2014 Marathon Training

Introduction

I have considered the Marathon (42K) my main event ever since I came back to running two and a half years ago. In reality I think I am built to run the middle distances, like 1500 meters. In the past, when I was in the juniors, I had enough speed to run sub 50 seconds the 400 meters. But at that time I never ended up taking a chance at training for longer distance. I considered the occasional 10 km Sunday runs as stupid waste of time and energy. I only wanted to get faster. I was sprinting, but I

wasn't a sprinter, I admit it.

Figure 1: Grinding it at
Arnet 21K Buenos Aires.

The quarter-milers and marathoners have quite similar somatotype or body structure (read here my writing on body composition and somatotype). The 5K and 10K runners tend to be more lanky and slender than marathoners. While the elite quarter-milers' tend to have a major portion of fast twitch muscle fiber, the elite marathoners have a lot of slow twitch muscle fiber in their muscles. A 400 meter race is mainly anaerobic event and the marathon race is almost exclusively aerobic event. In fact 800 meters race (or 2 minutes of maximal running) is a 50/50 anaerobic/aerobic event. The modern elite marathoners run the 42K distance in almost 2 hours (2:02:57 is the new current World Record). They have more fast twitch muscle fibers than the past marathon champions who ran times like 2:12.

We are all born with a certain ratio of fast and slow twitch muscle fiber and we can't change it. But the fast twitch muscle fibers can be taught running economy and other tendencies of the slow twitch muscle fibers by practice (and vice versa). I don't think I will ever again be as fast at sprinting as I was when I was 20 years old, but I have already more endurance than I have ever had after training continuously for two and a half years. I still have years in me to try to run my best times in the Marathon. Aging certainly makes us slower. But in my opinion and experience so far before we hit about the age of 40 years, aging makes us more prone to endurance. I am now 32 years old so I can't yet say when my marathon times started to deteorirate.

Training Plan

My initial plan was to train specifically for the marathon for 20 weeks. My plan had three training periods: Introductionary, Fundamental, and Sharpening. The Introductionary period was planned to last for the first 6 weeks. Followed by Fundamental training period of 10 weeks training. And finally 4 weeks long Sharpening training period. The Introductionary period prepares the body for the tough practices in the Fundamental period. While Base Training is almost exclusively running at low intensities, the Introductionary period includes moderate pace running and Fartlek. The body is not ready yet to take on the tough Tempo Runs of the Fundamental period, but the Moderate Runs and Fartlek Runs make good work of preparing for them. Progression of the training is important during all the training cycle. In marathon training this usually means that every practice just becomes longer, but the pace stays the same.

During the marathon training cycle all of my key workout practices eventually started to look a like, and simulated more and more the demands of a marathon race. Besides the key workouts I run Recovery Runs and Easy Runs. When I started the training cycle I was in a shape of running 9-10 times per week and planned to run close to 150 km per week. But all that had to be adjusted when I injured my right thigh. That is when I had to change drastically my plans and first try to get me back on the road from rehabilitation. It turned out that I lost 4 weeks of Fundamental training due to injury. The injury bothered for 7 weeks in total, but I tried to run through it at the cost of losing quality in my training. In the end I found out that my body could deal with running 7 times per week and still had the energy to fight through the key workouts.

Table 1: Tempo Intervals on Tuesdays.

Key Workouts

Table 2: Tempo Runs on Thurdays.

The three weekly key workouts are shown in Tables 1-3. The progression is visible in each workout from week to week. All the key workouts progress towards imitating the demands of marathon race. The injury stagnated my development and I think I was actually in better shape when I ran the Helsinki Half Marathon than the Arnet 21K Buenos Aires (see Table 3). My race execution was just better in Buenos Aires and the course was faster.

Table 3: Long Runs on Sundays.

The tables lack the last two weeks of Sharpening because I am writing this blog entry 13 days before the Marathon Race. But my marathon training is now done and the priority is now to heal up blisters and aches, and get rested before taking on the Marathon. That does not mean I will quit running for two weeks. No, I will just ease up the intensity and length of the practices. Only the last few days I will run very little.

Injuries

The main injury that I suffered and that kept me from running was the Nerve Compression Syndrome I had on my right leg and lower back. I think I developed the injury by not giving myself enough rest after Helsinki Half Marathon as I proceeded with the training right on. I was also doing very high mileage per week for me: up to 146 km. I have described this injury here on one of my previous blog entries. Other nuisance that I had were a sore right leg Achilles Tendon. I think both of these injuries were caused by suddenly starting to run downhill as my training environment was changed. After returning to flat Buenos Aires I didn't suffer from injuries, except I strained mildly my right calf and had to quit the current practice and take a rest the next day.

Figure 2: Cycling as a form of cross training.

Cross Training

While I was unable to run I could not just stay in bed and wait to heal up. I looked for replacement exercise forms that would not put the injured part of my body under strain. It is important, but demoralizing to find substitute exercise activities when you are injured. The aerobic condition that you have worked will vanish if you stop exercising. The cross training activities don't necessarily take your conditioning forward, but they have done their job when they don't let the aerobic condition to collapse. I did cycling, swimming and aqua running while I was sidelined from running. The cycling raises the heart rate and it is fun while you can do cycling trips to quite far away. The longest trip I took was 100 km. But the cycling also started to put strain on my right leg so I decided to switch to water sports: swimming and aqua running. Aqua running in particular I found to be pretty boring even though I listened to music. I did it not only in a swimming pool but also in a lake!

