GCM22: Week 8 - The Marathon Simulator
Philip, Cheong and I discussed about running a race simulation a couple of weeks back and with yet another extended weekend here in Malaysia and with 4 weeks to race day, the timing couldn’t have come at a better time. While there's no simulator penned into the training plan, those who have trained using the Hansons Marathon Method (HMM) would be aware of this workout, employed regularly by their elites. Due to its usefulness, even non-HMMers see this workout as beneficial to test out their gear and fuelling plan, if nothing else.
So what's The Marathon Simulator (TMS)? Originally coined by the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project coaches Keith and Kevin Hanson, TMS is a 26.2KM (instead of miles, because that would be too much) workout executed at Marathon Pace (MP), ideally on a similar course profile. For the 2007 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in NYC, the team ran their simulator in Central Park - the actual Trials required the competitors to cover 5 loops of the iconic park.
Since the Gold Coast course is nowhere as rolling as Central Park’s, we decided to stick to our tried and tested spot in Saujana, instead of Cyberjaya. Putrajaya was considered but everyone agreed that that place is just too humid and stale. Saujana is relatively flat, has 2 hair-pin turns just like the Gold Coast and the 6KM loops allow easy access to fluids and gels.
Philip having run his a few days earlier, offered to pace Cheong who opted for 24KM and I, who decided to stick to the Half Marathon distance. 21.1KM was already a mark-up compared to the 16KMs I covered in the years prior, but I felt strong enough to give it a go this time around. Unlike the hardcore pros, and the stronger runners, I adjusted my week's running in such a way that I didn't over-extend myself, and as much as I was tempted to log 10KM on Friday morning, I rested.
The 3 of us turned up in our spanking new Next% (my 2019 OG Nike iD versus v2 for the other 2). Uncle Siah joined us for the same start but kept to his 26KM long run. Both my vest and shorts were the Nike Run Division series, which I love for their extreme breathability, featherweight and comfort. I can’t afford (nor believe the need in paying so much for) the ridiculously expensive Run Rabbit nor Tracksmith gear and neither are these NRD ones cheap as well. However, once in awhile they’re available for very big discounts on Zalora.
Because we were all in our new shoes, it rained and just when I was about to give up the rain stopped. With our warm up shoes laced up (Nimbus 24 was mine), we were off into the cool morning for the 6KM warm up at 5:14am, a full 30 minutes later than our planned start time. 6KM might seem too long for a warm up but my body needs some time to warm up these days. Getting older, you see. Back to the car, I guzzled down 250ml of ON Amino Energy, changed into the race shoes, did some dynamic warm up, reset the watch and it was go.
Expectedly, Philip was right in front and not 500m after that, the watch confirmed I was too fast (4:38) and I immediately eased up. Philip continued to pull ahead with Cheong in tow but by the 1st KM, we were all running solo! Per usual, the pace window set on my Garmin was 4:40-4:52 and I remember the alerts going off just a few times throughout.
My hydration plan was simple - mandatory drinking (Koda electrolytes) every 6KM and water on-the-go from a 350ml bottle, I held and later tucked into my short’s waist band. The body needs to be acquainted with fluids moving/sloshing around while running. Except for a very brief gel stop at 12KM mark (because I didn’t want to carry an empty sticky pack) and a pee stop (because the rain has stopped and I won’t be able to wash it off after peeing on the run), I kept going. I even practiced dropping off and picking up the 350ml bottle a few times along the way. It’s imperative not missing any cups (2 in my case) at drink stations along the race course and I’m out of practice with zero racing the past 2.5 years. Putting that into perspective, I average around 12.8KM/hour, and some precision is needed to ensure a clean snatch and grab at every station. It was during one of these stops that I happened to look down and noticed that both the midsoles and outsoles of my shoes were shredded. I was taken aback but there wasn’t time to process all that - the running had to go on, and all the grieving/anger would be done later!
More than pace, I strived to keep my effort even and luckily for me that translated to pretty even pace as well. Keeping to that wasn’t too hard and whenever a split dipped below 4:40, I adjusted accordingly. I felt a side-stitch and was briefly annoyed by it, but I reminded myself that it could also happen during the race and therefore just needed to regulate my breathing and run it off. Thankfully it went away as quickly as it came. I encountered no other issues and wrapped the workout up with a time of 1:39.2, a PR from my 1:42 (GCM19). It was a bit quicker than I’d expected in all honesty. Cheong was 2 minutes quicker at 1:37, also a PR.
My splits were 4:50 > 4:53 > 4:38 > 4:44 > 4:37 > 4:44 > 4:38 > 4:44 > 4:39 > 4:46 > 4:45 > 4:44 > 4:38 > 4:44 > 4:39 > 4:45 > 4:42 > 4:41 > 4:42 > 4:40 > 4:34 (Average 4:42).
It was a great checkpoint and validated my training thus far. Obviously training isn’t over, which was why I savoured another rest day the day after. Weeks 9 and 10 would be heavy. More importantly, I didn’t have any cramps and no chafing during TMS, and pacing was near perfect. Fuelling was OK despite a single pack of gel and no carb drinks. On race day, I’ll be consuming a pack every 25 minutes while the on-the-course aid stations will have carb drinks. The fact that the shoes were trashed during this workout and not the race was a bonus. Detecting the problem early meant avoiding surprises on race day. They were simply stored in the box for far too long, and with shoe manufacturers using environmentally-friendlier materials, shoes are expectedly breaking down quicker. ZoomX isn’t something that’s durable to begin with. That said, I’ve not experienced this with other brands so say what you will with Nike’s premium models.
Now, get me to the Gold Coast!
Further reading about the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project and The Marathon Simulator.
Sage Canaday, Desiree Linden (then Davila), Luke Humphrey (Head Coach Luke Humphrey Running), Clint Verran, Brian Sell, Dathan Ritzenhein (until recently, now On Athletics Club Head Coach), and Ben Rosario (NAZ Elite Coach until recently, now Exec Director) spent some of their pro years training with the Hansons.
https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20820549/marathoning-the-hanson-way/
https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20834663/the-hansons-brooks-distance-project/
Matt Fitzgerald clarifies what the Simulator is.