My fellow coach Pete suggested we should adopt the following training method in our club:
I think it has legs!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
18 seconds: The Flora London Marathon 2008
3:15:18
That's almost a race report in itself. I wanted 3:15, and I'll be telling people my PB is now "3:15", but will that time be enough to get me on the elite start next year, for which a time of under 3:15:00 is needed (the organisers are always careful to include the ":00" on the end!)?
I'm delighted, but at the same time a little concerned. It's a huge PB, but is it what I wanted? Could I have mustered just a little extra effort and managed 18s quicker? Hindsight's so very easy after the event.
If you'd offered me that time the day before the marathon I'd have grabbed it straight away. My calf muscles had been a problem for the final days of the taper - the right calf had gone into spasm during a gentle run on Tuesday and although the Thursday massage hadn't revealed a problem, it tightened again during a gentle 3 miles that evening. The calf had been sore all day Friday and had been tingling on Saturday. I thought maybe it had settled down by Saturday evening, but as I climbed the stairs for bed, it again 'grabbed' - I was worried. On the morning of the marathon I was still very concerned about how tight my calf muscles were - they didn't feel right.
In the event, the calves weren't a problem, so maybe it was pre-marathon paranoia as my friends had claimed. I felt uncomfortable for the first 2 miles but my calves relaxed off and I didn't notice them again - until after the finish that is! I staggered through the finish, grabbed medal, refreshment and baggage, and as I lifted my foot over a kerb I got hit by the most almighty cramp. I've never experienced that before! I've had night cramps but I've never cramped after a race, or during for that matter. Ouch! Was it the suspected damage, or was it simple dehydration? I felt a little like the hypochondriac who had "I told you I was ill" on his tomb-stone. My calves feel dodgy today, but hopefully I haven't done too much damage.
Back to the race, the story is best illustrated by looking at my splits and how my intermediate times compared to the 3:15 steady pace schedule:
I wasn't able to get up to pace immediately, being quite far back from the green start line. It also didn't help that the Maasai Warriors were attracting quite a number of hangers-on and were blocking the road somewhat. Once I got past them, and presumably a host of other celebs positioned ahead of us on the start line, I started to run at nearer my natural pace. I have every respect for the Maasai Warriors, but it does bug me how they position the celebrities on the start line and then put a selection of the country's fastest runners behind them. Just how does Amanda Holden's mum get on the green start for her first marathon when the rest of us have to qualify for the privilege?
Back to the race.
As you can see, after a couple of miles I was back on track and making up time. I was soon into my running and happy that I was able to run the required pace with my heart rate nicely under control. In fact I felt really good!
I could hear regular shouts of "Go Suzy", but as I hadn't got my name on my crop top I realised it was another runner with whom I'd kept pace for a few miles. I realised it was the Cornwall AC runner ahead and I introduced myself, establishing that we were both targetting 3:15. Suzy was great. We ran together for 10 miles or more, sharing water and pacing each other. Suzy seemed very strong, and I felt strong too. I was grinning as a realised that I was on for a big PB at the very least.
We pressed on and built up a nice cushion against our schedule. Soon we had made up the delay in crossing the start line and the course clock was now showing that we were ahead of schedule. In reality we were some 90s ahead of schedule.
At 17 miles I still felt good, but as Suzy pushed up the slight hill at Mudchute I couldn't quite keep up with her and the elastic that had kept us together for 10 miles broke. I still felt strong, but clearly Suzy was on great form. That was the last I saw of her. Post race analysis revealed that she accelerated at that point and was able to run the last half of the race faster than the first - a negative split - so difficult to do in a marathon. She finished in 3:12 - great performance!
The weather had been kind to us this year. Temperatures were cool - perfect in fact. We started in sunshine and finished in sunshine but had some quite heavy rain mid-race. Some people were bothered by the rain, but I found it OK - it didn't get me cold. If anything it might have helped me push my pace. After Suzy had dropped me, the rain stopped. I actually wonder if I could have kept the pace up if the rain had persisted. I like rain!
I just had to hold it together. I was still on pace but by 20 miles I was starting to lose time by a few seconds per mile. By 23 miles I was still what appeared at the time to be a minute ahead, and still optimistic, but it was getting harder to maintain pace. The presence of friend Graham on the sidelines - my only spectator sighting - had helped, but I now had to dig deep. I could see the time ticking away, but at 25 miles I was still just ahead. Surely I could keep it going with a last big push?
I was amazed to see people walking on Birdcage Walk within 800m of the finish. Surely they could keep going? Runners were shouting at them to keep running. There's no way I would ever stop, but I guess if they were targetting 3:15 and they realised they'd missed it then the mind just switches off? I was still hopeful, but as I turned into the Mall and sprinted for the finish I realised I'd lost the battle with the clock. Even sprinting the fastest I could muster, I barely managed to get back onto scheduled pace - I still lost a few seconds in the last 385 yards. At least that makes me feel good that I'd given it everything I had.
I crossed the line in 3:15:18, to be presented with a medal by the woman I'd met 2 days earlier on a customer visit to the Forestry Commission in Hampshire. Well they say it's a small world!
I'm really pleased with that performance, but I hope that 18 seconds doesn't come back to haunt me!
That's almost a race report in itself. I wanted 3:15, and I'll be telling people my PB is now "3:15", but will that time be enough to get me on the elite start next year, for which a time of under 3:15:00 is needed (the organisers are always careful to include the ":00" on the end!)?
I'm delighted, but at the same time a little concerned. It's a huge PB, but is it what I wanted? Could I have mustered just a little extra effort and managed 18s quicker? Hindsight's so very easy after the event.
If you'd offered me that time the day before the marathon I'd have grabbed it straight away. My calf muscles had been a problem for the final days of the taper - the right calf had gone into spasm during a gentle run on Tuesday and although the Thursday massage hadn't revealed a problem, it tightened again during a gentle 3 miles that evening. The calf had been sore all day Friday and had been tingling on Saturday. I thought maybe it had settled down by Saturday evening, but as I climbed the stairs for bed, it again 'grabbed' - I was worried. On the morning of the marathon I was still very concerned about how tight my calf muscles were - they didn't feel right.
In the event, the calves weren't a problem, so maybe it was pre-marathon paranoia as my friends had claimed. I felt uncomfortable for the first 2 miles but my calves relaxed off and I didn't notice them again - until after the finish that is! I staggered through the finish, grabbed medal, refreshment and baggage, and as I lifted my foot over a kerb I got hit by the most almighty cramp. I've never experienced that before! I've had night cramps but I've never cramped after a race, or during for that matter. Ouch! Was it the suspected damage, or was it simple dehydration? I felt a little like the hypochondriac who had "I told you I was ill" on his tomb-stone. My calves feel dodgy today, but hopefully I haven't done too much damage.
