Steady week 2 down.

Week 2 down. 14 weeks to go.

My plan for my marathon training this time is to mix up the miles that I do and not just long runs every evening. I think the miles are in me now so it’s time to mix the training up. I have decided to try Yasso 800’s. Ok never heard of it before last week but runner’s world has plenty about it. It’s a type of Interval training where you do repetitive 800m runs. So Monday evening I went to the track in UL. Good facility and not many at the track. I did 4 laps at an easy pace just to warm up and then started my 800’s. In total I completed 6 x 800. In between I would run 600 slow as a recovery. My times for the 800’s were between 3.05 and 3.10 and for the 600’s recovery 3.10. I was really happy that I kept the pace more or less the same for them all. Plan is to do this most Monday’s but try to increase from 6 x 800 to 10 x 800. Increasing 1 800 per week. Also, I will be trying to reduce the recovery time. Fingers crossed. Have to say by the end of the session I was tired and decided to make Tuesday night a rest night to let the legs recover. This just meant that I would do a few easy miles Thursday night instead.

Tuesday night rest.

Wednesday I met up with some of the lads from Mallow AC in Doneraile Park. Interesting session and total mileage was 9.26. A bit more than I had expected but it was a good session. Plenty of hills and mixed with some speed. I always record my heard rate when I train and I noticed that during this run it was up near 175 which is my normal racing speed HR, so felt the session was beneficial.

Thursday night was a nice easy 4 mile jog. 7:23 was my pace. With a 7 mile race the following night this run was really just about loosening the legs.

Friday Donoughmore 7. This was a great race. First time doing it so wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that most people I spoke to before the race had warned about the last 2 miles. Usually when people tell me this it plays in the back of my mind all the way around. Anyway on to the race. Getting ready at the start it was obvious that the last 2 miles were not going to be the only hills. The race started on an uphill and once the gun went off you could feel the pull in the legs. What did take me by surprise was that most of the first mile was uphill. As with all races the first mile is grand considering there is plenty of energy in the legs. Mile pace 6:57. Bit slower than normal but this is a 7 mile race so no worries. On to mile 2. Another breaker. Uphill again. At this point I am wondering what the last 2 miles are going to be like considering nobody seemed concerned about mile 2. I was feeling the pressure at the mile and a half mark but sometimes it’s best just to put the head down and hope for a burst of energy to come from somewhere. Total time mile 2 was 6:42. Bit of an improvement but felt a lot worse. Now Mile 3, what a change. At the 2 mile mark you turn onto a main road and basically you have 3 miles of a gradual downhill run with the wind on your back. What a change in mindset at this point. 5 minutes previously I almost felt like walking where as now I was running strong and talking with Ed (A fellow club mate) beside me. If only all races were downhill. :-) Anyway in mile 4 I started thinking about the last 2 miles and what people had said before the race. So mile 4 to 5 was about keeping a good pace but conserving some energy. Mile 3, 6:17. Mile 4 6:09 and mile 5 6:36. On to mile 6 and once you hit the 5 mile marker then you turn off the main road and the hill starts. The last 2 miles are mostly uphill but to be honest they weren’t as bad as I expected. Ok don’t get me wrong they were tough but sometimes it’s best to expect the worst and anything better is a bonus. On mile 6 to 7 I could feel my calf muscles feeling the strain. Here’s hoping the next few weeks of hill training will help with this. Mile 6, 7:02 and mile 7, 7:14. Ok slower miles but I felt good and while there was not a lot left in the tank to push harder I think I finished with a feeling that I could run another few miles if needed. Total time was 47:22. It’s an unusual distance to race but I like it all the same. It’s nice to have races longer than the standard 4 and 5 milers. http://www.runningahead.com/logs/6a63092905a443028c96bf08df4bd759/workouts/424f78d8e606420580b8c94e6be197bc

Sunday long run day. Nice easy run (Not). Pace was easy but the terrain was not. Total time was 1 hour 41 and the distance was 12.39 miles. The thing about this run is that the first 6 miles are uphill. In fact from mile 1 to mile 6 there is a 635 ft rise. This is a gradual pull up and by mile 6 the legs are getting tired and lungs are feeling the pressure. Avg pace over the first 6 miles was 8:50. Avg pace over the last 6.3 miles was 7:35 - Big difference. Anyway, I think this type of training will help in the long run.

To sum up the week I feel lots of different type training has been introduced. The Marathon feels like a long time away but I am hitting the 40 miles a week mark now and feeling good so fingers crossed. The later part of next week will be a little different. I will probably do my long run Saturday morning as U2 concert is on Saturday night.

That’s all for now. Till next week.

Weekly mileage 42 miles.