Times Colonist 10k(30:41), wk7

Another week, another 10k. Not gonna lie here, I am glad I am done racing till Ottawa

Times Colonist 10k(30:41), wk7

Another week, another 10k. Not gonna lie here, I am glad I am done racing till Ottawa, it has been fun and i've learned a fair bit, and more or less accomplished what I hoped I would. I have canceled my plans to run the Vancouver Marathon as a workout mainly because I applied for an elite entry and did not even get so much as a response other than the bounce-back confirmation of application reception email. I have dealt with the Vancouver Marathon people in the past and should have expected such treatment, they are well known for poor management and poor treatment of elite athletes. Even if they didn't think I deserved a comp entry a response of any kind would have been nice. Anyhow, thats the way it is. Onto the race today:

I have always wanted to do the Times Colonist 10k but never managed to get over to the Island to do it. This year Bob Reid was kind enough to invite me over and have the race put me up in the Empress Hotel which was great, and in general I had a good experience at the race and will certainly come back. The race itself started out reasonably slow so I took to the front and led for the first 2.5, we went through in I think 3:12, 6:15, 9:15, with a few of us exchanging the lead of a group of nearly a dozen of us. I believe we went through 5k in 15:24 and I was concerned I wouldn't break 31mins today. Even though I went out in the lead, I didn't really feel good today, not rested like last week at the Sun run. So the race really felt like a hard training run. Not unlike the sun run a fell off the back a little bit a few times but fought back into the group and pushed the pace at times, so again I put in a really good 'race' effort and was very pleased. Coming into about 8.5k there were still 7-9 of us together but at that point things started to separate a bit and at 9k I found myself having a hard time in 7th but decided to hang on just behind Spencer Morrison and see what I could muster in the finishing straight. With about, I don't know-maybe 200m to go I went for it and managed to pick off Spencer and Steve Boyd, then had one last gear with about 75m to go and got past David Jackson again by one second. I have never in my life had a good finishing kick but it was the second week in a row I managed one, I don't know what to make of it but i'll take it. I really have no complaints about the race other than I didn't feel all that fresh, which is no surprise with all the races I have done. As for the breathing problems I have had lately, I can't say I noticed them during the race but have been really stuffed up and wheeze when I breathe out fast, so whether that effected my race performance I don't know, perhaps not making each breath more laborious but perhaps generating fatigue over time, which would explain the effects in my long run on thursday. But i'm not going to worry about it. 4 weeks to go!!!
Breakdown:
LR - 19 miles @ 5:44.8/mi
Race - 6.125mi @ 4:56.2/mi
Volume - 98mi

Trouble, Three weeks of training left

I suppose I have been in denial for about 2 weeks now, but after today's long run I am certain something is up. Over the last two weeks, starting with the medium long run I tried to do two Fridays ago where I ended up running 6:15/mi I have been struggling to breathe properly. I didn't really think it would affect me much but in retrospect it explains running slower than I expected in the last two 10k races, in addition to the reasons I gave before. The reason I have come to this conclusion is because on today's long run I was rested, my legs felt strong, but I had to breathe abnormally fast and actually quit the run at 19miles because I was struggling and didn't want to race the last 3 miles, which was what the run was turning into. I was able to keep a 5:45/mi average pace but it was much harder than it should have been given that I was rested. I always know for sure that something is wrong if I quit my long run. So what the hell is the problem? I don't recall ever having problems with my breathing before, other than some exercise induced asthma when I was a kid playing soccer, and only when I was sprinting. The only reason I can think of is that there has been little to no rain this spring where I'm living which perhaps has allowed more allergens to be floating around in the air than I am used to. This is purely speculation because I have no idea what the story is with allergies. So anyway, there's not much I can do except continue to train so I'll do that, but perhaps spot myself a few seconds per mile so I don't get in over my head early in workouts, and of course pray that things improve before May 25th.

Back to business. With three weeks of training to go I have hammered out the last details of training. Following recovery from the 10k this weekend I will have 5 focused workouts left: two 'over/under' workouts, two long run race simulation workouts, and one 30k run at 'speed 3.' I have picked these particular workouts for very specific reasons.
The over/under workout is just an easier term for a workout Renato Canova(Italian Coach of Qatari National Team I believe) calls a "specific intensive endurance" workout. Basically what this means is that it is a very marathon specific workout geared towards the athlete who has relatively greater development in the strength/endurance area rather than the speed/power/anaerobic resistance area. As I have noted previously, if there is one area I am weak in, it is faster paced work, and this type of workout is geared towards improving that in the final phase of training. The workouts consists of alternating over and under your goal marathon pace by about 3% with continuous intervals of 500m to 1000m. I will likely use a 1/2mile dirt track I have found, which I can only imagine was a dog track at one time.
The long run race simulation workout is a simple one where I will run 10-12 miles at a moderate effort and the final 10 miles close to goal marathon pace.
The final workout of the marathon build up will be a 30k run at 'speed 3.' The term 'speed 3' I have taken from an interview with Dieter Hogen, coach of the Kimbia-New Balance athletes. This term means a "hard mental effort," and will cap my preparations for Ottawa, save for recovery and supercompensation.
Because these workouts are very specific and very difficult I will be paying a lot of attention to recovery with three days following long runs, two days following over/unders, and massages following all workouts. Thats all for now.

