre as after the first Kilometre or so I did no overtaking and was not overtaken either. This year I did plenty of overtaking - starting in about 30th place saw to that!
The initial pace felt very pedestrian but according to the Garmin it was 6:20 min/mile so not too shabby. After the river crossing I spotted a club mate about 30 metres in front of me who normally beats me in the short races. I figured that if I kept near him I would be doing well so over the next mile or so I gradually overtook about 10 runners until I was the next runner behind him but still about 30 metres back.
We then crossed the river again and for the last 500 metres or so it is just a case of keeping your foot on the pedal to ensure that no one gets past you.
I managed to keep my place and came home in 13th position My time was about the same as last year which is OK considering that this year we had water obstacles!
Doing all that overtaking was fun but probably cost me some energy so at the next Foodbank I will start further forward and see if I can use the faster people to pull me along.
Tonight is the final Sale Sizzler 5K of the summer. I have been fighting a cold all week so I don't know if that will slow me down but I am aiming for my first sub 19 min 5K! Three 6:10 miles should do the trick as my Garmin measures the course short. It sounds so simple on paper!
Thursday, 14 August 2014
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Cumulative Fatigue
One of the foundations of the Hansons Marathon Method is to build up fatigue so that you start runs on tired legs. The idea is that you are training for the second half of the marathon rather than the first.
After runs of 10, 10, 8 and 11 miles over the last four days I am becoming well acquainted with this concept! Sometimes I go to sleep not being able to imagine starting a workout seven hours later. However a sleep does seem to work wonders and, combined with my new motto "just get out the door and start trotting," I seem to be surviving.
This morning I did my first 8 mile tempo (marathon pace) run. With two miles warm up and 1 mile cool down that was an 11 mile run to get in before 7:30 am. Fortunately, setting my alarm for 5:30 am now seems pretty normal and I was out the door by 6 am. After two miles of gradually speeding up I did eight miles at around 7:10 pace. This felt surprisingly OK at first and then gradually got harder until the last few miles felt like an effort.
According to the McMillan pace calculator I should be able to maintain 7:10 pace for a whole marathon. However past experience tells me that I can't. I am planning to do the training tempo runs at my McMillan marathon pace but when it comes to the real marathon I will start off somewhat slower.
It is well know that your best times are set when you pace a race evenly or even get a negative split. This will be my goal in Chester, starting at a steady 7:45 and hopefully speeding up in the last 10 miles.
But for now I will carry on "getting out the door and trotting."
After runs of 10, 10, 8 and 11 miles over the last four days I am becoming well acquainted with this concept! Sometimes I go to sleep not being able to imagine starting a workout seven hours later. However a sleep does seem to work wonders and, combined with my new motto "just get out the door and start trotting," I seem to be surviving.
This morning I did my first 8 mile tempo (marathon pace) run. With two miles warm up and 1 mile cool down that was an 11 mile run to get in before 7:30 am. Fortunately, setting my alarm for 5:30 am now seems pretty normal and I was out the door by 6 am. After two miles of gradually speeding up I did eight miles at around 7:10 pace. This felt surprisingly OK at first and then gradually got harder until the last few miles felt like an effort.
According to the McMillan pace calculator I should be able to maintain 7:10 pace for a whole marathon. However past experience tells me that I can't. I am planning to do the training tempo runs at my McMillan marathon pace but when it comes to the real marathon I will start off somewhat slower.
It is well know that your best times are set when you pace a race evenly or even get a negative split. This will be my goal in Chester, starting at a steady 7:45 and hopefully speeding up in the last 10 miles.
But for now I will carry on "getting out the door and trotting."
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
Sale Sizzler 5K
It took me a few days to recover from the gruelling Offerton 10K but eight days later my legs were ready for the next challenge - the Sale Sizzler 5K.
I have never raced a flat 5K before, or indeed any real 5K as parkruns have their own category according to thepowerof10 website. My parkrun PB was 19:22 so hopefully with a fair bit of training banked since then and the flat course a 19 minutes flat time was possible.
The evening was hot at 23 degrees C but this shouldn't matter too much in a 5K.
The race started with a loop of the track in Wythenshawe Park and as normal my club mates sped off into the distance. My target pace was 6:10 so after coming off the track at 6:00 pace I steadied things a bit and completed the first mile in 6:10 exactly.
The second mile started to feel painful but I managed to just about hang on for a 6:13. One of my club mates came back to me - he paid the price of a crazy first mile.
