2022 Gold Coast Marathon build - Week Three, April 11 - 17
MONDAY, 11TH APRIL
Following a big weekend, particularly Saturday, there was an emphasis on a low intensity start to the week.
10.10 km @ 4:34, finishing with some strides fulfilled that mandate.
TUESDAY, 12TH APRIL
As per the prescribed Vigor Princes Park group workout, 4 x 1600, or an exact mile of 1.61 km since I’m OCD about these things like many runners, was on the cards.
Eking out every km from the Next % 2, which served me well in October’s marathon time trial and Melbourne in December, three sets of 20 second strides, each increasing in pace, before commencing the session proper left my legs feeling sharp.
Short of being oppressive, the conditions were tricky with an easterly crosswind to contend with.
Unsure what pace would be in the ballpark, going through the first km in 3:13 was reassuring, though I was keen to maintain that through the final 610 metres. 2:00 flat at 3:15/km, for a 5:13 mile, especially after negotiating some cyclist path crossings and sharp turns around Elwood, was a good start.
An active recovery float, which I settled on 800 metres, didn’t allow much scope to regroup. The first of which, registering 4:08/km, was reasonably steady.
There was a slight drop in pace in the second rep, but enjoying the best of the easterly tail adjacent to Beaconsfield Parade for the back part allowed me to maintain a 3:16 average across the mile in 5:17.
With the turnaround into the moderate southerly for the final two reps, the pace only dropped from there.
A consistent 3:22 pace for a 5:26 mile third rep was a solid effort considering the legs were starting to feel the pinch by then.
Straddling the path adjacent the Point Ormond lookout for the final rep, where the wind can be at its’ most virulent on a bad day, it took some effort to keep the foot down, so 5:23 was a positive note to conclude.
15.61 km @ 3:54 following the cool down amounted to a good hitout.
WEDNESDAY, 13TH APRIL
Despite a planned catch up with Dion Finocchiaro, who’d recovered from an 80 km effort on the track the previous Saturday, falling through following a lack of sleep, conditions were glorious.
It was one of those days where you’d gladly continue running as long as your heart desires, so 17.42 km @ 4:42 didn’t feel like much of a stretch, even if the tiredness was present!
THURSDAY, 14TH APRIL
With an encore of Wednesday’s sublime conditions and having neglected any strides the day before, I couldn’t help myself heading out to sharpen the legs ahead of the evening Vigor workout, with 5.20 km @ 4:44.
The balminess persisted as the sun began to set upon my arrival at training, with my decision to wear a pullover on my warm up proving unwise…
Unseasonably mild conditions were one thing, and whilst the absence of the almost standard Thursday night gale force wind was a blessing, the absence of lighting around the track was not the most endearing sight, or lack thereof.
Especially when the the task before us involved some rapid pace, encompassing 3 x 800, 600, 400 m repeats!
Andrew McIntosh’s presence was a big boost, having made huge gains over the previous eighteen months, culminating in a sub 16 minute 5000 at the Collingwood Classic the previous Saturday.
Andrew subsequently set a vicious pace leading out the 800’s, particularly the first, clocking 2:22 (1:10, 1:11), which had us reaching for air.
With Tom Gardner also in tow, fresh from his own substantial low 15 minute PB at the same event, it was ideal to share the pacing duties across each rep.
Yours truly warily fronted up to take out the first of the 600’s, hoping to quell Andrew’s enthusiasm, for everybody’s sake!
1:44 (1:09, 35 sec final 200 m), represented a modest pace increase without withdrawing too much too soon.
What I can attest to is the inadequacy of the 60 second recovery after the 600 reps and the necessary walk across the oval to commence the 400’s! It ended up being more like 90 seconds by the time we coyly stepped to the line each time…
Tom took us out for the 400’s, and a 1:07, with he and Andrew slightly faster, was another step up before a much appreciated three minute break between sets.
What was amusing was the uncertainty of who we were cheering across the line throughout the Vigor pack. Without the lighting, it was pot luck drawing somebody’s name any further than 50 metres out, so it was well done… Zoe? Great work Steve? Keep it going… Paul?
Andrew signalled his intent to ramp up proceedings when his shirt came off prior to the second set’s commencement, which is a very rare occurrence in mid April!
2:25 (1:10, 1:14) was a little kinder to set up the balance of the set, whilst I made the call at this point to follow Andrew’s lead in taking my shirt off to avoid blowing a gasket.
A 1:47 (1:10, 36) 600 was a similar decrease on the first rep, so there was hope that the final set wouldn’t be a hiding to nothing, even if the trudge across the oval was very laboured!
With Tom again leading the charge for the 400, I didn’t have the legs to match it with he and Andrew, going through in 68 seconds, meaning all three reps were a small downswing on the first set.
It was almost as if on prompt, after asking between ourselves where he was several times, that Hamish McClean surfaced just in time for us to commence the final set!
