I now have 5 weeks to kill before the 20 week plan for the Brighton Marathon starts. I’ve given myself that time to ramp back up to 6 runs a week and to something approaching the mileage that the start of the plan expects.
Tuesday – Hill repeats. We live at the top of a hill, more or less, so I have a choice of several hills that I can do. Two short, one less steep than the other, and one long. As these are bonus, voluntary even, hill repeats I have opted for the shorter, less steep one. I ran there, did my hills at what I judged to be 10k effort (rather than pace), managing to do the lot without stopping in a heaving wreck for a rest. I meant to do 6 repeats but lost count and ended up running 7.
Wednesday – 5k easy pace. I don’t have a heart monitor so I’m trying to judge “easy” by effort levels. I think 5:50 pace is about right but am struggling a bit to stick to it, my legs want to go faster. I’m getting better at it.
Thursday – 5k easy pace. A carbon copy of Wednesday’s run, but less consistent from a pace perspective. It’s a work in progress.
Friday and Saturday were rest days, a good thing as my left achilles has been protesting a bit. Nothing debilitating, and it doesn’t bother me when running. The soreness is very low down, at the heel. I have found giving my soles a good seeing to with a lacrosse ball eases it and also feels good in a twisted, masochistic sort of way.
I did briefly consider skipping the long run in favour of a bike ride, but the pull was too great.
Sunday – 12.8k. It was cool but not cold, about 7 degrees, a little overcast with hints of blue sky. Perfect running conditions, shorts and t-shirt were sufficient although I did run with a beany hat to keep my head nice and warm. It was a nice run, I even tackled the big hill at about km9 without stopping at either end for a breather. I realised a couple of weeks ago that this breather business is habit forming and that actually neither my legs or my lungs need it. My splits were reasonably consistent, there or thereabouts on the 5:50 target, although I seem to go out fast and speed up again on the homeward stretch. Both parts are slightly downhill so I guess this isn’t too surprising.
Strength training – a new thing for me. I have read that strength and in particular core strength are important on the longer runs I have planned for next year. I remember reading something along the lines that “your legs will be working hard enough without having to carry your upper body as well”. This makes sense to me. I have settled into a thrice weekly pattern of core and posterior chain exercises.
- Planks
- Side planks
- Glute bridges
- Supermans
- Metronomes
- Kettlebell swings
- Goblet squats
The kettlebell is a relic of a long past fitness drive. It is a 50 pounder, useful over the years as a doorstop, but rarely used until now. I’d forgotten how heavy it is. I am working up to a single set of 75 swings. This only takes a few minutes but blimey, it gets the heart rate up pretty fast.
I noticed my core muscles protesting a bit on the long run, not something I’m usually aware of. I guess this means the Saturday core workout had some beneficial effects!
I’ll be back next week with a training summary.
unwilling veteran 