Wednesday 31 March 2010

Let the taper begin.

This week I begin the taper. The previous week ended with a sixteen mile run with ten miles at projected marathon pace. The splits of those ten miles averaged 06:44 with an average HR of 159. I was quite pleased with this, especially the HR. The Pfitzinger and Douglas schedule seems a little ambitious to me and I am considering shaving an additional ten per cent off each week, resulting in respective taper week mileage totals of fifty, thirty-eight and twenty-five miles.
I also received my number pick up card and welcome and instructions brochure this week, making it all seem much more real.

Mileage w/c 22 March: 56

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Corkman in Kenya

Interesting article about an Irish cleric who has trained some of Kenya's best runners. I wonder is his approach quite as unsophisticated as he says and if there something to be said for the Kalenjin lifestyle's influence on their success. Nurture over nature?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2010/0322/1224266807270.html

Sunday 21 March 2010

Anticipation

I am now four weeks from Boston and feeling relatively good about things. I have not done any races in this training cycle, which is something new. I am unsure how this will affect me on the day. Hopefully it will make me more motivated and fresh.
My primary consideration at the moment is how to approach my taper. I miscalculated my Pfitzinger and Douglas programme and find myself with an additional week; I will use this as a chance to experiment and compose my own quasi initial taper week/additional training week. This week I completed sixty-five miles. Next week I will drop it to between fifty-five and sixty. The week after next is the beginning of the taper and mileage will reduce further. I am looking forward to the taper as my training is feeling a little flat and I feel a little tired. I am anticipating this is an ideal way to enter a taper, and that the taper will reap what I have sown over the last few bitterly cold months.

Mileage w/c 15 March: 65

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Training update

A brief update on training. Last week was a cutback week, which a weekend away and a cold and cough made more pronounced. The highlight of the week was a nineteen mile long slow run on Friday morning. The weather has been excellent in March.
The previous week included my longest marathon pace run; eighteen miles with fourteen miles at marathon pace, which translated as average splits of 06:43. I was tired at the end and wonder about maintaining this pace for an additional twelve miles but I am hoping a few more weeks of training and a taper will provide the required preparation.

Mileage w/c 8 March: 41
Mileage w/c 1 March: 70