Manchester Marathon Training: Week 1

Week one of the marathon training plan. For this starting week mileage has been fairly low and aspects such as intervals are yet to feature. This relatively easier week has actually been timed quite well with it being Christmas week, when eating and drinking is rather excessive and my daily routine has been virtually thrown out the window!

MONDAY: Mondays are 'no running' days in my plan, following a Sunday long run. So I wanted to start as I mean to go on, and although I was not feeling in need of a running break, I managed to resist the running urge. I could not quite bring myself to do nothing, so opted for 40mins of cross training, and a good session of stretching and foam roller work before my Body Pump class. 

TUESDAY: an 8k rain soaked run. The rain was heavy to begin with, and then became virtually torrential; at one point I could not see the path in front of me for the driving rain. My shoes were squelching with every step and I had to stop and wring my running top out at traffic lights. I tried to keep my pace steady as advised by my plan, but I was unsurprisingly not in the mood for lingering long outside, so went a bit too quick!

WEDNESDAY: I started the day with a festive 7am Body Pump class. Wearing my Santa hat meant it was a hot class, but fun nevertheless. In the evening I headed out for my run, 8k in more mild weather conditions. My legs felt a bit tired, not really sure why; so it was less of a challenge to keep the pace a bit slower than normal. Getting home I realised I was still running too fast than advised by my plan - this is probably the hardest adjustment I find at the start of marathon training, slowing down, and also accepting its ok to go a bit slower!

THURSDAY: Rest Day - Christmas Eve meant after a morning at work, it was time to travel back to my parents in Stowmarket ready for Christmas!

FRIDAY: fitting in a Christmas Day run meant heading out at 7.30am for a 5k loop with my sister (see image). I am not used to running this early, and tend to dislike morning runs, so I did feel a bit of a zombie and also was hungry having not eaten before going out. It was nice to get a run in though and kickstart the body ready for a day of Christmas treats!

​SATURDAY: another 5k on the plan meant an unofficial Stowmarket Park Run at 9am (judging by the the amount of runners out at this time they need to seriously consider starting one!). Being slightly later in the morning I felt more alert than yesterday, and definitely was not feeling hungry after Christmas Day's intake! I soon realised I was running well ahead of pace, so made myself slow down for the last sections, averaging 5.05min/km by the end. I felt a little sluggish on the run, but not too bad considering it was Boxing Day. 

SUNDAY: 13k around Stowmarket - my childhood home town. Its not the biggest town there is, so finding a running route was a bit of a challenge! My sister and I made something work though, and I enjoyed running with her despite the damp weather conditions and having to try and keep my pace in check. We also stopped off towards the end of the run at Stowmarkets's outdoor fitness trail, attempting monkeys bars in the rain and splashing through mud and puddles leap frogging wooden poles - it was like X-Runner all over again! So that's week one under my belt, its felt a bit surreal being Christmas week and being away from Lincoln for the most part, but the plan is definitely underway.