As part of my spring marathon preparation, I went on a Runcation to Monte Gordo. I admit that it was more of a training camp with a whopping 137 km and 7 workouts in 6 days. However, the overall feeling of being totally chilled out, pointed clearly in the direction of the “vacation” element of a runcation. Here’s a quick recap.
Day 1 - Inspirational Vibes
Our first day in Monte Gordo was all about vibing in. Vibes hit rather quickly, though. As soon as we put our feet on one of the more frequented running routes, we were surrounded by swarms of elite and/or elite-looking runners. Everyone was doing their workout of the day with impressive focus. And pace, for that matter. Some were accompanied by their coach on a bike, others ran in groups of 4-5. What all runners have in common is that they aren’t here for some recreational jogging and a nice cup of coffee at the beach promenade. They‘re here to train hard.
This is a truly inspiring environment to put in the work. I am by far no elite athlete, but if I set goals for myself, I make sure they’re high enough to allow me to evolve.
Long run tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Day 2 - On the (long) run
Total change in scenery today. After running on the hot spot routes of Monte Gordo yesterday, I was roaming off the beaten path for my long run today. An early morning overland stroll that turned into a powerlaxed (powerful 🤝 relaxed) consistent 33k quality effort. I felt super good and enjoyed every step.
I am usually a bit at war with long runs. It’s the workout that I like the least during a marathon preparation. But slightly pushing and thus running a bit faster might do the trick for me.
Meanwhile my wife Lisa was doing super strong mile repeats and we both ended up happy and satisfied on the couch at 11:30 already. That’s the big advantage of a marathon runcation compared to an ultrarunning runcation. Even if you have a long run on the schedule, you’re still done with everything after 3 hours max. More chilling, more food, more sleep, better recovery, more running, happier life. We‘re blessed.
Day 3 - How to recover properly
Recovery day today. Just an hour of easy running and a few strides. I used to think of recovery runs as a sole means of piling up some extra miles for the week and never cared about the actual purpose of the workout. It was my coach Karim Ramadan who pointed me towards a more mindful perspective. He constantly encourages me to visualize or at least trust that the body heals during a recovery run. That it memorizes and processes the impulses and stresses from previous, tougher workouts in an active and playful way. After all, #every run serves a purpose. It’s all about keeping the right balance.
I have had a distorted relationship with recovery and rest ever since I started running. I just don’t distinctively feel it. Even today, when my coach asks me how rested I feel, I cannot give a clear answer. Sure, I can feel the difference between being totally wrecked after a race, for example, and a full week of recovery. But during a normal training week it usually feels all the same to me.
With that being said, I screwed up a fair amount of A-races in my life. Most likely because I was not recovered / tapered / rested well enough. Or too much? One of the many mysteries of my running life that is still to be revealed.
With a long run yesterday and a track workout coming up tomorrow, I am surely doing everything right with today’s recovery run, though.
Day 4 - The Doom Loop
Today’s track workout was greatest pleasure for me. I know, not many runners, especially ultra runners, enjoy running circles on tartan, but I do very much. That’s the realm where I even show some talent for my age, if it can be called "talent" at all. When I’m on the track I have the feeling, that my mechanics work as they should. Being very tall, I mostly look kind of goofy while running. On the track my upper body straightens and my huge stride length comes into play. In short, I feel much more athletic on the track, than anywhere else.
Unfortunately today’s workout wouldn’t allow me to do what I usually do on the track. That is to annihilate myself in full on Terminator mode. It was supposed to be a medium effort workout, giving the right amount of impulses, but not costing to much in regards of upcoming long runs. Despite this fact, it still was a challenging workout due to its length (Warm Up - Drills - 4x400m - 6x1000m - 4x400m - Cool Down) and a thunderstorm rolling in, half way through my 1000m repeats. I was smiling all the time, though. They could have thrown spears at me or take away my running shoes, I still would have enjoyed this track session.
Once again it was a nice extra perk to train alongside pro and elite athletes. The atmosphere on this beautiful track in Monte Gordo was focused but also relaxed and amicable. No comparison to the tracks I’m used to train in Munich, where you have to climb over a fence first and then run all by yourself in complete darkness to not be kicked out.
What else? I devoured a bunch of burritos for lunch, took a nap and drank some coffee. Might be out for another afternoon cool down run. Life is good.
Day 5 - Not to be found in numbers
There’s not much exciting to say about today’s easy recovery run. But that’s a good thing. If every run was an exciting achievement, this sport would be quite nerve wrecking. It’s such easy cruises on soft ground, with low sun, through pine woods that reveal a bit of the magic energy that running bears within.
Even when you have committed to ambitious running goals, you better not loose touch with this hidden force. You might need it, when you least expect it. This is a gentle reminder to myself, that greatness in running is not to be found in numbers.
Another long run coming up tomorrow. For this reason I am relaxing the hell out of today.
Day 6 - Run by Feel
"Run this one by feel" and "easier than the first long run" was what my coach wanted me to put into practice at today’s long run. I’ve been training (mostly) after a 1-10 RPE (Rated Perceived Exertion) scale for over a year now and it changed my training a lot. Instead of chasing paces or heart rate zones, I listen to my body to recognize what effort I am running on. I have created my own personal RPE scale with clear differentiators that allow me to tell the exact difference between a 5/10 effort and and 6/10 effort, for example. Read this, if you want to dig deeper here.
Running by feel is a real game changer for me. I have a much more distinctive feeling of what’s actually going on in my body. I also learn with other factors affect my running. Although I am usually very good at guessing my pace and heart rate, too, I more often than not turn my watch to the inside of my wrist and ignore all the real time data it provides. That’s exactly what I did on today’s long run. Here’s what happened:
I hit a picture-book 4 out of 10 effort and stuck with it until the very end of the workout. Speaking of the end of the workout, I also decided by feel when it’s over. That is rather unusual, especially for a long run, but it felt right today. Looking at the data afterwards always feels a bit like a reward. I love trotting home the last meters while checking the hard facts of a workout.
Back to the workout specifications my coach gave me. Although the run definitely felt easier than the last long run I did on Sunday, it turned out to be faster but also with a slightly higher heart rate. So not particularly "easier". At least not on paper. Deviations like these are not unusual when you train after an RPE scale. After all, we’re not robots (yet) and I guess that’s good news.
Either way, a real quality workout to slowly round out this wonderful runcation. Travel day tomorrow.