Sydney Marathon Training: Week 5

And so the warm weather continues..! The heat is certainly adding an extra challenge to marathon training at the moment...

MONDAY: Strength and Conditioning for Runners session - I was quite pleased that post Lincoln 10k on Sunday my legs did not feel too bad.

TUESDAY: the start of three consecutive mornings which begun with a 5:50am alarm in order to get out running before the heat hit - and still make it to work on time! Today was intervals; 5.5 miles with 16 x 200m reps and 200m recoveries. It was a muggy, warm morning but with shorter, sharper reps I hoped to still be able to run the intervals at around 7 min/mile pace or slightly below. The best way to describe the run is sweaty; on the recovery periods I simply poured! However I did manage the majority of the reps at 6:53 min/mile pace, which was very pleasing. 

WEDNESDAY: an early 10 miler keeping at a comfortable pace, averaging 8.24 min/mile.

THURSDAY: I really had to force myself out of bed this morning when my pre 6am alarm woke me for the third time in as many days, but with 29 degree temperature forecast for the evening I knew I had to get out running. Luckily the run was a tempo run, which I tend to enjoy, so this helped me drag myself out the door. I ran 7 miles with the middle 5 miles aiming for half marathon pace. It was really warm already and I had one small break at about the half way point in some shade simply just to try cool down a little! Despite it being tough, my splits were good; 8.28, 7.49, 7.39, 7.32, 7.32, 7.25 and 8.07 min/mile respectively. Body Pump in the evening. 

​FRIDAY: Rest Day - and no early alarm!

​SATURDAY: Lincoln parkrun today was just ridiculously hot. Stood chatting to friends around the bandstand before the run started I think I was already sweating, it was that warm. Needless to say running was tough, I felt sluggish in the heat, especially as I tried to push as hard as possible in the conditions. My time was definitely not my quickest at 21:47, but it was the best I could safely do, and did see me finish as First Female.

SUNDAY: before even starting today's long run I was prepared for a battle - unsurprisingly the forecast was hot with temperatures starting the day at 19 degrees. With 16 miles to run there was no way I was going to avoid the heat, so I just tried to prepare as best as possible. I ran with my CamelBak rucksack (see image) for the first time and filled it with water which I could take little sips from throughout. This was such a lifesaver! I also tried to keep my pace under control from the start so as the heat built I would still have some strength to keep going at the end. I mentally broke the route down into three 5 mile sections (and a bonus mile at the end!) and this really helped me tick the miles off too and keep focused. The biggest positive was I achieved the 16 miles I set out for, with a satisfying average pace of 8:37 min/mile, and my legs also seemed quite happy with this distance; it was just the intensity of the sun which zapped my overall energy levels.

So another hot training week under my belt - when the weather inevitably cools down I hope some of this extra hard work pays off!