The Coach's Lab
MDS 2027. The training log.
I'm applying the same principles I use with my athletes to my own return to the Marathon des Sables at 52. Follow the training, the data, what works, what doesn't, and the decisions I make along the way.
Every run is here as my watch recorded it. The figures update each morning. The short write-ups are mine, added after I've looked at the run.
- Weeks to MDS
- 23
- Miles since plan start
- 192
- Longest run
- 26.3 mi
- Heart rate cap
- 131 bpm
Week 8 · Durability Base
- Sun 18 OctLong runUnder capLate fade 14.7%
Long run, 26.3 miles
Planned long run, distance changed on the day.
- Distance
- 26.3 mi
- Time
- 6h 27m
- Pace
- 14:43 /mi
- Avg HR
- 125 bpm
- Fri 16 OctRunUnder cap
An easy run slows late while heart rate barely moves
Five miles, week eight of the plan, done as planned.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 07m
- Pace
- 13:16 /mi
- Avg HR
- 128 bpm
Week 7 · Durability Base
- Sun 11 OctLong runUnder capEfficiency held 1.8%
Sixteen miles hold together despite a late fade on paper
Sixteen miles in humid conditions, the long run for week seven done exactly as planned. The pace quickened over the distance, 13:18 early to 12:48 late, heart rate rising from 121 to 127 across the same stretch. Eight per cent of the run sat above the cap, but the average landed six under it.
- Distance
- 16 mi
- Time
- 3h 40m
- Pace
- 13:42 /mi
- Avg HR
- 125 bpm
JournalEasy effort, Faded late
More on this run → - Fri 9 OctRunOver cap
A windy easy run drifts over the cap late
The wind was the story here, a blustery five miles that still came in close to plan. The average heart rate sat one under the cap, which reads fine on its own, but just over a quarter of the run spent time above it as the pace quickened late, 12:56 for the first mile down to 12:20 for the last, heart rate climbing from 127 to 130 over the same stretch.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 05m
- Pace
- 12:50 /mi
- Avg HR
- 130 bpm
- Thu 8 OctRunOver cap
Pace creeps up late and the cap takes another hit
The plan called for a longer easy run this week, and I got close: five miles in just over an hour, a touch short of what was asked. The average heart rate landed two under the cap, which looks fine at first glance.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 04m
- Pace
- 12:48 /mi
- Avg HR
- 129 bpm
- Tue 6 OctRunUnder cap
A recovery run brushes the cap again late on
The recovery run called for in week seven, done as planned: five miles, 312 feet of climbing. The average heart rate sat two under the cap, but seventeen per cent of the time out there went over it.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 04m
- Pace
- 12:38 /mi
- Avg HR
- 129 bpm
Week 6 · Durability Base
- Sun 4 OctLong runUnder capEfficiency held 0.9%
A steady long run undone by a stomach complaint
Twelve miles done as planned for week six, humid conditions, 774 feet of climbing. Pace barely moved across the run, 12:43 for the first mile and 12:34 for the last, with heart rate sitting at 124 then 123. The average came in five under the cap, and the fade between early and late running was under one per cent, the kind of number I call held.
- Distance
- 12 mi
- Time
- 2h 38m
- Pace
- 13:12 /mi
- Avg HR
- 126 bpm
Journal“Felt really good. Legs a little heavy at the end and GI issue at the end. Needed to go to toilet at the end. Loose stools 40g carb per hour roughly . 1.5 litre of water” · Easy effort, Good rhythm
More on this run → - Sat 3 OctRunUnder cap
Pace quickens on an easy run as effort edges toward the cap
The plan called for an easy run, five miles, and I got it done in an hour and four minutes under humid skies. The average heart rate sat three under the cap, but fifteen per cent of the run crept above it as the pace picked up late.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 04m
- Pace
- 12:39 /mi
- Avg HR
- 128 bpm
JournalEasy effort, Good rhythm, Felt strong
More on this run → - Thu 1 OctRunOver cap
A new, higher cap gets tested on an easy run
My heart rate cap moved up to 131 this week, and this run was the first real look at it. Five miles done, a touch short of the easy run the plan called for.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 06m
- Pace
- 13:10 /mi
- Avg HR
- 130 bpm
Journal“My HR cap has increased to 131. Good to see if I can keep here or need to come down to 128/129” · Easy effort, Good rhythm
More on this run → - Tue 29 SeptRunOver cap
A tidy average masks real time over cap
The average heart rate landed two under the cap, which reads as clean on paper. But a third of this run was spent above it, something the average alone would never show.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 04m
- Pace
- 12:46 /mi
- Avg HR
- 129 bpm
JournalGood rhythm
More on this run →
Week 5 · Durability Base
- Sun 27 SeptLong runOver capEfficiency held 3.3%
Long run runs hot but the effort holds together
Twelve point one miles, the long run for week five, a little short of the plan. Windy conditions and 817 feet of climbing filled the two hours and forty one minutes out there.