Arnet 21K Buenos Aires Race Report

Introduction

My preparation for this race was nowhere close to what I had initially planned. You can read the full story from my previous blog entry: My Route to Arnet 21k Buenos Aires. But at the moment I could be doing some important discovery about how to train myself. I am very interested to see where my current training will take me and if there are things to learn about it to make better plans and decisions in my future training. I entered this event with just 6 weeks of running after being bother by a thigh injury for the previous 7 weeks. In my key-workouts I could feel that I was stronger every time than the last time. My specific-endurance, the event specific ability to run a certain distance at certain pace, was getting better rapidly. I don't think I have peaked yet, but this kind of shorter Fundamental period of training might suit me better than longer training plans. At least running feels good and strong now, but if you'd ask me 5 weeks ago, I would've told you it feels like shit.

Figure 1: The Course tracked by my Polar GPS.

The Course

This was the second time I ran this race. Last year this race was my best race of the year. My time then was 1:23:17 and my position 197th. This year the Route was close to the same with just a couple of minor changes. There are only three uphills on the course, which are not steep at all. It is a very good course to run a fast time. 

There was a major problem in the organizing the runners in the start area. I tried to enter the start area 10 minutes before the race starts and there was no way of getting in close to the front of the pack. The runners had been asked their goal times and been given a wristband accordingly. But when you arrived at the start area, there were no entrances at your time groups and if you arrived "late" you should basically go all the way to the back of the 20,000 runner bunch. Well, we all started climbing over the fences even though the organizers were trying to prevent it. I got over the fence about 3 minutes before the race start. Not in the front but maybe 20 seconds back in the bunch. After all this episode didn't ruin my race before it even started, but I'm not so sure that every one agrees on that. This has happened pretty often in the races over here. You have to be elite or get there in the start area 30 minutes before the bang to get a good spot at the start. The rest of the course and organization was great and the weather could not been any better. We enjoyed the rising morning sun, the temperature at about 16 C at the start, and only a slight wind during the race.

Plan and Execution

My plan was to start running at a controlled 3:45 min/km (1:19:xx result) pace for the first 10 km. Once I'd get to 10 km I would start running by feel. Go slightly faster if I felt so, or just maintain the current pace. The last 5 km I would have a green light to go as hard as I still could and hopefully end the race running strong. I planned to take just small sips of water and Gatorade at the early aid stations and later just fly by them.

Table 1: My Split Times and
average Heart Rates.

I got trapped somewhat in the bunch at the start and had to pass a lot of runners in the first kilometers in the heavy traffic. But I kept calm and managed not to ruin my race in the first kilometer. My first kilometer split was 3:54, and that was the slowest kilometer of the whole race. I lost some energy there running like I was in an action movie. After that I was passing runners at a constant flow but I could already dial my own pace and didn't have to make those insane moves and tricks anymore. I found my rhythm and ran the second kilometer 3:37. Faster than what I had planned. The running felt good, my legs were light and the 3:45 pace felt something I could do for a long time. At about kilometer 5 we were running as a big continuous bunch but now everyone around me was running pretty much the same pace. I could start drafting behind their backs and slowly but surely picked up positions. Up to 10 km I was running easy and felt strong. I was working with couple of runners together and seems we got excited as there was crowd cheering as we arrived in the center of Buenos Aires (Obelisco and Casa Rosada). My fastest kilometer of the race was the 10th kilometer, 3:26. I got some personal cheers at 10 km from my old workmate, Vero. I felt like I was flying. 

Figure 2: Running at the 18,5 km.

The important psychological turn point was just before 11 km. That's where the course physically turns to go back. At about 12,5 km I started to feel some aches in my stomach and I didn't drink anything after that. My legs were also starting to pay the price of running past the halfway. I eased up just a little bit and tried to draft as much as possible, still clocking constant 3:43 kilometers. At 16,5 km I started my attack for the finish leaving behind the runners that I've been running with. I ran couple of strong kilometers at 3:40 pace and found myself alone for the remaining 3 kilometers. My wife was cheering for me right there where I started to feel the pain and the strong running turned into survival to the finish line. I picked up a couple of exhausted runners and got passed by one runner in the last 2 kilometers. The last 500 meters were great. The crowd was very close on the street and cheered as I tried to put my final sprint. It was like in the Tour de France mountain stages. I wanted to give them their "money's worth" and pushed myself to a long sprint. Lots of pain, but still it feels so great. I finished the race pumping my fist to celebrate my new PR and the great execution of the race. My chip time was 1:19:01 (3:44 min/km) and the official time 1:19:21. My position was 75th. A total of 15354 runners finished the race. After the race I enjoyed some complementary massage to initiate the recovery.

Figure 3: After the massage. Trying not to step on any living things.

Summary

My average Heart Rate during the race was 162 (88%). That was pretty good intensity for me for 21K. I think I ran close to optimum. I made my new PR: 1:19:01. That's over 4 minutes faster than last year! I think I have found my style of running the 21K: to avoid the pain until 16 km and then embrace the pain for the last 5 km. This time I will give my legs more time to recover from the race to avoid getting injured again. I take couple of easy days and then rock on again. I have 5 weeks time to get ready to run the 42K of Buenos Aires.

