Well, I did have yesterday off. It was a national holiday, Culture Day or something, so not only did I not run, I didn't work either. While I knew my leg needed the rest, it doesn't mean I didn't think about running many times throughout the day! I think there is a slightly dangerous obsessive/addictive stage we go through at this point of a marathon preparation...as is basically reinforced by what I followed up the rest with today.
So this morning I was up and off for a run as usual. I thought maybe a Brute workout would be "fun" if the leg felt like it could handle it. The Brute is a workout I discovered last year. I run up to Komazawa Park, then divide the 2.15 km loop into a 1600 m interval followed by 515 m recovery jog. Repeat times four or five. Given that the stretch from 600 m to 1500 m is slightly uphill, it is a pretty hard workout. When I am in good form I can crank these out consistently at about 6:00 min to 6:05, some repeats can even be below 6:00 min. But although the leg was only "uncomfortable" this morning, I did not run particularly well. The first repeat felt hard enough but was only 6:25. Then the next was 6:06, and a 6:12 and a 6:02. The final one I only ran 1000 m (3:40). Somehow this session just didn't feel right, the leg/groin/hip area was a bit sore, and running home was a bit slower than normal. The hear rae monitor was quite unreliable today. I felt I am showing some definite signs of over-training, so I intend to back off the pace and distance over the weekend. I am not too concerned about the over-training as long as I recover now and that upon recovering I end up stronger. I think that's how it is supposed to work! The real challenge is forcing myself to back off during the individual runs, as I should have last Wednesday, for example.
Actually, over the weekend I will be going away with the company for a bonding trip. We are visiting a hot spring resort at Shimoda on the Izu Peninsular. Maybe there will be photographs in the next post. I hope to have at least one, hopefully two, easy scenic runs while down there.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Hope the soreness isn't a sign of overtraining. Don't they say better underdone than overdone when it comes ot marathons.
Enjoy the weekend. Looking forward to a pic or two.
I may not be a runners left boot strap but I have done a few endurance events in other disciplines in my time.... it is seriously time to consider your taper - you've hit a number of PB's and put in the k's - nothing you do now is going to affect your performance on the 23rd more than being injury free and fresh.
Cheers, 2P
Thanks for your thoughts 2P and Tesso. Yes, I am seriously into taper mode now with a view to getting as recovered as possible by the 23rd. I will run for only three reasons now: to maintain the aerobic base (not try to increase it); to practice race pace; and to, occasionally, run short bursts of faster than race pace IF my leg/hip feels up to it.
Aya-chan, hello! Thanks for your vote of confidence, I think sub 2:50 is beyond reach. Sub 2:55 would more than exceed my expectations if I get there, but the most likely outcome is in the range of 2:55 to 2:58.
Post a Comment