London Marathon Training: Week Fourteen

The first week of the marathon taper. Nothing dramatic, but a definite reduction. Was it easier? Not really. This week I have really felt the effects of the Lincoln 10k which I raced on Sunday. I say raced, as I did race it; I gave it my absolute all both mentally and physically and it left me struggling at times this week. It almost felt like the 10k was what I had been working up to, and I now wanted a break from pushing my body and mind and not be so structured with my running. I have found the desire though, with London creeping so very close just the thought of being stood on that start has been enough get me to lace up my trainers and get out the door.

MONDAY: Body Pump class

TUESDAY: a struggle of an interval run. I had 9 miles on my plan with 10 x 800m efforts at 10k pace and 200m recoveries. I did not try to run at my 10k pace from Sunday's race, that would have been ridiculous, but I wanted to aim for around 7.20-7.30 min/mile pace on the interval sections. The first few bouts felt ok, but as the miles added up my legs faded and I increasingly struggled to find the desire to push myself to run fast and get through the pain.

WEDNESDAY: a steady run before Body Pump. The running element was relatively straightforward; 8 miles at an average pace of 8.16 min/mile. Body Pump afterwards was horribly hard though. I should have guessed I was low on energy as I struggled to find the effort to foam roll before the class, and as the class drew on I then felt like every ounce of my energy was slowly draining away. I was almost in a zombie like state by the end!

THURSDAY: I had to force myself out the door this evening, with my only motivation being it was a lot less miles than I have been used to running. Despite nearly not going it was in fact a good run; 6 miles with the middle 4 miles between 7:45 and 8 min/mile pace. I also had a Sports Massage today which helped rejuvenate me sightly. 

​FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: I had contemplated taking things easy on today's Lincoln parkrun visit, but as soon as I arrived I knew I could not resist giving it my all. My legs did not feel perfect as I lapped the beautiful Boultham Park on an equally lovely spring morning, and I was therefore really pleased to finish in 21:40.

SUNDAY: on another glorious day, which felt more summery than spring like, I enjoyed a 15 mile run with my friend. 15 miles actually seemed short (which is what marathon training does to you!) and we ticked the miles off probably a bit too quickly, ending with an average pace of 8.25 min/mile. I just loved being out though and after a few challenging runs mid-week it was a joy to run with just pure pleasure. This was my last long marathon training run on UK soil (see image) as I head out to America on Wednesday to watch my friend and running buddy take on the Boston Marathon. Next week's training will therefore look very different, both in mileage and locations, and will also offer me a bit of a positive distraction from my own very fast approaching marathon. ​