4 Athletes 4 Marathons - Week 10 Diary

With Matt having raced his event in Berlin last weekend we are down to the final three runners!

 

First up with her week is Keri Pearson who is doing the Frankfurt marathon at the end of the month:

Monday - PM 8.4 miles in 70 mins off road, favourite route, turns out I’ve managed to fit in after work much more than I thought I would!

 Tuesday - PM Plan was for 30 mins recovery (zone 1), as it was really windy, I took as an opportunity to see how in control I was of my heart rate. I ran the first 10 mins of the 30 mins at the very bottom of my zone, then the second mid and the third top, really pleased with a 15 sec per mile difference in pace at each increase.

Wednesday - PM No session today as the juggling act meant I would end up running late in the evening and find I get very limited benefits from trying to run hard late. So 8 miles in 65 mins.

The juggling act is becoming harder, and these are the days you remind yourself it’s just a hobby and full time work life/ family life will always take priority.

Thursday - PM 14 hour day at work today, so no chance of running, so took it as a planned rest day.

Friday - PM Managed to get out a reasonable time, 7.6 miles in 60 mins, plus some strides. Can tell the legs are fresh when the pace of the strides are close to beginning with a 4! Will be trying to increase the training over the weekend and the following week as feel I’ve easing off a bit too early.

Saturday - AM Woke up feeling quite off. That’s what a busy week at work and working in a building with not far off 2000 children does for you! Hopefully means I’ve had my fair share of bugs before the marathon. Slightly amended my session to have a much shorter cool down than planned and will add the miles to Sunday to allow hopefully a relaxed Saturday to pick me up. Still really pleased with the session, made the sensible decision to keep it very relaxed and not go over my marathon effort and paces still really decent! 4 miles marathon effort, 12 x 90 secs then another 4 miles marathon effort. Both the marathon efforts were ran just below the heart rate to make sure it was easy and the 90 secs a little bit harder.

Sunday - AM 15.8 miles in 2 hours, with a fair amount of elevation compared to previous long runs. It was humid, and wasn’t expecting it to be. Thankfully was organised and had the fluids out. Went through 1500ml of water in this run, & practised gels again every 3 miles. Feeling pretty confident now with the number of gels and fuel intake as long as kit/ footwear and that’s one thing that has definitely gone well!

Excited for next weeks training, 2 key sessions coming up after and after a much easier week. I hope to have at the end of next week a firmer idea of my race plan and next weekend I plan to do my long run session in the kit/ footwear I intend to wear along with the exact fuelling strategy, then 2 weeks today, is Yorkshire. So lots to look forward to even though the block is coming to an end.”

 

 

Next we have Lee Milburn who like our very own Jenny Blizard is doing the Yorkshire marathon in just over a week’s time:

“A quiet week as we look to taper down in preparation for York. Unfortunately I’ve had to battle some sort of cold/virus this week which did mean taking a few days off and a couple of easier run days, missing the weekend session being the one. No body wants to fall ill but hopefully with still time to go until the marathon my body has plenty of time to properly recover. I decided on Monday that I felt a bit better after and easy weekend to do a tweaked version of the original session planned. I did 6x5mins at marathon heart rate on a loop with a short climb and the pace was about there so it looks like the body is still there despite feeling a bit rough on the surface. The next week is all about looking after myself and staying free of any freak injuries. I will try really hard not to walk into any tables at work! I’ve got one more marathon paced run to complete before full taper begins for the final week”

 

 

Finally we have Portugal bound Jenny and her view of how her week has gone:

“Mixed week this week with half in blighty and half in sunny Portugal and the temperature is hot!!! Main targets of this week were to enjoy some downtime while not being at work, not be an idiot and do too much training because I'm not at work and not spend too much time in the sun!

When taper starts it is easy to switch off and start to let the little but the most important bits slip like hydration, nutrition, sleep, strength and mobility. Being in Portugal then these were easily ticked off every day.

I ran Monday and took the day off Thursday instead this week with working till lunchtime and then flying at 3.35pm, this meant it was a good day to rest.

My mid week session in Doncaster went really well picking up the pace to around half marathon effort, we also have a big group forming ready for the winter sessions which is great.

Then it was Portugal time and wow it was baking even at 8am running in the morning. On the Saturday i did a bit of a session with a sustained 5ish miles just faster than marathon effort and also taking in some drags to replicate York. I was pleased with the session considering the heat. Finishing at 9.30 AM with tan lines blew my mind! I then went to the gym and completed my usual strength session. Maintaining strength for me is key even during a taper to ensure i still have as good biomechanics as possible on the day. It helps feel like my muscles activate more easily and I feel less sluggish. I will do my last session the Thursday or Friday before the race.

Sunday was an easy run day taking in the dirt tracks and onto Vilamoura marina before retracing our steps. Dave loves the marina run!

Previously I started tapering 3 weeks before the event. Move forward 12 years and we don't feel that this is necessary with the advancements in shoe technology mainly. For me previously I couldn't wait for the taper both physically and mentally but now i don't feel like I need one at all. I am hoping this isn't me being plain ignorant but the fact that I don't feel I have really pushed my boundaries in this training block too heavily ( I could be really really wrong on this!).

MON 6m @7.44, HR ave 136

TUES 8.12m @7.24 HR ave 146 on road

WED Strength session. Group Session 5X2k at half marathon effort. Total 10.5m

THUR Day off with work then travel straight to Portugal

FRI 7.13m on/off @7.58 HR ave 142 then strides on track. Pilates Class for runners live from back home

SAT Session sustained hillier run of 5.44m @6.37 HR 164 bit faster than marathon pace. Strength

SUN 8m on/off road run@7:54 min/miles HR ave 136.

Weekly Totals 52 miles. 1 longish run, 2 x shorter sessions 1 x strides, 90 mins yoga, 150 mins S&C. Feeling hot in the sun!

 

 

With the athlete’s view of their training here is the comments of Coach Tune and his view and observations:

 

“Another great week from Keri and I was delighted that she chose to reduce her session on the weekend due to not feeling 100%.

This is always a really tough call to get an athlete to do and really can make a difference between maintaining fitness and pushing it over the edge.

These last few weeks are vital for her and we just need to ensure we don’t do anything daft as she is in the best shape ever leading into a marathon”

 

 

Next is Lee who is doing the Yorkshire marathon.

“Lee came down with a cold this week which, although never a great time to get one but having it now means hopefully we will be clear in just over a week’s time!

All the hard work is now done so just a matter of turning the legs over and his session on Monday showed he is fine”

 

 

Finally we have Jenny’s week:

“The week was split in between a few days normal routine and then heading to Portugal for some training in the sunshine. Originally we were both going to do the Frankfurt marathon like Keri but decided on the Yorkshire option for Jenny and her return to marathon running after 12 years away from one.

This meant that the time away was deep into taper time and resisting the urge to do more training just because we have time.

A mid week marathon paced run in the blazing heat showed that she is in great shape and now like Lee it is all about rest and recovery and keeping the legs ticking over”

 

 

Enjoy the read!