Go Hard

I'll keep this one fairly dry. With the first lot of training already under way, I've noticed I've got some significant gaps to address. Having run a 100km last September and covering a 56km race earlier this month just do not translate anywhere near to the level I wanted. Time for some honest training. I'm aiming to the Traralgon Marathon in mid-June. On the way I'll have a good crack at the Australasian Police & Emergency Services Games in April where I'll race the 5000m, 10km cross country and half marathon in quick succession. I'll throw in a handful of other races along the way. My training will be geared towards developing the speed endurance required to perform well at the Games  with the background of developing marathon specific endurance alongside this preparation. Beyond the games will then become completely directed at the marathon, depending on my strengths and weaknesses as they develop. So the following guidelines will take me into Ap...

I have some goals . I have my race result . Now for the training plan. Heart Rate Zones: HRmax: 188 MAF HR: 151 B: 113-131 (60-69%) Base E: 132-151 (70-80%) Aerobic conditioning T: 152-165 (81-88%) Anaerobic threshold V: 166-188 (89-100%) VO2max Training Week: 8 days (not everybody else's 7 day, Monday to Sunday) Because of the rotational shift work and variability in commitments, the plan is a set of priorities. Each training week will then be structured in how to best meet those priorities given my other commitments. Priority Long Run High Intensity Run Supportive session Strength session Bike Strength session Swim Secondary Basic Run Core training Bike This is the initial training. There is a lot in there that isn't running. However, I am finding I need this other work to limit over use injuries and other issues. Details: Priority 1. Long Run: 2-5 hours, initially aiming for a duration of 2:30-3:00. I would like the majori...

To get the most out of my running I need a plan. Working rotational shift work (8 day cycle) and not living off a typical 7 day week forces a different line of thinking. It isn't as simple as writing a repeatable week that covers 8 days. I have to take into account the commitments that are related to the Monday to Sunday world. For example, day 2 of my training week may be a Wednesday or Sunday. The competing interests of the rest of my life will be very different depending on which day it is. Over the years I have tried a few approaches. Many mistakes have been made. There have also been a few successes. What follows, is the starting point of my next major stint of training. Goals Currently I do not have an exact race in mind. That doesn't preclude me from setting some strong goals. I've been tossing around the concept of running a couple of trail ultramarathons next year. I'm looking around the 50km-ish mark. Exactly which ones and at what level I'll compete i...

Experience played a very important role this time around. The time on the clock was far from my original goals. I had overcooked myself in training so the final few weeks were no where near what I believe is required for a good marathon. Fighting the green snot that my family kindly shared took something away from an optimal condition. These aren't excuses, just the couple of negatives that created some obstacles. On the other side there were many positives to be taken from this marathon. My pre-race thoughts on pacing can be found in: Pacing - Melbourne Marathon . The carbohydrate loading went to plan ( Carbohydrate Loading - Melbourne Marathon ), and I found myself feeling full and energised. There is a certain look to the body on race morning when this goes to plan. I had that look. In the taper ( Short Taper ) I completed the least amount of training that I have ever done in a taper. This was because I fighting the germs making there way around the family and I still required ...

Yet another topic that can have more opinions than participants. I'll keep things relatively simple. This is my plan as it relates to me. It is the carbohydrate loading plan I have followed many times over the years. I have tried other modifications, and results seemed to be at least less than optimal. Mainly I follow the guidelines from the Australian Institute of Sport. There is a lot of evidence, research and practice behind these guidelines. They are well tested. However, there is a little bit of extra detail to go beyond these guidelines. AIS - Carbohydrate Loading Fact Sheet . Depletion Starts on Monday with a run of approximately 80-90min, which includes 30min at or above marathon pace. This should tap slightly into the stored muscle glycogen, and set up the body for some mild to moderate carbohydrate depletion. My diet from Monday to Wednesday will be relatively low in carbohydrate. The focus will be on protein dominant foods. The calories will also be relatively low for m...

