PROJEKT LONDON & STOCKHOLM

MARATHON TRAINING - WEEK 10

Monday

You guessed it! A 14k recovery run at a relaxed pace focused on simply enjoying it. Nothing fancy, but a good way to start the week by flushing the legs out from Sunday's long run. Another body composition test was done today (pre-run) and I have lost even more body fat % than the previous week. My race shape is forming nicely at 6.6% body fat with 88.7% lean mass, along with a visceral rating of 1. I feel strong and well at this composition and will likely be around this mark on race morning. My focus during the taper is to keep the energy levels high and to stay well. Closer to the marathon I really wouldn't mind increasing my fat percent slightly, for the extra little boost of energy. However, I will only do this if my energy levels drop, but currently I am feeling great! Let's hope it stays that way.

Tuesday

Tuesday was a great session. After a 5k warm up I ran 3k at Vo2 pace followed immediately by 2k at marathon pace. This was followed by a 3-minute easy jog before repeating the same set again. I followed this with a little cool down. This type of session is known as a lactate clearance tempo. The purpose of this workout is to increase production of lactic acid during the faster k's in the set in order to train your body to efficiently process the lactate while still running at marathon pace. This will help make me more efficient at reconverting lactate to energy on race day. The drop in pace for the last 2k of the set, and the slow recovery between sets, are the most important part of this workout as it teaches your body how to become efficient at processing lactate. Running faster just for the sake of running faster during this workout is counterproductive and the workout becomes less effective. Save the energy for your speed work sessions or better quality workouts in the week, or both! Faster is not always better. A total of 19k for the session.

Wednesday

I had a full rest day this week, after moving my originally planned session to the Tuesday. I did this so I could spend the day doing productive things after work and to let my muscles recover (although they felt really good). None of that happened! Instead, I did a lot of napping with the doggos! Here is Charlie getting cosy.

Thursday

Thursday was an easy 10k grass session, including 6x20-30 second strides during the last km. Running on the grass has really helped protect my joints during the huge increase of mileage during this marathon block. I have never run so much in my life and the two things that have helped me stay injury free doing this are: increasing the amount of easier paced runs (and making them even easier) and running on grass.

Friday

A prime run was the order of the day. I run this type of session the day before every race. Prime runs help to keep the muscles firing, without giving them that lazy feeling (something you don't want the day before a race or hard effort). The goal is to not work too hard in this type of session, but run a little effort at close to the energy system you will be working in the race. Seeing as I planned a solo 10k time trial for this Saturday I treat the Friday like I would a usual Saturday, before a Sunday race day. I covered 7k with 3x30 seconds at around 10k race pace. Legs and energy levels felt awesome. I also increased my carb intake today to top up glycogen stores ready to empty the tank in the time trial.

Saturday

TT day! Running 10k as fast as I can. No other runners, just me vs the clock. Nothing else matters. The first time I have ran at full effort since my 10k PB (33:52) in the Dewsbury 10k on the 3rd February. The following day of that race was also the start of my marathon block. I finally got to see how fit I really am and how much progression I'd made. I know it's not ideal to compare a road race (against other runners) vs a solo track effort but the main goal here was to deplete glycogen and run at top effort. This will also allow me to run a shorter Sunday long run on semi tired legs, a good thing to do during a marathon taper. Whatever pace ran in the TT will only ever be a by product as the purpose of the TT session was to run at full effort, evaluate how I feel, to enjoy it and see what kind of shape I am in. I ended up running a 31.39, a huge PB. Over the moon! I would need to run the Dewsbury 10k, ideally in the same conditions as it was this year, to make any real accurate comparisons. The only problem with that is I have to wait a year and also expect the same conditions. Looking at how the session went, I felt great today. The legs felt strong and the energy was there for most of the effort. It was very hard and I was blowing at the end but I could of emptied the legs a little earlier. Hindsight is a nice thing but the main thing is that I feel in great shape and can now say I am ready for The London Marathon! Stockholm has taken a backseat in my mind for now as all energy needs to be on London.

Sunday

The long run today totalled 24km. A nice undulating route around the Valley Gardens, Knaresborough riverside and The Stray. The session was ran at close to the top of my aerobic threshold with 1k at marathon pace. My legs and energy levels felt great throughout the whole run. I also made sure not to push too hard today as the goal of my taper is to remain injury free and not over worked. The hay is already in the barn now and I can finally say 'I am ready!'

Week 10 Total Distance:

88km

(55 miles)

A fun fact for the weekly distance covered:

The distance ran this week is the equivalent to running the length of Tower Bridge in London 360,656 times! I can't wait to cross this during the race!