Marathon Eryri Week 13 Diary : #ukrunchat @runningblogs

sarah-condorWeek 13 comes to and end and with it brings the realisation that the big day is getting closer. The miles have been building up and the final long run completed. There are some nervous moments when pondering the day ahead but I think I have the confidence in my legs to see it through.

Once again training went really well and I have been hitting the targets set in the Asics Plan. If anything then maybe it’s the lack of hill training that is going to let me down. So the final weeks will see a little bit more hill running.

Touch wood, I’ve managed to stay away from injuries and my recoveries from the long runs has been very good. Let’s hope I’ve not jinxed myself by saying that.

So here we go – this weeks breakdown for those that read it. Some may notice that I’ve started linking my Strava information into the headings of each run – in case anyone wants to look.

Tuesday – 4th October: Intervals on the track – 6 miles. 2Miles steady, 2 miles threashold, 2 miles easy pacing

Really enjoy interval training, especially on the track. I went too fast for these intervals but averaged 8:59/mile across the whole run. I don’t think I’ve ever averaged that before. Considering this was the first run after the 20 miler on Sunday I was very surprised at how easy it felt. My legs were sore and tired – especially my quads, but everything just seemed to fall into place.


Thursday – 6th October : 6 miles easy + strides

Me and my big mouth. I asked for some advice and ended up running with an IronMan up some hills. So different from the planned run. However – it was great. Plenty of advice and hints/tips to be taken on board. Really good masterclass. Ended up only running 3.6 miles but it was at a good pace.


Saturday – 8th October: Half Marathon Distance (No set pace) – over the Black Mountain

First run over the Black Mountain and back for nearly 18/24 months. What a slog. Went run/walk in the end from mile 3 and it was great. Ran the down hills at close to 10/mile. The weather was nice and the feeling of achievement at the end was worth the hard slog.


Sunday – 9th October: 3 miles at Very Easy pace

Recovery run and it didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would. Once again I ran up the Station Road (hill) for 1.5 miles before turning around and coming back down. The pace was nice and slow but it was done with no after effects from the mountain run the day before.


How does this add up for the week? 4 days of running, 3 rest days. 0 takeaway, 4 pints of lager Weekly target: 29 miles. Actual Miles run: 26.6 miles

My trainers are still going strong at 645 miles. Still comfy whilst running. No real blisters from the long runs. The width setting that Asics provides certainly does help with my foot spread. I’m confident my next trainers will be Nimbus as well.

Ummmmm anything else? Yes – finally ordered a running belt. After asking on Twitter and reading what everyone said I ordered a Solomon Energy Belt. Seems to be what I need. Hopefully it will arrive in plenty of time to try out on the weekend with another mountain run.

I’ve also changed my expectations and am now simply aiming to finish the marathon. Never mind a time. Just getting to the line will be good enough for me.

As I write this I’m gutted that I didn’t get a place in the London Marathon Ballot. Never mind. I’ll try again next year. Hopefully I’ll enter the new Cardiff Marathon that has been announced – just waiting for the details.

So – let’s ask again – Please tell me about your training – are you getting there? Is your race soon? Have you any advice? Did you get into London? Somebody talk to me. Is my template stopping people commenting?

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