Tuesday - Reps - 800m x 6 with 90 second recoveries
Warm up effort 2:45
proper effort TW 2:31
proper effort HW 2:36
double recovery then another set of 3x800
real hard effort TW 2:26
real hard effort HW 2:34
warm down effort 2:37
I was intent on making 5:00 pace for these reps. Managed with my fourth and fifth - 5 minutes exactly.
Wednesday - very easy pace. Five or six miles probably
Thursday - six miles effort run. Felt absolutely great for this run. As usual my aim was to beat 6 minute miling. Gusty tailwind for the three outward miles required a faster target, -we decided 5:45 was suitable and made 5:43, 5:47 and 5:52 for each successive mile to reach the turning point in 17 minutes 22 seconds. The wind slowed progress on the way back but I still ducked inside 6min/miling to finish in 35:05 (5:51 pace). Darren back to normal after his poor form t'other week. He was with me until the turn then only just 30 metres or so behind at 5 miles when he eased up to jog the final mile.
My idea behind this session is to run pretty hard but not flat out. I was certainly well within my abilities for the first 4 or 5 miles tonight and so am delighted to achieve this time. Based on tonight and also running so much better at Skiddaw last weekend, surely I can run 15 seconds per mile faster than this in a race situation and get my first 34 minute 10k for several years? Just need to find a not-to-hilly midweek 10k somewhere...
Tonight was my last day of 'messing about' training for a long time. This Sunday it is 12 weeks until Loch Ness Marathon and next Tuesday sees the beginning of my pre-planned schedule. The sessions should be manageable as they are very similar to what I have been doing since London - but they do get progressively tougher as each week passes. I suspect the Wednesdays may prove the toughest to force myself out the door for 8-10 miles easy pace (sub 7) as I have often ran just 4 or 5 miles in the park with Scamp (run with dog = lots of stopping for wees and to throw sticks).
Despite not even having started my Marathon schedule yet I am already looking forward to the final racing period of the year when we have the Derwent and Brampton 10 milers (November). I should be recovered from the Marathon and hopefully will still be enjoying this renewed fitness. That's not to say I 'm not looking forward to Loch Ness - I'm relishing the chance to run my second-fastest-ever 26.2 miler but a marathon is akin to a lot of eggs precariously placed in a fragile basket, whereas 10 milers and 10ks can be done every few weeks so afford a greater chance of a top performance.
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