A shift in focus

In the previous entry I gave myself two weeks to decide whether to commit to the Robin Hood marathon in September. In reality it took less than a week to decide the race is not for me, not this year anyway. After running 49 miles in a week and a 16 mile long run I was suffering from burn out. The following week every run seemed like a chore and no matter what distance I ran it was a struggle even to maintain a 7:30 min/mile pace. The schedule called for 18 and 20 mile long runs in the following weeks and I just didn't have the energy to achieve this. I could keep training and run the race but hopes of a sub 3 hour time are just impossible dreams. I feel deep down it makes sense to target a fast Great North Run in October and shift my marathon focus to an event (hopefully London) next spring.

Its important to take some lessons from the last 6 weeks on the marathon training plan. 3 hours is a stiff target and I just didn't have the training base in which to maintain training at this level. I also ran most of my runs in a very narrow range in terms of pace. The tempo sessions were too slow and the long runs too fast. I never really put my faith in the schedule pacing guide and ultimately I think my long runs were taking too much out of me. Let's face it the World Cup and frequently watching matches with 2 or 3 pints of beer can't have helped my progress either. I need to maintain a healthy balanced diet and make sure that I get enough sleep during the week. Marathon training puts quite a strain on the body and I have to make sure that I take care of myself to achieve my targets.

A very relaxing family break in Wales in mid July helped me to recuperate and then it was straight back into the running. With 10 weeks until the Great North Run it made sense to follow Runners World's 10-week sub-1:25 half-marathon schedule by Bruce Tulloh. This plan puts an emphasis on fast-paced running and I'll have to work hard to make sure I can keep up the pace. At the same time I also have to understand that easy runs should be easy, and a time to recover from the harder workouts. 1 hour 25 minutes is another stiff target to set myself, but I think its best to aim high with a series of stepped targets beneath that. I'd be very pleased to set a new personal best in the GNR (1:26:33) and failing that my next target would to beat my 2004 time of 1:28:42. Bottom of the pile would be to rack up my 3rd consecutive sub 1:30 half marathon.