Valencia Marathon Week 5/12

Thankfully I appear to be feeling much better this week and happy to get another 50 mile plus week (85K) in the bag.

Monday - 8 miles easy (13k) autumn again playing the most confusing game of hide and seek, a warm one 19 C.

Tuesday - 9.5 miles easy (15k) with 4x20 second strides at the end, just stretching the legs out and using it as a primer for tomorrow's session. Legs beginning to feel alive again, maybe 7/10.

Wednesday - 10 miles (16k) with 6 miles (10k) of those at 155 to 160 heart rate (HR). No fade in power or effort pace. The faster miles were on a favourable course, practicing turnover and stride length. The picture below gives you an idea of parallel lines when you compare effort pace and power with heart rate, although it did take me some time to get heart rate up and into correct range. Needed this one to boost the confidence.

Thursday - 5.5 miles easy (8.5k). The run included 4(600 meters) + 1x400 meters at my running partner's 5k pace, off a 60 second standing recovery. Really enjoyed this, more bounce in the legs and the pace was close to my goal marathon pace.

Friday Morning - 6.66 miles (10k) at recovery effort. The devil's numbers on Friday 13th. Heart rate was nice and low, assisted by cooler temps 10 C, and the early start combined with lashing rain meant I had Marlay park mostly to myself.

Evening - 7 miles (11k) on the treadmill conducting a lactate test. Pleased with the numbers. The test confirms I'm a little ahead of last year's Valencia Marathon fitness, 3:18. I still have a lot of miles to cover if a sub 3:10 is going to be a realistic dream come true.

The test was performed in the Mizuno Rebellion Pro, a fine shoe but when I compare them to the Adidas Adizero Pro 2, which I wore the last time in identical testing conditions, I seem to get a little more power out of the latter. So that's my shoes decided upon for next week's half marathon.

Saturday - 5 miles (8k). The most enjoyable run of the week as I got to run Parkrun with my daughter, we shared an earpod each and listened to The Greatest Showman soundtrack, not my idea but lovely all the same. She ran a personal best, so the music clearly helped!

Comments

My Top 12 Running Books

12. "Running with the Buffaloes" by Chris Lear An honest account of renowned coach Mark Wetmore and his winning cross country team. Coaching philosophy, hard work, personal insights and tragedy all told with a delicate touch, definitely due a reread. 11. "The Art of Running Faster" by Julian Goater & Don Melvin The book is an account of Julian's own running career and almost a case of 'what if?' He tries to impart wisdom to the reader, all the things he's learnt through experience and reflection with regards to training, technique etc. Things he wished he had applied during his time as a competitive runner. 10. "Can't hurt me" by David Goggins The language in this book is not for the sensitive. This is not your typical running book! For one thing he runs ultras. There's so much more to this former navy seal than meets the eye. I may not agree with some of what he says but his tenacity and mental toughness is to be both admired...

Lost My Running Mojo, Help!

There are lots of reasons a runner can lose their running mojo, injury or illness, time constraints from family or work commitments, failure to hit a goal, over-training or perhaps an underlying medical issue. More recently it could be due to our schedule being out of whack due to the current restrictions that have been imposed on us as we try to tackle the covid19 virus. The loss of one's mojo has happened to most if not all runners, including myself. It can come from nowhere and be both frustrating and exhausting. I'm a lot better now at recognising the signs and taking appropriate actions to quickly sort it out but in the past I've gone a year, maybe longer without running, and so maybe by default, I'm now an expert in the subject. 1. Go for a run when you feel like it. Don't force yourself out the door but aim for at least twice a week if you can. 2. Keep your runs short, if your normal run has been 5 miles or 10k, cut it back to 2 miles or 5k and ...

Dublin City Marathon 2019 - Loreto's Journey

DCM Marathon Report 2019 I signed up to do the 2019 Dublin City Marathon in November 2018 after only starting to learn how to run mid January 2018. I know - just a bit mad! It was suggested by a few friends that it would be a great thing to do especially after seeing how some other DBR members enjoyed their first one! I did put it to the back of my mind for many months and continued on as normal running/ training 3 /4 times a week and doing a few races in between! Suddenly May was upon us and reality struck as the marathon training was to start! I had decided at this stage that I was going to give it the best shot I could and train as well as possible. I was still not convinced that I would actually be able to do it! One of my main concerns was how the summer would pan out. The summer training was a bit tricky some weeks as children were off but I found ways around it when they were in one or two camps, babysitter occasionally and Andrew around ...

Dave Bradshaw Running

Search This Blog