Madrid Marathon Week 10/18

I actually won a race outright this week! OK, there were only 100 or so participants (out of all the millions of Santander shareholders) but a win is a win! It was actually the same race I won last year, so I had some expectations of winning again, but you never know who is going to turn up. As we arrived, to my surprise the security guard waved me through by name. When I asked him how he knew my name, he said that he remembered me from my days of commuting in to work by bike. Now I come to think of it, he might have been the one to tell me that cycling on campus was banned (until I managed to get that ruling overturned).

The course was very windy (as in twisty) and hilly, so 3:48 was not a pedestrian a pace as it might seem; I had to work fairly hard for that. I lead right from the start so I could have taken it a bit more easy, but this was substituting my weekly speed session, so it needed to be a good workout. I very nearly finished in under 18 minutes (the course was slightly short at 4.75 km) but, as the girl who announced the winners pointed out, I ran it faster than last year. Actually, the course was slightly shorter and more hilly than last year but she was correct in that I ran at a faster pace.

Another reason for entering was because I won a goody bag of gadgets worth around 300 € last year. I can't say I was too surprised that there was not the same level of generosity this year (apart from anything else, the share price is less than half what it was last year!). At least I didn't have to rush off to hospital this time - last year my wife was being operated on, so I had to dash off to keep her company and drive her home afterwards.

After jigging around things a little because of the race on Wednesday, I ended up doing my 13 km tempo run on Friday. I noticed my heart rate was significantly lower than usual (<160 bpm the whole way). I also noticed that I ran it with a cadence of only 172 versus my usual 178 - I think that this was simply because the drum 'n' bass mix I was listening to was recorded at that tempo! Maybe I have inadvertently discovered that I am more efficient at a lower cadence. Or maybe I'm just getting fitter.

Another thing I have come to realize about the Hanson's training plan that I have been following versus how I have been training the last few years is that there are very few workouts designed to boost your confidence; the philosophy is more about running on tired legs. For example, they don't recommend doing tune-up races because these mess with the training plan. I would also tend to do those sub-maximal aerobic tests (7 km at 172 bpm) to see how I was doing. The tempo runs are a good measure of how my heart rate would respond in "perfect" conditions during the opening stages of the Marathon and will, I think, ultimately be a better guide when it comes to the race itself. For the rest it is a question of having faith in the plan - I certainly notice that I am getting fitter (as does my Garmin watch) - the question is only whether I will be as fit as I can be on the day.

Monday: -
Tuesday: 10 km @ 4:19 (track)
Wednesday: 4.75 km race @ 3:48 (73 metres ascent)
Thursday: 10 km @ 4:33 (treadmill)
Friday: 13 km @ 3:57
Saturday: 16.1 km @ 4:23
Sunday: 16 km @ 4:11
Total kilometres: 77

VO2 Max (Garmin): 65 ml/kg/min
Resting pulse (average): 43 ppm
Fat (average): 6.7%

Madrid Marathon Week 9/18

Last week was a bit of an odd one, as I had planned to go on holiday - somewhat reluctantly, as I don't enjoy skiing much - with my family. But, as the little one was ill, they only went on Wednesday and I decided to stay at home (in case you are wondering, my wife did have help). As I had cleared my agenda of all meetings, work felt a bit like a holiday-not-holiday, and I enjoyed working on things that required a lack of interruptions with a more relaxed and calmer attitude than usual.

As you can see from the splits, it was much easier to nail the 400m intervals than the 1,600m intervals the week before. I always warm up and cool down about 2 kilometres before and after doing intervals (when I say "always", I mean since starting this plan) - if you have bothered to tot up my kilometre totals, this might explain the anomalies - but I hadn't realized that the Hanson's had intended me to do the same for the tempo runs. This changes things as a 13 km tempo run becomes a 17 km run with 13 km run at Marathon Pace. When I get to the 16 km tempo run, this becomes a 20 km run, which is getting on for being a long run - so the warm up / cool down is more than just a recommendation.

I have to say that I struggled a lot during my long run on Sunday. It may be due to walking around for hours the day before (in search of a birthday present for my wife) but, in any case, the idea of the long run is to simulate the closing miles of the Marathon, not the first few. I have to admit that I stopped 3 times during the run for about 5 minutes each time. I don't know if it was just mental or if I wasn't feeling tip top - but, one thing is for sure, I felt pretty shattered the rest of the day and my resting heart rate during the night was 44 bpm, about 5-6 beats higher than normal. My VO2Max (as estimated by my Garmin watch) took a dive from the 64 it has been showing consistently, to 62, a sure indication that something was up. I tend to blame those "annoying hills" because I think I am usual OK running at a steady pace on the flat - but I can't ignore them as they are an integral part of the Madrid Marathon course and, crucially, rear their ugly head in the critical closing stages of the race. Psychologically I find it tougher to start the long run at a reasonably challenging pace right from the get-go, as opposed to running some easy kilometres first.

