Sub 35

[jamieh]

Great, yes I have a good 600m hill nearby that I can use for reps. Can probably work in a rolling hills circle with a 400m and 600m hill, but would need to be as part of a 60+min run to get 6 reps done due to distance between the hills (about 1k between). Would that work?

I had really wanted to get in touch whilst in Lanza but unfortunately the schedule was pretty tight and I had guiding duties each day which meant we never had a chance to get over to your side of the island. All our biking also ended up being in the North so couldn't even swing by! Apart from the one day of insanely dangerous sand-blasting winds, we had cracking sunshine and calm days! It was perfect.

Hope you're feeling better now?

[TheEd]

Hi Jamie

you could start on the hill, run up it down to the other side, turnaround and ran back up to the other side

repeat this a number of times and achieve the session

is this doable on your route?

TheEd
ps. things are becoming more settled now, the last week was a little all over the place as getting back into routine was a challenge

[jamieh]

Hey there,

Solid first triathlon of the season on Monday. 2nd place to a very quick guy (and only by 45s over a <1h sprint race) so pretty pleased. I ran the 5k within about 10s of my best, 17:23 compared to 17:16 in 2013 (which was just after my 33:37 10k) - so must be getting into some decent shape.

So... nothing between me and the Marathon on 26th April now. eek!

Any thought's on my run program between now and then? Current plan is as follows:

- 2k's tomorrow - aiming for 10k race effort, not faster
- 20k on Sat - last 10k at target marathon pace (~3:47/km)
- Hills in place of the 1k's on Tues
- Paced 5k on the Sat aiming for something decent
- 3x1.6k on the Tues at HM pace
- Light tempo 5k on the Thurs
- 6x1min Mara pace on Fri
- Rest
- RACE (London Marathon)

Any thought's on that?

I then have exactly 6 days to recover ready for Iron Man 70.3 Pays D'Aix on May 2nd in France. I know that's nowhere near long enough to recover from a marathon, but I'll have to do my best. Any advice for that period would be great! Obviously I'll be keeping my swim/bike work going alongside the above training.

Cheers,
Jamie

[TheEd]

this looks to be putting you on your way

after the marathon, stay off the weight bearing for as long as possible

if it is 6 days recovery, then it is what it is

participate and enjoy, I do believe you have the right attitude to achieve

TheEd

[jamieh]

Quick update.

5x2k on Thurs (Track, 18deg, 8mph wind)

6:56
6:55
6:54
6:52
6:45

Obviously not a fast session, but I was pretty pleased with these. Tried to keep them as relaxed as possible and get a little faster each time.

On Saturday morning I then did 5k easy (4:30 pace) into 15k at marathon pace (averaged bang on 3:46 per kilometer). The last 5k into the wind was a little harder to hold pace than I'd have liked but certainly felt smooth for the rest of it.

Still a little on the heavy side but I'm off the chocolate/sweets so hopefully can gradually edge towards race weight over the next 12 days.

J

[TheEd]

how is the final prep going?

keeping it all together?

TheEd

[jamieh]

So far so good.

I couldn't get out to the hills on Tuesday so instead opted for 6x1k on a flat tarmac loop, with 1min relaxed between each rep (kind of an extended fartlek session). Averaged 3:20-3:23 for the 1k's and the whole 10k session came in at 3:46 average which felt like a good omen!

Nice easy 10k's for the last 2 days, feeling good, and resting today ready for a paced 5k either tomorrow or sunday (depending on swim/bike plans).

Weight on the way down quickly since cutting the sugar/choc & red meat. Stable at just over 78kg fully hydrated so hopefully get down into the low 77's for race day. I was high 78's for the half and have been 80 (even 80.5) for many sessions over the past few months so that should feel pretty good!

Legs feeling good, no niggles.

[TheEd]

for the marathon, sometimes a little bit of fat to burn off over the last 10k of the event is beneficial, so don't hassle too much about the weight from now on

try avoid fast running from now and focus on no faster than marathon pace

do remember, the race starts with 6 miles to go

stay well

TheEd

[jamieh]

Ok will prob run 15k tomorrow off the bike with the middle 5k at marathon pace instead of doing the ParkRun. Then nothing more than marathon pace next week (including on the 3x1.6k).

Last 6 miles. Got it

[jamieh]

Quick update. After good sessions on Sat and Sun (feeling really easy at marathon pace) I came down with a cold on Sunday night

Rested completely Monday. Had a jog on Tuesday (legs felt fantastic, aside from the cold...). Rested again yesterday. Feeling slightly better this morning but still a bit in the chest/throat.

I think my best bet is probably just to keep resting and see how I feel on the day. Hopefully the work is done so provided I can kick the cold I should have the strength on the day.