My Route to Arnet 21K Buenos Aires

Introduction

I considered running the Helsinki Half Marathon as just one tough practice, but nothing more. Maybe I should have respected it a bit more and not run my new weekly record of 146 km the following week. I did not recover properly. To further go over the top with the training load on me was the change of training environment from pancake flat Buenos Aires streets to up and down Helsinki gravel routes. My right thigh got over exhausted and tight up for not giving up on running quantity and going even harder as I ran the half marathon race. As I scroll back my training log the first time I mention pain in my right thigh area is on 20th of June. That is 13 days after the half marathon race. I developed an upper thigh pain that hurt every fast or slow running step I took. I think running the downhills was the main cause of the injury as they were too violent for my current flatlander legs to handle.

Figure 1: Finnish Summer in bloom.

It SUCKS being injured. Often you feel you could overcome the pain and just push through it, but sadly that does not solve the problem. On the contrary it might prolong the injury and make it even worse. But an athlete can't stop every time she feels pain. Therefore it is an important skill to be able to judge when it is time to push through, slow down, take a rest day or stop running for some time. Having a good coach would be very useful in this matter.

Figure 2: Sartorius muscle.

The Nerve Compression Syndrome

I ran two weeks through the pain waiting for it to get better. On the second week I got a diagnose and sports massage on my thigh. My right leg sartorius muscle was very tight. It was almost in a chronic cramp. I gave up on running for couple days to see if I could heal the injury by self massage and rest. I continued running but the thigh was like before. I gave up on running and started cycling to keep up my aerobic fitness while being unable to run. The thigh was "ok" while riding bike except when I pedaled standing. After doing exclusively cycling for one week (314 km) I had to give up on that activity as well. I then took a complete rest for one week. I tried to return to running, but the thigh was still hurting. Then I started aqua running, 45 minutes every day. I did it in swimming halls and lakes. Finally at the end of July I went back to my masseur and he figured out that my lower back, buttocks and thighs had been so tight that they were compressing the nerves. It's called nerve compression syndrome and that was what caused the pain in my thigh. The massage helped to ease some of the pain and my masseur gave me advice to stretch my leg muscles once every hour or two to release the tension of the muscles and the nerves. The next day I was already running again, eager to get on with my training. I could still feel some minor pain in my thigh but it got better in a few days after intensive stretching. The pinned nerve(s) had been released. This injury bothered me for total of 7 weeks.

Running Again

My training plan was adjusted dramatically while being injured and I had lost time battling with the thigh injury. I made a new plan to run the 21K Buenos Aires (7th of September) and 42K Buenos Aires (12th of October). I was able to squeeze in 6 weeks of Fundamental training (instead of 10) and the 4 week Sharpening period for the Marathon. My running fitness had taken a hit and I had to get going again. I decided that my 21K would be the main event although I was doing modified marathon training. That was because my gut would tell me that I would not have the time to get enough long running under my belt for the marathon. But for the 21K the Long Runs would be sufficient and I just had to get me in shape for running 21K. That can be achieved in less time. And of course I had already built up a nice base condition during a couple years of running.

Table 1: Tuesday Tempo Intervals/Intervals pace @5K.

Table 2: Thursday Tempo Run pace @10K-mara.

Table 3: Sunday Long Run.

In the three tables on the right are presented my key-workout progression after returning to running. I did three key-workouts at different paces per week: Tuesdays at 5K pace and faster, Thursdays at 10K to marathon pace, and Sundays the Long Run. Let's see where this kind of shorter training period takes me. I feel that this might work out pretty well for me. I feel I develop the specific-endurance pretty fast. This might turn out to be a really useful experiment how to train myself. Last year I had already peaked before my marathon and had to abandon the race at 26 km. The speedsters usually peak faster than the endurance monsters and indeed that might be my case as well.

Arnet 21K Buenos Aires

The Route to the start line is seldom straight, but after all there I will be tomorrow and even healthy. The race starts tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM right after the sunrise. It has been raining pretty hard last couple mornings, but for tomorrow morning the forecast is of clear sky and the temperature at about 10 C with a wind of 12 km/h. Those are some good conditions to run a fast time on the flat streets of Buenos Aires. Oh and I have a secret weapon: Racing shoes that my old friend Atte (Thanks mate!) donated me. The shoes will premier tomorrow.

Figure 3: The Runner's Kit

Helsinki Half Marathon Race Report

Introduction

Figure 1: At 18,5km: Grinding it.

The Helsinki Half Marathon was held for the first time. The race was held on Saturday June 7. I didn't prepare specifically for this race. This race was preparation for something else. The purpose of running this race was to have some fun (as you can see in the Figure 1) and to test my current level of running fitness. I am now on the second week of 20-week marathon preparation. I feel like I am at home in the races in Finland. I grew up running races in Finland. The Finnish crowd appreciates running and sports in general, and they cheer and clap their hands for the runners.

Also the Finnish summer is great. You can run free in the woods. After running one can take a dip in a lake or river. There is a nice network of running and biking routes in the capital, Helsinki. The parks are more like forests, because the Finns love the forest. I am no exception. There is something magical when you run here in the summer: it doesn't get dark, not even in the night. Any moment is a great moment for going out for a run.