Monday: 10 km @ 4:33 (track)
Tuesday: (speed) 6 x 800m w/ 400m recovery @ 3:16, 3:22, 3:26, 3:24, 3:25, 3:26
Wednesday: (tempo) 13 km @ 3:52
Friday: 11.3 km @ 4:18
Saturday: 13 km @ 4:16
Sunday: 24.5 km @ 4:15 (with a few short breaks...)
Total kilometres: 88

VO2 Max (Garmin): 62 ml/kg/min
Resting pulse (average): 43 ppm
Fat (average): 6.8%

Madrid Marathon Week 8/18

I'm running so late with my update this week that I'm almost into next week. Better late than never, I suppose.

This week the intervals on the track reached their pinnacle in terms of length of each interval (1 mile). I found it quite challenging to run 3 of these at a faster pace than 3:30 per kilometer - I must be getting old. Still, it was more or less what could be expected based on my recent performances over shorter distances.

The following day I went to London for a conference that I have been speaking at for the last few years. As I was staying with my brother and had "uncle duties" including babysitting my 5 year old nephew on the Thursday evening, I had to jiggle my training schedule around a little, and ended up with two hard(ish) workouts back-to-back. For my "tempo run" (which, in the Hanson's Method is really a Marathon Pace run, i.e., somewhat slower than most people's idea of a tempo run) I ran round and round Regent's Park. I had to fork out 15 pounds to be able to use the showers at a nearby gym but they were very nice and let me check that my suitcase would fit in the locker before parting with my cash. I'd forgotten that there is surprisingly little street lighting around Regent's Park - I think the park itself was closed (although I didn't bother to check) - but I always run on the pavement around the outside, which is roughly a 5 kilometre loop. As it was so dark, it was pretty hair raising having to avoid people with dogs or even running towards me. Some of the more savvy runners (not me) at least ran with hi-vis clothing or even lights. Stepping out into the road at the last minute was not an option because, while cars tend not to hug the curb and make a fair amount of noise, there were the usual cyclists zooming round and getting in their way would not have been fun.

One good thing about London public transport is that it is so slow to get anywhere, that you can almost always run their faster and thereby kill two birds with one stone. So, on Friday, I ran back from the conference in Canary Wharf to my brother's house 12 kilometres away in Forest Hill. As he works in Canary Wharf, I was able to hand him off my work clothes in a plastic bag and then try to beat him home: had I not had to wait for ages to get a GPS signal among all the skyscrapers and not got lost as a result of the map on my watch getting stuck, I would almost certainly have managed.

I'd arranged to stay the weekend - partly because it was my brother's birthday - but due to a bit of a misunderstanding, he'd booked a trip to Cornwall so I was left to my own devices. I went for my run in the morning and then headed up to North London (via one of my favourite restaurants - Ceviche) to stay with another friend and catch some good music. On the Sunday I went for another 16 kilomtere run from Hackney along the Regent's Canal and in to the City and back. It was actually a sunny day by London's standards.

My resting heart rate has spiked a bit this week - maybe I have been fighting off the virus my youngest son has been suffering from. As I mentioned last week, I possibly overdid things the previous Sunday. Also, if I forget to charge my Vivosmart HR and as a result don't wear it during the night, it doesn't pick up my "true" resting heart rate, which is normally achieved around 4 am and is usually quite consistent. My % fat is now back to where it was at the beginning of the year. At this rate (even if it is slower to shed than to put on), I'll easily get down to whippet like levels before the Madrid Marathon on the 24th April. I'm also finding my VO2Max as estimated by my Garmin Fenix 2 to be quite a steady and reliable measurement - maybe I'm just saying that because it is trending upwards. The watch itself is cute but is a step backwards in some ways from my trusty Garmin 310 XT - which I still use in parallel when I am running on the track: it is harder to read and paradoxically, considering it is aimed at the orienteering crowd, I find its navigation features to be worse (less accurate GPS, no warning when running off track, no ability to set automatic laps based on position). However, the very much improved Heart Rate Monitor and the HRV (Heart Rate Variability) associated metrics like recovery time as well as the VO2Max make it worth switching in my opinion. Also, when I am travelling or on holiday, the ability to be able to upload workouts or download routes via Bluetooth is fantastic, even if it is a bit fiddly to get it to talk to my phone. One thing I have learned is to add the GPS accuracy field to the default screen - it rather optimistically claims to have a satellite fix when the error can be in the range of 40m. If you keep still until this drops to around 10m, it usually behaves well after that; if I ever see a surprisingly fast split, I check that the GPS accuracy is good before believing it.