Time to talk about the taper for the marathon. As with just about every single element in training there is way too much information available on the topic. There is a science behind the taper, but there is also an art. My approach doesn't agree with a lot of the general consensus out there on the blogs and running forums. However, there is a lot of reasoning and I think, solid justification in my approach. My Taper: Last long run (33km), easy, building to near marathon pace and held oer the last 12km with some increased efforts on the final hills. 11 days prior to race day. Taper then starts 11 days out. The focus will be almost entirely recovery. Just a very small amount of faster running thrown in to keep the feel in my legs. My approach this year compared to previously will be to take everything even easier. So most days will consist of a 30-60 minute run, performed very comfortably. The aim is to have it feel as active recovery, where I increase the blood flow, lubricate the ...

The first cycle has been covered. So far, it looks like I am finally on the right track for what's left of my marathon preparation. Two hard runs, and moderate run and the everything else being geared towards recovery gives me plenty of room to breath. The simplicity of this approach might be what will make it work. A long run approaching the marathon distance. Done slower, but not substantially slower than race pace. A shorter run performed quite a bit faster than marathon pace. Then a moderate run where I practice running at race pace. It isn't exactly rocket science. It keeps me from getting caught up in the small details, and really only having two runs out of 8 days where I have to put in a concerted effort means that I do put in the effort where it counts. Having more time and head space for recovery seems to have me more in tune to what my body is really doing. It might be placebo, but I seem to be able feel more of how I am responding to training. The good and the bad. ...

It has been said there is a big difference between just exercising and training . The key difference is the latter is much more goal directed. Since I managed to bury myself under my training load a few weeks ago I have found it a struggle to get back where I want to be. There is a big battle in my head between what I feel I need to do versus what my body will handle. As a result my last phase of training heading into the marathon is quite removed from my original plans. Being just over a month out from the Melbourne Marathon, means I do not have the luxury of time. I still want to set a PR, but with the recent gaps in training, decline in performance and inability to handle the loading I believed was necessary, there are plenty of doubts about my ability to run well. That said, I still plan on aiming to meet my original goals. From this point on the majority of my training is quite lean. My biggest limiter is a inability to handle volume. Running long threshold sets and/or...

The original training outline was published early June in Melbourne Marathon 2011 Outline . Since what my body is capable of didn't exactly match what was on paper, there are going to be a few changes. I am starting the Specific Phase early and will take on a different format. Before getting into the details, I need to cover my goals. Melbourne Marathon 9th October 2011: Realistic: Run a personal record which is sub 2:58:44 Hopeful: Run sub 2:55:00 Dream: Hit 2:50:00 territory Specific Phase: Develop rhythm and efficiency at marathon pace Develop racing abilities The astute will note I have changed the last guideline. I have dropped the bit "through VO2max intervals and faster paced long runs", as I think there is now a slightly different approach that I need to take. Let's get into it. Structure: 6 Cycles: usually 8 days, but with the 3rd being 7 days. This will lead into a 15 day taper. Cycles 1 & 2: Marathon Pace 20km: Over a measured, looped course, w...

The alarm was very unwelcome this morning. I was feeling stuffed, but managed to push that aside. After all, that's to be expected in the current training phase. The difference this morning was I had a headache. A very rare occurrence for me. Other than the mild not-enough-caffeine or the what-the-hell-am-I-still-doing-working-nightshift almost non-headaches I can get, I really don't get headaches. Getting ready for my run I worked through the checklist trying to come up with a cause. All the usuals such as hydration, food intake and sleep hours appeared to be okay. In the end I put it down to the fact the rest of the family have been a bit unwell and now my body was struggling to keep the germs at bay. Planned was another prolonged threshold run. At no point did I feel even close reasonable during the warm up. So I took my time and waited for my body to wake up before launching into the main set. It didn't happen. Still, I gave it an attempt and everything just felt wr...

The Threshold Phase of training can be very difficult to get right. The balance between enough stress and adequate, but not too much recovery can be elusive. In describing my approach to this phase I originally stated: "This style of training can really hammer me. Not so much in the form of injury, but more in a fatigue, failure to recover or just get sick way." In my second 8-day cycle, I was up early for the prolonged threshold run (60min main set). It didn't go as planned. The short version is, I felt flat to begin with, tried to run solid, then hit the wall and struggled to run back home. On face value the session was fail. I could just write it off as a bad day, and try harder next time, but there needs to be more insight. Just trying harder won't make next week more likely a success. So why did things go wrong? A large proportion on training for endurance races goes into being able to override the body's defence mechanisms. Pain, fatigue, urge to stop, urge...

