The road to Tokyo…

With the Tokyo Marathon only 2 weeks away & the last of my big training runs are behind me I’ve started my taper. I can’t wait to get over to Japan & experience as much as I can. I’m especially looking forward to going for a few warm up runs in Yoyogi park in central Tokyo. While I’ll be reducing my training volume during the taper it’s still important to run & the few I have planned in Tokyo & Hiroshima in the week before the race will help me acclimatise to the cooler temperatures but be easy enough to leave me feeling fresh for the race on 23^rd Feb.

I’ve been asked a lot lately about my training, nutrition and plan for the race so I thought I’d share a few stats. I’m not big on counting my weekly training km but I probably average approx. 85km in the peak weeks (certainly not a large amount compared to the elites). While I do many easy kilometres, I base my training around 2-3 quality runs in most weeks. The long run (at an easy pace), a tempo run (just below my threshold pace) and some speed, threshold reps or hill work such as 1mile or 2km repeats, or long hills (≈5mins each way).

My most recent long runs have been 33-36km. I burn a surprisingly large amount of energy, considering on a rest day my total energy consumption should be about 9000kJ. In my 35km run last week I burned 11,900kJ, and previous runs were;
36km 12,050kJ
36km 11,900kJ
33km 11,000kJ

During the race I’ll burn approximately 13,500-14,000kJ, as well as my elevated post-exercise metabolism as I begin to recover, so my diet is quite different from what I’d normally have.

I’ll usually have 4 energy gels during the race, as well as regular sports drink & some water if I need it. That helps me maintain my energy til late in the race. From the energy gels I’ll take in about 1800kJ (in total from the 4), & from the Powerade throughout the 3hrs of the race I’ll probably consume about 1500kJ. Before the race I also maximise the fuel stores by carbohydrate (CHO) loading.

Carbo Loading

I do a 2 day carbo load (Fri & Sat) and aim to have more than 1300g of CHO in total. For those numbers people I’m about 74kg & aim to eat 9g of CHO/kg/day. It can be tough to eat enough (& I can eat!) so my menu for the 2 days before will usually consist of significant volumes of;

• Nutri-Grain with skim milk, as well as juice & yoghurt for breakfast.
• 2-3 white bread sandwiches & apple juice & a piece of fruit for lunch
• Pasta (3 cups of Fettuccine ala Hennessy) & juice or sports drink at dinner, plus
• Pikelets, snakes, Sustagen, another piece of fruit and sports drink for snacks at morning & afternoon tea.

I also follow a low fibre diet to help reduce the need for any ‘pit stops’ during the race. It’s something I’ve improved over time, with my own experience & with the help of a sports dietitian. Other good sources of CHO include rice, couscous & quinoa but I’ve found a menu that works for me & I enjoy eating.

On race day I’ll be up early (3-4hrs before the race) to top off the carb loading with a few pieces of toast, with honey or jam, and some more sports drink.

The race day, Sun 23^rd Feb, is expected to be about 7 degrees so hopefully it doesn’t drop any lower. Cool weather is good for fast running but I don’t want it any cooler…and I definitely don’t want any snow or rain during the race.

Cheers,
Michael Hennessy