Lastly, I finally got my new plywood board installed in my treadmill but we were unable to adjust the belt so that it didn't veer off to one side. There is a little bold you can adjust with an Allen key, which inclines the rollers one way or another. We got to the point where a movement of one millimeter of the Allen key in either direction would send the belt off one way or t'other. The treadmill is still under guarantee so hopefully someone will be able to fix it for free.

Monday: 10 km @ 4:28 (track)
Tuesday: (speed) 3 x 1,600m w/ 400m recovery @ 3:28, 3:34, 3:32
Wednesday: (tempo) 11.3 km @ 3:49 (Regent's Park)
Friday: 12.2 km @ 4:26
Saturday: 16 km @ 4:16
Sunday: 16 km @ 4:18
Total kilometres: 78

VO2 Max (Garmin): 64 ml/kg/min
Resting pulse (average): 43 ppm
Fat (average): 7.0%

Madrid Marathon Week 7/18

As I arrived to the gym the other day, there was an announcement over the Tannoy welcoming me to the changing rooms! Actually, the announcement in Spanish was "Bienvenido, a los vestuarios" and the comma was key: Bienvenido ("Welcome") is the name of one of the cleaners, believe it or not. And don't imagine the son of a pop star with a penchant for quirky names: Bienvenido is one of the classic Spanish names, like Modesto, Justo, Dolores ("Pains")...

As usual, I ran all my easy runs much faster than I should have and, although it seemed to have no negative bearing on Tuesday's speed session, which went pretty much to plan even if it was a bit of a struggle to keep the pace up for the longest interval of one mile.

I think I paid the price instead on Sunday. I was careful to fuel up the night before, so the run itself went well, but it was a toughie (rather like the Madrid Marathon course) in that it was downhill until halfway and then all uphill, with a total climb of 284 metres. My watch seemed to agree - it told me that I had "overtrained" and that I should wait at least 72 hours before my next hard run (planned just 48 hours later). I may have eaten well beforehand, but I neglected to eat well after, eating only a small bowl of fabada (Asturian bean soup) and a couple of slices of toast with olive oil all day. Perhaps as a result, I felt quite listless and even slightly down, to the point that I pulled out of the tango class that I have been going to with my wife (initially slightly reluctantly, but then with growing enthusiasm).

Interestingly (at least I find it so), this was reflected quite clearly in my resting heart rate which has been quite consistently around 38 bpm for the last few weeks. On Sunday night it was 45, which was about the highest it got after a month or so of detraining following the New York Marathon. Otherwise my VO2Max continues to climb steadily (touching 64 only to come back down a notch after Sunday's strain) and my % fat is starting to plummet again.

I'm off to London tomorrow and then a week of skiing next week. Long time readers of the blog will know that skiing and I don't really mix and generally try to avoid each other whenever possible, but I didn't want to go for too long without seeing the family. I think I will try my hand at Nordic skiing and hopefully manage to keep up my running training in the gym. I haven't run on a treadmill for a (record) number of months, so it will be odd at first no doubt.

Monday: 10 km @ 4:15 (track)
Tuesday: (speed) 400 - 800 - 1,200 - 1,600 - 1,200 - 800 - 400 w/ 400m recovery @ 3:04, 3:20, 3:27, 3:34, 3:29, 3:27, 3:22
Wednesday: -
Thursday: (tempo) 11.3 km @ 3:53
Friday: 11.3 km @ 4:12
Saturday: 13 km @ 4:17
Sunday: 22.5 km @ 4:11
Total kilometres: 81

VO2 Max (Garmin): 63 ml/kg/min
Resting pulse (average): 39 ppm
Fat (average): 7.2%

Madrid Marathon Week 6/18

I must be doing something right because, when I went to pick my wife up from the airport, the waiter who served me my beer while I was waiting asked me if I ran marathons. I asked him how he knew to ask and he said that I looked as though I did. I think he was quite keen to tell me about the ultramarathons and mountain marathons he has run, but I've got no problem with that - I understand the pride one feels for having accomplished something.

My treadmill is still kaput, so I am doing all my running in the real world, even my interval training. I think it's a blessing in disguise but it does put a lot of pressure on my lunchtimes as this is really the only time I can train until the days get a bit longer. I got the new plywood board for the treadmill and, as you can see, it has nothing to do with that MDF piece of crap that came with my (2,000 €!) treadmill as standard.

