London Marathon: Technical report

First up, here are the splits compared with my 'perfect marathon' at Abingdon.

	London		Abingdon
1	07:43	135bpm	07:59	no hr
2	07:27	144bpm	07:27	144bpm
3	07:06	146	07:36	146
4	07:23	147	07:53	148
5	07:24	147	07:22	146
6	07:45	147	07:48	146
7	07:39	145	07:32	145
8	07:32	146	08:36	145
9	07:40	146	07:30	144
10	07:37	146	07:38	146
11	07:38	144	07:44	146
12	07:37	145	07:39	146
13	07:39	145	07:38	146
14	07:37	145	07:40	147
15	07:37	145	08:02	149
16	07:37	145	07:48	148
17	07:46	145	07:32	151
18	07:34	146	07:55	151
19	08:02	146	07:58	152
20	07:53	144	07:53	154
21	07:57	145	07:48	153
22	07:56	144	07:50	155
23	08:00	145	07:47	154
24	07:43	145	07:53	154
25	08:30	144	08:24	156
26.2	09:54	146	07:25	158
			01:38	160

10 km	0:46:27
20 km	1:34:00
half	1:39:07
30 km	2:21:38
40 km	3:11:21
finish	3:22:22

The main factor to consider when looking at the above results is the heat. It was anything from 23°C to 27°C according to which report you believe. The heat pushes your heart rate up as blood is diverted from the muscles to the skin for cooling and makes the heart work faster to get oxygen to the muscles. Unfortunately you can't simply run at a higher HR because the restricted blood supply makes the muscles less efficient and lactate levels rise. Your only option is to slow down back to your usual HR level. This year's marathon was full of stories of people who tried to run at their normal pace and then had to slow dramatically when they lost the battle with their blood chemistry.

Apart from the effects of the heat slowing my overall pace, what disappointed me at London was the fact that I slowed quite significantly in the final miles, despite running cautiously, whereas at Abingdon I was strong to the tape. At Abingdon I only lost 90secs in the last half, whereas at London I lost 4 minutes. At London I couldn't keep pushing my HR up like I did at Abingdon, although my pace wasn't as slow as the difference in HR between the two races might suggest. Incidentally, the slow 25th mile in both races are in fact due to displaced mile markers rather than my pace, which was still around 8:00/mile according to my GPS.

I was telling everyone that I went off at too high a HR and paid for it at the end. To some extent this is true, as I was trying to maintain a 7:25/mile pace in the face of a raised HR, but in fact the HR splits for the opening miles compare favourably with Abingdon where my pacing was spot on.

Was it the heat causing dehydration and loss of performance in the closing stages? Maybe.

Was it the late start to the training and the loss of January to illness and lack of 20-milers causing a lack of endurance? Maybe.

Could it be that in the heat you have to be conservative and go off at an even lower HR to avoid overheating later? Maybe.

Could it be a lack of warmup which caused an early rise of lactate which caused problems later on? (I've been reading about VO₂ kinetics and the importance of a proper warmup). Maybe.

Was my lactate threshold lower due to lack of marathon pace training runs or tempo runs, and so not able to tolerate such a high HR? Maybe.


Questions aside, I ran a sensible race. I took a sip of water every mile and sloshed the rest over me. I took a gel (SiS Go gel) every 4 miles. I felt spent at the end but not unduly distressed, just a little dehydrated maybe. I just seemed to lack strength in the last 3 miles.

I'm not going to obsess about my 'failure', which of course in many people's eyes is a resounding success. It always pays though to look at your performance and analyse what went wrong and what you need to do better. Regardless of how I ran the race, the main reason for being a lot slower than anticipated was the sudden heat, for which I was unprepared.

So what would I have done differently? Not much really. I could have taken it easier after Abingdon and avoided injury, but I doubt I could have avoided the illness. Maybe running Ryde 10 after a week in bed wasn't such a good idea though - it probably extended the illness. The injury and illness combined to restrict the time I had for the build up - this would seem to be the main problem apart from the heat.

I'll now work towards an autumn marathon to go for 3:15 again. As I felt before London I was already on 3:15 form in cool conditions, given another 6 months of injury free consistent training I should be able to get 3:15 comfortably. I hope so!

