Scotiabank Toronto Marathon 2016 - Three weeks to go

M 12 miles (6:47mm), 6 miles HA (7:26mm)
T 6 miles HA (7:15mm)
W AM - Canova Special Block Session 1, PM - Canova Special Block Session 2
T 6.5 miles (7:36mm)
F 10.5 miles HA (7:17mm), 7 miles (6:45mm)
S 8.5 miles HA (7:09mm), 5 miles (7:05mm)
S 24.5 miles Split Progressive Long Run (5:58mm)

Total 113 miles (6:35mm)
Aerobic efficiency 943 beats per mile
Weight 139.4lbs Vs 140.9lbs last week
Body Fat 9.39% (13.08lbs) Vs 9.47% (13.34lbs) last week
Lean Body Mass 86.06% (119.97lbs) Vs 85.99% (121.16lbs) last week
Water 66.43% (92.60lbs) Vs 66.63% (93.89lbs) last week


Coming into this week I was on a bit of a high following a good return to training after the half marathon but I have to admit Monday and Tuesday were a bit of a slog. It was reflected in an unusually high heart rate on my runs and thus they weren't particularly efficient.  This was possibly due to the fact that I had a busy weekend but more likely because I knew I had the Canova special block coming up so was perhaps a little anxious about it, having not done it before. I decided to drop the second run on Tuesday so I would be as fresh as possible for Wednesday's exploits.


I have put together a video log of how the Special Block went detailing the sessions, how I was feeling, pre and post workout and also a thorough food diary to show what I ate to fuel and refuel post-workouts. You can see this below. If you don't fancy wasting your time then I have blogged a summation of how it went below the video.

I took this so called 'block session' from Abel Kirui's build up to his victory at the World Championship Marathon in 2011. There is a great blog by John Davis who has very kindly put together quite a thorough overview of Canova's approach and indeed he includes the training plans of Kirui's and Moses Mosop's build ups to successful marathon victories.


Kirui's first session was structured as follows; 6.2miles at 90% MP, 4 mins rest then 9.3 miles at 98.5% MP. I then made this session relevant to me to make sure the time that I was running for the efforts would be similar to what Kirui did in his session. I worked out that it would amount to 5.5 miles for the first effort followed by 8.25 miles for the second. The planned paces, based on current PB marathon pace were 6:00mm for the first effort and 5:30 for the second effort. The paces ended up at 90.2% MP (5:57mm) and 99.7% MP (5:26mm). I actually felt really good and like I was holding back a little but I wasn't being too big headed about it as I knew I had another hard session to follow later in the day!


Going out on the second session my legs felt tired and it certainly took a bit to get them going so did a bit of faster running in the warm up to ensure I could hit the paces I wanted to in the efforts which was supposed to be 6X4:30 (Kirui's session was actually 6X1600m but again I made the session relevant to me) at 105.5%MP with 2 minutes recovery which would mean a target pace for me of 5:07mm for the efforts. I fully expected them to feel hard all the way but I was surprised that I didn't feel I could go as slow as 5:07mm for the first. Still I wasn't getting ahead of myself. This session was all about trying to replicate the dead legs towards the end of the marathon. The first two came in at 5:02mm, then a 5:01 and a 4:59. I knew then that I would get the session done and would survive! The last two were very hard on the legs but I felt really strong aerobically. Not like I was about to blow. The last two came in at 4:58 and 4:56 pace for an average of 107.7%MP (5:00mm) for the efforts across the session. It was such a relief to get it done as it's the first time I have tried this type of thing. The next few days would be just about taking it easy and trying to make sure my body absorbed the stresses I had put it under.

For anyone that has sat through the video will know that the next couple of days were a bit of  struggle to say the least. Not so much in terms of soreness, albeit the legs were certainly dull and not up for running quickly, I was absolutely shattered. I felt like I'd been on my stag do all over again! I did however perk up on Friday afternoon and it was pleasing to be running easily again on Friday evening with a moderate run on the treadmill feeling very comfortable and with HR back to where it should be.