To go sub 19 I would have to speed up on the last mile but this was just not possible and the best I could manage was a 6:15. The last kilometre seemed to go on for ever as I was really clinging on now. There were some guys only a few metres ahead of me but it was all I could do just to keep up with them.
I was expecting to finish a lot slower than 19 minutes but I did speed up over the last 200 metres on the track and the Garmin had measured the course slightly short so I was pleasantly surprised to see 19:03 on my watch.
Last year I was targeting sub 20 over the 5K distance so I can't really complain about a 19:03 this year.
However there are two more Sale Sizzlers this summer and I think I will target a sub 19 on the last one. Hopefully with a month more speed work and a slightly cooler day it will be possible.
I have never raced a flat 5K before, or indeed any real 5K as parkruns have their own category according to thepowerof10 website. My parkrun PB was 19:22 so hopefully with a fair bit of training banked since then and the flat course a 19 minutes flat time was possible.
The evening was hot at 23 degrees C but this shouldn't matter too much in a 5K.
The race started with a loop of the track in Wythenshawe Park and as normal my club mates sped off into the distance. My target pace was 6:10 so after coming off the track at 6:00 pace I steadied things a bit and completed the first mile in 6:10 exactly.
The second mile started to feel painful but I managed to just about hang on for a 6:13. One of my club mates came back to me - he paid the price of a crazy first mile.
To go sub 19 I would have to speed up on the last mile but this was just not possible and the best I could manage was a 6:15. The last kilometre seemed to go on for ever as I was really clinging on now. There were some guys only a few metres ahead of me but it was all I could do just to keep up with them.
I was expecting to finish a lot slower than 19 minutes but I did speed up over the last 200 metres on the track and the Garmin had measured the course slightly short so I was pleasantly surprised to see 19:03 on my watch.
Last year I was targeting sub 20 over the 5K distance so I can't really complain about a 19:03 this year.
However there are two more Sale Sizzlers this summer and I think I will target a sub 19 on the last one. Hopefully with a month more speed work and a slightly cooler day it will be possible.
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Offerton 10K
After enjoying the hills of the Lyme Park parkrun it was time for a different sort of torture altogether - the Offerton 10k
This race sounds attractive as it is all within Woodbank and Vernon parks with a track start and finish. However there is one problem, or three to be more accurate: you have to climb the Vernon park hill three times. This hill starts near the bottom of the river Goyt valley and climbs up into Woodbank Park, a rise of about 150 feet. Most of the climb is too steep to be attacked so you just have to trot up it and recover a bit at the top.
Last year I did the race in just under 44 minutes. This time looked very beatable and a sub 42 minute performance would represent good progress.
The route consists of three laps of the parks and the hill occurs on the even miles so the plan was to alternate between 6:30 and 7:00 miles.
A first mile in 6:20 felt very comfortable and then it was time to race down the valley and struggle back up the hill. Thanks to a good pace down the hill I managed to do the second mile in 7:00.
During the third mile I gradually recovered my pace and managed a 6:30 thanks to it ending halfway down the hill. I went through 5k in 20:40 but knew the second half would be slower as I would have to do the hill twice.
The fourth mile had very little downhill in it and resulted in a 7:20. Ouch!
The fifth mile was flat and then downhill so I should really have done better than a 6:40 but I was getting tired.
Up the hill one last time and then I managed to speed up to a decent pace as I knew the end was close. A 6th mile of 7:20 wasn't too bad.
Back on to the track and I managed to finish at 6:00 pace. There was no one to overtake sadly but I was very pleased to see a time of 41:57. The Garmin had measured the course slightly short so I was going slightly faster than I thought.
A two minute year-on-year improvement is very encouraging and suggests that two complete marathon training cycles have made a difference.
As for the race, I can't say I enjoyed the second half at all. The hill totally dominates the race and is all people talk about afterwards. However it is a good challenge and I will be back next year. I am not expecting another two minute improvement though.
Next up is the Sale Sizzler - 5k, no hills and no traffic as it is all on Wythenshawe Park. There will be no excuses there!
This race sounds attractive as it is all within Woodbank and Vernon parks with a track start and finish. However there is one problem, or three to be more accurate: you have to climb the Vernon park hill three times. This hill starts near the bottom of the river Goyt valley and climbs up into Woodbank Park, a rise of about 150 feet. Most of the climb is too steep to be attacked so you just have to trot up it and recover a bit at the top.
Last year I did the race in just under 44 minutes. This time looked very beatable and a sub 42 minute performance would represent good progress.
