nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Earning my go-faster stripes...

eyrie

After much lurking, I'm dipping my toe in this running log business. I've learned so much from reading many of the logs here already, and it's time to start properly tracking what I'm doing and where it gets me (or doesn't).

Quick background: I'm female, early-ish 30s, with no real history of sport/exercise at all bar going to the gym a bit and walking practically everywhere I go. I've dabbled in running a few times previously (the typical couch to 5k stint on a couple of occasions) but it never stuck until about 9/10 months ago when I got the bug badly, and so far it has stuck. I've been running 5 days a week, lately around the 30 mile a week mark, give or take a few.

I'm slow, but I enjoy training and when I pick a plan I stick to it, to the point where in the last 6 months I haven't missed a single planned run. Recently I started experiencing bouts of extremely low energy and some dizziness, and my paces got even slower. Took myself off to the GP and was told I have practically no iron at all, so I'm now dosing myself with the stuff and hoping my paces start to improve a bit.

My first real running goal was to complete a half marathon, which I finally did last weekend (the Rock 'n' Roll Half) in the pleasantly-surprising-to-me time of 1:57:5x. Now that that's done I'm keen to think about what's next.

Current PBs

5K | 24:36 | August 2017 (Parkrun) or
| 25:44 | April 2017 (race)
5 mile | 43:16 | May 2017
10K | 53:00 | June 2017
HM | 1:57:5x | August 2017

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

eyrie

Must. Find. Motivation. To update log... Let's continue the catch up quickly so, moving on to the week away (now two weeks ago, oy

)

3rd - 9th September

Away all week for a mix of holiday and work travel. Running opportunities were always going to be very limited so I brought the gear but didn't plan to force it.

Monday 3rd - Torturous run around Dubrovnik
4.4 miles / 10:55 avg pace / 146 HR avg
The heat! The hills! Felt a bit decrepit on this. Left Dubrovnik to get a bus to Mostar, in Bosnia.

Tuesday 4th - no chance to run but lots of walking around Mostar. What a place.

Wednesday 5th - 4 (instead of 7) x 4 min @ CV pace plus some easy miles
8.45 miles / 10:27 avg pace / 156 HR avg
Interval paces (goal: 7:43 - 7:33): 7:37, 7:40, 7:34, 7:38
Half a session. I wasn’t very committed to making this a session which is never a great start, but it was baking hot, I had no water, and the footpaths kept randomly disappearing and I’d have to stop to let cars pass so maintaining a pace for reps was a bit impossible anyway. I gave up and kept the rest easy.
Left Mostar that afternoon. Felt as if my legs were still feeling the 20 miler from the previous Friday, is that possible?

Thursday 6th - easy run
4.1 miles / 10:15 avg pace / 143 avg HR
Lovely run, finally! In Sarajevo at a work meeting all day, but managed to get out for a short run between the meeting and the work dinner. A great place to run, it turns out. Ran along the river in the centre of the city. There were huge groups of runners out, as well as families out walking, kids learning to ride bikes, etc, great atmosphere.

Friday 7th - work and no chance to run

Saturday 8th - a "five hour" bus journey back to Dubrovnik that took 8 hours. No running

Sunday 9th - Home! 60 mins 'marathon effort'
8.8 miles / 9:09 avg pace / 154 HR avg
Splits: 10:37, 8:33, 8:41, 8:41, 8:50, 8:49, 8:33, 9:37, 10:06 (0.8).
Back to Dublin in the early evening and straight out for a run. In lieu of a long run or anything proper, decided to go for a 'marathon effort' run, whatever that might be. It felt great, nice to be running without worrying about getting lost for a change. The first pace mile was too quick and I kept trying to slow the rest of them down, although the last one came out way too fast.

Mileage for the week: 25.75

A poor excuse for a week's running, but I had built a buffer week into the plan to accommodate this travel so hopefully on balance it's not too big a deal.

eyrie

Fiiinally finishing the catch up, here's last week.

DCM training - 7 weeks to go
10th - 16th September

Monday - 60 mins easy
6.4 miles / 10:02 avg pace / 142 HR avg
Evening run. Can't remember anything!

