Marathon Training – Week 10 – 20 miler #1
I took two days off after last week’s half marathon before jumping back into training with a killer speedwork session: 4x1mi with 0.5 mile recovery walk/jogs. My first repeat was slow but I was happy with the other three. Interestingly the first repeat was done in the pre-dawn dusk and I wonder if the darkness slowed me down. I’m more cautious of my footing and aware of my surroundings when it’s dark out. Usually this workout leaves me totally exhausted. This time around I felt much better possibly because I took a gel after the second repeat. Oh and maybe I’m fitter! I was still beat though so I cut Thursday’s seven miler down to a five miler.
For a fun little blast from the past I thought it would be a good idea to compare this week to April 9 – 15, 2007, Week 10 of my last marathon training cycle. What I recall most vividly from that week was how hard the 20 miler was. I quote “It is obvious to me that my leg strength/endurance is more of a limiting factor to me at this time than my cardiovascular fitness.” Yea, sadly 18 months later the same holds true. And I still haven’t worked up the nerve to have an ice bath.
Anyway the good news is that this time around the first 20 miler went much better! I was feeling a bit bored doing all my long runs on the marathon course so I decided to mix things up a bit. This week I combined a few laps of Green Lake with a run on the Burke out to Magnuson Park and back. As usual, my legs stiffened up as the run progressed and the last three miles were particularly tough. But I made it through and at this point that’s all I care about.
| 13/10 | - | Thanksgiving Rest day |
| 14/10 | - | Rest day |
| 15/10 | 8.0 miles | Speedwork: 4x1mi in 8:26/7:58/8:04/8:02 min |
| 16/10 | 5.0 miles | Easy run: avg 160 bpm, 11:23 min/mile |
| 17/10 | - | Rest day |
| 18/10 | 20.0 miles | Long run: avg 168 bpm, 10:57 min/mile |
| 19/10 | 4.0 miles | Recovery run: 11:42 min/mile |
| Total | 37.0 miles | YTD: 982.4 miles |
Looking forward, if everything goes according to schedule next week I should pass the 1000 mile year to date mark during my Saturday long run!
Race Report: 2008 Victoria Half Marathon
Pre Race
Matt and I had the most stereotypical pre-race evening imaginable. We had a carbo load dinner of pasta with tomato sauce and steamed broccoli and then watched Spirit of the Marathon on DVD. I went to bed remarkably calm and not nervous. I think this was because this wasn’t an A race for me and I ran the race last year so I knew what to expect logistically.
I woke up at 5:30 am on Sunday morning and ate my usual pre-race breakfast of oats, half a banana, green tea and water. At 6:00 am I watched the start of the Chicago Marathon online and then at about 6:35 am I left Matt’s apartment for the 20-minute walk down to the start line. The weather was cool and cloudy so I wore shorts and a long sleeved technical shirt with a technical tank top underneath. I had lots of time at the race start to do a light warm-up jog, some stretching, eat a gel and still be in the starting corrals about 20 minutes before the race start. I lined up right in front of the 2 hour pace sign and waited to start my seventh half marathon!
I should mention that I finally (after almost two years) figured out the right screens to have displayed on my Garmin while I race. First I turn off auto-lap and hit the lap button on my own at each km marker. On my main screen I have Time (stopwatch time) in big and then below it Distance and Time – Avg Lap (average time to complete each lap so far). The last one is critical. If you use Pace – Avg Lap it will throw you off because the distance the Garmin measures is never exactly the same as the mile/km markers on the course and they’re what really count.
km 1-5 in 27:27 (5:29 min/km)
The announcer at the start told us that this year’s half marathon was the largest sporting event on Vancouver Island. I became acutely aware of this during the first mile of the course as I wove through slower runners and walkers. My first km came in a 5:56 and in hindsight that probably made me speed up a bit too much in subsequent km in an attempt to get down to 5:41. I missed the km 4 marker again this year as I was walking through a water stop. I felt pretty good through the first 5 km. I was pushing the pace comfortably and my legs felt good.
km 6-10 in 27:52 (5:34 min/km)
The second 5 km section was mostly run in circles in and around Beacon Hill Park. There were a few notable hills that I purposely slowed to climb. I don’t like getting passed on the uphills but I dislike destroying my legs even more. I forced myself to take a gel and a walk break at km 8 (mile 5) even though I was feeling good and didn’t want to stop. Towards the end of this section we turned onto Dallas Road and enjoyed a long decline. Unfortunately what went down would later have to come up!
