London Marathon Training: Week Five

This week it seemed the full force of marathon training hit me. After a good start to the week, the latter end proved more of a challenge, with my body perhaps reminding me of what I am actually putting it through...

MONDAY: despite being under the influence of some painful DOMS lingering from the weekend's four hour Classathon and long run (more here), I took my aching limbs to a Body Pump class.

TUESDAY: today's interval run felt like never ending reps; 6 miles with 12 x 400m and 200m recoveries. I aimed to run the intervals at 5k pace, and bar a couple which were fractionally slower, kept to this target well. Focusing on the run in question meant I was able to ignore the lashing ran pelting against my body, until that is I finished my run at the gym and took my bedraggled and cold self to an abs class-  not the best idea!

WEDNESDAY: an easy paced 8 miles. I found I could keep my pace under control (average 8:45 min/mile) as having to run straight after work in order to finish in time for my Body Pump class meant I still felt quite full from a late lunch. As I weaved through Lincoln's streets 8 miles seemed long as the darkness meant I was trapped from venturing away from the street lit roads.  Body Pump afterwards was much tougher following a longer mid-week run. 

THURSDAY: this was my hardest non-long run to date, and on tired legs I had to push hard to keep my tempo run on target; 6 miles with the middle 4 miles at half marathon pace (between 7.50-8 min/mile). It took real mental strength to believe I could do it and not give up, and I was extremely welcome when I made it home. Sitting, trying to recover I realised that with switching rest days last week I had exercised for 7 days consecutively,  clocking up 42 miles and 7 exercises classes in the process - ouch. It was no wonder my body felt knackered.

FRIDAY: Rest Day - this was needed immensely. In fact I crashed badly today and had zero energy, struggling with aching limbs, painfully sore feet and a weary mind. I think my body was telling me something!

SATURDAY: I woke today feeling less like I had been hit by truck, but with the murmurings of a cold. I was therefore not expecting miracles on my trip to Lincoln parkrun. However as our Run Director aptly reminded us all; parkrun is a run, not a race, so I don’t expect to be hitting PBs or perfect runs every week – that is not all parkrun is about! I set off with my usual gusto and was on track for about half the course. I then faded with my legs struggling to find that extra push to keep my pace, and I finished in 22:11. Considering how awful I felt yesterday and with a weary body I was happy, especially as it was another bumper turn out for our Lincoln event.

SUNDAY: my cold made its presence fully felt today, and after a disturbed night’s sleep I knew I would wake to the prospect of a long run feeling slightly rubbish - great! My 16 miles were so much better than I anticipated though. To begin it felt like a struggle, the cold air hurt my chest and my breathing felt out of sync, but as I met my friend (see images) and we ran together my mind was soon taken off over analysing how my body felt, and I could just let the miles tick by. I think we were both shocked to read our final Garmin stats – my watch showing 16 miles with an average pace of 8:38 min/miles - a pace I would have thought I could only be capable of feeling in my best condition. Another long run in the bag, and another made much more enjoyable and rewarding through running together. Now I must try and shift this cold ASAP and ensure I look after myself a little bit better for the remaining 11 weeks! ​