Marathon Training Week 8 of 10 (First PB of the year)

Most of the work is done. The two most challenging session of the final 3 weeks are

• 18 Days out - 17 mile run with 15 @ MP (5, 4, 3, 2 & 1 mile with 2 minute rests)
• 11 days out - 5/6 x 1 mile @ 10M Pace (LT pace and no faster)

As I traditionally pace the Cork City Marathon on the June weekend (12 days out) I opted to pace the first half of the 3 hour marathon instead as part of my scheduled 15 miles @ MP - close enough and certainly more training benefit than pacing the full distance at a slower pace.

This meant that I would have to run the 5/6 x 1 mile @ 10M pace as part of my scheduled track session on Tuesday. However as most of the club would be running the John Buckley 5k at the Marina I decided last minute to give that a go instead - ok the pace would be faster and the distance shorter, but it sounded far more attractive than running laps of the track to a specific time. Yet I was half afraid to race it as I didn't think I had the necessary speed in my legs and the willingness to go through the pain that normally comes with the shoter races. Afterall my attempt at 5 x 1 mile @ 6 minute pace a few weeks ago did not inspire me and i'd need to break 6 minute pace average to get a PB (sub 18:39).

For me the thing about racing a short race is to get a good long warmup in, gradually increasing the pace from a gentle jog to a few minutes at race pace within 5 to 10 minutes of the start, so my body is ready for the hard effort from the gun. With all my preparation I managed to leave the Garmin on the kitchen counter at home - the HR monitor around my chest would be no good. This was probably a blessing in disguise because I know I would be guided by my watch/pace throughout the race as opposed to listening to my body. I managed a 3 mile warmup with nieghbout Ian, whom I had coaxed into coming along. A few minutes of fast pace running (no garmin, so I can't say what pace - oh the freedom) and I am on the start line a few rows back. It's pretty tight as we are pushed back behind the start line before the race can start. After the gun I take it easy as there is a mad rush to get started and one wrong step and you'd end up on the deck with hundreds of feet trampling over you. The course is pancake flat - my last run here was 3 years ago when I came within 1 second of my PB (18:40).

I set off at a comfortably hard pace passing Mile 1 in 5:46 (timekeeper) in the shadow of Clubmate Ronan, who was aiming for beating his previous time of 18:26. I was pleasantly surprised by the time, but had been there before in a 5k, early days. The pace/effort remained the same, passing Mile 2 in 11:33, still on the same pace, although I translated this time in my head as a need to run a sub 5:30 last mile to get under 18 minutes - in hindsight I was thinking of a 5:27 mile to get 17:00 for 3 miles.

I continued on pushing the pace and passing one or two runners who were flagging more than me, the pace still hard but manageable. Past the 3 Mile mark (no timekeeper) so running blind towards the finish line (no glasses either) delighted to see 17:5x as the finishing clock came into focus, pushing to cross over the line in 17:57 (5:46 pace - even all the way). Delighted!

The race between 3rd and 4th Female was taking place around me over the closing stages, with both finishing just in front of me. They obviously had a bigger incentive than I to run "eyeballs out". My Pb got me 70th overall out of 968 finishers, showing how strong the field was. I thought it was a breakthrough race (and it was in terms of breaking a 5 year Pb) but my 1:22:32 HM in 2011 suggests that my 5k equivalent should be 17:50.




Mile 2.8 - surrounded by Clubmates Austin and Ronan

The remainder of a week was spent running 5 to 8 milers at a reasonable pace with my medium long run deferred until tomorrow's MP session at the Cork City Marathon - should be fun. Best of luck to all those running/pacing the full, half and relay.

Weekly Mileage - 44 Miles

Avg Weight - 76.8 Kg

RHR 37



Century

This is the second week in a row that I finished off with a race (that I didn't race) and again in the vibrams. This week it was the ESB/Fota Island Hotel 5k. I warmed up with John Desmond over 12.5 miles of quite country roads between Fota and Midleton on a beautiful sunny morning. We got back in time to register for the race and hook up with Maura and Catriona (who were planning on a 2-hour warmdown after the race - Maura is also heading for Connemara, Catriona ran the Clonakilty marathon with us in December).