- Distance
- 12.1 mi
- Time
- 2h 41m
- Pace
- 13:22 /mi
- Avg HR
- 127 bpm
- Sat 26 SeptRunOver cap
An easy run runs hot under humid skies
Five miles, the easy run on the plan for week five, though not quite the length called for. Humidity was the only weather worth noting, with 315 feet of climbing on the way.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 04m
- Pace
- 12:46 /mi
- Avg HR
- 128 bpm
- Wed 23 SeptRunOver cap
Run, 5 miles
Planned run, full distance.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 05m
- Pace
- 13:00 /mi
- Avg HR
- 126 bpm
- Tue 22 SeptRunOver cap
Run, 5 miles
Planned run, full distance.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 08m
- Pace
- 13:27 /mi
- Avg HR
- 126 bpm
Week 4 · Durability Base
- Sat 19 SeptLong runOver capEfficiency held 1%
A long run holds together despite real time over cap
Forty three per cent of this run sat above the heart rate cap, even though the average landed one under it. That gap between the two numbers is exactly why I don't trust the average on its own.
- Distance
- 12.1 mi
- Time
- 2h 42m
- Pace
- 13:28 /mi
- Avg HR
- 125 bpm
- Wed 16 SeptRunOver cap
A near-cap average hides a lot of time over it
The average heart rate looked tidy, one under the cap, but that number was hiding something. Forty two percent of this five mile run was spent above the cap despite that average, on a day with 322 feet of climbing and nothing unusual in the air.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 05m
- Pace
- 12:56 /mi
- Avg HR
- 125 bpm
Week 3 · Durability Base
- Sat 12 SeptLong runOver capLate fade 6.4%
Long run, 11.6 miles
Planned long run, distance changed on the day.
- Distance
- 11.6 mi
- Time
- 2h 38m
- Pace
- 13:38 /mi
- Avg HR
- 128 bpm
- Fri 11 SeptRunOver cap
An unplanned five spends nearly half its time over the cap
This one wasn't on the plan. I added five miles with 315 feet of climbing, average heart rate landing exactly on the cap, which sounds fine until you look closer: 43 percent of the run sat above it.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 06m
- Pace
- 13:12 /mi
- Avg HR
- 126 bpm
- Mon 7 SeptRunOver cap
Back holds up through an easy five in the wind
Five miles, done as planned, with the back giving no trouble this time. Ran well, no issues with back, as the note says. Warm air and a stiff wind for most of it.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 06m
- Pace
- 13:07 /mi
- Avg HR
- 124 bpm
Journal“Ran well no issues with back” · Easy effort
More on this run →
Week 2 · Durability Base
- Sun 6 SeptWalk
Walk, 2.4 miles
An extra run, not on the plan.
- Distance
- 2.4 mi
- Time
- 53m
- Pace
- 22:18 /mi
- Avg HR
- 89 bpm
- Mon 31 AugRunUnder cap
Run, 5 miles
Planned run, full distance.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 08m
- Pace
- 13:33 /mi
- Avg HR
- 122 bpm
Journal“Hurt my lower left back at the weeks and now taking some days off” · Hard effort
More on this run →
Week 1 · Durability Base
- Thu 27 AugLong runUnder capLate fade 7.5%
Long run, 16 miles
An extra run, not on the plan.
- Distance
- 16 mi
- Time
- 3h 46m
- Pace
- 14:11 /mi
- Avg HR
- 123 bpm
- Tue 25 AugRunOver cap
Run, 5 miles
Planned easy run, distance changed on the day.
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 03m
- Pace
- 12:37 /mi
- Avg HR
- 128 bpm
- Mon 24 AugRunUnder capEfficiency held -0.2%
Run, 8.1 miles
Planned easy run, distance changed on the day.
- Distance
- 8.1 mi
- Time
- 1h 44m
- Pace
- 12:49 /mi
- Avg HR
- 123 bpm
Before the plan started
- Fri 21 AugLong runLate fade 6.5%
Long run, 17.5 miles
- Distance
- 17.5 mi
- Time
- 4h 04m
- Pace
- 13:57 /mi
- Avg HR
- 124 bpm
- Wed 19 AugRunEfficiency held 2.4%
Run, 6 miles
- Distance
- 6 mi
- Time
- 1h 18m
- Pace
- 12:59 /mi
- Avg HR
- 123 bpm
- Tue 18 AugRun
Run, 5 miles
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 01m
- Pace
- 12:07 /mi
- Avg HR
- 122 bpm
- Sun 16 AugLong runLate fade 10.8%
Long run, 23.3 miles
- Distance
- 23.3 mi
- Time
- 5h 31m
- Pace
- 14:13 /mi
- Avg HR
- 118 bpm
- Thu 13 AugRun
Run, 5 miles
- Distance
- 5 mi
- Time
- 1h 07m
- Pace
- 13:17 /mi
- Avg HR
- 125 bpm
- Tue 11 AugRunEfficiency held -1.4%
Run, 8 miles
- Distance
- 8 mi
- Time
- 1h 44m
- Pace
- 12:59 /mi
- Avg HR
- 126 bpm
- Sun 9 AugLong runEfficiency held 4.4%
Long run, 13.2 miles
- Distance
- 13.2 mi
- Time
- 2h 52m
- Pace
- 13:01 /mi
- Avg HR
- 124 bpm
I coach runners over 40 the same way.
Your plan, your data, read by me every week.