4 Athletes 4 Marathons - Week 9 Diary
Oct 02, 2023
Marathon Blog Week 9
Each week we look to see how the sponsored athletes have coped with training over the last seven days and then compare their coach’s view on how the week has gone!
First up describing her week of training we have Keri Pearson who is doing the Frankfurt marathon along with Coach Dave in October:
Monday - PM 6.2 miles in 53 mins, Mondays are always super easy, mixture of off road and road. Two key sessions this week so making sure the easy is easy.
Tuesday - PM 4 miles in 34 mins plus strides. A much lower volume Tuesday to previous weeks in advance of Wednesday. Legs feeling pretty fresh.
Wednesday - AM 3 miles in 26 mins - easy shake out run.
PM Humber Road 5k champs - the weather was pretty grim all today but improved a little before the actual race. Really conscious of having a positive session but haven’t quite got the confidence to run a 5k hard yet. I was also one of slowest runners in my heat, whilst on the start line, I made the decision to just sit behind some of the other females to shelter from the wind for a few laps, I felt it slowing quite a bit and on the 3rd lap went to the front, I knew I had a bit of a gap but could still hear second place behind me. The race ended up being really controlled, didn’t feel an all out effort but just a decent run out and more importantly felt good to be competitive and race. Left me quite excited to run a 5k hard soon!
Thursday - PM 10 miles in 77 mins - road but nice and easy (30 beats below marathon effort) to account for the late night Wednesday and Saturdays upcoming session.
Friday - PM 4 miles in 33 mins - felt knackered after work this week and could have easily missed this run, but knowing Saturday was a key run and my legs always feel sluggish after a day off, kept this one easy. The biggest point I have learnt in the marathon blocks previously is that you’re easy runs really do need to be easy. I always judge a run to have been easy enough, if my legs feel better for it after, if they don’t, I’ve ran that easy run too fast.
Saturday - AM 4 x 5 miles @ marathon effort, we had highlighted this as a key run, primarily because it’s one of the longest sessions but also because, in the past two marathon cycles, I’ve never completed this longest session due to illness or tiredness. I was really happy to keep the first 3 reps 3/4 beats below marathon effort and to be able to pick the last 5 miles up to much faster and just above my marathon effort heart rate and it all felt smooth without having to force anything. Also tried out the 160 Maurten gels @ pace and really impressed with them.
Sunday - AM 12 miles in 100 mins, very relaxed and easy.
Overall really pleased with how the marathon training has gone and particularly this race specific block, a few weekends left of training and one target race before the taper begins. From experience it’s very easy to do too much as you get closer and ruin the blocks training, so recognise the importance of trying to keep honest with how I’m feeling and focusing on the recovery more than the hammering of sessions/ miles”.
Next, and first to race in this block is Matt Hamer who was doing the Berlin marathon on Sunday:
Monday - started off as typical, in the gym. Having missed some weekend runs I did 45mins on the treadmill followed by 50mins of upper body strength work. Race week is here and my intentions were the same as the previous few weeks, which is to just keep everything ticking, and turn up on the start line fresh. With my last track workout 4 days ago, and strength training in the legs 3 days ago, this was the last somewhat bigger day of training on the agenda
Tuesday - 30 mins of easy running.
Wednesday - Rest day
Thursday - I was on annual leave from today so planned on doing 1x2miles at target marathon pace. The problem is, I have real problems with flying. And what I actually spent the day doing is procrastinating because the anxiety of having to get on the plane the next day was taking over. This is one of the main reasons for me why running abroad is never likely to produce any great personal bests. The anxiety of having to get on a plane starts weeks out and it probably has some sort of negative impact on my performance on some level.
Friday - We caught an 8am flight from London, which meant a 2:30am depart from Sheffield. The rest of the day was getting to the expo, checking in - and then we went to what they call the Hall of Fame where they present the elite athletes for this years marathon, in order to catch a glimpse of Kipchoge.
Saturday - I had planned a local shakeout with the Berlin Braves run club. However after yesterday's long travel day and standing and waiting for nearly 2 hours for Kipchoge, I opted for sleep rather than a shakeout run.
Sunday - Race day. You’ll have to check out the race report to follow but a great day overall. The output matched the input, and it was a great weekend all in all.
Race Report;
Going into the Berlin Marathon I didn’t have any real expectations based on the training. Having run the Big Half I worked out that 03:36:00 would be something to aim of, but it’s not like this was something I was ‘going for’ so to speak. But I find it helpful, especially over a long distance like the marathon to have some sort of idea as to what to expect so that you can prepare accordingly.
