So I’m 8 weeks in to my training and things are going pretty well 🙂

Today I ran a 20 miler. This is a real land mark in marathon training.

Before I went out my brain was not playing the game, I was not really looking forward to it.  20 mile running alone is a real mental challenge for me. I would say that by mile 7 my body had convinced my brain that it was a good idea and I enjoyed the run! Happy me!!!

 

 

 I’ve had a new focus this week. I decided to try push my mid distance runs to marathon or sub marathon pace. So I had a 10 miler at 7.44 min mile and an 8 miler at 7.58 min mile pace. I really reaped the rewards from this today as I felt comfortable doing 20 miles at 8.27 min mile. I have been doing a bit of a snail pace on my long endurance runs in my previous marathons, and although the slow pace is good base training now at this point with only 6 weeks left until the taper I really want to put the work in and try to get my comfortable pace faster.

Mileage wise I have banked another 49 miles this week and I’m feeling very happy.

Here’s my mileage week by week….

Week 1 – 33 miles

Week 2 – 20 Miles (foot problem)

Week 3 – 36 miles

Week 4 – 38 miles

Week 5 – 12 miles (ski holiday)

Week 6 – 41 miles

Week 7 – 50 miles

Week 8 – 49 miles

Another new addition to the training this week is that I have introduced Yoga and Pilates on my running rest days to keep injury at bay and to help with the flexibility. On Tuesday I went to a reformer Pilates studio in Windsor called Powmak then on Thursday I went to Yoga for Harmony also in Windsor to do Bikram yoga. I felt great after both sessions and am really feeling the benefits. Bikram Is very mentally challenging and this is a really helpful tool for the mental challenge of running a marathon. 

 

The last new addition to my training plan is to postpone my rest day to the day after my long run. So basically I am running on a Monday after my long run on Sunday. I’m doing this to get my body used to running on tired legs and to aid my recovery. I have to say this is a great addition to the schedule and I can really feel my legs getting stronger from it.

So heading into a new week the plan is as follows….

Monday – 6 miles

Tuesday – Pilates or Yoga

Wednesday – 6 miles

Thursday – 8 miles

Friday – 10 miles

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – Half marathon race 13.1 miles

Slightly lower mileage this week as I’m racing in Surrey Half Marathon on Sunday 🙂

Looking forward to that.