But it turns out that the board was not the only thing that was broken; somehow I had managed to break some of the springs that form the suspension - this explains why the board suddenly snapped horizontally this time, rather than gradually splitting down the middle as it usually does. I think it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation - the springs probably failed because the board was too flimsy. Whatever the case, the new board should last much longer and I've ordered a full set of (6) springs for 130 € in case any more of them fail.

How???

This also sheared off somehow.

As far as training goes, it was a pretty good week. I did my speed work within the 3:25 - 3:30 range I had set myself but the 7 mile tempo run was a little bit too enthusiastic at a pace of 3:48 per kilometre (versus 3:55). As usual, the "easy" runs were generally on the fast side, especially on Monday, but this was on the track so I allowed for it to be faster due to the relative lack of hills. Finally, on Sunday I was able to repent for my lamentable performance the week before and pull out of the bag a solid 20K long run at a pace of 4:15, just as the Hanson's ordered.

The main difference I am finding with the Hanson's method is the fact that the paces at which I am supposed to run are set at the beginning of the training period and remain constant throughout; what varies is the volume run. This, with the exception that the speed sessions will soon morph into "strength training" which will comprise longer intervals at a slower pace (3:50 /km). The point is that, at this point in my training when I am still in the process of getting to normal form, the long runs at 4:17 /km feel long and moderately difficult, and the intervals at 3:25 feel fast and demanding. Even though I had thought I had previously been following a "reverse periodization" plan - where you train at fast paces for increasing distances, rather than increasing the pace at which you run a given distance - the Hanson's plan seems to follow that philosophy even more closely. I  have tended to get used to the longer distances before pushing the pace so it has felt a bit like the pace has come naturally, as I have got fitter; this way feels more "forced" because I am obliging myself to increase the distance but without an accompanying slow down in pace.

Normally I spend about 10-12 weeks preparing for a Marathon; this time I started 14 weeks before (remember, I jumped in to week 4 of the Hanson's 18 week plan). To compare with my build up to New York, I am at the point in time when I started my program, having spent two weeks previously running an hour a day at a comfortable pace, 6 times a week.

Monday: 10 km @ 4:16 (track)
Tuesday: (speed) 4 x 1,200m w/ 400m recovery @ 3:23, 3;30, 3:30, 3:28
Wednesday: -
Thursday: (tempo) 11.3 km @ 3:48
Friday: 10 km @ 4:23
Saturday: 10 km @ 4:22
Sunday: 20 km @ 4:15
Total kilometres: 71.9

VO2 Max (Garmin): 62 ml/kg/min
Resting pulse (average): 38 ppm
Fat (average): 7.4%

Madrid Marathon Week 5/18

The good news is that I seem to be getting fitter - my resting pulse continues to come back down and my % fat has leveled off and will hopefully follow. After last week's debacle, I ran very conservatively on Monday and my speed session on Tuesday went according to plan (5 x 1,000m @ 3:25 - 3:30 /km). But I fell back into my old habits on Friday and Saturday, running at a pace oof 4:15 - anything slower just feels inefficient and boring.

I don't know whether it was as a result of this or something else, but my supposed long run on Sunday was a complete disaster. I think that I didn't eat properly the day before because it started off OK, but I felt drained after just 8 kilometres!! It was also an unusually hot day (20 degrees in January!) and I was a bit down in the mouth as my wife was going to Mali - not the safest place in the world right now - and my upper back and neck had locked up on me. My back usually gets better with running, but I cannot deny that my back problems are linked to increases in training volume. This time it locked up on me suddenly and surprisingly, during me run on Friday, as I turned to spit. Maybe it was a punishment for unhygienic behaviour.

I reminded myself that this training period and Marathon were a kind of "dry run" for the Chicago Marathon and that it was important to learn from the mistake and move on. As the plan I am following has a "long run" (referring more to the pace at which it should be run than the distance) every other week, I decided to do a switcheroo and run it instead the following Sunday. It might make more sense as I did jump straight into week 4 of the plan without much of a warm-up.

