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A Slow Journey to Faster Times

yaboya1

So I finally decided on Seville for my Spring Marathon. The date & costs suit me well and the race seems to be pretty well reviewed by anyone who's previously run it.

This is my first attempt at a training log so please go easy on me!

I've run three previous marathons (3:39, 3:35, 3:34). The aim in Seville is to finally go below 3:30. I've had various things go wrong on me in all of the above, so I think my target is pretty achievable. I haven't done any running since Chicago last month, so I plan to ease back into it gradually for the next month by doing a couple of short/medium runs during the week with a long one at the weekend. Then from the beginning of December I've decided to follow the 12 week 'Up to 55 miles per week' marathon schedule from the Advanced Marathoning book by Pfitzinger & Douglas.

My biggest problem in the past has been going too quickly on my long runs. There are 7 different paces in this plan. I have estimated what pace I should be running them at as follows:

MP runs: 8 min/mile
Long runs: 9 min/mile
Med-long runs: 8:45-9 min/mile
General aerobic runs: 9:30 min/mile
LT runs: 7:35 min/mile
Recovery runs: 12 min/mile
VO2 max intervals: 7 min/mile

If anyone has any comments/observations, I'd be delighted to hear them. Otherwise I'll be back as soon as I get back out on the road.

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yaboya1

So I'm going to get stuck into the last 8 weeks of the P&D 55-70 plan starting on Monday. However since that's a rest day with just some recovery runs planned for Tuesday, I'm going to assume I've started today. I'll do the A.M. miles this evening and the P.M. tomorrow morning. That should leave me fresh to attack the first decent workout on Monday. It also gives me a two day buffer to play with that I may need in the next week or two. I'll do my best to follow the plan as closely as possible in the correct order, but juggling certain sessions/days may be unavoidable due to work/life etc.

These are the paces I plan to run at:

VO2 max intervals: 5:40 min/mile
LT runs: 6:10 min/mile
MP runs: 6:40 min/mile
General Aerobic runs: 7:30 - 8:00 min/mile
Med-Long runs: 7:40 -7:50 min/mile
Long runs: 7:50 - 8:00 min/mile
Recovery runs: 8:30 - 9:30 min/mile

yaboya1

Seems fine for running outside now, but I've had a change of heart. I'm going to allow myself the weekend off as originally planned. I'm listening to my body, which is telling me the rest will benefit me more than any amount of miles in the next couple of days. That will leave me raring to go starting the plan as scheduled on Monday (with another rest day

). I can deal with any issues that pop up around getting workouts/sessions done as & when they occur.

ThebitterLemon

yaboya1 wrote: »

Seems fine for running outside now, but I've had a change of heart. I'm going to allow myself the weekend off as originally planned. I'm listening to my body, which is telling me the rest will benefit me more than any amount of miles in the next couple of days. That will leave me raring to go starting the plan as scheduled on Monday (with another rest day ). I can deal with any issues that pop up around getting workouts/sessions done as & when they occur.

I think you're doing the sensible thing and it'll stand to you.

Play golf have a pint or two

TbL

yaboya1

I've been messing around with this plan to see can I come up with something that suits my schedule, but also reduces the risk of injury and allows me to be reasonably fresh going into the important runs. I've attached an excel document with the Actual Plan (Sheet 1) straight from the book, and my Proposed Plan (Sheet 2) which has been juggled to fit in the Longford HM. Would be interested in any opinions before I go ahead with it.

ThebitterLemon

P,

Purely from my own perspective if it was my plan I'd add more miles to the LR and cut back slightly elsewhere. For me I felt I benefited from the
LR's and I'd have more 20's and another 22-23.

TbL

yaboya1

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

P,

Purely from my own perspective if it was my plan I'd add more miles to the LR and cut back slightly elsewhere. For me I felt I benefited from the
LR's and I'd have more 20's and another 22-23.

