T 7 miles HA(7:13mm), 6 miles (7:28mm)
W 18.5 miles including 8 miles at 88.5%MP, 6.6 miles at 98.5%MP
T 11 miles (6:25mm), 6 miles with 6X15s hill sprints (7:14mm)
F 8 miles HA (7:02mm), 6.5 miles (7:27mm)
S 26.5 miles at 92.3%MP (5:49mm)
S 10.5 miles (6:55mm)
Total 117 miles (6:35mm)
Aerobic efficiency 952 beats per mile
Weight 141.4 lbs
Body Fat 10.4%
Given last Sunday's hard long run (24 miles with 22 at 5:52mm) Monday and Tuesday were very much about recovering as best I could for a hard progressive run on Wednesday morning. The legs felt pretty strong if a little fatigued on Monday but most fatigue was felt on Tuesday which is quite typical for me to feel most tired after a hard run or race on a Sunday.
The first session of the week I wanted to do another of Canova's staples which is a decent length run at a solid pace with a block at very close to marathon pace. I am pleased to say the outcome was very boring and largely uneventful in that it was exactly what I had hoped for. After a couple of miles warm up, I proceeded to run 8 miles at 88.5%MP which was 5:59 per mile and then picked up the pace to a fraction slower than marathon pace. I had planned to do 6 miles at 98.5% MP (5:30mm) but due to me having to dash into the bushes around 2.6 miles into the six mile effort and accidentally pressing save on the Garmin I had to start the watch again. As it counted as a little sit-down(!) I decided to just do another 4 miles at that same effort (hence why I have linked to two separate activities above) so it came in at 6.6 miles at 5:29mm within an 18.5 mile run including warm up and warm down. Whilst it wasn't easy, especially towards the end it was probably quite representative of marathon effort which in the context of a heavy week's mileage is quite promising and I'm bound to have got a good training effect from it. Frustratingly though, I forgot to take my Heart Rate Monitor to London with me so didn't have much geeky data to look at post-run. I then proceeded to make very good use of the all-you-can eat breakfast at my hotel. Of course I logged it on myfitnesspal and although I managed to consume 1,200 kCals I started the day off with a slight calorie deficit which is good as I still look to shed a bit of timber.
It was a pleasant surprise that my legs felt little fatigue on Thursday morning and I was running very smoothly on a moderate hilly 11 miler. I included some hill sprints in my second run of the day and reverted to a bit of sweaty treadmill Heat Acclimatisation running on Friday.
Saturday was all about getting in a full distance run with 24 miles at a decent clip (c5:55mm had been the plan). This is I suppose a progression on the last few weeks fast long runs. I don’t plan on going as far as this again in this build up so I was keen for it to be a success. Given just two weeks ago 16 miles at 5:46 pace had felt so hard I was really happy that the early miles felt really comfortable and in fact felt like I had to keep slowing down to keep myself on pace. After a few miles I realised that my legs just had other ideas so went with it. The run was a great success and felt comfortable pretty much throughout. It was also the furthest I have ever run without a drink and it was nice that I didn't feel thirsty on the run either, perhaps due to the Heat Acclimatisation I have been doing and more effective sweating. Despite the lack of thirst, I was certainly feeling a touch peckish towards the end given it was another fasted effort. It is important to point out that I ran this on my tempo loop so the Garmin pace may not be entirely accurate, in fact it may be incredibly flattering but hopefully won’t be too far away from what I had planned any way with the run coming in at 5:49mm. To put this into further perspective it is quicker than I have done this run in previous build ups and it felt easier so all in all a very good sign.
Sunday saw me trot out a 10 mile run a little bleary eyed having set my alarm to watch the last night of the Olympic athletics. Whilst I sprang out of bed buoyed by Mo's epic victory and the legs felt fine, they were certainly tired once I started running and I felt a little like a baby elephant taking his first steps!
Overall then a very good week with two satisfying and successful sessions. I'm not
used to hitting what I want in every session so it does mean I have to be a
little careful that I don't push too hard just now as there is still a long way
to go and I know the endurance is there. The focus now moves a bit more to
building my speed endurance overt the coming weeks. The plan is to have two
more big weeks before tapering down for an attempt at a half marathon PB. That
should hopefully give me a bit of a boost and a hint at what I might be capable
of come the 9th October. Hopefully it will indicate that a sub 2:20 could be on
the cards!
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