Week 5 of 8

21 days to go....115km in 6 days, 3 main workouts:

1) 3 hours Long Run at Easy pace

Did the long run on race day minus 26, which might have been a tad too early because most running programs suggest the last and longest LSD to be done about 2.5-3 weeks out. Started the run at 4:30 am and ran it at a constant pace throughout. Heart rate was steady at 140-150 bpm before increasing to about 160bpm in the last 40mins due to tiredness and rising temperature. Consumed 2 gels, 600ml sports drink, 1 litre water, and 2 salt tablets. This is my second 3-hour long run so hopefully my body & brain will get a feel of how to run for an extended period of time.

2) 8 x 400m at VO2Max

Did a little dose of speed workout since I haven’t ran any races nor done any session faster than threshold pace in the last 2-3 months or so. Did the first 7 reps between 83-84 secs, then ran the last one hard in 74secs. Not really sure if this session is useful for marathon since the interval distance is very short and the pace is about 1mins per km faster than MP, but perhaps it’s good for variety and speed maintenance purposes.

3) 8k ez + 3 x 7k @ MP

Stole this workout from a one of the top HK-based runner called by7, who did 10k ez + 3x7k MP during his marathon prep for Fukuoka. He will be running Seoul Marathon as well as aiming for a kick ass 2:3x something. Unlike my previous MP long runs where I just warmed up for a couple of ks and then went straight to MP, this workout provided a different challenge with a longer warm up and the MP segment was done between km 8-30. Splits were 31:27/158 bpm, 31:22/162, and 31:10/168, totaling to 21k in 94mins (av 4:29 min/km, 163 bpm). Recovery time was 7mins consisting of 4mins jog + 3mins rest. Took gels before each MP segment and consumed 1.3 litre of liquids. The last 7k was tough given the mileage in the legs and I stopped briefly in the middle to get a drink.

Anyway, I have done 4 long runs (35k, 32k incl MP, 35k, 31k incl MP) in the last 2 weeks. For these long runs, I woke up at 4am and started the session at 4:30. One thing that I wouldn't miss about marathon training is having to get up so damn early ! Really looking forward to a longer sleep time during the taper.

Mon (Easy):
am: 20mins Very easy (av 5:40)
pm: 40mins Easy (av 5:24)

Tue (Long):
35.4k Long Run in 3 hours (av 5:07)

Wed (Easy):
45mins Easy (av 5:16)
Started at 6:00, worked down to 4:50. Treadmill 1% incline, last k at 5%.

Thu (Speed, Easy):
am:
Warm-up, drills, strides
8 x 400m at VO2Max with 1:40 jog (straight path)
Splits: 84, 84, 83, 84, 84, 83, 84, 74 (last one hard)
Cool down

pm: 72mins Easy (av 5:10)
Joined the CBD running group. Knees were a bit sore due to the recent mileage increases and lots of running on concrete surface.

Fri (Recovery):
30mins Very Easy (av 5:40)

Sat (Marathon Pace):
8k warm up
3 x 7k at Marathon Pace (av 4:29)
Splits: 31:27, 31:22, 31:10 with 4mins jog, 3mins rest
Total 31k in 2:27 (av 4:45)

Sun (Rest):
OFF (going to Jakarta for a couple of days)

Total 115k for the week, 2878k for the year