Back to the race, the story is best illustrated by looking at my splits and how my intermediate times compared to the 3:15 steady pace schedule:
| Lap | Split | HR | Schedule | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 07:48 | 130bpm | 07:27 | 07:48 | -21s |
| 2 | 07:23 | 137bpm | 14:53 | 15:12 | -19s |
| 3 | 06:52 | 140bpm | 22:20 | 22:05 | 15s |
| 4 | 07:14 | 142bpm | 29:46 | 29:19 | 27s |
| 5 | 07:04 | 145bpm | 37:13 | 36:24 | 49s |
| 6 | 07:36 | 144bpm | 44:39 | 44:00 | 39s |
| 7 | 07:30 | 144bpm | 52:06 | 51:30 | 36s |
| 8 | 07:12 | 144bpm | 59:32 | 58:42 | 50s |
| 9 | 07:28 | 144bpm | 01:06:59 | 01:06:11 | 48s |
| 10 | 07:21 | 142bpm | 01:14:26 | 01:13:33 | 53s |
| 11 | 07:10 | 144bpm | 01:21:52 | 01:20:43 | 69s |
| 12 | 07:28 | 144bpm | 01:29:19 | 01:28:12 | 67s |
| 13 | 07:22 | 145bpm | 01:36:45 | 01:35:34 | 71s |
| 14 | 07:14 | 142bpm | 01:44:12 | 01:42:50 | 82s |
| 15 | 07:14 | 142bpm | 01:51:38 | 01:50:04 | 94s |
| 16 | 07:25 | 143bpm | 01:59:05 | 01:57:30 | 95s |
| 17 | 07:18 | 145bpm | 02:06:31 | 02:04:48 | 103s |
| 18 | 07:19 | 146bpm | 02:13:58 | 02:12:07 | 111s |
| 19 | 07:39 | 146bpm | 02:21:24 | 02:19:46 | 98s |
| 20 | 07:37 | 143bpm | 02:28:51 | 02:27:25 | 86s |
| 21 | 07:42 | 142bpm | 02:36:18 | 02:35:07 | 71s |
| 22 | 07:35 | 143bpm | 02:43:44 | 02:42:42 | 62s |
| 23 | 07:46 | 143bpm | 02:51:11 | 02:50:29 | 42s |
| 24 | 07:26 | 144bpm | 02:58:37 | 02:57:55 | 42s |
| 25 | 08:02 | 145bpm | 03:06:04 | 03:05:58 | 6s |
| 26 | 07:42 | 147bpm | 03:13:30 | 03:13:40 | -10s |
| 26.2 | 01:38 | 149bpm | 03:15:00 | 03:15:18 | -18s |
I wasn't able to get up to pace immediately, being quite far back from the green start line. It also didn't help that the Maasai Warriors were attracting quite a number of hangers-on and were blocking the road somewhat. Once I got past them, and presumably a host of other celebs positioned ahead of us on the start line, I started to run at nearer my natural pace. I have every respect for the Maasai Warriors, but it does bug me how they position the celebrities on the start line and then put a selection of the country's fastest runners behind them. Just how does Amanda Holden's mum get on the green start for her first marathon when the rest of us have to qualify for the privilege?
Back to the race.
As you can see, after a couple of miles I was back on track and making up time. I was soon into my running and happy that I was able to run the required pace with my heart rate nicely under control. In fact I felt really good!
I could hear regular shouts of "Go Suzy", but as I hadn't got my name on my crop top I realised it was another runner with whom I'd kept pace for a few miles. I realised it was the Cornwall AC runner ahead and I introduced myself, establishing that we were both targetting 3:15. Suzy was great. We ran together for 10 miles or more, sharing water and pacing each other. Suzy seemed very strong, and I felt strong too. I was grinning as a realised that I was on for a big PB at the very least.
We pressed on and built up a nice cushion against our schedule. Soon we had made up the delay in crossing the start line and the course clock was now showing that we were ahead of schedule. In reality we were some 90s ahead of schedule.
At 17 miles I still felt good, but as Suzy pushed up the slight hill at Mudchute I couldn't quite keep up with her and the elastic that had kept us together for 10 miles broke. I still felt strong, but clearly Suzy was on great form. That was the last I saw of her. Post race analysis revealed that she accelerated at that point and was able to run the last half of the race faster than the first - a negative split - so difficult to do in a marathon. She finished in 3:12 - great performance!
The weather had been kind to us this year. Temperatures were cool - perfect in fact. We started in sunshine and finished in sunshine but had some quite heavy rain mid-race. Some people were bothered by the rain, but I found it OK - it didn't get me cold. If anything it might have helped me push my pace. After Suzy had dropped me, the rain stopped. I actually wonder if I could have kept the pace up if the rain had persisted. I like rain!
I just had to hold it together. I was still on pace but by 20 miles I was starting to lose time by a few seconds per mile. By 23 miles I was still what appeared at the time to be a minute ahead, and still optimistic, but it was getting harder to maintain pace. The presence of friend Graham on the sidelines - my only spectator sighting - had helped, but I now had to dig deep. I could see the time ticking away, but at 25 miles I was still just ahead. Surely I could keep it going with a last big push?
I was amazed to see people walking on Birdcage Walk within 800m of the finish. Surely they could keep going? Runners were shouting at them to keep running. There's no way I would ever stop, but I guess if they were targetting 3:15 and they realised they'd missed it then the mind just switches off? I was still hopeful, but as I turned into the Mall and sprinted for the finish I realised I'd lost the battle with the clock. Even sprinting the fastest I could muster, I barely managed to get back onto scheduled pace - I still lost a few seconds in the last 385 yards. At least that makes me feel good that I'd given it everything I had.
I crossed the line in 3:15:18, to be presented with a medal by the woman I'd met 2 days earlier on a customer visit to the Forestry Commission in Hampshire. Well they say it's a small world!
I'm really pleased with that performance, but I hope that 18 seconds doesn't come back to haunt me!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
A tale of 2 cities: Totton 10k 2008
I had a shock when I looked out of the window this morning.
I'd had a leisurely breakfast, showered, and had pretty much got ready to leave for the race before I opened the curtains. I saw a scene I've never seen before in my 20 years on the south coast: blizzard conditions! I scraped 4" of snow off the car and set out for Totton in extremely unsafe conditions, with cars crawling along the M27 in the worst snow I've ever driven in (and I lived in France once, driving regularly to the Alps!). Changing lane was really not the thing to do as you had to drive through the ridge of snow on the white line, but I really hadn't got time to wait behind someone doing 15mph on the motorway! The traffic report on the radio painted a picture of doom saying that conditions were nearly impassable nearer Totton between junctions 4 and 6. This was starting to worry me!
I got to the dreaded junction 6 to find the snow had stopped falling, the road was clear and there was just a sprinkling of snow by the side of the road. I arrived in Totton in plenty of time to find the sun starting to show itself, making the light dusting of snow on top of the hedgerows sparkle. Quite a contrast.
Having feared that the race would be cancelled, we now had pretty good conditions, albeit a tad chilly. Trouble was, did we have a team? A lot of my club mates had decided to take the advice offered on the radio and stay at home. Oh dear!
We just managed to field a men's and women's team but there were a lot of no-shows. This was going to bias the race rather unfairly against those from the Portsmouth area. Southampton's revenge for Harry Redknapp taking Pompey to the cup final?
The race plan for me remained unaltered. After last year's fiasco in the heat, this was going to be strictly marathon pace, saving myself for London next week. I warmed up for a couple of easy miles and lined up in all my winter woollies: hat, gloves, leggings, long sleeves - not my usual race apparel!
The race went well, and we finished in bright sunshine - what a contrast! I stuck to my game plan, keeping to marathon heart rate, with my pace spot on the 7:15/mile I need to do in London (I only need 7:25/mile for 3:15, but I always lose 10s/mile in London for whatever reason). John M was supporting from the roadside and pointed out I had a Winchester woman behind me, so I allowed myself a flourish in the last 300m, picking my pace and HR up somewhat.
