London Marathon Training: Week 7

I started this week feeling a bit run down; a cough niggled, my head hurt and I was tired. After a 50+ hour working week previously, as well as 40+ miles of running I think my body was just telling me to slow down a bit. I listened, which meant taking the first few days of this week steady, especially as I knew I had a big weekend of work and running ahead. Managing life and training can be tough, and I am sure I have far less variables to juggle than some people do!

MONDAY: Rest Day - I felt fatigued today, and with some flexibility in my usual working schedule, decided to shift my weights class to tomorrow and have a complete day of recovery. 

TUESDAY: a day of rest meant I felt far more prepared to tackle today's interval run, which was 6 miles with 10 x 400m reps. Perhaps it is down to the track work I have been doing in recent months with my Run Club, but I am finding intervals far less intimidating than previous training cycles, and I actually look forward to them! I ran well and logged a few sub 7 min/mile paces for some of the interval reps. Body Pump class in the evening. 

WEDNESDAY: with less evening work commitments this week I chose to allow my body some extra time in bed in this morning and went running after work. I still much prefer morning runs, but I felt any chance to maximise extra rest was needed. I had 7 miles on my plan, suggested to be at 8 min/mile pace. For now the third consecutive week, the wind was rather blustery and made the first few miles a real challenge to hit this pace. Turning away from a direct headwind, I managed to find some rhythm though, and some quicker miles meant I finished the run with an 8:05 min/mile average pace - I will take that!

THURSDAY: 8 easy miles, made a little tougher by (you guessed it!) the wind. I had ten miles on my plan, but 8 miles felt enough today, and I was also conscious I was increasing my mileage more than my plan suggested at the weekend due to taking part in the Stamford 30k. In the evening I led a track session for Run Club, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I was grateful of the personal rest from any further miles. 

FRIDAY: a steady 3 mile progression run, starting at closer to 9 min/mile pace and finishing nearer to 8 min/mile pace, shaking the legs out a little in preparation for a Sunday's race.

​SATURDAY: Rest Day - in which I was pleased to still be able to squeeze in volunteering at Lincoln parkrun before heading to work. I hate to miss parkrun in any capacity!

SUNDAY: my first race of 2020; Stamford 30k. After the event was rearranged due to storms last weekend, I was really pleased to gain a space in the race, and had opted to run it instead of a half marathon I had originally entered. I felt the longer distance was more suited to my current training stage, I had never tried the event before, and I also had a few friends from Run Club I could share the day with (see image). The wind still prevailed (honestly - enough of the wind now!) and the hilly course profile I had been warned about certainly lived up to its expectations, but I was really pleased with how strong I felt. I didn't push myself 'all out' but ran steadily, logging the full near 19 miles running alongside my friend from Run Club. Considering the wind and the hills I was very happy with an 8:23 min/mile average pace and the distance flew by with my friend's company. Full blog to follow - but I really enjoyed another long run and sharing the experience with friends; I cannot emphasise how good this feels compared to the relative struggle I faced with long runs during my last marathon training block. A happy ending to a tough start to the week. ​