Tuesday - 25 mins @ Threshold (8:05 - 7:54)
7.35 miles / 9:27 avg pace / 159 HR avg
Splits: 8:01, 8:02, 7:46, 7:54 for 0.15
First thing in the morning, on empty and short on sleep. Properly tough, though not unmanageably so. Glad to get to the end of it.

Wednesday - 70 mins easy
7.05 miles / 10:18 avg pace / 150 HR avg
Badly needed this to clear my head. Ended up chatting to a friend on the phone for about half of it which was very enjoyable.

Thursday - 60 mins easy
6.25 miles / 10:23 avg pace / 145 HR
Another evening run. Feeling really tired all week so far, and none of these easy runs have felt very energetic.

Friday - 60 mins easy
6 miles / 10:26 avg pace / 140 HR
Bit of a slog, this. Tiredness catching up from a long and intense week.

Saturday - 90 min progression (30 mins easy/moderate/tempo) + w/u and c/d
14 miles / 9:47 avg pace / 157 HR
Splits: 10:47, 10:47, 10:32, 10:42, 10:21, 9:28, 9:20, 9:13, 8:26, 8:15, 8:12, 9:37, 10:32, 10:37.
Misery! I felt terrible even on the warm up and it never got much better. Hadn't been sleeping well for a while, and feeling tired and not quite right all week. I actually stopped a couple of times, which I'm not happy with at all. An awful run!

Sunday - 30 min recovery
3 miles / 10:37 avg pace / 140 HR
This one was nice. Felt far more comfortable than at any other stage this week. Hopefully turning a corner!

Weekly mileage 50.05

So, a week that I was very happy to see the back of. The running felt uncomfortable and not quite right throughout, and I felt I had lost fitness after the week away, but it may have been just down to general tiredness. Started to doubt the body a bit too, everything felt a bit sorer and stiffer than usual. Tired quads, which I've never experienced from running, and the familiar glute niggle is making itself known. Thinking of booking in for a sports massage or a general physio appointment

Despite all that moaning, it was nice to hit my first 50 mile week!

Huzzah!

Congrats on your first 50-mile week!

So, sleep isn't great, but how's everything (nutrition, hydration) else? I guess I'd expect to feel tired after a week away and at the business end of marathon training but make sure you're recovering well.

Definitely book that physio session.

Kellygirl

I think we are all getting to the heaviest stages of the plans and our bodies are tired and niggly. Definitely get yourself to a physio or sports massage and make sure you are having Epsom salts baths. They work wonders. I add lavender oil in at night time to help make me sleepy.

We are nearly there. Just over two weeks and we will be starting to taper and that always comes at just the right time.

ReeReeG

Definitely go for a sports massage - think you said before you've never been for one? Generally recommended to have a couple at least while marathon training.
Would you normally run 7 days in the week? I don't think I noticed before, but that has to add to general fatigue also.
Congrats on a 50 mile week however, unreal!

ariana`

To add to the other posts as well as doing your highest mileage week ever what is jumping out at me is that you also ran 7 consecutive days, you're bound to be tired after a week with no rest day. I don't know if you felt under pressure because you missed a couple of runs the previous week i.e. you were chasing lost miles (something i've been accused and guilty of myself recently

) or if it's something that's part of a modified plan you're following... If it was just a one-off because of the previous week then there was no need but no point in saying that now, if it's part of your plan going forward then my own feeling for what it's worth is that there is a place for a rest day even in marathon training :cool:

There is something that often happens around 2-3 weeks before marathon taper and it's very similar to what happens the night before an exam - panic sets in and a tendency to start cramming happens! It's a case of suddenly worrying that you're haven't been doing enough miles and trying to cram in extra near the end. You've been following the plan brilliantly, proven with super PBs along the way, and you are set for a fantastic first marathon, all you need to do now is keep the head and let common sense prevail, mind yourself x

Edited to add - congrats on the 50 mile week by the way, great achievement!

eyrie

Thanks all, appreciate the input.

Huzzah! wrote: »

So, sleep isn't great, but how's everything (nutrition, hydration) else?

Grand I think, it was a stressful week for other reasons and that has an impact. Nothing serious, and I feel much better this week. Though nutrition could always be better, for sure!
How are your legs feeling now??

