14week Marathon Training Plan: Week 4, Session 3: Long Run + MP Run

Twelfth Session: Week 4 Session 3: Easy Run 1:40hrs + 6.4 km @ Marathon Pace (MP)
Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)

Long Easy Run for 1:40hrs
I had a friend visit from Hong Kong this week, so this session's long run was a perfect opportunity to show him around the Singapore City Centre. The easy run took us 16.5km in 1:40hrs, with an average pace of 6:04min/km. Looking at the heart rate data, majority was in Zone 2 (average HR 113bpm), and by the end of the run the legs were feeling good, rather than heavy. The reduced mileage (no 10km warm up run to the Kallang track) and reluctantly staying off the bike before this session are likely to be the key reasons for the freshness. But, it could also be possible that my legs are adapting to the training volume, which is great news.

On top of the magnificent Benjamin Sheares Bridge

Marathon Pace Portion: 6.4km at 4:09 min/km (Target Time: 26:40mins)  

I timed the finish of the long easy run to start at my usual trusted Marathon Pace route; Marina Promontory to Marina Barrage and Gardens by the Bay East, return. I also decided to start the Marathon Pace run just slightly over goal pace at 4:13min/km. Usually my MP runs start off too fast, under 4:00min/km in the first kilometre, so I decided to try a negative split strategy to see if it would a difference. Note: Negative splitting is a pacing strategy that involves beginning with a slower pace, and gradually speeding up so that the second half of the run is faster than the first half. In beautiful evening conditions, I finished the run in 26:43mins for 6.41kms, right on target and receiving another tick in the box for a completed session. The only issue I faced during the run was my hamstring started to tighten a little towards the end, but nothing serious, just more work required on stretching.

During the 6.4km run:
Average Heart Rate: 158bpm

Max Heart Rate: 166bpm
Cadence: 184

Session Analysis / Review:

I made two changes to this MP run; 1) mental preparation and 2) applying a negative split strategy. I have to say both of these made the run feel easier than last week's run. It's still a hard session, but the belief in my ability to complete the run at goal pace coupled with a strategy that helps you build into the goal pace makes it a lot more manageable. This session was a massive confidence booster going into week 5 of the training plan.

Success Criteria Checkpoints: 12 / 42 sessions completed ( 29% )
1. Did I hold the pace over the prescribed distance: Yes, although starting a little slower in the beginning, I was able to ease into goal pace and also accelerate at the end (4:05min/km) to make up for time lost and hit the target time for the MP run.
2. Did my heart rate stay in Zone 3: No. My average and max heart rates were marginally lower in this session compared to last week's set, and possibly due to the negative split pacing.
3. How well am I recovering: So far so good, but will work on my hamstrings and calves a little more during foam rolling and stretching sessions.

14week Marathon Training: Week 4, Session 2: Yasso 800m

Eleventh Session: Week 4 Session 2: Yasso 800m x 5
Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)

Instead of the usual easy 10km jog to the Kallang track, a few of us decided to ride. As the mileage is starting to pile on, I thought it would be wise to give the legs a break from the constant pounding on the road (note: the extra 10km warm up to the track is not part of the training plan) in the hope it'll pay off in leg freshness for Thursday's long run. It was also a good opportunity to take my silver fixie bike out for a cruise after a long hiatus.

Main Set: 800m in 3:00mins with active recovery for 400m in 3:00mins  x 5
"Comfortably hard", and straightforward are probably the words that describe this session. I'm always confident that I'll come away with the tick in the box for these sets, and that gives me a little spring in the step each time. Training as a group, we're hitting the targets spot on, then having a chat and laugh during the 400m recovery. Mind you, I'm not saying this speed session was easy; for 30mins of work, as one of my training mates rightly pointed out, my running top was completely drenched in sweat.

During the 5 x 800m set:

Average Heart Rate: 146bpm (includes recovery)

Max Heart Rate: 167bpm
Recovery Heart Rate (1min after finishing 800m): 1: 127bpm, 2: 132bpm, 3: 130bpm,  4: 136bpm, 5: 135bpm
Cadence: 180

Session Analysis / Review: (11 / 42 sessions completed): 26%

This session's average and recovery heart rate data is slightly lower than last week's session, and this is definitely due to the even 3:45min/km pace throughout the 800m blocks (no negative splits and friendly competition). The easy 25min bike ride home was a welcome change to sitting in a car straight after a speed session. No injuries, and no soreness at this point. These sessions are a great confidence booster before Thursday's long run with the MP kick. It also needs to be said that the confidence I have going into these sessions (mental preparation) is definitely helping. I'm going to work on that same mental preparation and try to apply that same level of confidence before Thursday's set and see how what happens. 

14week Marathon Training Plan: Week 4, Session 1: MP run

Tenth session: Week 4 Marathon Pace (MP) Set: 9.7 km
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.

Mandatory coffee stop at the end of each ride (Tiong Bahru)

Main Set: 9.7kms in 40:00mins (pace constant at 4:09 min/km)

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

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.

