"Easy" Week . . . DONE !!!

Week 4, Session 1 - Recovery Run (4 Miles)
              Session 2 - 3 x 5 Mins Threshold Intervals (6 Miles)
              Session 3 - Recovery Run (4 Miles)
              Session 4 - Long Run (9.5 Miles)

Four weeks into my marathon training program and I've been given what they call an "easy" week.  Apparently, when training, we should reduce the intensity of our workouts about every 4 weeks to give the body time to recover, but still try and maintain a good mileage base.

So this week the usual Kenyan Hills session was replaced with a short recovery run, the interval session had 5 minute recoveries rather than the usual 2 minutes and my long run was 30 minutes shorter than the previous week.

I think the combination of fantastic weather (cold but sunny), and the drop in intensity of the workouts, have made me really enjoy all of my runs this week.  The extra recovery time at the end of each of my intervals on Thursday really made a big difference to my performance during the quick sections.

I decided to do my long run from my parent's house this morning, which went down well with my kids as they got to play with Nanny & Grandad and I have the bonus of a varied route.  So after a late night out with the lads (not ideal preparation),  I got up fairly early, had breakfast and packed my kit bag before heading over there.  Unfortunately, when I got there I realised that I'd forgotten to pack my running belt that holds my little water bottles, so I was going to have to run without fluids.  This was not ideal the morning after a night on the booze.  Surprisingly though, during the run I found that I didn't miss it too much, but I did start to feel a little dehydrated an hour after finishing despite drinking a fair bit when I got back.

So next week the training kicks on again including extended Interval & Kenyan Hills sessions and a 2 hour long run on Sunday.  The mileage really starts to build from here and I think the magnitude of what I'm taking on is going to hit home over the following few weeks. 

I've also got to get my act together and book myself in for an early March Half Marathon or 10 mile race.  I'm planning to wear a bit of fancy dress including a wig when running the London Marathon, so I need to practice wearing it during an event because there's no way I'm going to try it out during my regular training runs . . . not even in the dark !! 
Week 4 Summary - 23.5 miles : 3hrs 16 mins

Session 1 - Recovery Run - 4 Miles
Session 2 - 3 x 5 Mins Threshold Intervals - 6 Miles
Session 3 - Recovery Run - 4 Miles
Session 4 - Long Run - 9.5 Miles