km 11-15 in 28:02 (5:36 min/km)
As we turned off Dallas Road and into the neighbourhoods we could see the faster half marathoners coming at us. I am thrilled to report that there were no crazy crossing issues like last year. I think the problem was solved with extra pylons and “keep left” signs. After km 12 I look a walk/water break and decided to take off my long sleeved shirt and just wear the tank. Even though it was probably only 8C I was getting overheated! I’d purposely pinned my race bib to my shorts to give myself this option. Somewhere in this section there was a beer stop! I declined because I’m pretty sure my stomach would not handle that well! There was also a house playing Chariots of Fire on repeat which was great fun to run by.
km 16-20 in 28:02 (5:36 min/km)
By the time this section started I was definitely starting to tire. Although they didn’t really hurt my legs were protesting. They felt slow and tight especially up the hill next to Clover Point. I saw the marathon leaders go by and I tried to harness their focus and form! I took another gel and walk break at km 16 (mile 10) and from there I was focused on getting to the finish time. I was moving well but the last few km seemed to last forever. Fortunately I’m very familiar with this stretch of road so I was able to pick a series of landmarks to use as short term goals.
km 20-21.1 in 5:37 min
During the last 1.1 km I just kept telling myself to git ‘er done. I knew I was going to beat 2 hours handily by chip time. I put on a bit of a finishing sprint to beat 2 hours by gun time and crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. Hey, I did set a new age group PB!
Finish Time 1:57:00 (5:32 min/km or 8:55 min/mile)
Post Race
Immediately following the race I felt pretty good. But not so good that I would have been up for continuing and running another 13.1 miles! I’ve still got 7 weeks of training and the benefit of a taper to get me through the marathon. I averaged 8:55 min/mile which is a little faster that the 9:09 min/mile I’m going to need to break 4 hours in the marathon. Given the results of this half I’m not changing my primary goal but I have a very realistic idea what it’s going to take to get me there.
Place overall: 1664/4266 (61.0th percentile)
Place in gender: 697/2673 (73.9th percentile)
Place in age group (F3034): 114/375 (69.6th percentile)
Placing is based on gun time (1:59:43) and includes walkers.
1:57:00
=================================================================== Final Place Bib Gun Chip KM Place In Sex Place In Division No. Time Time Pace =================================================================== 1663 696/2479 F 114/362 Female 30-34 3694 1:59:43 1:57:00 5:33
Official results are here
Marathon Training – Week 9 – Tune up time
This week started tough, was easy in the middle and has a big question mark at the end. My first run of the week was a five mile tempo run. In theory my tempo pace is supposed to be about 8:27 min/mile but I just could not get down that fast. Looking back at it, I actually put together pretty consistent splits (average 8:46.4 min/mile), improved over my pace from two weeks ago and ran my butt off so it was a pretty good workout. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a huge confidence booster for Sunday’s half marathon when I’m going to try and pace 9:09 min/mile for 13.1 miles. I’m just hoping that not coming off of a 23 mile weekend will help put some pep into my legs!
So after the tempo run I moved into mini-taper mode: two easy four milers and a light cross training session. Nothing major to report there!
| 06/10 | - | Rest day |
| 07/10 | 7.0 miles | Tempo run: 5mi @ 8:46/8:49/8:42/8:50/8:45 min/min |
| 08/10 | 4.0 miles | Easy run: avg 167 bpm, 11:09 min/mile |
| 09/10 | XT | 30 min elliptical, upper body weight training |
| 10/10 | 4.0 miles | Easy run: avg 160 bpm, 11:19 min/mile |
| 11/10 | - | Rest day |
| 12/10 | 13.1 miles | RACE DAY: Victoria Half Marathon |
| Total | 28.1 miles | YTD: 945.4 miles |
Now onto the looming question mark that is my upcoming half marathon. I’ve already mentioned my game plan but here are my formal race goals:
- Goal #1: Run marathon pace 9:09 min/mile (5:41 min/km) for a 1:59:59 finish
- Goal #2: Hold on to marathon pace for as long as I can and then finish as well as I can
- Goal #3: If all else fails have fun and get a good training run in
I’m treating this as a tune up race so I can get an indicator of where my fitness is. I ran the Victoria half marathon last year (race report) as an “A” race and set a then personal best of 1:55:33. From what I recall there are a few rolling hills so it should be good preparation for Seattle. My bib number is 3694. Results should be posted here on Sunday.
