Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)
Yesterday I went on an "easy 65km Kranji Loop" group ride, with the team. Our small group of four enthusiastic triathletes have only been training a few short years together, but the team has definitely helped shape the competitor I am today. Our team remains nameless, but not due to lack of trying, as we even have a dedicated WhatsApp group chat for brainstorming one. The suggestions so far have been more funny than fitting, "TriLah", "DADS" which stands for our four nationalities (Danish / Australian / Dutch / Singaporean), and even "GOAT" was thrown in at one stage, which stands for Greatest Of All Time (accompanying a picture of a Silverback Gorilla). Maybe getting too ahead of ourselves but funny nonetheless, but the search continues. I digress. It was our first ride for 2017, and was nice to be back on the road, on the TT bike, in the early hours of the morning. Power data also supported this ride as "easy", showing 124watts as the average over 2:16hours and a perfect way to loosen up the legs from all the marathon training so far.
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| Mandatory coffee stop at the end of each ride (Tiong Bahru) |
Fresh legs, an evening (6pm) start, a beautiful wide running route through Gardens by the Bay, Marina Barrage to the National Stadium and back, and the promise of a cold beer and pancakes were all key ingredients to the success of today's run. Running with my training buddy for this session, we quickly set into marathon goal pace and held it pretty much all the way. The only slight drop in pace was when we starting talking about our triathlon bike fits, where we lost focus on the pace and slowed down so we could get full sentences in. Looking at the heart rate data below, you can definitely see this happening as there is a dip in my heart rate just past the half way point (25:00min mark). We were quick to spot the slowing pace and picked it up again with no issues. So at this stage of the training plan, keeping our goal pace of 4:09min/km is still not natural, and requires constant focus and glances at our watches. Accelerating to goal pace doesn't seem to be an issue, its the body and legs being able to hold it without "thinking". That's definitely supported by the heart rate data that shows my heart rate in Zone 4 for the majority of the session.
During the 9.7km run:
Average Heart Rate: 159bpm
Max Heart Rate: 172bpm
Average Cadence: 182
Success Criteria Checkpoints: 10 / 42 sessions completed (24%)
1. Did I hold the pace over the prescribed distance: Yes, and still believe a few miles were left in the legs, which is good news for coming weeks. Nutrition and fuelling will become important as the mileage increases.
2. Did my heart rate stay in Zone 3: No, and as I progress through the sessions, I'm forecasting this might not happen until the final weeks of the plan (where tapering happens), and all the training load and work has had an opportunity to "soak" into the body. This is not based on textbooks or on anything scientific, but rather an optimistic wish.
3. How well am I recovering: Great! The easy bike rides are great for the legs and also help maintain the base fitness for cycling.
During the 9.7km run:
Average Heart Rate: 159bpm
Max Heart Rate: 172bpm
Average Cadence: 182
Session Analysis / Review:
Beer and banana pancakes with nutella should be our regular recovery meal after our marathon training sessions. Couldn't be happier with it as we analysed the data on Strava. But on a serious note, I will need to consider and plan my nutrition and fuelling strategy during these sessions carefully. For today's session, no gels and only 250ml of fluid were taken. That will not be enough for subsequent weeks, as the distance for these MP sessions will max out at 19.2kms at week 10.Success Criteria Checkpoints: 10 / 42 sessions completed (24%)
1. Did I hold the pace over the prescribed distance: Yes, and still believe a few miles were left in the legs, which is good news for coming weeks. Nutrition and fuelling will become important as the mileage increases.
2. Did my heart rate stay in Zone 3: No, and as I progress through the sessions, I'm forecasting this might not happen until the final weeks of the plan (where tapering happens), and all the training load and work has had an opportunity to "soak" into the body. This is not based on textbooks or on anything scientific, but rather an optimistic wish.
3. How well am I recovering: Great! The easy bike rides are great for the legs and also help maintain the base fitness for cycling.
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