On To The Next One

I have entered my next marathon. Originally I wanted to run Edinburgh but that is not until late May which would give me zero time to recover and train for an autumn marathon. So, next step scour the internet, weigh up the pros and cons and the winner is (drum roll) Manchester. It's on April 6th, it is the flattest marathon in the country and it gives plenty of time to rest and train for an autumn marathon (probably Chester again in October).

I've also been looking at different training plans. An 18 week plan would start in December which gives me just over two months to recover from the Chester marathon (about 5 weeks) followed by a bit of base training.

One of the plans I've been looking at is called the Hansons Marathon Method. It's based on the principle that the longest training run is no longer than 16 miles (and not based around catchy mid-90s pop songs). This is quite a challenge since pretty much all the other training plans have runs of 20 or 22 miles. The 16 miles is meant to be run in a depleted state thus recreating the last 16 miles of the marathon rather than the first 16. It's certainly different. I've got the book that the plan is based on so will read it before making a decision, but I am drawn to the shorter long runs and the anecdotal evidence is strong. One to watch I think.

This week I have managed to run the grand total of 9 miles!

After Chester I didn't run for four days. I worked from home on the Monday and then cycled to work the rest of the week. I had DOMS but not as bad as it was the first time I ran a marathon in 2010 when I could barely move the next day. My first run was on Friday, an easy 4 mile loop just to get the legs working. I wrote after the Richmond Park marathon earlier in the year that the temptation to run further and more frequently is strong but must be overcome to reduce the chance of injury. Rest and recovery are the most important thing for the next month or so.

This morning I ran 5 miles. Again at easy pace. In slightly drizzly weather. The temperature has certainly dropped in the last week which I welcome. I love the changing seasons, both spring and autumn. The leaves change colour, there's a snap in the air. As long as it doesn't drop to the sub-zero temperature we had last winter I'll be a happy runner.

Quick note - I've ordered a new heart rate strap. It's a soft version from Polar that is compatible with my Garmin monitor. My current strap is too stiff and causes a rash on my side. Also, it has started to pong a bit (it's about 4 years old and smells like it regardless of how much I wash it). I intend to run my next training plan by pace but I'd like to keep the heart rate monitor on just to make sure I'm not overdoing things.

Next week, much of a muchness. I think I might get my total mileage into double figures. 5 more miles this year and I will top 1500 miles, my most ever!

Chester Marathon

The marathon can be won or lost on the smallest of margins. Go out too fast and you pay a heavy price towards the end. Get your fueling strategy wrong and you hit the wall later on. No other race poses these sort of problems. How fast should you go? How many gels or sports drinks should you take per hour? These aren't issues you face running a 10k or half marathon. Both of which can be run without fuel or water. The only problem then could be a build up of lactic acid but that isn't going to halt you as if you've slammed into a brick wall.

The day of the Chester marathon couldn't have been more perfect. Clear skies, hardly any wind and temperatures in that Goldilocks zone of neither too hot nor too cold. We lined up at 9am, the town crier of Chester shouted a few words of encouragement and we were away!

Me looking forward to the start! Cheesy grin is author's own.

My plan was to stick near the 3:30 pace runners and hope to last out until the last couple of miles where I imagined myself running clear and smashing the 3:30 barrier.

That was my plan. What actually happened was that I went off at a decent pace that was probably a few seconds too fast. For a 3:30 marathon you need to run at 4:59 per km. After the first few miles I noticed I was running at 4:52 per km. Too fast. As much as I tried to slow down I somehow couldn't. I think my legs just carried on running at a speed they were comfortable with. And it was a comfortable pace. The miles went by and before I knew it I had hit 10k in under 50 minutes. Fame and glory was going to be all mine.

The route so far was familiar to me. It was the Chester half marathon route and one I had run on many a training run. At about 9 miles it turned into new territory. We crossed the border into Wales where the next 8 miles would be run. I went through the halfway stage in under 1:45, still on track, still too fast. Looking over my shoulder I could no longer see the 3:30 pace runners. No problem I thought, I've got that time in the bank and should be able to stay ahead even if my pace slows in the second half.

What I didn't foresee was that the course would get hillier and undulating and the temperature would rise as the morning started to turn into afternoon. I took sports drinks at fuel stations when offered every 6 miles. I also took a gel every 4 miles from mile 9 onward. This I thought was the perfect fuel strategy.

After halfway I sped up a little, 4:51 per km. I imagined that this would be fine. I felt great, I started overtaking people and everything was rosy. This was until mile 17.

I don't know why but I started to get doubts. Whereas the miles had previously flown by it now felt like each mile was a chore. I still managed to hit my pace. I slowed a little but nothing major. Between mile 17 and 21 it felt like an eternity. I would seek shade where I could; it was getting hotter. Inclines became more pronounced and felt harder to climb. And my stomach felt like it was full of sugar.

