9 Weeks Out
Fun fact: The picture above is taken from a 5am workout that incurred two nose bleeds.
Anyhoo…
Monday: Rest day from running and lifting. I made it as far as loading the bar for bench press and then got into a 30 minute conversation with a guy deadlifting opposite me. Next client turned up and that, was that. I wish that I cared even a little.
Tuesday: Double day. 5 miles in the AM and 5 in the PM. Abs felt much better after a day of rest.
Wednesday: Session. 3x15 mins at MRP off 3 mins jog recovery. Felt fine in terms of effort but HR was way higher than it would normally be at this pace. Reached as high as 165 during reps. I think this is partly to do with putting up with the discomfort in my lower abs, but it could also be that I’m fatigued. Tbh, I’m just glad that I got it done. Physio tomorrow and then a bit of a taper next week should help. Normally it wouldn’t be much of a volume/intensity reduction at this stage of the build, but I think I need it and race week is likely the best time to take it.
Email from Alan suggesting that there is no reason to go into Wokingham tired, so take tomorrow as rest day from running. You don’t have to tell me twice.
Thursday and Friday off (aside from some low volume lifting). Went to see Claire about the ab soreness. I feel like I’m being held together by sticky tape.
Saturday: Session. This one was a nice confidence booster.
Mile 1 = 8:30 per mile
Mile 2 = 7:40 per mile
Mile 3 = 6:45 per mile
Mile 4 = 6:45 per mile
Mile 5 = 6:28 per mile
Mile 6 = 6:20 per mile
Mile 7 = 6:10 per mile
Mile 8 = 6:10 per mile
The first couple of miles put me in a mind-frame of ‘Bugger, this is going to hurt”, but I started to settle in at mile 4, with HR dropping a little. Amazingly enough, when I hit mile 5 and started creeping toward threshold, I actually started to feel pretty good. It felt so insane to run the final few miles under 4 mins per k. In the past this was a speed that would be hard to hold for 3 minutes. I am looking forward to Wokingham although I’m under no illusion that 4:01 k’s for 13 miles won’t be TOUGH. If I can pb, I’m happy. Under 1:27 would be brilliant. 1:25 would be mind blowing.
Sunday Long Run: 12 miles easy.
Bittersweet.
Felt the huge benefit of a lower volume week. After the first few miles wading through legit floods and rivers, I made sure to keep HR south of 144bpm when I began to run consistently. The subsequent pace was between 4:30-4:40. It feels weird running at a speed which you assume to be a 5:20-5:30 k, only to look down at your watch and see sub 5 k’s ticking by.
The bad news is that my lower abs burned. The whole run was quite uncomfortable. Not ideal - all symptoms point toward Pubis Synthesis. Next week I’ll cross train Monday & Tuesday. Wednesday will be 5x1 mile on the treadmill followed by a couple of days of cross training. Will throw in some eccentric reverse sit ups and hopefully I’ll see some improvement.
Mileage for the week: 40