It's been 2 weeks since the marathon and my recover is going well, in that my legs feel OK. I have been rather tired since the marathon though - more so than for previous marathons I think. I've been getting at least 8 hours sleep per night, but by mid afternoon I'm falling asleep at my desk, and then falling asleep in front of the tele. Is this psychological, ie a lack of focus after the marathon, or physical? A bit of both I think.

I have a 5k race on Wednesday, so a chance to gauge my physical recovery. I think I should do well, although maybe not at my absolute best. Then it's back into full training for that 3:15!

This isn't me

My legs feel great, and I'm running tonight.
I thought you might enjoy this though:

Keep watching to the end!

The Flora London Marathon

How do I write this without sounding disappointed with a new PB and club record?

3:22:22

Yet again I miss the 3:15 target, but this time the problem wasn't so much me. It was hot. Very hot!

It was lovely weather for the spectators though. I hope they didn't get too badly sunburnt. For once, I managed to spot a load of my supporters - I think that's the first time I've managed to spot anyone at all. Thanks to: Karen, Rory, Lars, Sara, Steve, Catherine, Rob, Ian, Carol, Pete. Did I miss anyone? Thanks folks - you really helped.

The target was 3:15 or 7:25/mile and in cooler weather the plan would have been to run 7:15/mile - something my training, and the much cooler Worthing 20 indicated I could do. From the outset though I realised how much the warm weather was affecting my pace. It was warm from the gun and I saw my pace dropping away after only a few miles, as I tried to keep my heart rate down. I think it's worth me explaining heart rate and running in the heat in a later posting, but you simply run at the same heart rate as you would in cool conditions. A heart rate monitor is a useful tool in the heat.

I may have been hot, but I had a much easier time than a friend of mine, whom I met a short distance in. I grabbed the hand of Tony The Tiger as I passed him - I wasn't sure how much he could see or hear - he was wearing the full, and heavy, Leicester Tigers mascot costume. He was raising money for Matt Hampson - a rugby player for Leicester Tigers who was paralysed in a scrum. Tony is a very quick (sub-3) marathon runner but he was going to have a tough run today. He eventually finished in 4:22 - far tougher than he'd ever imagined. Well done Tony.

By 8 miles I'd resigned myself to a 3:20 target: any faster and I'd risk blowing up big-style. It was at this point that I met Gordon Ramsay and enquired how he was doing. He said he'd be happy with 4:00 hours. I explained we'd been running at 3:20 pace and wished him luck. I was a lot faster than him at this point so he'd clearly gone off way too fast. He finished in 4:20 - oops!

At each water station I grabbed a bottle, took a gulp, and then doused myself with the remainder. It helped, and with occasional shade there were glimmers of hope that my pace might improve, but it was still getting hotter and hotter. I only ever took one bottle at each station. I gather some must have been taking 2 bottles though as, despite Dave Bedford's bullish claims that "there's more chance of drowning out there than running out of water", some stations did indeed run out of water for the tail-enders. Lynne, who took over 6 hours (hats off to you Lynne!) resorted to picking up discarded bottles off the road - not good.

I passed half way in 1:39:07, feeling OK but knowing that 3:15 was impossible and that I had a tough run ahead.

It was nice to see the elite men come past on the other side of the road. I spotted Martin Lel (the eventual winner) and Felix Limo (last year's winner) and there was Paul Tergat! I'd finally seen one of running's greats in the flesh. Where was 'The Greatest' though? Where was Haile Gebrselassie? I later found out he'd withdrawn with stitch affecting his breathing. It's a tough game this marathon running.

We got some relief from the heat as we passed through Canary Wharf - we even got a breeze which felt lovely, particularly when doused with water. What a contrast as we emerged from the shade back into the intense sunlight though. I could feel the heat reflecting up off the tarmac and my face was glowing, almost throbbing. How much further?

I passed Karen's friend Jane whom I'd met at the start. She too had been going for 3:15, but unlike me had stuck with her game plan. She was starting to suffer big style with the fast early pace. I would complete the remaining miles nearly a minute/mile faster than her!