TbL

My thinking behind the reshuffling was that I'd still get all the recommended sessions done without too much messing around. Rather than making a straight switch I moved the 18m (with 14m @MP) to three weeks out, as I felt that workout would be a bit too taxing just seven days after racing a half-marathon. A 20m long run doesn't seem as difficult and should take far less out of me. I feel like I've already done plenty of long runs and base building in the last few months and am not really worried about the lack of 20+ mile runs here. You make a fair and interesting point though. Appreciate the feedback

ger664

I couldn't be arsed trying to read back through the log. How many 150 min runs have you done ?
When and what distance was the last one ?

yaboya1

ger664 wrote: »

I couldn't be arsed trying to read back through the log. How many 150 min runs have you done ?
When and what distance was the last one ?

Since the marathon I've done the following 2hrs+ runs:

1 x 165mins
2 x 150mins
2 x 135mins
7 x 120mins

The most recent one was the 165 mins on the morning of the beer mile (28th June). I ran 19 miles that day. One of the 150mins (17m) was the week before that. There's 22m due to be run in the plan next Sunday.

Edit: Also did a very slow 20 miles back in March (which I'd forgotten about)

yaboya1

Monday 4th August (Day 1/56) - Rest/Cross Training

Spent the morning watching some of the athletes compete in the Rock & Roll HM. Witnessed Ferris B nail a new PB, davemacmahon cruise in under 1:30 and if I'm not mistaken RedRunner PB'd as well. Also caught a glimpse of Marthastew & Claralara sprinting up the finishing straight.

My own training today consists of an afternoon session on the golf course, where the target will be two sub 40 nines

ger664

The only issue I see with your switch is that weeks 3 & 4 have consecutive tune-up race followed by Long Run. Maybe a bit too much. As your semi goal is Longford maybe do a 5K or no race on Week 3.

yaboya1

ger664 wrote: »

The only issue I see with your switch is that weeks 3 & 4 have consecutive tune-up race followed by Long Run. Maybe a bit too much. As your semi goal is Longford maybe do a 5K or no race on Week 3.

Thinking of doing a 5k parkrun on the 16th with a couple of warm-up/cool down miles. Longford HM on the 24th. Not going to bother with a race two weeks out. Will probably just run a 10k time trial myself.

yaboya1

Tuesday 5th August (Day 2/56) - 6m Recovery, 4m Recovery

First day back running in what felt like an eternity (actual time off: 3 days :pac:). I woke up this morning full of runners paranoia, feeling pretty awful and afraid I had lost my fitness. This was despite the fact that I had put in a good session on Friday, and had run almost 1400 miles so far this year up to that point. Anyway, I wasn't looking forward to my double today. My recent recovery runs have been really bad experiences and two of them in the same day didn't seem too appealing. I expected some more forgettable workouts.

A.M.
6m Recovery
6 miles @ 8:29p/m average

As soon as I hit the road it was as if the tank had been filled and the biggest problem I had throughout the run was keeping hold of the reins. Those few days off appear to have done me good (as I was advised they would)

.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:35
Mile 2 - 8:35
Mile 3 - 8:25
Mile 4 - 8:34
Mile 5 - 8:24
Mile 6 - 8:24

P.M.
4m Recovery
4 miles @ 8:30p/m average

Same story here. Felt so full of energy that going at this pace has taken virtually nothing out of me. Bring on the next eight weeks!

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:24
Mile 2 - 8:37
Mile 3 - 8:33
Mile 4 - 8:25

I suppose two recovery runs shouldn't really have any effect on your confidence, but I am on a major high after those. Can't wait to get stuck into my 15 mile M/L run in the morning (that's not sarcasm btw

).

*Note to self: Stop running eastward in the mornings. The sun shining directly on my temple gives me a right fcuking headache!!

yaboya1

Wednesday 6th August (Day 3/56) - 15m Med/Long
15 miles @ 7:27p/m average

My original planned pace for these runs was between 7:40-7:50min/mile, but since I was feeling so fresh after my three day rest I decided to follow the FBOT01 example and do it as a progression run.