The route consists of three laps of the parks and the hill occurs on the even miles so the plan was to alternate between 6:30 and 7:00 miles.
A first mile in 6:20 felt very comfortable and then it was time to race down the valley and struggle back up the hill. Thanks to a good pace down the hill I managed to do the second mile in 7:00.
During the third mile I gradually recovered my pace and managed a 6:30 thanks to it ending halfway down the hill. I went through 5k in 20:40 but knew the second half would be slower as I would have to do the hill twice.
The fourth mile had very little downhill in it and resulted in a 7:20. Ouch!
The fifth mile was flat and then downhill so I should really have done better than a 6:40 but I was getting tired.
Up the hill one last time and then I managed to speed up to a decent pace as I knew the end was close. A 6th mile of 7:20 wasn't too bad.
Back on to the track and I managed to finish at 6:00 pace. There was no one to overtake sadly but I was very pleased to see a time of 41:57. The Garmin had measured the course slightly short so I was going slightly faster than I thought.
A two minute year-on-year improvement is very encouraging and suggests that two complete marathon training cycles have made a difference.
As for the race, I can't say I enjoyed the second half at all. The hill totally dominates the race and is all people talk about afterwards. However it is a good challenge and I will be back next year. I am not expecting another two minute improvement though.
Next up is the Sale Sizzler - 5k, no hills and no traffic as it is all on Wythenshawe Park. There will be no excuses there!
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Lyme Park parkrun
My legs recovered pretty quickly from the Freckleton Half and as I had a rare opportunity to do a parkrun last Saturday I thought I would give the new Lyme Park parkrun a try.
For those who are unfamiliar with Lyme Park it is a hilly National Trust park on the edge of the Peak District. The parkrun route embraces the hills, starting with half a mile of steep climb followed by two miles of gradual downhill. The last half mile is a slog uphill to the finish line.
I warmed up by jogging into Lyme Park from the Boar's Head pub in Higher Poynton. This involved one and a half miles of uphill jogging so was a thorough warm up!
There was a small group of about seventy people at the start and soon after 9 am we were off. I made a steady start up the hill, letting a few people zoom off and settling in to about 12th place.
After about half a mile the route steers away from the hill and gradually descends back towards the hall. This part is on rocky ground and is what fell runners call "technical". I would call it treacherous but I managed to stay on my feet and maintain around 6:30 pace.
The first mile ticked by in 7:30 mins. Not bad considering the hill.
About this point I caught up with my club mate Roger who had given me a right hammering at the Freckleton Half six days before. I figured I would be doing well if I could keep up with him but he gradually pulled away over the rest of the race.
The second mile takes you down to the "Cage" - a well known building in Lyme Park. I was in about tenth place here and approaching a group of about four people but in the long downhill from the Cage they gradually pulled away. I need to practise my downhill running because although 6:30 pace felt very comfortable here I didn't feel safe going any faster as the path was very uneven.
The second mile ticked by in 6:30 mins and it was a case of doing the remainder of the downhill as fast as possible before the long slog to the end.
After an initial steep climb the uphill section levels off slightly and I was able to maintain a 7:00 min/mile pace to the finish. I managed to pass one runner who was tiring to come home in 21:28 and 8th place out of 72 finishers.
My target was 22 mins so I was pleased to be well under that.
I cannot say how much more I enjoyed this race compared to the Freckleton half. The long downhill gives you a bit of a rest and the final uphill slog is a great fitness battle. The scenery doesn't hurt either! It was also nice to do a parkrun that is just one lap - most are two or even three laps.
It was great to be reminded why I enjoy running so much.
Next week I have the Offerton 10K. No PB will be forthcoming there - it is seriously hilly but I am looking forward to the challenge.
For those who are unfamiliar with Lyme Park it is a hilly National Trust park on the edge of the Peak District. The parkrun route embraces the hills, starting with half a mile of steep climb followed by two miles of gradual downhill. The last half mile is a slog uphill to the finish line.
I warmed up by jogging into Lyme Park from the Boar's Head pub in Higher Poynton. This involved one and a half miles of uphill jogging so was a thorough warm up!
There was a small group of about seventy people at the start and soon after 9 am we were off. I made a steady start up the hill, letting a few people zoom off and settling in to about 12th place.
After about half a mile the route steers away from the hill and gradually descends back towards the hall. This part is on rocky ground and is what fell runners call "technical". I would call it treacherous but I managed to stay on my feet and maintain around 6:30 pace.
The first mile ticked by in 7:30 mins. Not bad considering the hill.