Marathon Training – Week 8 – Hamstring rehab
Last week I mentioned that I was having some problems with my left quad and my right hamstring. Well the story of this week is hamstring rehab. Monday was a scheduled rest day and I continued to ice and stretch out my legs. Tuesday morning I had 3x1mi speedwork scheduled. I considered moving it to Thursday and maybe in hindsight I should have. Anyway I warmed up slowly and got the workout done but I could feel that my legs were not 100%. I held back, especially in the last two repeats because my right hamstring was sore/tight and I was afraid that if I pushed it too far bad things would happen. My repeat times quickly became irrelevant and I moved fully into hamstring rehab mode.
I did not go the the gym on Wednesday morning. Instead I did some light yoga and stretching at home and then iced my hamstrings. Wednesday afternoon I bought ibuprofen (because believe it or not my previous bottle had expired before I finished it!) and got on an anti-inflammatory schedule. That’s in addition to the icing and piriformis relaxation schedules I was on! Thursday I had a 6 mile easy run on the schedule but I cut it short and only did 3.3 miles. My hamstring felt OK as long as I ran quite slowly but I didn’t want to push things. I continued the icing and anti-inflammatories through Thursday and Friday. I had basically no pain walking around during the day on Friday. I decided that if I could make the 30 min (1.5mi/2.4km) walk home from school on Friday afternoon without any pain then I could attempt my long run on Saturday. Otherwise I would have to push it to Sunday (or later). Fortunately that wasn’t necessary.
I had an ambitious plan for my Saturday 18 miler. Ambitious in that it wouldn’t be easy to bail out mid route because I wouldn’t be close to home. I decided to attempt it anyway. I took a bus downtown (actually two buses since the Fremont Bridge somehow got stuck open and everyone on the bus had to get off and walk up to the Aurora Bridge to get another bus downtown) and then another bus to Leschi Park. From there I ran south along Lake Washington for 2.5 miles then turned around and ran the final 10 miles of the marathon route (see below). Then I ran home for an additional 5.5 miles.
I took the first few miles super slowly and was pleasantly surprised that my hamstring felt totally fine. In fact my right felt no different from my left. Eventually my legs tired but that’s completely normal for me on a long run. Success.
This morning’s recovery run was good. I took several walk breaks to keep my heart rate in check. Still, I feel like I’m walking a fine line with my hamstrings right now. I’m running the Royal Victoria half marathon next Sunday. My goal is to do the half at my goal marathon pace (9:09 min/mile). I’m pretty psyched to run the race because I feel as though I haven’t run a race in forever (OK it’s been 3.5 months). I just don’t want to do anything to compromise my marathon so I will be watching my hamstrings closely. And I think lower body weight lifting may have to stop since that’s what got me in the predicament in the first place!
| 29/09 | - | Rest day |
| 30/09 | 7.0 miles | Speedwork: 3x1mi in 7:59/8:06/8:10 min |
| 01/10 | XT | Light yoga & ab work |
| 02/10 | 3.3 miles | Easy run: avg 156 bpm, 12:07 min/mile |
| 03/10 | - | Rest day |
| 04/10 | 18.0 miles | Long run: avg 168 bpm, 11:13 min/mile |
| 05/10 | 5.0 miles | Recovery run: avg 156 bpm, 12:09 min/mile |
| Total | 33.3 miles | YTD: 917.3 miles |
Marathon Training – Weeks 5,6,7 – Back from vacation
Here’s an update on my last three weeks of marathon training (or lack thereof).
Week 5
Coming off a 15.5 miler on Sunday I got two easy runs in before flying to Europe for a vacation with my mother. We visited Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal. I brought running gear with me but in the end I didn’t do any running while on vacation. I don’t feel the least bit guilty about this. We were just too busy sightseeing and doing cryptic crosswords!
| 08/09 | 3.4 miles | Easy run: avg 153 bpm, 11:41 min/mile |
| 09/09 | 8.0 miles | Easy run: avg 165 bpm, 10:45 min/mile |
| 10/09 | - | Vacation |
| 11/09 | - | Vacation |
| 12/09 | - | Vacation |
| 13/09 | - | Vacation |
| 14/09 | - | Vacation |
| Total | 11.4 miles | YTD: 850.6 miles |
Week 6
This was my second zero mileage week of the year. The last one was while I was on vacation in Scotland in March.
| 15/09 | - | Vacation |
| 16/09 | - | Vacation |
| 17/09 | - | Vacation |
| 18/09 | - | Vacation |
| 19/09 | - | Vacation |
| 20/09 | - | Vacation |
| 21/09 | - | Vacation |
| Total | 0.0 miles | YTD: 850.6 miles |
Week 7
I took a rest day my first day back in Seattle but then I dove right back into training this week. Tuesday’s tempo run was a bit of a shock to my system. The tempo miles were much slower that I would normally have liked to see but the percieved exertion seemed spot on. It may take a few weeks to get the speed back.