The Route

I traveled to Finland four days before this race. My first observation and reminder while running here was how hilly the routes are in Helsinki and generally in whole of Finland. I have been running on almost perfectly flat terrain in Buenos Aires. The hills don't necessarily make a course harder, but they do slow down the pace. Running on flat is monotonous and relentless pounding; the downhills give the occasional moments of easing off.

Figure 2: The Route.

The weather was nice for running: a cloudy 19 C. The wind was light, but drafting was still useful in some parts of the course. The race started at 10:30 am. According to my Polar GPS there was 112 meters total of climbing on the course. I lost to everyone around me on the downhills. About one third of the course was on gravel and the rest was on asphalt. The course had some pretty steep corners as well. But overall it was a nice route to race and run, but not a route for really fast times.

There was also nice crowd cheering over the course, various music performances, even cheerleaders and big thumbs up for all the volunteers in every corner (except one corner, heheh) making sure we didn't get lost. Lots of them were immigrants and being an immigrant myself as well I can relate to them and say that being involved in organizing sports events is a great way to get involved, to participate and to get to know how things work here.

Plan and Execution

My initial plan was to start out running at 3:40 min/km pace and see how I feel at the 12 km mark where the route turns left and starts heading back. I knew this route well. Some parts of it I knew like my pockets. But still the hills slowed the pace down more than I anticipated. I have ran too much flat lately. Any hill is a mountain for me. Downhills in particular: "Hey guys wait up, why are you all sprinting?"

The start of the race was rather flat and I controlled my pace according to my plan. Then between kilometers 2 and 3 the first uphill started. I decided not to worry about pace anymore. I was running quite comfortable but hard and I decided to run in the bunch and use them for drafting and pacing. I tried to get through the first part of the course as easy as possible. My plan worked great. There was an uphill part and then downhill part with pretty steep corners in the Pasila neighborhood. The 6th kilometer was the fastest of the race for me, 3:35.

At kilometer 7 we got to the shore, where the Vantaa River flows to the Baltic Sea, and there was some headwind blowing against us. I was running in a bunch of 5 runners at places 8th to 12th. I tried to draft as much as I could to save energy. This part of the course was gravel road. We were gaining on one runner ahead of us and caught him before the 10 km mark. He made a sudden burst of speed as we caught him, and left us behind again. But a few kilometers later we caught him again, for good.

Figure 3: Heart Rate (red line), Pace (grey line).

My official 10K split was 37:55 (3:48 min/km) and I was running at 8th position in a group of 3 runners. The gravel road by the river turned to asphalt and started following the railroad at about kilometer 12, when we started heading back. A psychologically important detail. That is where I had planned to see if I could kick it up a bit. But I was running at pretty much the best pace I could produce that day. We were again a bunch of 5 or 6 runners, at places 5th to 10th. The leader of the women's category was running strong and got ahead of the group at kilometer 14. That started to split up the group.

Figure 4: Helsinki Half Marathon Top 10 Results.

There was some up and downhill and I found myself running at position 9 when we got to the highest point of the course at 18 kilometers. The last 3 kilometers were downhill and then the final kilometer on flat. I was drafting behind the 8th runner until we hit the flat at kilometer 20, and then I released my finishing kick. He couldn't answer as I ran a pretty strong last kilometer (3:40) finishing at 8th position with a time of 1:20:28 (3:49 min/km). There were total of 1435 finishers in the race. My race execution and pacing was good and even. On this course I think this was quite close to the maximum that I could produce today. Check out my even heart rate and the results in Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 5: Running in the bunch at 13K

Summary

My heart rate was pretty even during the whole race, average at 160 bpm, which is exactly my half marathon intensity. My personal estimate is that I can currently run the half marathon on a flat course 3 minutes faster than today. But who cares, the experience is more important than the numbers, right? Or maybe...

My Old Friend, Panu, was cheering for me and took this great photo at kilometer 13 (see Figure 5). I think it's time to wrap this up, because there's a barbeque after-run party starting. The event is not over yet. So far, it has been a nice, well organized event with a good personal performance. Can't ask for more. Running is great.

Base Training and Quadriceps Strain

Base Training

Figure 1: Going out for a run.

I started my 5-week Base Training on week 17. This training period aimed to increase the running distance I could handle per week by running at pretty low intensity: mainly Easy Runs and Recovery Runs. I have signed up for Helsinki Half Marathon (21K Race) on June 7th. That is why I ran one Tempo Run at goal half-marathon pace per week. I also did on my easier days (Monday and Friday) Steep Hill Sprints twice a week. I think it is very important to increase the weekly running distance at quite low intensity before cranking it up. Although my marathon training is not intense at the beginning of the training cycle. My current training goal is to be able to go out and run 10 times per week and cover over 150 km at the peak of this Marathon Training cycle.

Figure 2: Base Training.