Race morning consisted of a 6am start and a 6:30am breakfast - pancakes and coffee. Nothing too crazy. I had pre-booked at the expo to collect a Maurten pack of bars, gels and drinks mix on the Friday. However I didn’t anticipate the queue - it must have been maybe an hour long. It was ridiculous. So I sacked it off. Luckily I had brought a few bits with me from SIS. 2 drinks mixes that I had had Saturday night and another with breakfast. There was so much nervous energy at breakfast - I loved it. Some people were sat there with all their kit on, their race bags packed and it’s 6:30am. Meanwhile with no real expectations I was enjoying taking in the atmosphere. I love walking around big cities on the morning of a big race. With Berlin, it’s real easy to get around and the race village whilst very busy, it’s pretty straight forward and well signposted. I got there about an hour before the start for one reason and one reason only - to try and spot Eliud Kipchoge! There is a spot next to the start where the elites come out of their warm up tents, so i hovered here all morning and caught Eliud, Tigist, Charlotte Purdue and many more. Once they had set off, I nipped to the toilet (no que as everyone was in their pen) and even managed to nip into the correct pen which I was allocated to! A bit of a different start to the race but well worth it and certainly the least stressful!
Given the snafu with Maurten, I had 3 gels on me which I aimed to take every 45mins or so. Not as many as I would have liked but I knew the course gave out Maurten gels and the drinks mix on course. Every single station that gave out the mix I stopped at, walked, and made sure to drink the mix (they were in plastic cups, not the easiest to drink from when running). But also, it helped to break the race up into 5K chunks. Furthermore, the plastic cups were quite hazardous as I saw many runners slip and fall on them, so stopping seemed like a sensible idea.
Berlin is renowned for being flat, and you notice the ease of the course straight away. What I can only describe as being in cruise control it feels very effortless to just keep turning the legs. By the time I had reached half way, my HR still had not gone above 150bpm. I wasn't purposely trying to keep it low (Although up until 30km the goal was to not go above 160bpm) but even as I picked up the pace it was hard to get it any higher.
I had listened to a podcast from Sweat Elite in the days prior that had Nick Bester on it, a 2:20 marathoner in his own right, who talked about ‘not being greedy’ and ‘racing from 30km’. Due to the recency of listening to it, these were the things that stuck in my head. Berlin had gone all in with their Nike/Kipchoge marketing for the weekend too, so on the course you could see billboards and signs with mantras such as ‘patience gets your there faster’ and ‘see magic not miles’. Whilst advertisements, they also helped to stay disciplined and focused.
Coming up to the 30k mark I did think I would try to push on a little from this point if I felt good. I was surprised that I had not hit any ‘wall’ by then, maybe a reflection on the flat course or that I had taken on nutrition at every stop. But I did manage to pick up the pace to just under 5”00/km and my HR remained steady at 160-162bpm. I continued this until the 38K mark and then the wheels came off. Compared to the last 4K, the first 38, and especially the first 30 were an absolute breeze! But I’m not sure you can describe the last 4K as running. I remember taking the left turn towards the Brandenberg Gate and just thinking FFS. I plodded along as best I could, but when you get to the gate it’s still forever until the finish! I think I might have even stopped again in between the gate and the finish line but eventually made it across in bang on 03:45:00.
I wouldn’t describe it as easy, as a marathon is never an easy task, but I can see why people flock to this race for their best performances. Everything about it is just made for fast running. I would definitely come back and do it again one day.
Next we have the two Yorkshire marathon athletes and their accounts of the last week of training. Here is Jen’s view on her training:
“At the end of the week was my biggest test so far as to how the marathon training has been going. My mid week session went really well keeping a rein on the pace but feeling the faster paces again coming easier. We had a really good group on Wednesday with a huge range of paces and some new faces. We will need the group spirit in the winter months where this is most noticeable just how important a group is, even if it is not the "perfect" session for you as an individual.
Thursday was a steady run off road, i forgot to charge my watch and just put it on my wrist. I always turn it on when I get to training as the battery is naff but I had forgotten to charge it up the night before so it was useless. Clumber is great for running, we don't use it enough. We always have a chuckle though when we park up in "doggers car park". Always around 3.30pm loads of single men just parked up all staring into space! We got back from the run and we're all gone!! Dave is known for his regular toilet breaks but he absolutely will not venture into those woods!
The Saturday morning marathon session was a bit low on numbers. These planned sessions have had close to 40 runners in previous times but this session was a very small group. This meant that I was running the first 3 x5 miles solo as the group in front was just a bit too fast and I wanted to really stick to my plan. At the 2.5mile turnaround point I turned short so that I wasn't too far back and then cut the recovery short so I could set off at the same time as the group in front. This was because Dave was going to run with me on the last faster 5 mile. After the first 3 reps and 15 mile completed my lactate reading was 2.0mmols and averaged 6.46 min/mile bang on target pace. I was really happy with this as the lactate reading showed that the pace I was running at was well below my capabilities (if i was a seasoned marathoner and I'm not!). It also meant that on the day when the rises start at 14miles i can afford to let my heart rate creep up a little (the aim is to run around 153-158 for the first 14 miles and then allow it to rise 10 beats on the hills up to 168. I then set off hard for the last 5 mile averaging 6.19 min/miles averaging 180 HR and a lactate reading of 4.6mmols. I ran hard but had in mind to know that on the day I would have to keep going for another 6 miles. I thought my lactate would have been higher with the heart rate higher (it's been 12mmol at the end of a 5K/3000m before) but certainly I wouldn't have kept that pace going. The session gave me a real confidence boost knowing I hit the target pace and heart rate for the first 15 miles and was able to pick the pace up for another 5miles. There is no way I could have done that mentally or physically a few months ago. There was also a slight feeling of disappointment afterwards too because firstly I ran 6.17 average for a full marathon 12 years ago and now I am way off that but need to just get over myself and secondly because I have actually really enjoyed the training and now it's coming to an end for now.