Kellygirl wrote: »

I think we are all getting to the heaviest stages of the plans and our bodies are tired and niggly. Definitely get yourself to a physio or sports massage and make sure you are having Epsom salts baths. They work wonders. I add lavender oil in at night time to help make me sleepy.

Oh I must try the lavender - I love the smell anyway but I've heard it's good for sleep too, thanks for the reminder

ReeReeG wrote: »

Would you normally run 7 days in the week? I don't think I noticed before, but that has to add to general fatigue also.

ariana` wrote: »

To add to the other posts as well as doing your highest mileage week ever what is jumping out at me is that you also ran 7 consecutive days, you're bound to be tired after a week with no rest day. I don't know if you felt under pressure because you missed a couple of runs the previous week i.e. you were chasing lost miles (something i've been accused and guilty of myself recently ) or if it's something that's part of a modified plan you're following... If it was just a one-off because of the previous week then there was no need but no point in saying that now, if it's part of your plan going forward then my own feeling for what it's worth is that there is a place for a rest day even in marathon training :cool:

There is something that often happens around 2-3 weeks before marathon taper and it's very similar to what happens the night before an exam - panic sets in and a tendency to start cramming happens! It's a case of suddenly worrying that you're haven't been doing enough miles and trying to cram in extra near the end. You've been following the plan brilliantly, proven with super PBs along the way, and you are set for a fantastic first marathon, all you need to do now is keep the head and let common sense prevail, mind yourself x

Edited to add - congrats on the 50 mile week by the way, great achievement!

Thanks both. No, I don't normally run 7 days, but I would frequently run 6, and the only extra this week was a 3 mile recovery which I don't normally bother doing. I only did it this week because I was at 47 miles so figured why not :pac:
I hear what you're saying but to be honest the tiredness was there from the start last week, so genuinely not to do with running heavy mileage because I hadn't at that stage. In fact, I was coming off a break. I think it was just down to life stuff really, nothing serious. I'm not chasing lost miles, I feel confident that I've put in the mileage fairly consistently so far and I'm happy with that.

Thanks again for the comments though, I'm really grateful for this community and being able to bounce thoughts off other people who are going or have been through the same stuff!

Now I just need to work up the courage to go for that sports massage :eek:

ReeReeG

Yeah fair enough! I was just curious!
In fairness, I find external factors affect my running more than I would like; be it work, family, hormones... just how it is I suppose. And if the running has helped you through a tired and "life stuff filled" week, then that's a good thing, right?

Murph_D

Good week! The tiredness is to be expected. Working through it is part of what it’s all about, whether it emanates from the training or other stuff, or most likely, both.

eyrie

DCM Training (Grads plan) - 6 weeks to go :eek:
17th - 23rd September

Monday - 60 mins very easy + banded glute exercises
5.9 miles / 10:26 avg pace / 144 HR avg
Early morning run. Poor sleep again but actually felt more normal on this one despite that. Incredible sunrise too. Dug out the resistance bands and put them to good use, need to do more of this!

Tuesday 18th - 50 min tempo (8:30 - 8:14) + w/u and c/d
8 miles / 8:54 avg pace / 169 (188) HR avg (max)
Tempo splits: 8:24, 8:20, 8:13, 8:21, 8:30, 8:12
Pretty tough, especially towards the end. Conditions were a factor as it was seriously windy and pretty warm. I used the 'counting to 100 repeatedly' trick which really helped, calmed me down when I was getting frustrated with it too. I hit the target pace but the effort was definitely too high.

Wednesday 19th - Short and windy easy run + lunchtime pilates
4 miles / 10:50 avg pace / 145 HR avg
Got up early having forgotten about Storm Ali, and since I was up I didn't want to waste it so went out anyway, but kept it short. First time back at Pilates in ages and, as expected given the gap, it was torture!

Thursday 20th - 60 mins moderate (+ w/u and c/d)
8.65 miles / 9:19 avg pace / 155 (168) HR avg (max)
Splits: 10:07 warm up | 9:04, 9:09, 9:01, 9:04, 9:06, 9:04, 8:58 (for 0.62) | 10:07 cool down
I love these runs, more interesting than a pure easy run but still not hard. This one felt fantastic. I thought the effort was a bit too low actually so ran it a little too fast on purpose just to try and hit the right effort.

