Hej!
I've just returned from a weekend trip in Stockholm. I was thinking whether it was better to stay in Oslo and concentrate on training, because the weather in Stockholm was so horrible! But actually it's not any better here in Oslo as well. No doubt the trip to Stockholm curtailed my mileage seriously this week, but as soon as I got back to a rainy Oslo I managed to get in some much needed mileage, and I even upped the intensity to make up for the lack of running this weekend. You just have to do what you gotta do, and if the rain gods come out to play then so be it!
Despite the crap weather, Stockholm was a great place and I highly recommend it. I didn't see any of the folks from ABBA, unfortunately. But enough about that, let's see how I did this week.
Monday
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 34 mins 26 secs, 5.3 km.
Tuesday
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 33 mins 1 secs, 5.1 km.
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 38 mins 15 secs, 5.7 km.
Wednesday
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 33 mins 34 secs, 5.3 km.
Thursday
Type: Mixed pace
Time and Distance: 75 mins, 13.32 km.
Detail: Warm up for 16 mins (2.4 km). 10 mins of threshold with 90 secs recovery (2.4 km). 5 x 3 mins at 10k pace with 90 secs recovery (740m - 750m). 10 mins of threshold with 90 secs recovery (2.4 km). Cool down for approx 15 mins (2.4 km).
Sunday
Type: Continuous hills
Time and Distance: 100 mins, 18.4 km.
Detail: Warm up for 11 mins. 10 sets of 5 mins at threshold with 60 secs recovery. Cool down for approx 30 mins.
Total Weekly Distance: 53.12 km
Comments: Another sub-standard week. Because I decided to holiday in Stockholm this weekend, it affected my weekend runs - specifically the long run session, the continuous hills session and a recovery session. After returning from Stockholm there was only time for one session, and it was a no-brainer which one I decided to do. Instead of doing 6 sets of continuous hills as prescribed, I decided to do 10! And it really felt great! Because I had to forego the long run, I decided to incorporate my warm-ups and cool-downs at my typical long run pace, whilst also dragging out the cool-down phase to 30 mins, and I didn't really feel that tired afterwards as well, so I guess that's a positive!
Improvements: Week 8 marks the halfway point of my marathon preparation. The long run is now reaching 2.5 hours, and there will be more interval work at Bislett Stadion for me, so I'm really looking forward to that! There will be no holiday for me this weekend, so let's see if I can break 90 km in mileage this week!
Well, this week wasn't a total loss. Remember, success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. Even though I didn't get in all my runs this week, as long as I stay consistent from here on in (and also plan my weekend holidays more judiciously), then I will definitely get better (fingers crossed!).
Time to sleep now - a hard run, digesting a big dinner, and writing all my thoughts down (as well as walking around like a tourist in Stockholm) has drained my batteries!
The hard work starts now!
Aaron