And so to the second hard run of the week on Sunday which was another of Canova's staples, a split progressive run of 24 miles with 12 miles at 90%MP(c6:00mm), followed immediately with 8 miles at 98.5%MP (5:30mm). Given that I may not be fully recovered I decided before the run that I would knock it on the head if it felt too hard and just run some more easy miles. When I put this run in my plan and in the lead up I was perhaps underestimating it and thought it would be relatively easy. On Saturday night though I did start to realise that it would be quite a hard effort, especially picking up the pace after 15 miles of running to not far off marathon pace and in the context of a decent volume week of miles with the Canova session just a few days before. As a result I don't think I was as focused on the run as I otherwise would have been. That said I hit the paces pretty much bang on (5:58mm for the 12 mile section and 5:29mm for the 8 mile section) with the 8 mile section feeling 'hard but fine' and HR for that section coming in at 169 beats per minute versus a marathon HR of c175-177. I didn't feel like I was overreaching on the run so I stayed true to my word and it was pleasing to get it in the bag.


Weight wise, I have dropped a bit of weight this week and my body composition seems to be improving slightly. Something worth pointing out as it may not be correct is that although my scales are good for tracking progress I suspect they are not wholly accurate and my body fat percentage may well be a bit lower than it says. I am starting to look 'pre-York' lean and I was incredibly skinny for that race, I almost look like an athlete which makes it hard to think that I am carrying a full 13lbs of fat.


Aerobic efficiency is still in a good place but not quite as good as last week due to the lower aerobic efficiency of the runs either side of the Canova block.


One more chunky week to go!

Scotiabank Toronto Marathon 2016 - Four weeks to go

M 10 miles (7:03mm), 6 miles HA (6:50mm)
T 12 miles (6:45mm), 6 miles (7:28mm)
W 9.5 miles HA (6:45mm), 6 miles including 6X15s hills (7:32mm)
T 12 mile with 15X2mins (60s) (6:07mm)
F 11 miles (6:21mm), 6 miles HA (7:14mm)
S 8 miles HA (7:10mm), 5 miles (7:30mm)
S 20.5 miles including 16 at 94.2%MP (5:44mm), 6 miles (7:29mm)

Total 119 miles (6:44mm)
Aerobic efficiency 927 beats per mile
Weight 140.9lbs Vs 139.2lbs last week
Body Fat 9.47% (13.34lbs) Vs (9.43% (13.13lbs) last week
Lean Body Mass 85.99% (121.16lbs) Vs 86.03% (119.76lbs)  last week
Water 66.63% (93.89lbs) Vs 66.4% (92.43lbs) last week


Mike & I were keen to ensure that I had recovered from the exploits of last week's half marathon before motoring on with any sessions. It was pleasing that recovery seemed to go better than expected. I did feel quite tired on Monday but the legs were fine and to be honest I didn't really notice any significant fatigue. It was almost as if it had just been a hard session. I guess the big miles of recent weeks has really toughened the legs up somewhat.


On Tuesday I took delivery of something quite exciting! See below. If you're really bored you may also want to watch the video, complete with David Brent style dancing, of me unwrapping the goodies!

And so to Thursday which was I guess a bit of a test of the legs and to get them turning over again with a lighter session of 15X2mins with 60 seconds recovery. Mike had instructed that I should do these a touch faster than Marathon Pace. They ended up a bit quicker than that(!) at 104% MP (5:12mm) but they felt comfortable and I ensured I wasn't straining at all through the workout. This was a good boost as it really confirmed that I had recovered well from the half. It did make me ponder whether I actually had been recovering from a low lying bug last week, leading into the race as this pace really did feel very comfortable and my heart rate didn't even reach marathon heart rate.


Following that it was a couple of easy days running before a consolidatory long run of 20 miles with 16 miles at 94%MP (c5:44mm). I didn't want to go too far this week and it was important that it wasn't too taxing as I know I'm in good shape and I have a very hard week planned coming. I did a similar run at the beginning of the specific phase and I think I noted at the time that it felt much closer to 100% of MP. Today it was very relaxed, in fact I would go to the extent that it almost felt easy! Last time my HR averaged 173 beats per minute for the 16 mile effort and today it was 155 beats per minute which is a hopping improvement in aerobic efficiency of 109 beats per mile!


Weight wise, I have put weight on despite being much more sensible with my food (I even made some ugali earlier in the week!). Thankfully the additional weight seems to be made up of in the main lean body mass and water rather than fat (which increased by only 3 oz!)!


