Training Diary 29th April-5 May 2013

Monday Apr 29^th. HRV= 66 White.

Same as last Monday but after a tougher day.  Skipped the lunchtime run as I’m running to a meeting with the Athletics Association of Ireland after work.  Ran at an easy pace with a slight detour via a running track and did a set of 6*400 at close to my 3K race pace off 60 second recovery.  Felt fatigued after each rep but recovered quickly and finished the session with a distance of 12K.  Delayed after the meeting and missed my train home which meant a later than planned night.  Resisted the temptation to run home by going for a 1hr walk rather than hanging around the train station.

Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session and an evening race pace run.

Tuesday Apr 30^th. HRV=73 White.

Moving in the right direction.  Early Gym session of 4* Walking Lunges with 10Kg Dumbells, Hanging knee raises and a short Interval session on the Airdyne.  The Airdyne session was 5 minutes of mostly low intensity with the last 15 seconds of each minute being an all out effort.  Evening recovery run of 10.5K working on my race pace and avoiding hills.  Early night.

Plan for tomorrow is a lunchtime run of 40 mins and an evening run of 60+ mins.

Wednesday May 01^st. HRV=81 White.

Signs of recovery and a big improvement on last week which was partly caused by a night out.  Will try keep my score high while making allowances for some short fast sessions and a 5K race on Saturday.  Most sessions from now will be just enough to keep what I’ve got while still allowing recovery from what I’ve done.  Decided to skip the lunchtime opportunity to run and did some pre race shopping.  Easy 7K after work with 6* 1 min @ 5K race pace to finish and then an even easier 5K at Recovery pace with the club’s Couch to 5K crew.  A long day and although the training was easy I’m feeling tired.  Finished the night with a decent serving of Cherry Active.

Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session and maybe 2 laps of Saturday’s 5k race route.

Thursday May 02^nd. HRV=71 White.

Lower than expected but still ok and an improvement on last week plus my base line is climbing.  Feeling a slight niggle in my lower left leg and that changes my day that was being decided as I was going to bed.  Took it easy in the gym and did mostly stretching and foam rolling with some light upper body work.  Booked a massage for lunchtime and it was torture.  Didn’t think I was as bad but luckily I went and got it sorted before I got the final warning.  Repeated last night’s session of 6*1 minutes after a long warm up and all seems to be ok.

Plan for tomorrow is medium effort 30 minutes or rest.

Friday May 03^rd. HRV= 66 White.

Lower than expected and left leg feeling tender since massage.  Will rest today and don’t mind as I’ve a race tomorrow.  Took delivery of the Team Kit(see it here!) for next weekend and looking forward to trying it out.  Found it hard not to run but managed to resist the temptation and had an early night in the hope of waking before the alarm.

Plan for tomorrow is a 5K and maybe a little bit extra.

Saturday May 04th. HRV= 75 White.

Expected and would have liked a higher score but it’s a slight improvement on yesterday and a big improvement on last week.  Woke well before the alarm and took my time getting up.  Had a quick cup of coffee and went out for a short easy run before breakfast.  Home for breakfast and then took my time getting ready for the race as hosted by my club.  Arrived an hour before the start and relaxed into my usual pre race warm up before lining up just behind the start line.  My goal time was 17:30 with a worst case finish of sub 19 minutes.  Started of at a relaxed pace and this suited as the first Km included the toughest hill on the course and it would be very easy to do too much too soon and pay the price towards the end.  On the descent of the hill I got caught amongst the pack and found it hard to make a break and by the time i did it was straight into a headwind and I’d lost contact with the group up ahead.  I tried to make up some ground and slowly pulled away from my pack but failed to make up the lost ground.  Hitting the last Km I felt very comfortable and tried to get uncomfortable but the extra gear wasn’t there.  Crossed the finish line way off a Personal Best but it’s my fastest 5K this year and I’m not a 5K runner.  Having said that I won my age group category which was a nice surprise and a confidence boost for next week.

Plan for tomorrow is unplanned.

Sunday May 05^th. HRV= 67 Amber.

An excuse to take it easy but it’s a beautiful day outside and a shame to waste it.  Used the opportunity to practice my pacing for next weekend and had a great run.  Took about 10 minutes to get into a rhythm and then I was locked on.  Ran for 1.5hrs and confidence has increased that little bit more.

