Last week’s report can be found here.
Weekly Training:
This week I had planned 7 sessions; 5 runs, 1 Yoga session and 1 weights session. Just like last week, this plan wasn’t set in stone and would depend on how my niggling knee felt day-to-day.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Weights | Club Run | Run | Club Run | Yoga | Parkrun | Long Run |
Monday 11th March:
As far as Monday goes, this week started off just as bad as the last with another missed session. Sure, my knee was a bit uncomfortable, but I could have still focused on some upper body or core work. After my marathon I will have a more comprehensive strength and conditioning plan in place. Not having a set plan hampers my motivation to train and leads to too many missed workouts.
Tuesday 12th March:
I wasn’t sure how my knee would hold up today, so I opted to train on the treadmill rather than making the 15 mile round trip to my running club. Tuesday’s sessions at the club are usually tougher runs, so intervals, hills or speed work. As such, I decided to stick to that and try a tempo run.
I warmed up by completed the first mile in 11:42. The goal was to run at sub-60 minute 10k pace, however I wanted to get faster across each of the 3 miles. Mile 1 came in with a pace of 9:40, so almost exactly sub-60 minute pace. I managed to increase the pace for mile 2 in 9:31. My third mile completed my goal with a pace of 9:14. I then cooled down for a mile in 11:08.
It felt good to be running at a decent pace, and my knee had held out fairly well, albeit with a brace on. The session was tough, and I did have a bit of a mental battle at the half way point. It’s strange because I can run a lot faster at Parkrun when I am racing, but training sessions at a slower pace always feel tough! With that being said, I was a bit surprised to see that I had only been in Zone 4 for 11:42. It felt like I was there for a lot longer!
Wednesday 13th March:
Yesterday’s run hadn’t affected my knee as badly as I’d expected, which was a nice bonus. I think it’s fair to say that I have a bit of paranoia at the moment. I’m nervous of making my knee worse, especially so close to my half marathon. As such, I still didn’t want to push too hard so instead of a run I opted to follow a 20 minute lower body strengthening video. It incorporated squats, lunges, calf raises, side planks, and so on. I actually enjoyed this session. It was something different and I could feel the burn in my glutes, hamstrings and calf muscles. I know that I need to do more lower body strengthening as the majority of my weight sessions focus on upper body strength. My knees, glutes, hamstrings and calves often get neglected. I’m hoping that some conditioning work will help to manage my niggly left hip and right knee.
Thursday 14th March:
Today I just wanted to keep it simple with a Zone 2 recovery run. I hadn’t covered as many miles as I had planned over the last 2 weeks, so I just needed to get some easy miles in my legs.
It soon became apparent that I was going to struggle. Even my “easy” pace was feeling tough. My heart rate was higher than usual for this pace and I had to keep a firm eye on my watch to ensure that I was staying in Zone 2. I had wanted to cover 8 or 9 miles however I was having to slow my pace more with each mile that passed. In the end, I called it a day at the 5 mile mark. It was a disappointing run and I’m not sure why it felt so tough. I guess it was just “one of those runs”.
Friday 15th March:
I wasn’t really in a Yoga kind of mood (when am I ever?), so instead opted for some strength training. I completed 2 rounds of the following:
- 10 Push Ups
- 10 Triceps Dips
- 50 Bicycle Crunches
- 10 Glute Bridges
- 10 Side Planks each side
In addition, I then incorporated the barbell for the below:
- 2×5 Bench Press at 30kg
- 2×5 Barbell Row at 30kg
- 2×10 Barbell Squat at 40kg
The session lasted just under 15 minutes but I definitely felt it! My upper arms started to fatigue, and despite only squatting 40kg I felt the burn in my quads.
Saturday 16th March:
The wind was causing havoc and as I’m not going to be running tomorrow I decided not to attend Parkrun and instead run further on the treadmill. I had planned for Parkrun today and then a long run of between 12 and 15 miles tomorrow, however that was no longer going to be possible. My Sunday long run was no more as I have a lot of things to sort tomorrow, including taking delivery of numerous computer parts and rebuilding my PC.
I started off with a steady first mile in 11:18. I then wanted to pick up the pace a little to see if I could run at slightly slower than my goal marathon pace (10:18). Miles 2 and 3 came in at 10:43 and 10:35. I then decided to increase the pace a little to try and run under my marathon goal pace in preparation for my half marathon next Sunday. Miles 4 and 5 came in almost equal at 10:12 and 10:13. I then started to feel uncomfortable. My knee was holding up okay in my brace, however I hadn’t been fully prepared for this run. Usually I either run after breakfast or straight after work, however today I hadn’t long eaten my lunch and it wasn’t doing me any favours! Sweet potato fries and a small pizza sub aren’t an ideal pre-race meal. As such, I decided to not push too hard (I also hadn’t drank much and was getting light stitch) and to decrease the pace as part of a cool down for the final mile.
It wasn’t a great run and means that I won’t have a weekly long run this week. It felt good to be running at 10:13 pace, which is quicker than I require during my marathon. I did feel like I could have ran longer if I absolutely had to. I’m not too sure what my plan is for next Sunday’s Ironbridge half marathon though… I don’t think a personal best is on the cards, but at this point I’ll be grateful to run the entire distance and get my finisher’s medal!
Sunday 17th March:
As mentioned above, today’s long run was a non-starter. I’m taking positives in the sense of I had been ill the week before my last half marathon and managed a really great performance, beating my personal best by over 22 minutes. Hopefully I can put in a decent performance on Sunday, although the odds don’t look in my favour with the crazy winds of storm Gareth!
Weekly Summary:
Total Miles = 16
Training Hours = 3:39:29
Positives = managed 3 runs – 2 good tempo runs. 2 strength sessions; my Wednesday lower body session was enjoyable and felt beneficial in helping me strengthen my hips, glutes and knees.
Negatives = missed Wednesday’s run as my knee was still niggly. Also missed Monday’s weight session. No Sunday long run and was unable to make up the mileage on the Saturday.
Next Week = next week is taper week, so I only have 2 runs planned during the week and no Parkrun on Saturday. Right now I’m just hoping to make it around my half marathon in one piece and have no goal times in mind.