Time for the second phase of my marathon preparation. This will be the Threshold Phase . For an overview of the overall plan check out Melbourne Marathon 2011 Outline . Let me begin with the straight details: Time: 4 x 8 day cycles + recovery/test week. Aims: Increase the speed and time I can sustain running at anaerobic threshold Enhance ability to run relatively quick at low effort with better substrate use Aim number 2 really just carries over from the base phase. My long run in each cycle should cover that. My plan is to continue on with the same approach from the base phase. That approach is run for 3 hours at about my aerobic zone (70-82%HRmax). The pace won't be pushed on these sessions, that's what the other key sessions are for. I want the speed of these runs to naturally develop. For a more detailed explanation on the ins and outs of my long read The Marathon Long Run . Now for details on Threshold training : I've defined my Threshold heart rate zone as 155-166b...

Four weeks of training. To be honest, the first two weeks were nowhere near as consistent as I would have liked. A number of factors led to this, both uncontrollable and controllable. I learnt from my mistakes and put together a high quality second half. Now with a handful of days for a couple of tests, a little recovery, I can take stock of where my fitness is at. Then plan the phase of preparation. The original description of intent and training outline for the Base period can be found in Base Training - 2011 , and also in Basic Structure . Now to step through each goal. Run For 3 Hours Comfortably Partial tick? I hit most aspects of my goals for this. I know I can now just go out and run for 3 hours at a reasonable pace, and feel pretty comfortable. I had been hoping the pace would get down towards the 5:00/km mark, but I am currently at 5:40/km. Up from the 6:22/km over 2.5 hours that I started with. Otherwise, I can get through a run with a slight negative split and feel quite goo...

Following my post, Training Zones , Rob Smith asked, "how much training do you do in each of the zones?". This will be my attempt to answer that question. Mainly it will explain why I can't just give a, 25% in this zone, and 33% in that zone , answer. As a refresher I outlined my heart rate training zones as: Aerobic 132-154bpm (70-82%HRmax) Threshold 155-166bpm (83-88%HRmax) VO2 167-188 (89-100%HRmax) To understand how I apply these zones, I need to explain some aspects of my training philosophy. Firstly, training and racing fit into my life, and shouldn't compromise other aspects. Therefore, what I choose to do in training isn't always structured around what makes for best training practice, it is often dictated by it is what I can fit in . Recovery is highly variable, and as a shift worker, with two young kids, my recovery, especially sleep is quite often compromised. This can have a big influence on what I do within a session. Second, I am no longer a believe...

"Find your zones, and stick with them" - very common advice. I have definitely followed this in the past. I had some good results, but plenty of times I didn't as well. There are a lot of problems with establishing and sticking with training zones, whether they be based on speed, heart rate, power or perceived exertion. The most obvious is you are making a lot of assumptions. These include, you get certain predictable responses from working at a certain level for a certain time, the way you established the zone is accurate, it doesn't vary over time ad plenty of others. Now plenty of assumptions may be accurate, and I am definitely not recommending against the practice. For me following the same guide over a full training program. What do I do? I establish the requirements of my event, versus my own fitness and from there work at defining some training guidelines. These guidelines vary over time as my fitness changes and/or I discover I need a different stimulus. In t...

Running about 240km over two days, and fighting a battle probably isn't exactly the best preparation for a marathon run. I don't plan on announcing "Νενικήκαμεν" and dropping dead at the end. My Greek is non-existent anyway. Still, running long in the lead up to a marathon is important, just done a bit differently than Pheidipipides. There are so many guidelines, instructions, opinions and criticisms on how the long run should be performed. Naturally not all will be optimal for everyone. So instead of telling others how to run, I will discuss how I do it in the lead up to a marathon. First and foremost it is important to understand the details aren't very important if a long run isn't being performed reasonably regularly. Just getting out there and covering quite a few kilometers gets you a good way there. Still, I like to geek things up a bit, so time for the details. If any session was to be chosen as the most important for the marathon it would be the long...