I was now working out worst case scenarios in my head as we passed each mile marker - what would my finish time be if I can only manage 8:00/mile from here? I realised I'd missed 3:20, but was still hopeful of being well inside my 3:24 PB.

As we passed the Tower of London I got a boost with the familiar site of a Victory AC vest. As I approached I recognised Paul. As we neared Blackfriars I said hello and woke him up - I think his concentration was waning a bit. He took off into the distance. I thought he might have done me a favour as I now had a target to run me in, but I couldn't quite keep up with him. I kept him in sight along the embankment, but by Big Ben I'd lost him.

I gritted my teeth and gave what I had left up Birdcage Walk and into the world's best marathon finish area. Smile for the camera, job done.

I remembered Geoff Wightman's comments on last week's Boston Marathon and the torrential gale-force headwinds: it's bad but at least it's biblically bad, so we have something to talk about afterwards. I don't think the heat was quite biblically hot, but I'd set a PB and new club record in the hottest London Marathon ever. That's something I suppose!


Well done all the Victory people! Commiserations to Neil for a personal worst and a visit to the medical tent for dehydration. Congrats to James for a sub-3 PB - impressive stuff. Congrats too for PBs to Graham and Bob. Congrats for maiden finishes to Lesley, Alan and Paul (if you ignore his 2 Ironman marathons!!). Congrats to Paul B, Alex, Nick and Richard for simply finishing. Well done team.

Training summary: the taper

My taper was a 2-week affair detailed below. I was particularly pleased with Tuesday's 400m reps, as they were my fastest ever reps, running the last 6 faster than 6:00/mile, and still fairly comfortable. There then followed some marathon pace intervals in the club handicap race, although I probably ran quicker than marathon pace due to the terrain and the gates/bridges. Totton was a disaster in racing terms but actually proved to be quite a good workout - 6km hard plus 3 marathon pace 1km intervals - under the circumstances that was probably a better preparation for London than 10km flat out.

My final 3 mile run felt really comfortable and was quick despite the fresh headwind.

I'm as ready as I can be. This is the fittest I've ever been before a marathon. I'm currently concerned about the predicted warm weather, but I think this will be a good one. Bring it on!

Monday 9th April	2 miles	am: 2 miles treadie plus weights
Tuesday	5.7 miles	pm: 8x400m 75s jog/walk 92s no HR 91s 146bpm 90s 149bpm 89s 151bpm 89s 151bpm 88s 153bpm 89s 153bpm 89s 153bpm peaked at 5:54/mile	Very pleased - fastest flat pace I've ever run!
Wednesday	7.6 miles	pm:7.6 miles @8:42/mile 116bpm	Easy off road run
Thursday	7.5 miles	pm: Club handicap race 60:32 131bpm	Ran the race as 4mins marathon pace 7:15/mile, 4 mins steady
Friday	Rest		Club annual dinner
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	7 miles	Totton 10k 45:25 149bpm
Total	29.8 miles
Monday 16th April	4.5 miles	pm: offroad steady 8:28 123bpm
Tuesday	5.15 miles	pm: Easy off road club run 118bpm
Wednesday	Rest		Hardly restful as spent afternoon at FLM expo and evening walking at the club social run/walk
Thursday	4.5 miles	pm: Really easy jog to club session then 2 400m intervals 7:15/mile
Friday	3 miles	8:11/mile 118bpm into fresh headwind
Saturday	Rest		Drive up to London
Sunday	26.2 miles	Flora London Marathon in ???
Total excluding marathon	17.2 miles

The Team: Totton 10k

I have a wonderful bunch of friends in Victory AC. I wonder if they realised how much they've touched me this weekend?

I had a dreadful race! We needed to score some solid points to avoid relegation from division 1. We were third from bottom but we were not mathematically safe by any means. We needed a good turn out and we got it. The pressure was off me - phew!

The weather was incredibly warm: 25°C to be precise - ridiculous for April. I hope it's cooler next weekend! We set off with Gina setting an amazing pace for such hot conditions with me following and Chris, Ruth and the rest of the girls behind.

