10 April 2011

Week 3 of 13/15 Marathon Training

Monday:
12k easy in 63 (5.15) including 6 barefoot strides, Keppel Marina 1k loop

Tuesday:
AM -- 2.5k up, drills + 1k worth of strides/jog; 12 x 400m with 40secs jog in Padang cricket field, 3mins rest, then into 3.2k tempo, felt good on this one- 2k+ cool down back home. Total 15k

Splits:
86.6, 87.2, 88.0, 87.4, 88.7, 86.3
88.8, 87.8, 87.7, 90.4, 89.3, 82.6
= 17.30 for a total 4.8k worth of work (average 3.40 pace), 3mins rest
3.2k tempo in 12.48 (4.00 pace, 171 bpm)

PM -- 5k recovery treadmill (5.46), 10mins core work

Wednesday:
10+k recovery in 55 (5.27) including 4 barefoot strides, Keppel Marina 1k loop

Thursday:
3k up, drills + 1k worth of strides/jog; 3 x 3k varied pace Tempo with 3min jog rec at the Canal loop; tried to hit multiple threshold paces at somewhere between MP and HMP, HMP, and between 10k-HMP; overall a comfortably hard effort - 2k down including 3 strides. Total 16k

splits
12.06 (4.08, 4.01, 3.57), av HR 162 (154, 159, 164)
12.01 (4.06, 4.00, 3.55), av HR 169 (165, 170, 173)
11.59 (4.08, 4.01, 3.50), av HR 174 (169, 174, 178)
total 9k worth of work in 36.11 (av 4.01 min/km)

Friday:
AM -- 7.7k recovery treadmill in 43 (5.36)
PM -- 10mins gym work

Saturday
22k + 10k, total 32k in 2:40 (5.00) - a tale of two halves - cruised the first 22k in 1.45 (4.45 pace) but then ran into stomach problem (gel ??). Couldn't find a bush to poo (Holland Rd) and had to run, stop, run, stop every couple of mins to settle the stomach and prevent the shit from coming out. Finally found a loo after 6k in Botanic Garden then jogged 4k home. So not really one long continuous run.

Sunday
OFF, core exercises

Total 98k for the week

Week in Summary:

A mixed week, with two good workouts but a SHITTY long run (literally). The good thing is that my body seems to have adapted to the recent increase in mileage and I felt I've shaken off the fatique. Mornings were much cooler (around 26-27c) nowadays and finally we got SOME WIND, which aided body cooling. This 'change in weather' helped greatly in my workouts. In fact, I found the efforts for both the interval and the tempo runs were less taxing compared to previous sessions.

This week I did my interval session on grass field (Padang cricket field) and my legs seem to enjoy the cushiony surface. From now on, I will try to do my intervals in order to save my legs from pounding, since the rest of my runs are either on asphalt or concrete. One issue is whether I am running the 'correct' distance/pace as one loop of the cricket field is only 500m as measured by Garmin (GPS is infamous for overestimating lap distance on athletic tracks). But I hope since the field is rectangular, the GPS still gives reasonable measurement as the turns are less sharp. For my session, I lapped my 400m at about 405-408m (so about 1-2% extra) to compensate for the possible error. For longer, slower reps, I can extend the loop by 300m extra by running in the rough, un-manicured grass block next to the cricket field.

Next Sunday, I will be doing my first race in 2011, a road 10k, and four days later on Easter Thursday, a 5.6k mile race. Both races are paid by my company, so I save a few bucks in entry fees and didn't have to queue to collect race packs !! Race entries in SG are so expensive nowadays and $50 is a norm even for short distance. My racing plan for this year is just to participate in those that are paid by company, which thankfully include some of the big races domestically. I only plan to pay for addtional races once I hit 40 in six months time. It's just not fair for a 39.5 years old guy to compete against guys in their 20s anymore ;)
All the best to Rob, Craig, and Ronnie who are running Boston next week. Hope you all got your PBs !

2 comments:

by7 said...

you seem already in good shape !!

but, sorry, sometimes I think you are too hard on yourself and too easy to lose morale for a bad workout !!

Especially in Singapore, it is almost impossible to nail a tempo run properly or to feel "Strong"...
just do your hours on your feet and interval/tempo, etc but give yourself a good allowance for the heat !!

Ewen said...

Ah, this template's better - much easier on the eyes.

I like the idea of doing what you can (intervals in this case) on the grass. Should definitely give your legs a break from the pounding even if running fast. Just a matter of adjusting the mind to slower times. For distance, if you want something more accurate than Garmin, download and use Google Earth (the measure tool) and plot a course around the field. That's far more accurate. For example, I get 400 +/- a metre for the AIS 400m track.