Plan for tomorrow is a lie in and maybe a pre breakfast easy run followed by an evening interval session of 3-5 *1K.  This is similar to a session I did this far out from the 24-hr race in Poland.

Weekly HRV Summary

Not sure how the Taper is going as there’s always self doubt at this time but on the plus side my base line is creeping upwards.  Felt a slight niggle in my lower left leg towards the middle of the week and a massage to loosen out my legs was a lot more painful than I’d expected.

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=31929

Training Diary 15-21st April 2013

Monday Apr 15^th. HRV= 75 White.

Better than yesterday but feel like I’m playing catch up and I’m unsure as to what I should do over the next few days.  The weekend just gone should have been the peak of my training but now I feel like I need to extend the peak into this week.  Lunchtime 10K in my aerobic zone followed by a running commute home at my 24-hr Race Pace.  Took a lot of effort to keep the pace slow especially during those moments when another runner passes by at a pace just slightly faster.

Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session and a lunchtime Recovery run.  Will add in a second run if time allows and I feel able for it.

Tuesday Apr 16^th. HRV=80 White.

A good result and I’m now glad that I took the weekend off as it’s better to miss 2 days training when needed than to miss a week of training recovering from illness or overtraining.  Early Gym session testing my 1 Rep Max for the back squat, lost concentration and stopped at 75kg before finishing the session with 3 sets of walking lunges with Dumbbells.  Easy Lunchtime 10K with legs feeling tired and heavy and a similar evening run of 10K with tired legs.  Looking forward to starting the Taper.

Plan for tomorrow is an evening run of 20K +.

Wednesday Apr 17^th. HRV=68  White.

A bit lower than expected and I have the DOMS so the plan changes ever so slightly.  Didn’t feel like I maxed on the squats yesterday but I’m now glad I stopped when I did.  Lunchtime run to loosen my legs out and started to move well after 2K and finished with 11k in just under 50 mins.  Much better than expected but legs started to stiffen up again in the afternoon although I still felt I’d be ok for an interval session in the evening which I went and set up.  Plan changed again after getting home and changed to run.  On my way to the track I knew my legs just didn’t have it in them for a fast turnover and the interval session was then changed to an easy / steady paced road run.  Session became 13K over a hilly route and into a cross or headwind for the most of it.  Not the most enjoyable run and if I didn’t have company it wouldn’t have happened.

Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session plus a lunchtime 10K and hopefully a second run if time allows.

Thursday Apr 18^th. HRV=73 White.

Early Gym session of Power Clean with 40Kg and 5 sets of 3*5 Strict Press @ 30Kg + 4 chin ups.  Shorter than planned run of 8K as my legs are still feeling tired and I’m still recovering from the DOMS and don’t want to slow the recovery too much.

Plan for tomorrow is medium effort 30-40K run.

Friday Apr 19^th. HRV= 65 White.

My plan for today has slightly changed and instead of the longer run I opt for a shorter but faster session of just under 20K with 14K at Tempo Pace which included a 10K split of under 38 mins.  Added in a second recovery recovery run a few hours later of 6K.  A good day.

Plan for tomorrow is 15-25K.

Saturday Apr 20^th. HRV= 61 Amber.

Expected and rather than run early I postpone the run until the afternoon to extend my recovery.  Went out at my planned race pace over a hilly route and picked the pace up halfway through even though I knew I shouldn’t.

Plan for tomorrow is a 20K + Run at my planned race pace.

Sunday Apr 21^th. HRV= 62 Red.

Not what I wanted but knew it was possible.  Today is the end of my peak week and tomorrow is a rest day so my plan for today stands but I limit the distance to 20K and keep my HR at lower end of Aerobic and my pace will be no faster than race pace.  This is planned over reaching.

Plan for tomorrow is a rest day and coaching.

Weekly HRV Summary

A good comeback from last weekend and overall a good week with a mix of sessions / distances & intensities.  Tomorrow is a rest / recovery day and the Taper begins.

Let the Taper begin..

With Eoin Keith Connemara 20111.

Getting the Taper right can be the hardest part of a training programme and the trick is to do just enough without doing too much. Looking back over my training diary and the build up to previous 24-hr races I noticed that last year I took part in the Trail World Championships only 2 weeks before the Energia 24-hr race in Belfast and that seemed to work well so today I took the opportunity to do my last long training run with Eoin Keith along the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain way. 

J.B Malone  memorial. Photo Alan Rowlette.

