7 of 16: Re-ignite

Melbourne Marathon 2015 - Week 7 of 16

I am well into the middle section of the marathon training program and it is time to get the big, hard work done. After an easier (?) week last week culminating in the City to Surf race I need to quickly get back into the swing of the full marathon program. The challenge is do this this whilst allowing enough recovery from what is a very tough event and one that tends to trash your legs for a week or so. My mantra this week will be 'Re-ignite' as that is what I feel I need to do to get back onto the main track after my little diversion!

Tuesday 11 August

After Sunday's City to Surf my legs were not yet ready for a hard interval session so I ditched this in favour of a shorter and easier recovery run. There was a bit of a breeze blowing along the river, but it was not so bad once I crossed the road for my easy lap of the Tan Track.

It was a lot of fun to run in the sunshine at no particular pace, just for sheer joy, and my legs felt ok whilst doing it - even if they are still sore once I stop!

Wednesday 12 August

Back to Nike Run Club tonight and another 10k run with the 5.30 group. This week was another big group of around 25 people and we headed via the MCG to Fitzroy Gardens where we completed our magic mile. Then it was over to the Olympic Boulevard and around the Tan to complete our 10k. We also did a solid 4k effort too which really extended the team a little. I could tell it was a challenging pace as the chatter stopped and the breathing became more pronounced. It was a lot of fun as usual!

Thursday 13 August

My legs are still not 100% but they are good enough for this tempo set. Last week's pace changes meant the 9.5k tempo should be at 4.23 m/k but I set a target of between this pace and the previous target of 4.29 with a plan to see how I felt.

Thankfully I felt a whole lot better than last weeks tempo run where I struggled at 4.21 pace. Right from the start I was just under 4.30 and despite a slight diversion at Punt Road because the path was closed, I held a pretty even pace the whole way.

I'd rate my intensity here at about 7 out of 10 so a long way from full gas. It was good to be running reasonably strong. My right calf is a little sore (I felt it twinge on Monday and it hasn't come good yet) and my upper back isn't feeling great either. Minor stuff, just have to monitor it and see how it goes.

I'm looking forward to Sunday's 21k run!

Saturday 15 August


Today in Melbourne was pretty good for winter. The wind was not too bad and the sun was out. I once again bypassed a Saturday ride so that I could do my long run today and get an extra day of rest or a light run in on Monday. The plan was for a 21k run at 4.39 pace (MP +9sec/km). This was by far the fastest planned run I have attempted as a result of me changing up the pace ranges last week. Last year my target marathon pace was 4.40 so this is a big step up and I am going to be wary as I could end up 'racing' my training runs if I'm not careful.

The course I ran was a reverse of the Henry Dendy's Brighton run I did a month back. On that day I struggled my way to a 4.59m/k average and it was not good. To go a full 20 sec/km quicker seemed a big step up. I headed off down South Road and my form was a bit ragged. Some days I feel smooth, and others it just feels a bit less fluid. Unfortunately this was one of those days. I could still feel that my legs were sore/tired from last weeks race so I'm sure that was part of it too.

A slower first km then a couple of quicker ones, then right onto target pace. I turned onto the Beach Rd at just over 6k averaging 4.37 so I was right on target. This part is slightly downhill and I knew the return up North Road might be a couple of seconds slower so this was right where I wanted to be. The good part about the next 3k or so is that it is along the beach path and so you get to see other runners. Sometimes this makes a real difference, just being able to see people out and about and it takes your mind off yourself for a while. Picking up a slight tailwind here my pace increased to 4.36 m/k but still in an ok range.

By 10k I was onto North Road for the long haul back towards home. This is quite an undulating section with some steady rises and also a few short and steep ones. Despite the odd minor downhill it is gradually going up and I was pleased to run at 4.40 pace for this section even if it came with a small increase in heart rate.

Turning onto East Boundary Road and I wanted to pick up the pace but my legs were just tired. Even though it is a net downhill here I was only able to get down to 4.38 m/k and even a last km push only rendered a 4.41 km to finish. Overall this was a hard run on tired legs (with a right calf that is not very happy about life either). Good to get it done, but not 'butterflies and unicorns!'

Sunday 16 August

After a nice bike ride with Brooke this morning to the cafe, on a beautiful afternoon I went out for an easy 5k recovery run. All good. A nice way to end the weekend!


Training Program:
Full session details for my whole training plan here.

Strava links for the week:
Tuesday - Cruisy Tan 7.9k @5.20; easy lap of the Tan
Wednesday - Nike Run Club 9.9k @5.31; magic mile and tempo
Thursday - Down, Around and Back 11.5k @4.34; incl tempo 9k @4.27
Saturday - Reverse Henry Dendy 21.2k @4.38; faster long run
Sunday - Suburban 5 5.3k @5.06; easy 5k recovery

Summary:
Week 7 of 16 (this week): 5 runs, 55.9 km, 4 hrs 35 mins
Week 6 of 16: 4 runs, 44.1 km, 3 hrs 31 mins
Week 5 of 16: 4 runs, 53.3 km, 4 hrs 21 mins
Week 4 of 16: 5 runs, 65.8 km, 5 hrs 38 mins
Week 3 of 16: 4 runs, 58.3 km, 4 hrs 46 mins
Week 2 of 16: 4 runs, 52.4 km, 4 hrs 30 mins
Week 1 of 16: 4 runs, 50.1 km, 4 hrs 11 mins
Total: 30 runs, 379.7 km, 31 hrs 34 mins