Monday 3 May: Another quality run

Mileage: 16 miles

AM: 12 miles - 1.15.48, PM: 4 miles steady jog

Today I was off work in the morning. It's a bank holiday, but as I have some work to prepare for a training session tomorrow I decided to take the morning off and then work from home in the afternoon. This meant that after a long walk with the dog I could take to the pavements and go for a long run. After some good tempo running at the weekend I really wasn't sure what to do training wise and I spent much of my dog walk mulling it over. I wasn't sure if I should go for a really long run, or do something a little quicker but shorter or just do a few miles easily.  In the end I decided that I would do a 12mile run along the cycle network calling in at the gym on my way home. 

My body felt a little tired, but not too bad. My knees are still aching a bit and my lower back is a little tight, but I have come to terms with the fact that I never feel a 100% for training (nor racing for that matter). I set off and decided not to look at my watch for the first few miles and just see what pace my body set for itself. Within a few yards I realised that I was feeling fairly good. My stride felt strong and my lungs were fresh. I kept my promise and didn't look at my watch until it beeped as I passed the 3 mile mark. My 3rd mile was clocked at 6.30 and my time for 3 miles was 19minutes 45seconds, so I was moving pretty quickly. I felt comfortable so just kept the pace up. I decided to clock watch after mile 3 just to see if my sustained effort would be rewarded with a sustained pace. I actually got gradually quicker as I moved through my miles eventually hitting close to or about 6 minutes per mile finishing the 12 miles in 1.15.48 (6minutes 19seconds average per mile pace. My last 10 miles was in 62minutes and 35 seconds - which I was really pleased about.

What was great about today though was that this wasn't a maximum effort run. I felt in control and relaxed for the whole run. I am fairly convinced that I could have stepped it up a gear if I wanted to. At some points today I did have to reign myself in a bit, especially towards the end. I was actually disappointed to have to stop at 12 miles. I really could have pressed on for a few more miles, but I was trying to be sensible and think about tomorrow's track session. I need to do the whole session tomorrow and I want ot be able to run it quick. This is my last full training week, before my taper for the Loch Leven Half. I want to be in the best shape possible, so I need to train smart and recover well. 

Today's splits:
1) 6.44
2) 6.31
3) 6.30
4) 6.24
5) 6.27
6) 6.18
7) 6.26
8) 6.07
9) 6.19
10) 6.01
11) 5.58
12) 6.03

This evening to make sure my legs stay lose and supple I went for a 4 mile run with Dan who has started his taper for the Edinburgh Marathon. During our run we chatted about the Running-Hot.co.uk website, which Dan has done all the work for. We have loads of good ideas about making it even better, however, I think we're both looking forward to it being launched later this week or the begining of next.