My plan for next week is a sports massage and at least one track session of 4*1K intervals with race paced runs on other days of up to 1 hour and I'll avoid any routes with hills.

Preparing to Taper.

Photo by Alan Rowlette.

It's been a tough 2 weeks with a lot of quality sessions including double days, gym sessions and track work but I'm glad to say it all went to plan and I'm now preparing to Taper.  My plan for next week is reduced volume with increased intensity which will include steady runs of up to 1 hour and maybe a track session.
This day last week I ran the Celbridge AC 5K and finished in 18:05,  way off my PB but still a 2 second improvement on the Donadea 5K from 2 weeks earlier and it show's that at least I'm not going backwards with the training.


  

Peaking again. Again.

In anticipation of my next race I'm midway through a 2 week peak which consists of a high volume week at low intensity followed by a lower volume week of higher intensity finishing with a 5K race.  Recovery since the 24-hr race has gone very well and thats one of the benefits of not getting caught up in a race especially when there's a race of more importance so close.  Heart Rate profiles in the attached are not exact as there were quite a few unexplained peaks & troughs.

Saturday.

This run was a recce for  Sunday's run as I needed to work out timing and distance to join up with my club mates doing a shorter trail run as it meant a lift home.

Sunday

Mentally & Physically this was a tough run as I ran it on tired legs following Saturday's run with deadlines to meet.  Very happy with how it went and finished knowing I could have kept going.  I'll decide what I do tomorrow when I wake up.

Donadea 5K.  27/07/12

Attached photo from a recent race thanks to James Shelley of LeCheile AC.  I ran this race during my recovery and was hoping to finish in approx 20 minutes running by feel.  I wasn't sure what to expect so soon after the 24-hr race but after 1K I felt good and stayed steady but didn't get carried away.  Approaching 4K I decided to push a bit and then got caught in a race with another guy and we stayed with each other until the last 400M and I happily crossed the finish line in 18:07.  Not a PB but better than expected and a sign that my recovery has gone well.

Ballybunion 10K, 2012.

Standing on the start line with 5 minutes to go and I'm want to be anywhere else.  No complaints with my training and my recent '10K paced' 5K race in Clongowes aimed at this race meant I was in good condition but yesterday didn't go well at all.  Missed my dinner and ate mostly junk out of hunger plus I had a bit of a barney (argument) which went on and on, didn't sleep too well and I know I'm a bit stresed thinking about the 100K Worlds.  Woke up on race morning feeling bloated and stomach wasn't great but I was consoled by knowing that I usually race well when not feeling too good which is brought on by the body's fight or flight mode as it's your body's way of preparing for what's ahead but I think today is more stress related.

Went for my usual pre race run trying to convince myself that all was ok but my heart rate was very high and seeing it so high probably made it go higher so I shortened the run rather than making a bad situation worse.  The late start in Ballybunion allowed time for a proper breakfast and I finished eating at 11am for  a 2pm start to prevent any stomach related problems.

And we're off! I'm pacing myself today rather than racing but having said that my goal time of 35 minutes is faster than last year's winning time so I knew I'd be at the business end of the race.  The race has a very fast start for a short distance down main street before turning sharply right and heading out along the coast.  I took off with the lead group and settled in at the tail end and tried to get comfortable being uncomfortable.  Leaving the town there's a long drag which seems to go on forever and then after a slight leveling it drops for for close to 2K with some undulating sections.  it's a relief reaching the downhill and although your legs temporarily feel that little bit better it's no relief to your head as you know with it being an out and back course that you must turn around and pay back each of these downhill steps.
On the approach to the turnaround I can see the lead runner running back towards me and he's looking very comfortable.  I miss the turning point and know I have so I start shout for confirmation and end up adding maybe 15M to my race and by the time I'm back on course I'm in 4th or 5th position.  I dig deep and try to get back where I think I should be and that's in fighting place for 2nd - 4th position based on how the race was panning out and not being presumptuous.
I get back in with the pack and try recover from the unplanned burst and soon begin trading places with one other runner who always seems to have the extra kick to push the pace on.  I take a chance and follow a kick and then maintain it as we hit a hill shortly after 7K and that was the last I saw of him.  I didn't know how close he was and I didn't want to look behind.  In the distance up ahead I could see the race leader and I was willing him to turn around to show some sign of weakness that would make me think it was worthwhile to make the extra effort.  I felt like the hunter chasing his prey but also felt like the prey being hunted down, the choice was to push on too soon and possibly burn out or stay steady and not getting caught.
I stayed steady and on the final approach of maybe 300M to the finish line someone shouted 'yer grand, there's no one behind you' so I kicked to the finish and crossed the line comfortably in 2nd place with a new PB of 35:09.
Compared with my last time running this race back in 2010 I was over 1 minute faster for the same average Heart Rate of 159 bpm.

