Berlin Marathon Training: Week 15

The first week of my two week taper for Berlin Marathon. It has felt odd doing less; it always does during a taper after so many weeks of hours spent running. The biggest thing I have noticed this time though is the slight apprehension which has surrounded each run; when I have hit stop on my Garmin it has felt like a defiant act - I have safely made it through another run!

MONDAY: a very hot and sweaty Body Pump class to start what was to be a very warm week.

TUESDAY: intervals on the hottest day of the year - yay! The five miles I ran were horribly humid and hard going, but the two minute recovery period between the 8 x 400m reps made it a little more bearable. If it was not for this longer recovery period I would have probably died! 

WEDNESDAY: a welcomed steady 5 miler on another muggy evening. I kept the pace around 8.30 min/mile and felt a lot more comfortable in the heat compared to last night. That was however until I went to Body Pump at the gym; it was so hot again and to say I was a sweaty mess would be a complete understatement. 

THURSDAY: Rest Day - I switched my rest day this week as I felt tired and also had suffered from restless legs overnight. I am not sure if the heat of the last few days had taken a bit more out of me, but nevertheless rest seemed the best option. 

FRIDAY: five tempo miles, with the middle three miles at 8 min/mile pace. This is an old favourite run now and has appeared on my plan a lot during marathon training. I wanted to maintain my previous standards in terms of pace just to keep my legs fresh, and on a - thankfully - cooler evening I managed the middle miles at 7.47, 7.49 and 7.45 respective splits. 

SATURDAY: another week where I resisted the parkrun temptation (I cannot wait to go back!) and made sure I ran my planned 5k slow. It felt almost too easy, but I was proud I was disciplined enough to stick to my plan. 

SUNDAY: faster and fewer miles for my final long run, with my plan asking for 12 miles at 8.45 min/mile pace. I started strongly and too fast, but I just went with it knowing if I slowed a bit towards the end it would not be the end of the world, although I made sure I did not exceed 8:45 min/mile pace. I finished ahead of plan with an average pace of 8.32 min/mile, which I was happy with on a warm morning and especially since my legs had felt good throughout (see happy image!) Usually this last long run is horrid for me, everything hurts, my legs do not seem to work and I cannot imagine running a marathon! After today's run and the last fifteen weeks of training I think I might be able to...