Marathon Eryri – Week 9 review #runchat @runningblogs

newtrainersThere is not much to say about this week. Training went really well and I hit all of the targets I was aiming for – often faster. The diet seems to be going well with plenty of grilled turkey and brown rice. I’m not sure if I am eating enough though for those long runs so with an 18 mile long run this week I think more carbs will be needed.

So here we go – this weeks breakdown for those that read it.

Tuesday – 6th September : Intervals on the track – 1.4 mile warmup followed by 6 x 400m @ 8:32/mile pace with 200m recoveries ending with a 1.4 mile cool down.

Great run and a lot faster than I thought I could do. Here are my 400m pacings over the intervals: 7:58, 8:19, 8:17, 8:16, 8:09 and 8:25 – very happy with them even if they were too fast. Just proves to me that I can do it. HOWEVER – minor right hamstring twinge. Nothing major but it had to be iced when I got home. I will need to keep an eye on that when running faster intervals. 5 miles done in 47:21 at an average pace of 9:24/mile (affected by recoveries). Strava tells me my running trend is : Getting Faster.


Thursday – 8th September : 7 miles of 1 mile warm up, 5 miles at marathon pace (~10min/mile) with 1 mile cool down

Set off worried about the hamstring. It hadn’t bothered me but I was aware that there could be something developing. As it happens it was another positive run. Mile splits were too quick in places but otherwise hovering around the correct pace. Here are the splits for mile 2 – 5 : 9:48, 9:41, 9:55, 10:01 and 9:41. So, 7 miles in 1:09:59 at an average pace of 9:55/mile over the 7 miles.


Saturday – 10th September : Half Marathon Distance (No set pace)

The training programme didn’t specify a pace so I decided to try as much as possible stick to marathon pace. As usual the long run was cause for some anxiety especially when I set off. First mile – negative thoughts of not being able to run. I was tired, it was the end of the first week back in school – but those thoughts soon gave way to relaxed running and into the stride. By the end of the run I felt a lot better and a lot more positive. I could have carried on but 13.1 was the target. Apart from mile 2 which was hills (so I went slower), the splits over the 13 miles were:

10:03 (warm up mile), 10:25 (hills), 9:54, 9:43, 9:52, 9:44, 10:04, 9:57, 10:00, 9:57, 9:53, 9:45, 9:41 – so not bad at all. I tried to average it out across the run. I think that if I can average the pacing out in Eryri over the 26 miles then I should be around 10/mile average at the end – easier said than done of course.

So 13.1 miles complete in 2:10 at an average pace of 9:55/mile

Then I got home and saw Mo Farah run the same distance in one hour. Inspirational.


Sunday – 11th September : 4 miles at Easy pace of 9:30-10:20/mile

Recovery run and it hurt. After yesterday’s distance I walked around Neath Fayre so the legs were tired. I’d also had my Saturday takeaway and a glass of wine. So with company I ran 3.5 miles and then walked .5 to stretch tired muscles. Not the best run but not the slowest ever – except for the last mile which was half walk.


How does this add up for the week? 4 days of running, 3 rest days. 1 takeaway (chicken pathia), 1 glass of wine and a can of lager. Weekly target: 29 miles. Actual Miles run: 29.2 miles

My trainers are holding out having reached 537 miles. The heel area is wearing away but I can tape that up so it doesn’t rub. They are comfortable at the moment but I may have to change my orthotics. I look forward to some new ones in 7 weeks.

What else – oh yes, the big one of managing expectations. When training for Paris, Victor Thompson – the Clinical Sports Psychologist talked to us about having three expectations – a Gold, Silver and Bronze idea of how the run would finish. Gold being achieved at peak performance, silver at OK performance and bronze being the minimum performance we would accept. I’ve been trying to sort out my expectations for Eryri and spend a lot of time thinking about it when running. I’m not there yet but when I decide what they are I will post them. I think Gold at the moment has to be finishing LOL. Run, walk or crawl – I will finish this run.

So – let’s ask again – Please tell me about your training – are you getting there? Is your race soon? Have you any advice? Do you set expectations? What are they? I’d really enjoy hearing about them.

2 comments

  1. Don’t run too much. Your face muscles will sag and you’ll look twenty years older than you really are.
    Stop eating turkey and embrace a cruelty free vegan diet. Plant power!
    Nice trainers but they probably contain animal products. I wear Merril trainers that don’t.

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