Did a total 213k over the last 30 days in Melbourne, running 2-3 times a week. Will be flying back to Singapore next week. Wife and baby will stay in Melbourne until around July.
From next week, there are 12 weeks of full-throtle training until the marathon. With this in mind, this week I structure my training as skeletons for the actual marathon training. Basically it consists of core workouts without daily aerobic fillers (easy runs). Once I start the marathon training proper, then the rest days will be filled by aerobic runs since mileage is an important component for marathon.
Despite the cool climate, I haven't had the opportunity to do any tough & challenging workouts. Only slept around 4 hours on average, so my body wasn't really primed to handle a lot of training stress. So far, the sessions have been pretty mild in terms of intensity - just enough to maintain fitness. One good thing is that I have built my long runs to around 30k (today did 31k long run av 4:48 pace), which hopefully will bode well for the next 12 weeks of training. Will be interesting to see how my long run pace will start to decrease once I am back in Singapore.
My plan is to spend 2-3 weeks to get used to running 7 days a week again and build mileage to around 80-100k. Then I will focus on marathon specific sessions for the next 7-8 weeks before finally a 2-week taper.
Also, good luck to Epi who will be gunning for sub-3 in Canberra next Sunday.
Anyway, this week's training 'skeleton' as follows:
04/04: 19k Medium Long Run @ 4:50 av pace
06/04: 5k Tempo on grass @ 4:03 pace, 4 x 500m (1:52, 53, 53, 47), 10 x 10secs hill sprints
08/04: 13k Rolling Hills @ 4:30 av pace
10/04: 31k Long Run @ 4:48 pace
Total 76k for the week (in 4 runs)
09 April 2009
30 March 2009
Race Status
Currently I am about 50:50 of doing a July marathon. 50% chance of not running one because I like to see how my training evolves first before registering. There are 13 weeks left before the marathon and most likely I'll make decision with 6-8 weeks to go before D-day.
Out of 50% chance of running, the choice betwen Perth and Gold Coast is probably around 50%-50%. I just realized I have some frequent flyer mileage which will be expiring soon and it's good enough for return flights to either Brisbane or Perth.
This week marks my first running week as a father. Have yet to fully adapt to irregular sleeping patterns. I am presently running once every 2-3 days. Would love to run more but that's the compromise that I agreed with my wife. Baby is doing well and he is a handsome young fella.
Will stay in Melbourne until mid-April then heads back to Singapore. Wife and baby will remain in Melbourne for a couple more months, hence I have the time & flexibility to prepare for the marathon (11 weeks to train).
Buoyed by Melbourne weather, my long run paces are about 10secs faster than Singapore, although the pace for speed sessions remains the same (only did one so far). Got an okay from my wife to register for a 14k race (Run for the Kids), but unfortunately they closed the registration two days early since they hit the maximum crowd limit.
Wed, 18 Mar: 26k @ 4:45. Good run, but tired at the end, never ran this far in 4 months
19-24 Mar: 6 days off (baby + hospital stays)
Wed, 25 Mar: 21k @ 5:00. Felt sluggish due to lack of sleep and fitness loss (only 2 runs in last 2 weeks)
Fri, 27 Mar: 11k @ 4:35. Fartlek session, 4k @ 3:55, 3 x 230m very steep hill (walk down)
Mon, 30 Mar: 27k @ 4:50. Long run on Koonung Trail, Yarra Trail, & Capital City Trail to Yarra Bend Park and back.
Out of 50% chance of running, the choice betwen Perth and Gold Coast is probably around 50%-50%. I just realized I have some frequent flyer mileage which will be expiring soon and it's good enough for return flights to either Brisbane or Perth.
This week marks my first running week as a father. Have yet to fully adapt to irregular sleeping patterns. I am presently running once every 2-3 days. Would love to run more but that's the compromise that I agreed with my wife. Baby is doing well and he is a handsome young fella.
Will stay in Melbourne until mid-April then heads back to Singapore. Wife and baby will remain in Melbourne for a couple more months, hence I have the time & flexibility to prepare for the marathon (11 weeks to train).
Buoyed by Melbourne weather, my long run paces are about 10secs faster than Singapore, although the pace for speed sessions remains the same (only did one so far). Got an okay from my wife to register for a 14k race (Run for the Kids), but unfortunately they closed the registration two days early since they hit the maximum crowd limit.
Wed, 18 Mar: 26k @ 4:45. Good run, but tired at the end, never ran this far in 4 months
19-24 Mar: 6 days off (baby + hospital stays)
Wed, 25 Mar: 21k @ 5:00. Felt sluggish due to lack of sleep and fitness loss (only 2 runs in last 2 weeks)
Fri, 27 Mar: 11k @ 4:35. Fartlek session, 4k @ 3:55, 3 x 230m very steep hill (walk down)
Mon, 30 Mar: 27k @ 4:50. Long run on Koonung Trail, Yarra Trail, & Capital City Trail to Yarra Bend Park and back.
25 March 2009
Sling Jr
Baby Sling was born on Friday, March 20 evening in Melbourne. Weight 3.2kg, length 47cm and healthy.
Labour was quick. Checked in at hospital lunch time and my wife delivered at around 6 pm. I cut the baby's cord.
Got discharged from the hospital yesterday and now back at home coping with parenthood.
Only ran two times in the last 13 days. Spent the rest accompaying my wife's last few days before delivery, 5 days stay in the hospital post-labour, and now taking care of the baby.
Labour was quick. Checked in at hospital lunch time and my wife delivered at around 6 pm. I cut the baby's cord.
Got discharged from the hospital yesterday and now back at home coping with parenthood.
Only ran two times in the last 13 days. Spent the rest accompaying my wife's last few days before delivery, 5 days stay in the hospital post-labour, and now taking care of the baby.
16 March 2009
In Melbourne
In Melbourne for the next 40 days on paternity leave...
I expect to run around 3 times a week as a way to manage family time. Wife is on her 37/38th week, so the baby could on his way out any day now.
I only plan to post my blog once every 3 runs, so this could be once every 7 to 10 days.
Tues, 11 Mar:
Felt a bit jaded from the recent bump in training load (from about 0km due to injury to 300k total in last 30 days). Did 3k warm up along Singapore River to the F1 track and did 4 x 1k (3:51, 3:51, 3:51, 3:41) with 2mins recovery jog. Didn't want to do more since the effort was harder than usual. Jogged slowly back home. Total 11.4k in 57mins.
Thurs, 13 Mar:
Cool and cloudy day for Singapore standard and this helped me to do my longest run since late November. After 3k slow warm up, did 2 x 8k between 4:35-4:40 pace, then 5k cool down. Happy with the effort although it was only done at around 3h:15m marathon pace. Anyway, it's a decent start in my goal to increase my long run pace to around 4:40-4:50 levels. All up, 24k in 115mins (av 4:48 pace). Flew to Melbourne on a red eye.
Mon, 16 Mar:
First run in Melbourne after 3 days off. Temp was 15c, 60% humidity, 30km/h gusty wind which made the apparent temperature around 13c. I expected a good quality run today and but it wasn't meant to be. All muscles were very stiff, perhaps it was the effect of cool weather or maybe from the three days break without running. Breathing wasn't that great either. Did 2k downhill warm up from in-laws house to Koonung trail and this made my quads a bit sore. Then ran 12k at MP (~4:25) but had to stop a few times to stretch the legs and rest, so it was more like a fartlek style run. Finished with a few strides. All up, 18.4k in 85mins (av 4:38) which excluded stoppages. Hopefully, the next run will be much be better.
Total 54k in 3 runs (4 off days in one week).
I expect to run around 3 times a week as a way to manage family time. Wife is on her 37/38th week, so the baby could on his way out any day now.
I only plan to post my blog once every 3 runs, so this could be once every 7 to 10 days.
Tues, 11 Mar:
Felt a bit jaded from the recent bump in training load (from about 0km due to injury to 300k total in last 30 days). Did 3k warm up along Singapore River to the F1 track and did 4 x 1k (3:51, 3:51, 3:51, 3:41) with 2mins recovery jog. Didn't want to do more since the effort was harder than usual. Jogged slowly back home. Total 11.4k in 57mins.
Thurs, 13 Mar:
Cool and cloudy day for Singapore standard and this helped me to do my longest run since late November. After 3k slow warm up, did 2 x 8k between 4:35-4:40 pace, then 5k cool down. Happy with the effort although it was only done at around 3h:15m marathon pace. Anyway, it's a decent start in my goal to increase my long run pace to around 4:40-4:50 levels. All up, 24k in 115mins (av 4:48 pace). Flew to Melbourne on a red eye.
Mon, 16 Mar:
First run in Melbourne after 3 days off. Temp was 15c, 60% humidity, 30km/h gusty wind which made the apparent temperature around 13c. I expected a good quality run today and but it wasn't meant to be. All muscles were very stiff, perhaps it was the effect of cool weather or maybe from the three days break without running. Breathing wasn't that great either. Did 2k downhill warm up from in-laws house to Koonung trail and this made my quads a bit sore. Then ran 12k at MP (~4:25) but had to stop a few times to stretch the legs and rest, so it was more like a fartlek style run. Finished with a few strides. All up, 18.4k in 85mins (av 4:38) which excluded stoppages. Hopefully, the next run will be much be better.
Total 54k in 3 runs (4 off days in one week).
08 March 2009
Struggling with long run
An okay week, but I bombed again badly at the long run. Could only last 90mins before had to take walk breaks. Both my mental and physical endurance were just not there yet to do long runs.
This is my last full week in Singapore before heading to Melbourne next Thursday. I am really hoping the Melbourne weather will help me to start building up the long runs.
It's an exciting time for us with the baby. My wife is on here 36-37 weeks. The doc thinks there is a possibility that he might arrive early.
My current expectation is to run 3 times/week for those 5 weeks I am in Melbourne. Mileage wise, probably around 40-50k a week, which is lower to what I am currently doing right now. However, I''ll focus on 'bang-for-the-bucks' workouts such as long tempos and hard long runs. Personally, I'd like to get comfortable with running long runs at around 4:40-4:50 pace. My long run pace has stayed at 5:00-5:20 pace for the last 3 years due to a combination of no PBs (I don't earn anything that warrants a faster pace in training) and moving to hot & humid Singapore which slowed down the paces.
After 5 weeks of low quantity, high quantity training in Melbourne, there will be 11 weeks before either Perth or Gold Coast marathon. I hope that I could replicate the success of last year's Seoul Marathon preparation which was based on 8 weeks of training.
Mon (Easy Day):
60mins Easy (5:12)
No soreness from yesterday's race. Should have checked the watch battery and ran the race hard :)
Tue (Workout Day):
15mins wu, 8x400 (av 84), 4 x 200 (av 39), 15mins cd
Did the reps on bike path with splits: 83, 83, 86, 84, 85, 84, 84, 79 with 60-90 recovery in between. The first 4 was jog recovery but got stuffed afterwards and did standing rest. The splits for 200s were 39, 40, 40, 38.
Wed (Easy Day):
50mins Easy (5:16)
Thu (Easy Day):
45mins Easy/Moderate (4:56)
In Jakarta for work. Ran on hotel treadmill, started at 10km/h, increasing the pace by 0.1 km/h every minute.
Fri (Easy Day):
32mins Easy (5:12)
Also on treadmill. Flew back to Singapore late evening.
Sat (Workout Day):
40mins Fartlek (av 4:33) incl Mono Fartlek
Kept the float pace for the 90s and 60s segments at around MP (4:20s), however, they slowed to briks jog during the 30s and 15s segments. Covered around 5k so average pace was 4:00 min/km. Overall, it's a good & different workout, could feel the HR working hard during the 30/15s sections.
Sun (Easy Day):
90mins Easy (5:00)
Another failed attempt at the long run. Planned 2hrs but was walking after 90mins. Felt like sleeping in and only started running at 7.30 which was too late to my liking. The weather was terribly warm and humid by then. After the walk breaks, I decided there was no point in continuing further and cut my losses.
Total 73k for the week.
This is my last full week in Singapore before heading to Melbourne next Thursday. I am really hoping the Melbourne weather will help me to start building up the long runs.
It's an exciting time for us with the baby. My wife is on here 36-37 weeks. The doc thinks there is a possibility that he might arrive early.
My current expectation is to run 3 times/week for those 5 weeks I am in Melbourne. Mileage wise, probably around 40-50k a week, which is lower to what I am currently doing right now. However, I''ll focus on 'bang-for-the-bucks' workouts such as long tempos and hard long runs. Personally, I'd like to get comfortable with running long runs at around 4:40-4:50 pace. My long run pace has stayed at 5:00-5:20 pace for the last 3 years due to a combination of no PBs (I don't earn anything that warrants a faster pace in training) and moving to hot & humid Singapore which slowed down the paces.
After 5 weeks of low quantity, high quantity training in Melbourne, there will be 11 weeks before either Perth or Gold Coast marathon. I hope that I could replicate the success of last year's Seoul Marathon preparation which was based on 8 weeks of training.
Mon (Easy Day):
60mins Easy (5:12)
No soreness from yesterday's race. Should have checked the watch battery and ran the race hard :)
Tue (Workout Day):
15mins wu, 8x400 (av 84), 4 x 200 (av 39), 15mins cd
Did the reps on bike path with splits: 83, 83, 86, 84, 85, 84, 84, 79 with 60-90 recovery in between. The first 4 was jog recovery but got stuffed afterwards and did standing rest. The splits for 200s were 39, 40, 40, 38.
Wed (Easy Day):
50mins Easy (5:16)
Thu (Easy Day):
45mins Easy/Moderate (4:56)
In Jakarta for work. Ran on hotel treadmill, started at 10km/h, increasing the pace by 0.1 km/h every minute.
Fri (Easy Day):
32mins Easy (5:12)
Also on treadmill. Flew back to Singapore late evening.
Sat (Workout Day):
40mins Fartlek (av 4:33) incl Mono Fartlek
Kept the float pace for the 90s and 60s segments at around MP (4:20s), however, they slowed to briks jog during the 30s and 15s segments. Covered around 5k so average pace was 4:00 min/km. Overall, it's a good & different workout, could feel the HR working hard during the 30/15s sections.
Sun (Easy Day):
90mins Easy (5:00)
Another failed attempt at the long run. Planned 2hrs but was walking after 90mins. Felt like sleeping in and only started running at 7.30 which was too late to my liking. The weather was terribly warm and humid by then. After the walk breaks, I decided there was no point in continuing further and cut my losses.
Total 73k for the week.
01 March 2009
Ran without a watch
Forgot to charge my Garmin 305, so I ran the Active Newton 10k race today without a watch.
Since I am 100% dependent (perhaps over-reliant) on my Garmin for pacing guidance in races & training, I was simply pace blind this morning. My aim was simply to run at a solid effort the whole way and not going to care about the timing. But gee, 'running by feel' in a race is really tough!
Finished in 40:30. Didn't struggle too much and I was never in the red zone. Probably could have been a bit faster if I had a watch and was able to time myself during the run. I am not sure about the actual distance, but talking to some of my friends who owned GPS or footpod, the distance ranged from 9.8-10.1k. Temperature was 26c with 95% humidity.
Overall, I am not disappointed with today's effort. Timing wise, it's a bit slow to my liking. But since it's still early in the season and the fact that I am still not 100% in tip-top shape (only six weeks of training since injury), I have no complaints.
