Training Log Archive: Craig

Event: Perth Marathon
 

Perth Marathon
Perfect conditions, 7 degrees and calm at the start rising to about 16 and 10km/h winds by the finish.
Warm up consisted of joggging 500m at walking pace and 2 x 30m at marathon pace. I started at what felt like a comfortable pace which turned out to be 4:05. This was a little slower than I was hoping for but I thought it might pick up naturally as I warmed up so I kept the effort the same for the next 2km which went by in 8:10. The plan was to run sub 4 for as long as possible and then hang on the best I could so I tried to up the pace a bit. I averaged about 4.02 through to 9km with my hamstrings feeling a bit tight before getting into a more comfortable rhythm at 3.56 for the 10th km which I reached in 40.20. I thought this might be a little too fast but I held this pace through to 24km before my quads started to tighten up. I managed to hold the pace around 4.00 through to 28km but my quads were getting progressively worse and the pace started to slip to average 4.08 for the next 6km before the real decline began. From 34km my quads were getting so sore that I couldn't stop my stride from getting shorter and shorter even though I still felt I had plenty of energy. Each km from 34 on was about 5 seconds slower than the one before and I was just hoping I would make it to the finish before I seized up completely (I had already passed a few who had). With one km to go I decided it was worth risking an attempt to lift the pace a bit and I managed to go from 4.44 to 4.23 but that was enough to convince me I was right not to risk trying any earlier. Overall I was a little disappointed not to get under 2:50 but happy that I managed to avoid blowing out really badly at the end. Perhaps I pushed it a little too hard from 10 to 25km but I had a very similar experience with my quads in my first marathon 15 years ago when I just took it easy all the way so maybe the pace wasn't the problem. In hindsight I should have made sure I did a better warm up as I really didn't feel comfortable for the first 8 or 9 km.

Summary Splits (5k)
5k 20:15
10k 19:55 40:20
15k 19:41 1:00:01
20k 19:51 1:19:52
25k 19:48 1:39:40
30k 20:17 1:59:57
35k 20:55 2:20:52
40k 22:51 2:43:43
42.2k 9:57 2:53:40

Detailed Splits
1k 4:05.2
3k 8:10.1 12:15
4k 4:03.4 16:18
5k 3:56.6 20:15
6k 4:03.8 24:19
7k 4:00.0 28:19
8k 4:02.6 32:21
9k 4:02.1 36:23
10k 3:56.8 40:20
11k 3:59.2 44:19
12k 3:56.8 48:16
13k 3:56.1 52:12
14k 3:56.2 56:09
15k 3:52.8 1:00:01
16k 3:59.7 1:04:01
17k 3:56.2 1:07:57
18k 3:57.9 1:11:55
19k 3:59.3 1:15:54
20k 3:58.0 1:19:52
21k 3:55.7 1:23:48 (half way 1:24:11)
22k 3:57.2 1:27:45
23k 3:56.3 1:31:42
24k 3:58.2 1:35:40
25k 4:00.1 1:39:40
26k 4:01.6 1:43:42
27k 4:00.4 1:47:42
28k 4:01.5 1:51:44
29k 4:08.6 1:55:52
30k 4:05.1 1:59:57
31k 4:08.1 2:04:05
32k 4:04.5 2:08:10
33k 4:11.3 2:12:21
34k 4:12.2 2:16:33
35k 4:18.6 2:20:52
36k 4:22.9 2:25:15
37k 4:34.5 2:29:49
38k 4:29.5 2:34:19
39k 4:40.9 2:39:00
40k 4:43.1 2:43:43
41k 4:44.3 2:48:27
42k 4:23.5 2:52:51
42.195k 0:48.8 2:53:40 (2nd half 1:29:29)

C • my quads are hurting just read... 4

Easy 5k run as a final loosener before the marathon tomorrow. Everything seemed to hurt today but not very much. My weight has gone up over a kilo in the last couple of days so I hope it has all gone into my muscle glycogen stores.

Easy run from home at 7:30am (marathon start time) in light drizzle. Missed a turn early in the run because I was thinking about the marathon too much. Felt quite fresh but had a bit of a weak and wobbly period from 20-30 minutes. I might have to eat breakfast a bit earlier on race day. Feeling good again by the end so if it happens on Sunday I won't be too concerned. Last km in 3:56 felt easier than marathon pace but it is downhill.

Tapering for marathon on Sunday.

Easy lap of KP with Ben on old course including Hale Oval but not finishing sand tracks. A bit easier than recent weeks. Ivan and Alan ran slowly and took a shortcut. Ivan was feeling a bit stiff after his 40 hour trip home from Russia. It could have been worse if he had actually run the marathon he accidentally signed up for just before his flight home (he wore the t-shirt on the run tonight). I felt quite good but my ankle was hurting on steeper hills and sharp corners. Ankle feeling a bit worse after this run than it did after last night's treadmill run as well.

Winter finally arrived in Perth at around 2pm this afternoon so I was soft and ran inside on the treadmill. Tried out the new skins Rachel got me as an early birthday present to help with my marathon recovery. Very hot by the end but it always is on the treadmill. Started easy then ran a bit at close to marathon pace in the second half. Ankle felt fine. Km Splits (HR)
5.43(118), 4.59(128), 4.47(133), 4.46(135), 4.36(141), 4.18(148), 4.02(153), 4.01(155), 3.52(156), 4.45(141)

Decided it was better to give the ankle a day to recover. Won't hurt to have an extra day off leading into the marathon anyway.