London Marathon Training: Week 9

This week has presented more of a mental challenge than previous weeks, which has solely been due to the press coverage and constant debate surrounding a certain virus which is in the UK. I am not going to add to the talk too much here, however the speculation around the potential cancellation of the London Marathon is hard not to worry about, and I feel for everyone in the same boat as me with upcoming marathon events that they have dedicated so much time and passion towards. I know I have to just focus on what I can control, and that means putting all my energy into my running and remaining positive.

MONDAY: I was due to be away with work on Tuesday so knew I needed to fit a run in today, which I usually like to leave as a running rest day after Sunday's longer run. I chose the shortest option on my plan; 3 easy miles before my Body Pump class. 

TUESDAY: slightly annoyingly after rearranging my entire training week, my work trip was cancelled today..! I stuck with an interval session though, wanting to get my harder workouts logged early in the week to allow for maximum recovery ahead of the Cambridge Half Marathon on Sunday. This week involved hill repeats and I will admit the prospect of tackling these without my Run Club support (we incorporate regular group hill sessions into our programme) was a little less enthralling! I opted to run a well known route within Lincoln called 'Rolling Hills' which is 10k consisting of the major inclines within the city centre region. I chose this as I knew once I started I would make myself stick to the route! It was tough, some of the hill climbs it involves are very steep, but I was pleased I did not stop on any of them and that despite my initial unwillingness, my mental strength came through. 

WEDNESDAY: an easy paced 8 miles on a very chilly morning. The icy air meant I kept my watch well hidden under layers, and despite feeling like I was plodding along quite slowly, I was somewhat surprised to see at the end I was running around the 8:30 min/mile pace.  

THURSDAY: my Run Club session this week was at the track, and I knew I had to be strict on myself and not push too much as my legs would pay the price in the following days. Thankfully, we had a session which I could hold back a little on, with 2km repeats planned. I aimed to run these around 8 min/mile pace and just see how many I could log. In practice I seemed to naturally slot into the 7:45 min/mile region though, so chose to hold this pace across the reps I completed, finishing with 5 miles distance in total. I had ran steadily, but not stupidly. 

FRIDAY: today's miles were just for me really; I did not want two consecutive rest days and also wanted to maintain a certain weekly mileage level, so laced up for 4 easy miles, again finding this to be around the 8:30 min/mile region.

​SATURDAY: Rest Day - and a lovely morning volunteering at Lincoln parkrun on a specially themed International Women's Day event (see image).

SUNDAY: Cambridge Half Marathon beckoned today and a chance to test myself over a slightly shorter distance than of late. I knew I wanted to race this event and give it my best shot, and I was pleased with how my body performed. I wanted a sub 1:40 time and met my goal by finishing in 1:37:53. This was my third Cambridge Half Marathon, but first on the brand new route, and I really enjoyed the fantastic support and atmosphere the new course offered. Full blog to follow - but a positive step forward in my training again. All about keeping positive. ​