I'd been just behind team mate Graham for much of the race, but couldn't quite close him down, sticking to my HR plan. He finished just ahead of me to become the first Victory man across the line, much to his surprise. If I'd allowed myself 1bpm more, I'd have been the first Victory runner over the line, male or female - an illustration of how depleted we were.
It was nice to meet an old friend afterwards, who I confess I didn't realise was a runner, as I jogged back down the field to add a couple of miles. Poor Lisa was struggling somewhat with an ankle problem.
We did get a men's and women's team result in the end, so well done to everyone for having the courage to press on out of Portsmouth. The race didn't seem unusually thin on numbers so I suspect we've been penalised somewhat by the hand of fate!
Here are my stats:
1 4:38 no HR 7:27/mile
2 4:30 140bpm 7:14/mile
3 4:29 141bpm 7:13/mile
4&5 4:32 144bpm 7:18/mile
6 4:30 144bpm 7:14/mile
7 4:30 145bpm 7:14/mile
8 4:32 146bpm 7:18/mile
9 4:42 145bpm 7:34/mile
10 4:11 148bpm 6:44/mile
Total 45:09 144bpm ave 7:16/mile
5th place W45
I was running in heavy shoes and full kit, so hopefully will be quicker still on marathon day, although these figures are exactly what I need (7:15/mile 144bpm). Also, I was a little heavy legged from doing some lab tests yesterday - more on this soon (boy, it was fun!). I've always claimed that fatigue doesn't affect my pace/HR relationship - let's hope I'm wrong and I'll find myself flying along in London - fingers crossed!
I'd had a leisurely breakfast, showered, and had pretty much got ready to leave for the race before I opened the curtains. I saw a scene I've never seen before in my 20 years on the south coast: blizzard conditions! I scraped 4" of snow off the car and set out for Totton in extremely unsafe conditions, with cars crawling along the M27 in the worst snow I've ever driven in (and I lived in France once, driving regularly to the Alps!). Changing lane was really not the thing to do as you had to drive through the ridge of snow on the white line, but I really hadn't got time to wait behind someone doing 15mph on the motorway! The traffic report on the radio painted a picture of doom saying that conditions were nearly impassable nearer Totton between junctions 4 and 6. This was starting to worry me!
I got to the dreaded junction 6 to find the snow had stopped falling, the road was clear and there was just a sprinkling of snow by the side of the road. I arrived in Totton in plenty of time to find the sun starting to show itself, making the light dusting of snow on top of the hedgerows sparkle. Quite a contrast.
Having feared that the race would be cancelled, we now had pretty good conditions, albeit a tad chilly. Trouble was, did we have a team? A lot of my club mates had decided to take the advice offered on the radio and stay at home. Oh dear!
We just managed to field a men's and women's team but there were a lot of no-shows. This was going to bias the race rather unfairly against those from the Portsmouth area. Southampton's revenge for Harry Redknapp taking Pompey to the cup final?
The race plan for me remained unaltered. After last year's fiasco in the heat, this was going to be strictly marathon pace, saving myself for London next week. I warmed up for a couple of easy miles and lined up in all my winter woollies: hat, gloves, leggings, long sleeves - not my usual race apparel!
The race went well, and we finished in bright sunshine - what a contrast! I stuck to my game plan, keeping to marathon heart rate, with my pace spot on the 7:15/mile I need to do in London (I only need 7:25/mile for 3:15, but I always lose 10s/mile in London for whatever reason). John M was supporting from the roadside and pointed out I had a Winchester woman behind me, so I allowed myself a flourish in the last 300m, picking my pace and HR up somewhat.
I'd been just behind team mate Graham for much of the race, but couldn't quite close him down, sticking to my HR plan. He finished just ahead of me to become the first Victory man across the line, much to his surprise. If I'd allowed myself 1bpm more, I'd have been the first Victory runner over the line, male or female - an illustration of how depleted we were.
It was nice to meet an old friend afterwards, who I confess I didn't realise was a runner, as I jogged back down the field to add a couple of miles. Poor Lisa was struggling somewhat with an ankle problem.
We did get a men's and women's team result in the end, so well done to everyone for having the courage to press on out of Portsmouth. The race didn't seem unusually thin on numbers so I suspect we've been penalised somewhat by the hand of fate!
Here are my stats:
1 4:38 no HR 7:27/mile
2 4:30 140bpm 7:14/mile
3 4:29 141bpm 7:13/mile
4&5 4:32 144bpm 7:18/mile
6 4:30 144bpm 7:14/mile
7 4:30 145bpm 7:14/mile
8 4:32 146bpm 7:18/mile
9 4:42 145bpm 7:34/mile
10 4:11 148bpm 6:44/mile
Total 45:09 144bpm ave 7:16/mile
5th place W45
I was running in heavy shoes and full kit, so hopefully will be quicker still on marathon day, although these figures are exactly what I need (7:15/mile 144bpm). Also, I was a little heavy legged from doing some lab tests yesterday - more on this soon (boy, it was fun!). I've always claimed that fatigue doesn't affect my pace/HR relationship - let's hope I'm wrong and I'll find myself flying along in London - fingers crossed!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Weather: The Compton Downland Challenge 20
The average person's body has about 400-500g of stored glycogen.
I started the race today with 400g less glycogen than most people!
Ooh that was a tough one! We started in gale force driving snow. That was a first for me!
The snow lasted for well over an hour before it became mere snow showers. Eventually we had a couple of sunny intervals. These were accompanied by horizontal hail. We really did have it all today.
I've trained hard this week: a hard hill run on Tuesday evening, weights Wednesday morning, 12 miles Wednesday evening, 4 miles Thursday morning, a Kenyan Hills session Thursday evening with very sore glutes and adductors from the weights and a double on Friday with 5 miles in the morning and another 5 miles in the evening.
This was never really going to be a comfortable 20-miler!
The original plan was to take it easy in the first half and then push it on in the second half with some marathon effort. By 4 miles though I was really hungry and running on empty. It was then just a matter of gritting my teeth against the snow and pushing on. It wasn't pretty, but I finished feeling fairly comfortable for a nice easy 20-mile training run, although in terms of effort expended it was more the equivalent of a 24-mile flat tarmac run. Despite the lack of marathon specific quality, I guess a 24-miler must count for something.
The course is a lovely bit of off-road, ignoring the weather for a moment, with 2200ft of climbing. I particularly liked the run through the woods to emerge on the high downs above the Thames - shame we had to contend with a freezing cold gale full in our faces as we descended the downs. Fortunately I was wearing 2 Helly-Hansen's, a club vest, a Gore-Tex jacket, hat and gloves - the most I've ever worn in a race.
I felt sorry for those who carried on at the end, to do the 40-mile option, although some decided to call it quits at 20. Judging by the laughter of those around me, some were enjoying the prospect of 40 miles though. It amused me when one guy referred to me doing the "sprint option".
It was nice to see all the old forum faces: RichK, RFJ, Gobi, Tigger's mate Roo. Well done to club mate Steve for finishing 3rd - top performance!
An experience!
I started the race today with 400g less glycogen than most people!
Ooh that was a tough one! We started in gale force driving snow. That was a first for me!
