Friday, April 18, 2014

2014 Virgin Money London Marathon Follow-Up

Five days have passed since the 2014 Virgin London Marathon, and I've been able to gather my thoughts on the race. It's certainly a relief to have the race behind me, but almost immediately after finishing I was trying to figure out how I could have done better, and what I will do differently my next time out. First off, I am pleased with the 45 second PR. While I was hoping to run a bit quicker going into the race, I am proud of the way I responded to the dynamics on this particular day. Our pace group went out a little slow through the first half (65:05), but that pace was still fine as we had a pretty good positive split. Our pace group slowly started to disintegrate over the second half, and by the time we got to 17 miles, I was doing most of the leading on a fairly windy day. Getting into the later miles the wind always feels worse, and the hills always feel tougher than they actually are. This was the first race that I was able to maintain confidence on miles 18 to 23 and not fall off pace. Mentally, this was a big step for me. I really had to give it everything I had to get under 2:11 on the last mile, so I know I wasn't holding anything back. This was another step in the right direction heading towards the 2016 Olympic Trials. I am happy with the first half of London, but for me to improve my placing in my future marathons, I will have to be confident and comfortable going out more aggressively. That will be the goal for the fall.

Now I'm looking forward to getting back on the track for a few months before preparing for a fall marathon. It's important for me mentally and physically to switch gears and get some shorter training and racing in. I plan to run the USA Track and Field Championships in Sacramento at the end of June, and before that I'd like to do a tune-up race (likely the Portland Track Festival) in either the 5,000 or 1500 meters. It would be fun to try to PR in the 1500 and marathon within a few months! I'll be taking this week completely off, and then listening to my body as I ease back into jogging next week. I've got plenty of time before the USA Championships, and I plan on continuing my season with a couple races in Europe. I already have the ideal base under me, so now I can focus on tuning up, and cranking out some fast track sessions.

I'm back spending time in Prague and my wife's village (Rodinov) until the 14th of May, enjoying my time with Eva's family. Eva will meet me here on Monday, so I will be spending a traditional Czech Easter without her. Without going into too much detail, Easter in the Czech Republic entails making a whip out of willow branches and using it to slap women on their behinds while singing a song demanding colorful eggs. Obviously the goal is not to actually cause harm, and it's all in good fun. Along with that, we'll be dying eggs and eating a meal called hlavička (a type of casserole with smoked ham). It will be a nice mental break from the stresses of training as I rest my body and mind for the next block.

A big thanks to London Marathon and all those who worked so hard to organize the race and make the elite athlete experience unforgettable. I hope I have the honor of running this race again. Thanks to everyone who participated in my twitter contest as well. I enjoyed it and will do something similar in the future. My last week of training is below if you'd like to check it out. I'll be posting again soon. Thanks for reading, and feel free to follow me here on twitter for more updates. Good luck to all those running Boston! It's going to be an emotional experience even watching it a few thousand miles away.

Week 14 AM PM Strength/Drills Mileage
Monday 10 5
15





Tuesday 5 x 1k @ 2:57 + drills 5
15





Wednesday 10 + drills and strides off
10





Thursday 8 Travel to London from Prague
8





Friday 5.5 + drills and strides off
6





Saturday 5 off
5





Sunday Race off
28





TOTAL


87


Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Less than one week to the Virgin Money London Marathon: Last Week's Training

We're less than a week away from the Virgin Money London Marathon. April is full of exciting marathons, but hopefully London will be the highlight of the month. I'm ecstatic to be a part of such an incredible field, but I'm also a little jealous of fans who get to see all of the men's and women's elite fields duke it out. I will be in my own little world with 4 other great athletes (Chris Thompson, Scott Overall, Reid Coolsaet, and pacemaker Fernando Cabada), so I imagine we'll miss a lot of great action. It looks like Cabada will be taking us out in 64:45, which will be my fastest half-marathon split by about 30 seconds. I'm confident that this group of guys will make that first have feel like a breeze. The second half is certainly another story, but that's what the marathon is all about. As of right this second, I'm feeling fresh, confident in my build-up, and I'm counting down the days.

I'm currently in Prague adjusting to the time difference and recovering from the travel. So far this has been the easiest adjustment I've ever been through of my European trips. I'm finally getting the hang of this. One nice thing about having your body clock so out of tune is that as you adjust, you get to make up your new body clock. This means I can make going to bed at 9 and getting up at 6 feel normal. I have no distractions here, so it's been easy to make this small adjustment. I'll be heading over to London on Thursday, and I expect to be fully on schedule by then.

I've been asked recently how I adjust my diet during my taper. I don't. I am still running a pretty high volume during my taper, so I simply continue to eat intelligently when I'm hungry. This is my version of carbo-loading. You don't need to stuff yourself with pasta for a week to carbo-load. If you continue your dietary habits from your high training period, carbo-loading happens naturally as your volume and effort decrease leading into the race.

To add a little fun to the 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon, I've decided to throw together a little contest. Head over to Twitter to guess my time at the London Marathon and win my autographed singlet from the race! Rules: One entry per person; Must submit time in hr:min:sec; Must submit before race time; Must be following me and use the hashtag #VailsFoggyFreebies. I've posted my last 13 weeks of training for you below. After the race I will post the entire 14-week build-up. Thanks again for reading. Follow me here on twitter for more updates before the race.



