14week Marathon Training Plan: Week 12, Session 1: MP Run

Thirty-fourth session: Week 12, Session 1: Marathon Pace (MP) Set: 12.8 km
Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)

I woke up to the sound of rain, and after looking outside at the wet roads, we decided to head over to the gym and run on the treadmill instead.

Main Set: 12.8kms in 53:20mins (pace constant at 4:09 min/km)

I had originally planned to run 21km at Sentosa, but due to the weather, the thought of running 21km on a treadmill wasn't very appealing (boring), so I decided to stick to the training plan distance of 12.8kms. Note: The reason I wanted to try for 21km was to build some confidence at a goal race pace for my upcoming Sundown Marathon in 3 weeks time. By sticking to the training plan distance, this MP run starts to drop in distance (from my modified session last week) and effectively starts the taper towards race day. This session itself was very uneventful. After logging long MP runs in previous weeks, it was a nice "break", and a much shorter session than we're used too. After the session, I went home and sat on the bike trainer at 90Watts average to cool down and help my legs recover.

During the 12.8km run
Average Heart Rate: 153bpm
Max Heart Rate: 167bpm
Average Cadence: 187

Session Analysis / Review:

Legs felt good. Breathing and form were good. Cadence for the MP portion (minus the cool down) was around 190, so that's good. We have been very lucky with the weather during this training plan. This is the only session from memory that we've had to use the treadmill due to the weather rather than by choice (e.g 10km MP portion after the long easy run). The only question mark is the ability for my legs to cover 42.2kms, so my confidence for this Marathon race is not quite there yet. I have lots of mental preparation and reinforcement to do before the race.

Success Criteria Checkpoints:
(27/42 sessions completed): 64%,  (3/42 sessions failed): 7%, (4/42 sessions missed): 10%, 
Total Plan (34/42): 81%

1. Did I hold the pace over the prescribed distance: Yes, 14.5km/hr at 1% gradient setting on the treadmill.
2. Did my heart rate stay in Zone 3: Yes below Zone 3 majority of the time, but if I compare the HR data to week 6 of my training plan, where the same distance was run, this session's heart rate is higher. The average is the same at 153bpm, but you'll notice the cool down (approx 8mins) is included so that would have reduced the average HR. Note: This is not congruent with week 6's heart rate zone date. If you compare the heart zone charts, it looks like this sessions data has more time in Zone 3 (or less) even though the heart rate was higher during the course of the workout. I'm not sure how to explain this; the only thing I can think of is that I have installed multiple software updates to my watch during this training plan, that could have changed the computation method for the zones.
3. How well am I recovering: Very well, I'm pleased to report. The recovery bike spin sessions after every run has helped reduce the tightness in my legs. Something that I'll add as a learning and include in the next training block.