special welcome to all of you involved in spring marathons in 2011. How is your perspective ? Does it still seem a good idea ? Are you managing to train through one of the more severe winters western Europe has seen for some time ? Here's my stats to 31st Jan.
Training started with base volume on 15th November. Since then we have the following training "in the bank" :
This year I'm feeling much more fatigue than last year - in part due to a very hectic start of the year at work and also due to keeping going with the swim and run elements. I actually feel I'm progressing better on my bike than on my running. Today was the inevitable Sunday long run and I notice that the training plan is scheduling a tempo run each Saturday - so yesterday was 24m at threshold pace. I don't seem to be able to recover from that workout to be fresh for the long run. The 26k in 2h10m today was in the right pace zone but it seemed tough going. Actually I have to tell you about a podcast that's new to me : Phedippidations by "Steve Runner". The episode on the link was very special and I commend all of you to download or subscribe (for free) on iTunes. If you have long runs for marathons or half-marathons then please check this podcast out.
I have entered the Stirling Duathlon on 27th March (10k-40k-5k) and am looking forward to that. I don't feel I can treat it as an "A" race as an injury would be unthinkable with 2 weeks to Paris - but I am keen to hit the road on the bike rather than the trainer workouts. The guys from the local tri club will be there in force so that will be fun. Need to get accommodation booked.
A few "late-homes" this week gobbled-up Weds, Thurs and Friday runs - I was somewhat selfish and swam on Thursday morning - arriving late for work. But I'm glad I did & I don't think my boss will begrudge me ! This is the worst week I've had for dropping workouts - but you gotta eat : right ?
From late Feb to 1st May there are endless possibilities for the marathoner :
- Tokyo
- Barcelona
- Rome
- Tel Aviv
- Paris
- Milan
- Antwerp
- Vienna
- Zurich
- Madrid
- Boston
- London
If some of these capture your imagination you can make this happen for you in 2012 : Olympic year. Which reminds me if you are thinking of visiting any of the Olympic venues in 2012 tickets are on sale from 15th March (& briefly). Follow this link (Olympic Tickets).
So where are we in my very public quest for 3h in Paris ? Not quite in the right place I think. Training this year seems much more of a hassle and my recovery from workouts seems slower. The races I selected as "tests" for my pace were both cancelled (snow) and I'm just not sure how this is going. The thought of the race in 9 weeks and spending the time with my sister is really exciting (I sent my medical form this week - Paris asks you to get a GP to sign you off as "fit" enough to enter the race).
Perhaps it's just a spell of "mid-training blues". Or perhaps not enough sleep ? I'm not sure. Days here in the northern hemisphere are gathering pace so that will help and I'm sure 5 weeks from now the whole thing will seem much more "possible". We have the travel tickets booked and will travel on Eurostar - a high speed train from London to Paris but that's assuming the increasingly dreadful British Airways can get me from Glasgow to London. My sister is planning the stuff we do when we get there so loads of new experiences and much to look forward to. Given that I'm not injured, that Tesco paid most the fares (via Airmiles - thanks very much) & I've avoided flu this winter so far I am really really lucky. I think the problem is the 3H. So perhaps I need to think of ...finishing 1st, PB's 2nd and 3H's if all goes extra-ordinarily well (and the course is downhill).
There's a few folk on Athlinks training for Paris so I've left messages and let's see where they are in all this. And what about you ? Boston and London are so close in time to this race - are you feeling "on top" and "where you want to be" - leave a comment and let us know. Have a great week.
