Week 7 / 10

I spent most of the week basking in the after-glow of running the Getafe Half Marathon in 1:19. Not surprisingly I was a little bit tired afterwards and so I decided to delay my day of hard training until Thursday. That consisted of 4 series of 15 minutes at just below my anaerobic threshold which basically meant running at Half Marathon pace. I did them at 3:45 per kilometer (16 kph - well, actually 16.5 kph according to my optimistic treadmill) all except the last one, for which I had to slack off a little bit for the second half. Still, it was a pretty good workout with my heart rate at 173 bpm as it was during most of the Half Marathon.

On Friday I really was tired. I "only" had to run 70 minutes but I found it more tiring than usual; several people commented on how tired I looked afterwards and some people noticed I was virtually limping from fatigue. But this is what always surprises me about Triathlon training: you can be completely knackered one day and, after changing sport, be as fresh (or fresher) as if you'd had a day off. On Saturday I did a 2 and a half hour cycle ride at a fairly good pace for these parts of 30 kph on average, making my heart rate a little higher than the zone I was supposed to be training in. I decided to take the Triathlon bike for a spin so I swapped the wheels with my other bike and changed the brake pads over to the ones suitable for an aluminum braking surface. This time I didn't have any problems with nuts and bolts working themselves loose but I did have problems with water bottles being randomly launched into the middle of the road. Considering that one of them was filled not with water but with a spare inner tube and puncture repair kit, I had to keep a close eye on them the whole time, especially as I had no-one to "rescue" me this time if I got stuck. I worked out that the particular Camel Bak water bottles I was using are not compatible with the X Lab seat post bottle holder (and, to be fair, I seem to remember reading something about this in the instructions).

After my ride on Saturday, my legs were as good as new for the long run on Sunday. It was a nice treat to run in a group of runners of a similar - and in some cases significantly better - level, most of whom will also be running the Marathon in Seville. It was also a nice change to run at a much more leisurely pace than I have been doing my long runs lately, of 5:05 per kilometer (just under 12 kph). My heart rate was significantly below my aerobic threshold, an average of 138 bpm. Even so, it was a good session, nice company and a picturesque route. What a difference it makes not only to run with other people but to run along a route where hundreds of other runners are also doing their workout. I have run up to 35 kilometers virtually without seeing another soul before. With only a few weeks to go before the Marathon, I can expect little training effect but I do think it is important both mentally and physically to do these long runs. At this stage in the game, the intensity is not as important as time on my feet.