I felt pretty good dropping down the intensity and emphasizing again on quantity in my training. My legs seemed ready to take the increased pounding of running more distance as I ran my new weekly record of 126 km on fourth week of Base Training. "It is the speed, not the distance, that kills." Check out the happy runner guy in Figure 1. But then the next day, on my Monday hill sprints, I strained one of my left leg quadriceps muscles. The same muscle had already stopped couple of times my hill sprints by cramping slightly. The hill sprinting is different than running on flat: one has to lift the knees a lot more. Hill sprinting makes your legs strong and help you run faster and with less injury on flat, but there is also quite high risk for me to get injured while sprinting the hills. Since my comeback I have already gotten several times hurt more or less in my hills practices. The positive thing is, that by running hills, my hamstrings are now much stronger than before. So my fifth and final week of Base Training was cut out because of a strain on my left quadriceps muscles. My Base Training progress is presented in the Figure 2. The green week is a recovery week.

Quadriceps Strain

On the sixth repetition of seven hill sprints I felt sudden sharp pain in my left leg quadriceps muscles. I wasn't even doing the repetitions aggressively, because I had had sensations for some time in that same muscle. I felt two snaps in my thigh and had to stop immediately. I think my injury is a mild grade 2 strain. I tried jogging but it was too painful and I felt I could just do more damage to the muscle if I jogged back home (about 3km).

Figure 3: The quadriceps muscles.

A grade 2 strain is a partial tear of the strained muscle. I strained one of the quadriceps muscles on my leg left. The muscle is called rectus femoris. The initial treatment for a strain includes icing, compression, and elevation to prevent further internal bleeding. If the strain is left untreated, it will just take a bit longer to heal. When a muscle strains it will try to protect itself from further damage by contracting. That's why gentle stretching is to be started as soon as the strained muscle allows it without pain. This way the muscle does not scar while being contracted and shorter. After a couple of days of rest and icing I started stretching the quadriceps and doing very easy strength training. I returned to very easy jogging 4 days after the incident.

At first, I thought this injury was similar in severity to my hamstring strain in January, but it seems that this one is less severe. I need to strengthen the quadriceps and hip muscles. I noticed that I haven't been doing drills like knee lifting and such. I will be picking up the pace gradually as my thigh gets better. It remains to be seen if the strain heals enough to run the Helsinki Half Marathon in two weeks. That race would serve as a measurement of starting level fitness at the beginning of my 20-week marathon training cycle.

Current Races on my Calendar:

Week 23: June 7th - Helsinki Half Marathon (21K)

Week 36: September 7th - Buenos Aires Half Marathon (21K)

Week 41: October 12th - Bank of America Chicago Marathon (42K)

Training Intensity and Pace Progression

Figure 1: Polar RC3 GPS.

Introduction

My best friend is my Polar heart rate monitor and training computer (see Figure 1). I always run with her. She understands me. She understands how I feel. She knows when I'm upset or if I had a drink last night. But she never judges me. She knows when I should add more speed, when I need to hold back or when I'm doing great. We are a team. She communicates indirectly using a lot of numbers. And I love numbers.

Intensity Levels

To define accurately the training intensities the two heart rate extremes need to be measured: the maximum heart rate and the resting heart rate. Measuring the resting heart is easy, but measuring the maximum heart is not. It is tough to get out the maximum. In my opinion the best ways to get it out of you is by running a Cooper test (12-minute run) with a maximum finishing kick or 3K to 5K all-out race with a strong finishing kick. The problem is that you need to be in pretty good shape to be able to get it all-out and people who are starting to workout will find it difficult to run a Cooper test at a high intensity. There is also the psychological factor involved and that's why it is really difficult (next to impossible) to get the maximum out of you in practice. There is a well known formula (1) to estimate the maximum heart rate:

Maximum heart rate = 220-Age (1).

But the formula is kind of the same if the average adult male shoe size is 41 (US 8), then according to this imaginary universal shoe size formula we all go out and buy the size 41 shoes, without trying them on, and then most of us get bitterly disappointed and feel deceived at home when the shoes don't fit.. at all! But it is not THAT important in reality to have the maximum heart rate nailed exact. In the end your guts and experience should tell you after a while if you are going too slow or too fast for a certain training intensity.

There are two ways to indicate the intensity level. The normal (see formula (2)) and most common way is to simply calculate percentage of the maximum heart rate and use that heart rate count as an indicator of certain intensity. In my case for example 75% training intensity is (0,75*185)=139. Another way is to use Karvonen intensity formula (3). Besides the maximum heart rate it takes the resting heart rate in to account. The two formulas are

Normal intensity = (intensity)*(max heart rate) (2),

Karvonen intensity = [(max heart rate)-(resting heart rate)]*(intensity)+(resting heart rate) (3),

Figure 2: My Training Intensities and Heart
Rates at age 32 (26th April 2014).

where intensity is 0,60 to 1,00 (60% to 100%).

It doesn't really matter much which formula you use as long as you keep on using the same formula. I use the normal formula when I think about and describe my training intensities. My heart rate and training intensity information is presented in Figure 2.

Workout Intensities

Recovery Run

(126-135 bpm) / (68%-73%)

The recovery run is the lowest intensity running that I do. In this category fall all the Warm ups, Cool downs, Jogs between repetitions, and Recovery Runs. I spend the most time and run the most distance at this training intensity during a whole year. The heart rate monitor is very useful to make sure that the intensity remains very easy, that is under 135 bpm for me.

Easy Run

Figure 3: Recovery Run (red) and Easy Run (blue) pace (line) and
distance (bar) progression during the first 24 months after comeback.

