London Marathon Training Week 1 #2

Week one of London Marathon 2020 training – take two. Its been hot, its been hard at times, but overall I have been impressed by how I have mentally applied myself to this second version of training; especially as I am still not optimistic that the race should or will be able to go ahead. The heatwave and a slight ramp in intensity has hit me a bit – this weekend I have been tired, not just in a running sense, but from lack of sleep and the general effort required to keep myself motivated and cool whilst working from my rather hot little house (this week has made me hate working from home even more!)

MONDAY: I switched up my home exercise routine a little this week, not only to relieve the monotony, but to focus a little more on some strength and conditioning exercises to compliment my running. I am missing the gym and also being able to have a sports massage, so I want to try and limit injury as much as possible.

TUESDAY: 5 very easy miles – the sudden rise it temperature caught me a little unaware and I realised I was running far too late in the morning to be able to do any of my other planned higher intensity sessions.

WEDNESDAY: I have not ran a tempo run since lockdown began, so initially I was a little nervous about this morning’s 7 miles, with the 5 middle miles aiming for 8 min/mile pace. I then reminded myself that I have actually been running a lot of my runs close to 8 min/mile without consciously trying during lockdown, so I had to be more confident in my current fitness level. The warmth did make the run a little more challenging, but I hit my target, with the middle miles all in the 7:50 min/mile region.

THURSDAY: this morning was a rather harsh introduction back into running some intervals; 7 miles with 4 x 1 mile reps is never easy, but at already nearly 20 degrees it was going to be an extra test. I was saved slightly by the fact the loop of streets I like to run intervals around was well shaded and I made sure to actively stop after each interval for a few seconds of the recovery period to try and keep both my composure and temperature down. Ambitiously I was aiming for the mile reps to be as close as possible to 7 min/mile pace, and I was quite pleased with my splits; 7.08, 7.00, 7.12, 7.17 min/mile respectively – my legs were feeling it on that last rep and on the cool down home afterwards!

FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: my not Lincoln parkrun attempt this week was a struggle; I was just so tired. I could feel it all over as I tried to find some pace. Unlike last week where I felt real energy and power running along my hilly course, this week I had to battle up the hills.
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SUNDAY: whilst the heat had significantly reduced today, a gloriously gusty wind replaced it instead. Owing to how tired I felt yesterday and with the conditions I knew to keep today’s longer run steady. I had 14 miles on my plan, which was not too much of a jump from my usual Sunday half marathon I have been logging during lockdown. The first 3 miles were awful though; my legs felt energy-less and my little rucksack filled with water felt like a huge weight on my back. I feared a long slog ahead. I tried to keep positive though and I did in fact grow into the run, my legs feeling a bit more life. I would not say I felt amazing and during those initial miles a few thoughts flashed through my head about just cutting the run short. However, that lingering prospect of the London Marathon actually happening kept my head in the game. How long can I keep it up... or will I need to keep it up for?