I also looked back at my old training diaries and noted that in early 2018 I ran weekly 6 mile runs at weirdly, exactly 153-158 ave HR at a pace of 6.37 to 6.45 min miles. That gave me confidence knowing that I haven't slowed down too much in the latter years and I am keeping this going for much longer.
The last few weeks now is all about freshening up, although I don't feel mentally or physically fatigued from the training which is a good sign but also maybe I could have pushed on a bit more. Also need to still keep focussed as it is easy to let things slip once the main block of training is complete. I have two longish runs and 5 sessions left and that's it. I know I shouldn't be but I am already thinking about what I would do extra for the next one when I haven't even completed one yet!!
This week we are off to Portugal for a mini training camp (if you remember I had intended to do Frankfurt which is another 5 weeks away when we planned this trip), so not ideal and will need to be really disciplined!
MON Strength Session. Rest day from running gives me 48 hrs to recover.
TUES 8.65m @7.54 HR ave 140 off road
WED Strength session. Group Session 2x800m, 8x600, 2x800 6x800m. Total 10.5m
THUR 10m off road Clumber (no watch as forgot to charge 
FRI 4.10m road with strides@7:40 HR ave 142. Live Class
SAT Session 22.5m. 3x5miles at marathon HR
SUN 12.9m hilly road run@7:49 min/miles HR ave 137. Strength session
Weekly Totals 69 miles. Last big marathon session. 1 x shorter sessions 1 x strides, 40 mins yoga, 180 mins S&C. Taper starts 
Finally, we have Lee Milburn’s account of his week:
“Last big session completed on Saturday. Dave asked, do you feel relieved? I said no, because I feel confident going into this marathon as a better and stronger runner. I’ve enjoyed this block and have ticked off some decent milestones. Saturday’s session was the last but it was just a session on top of numerous sessions I’ve done over the last 12 weeks. It was good however to practise 20 miles at marathon hr, I split this into 2x5miles and then 1x10mile to finish so I could practise taking on a gel and water at race pace. My pace was bang on where we are expecting it to be to be competitive at York and take another chunk of my pb whilst also learning a few more lessons working towards London next year. The week's mileage totalled 63 miles and included a decent mid week speed session where the group are progressing and push you hard even when you just want to have a comfortable session. Sunday was a steady 90 min run up Appy Hill which I haven’t missed! To allow the legs to recover. Taper time is on the horizon so fingers crossed for staying healthy and enjoying preparing the body right”
The athlete’s have described their week of training and now let’s take the view of Coach Tune and his views on how things have gone and first up is Keri
“The week could not have gone any better for Keri as she got a timely confidence boost winning the Humberside 5k championships on a very windy night in an excellent local field. This was then followed up by an excellent session on Saturday which was executed perfectly and fueling practice.
Improving in running is not just about how fit you can get as building your confidence in racing I have found is just as an important part of an athletes development and this is one area with Keri we have worked on over an extended period of time which seems to be finally filtering through”
Next we have Matt Hamer who is the first of the athletes to race as his marathon in Berlin took place on Sunday
“Several weeks ago it was clear that Matt was struggling so for him to even make it to the startline in Berlin shows just what sort of character he is and why us as a company have invested in him over the last few years. Sunday was not about trying to run a certain time but more about having a positive experience which we can carry into the next block of training and marathon preparation which Matt clearly had.
Now is the time for him to take a bit of time to allow himself to recover and then when ready begin to build up again”
Finally we have the Yorkshire marathon duo of Jen and Lee who are putting the final touches to their plans.
“Originally Jen was going to do the Frankfurt marathon with myself and Keri but we decided that after all this time ( 12 years ) away from marathon racing then a more low key event would serve her better to get a feel of the race but more importantly the training again.
Her preparation has gone better than we imagined and the end result in the Yorkshire marathon is important but the ability to handle high mileage still is probably our greatest learning. Her session on Saturday when she picked it up was excellent over the last 5 miles and now some time away in Portugal is all about freshening up and doing the last bit of polishing of her plan”
“Lee has had a couple of tough days in the office during his last couple of marathons mainly due to his pacing and we are determined to get this one right.His longer sessions have been of a quality we have never seen before and this is a great indication he will do himself justice come the 15th October. My only nagging issue is now he has gone back to work and the added reality of a family and young daughter that his midweek mileage has dropped dramatically but we are hoping that those miles banked over the summer while he was off school will help to carry us over into the race”
Enjoy the read!
