Overview of Build Up to Scotiabank Toronto Marathon 2016 and final target!

I thought I would put a blog together to surmise my training over this marathon build up. I find this is helpful as a bit of a personal pep-talk to give me confidence ahead of the race. I think it is important to reflect on what has gone well and what I have done differently which will help me secure an improvement in performance come race day.

There have been a few differences to my training this time around which I think have contributed to slightly different adaptations. These minor changes will hopefully pay dividends in Toronto tomorrow. Of course the race is still to be run and there is a lot that can happen before and indeed during the race but suffice to say I feel I have got here in the shape of my life. I feel a PB is on the cards and can go in with a huge amount of confidence that I have a good race to come.

Confidence is one part of the battle, getting to the start line unscathed is another and then not running like an arse on the day is probably the most important bit!

I started this specific block on the 1st August with the intention to run the Yorkshire Marathon on 9th October. This would give me eight weeks specific build up with two weeks taper. Naturally that changed to the Toronto Marathon on getting the England call up. It didn't really mean much had changed from my original plan other than an easier week easing back into my training post a half marathon PB in September.

Mike and I had put together a plan that would hopefully build upon recent successful marathon campaigns. Below I have gone into the elements of this specific phase that have been different to previous campaigns.

Heat Acclimation runs
I introduced these after reading some very interesting research on the topic on how the body adapts to heat stress. The research suggests that it can help increase blood plasma volume and VO2max as well as making you a more efficient sweater so your body retains more sodium. This has a beneficial impact, certainly where the marathon is concerned as it means you have less requirement for drinking during the race. I do plan to drink during the race but I will only do so to thirst and as it is unlikely to be roasting hot on the 16th October, I should be ok! I have done most of these on my recently acquired treadmill, just because it is a more controlled environment. I can keep the pace very exact so don't have to worry about hills or wind. It also has the benefit of not many folks seeing me dressed up like an arctic explorer going out for a run on a 20 degree day! I really do feel these have brought me on a lot. My heart rate is lower for similar paces so I am becoming more efficient and I do believe the HA runs have been a key aspect of this.

Increased modulation
This is key to Renato Canova's philosophy. His training is so focused on specificity (as all training should be but rarely is!). In a nutshell, given the rigours of the marathon that means that there a lot of big monster volume, high intensity sessions. Not long slow miles which is quite frequently the norm. He is a massive proponent of fast long runs, split progressives and sandwich sessions ala Steve Way. As a result Canova insists that all other running is done at a pace that truly allows the athlete to recover properly before the next big one. I have tried to ensure throughout this specific block that my moderate and easy runs are easier than previous campaigns. I think this has played a part in improvement as well as more enjoyment of nailing the big sessions.

Fartleks and more top end speedwork
Another important aspect of Canova's philosophy (and indeed Mike Baxter's) is that your top end speed should never be too far away. Not that I've ever really had any but it is something that we have consciously included more of in this phase. As a result, I actually feel that I could run PBs at all distances at the moment! I may well do a marathon build up for a 5k in the future!

Hill Sprints
I have tried to include these every other week or so. Hills are good for building strength and stimulating fast twitch muscle fibres in a relatively low stress way. I always find it interesting after doing a few hill sprints how much easier faster running feels in the days that follow. Hopefully there is some cumulative effect that has been built up over the phase.

Special Block
I was keen to include a so called special block this campaign (essentially two tough sessions in the same day). Firstly as Canova uses them and secondly I was confident that my body would cope with it given how well I was recovering form other hard workouts. It was definitely tough and the coupe of days afterwards I was basically a zombie but just a week on I felt a big boost to my fitness. That should hopefully stand me in good stead for the race.

Fitter at the start of the Specific Phase
It had been a goal of mine and Mike's to hit the specific phase fitter than I ever have before and in better 10k shape at the start of the campaign. In most previous build ups I have been chasing fitness gains in the early weeks when I could have been focused more on the specific elements of training. i.e. ensuring I was hitting the sessions as planned and feeling comfortable doing so. So previously while I have managed to hit a lot of the sessions I wanted, these have often been at the cost of being a little too stressful, meaning recovery from them has been harder and I had generally felt more tired. In hindsight I think we achieved that quite handsomely. I ran well at the Great Yorkshire 10k which although wasn't a PB I think was worth about 35 seconds quicker than my PB given the difficulty of the course.

Consistency
This is probably the trump card to be honest. I have been lucky in that I haven't been injured or suffered any significant colds or viruses throughout this campaign and as a result have managed to streak together 114 days worth of running (if I get to race day without a day off!) with some good weeks of building miles before one cut back week half way through the phase. August was my biggest mileage month ever at 518 miles and this was followed up with a 456 mile month in September, despite it including one week of 69 miles that had a mini-taper and half marathon race. For the 9 weeks before taper I averaged 112.8 miles per week, much more than I have achieved before (98.2mpw pre Berlin '15, 101.3mpw pre London '15 and 101.3mpw pre York '14).

Target for Race Day!I have tossed and turned with this in my mind over recent weeks. I know I am a lot fitter than pre-Berlin and I was convinced following that performance that I was in sub 2:20 shape had it not been for the stitch (I have mentioned the stitch before, right?!?!). The sessions I have been doing have implied a marathon pace of something around 5:15-5:16 per mile which would bring me in at something around 2:17:40. Interestingly this would also mean running two half marathon PBs back to back. Now that is a little bit of a daunting prospect but doesn't entirely scare me! Having said that I have to reflect on what I am likely to be served with conditions wise tomorrow morning. It does look like it is going to be a little windy and possibly quite warm (thank goodness for all that Heat Acclimation!) so it may not be as quick as I would wish for, in an ideal world. In a nutshell what this means is that I will just as ever run as well as I can on the day, and hope that the group that I am setting off with which plan to split in around 69:30 can keep it together for a long time. Hopefully I will be strong enough to pick up the pace a little in the second half to get towards low/sub 2:19 but if not I will be close enough to be able to hit my A-Target of 2:19:59.

Target split times for an even sub 2:19 are:
10km - 32:56
Half way - 69:30
30k - 1:38:50
35k - 1:55:18
40k - 2:11:46
Finish - 2:18:59.

Target split times for an even sub 2:20 are:
10km - 33:10
Half Way - 69:59
30k - 1:39:32
35k - 1:56:07
40k - 2:12:43
Finish - 2:19:59

See you on the other side.