Friday 21st - 2 hr 30 min easy long run
15.05 miles / 10:14 avg pace
Splits: 11:16, 10:29, 10:25, 10:13, 10:31, 10:32, 10:13, 9:54, 9:45, 10:16, 9:49, 9:58, 10:24, 9:53, 9:58
Tried out the first half (ish) of the DCM route. Found it tough enough. It was an extremely windy morning, made some parts of this a bit of a struggle. The stretch up to and out of Castleknock wasn't bad, but the hill up St Lawrence's Rd was a killer. Likewise heading up Crumlin Rd at the end - I'm used to running this stretch but with the wind that morning it was a whole other story.
I finished feeling a bit dissatisfied - nothing specific wrong as such, it just wasn't a brilliant run. So be it, I suppose they can't all be, nor do they need to be.

Saturday 22nd - Rest
College all day and out afterwards, so no chance to run.

Sunday 23rd - 45 mins easy/recovery
4.4 miles / 10:02 avg pace / 139 HR avg
Earned myself a new VO2 max on this, according to Garmin. Fairly meaningless but nice when it happens all the same.

Weekly mileage: 46 miles

A low-key week. Nothing went wrong, but no great excitement or achievement either. Still haven't gone to the physio, and still need to. I'm writing it down now so I have to make the call today...

ariana`

That's a solid week eyrie, the bread & butter of marathon training.

Make the call

Kellygirl

A good week. Nearly there now. Hope,you rang the physio. I cancelled last week’s appointment and if I hadn’t I may have been able to do my long run on Saturday.

Huzzah!

Way behind on my log reading. That's a solid week - as ariana` says, the bread and butter of marathon training.

On the counting to 100 thing, have you ever tried counting down from 100? That's my distraction method of choice. It might not be as calming as your way, though, but it takes the mind off the pain a bit.

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

On the counting to 100 thing, have you ever tried counting down from 100? That's my distraction method of choice. It might not be as calming as your way, though, but it takes the mind off the pain a bit.

I haven't tried it that way actually, I'll give it a go. Though I'm not sure my brain will like it, it tends to go into total shutdown if I'm running (not during easy runs, obviously, but I don't need to do it on easy runs). I'm always amused/amazed at the people who talk about calculating finish times based on how their pace is changing in the middle of a race - I'm grand at maths normally but I'd struggle with even the most basic sums while running hard

How are you enjoying the (well earned) rest period? Started knitting yet?

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

I haven't tried it that way actually, I'll give it a go. Though I'm not sure my brain will like it, it tends to go into total shutdown if I'm running (not during easy runs, obviously, but I don't need to do it on easy runs). I'm always amused/amazed at the people who talk about calculating finish times based on how their pace is changing in the middle of a race - I'm grand at maths normally but I'd struggle with even the most basic sums while running hard

How are you enjoying the (well earned) rest period? Started knitting yet?

Oh, yeah, it's really difficult and I never manage to count the full way down, so it distracts well from the pain but wouldn't be at all relaxing.

Enjoying not running a bit too much. I might want to get back into it sooner rather than later or it will be January and I'll wonder where my fitness has gone!

eyrie

DCM Training (Grads plan) - 5 weeks to go

24th - 30th September

Monday - 60 mins very easy
5.5 miles / 10:24 avg pace / 145 (155) HR avg (max)
A morning run to start the week. Surprised to find the effort rise a bit over the second half. Later in the day I was very aware of the ongoing niggle in the right hip and a bit in the knee too. I don't feel it at all when running but it's noticeable the rest of the time.

Tuesday - 3 x 12 mins @ Threshold (7:55 - 8:04), 4 min recoveries
7.25 miles / 9:23 avg pace / 169 (193) HR avg (max)
Intervals: 7:56 (1.51 miles), 8:03 (1.49 miles), 8:00 (1.5 miles).
A really tough workout. Done first thing in the morning and on empty, so tiredness was a bit of a factor. It took a really hard effort to complete the reps, and I really wanted to stop. As is often the case, once I calmed down and relaxed into it it got easier, but I was still very relieved to finish. Jogged all recoveries (slowly).