Why run a marathon in 3 hours?

I was curious about marathon finishing times and what it meant to complete a marathon under 3 hours. So I started searching around on the Internet to get an idea of how this ranks. The first graph I found was one that showed the marathon finishing times based on a percentage of total finishers, for major marathons across 10 million runners. It forms a rough bell curve distribution, so reading it as such, if I achieve my goal of a sub 3 hour marathon, this would put me roughly at the top 2 - 4% of marathon runners. The other interesting thing to note are where runners set their goals. You can see a sharp drop off at the 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5 hour marks, showing that their marathon goal finish times are rounded to these times and achieved accordingly.

So why choose sub 3 hours as a goal?

To put it into context, the current fastest time for a marathon (world record time) is 2:02:57 hours, set in Berlin 2014 by Dennis Kimetto (Kenya). So this sets the upper limit of human endurance and speed that requires talent, years of dedication, and the highest level of coaching and nutrition to attain it.

The average marathon finishing time globally (in 2014), was 4:13:23 hours (for men) and 4:42:33 (for women). This average also lines up quite well in the graph above being in the centre of the bell curve.

Then we have the qualification time for the Boston Marathon. The table below shows the current time needed to qualify:

I'm within the 35-39 category, so a sub 3 hour marathon should guarantee me a spot at the Boston Marathon. Note: Although 3:10hrs is the qualifying time for my age group, achieving this time will not guarantee a spot as its also based on a limited number of allocations and only the top fastest times submitted will receive a spot. So a faster time will offer a better chance of qualifying.

Lastly, I think the following excerpt from the Bridger Ridge Run webpage (where the 14 week Marathon training plan is from) is a great summary of why I'd like to go under 3 hours:

If I can hit my goal of a sub 3 hour marathon, I'd:

• be considered "darn good marathon runner",
• have a great chance at qualifying for the Boston Marathon, and
• build a solid running foundation for an amazing marathon leg of an Ironman race and one day qualify for Ironman Kona.

Although the first point is for a bit of fun, the other two points are definitely worth the hard work to improve my running and get faster. Bring on the next marathon training session!

14week Marathon Training Plan: Week 3, Session 3: Easy Run + MP Run

Ninth Session: Week 3 Session 3: Easy Run 1:40hrs + 4.8km @ Marathon Pace (MP)
Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)

Long Easy Run for 1:40hrs
We decided to try another route for long session to mix up the scenery. My training buddy mapped out a route along the Alexandra Canal behind Tiong Bahru / Red Hill and down Commonwealth Ave onto the Ulu Pandan Park Connector. The final destination was the Pandan Reservoir where we would run around the perimeter for the 4.8km at Marathon Pace uninterrupted. The easy run took us 17km in 1:40hrs, with an average pace of 5:52min/km. Looking at the heart rate data, majority was in Zone 2 (average HR 117bpm), so exactly where I want it to be for these runs. To be honest, I quite enjoy these easy, conversation filled runs. Mental note for if I ever return to the corporate world; meetings should be done over an easy run.

Marathon Pace Portion: 4.8km at 4:09 min/km (Target Time: 20:00mins)  

To hit 1:40hrs on the long easy run, we had to run a portion of the reservoir, but that gave us a good idea of what to expect for the marathon goal pace run. The terrain was all gravel, which is a nice change from road surface, perfectly flat with fast corners, but hampered by poor lighting and the occasional fly to the face (and if you were lucky, one in the mouth). Once we hit 1:40hrs, we reset our watches and off we went around the reservoir at speed. This was the first time we've run a marathon pace session in the evening and that definitely helped. We were able to hit MP quite quickly and maintain it for the 4.8kms. The interesting thing was it felt much faster than previous sessions. Maybe it was the gravel or the poor lighting that gave me that impression, but it felt fast and the constant thought of, "how am I going to hold this speed for 42kms" kept playing through my mind. I finished the 4.8km in 20:01, achieving another tick in the box for this session.

During the 4.8km run:
Average Heart Rate: 160bpm

Max Heart Rate: 170bpm
Cadence: 183

Session Analysis / Review:

Firstly, this is the longest timed run I've ever done; 2 hours of constant moving. The legs pulled up fine immediately after the run so feeling confident with the body being able to cope with the increasing mileage each week. Secondly, although the change in scenery was great, running 4:09 min/km pace on a gravel track with limited lighting wasn't ideal. Maybe we'll keep this as a morning running route. And lastly, the 4.8km portion was hard. But I have to keep reminding myself that I was running for 1:40hrs prior to this. It's going to be hard as the legs aren't fresh, and this is where I practise "eating pain" and grow mental toughness.

Success Criteria Checkpoints: 9 / 42 sessions completed ( 21% )
1. Did I hold the pace over the prescribed distance: Yes, and if I continue to focus on recovering properly, looking to next week session, I think next week is achievable.
2. Did my heart rate stay in Zone 3: This session was almost identical in terms of heart rate data from last week's session. Although majority was in Zone 4, I'm going to take this as a positive considering the extra 16mins of total running time from last week's set.
3. How well am I recovering: Much better as I stayed off the bike before this session. Not ideal for the bike goals, so will need to find a new time on Fri/Sat or Mon for bike training.