I realised after a 4 minute first kilometre that I was going way too fast for the conditions. My heart rate was 158bpm as a result of the heat. I may have been capable of maintaining the pace on a cooler day but in this heat it was more like 5k pace. I was doomed to blow up if I kept going at that rate. So why didn't I slow down?

Each km split showed a slower time, but my HR remained high - idiot!

At the water station at 6km I was feeling dizzy and, with a mind on not harming my London chances, walked. Major guilt feelings! I got going again but felt awful and the sense of self preservation was getting stronger. When Chris caught me, I realised that my contribution to the team was dwindling and the desire to cool down got stronger.

I walked again.

Finally, having had another break, Ruth caught me in the last km and the pressure was finally off. I crossed the line in 45+ mins feeling shattered.

I'd let the team down. I was an idiot. I'd paced badly. I shouldn't have gone off at such a stupid cool weather pace. I'd walked, given in, a loser.

Everyone I spoke to was supportive though! So many said they expected great things from me next week and I was right to back off. Everyone totally understood my situation. They all made me feel really good. What a bunch! Thankyou.

We survived relegation. Marilyn won the W55 prize - she looked so relaxed at the finish - what a star! The world is good.


Footnote:
'The team' voted me "Club member of the year" at the annual dinner on Friday. I was dead chuffed. That is such an honour. I also picked up the "Most improved" and the "Colin Goater shield" (for most outstanding single performance), hogging the trophies somewhat. I worked hard for the latter 2, but the club member of the year is really special. Thank you so much.

Here are the pics:

If I'd known I was getting those trophies, I'd have made more of an effort:

Weekly summary - 2 weeks to go

The highlight of the week, apart from some rather fine intervals on Thursday, had to be my big run on Saturday. What a run! Glorious sunshine and stunning scenery. My friends were recceing the route of the Emsworth to Basingstoke Charity Relay so I seized the opportunity to do a point to point run and grab a lift back at the end. They were only recceing 2 or 3 legs, so I wasn't going to have any company - alas, I think I'm doomed to always run my big runs alone. It was nice to meet them at the end though.

The route I took is detailed on the above link, by clicking 'route maps'. I ran from near Warblington church to Vann farm near Selborne - legs 2 to 10. The 2 highlghts for me were legs 6, for the Queen Elizabeth Forest and the total feeling of summer, and leg 9 for the infamous Shoulder of Mutton Hill (the name is obscured on the map, but it is the continuation of the ridge marked as Ashford Hill). SOMH is so steep it's laughable. It's such an effort to even walk up. I've met people who claim they've run up it during the race, but I frankly don't believe them. It's a unique challenge though, and the view from the top is spectacular. I'm not sure it's what you want 15 miles into a run, but it certainly was the highlight regardless of the reason.

The taper has now begun: no more doubles! Totton 10k next week, which I have a good feeling about, and then a small matter of a marathon. Not long now!

Monday	Rest		I think I earned a rest!
Tuesday	7.6 miles	am: massage	pm: Recce of club handicap route 8:01/mile 125bpm - low HR considering pace was interrupted by 12 gates and 4 bridges 7:35-7:45/mile between gates
Wednesday	11 miles	am: 2 miles treadie + weights session - now up to 56kg deadlift	pm: 9 miles offroad 8:34/mile no HR data
Thursday	11.9 miles	am: 4.3 miles easy	pm: 8x800m 60sec recovery 3:13 147bpm max 3:16 149bpm 3:15 152bpm 3:15 152bpm 3:19 151bpm 3:16 152bpm 3:15 155bpm 3:21 152bpm legs a bit tired, stitch on last interval, but generally went well
Friday	4.5 miles	am: easy run offroad, no pace or HR data - freedom!
Saturday	19 miles	am: The Big One! Following Hangers Way from Havant to Selborne. Slow pace 10:30/mile due to the difficult terrain - often rutted from horses hooves in now hard baked mud	Nicest long run I've ever done!
Sunday	7.5 miles	am: Very easy run with the club - ridiculously low HR 103bpm - it was reading below 100 for much of the run
Total	61.5 miles

Weekly summary - 3 weeks to go

A week of very hard running, following on from the Eastleigh 10k. I'm tired, but set up quite nicely for tapering.