Monday: 10 km @ 4:51
Tuesday: (speed) 5 x 1,000m w/ 500m recovery @ 3:23, 3;29, 3:24, 3:26(?), 3:28
Wednesday: -
Thursday: (tempo) 10 km @ 3:54
Friday: 11.3 km @ 4:16
Saturday: 10 km @ 4:14
Sunday: supposed to be 20 km @ 4:17, instead was 10.5 km @ 4:27
Total kilometres: 63.4

VO2 Max (Garmin): 62 ml/kg/min
Resting pulse (average): 39 ppm
Fat (average): 7.6%

Madrid Marathon Week 4/18

As usual, I "ran" the San Silvestre 10K on New Year's Eve accompanied by my kids up to the 4 km point (a new record for them) and by my wife to the finish line. A few people recognized me as "the banker from hell"

...and yes, I ran all the way carrying that bloody suitcase (which contained warm clothes for my wife) and wearing that damn mask. The sweat built up so much in the mask that my tie was sopping wet by the end, not to mention my suit (in fact, the metro ticket in my pocket was rendered unusable). I enjoyed the "race" and at the same time suffered just enough to feel I deserved to stuff myself with food and drink afterwards. Something that I continued to do for the next 10 days in Asturias, arriving back to Madrid with a few extra kilos "excess baggage". Surprisingly, my legs were quite sore for several days afterwards - especially my left hip - probably due to running the 10K with a strange gait from having to carry the briefcase.

This week it was back to work both in the office and in terms of getting my fitness back. It's amazing how quickly you lose it - I found running really quite hard work even at a pace I would have considered quite pedestrian only a few months ago. But that is all part of the bargain and it makes it all the more satisfying to be starting the hard graft again.

For my preparations for the Madrid Marathon, I've decided to try out the Hanson's Method which is supposedly "renegade" due to its relatively short long run of only 16 miles (in case you are wondering if you have missed something, I had to jump in at week 4 to make it in time for the Marathon which is on the 24th of April). In terms of weekly mileage, though, it requires more than I put in for New York, although the peak is roughly the same. Most of the miles are run at an easy pace which, for me, translates to between 4:28 and 4:48 /km (but with the long runs at a more snappy 4:17 /km). I still struggle to fully believe this and often end up running faster than I should (apparently the Hanson's dish out press-ups as a punishment for anyone caught running too fast). Every argument for easy running seems to hinge on avoiding injury or jeopardizing quality workouts. My feeling is that I am limited by the time I can dedicate to training, so I can afford to do that training at a higher intensity. On the other hand, I almost must recognize that it is not the same running on the treadmill as it is outside and, as my treadmill is currently broken, I have no choice at the moment. My treadmill may be dead, but at least my new running shoes arrived with perfect timing to my desk just before lunchtime on my first day back at work.

I soon had a good reason to believe in easy running because I found my speed session way too difficult (planned: 6 x 800m @ 3:20 /km). This was no doubt largely due to the fact that I hadn't run faster than 4:00 /km since the Marathon, over two months ago (not to mention those extra kilos I mentioned earlier). Even my gadgets concur with my assessment: my resting heart rate has been around 45 bpm for the last few weeks (compared to 38 for the weeks after the Marathon); my estimated VO2Max has gone from the lofty 67(!) on the day of the Marathon down to as low as 53, and my percentage fat is around 7.4% (up from 4.8%). I think I will keep track of these metrics over the weeks leading up to the Marathon to see how they respond to my training and how good a guide they are to my state of fitness and recovery. I also have to adjust the pace at which I run my intervals because it was clearly way too ambitious (I'm fairly sure I could have run them at that pace on the treadmill, though!).

My resting heart rate seems to be coming back down again...

...while my V02 Max seems to be going back up.

The other quality (or "Something Of Substance") workout this week was a tempo run at Marathon Pace of 6 miles (or approximately 10 kilometres) which I did on the track around the football pitch at work. Had the Hanson's been around, they would surely have dished out press-ups, as I ran this at a pace of 3:48 /km (target: 3:55 /km for a flat course). Nevertheless, it had the effect of restoring the confidence that I lost during the speed session. I think it will be very interesting to see how my heart rate responds during these controlled tempo runs, especially as they get longer. It's not too surprising that I have some difficulties in pacing myself as I have relied for too long on the treadmill to do that for me. I'm going to try to do as much running as I possibly can outside.

By Sunday, I was already starting to feel fitter. In fact, I enjoyed running for pretty much the first time since (before) the Marathon and didn't mind the fact that getting lost in the Casa de Campo turned my 13 km run into a 15.5 km one.

Monday: 10 km @ 4:29
Tuesday: (speed) 6 x 800m w/ 400m recovery @ 3:22, 3;23, 3:31, 3:35, 3:36, 3:41...
Wednesday: -
Thursday: (tempo) 10 km @ 3:46
Friday: 10 km @ 4:20
Saturday: 12.9 km @ 4:24
Sunday: 15.5 km @ 4:24
Total kilometres: 68.4

VO2 Max (Garmin): 62 ml/kg/min
Resting pulse (average): 43 ppm
Fat (average): 7.7%