Sunday, October 30, 2011

10K Halloween Haunting Race - Personal Best!

Coach Brian said that instead of a 10 mile long run, doing a 10k race would be roughly equivalent 1 week before the marathon, so I took the shorter distance. The race went really well. I targeted 4:24 per km. Here are my splits:

4:20
4:23
4:25
4:24
4:21
4:15
4:22
4:21
4:21
4:20

4:21/km average for a total time of 43:44 -- a new personal best!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Pace Run - 15.2 km, 4:48 average pace

Today, Coach Brian wanted me to do a run of between 9 and 11 miles, with a mile of warm-up and a mile of cool-down. So I chose a 10 mile distance with a mile of warm up -- but didn't quite get in the mile of cool down (more like half a mile). But the pace miles were excellent.

It was cool out -- 6 degrees C (roughly 43 degrees F) -- so I wore shorts, but a long sleeve technical shirt, my orange Boston Marathon windbreaker, my Boston Marathon string gloves and my ear muffs. All were very appreciated out there, as there was a brisk wind blowing from the north. Here are my splits:

5:26
4:46 pace (610 m.)
4:50
4:43
4:42
4:44
4:45
4:40
4:46
4:45
4:49
4:47
4:44
4:40
4:40
5:11 pace (581 m.)

Considering I was targeting between 4:50 and 4:55 per kilometre, I was pretty happy with these splits. And about half of the fast distance was into the wind, and yet I was able to keep within range. My average for the "fast kilometres" was 4:44, and I was pretty comfortable there. It was a good day!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Easy run (6.9 km)...

Coach Brian and I did an easy run of 6.9 km -- the longest run for him since his sub-3 hour marathon in Toronto a week and a half ago. It was a simple run -- just south and back north again on Denfield Road -- but the pace was a healthy 5:03/km which isn't bad considering we were able to carry on a conversation the entire way.

Of course, lots of rehydration after the run, including a tasty "maple stout" from some brewery in BC that Brian found in the LCBO in Barrie the prior weekend. Mmmmmm... maple stout.... mmmmmmm.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tempo Run - 14.9 km, 4:48 average pace overall

Today, Coach Brian wanted me to do a tempo run of 9 to 11 miles (I chose 9) with the first half at a slower-than-marathon pace, and the second half at a faster-than-marathon pace. So I started out looking for 5:09 per kilometre and then the plan was to ramp it up to something around 4:28 per kilometre. Here are my splits:

5:16
5:01
5:01
5:02
5:06
5:08
5:05
4:50 pace (400 m.)
4:31
4:27
4:27
4:26
4:28
4:40
4:39
4:23 pace (500 m.)

The last two full kilometres were into the wind. I was pushing as hard as I could but couldn't keep the pace. As soon as I rounded the corner, though, I was able to pick up the pace fairly easily. Total distance was 14.9 km and my average pace was 4:48 -- about 4 seconds per kilometre faster than marathon pace.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Long run - 26K with Gayle Stuebing

As we taper towards the Road2Hope Marathon in Hamilton in 2 weeks, we just did a "little" sixteen miler from Gibbons Park in London out through the trails of London to Byron and then up to the corner of Boler Road and Southdale Road, and then back again. A total of 26.19 kilometres, or 16.27 miles. Here is how our splits looked:

6:08
5:50
5:43
5:31
5:27
5:19
5:36
5:35
5:37
5:40
5:49
5:51
5:42
5:06
5:10
5:20
5:26
5:19
5:19
5:29
5:26
5:31
5:24
5:25
5:37
5:20
5:11 (200 m.)

Our average pace was 5:35 per kilometer. But as you can see from the split times above, we were able to bump up our pace over the last 10 kilometres to better than race pace (5:27/k.) for most of the route. Definitely a good run!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Excellent Tempo Run Again - 8.4 km

Today I did a "typical" Runners Choice tempo run. The Legendary John Ferguson's workout schedule called for 5 to 6 miles of tempo run. For people looking to do a marathon in 3:30, the pace for the first warmup mile should be between 5:18 and 5:37 per kilometre. But I'm thinking of a 3:20 workout pace for training for Boston in the spring, so I wanted to do a bit faster than that. And for the actual tempo pace, he was calling for between 4:32 and 4:44. So I aimed for a 4:28 pace. Here are my splits:

5:18
4:50 (600 m.)
4:28
4:27
4:26
4:28
4:27
4:18
4:11 (800 m.)

The total distance was 8.41 kilometres and our total time was 38:10 for an average time (including the warmup mile) of 4:32 per k. I am ecstatic with this time. When I look back on previous "around the block" runs, the closest I ever got to this time was 39:30 (4:42/k). I felt strong the whole way and was able to push the speed up into "speedwork" territory (4:21/k) at the end of the run.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Excellent tempo run tonight - 21.1 kilometres

I tried again to do a 21.1 km (half marathon) tempo run tonight. Coach Brian suggested going out relatively slowly for the first 10.5 k. The weather was much cooler than last week when I had to bail after 16k (at 24 degrees). Today it was about 13 degrees and so I wasn't overheating in the least. I wore a long sleeved running shirt and my running shorts, but it wasn't cool enough for ear-muffs, and not warm enough for short sleeves. The wind was light -- mostly from the west. I was targeting 5:22 per k for the first 10.5 kilometres and 4:52 for the last 10.6 kilometres. Here are my splits:

5:17
5:05
5:07
5:13
5:16
5:17
5:17
5:19
5:21
5:18
5:07 (500 m.)
4:49
4:49
4:48
4:51
4:48
4:50
4:46
4:45
4:44
4:42
4:37 (600 m.)

