Hey there,
The long hard road is finally coming to an end! Tapering has started right now, and it's been great to reduce the mileage and looking forward to even more decreases! In terms of keeping myself healthy during this phase, I definitely haven't been doing this well at all, with too many late nights for my liking and getting not enough sleep. With only two weeks left to go to the marathon this has got to change right now!
I also finally managed to get myself a long overdue sports massage in Oslo and I'm really happy with how it went and what the masseuse had to say about the state of my body. I will definitely book another appointment to see her. You can check out Aina Jensen, my masseuse, on YouTube.
Here's how the week went.
Monday
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 35 mins 32 secs, 5.5 km.
Tuesday
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 30 mins, 4.7 km.
Type: Mixed pace
Time and Distance: 62 mins, 11.2 km.
Detail: Warmed up for 15 mins (2.4 km). Did 5 mins at threshold pace (1.2 km), with 60 secs recovery. Did 5 x 1 mins at 5k pace, with 60 secs recovery (approx 260m). Did this set twice. Cool down for approx 15 mins (2.4 km).
Wednesday
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 41 mins 24 secs, 6.8 km.
Thursday
Type: Progression
Time and Distance: 31 mins 25 secs, 6.04 km.
Detail: Warmed up for 11 mins (1.6 km). Did 10 mins at steady pace (2 km), then 10 mins at threshold pace (approx 2.45 km).
Saturday
Type: Recovery
Time and Distance: 35 mins 29 secs, 5.6 km.
Sunday
Type: 10 km time trial
Time and Distance: 43 mins 40 secs, 10 km.
Detail: Started too fast, and faded in the middle. Km splits were 4:04, 4:02, 4:14, 4:20, 4:24, 4:25, 4:32, 4:33, 4:34, 4:27. Really tired in the end, but also definitely not at my very best for this run.
Total Weekly Distance: 49.84 km
Comments: A lot more shorter stuff, but keeping the intensity at around the same level as the previous weeks. I'm a bit disappointed with the time trial. I was expecting to come in under 42 mins, which would keep me at around my goal marathon pace, but since I started too fast I kind of blew up in the middle stages. It was also a really sunny day in Oslo so I also wilted in the heat. Bislett Stadion only opens from 12 - 6 p.m. on Sundays so I really had to do my time trial in not-so-ideal conditions. Unfortunately these things are outside of my control, so let's hope for the best ideal running conditions in two weeks!
Improvements: Still continuing on the taper theme. There will be two threshold runs coming up, mixed in with some easier running. It doesn't look like the mileage is going to decrease in the coming week as the intensity provided by the threshold runs coupled with the easier runs will result in some significant mileage (hopefully nothing more than 50 km like this week).
The taper period is progressing nicely, but there are a few things I really need to address to ensure that I get the most out of this crucial stage. Proper rest and recovery, adequate sleep, good nutrition and stretching are just a few of the things I need to pay attention to. Unfortunately the Men's Singles final of the US Open is on tonight, and play is scheduled to start at 10:30 p.m CEST. If it wasn't Rafael Nadal playing tonight's final, I would give it a miss, but he's on the verge of completing a career grand slam in tennis, with only 6 other men achieving this. It looks like I won't be getting much sleep tonight, so I'm hoping Nadal will make it a quick final tonight. Vamos! After that, I will promise myself to get an extra hour of sleep every day!
Talking about career grand slams, I'm hoping that I could complete my own career grand slam of marathons, the top 5 being Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York. So far I've only done Berlin, and if I do very well in two weeks time I could be in the running for a place in Boston, London or New York in 2011. But first, let's just concentrate on Berlin in two weeks time!
Nearly there,
Aaron