Chatted with people from SGRunners forum, hence didn't bother to do cool down after the race. Anyway, my legs felt pretty good and didn't feel tight in the muscles at all. It was a very organized race and the course was probably 90% flat. Will try to come back to this race again next year, hopefully with a watch!
Mon (Recovery Day):
am: Yoga
pm: 30mins Easy on treadmill (5:28 pace)
Tuesday (Workout Day):
20mins wu, 3x1000m/2 mins jog (av 3:53 pace), 3x500m/500m jog (av 3:40 pace), 20mins cd
Ran on F1 track again. Splits for the 1000m were 3:53, 3:52, 3:52 and for the 500m were 1:49, 1:50, 1:49. Very humid morning at 25c, 97% humidity.
Wednesday (Recovery Day):
35mins Recovery (5:40 pace)
Felt unwell. Slight fever.
Thursday (Off):
Sick. I think the recent increase in training load finally caught up with me. Did 80k in last 7 days, including 3 speed workouts. Probably too soon for me.
Friday (Moderate Day):
50mins Fartlek (av 4:49 pace)
Decided to test the body and legs with a moderate intensitity workout. Did 20mins MP (4:21 pace), 4 x 15secs hill sprints, and 400m in 82 secs. Not feeling too great.
Saturday (Easy Day):
30mins Easy (5:23 pace)
Sunday (race):
am: 800m warm up (arrived a bit late), Active Newton 10k in 40:30, no cool down (chat with SGrunners)
pm: 35mins Recovery Run (5:45 pace)
Total 60k for the week
Monthly mileages:
Dec: 60k
Jan: 160k
Feb: 270k
Since I am 100% dependent (perhaps over-reliant) on my Garmin for pacing guidance in races & training, I was simply pace blind this morning. My aim was simply to run at a solid effort the whole way and not going to care about the timing. But gee, 'running by feel' in a race is really tough!
Finished in 40:30. Didn't struggle too much and I was never in the red zone. Probably could have been a bit faster if I had a watch and was able to time myself during the run. I am not sure about the actual distance, but talking to some of my friends who owned GPS or footpod, the distance ranged from 9.8-10.1k. Temperature was 26c with 95% humidity.
Overall, I am not disappointed with today's effort. Timing wise, it's a bit slow to my liking. But since it's still early in the season and the fact that I am still not 100% in tip-top shape (only six weeks of training since injury), I have no complaints.
Chatted with people from SGRunners forum, hence didn't bother to do cool down after the race. Anyway, my legs felt pretty good and didn't feel tight in the muscles at all. It was a very organized race and the course was probably 90% flat. Will try to come back to this race again next year, hopefully with a watch!
Mon (Recovery Day):
am: Yoga
pm: 30mins Easy on treadmill (5:28 pace)
Tuesday (Workout Day):
20mins wu, 3x1000m/2 mins jog (av 3:53 pace), 3x500m/500m jog (av 3:40 pace), 20mins cd
Ran on F1 track again. Splits for the 1000m were 3:53, 3:52, 3:52 and for the 500m were 1:49, 1:50, 1:49. Very humid morning at 25c, 97% humidity.
Wednesday (Recovery Day):
35mins Recovery (5:40 pace)
Felt unwell. Slight fever.
Thursday (Off):
Sick. I think the recent increase in training load finally caught up with me. Did 80k in last 7 days, including 3 speed workouts. Probably too soon for me.
Friday (Moderate Day):
50mins Fartlek (av 4:49 pace)
Decided to test the body and legs with a moderate intensitity workout. Did 20mins MP (4:21 pace), 4 x 15secs hill sprints, and 400m in 82 secs. Not feeling too great.
Saturday (Easy Day):
30mins Easy (5:23 pace)
Sunday (race):
am: 800m warm up (arrived a bit late), Active Newton 10k in 40:30, no cool down (chat with SGrunners)
pm: 35mins Recovery Run (5:45 pace)
Total 60k for the week
Monthly mileages:
Dec: 60k
Jan: 160k
Feb: 270k
22 February 2009
Getting There
First of all, congrats to Epi who smoked his 10k PB by a huge 1 minute to low 38s. This showed how consistency is the most important succes factor in running. He did high mileage all spring/summer to prepare for Canberra Marathon, and prior to the 10k - has run 7 weeks straight without a day off.
From my end, I felt that I am slowly returing to full fitness. After being sidelined for 6 weeks (3 weeks of zero running, then 3 weeks of running through the pain), I've gradually built up my training over the last 5 weeks to around 75k this week. My speed is coming back, judging from the interval and tempo workouts. However, I am still behind in terms of long endurance runs as both the mind and body are still not used to it. All in all, I took me 1.5 months lose it and another 1.5 months to get back to around 80% of my old fitness level. Probably I still need a good one month before I am finally able to put in consistent, quality training week-in week-out. Ankle is occasionally still sore, especially after hard workouts.
Next Sunday, I will be running the Active Newton 10k race. I do not have a high expectation for this race given I am about 80% fit. The course has some undulations and just like other road races in Singapore, it's very crowded and the distance is normally inaccurate.
Mon: Rest Day
60mins Yoga
Paid the price of doing two races within 12 hours. Quads and ankle were very sore.
Tue: Easy Day
AM: 30mins Easy (5:39 pace)
PM: 30mins Easy (5:34 pace), light weights, foam roller
The damn DOMS won't go away!
Wed: Moderate Day
AM: 10mins wu, 25mins MP (4:23 pace), 5 x 15sec hill, 10mins cd
PM: 25mins elliptical, sauna
Planned to do intervals, but still felt the effect of DOMS. Decided to do a little workout instead (short MP running), good pace but not overly hard to have any negative effect on tomorrow's workout.
Thu: Workout Day
AM: 20mins wu, 6 x 1000m with 2mins rest (av 3:50), on F1 track, 20mins
PM: 30mins elliptical, light weights, sauna
My call to delay the intervals until today had paid-off. Been struggling with intervals in the last two weeks, so today's session was a surprise. Perhaps the F1 track had something to do with it! Splits: 3:53, 3:50, 3:55, 3:50, 3:55, 3:42 (last 200m kick). Felt good the whole way, although ankle was sore from the jarring afterwards. Temp was 25c, 90% humidity.
Fri: Easy Day
40mins Easy (5:22 pace)
Sat: Workout Day
15mins wu, 2 x 15mins Tempo (av 4:06), 4 x 15secs hill, 15mins cd
Happy with the effort, was crusing the whole way without working extremely hard. Temp was 26c, 90% humidity.
Sun: Easy Day
80mins Easy (5:12 pace)
Total 75k for the week + 55mins elliptical
From my end, I felt that I am slowly returing to full fitness. After being sidelined for 6 weeks (3 weeks of zero running, then 3 weeks of running through the pain), I've gradually built up my training over the last 5 weeks to around 75k this week. My speed is coming back, judging from the interval and tempo workouts. However, I am still behind in terms of long endurance runs as both the mind and body are still not used to it. All in all, I took me 1.5 months lose it and another 1.5 months to get back to around 80% of my old fitness level. Probably I still need a good one month before I am finally able to put in consistent, quality training week-in week-out. Ankle is occasionally still sore, especially after hard workouts.
Next Sunday, I will be running the Active Newton 10k race. I do not have a high expectation for this race given I am about 80% fit. The course has some undulations and just like other road races in Singapore, it's very crowded and the distance is normally inaccurate.
Mon: Rest Day
60mins Yoga
Paid the price of doing two races within 12 hours. Quads and ankle were very sore.
Tue: Easy Day
AM: 30mins Easy (5:39 pace)
PM: 30mins Easy (5:34 pace), light weights, foam roller
The damn DOMS won't go away!
Wed: Moderate Day
AM: 10mins wu, 25mins MP (4:23 pace), 5 x 15sec hill, 10mins cd
PM: 25mins elliptical, sauna
Planned to do intervals, but still felt the effect of DOMS. Decided to do a little workout instead (short MP running), good pace but not overly hard to have any negative effect on tomorrow's workout.
Thu: Workout Day
AM: 20mins wu, 6 x 1000m with 2mins rest (av 3:50), on F1 track, 20mins
PM: 30mins elliptical, light weights, sauna
My call to delay the intervals until today had paid-off. Been struggling with intervals in the last two weeks, so today's session was a surprise. Perhaps the F1 track had something to do with it! Splits: 3:53, 3:50, 3:55, 3:50, 3:55, 3:42 (last 200m kick). Felt good the whole way, although ankle was sore from the jarring afterwards. Temp was 25c, 90% humidity.
Fri: Easy Day
40mins Easy (5:22 pace)
Sat: Workout Day
15mins wu, 2 x 15mins Tempo (av 4:06), 4 x 15secs hill, 15mins cd
Happy with the effort, was crusing the whole way without working extremely hard. Temp was 26c, 90% humidity.
Sun: Easy Day
80mins Easy (5:12 pace)
Total 75k for the week + 55mins elliptical
15 February 2009
Double Up on Valentines Day
Did two races within 12 hours.
The first race was Wings XC on Saturday 4pm. Despite its title, it was nothing like a XC race. The first 3k was on concrete and the last 1k+ on gravel track. The only thing that resembled a XC was a steep hill after km 2, other than that the terrain was flat. The organizer said the total distance was 4.5k (vs the advertised 5k) but according to my Garmin it was closer to 4.4k. The race was among the most competitive in SG, attended by school and university runners. Hence, basically I was competing against guys half my age !! The winning time was under 13:53 by a 20 yo national triathlete who has PBs of 16mins 5k and 1:17 HM.
I did a poorly executed race. Despite just coming back from a long lay-off, I couldn’t resist the temptation to go out with the boys and passed the first k in 3:30-ish. As mentioned previously, I am currently having troubles sustaining pace under 4:00 min/km in training either due to lack of endurance/strength or poor lactate buffering ability. So it wasn’t a big surprise that I paid the price and slowed down badly to 4:00+ pace for the remainder of the race (ouch !!!) At the hill, I was virtually crawling due to lack of strength and was simply holding on until the end to finish in 17:13. I think if I have started the first k conservatively at around 3:50, I might have a chance to dip below 17mins. The only positive gotten out of this race was a ‘pain threshold training’ since I was huffing and puffing with a high heart rate for the last mile or so. I guess I never learned!!
12 hours later, I was at the start line for a race aptly called Bedok Valentine Run. Judging from the name, the race didn't look like it would be very competitive. The distance was 2 laps around Bedok Reservoir (8.6k) on gravel track. My plan was to run this as a tempo run aka no faster than HM pace. Started in the 5th position and was cruising at sub 4:10 pace for the first couple of ks before the muscle impact from yesterday’s race and the 95% humidity took their toll. I slowed down to around 4:15 for the next 5k. However, I managed to gradually cut the deficit with the 3rd place runner from 400m at km 4 to around 100m at km 7. I upped the ante (despite really struggling with speed at the moment) and passed him with just over 1k to go. Ran the last mile in 6:40 and finished in the 3rd place in 36:13 (4:13 av pace). The winning time was 33mins, so I was 20secs per km slower. Overall, it was a good tempo-effort run, despite the average pace only turned out to be equivalent to Clown and Epi’s projected marathon (42k) race pace !!!
Picked up a 3rd place trophy and in the lucky draw….get this !!! I won an Apple i-phone worth $1000+ :) My bet to double up on Valentines day Races had paid-off !!
Mon: Easy Day
AM: 40mins Yoga
PM: 30mins Easy on treadmill (5:43 pace)
Tue: Workout Day
2.5k warm up
3 x 800m (av 3:50 pace) with 2mins jogging (3:04, 3:05, 3:02)
4 x 400m (av 3:30 pace) with 2mins walking (84, 83, 85, 84)
2.5k cool down
A mini hard workout before this weekend’s race. Felt terrible in the 800s like last week. It seems that I am okay negotiating a tempo run at 4:00-ish pace, but always struggle every time I go below 4:00 pace. My speed endurance sucks.
PM: 30mins elliptical in the gym for recovery
Wed: Easy Day
45mins Easy (5:23 pace)
Thu: Easy Day
50mins Easy (5:10 pace)
Included a bit of running at old MP and 4x10secs hill sprints (two of them with a fast young European runner whom I met at the hill)
Fri: Easy Day
38mins Easy (5:10 pace) with 4 x 100m strides
Saturday: Race (28c, 73% humidity, 31c heat index)
1k warm up (arrived late)
4.4k Wings XC in 17:13 (3:55 pace), 51/91 Mens Open
4.4k cool down
http://www.wings.org.sg/wacxcountry09-individuals.pdf
Sunday: Race (25c, 95% humidity):
2k warm up
8.6k Bedok Valentine Run in 36:13 (4:13 pace), gravel track, 3rd place
4.3k cool down (with Aerosolcan & Trailblazer from SGrunners)
Total 66k for the week.
The first race was Wings XC on Saturday 4pm. Despite its title, it was nothing like a XC race. The first 3k was on concrete and the last 1k+ on gravel track. The only thing that resembled a XC was a steep hill after km 2, other than that the terrain was flat. The organizer said the total distance was 4.5k (vs the advertised 5k) but according to my Garmin it was closer to 4.4k. The race was among the most competitive in SG, attended by school and university runners. Hence, basically I was competing against guys half my age !! The winning time was under 13:53 by a 20 yo national triathlete who has PBs of 16mins 5k and 1:17 HM.
I did a poorly executed race. Despite just coming back from a long lay-off, I couldn’t resist the temptation to go out with the boys and passed the first k in 3:30-ish. As mentioned previously, I am currently having troubles sustaining pace under 4:00 min/km in training either due to lack of endurance/strength or poor lactate buffering ability. So it wasn’t a big surprise that I paid the price and slowed down badly to 4:00+ pace for the remainder of the race (ouch !!!) At the hill, I was virtually crawling due to lack of strength and was simply holding on until the end to finish in 17:13. I think if I have started the first k conservatively at around 3:50, I might have a chance to dip below 17mins. The only positive gotten out of this race was a ‘pain threshold training’ since I was huffing and puffing with a high heart rate for the last mile or so. I guess I never learned!!
12 hours later, I was at the start line for a race aptly called Bedok Valentine Run. Judging from the name, the race didn't look like it would be very competitive. The distance was 2 laps around Bedok Reservoir (8.6k) on gravel track. My plan was to run this as a tempo run aka no faster than HM pace. Started in the 5th position and was cruising at sub 4:10 pace for the first couple of ks before the muscle impact from yesterday’s race and the 95% humidity took their toll. I slowed down to around 4:15 for the next 5k. However, I managed to gradually cut the deficit with the 3rd place runner from 400m at km 4 to around 100m at km 7. I upped the ante (despite really struggling with speed at the moment) and passed him with just over 1k to go. Ran the last mile in 6:40 and finished in the 3rd place in 36:13 (4:13 av pace). The winning time was 33mins, so I was 20secs per km slower. Overall, it was a good tempo-effort run, despite the average pace only turned out to be equivalent to Clown and Epi’s projected marathon (42k) race pace !!!
Picked up a 3rd place trophy and in the lucky draw….get this !!! I won an Apple i-phone worth $1000+ :) My bet to double up on Valentines day Races had paid-off !!
Mon: Easy Day
AM: 40mins Yoga
PM: 30mins Easy on treadmill (5:43 pace)
Tue: Workout Day
2.5k warm up
3 x 800m (av 3:50 pace) with 2mins jogging (3:04, 3:05, 3:02)
4 x 400m (av 3:30 pace) with 2mins walking (84, 83, 85, 84)
2.5k cool down
A mini hard workout before this weekend’s race. Felt terrible in the 800s like last week. It seems that I am okay negotiating a tempo run at 4:00-ish pace, but always struggle every time I go below 4:00 pace. My speed endurance sucks.