Targets were:

First 5m: 7:40min/mile approx
Middle 5m: 7:30min/mile approx
Last 5m: 7:20min/mile approx

Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:37
Mile 2 - 7:36
Mile 3 - 7:40
Mile 4 - 7:37
Mile 5 - 7:37
Mile 6 - 7:27
Mile 7 - 7:26
Mile 8 - 7:27
Mile 9 - 7:29
Mile 10 - 7:26
Mile 11 - 7:16
Mile 12 - 7:18
Mile 13 - 7:17
Mile 14 - 7:17
Mile 15 - 7:18

Pretty pleased with that. Although the pace was increasing, the effort was pretty similar throughout. This was due to climbing for the early part of the run, flattening out in the middle and coming back downhill towards the end. Great way to start the day!

ger664

Just a point to note. Are these miles Garmin miles or measured miles ? When I use my GPS watch I will always either make a mile 1.01 or run at a pace on the watch 5 secs/mile quicker. For example real 7:40 pace would be 7:35 on a gps watch. It might be small but It will be an issue on race day on an accurately measured course which Berlin will be.

yaboya1

ger664 wrote: »

Just a point to note. Are these miles Garmin miles or measured miles ? When I use my GPS watch I will always either make a mile 1.01 or run at a pace on the watch 5 secs/mile quicker. For example real 7:40 pace would be 7:35 on a gps watch. It might be small but It will be an issue on race day on an accurately measured course which Berlin will be.

Garmin miles. I know what you mean, but 6:40 Garmin miles on the day will be more than good enough

Murph_D

yaboya1 wrote: »

Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:37
Mile 2 - 7:36
Mile 3 - 7:40
Mile 4 - 7:37
Mile 5 - 7:37
Mile 6 - 7:27
Mile 7 - 7:26
Mile 8 - 7:27
Mile 9 - 7:29
Mile 10 - 7:26
Mile 11 - 7:16
Mile 12 - 7:18
Mile 13 - 7:17
Mile 14 - 7:17
Mile 15 - 7:18

Impressive how you did that - were you dialling it up by feel or keeping an eye on the watch? It's a subtle enough transition but I always have difficulty getting faster on a long run, especially in the final third.

yaboya1

Murph_D wrote: »

Impressive how you did that - were you dialling it up by feel or keeping an eye on the watch? It's a subtle enough transition but I always have difficulty getting faster on a long run, especially in the final third.

Bit of both really. Once I hit the miles where I needed to increase the pace I consciously sped up, but also kept an eye on the watch to ensure it wasn't by too much/little.

yaboya1

Thursday 7th August (Day 4/56) - 6m Recovery
6 miles @ 8:33p/m average

Nice little jog to shake out the legs after yesterday's run. Tomorrow's session is a toughie, so I better ensure tonight's sleep is a good one :eek:

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:39
Mile 2 - 8:28
Mile 3 - 8:30
Mile 4 - 8:35
Mile 5 - 8:34
Mile 6 - 8:30

Ososlo

I miss reading about your beats:D You not wearing the hr monitor anymore?

yaboya1

Ososlo wrote: »

I miss reading about your beats:D You not wearing the hr monitor anymore?

It's got the Timeform squiggle. I've discarded it until the winter :cool:

yaboya1

Friday 8th August (Day 5/56) - 12m (with 7m @ LT)
12miles @ 6:58p/m average (LT miles: 6:08 average)

In my opinion, this is probably the toughest session in the plan. Luckily I was ready for it (having completed it before in the run-up to Seville), as it was no less difficult than I expected. Delighted to keep the LT miles almost bang on target all the way. Very nice to have this one under the belt. I got saturated the entire time I was out, but I won't complain as it gave a bit of a cooling effect. Compared to the ridiculously humid weather we've had recently, it makes a welcome change. Just some recovery miles and a long run left in the next couple of days, which will bring me up to 70 miles for the week. My peak in the plan as far as mileage goes. Feeling good!