We started in the middle of the pack as none of us we were looking to break any records. However I did break a record during the 7:23 opening mile when I clocked my 100th mile of the week. The route was a bit undulating but nothing very challenging. Mile 2 came in 7:13 (14:36) and with a mile to go I moved up a gear passing the 3 mile mark in 21:00 (6:24 for mile 3) and pushing for the finish in 21:35 (0:35 for the last 0.11 miles = 5:18 pace). A short warmdown with John gave me 16.1 miles in the vibrams for the day and 103 total for the week. We finished off with a feed of tea and sandwiches in the Hotel (very welcome) before heading for home.

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Todays sunny weather was in stark contrast to the 3.5 hours of rain and snow I faced yesterday during my long run. Leaving the house shortly before 7 it was raining steadily and while it's never pleasant to start a run in the rain it's forgotton after a few minutes.

I was trialing my fueling for Connemara which is a combination of perpeteum (primary fuel) and endurotlyes (electrolyte replacement - helps prevents cramps). Unfortunately I made the mistake of ordering the endurolyte powder as opposed to the capsules. I mixed the perpeteum with water in a kiddie size (200ml) plastic squeezy drinks container and mixed the endurolyte powder in a 500ml water bottle. Perpeteum is generally recommended for endurance events lasting several hours to several days!!! and according to the blurb

contains 75% carbohydrates (from long–chain maltodextrins—no added simple sugars), 13% fatty acids from a specially made long–chain lyso–lecithin, and nearly 10% soy protein. A small portion of fat seems to cue your body to more liberally release its fatty acids stores, which account for up to two–thirds of one's energy requirements in long bouts of exercise. A little fat in the fuel also slightly slows the rate of digestion and thus promotes “caloric satisfaction,” another attractive plus during primarily aerobic ultra distance events.

Since I had only one bottle holder on my fuel belt I jammed the small bottle of perpeteum into one of the zipper pockets - which sat well during the run but was a bummer to get back in everytime I drank from it, particularly as my hands became more numb as the run wore on. My strategy was to take a swig out of the perpeteum first and then wash it down with the endurolyte rich water (about every 4 miles). The strawberry-vanilla perpeteum tasted great but the endurolyte water, which looked like dirty dishwater, was less palatable (i.e. it was terrible). It was all I could do to take one swig from it every 4 miles - so returning from a 3.5 hour run with 150ml left in the bottle was not a good hydration strategy. I can't say the run felt good - perhaps it was the rain, cold (it snowed after 2 hours) or just an off day (early signs of a chesty cough) but I wasn't convinced my fueling strategy was working. However while fatigue was setting in earlier than expected I did notice a recovery after taking the perpeteum, particularly after 2.5 hours (maybe it takes a while to kick in). Still better to learn the lessons in training. I'll give it another go next weekend and increase the dose of perpeteum ( I was a bit light in it's application) and mix the endurolyte powder with something a bit stronger than water.

Mon 7th Mar

a.m. 5.28 miles @ 9:21 pace & 114HR (slow recovery - achy legs)

p.m. 7.35 miles @ 8:20 pace & 124HR (better)

Tue 8th Mar

a.m. 10.47 miles @ 7:50 pace & 127HR (vibrams)

p.m. 6.13 miles @ 8:01 pace & 133HR (legs stiff)

Wed 9th Mar

a.m. 7.84 miles @ 8:04 pace & 128HR

p.m. 7.82 miles @ 7:47 pace & 129HR

Thur 10th Mar

15.51 miles @ 7:22 pace & 131HR with 5 mile evaluation @6:58 pace & 140HR.

Sat 12th Mar

26.59 @ 7:54 pace & 131HR

Sun 13th Mar

16.14 miles @ 8:14 pace with 5k in 21:35 (6:57 pace & 140HR)

Base Week #7 (Run 103.1 miles, Bike NIL, Swim NIL)

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