So I did 21.11 kilometres in 1:45:44 for an average of 5:01 per kilometre. I felt strong the whole way, as you can see from the improving times as I neared the end of the run. Heat was absolutely not a factor. My average speed for the fast portion of the run was 4:47 per kilometre -- but I know I could have gone faster for longer. So 1 week later a very successful run after a crappy run a week earlier. Goes to show that the weather makes a huge difference!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Long Run - 32k - with Gayle Stuebing

I went out for a long run today from Gibbons Park through the trail system through Springbank Park, out to Southdale and Boler Roads, back to Gibbons Park and then did about 4 miles up through UWO and back. Total 32k. A bunch of short stops, but our pace was healthy the whole way. Here are our splits:

5:50
5:48
5:41
5:35
5:34
5:37
5:27
5:29
5:23
5:38
5:52
5:58
5:52
5:39
5:22
5:29
5:45
5:52
5:39
5:35
5:40
5:37
5:33
5:42
5:42
5:44
5:41
5:39
5:50
5:51
5:47
5:50

Total time for 32k was 3:01:29 for an average pace of 5:41 per kilometre. At that pace, we'd finish the marathon in around 3:58. But (a) we were not pushing the pace whatsoever and (b) we haven't had a couple of weeks of taper to let the bodies heal. I think at 3:50 is definitely do-able!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tough speed-work tonight...

Coach Brian felt that rather than doing "traditional" speed work, I should get a semi-long tempo style run in. So the goal for tonight was 21 kilometres, with the first half at an easy run pace, and the second half at race pace. I'd played hockey last night, but the legs felt strong even still.

For the first half -- the easy run part -- it took a long while to get into the rhythm. I was targeting 30 seconds/k slower than race pace, so 5:22/k. Here are my splits:

5:18
5:18
5:16
5:20
5:21
5:20
5:14
5:18
5:19
5:18
5:03 pace (500 m.)

Then I ramped up the pace to get to race pace (4:52/km.). Here were my splits:

4:51
4:52
4:54
4:54
4:54
4:51 pace (500 m.)

By the time I'd done 5 km at race pace, I could tell I was starting to overheat. The temperature when I'd left home was 24 degrees C. (75 F.) but the sun was shining, so it definitely felt in the 80's. Jenny came by to see how I was doing, and then came by again to get me some water. But I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to last the full 10.5k of race pace. It didn't help that it was a slight uphill grade for those 5k. Anyhow, enough excuses -- the fact is that I bailed. So we'll try again another day.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

I was quoted in the Globe and Mail!

Who would have thunk that my many experiences crashing at the end of marathons would land me in the newspaper? I was contacted by Carly Weeks of the Globe and Mail last week in advance of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon this coming weekend to chat about my experiences in running marathons and how to get through those last few miles. She found me because of this blog!

Bruce Lamb

Age: 48
Location: outside Lucan, Ont., near London
Number of marathons completed: 8 or 9 (he has lost count)

Most memorable experience: Mr. Lamb has a “great history of crashing” at the end of a marathon, as he did at the end of the 2009 Boston Marathon. His legs were “spaghetti” for the last mile and gave out on him at the finish line. “It was actually quite pleasant going into the medical tent. They gave me chips … anything with salt in it,” he said. “I’d do the medical tent again for sure.”

Prepping for a race: “As I’ve done more of them, I’m more relaxed, but I also know the pre-race jitters get you the entire day before the race. Get a really good night’s sleep two nights before because you know you won’t have a good sleep the night before [a marathon].”

Best advice: Be prepared for anything. “Know how fast you can do the race,” he said. But keep in mind the weather on the day “makes a huge difference” and that is something no one can control.

You can find the full text of the article here.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Pace run - 12.89 km.

Brian and I did a pace run -- 1 mile easy, 6 miles at race-pace or better, 1 mile of cool down. It was a warm day -- particularly for October (24 C.) -- so it was not an easy run. Here are the kilometer splits:

5:46
5:15 pace (600 m.)
4:45
4:48
4:45
4:43
4:41
4:45
4:47
4:46
4:46
4:44 pace (659 m.)
5:39
5:31 pace (626 m.)

So, considering that my race pace is 4:52, I was pretty happy with the splits during the fast part, which ended up at 4:45 as an average.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Easy run (5.85 km)

Brian and I just did an easy run today -- from my place down to the Conservation Area a couple miles away, through the trails, and then back again. The trails were a welcome departure from our normal running-along-the-side-of-the-road thing, and despite driving past the Conservation Area for 6 years, I'd never actually been in there. The family dog, Cooper, joined us for the run and he was good as gold. We knocked off a blistering 5:34/k pace -- so it was a good "easy run" day.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Speedwork - 10 x 1 mile repeats (11 miles total)

We did speed work tonight with the legendary John Ferguson running us through the paces. Tonight we hit the maximum for this session: 10 repeats of 1 mile, with a 2.5 minute break between each mile. Bruce, Chris and I all targeted 7 minute miles. Here were my splits:

7:03
6:58
7:02
6:54
7:01
7:01
7:00
6:56
7:04
7:03

So the average was 7:00.2 -- close enough!

The muscles are tired -- particularly my right hip and hamstring -- but I'm smiling. Just 1 month until the Road2Hope marathon in Hamilton!