The snow lasted for well over an hour before it became mere snow showers. Eventually we had a couple of sunny intervals. These were accompanied by horizontal hail. We really did have it all today.
I've trained hard this week: a hard hill run on Tuesday evening, weights Wednesday morning, 12 miles Wednesday evening, 4 miles Thursday morning, a Kenyan Hills session Thursday evening with very sore glutes and adductors from the weights and a double on Friday with 5 miles in the morning and another 5 miles in the evening.
This was never really going to be a comfortable 20-miler!
The original plan was to take it easy in the first half and then push it on in the second half with some marathon effort. By 4 miles though I was really hungry and running on empty. It was then just a matter of gritting my teeth against the snow and pushing on. It wasn't pretty, but I finished feeling fairly comfortable for a nice easy 20-mile training run, although in terms of effort expended it was more the equivalent of a 24-mile flat tarmac run. Despite the lack of marathon specific quality, I guess a 24-miler must count for something.
The course is a lovely bit of off-road, ignoring the weather for a moment, with 2200ft of climbing. I particularly liked the run through the woods to emerge on the high downs above the Thames - shame we had to contend with a freezing cold gale full in our faces as we descended the downs. Fortunately I was wearing 2 Helly-Hansen's, a club vest, a Gore-Tex jacket, hat and gloves - the most I've ever worn in a race.
I felt sorry for those who carried on at the end, to do the 40-mile option, although some decided to call it quits at 20. Judging by the laughter of those around me, some were enjoying the prospect of 40 miles though. It amused me when one guy referred to me doing the "sprint option".
It was nice to see all the old forum faces: RichK, RFJ, Gobi, Tigger's mate Roo. Well done to club mate Steve for finishing 3rd - top performance!
An experience!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Go Team! Go me! Eastleigh 10k 2008
Well done girls!
1st vet team: Miranda, Susie, Shelly
3rd senior women's team: Miranda, Susie, Shelly, Lucy
I didn't fare badly either:
Bronze Medal South of England Championships W45
Silver Medal Hampshire W45
3rd place W45
I picked up 3 lots of B&Q vouchers, and even more should I forget to hand the others theirs! ;-)
I so desperately wanted a PB but I was a minute out. I quote the results page:
The strong North wind (averaging about 20mph at the time of the race) slowed times considerably.
I reckoned after the race that I lost 30 secs to the wind, but it might have been more. Some of the lead men lost a minute over last year and the lead woman, Natalie Harvey, lost over 30s. Due to possible fatigue my heart rate was slightly down on last year so I guess I need to be happy that I'm as fit as last year and in good shape for London. How can I be unhappy after that prize haul? Our vets beat Winchester for heaven's sake!
I got to meet my online pals hilly and BR whom I haven't seen for ages. I also had a chat with our marathon hero Dan Robinson (good luck in London!), and met Leon Taylor, our Athens silver medal diver (yum!).
What of the race? I had a little virtual partner on my Garmin, which was me running the race last year - I'd know at any point how far I was behind PB schedule - nice feature. Unfortunately we started straight into the strong headwind and the little virtual me was soon leaving me behind. That just left me to focus on the real people around me, such as Stubbington Bev, my Havant track partner, and her Stubby team mate Susie. I caught the 2 of them at half way and dropped Bev, but Susie pulled away from me, finishing just ahead. That wind was particularly cruel on the run in around the edge of the playing fields - it was pretty much a re-run of 2 years ago, although without the sunshine. I've just noticed I mentioned Dan Robinson in the report 2 years ago, having watched him get Commonwealth Bronze - how spooky is that?
A very good day at the office!
Finally, as always, the heart rate data. Notice how much higher my HR was 2 years ago!
4:10 139bpm
4:11 148bpm
4:12 150bpm
4:37 152bpm (slight uphill)
4:01 150bpm (slight downhill)
4:09 153bpm
4:12 154bpm
4:14 152bpm
4:17 152bpm
4:24 153bpm (into the wind)
42:26 150bpm ave
1st vet team: Miranda, Susie, Shelly
3rd senior women's team: Miranda, Susie, Shelly, Lucy
I didn't fare badly either:
Bronze Medal South of England Championships W45
Silver Medal Hampshire W45
3rd place W45
I picked up 3 lots of B&Q vouchers, and even more should I forget to hand the others theirs! ;-)
I so desperately wanted a PB but I was a minute out. I quote the results page:
The strong North wind (averaging about 20mph at the time of the race) slowed times considerably.
I reckoned after the race that I lost 30 secs to the wind, but it might have been more. Some of the lead men lost a minute over last year and the lead woman, Natalie Harvey, lost over 30s. Due to possible fatigue my heart rate was slightly down on last year so I guess I need to be happy that I'm as fit as last year and in good shape for London. How can I be unhappy after that prize haul? Our vets beat Winchester for heaven's sake!
I got to meet my online pals hilly and BR whom I haven't seen for ages. I also had a chat with our marathon hero Dan Robinson (good luck in London!), and met Leon Taylor, our Athens silver medal diver (yum!).
What of the race? I had a little virtual partner on my Garmin, which was me running the race last year - I'd know at any point how far I was behind PB schedule - nice feature. Unfortunately we started straight into the strong headwind and the little virtual me was soon leaving me behind. That just left me to focus on the real people around me, such as Stubbington Bev, my Havant track partner, and her Stubby team mate Susie. I caught the 2 of them at half way and dropped Bev, but Susie pulled away from me, finishing just ahead. That wind was particularly cruel on the run in around the edge of the playing fields - it was pretty much a re-run of 2 years ago, although without the sunshine. I've just noticed I mentioned Dan Robinson in the report 2 years ago, having watched him get Commonwealth Bronze - how spooky is that?
A very good day at the office!
Finally, as always, the heart rate data. Notice how much higher my HR was 2 years ago!
4:10 139bpm
4:11 148bpm
4:12 150bpm
4:37 152bpm (slight uphill)
4:01 150bpm (slight downhill)
4:09 153bpm
4:12 154bpm
4:14 152bpm
4:17 152bpm
4:24 153bpm (into the wind)
42:26 150bpm ave
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
The 20-miler
I thought I'd share my controversial views on 20-milers. I say controversial, as what I'm about to say seems to offend some people, but it's my blog and I'll say what I want. So here goes:
Do not race 20-milers!
I need to explain that one a bit of course, so first of all let me say that this is very much in the context of marathon training. I should also say that I'm not suggesting you don't do 20-mile races - they are excellent training. I should also say that I have done more than a dozen 20-mile races, but the closest I've come to racing one flat out was last year at Worthing where I jogged the first 5 miles, then picked the pace up and ran much of the remainder at marathon pace, finishing in 2:31:33 - an average pace of 7:33/mile, which was actually faster than the pace I subsequently ran the (very hot) London Marathon in! That was a measured effort and I recovered well for London 3 weeks later - it was the heat that did me in on the day, or so I believe - but this hints at the problems of using 20-mile races as marathon training.
What I mean by racing a 20-miler is putting maximum effort into your run to achieve the best time you can. I have never done this, I confess, but I know many people who have regretted racing 20 (some deny the 20 caused the problem but in the context of their training I believe it was a, or even the, major factor). The problem is simply the amount of recovery needed afterwards. It can take a full 3 weeks to recover from 20 miles of maximum effort, and that ignores the effect of whatever training you choose to do subsequently.