Wednesday - 3ish slow miles (instead of 60 mins very easy) + yoga
3.2 miles / 11:02 avg pace / 146 (161) HR avg (max)
Planned 6-7 miles and knew very quickly I wasn't going to stay out for that. It was taking a proper effort to maintain a pace slower than usual easy pace, and I figured the time would be better spent doing some proper stretching and foam rolling. Just regretted not having stayed in bed for the extra sleep instead!
30 mins runner's yoga in the evening had the legs feeling much better.

Thursday - 70 mins easy
6.9 miles / 10:27 avg pace / 149 (165) HR avg (max)
Better than yesterday. Slow to start this time too, but not as bad as the previous day, and it got easier. Effort is still definitely higher than it should be, but not alarmingly so.

Friday - 75 mins tempo (goal 8:30 - 8:14)
12.75 miles / 9:01 avg pace / 167 (187) HR avg (max)
Tempo splits: 8:44, 8:24, 8:12, 8:25, 8:36, 8:34, 8:24, 8:24, 8:14 pace for 0.88 mile
This was hard. It was a shock to the system trying to pick up the pace to start with, after the warm up, and I was a bit thrown by the effort required as I didn't expect it to be that bad really. After that it got better, but to be honest the pace varied a lot more than I would have liked, mostly according to gradient (did this in the Phoenix Park so it was fairly up and down). The grade-adjusted pace is a lot more even so I guess that's ok, but really I'd like to be finding this easier at this stage.

Saturday - 3 recovery miles + 30 mins runner's yoga
Beautiful autumn morning. Still tired, still feels like effort. Did the runner's yoga video again later and again it seemed to do wonders for my battered legs!

Sunday - 75 mins easy
7.7 miles / 10:17 avg pace / 142 HR avg
A nice run to end the week. Felt much springy-er than I have of late.

Weekly mileage: 46.3 miles
A week where I was grateful for the wisdom of Boards! I've been feeling generally tired and bleh and like I'm getting less fit and worse at running, but reading similar enough comments on the novice's thread and other logs makes me think it's (hopefully!) just down to where we are in the training rather than some other weird situation going on. So, perseverance! I guess this is what people mean by cumulative fatigue...

Oh and I bit the bullet and booked a sports massage last week, so I have that to look forward to on Wednesday

skyblue46

That's a great week! Yes the fatigue is taking a toll now but the taper will help restore full springiness! I wouldn't worry about up and down paces on the tempo run either. The ideal pacing strategy for DCM won't include 26 even paced miles either. Working with the gradient of the course will be essential.

juke

eyrie wrote: »

A week where I was grateful for the wisdom of Boards! I've been feeling generally tired and bleh and like I'm getting less fit and worse at running, but reading similar enough comments on the novice's thread and other logs makes me think it's (hopefully!) just down to where we are in the training rather than some other weird situation going on. So, perseverance! I guess this is what people mean by cumulative fatigue...

Oh and I bit the bullet and booked a sports massage last week, so I have that to look forward to on Wednesday

You are doing some very solid consistent training!

This is good to read though, albeit selfishly.

I've been struggling for a while, and to my shame avoiding the novices thread (because they all look like their training is amazing on Strava). I feel like I'm going backwards...guess it's normal for some people.

Enjoy the massage - even if it hurts, it will do you wonders

ReeReeG

Nice week, glad you booked the massage especially if you were feeling something of a niggle at the beginning of the week. It's certainly no harm.
Major respect for the morning workouts, I imagine they are extra hard if the legs are still waking up but you seem to bang them out regardless!

Is the runner's yoga workout on YouTube or you purchased somewhere??

ariana`

Another super week eyrie. I'm glad you picked up the phone, i'll be interested to hear how you find your first sports massage

eyrie

juke wrote: »

You are doing some very solid consistent training!

This is good to read though, albeit selfishly.

I've been struggling for a while, and to my shame avoiding the novices thread (because they all look like their training is amazing on Strava). I feel like I'm going backwards...guess it's normal for some people.

Come back to the novices! There are definitely lots of people flying through their training, but plenty of struggles too and sure we're all in it together.

ReeReeG wrote: »

Major respect for the morning workouts, I imagine they are extra hard if the legs are still waking up but you seem to bang them out regardless!

More like drag myself through them :eek:

ReeReeG wrote: »

Is the runner's yoga workout on YouTube or you purchased somewhere??