Vancouver Sun Run 10k(30:38.7), wk6

I decided before the race that I would really just try and compete rather than do what I have done in the past and time trial it. After the gun went off we headed down Georgia street for the first downhill km and as soon as we took the corner at 1200m I was already off the back of the chase pack and thought, great i'm off the back already for another sun run, but at 2.5k I made a quick surge and tucked in behind the group running comfortably until the hill heading up and over the Burrard street bridge where the chase group gapped me again by the better part of 50meters. Once I crested the hill I put in another surge and managed to tuck back into the pack and hang in with them for another km but then slowly they pulled away and themselves spread out. Over the next 2km I was running alone but staying pretty focused but again as I climbed the hill onto the Cambie street bridge I was passed by David Jackson and then Nathan Kendrick on the downhill but managed to muster a hard kick over the last 150m or so and finished up ahead of them. I have never really kicked down anyone before so I was quite pleased with that! Overall, I was disappointed with the resulting time however my current ability to run hills is atrocious and I decided to run in my old Brooks ST Racer marathon flats which are markedly slower than my new Adidas AdiZero Pro flats I have been racing in, so I am not too broken up about the slow time. The reason I chose the heavier flat for this race was mainly because my lower legs were finally feeling better and wanted to minimize the damage to them, and also for moral reasons because I am sponsored by Brooks Canada again, but haven't received any 10k flats just yet.

As for the week, well it was saved by running reasonably well at the Sun Run! I decided early on this week that I would have to take it easy because persistent aching of my lower legs was getting to me, so I just ran a medium long run and the rest of the week was easy jogging. I also felt like I needed a bit of a mental regroup since I was feeling a bit flat in that area. The good news is now I feel fresh and the next three and a half weeks are going to be focused and strong, and I am feeling confident I will be well prepared for Ottawa.
Breakdown:
MdL - 16mi @ No Time
Race - 6.125mi @ 4:55.8/mi
Supp - 2 - Strength Session
Volume - 80mi

Training Evolution, wk5(pt2)

I have been running for the better part of 13 years now and from day one I have been a student of the sport. I don't remember exactly when it was, around age 13, I picked up my first running book at the library, Running to the Top by Arthur Lydiard. From then I never stopped learning about the sport of long distance running, over time picking up books by Martin & Coe, Pfitzinger & Douglas, Joe Vigil, Tim Noakes, Jack Daniels, Bill Rodgers, Rob de Castella, as well as articles online by Renato Canova and a plethora of articles on Peak Performance Online, and I am certain I am forgetting a ton of resources. In addition to reading I have talked to lots of people and learned from many coaches over the years, and equally as important if not more importantly I have learned through trial and error, testing the limits of my own body specifically. I will never go as far as saying I know all there is to know about long distance running, nor will I say that having a great deal of knowledge about yourself and the sport is better than having a very good coach, but I will say that being a student of the sport allows me to be confident in my training when I do not have a coach.

Over the years I have tried many different ways to train and always reverted back to running really long hard workouts and enormous amounts of volume, but rarely running really high intensity workouts, and so I am underdeveloped when it comes to 5 or 10k type 'speed.' I still believe and always will believe that to be able to run well in the marathon I have to run a lot of volume, however in the future it will be limited to specific periods because I really need to develop the faster component of training if I am to ever achieve my long term, even short term goals. This is actually somewhat contrary to the philosophy I have grown into over the years, where I believe you should work all systems at all times and run a large volume at the same time, but this idea assumes each component of training - VO2, LT, Long run, overall Volume - are at least somewhat equally developed.

The reason I have brought this up is because I have made a big step this past week from a mental standpoint if you will. With three weekends of 10k races, I have decided to take the opportunity to work on my 'speed' by cutting out my medium long run so that I am more fresh for the 10k races, and shortening up my Intervals to 1/2mile with 1:1 rest. By doing this I hope to more easily run a fast pace at Lactate threshold and Marathon Pace. Naturally you cannot expect much of a training effect in two weeks but I hope that the races and faster paced workouts will 'unlock,' if you will, speed that is buried by volume. It is difficult to explain, but I am confident it is what I need to do. And this is why I say it is a big step, because I have never had the confidence to come down from really big mileage. The reason this has come about at this time is because when I was in Toronto, Coach Hugh gave me a mileage cap so I didn't really have a choice, and subsequently started enjoying being fresh and running faster in all my runs. Now I am cutting back even more(from volume and strength) because I am confident I am more than strong enough for the marathon after doing a 30mile run at sub 6min/mi easily, 2days after running a hard half marathon. So now I have two high quality 10k races, with workouts to prime my legs for them, which will be, in my opinion, the best possible training stimuli to work my biggest weakness. It appears as tho I will be neglecting any specific marathon work however I will be modifying my long runs from being progression runs to running them at a base speed of 6min/mi and dropping down to 5:00-5:10min/mi for 3 long intervals(~10mi total) within the run to stimulate LT and simulate MP. Well this entry didn't really come out like I thought but I hope it was interesting!