I think I overdid it in the gym on Wednesday. I did a 60 min hill climb workout on the elliptical machine and then what I thought was a reasonable weight routine. I was a little sore on Thursday but it didn’t really affect my run that morning. However, my legs felt shot only a few miles into Saturday’s long run. Of course it didn’t help that I purposely chose a hilly route. By the end my left quad and my right hamstring were very tight. It definitely felt like soreness and not an acute injury so I was able to complete the run without too much discomfort. I’m frustrated though. I know that leg strength is one of my weaknesses but I just can’t seem to lift weights to make them stronger and maintain the training volume I need to get ready for the marathon. Obviously the volume is a higher priority so I’m going to have to scale back at the gym. For now though I’m actively encouraging recovery by icing, stretching and using my rolling pin to do some self massage.
I’m pumped and frightened that the marathon is only eight weeks away. I feel as though I’m in a good place when it comes to my long run mileage. I have one 16 miler, one 18 miler and two 20 milers planned in the upcoming weeks. As long as I complete these I will be confident in my ability to complete the marathon distance on race day. Completing that distance at my goal pace is another matter. I’m not sure my speed is where I need it to be. I have a big test coming up in two weeks. I’m planning on running the Victoria half marathon at a pace of 9:09 min/mile for a 1:59:59 finish time. It will be interesting to see how that goes!
| 22/09 | - | Rest day |
| 23/09 | 6.1 miles | Tempo run: 4mi @ 8:37/9:03/9:01/8:56 min/mile |
| 24/09 | XT | 60 min on elliptical & weights |
| 25/09 | 7.2 miles | Easy run: avg 166 bpm, 11:17 min/mile |
| 26/09 | - | Rest day |
| 27/09 | 16.1 miles | Long run: avg 169 bpm, 10:50 min/mile |
| 28/09 | 4.0 miles | Recovery run: avg 152 bpm, 11:12 min/mile |
| Total | 33.4 miles | YTD: 884.0 miles |
Marathon Training – Week 4 – Substitution
This week I substituted a 5K race for a 15.5 mile run. Make sense right?
Originally my sister and I were planning on running a 5K today but we called it off a few weeks ago because her ankle isn’t up to running right now. I was coming off three weeks of 30+ miles so convention probably would have told me to make this week as an easy week. However, I’m going to be on vacation for most of the next two weeks which will probably mean little or no running. In the end I didn’t build my mileage this week but I certainly didn’t take it easy either.
Tuesday’s speedwork session was pretty good. I mean it was tough but I got through it and felt good about it in the end. Sunday’s long run was a bit of a slog though. I covered miles 18 – 25.5 of the marathon course so that was a good experience. Those hills still are not getting any easier! My legs felt pretty dead at the end of the run. I’m not too worried though – the rest I’ll get over the next two weeks will surely cure that and I’ll be refreshed to restart training upon my return.
| 01/09 | - | Rest day |
| 02/09 | 7.0 miles | Speedwork: 3x1mi in 7:45/7:44/7:53 min |
| 03/09 | XT | 35 min on elliptical & weights |
| 04/09 | 6.0 miles | Easy run: avg 161 bpm, 10:52 min/mile |
| 05/09 | 4.0 miles | Recovery run: avg 160 bpm, 10:55 min/mile |
| 06/09 | - | Rest day |
| 07/09 | 15.5 miles | Long run: avg 165 bpm, 11:03 min/mile |
| Total | 32.5 miles | YTD: 839.2 miles |
Marathon Training – Week 3 – Galloping Goose
I’m currently up in Victoria for the Labour Day long weekend. Yesterday I did my long run along the Galloping Goose trail out from Victoria to Thetis Lake and back. The trail was great although there were portions with very little shade which was rough since it got pretty hot on the way back. My legs and feet held up well until mile 15 but after that it was a slog to get home. That means my leg threshold is moving up though and that’s what matters. I had 3 Clif shot gels and 20 oz of Gatorade out of the road. My energy was good throughout so I feel as though I have my nutrition needs pretty much under control. That’s one less thing to worry about!