PM: 30mins elliptical in the gym for recovery
Wed: Easy Day
45mins Easy (5:23 pace)
Thu: Easy Day
50mins Easy (5:10 pace)
Included a bit of running at old MP and 4x10secs hill sprints (two of them with a fast young European runner whom I met at the hill)
Fri: Easy Day
38mins Easy (5:10 pace) with 4 x 100m strides
Saturday: Race (28c, 73% humidity, 31c heat index)
1k warm up (arrived late)
4.4k Wings XC in 17:13 (3:55 pace), 51/91 Mens Open
4.4k cool down
http://www.wings.org.sg/wacxcountry09-individuals.pdf
Sunday: Race (25c, 95% humidity):
2k warm up
8.6k Bedok Valentine Run in 36:13 (4:13 pace), gravel track, 3rd place
4.3k cool down (with Aerosolcan & Trailblazer from SGrunners)
Total 66k for the week.
08 February 2009
Hi-Lo
A week of highs and lows, both physically and emotionally. One day I felt good, one day I got injured and so on. Money can’t buy this kind of thing, only running can…..
I decided to enter a 5k cross-country race next week. In fact, I ‘greedily’ will do 2 races on back-to-back days (5k Saturday 4:30pm, 8.6k Sunday 7am). This might not be the smartest move since I am just in my third week returning after a lengthy injury. But timing is a secondary issue for me right now.
Mon: Easy Day
AM: 1-hour Yoga
Today’s class was core-focused, lots of squats, planks etc
PM: 25mins jogging (6:07 pace)
Wanted to run on grass to avoid pounding, but I didn’t see a root and rolled my bad ankle again! Unfortunately, the impact wasn’t hard since I ran really slowly or perhaps I had a higher pain threshold from the last ankle injury :p
Tue: Workout Day
2k warm up
6 x 800m (av 3:53 pace) with 2mins passive recovery
2k cool down
Wanted to do intervals in order to gauge my fitness for next week’s 5k. Did the session on 800m road stretch. Splits (3:06, 3:05, 3:10, 3:05, 3:10, 3:00) were all over the place due to a slight headwind on the way out. It is emotionally depressing that pre-injury, I was able to do 5x1600 with 2mins active recovery but now after 6x800 with passive recovery, I was very wasted :( I think I am hard pressed to do a sub-20 min 5k now which is used to be my tempo pace. Flew to Jakarta for work in arvo.
Wed: Easy Day
AM: 20mins elliptical + a couple sets of weights in Ritz Carlton
It seems that running intervals yesterday with 5kg additional body weight wasn’t a good idea. Ankle was really sore from the pounding :( No mood to run, decided to XT
PM: 20mins Easy (5:15 pace)
Flew back to Singapore in the evening. Did a shake out at 10pm.
Thu: Easy Day
45mins Easy (5:10 pace)
Calf and hammies were really tight. It seems the muscles were overworked becoz I went from 0km to 40-60km in the last 3 weeks.
Fri: Aborted Workout Day
5k warm up to the track
2 x 1k in 3:50, 3:55 + 3x200m in 43-44
Walked in despair for cool down and took a bus home.
The plan was to do intervals as my last hard workout before the race. Felt good during the warm up, but the session turned out to be a disaster. Ran the first k on target pace, but slowed down badly in the second. I was struggling both aerobically and muscularly at this point. Decided to abort and run a few 200s in order to salvage something from the session. However, my 200s were in the 43-44secs range (normally sub-40) and this was even with 200m walk for recovery! I decided to have enough after 3x 200s. Tried to jog home, but the body seemed to be paralyzed and running at 8 min/km pace was frekingly difficult:( I walked 2k to the bus stop and took a ride home.
PM: 1-hour massage
Looked back at my old logs and found the problem was typically muscular-oriented. Managed to get a last-minute appointment and had a painful one hour session.
Saturday: Workout Day
2k warm up
8k Tempo (av 4:12)
4 x 200s (38-40)
2k cool down
30mins stretching/foam roller
I was thinking this is it! If I couldn’t get a decent workout then I should cancel my plan to race. Did an Ovett tempo (3 miles HMP, 1 mile MP, 1 mile 10kp) with splits 19:58 (4:09) + 7:02 (4:24) + 6:35 (4:07) = 33:35. Just didn’t have any strength to run the last mile at 10k pace. 3 months ago I did the same session with splits 19:48 + 6:57 + 6:16 = 33:00, hence today’s last mile cost me 20secs. I attribute this to the fitness loss and a drop in lactate buffering capacity. Despite this, I am happy to be able to squeeze in a decent workout considering that I was unable to run yesterday :)
Sunday:
90mins ez (5:05 pace)
Warm and humid day. The body just is not used to long runs anymore.
Total 64k for the week.
I decided to enter a 5k cross-country race next week. In fact, I ‘greedily’ will do 2 races on back-to-back days (5k Saturday 4:30pm, 8.6k Sunday 7am). This might not be the smartest move since I am just in my third week returning after a lengthy injury. But timing is a secondary issue for me right now.
Mon: Easy Day
AM: 1-hour Yoga
Today’s class was core-focused, lots of squats, planks etc
PM: 25mins jogging (6:07 pace)
Wanted to run on grass to avoid pounding, but I didn’t see a root and rolled my bad ankle again! Unfortunately, the impact wasn’t hard since I ran really slowly or perhaps I had a higher pain threshold from the last ankle injury :p
Tue: Workout Day
2k warm up
6 x 800m (av 3:53 pace) with 2mins passive recovery
2k cool down
Wanted to do intervals in order to gauge my fitness for next week’s 5k. Did the session on 800m road stretch. Splits (3:06, 3:05, 3:10, 3:05, 3:10, 3:00) were all over the place due to a slight headwind on the way out. It is emotionally depressing that pre-injury, I was able to do 5x1600 with 2mins active recovery but now after 6x800 with passive recovery, I was very wasted :( I think I am hard pressed to do a sub-20 min 5k now which is used to be my tempo pace. Flew to Jakarta for work in arvo.
Wed: Easy Day
AM: 20mins elliptical + a couple sets of weights in Ritz Carlton
It seems that running intervals yesterday with 5kg additional body weight wasn’t a good idea. Ankle was really sore from the pounding :( No mood to run, decided to XT
PM: 20mins Easy (5:15 pace)
Flew back to Singapore in the evening. Did a shake out at 10pm.
Thu: Easy Day
45mins Easy (5:10 pace)
Calf and hammies were really tight. It seems the muscles were overworked becoz I went from 0km to 40-60km in the last 3 weeks.
Fri: Aborted Workout Day
5k warm up to the track
2 x 1k in 3:50, 3:55 + 3x200m in 43-44
Walked in despair for cool down and took a bus home.
The plan was to do intervals as my last hard workout before the race. Felt good during the warm up, but the session turned out to be a disaster. Ran the first k on target pace, but slowed down badly in the second. I was struggling both aerobically and muscularly at this point. Decided to abort and run a few 200s in order to salvage something from the session. However, my 200s were in the 43-44secs range (normally sub-40) and this was even with 200m walk for recovery! I decided to have enough after 3x 200s. Tried to jog home, but the body seemed to be paralyzed and running at 8 min/km pace was frekingly difficult:( I walked 2k to the bus stop and took a ride home.
PM: 1-hour massage
Looked back at my old logs and found the problem was typically muscular-oriented. Managed to get a last-minute appointment and had a painful one hour session.
Saturday: Workout Day
2k warm up
8k Tempo (av 4:12)
4 x 200s (38-40)
2k cool down
30mins stretching/foam roller
I was thinking this is it! If I couldn’t get a decent workout then I should cancel my plan to race. Did an Ovett tempo (3 miles HMP, 1 mile MP, 1 mile 10kp) with splits 19:58 (4:09) + 7:02 (4:24) + 6:35 (4:07) = 33:35. Just didn’t have any strength to run the last mile at 10k pace. 3 months ago I did the same session with splits 19:48 + 6:57 + 6:16 = 33:00, hence today’s last mile cost me 20secs. I attribute this to the fitness loss and a drop in lactate buffering capacity. Despite this, I am happy to be able to squeeze in a decent workout considering that I was unable to run yesterday :)
Sunday:
90mins ez (5:05 pace)
Warm and humid day. The body just is not used to long runs anymore.
Total 64k for the week.
01 February 2009
Whip me into shape
January is over! 160k mileage for the month after 60k in December. If we add up the two, the total is 220k for last two months. This pales in comparison with my mileage prior to the injury of around 360k per month (Sep-Nov).
Ankle is improving and gaining strength, but a lenghty period of absence has created lots of new problems.
1) Weight gain
I gained about 5k in weight over the last 2 months. I am 170cm and my normal weight was 67kg (still heavy for a runner) which put me at 23.2 BMI. Due to a combination of little running during the lay-off, festive seasons, and pregnant wife who needs to eat frequently, my weight has ballooned by 5kg, implying a BMI of 25.3, and this is categorized as 'Overweight' .
No wonder that I am struggling at the moment. Increased weight leads to increased cost of running. I also feel that my knees take a bit of battering due to the added bulk.
2) Contamination to other body parts
I found that when you run with some kind of injury, your other body parts will be affected too! My injured ankle is still not 100% healed, and for some reaon, my brain tells me not to do 'push-off' using the injured leg. Hence, my good, healthy left leg has to carry the other leg. This imbalance leads to sore and niggles around quads and glutes for the left leg.
Another concern right now is my archiles. After two months of limited running, it doesn't seem to be used to the jarring and pounding anymore. Perhaps the archiles is forced to work more to compensate for the weak ankle.This morning I did 2 x 4k at steady state pace and planned to do a few quick 200s for leg speed afterwards. After the first 200s, I felt a weird feeling in the archiles and I couldn't run the 200 at my normal pace (today was 44secs vs 38-40 secs normally). I decided to do just one in order to avoid any risks.
Another funny thing is that even my elbow is sore, especally during tempo runs when fast arm swing is required. Talk about muscle memory hey ??
3) Loss of fitness
Lastly, after a period of length inactivity, fitness level really eroded rapidly. On Tuesday, I had to break my temp run in 10 minute chunks as I couldn't do a straight 20 minute classic tempo. On Friday, I tried to do intervals, but only lasted 800m since the pace felt like an alien to my body.
On another note, this week marked my baby's 31 weeks since conceivement (9 weeks to go before fatherhood !). My wife has left for Australia and I will be joining her in mid March. Until then, I have about 6 weeks with lots of time/flexibility to build up my training and whip my fat ass back into shape !!
M: off
T: 2 x 3.2k Tempo 4:10 pace, 4 x 200 Reps av 39-40
W: 35mins Easy 5:33 on treadmill
T: 45mins Easy 5:00 incl 4 x 10secs hill sprints
F: 30mins Easy 5:07 (tried intervals but felt crap)
S: off
S: am 70mins including 2 x 4k @ 4:20 pace, pm 40mins Easy 5:12
Total 57km for the week
Ankle is improving and gaining strength, but a lenghty period of absence has created lots of new problems.
1) Weight gain
I gained about 5k in weight over the last 2 months. I am 170cm and my normal weight was 67kg (still heavy for a runner) which put me at 23.2 BMI. Due to a combination of little running during the lay-off, festive seasons, and pregnant wife who needs to eat frequently, my weight has ballooned by 5kg, implying a BMI of 25.3, and this is categorized as 'Overweight' .
No wonder that I am struggling at the moment. Increased weight leads to increased cost of running. I also feel that my knees take a bit of battering due to the added bulk.
2) Contamination to other body parts
I found that when you run with some kind of injury, your other body parts will be affected too! My injured ankle is still not 100% healed, and for some reaon, my brain tells me not to do 'push-off' using the injured leg. Hence, my good, healthy left leg has to carry the other leg. This imbalance leads to sore and niggles around quads and glutes for the left leg.
Another concern right now is my archiles. After two months of limited running, it doesn't seem to be used to the jarring and pounding anymore. Perhaps the archiles is forced to work more to compensate for the weak ankle.This morning I did 2 x 4k at steady state pace and planned to do a few quick 200s for leg speed afterwards. After the first 200s, I felt a weird feeling in the archiles and I couldn't run the 200 at my normal pace (today was 44secs vs 38-40 secs normally). I decided to do just one in order to avoid any risks.
Another funny thing is that even my elbow is sore, especally during tempo runs when fast arm swing is required. Talk about muscle memory hey ??
3) Loss of fitness
Lastly, after a period of length inactivity, fitness level really eroded rapidly. On Tuesday, I had to break my temp run in 10 minute chunks as I couldn't do a straight 20 minute classic tempo. On Friday, I tried to do intervals, but only lasted 800m since the pace felt like an alien to my body.
On another note, this week marked my baby's 31 weeks since conceivement (9 weeks to go before fatherhood !). My wife has left for Australia and I will be joining her in mid March. Until then, I have about 6 weeks with lots of time/flexibility to build up my training and whip my fat ass back into shape !!
M: off
T: 2 x 3.2k Tempo 4:10 pace, 4 x 200 Reps av 39-40
W: 35mins Easy 5:33 on treadmill
T: 45mins Easy 5:00 incl 4 x 10secs hill sprints
F: 30mins Easy 5:07 (tried intervals but felt crap)
S: off
S: am 70mins including 2 x 4k @ 4:20 pace, pm 40mins Easy 5:12
Total 57km for the week
25 January 2009
Can't stand the withdrawal syndrome
I really can't take the withdrawal syndrome anymore....
Seven weeks and counting, my ankle is still about 70-80% good. Decided to ditch the physio. Decided to train on dodgy ankle like normal training but at reduced mileage.
My observations after this week's training is as follows:
1) My 'quality pace' has dropped by 15secs per km. Prior to the injury, I ran my short tempo at 4:00 pace and short reps (400s) at <3:30.>
2) My running form sucks big time. Today I did a 60mins run (longest in 2 months) and had to stop a few times to rest and stretch. Quads were hurting, hips got really tight, and I over-pronated than usual. It seems that due to the long lay-off, I have missed the feeling of 'how to run'.
And, of course, ankle still hurts especialy after interval and long run.
M - 60mins Yoga, 30mins easy 5:21
T - 40mins including 5k tempo 4:14
W - 40mins easy 5:30
T - 8 x 400m av 1:29-1:30 (ankle hurts)
F - 60mins spinning class
S - 30mins easy 5:20
S - 60mins 'long run' 5:10
Total 48k for the week
Seven weeks and counting, my ankle is still about 70-80% good. Decided to ditch the physio. Decided to train on dodgy ankle like normal training but at reduced mileage.
My observations after this week's training is as follows:
1) My 'quality pace' has dropped by 15secs per km. Prior to the injury, I ran my short tempo at 4:00 pace and short reps (400s) at <3:30.>
2) My running form sucks big time. Today I did a 60mins run (longest in 2 months) and had to stop a few times to rest and stretch. Quads were hurting, hips got really tight, and I over-pronated than usual. It seems that due to the long lay-off, I have missed the feeling of 'how to run'.
And, of course, ankle still hurts especialy after interval and long run.