Another 2:25 (and another 1:10, 1:14) for the final 800 was about as much as I could have hoped for.
I sheepishly led us out over the 600 with my legs screaming lactic. A 1:46 (1:10, 35), feeling Tom and Andrew breathing down my neck like a hoard of zombies in the darkness, had me raring to pull up stumps.
Hamish, who fancies himself as a 400 specialist, joined in the fun for our final sprint to the line, taking us away at something rapid, before Andrew kicked in after 100 metres, only for Hamish to find a second wind soon after.
All of which left me frantically attempting to give chase, with my hamstrings not particularly keen on the pursuit.
Nevertheless, a desperate final 100 m push allowed me to clock a 1:04, which was a strong note to conclude what I’d rate as one of the tougher track workouts in recent memory, even if 6.74 km @ 3:59 per Garmin, again overs around the track, doesn’t sound that impressive on paper.
It speaks to the quality of the Thursday Vigor sessions, which have been top notch this year, and particularly so since resuming after March’s track racing enforced training absence.
With Tom Gardner’s imminent repatriation to the UK, Xavier Meade’s impending departure to Germany, Lewis Sullivan’s recent return to the UK by way of North America, Justin Kahlefeldt’s relocation to the US and Simon Hanns’, more locally, to Woodend… not to mention coach Liam Delany and his family’s sea change to Mansfield last year, that’s just off the top of my head, there are some big gaps to fill within the Vigor contingent, particularly at the sharp end, so I’m looking forward to seeing who emerges over the next few months!
FRIDAY, 15TH APRIL
Nothing much to report on the recovery run of 12.87 km @ 4:40, having pulled up relatively well from training.
The balance of Good Friday was quite sedentary, and as it turned out, my only day off for the long weekend!
SATURDAY, 16TH APRIL
COVID isolations for multiple work colleagues meant that a day off turned into a very sharp turnaround to complete my long run before heading in to provide cover.
This meant I was out the door not long past 6, which has been an extremely rare feat of late!
Despite the hour, it was immediately clear that conditions were immaculate, and with my legs feeling sharp, it boded well to ramp up the pace.
I’d had a vague idea in mind of what to target, though what transpired slightly deviated from the plan.
A steady opening five km in the low 4:00’s gave way to a five km block, sitting in the mid 3:30’s, when I’d been hoping to dial in to goal marathon pace — close to ten seconds faster, which left me feeling as though maybe my legs weren’t as fresh as I’d hoped.
That changed rapidly once I reached Albert Park, where the sight of an almost entirely untouched post Grand Prix setup seemed to flip a switch.
My first km on entering the ‘track’ was a 3:20, which was replicated for the next, and followed by a 3:18. Slightly faster than marathon pace!! With no wind factor heading around the lake and surrounded by the fencing, it was difficult not to feel invincible.
A 3:22 and another 3:18 resulted in a 5 km block @ 3:19, five or six seconds above goal GC pace, by which point I definitely needed to cool the jets!
A five km ‘float’, at close to 4:00, offered me just enough breathing space to ramp it up again.
Contrary to the original idea of a second 10 km block at marathon pace, I decided to reverse the next 5 km working pace to be around the same mark as the last 5 km effort whilst I continued to circulate the lake, before easing off slightly for the following five on the journey home.
My legs didn’t have quite as much kick once I tried to pick it up again, though nothing drastic. This resulted in paces which were actually right on point for GC, registering 3:27, 25, 23, 25 and 24, at just under 3:25 for the five km.
I was very relieved once this was over, having reached 25 km with around ten in hand.
A sign of the fatigue was my inability to hold a tempo pace similar to the opening 5 km block, with my pace again falling closer to 4:00.
Not content with this, I pivoted to launch a final 5 km rally from 30 km, now very much on tired legs, and again in the absence of any gels.
With my local Coles no longer carrying the SIS gels which I’ve settled on over time as my fuel of choice, I made a mental note to prioritise ordering in a few boxes for the months ahead!
Nevertheless, it was reassuring to find the drive to again hit 3:30’s over the next 5 km with so little in the tank, though I was very much willing the end to arrive as I hit 35 km!
Rounding out with 36 km @ 3:43, it was definitely one of my faster long runs.
Despite feeling suitably cooked, I had little time to reflect on the effort, with my departure to work arriving barely 30 minutes later, which was conducted on pure adrenaline…
SUNDAY, 17TH APRIL
It came as no surprise that I was sore following yesterday’s effort , so I was in no hurry once I rolled out of bed.
12.50 km @ 4:51 was more than sufficient, with an 124 km week another slight increase.
With that, it’s difficult to fathom that it’s already quarter time on the path to the final long run a fortnight out from July 3.
There’s still a long road ahead, but the initial training block has yielded lots of positives with plenty of quality absorption over the past few weeks.