1st: Tom O'Connor. 34:19
2nd: John O'Regan. 35:09
3rd: Nial Shanahan. 35:44

Race Results.

Getting ready for Donadea.

It's not really a Taper but I have eased back ever so slightly and included a rest day.  My end of week Long Run was just over 20K and all other runs were between 10-18K which included one steady run of 15K and an 18K run from work to home with 6* 800M intervals in the middle.  My Gym sessions continued as normal but the workload was changed with a slight increase in advance of a step back next week before increasing again the following week.
Tomorrow I have a Massage at lunchtime and this will be followed by an evening recovery run and I'll decide what to do on Tuesday depending on how I feel.

Donadea 50K, First Race of the year.

Donadea 50K / Irish Championships 2012.

With less than 3 weeks to go I'm undecided about whether to Taper or just keep going as I am and maybe substitute one or two of my steady runs with some tried and tested speed work.  It gets harder as you get closer to race day as you know you should do less but feel like you should do more.

I don't expect to be at the business end of this race as I don't have the leg speed for these shorter Ultras but that's not to say I won't be trying and the least I'm expecting is a decent improvement on my finish time from last year.  Training has gone quite well but for one reason or another my distance is slightly down on last year but I have still managed a few decent long runs so there's no excuses.

Ready to Race / Trail World Championships 2011

Course Elevation.

Race day is almost here and my transition from 24-hr race training to Trail / hill race training has gone as well as I could have wished for.  I've trained hard and put the same effort into my recovery and I'm now ready as I can be.  My bag is packed and as always I have everything I need except the excuse :)

Since last week all of my runs were at a heart rate of less than 70% of my max which is intense enough to maintain what I've got while still allowing rest and recovery in advance of the race effort.  

Training on the Dublin Mountain Way

Starting the Taper.

Trail Running in the Alps

My original focus for this year was the 24-hr World Championships in Brugg Switzerland which was cancelled so I then decided to sign up for a 24-hr Race in Belfast on July 22nd as it was a continuation of how I was already training.  The training for this event consisted mainly of long slow runs based on a heart rate level well inside my aerobic zone and close to what I would usually class as a recovery run.

This all changed with my late selection for the Irish Squad to compete in the World Trail Championships as a chance to run for Ireland will always take preference over any other race.  I wouldn't call myself a Trail Runner but I am quite strong in the hills as I make sure to include a decent trail run in my training routine at least once every 2 weeks and because I'm aware of these events and the possibility of being selected I always train to be event specific at short notice.

In between events I train at the higher end of my Aerobic Threshold and would train almost every day with as many double days as I can manage without actually planning them and taking whatever opportunity might arise.  To make the transition from 24-hr to Trail Running I first of all substituted as many runs as I could with Trail runs and spent as much time as possible in the hills.  To maximise my time I tried to run for maximum ascent with minimum distance to work on my climbing muscles and also included hill sprints on short hills and longer slower intervals on longer hills.

To peak with my training I had a massage today which went better than planned and I was very happy with the lack of pain which tells me I must be doing something right.  Following on from the massage I did an 18K run at slightly faster than my Aerobic pace which also went well.

Last week I ran an un-tapered 5K with a new PB of 17:26 and the recent inclusion of running specific Crossfit training with  Stephen Weinmann & John Belton at Performance Therapy Ireland has without doubt kept me injury free and made me stronger.

Tapering and a few short races

Le Cheile Ladies & Gents Senior Teams

The weekend of the Donadea 50K marked the start of my Taper and to finish of that weekend I took part in the Kildare Road Race Championships Intermediate & Masters which was a short but fast 6K.  I was conscious of the previous days race being still in my legs and was prepared to drop out if needs be and planned on running easy to start rather than going all out and deciding on my pace based on how I felt after the first kilometer.  Didn't feel too good running to the start line during my warm up but felt good once the race started and pushed on to finish in 6th place and 1st over 40 in 21:53 and to make things even better our team finished 3rd with the ladies team also finishing 3rd.  Only seconds slower than last year and much better than I expected.