Aerobic efficiency has actually been my best week ever at 927 beats per mile average, with Sunday's long run the most efficient of the week at a lowly 894 beats per mile. This further implies to me although doesn't confirm that I had something, albeit nothing too major, in the system last week.


I am looking to do what Renato Canova terms a 'special block' on Wednesday which is somewhat daunting. It's essentially two pretty tough sessions in one day! I haven't done this before but feel as I'm fit and recovering well I may as well give it a go to see what sort of effect it has on me. Hopefully it will be a positive one! Overall then, really chuffed to have got a big week of miles in with two solid but not massive sessions. This should help consolidate the fitness before the last two weeks of big effort coming up.

Scotiabank Toronto Marathon 2016 - Five weeks to go

M 7.5 miles HA (7:20mm), 5 miles (7:44mm)
T 9 miles HA (7:03mm)
W 10.5 miles including 10X1min(60s) + 10 min Tempo (6:12mm)
T 9 miles HA (7:07mm)
F 5 miles HA (7:27mm))
S 3.5 miles (7:14mm)
S 19 miles including Vale of York Half Marathon

Total 69 miles (6:42mm)
Aerobic efficiency 972 beats per mile
Weight 139.2lbs Vs 139.9lbs last week
Body Fat 9.43% (13.13lbs) Vs 9.7% (13.57lbs) last week
Lean Body Mass 86.03% (119.76lbs) Vs 85.7% (119.88lbs) last week
Water 66.4% (92.43lbs) Vs 65.86% (92.12lbs) last week


The main focus this week was Sunday's race at the Vale of York half Marathon where I have been confident of a PB given recent training. So with that in mind it was important to scale the training right back and I only ran singles from Tuesday onwards. Wednesday I did a bit of a sharpening session which was 10X1min hard with 60 seconds jog recovery followed by 10 minutes at around half marathon effort. I did the session first thing in the morning but it was already 20 degrees and over 90% humidity so very sticky indeed and I certainly felt it during the session. Because of this it was interesting to see that the heart rate was higher than it has been of late, probably partly due to the humidity but also as I was starting to freshen up ahead of the weekend so there was probably a bit more adrenaline freely flowing! The minute efforts came in at 4:41mm average and the 10 minute effort came in at 5:12mm. If I could run the half at 5:12 per mile pace then it would mean a big PB and mean that my training was all on track. That said the tempo still felt quite hard, but then half marathon pace always does for me in training. I was also hoping it would be slightly less humid by the weekend, which could have another positive.

I didn't weigh myself from Thursday as I didn't want the scales to scare my incredibly fragile mind! Given the reduction in mileage one always tends to feel a little lardier. I actually felt really tired Thursday evening, Friday and all day Saturday. I convinced myself that it was because my body was preparing for what was coming. But it was quite unusual because I normally go the other way, I cant sleep and I'm hyper. All I wanted to do was sleep. It did make me consider whether I may be coming down with something but I felt OK, just a bit wiped out. The 'aerobic efficiency' had been a bit down too so again it was slightly concerning but I tried not to let it bother me too much as I was till very much looking forward to racing.

I had had a bit of banter with Dave Archer before the race as he was using it as a final tempo session before Berlin and I kept trying to tempt him into racing otherwise there was a risk it would be a lonely race for me. My plan was pretty simple. Go out hard and try and hold on! With a count down from five we were expecting a nice big hooter to send us on our way. Unfortunately we were greeted with what can only be classed as a great let down as the foghorn failed to work. As we all set off, the starter retrospectively shouted 'go' much to the humour of everyone.

 

Chuckling at the start. Photo credit: @alcphotosleeds

 

Dave Archer finding it amusing at the suicidal pace I was setting. Photo credit: @alcphotosleeds

In hindsight I went out a little too quick covering the first two miles in about 10:12. A pace not dissimilar to what I was racing 5ks at earlier in the summer! That said it felt fine at the time but quickly I was starting to realise that the pace was too quick and so tried to get back into a more sensible rhythm. To an extent I had already done a bit of damage to my race but I knew I was still strong enough to run well for a PB as long as I kept my head.

About four miles in. Photo credit @alsphotosleeds

Cooling me sen darn :-)

I decided that I would use this race to test a gel again and make sure I could tolerate it without getting a stitch, like had happened at Berlin. I had a Science in Sport one which I know I have coped with well in the past and I was pleased to say that I didn't experience any gut discomfort so will ensure I use these in the race in Toronto.