About this point I caught up with my club mate Roger who had given me a right hammering at the Freckleton Half six days before. I figured I would be doing well if I could keep up with him but he gradually pulled away over the rest of the race.
The second mile takes you down to the "Cage" - a well known building in Lyme Park. I was in about tenth place here and approaching a group of about four people but in the long downhill from the Cage they gradually pulled away. I need to practise my downhill running because although 6:30 pace felt very comfortable here I didn't feel safe going any faster as the path was very uneven.
The second mile ticked by in 6:30 mins and it was a case of doing the remainder of the downhill as fast as possible before the long slog to the end.
After an initial steep climb the uphill section levels off slightly and I was able to maintain a 7:00 min/mile pace to the finish. I managed to pass one runner who was tiring to come home in 21:28 and 8th place out of 72 finishers.
My target was 22 mins so I was pleased to be well under that.
I cannot say how much more I enjoyed this race compared to the Freckleton half. The long downhill gives you a bit of a rest and the final uphill slog is a great fitness battle. The scenery doesn't hurt either! It was also nice to do a parkrun that is just one lap - most are two or even three laps.
It was great to be reminded why I enjoy running so much.
Next week I have the Offerton 10K. No PB will be forthcoming there - it is seriously hilly but I am looking forward to the challenge.
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Freckleton Half
Last year the heat and undulations of the Freckleton Half Marathon killed me, resulting in a severe fade over the last 3 miles. Would this year be any different?
Well the weather was even hotter if anything with few clouds in the sky and the temperature pushing 20 degrees. 20 degrees does not sound like much but when you are running at a steady effort for 90 minutes it does hurt you.
My mood was not helped by the fact that I had managed to forget my Garmin. Major d'oh! I did at least have a stopwatch so I would have some idea as to my pace.
At 2pm the hooter sounded and off we went. Ben Fish and company motored off into the distance while I tried to find my tempo pace with no Garmin to help me. Actually I did pretty well as the first mile was about 6:35 - not far off my 6:40 target pace.
The next couple of miles ended up at about 6:45 pace as we wound around Freckleton and out into the countryside. I went through 5k in 21 mins which would have been a 5k PB 18 months ago.
For the next 3 miles I followed someone who seemed to know what he was doing and looked very comfortable. This dragged me along at about 6:50 pace which was OK. The hills on miles 5 and 6 were duly conquered without much fuss.
At every water station I was taking a few sips of water and pouring the rest over my head in an attempt to stay cool. This seemed to help slightly.
The 7th mile is downhill and felt very comfortable. I went through halfway in 44:40. No PB today then but sub 90 should be very doable.
However my pace gradually dropped off over the next few miles until by the 10th mile I was at 7:00 pace. I guess the heat and the lonely running got to me.
Miles 10 to 12 are on the side of a main road which is straight and slightly climbing. These miles were a complete slog. I just couldn't wait for the race to end! I overtook one runner and he then overtook me back and that was about as exciting as that section got!
The 13th mile is a bit more interesting as it winds through Freckleton and at least you know that you are nearly there! A guy overtook me on this mile and I was able to speed up slightly to keep up with him. He then slowed down to let me do some work and I managed to stay ahead of him and overtake one more guy.
Just like last year I managed to speed up on the final straight, coming home in 1:31:26 and 48th place out of 660 finishers.
I then devoured 4 cups of squash and 4 cups of tea in the next 40 minutes or so in an attempt to rehydrate.
The positives are a reasonably strong last mile and an almost two minute improvement on last year. The negative is my slowest half marathon of the year by over 2 minutes.
I think the course is tougher than it looks. The hills around the middle drain some energy and the 3 miles on the main road just drain all your will power. It is probably the toughest half marathon course I have done so far and the RunBritain handicap factor for the race concurs.
However this beast will be conquered! I plan to return next year for a sub 90 and hopefully a cooler day.
Well the weather was even hotter if anything with few clouds in the sky and the temperature pushing 20 degrees. 20 degrees does not sound like much but when you are running at a steady effort for 90 minutes it does hurt you.
My mood was not helped by the fact that I had managed to forget my Garmin. Major d'oh! I did at least have a stopwatch so I would have some idea as to my pace.
At 2pm the hooter sounded and off we went. Ben Fish and company motored off into the distance while I tried to find my tempo pace with no Garmin to help me. Actually I did pretty well as the first mile was about 6:35 - not far off my 6:40 target pace.
The next couple of miles ended up at about 6:45 pace as we wound around Freckleton and out into the countryside. I went through 5k in 21 mins which would have been a 5k PB 18 months ago.