M - 60mins Yoga, 30mins easy 5:21
T - 40mins including 5k tempo 4:14
W - 40mins easy 5:30
T - 8 x 400m av 1:29-1:30 (ankle hurts)
F - 60mins spinning class
S - 30mins easy 5:20
S - 60mins 'long run' 5:10
Total 48k for the week
19 January 2009
Life as a Jogger
Not much running last week due to uncontrollable factors, both at home and work.
A measly total mileage of 97k in the last 6 weeks (16k av per week) since I sprained my ankle. It's really demoralizing mentally given I averaged around 90-100k weekly prior to the injury.
8-14 Dec: 0
15-21 Dec: 9
22-28 Dec: 0
29 Dec - 4 Jan: 27
5-11 Jan: 36
12-18 Jan: 25
I've cancelled a couple of races in Jan & Feb because of the slow recovery process and loss of fitness. It's so frustrating when something that you value a lot is taken out of you.
On a happier note, I received a cheque for 2nd placing at the treadmill endurance challenge. This brings my total winning for 2008 to $350 in cash + $400 in product vouchers.
As I started the year with a very low base, I just hope the only way for the rest of the year is up !
A measly total mileage of 97k in the last 6 weeks (16k av per week) since I sprained my ankle. It's really demoralizing mentally given I averaged around 90-100k weekly prior to the injury.
8-14 Dec: 0
15-21 Dec: 9
22-28 Dec: 0
29 Dec - 4 Jan: 27
5-11 Jan: 36
12-18 Jan: 25
I've cancelled a couple of races in Jan & Feb because of the slow recovery process and loss of fitness. It's so frustrating when something that you value a lot is taken out of you.
On a happier note, I received a cheque for 2nd placing at the treadmill endurance challenge. This brings my total winning for 2008 to $350 in cash + $400 in product vouchers.
As I started the year with a very low base, I just hope the only way for the rest of the year is up !
11 January 2009
Still struggling
Still struggling, both physically and aerobically.....
In the physical front, ankle is probably around 70%. It's okay for short slow runs, but still not ready for uptempo stuff. Did a 3k fartlek on Friday in the track, and the ankle was so painful that I had to walk for a cool down. Muscularly, I'm beginning to have some aching on the glutes and quads of the good (left) leg because it still has to carry the other leg.
On the aerobic side, I've built my runs to around 10k (longest run in 5 weeks) and the effort felt like a hard half marathon race. At the current rate of ankle recovery, probably I am still 3 weeks away before I can ramp up my long runs and mileage to around 90 minutes and 50k+ weekly respectively. After that, another 3-4 weeks to get back to my fitness level pre-setback.
Hence, in total I will lose around 12 weeks of training (quarter of a year) from the ankle sprain. Damn!
M: Yoga
T: 6k av 5:40 on treadmill
W: 9k av 5:28 on treadmill
T: off
F: 2k wu + 3k of 00:30 on/off in 13:12 av 4:24 (very painful ankle afterwards)
S: 6k av 5:06
S: 10k av 4:56 (effort felt like a half marathon race)
Total 36k for the week
In the physical front, ankle is probably around 70%. It's okay for short slow runs, but still not ready for uptempo stuff. Did a 3k fartlek on Friday in the track, and the ankle was so painful that I had to walk for a cool down. Muscularly, I'm beginning to have some aching on the glutes and quads of the good (left) leg because it still has to carry the other leg.
On the aerobic side, I've built my runs to around 10k (longest run in 5 weeks) and the effort felt like a hard half marathon race. At the current rate of ankle recovery, probably I am still 3 weeks away before I can ramp up my long runs and mileage to around 90 minutes and 50k+ weekly respectively. After that, another 3-4 weeks to get back to my fitness level pre-setback.
Hence, in total I will lose around 12 weeks of training (quarter of a year) from the ankle sprain. Damn!
M: Yoga
T: 6k av 5:40 on treadmill
W: 9k av 5:28 on treadmill
T: off
F: 2k wu + 3k of 00:30 on/off in 13:12 av 4:24 (very painful ankle afterwards)
S: 6k av 5:06
S: 10k av 4:56 (effort felt like a half marathon race)
Total 36k for the week
03 January 2009
Learning to Run (again)
2008 Highlights:
Nothing much really, except for a marathon PB in Seoul. I'm still on the barren patch, continuing last year's trend of producing a measly rate of one PB a year (4k at Matilda Bay in Feb 07, ahead of Clown by a few secs).
My running year started at a very low, pariah-like level. I had troubles in adjusting to the conditions in Singapore and I didn't enjoy training at all (espcially long runs). The lowlights included a HM in 1:45 and a 10k in 49mins - how low can you go ?? My training began to pick up after the mid-year, especially after I began to slow down my Threshold pace from Jack Daniels' 60-minutes pace (Lactate Threshold) to a less painful, 90-minutes pace (aka HM pace) and my Intervals pace from 5k pace to 10k pace. In effect, the intensity was slower but the tempo/interval distances were longer. I felt less 'fried' and began to fall in love with running again, culminating in a 1:28 HM in August. Transitioning to marathon training was effortless as all I needed was to add long runs and longer warm up &
cool down to my Threshold/Interval sessions. Despite having only 8 weeks training, I managed to drop my marathon time from 3:17 to 3:11 - which is a BQ.
However, everything ended in square one when I sprained my ankle 2 days before the major 10k race and last race for the year. Had to spend the last month of the year in the sidelines. In terms of fitness level, I virtually ended back where I started from at the beginning of the year :(
First week of 2009:
The good news: I resumed running this week....
The bad news: I felt like passing out after each run. Even jogging pace felt like a hard race effort. After four weeks off, running is akin to a slow, death march. After a couple of ks at jogging pace, I already huffed and puffed, aerobically exhausted and wanted to quit. Ankle is still sore and swollen after each run, but the feel of not being able to run is even worse.
It is just so unfair that we (trained runners) lose aerobic conditioning so rapidly after a short period of inactivity. Even with a common injury like mine (sprained ankle), I was out for 4 weeks. I reckon it will take me another 2 weeks to be able to run on daily basis and more importantly, pain-free. After that, I probably need another 4-6 weeks to get back to my previous fitness and mileage levels. All in all, a simple ankle sprain will set me back for 10-12 weeks :(
Anyway, I felt like a beginner again this week. After one month off, my running form has became awkward while my endurance sucks.
M: off
T: 3 x 10mins jog @ 6:40 min/km, 3mins break in between (treadmill)
W: 4k jog in 25mins (6:10 av) on treadmill
T: off
F: 5k jog in 28mins (5:42 av) on treadmill + 30mins spinning
S: 7k 'easy' run @ 5:24 outdoor (felt like a marathon effort-wise)
S: 6k @ 5:30 including 'speed test' of 6 x 00:20 strides on grass
Total 27 km for the week (all against doctor's orders)
Nothing much really, except for a marathon PB in Seoul. I'm still on the barren patch, continuing last year's trend of producing a measly rate of one PB a year (4k at Matilda Bay in Feb 07, ahead of Clown by a few secs).
My running year started at a very low, pariah-like level. I had troubles in adjusting to the conditions in Singapore and I didn't enjoy training at all (espcially long runs). The lowlights included a HM in 1:45 and a 10k in 49mins - how low can you go ?? My training began to pick up after the mid-year, especially after I began to slow down my Threshold pace from Jack Daniels' 60-minutes pace (Lactate Threshold) to a less painful, 90-minutes pace (aka HM pace) and my Intervals pace from 5k pace to 10k pace. In effect, the intensity was slower but the tempo/interval distances were longer. I felt less 'fried' and began to fall in love with running again, culminating in a 1:28 HM in August. Transitioning to marathon training was effortless as all I needed was to add long runs and longer warm up &
cool down to my Threshold/Interval sessions. Despite having only 8 weeks training, I managed to drop my marathon time from 3:17 to 3:11 - which is a BQ.However, everything ended in square one when I sprained my ankle 2 days before the major 10k race and last race for the year. Had to spend the last month of the year in the sidelines. In terms of fitness level, I virtually ended back where I started from at the beginning of the year :(
First week of 2009:
The good news: I resumed running this week....
The bad news: I felt like passing out after each run. Even jogging pace felt like a hard race effort. After four weeks off, running is akin to a slow, death march. After a couple of ks at jogging pace, I already huffed and puffed, aerobically exhausted and wanted to quit. Ankle is still sore and swollen after each run, but the feel of not being able to run is even worse.
It is just so unfair that we (trained runners) lose aerobic conditioning so rapidly after a short period of inactivity. Even with a common injury like mine (sprained ankle), I was out for 4 weeks. I reckon it will take me another 2 weeks to be able to run on daily basis and more importantly, pain-free. After that, I probably need another 4-6 weeks to get back to my previous fitness and mileage levels. All in all, a simple ankle sprain will set me back for 10-12 weeks :(
Anyway, I felt like a beginner again this week. After one month off, my running form has became awkward while my endurance sucks.
M: off
T: 3 x 10mins jog @ 6:40 min/km, 3mins break in between (treadmill)
W: 4k jog in 25mins (6:10 av) on treadmill
T: off
F: 5k jog in 28mins (5:42 av) on treadmill + 30mins spinning
S: 7k 'easy' run @ 5:24 outdoor (felt like a marathon effort-wise)
S: 6k @ 5:30 including 'speed test' of 6 x 00:20 strides on grass
Total 27 km for the week (all against doctor's orders)
23 December 2008
Derailed
A frustrating 3 weeks.....
Had high hopes that my ankle sprain would improve rapidly, but the ligaments are still damaged/painful after almost 3 weeks. Spraining an ankle 2 days before a peak 10k race hurts, but the prospect of not being able to run for 2 months is even more painful.
Had high hopes that my ankle sprain would improve rapidly, but the ligaments are still damaged/painful after almost 3 weeks. Spraining an ankle 2 days before a peak 10k race hurts, but the prospect of not being able to run for 2 months is even more painful.
Latest view from physio is that I might be out for another month from now, which will make it about 6-8 weeks off. She reckoned the soft tissues are still weak for running.
Two weeks ago (8-14 Dec), I went to see a GP and had an x-ray confirming no stress fracture or dislocation. The doctor said with RICE treatment, I should be able to jog within a week. This gave me a high hope that I could resume training quickly. I did no exercise whatsoever, but it turned out that I was still limping after a week.
M: off
T: off
W: off
T: off
S: 30 minutes
S: off
Last week (15-21 Dec), I went to see the GP again and asked for a referral letter for physiotherapy treatment (I need that letter, otherwise my insurance will not accept claims). She said to wait for another week as the swelling and blue/violet lines (from bruising) in my ankle has started to subside. I can't take any chance of losing my fitness materially and I duly began cross training. However, I found that they don't really push my heart rate up as much as running.
M: off
T: 20 minutes jog (virtually on one leg)
W: 30 minutes Arc Trainer
T: 30 minutes Arc Trainer
F: 30 minutes Arc Trainer + 60 minutes Spinning class
S: off
S: 30 minutes jog (still painful)
This week (22-28 Dec), I finally convinced her that I really need a physio treatment. I told her that I am a runner and I can't stand being a sedentary person and just stood there watching my fitness that I have built for years to be eroded away (I found going up the stairs tougher now). While there were no guarantees that the treatment will help, but I gotta take my chances. Had ultrasound, massages, and ankle strengthening exercises.
M: 60 minutes Arc Trainer
T: 35 minutes Arc Trainer + physio
W: physio
T: X-mas big buffet
Not a Christmas gift that I am looking for !
With this in mind, I might have to re-think about my plan for 2009. I was initially hoping to focus on 5-10k races for the first 3 months. But given the longer-than-expected rehabilitation, I really have to start from scratch again (short, slow runs, low mileage). Even after resuming training, I think it is still to risky to do any speed work with the weak ankles. Looks like I have to forget about doing any races for the next couple of months and instead just do base building.
Have a happy and safe holidays everyone !
14 December 2008
2009 Plan (first half)
0 km this week. Had an x-ray on the ankle and the doctor confirmed that it wasn't a stressy. Nevertheless, after a week of inactivity, the pain has lessened during walking, but it's still a bit painful when I get ouf of the bed in the morning or when going down the stairs.
On the positive note, I think I should be able to start jogging in the next week or so.
Due to the temporary paralysis, I have some time to think about my plans for next year. I have penciled in Gold Coast Marathon (GCM) in July as my target race for the first half of 2009. The reasons are as follows:
a) My wife is expected to give birth in early April, hence running will be limited between mid-March and mid-April. This means that Seoul in March or Canberra marathon in April is not an option. Perth marathon usually falls on the same date as GCM, so it is still a possibility. However, Perth doesn't provide a big-race atmosphere like GCM, which is sometimes helpful for the morale, especially in the latter stages on the race.
b) Given the projected 'down time' between mid-March and mid-April due to the reasons above, GCM (or Perth) provides an advantage in terms of timing. Even after the down time, I still have a good 10 weeks to prepare for the race.
c) July also fits the family schedule perfectly. Our son will be three months old by then, so it's the right time to pick up the baby and mom and take them to Singapore.
Goal time wise, I'd like to target around 3:05 - which represents 10 secs/km pace improvement from my last marathon in November. A challenging, but not unattainable target.
My plan of attack is as follows:
1) Jan-Feb
I will focus on 5k-10k training for the first two months of the year, culminating in a 10k race in March. I plan to follow Brad Hudson 10k plan level #2 from the book "Run Faster". However, I won't treat these races are important races, given they are typically inaccurate in terms of distance anyway. I won't taper for these races, a PB will be a bonus but I won't kill myself if I don't do well.
16 Jan: SGRunners 3-person relay race (2 x 3.5km)
1 Feb: Macritchie 5k cross country
14 Feb: track meet
1 Mar: Newton Active 10k
2) Mar - April
I plan to loosely follow 20-week Brad Hudson marathon plan, mixing Plan #2 and #3. The key word is 'loosely' since I will have a down time for a month as mentioned above and I like to vary and mix workouts from other sources as well. I might not be able to run a lot during the baby delivery period, but since I will be in Melbourne, I hope I will be able to squeeze in a couple of 'big workouts' taking advantage of the winter climate.
3) May- July
After the down time, I will return to Singapore and re-join the marathon plan with 10-11 weeks to go. Based on the current schedule, I might do a couple of longer distance races between 10k to 20k as tune-up races for the marathon.
3 May: Macritchie 20k cross country
mid-Jun: PassionRun 10k or 15k race (no date yet)
5 Jul: Gold Coast Marathon
Note that this is the first time that I am planning my peak race about 6 months in advance. While I can solely do marathon training for 6 months, but my concern is that I might get burn out from the distance training. I hope that by concentrating on 5k-10k races for the first couple of month, followed by 2 months of light marathon training (including down time), and finally 10-11 weeks to do marathon-specific training, I won't overtrain but still sufficiently be prepared for the race.
On the positive note, I think I should be able to start jogging in the next week or so.
Due to the temporary paralysis, I have some time to think about my plans for next year. I have penciled in Gold Coast Marathon (GCM) in July as my target race for the first half of 2009. The reasons are as follows:
a) My wife is expected to give birth in early April, hence running will be limited between mid-March and mid-April. This means that Seoul in March or Canberra marathon in April is not an option. Perth marathon usually falls on the same date as GCM, so it is still a possibility. However, Perth doesn't provide a big-race atmosphere like GCM, which is sometimes helpful for the morale, especially in the latter stages on the race.
b) Given the projected 'down time' between mid-March and mid-April due to the reasons above, GCM (or Perth) provides an advantage in terms of timing. Even after the down time, I still have a good 10 weeks to prepare for the race.
c) July also fits the family schedule perfectly. Our son will be three months old by then, so it's the right time to pick up the baby and mom and take them to Singapore.