Most people are pushing it quite hard in the run up to a marathon. 20-mile training runs are all part of the formula, and very necessary too, but there are much better ways to tackle the 20-mile training run than running it flat out. The 20-miler should be one component of a balanced training program, allowing sufficient recovery to perform your interval sessions and tempo runs. Jog a 20-miler and you should be feeling fairly fresh 2 days later for your tempo run or your mile reps. Race a 20-miler though, and the following week you are feeling jaded and unable to put any effort into the training. You try harder and push all you can to achieve the right paces but just can't manage it. Of course that's the optimistic outlook. At worst you push too hard, get ill or injured and miss the marathon completely.
20-mile races, flat out, are hard. It should be fairly evident that their impact is almost as great as that of a marathon. One unseen risk is that your immune system pretty much collapses for 24 hours afterwards, laying you wide open to whatever bugs are around. You push on with your training and a week or 2 later you are laid up in bed with flu symptoms.
Even running a 20-mile race at marathon pace is hard. It's 20/26th of the effort of a marathon: 77% of a marathon is very tough!
20-mile races, as training, are however very useful. They are brilliant practise for getting your fuelling and hydration strategy right. What better way to do a training run than in company with others and having drinks laid on for you without the need to run with a bottle belt or camelbak? You need to view them as training runs though and run them sensibly.
Early in your marathon program I'd suggest just jogging them. Take them nice and easy and don't worry about the clock, other than to make sure you are at least a minute/mile slower than your marathon pace. There is a school of thought that says you shouldn't do your long runs too slowly as they are not specific enough. While I can see that it might come as a bit of a shock doing 26.2 miles at 7:30/mile when you've only run at 11:00/mile in training, as long as you have been doing tempo runs, and you do include some faster long runs then the occasional reeeeaaally slow run won't do any harm. Generally try to keep them between 1 and 2 minutes/mile slower than marathon pace.
Later in your program, with maybe 6 weeks to go to the marathon, try adding a fast finish to the run. Jog the first 15 miles and then try lifting the pace up to marathon pace for the last 5 miles. Make sure you carbo-load for the race as you'll find this very tough if you're low on fuel.
The hardest I reckon you should run is 15 miles of marathon effort (although I personally think that 10 miles of marathon effort is sufficient). Try this 3 weeks out, no closer. Jog the first 5 miles and then pick up the pace for the last 15. Remember that 15 miles of marathon pace is a very hard training run. Don't do this closer than 3 weeks to the marathon. Give yourself a day or 2 of recovery and you should be OK but look for signs of fatigue. If you attempt a 20-miler only 2 weeks out then jog it - don't attempt a large amount of marathon pace running so close to the marathon.
Of course people will still want to race a 20-miler, but if you absolutely must then I'd say: don't try this within a month of the marathon, consider taking several days off afterwards, and cut right back on the training afterwards with little or no speedwork for a week or 2. Bear in mind the context in which you do the race. How much other racing have you done? What is your training load? Remember that the marathon is (probably) your target. If the 20-miler is your target though, then good luck to you - you obviously won't mind if you don't do that well in the marathon.
It's amazing how heated on-line discussions can get when I say "Don't race 20-milers", but hopefully I've presented a balanced view on the topic.
Do not race 20-milers!
I need to explain that one a bit of course, so first of all let me say that this is very much in the context of marathon training. I should also say that I'm not suggesting you don't do 20-mile races - they are excellent training. I should also say that I have done more than a dozen 20-mile races, but the closest I've come to racing one flat out was last year at Worthing where I jogged the first 5 miles, then picked the pace up and ran much of the remainder at marathon pace, finishing in 2:31:33 - an average pace of 7:33/mile, which was actually faster than the pace I subsequently ran the (very hot) London Marathon in! That was a measured effort and I recovered well for London 3 weeks later - it was the heat that did me in on the day, or so I believe - but this hints at the problems of using 20-mile races as marathon training.
What I mean by racing a 20-miler is putting maximum effort into your run to achieve the best time you can. I have never done this, I confess, but I know many people who have regretted racing 20 (some deny the 20 caused the problem but in the context of their training I believe it was a, or even the, major factor). The problem is simply the amount of recovery needed afterwards. It can take a full 3 weeks to recover from 20 miles of maximum effort, and that ignores the effect of whatever training you choose to do subsequently.
Most people are pushing it quite hard in the run up to a marathon. 20-mile training runs are all part of the formula, and very necessary too, but there are much better ways to tackle the 20-mile training run than running it flat out. The 20-miler should be one component of a balanced training program, allowing sufficient recovery to perform your interval sessions and tempo runs. Jog a 20-miler and you should be feeling fairly fresh 2 days later for your tempo run or your mile reps. Race a 20-miler though, and the following week you are feeling jaded and unable to put any effort into the training. You try harder and push all you can to achieve the right paces but just can't manage it. Of course that's the optimistic outlook. At worst you push too hard, get ill or injured and miss the marathon completely.
20-mile races, flat out, are hard. It should be fairly evident that their impact is almost as great as that of a marathon. One unseen risk is that your immune system pretty much collapses for 24 hours afterwards, laying you wide open to whatever bugs are around. You push on with your training and a week or 2 later you are laid up in bed with flu symptoms.
Even running a 20-mile race at marathon pace is hard. It's 20/26th of the effort of a marathon: 77% of a marathon is very tough!
20-mile races, as training, are however very useful. They are brilliant practise for getting your fuelling and hydration strategy right. What better way to do a training run than in company with others and having drinks laid on for you without the need to run with a bottle belt or camelbak? You need to view them as training runs though and run them sensibly.
Early in your marathon program I'd suggest just jogging them. Take them nice and easy and don't worry about the clock, other than to make sure you are at least a minute/mile slower than your marathon pace. There is a school of thought that says you shouldn't do your long runs too slowly as they are not specific enough. While I can see that it might come as a bit of a shock doing 26.2 miles at 7:30/mile when you've only run at 11:00/mile in training, as long as you have been doing tempo runs, and you do include some faster long runs then the occasional reeeeaaally slow run won't do any harm. Generally try to keep them between 1 and 2 minutes/mile slower than marathon pace.
Later in your program, with maybe 6 weeks to go to the marathon, try adding a fast finish to the run. Jog the first 15 miles and then try lifting the pace up to marathon pace for the last 5 miles. Make sure you carbo-load for the race as you'll find this very tough if you're low on fuel.
The hardest I reckon you should run is 15 miles of marathon effort (although I personally think that 10 miles of marathon effort is sufficient). Try this 3 weeks out, no closer. Jog the first 5 miles and then pick up the pace for the last 15. Remember that 15 miles of marathon pace is a very hard training run. Don't do this closer than 3 weeks to the marathon. Give yourself a day or 2 of recovery and you should be OK but look for signs of fatigue. If you attempt a 20-miler only 2 weeks out then jog it - don't attempt a large amount of marathon pace running so close to the marathon.
Of course people will still want to race a 20-miler, but if you absolutely must then I'd say: don't try this within a month of the marathon, consider taking several days off afterwards, and cut right back on the training afterwards with little or no speedwork for a week or 2. Bear in mind the context in which you do the race. How much other racing have you done? What is your training load? Remember that the marathon is (probably) your target. If the 20-miler is your target though, then good luck to you - you obviously won't mind if you don't do that well in the marathon.