My confidence is sky high after first the Eastleigh 10k and then the Worthing 20 - speed and endurance! I still have the Totton 10k a week before London, and am optimistic of going even quicker there.

I'm only going to taper properly for 2 weeks, with another full week and a 20-miler next weekend, but my mileage will drop slightly this week.

Monday	4.5 miles		4.5 miles easy offroad 113bpm
Tuesday	6.75 miles	am: massage	pm: 6.8 miles hill run - ran hard 7:28/mile 141bpm. Surprisingly warm 16°C
Wednesday	12.5 miles	am:2 miles treadie plus gym/weights	pm: 10.5 miles 8:41/mile 114bpm mostly offroad
Thursday	10.2 miles	am: 4.6 miles easy 9:02/mile 114bpm	pm 5.6miles club 3.6 mile handicap race 26:01 over bridges, through gates 7:14/mile 139bpm. PB despite low HR, but I was running about as hard as I could - tired!
Friday	6 miles	6 miles easy offroad 9:06/mile 109bpm
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	21.5 miles	Worthing 20 2:31:33 7:35/mile 137bpm	Club record despite running first half gently. Very pleased with the result!
Total	61.5 miles

Worthing 20

You just know things are going well with your training when 15 miles into a 20-mile run you move up a gear and feel like you are just floating effortlessly. I had a great run at Worthing yesterday, and all because of a rest day!

At the wet wet wet Mad March Hare 20, try as I might I couldn't get my pace up - this was largely to be expected though after a very tough week of training without any form of taper. I needed a bit of a confidence boost yesterday though, so I took the unusual step on Saturday of not running at all - no exercise, nothing - a rest day.

What a difference a day makes! Despite reservations beforehand about some tightness in my calves, as soon as the race began I knew I was going to have a good run.

Conditions were not ideal - there was a stiff northeasterly wind to contend with along the seafront feeling very cold for the first 2 of the 4 5-mile laps. Despite the wind though, the first few miles I was fighting to keep my speed down - my legs just wanted to run! The plan was to keep the first 10 miles nice and slow, at least 40secs/mile slower than marathon pace, and then pick it up in the second half to marathon pace and maybe push harder in the last 2 or 3 miles. Here are the splits and heart rate stats:

8:03 119bpm
8:05 no HR
7:54 no HR
7:48 no HR
7:50 130bpm
7:54 132bpm
8:01 133bpm
7:49 132bpm
7:48 132bpm
7:31 135bpm
7:21 142bpm
7:30 142bpm
7:16 140bpm
7:15 141bpm
7:22 142bpm
7:23 143bpm
7:34 144bpm
7:06 146bpm
7:08 145bpm
7:03 148bpm

2:31:33

137bpm ave (subject to lack of steady HR data in miles 2 to 4 - not sweating enough!)

Compared to runs recently where I've had trouble pushing up to marathon pace, things felt so easy. This is really good news as it not only means I'm on top form, but also I'm on top of the training and not getting the fatigue of earlier weeks.

The best news though is I was well within the 7:25/mile target pace without my HR ever going near my normal marathon HR of 145bpm until the last miles. 3:15 is deinitely on!

Good news too for Neil, as he's put his poor Mad March Hare result behind him with a comfortable 2:20. I lapped Bob at around 14 miles, before nearly getting lapped myself by the winner - I just avoided it as the lead car overtook me and turned left for the finish with Nick Baker fast approaching. Bob seemed pleased with his 3:29, although he was a minute/mile down on his best 20-miler despite some recent PBs at 10k - best to keep something back for the big day in London.

Thanks go to Carol for supporting us, being the 10-mile cloakroom attendant, and finish line supplier of Belgian Buns!

I believe my 2:31:33 is now the overall women's club record. We weren't sure of the previous mark as we thought Chris had run faster, but we couldn't produce evidence of the fact. I think this mark removes the uncertainty. Anyone know any different?

Next race is the Totton 10k in 2 weeks - a final sharpener before London. Things are looking promising!