Week 12

"I'm playing all the right notes—but not necessarily in the right order."

Total Mileage : 65

Runs: 7

 

Quite a momentous week this. Amongst my many petty achievments are:

1. Finally managing to complete a full week as specified in my training schedule. Almost. No, actually, i nailed it this week. The fact that one or two sessions were shifted about doesnt alter that. Messrs Pfitzinger & Douglas have written an excellent book on marathon training, but expecting you to race on a saturday is unrealistic given that almost every race in the country takes place on a sunday.
   
   The downside of swapping stuff around was a friday night long run. 18 miles. Rock, and indeed roll. After a long week 18 miles on a friday is a trial. It is even more of a trial if you decide to try out a new route round the hillier parts of Newton Mearns and the south of Glasgow. Ouch.
2. Doing the double.  Thursday was 4 miles before breakfast, 6 miles after work. The theory behind days like this is it lets you get the miles in without the same impact that a 10 miler would have. Pffft! Personally i think that final 6 miles hurt more than it would had i not run in the morning and recovered more fully before going out again.
3. Biggest week ever. 65 miles. Off the back of this i am feeling slightly more sluggish than i have been. Recovery feels like it is taking a little bit longer while the sessions are coming thick and fast. Only 3 weeks away from starting to taper though....
4. I have broken my annual mileage record. Only 22 miles off my target for the year too.
5. A new 10k PB! 45:09 (garmin time) at Pollok Park on sunday. This showed the perils of trusting GPS times, particularly in a heavily forested area. For most of the race i was averaging, according to my Garmin at least, 7:35 miles. My time looked to be heading for 47 minutes or so. Not a time i would have been disappointed in given the up and down nature of the course and the lack of rest in my legs. Turns out i was measuring short and i crossed the line in a massive 27 second PB.
   
   Frustratingly i am less pleased with this than i ought to be. My 10k PB has stood since September 2009. Possibly because it wasnt a particular target this time out and possibly because i failed to crack 45  minutes, i find myself less enthused. For all that it is a satisfying result and it stands me in good stead for the coming decisive weeks of training.
   
   While i dont think this changes my marathon pace target yet, it gives me something to aim for in the Jedburgh half in a couple of weeks time and how i do there will decide what i target with the Southside 6 the following week giving me a chance to do a MP dress rehearsal.