Le Cheile Ladies Team

Training volume has since reduced with lots of shorter but slightly faster runs of around 10K with the occasional longer run which I'm scaling down from 30K as the ACP gets closer.

Today I ran in the Kildare Senior Road Race Championships, a 10K which was hosted by my own club Le Cheile.  With the recent reduced volume I'm feeling better than usual as the legs get a chance to rest and recover so I knew there was a chance of doing well in this race but I also needed to keep my eye on the bigger picture and think about the race I'm training for in 2 weeks time.  I declared my time of 36mins to 36:30 before the race thinking that this was realistic and wouldn't be causing any unnecessary  stress or post race recovery.

I was hoping that a definite lead group would break away from the start and the temptation to race just wouldn't be there but my conservative fast pace still had me with the lead pack so with less than 1K covered I made the decision to drop back and run as planned.

It became obvious after the first half that I could have stayed with the lead pack as they never got further than 30M away and I even made up a few places as 2 guys fell back.  I was now in fifth place and contemplating making a push within the last 2K but decided against it and in the approach to the last 1K as the race doubled back towards the finish I could see that the lead pack had split and all were running at a faster pace and it was faster than I could have managed and I was glad that I held back as it would have been for nothing and would have cost me.
Finished in fifth place with 36min17sec and the team finished in 2nd place.  My time was 22 seconds faster than my win in Ballybunion last year so all in all it was a good day.
Garmin Connect for 10K Race.

An Easy Week

Distance for week=30K
Average Pace = 5:15 min per K
HR zone = 120-130bpm
Avg HR = 123bpm

I had planned on doing a little bit more than I managed for this week but the usual last minute preparations meant missing a few sessions but that's life. Monday was an assisted stretching session with John Belton and Jarlath got some tips on how to stretch my quads and hamstring during the race and this meant a rest day. Tuesday I had some last minute shopping in the Great Outdoors to stock up on Nuun and Powerbars which meant another rest day. The rest of the week went ok with a short easy run on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a total of 30K.

Tonight I finish off my packing in advance of the flight tomorrow afternoon and if I manage to wake up early enough I might head out for a short easy run. I won't set the alarm for an early start and will only head out if I wake up early and naturally as I think the sleep is just as important at this stage and the run won't make me any fitter but it will help with a good start to the day.

Here's a brief update on my totals since January 01st.

Distance = 4000K
Average pace = 5:15 per K
Rest / Recovery days = 44
Longest Running Streak = 680K over 37 days
Longest single run = 205K (24-hr World Championships, May)
Longest other run = 100K (Anglo Cetlic Plate, June)
Longest training run = 50K (ran 3 of these)

Support Crew.

Crew Meeting

Running a race of this distance and duration requires a bit more than just putting one foot in front of the other and having a dedicated support crew can make the difference between success and failure.  With 75 checkpoints along the route and the option to leave a drop bag at every checkpoint it might make it sound possible to be self sufficient but if your bag is 1 of possibly 400 drop bags it can be very time consuming and frustrating trying to find your stuff.  Having a friendly face to even hand over your food can make all the difference and save the precious minutes as 2 minutes at half the checkpoints can cost over an hour and thats before toilet breaks and gear changes.

We have a plan and have worked out what we think will be the most time effective system and we know from hour to hour what I will eat and wear.  The plan is cast in stone but will be subject to change once the race starts:)

John Belton, New You.

From previous races of similar duration or terrain I know that my hamstring tends to tighten up so today Jarlath and I had an assisted stretching session with John Belton and he gave us a stretching routine that should take less than 3 minutes.  We practiced a routine whereby I run into the checkpoint and hit the deck onto a laid out Yoga mat and Jarlath will know what to do.

No run today, I'm Tapering!

Tapering Week 1 and 12 days to go

Distance = 95K over 5 days with longest run of 25K to finish off week and a double day totaling 30K.

At this stage I'm doing just enough to keep my legs moving and I'm paying even more attention to my rest and recovery.  Each run finishes with an ice bath or at least a cold bath and I'm starting to fine tune my diet by cutting back on anything I don't need.
Most of today was spent sorting out my kit and race day food which I hope to have packed by Wednesday and i'll list the items in more detail during next week.