Splits:

Warm-up

Mile 1 - 8:00
Mile 2 - 7:52
Mile 3 - 7:59

LT

Mile 4 - 6:11
Mile 5 - 6:08
Mile 6 - 6:08
Mile 7 - 6:08
Mile 8 - 6:08
Mile 9 - 6:09
Mile 10 - 6:07

Cool down

Mile 11 - 7:41
Mile 12 - 9:08

paddybarry

yaboya1 wrote: »

Friday 8th August (Day 5/56) - 12m (with 7m @ LT)
12miles @ 6:58p/m average (LT miles: 6:08 average)

In my opinion, this is probably the toughest session in the plan. Luckily I was ready for it (having completed it before in the run-up to Seville), as it was no less difficult than I expected. Delighted to keep the LT miles almost bang on target all the way. Very nice to have this one under the belt. I got saturated the entire time I was out, but I won't complain as it gave a bit of a cooling effect. Compared to the ridiculously humid weather we've had recently, it makes a welcome change. Just some recovery miles and a long run left in the next couple of days, which will bring me up to 70 miles for the week. My peak in the plan as far as mileage goes. Feeling good!

Splits:

Warm-up

Mile 1 - 8:00
Mile 2 - 7:52
Mile 3 - 7:59

LT

Mile 4 - 6:11
Mile 5 - 6:08
Mile 6 - 6:08
Mile 7 - 6:08
Mile 8 - 6:08
Mile 9 - 6:09
Mile 10 - 6:07

Cool down

Mile 11 - 7:41
Mile 12 - 9:08

Great session. What was the route like for the LT miles, flat, undulating?

viperlogic

yaboya1 wrote: »

Friday 8th August (Day 5/56) - 12m (with 7m @ LT)
12miles @ 6:58p/m average (LT miles: 6:08 average)

Good stuff yaboya1

In my opinion, this is probably the toughest session in the plan.

I think the following week is worst as a whole...
- Sat - 8K-15K race
- Sun - 18 mile LSR
- Mon - rest
- Tue - 10 miles with 6x1K
- Wed - 15 miles

Especially for me as I'm looking to do the Tullamore half for the race :eek:

yaboya1

paddybarry wrote: »

Great session. What was the route like for the LT miles, flat, undulating?

I did in the PP. Mixture of undulations, but nothing too severe. Miles 1,5 & 6 were probably slightly uphill, while the others were the opposite I'd say.

Here's the Garmin link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/559921612

yaboya1

viperlogic wrote: »

I think the following week is worst as a whole...
- Sat - 8K-15K race
- Sun - 18 mile LSR
- Mon - rest
- Tue - 10 miles with 6x1K
- Wed - 15 miles

Especially for me as I'm looking to do the Tullamore half for the race :eek:

That's up for me from next Saturday.
Can't wait!

viperlogic

yaboya1 wrote: »

That's up for me from next Saturday.
Can't wait!

Ya nutter! What race you planning to do for it?

yaboya1

viperlogic wrote: »

Ya nutter! What race you planning to do for it?

I'm only going to do a parkrun, as I've had to switch the following two weeks around because of the Longford HM. Hoping to PB, but it won't be easy.

paddybarry

yaboya1 wrote: »

I'm only going to do a parkrun, as I've had to switch the following two weeks around because of the Longford HM. Hoping to PB, but it won't be easy.

which one you thinking of doing?

yaboya1

paddybarry wrote: »

which one you thinking of doing?

I'm playing golf in Wicklow Golf Club at 11am, so I figure Marlay is the best fit for that. Allows me approximately an hour to drive down, shower and be on the tee in time. If I run anywhere else, the travel time increases leaving me less & less time to spare after I get there.

ThebitterLemon

Excellent session with very consistent splits.

TbL