Berlin Marathon Training: Week 5

​Week 5 has been a slightly muddled week for me, and marks the start of two further weeks where marathon training is being shifted and shaped around work commitments, life, and not being able to resist entering a few 10k races! 

MONDAY: 30 minutes cross training, foam rolling and a Body Pump class to start the week.

TUESDAY: shorter, sharper intervals were on the cards again this week - 6 miles with 10 x 400m intervals. The first five intervals flew by and I managed to run them all well under my target 2 minute time period. The second five intervals were into a head wind, but I pushed hard trying to maintain my sub 2 minute record. My last two intervals did just dip over 2 minutes, but I was not too upset as they hurt a lot and I knew I was giving all I could. I also managed to set a new record for my fastest mile on my Garmin which I was pleased with, especially as marathon training normally sees my speed slip away.

WEDNESDAY: 6 steady miles before my Body Pump class. I ran this a lot faster than my plan suggested, averaging 8.51 pace. I felt comfortable though and on downhill sections my legs just seemed to want to run free. 

THURSDAY: Rest Day

FRIDAY: with a 10k race on Sunday I took advantage of a day off work to get my long run in, heading out for an early morning half marathon - as I am sure lots of people do on their day off work..! I felt tired before I started my run and my first mile seemed to represent this, sluggish and off pace. I forced myself into a better stride and began running steadily at 9min/mile pace up until roughly 7 miles. 

Here my run route turned onto a river path which had a strong headwind whipping along. I was due to be on this path for the next 5 miles - great. The wind slowed me, although not as bad as I had feared. I finished in just over 2 hrs, which was the same time I recorded for the Liverpool Rock n Roll Half Marathon a few weeks back. Considering I  was 'racing' this event, as opposed to 'long running', I felt a little better about my run, although the time is a way off where I was earlier in the year during my previous marathon training programme.

SATURDAY: being outside of my usual routine meant that I almost forgot today was a 'post long run day', and as I set out for an early morning 5k I was initially puzzled by the slight soreness I felt. The penny soon dropped,  so I vowed to keep the run reasonably easy, especially with a 10k race on Sunday. 

SUNDAY: a trip to Nottingham for the Women's Running 10k race. Full blog to follow.