(136-146 bpm) / (74%-79%)

Easy running is about 20-30 seconds per kilometer faster than Recovery Running. Easy running is still very much aerobic, but longer than Recovery Running as this pace is not there just to add easy kilometers but serves as a more intense aerobic training stimulus. Recovery Running and Easy Running combine together about half of all the running distance that I do. The Recovery Run and Easy Run pace and distance progression during my first 24 months of training after coming back is presented in Figure 3. In the graph I have used the monthly average values.

Long Run

To run a fast race at any distance you need to run simulations of the race in practice. For shorter distances (e.g. 5K, 10K and half marathon) the specific-endurance training is done by running Tempo Runs or Long Intervals at a pace that is close to the race pace. Marathon is different. When training for marathon to simulate the race conditions and fatigue one must run much longer. Hence, the weekly Long Runs become the key specific-endurance workouts in marathon training.

There are four types of Long Runs that I am implementing in my next training cycle for marathon. I call them Easy Long Run, Progressive Long Run, Long Hard Run, and Interval Long Run.

Easy Long Run pace is close to the current Easy Run pace, but longer. The Easy Long Runs build the raw endurance that is needed to complete the 42 kilometers distance. I do Easy Long Runs in the early part of the marathon training cycle. Up to 39 kilometers.

Progressive Long Runs are Long Runs that will become faster and faster during the workout. They give a bit harder and different training stimulus than the Easy Long Runs. I use Progressive Long Runs in the middle part of the marathon training cycle.

Long Hard Runs are steady pace Long Runs that are run about 20 seconds per kilometer slower than the goal marathon pace. The training stimulus is pretty hard and these workouts are done in middle and late part of the marathon training cycle.

Interval Long Runs simulate most closely the actual marathon racing. They are run as "on" and "off" segments, where on-segment could be the goal marathon pace and off-segment 10 seconds per kilometer slower than the goal marathon pace. This kind of Long Run prepares the body pretty good for running a fast marathon, without taking too much toll. The best specific-endurance practice would be running a marathon race, but the recovery would take too much time and the gains would be negative.

Progression Run

Progression Run provides a moderate stimulus for aerobic development. I use the Progression Runs in the early part of the training cycle when I am not yet ready to hit the Tempo Runs. The Progression Run is otherwise a typical Easy Run, but the workout ends with harder running in the end.

Moderate Run

(147-157) / (80%-85%)

Moderate Runs are done at higher intensity than Easy Runs, but still remaining under the lactate threshold. They provide good training stimulus close but under the Marathon Pace intensity. In a typical training week I run twice at hard intensity, a long run, and then I run once or twice at moderate intensity. Some runners run three times at hard intensity per week, but then they miss out all the training stimulus that could be obtained by running at moderate intensity. I believe in using all the training intensities in a certain mix that is dynamic and changing.

Fartlek Run

Fartlek (or speedplay) is a liberal moderate intensity running workout. The paces are not written in stone. The pace is based on perceived feelings. There are two types of Fartlek Runs that I do: Ladder and Hilly Run. A typical Ladder workout could be 200m/200m, 300m/200m, 400m/300m, 500m/400m, 600m/400m, 500m/400m, 400m/300m, 300m/200m, 200m/200m, 300m/200m and so on. The details are not really important as long as I enjoy the running and spend time at the moderate intensity level. Fartlek Hilly Runs I run usually in a manner that I run hard the uphills and then cruise the flat and downhill parts, overall moderate.

Marathon Pace

(158) (85%)

Marathon is different from the other distances that I run. Brad Hudson says: "The endurance challenge in marathon is so severe that the goal marathon pace has to be a virtual cakewalk, aerobically." Marathon training and racing preparation aims to keeping up the goal pace for the first 32 km. What happens after that is up to the running gods. You can't tell what happens in the last 10 km. That is when the running changes from physical to mental. Every step will hurt anyway. You can practice for it, but you can't simulate it like you can the first 32 km, because it would take too much time to recover from the practice.

Tempo Run

Sometimes called Threshold Run. Doing too much running at goal pace early in the training cycle makes you peak too early. That is why Tempo Running should be done at various different paces: Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, and 3K Paces. Their ratio vary depending on the distance of the peak race. My Tempo Run pace and distance progressions are presented in Figure 4. 

Figure 4: Tempo Run pace and distance progression during
24 months at Marathon, Half marathon, and 10K Race paces.

Half Marathon Pace:

(160) (86%)

Half Marathon racing is done at or just below the lactate threshold. The Half marathon pace is used in the longest Tempo Runs.

10K Pace:

(163) (88%)

Tempo Runs at 10K pace are hard workouts, that make you suffer. Up to about 8km.

5K Pace:

(165) (89%)

5K pace can be used in Tempo Runs up to 5K Time Trial. Typical workout would be a short 3km Tempo Run at 5K pace.

3K Pace:

(167) (90%)

Tempo Running at 3K pace is usually a 3km Time Trial Run. 3K pace is so fast that it is more often used in Long Intervals workout.

Intervals

I have divided the interval workouts to Long and Short Intervals. The Short Intervals include fast, relaxed sprinting from 50 meters up to 400 meters. Longer than 400 meters intervals I consider Long Intervals. Up to 2000 meters. For example: the key specific-endurance workout in my recent 10K Training program was 4x2000m (at goal 10K pace) + 1K max effort. The difference between Long Intervals and Tempo Runs is that the Intervals are repetitious and Tempo Runs are one continuous and long "repetition".

