Week 7 – Consistency is key

So far, so good! Up to this point, training has been really consistent for the most part, unlike this week’s blog post which I’m writing 2 days late. Oh, the irony.

I’m really happy with how I’ve tackled faster workouts and intervals in particular. I’ve found a super hill to use for hill repeats next to some local farmland, with hardly any traffic and at about a 6% gradient – perfect for sprinting up and working on leg strength. Hill repeats in particular were the sort of workout I skipped the most last time out, but in this training block, I’ve managed to complete nearly all of them to a good standard and the benefits are astounding. I’m feeling really strong on my longer runs and confidence is high as I get closer to the halfway mark in my training. I’m almost – almost – beginning to enjoy them…

This week started with a very slow 40 minute recovery run after Sunday’s Half Marathon PB. The sun was shining and it was one of those easy runs when you’re legs just tick over effortlessly and you’re able to really breath in the surroundings. Such a joy, these runs. The heavens opened up on Tuesday, though, and I’m really not a wet weather runner so I postponed my interval workout until the Wednesday which, of course, was a stupid idea as the weather was probably worse. I chose to avoid the rain once more and instead jumped on the treadmill in the local gym to run them. I did plan to double up and run some recovery miles immediately after the workout, but I was quite fatigued so jumped on a bike instead and cycled 9 miles, easy effort. The bike had internet access, so I watched a few inspiring running videos to pass the time.

It brightened up for the rest of the week, so I had little trouble getting myself out the door. Thursday and Friday’s recovery miles were followed by some Saturday morning hill repeats – 10 x 1 minute sprint with 2 minute recovery. A strong 14 mile long run on Sunday completed a really successful week.

I have another tough week coming up before I get a bit of rest, but I don’t feel too tired or fatigued. I am a bit concerned about the amount of miles I’m doing on concrete surfaces, so I’m going to try to do some more of my recovery runs on grass to ease some of the pounding my legs are taking as the miles pile on. All good fun!

On to Week 8!

Cheers

JM

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Here are the numbers:

Day 43 – 4.19 miles, 9.28/mile, 39:43 mins Recovery

Day 44 – Rest

Day 45 – 6.93 miles, 9:13/mile, 60:03 mins Anaerobic Intervals (treadmill) followed by 9.7 miles on bike.

Day 46 – 5.09 miles, 8:50/mile, 45 mins Recovery

Day 47 – 4.51 miles, 8:49/mile, 39:48 mins Recovery

Day 48 – 4.49 miles, 8:53/mile, 39:54 mins Hill Repeats

Day 49 – 14.2 miles, 7:59/mile, 113 mins Long Run

Total: 39.4 miles