It's amazing how heated on-line discussions can get when I say "Don't race 20-milers", but hopefully I've presented a balanced view on the topic.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Going downhill fast
After our 'Kenyan Hills' session on Thursday some concerns were raised about doing a session that required running downhill at speed. I completely understand these concerns and the perceived danger of damage to the legs that running downhill can cause, but as we'll see, there's a lot we can do to avoid such problems.
First, let me recap the session for those of you who weren't there. The idea is to run the session close to threshold effort. Rather than run flat out up hill and jog back down, we throttle back a bit on our uphill efforts and push the pace downhill to keep the effort going. In heart rate terms, rather than see the HR rocket during the efforts and drop right down on the recoveries, it peaks a lot lower, around or just above threshold level, and drops only a little on the run back down the hill. The session then becomes more of a tempo run, but with a whole lot of hills thrown in. We still get the strength benefits of a hill session, but now we are targeting our aerobic system rather than it being a predominantly anaerobic session. As you know, I'm passionate about focussing on the most appropriate energy system to us as endurance runners. The session also has an added benefit in that it's a form of race rehearsal: in races you need to keep your effort fairly even over hills, throttling back on the speed uphill and being able to power over the crest and off downhill. Pushing hard uphill so that your legs turn to jelly and then staggering over the crest will simply mean that all the people you overtook on the way up will come screaming past you on the downhill.
Incidentally, in Lanzarote I was trained by the man who first coined the expression 'Kenyan Hills': Keith Anderson. Keith had the opportunity to go and train with the Kenyans in the Ngong hills. He saw how they ran tempo sessions over a rolling hill course, and the brought the session back to the UK. We can learn a lot from those Kenyans!
So why is running downhill seen as such a damaging thing to do? The answer lies with what's known as eccentric muscle contractions. Imagine holding a dumbell in your relaxed arm and doing a biceps curl. As you draw the dumbell up towards you, your biceps contract and shorten. This is called a concentric contraction. Now lower the dumbell in a controlled manner. As you lower, the biceps are still contracted, under tension, and doing work, but this time they are lengthening. This is called an eccentric contraction. The training effect of an eccentric contraction is greater than that of a concentric contraction, as the tiny amounts of damage done by the loading, which give the training effect, are greater under eccentric loading than concentric loading. For this reason it is important that you should always lower the dumbell in a controlled fashion, during the eccentric phase, as this is where the most training benefit is. This concept should be familiar to those of you who weight-train.
So now let's look at what happens when you run downhill. As your foot hits the ground in front of you, it has dropped further than usual and your momentum going into the foot strike is a lot greater. Your leg then flexes to absorb the shock of the landing and much of this is taken by the quads as they lengthen to absorb the impact. In other words your quads are under eccentric loading - they are being worked hard and potentially could be left quite sore by a heavy session of this.
Let me give you a couple of examples of the damage potential of downhill running, both from the granddaddy of the downhill: the Boston Marathon. The course is characterised by an opening 3 or 4 miles of continuous downhill that will pound away at the legs of the unwary. At around the 20 mile mark we then have a series of hills culminating in Heartbreak Hill followed by a mile of continuous downhill before the flat run into Boston. In 1982 Grete Waitz had been running on world record pace, helped no doubt by the opening downhill miles, before cresting Heartbreak Hill with a big lead. With just 5 miles to go she retired at the bottom of the hill, the pain in her legs being too great to continue.
My experience of Boston was that I'd trained and trained for downhill running, learning the correct technique, having been advised by a former London Marathon winner Mike Gratton. On the day though I wasn't able to execute the plan, for reasons I'll explain shortly, resulting in pain in my knees by half way. The descent of Heartbreak Hill was excruciating - despite the steep hill I was no faster downhill than I was on the flat, such was the pain with every downhill stride. I finished the marathon is a respectable 3:31, but 2 days later I was barely able to walk. My legs buckled as I was handed my cases at Heathrow and the other passengers had to help me to my feet, the destruction of my quads now being complete.
All is not lost though. With correct technique we can avoid such problems. This is why I was careful on Thursday to talk about the proper technique for downhill running.
The key to comfortable downhill running is to avoid the eccentric loading of our quads as much as possible. This is done 2 ways:
We can achieve a smooth light gait by another couple of techniques:
There will come a time when the hill is too steep to be able to do the above and the heels start to dig. On the road, these hills tend to have road signs warning motorists of the gradient, and we don't tend to encounter them too often. Farlington Avenue in Portsmouth is just about at the limit of where I can comfortably employ this technique. The Boston Marathon certainly has nothing anywhere near this gradient, so is eminently suitable for this.
At steeper gradients there is a different, 'Gazelle', technique used by fell runners, but this requires a lobotomy, and besides is really a racing technique rather than something designed to preserve your quads. Having said that, I do find it more comfortable to employ the 'Gazelle' technique on steep off road than try to hobble down slowly, but the ankle-turning potential is great. Maybe I'll describe it in a later article.
So having described the technique, and told of how I practised it meticulously in preparation for Boston, why did Boston go so wrong? Two things conspired against me at the start:
So the gun went and for the first 3 miles I had to keep my pace in check, unable to run freely. I was digging in my heels, trying to slow down to avoid bumping into people, and it all went wrong from there. My pace was conservative from the gun, but unlike other marathons where this would have been a virtue, it actually helped to tire my quads. If I'd been able to relax and let my pace flow, my quads would have been in far better shape by the end.
So next time you are out for a run and encounter a downhill, try practising the technique. You don't have to wait until the next hill session. Your quads (and knees and everything else connected to them) will thank you for it!
First, let me recap the session for those of you who weren't there. The idea is to run the session close to threshold effort. Rather than run flat out up hill and jog back down, we throttle back a bit on our uphill efforts and push the pace downhill to keep the effort going. In heart rate terms, rather than see the HR rocket during the efforts and drop right down on the recoveries, it peaks a lot lower, around or just above threshold level, and drops only a little on the run back down the hill. The session then becomes more of a tempo run, but with a whole lot of hills thrown in. We still get the strength benefits of a hill session, but now we are targeting our aerobic system rather than it being a predominantly anaerobic session. As you know, I'm passionate about focussing on the most appropriate energy system to us as endurance runners. The session also has an added benefit in that it's a form of race rehearsal: in races you need to keep your effort fairly even over hills, throttling back on the speed uphill and being able to power over the crest and off downhill. Pushing hard uphill so that your legs turn to jelly and then staggering over the crest will simply mean that all the people you overtook on the way up will come screaming past you on the downhill.
Incidentally, in Lanzarote I was trained by the man who first coined the expression 'Kenyan Hills': Keith Anderson. Keith had the opportunity to go and train with the Kenyans in the Ngong hills. He saw how they ran tempo sessions over a rolling hill course, and the brought the session back to the UK. We can learn a lot from those Kenyans!
So why is running downhill seen as such a damaging thing to do? The answer lies with what's known as eccentric muscle contractions. Imagine holding a dumbell in your relaxed arm and doing a biceps curl. As you draw the dumbell up towards you, your biceps contract and shorten. This is called a concentric contraction. Now lower the dumbell in a controlled manner. As you lower, the biceps are still contracted, under tension, and doing work, but this time they are lengthening. This is called an eccentric contraction. The training effect of an eccentric contraction is greater than that of a concentric contraction, as the tiny amounts of damage done by the loading, which give the training effect, are greater under eccentric loading than concentric loading. For this reason it is important that you should always lower the dumbell in a controlled fashion, during the eccentric phase, as this is where the most training benefit is. This concept should be familiar to those of you who weight-train.