For the next 3 miles I followed someone who seemed to know what he was doing and looked very comfortable. This dragged me along at about 6:50 pace which was OK. The hills on miles 5 and 6 were duly conquered without much fuss.
At every water station I was taking a few sips of water and pouring the rest over my head in an attempt to stay cool. This seemed to help slightly.
The 7th mile is downhill and felt very comfortable. I went through halfway in 44:40. No PB today then but sub 90 should be very doable.
However my pace gradually dropped off over the next few miles until by the 10th mile I was at 7:00 pace. I guess the heat and the lonely running got to me.
Miles 10 to 12 are on the side of a main road which is straight and slightly climbing. These miles were a complete slog. I just couldn't wait for the race to end! I overtook one runner and he then overtook me back and that was about as exciting as that section got!
The 13th mile is a bit more interesting as it winds through Freckleton and at least you know that you are nearly there! A guy overtook me on this mile and I was able to speed up slightly to keep up with him. He then slowed down to let me do some work and I managed to stay ahead of him and overtake one more guy.
Just like last year I managed to speed up on the final straight, coming home in 1:31:26 and 48th place out of 660 finishers.
I then devoured 4 cups of squash and 4 cups of tea in the next 40 minutes or so in an attempt to rehydrate.
The positives are a reasonably strong last mile and an almost two minute improvement on last year. The negative is my slowest half marathon of the year by over 2 minutes.
I think the course is tougher than it looks. The hills around the middle drain some energy and the 3 miles on the main road just drain all your will power. It is probably the toughest half marathon course I have done so far and the RunBritain handicap factor for the race concurs.
However this beast will be conquered! I plan to return next year for a sub 90 and hopefully a cooler day.
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Hansons Marathon Method
With the London Marathon well and truly behind me it is now on to summer training.
While I could just start the same P&D schedule again to prepare for the Chester marathon I think I am ready to try something a bit different. Step up Hansons' Renegade marathon method!
The plan uses the word "renegade" as the longest run is only 16 miles long, defying conventional wisdom that your longest marathon training run should be at least 20 miles.
However the Hanson brothers are of the opinion that your long run should not comprise more than 25% of your weekly mileage. Therefore doing a 20 mile run as part of a 50 mile week like some Hal Higdon plans proscribe is disproportionate and can result in a 20 mile "misadventure" rather than a run.
The idea is that you start the long run on tired legs and are therefore simulating the last 16 miles of the marathon rather than the first 16.
The other idea is that you do you speed work in the first half of the plan and then "lock" in the benefits by doing slower and longer "strength" workouts. I haven't quite worked out the scientific basis behind this but am willing to give it a try.
I have already done my first speed workout - 12 * 400m with 400m recoveries. Thanks to the nice long recoveries and the use of 5K pace this was not too much problem. 3 * 1 mile with 600m recoveries in a few weeks will be a different matter!
The first 6 weeks are all under 50 miles in volume so I am currently adding easy miles to get each week up to 50.
Apparently the most important part of training is consistency. If I can keep my weekly mileage around the 50 mark for the rest of this year then I should be well placed for another serious marathon push in 2015.
While I could just start the same P&D schedule again to prepare for the Chester marathon I think I am ready to try something a bit different. Step up Hansons' Renegade marathon method!
The plan uses the word "renegade" as the longest run is only 16 miles long, defying conventional wisdom that your longest marathon training run should be at least 20 miles.
However the Hanson brothers are of the opinion that your long run should not comprise more than 25% of your weekly mileage. Therefore doing a 20 mile run as part of a 50 mile week like some Hal Higdon plans proscribe is disproportionate and can result in a 20 mile "misadventure" rather than a run.
The idea is that you start the long run on tired legs and are therefore simulating the last 16 miles of the marathon rather than the first 16.
The other idea is that you do you speed work in the first half of the plan and then "lock" in the benefits by doing slower and longer "strength" workouts. I haven't quite worked out the scientific basis behind this but am willing to give it a try.
I have already done my first speed workout - 12 * 400m with 400m recoveries. Thanks to the nice long recoveries and the use of 5K pace this was not too much problem. 3 * 1 mile with 600m recoveries in a few weeks will be a different matter!
The first 6 weeks are all under 50 miles in volume so I am currently adding easy miles to get each week up to 50.
Apparently the most important part of training is consistency. If I can keep my weekly mileage around the 50 mark for the rest of this year then I should be well placed for another serious marathon push in 2015.
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