London Marathon Training: Week Three

This week I have enjoyed my running a lot, which is something I think is equally as important as just getting the miles in. I always say to people I enjoy training for marathons almost as much as the day itself – which is a good thing when it virtually takes over my life for sixteen weeks at a time!
 
MONDAY: Body Pump class
 
TUESDAY: today’s interval run felt happily manageable; 6 miles with 3 x 1 mile reps at 10k pace, with 400m recovery in between. My splits were good, well within my target pace, and whilst mile reps can sometimes feel like they go on forever, tonight I felt in control.
 
WEDNESDAY: I wanted to be disciplined on today’s run and complete a steady 6 miles at my plan’s suggested pace of 8:30 min/miles. I was however scuppered by a dead Garmin watch, and with no time to charge it, I had to run to feel. Whilst sometimes the freedom of running without a watch can be liberating, tonight I was a little frustrated. I still got a good run in, but the lack of numerical feedback was a slight anomaly in an otherwise good week. Body Pump afterwards.
 
THURSDAY: my first ever attempt at a progression run over another 6 mile distance. I really wanted to get this right and managed to nail it with splits of 8:43, 8:09, 7:58, 7:55, 7:34 and 7:10. It wasn’t ideal; I struggled to keep my pace in check in the early miles and had planned to run a lot slower at the start. When I recorded a near 8 minute second mile I swore to myself and thought I had blown it. From then on I really had to dig deep to keep my splits sub 8 minutes. The last mile was mad, I ran like someone possessed, tearing along until I could triumphantly slam stop on my watch!
 
FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: a trip to Lincoln parkrun which saw me leave with a surprise new PB of 21:25. I was shocked, I had not expected it at all, and even when I was running I did not even contemplate I might be heading towards a PB. ​Having reflected afterwards why this week had been any different I believe there is a good correlation between when I run well during the week and my subsequent parkrun performance. Thursday’s progression run had given me confidence to push my legs and trust they could perform when tired, and I guess this extra belief was in my mind as I completed my 3.1 miles whether I was fully aware of it or not. My first PB of 2017 and also another record breaking attendance for the Lincoln parkrun event - a staggering 452 runners. 
 
SUNDAY: following on from yesterday’s good run, today was another happy experience. Stepping out the house my mobile phone told me it was – 6 degrees; I was wearing my tiniest running shorts and even my hard-core legs squirmed a little as I ran to meet my friend for a 14 miler. The winter morning did not stop us though; we explored a new running route which led us through some beautiful scenery which was being enhanced further by the icy conditions (see images). Breaking away from familiar pathways made the distance seem even more enjoyable and is definitely something I would recommend to keep long runs feeling fresh. We finished with an average pace of 8:40 min/miles; I had not been paying much attention to our pace throughout and this was another happy surprise. Today didn’t feel like training, it felt like a day just to be happy to be running. ​