Week 10

Week 10 worked out just fine. I got all my key workouts done despite planning to go Hong Kong tomorrow and if I get out to Victoria Park in the afternoon after I arrive, I will have completed all 5 workouts this week. As I am going to Bangalore on Monday night it is unlikely I will make all runs this week but you never know.

Week 10

Monday was a rest day so we went to check out the new Irish pub, An Solas, that has just opened in Yoyogi – https://www.facebook.com/pages/An-SÓLÁS/909800109045423?fref=ts. The place was very nice, run by Irish people (shock! horror!) and I highly recommend the stuffed honey chicken.

Tuesday was a Farlek again. 15 x 1 min on and a 1 min jog. This time I set up Michael’s Garmin as well and brought him with me. Obviously we did not run at the same pace but he did very well and ran 7.3km in total which is his longest run to date. I had hoped that I would be getting better at them but when I compared the run to the one I did 2 weeks ago, it was almost the same. I guess I am now starting to feel the effects of the 10 weeks of training and it is showing in the shorter sessions.

Fartlek Comparison

Wednesday is normally Namban Rengo night with interval work in Oda Track in Yoyogi, but as I had a Tempo Run planned for Thursday, and I was starting to feel tired, I decided to head home and just do a 60 min run along the Tamagawa. It was a glorious evening with a Lunar Eclipse and there were lots of people out on the Tamagawa with long range cameras and telescopes. Fortunately, I did not bump into any of them.

8km Tempo Run

On Thursday I did my first proper Tempo Run. By that I mean I ran at the pace that McMillan told me to. Up until now, I would consider anything under 5 min/km a Tempo Run, but McMillan says that for my goal of a 3:10 marathon it must be 4:10 to 4:20 pace. I was a little worried about it coming home as I was rather tired and nodded off on the train. I had been out and about in Chiba prefecture in the afternoon so it was not the best preparation. However, I managed to get nearly all the 1km segments within that range and an average of 4:12/km pace for the 8km so I was very happy with that.

Friday was a rest day and I felt that I needed it. However, instead of going home and getting some extra sleep I met up with a friend who was over from Singapore and we went out in Shibuya to celebrate me having reached 25 years in Japan.

Fast Finish Long Run

As I was flying on Sunday I moved my Fast Finish Long Run from Sunday to Saturday. The plan called for 26 – 32km with the last 10 – 13km at Goal Pace. I decided to do the 29km course between Marukobashi and Noborito and run the last 12km at my marathon pace of 4:30/km. Of course I did not have the best preparation with the Tempo Run just 2 days before, and more significantly, the celebrations the previous night. To counteract these circumstances, I decided to wait until late afternoon to run and to hydrate and rest as much as possible throughout the day. It had not effect. When I headed out at 4:09pm I still felt tired and thirsty and was wondering how I would get up to Goal Pace. I managed to get down to Marukobashi at a pace that was between 5:00 and 5:15 but I was struggling. Then I turned the corner near Tamagawa Station and suddenly the wind was at my back and I felt a bit lighter. The running felt easier and I made it up to Futakotamagawa at around 4:55/km pace and stopped for a drink of water at the fountain. I then headed off towards Noborito at the same pace. Futakotamagawa is always a key point on this run. If I can get to there and then keep going, I know that I can finish my run. The 17km point was where I was due to turn up the gas and try to run the last 12km at 4:30/km pace. I was a bit slow getting starting but soon fell into a groove and started meeting the required pace. However, at just after 2km I was parched and stopped and downed a 500ml bottle of mineral water in 1 one minute before starting again. The stop did me good and ran my best km at 4:27. However, I was running back into the wind and it was getting a bit rough. At the 6th km my pace fell away from Goal Pace and never made it back again until the last km. I was pleased that I did not give up and managed to slog it out to the end. The whole point of a Fast Finish Long Run is to get used to running on tired legs and I think that I achieved that. Also the 4:35/km pace was not to off my goal.

So tomorrow I am off and I will be trying to fit in runs where I can before I come back and hopefully well able to manage the 35km long run next Sunday. The last time I was away my HRV went through the floor so I guess that we can expect that again this time.