As the race progressed I knew that I was well on target for a PB but to be honest my legs were starting to tire and with no-one to race with I have to say I was probably a bit soft and didn't quite give it everything. The picture below would perhaps suggest otherwise, but I am quite good at gurning towards the end of races!

I ended up finishing in 68:55, so a PB by 10 seconds which I am delighted with, especially as I feel there was almost certainly more to give. Although it was a bit slower than I wanted, coming out with a PB in what was essentially a time trial without 'going to the well' with five weeks to go should give me great confidence. Given my conversion, it may actually end up not being too far away form eventual marathon pace so all looking good for a sub 2:20 attempt.


It was nice to see Dave come over the finish line in second place a couple of minutes later looking fresh as a daisy following his tempo run.

Proud Yorkshiremen

For anyone that reads my blog that is looking for a quick half marathon in September, I urge you to enter this one. It is hard to think that there can be any quicker course in the UK. It would be great to see a real top quality field assembled in the years to come as it is a dead cert PB course.

Following the race, my legs feel ok and to be honest don't really feel like they've raced particularly hard. This again is a very positive sign as the last two PBs I have done at the half (Wilmslow in 2015 and this race two years ago) my legs were in complete bits. I took the opportunity to have my last 'cheat day' before Toronto and ate quite a bit of unhealthy stuff and treated myself to a few ales. I shall now be eating as healthily as can be and avoiding booze to ensure I am in the best possible shape. I only have five weeks to go now and it's time for the final push.

Scotiabank Toronto Marathon 2016 - Six weeks to go

M 11 miles HA (6:29mm), 7 miles including 6X15s hill sprints (7:19mm)
T 8 miles HA (6:53mm), 6 miles (7:27mm)
W 19 miles including 24, 18, 12, 6, 3mins (3:00) (5:51mm)
T 11 miles (6:22mm), 7.5 miles (7:24mm)
F 9 miles HA (6:29mm), 5 miles (7:40mm)
S 7 miles HA (7:21mm)
S 26.4 miles including South Cheshire 20

Total 118 miles (6:31mm)
Aerobic efficiency 954 beats per mile
Weight 139.9lbs vs 141.6lbs
Body Fat 9.7% (13.57lbs) vs 9.8% (13.9lbs) last week
Lean Body Mass 85.7% (119.88lbs) vs 85.75% (121.31lbs) last week
Water 65.86% (92.12lbs) vs 66.15% (93.67lbs)  last week


After the excitement of being called up to represent England in the forthcoming Toronto marathon, it was important not to let that excitement carry through to my training too much. I have had many supportive bits of advice encouraging me not to start pushing the envelope, not least from my coach Mike Baxter. Toronto is scheduled for a week later than the Yorkshire Marathon so  it wont really alter my plans significantly these coming weeks. If anything it should allow me to be a little more cautious as I come back to training following a half marathon race I'm doing a week on Sunday. I hope to go for a PB in this race providing the weather is good and will be tapering down for it to ensure I am moderately fresh!


So this week was really the last big week before a bit of a cut back with next week's race in mind and following last week's biggest ever mileage week Mike encouraged me to reduce the miles slightly especially with the sessions we had in mind. The first session was as usual on Wednesday. Again I had to do this in London as I was down with work and so made the jog out to Victoria park which has a great uninterrupted loop of close to a mile which is perfect for marathon tempo type sessions. The plan was 24 mins, 18 mins, 12 mins, 6 mins, 3 mins all off a three minute jog recovery starting at close to Marathon Pace and increasing the pace with each shorter effort. It came off quite nicely with paces of 101.5%MP(5:20mm) for the 24 mins, 103.4%(5:14mm) for the 18 mins, 103.7%(5:13mm) for the 12 mins, 106.2%(5:05mm) for the 6 mins and 108.3%(4:58mm) for the 3 mins. As I started the first 20 mins I was conscious that I felt I was holding back, which is a great feeling and perhaps a good indication of what MP might end up being. It feels a bit like you're running with the handbrake on, i.e. if you took it off and let go, you could pick up the pace quite a bit. That said my mind was telling me not to push too hard as this session really does get a lot harder as you progress through the efforts. Unfortunately on starting the 18 minute effort I forgot my own sage advice and possibly pushed the first mile or so too hard which meant the remainder of the session was tough. I wouldn't say breaking point tough but it was definitely tough! It is a great session though and I think Dave Archer did the same session last week and he noted that the last few efforts really do replicate how the legs feel in those last few miles of the marathon. I couldn't agree more as the legs really do feel very heavy and one's breathing is on the limit. 'Really treacly' is the way I like to describe it!

