Its arrived, the bib that shows I’m officially doing this marathon arrived this week. Things are getting real, although I understood it was happening by the distance I’ve been running. I’ve dropped the overall distance into a tapering mode, hopefully things go to plan over the next 2 weeks.
Monday 22nd September – Quick run on the treadmill (2.1km @ 9:30) before making my way into the yoga class. I was concerned nobody would be in the class, but an instructor was already starting the class a couple of minutes early. Without much fanfare I rolled out my mat and followed her lead. A couple of minutes later another regular arrived and the instructor quickly informed him it was a ‘body balance’ session, which incorporated some yoga along with tai chai & pilates. After 40 minutes we wrapped things up. My verdict… not a big fan, bring back yoga.
Tuesday 23rd September – Spin bike time, not much to say other than I am missing actually riding a road bike. Once the marathon is done I think I need to get back out on the road in the lycra. Until that time I’ll continue getting a temporary fix on a spin bike. (22.0km @ 55:17, Avg 81rpm / 185 watts)
Wednesday 24th September – Enjoying the fact I’m setting off in almost full daylight these days. It was a warm night so early morning runs are able to be run in shorts and tee. Almost able to wear my intended kit for the full marathon. (16.01km @ 1:10.18) No yoga tonight, don’t think they’ve arranged an instructor yet, and also it’s the last Wednesday of the month so it’s poker time. Poker worked out well, ended up winning, although 2 guys didn’t show so the final prize wasn’t the usual $50, but $40 is better than none.
Thursday 25th September – Another spin class, early morning rise, heart rate pumping, then back home. Running out of stories for spin class as it gets pretty standard, not much changes even with a new mix, it’s still pretty similar. (23.4km @ 58:34, Avg 82rpm / 181 watts)
Friday 26th September – Started on the usual Friday 14km course but noticed some black smoke rising not too far from home. Change of route to check out what was happening to see the fire brigade arriving on scene to a car fire. My initial plan was an easy run, but after investigating the smoke I was halfway into my second kilometer running a 4:03 so with a change of plan I decided to attempt a sub 20 minute 5km. Long story short, 5km – 20:04 – oh so close. Backed off for the 6th kilometer and was surprised to see my pace was 4:20. New plan, pick it up again and aim for a 10km PB. Ended up pushing the pace out to the 12km mark resulting in a 4:03 pace for the 12km. Reset the watch and seeing as I had plenty of time ran an easy pace for 4.5km to keep my distance ticking over. (12.08km @ 49.00.8, 4.63km @ 20.24.1)
Saturday 27th September – A trial run for the City2Sea & Eureka Climb today. Ran into Eastern Beach to meet a mate so we could do the stair sets down there. Tried to get my new GoPro setup for the run without luck, so although my calves were getting tight I pushed hard and arrived at our designated meeting spot pretty much on time. Once down there we ran the stair set (86 stairs over 5 flights) 10 times before taking a break. Next was 10 sets of the top 3 flights with burpees before heading up. First lap 10 burpees, second lap 9 burpees, third lap 8 burpees, etc. Final workout was 10 laps of lower 2 flights of stairs. Recovery opportunity taken with some walking in the wading pool of the ice cold water. Calves definitely felt better for the cold water. (12.3km @ 52.44.8 run, 5.55km @ 37.10 stair climbs & burpees)
Sunday 28th September – No race today, weird feeling after getting accustomed to heading off for the race. Decided to head back to gym for crossfit class. Todays class was a run, followed by a team run holding a rope overhead, into 20 burpees / squats / pushups each, team run again with rope overhead. Next was 5 sets of 10 walking lunges & 5 travelling burpees. Then for joy we completed the whole routine again. Next up was a core/abs session so 30 minutes of situps, crunches, and other things that killed my core. Final bit of exercise for the day/week was a 30 minute walk with my daughter. Enjoyed the chance to stroll the neighbourhood with my daughter, hoping we get to continue times like these… (3.96km @ 40.11 overall crossfit , 2.75km @ 33.42 walk)
Its getting close to the day now, I’ve got the training done, I’ve got the legs trained for the distance so I think the last part now is the mental game. Looking forward to these last couple of weeks of training, not trying to do anything outlandish, just keep things moving and preparing for the big one.
Overall distance – 45.4km spin class , 47.1km running , 9.5km @ 1:17.21 stairs & crossfit