Steep Hill Sprints

I run steep hill sprints to build strength. It's like lifting weights at the gym except even better for distance running and more fun. The hamstrings are my weakness in my legs. Eccentric stretching and steep hill sprinting have made possible for me to run fast. Lately I have been using the steepest hill of about 50 meters length I could find. Up to 10 repetitions, twice a week.

Racing

The maximum intensity that I can produce in a race is always higher than what I am able to get out in practice conditions. But the average heart rate during competition is still at the same level as in practice. In essence the race is just a very long Tempo Run at goal race pace. I haven't been doing much racing as practice, and so far I have liked it that way.

That's it for this time. I will have more graphs to present when I have done more running and collected more data. Two years is a short time in the world of running data and statistics.

10K Training (Part 2: Race Preparation)

Introduction

The second part (weeks 8 to 16) of my 10K Training was Race Preparation. You can read about the preceding 7 weeks of my 10K Training here: 10K Training (Part 1: Rehab and Hills). My objective was to run on April 13th the Fila Race 10K (Buenos Aires, Argentina) as fast as I could. My revised objective was to run it under 35 minutes. Since starting to work on my 10K racing abilities and specific-endurance I've come to know better my current capabilities of running the 10K distance. I chose to practice with paces that would aim to run a 35-minute 10K. I came to this conclusion after couple of more event-like practices. Last year I ran one 10K race in 39:50 (3:59 min/km). So my progress had been pretty nifty during the last 9 months.

Figure 1: Running the Unicef Rosario 10K.

Training Plan

I read Brad Hudson's and Matt Fitzgerald's book: Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon: How to be your own best coach. The training philosophy is called adaptive running. Hudson explains how to be your own coach which I find, as being the lonely wolf, very useful for me. This approach suits the educated runner/coach that observes closely the training, the reactions in the body, makes experiments and writes down every day in detail the training that has been done. There must be willingness to adjust the plan and not just follow stubbornly the training plan without thinking or making adaptations. In adaptive running all the key workouts will progress towards the demands of the goal race. Different writers/coaches call pretty much the same elements and practices each with their own names. Hudson and Fitzgerald have divided the athletes' training to three larger ensembles: aerobic-support training, neuromuscular training, and specific-endurance training. The Race Preparation phase in my 10K Training program emphasizes on the specific-endurance training. Aerobic-support and neuromuscular training are the cornerstones of fitness which need to be built first and then just being maintained when moving on to specific-endurance training. My 10K Training cycle was first based on one of Arthur Lydiard's 10K running programs, but later it was influenced by the adaptive running. I will really put the adaptive running to test in my next training cycle.

The Key Workouts

The key workouts in my 10K Training Race Preparation phase were the Long Intervals, Time Trials/Racing, and Short Intervals. Besides that my training included some Fartlek, shorter and longer Recovery Runs as the weekly Long Run was a 90-minute Recovery Run. The Short Intervals became shorter and easier as the training progressed. The Long Intervals and Time Trials/Racing became more event specific, that is to say they became longer and tougher in general.

Long Intervals

Figure 2: Long Intervals Progression.

The specific-endurance training progressed towards more and more race-like workouts. Even though I consider the Marathon my Main Event in which I want to excel in the future, I am still bringing more speed than endurance to a 10K race. That makes me a speedster in a 10K race. In the Long Intervals workouts this means that I can run at the 10K goal pace from the first practice of the specific-endurance training and make progress by trying to run keep the pace longer and longer distances. If I would bring more endurance than speed to the event I would run from the start longer specific-endurance practices but with slower pace than my goal pace and progress by running adding gradually speed during the specific-endurance training. I will go in to more detail about my use of adaptive running in future posts. The progression of my Long Intervals workouts is presented in the Figure 2.

Short Intervals

Figure 3: Short Intervals Progression.

Short Intervals were used early in the Race Preparation. After the three-week period of running Short Intervals they were replaced by even shorter relaxed strides and doing some of the same type of training stimulus in my easy Fartlek practices. Short Intervals provided nice stimulus of running faster than the race pace, but they are less significant than the Long Intervals and the Time Trials. In distance running it is not the speed that limits us, but the ability to resist certain speed for certain distance.

Time Trials

Figure 4: Time Trials Progression.

The Time Trial workouts were an important part of specific-endurance training. I could run them at slightly faster pace than the goal 10K pace close to maximum effort. I made one important observation about the effort levels in practice. If I can run a 5K Time Trial in practice at a pace of 3:27 min/km, next week I can almost run at the same pace a double distance in an actual race. Not that my fitness improved that much but the race adrenaline makes you that much faster and more resistant. In the end I ended up just running one 10K race, but I don't mind that. The training took effect and raised my level of running. The Time Trials progression is presented in Figure 4.

