Marathon Training: Week 9

Week 9

Monday (29^th June) and Tuesday I soldiered on at work but felt horrendous, by the Wednesday a trip to the doctors confirmed I had a serious bug along with tonsillitis…… not ideal for marathon training.

Thursday (2^nd July) I took the decision to pull out of the Wellington Marathon due to take place on Sunday (5^th July).

I am devastated to do so as I hate not completing a challenge and find it very annoying after planning and training for this for so long. But that is life, better to rest up and recover than risk long-term damage.

On the plus side it means I will just have to come back one day and fulfil my dream of doing a marathon on every continent.

Marathon Training: Week 8

Week 8

By Monday (22ndJune) I had started to come round but still felt fragile with a soar throat and lack of energy.

Tuesday was no better but with a flight to catch I pulled myself together.

Throughout the rest of the week I was up and down, some days managing to go to work, others struggling to get out of bed, the whole time I never managed a run.

By the weekend I was no better, I’m only 25 years old so a few days partying should not have taken such a toll.

Marathon Training: Week 7

Week 7

Monday 15^th June –Rest Day

Tuesday 16^th June

Flying over to Perth today to visit family on holiday. Keith Fearnley was very understanding that I was catching up with family and friends so just told me to run for 30-40minutes as many times as I can through the week to keep my fitness up.

Wednesday 17^th June

Distance: 7.09km

Location: Mandurah, Perth

Straight away I noticed the rise in temperature over in Western Australia compared to the East, even early in the morning.

Where my family was based was right down on the sea front, a beautiful location to go and explore.

Off I set along the beach road, my legs were tired perhaps from the flight so I found it difficult to really get moving, but decided just to enjoy my new surroundings and see how far I could go.

20minutes out and 20minutes back was suitable for me, so I stuck to it, not wanting to overdo any training.

Thursday 18^th June

Distance: 6.68km

Location: Mandurah, Perth

Hoping that the previous days run would have cleared my legs I decided to go off a little quicker early in the morning.

Once again I followed the beach track but then diverted on to the main road as the gradient was quite steep and I wanted to push myself a little further on a hill. I managed but still felt weakness in my legs from the flight; this is something I will have to seriously consider when flying to Wellington for the marathon.

Immediately after I reached the top, I turned around to head back home; I was on holiday after all so 30minutes total was quite enough.

The pace was quicker than the previous day but still nowhere near the times I had managed when in Altona over previous weeks, no need to worry though I still felt strong in my running.

Friday 19^th June

Distance: 7.84km

Location: Mandurah, Perth

Sticking to what Keith told me I set off again early morning to complete another 40minutes.

The scenery really is stunning, magnificent houses overlooking a beautiful beach; it really is easy to start daydreaming when running in a place like this. That is until you stumble across a couple of kangaroos, you soon start to focus what is around you and tread carefully then.

40minutes did the trick; I was getting stronger and felt fresh for every run.

Saturday 20^th June – Rest day with 60minutes walking

Sunday 21^st June

This is where it all started to go wrong!

I met up in the city with a few friends on Saturday night and after a few drinks, Sunday was a write-off, which is unusual for me as I don’t usually suffer from hangovers.

Marathon Training: Week 6

Week 6

Monday 8^th June – Rest day

Tuesday 9^th June – Rest day with 60minutes walking

Wednesday 10^th June

Distance: 6.48km

Location: Altona

A new challenge, just what I needed to keep motivation high and give me something to target.

I took up the advice of my coach Keith Fearnley along with some fellow running enthusiasts and signed up for the Wellington Marathon in New Zealand on Sunday 5^th July.

With just under a month to go and training going fairly well, a marathon on the Oceania continent was in-sight.

This run was a short one designed to get my legs moving again after the previous long run and at 60% effort it meant I could relax in to the pace and really start to think about my plan ahead in order to conquer Wellington.

Thursday 11^th June

Distance: 9.62km

Location: Altona

With fresh enthusiasm I decided that I would take my running clothes to work so that I could get changed straight after my shift and hit the road.

It was an absolutely beautiful day, the sun was out so thought I best make use of it and run along the Pier then on to the Esplanade and back around to my favourite spot, Altona Hill.

KF had instructed me to do 10x100m sprints up the hill and walk down for recovery, the first few I flew up then things started getting tough and I could feel it in the tops of my legs.

The last two sprints I gave everything I had left to make sure I was getting the best out of my session.

After the hill reps I completed a number of movements to help activate other muscles including skipping, side steps, high knees, butt kicks and jumping jacks.

Because of al these slow movements and the walking recovery my pace had dropped a lot on Nike+ but the encouraging signs were that I was able to bring my pace right down again on my last two kilometres.

Friday 12^th June

Distance: 6.01lm

Location: Altona beach

My shins were sore today probably from the hill reps and having to walk approx. 15-20km at work, it was tough going but it all helps build strength and character.

My determination did not falter and off I set as soon as I finished work, once again another sunny day in paradise.

With my shins a bit soar, I decided against more hill reps and instead did eight lengths of Altona beach, back and forth on the sand with the soft cushioning helping each time I land.

I could really feel it in my thighs, plus my pace was really slow (but not too important)

With 3km left to get home, the concrete was a welcome return and my pace soon increased dramatically.

Saturday 13^th June

Run scheduled but not completed due to extended day at work and tiredness.

I must average approximately between 15km-20km at work per a 7-8 hour shift so the movement today will still help in training.

Sunday 14^th June

Distance: 9.38km

Location: Altona

Long run scheduled but due to late call to cover someone at work, I only had time to run for 50minutes, still better than nothing.

For 50minutes it was fast paced and I felt really good throughout. It was another glorious day and with plenty of other runners out along the Esplanade it really was a shame I had to cut it short.