So now let's look at what happens when you run downhill. As your foot hits the ground in front of you, it has dropped further than usual and your momentum going into the foot strike is a lot greater. Your leg then flexes to absorb the shock of the landing and much of this is taken by the quads as they lengthen to absorb the impact. In other words your quads are under eccentric loading - they are being worked hard and potentially could be left quite sore by a heavy session of this.
Let me give you a couple of examples of the damage potential of downhill running, both from the granddaddy of the downhill: the Boston Marathon. The course is characterised by an opening 3 or 4 miles of continuous downhill that will pound away at the legs of the unwary. At around the 20 mile mark we then have a series of hills culminating in Heartbreak Hill followed by a mile of continuous downhill before the flat run into Boston. In 1982 Grete Waitz had been running on world record pace, helped no doubt by the opening downhill miles, before cresting Heartbreak Hill with a big lead. With just 5 miles to go she retired at the bottom of the hill, the pain in her legs being too great to continue.
My experience of Boston was that I'd trained and trained for downhill running, learning the correct technique, having been advised by a former London Marathon winner Mike Gratton. On the day though I wasn't able to execute the plan, for reasons I'll explain shortly, resulting in pain in my knees by half way. The descent of Heartbreak Hill was excruciating - despite the steep hill I was no faster downhill than I was on the flat, such was the pain with every downhill stride. I finished the marathon is a respectable 3:31, but 2 days later I was barely able to walk. My legs buckled as I was handed my cases at Heathrow and the other passengers had to help me to my feet, the destruction of my quads now being complete.
All is not lost though. With correct technique we can avoid such problems. This is why I was careful on Thursday to talk about the proper technique for downhill running.
The key to comfortable downhill running is to avoid the eccentric loading of our quads as much as possible. This is done 2 ways:
- Lean forward down the hill - this reduces the amount of extra height we get with each step and reduces the impact of each stride.
- Avoid heel striking - it is natural when running downhill to dig your heels in to slow you down, but it is this that causes all the pounding and eccentric loading. You need to be as light on your feet as possible and try to land more on your forefoot. Natural forefoot runners have an advantage in this respect, but we should all try to achieve this.
We can achieve a smooth light gait by another couple of techniques:
- Relax! Play the rag doll and keep your upper body really loose. If you tense you will start to dig your heels in.
- Let gravity take over. Pick up your cadence and let the hill do the work. (This is pretty much the same point as above.)
- Consciously lift your heels behind you, more than you normally would. This will help you land more on your forefoot, and will help lengthen your stride downhill without digging your heels in. It will also help with the gravity assisted increase of pace.
There will come a time when the hill is too steep to be able to do the above and the heels start to dig. On the road, these hills tend to have road signs warning motorists of the gradient, and we don't tend to encounter them too often. Farlington Avenue in Portsmouth is just about at the limit of where I can comfortably employ this technique. The Boston Marathon certainly has nothing anywhere near this gradient, so is eminently suitable for this.
At steeper gradients there is a different, 'Gazelle', technique used by fell runners, but this requires a lobotomy, and besides is really a racing technique rather than something designed to preserve your quads. Having said that, I do find it more comfortable to employ the 'Gazelle' technique on steep off road than try to hobble down slowly, but the ankle-turning potential is great. Maybe I'll describe it in a later article.
So having described the technique, and told of how I practised it meticulously in preparation for Boston, why did Boston go so wrong? Two things conspired against me at the start:
- The crowds - we were packed into the pens like sardines, and although we were running smoothly from the gun, there wasn't room to get comfortable and relaxed.
- My natural pace, resulting in a finish time of 3:31, was far greater than my qualifying time of 3:47 would indicate, so I was in a pen with slower runners.
So the gun went and for the first 3 miles I had to keep my pace in check, unable to run freely. I was digging in my heels, trying to slow down to avoid bumping into people, and it all went wrong from there. My pace was conservative from the gun, but unlike other marathons where this would have been a virtue, it actually helped to tire my quads. If I'd been able to relax and let my pace flow, my quads would have been in far better shape by the end.
So next time you are out for a run and encounter a downhill, try practising the technique. You don't have to wait until the next hill session. Your quads (and knees and everything else connected to them) will thank you for it!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saucony National Cross Country Championships 2008
Liz Yelling opens up what became a huge lead:
Here she crests the hill for the first time. When I saw her crest the hill on the next lap I thought something was wrong - I didn't see any of the rest of the field!:
It was a very steep hill!
Get a load of that arm action:
Marilyn goes up in style:
The men's field:
Mike concentrates:
John beats the hill:
Graham unfortunately had to retire after returning too soon after illness:
Tom Humphries opens up a lead to go on to win:
Mike Skinner ulitmately finished 5th:
Neil crests the hill working hard:
That was my first National XC, and it was a great experience. It was nice to bump into a couple of old chums, Tigger's Mate Roo and Ratcatcher. It's a shame I didn't get to see Steph Twell win the juniors (easily too, judging by the results). I did see Liz Yelling on her way to a big win (I never actually saw the 2nd place runner as she was so far behind!), but it would have been nice to watch the race - I'd have loved to see how the elites ran the hill - it was only a 100m long but very steep!
Alton Towers is a good venue. The weather was dry and conditions good underfoot, but I'd hate to think what that course would be like if it had rained a lot - I reckon it would have been a quagmire.
Many thanks to Alex and Carol for their support and photography skills. Further thanks to Alex for driving. Well worth the trip!
Here she crests the hill for the first time. When I saw her crest the hill on the next lap I thought something was wrong - I didn't see any of the rest of the field!:
It was a very steep hill!
Get a load of that arm action:
Marilyn goes up in style:
The men's field:
Mike concentrates:
John beats the hill:
Graham unfortunately had to retire after returning too soon after illness:
Tom Humphries opens up a lead to go on to win:
Mike Skinner ulitmately finished 5th:
Neil crests the hill working hard:
That was my first National XC, and it was a great experience. It was nice to bump into a couple of old chums, Tigger's Mate Roo and Ratcatcher. It's a shame I didn't get to see Steph Twell win the juniors (easily too, judging by the results). I did see Liz Yelling on her way to a big win (I never actually saw the 2nd place runner as she was so far behind!), but it would have been nice to watch the race - I'd have loved to see how the elites ran the hill - it was only a 100m long but very steep!
Alton Towers is a good venue. The weather was dry and conditions good underfoot, but I'd hate to think what that course would be like if it had rained a lot - I reckon it would have been a quagmire.
Many thanks to Alex and Carol for their support and photography skills. Further thanks to Alex for driving. Well worth the trip!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Pace vs HR
The faster you run the higher your heart rate - this much is obvious. However, it's useful to know the exact relationship between pace and heart rate. In most people an increase of 10 bpm will give an increase in pace of 30-40secs/mile, although as we'll see it's not a simple linear relationship.
Following on from Wednesday's pace test I thought I'd re-run a mini test at a slow pace to check whether my pace/HR relationship is still what it used to be.
