Wishin' there are more time

Week 6 of 9 to Seoul…. Only 3 weeks to go :(

Thanks guys for the comments last week re: LSD vs MP run. As you know, my biggest weakness as a runner is the mental factor (lack of self-conviction). Therefore, I just couldn't stand not doing a long MP run before a marathon. At least one training session before a race….

So this morning, I left home at 5am and jogged 10k to East Coast Park where they have a traffic-free flat bikepath. After the 10k warm up, I ran 2x10k (Fort Rd toilet to country club) with 3mins standing rest in between. Did the first one in 42:47 and found it relatively comfortable (av HR 163). The second one was completed 5 secs slower in 42:52, but I had to work a bit harder (av HR 169). Anyway, average pace was 4:17 min/km with a total work time of 85:40 for 20k.

Also took a chance to wear my marathon racing shoes and practice fueling by alternating gels & sports drinks every 5k during the 20k tempo run (Seoul water stations are 5k apart).

Disclaimer: I am not saying I will be aiming to run 4:15 pace for Seoul although I do MP tempo run at around that pace. With only 9 weeks of prep time and a HM time of 87, doing back-to-back 90mins HM is probably still out of reach.

This week was also one of the faster training week. Adding up all the quality miles: 8k of interval work & strides (3:50-ish pace) on Monday, 8k @ 4:24 embedded in mid-week 23k long run, 6k tempo @ 4:00 pace on Thursday, and 20k MP tempo today, I accumulated 42k of 'work miles' in 2h:56m or marathon distance at 4:12 min/km. That's 42% of this week's mileage with the remaining miles at easy paces. Since my easy pace is around 5:00-6:00 min/km, my overall average training pace is still slow.

On the surface, it seems that I have reaped the benefits of the last 5 weeks training. Maybe that's why a 'proper' marathon training is typically 12-20 weeks since it takes sometime for the body to absorb the workouts and harvest the fruits of training (training effect lag). The bad news is that I only have another week for sharpening since my prep is like 5 weeks foundation + 2 weeks sharpening + 2 weeks taper.

If only I can have 12 weeks of prep time, I could do something like 5 weeks foundation + 5 weeks sharpening + 2 weeks taper. I reckon that extra 3 weeks of sharpening/specific work might be worth 1-2 minutes of marathon time (coming from extra 3 long runs, extra 3 midweek long runs, 6 additonal tempo/speed sessions).

If only….

Anyway, what's done is done. Training this week:

Mon (intervals):
20mins warm up
6 x 5mins, 1min jog
Av pace for the 5mins: 3:52, 53, 56, 53, 54, 48
Covered 7.74k during 30 minutes of work (av pace 3:54)
Including recovery jogs, covered 8.6k in 35+mins (av pace 4:05)
30mins cool down with 2x40secs + 4 x 20secs barefoot on grass
Total 18k
Done 48 hours after 36k long run.

Tue (easy)
10k easy (av pace 5:08)
XT 10mins: planks, myrtle hip, squats, lunges

Wed (long):
23k easy-moderate in 1h:51m (av pace 4:50)

Thu (threshold):
15mins warm up
6k in 24:00 (av pace 4:00)
13 mins cool down
Total 11.5k

Fri (easy):
30mins easy treadmill (av pace 5:45)
XT: 10mins upper body weights

Sat (long):
10k warm up (5:20 pace) to ECP
2 x 10k @ 4:17 average, 3mins standing rest
2k cool down
Total 32k in 2h:29m (av pace 4:40)
Including today's run, last 8 days total mileage 136k

Sun (rest):
OFF. Rest day.

Total 100k for the week (last 6 weeks av 96k)