Week 1
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
12 + drills and grass strides
6
40 minutes
18

Tuesday
10xmile starting in 4:57 and closing in 4:42
off

16


Wednesday
11.5
5.5

17

Thursday
10 x 200 meter hills
5
1 hour
17

Friday
4 mile tempo @ 18:51
5

17

Saturday
11.5
5.5
40 minutes
17

Sunday
Long run pushing miles 15-18 @ 4:58
off

20


TOTAL



122
Week 2
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
13
6
40 minutes
19





Tuesday
5 + drills and strides
11

16





Wednesday
5
8 x mile on hilly paved loop starting in 4:48 and working down to 4:29

20










Thursday
7.5
12.5
40 minutes
20





Friday
14
10 x 200 meters on track 29-32

20





Saturday
6
3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile on track: 2 min, 1 min rest (all in 4:41-4:43)

20





Sunday
Long Run
off

20





TOTAL



135





Week 3
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
14 + drills and strides
6
40 minutes
20





Tuesday
10 mile tempo in 49:47 (4:58-4:59)
6

22





Wednesday
14
7
40 minutes
21










Thursday
14
7

21





Friday
7
10 x 500 w/100 meter jog recovery (79-81)

21.5





Saturday
15
6.5
40 minutes
21.5





Sunday
Long Run, push miles 20-22 in 4:57, 4:57, 4:50
off

23





TOTAL



150
Week 4
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
12.5
6
40 minutes
18.5





Tuesday
14 + drills and strides
5

19





Wednesday
5
7 x mile (4:42 down to 4:28) w/ 3 min rest)

20





Thursday
14
7
1 hour
20





Friday
9
15 x 200 (29-32) on track

20





Saturday
10
5.5
30 minutes
15.5





Sunday
16 mile progression run (starting 5:50 and working down to 4:45) + warm-up/cool-down
off

23





TOTAL



136
Week 5
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
14
7
40 minutes
21





Tuesday
14
8x200 meters on track

21





Wednesday
15
6
30 minutes
21





Thursday
6
Indoor track: 3.5 mile, 2.5, 1.5 starting in 72s and working down to 69s

21





Friday
14 miles (indoor track)
7 miles (indoor track)
40 minutes
21





Saturday
11 miles on treadmill
3 mile w/u, 8x200, 5 mile c/d

21





Sunday

24 miles pushing 18-21 (starting 5:07 and finishing in 4:50)

24





TOTAL



150
Week 6
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
14
6
40 minutes
20





Tuesday
14 + drills and 8 x 200 meters on track
6

20





Wednesday
6
6xmile starting in 4:38 working down to 4:28

20





Thursday
12
7

19





Friday
10
6

16





Saturday
14
6
40 minutes
20





Sunday

3 mile w/u, 4 mile tempo (19:01), 10 mile run in 58:35, 3 mile tempo 14:14

22





TOTAL



137
Week 7
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
14
6

20





Tuesday
14
6 + drills and grass strides
30 minutes
20





Wednesday
5.5
10 x 1 km 2:56-2:57 w/ 1 min recovery

19





Thursday
11
5
30 minutes
16





Friday

10

10





Saturday
6 + drills and strides
off

6





Sunday
Race Gasparilla Half-Marathon


20





TOTAL



111
Week 8
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
4.5
12.5
30 minutes
17





Tuesday
14
6 + drills and grass strides

20





Wednesday
14
6
40 minutes
20





Thursday
70 minute run + 8x200 meter hills + drills
6

20





Friday
14.5
6.5

21





Saturday
14
6
40 minutes
20





Sunday
22 mile long run in 2:06


22





TOTAL



140
Week 9
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
7
14
40 minutes
21





Tuesday
15
6 + drills and grass strides

21





Wednesday
6
4 x 2 miles in 9:29, 9:27, 9:23, 9:22 w/ 2 minutes rest
40 minutes
21





Thursday
11
10

21





Friday
15
30 minutes + 8 x 200 meter hills

22

sn



Saturday
5
14
30 minutes
19





Sunday
off
4x2km, 10 mile run in 56:45, 4x2km + w/u & c/d (2km repeats all at 5:52-5:53)

25





TOTAL



150
Week 10
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
14
6
40 minutes
20





Tuesday
14
6 + drills and grass strides

20





Wednesday
14
6
40 minutes
20





Thursday
1 hour moderate run, 6 x 2km (5:54-5:52)
off

18





Friday
12
5
30 minutes
17





Saturday
14
6 + drills and grass strides

20





Sunday
off
16 mile tempo (4:59)

21





TOTAL



136
Week 11
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
9
5
40 minutes
14





Tuesday
14
6 + drills and grass strides

20





Wednesday
14
6
40 minutes
20





Thursday
4 mile tempo @ 18:57, 5 mile run in 5:30-5:40, 3 mile tempo @ 14:07
off

19





Friday
11.5
5.5
30 minutes
17





Saturday
13 miles + drills and grass strides
off

13





Sunday
22 miles in 2:03:40 with 3 mile push from 16-19 (4:57, 4:56, 4:54)
off

22





TOTAL



125
Week 12
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
12
5
40 minutes
17





Tuesday
1 hour run + 8 x 200 meter hills
5

18





Wednesday
12
6
40 minutes
18





Thursday
4 miles (4 min rest), 2 x 2 miles (2 min rest) @ 4:50
5

19





Friday
5.5
off

5.5





Saturday
14.5
off
30 minutes
14.5





Sunday
3 mile w/u, 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile tempo @ 4:41-4:43, 1 hour run easy
off

18





TOTAL



110
Week 13
AM
PM
Strength/Drills
Mileage
Monday
12.5
6

18.5





Tuesday
11.5+drills and strides
4.5
40 minutes
16





Wednesday
11


11





Thursday
4 x 2 miles @ 9:25-9:26
Traveling from Portland to Prague

14





Friday
Traveling from Portland to Prague
5.5

5.5





Saturday
11.5
5.5+drills and strides
20 minutes
17





Sunday
15
off

15





TOTAL



97