| 25/08 | XT | Pilates |
| 26/08 | 6.5 miles | Tempo run: 4.5mi @ 8:34/8:31/8:33/8:33/8:21 min/mile |
| 27/08 | XT | Pilates |
| 28/08 | 6.0 miles | Easy run: avg 159 bpm, 10:54 min/mile |
| 29/08 | - | Rest Day |
| 30/08 | 18.0 miles | Long run: avg 170 bpm, 10:57 min/mile |
| 31/08 | 4.0 miles | Recovery run: avg 156 bpm, 11:11 min/mile |
| Total | 34.5 miles | YTD: 806.7 miles |
I should also mention that I had a great tempo run on Tuesday. My last few tempo runs haven’t felt so good but this time I was able to tune into a “comfortably hard” pace and maintain it. I stopped after 4.5 miles (as was on my schedule) but I felt as though I could have gone for longer. Also check out my heart rates on Thursday and Sunday! They’re less than 160 bpm which is perfect for easy and recovery runs. My long run heart rate was ridiculously high (probably partly due to heat) but I’m choosing to focus on the positive here. It’s nice to have a solid training week in the bank!
Marathon Training – Week 2 – Specificity
My first run of this training week was a 2x1mi speedwork session. I was aiming to do those two miles in about 7:54. I didn’t look at my Garmin during the speed miles and somehow I managed to go under my goal pace to 7:37 and then 7:39. So it seems I can do speedwork at or faster than goal pace but not tempo runs. I have no idea what this means. In the end I paid for the effort with tight/sore hamstrings for the next few days. I did a warm-up mile and some light stretching but I guess it wasn’t quite enough before picking up the pace. I’ll have to do better at that as the number of repeats increase.
Sunday’s long run took me back to part of the Lake Washington / McGilva / Galer / Madison / Interlaken section of the Seattle marathon course (approximately miles 19-23 on the course). That’s my plan for dealing with the late Seattle hills: specificity training. I’m going to run the hills every week I can and hopefully by the time the race rolls around they won’t seem so daunting or so big! This week I made it until mile 12-13 before my legs started to seriously protest. The thought of blueberry/banana pancakes got me through the last mile! I was pretty much toast for the rest of the day though. I napped “Allison style” for about 2 hours in the afternoon. Then I spent the rest of the day watching the last day of the Olympics including the men’s marathon which was very exciting. CBC had great coverage and of course, since I’m on the West coast, NBC pretended they were showing it “live” a few hours later.
| 18/08 | - | Rest day |
| 19/08 | 6.0 miles | Speedwork: 2x1mi in 7:37/7:39 min |
| 20/08 | XT | Pilates |
| 21/08 | 6.0 miles | Easy run: avg 164 bpm, 11:17 min/mile |
| 22/08 | - | Rest Day |
| 23/08 | 16.2 miles | Long run: avg 168 bpm, 11:08 min/mile |
| 24/08 | 4.0 miles | Recovery run: avg 161 bpm, 11:09 min/mile |
| Total | 32.2 miles | YTD: 772.2 miles |
Marathon Training – Week 1 – Running in Thunder Bay
I can now list Thunder Bay on the list of cities in which I’ve run. I was in town for my cousin’s wedding and had a 14 miler on the schedule for the morning after the wedding reception. Thanks to the Thunder Bay Recreational Trails website I was able to make out a 7 mile route almost strictly on paved trail from my hotel to Lakehead University. Matt joined me for the outward portion of my run and I met my Dad at the turn around point for a water/gatorade refill. The trails were great but it was a hot morning and the run took its toll on me. I was hurting by about the 10th mile. My heart rate was ridiculously high but I’m willing to blame that on not enough sleep, the 3 drinks I had the night before and of course the heat and lack of shade.
| 11/08 | - | Rest day |
| 12/08 | 6.0 miles | Tempo run: 4mi @ 8:31/8:27/8:40/8:33 min/mile |
| 13/08 | 6.0 miles | Easy run: avg 164 bpm, 10:45 min/mile |
| 14/08 | - | Rest Day: fly to Thunder Bay |
| 15/08 | - | Rest Day: Trish’s Wedding |
| 16/08 | 14.2 miles | Long run: avg 170 bpm, 11:26 min/mile |
| 77/08 | 4.0 miles | Recovery run: avg 155 bpm, 11:29 min/mile |
| Total | 30.2 miles | YTD: 740.0 miles |
The other highlight of the week was watching the women’s Olympic marathon on Saturday night. Going in I was a little worried about how much coverage there would be but as it turns out between NBC, CBC and SRC I barely missed a minute. I was crushed when Deena Kastor had to drop out and I was inspired by Paula Radcliffe pushing through to the finish. I can’t run a single mile at the pace that these women ran 26.2 and yet I felt a real connection with what was going on half way around the world. So cool. I can’t wait to watch the men’s race next weekend!