14week Marathon Training: Week 3, Session 2: Yasso 800m

Eighth Session: Week 3 Session 2: Yasso 800m x 4
Goal: First Marathon (Sundown Singapore 25 March 2017)

I always look forward to the Yasso 800m (speed sets) as its nice to go fast, then follow it up with a nice slow jog recovery lap (also known as active recovery). I did an easy 10km jog to the Kallang track as warm up.

Speed set at Kallang track

Main Set: 800m in 3:00mins with active recovery for 400m in 3:00mins  x 4
The 4 x 800m set was completed with a bit of friendly competition amongst the training group today. My 800m lap times were 2:56, 2:53, 2:49 and 2:43mins respectively, so the training plan pacing of 3:45min/km was definitely out the window, instead going as fast as 3:14min/km on the last 800m. My training buddy wanted to run negative splits (faster splits every 800m), which we achieved, and I personally quite enjoyed it as it added a little "spice" to the sets. I'm not sure everyone would agree to that last statement, so I think it'll be back to the normal training plan pace of 3:45min/km next week.

During the 4 x 800m set:

Average Heart Rate: 147bpm (includes recovery)

Max Heart Rate: 174bpm
Recovery Heart Rate (1min after finishing 800m): 1: 125bpm, 2: 132bpm, 3: 140bpm,  4: 141bpm
Cadence: 183

Session Analysis / Review:

Average and recovery heart rate data is around the same as last week's session. Max heart rate is higher this session as we really pushed the last 800m, sending my heart rate up to 174bpm. I am keen to see how high my heart rate can go (Max HR currently at 180) during the Yasso 800m, especially as we get to 10 repetitions. Slightly sore legs after getting out of the taxi, but nothing to worry about as I will spend some time on the foam rollers to massage out the tightness.

Recovery: Foam Rolling Basics

I've mentioned the use of foam rolling in a few of my posts so I thought I'd go into more depth about what is it and why I do it.

What is Foam Rolling?
Foam rolling is a technique used to relax the muscle and fascia, also known as self-myofascial release. Fascia is the connective tissue that covers the muscles and the entire body. Muscle tightness and soreness can be a result of fascia being tight or restricted. I used to have extremely sore knees from running more than 5km, but since starting foam rolling (especially around the quads, glutes and IT Band), I can now run long distances without any knee pain. And if I stop rolling, the tightness comes back, and with it the knee pain. So it's something I have incorporated into my regular recovery routine.

What does it require?
Foam rollers can come in a few different sizes (long and short) and textures (smooth and raised). Smooth ones are great to start with as they won't "dig in" and hurt as much. But the raised surfaces are great if you want to get into a sore spot and work away at it until the tension is released. Longer foam rolleres are better suited for the back and rolling both legs at the same time, while smaller ones are compact and travel friendly, primarily used to target specific areas (especially the glutes and single leg calves).

Different type of foam rollers

How often?
Foam rolling has been reported most effective prior to starting exercise, i.e as a warm up routine. However it is also effective post exercise, which is when I choose to foam roll. Once the kids are in bed, I'll spend an hour on the foam roller to roll out the "knots" and tightness.  Duration will vary depending on the time available and muscle soreness or tightness. I will roll over an area for 5 minutes to allow the muscle to relax and work through the tightness.

Best way to start out?
The first time you use a foam roller, it will be very painful. But don't throw it away just yet. The more you do it, the easier and more pleasant it feels. Here are some tips:
1. Never roll over any joints.
2. Start off with long rolls, that is, for the entire length of the muscle. For example, for the thigh (quadriceps), start from the hip (crease) down to the top of the knee, and NEVER rolling over the knee (joint).
3. Once you have done a few long rolls, shorten the rolls to concentrate just around the pain point.
4. From here, if you can bear it, roll directly onto the pain point, hold and put your weight direcly onto the sore spot. This will be painful, but breathe and relax. It's important to breathe and relax as you rol. Having tense muscles (clenching or flexing your muscles) is counter productive.
5. To make it easier, start with two legs, especially on the quads, hamstrings and calves first. This helps to distribute your weight so it's not so painful. Perform single leg rolls once you're comfortable with the pain (remember point 4, you need to be able to breathe and relax through the pain).

Which part of the body should I roll?
My routine involves the following muscles:
1. I start facing down with the foam roller under my quadriceps (thighs), then work on my hip flexors (hip crease).
2. I turn over to face up looking at the ceiling and place the foam roller under my lower back (working from the base of my neck to the top of the butt), then glutes (butt), hamstring, calves, and finishing with my IT Band (lying sideways). Again, never roll over any joints, instead reposition the foam roller to target the different muscles.
3. I follow up my foam rolling sessions with static stretching; pigeon pose, glutes and hamstrings.

Enjoy your rolling! And it gets easier the more you do it.