Just good ol' youtube! Yoga with Adriene - have you come across her? She has a million different videos and I've only tried a fraction, but I like her style. She's fairly down to earth and approachable. This is the runner's one I've been doing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hTllAb4XGg

It was a bit of a shock realising how tight my hips are when I tried to do some of the poses!

eyrie

ariana` wrote: »

Another super week eyrie. I'm glad you picked up the phone, i'll be interested to hear how you find your first sports massage

The dread is no joke. I'm considering taking a load of painkillers before it. Or hitting the gin. At 8 in the morning... :eek:

ReeReeG

eyrie wrote: »

Just good ol' youtube! Yoga with Adriene - have you come across her? She has a million different videos and I've only tried a fraction, but I like her style. She's fairly down to earth and approachable. This is the runner's one I've been doing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hTllAb4XGg

It was a bit of a shock realising how tight my hips are when I tried to do some of the poses!

Cheers, will defo give this a look, haven't seen her before at all! Handy to have this bookmarked for after the marathon as well I'm thinking, for the old recovery mode.

Huzzah!

A really great week of running. You've a really great training cycle under your belt and lots to be confident about. I kind of hate giving advice at this point because I feel a bit like, "oh, I've run a marathon, so now I'm an expert", which is by no means true, but anywho, my last PMP run was one of my hardest and I'd already done a couple of that distance in higher mileage weeks. In fact, I felt like an unfit and uncoordinated blob on my last run pre-marathon, so how you're feeling now is very normal.

ariana`

eyrie wrote: »

The dread is no joke. I'm considering taking a load of painkillers before it. Or hitting the gin. At 8 in the morning... :eek:

Lol there'll be no need for that :pac: it may not be so bad for you - the fact you've no injury history and haven't been experiencing too many niggles bodes well for you

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

A really great week of running. You've a really great training cycle under your belt and lots to be confident about. I kind of hate giving advice at this point because I feel a bit like, "oh, I've run a marathon, so now I'm an expert", which is by no means true, but anywho, my last PMP run was one of my hardest and I'd already done a couple of that distance in higher mileage weeks. In fact, I felt like an unfit and uncoordinated blob on my last run pre-marathon, so how you're feeling now is very normal.

Please do give advice, it's very welcome! And thanks for saying that, it's reassuring to know it happens to other people too.

Oh and I used your trick of counting down from 100 on the 75 min tempo last week and it was really helpful, so thanks!

HelenAnne

eyrie wrote: »

Just good ol' youtube! Yoga with Adriene - have you come across her? She has a million different videos and I've only tried a fraction, but I like her style. She's fairly down to earth and approachable. This is the runner's one I've been doing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hTllAb4XGg

It was a bit of a shock realising how tight my hips are when I tried to do some of the poses!

I LOVE Yoga with Adrienne. Usually I don't really enjoy yoga (though I love Pilates), but her videos are fab! I've been doing them on and off for a few years now.

eyrie

I'm not sure I've ever managed to get my log update up on a Sunday evening, but that's what spending the day on the laptop doing 'college work' will do for you apparently

DCM Training (Grads plan) - 4 weeks to go
1st - 7th October

So here we are, somehow it's the last week of full training before the (oh so welcome!) wind down starts

Monday - 2 x 30 min tempo (8:30 - 8:14)
9.5 miles / 9:20 avg pace / 167 (189) HR avg (max)
Tempo splits: Rep 1 - 8:26, 8:25, 8:22, 8:16 for 0.58 | Rep 2 - 8:23, 8:27, 8:29, 8:31 for 0.55 mile
A sneaky one. The first 30 min rep wasn't too bad. It felt easier than the extended tempo last week, although the HR was as high I think so I was probably working as hard, yet it felt easier somehow. Not so for the second rep, which was pure misery. I was running into strong wind for the second half of it, and it was such a battle. I'm actually amazed I didn't slow down more, but I'm sure I was working harder than I should have just to keep in touch with the target pace. One of those runs where you feel sick afterwards.

Tuesday - 50 mins easy
4.7 miles / 10:55 avg pace / 150 (158) HR avg (max)
Still dead tired for this, not helped by very little sleep once again, but it was nice to be out all the same. Quite dark in the mornings now, already.

