Dublin Marathon, Mile 3

Sunday, March 24, 2013

4 weeks till marathon day

WEEK 11 -
My legs were feeling it a lot after the Frankfurt Half, so i didnt do much training in the week following it. I managed a 45 minute run on thursday and but took it easy after that as i knew i had a big session on Sunday planned. So when Sunday came around i was well rested for the trail run in The Pfalz forest area in Germany. Its about 40 minute drive from my house towards Kaiserslautern and is a very hilly area; great for trail running and even cross country skiing in the winter.
There are loads of trails listed on boards and marked on trees and maps so i borrowed a map from a mate of mine and picked a route from Seebach down to Mainzertal. I estimated it to be around 20-25km route.

The trails were very well marked out and i managed a 30 km run in approx 4 hours 10 mins. Not very fast but the hills were big and some of the trails were snow covered which made them slippery, but it was a great run.

total time week 11 -  4 hours 55 mins.

WEEK 12 -.

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Gym session 1 hr 30 mins
Wednesday - run without my Garmin and heart rate and ipod. Was nice! 30 mins approx.
Thursday - Gym session. 40 mins on the bike, then 4 km run.
Friday - 5 km run in the Alps, then skiing
Saturday - skiing
Sunday - drive home.

Total time - 06 hours 45 mins.

Went to Gerlos in Austria this weekend. Had a great time and done some great skiing! Last trip of the 2013 season. I only went twice this year due to work commitments but it was a great way to end the season and will look forward to going back to Gerlos next year.

Only 4 weeks to go till the next marathon - London! Got a big 10 hour training week ahead which is going to be a tight fit...


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Updates and a half marathon

Week 7 - the week after the half marathon was pretty low key. 3.5 hours in total and missed the big Sunday session.

Week 8 - a bit better and managed to get in 6 hours 45 mins with a mixture of running, gym and biking. Was meant to be a big Sunday bike ride up to 4 hours on the Sunday but missed it again as my parents were over in Germany and so spent some time with them.

Week 9 - 2 hours 25 mins only. Missed the Sunday session AGAIN, but was in a wedding in the UK (my mate Liam) and didn't bring my runners as i knew it was going to be a big session. ( i was right!).

So, week 10. Finally back in proper training mode after a few bumpy weeks. Up til Sunday it was an easy week of 3 hours or so of running but today was the "real" Frankfurt Half Marathon. (Real, as in i arrived there a few weeks ago to run the race but found out i was a month early). Anyway, blue skies and warm weather were on the cards, plus the potential to get in an official sub 2 hour time and a PB along the way.

My trainer Darryl advised me to go out quick and get a good time buffer under my belt in case i slowed up in the second half. So, i went out at a pace of 5.15 per km which is 30 seconds more than i normally run. Anyway, all was good till around KM11 when i had to take a walk as my legs were really tired. I had to stop again at around KM 12.5 and then got worried that i had overdone it an wasnt looking forward to the 9km run home. But after some gel shots and a drink i got my mojo back and carried on with good form.
The run finished in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt and I managed to make it home in 1 hour 56 mins - a personal best for me and the first official sub 2 hour half! Very happy with that.

All is good at the moment with my feel and legs so onwards and upwards for London next month!

Weigh in - 89.9
total time this week - 5 hours 6 mins.
Need to work on nutrition to get the weight down.