Royal Victoria Marathon (6-weeks out)

As far as rest/recovery weeks go, the last seven days were satisfying. With Monday off, I managed to keep my running reigned in for the next four days. I think an honest litmus test is the fact that I’m now extremely eager to resume the training, a comforting (and all too often rare) feeling passing through the half way point of the marathon program.

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We were off to Galiano Island for the long weekend, which meant I was out the door exceptionally early on Saturday. After a short jog down an eerie and dank Lochside Trail, I popped up onto the embankment overlooking the Blenkinsop Valley, to see Ian and Aseed warming up for our early morning session. My w/o had called for 6x1200 at 5kP but with time pressing I decided to adapt and instead ran the intervals on Donwood Crescent, a route I used once before while tapering for Boston. At that time, I was feeling uninterested, tired and unsure of my training. If nothing else, when comparing my present state of mind it couldn’t be more like chalk and cheese.

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With no time for a real warm-up, we started into the first interval. Within the first few strides, I knew I was running too quickly and really struggled to slow down. The feeling was butter… incredible. I quickly gapped Aseed, and was surprised to find myself running stride for stride with Ian up the only incline. Upon finishing the 1100m loop, I was stunned to see my time of 3:25, 15” faster than what I had expected.

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On April 8^th, I ran 4x Donwood with the laps passing in: 3:37, 3:37, 3:36 and 3:35.

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This time around, they were drastically different: 3:25, 3:26, 3:33, 3:31, 3:31 and 3:39.

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This week is going to be busy, what with Ally out of town until Saturday evening; I don’t know if I should feel more sorry for Isla or me. Currently, and it’s only 8:30 p.m., she went down without a peep. To make the next few days that much more entertaining, this week is supposed to see my second highest volume in preparation for RVM. Wish me luck.

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Training:

Thursday: easy 43:41

Friday: steady 54:55

Saturday: 1:08:52 w/ 6x Donwood (2.5’) 5kP

Sunday: quite strong/undulating 1:13:15

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Weekly mileage: 5h21’39”, +/- 75k or 47 miles