This week I embarked on my 18 week training plan that will hopefully take my up to my Autumn marathon ready to run not only a new PB, but a rather large PB. My plan will be from the 8020 running book. The plan is broken into phases as I may have mentioned before and starts with a foundation phase, a few short slow runs to get the legs moving, progressively longer long runs on Sunday’s and the odd interval session.
My week didn’t start great as I missed the Tuesday run. I just didn’t have the motivation to do it after lots of little jobs after work. I managed to get in the rest of the weeks sessions which was good.
I got back into my cycling to and from work this week and another colleague has joined the bike club, and also the Strava club. This means the cycles to work have taken on a more focused edge which is good as it will motivate me a bit more. So Wednesday to Friday I cycled in and back before my running session.
The Friday session was an interval session of 5 x 2 minutes with 2 mins jog recovery. It was tough. I knew it would be tough. I wanted it to be tough. I really feel that my lack of these run types really came to bite me in my marathon early this year. I did some but think I lacked the quality. It’s a bit hard to pace, push and maintain when you are on your own and can just stop. I will keep these up and I will accept the pain they will bring for the rewards they will also deliver.
Finished the week with a steady 8 miler. Not anywhere near the pace I want but will try to remember that there is a long way to go and I can add pace in later on. This is something I want to add to my long runs so that I know what to expect on the day.
Another area I want to work on is my all round strength and conditioning so spent the week looking at a few different exercises I can do at home that should help improve my running. Still not sure how to incorporate them into an evening which is taken up with running but will develop it as I guy. Taken a few measures that should allow me to see some sort of progress. I’ll chat about these as they evolve.
17 weeks to go!
The Personal Best Quest 