The second session of the week was another fast long run and this time I had decided to do the fast bit within a race at a controlled effort, hoping that it would make it feel easier. It was the South Cheshire 20. Now, I said I wouldn't run as far as I did a couple of weeks ago and I just about managed it albeit I did still run 26.4 miles including warm up and warm down.  It was however probably a tougher run given the profile of the course versus my close to pancake flat tempo loop. Just after I'd registered I met a facebook 'friend' Tony Wardle who told me that Ben Gamble was running today. I knew he held the course record from three years back and so with that took it that I would be happy with second place given I had no intention of running under 1:50! The plan had been to run at solid 5:40s (95% of MP) all the way depending on the course profile. Soon we were off and Ben and I settled in together. I introduced myself and we nattered through the early miles. Ben is such a gent and made a brilliant wind block for many of those miles!

 Just after the start: Photo and video credit: Bryan Dale

Luckily for me, Ben was not at his peak fitness and so his pace coincided with what I wanted to run at which meant that I would have company for the vast majority of the race. This was great as it had always been a bit of a daunting session when I had put it in the plan so to have someone to run with would certainly help on what was a hard training run. While the legs felt a little dull, especially on the hills of which there were many (and so they should after the recent miles),  aerobically I was really comfortable and well below marathon effort. I didn't want to go much above 170 beats per minute (marathon HR 175-178bpm) if I could help it, this would ensure that it was still very much a controlled run. After a few miles the conversation gradually dwindled to occasional comments of 'they found another hill' and 'surely there cant be anymore now!'

Having fun: Photo and video Credit: Bryan Dale

It's a bit of a strange one doing a race as a session as although it feels 'easier' than a training run, you cant help but think of race tactics. How is the other guy feeling? Is he stronger than me? Will I beat him? As I said before I didn't mind losing today, it wasn't about winning, it was about having a hard training run in a race environment with a number pinned to my chest. As the race progressed however I did feel that I was probably stronger than Ben and so thought I would go for the win, the question was when? As we hit the 16 mile mark I decided to up the effort and see what happened, he came with me and as I was still four miles from the finish didn't want to push that hard for four miles I decided to ease back on the effort and give it another go a bit further on! Ben is one tough cookie because every move I made, he covered and despite it seeming he was working harder than me I couldn't open up a gap. For me, my session was going well, there had been no massive surprises in terms of effort or heart rate, in fact it all looked great! I was tired though, of course I was, I was coming to the end of the biggest five week block of training I have ever done (518 miles in August) and looking forward to an easier week. But as we hit eighteen miles I really went for it, I just got my head down and decided to let off the handbrake. This time I did manage to open up a gap and managed to build it to 10 seconds by the end of the race to take the win in 1:52:11 with the last two miles the quickest of the race at 5:19 and 5:16. My heart rate for the race averaged 169 which tells me I should be in c2:20 shape right now. This is obviously highly promising and showing that things are coming together very nicely. 

'I thought this was a road race?'

Weight wise I seem to have dropped about a pound and a half which is great as I think there's still quite a bit of fat to shift and I'm getting close to being as light as I ever have been as a runner. Given there are still six weeks to go to Toronto though I am not looking at crash dieting and will let the training do what it has to while eating as healthily as I can. 

This coming week will be all about reducing the mileage significantly and trying to get a PB at a Half Marathon next weekend. I know I am in shape to do it, I just hope the weather plays ball and I have a good day. If I can get close to 68 minutes I know that sub 2:20 will be up for grabs.

Finally, given my news this week, it's all gone a bit 'bonkers' and I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you so much for all the nice messages and comments I have received regarding the news of my selection for England. I am truly, truly humbled. It will be a dream come true to pull on that vest and although I only got selected because of someone's poor fortune (injury) I promise to do the best I can for the remainder of my training and the race itself.