A run in the woods.

Yesterday I took part in the Donadea 10K in Donadea Forest Park, Co.Kildare. Not ideal preparation for my 24hr race next weekend but this was a race I was looking forward to all year having enjoyed it so much last year. To fit it in without messing up my training and taper I decided to use it as a substitute for my weekly interval session and I made sure to stay within my Interval heart rate zone and not get carried away. That wasn't a problem as all the recent long slow runs have certainly slowed me down but all in all it was a good run and I was recovered enough this morning for an easy 11 miler with Tony before breakfast.

Getting the balance right

This week has been a busy one with over 11hrs of training which had to fit around my work and family life. The runs varied in duration from 1hr - 4hr with the longest runs used to experiment with different food items that I plan on using during the 24 hr race.
At this moment I'm not thinking about distance and just running for time knowing i can't make that time pass any quicker which is what it'll be like in London.
The amount of training you can do is in some way determined by the amount of training you can recover from and for that reason I don't think my long run will be much longer than 4hrs, at most it'll be 5hrs.
To give it my best shot I think it best to arrive at the start line well rested, injury free, slightly undertrained rather than overtrained, fully hydrated and well fueled. For that reason my taper will start during next week and will include some dietary adjustments and a sleep plan.

Week 11

A random photo from the Dingle Marathon course.

I got the all clear to start back training last Tuesday but with one thing or another it was Thursday before I got out and that didn't go too well. I had arranged to meet up with Tony after Athletics training which meant dropping the kids home and then running towards Tony's house but I ended up running directly from the running track forgetting that I was wearing my old running shoes. Usually I wear my old retired running shoes on the track when coaching and save my proper shoes for the actual running.

Finishing the run 8 miles later I felt some discomfort in my left shin and thought 'here I go again', got out the foam roller and spent 30 minutes massaging my calf muscles and was right as rain the next morning.

I finished off the week with an easy 10 mile run along the Royal Canal keeping my heart rate below 148 bpm and running out and back for 5 miles each way. The difference between the out and back leg was 4 seconds which I was happy with. I was told to keep my heart rate at this intensity and because the canal is flat and easier underfoot than concrete it made an ideal route for a return to training.

Plan for next week is an easy / recovery run on Monday of less than 50 minutes with my heart rate below 138 bpm. Not sure about Tuesday yet but will do an easy 40-50 mins on Wednesday with the Le Cheile meet & train group. Travelling to Kerry on Thursday but hope to do an easy run beforehand and Friday will be a relaxing day starting with a lie in (I hope).

Week 10

There's only 12 days until the Dingle Marathon and the forced rest over the past week has me feeling slightly unfit and under prepared. I'm now hoping that the few days off will be just what I needed and with a bit of luck i'll get the all clear to start back training on Tuesday. All going well my plan for next week is to do a few short but fast sessions to get my legs used to running fast again and maybe i'll finish the week with an easy 10 miles joining the lads for the last few miles of their Long Slow Run in advance of Dublin.

My plan for today was a 10K road race in Punchestown for Kildare Athletes and as hard as a 10 K race can be when you're running it, sometimes it's harder when you're not running.

Check out this photo on Flickr entitled Human Ants.

Monitoring Progress

Here's where the Heart Rate Monitor and the associated software comes into use. This evening I ran a 5K race and used my Heart Rate to determine effort rather than pace and when compared to a race of the same distance over a similar course I can see that I'm running faster for the same effort. My Heart Race average was the same for both races and my max was 1 bpm shorter for tonight's race. Rather than Tapering for this race which is the norm I decided to train through it and knowing that I went into it after a heavy few days of consistent training I know I'm improving. The improvement in time might seem small at 10 seconds but it's 10 seconds in the right direction.

Tomorrow I will run an easy 6-8 miles and might do the same again on Friday in advance of a 5Mile race on Saturday. Again I will run not at an all out effort but stay within the same Heart Rate zone as today between 162-172 bpm but will think on my feet and take a step back if needed.

Meet the Pacers

Well its that time again and tomorrow I head to London to take part in the London Marathon as part of the Runner's World Pacing Team.  My mileage this week was relatively low with one short Tempo run of 5 miles at 6min30 pace.  I felt that I needed this short fast run to loosen my legs up and make up for not fitting in my usual long and semi long runs.  You will maintain endurance with some speed work but you won't build speed from endurance work.