Swim:
My swims have been neglected lately I feel, but I hope to be back in routine with it again now too. Friday was endurance swim, so continuous and steady was the order of the day, Katherine, Barry and Chris were my swim buddies. As is the case with all 3 disciplines, some company makes the time go in much quicker so I’m glad they love the 6:30am start time too 😉
Bike:
After a few hard hours in the velodrome, I was ready to get back in action on the roads. I was only off my flight home about an hour and I had planned some bike time with Shane. We made our way along the Coast Road and back which is an enjoyable speedy out and back course with little or no wind, it’s always a good thing when it’s calm 🙂 I hadn’t cycled with Shane recently so it was great to get a chat with him too. I finished with 35 miles and my average was over 17mph from what I can remember.
My next cycle was tough, on my own this time, and I haven’t tackled it this year yet so I was eager to get up it. The tough but amazing climb of Bishops Road. It seems never ending and it burns the thighs, A LOT! The view from the top of Binevenagh makes it all worthwhile though that’s for sure. If the view doesn’t make it worthwhile, the free wheeling downhill surly will. Sitting at over 40mph on those tiny thin wheels gives me a rush of adrenaline, I love it. My maximum is 47mph and this summer I hope to find a hill good enough to let me break 50mph.
To the viewing point and back home, is a perfect 20 mile round trip, and I used this as a brick session. I made it a very quick transition to replicate a race, and I went for a 2 mile run. I hadn’t done any brick sessions lately and I was surprised when I ended with a 6:47 average min/mile pace. Fingers crossed this progression and momentum in my training keeps going 🙂
Run:
I feel I’ve finally got back on track for my marathon training, some previous injuries seem to have cleared up and all is good. Though I may be on track, I’m still slightly behind schedule, I’ve had to skip a few important run sessions, and jump up the miles much quicker than I’d like. BUT, the fact I’m running again I’ll not complain.
My smaller miles have been decent, managing to fit some tempo runs in, instead of hard intervals don’t seem to be as taxing on me which I’m pleased with, quicker recovery is now important. I managed a decent 10K run around Chorlton/Didsbury area, at 7:34 average min/mile pace, followed by a 4 mile run at 7:01 average pace. This gave me great confidence again, and as I’m only 4 weeks out from the Manchester marathon I had to jump to an 18miler on Saturday. Kevin and Barry were my running buddies for this, and to say I was in great company is an understatement, both have managed sub 3hr 10 minute marathons in the past.
We kept the route flat as possible, and the pace was my call (thanks lads). The craic was good, and as the stories of marathons and their experiences made time pass quickly. I did feel some discomfort with my shins within the first 6 mile, but as I got warmer and further into the run it disappeared, maybe it’s all in my head lol We ended mile 18 on 2hrs 30 minutes exactly, an average of 8:19 min/mile pace I believe. This was great, and if I can manage another long run I’ll be on the taper as of next week, how good is that 🙂 Maybe a PB is back on the cards 😉
Aaron
imborntotri 