The Road to Berlin: Week Four

Week Four: 31/07/17 – 06/08/17

Total Mileage: 53.7

Monday:         10x 1min on/1min off

Tuesday:         6M Recovery

Wednesday:  18M (10 Moderate)

Thursday:       6M Recovery

Friday:             8M Easy

Saturday:        REST

Sunday:           11M (7 Tempo) 

Reflections.

This week was spent pretty much entirely in Cyprus (I flew back to London on Saturday evening) which meant a slight shuffle of the sessions. I was worried about trying the do the Tempo run whilst away as I felt the heat would make it very difficult to hit the speed that I was aiming for. I therefore swapped this session with the long run which had been planned for the weekend. I also switched out Monday’s planned Hill Session as there were no hills available and so did a fast,flat interval session instead.

Monday was an a tough session in the morning heat and I definitely underestimated it. I got the session done but realised I would definitely need earlier starts from this point on. I also realised that I would need to ensure I had water for all of my runs. 

Tuesday was much more enjoyable as I was able to drop the pace and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Salt Lake.  This also gave me a chance to scout out the first section of a route for tomorrow’s longer run. Felt good and had to make a real effort to hold the pace back towards the end of the run.

Wednesday was a session which I had been dreading. It would mean being out in the heat for a long time and there was also the very real possibility of me getting lost! I decided to get up before the sunrise and head out at 5:30am.  I also decided to break the run into sections which would enable me to re-fill my water bottle. I set off for the first 5M section at an easy pace and made sure that I consumed a full bottle of Gatorade during this loop. I then re-filled my bottle with cold water during a quick pit stop and headed back out the door. I gave myself one more mile of easy running to get back into a rhythm before hitting the 10M at Moderate pace (6:30/mile). I felt great and succeeded in holding this pace for the duration as I completed a full loop of Larnaca’s Salt Lake and headed back along the seafront. This faster section was followed with a couple of easy miles to bring the total distance to 18M.

Thursday and Friday were a nice dip back down to gentler paces and I was able to soak up the sun with a little less pressure. I felt good although I had a little tightness in the left calf, leading to a slight ache in the shin, after the 8M Easy run on Friday. I’ve been slacking on the stretching/foam rolling while away so will make an effort to get back on with this!

After a rest day on Saturday and a flight back to London, I headed out for a Tempo run on Sunday. I got a lift up to Kenley  Aerodrome for the session as I figured this would be nice and flat and traffic-free. Unfortunately I didn’t consider how windy it would be and this made it very tough to hit my target splits. I missed the goal pace by a few seconds per mile but this still felt like a decent session. It was a relief to get through the run with no aches in the shin or calf.

This was a good week of training and it was nice to get everything done without it eating into the holiday too much. The change of scenery was fantastic and it was great to be running in the heat before cooling off in the sea and enjoying my ‘recovery’ wth a book on the beach.

The Road to Berlin: Week Three

Week Three: 24/07/17 – 30/07/17

Total Mileage: 62.6

Monday:          PM: 6M Recovery

Tuesday:         AM: 8M Easy + Strides

Wednesday:   PM: Kilmaurs 5k Race

Thursday:       PM: 6M Recovery

Friday:             AM: 18M (10 Steady)

Saturday:        AM: 8M Recovery

Sunday:           AM: 8M Easy + Strides
Reflections.

This felt like another solid week. There was a slight shuffle around of my original plan due to a holiday in the Cypriot sun which would make fast running very difficult! With my flight to Larnaca departing on Saturday, I was advised to bring the long steady run forward to Friday. This meant that I could at least settle in to my first day of holiday with an ‘Easy’ run and not an 18 miler! The shuffle would mean fewer days recovery between race day and my long run but sometimes things just need to get done!

Monday and Tuesday were fine and  just ticked along feeling comfortable at the designated pace. I have been making an effort to do my strides properly during this marathon attempt as this is something that I have found easy to neglect in the past. I have found a decent stretch between two sets of lampposts on Tantallon Road which serve as reasonable markers of distance and these have worked effectively.

Coming into Wednesday’s race I was feeling confident. I had not been satisfied with my 5k time at Springburn parkrun a week and a half earlier and was keen to give myself a boost with a fast time. Secretly, I was hoping to challenge the 16minute barrier but, all things considered, I was happy enough to finish in 16:09. I felt much more comfortable than I had done previously and this gave me another indicator that things are moving in the right direction.

Thursday was all about recovery so it was a nice and simple recovery run into town to pick up some clothes for holiday (nothing like leaving things to the last minute!).

The long run on Friday was hard going and completely due to poor planning on my part. I had flown down to London to see family before my Cyprus flight an had planned on doing this run while there. The idea was to get 6 Easy miles under my belt before hitting 10 sub6 miles and then finishing up with a final 2 Easy.  In my memory ‘The Woldingham Run’ is a flat, traffic free loop which I could double up to get my 10 faster miles. I discovered mid-run however that, while it is indeed traffic-free, it is definitely not flat!! I had a quick re-shuffle of my route (which for someone with my sense of direction is always dangerous!) and managed to get things sorted. The run ended up being fine and I was glad to get it done.

Saturday morning was a straightforward recovery run before my lunchtime flight to Larnaca.

Sunday was my first run in Cyprus of the holiday and was pencilled in as 8M Easy + Strides. I found a map which suggested a that a footpath would take me all the way around the Salt Lake which is not far from where I am staying and which looked to have a fair few miles to it. I had no idea how suitable this ‘footpath’ would be for running, all I knew was that it would be hot. And so it was that at 7am the alarm went and I headed out the door with a (too big) bottle of water and a sense of adventure. Vicki was a also heading out for a few miles along the seafront – which as handy as I am sure a lot of partners would be less than impressed with a 7am alarm on the first morning of a holiday! The footpath was ideal but the heat was rising and was close to 30degrees even at this time. I will need an earlier start before my long run next week! For my strides I ran along a section of the newly pedestrianised seafront which was absolutely fantastic. The sun was rising over the ocean and I could smell the strong Greek Coffee from the roadside cafes. Post-run it was straight to the beach for a dip in the sea and a few hours of reading my new book (Stephen King – Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger).

All in all this was a good week. I was pleased with my 5k performance and glad to get the long steady run done – besides, it is difficult to complain when your day consists of running in the sun, sipping Iced Coffee and eating Souvlaki. Magic.