Manchester Marathon Training: Week 14

My last week training week before the taper begins! The taper does scare me a little, but I also feel like it is needed, as this week my legs seem to have been feeling a bit of the strain of the past months of many, many miles...

MONDAY: I opted for a Spin class before my usual Body Pump class this week. I was so bored at the thought of using the cross trainer again, and also wanted to try and loosen out the tightness in my TFL/Quad. After being struck with pain in this area following a muscle spasm on my weekend long run, it was feeling a bit better after applying a lot of heat throughout the day (see image of my attractive heat patch!) and massaging the area, but definitely was not perfect.

TUESDAY: with my TFL/quad not being 100% I was a little apprehensive about today's intervals, unsure if I would be in pain. Thankfully, I was not; it felt uncomfortable at times, but I was able to manage the 6 miles with 800 metre intervals. The minute recovery between intervals felt short, but the overall distance also felt considerably less than past weeks, so it was a bearable session!

WEDNESDAY: a slow and steady 6 mile run before my Body Pump class. My quad felt better during the run; but after exercise was sore and felt gritty to move, like the muscles were not sliding correctly- I am sure that is not a very scientific explanation! I felt frustrated. 

THURSDAY: on paper the stats from today's run look good, 8 miles completed with an average pace of 8.37 min/miles. However the run was not perfect. I was running with my friend and for the first five or so miles I felt fine, bar a little leg tightness. However the last few miles my legs completely tightened, my quads in particular feeling like solid masses and getting heavier with each stride. I plodded for the final two miles, it was not fun, but running with my friend definitely kept me going. 

FRIDAY: Rest Day

SATURDAY: Park Run - full blog to follow, but lets just say it was another run in which my legs were very heavy!

SUNDAY: today's 18 miles were a bit of a battle, and somehow felt a lot harder than the 20 and 22 miles I had ran in the weeks previously. Strong winds, one massive hill and, you guessed it, painfully tight quads made it a tough run. It would have been even more of a challenge if I had not been running with my friend though, as having someone to talk to and run with definitely took my mind away from the discomfort. Pace wise I was still ahead of my plan, finishing in 2hr 46mins, rather than the suggested 3 hours. Now it is taper time, which will hopefully give my legs a bit of an easier ride so they are refreshed ready for the big day!