Goal time wise, I'd like to target around 3:05 - which represents 10 secs/km pace improvement from my last marathon in November. A challenging, but not unattainable target.
My plan of attack is as follows:
1) Jan-Feb
I will focus on 5k-10k training for the first two months of the year, culminating in a 10k race in March. I plan to follow Brad Hudson 10k plan level #2 from the book "Run Faster". However, I won't treat these races are important races, given they are typically inaccurate in terms of distance anyway. I won't taper for these races, a PB will be a bonus but I won't kill myself if I don't do well.
16 Jan: SGRunners 3-person relay race (2 x 3.5km)
1 Feb: Macritchie 5k cross country
14 Feb: track meet
1 Mar: Newton Active 10k
2) Mar - April
I plan to loosely follow 20-week Brad Hudson marathon plan, mixing Plan #2 and #3. The key word is 'loosely' since I will have a down time for a month as mentioned above and I like to vary and mix workouts from other sources as well. I might not be able to run a lot during the baby delivery period, but since I will be in Melbourne, I hope I will be able to squeeze in a couple of 'big workouts' taking advantage of the winter climate.
3) May- July
After the down time, I will return to Singapore and re-join the marathon plan with 10-11 weeks to go. Based on the current schedule, I might do a couple of longer distance races between 10k to 20k as tune-up races for the marathon.
3 May: Macritchie 20k cross country
mid-Jun: PassionRun 10k or 15k race (no date yet)
5 Jul: Gold Coast Marathon
Note that this is the first time that I am planning my peak race about 6 months in advance. While I can solely do marathon training for 6 months, but my concern is that I might get burn out from the distance training. I hope that by concentrating on 5k-10k races for the first couple of month, followed by 2 months of light marathon training (including down time), and finally 10-11 weeks to do marathon-specific training, I won't overtrain but still sufficiently be prepared for the race.
07 December 2008
1k
Only lasted 1k this morning, and walked back.
Despite the spained ankle, I decided to give it a go anyway. Walking was fine and I could do the alphabet movement with the foot, so that gave me some hope. Jogging at 5:00-ish pace was okay and I arrived at the start point with a 45 minutes to go. Took a couple of advil (ibuprofen) thinking that the pain would stay away.
Weather was very cool & breezy for Singapore standard, so very conducive for fast time. Unfortunately, my right ankle didn't co-operate and after 200m downhill start, I knew that I was gone. I virtually was limping and my running form was awkward because I could only run with one leg. I I tried to hang in for a while and passed the 1k marker in 3:55. But I knew that I couldn't run for another 9k with one fit ankle.
Not a great way to finish the season. Hopefully, I won't be sidelined for too long.
Guys, any tips for sprained ankle? Should I go to a doctor and will it self-heal? The pain is right at the 'ball' in the ankle area.
Despite the spained ankle, I decided to give it a go anyway. Walking was fine and I could do the alphabet movement with the foot, so that gave me some hope. Jogging at 5:00-ish pace was okay and I arrived at the start point with a 45 minutes to go. Took a couple of advil (ibuprofen) thinking that the pain would stay away.
Weather was very cool & breezy for Singapore standard, so very conducive for fast time. Unfortunately, my right ankle didn't co-operate and after 200m downhill start, I knew that I was gone. I virtually was limping and my running form was awkward because I could only run with one leg. I I tried to hang in for a while and passed the 1k marker in 3:55. But I knew that I couldn't run for another 9k with one fit ankle.
Not a great way to finish the season. Hopefully, I won't be sidelined for too long.
Guys, any tips for sprained ankle? Should I go to a doctor and will it self-heal? The pain is right at the 'ball' in the ankle area.
06 December 2008
Sprained Ankle :(
Damn ! Only a couple of days before the 10K, I sprained my ankle. :(
Near my home, there is a big constuction (7 towers apartment complex) work going on, so there are lots of cracked pavement, sand, building materials etc. On Friday, I slipped and landed awkwardly. Foolishly, I ignored the problem and continued the run (10k), even doing 400m at race pace and 6 x 100m strides.
When I arrived at the office, I began to feel the pain badly and I was hobbling all day. At home, I iced the ankle right away and applied some voltaren. I also elevated my lower leg and put an ankle band during the sleep.
This morning, the problem still persisted. I decided to go for a short run to test the ankle. For the first 5 minutes, the pain was excruciating and virtually I was limping. After around 10 minutes, it began to go away gradually. I did a couple of 15 secs strides at the end and I could feel the pain again (greater push-off and landing shock at fast speed).
So I am not really sure whether I can run tomorrow (i can definitely jog to finish). I will continue the RICE treatment whole day today and lets pray !
Near my home, there is a big constuction (7 towers apartment complex) work going on, so there are lots of cracked pavement, sand, building materials etc. On Friday, I slipped and landed awkwardly. Foolishly, I ignored the problem and continued the run (10k), even doing 400m at race pace and 6 x 100m strides.
When I arrived at the office, I began to feel the pain badly and I was hobbling all day. At home, I iced the ankle right away and applied some voltaren. I also elevated my lower leg and put an ankle band during the sleep.
This morning, the problem still persisted. I decided to go for a short run to test the ankle. For the first 5 minutes, the pain was excruciating and virtually I was limping. After around 10 minutes, it began to go away gradually. I did a couple of 15 secs strides at the end and I could feel the pain again (greater push-off and landing shock at fast speed).
So I am not really sure whether I can run tomorrow (i can definitely jog to finish). I will continue the RICE treatment whole day today and lets pray !
30 November 2008
Week 3 of 4 (10k SCSM)
Seven days to go to the SCSM 10k! I am not confident in getting a PB :( I think a 10k race four weeks after a marathon doesn’t provide you with sufficient window of training opportunities. You need to rest one week after marathon at the very least, do 2 weeks training, then taper in the 4th week. I feel that I need an additional 2-3 weeks to do more 10k specific training. So far, I’ve done a couple sessions (7*1000, 5*1600), and I wish I could have a couple more to have more confidence in tackling the race.
Monday, 24/11: - OFF
No run today, visited hospitals and maternity shops. Been in Melbourne for 3 days but gained weight due to fatty food indulgence. Ran only once in three days, legs are fresh.
Tuesday, 25/11: AM – 10k Tempo (40:40), total 20k
I really wanted to take advantage of Melbourne temperature by doing a 10k tempo run at LT pace. Due to the heat & humidity in Singapore, I typically break the tempo down into cruise intervals to make it more manageable. Warmed up for 5k from in-laws’ house to the end of Koonung Bike Trail. The initial pace was comfortable due to the conditions (15c, 60% humidity); however, I struggled a bit during km 2-5 facing a slight headwind. I felt much stronger on the return leg and helped by the tailwind, I was flying without trying. I averaged 4:04 min/km for out and back, totaling 40:40 for 10k with av HR of 169 bpm (87% max). I wasn’t very tired at the end and I felt I could hold this pace for 10miles or might be even for a HM (if I race in Australia, that is). My goal for the 10k in 12 days time is sub-39 meaning that I need to run 10secs per km faster than today’s tempo. Whilst this might be achievable in Australia, but it is gonna be a major stretch in Singapore given the conditions. Did 5k cool down including 5 x 12 secs hill sprints.
Wednesday, 26/11: PM – 7k Recovery (av 5:22 pace)
Flew back from Melbourne and arrived in Singapore at 10pm. After 7+ hours on the plane, legs were very stiff. Decided to do a shakeout run at 11pm to loosen up.
Thursday, 27/11: PM – ‘impromptu’ Intervals (3*1200m @ 3:40 + 3*400), total 13.5k
I intended to do 6-8k worth of 10k pace intervals as the last race-specific workout for the 10k in 10 days time, however, it turned out to be a short, impromptu session because I had problems in finding spaces to run ! First, I went to the track but they had a soccer game and the crowd was standing on the lanes. No luck! Then, I found an empty car park and duly started my interval. However, 900m into my first interval, a guard called me and said that I shouldn’t run there. Damn! Running intervals on pavement is not an option since there are crossings and traffic lights virtually every 100m or so. Finally, I found a 700m stretch of road which had cars passing now and then. By that time, I already lost a good 30mins and it was getting dark.
Due to time constraint, I decided to do the intervals at 5k pace (in fact, slightly faster). Did 3 x 1200m in 4:22, 4:24, 4:26 with 3mins recovery jog (av 3:40 min/km). Geez, I was really fried even after only 3 intervals. After a few minutes rest, did 3 x 400m in 81-82 with standing rest to allow HR to drop to 140. These short reps were hard too! This really didn’t bode well for my confidence for next week’s race. Temperature was 30c with 70% humidity.
Friday, 28/11: AM – 7k Recovery (av 5:22)
A relaxing run on my usual route (Alexandra Park Connector). 26c, 85% humidity.
Saturday, 29/11: PM – 25.6k Long Run (av 4:22), AIBI 8-hour Treadmill Team Challenge
Teamed up with Roadrunner3, Acidburn, and Niwas from SGRunners message board to do this relay event (everyone runs 2 hours on treadmill and the distances were totaled). The organization was messy and our run was delayed by a couple of hours. The treadmills were located outside a shopping mall and it was bloody humid. To make things worse, we were asked to wear thick cotton tees and the air-fans were switched off because the power ports were not sufficient. In fact, we experienced a couple of power trips and had to re-start the run again! Anyway, I covered 25.6k in two hours (av 4:42 pace) on 0% incline treadmill. About more than half was done at my marathon pace (4:30 min/km). As a team, we covered around 90k.
Sunday, 30/11: PM - 7k Recovery Run (av 5:43)
A slow shake out run. Had skin chaffing in the groin area from yesterday's treadmill run. Ouchh!
Total 80k for the week, 322k for the month.
Photos from yesterday (me, far left)
Monday, 24/11: - OFF
No run today, visited hospitals and maternity shops. Been in Melbourne for 3 days but gained weight due to fatty food indulgence. Ran only once in three days, legs are fresh.
Tuesday, 25/11: AM – 10k Tempo (40:40), total 20k
I really wanted to take advantage of Melbourne temperature by doing a 10k tempo run at LT pace. Due to the heat & humidity in Singapore, I typically break the tempo down into cruise intervals to make it more manageable. Warmed up for 5k from in-laws’ house to the end of Koonung Bike Trail. The initial pace was comfortable due to the conditions (15c, 60% humidity); however, I struggled a bit during km 2-5 facing a slight headwind. I felt much stronger on the return leg and helped by the tailwind, I was flying without trying. I averaged 4:04 min/km for out and back, totaling 40:40 for 10k with av HR of 169 bpm (87% max). I wasn’t very tired at the end and I felt I could hold this pace for 10miles or might be even for a HM (if I race in Australia, that is). My goal for the 10k in 12 days time is sub-39 meaning that I need to run 10secs per km faster than today’s tempo. Whilst this might be achievable in Australia, but it is gonna be a major stretch in Singapore given the conditions. Did 5k cool down including 5 x 12 secs hill sprints.
Wednesday, 26/11: PM – 7k Recovery (av 5:22 pace)
Flew back from Melbourne and arrived in Singapore at 10pm. After 7+ hours on the plane, legs were very stiff. Decided to do a shakeout run at 11pm to loosen up.
Thursday, 27/11: PM – ‘impromptu’ Intervals (3*1200m @ 3:40 + 3*400), total 13.5k
I intended to do 6-8k worth of 10k pace intervals as the last race-specific workout for the 10k in 10 days time, however, it turned out to be a short, impromptu session because I had problems in finding spaces to run ! First, I went to the track but they had a soccer game and the crowd was standing on the lanes. No luck! Then, I found an empty car park and duly started my interval. However, 900m into my first interval, a guard called me and said that I shouldn’t run there. Damn! Running intervals on pavement is not an option since there are crossings and traffic lights virtually every 100m or so. Finally, I found a 700m stretch of road which had cars passing now and then. By that time, I already lost a good 30mins and it was getting dark.
Due to time constraint, I decided to do the intervals at 5k pace (in fact, slightly faster). Did 3 x 1200m in 4:22, 4:24, 4:26 with 3mins recovery jog (av 3:40 min/km). Geez, I was really fried even after only 3 intervals. After a few minutes rest, did 3 x 400m in 81-82 with standing rest to allow HR to drop to 140. These short reps were hard too! This really didn’t bode well for my confidence for next week’s race. Temperature was 30c with 70% humidity.
Friday, 28/11: AM – 7k Recovery (av 5:22)
A relaxing run on my usual route (Alexandra Park Connector). 26c, 85% humidity.
Saturday, 29/11: PM – 25.6k Long Run (av 4:22), AIBI 8-hour Treadmill Team Challenge
Teamed up with Roadrunner3, Acidburn, and Niwas from SGRunners message board to do this relay event (everyone runs 2 hours on treadmill and the distances were totaled). The organization was messy and our run was delayed by a couple of hours. The treadmills were located outside a shopping mall and it was bloody humid. To make things worse, we were asked to wear thick cotton tees and the air-fans were switched off because the power ports were not sufficient. In fact, we experienced a couple of power trips and had to re-start the run again! Anyway, I covered 25.6k in two hours (av 4:42 pace) on 0% incline treadmill. About more than half was done at my marathon pace (4:30 min/km). As a team, we covered around 90k.
Sunday, 30/11: PM - 7k Recovery Run (av 5:43)
A slow shake out run. Had skin chaffing in the groin area from yesterday's treadmill run. Ouchh!
Total 80k for the week, 322k for the month.
Photos from yesterday (me, far left)
Two hours on treadmill in mentally demanding, and the condition was hot too !!
21 November 2008
Week 2 of 4 (10k SCSM)
I am in Melbourne between Saturday and Wednesday to see the doctor and hospitals for the baby. Plan to run on alternate days, hence mileage will be lower this week and next week.
Too bad I can’t stay until the weekend to run/watch the Great Australian Race where Mottram and Gebrelassie will be racing the 15K. Ran the race route today with my brother in law and his friend who are running next Sunday. We started at Albert Park, towards the city, one lap of the Tan and back at slow relaxing pace. Nice flat route.
On the local news front, Luke Kibet, the 2007 World Champs marathon winner has confirmed that he will be running Singapore Marathon this year. This is great news for Singapore. He is probably the highest profile runner (2:08 PB) ever to race here. Beijing Olympic womens marathon winner Dita-Tomescu also ran a couple of Singapore marathons but that was before she became famous.
On the training front, I did 70k with 2 main workouts:
1) Intervals: 4 x 1000m @ 5k effort, 400m jog (aborted)
The plan was to do 5x1000m with one lap jog for recovery, but could only complete four reps. I thought that I could comfortably do1000m reps at my old 5k PB pace (53 VDOT) with around 2:30 jog, but I was dead wrong. The effort felt hard and I was straining, hence I decided to call it quits. Splits were: 3:44, 3:43, 3:45, and 3:42. I think I was over ambitious and the recovery time was on the short side for a runner at my level.
This just shows that how my running friends in Perth are in top form at the moment. Both Clown ad Epi ran a couple of 1600s at 3:30 ish pace with 3mins rest and the time for 1600m of alternating 100m fast, 100m jog was also faster than my 10k pace intervals (they did it on grass too!!). You guys need to teach me how to run fast !!