Here's a short 2-lap test I ran this morning:
7:30am 22nd Feb 2008 - 3 miles slow pace 2x1.5 miles continuous:
I also wanted to make this my first proper double training day (I've been doing morning gym sessions with some treadmill running, but not run 2 pure running sessions in the same day in this campaign as yet), so I decided to re-run the session this evening to see how my heart rate looked:
5:00pm 22nd Feb 2008 - 3 miles slow pace 2x1.5 miles continuous:
The temperature for both sessions was within 1°C and the weather conditions were virtually identical.
The results are interesting: a 3bpm difference is at least 10secs/mile! That's a minute off your 10k time. This confirms what I suspected: I've read that your performance is better in the evening when your body is at its proper temperature and you're at your metabolic peak (around mid-afternoon in fact). Food for thought next time you are choosing whether to do that 10k at 9am on a Sunday or have a go at the Wednesday evening 10k for your PB attempt!
I digress though. We now have 2 (evening) data points:
So there we have it: 32secs/mile for every 10bpm rise in heart rate.
Of course it's not that simple. It never is, is it? I said earlier that it isn't a simple linear relationship. You'll notice in the table above I've added a column for speed, a measurement we runners rarely use. This is because for good physiological reasons heart rate is proportional to speed while we are running aerobically. The faster we run, the more power we require, in a simple linear relationship. The extra power requires extra oxygen, and this is delivered by a higher heart rate - all in simple linear relationships to the speed.
So lets add a couple of extra points to the above table:
So, assuming those interpolated points are correct (theory says they are), then my pace increases by 36secs/mile for every 10bpm at the bottom of my range, and 32secs/mile for every 10bpm at the top of my range. (It will be interesting to re-run the test to confirm these paces/HRs.)
So why is this important? I know that I can run a 10k at 156bpm when fresh. This should equate to a pace of 6:47/mile or a time of 42:13. Oh well, I'm not on PB form yet, some 50secs short in fact. Let's hope the taper works wonders, because the science doesn't lie!
Probably.
Following on from Wednesday's pace test I thought I'd re-run a mini test at a slow pace to check whether my pace/HR relationship is still what it used to be.
Here's a short 2-lap test I ran this morning:
7:30am 22nd Feb 2008 - 3 miles slow pace 2x1.5 miles continuous:
| Lap time | Heart rate | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 13:26 | 115bpm | 8:58/mile |
| 13:26 | 115bpm | 8:58/mile |
I also wanted to make this my first proper double training day (I've been doing morning gym sessions with some treadmill running, but not run 2 pure running sessions in the same day in this campaign as yet), so I decided to re-run the session this evening to see how my heart rate looked:
5:00pm 22nd Feb 2008 - 3 miles slow pace 2x1.5 miles continuous:
| Lap time | Heart rate | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 13:27 | 112bpm | 8:58/mile |
| 13:24 | 112bpm | 8:56/mile |
The temperature for both sessions was within 1°C and the weather conditions were virtually identical.
The results are interesting: a 3bpm difference is at least 10secs/mile! That's a minute off your 10k time. This confirms what I suspected: I've read that your performance is better in the evening when your body is at its proper temperature and you're at your metabolic peak (around mid-afternoon in fact). Food for thought next time you are choosing whether to do that 10k at 9am on a Sunday or have a go at the Wednesday evening 10k for your PB attempt!
I digress though. We now have 2 (evening) data points:
| Pace | Heart rate | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| 8:56/mile | 112bpm | 6.72mph |
| 7:24/mile | 141bpm | 8.11mph |
So there we have it: 32secs/mile for every 10bpm rise in heart rate.
Of course it's not that simple. It never is, is it? I said earlier that it isn't a simple linear relationship. You'll notice in the table above I've added a column for speed, a measurement we runners rarely use. This is because for good physiological reasons heart rate is proportional to speed while we are running aerobically. The faster we run, the more power we require, in a simple linear relationship. The extra power requires extra oxygen, and this is delivered by a higher heart rate - all in simple linear relationships to the speed.
So lets add a couple of extra points to the above table:
| Pace | Heart rate | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:56/mile | 112bpm | 6.72mph | |
| 8:20/mile | 122bpm | 7.20mph | Interpolated |
| 7:52/mile | 131bpm | 7.63mph | Interpolated |
| 7:24/mile | 141bpm | 8.11mph |
So, assuming those interpolated points are correct (theory says they are), then my pace increases by 36secs/mile for every 10bpm at the bottom of my range, and 32secs/mile for every 10bpm at the top of my range. (It will be interesting to re-run the test to confirm these paces/HRs.)
So why is this important? I know that I can run a 10k at 156bpm when fresh. This should equate to a pace of 6:47/mile or a time of 42:13. Oh well, I'm not on PB form yet, some 50secs short in fact. Let's hope the taper works wonders, because the science doesn't lie!
Probably.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Marathon pacing part 4 - pace test
I ran the promised pace test last night. The plan had been to run 2 more laps, to run a little faster, at a slightly higher heart rate, but I still clearly had the Meon Valley Plod in my legs. I couldn't keep the pace going, so jogged the remainder of the 10 miles after just 4 1.5-mile laps of my test circuit.
The good news is that my pace was good, but unfortunately I didn't get the confirmation that I could keep the pace going without any heart rate drift. My heart rate was constant (after the first lap where I was still warming up), but the drop in pace was an indication that I was struggling. If I'd kept my pace even then the chances are that I would have seen a rise in HR by maybe a beat.
Still, 1bpm is not very much, and shows I was pretty close to my marathon pace. Contrast this to last time and you 'll see that at 15s/mile quicker I was getting quite a rise in heart rate over a much shorter space of time (laps a third of the distance). The last test's 7:07/mile is clearly faster than what I can currently sustain for a marathon, whereas last night's 7:25/mile is quite close to marathon pace.
I'll re-run the test in a few weeks' time when I'll hopefully be a bit fresher and will be able to run further.
This was a good training session though, and certainly not a wasted opportunity: a good marathon-specific session with some worthwhile data as a result - bargain!
6 miles marathon pace 4x1.5 miles continuous:
The good news is that my pace was good, but unfortunately I didn't get the confirmation that I could keep the pace going without any heart rate drift. My heart rate was constant (after the first lap where I was still warming up), but the drop in pace was an indication that I was struggling. If I'd kept my pace even then the chances are that I would have seen a rise in HR by maybe a beat.
Still, 1bpm is not very much, and shows I was pretty close to my marathon pace. Contrast this to last time and you 'll see that at 15s/mile quicker I was getting quite a rise in heart rate over a much shorter space of time (laps a third of the distance). The last test's 7:07/mile is clearly faster than what I can currently sustain for a marathon, whereas last night's 7:25/mile is quite close to marathon pace.
I'll re-run the test in a few weeks' time when I'll hopefully be a bit fresher and will be able to run further.
This was a good training session though, and certainly not a wasted opportunity: a good marathon-specific session with some worthwhile data as a result - bargain!
6 miles marathon pace 4x1.5 miles continuous:
| Lap time | Heart rate | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 11:06 | 134bpm | 7:24/mile |
| 11:02 | 141bpm | 7:21/mile |
| 11:07 | 141bpm | 7:24/mile |
| 11:11 | 141bpm | 7:27/mile |
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