The Berlin Marathon has always been the ‘A’ target for 2017 and, as I begin my race-specific training, I thought I would keep a record of my training and reflections for each week online. I currently keep a handwritten training diary which enables me to keep an eye on my training and track my progress over the year however during my preparation for the Amsterdam Marathon 2016 I found it interesting to read the training diaries of other runners online and so this year I have decided to add my own contribution. My current marathon PB is 2:34 which I secured at Amsterdam last year. I would like to build on that in Berlin. This will be a fairly short marathon block as I struggled with injuries earlier in the year and decided that I would delay the marathon-specific work and focus instead on building up some speed. I also took an easy week prior to commencing this next period of hard work during which I cut my mileage drastically, had a massage and generally took things easy!
Week One: 10/07/17-16/07/17
Total Mileage: 68.5
Monday: AM: Strength + Conditioning (light)
PM: 6M Recovery Run
Tuesday: AM: 4.75M Easy
PM: 7M Easy + Strides
Wednesday: PM: 11.5M (3X2M at Tempo)
Thursday: AM: 6M Recovery Run
Friday: PM: 8M Easy
Saturday: AM: Springburn parkrun
PM: Strength + Conditioning (light)
Sunday: AM: 18M Easy
Reflections
This was a bit of a mixed week for me. I introduced a more specific running strength and conditioning element to my training and took this at a low intensity due to it being a new addition to my training.
Wednesday’s Tempo run was hard going and it was a very hot day. I made a couple of big mistakes which had a negative impact on the session. Firstly, I don’t think I managed my hydration through the day effectively and I really felt this during the later stages of the session. Secondly, I took the first couple of miles far too quickly which meant that I faded in the later stages and particularly struggled in the final mile to hold a tempo pace. After this session I felt horrific and had to jump into Tesco for something to drink. It was definitely a lesson in preparation and I will be certain to manage these things more effectively in future!
Saturday was a chance to put in a fast 5k run at Springburn park run and, again, this was a disappointing experience. I had managed a PB of 9:59 at the hilly Bella Harriers 2M TT last week and hoped to build on that by pushing for a sub16 minute parkrun. It became clear in the first mile however that my legs were not going to play along and they felt heavy and tired almost immediately. On reflection I believe this could have been down to a couple of things but mainly my very short warmup due to a late arrival at the park. I think I probably still had some of Wednesday’s tempo in my legs also. I crossed the line in 16:18 which was frustrating but I am happy that this was a blip which I can overcome easily.
Sunday was a good one! I really enjoyed the 18M Easy run which I took solo. I like the new route which took my along the Clyde Walkway for a large portion of it and I will use this again. I held an average pace of 6:43 per mile which felt comfortable and I managed to stick to this pace consistently throughout the run. It was nice to complete this run exactly as planned.
Overall this was a mixed week. Wednesday and Saturday’s runs were disappointing but I take some comfort from knowing where I went wrong and that it is easily fixable. Sunday was a much better run and allowed me to finish the week on a positive note. I managed to get a decent number of miles in as well as a couple of strength and conditioning sessions and feel good about going into week two.
therunbetweeners 