Wednesday - 40 mins easy + 30 mins runner's yoga
4 miles / 10:40 avg pace / 141 HR avg
Finally bit the bullet and went for a sports massage. After all the warnings I was expecting pure torture but it was suspiciously un-painful in the end. I almost felt cheated... PT said my legs were in surprisingly good shape for the training, so happy with that.

Thursday - Rest. Was going to go out for a short one but why bother really? I was knackered and the plan had this as a rest day anyway.

Friday - 60 mins moderate (9:30 - 9:14)
9.3 miles / 9:32 avg pace / 164 (181) HR avg (max)
Moderate splits: 9:26, 9:22, 9:13, 9:15, 9:17, 9:06, 9:17 pace for last 0.5 mile
Usually love these. Not this time. I was feeling it from the start on the warm up. Got through it fine but felt I was working a bit harder than I should have had to. Hoping it's just a case of cumulative tiredness.

Saturday - LSR day: the last big one!
20 miles / 9:51 avg pace / 161 (179) HR avg (max)
Let myself get a bit too nervous about this one, I think. I was afraid of not being able for it, because of how I've been feeling the last while. So I headed out cautiously and decided to keep it slow and easy throughout. It's easy to feel like you (I) have to throw in all sorts of stuff to try and make sure I've all the bases covered, but I have to remind myself this is my first time training for a marathon. Followed a lot of the DCM route for the run. Loved the bits in the park - it's stunning at the moment with the leaves all changing colour. We Dubs really are lucky to have it.
Fuel - took two gels to practice (mile 7 and 15 ish). First was grand. For the second I planned to try out one with caffeine as I've never used them before. It was disgusting but no adverse affects.
From about halfway I started to feel tired, and that continued pretty much to the end, but more like general weariness than anything more. I kept saying to myself, "I'm tired, but I can run", and just focused on keeping going.
It feels good to get it finished, and I'm delighted to note that I wasn't half as wrecked after it as after the last one, and the legs don't feel too bad at all.

Sunday - 35 mins recovery + 30 mins runner's yoga
3.5 miles / 10:28 avg pace / 138 HR avg
Felt great after the yoga.

Weekly mileage: 51 miles.

Aaaaaand now we taper

It feels gooood to have gotten to this point, but the actual marathon still doesn't feel real to be honest. I still find it very hard to think about the day itself and start getting organised for it. But that will come, I'm sure. For now I'm happy to have the heavy training done, and to hopefully start to recover a bit.

ReeReeG

Nice week! Well done, you've tackled your plan so well.

eyrie wrote:

Wednesday - 40 mins easy + 30 mins runner's yoga 4 miles / 10:40 avg pace / 141 HR avg Finally bit the bullet and went for a sports massage. After all the warnings I was expecting pure torture but it was suspiciously un-painful in the end. I almost felt cheated... PT said my legs were in surprisingly good shape for the training, so happy with that.

You must be one of those well-behaved runners who actually foam roll regularly!

ariana`

My sister's been raving about Yoga with Adrienne for years but I finally tried it out this week after the mentions she's been getting in these parts. I only got as far as her 7 min post-run workouts but it was quite enjoyable - I must try the full 30 min runners work out sometime.

Let myself get a bit too nervous about this one, I think. I was afraid of not being able for it, because of how I've been feeling the last while. So I headed out cautiously and decided to keep it slow and easy throughout. It's easy to feel like you (I) have to throw in all sorts of stuff to try and make sure I've all the bases covered, but I have to remind myself this is my first time training for a marathon. Followed a lot of the DCM route for the run. Loved the bits in the park - it's stunning at the moment with the leaves all changing colour. We Dubs really are lucky to have it.
Fuel - took two gels to practice (mile 7 and 15 ish). First was grand. For the second I planned to try out one with caffeine as I've never used them before. It was disgusting but no adverse affects.
From about halfway I started to feel tired, and that continued pretty much to the end, but more like general weariness than anything more. I kept saying to myself, "I'm tired, but I can run", and just focused on keeping going.
It feels good to get it finished, and I'm delighted to note that I wasn't half as wrecked after it as after the last one, and the legs don't feel too bad at all.

Super stuff eyrie, I think a few of us have to remind ourselves that it's your first time training for a marathon too, you make it look easy