Great North Walk

Monday May 19, 2014 (5 weeks to Grandmas)

Consistent week of running for a total of 60km over five days. Painful heel on every run but otherwise feeling a bit quicker and stronger.  Still panicked about my ability to run the marathon distance but a little bit more confident after completing a long run on Saturday.  

Tuesday: I did 4*1km intervals at  average pace of 4.50min/km. Also celebrated Training Shirt Tuesday by wearing the very bight GrandmasMara training shirt. It is all beginning to feel very real now.

Wednesday: a  14km tempo at Long Reef at average pace of just under 6min/km. Dare I dream of being able to sustain this pace for 42.195km?

Thursday:  12*30sec intervals with 30sec jog recovery, at an average pace 4.30min/km.

Friday: strength training at the gym. 

Saturday: Long slow trail run on  the Great North Walk from Bobbin Head to Crosslands and back.  A total of 30km over 5 hours. I wanted to see how my body would react to being on my feet for a long time,  moving at a moderate pace and on low carbs. Except for the painful heel, I felt terrific the whole way- there was no energy lag. The last 3km were the quickest at just under 6min/km pace. This is my longest run in 3 years.  It will be interesting to see what happens covering the same distance at a more consistent pace on the road (and with carbs added).

Sunday: Walked over the Harbour Bridge to photograph the SMH Half Marathon. With well over 12,000 runners it was a bit congested in many parts. It was great to see parts of the city I have not visited in a long time. The conditions were pretty close to perfect. My observation is that the suffering looks the same  whether you are a front, mid-pack or back of the pack runner. It is just the front runners suffer for a shorter time :-)