At mile 21 I stopped. Barely. Just for a second or two but it was enough. Starting again felt difficult, but I got my pace back up to what I needed it to be. I took a gel at mile 22 when offered by the fuel station and opted for water rather than a sports drink. I could no longer face the sweetness combination. The gel seemed to work wonders. I felt good. I thought I had got my second wind. It turned out to be a false dawn. I got to mile 23 which was on the road in to Chester that I was familiar with. I had run it the previous day on a four mile loop. Not long now I thought. And then the worst thing happened. My pace had gradually slowed but not too much I thought. "Three thirty" I heard someone call behind me. I looked and saw the 3:30 pace runners about 10 meters behind. Psychologically this was a disaster. I tried to stay with them and did so for about half a mile but I had no more energy in my legs. With the 3:30 pacer pack merrily running off into the distance without me I could see my hope of hitting my A goal fading with them. I had 2.5 miles left and a 15 minute buffer to get it in order to hit my B goal and beat my previous PB. Mentally I was telling myself that a miss was as good as a mile and I could afford more walking stops. Each time I stopped it became harder and harder to start again. The crowds along the road would try and get me running again and as much I wanted to I found it incredibly difficult to get my legs going. I had gone out too fast too soon and was now paying the price. The final two miles took about 10 minutes each. In the last mile I could feel my hamstring and groin start to complain. I stopped again and again. Finally I reached the race course. I could see the finish line but it felt like it was miles away. It was only about 400 meters but it might as well have been 400 miles. I stopped one final time and then made my away along the longest 400 meters in history. No sprint finish. No punching the air in celebration. Even though I had beaten my PB by 7 minutes I felt a bit low. I picked up my medal and then saw my wife and mother-in-law shouting my name in the finishing chute. A kiss, bottle of water, goody bag and technical top later and I was lying on the grass trying to get some energy back in my limbs.

Now the dust has settled I'm actually more upbeat about the whole thing. After all, I had run my fastest marathon ever and in trying to get under 3:30 I had learnt a lot of valuable lessons.

1. Do not. Do not. DO NOT go out too fast. Know your limits. Know what you trained for and stick to it. If anything, go a bit slower than necessary to start with.
2. Look for alternative methods of fueling. Maybe try jelly beans or jelly babies instead.
3. Always examine the course map beforehand so you know what to expect and hills do not come as any surprise.

Looking at my running data I can see that even with two miles to go I could still have theoretically finished in under 3:30 if I ran at 5 min per km. It's easy to see in hindsight and at the time there was no way I could have got my legs going at that pace.

So, what next? Well, I will spend the next 6 weeks doing recovery runs. Then it's planning for the next race. I'm thinking of running the Edinburgh marathon at the end of May. Do I use the P&D schedule again? I'm not sure. I enjoyed the training plan but I wasn't convinced that there were enough long runs. The Runner's World schedule has four twenty mile runs and one twenty-two mile run. P&D only has three twenty mile runs. I am going to investigate the Jack Daniels running schedule. His plan has been around since 1978 and is tried and tested. It is a 24 week schedule so will start in mid-December for a May marathon! That is a long time to be training. I'll look into it a bit further before I commit though.

Here's my Garmin data from the marathon, see if you can spot where the wheels came off!

Can I Play With Madness?

Chester marathon is just 5 days away! I'm currently in the taper period that drives many people training for a marathon slightly crazy. The desire to run is so institutional at this point that the reduction in miles and running sessions is counter-intuitive. But it's important to trust the schedule and know that the hard work is behind, making the marathon itself a treat to look forward to.

I ran the Ealing half marathon on Sunday. Normally I'd be running this eyes out, full speed but this time I had to treat it as a training session. It helped that I ran it with two work colleagues, one of whom had not run a half marathon before. This meant I was able to pace the race for them which happened to be at a little bit slower than marathon pace. Ideal!

It meant that I was able to really enjoy the run. Soaking in the excellent support from the locals and run with a smile on my face. I even high-fived my wife as we ran past the road junction nearest my house. I hope I'm able to run Chester with a similar smile although I think that may be a tougher ask, especially during the middle tricky miles.

I had hoped to run the marathon wearing my lighter racing shoes. I wore them for the Ealing half but I found they put a lot a strain on my lower legs and feet especially my arches and ankles. So I've decided not to risk it for the full marathon. Not yet, anyway.

We are travelling to Chester on Friday evening. My wife still owns a house there which we are preparing for rental, but until then we can stay there for the weekend. I'll run an easy four miles on Saturday morning and then I'll be ready for the big one the next morning. Fingers crossed!

I've given myself three goals for the run. My A goal is to run under 3:30 which would make me smile like a loon. My B goal is to run under 3:44:46 which is my previous best that I set in Brighton back in 2010 and would still give me a big grin. My C goal is to get under 4 hours which considering I ran the Richmond Park marathon in May in under 3:55 with very poor training and a surprisingly hilly course I think I should be able to achieve.

By the time of the marathon I will have trained for 18 weeks and run 750 miles. More than any other training schedule I've followed. I don't think I've ever been more prepared. I have followed the schedule to the letter, only missing out on about 30 miles for the week that I was in Cyprus when I had to substitute other sessions due to the extreme heat and humidity. I'm quietly proud of myself. My next post will be a race report where I've either achieved goal A, B or C. Or none of them!