Peak Training Week

The first and most important thing to consider when making a training plan is to decide on the goal race and the date when you want to be at your peak performance. The second most important detail is to plan the Peak Training Week. The Peak Training Week is the toughest training week in the training plan usually couple of weeks (depending on the race distance) before the goal race. All the training progresses towards and culminates in Peak Training Week. If you survive this week with the desired paces and distances, you can be pretty sure that you are well prepared for the goal race to run at your level. In this particular case I ended up running my only race on my Peak Training Week. That is not optimal, but still I proved that my 10K training had worked out and tactically I ended up running a very good race. Here's the Unicef Rosario 10K Race Report. The training log of my Peak Training Week is presented in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Peak Training Week (13/16) training log of the 10K Training.

Peaking

My objective was to run the Fila Race on 13th of April. Less than two weeks before the Race for work related reasons I was forced out of the race. I had been selected for the first time in a road race to run as an Elite, but this time I missed the honors of starting a huge race (10,000 runners) at the front of the pack. But I also started to feel and suspect that I might have peaked already. The running starts to fall apart and mental toughness is reduced at least in the practice. I decided to keep on tapering and elected to train one more week and possibly run a 5K race on the following weekend. I ended up not running any race and felt that the tapering served as an "offseason". The Unicef Rosario 10K was the only race and I ran it on heavy legs, but tactically it was a very good one. Maybe I could have been able to run it even faster with proper tapering, who knows. 

Figure 6: My first elite BIB.

Overall I achieved my objective and most importantly my running fitness was improved during this training cycle. I also learned about coaching myself and training for 10K and training in general. My next big race will be the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (42K) in October in 25 weeks. But for now, I will hang My Diploma of 10K on the wall, see Figure 6.

Work And Play

It's All About Planning

Figure 1: Probably the most famous work related burn-out
in movie history. Jack Nicholson, The Shining.

I'm pretty sure that Jack (played by Jack Nicholson) would not have lost his mind in the movie the Shining if he'd just planned his stay better. All work and no play is not the way go. Or at least if he would've been a runner would've caught his wife before entering the labyrinth, or if that's not convincing, he would've had a better chance of surviving in the labyrinth: running creates tremendous amount of heat. As long as you are running, you don't freeze to death! Been there, done that (Finnish military in Winter).

The number one excuse that I hear is "I don't have time". People waste their time on complaining that they don't have time. And then there are some that have figured it out that if you don't have the time, you just make the time. Prioritize again your life. We should be out there chasing our dreams. The big dreams are not materialistic. They are deep inside every one of us. They are about what you do and just being the person that you want to be. I want to be an athlete. Fine. Now I just have to act like one. Work hard on your dream and life will reward you generously. There's no greater satisfaction than knowing that you've given your best.

The reason I write this post is not to criticize anyone nor am I trying to tell anyone how to live their life. The reason I write this is to show that it is possible and in your own control to take charge of your life. To do what I love I had to give up on sitting in cars in traffic jams and standing in crowded public transportation every morning and afternoon, and use that (extra) time to chase my dreams. Sounds like a bargain to me. They will call you crazy at first and when they see that it actually works they will still call you crazy. And it is true, you certainly stand out of line with this kind of weird behavior. It is not normal. Or maybe it is in Kenya, but not in the West. But I can go to work and still train like professional if I just plan it right.

Everyone of us is at their unique situation and there are quite a few variables to think about when putting together the puzzle. Some of the most important and fundamental things to consider:

• The type of job you have
• The working hours
• Do you need to carry things to and from work
• The distance from home to work
• Do you have a shower at your disposal
• Where can you keep your things
• Traveling

All of these things have a major influence on how to resolve the puzzle. But neither one of these things will prevent you from running (for example). They are just part of the equation at hand and will vary from case to case. I am not going to explain how to cope with each one these variables. Just get creative. The style is free, but mandatory. I guarantee you that there is always a way.

My Way To Do It

Here's how I do it. Monday is my rest day, meaning that I only run very easy home from work. Monday mornings I bring to work all the clean clothes that I plan to use that week in work. I have my locker where I keep my things. Friday is another easy day and that's when I bring back the work clothes in the afternoon. From Tuesday to Thursday I run to and from work according to Figure 2 depending how many times per week I am going to practice (running). I work often weekends, especially on Sundays, but the hours are not carved in stone so creativity has it's use again.

Figure 2: Weekly schedule. AM: Run to work, PM: Run from work,
Evening: Run after work. Low intensity (green), moderate intensity (yellow),
high intensity (red), long run (light blue).

The shortest route to work for me is 8 km. But I often run much longer and do it in the park that is in between my work and home. The only things I'm carrying while running are my keys to home and work and my Sony Walkman. Cell phones, well, I don't like them. If I really need to move my cell phone I do it like this: I remove the sim card, put it in a small plastic bag or sleeve and bring it home (or work) in a small pocket in my shorts. I have an old cell phone at home. But this is just for special occasions. I prefer the De La Soul approach. One of the best things about running is that you get to disconnect from the stressful world.

Traveling

When I have to travel for work (or vacation) I try to make use of that time as recovering from recent exercise. I might do double practice dose right before traveling and then try to relax and put the traveling time in good use. You can not follow too strictly your plans, but you can make the best out of your time, and that's enough. Traveling is not just a distraction, it presents positive things as well: you might get to train at different climate, altitude, temperature, landscape and routes. Take it as a gift, not a distraction and you will be fine. Some of us crazy guys (and gals) run at the airports and airport parking lots. Yes, that's one way to do it.

"In an insane world a sane man must appear insane." -C. William King