2) Intervals: 5 x 1600m @ 10k effort, 400m jog
Ran 5k warm up to the SMU track including 4 x 30secs strides (a couple were downhill ones for leg turnover). Felt lousy at the start and did the first one in 6:13. The next one was even slower in 6:18 and was actually close to my tempo pace. I realized that my running form wasn’t great and decided to run with a higher ankle lift. This seemed to make a difference and I was able to complete the next 3 reps in 6:09, 6:10, and 6:05 (last 150m kick). Average pace for all 5 was 3:52 min/km, av HR 173 with a high of 184 bpm. Felt toast at the end but happy to be able to squeeze in 8k worth of race pace intermittent running a couple of weeks before the 10K. Now I wish if only I could run 10k continuosly at that pace !!
Mon: 8k Recovery (av 5:15)
Tue: 2k wu, 4x 1000m (av 3:44) with 400m jogs, 2k cd
Wed: 12k Easy (av 5:11)
Thu: 6k Recovery (av 5:28)
Fri: 5k wu, 5 x 1600m (av 3:52) with 400 jogs, 5k cd
Sat: Fly to Melbourne
Sun: 15k Easy (av 5:30)
Total 70k for the week
Too bad I can’t stay until the weekend to run/watch the Great Australian Race where Mottram and Gebrelassie will be racing the 15K. Ran the race route today with my brother in law and his friend who are running next Sunday. We started at Albert Park, towards the city, one lap of the Tan and back at slow relaxing pace. Nice flat route.
On the local news front, Luke Kibet, the 2007 World Champs marathon winner has confirmed that he will be running Singapore Marathon this year. This is great news for Singapore. He is probably the highest profile runner (2:08 PB) ever to race here. Beijing Olympic womens marathon winner Dita-Tomescu also ran a couple of Singapore marathons but that was before she became famous.
On the training front, I did 70k with 2 main workouts:
1) Intervals: 4 x 1000m @ 5k effort, 400m jog (aborted)
The plan was to do 5x1000m with one lap jog for recovery, but could only complete four reps. I thought that I could comfortably do1000m reps at my old 5k PB pace (53 VDOT) with around 2:30 jog, but I was dead wrong. The effort felt hard and I was straining, hence I decided to call it quits. Splits were: 3:44, 3:43, 3:45, and 3:42. I think I was over ambitious and the recovery time was on the short side for a runner at my level.
This just shows that how my running friends in Perth are in top form at the moment. Both Clown ad Epi ran a couple of 1600s at 3:30 ish pace with 3mins rest and the time for 1600m of alternating 100m fast, 100m jog was also faster than my 10k pace intervals (they did it on grass too!!). You guys need to teach me how to run fast !!
2) Intervals: 5 x 1600m @ 10k effort, 400m jog
Ran 5k warm up to the SMU track including 4 x 30secs strides (a couple were downhill ones for leg turnover). Felt lousy at the start and did the first one in 6:13. The next one was even slower in 6:18 and was actually close to my tempo pace. I realized that my running form wasn’t great and decided to run with a higher ankle lift. This seemed to make a difference and I was able to complete the next 3 reps in 6:09, 6:10, and 6:05 (last 150m kick). Average pace for all 5 was 3:52 min/km, av HR 173 with a high of 184 bpm. Felt toast at the end but happy to be able to squeeze in 8k worth of race pace intermittent running a couple of weeks before the 10K. Now I wish if only I could run 10k continuosly at that pace !!
Mon: 8k Recovery (av 5:15)
Tue: 2k wu, 4x 1000m (av 3:44) with 400m jogs, 2k cd
Wed: 12k Easy (av 5:11)
Thu: 6k Recovery (av 5:28)
Fri: 5k wu, 5 x 1600m (av 3:52) with 400 jogs, 5k cd
Sat: Fly to Melbourne
Sun: 15k Easy (av 5:30)
Total 70k for the week
16 November 2008
Week 1 of 4 (10k SCSM)
Did a bit of research about marathon recovery and it seems the consensus is 1-2 months to allow full recovery (typically 1 day recovery for 1 mile raced). Read a few horror stories how people crashed and burned when they race or run hard too soon after an all-out marathon. Since the body takes time to heal the microscopic muscle damages, races/intervals will get in the way of recovery.
Luckily for me, I was able to do a decent week (110k last 8 days) after just one recovery week. Perhaps I was one of those runners who didn’t go to the ‘bottom of the well’ to finish the race. To put it in another word, I didn’t run the marathon as hard as I could. Oh well :) Now lets just hope there won’t be any problems for the next few weeks (3 weeks to go to the 10k)
This week I did 90k with 2 workouts:
1) Intervals: 7 x 1000m @ 10k effort, 200m jog in between
Warmed up for 5k from home to the SMU track, including 2 x 20secs downhill strides. As usual, couldn’t get the pace feel correctly and ran the 1st in 3:46. I then did the next three in 3:51 (av HR 172-176) with 200m jogs in between. A runner called me right after I finished the 4th, and we walked 200m and chatted. He turned out to be a Melbournian who is in town for a few days. He was complaining about the 95% humidity and how his 1k split times were 10secs slower and he needed a standing rest instead of 90secs jog he normally does in Melbourne. The guy was training for the Australian Masters Championships (37mins goal time in 45-50 age group) in Geelong. I asked whether he is a CR, but he wasn’t.
Back to the intervals, the 200m walk break was a welcome relief and I was in the zone for the next 3 reps. Splits were 3:52, 3:51 and 3:45, av HR 174-182 with a high of 188. Average split for the 7k was 3:50 min/km. I am pretty sure that I can't race at this pace for 10k since my track speed is typically 3-5secs per km faster than on the road.
2) Ovett Tempo (3miles HMP, 1 mile MP, 1 mile 10k pace)
Tried this tempo run for variety. Did the HM pace segment in 19:48 (4:07 pace/162 bpm), the MP segment in 6:57 (4:21/168) and the last mile at 10k effort in 6:16 (3:52/). All up, 8k in 33mins flat (av 4:08/166) with a high HR of 180. I think this is a solid workout for Half Marathon since you are likely to find your speed oscillating between MP, HMP, and 10k pace. I found this workout on the internet, but not sure whether Steve Ovett actually did it given his focus was on middle distance. After a few minutes rest, I did 4 x 300m reps on a marked bike path with 150m walk breaks in between. All 300s were done under 1 minute (splits 59, 59, 58, 56).
Mon: 8k Easy on treadmill (av 5:17) + abs
Tue: 5k wu, 7x 1000m(3:45-3:52) with 200m jogs, 5k cd
Wed: am 5k Slow (5:30), pm 5k Slow (5:42) + weights
Thu: 11k Easy (av 5:06) with 5 x 10secs hill + 2 strides
Fri: 2.5k wu, 8k Tempo (av 4:08), 4 x 300m, 2k cd
Sat: 6.7k Slow (av 5:38)
Sun: 22k Easy Long Run (av 5:01), last 15mins moderate at 4:40s
Total 90k for the week, 3263k for the year
PS: I also passed 10,000 miles since I started running/logging my mileage in 2004.
Luckily for me, I was able to do a decent week (110k last 8 days) after just one recovery week. Perhaps I was one of those runners who didn’t go to the ‘bottom of the well’ to finish the race. To put it in another word, I didn’t run the marathon as hard as I could. Oh well :) Now lets just hope there won’t be any problems for the next few weeks (3 weeks to go to the 10k)
This week I did 90k with 2 workouts:
1) Intervals: 7 x 1000m @ 10k effort, 200m jog in between
Warmed up for 5k from home to the SMU track, including 2 x 20secs downhill strides. As usual, couldn’t get the pace feel correctly and ran the 1st in 3:46. I then did the next three in 3:51 (av HR 172-176) with 200m jogs in between. A runner called me right after I finished the 4th, and we walked 200m and chatted. He turned out to be a Melbournian who is in town for a few days. He was complaining about the 95% humidity and how his 1k split times were 10secs slower and he needed a standing rest instead of 90secs jog he normally does in Melbourne. The guy was training for the Australian Masters Championships (37mins goal time in 45-50 age group) in Geelong. I asked whether he is a CR, but he wasn’t.
Back to the intervals, the 200m walk break was a welcome relief and I was in the zone for the next 3 reps. Splits were 3:52, 3:51 and 3:45, av HR 174-182 with a high of 188. Average split for the 7k was 3:50 min/km. I am pretty sure that I can't race at this pace for 10k since my track speed is typically 3-5secs per km faster than on the road.
2) Ovett Tempo (3miles HMP, 1 mile MP, 1 mile 10k pace)
Tried this tempo run for variety. Did the HM pace segment in 19:48 (4:07 pace/162 bpm), the MP segment in 6:57 (4:21/168) and the last mile at 10k effort in 6:16 (3:52/). All up, 8k in 33mins flat (av 4:08/166) with a high HR of 180. I think this is a solid workout for Half Marathon since you are likely to find your speed oscillating between MP, HMP, and 10k pace. I found this workout on the internet, but not sure whether Steve Ovett actually did it given his focus was on middle distance. After a few minutes rest, I did 4 x 300m reps on a marked bike path with 150m walk breaks in between. All 300s were done under 1 minute (splits 59, 59, 58, 56).
Mon: 8k Easy on treadmill (av 5:17) + abs
Tue: 5k wu, 7x 1000m(3:45-3:52) with 200m jogs, 5k cd
Wed: am 5k Slow (5:30), pm 5k Slow (5:42) + weights
Thu: 11k Easy (av 5:06) with 5 x 10secs hill + 2 strides
Fri: 2.5k wu, 8k Tempo (av 4:08), 4 x 300m, 2k cd
Sat: 6.7k Slow (av 5:38)
Sun: 22k Easy Long Run (av 5:01), last 15mins moderate at 4:40s
Total 90k for the week, 3263k for the year
PS: I also passed 10,000 miles since I started running/logging my mileage in 2004.
09 November 2008
Post Mortem & What's Next
Lots of runners below the hill....
Struggling at km 40 (marathon is a bitch) .....
Last few metres inside the 1988 Olympic Stadium.....
Races in Singapore are very scarce. For the next 3 months, there are only (hear this) one official race and a couple of small, club races. The official race is the Singapore Marathon, which is the biggest running event locally with 40,000 participants. I've registered for one of the side dish event, namely the 10K. Counting down from today, I only have four weeks to prepare for the race.
I downloaded the HR data from last week's marathon: HR was hovering between 160-165 for the first half, then 165-170 for the second half. My Max HR is probably about 193-195 bpm (no test in the last 2 years). Using 165 as an average, this implies roughly 85% Max HR. It seems that I didn't race according to my physiological capacity and could actually give a bit more.
Anyway, after a barren spell of 2 years without PB, last week's race really boosted my morale. I felt that I could run a much faster marathon. My wife plans to give birth in Melbourne and she plans to stay there from January. Since I will continue to work here, then virtually I have more time to train. The problem is that I might not have a lot of chance to do a marathon.
There is Hong Kong Marathon in February and timewise it fits fairly well because it allows 3 months for training and still a good 6 weeks before the baby is born. However, the course is slightly hilly, especially in the last 7k coming out of the sub-sea tunnel then facing 3 steep ramps in a row. I'd say the chance for a PB is probably small. Then there is Dong A Seoul Marathon (flat course) in mid March, however this is only a couple of weeks before the baby, so my wife might get very sensitive about it and she probably needs a lot of support. Finally, there is Canberra Marathon which is two weeks after the baby is born. Again, I don't know whether this will be a sensitive issue and I might get some sleepless nights too. Although, I love running very much, but family is definitely the number one priority.
Training is pretty much in recovery mode this week. I tried to avoid runing as much as possible for 5 days to provide a mental break. Started running again during the weekend and did a tempo run today.
Mon: OFF
Tue: OFF
Tue: OFF
Wed: Cross training (40mins elliptical + weights)
Thu: 5k Easy with 4 strides (av 5:12)
Fri: Cross training (10mins rowing, 10mins spinning, 10mins elliptical) + core
Sat: AM 9k Easy (av 4:58), PM 5k Easy with 5 x 12secs hill (av 5:06)
Sun: 5k wu, 5k Tempo (av 4:05 pace), 3 x 200m, 5k cd (total 16k av 4:46)
Total 35k for the week, 3172k for the year
02 November 2008
JoongAng Seoul Marathon 2008
3:11:31 (chip time)...
Overall, a slightly sub-par performance given:
1) All running calculators (VDOT, Mcmillan, 2 x HM + 10mins etc) predict 3:05-3:07 based on my last HM race in hot, humid Singapore.
2) The cool weather in Seoul (10-15c) should make that target easily achievable or even faster.
But today, I under performed because of :
1) I got beat up by the undulations. While there were no heartbreaker hills, but my legs were not just accustomed to the terrain. I trained exclusively on pancake flat terrain in Singapore.
2) Legs were heavy despite 2 weeks taper. Don't know why, could be due to stiff muscles from the cold temp or perhaps I did too much walking-cum-shopping in Seoul with my wife.
3) Erratic pacing, a combination of fast start, undulations, and Garmin inaccuracy (maybe time for an upgrade to 405 ??)
4) Carbo loading wasn't very optimal. Had burger, fries, BBQ chic, ice creams, & lots of donuts the day before the race.
5) Last reason, plain and simple, my general aerobic training pace (5:00-5:30) is simply too slow to warrant a low 3-hours marathon and the fact that I often make rest stops during my long runs contributed to the inability to run continuosly for a long time.
Nonetheless and on a positive side, after a dry patch of 2 years without a PB, I finally managed to PB by 6mins and also beat BQ by 4mins :) Hence, about 80% happy.
Official split times:
10k 43:56 (av pace 4:24)
Half 1:34:30 (av pace 4:29)
30k: 2:14:16 (av pace 4:29)
40k: 3:01:17 (av pace 4:32)
Full 3:11:31
As you can see, my pace got slower towards the end. The last 8k was a torture with my pace slowing to around 4:40-5:00 min/km. I positive splited by 1.5 mins - 1:34:30 vs 1:37:01
Now, the race report:
This week, I did about 40k before the race, including a 6k MP run on Wednesday. We took the Wednesday midnight flight to Seoul, arriving on Thursday morning. Friday was raining, so I ran in the gym for 30mins, followed by 10mins run outside. Saturday was an easy 25mins jog from the hotel to the start point and back. We stayed at the Intercontinenal, a bit pricey but it is only 1.5k jog to the start. On race day, I woke up at 5am and had a bagel and cereal bar then went back to sleep until 6-ish. Jogged/walked to the stadium at 7-ish, about 40mins before the start, Met David, Anthony and Max from Singapore running forum at the start. Did a bit of stretching and went to the toilet. Before I knew it, it was 7:40 and all the runners were marching to the start point.
The gun went off at 8am and the cool temperature made the running really easy. Also, we had a long downhill in km 2-3 which made the pace faster than planned. For some reasons, my legs felt a bit heavy. Could be due to the stiff muscles from the cool temp (warm up was done 40mins before the start) or simply I walked too much in the last couple of days. It took me about one hour before I felt that my muscles got warmed up. The course itself was a bit on the dull side in terms of scenery.
As predicted in last week's post, the undulations proved to my undoing given my habit to exclusively train on flat terrain back home. While the hills are not steep (long & gradual), but I still got beat up (from the downhills too). It also made even pacing difficult. To make things worse, my Garmin was really erratic today. In short, after a faster-than expected start, I hit the 10k mark averaging 4:24 pace, 21k averaging 4:29 and 30k averaging 4:29. As you will see the split times below, my split was really all over the place.
