Yorshire Marathon 2016: Week 2 of 16

M 8 miles HA (6:40mm), 5 miles (7:40mm)
T 10.5 miles HA (6:47mm), 5 miles (7:45mm)
W 16 miles (6:31mm), 45 minutes circuits
T 8 miles HA (7:17mm), 5 miles (7:34mm)
F 7.5 miles HA (6:56mm)
S 5 miles (7:11mm), including some strides
S 14 miles including Eccup 10, 6 miles (7:25mm)

Total 90.5 miles (6:52mm)
Aerobic efficiency 1022 beats per mile
Weight 146.2lbs

After last weekend's half the focus this week was really just to get some decent mileage in before racing a local 10 miler today. I know from experience there is little point me trying to do a hard session in the days following a half marathon so the easy running was a bit of a relief. It did of course mean front loading the week a little with miles so I could have a couple of easier days before the race.

As I mentioned last week I feel like I am carrying a bit too much weight at the moment, certainly to be running my quickest. It doesn't mean I'm not fit now but I'm almost certainly a touch too heavy based on previous races where I have run well. In order to be in shape for Yorkshire Marathon this year, I definitely need to lose a few pounds. I was looking at some photos of me just before Yorkshire marathon a couple of years ago and I really was very lean indeed. Of course that was a real breakthrough race for me and although the training I had done was a big step up from what I had done previously I genuinely believe that a significant factor in that improvement was due to probably being about ½ stone lighter than I had been for previous marathons. So I am taking extra special care with my diet to ensure I am eating sensibly but also to try to lose the pounds that I need to turn myself into a lean mean racing snake. It goes without saying that there comes a point where any further weight loss is detrimental to performance because of loss of strength. It’s just the blubber I want to get rid of!

I also hinted that I was going to start a few new things this time around so something I am starting to experiment with is heat acclimatisation as I have read some interesting studies that suggest it can increase performance in both hot and cool conditions. If my understanding is correct it works due to increasing blood plasma volume and the ability of the body to start sweating earlier and more effectively retaining sodium. There’s a great blog here by Christoff Schwiening (a marathoner and Physiologist from the University of Cambridge) who explains it in quite simple terms. Now the way I have been doing this is on some of my easy runs I have been getting very dressed up so I look a bit like a football hooligan. So thermal tights, tracksuit bottoms, t-shirt, thermal top, woolly bobble hat, hoodie with the hood done up and a pair of gloves! It’s been really interesting doing this as I am seeing that my Heart Rate typically about 15 beats per minute higher than what I would expect for the same pace when wearing more typical running clothes. It is a proper sweat fest and not particularly pleasant but worth it as I look to find additional things that could help me get quicker. All the runs above that have HA next to them refer to heat acclimatisation runs. Interestingly on Fridays run I did notice a big drop in the beats per mile which could well hint at some adaptation already. I intend to keep these going a few times a week to see what sort of response I get in other races coming up over the next few weeks.

Daughter Mia wondering what on earth I'm up to

Today was a local 10 miler, the Holybank Trust Eccup 10 a long standing race that is known for being a tad bumpy so again thoughts of fast times were out the window again and today would be about racing. I knew a couple of other runners Scott Harrington (Otley), Aidan Johnson (Rotherham) and John Hobbs (Valley Striders) were all running who I thought would be good guys to race with and try and drag the pace along. The race got off to a pretty quick start and within the first couple of miles Scott and Aidan had built up a bit of a gap. Only about 15 metres but I wasn't prepared to work as hard as I would have to up the hills to stick with them.

Scott and Aidan putting the pressure on in the early stages with me being a tad more cautious

To my relief as we hit Alwoodley Lane, a flatter part of the course, I managed to get back on level terms. and as we made a turn into the reservoir I suddenly started to feel pretty good, so decided to push the pace here and see if either of them would come with me. It wasn't long before I noticed Scott had dropped off the pace but Aidan was following in quick order behind. I wanted to keep the pace honest so carried on pushing for the next four miles and built up a pretty sizable gap. Someone told me it was about 150 metres at one stage. It was here though that I started to feel pretty tired. My legs were not too pleased but I still felt I had more to give if I had to! Luckily by this stage the race was pretty much over and it would take a big effort for someone to catch me as my lead was about 150 metres and I still felt like I had something in reserve should I really need to find it!  As I ran past the 7 mile marker I was surprised to see two runners coming the other way. They looked like proper runners! Sure enough they were. I don't know who the chap was but the lady was only Laura Weightman, GB Olympian (9th at 1,500m London Olympics no less - although many who finished above her have now been busted for doping!). Laura has booked her seat to Rio by finishing 2nd at the recent British Trials. It certainly gave me a bit of a boost seeing such class whilst out racing. To be fair I could have done with her pacing me for a couple of miles as I was tiring. Mike Baxter was out on the course as well though in various spots and he helpfully told me I had a big lead at the point I needed to hear it most! I finished strongly up the final hill to take the win in 53:46 on what is a tough bumpy course. It was nice to be greeted by my Sister Becky and Brother in Law Nick who had turned out to cheer me home. I was really chuffed with the result at this stage as it proves that I am in good shape and nearly ready to start marathon training. It was also great to see Scott and Aidan pleased with their runs to complete the podium

Top Three: Me, Scott, Aidan

Aerobic efficiency is 'worse' than last week but this was to be expected given I did four HA runs which results in much higher heart rate readings for the same pace. This is mainly because of the extra heat I am generating and how much harder I am having to work to cool myself. I suspect over the coming weeks as I saw with my Friday run that I will become more and more efficient even with all those clothes on, albeit I never expect it to be as efficient as when I'm in sorts and vest.

Weight is currently at 146.2lbs which is at least 6 lbs heavier than I have raced recent marathons at. Thankfully I have another 14 weeks to get back to that which should be achievable, even with a two week trip to Poland in August! This coming week will see a couple of sessions which I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into.