6 March - Sessions 53 - 55

1708 GMT - It has been a busy three days getting “back on the wagon” and preparing for my trip to the US. I am currently in flight over northern Canada on my way to Los Angeles. I will be in CA for two weeks attending a school and then on to Washington DC  for a trip to the Navy Yard to do some business there.

As I predicted Paul put me through a ball breaking SnC workout on Friday, which is good because I skipped both of my interval workouts this week. After warming up I went through several circuits working all the major muscle groups. I was spent when it was over...but in a good way. I have to say though my press-ups (push up for the Americans!) were less than impressive....need to work on those and my performance did provide some comic relief during an otherwise intense work out. I started the day off in the pool for 30 minutes to warm up. Perhaps I shouldn’t do that anymore....Nah. I really do enjoy swimming, almost as much as running, and I like the cross training aspect. Besides, someday I might want to do a triathlon...but first things first. I need to get through the marathon and achieve my goals.

Not too much to say about Saturday. Saturdays are easy runs (65% max HR...136 bpm for me) for recovery. This week my program prescribed 4 miles, but I did 5 because I felt guilty for skipping out on two workouts. As I mentioned in my last update, I forgot my HR monitor on my trip to France and based on today’s performance, I was probably under target on Wednesday.

Today (Sunday) I was up early to get my workout in before leaving for Heathrow airport. I had an 1100 flight so my ride picked me up at 7. I like having a good workout before traveling because then I don’t feel so lethargic sitting on a plane for 10 hours. 13 miles at 85% (161 bpm) was the prescribed workout. I figured it would be tough, but I didn’t realize how tough. I got to bed late and didn’t sleep well, anxious for the trip I suppose, so I was a but tired. Plus my hamstrings were a little sore from the workout on Friday. After warming up a bit once I got going and up to (or at least close) to the right intensity I felt pretty good. But I was unsure how long I would be able to keep it up. To be honest I didn’t think I would be able to maintain for the entire 13 miles. I was disappointed at the thought because if I couldn’t do 13 miles how in the world was I going to do 26??!! I dismissed that thought and just concentrated on doing my best. I figured would maintain for as long as I could and what ever happens happens. One of the “techniques” (for lack of a better word) I use in situations like these is I think of Dori from “Finding Nemo” but instead of “just keep swimming” I keep repeating “just keep running...just keep running”. It seems to work.

Anyway, half way through I was a little surprised that I was able to keep it up that far and I felt like I could perhaps make it the rest of the way. I was on my way home after all. About mile 8 or so I started to focus on how tired I was getting and how sore I was (nothing bad or unusual for me, but enough for me to notice.) I had worked hard up to that point but I thought I might have to slow down. I was so close! I pushed harder and kept on going. The last 2 miles or so were tough but I kept imagining Paul saying “don’t quit” over my shoulder. I wanted to push myself and see if I could maintain the intensity until the end. I finished the run in 1 hour and 31 minutes. I blew away my previous PR by several minutes. A quick review of the data showed that I ran just under a 7 min/mil pace. I never would have believed I could run that fast for so long. I was even under the target HR by a couple bpm. This training program has been amazing so far and I’m only barely half way through. Fantastic. In some ways I’m glad I took it easy this week but my performance today serves as motivation to work hard to stick to the program the rest of the way. I hope you’ll stick with me too!! 

Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 54
Edinburgh Marathon Training Session 55