Marathon Training Blog. Week 2.

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Marathon Training Blog. Week 2. Part 1. Total distance (incl. warm up and cool downs) 65k. Mon – 30 Minutes Hills Tue – 8k Recovery Wed – 2x10mins@tempo,8mins@MP. (2min recs). Thu – 5k Recovery Fri – Rest Sat – 29k@easy pace Sun – Rest I found this week quite tough going. There wasn't a massive increase in the amount of running compared to last week but a rising temperature and a lack of good sleep left me feeling quite sluggish during the sessions. Monday's hill run was a hard one and I never really recovered from it till the weekend. It was a 30 minute continuous effort and was part of the @scottishathletics Virtual Hill Challenge. The aim of the game was to try and record as much vertical ascent as you could within the time. (You had to start and finish at the same spot). One of the challenges for these virtual races is choosing a suitable course. They have to be somewhere fairly quiet and the terrain has to be right. The thing to consider this time was whether a steep or gradual gradient would be best for getting the most amount of vertical climbing. You could run at a faster speed up, and maybe down, an easier climb but what impact would this have on vertical distance? Would a steeper gradient be better? In the end I opted for a loop on Bellahouston Park Hill which started gradually, got steeper towards the peak before a decent on the other side of the hill then repeating the formula. #jrsmarathon #running #training #marathon #marathontraining #bellahoustonroadrunners #scottishathletics #hillrunning #lochnessmarathon #instarunners #runnersofinstagram

A post shared by James Shepherd (@jamesrannochshepherd) on Jun 28, 2020 at 3:56am PDT

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Marathon Training Blog. Week 2. Part 2. The GPS tracking went a little bonkers during the run but I don't think I would have recorded much more than the 195 meters. With hindsight I realise my route had too much flat at the end of the loop and looking at other peoples efforts it was clear repeats up and down a really steep gradient was the way to do it. Wednesday was roasting. I used to love the blazing sun, I lived in Zambia till I was 9, but as I get older I can handle the heat less and less. The session was meant to be 3×10 minutes @tempo but I knocked it off on the 3rd one and only did 8 minutes at marathon pace. I have to admit to occasionally shortening a session because I can't handle the pain, and I am always really disappointed with myself afterwards. But this time I think it was a sensible thing to do. Sometimes carrying on would be like flogging a dead horse. There would be no benefit and a longer recovery. I enjoyed Saturdays long run again. I felt quite comfortable until the last 3k or so. The weather was kinder than it was midweek. It was pretty humid but there was some pleasant drizzle, proper nipple plaster weather. @lochnessmarathon are going to give an update on July 1st about this years event. #jrsmarathon #running #training #marathon #marathontraining #bellahoustonroadrunners #lochnessmarathon #runnersofinstagram #instarunners #scottishathletics

A post shared by James Shepherd (@jamesrannochshepherd) on Jun 28, 2020 at 4:00am PDT