After a tough couple of weeks including; a full marathon without taper followed by a long ride from London to Birmingham and another 2hr + long run less than a week after I was more than happy to reach a well earned recovery week. This is the first time I've really felt fatigue kick in and took what has been my easiest and lowest volume week since the beginning of this year. Now feeling refreshed and ready to hit the last 60 days of training hard before my first 'A' race of the year at Ironman Austria. Tough week ahead. Have pasted below to give you an idea of how I'm going to be spending most of my time over the next two months.
London Marathon
The marathon capped off a 20hr week this year. I stood on the start line tired but itching to put the hammer down and see how I would fair amongst the 'Championship' starters lining up just in front of me. I shuffled to the back of my pen to remove the temptation. I had a plan and I was going to stick to it. 4:20/k for the first 32k then increase the pace for the final 10k. the first couple of K's were 4:30's simply because of the number of people around me. Soon after I settled down nicely to pretty much bang on 4:20's. During the first 10k it became apparent it was going to be a warm day and I took on more water than I usually would resulting in a bit of a slushy stomach at the 15k mark but reaped the benefit of the extra hydration in the second half of the race as things really started to warm up. I did my usually 'systems check' at the half way mark. This is basically taking a minute to consciously assess my overall condition by breaking everything down by asking myself a series of questions. e.g. Where is my HR? Whats my RPE? Are my calfs tight? Are my quads tight? Are shoulders down/relaxed...? You get the idea. My Quads were starting to feel tired and heavy, and at this point I did wonder if the weeks volume was going to take its toll once I hit the last 10k. Strangely I started to feel better from this point and cruised comfortably through the next 10k at target pace. The extra water I had taken on board during the first half did mean a quick pee stop but had no trouble getting back into my stride after a short stop. The last 10k has to be the most enjoyable finish to a marathon I've had. I hit 32k feeling full of beans. Picking up the pace at this point to a 4min/k (when most around you is drastically slowing) makes you feel like you're flying! My run along the embankment was an absolute joy! Although my quads were complaining I just felt like I wanted to keep speeding up and push the pace. I crossed the line feeling strong and regardless of what the clock said (3:04) I was over the moon. I had stuck to the plan, the purpose of which had become very clear. I feel fit and I feel strong. Sub 3:20 Ironman marathon..? Bring it on!
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