July 24th – July 30th
Mon: 55min easy + 5 x 15 sec strides Complete. 11.51km. https://www.strava.com/activities/9513608053
Tue: 20 min warm up, 3 x 2k @ 7:20 (60) + 4 x 1k @ 3:30 (60), 20 min cooldown Complete. 7:12, 7:15 and 7:14. 3:27, 3:27, 3:28 and 3:27. 17.08km total. https://www.strava.com/activities/9520146962
Wed: 60min easy + 5 x 15 sec strides Complete. 12.61km. https://www.strava.com/activities/9526148497
Thur: 80 min easy Complete. 16.59km. https://www.strava.com/activities/9532777974
Fri: 20 min warm up, 3 x 20 min @ 3:55 km pace (2 min rest ), 20 min cooldown. Not really complete. Last rep botched. 22.11km. https://www.strava.com/activities/9538615609
Sun: 2 hours 10 min Complete. 2 hours 1 minute. 28.20km. https://www.strava.com/activities/9548283767
On January 11th 2013, David Bowie released one of his greatest pieces of music, a single entitled ”Where Are We Now?”, without any prior warning or fanfare. The song tells of the time that Bowie spent living in Berlin and references many of the places that he frequented during that stay. Many of these streets feature on the Berlin marathon route, the first of two pieces of synchronicity this song has with my marathon training. The second is the chorus: “Where are we now? Where are we now? The moment you know, you know, you know”. This week has been a selection of moments where I’ve begun to know that this block probably isn’t going as to plan as I would like. On Tuesday and Friday, both sessions needed a pit stop in the trees and on Friday, the last 20 minute rep was cut short to 17 minutes as the pace was trailing off and the body felt like it was shutting down. I’m unsure why the body isn’t responding to the training as I would like, as I would have hoped, so I have currently found myself in the midst of tail spin;
– Do I eat enough?
– Do I eat too much?
– Have I got a virus?
– Have I been sleeping enough?
– Are my shoes shit?
– Am I shit?
All valid questions, to which I have no answers. The energy levels have been low recently so I am beginning to think there is something in my diet. Perhaps I’m not eating enough. I have a healthy diet but do I have a diet for a marathon runner? Probably not. There is definitely scope for some healthy snacks and more carbs so that is something I am going to focus on and lock in from here on out. As much as is possible, I am doing nothing for the next 8 weeks that will not directly improve my marathon. The noticeable exception to this is Thursday when Barry gets married and I have a few pints and a tonne of rich food. Balance is also key and this is the only immovable feast in the next two months so I’m allowing myself that one day. Training will be moved around it and we’ll chug on.
Most worryingly so far was the long run today. Even a few months ago, when I wasn’t training for a marathon and was jumping in with Barry on his long runs for the Limerick build up, I felt so much better doing the progression runs. The routes we have been doing recently are deliberately hilly – this works for Barry and his Dublin build up and I’m hoping it’ll pay dividends for the flat course of Berlin. There were a couple of moments on the long run this week, moments where ”you know”. After 10km I felt like I was having to start to working a bit. After 20km, all I was doing was working. After 25km, I was seeing stars and I bowed out at just over 28km and 9 minutes short of the 2 hour 10 minute goal that was set. Overall, it is a solid enough long run but it wouldn’t fill me with confidence for a PB in Berlin. For next weeks long run, I will be solo and I am in two minds about hitting it hard or taking this one as a handy one, with the aim of smashing two really quality long runs while I’m in Switzerland. I’ll see how the week goes with training (and the wedding) and then decide that. Doom and gloom right now – but would you have it any other way amidst the desolate hellscape that is marathon training?
Buckets of Rain 