Manchester Marathon Training: Week 2

Week Two of marathon training has felt a bit odd to be honest. I think in general there is the feeling of being a bit lost and out of sync with what's going on during the 'crimbo limbo' period between Christmas and New Year; so I had this to contend with, plus the added stress of moving house this week - which has totally thrown me out any form of normal routine!

MONDAY: Rest Day

TUESDAY: an early morning interval run before the house move began. I am not a morning runner, so intervals at this time of day was an extra challenge. I ran using 'miles' as my reference as is detailed in my plan; usually I convert things to 'km', but sticking with miles helped make the intervals more manageable, neater and easier to remember! I still had to write notes on my hand though in case I needed to jog my memory, which made me feel like I was back at school! The run involved a 1 mile warm up followed by  3 x 1.5 miles at a fast pace, with 3 minute recoveries in between, and a 1 mile jog to finish.

WEDNESDAY: today was a bit manic sorting stuff out with the house, so I only had time to fit in a 7k treadmill run before my Body Pump class, instead of the scheduled 10k run. Even squeezing this 7k in resulted in me running a lot faster than suggested in my plan - whoops! Body Pump hurt, even though it had only been a week since I last did the class before the Christmas break!

THURSDAY: a gentle 5k loop to make up for the missed miles yesterday. 

FRIDAY: back to the tempo running today and also back to working in miles. I may be converting...! 4 miles involving a 1 mile warm up and cool down, with 2 fast paced miles in the middle. I hit the suggested paces in my plan bang on, helped by the fact that for the majority of the 2 mile fast section I was following hot on the heels of a fellow male runner who had overtaken me at a set of traffic lights. He glanced nervously over his shoulder the whole way seeing if I was catching him up as I ran hard, determined to keep within touching distance of him. We acknowledged each other when we eventually parted, both appreciating the challenge we had given one another. 

SATURDAY: my first venture to Lincoln Park Run in 2016 - full blog to follow.

SUNDAY: 10 miles of long slow running. I focused on making the run slower than normal, which actually felt like more of an effort at times. At around the half way point my calves badly tightened and had to be stretched at every available stoppage, which frustrated me a little. I am hoping that the new running shoes I have purchased (see image), plus my resolution of making sure I stretch and foam roll daily (with my own equipment at home I really have no excuse now - see image!) this will soon disappear - after all its only week two!