After 30+km, I simply got beat up and my stride got shorter and shorter. I felt that I was still okay aerobically, but my legs were heavy. My pace then snailed to 4:40-5:00 after 35k. It seemed that my slow training paces and habit to make a lot of stoppages during my long runs in Singapore led to my downfall. From km 35, it was virtually a damage control. My aim was keep my pace below 5:00 because I knew that even with a 5:00-5:10 pace for the last 7k, I would still got a PB and BQ. We ran back towards the city and I crossed the 40k mark in 3:01, so I still got a shot to get under 3:10. However, my legs just didn't want to run fast no matter I tried. The last 200-300m was done on the track inside the 1988 Olympic Stadium.
Had no complaints. I knew where the mistakes were done (see above). Also, I simply was unprepared for the undulations today.
Overall, a slightly sub-par performance given:
1) All running calculators (VDOT, Mcmillan, 2 x HM + 10mins etc) predict 3:05-3:07 based on my last HM race in hot, humid Singapore.
2) The cool weather in Seoul (10-15c) should make that target easily achievable or even faster.
But today, I under performed because of :
1) I got beat up by the undulations. While there were no heartbreaker hills, but my legs were not just accustomed to the terrain. I trained exclusively on pancake flat terrain in Singapore.
2) Legs were heavy despite 2 weeks taper. Don't know why, could be due to stiff muscles from the cold temp or perhaps I did too much walking-cum-shopping in Seoul with my wife.
3) Erratic pacing, a combination of fast start, undulations, and Garmin inaccuracy (maybe time for an upgrade to 405 ??)
4) Carbo loading wasn't very optimal. Had burger, fries, BBQ chic, ice creams, & lots of donuts the day before the race.
5) Last reason, plain and simple, my general aerobic training pace (5:00-5:30) is simply too slow to warrant a low 3-hours marathon and the fact that I often make rest stops during my long runs contributed to the inability to run continuosly for a long time.
Nonetheless and on a positive side, after a dry patch of 2 years without a PB, I finally managed to PB by 6mins and also beat BQ by 4mins :) Hence, about 80% happy.
Official split times:
10k 43:56 (av pace 4:24)
Half 1:34:30 (av pace 4:29)
30k: 2:14:16 (av pace 4:29)
40k: 3:01:17 (av pace 4:32)
Full 3:11:31
As you can see, my pace got slower towards the end. The last 8k was a torture with my pace slowing to around 4:40-5:00 min/km. I positive splited by 1.5 mins - 1:34:30 vs 1:37:01
Now, the race report:
This week, I did about 40k before the race, including a 6k MP run on Wednesday. We took the Wednesday midnight flight to Seoul, arriving on Thursday morning. Friday was raining, so I ran in the gym for 30mins, followed by 10mins run outside. Saturday was an easy 25mins jog from the hotel to the start point and back. We stayed at the Intercontinenal, a bit pricey but it is only 1.5k jog to the start. On race day, I woke up at 5am and had a bagel and cereal bar then went back to sleep until 6-ish. Jogged/walked to the stadium at 7-ish, about 40mins before the start, Met David, Anthony and Max from Singapore running forum at the start. Did a bit of stretching and went to the toilet. Before I knew it, it was 7:40 and all the runners were marching to the start point.
The gun went off at 8am and the cool temperature made the running really easy. Also, we had a long downhill in km 2-3 which made the pace faster than planned. For some reasons, my legs felt a bit heavy. Could be due to the stiff muscles from the cool temp (warm up was done 40mins before the start) or simply I walked too much in the last couple of days. It took me about one hour before I felt that my muscles got warmed up. The course itself was a bit on the dull side in terms of scenery.
As predicted in last week's post, the undulations proved to my undoing given my habit to exclusively train on flat terrain back home. While the hills are not steep (long & gradual), but I still got beat up (from the downhills too). It also made even pacing difficult. To make things worse, my Garmin was really erratic today. In short, after a faster-than expected start, I hit the 10k mark averaging 4:24 pace, 21k averaging 4:29 and 30k averaging 4:29. As you will see the split times below, my split was really all over the place.
After 30+km, I simply got beat up and my stride got shorter and shorter. I felt that I was still okay aerobically, but my legs were heavy. My pace then snailed to 4:40-5:00 after 35k. It seemed that my slow training paces and habit to make a lot of stoppages during my long runs in Singapore led to my downfall. From km 35, it was virtually a damage control. My aim was keep my pace below 5:00 because I knew that even with a 5:00-5:10 pace for the last 7k, I would still got a PB and BQ. We ran back towards the city and I crossed the 40k mark in 3:01, so I still got a shot to get under 3:10. However, my legs just didn't want to run fast no matter I tried. The last 200-300m was done on the track inside the 1988 Olympic Stadium.
Had no complaints. I knew where the mistakes were done (see above). Also, I simply was unprepared for the undulations today.
Although, my hotel is chosen purposely so that I could jog for a mile to the start point (warm up). The walk back to the hotel after the marathon was a torture !!
Km splits (not accurate splits since there was a 30secs difference between my watch and chip time)
km 1: 4:22
km 2: 4:15
km 3: 4:18
km 4: 4:27
km 5-6: 8:59
km 7: 4:33
km 8: 4:27
km 9: 4:39 (marker was off)
km 10: 4:10 (see above)
km 11: 5:09 (drink, hill)
km 12: 4:06 (downhill)
km 13: 4:28
km 14: 4:30
km 15: 4:21
km 16: 4:43 (drink)
km 17-18: 8:58
km 19: 4:27
km 20-21: 9:18 (drink)
km 22: 4:16
km 23: 4:41
km 24: 4:28
km 25: 4:13
km 26: 4:27 (drink)
km 27: 4:29
km 28: 4:30
km 29: 4:20
km 30: 4:59 (drink)
km 31: 4:39
km 32: 4:39
km 33: 4:17
km 34: 4:38
km 35: 4:47 (started to feel it)
km 36: 4:53 (ouch)
km 37: 4:48 (ouch)
km 38: 5:00 (ouch, ouch, hills)
km 39: 4:25
km 40: 4:43
km 41: 4:42
km 42.2: 5:32
Km splits (not accurate splits since there was a 30secs difference between my watch and chip time)
km 1: 4:22
km 2: 4:15
km 3: 4:18
km 4: 4:27
km 5-6: 8:59
km 7: 4:33
km 8: 4:27
km 9: 4:39 (marker was off)
km 10: 4:10 (see above)
km 11: 5:09 (drink, hill)
km 12: 4:06 (downhill)
km 13: 4:28
km 14: 4:30
km 15: 4:21
km 16: 4:43 (drink)
km 17-18: 8:58
km 19: 4:27
km 20-21: 9:18 (drink)
km 22: 4:16
km 23: 4:41
km 24: 4:28
km 25: 4:13
km 26: 4:27 (drink)
km 27: 4:29
km 28: 4:30
km 29: 4:20
km 30: 4:59 (drink)
km 31: 4:39
km 32: 4:39
km 33: 4:17
km 34: 4:38
km 35: 4:47 (started to feel it)
km 36: 4:53 (ouch)
km 37: 4:48 (ouch)
km 38: 5:00 (ouch, ouch, hills)
km 39: 4:25
km 40: 4:43
km 41: 4:42
km 42.2: 5:32
26 October 2008
Week 7 of 8 (Seoul)
Did 73k for taper, taking 2 rest days. The main runs were 18k (3 x 3k Threshold), 15k (7 MP + 5 HMP) and 23k long run. Despite the lighter workload, legs were still pretty tired.
Just realized that the Joongang Seoul marathon course is a bit undulating with 5-6 hills over 30-40m in elevation (start is 14m > sea level). My concern is that I’ve been doing all my runs exclusively on pancake flat terrain and track. As a last minute mitigation, I did a couple of runs on undulating route this week to get some familiarity into the legs. However, after my Sunday's hilly long run, my right butt got a bit sore. Hopefully the deep tissue massage on Wednesday will fix the problem.
Just realized that the Joongang Seoul marathon course is a bit undulating with 5-6 hills over 30-40m in elevation (start is 14m > sea level). My concern is that I’ve been doing all my runs exclusively on pancake flat terrain and track. As a last minute mitigation, I did a couple of runs on undulating route this week to get some familiarity into the legs. However, after my Sunday's hilly long run, my right butt got a bit sore. Hopefully the deep tissue massage on Wednesday will fix the problem.
I just went to check the weather in Seoul. Using today as example, the temperature is around 11-12c with humidity ranging from 60% at 8am to 40% at 11am. The 7-day forecast suggests the temperature to be the same (min 7, max 13c). In Singapore, the lowest temperature is about 24c (or 26c by the time I start my runs) with humidity around 70-90%, which makes the apparent temperature even higher. Tinman heat calculator suggests there is a 3% differential in performance levels between 80F/27c and 53F/12c. This translates to around 8secs/km difference.
Despite this, my plan is not to run MP much faster than what I have done in training due to a couple of reasons. First, I am still inexperienced in terms of marathons (3 marathons + 2 DNFs). Secondly, my preparation is pretty short (8 weeks), although it is a fairly solid block. And lastly, my long runs timing in Singapore hid the fact that I did a lot of stoppages/rest time during the runs. I simply can't run continuously for a long time due to traffic conditions and the need to re-hydrate. All the long run times that you see in my log do not include rest times. I don't really know whether I can run at solid pace for 3 hours plus continuously. I am just simply hoping the cooler weather will help me to delay the 'fading'.
Plan to do 30-40k next week pre-race. We'll fly to Seoul on Wednesday midnight and arriving Thursday morning. This will give me a chance to squeeze in a couple of short runs on Friday & Saturday. After living in the tropics for one year, the temperature in South Korea should feel like Artic-esque to me. Bring it on!
Mon:
OFF.
Tuesday:
52mins Easy (av 5:11) + abs work
Treadmill, 0-2% inclines
Wednesday (11 days left):
4k warm up + strides
3k @ 30k pace effort (undulating route)
3k @ 1-hour pace (track)
3k @ 1-hour pace (track)
Splits: 13:00 (av 4:20), 12:02 (av 4:01), 11:56 (av 3:59)
Heart rates 159, 170, 173 bpm, jog/rest 3mins in between
5k cool down
Total running 18.3k in 1h:24m (av 4:38)
A super-humid morning. Found the effort on the first 3k to be manageable, but legs felt a bit heavy after that. I was rarely in the groove during the LT intervals but finished without a lot of strain. HR reached 186bpm during the last one.
Thursday:
36mins Very Easy (av 5:36) on treadmill + weights
Friday (9 days left):
15mins warm up
30mins @ MP effort, av 4:24 (undulating route)
5mins jog/rest
20mins @ HM pace effort, av 4:12 (flat route)
Total running 15.2k in 1h:09m (av 4:37)
The plan was to do a practice run of 2 x 7k MP. Did the first on rolling terrain, averaging 4:30 on the way out (mainly uphill), but the return leg (downhill) pushed the pace down. Went out a bit fast in the second interval (~HM pace) and decided to just lock-in the pace and ran on a flat terrain.
Saturday:
OFF.
Sunday (7 days left):
23.3k Long Run in 1h:56m (av 5:00)
Ran on undulating terrain around Tanglin area. Consumed just water & salt tablets. Got tired in the second hour. Right hip was a bit sore from the hills.
Total 73.3k for the week, 680k for the last 7 weeks.
19 October 2008
Week 6 of 8
105km in 6 days, 4 main workouts.
Mon (20 days left):
3k warm up
4k Moderate Tempo (av 4:15)
3 x 1600m with 3mins jog/rest
splits: 6:00, 6:07, 6:06 (av 3:48)
7k cool down
Total workout 18k in 1h:25m (av 4:45)
This is Tinman’s peaking workout for HM, which I used for the Army Half. Ran the short tempo at just under HM effort around the outer loop of Botanical Garden (slightly undulating). After arriving at the SMU track, the plan was to do 3x1600m at 10k effort (~3:55 min/km), but ended up averaging 3:48. Felt good that I even had to hold back in the last 100 meters to keep the splits down.
Tuesday:
34mins Very Easy on t-mill, abs work
Wednesday (18 days left):
27k Easy Long Run in 2h:15m (av 5:00)
The plan was to do 2x10k MP as my last hard workout on Thursday, but due to work schedule, had to move it to Wednesday. This proved to be a wishful thinking because I haven’t recovered from the speed session 36 hours earlier and the 3x7k MP run 4 days ago. After 4k at MP, I decided that my legs were not fresh enough to do this workout. Instead, I converted the session into a long run which probably wasn’t a bad substitute. Weather was warm, so I had a number of stoppages along the way.
Thursday:
Massage, 30mins jogging
Friday (16 days left):
2.5k warm up
14k at MP effort (av 4:25)
2.7k cool down, 3 x 100m fast strides
Total workout 19.2k in 1h:29m (av 4:38)
A make-up session for Wednesday’s failed MP workout. Ran 1/3 of marathon distance without any drink stop in 61:45 (av 4:25). Av HR was 162 bpm, with a high of 165-170 after 12k. For comparison purposes, previous similar-type runs yielded av HR of 166-169 bpm (during 12 & 18k runs) from 3 months ago.
Saturday:
OFF. My 37th birthday (getting old…)
Sunday (14 days left):
2.5k warm up
26k Moderate Long Run (av 4:44)
1.5k cool down, 4 x 30secs light strides
Total workout 30k in 2h:23m (av 4:47)
Mon (20 days left):
3k warm up
4k Moderate Tempo (av 4:15)
3 x 1600m with 3mins jog/rest
splits: 6:00, 6:07, 6:06 (av 3:48)
7k cool down
Total workout 18k in 1h:25m (av 4:45)
This is Tinman’s peaking workout for HM, which I used for the Army Half. Ran the short tempo at just under HM effort around the outer loop of Botanical Garden (slightly undulating). After arriving at the SMU track, the plan was to do 3x1600m at 10k effort (~3:55 min/km), but ended up averaging 3:48. Felt good that I even had to hold back in the last 100 meters to keep the splits down.
Tuesday:
34mins Very Easy on t-mill, abs work
Wednesday (18 days left):
27k Easy Long Run in 2h:15m (av 5:00)
The plan was to do 2x10k MP as my last hard workout on Thursday, but due to work schedule, had to move it to Wednesday. This proved to be a wishful thinking because I haven’t recovered from the speed session 36 hours earlier and the 3x7k MP run 4 days ago. After 4k at MP, I decided that my legs were not fresh enough to do this workout. Instead, I converted the session into a long run which probably wasn’t a bad substitute. Weather was warm, so I had a number of stoppages along the way.
Thursday:
Massage, 30mins jogging
Friday (16 days left):
2.5k warm up
14k at MP effort (av 4:25)
2.7k cool down, 3 x 100m fast strides
Total workout 19.2k in 1h:29m (av 4:38)
A make-up session for Wednesday’s failed MP workout. Ran 1/3 of marathon distance without any drink stop in 61:45 (av 4:25). Av HR was 162 bpm, with a high of 165-170 after 12k. For comparison purposes, previous similar-type runs yielded av HR of 166-169 bpm (during 12 & 18k runs) from 3 months ago.
Saturday:
OFF. My 37th birthday (getting old…)
Sunday (14 days left):
2.5k warm up
26k Moderate Long Run (av 4:44)
1.5k cool down, 4 x 30secs light strides
Total workout 30k in 2h:23m (av 4:47)
Followed Brad Hudson's Marathon Plan level 2 schedule to do the last long run at MP + 20-30secs per mile. Took two Accelerage gels and 1.1 litre of water.
