Berlin Marathon Training: Week Ten

A bit of a cut back week this week, with a few less miles logged but the addition of a race day - which is always fun!

MONDAY: my usual Body Pump class was cancelled so I completed the 'stand in' option. It was very heavy on deadlift exercises, which for someone with generally poor hamstring flexibility, was not a good omen...

TUESDAY: a 9 mile interval run - I was not looking forward to this from the minute I read it on my plan. I just kept thinking it seemed so far to be running with the added joy of intervals. It was however a definite case of overthinking a run before actually doing it. Once I got going and the tightness in my hamstrings and calves (yesterday's class already biting me back!) had subsided a little, I was alright. I ran 8 x 800m reps with 200m recoveries, which actually left me with a couple of miles to cool down at the end. Abs class after. 

WEDNESDAY: my plan suggested that today's 7 miler should be a 'steady' run, with the pace approximately 8.30 min/mile. As this tends to be more my easier pace I tried to push it a little further. It was a bit of an effort at times as my leg DOMS had developed further leaving me feeling tight, combined with the addition of some gusty winds, but I managed an average pace of 8.09 min/mile. Body Pump class after. 

THURSDAY: an early morning 5 miler at marathon pace. My legs still did not feel back to normal, so I was pleased this was a relatively short run and at an easier pace.

FRIDAY: Rest Day

​SATURDAY: I was volunteering at Lincoln parkrun today (see image) so opted for my usual routine of running there and back. Doing this gives me a nice 5-6 mile loop - with a bit of a break in the middle! I aimed to run around 7.50 min/mile pace to practice a little for tomorrow's half marathon...

SUNDAY: a 'fast' 13 miles scheduled on the plan meant my friend and I hunted down a local race to enter; Newark Half Marathon proved to be the answer. I had not really looked into the race much before and just went with the intention of running between 7.50-8 min/mile pace and gaining a sub 1:45 time. This would be a good training run, pushing myself more than on a long slow run, but crucially without knackering myself in the process. On a warm day I was really pleased with how my friend and I performed, we ran together and paced the course well, running consistently throughout and finishing in 1:44:45 which also placed us in the top 25 females. Full blog to follow.