Sooke River 10k(31:39), wk5

Sooke is a small community about a 40minute drive or so northwest of Victoria BC, a beautiful area for a low key race/hard workout, and the course was a stones throw from my Uncle's home. I would say the course was moderate to hard because there were no flat sections, with one or two big hills and the rest rolling hills. I have always been a poor hill runner and with my lower legs still damaged from last week this run was really tough. At first reaction I was disappointed because the time was slow but decided to cut myself some slack after looking at the week as a whole.

The week started out with an easy day of 6miles to recover from the Sunday half-marathon effort, which energetically turned out not really being a problem, however my lower legs were beat to dog-sh!t and I realized doing any amount of intensity this week was going to be too risky. Tuesday was a bit of a difficult call due to the sore legs. I wanted to do one over-distance run in my marathon build up and had scheduled it for this week for two reasons: the progressive long run and half-marathon are fairly similar training stimuli(running 5:20/mi for 7 miles after running progression for 15mi as opposed to running 5:00-5:10/mi relatively fresh), and being as the race this weekend was a lower-key one I could risk being even less sharp than usual. Doing an over-distance run two days after a hard half-marathon effort isn't the best training tool but is a good confidence booster mentally and tells me my body will hold up well in the latter stages of the marathon despite running what I would consider relatively low mileage. The rest of the week I continued to run the volume planned but cut the interval workout to just two 1/2miles, and the medium long run to 6:15/mi pace with a 2 mile pick up, both of these to keep a little bit of weekly consistency and keep the legs moving while still allowing them to heal up. The week on the whole was satisfactory, and I am excited to see how I fare in the Sun Run and Times Colonist races over the next two weekends.
I will write again this afternoon about my training philosophy and such, as I have made some adjustments/refinements/finishing touches on the program recently.
Breakdown:
LR - 30mi @ 5:58.7/mi
Int - 2 x 1/2mi @ 2:17
MdL - 15mi @ 6:15.0/mi
Race - 6.125mi @ 5:05.5/mi
Supp - 2 - Strength Session
Volume - 108mi

Sunshine Coast Half(1:06:23), wk4

The Sunshine Coast is about a 40minute ferry ride from just outside of West Vancouver, and the race took place between the two main towns there. Starting in Gibsons the race headed towards Sechelt, ending in Davis Bay, a small village. The area is very beautiful and a great place to go for a race.

The race was a net downhill by just over 400ft and was also a point to point course, with a tailwind of about 10km/hr at the time I believe. I was aware of this prior to the race and expected to be able to run fairly fast but was surprised at how difficult it turned out to be. The hills were really tough and often too steep to run really fast down without thrashing your legs, and the wind didn't seem significant, being as the road was lined with big coniferous trees. Given the course and conditions I really don't know what to make of the time, so I will say that I am very pleased with the even effort I put forth and I'm certain the hills will give me a lot of strength. The race played out with me heading to the front with Mark Bomba and Jason Loutitt in tow, fully expecting them to go with me at least for the first mile since there was a $50 bonus for the first person to the one mile marker. They stuck shortly behind me and at the one mile(4:55) Jason rode up on my shoulder and more or less stayed on me till we reached mile 2 at 9:50. From then on I was on my own and passed 3mi in 15:06, 10k in 30:37, 10mi in 50:42. I didn't really keep track of the splits since they were more or less meaningless due to the never ending small and large hills. Between miles 8 and 10 I took a few looks over my shoulder to see how far back Bomba and Loutitt were and came to the conclusion I was going to finish up on top so I cruised in the last couple of miles, however in a lot of gut discomfort. All in all it was a very good day of training/racing.

As for the week of training, it was pretty good, with a strong long run and medium long run. I took the Thursday interval workout off because I was feeling like taking a bit of a rest after three good weeks of training and three big weeks coming up. Friday I sat down for a few hours and made some changes to the program that I am excited about and will write about later in the week.
Breakdown:
LR - 22mi @ 5:42.6/mi
MdL - 15mi @ 5:49.4/mi
Race - 13.1mi @ 5:04.0/mi
Supp - 1 - Strength Session
Volume - 112mi