Summary of 6 weeks of marathon training:
Mileage: 94, 91, 105, 98, 115, 105 = av 101 kmpw (high-low-high method to reduce tiredness & burnout)
Long Runs (Easy): 32, 35, 35, 27, 30
Long Runs (Quality): 27 incl 21 MP intervals, 32 incl 28 MP intervals, 31 incl 21 MP intervals
Tempo/Intervals: 6 sessions, around 20-40mins of sub-MP running
For taper, the plan is to do 70-80k next week then 40-50k before marathon. No races in the last 2 months, with the last one back on 24 Aug, a 1:28 HM. Might do a 3200m race on Friday.
Do you think that I have done enough in 6 weeks?
11 October 2008
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
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
05 October 2008
Week 4 of 8 (Seoul)
Two quality workouts (one good and one so-so), while the rest of the week is filled with short easy runs.
1) 32k Long Run incl 7k-6k-5k-4k-3k-2k-1k ladder at MP
Borrowed this workout from Ronaldo da Costa, a former WR holder who reportedly did 6-5-4-3-2-1km ladder during marathon prep. To make sure I can complete the workout, I sandwiched 3mins rest/jog breaks between the intervals in order to take gel & rehydrate. I have a high metabolic rate, so I prepared 3 gels, 600m sports drinks, and 1.5lt of water. I read that Ritz took gels very 5k for his 24miles long run av 5:05 min/mile before Beijing. So if Ritz does it, perhaps I should make sure I am well loaded too (ghaha)
For a change, it was a cool morning in Singapore (24c?) due to the rain overnight. Ran both 7k and 6k intervals well under MP and the effort felt naturally comfortable. Legs were fresh after 3 easy days and the weather was cool and cloudy. Recovery time was about 3mins of jogging and/or standing rest to re-fuel. The latter intervals got harder & harder and my pace got slower by a few secs per km but still under MP. Fortunately for me, the interval distance got shorter and shorter, hence the pain flew very quickly (yay!). Overall, I accumulated 28k or 2 hours worth of MP running. With warm up & recovery jogs, the total run was 32k in 2:24 (av 4:31 min/km), excluding stoppages. After the workout, I was tired but not entirely spent because I was well fueled and helped by the favourable weather.
2) 23k incl. 4 x 10mins at HM pace (threshold)
The plan was to do Tinman’s style big workout of 1hr ez + 6 miles of HM pace running. However, my body had not recovered fully from Wednesday’s session. The morning was terribly humid too. The 305 showed funny HR reading of 200 bpm+, perhaps the strap was very wet as it was soaked in sweat. Decided to cut the warm up at 5k, then did 2 x 2400m in 9:56 & 9:55 with 400m jog. Took a longer break to re-fuel and go to the toilet. Did the last two in 9:47 and 9:41, hence I accumulated about 40mins of running at Threshold effort. Finished with ~7k cool down incl 5 x 12-15secs hill sprints (total 23k). In retrospective, I should perhaps defer the workout by another day to allow more recovery, so I could do a longer quality session.
Two more training weeks to go now……wish I could have a few more weeks to train duh!
Mon (Easy):
50mins Moderate (av 4:46)
Ran some sections of the Singapore F1 circuit where the race was held last night. It was an awesome feeling running in the middle of the track with high fences and grandstands around me.
Tue (Easy):
40mins Easy (av 5:15)
Treadmill with 0-1.5% inclines. Conserving energy for tomorrow’s big workout.
Wed (Marathon Pace):
10mins warm up
7km at MP, av 4:22, 162 bpm
3mins rest/jog
6km at MP, av 4:24, 166bpm
3mins rest/jog
5km at MP, av 4:26, 169 bpm
3mins rest/jog
4km at MP, av 4:25, 170 bpm
3mins rest/jog
3km at MP, av 4:26, 172 bpm
3mins rest/jog
2km at MP, av 4:27, 172 bpm
3mins rest/jog
1km at HM pace, av 4:16, 174 bpm
All up, 32k in 2h:24m (av 4:31 min/km)
Thu (Rest):
OFF. 30mins deep tissue massage.
Fri (Easy)
45mins Easy (av 5:25, 140 bpm)
A crap run due to high humidity, bad stomach, sluggishness, and stiff muscles from yesterday’s massage. Cut the run short.
Sat (Threshold):
5k warm up
4 x 2400m @ HM pace in 9:56, 55, 47, 41
7k cool down in 5 x 12-15secs hill sprints
All up, 23k in 1h:51m (av 4:51)
Sun (Easy):
78mins Easy (av 5:14, 145 bpm)
Ran on parts of FI circuit again and along the Singapore River.
Total 98k for the week, 2763k for the year
1) 32k Long Run incl 7k-6k-5k-4k-3k-2k-1k ladder at MP
Borrowed this workout from Ronaldo da Costa, a former WR holder who reportedly did 6-5-4-3-2-1km ladder during marathon prep. To make sure I can complete the workout, I sandwiched 3mins rest/jog breaks between the intervals in order to take gel & rehydrate. I have a high metabolic rate, so I prepared 3 gels, 600m sports drinks, and 1.5lt of water. I read that Ritz took gels very 5k for his 24miles long run av 5:05 min/mile before Beijing. So if Ritz does it, perhaps I should make sure I am well loaded too (ghaha)
For a change, it was a cool morning in Singapore (24c?) due to the rain overnight. Ran both 7k and 6k intervals well under MP and the effort felt naturally comfortable. Legs were fresh after 3 easy days and the weather was cool and cloudy. Recovery time was about 3mins of jogging and/or standing rest to re-fuel. The latter intervals got harder & harder and my pace got slower by a few secs per km but still under MP. Fortunately for me, the interval distance got shorter and shorter, hence the pain flew very quickly (yay!). Overall, I accumulated 28k or 2 hours worth of MP running. With warm up & recovery jogs, the total run was 32k in 2:24 (av 4:31 min/km), excluding stoppages. After the workout, I was tired but not entirely spent because I was well fueled and helped by the favourable weather.
2) 23k incl. 4 x 10mins at HM pace (threshold)
The plan was to do Tinman’s style big workout of 1hr ez + 6 miles of HM pace running. However, my body had not recovered fully from Wednesday’s session. The morning was terribly humid too. The 305 showed funny HR reading of 200 bpm+, perhaps the strap was very wet as it was soaked in sweat. Decided to cut the warm up at 5k, then did 2 x 2400m in 9:56 & 9:55 with 400m jog. Took a longer break to re-fuel and go to the toilet. Did the last two in 9:47 and 9:41, hence I accumulated about 40mins of running at Threshold effort. Finished with ~7k cool down incl 5 x 12-15secs hill sprints (total 23k). In retrospective, I should perhaps defer the workout by another day to allow more recovery, so I could do a longer quality session.
Two more training weeks to go now……wish I could have a few more weeks to train duh!
Mon (Easy):
50mins Moderate (av 4:46)
Ran some sections of the Singapore F1 circuit where the race was held last night. It was an awesome feeling running in the middle of the track with high fences and grandstands around me.
Tue (Easy):
40mins Easy (av 5:15)
Treadmill with 0-1.5% inclines. Conserving energy for tomorrow’s big workout.
Wed (Marathon Pace):
10mins warm up
7km at MP, av 4:22, 162 bpm
3mins rest/jog
6km at MP, av 4:24, 166bpm
3mins rest/jog
5km at MP, av 4:26, 169 bpm
3mins rest/jog
4km at MP, av 4:25, 170 bpm
3mins rest/jog
3km at MP, av 4:26, 172 bpm
3mins rest/jog
2km at MP, av 4:27, 172 bpm
3mins rest/jog
1km at HM pace, av 4:16, 174 bpm
All up, 32k in 2h:24m (av 4:31 min/km)
Thu (Rest):
OFF. 30mins deep tissue massage.
Fri (Easy)
45mins Easy (av 5:25, 140 bpm)
A crap run due to high humidity, bad stomach, sluggishness, and stiff muscles from yesterday’s massage. Cut the run short.
Sat (Threshold):
5k warm up
4 x 2400m @ HM pace in 9:56, 55, 47, 41
7k cool down in 5 x 12-15secs hill sprints
All up, 23k in 1h:51m (av 4:51)
Sun (Easy):
78mins Easy (av 5:14, 145 bpm)
Ran on parts of FI circuit again and along the Singapore River.
Total 98k for the week, 2763k for the year
27 September 2008
Week 3 of 8
Today I realized a couple of things about my marathon prep:
Although I managed the last three weeks well (94, 91, 105 km) without any issues, injuries, or the feeling burnout(not yet?), but I sincerely felt that I didn't have a lot of challenging workouts (only one of two so far). Other sessions were mild to moderate. This is attributed to Hudson's principal of linear periodisation which is similar to the Australian (Deek, Mona, Bideau et al) system. Basically there is no separaton of phases (e.g. base training) and everyone trains at various paces all year around. Hence, Hudson designs the program in such a way that all the hard workouts are spread over 20 weeks. But since I joined the program only for the last 8 weeks, there is some disconnect here.
Secondly, I found that my endurance is my shortcoming. Saturday's 35k long run was tough for me. Although, it was done at easy pace but I was struggling after 2 hours. Had to stop every 10mins or so in the last hour to drink and rest. Is this a signal that a marathon is too soon?
There are only five weeks to go to Seoul, meaning only three weeks of hard training left to go. It's now really the time to step up and start upping the ante.
In light of the above, I am thinking to ditch the Hudson plan temporarily for the next couple of weeks (talk about loyalty after three weeks of following his plan haha). He typically schedules 2 moderate hard workouts and a long run each week and this cycle goes for months. However, I feel Jack Daniels & Tinman’s principles of two ‘big’ workouts per week are more marathon specific, especially during the sharpening period. The big workouts entail long runs with lots of qualities, while other runs during the week are purely 'fillers'. I will probably re-join Hudson training plan again in the last 2 weeks to make sure I taper correctly.
Mon (Recovery):
42mins Very Easy (av 5:37) + abs work
Needs a slow day after yesterday’s MP practice workout. Treadmill with 0.5% incline.
Tue (Easy):
18.3k Easy in 90mins (av 4:56)
Ran the first 70mins at varying aerobic effort between 135-155 bpm, finishing with 4 x 400m to train leg turnover.
Wed (Easy):
45mins Easy (av 5:16) + light weights
Three easy days in a row, should be ready for a quality session tomorrow. Treadmill 1% incline.
Thu (Fartlek):
8k Easy (av 5:12) incl strides
5k Tempo @ HM pace in 20:28 (av 4:06)
5mins rest
2 x 1200m @ 10k pace (av 3:53)
Splits: 4:41, 4:40 with 400m jog in between
5k Easy (av 5:12)
All up, 21k in 1h:41m (av 4:50)
An ineffective, unstructured workout. Planned to do 4x2k or 3x3k at HM pace, but ended up doing 5k continuous. Was tired by the end of the tempo and didn’t feel like doing more long intervals. Decided to do 1200s at quicker pace afterwards but the body couldn’t do more than two. In retrospective, I should have followed the original plan so I can spend more time at Threshold.
Fri (Recovery):
36mins Very Easy (av 5:37) + core/stretching
Conserving energy for tomorrow’s long run. Treadmill 0.5% incline.
Sat (Long):
35k Long Run in 3hours (av 5:09)
Long run is definitely not my forte. Ran from home to Priece Rd and spent an hour running up & down on an undulanting terrain. Took gel after 90mins and decided I’ve had enough of the hills. Ran on flat terrain in the second half. Found the last hour to be very tough as I felt the effect of glycogen depletion and tired legs. Including today's long run, I totaled 124k in last seven days (Sun-Sat) The three hours exclude stoppages time to re-fuel & re-hydrate.
Sun (Easy):
39mins Easy (av 4:56)
Felt much netter than yesterday. Included 5 x 10-15secs hill sprints
Total 105k for the week, 2665k for the year.
Although I managed the last three weeks well (94, 91, 105 km) without any issues, injuries, or the feeling burnout(not yet?), but I sincerely felt that I didn't have a lot of challenging workouts (only one of two so far). Other sessions were mild to moderate. This is attributed to Hudson's principal of linear periodisation which is similar to the Australian (Deek, Mona, Bideau et al) system. Basically there is no separaton of phases (e.g. base training) and everyone trains at various paces all year around. Hence, Hudson designs the program in such a way that all the hard workouts are spread over 20 weeks. But since I joined the program only for the last 8 weeks, there is some disconnect here.
Secondly, I found that my endurance is my shortcoming. Saturday's 35k long run was tough for me. Although, it was done at easy pace but I was struggling after 2 hours. Had to stop every 10mins or so in the last hour to drink and rest. Is this a signal that a marathon is too soon?
There are only five weeks to go to Seoul, meaning only three weeks of hard training left to go. It's now really the time to step up and start upping the ante.
In light of the above, I am thinking to ditch the Hudson plan temporarily for the next couple of weeks (talk about loyalty after three weeks of following his plan haha). He typically schedules 2 moderate hard workouts and a long run each week and this cycle goes for months. However, I feel Jack Daniels & Tinman’s principles of two ‘big’ workouts per week are more marathon specific, especially during the sharpening period. The big workouts entail long runs with lots of qualities, while other runs during the week are purely 'fillers'. I will probably re-join Hudson training plan again in the last 2 weeks to make sure I taper correctly.
Mon (Recovery):
42mins Very Easy (av 5:37) + abs work
Needs a slow day after yesterday’s MP practice workout. Treadmill with 0.5% incline.
Tue (Easy):
18.3k Easy in 90mins (av 4:56)
Ran the first 70mins at varying aerobic effort between 135-155 bpm, finishing with 4 x 400m to train leg turnover.
Wed (Easy):
45mins Easy (av 5:16) + light weights
Three easy days in a row, should be ready for a quality session tomorrow. Treadmill 1% incline.
Thu (Fartlek):
8k Easy (av 5:12) incl strides
5k Tempo @ HM pace in 20:28 (av 4:06)
5mins rest
2 x 1200m @ 10k pace (av 3:53)
Splits: 4:41, 4:40 with 400m jog in between
5k Easy (av 5:12)
All up, 21k in 1h:41m (av 4:50)
An ineffective, unstructured workout. Planned to do 4x2k or 3x3k at HM pace, but ended up doing 5k continuous. Was tired by the end of the tempo and didn’t feel like doing more long intervals. Decided to do 1200s at quicker pace afterwards but the body couldn’t do more than two. In retrospective, I should have followed the original plan so I can spend more time at Threshold.
Fri (Recovery):
36mins Very Easy (av 5:37) + core/stretching
Conserving energy for tomorrow’s long run. Treadmill 0.5% incline.
Sat (Long):
35k Long Run in 3hours (av 5:09)
Long run is definitely not my forte. Ran from home to Priece Rd and spent an hour running up & down on an undulanting terrain. Took gel after 90mins and decided I’ve had enough of the hills. Ran on flat terrain in the second half. Found the last hour to be very tough as I felt the effect of glycogen depletion and tired legs. Including today's long run, I totaled 124k in last seven days (Sun-Sat) The three hours exclude stoppages time to re-fuel & re-hydrate.
Sun (Easy):
39mins Easy (av 4:56)
Felt much netter than yesterday. Included 5 x 10-15secs hill sprints
Total 105k for the week, 2665k for the year.
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