Well this was "RACE WEEK" so the training was cut right down in preparation for the Half Marathon on Sunday.....

Tuesday:
6 miles tempo run in 51:24 at a pace of 8:27 mins/mile
not a bad run and was quite pleased with the sustained effort.

Wednesday:
Hill Repeats! 4 x hill intervals, jog down recovery.  Sick making!

And that is it until Sunday! 3 full days rest!

Another hard week but actually felt a bit stronger this week so maybe I broke through the plateau!! Hope so!

Monday
REST! and a SPORTS MASSAGE with Nuneaton Sports Injuries - wonderful!

Tuesday:
Long Run - 17.5 miles at a pace of 9:14mins/mile which was a big improvement on last week and I felt a lot stronger in the last few miles than last week so that was encouraging!  GOt home, Ice showered my legs (Oooooooof!) and did some stretching.

Wednesday:
REST!  Well core and stretching but essentially rest!

Thursday:
Cycled to work and back - 15miles there and 22 back.  Average of 13.5 - 14mph which isnt bad on Claud!  I really did feel tired when I got home though but was pleased with best part of 40miles in the bag ;o)

Friday:
INtervals!!  4 x 5min sprints with 1 min recoveries.  Best Interval was 7:43mins/mile, slowest was 8:08 so Not bad!  Recoveries were around the 9:15-9:30 mins/mile but Id prefer to see a bigger spike inbetween the intervals and the recovery!  That means faster sprinting!

Saturday:
6 hours on the Turbo in the Nuneaton Ropewalk shopping Centre!  Was worth it as we raised a fantastic amount but my bum was numb by the finish!

Sunday:
The weather was DIRE! But I made up my mind I wanted to cycle so me and one other lunatic "Wheeler" set out on a wet and wild 35 miler!  Not before I had to swap from Gerard to Claud due to a flat tyre!  Made me realise how much heavier Claud is than the milano as I was getting unceremoniously dumped on the hills!  Still it made me work hard and as the ride was only short it wasnt a bad thing!  Was damn FREEZIN when I got home but very smug in the afternoon that I had gone and done something productive :D 

Tuesday:
Cycled to work!  Went the direct way on the way there and felt pretty darn good and made good time :)  On the way home I did the slightly longer route and although a bit slower it was against the wind....Ooooof!
Total of 21 miles done today.
Wednesday:
Spinning! Another fast paced interval session working on endurance to start with as if you were climbing a hill then moving onto sprints.  Hard work!
Thursday:
Long Run! 15 miles in 2hrs 23 mins giving an average pace of 9:28 mins/mile.  I have to say I was very dissapointed with the run.  Its the slowest I have run for a good while and although I cant be running full throttle on every run I did want my "easy" runs to be around the 9:10 min/mile mark.  And it felt HARD!!!  Really struggled today, no endorphin high and I was a misery guts when I finished!  Plus I dont mind admitting the thought of running the marathon after this performance has really scared the shit out of me! :o(  I persevered with the Ice Bath and froze my sorry ass off! Then massaged my legs.  I have to say that this is definitely helping the recovery process so I shall reluctantly continue with the ffffffrrrrrrreeeeeeezin water!  Oh yes, I am having my SIS Recovery shakes too that I got left over from the bike challenge last year.  Its all working well.  Shame my legs arent! lol
Saturday:
5 hours cycling on the turbo trainer in the shopping centre!  I did try and mix it up a bit by standing / sitting / high / low resistance......last hour was hard going both physically and mentally.  Its definately easier when you cycle for real!  At least the scenery takes your mind off it a bit!  Numb Bum saturday eve!
Sunday:
Hill Repeats...........OOOOOOOF!!!  That kinda sums it up!  Did just over 1.5 mile to warm up then did six X hill repeats approx 1.3 min up with a 2 min recovery jog back down.  Worked really hard and thought I was gonna hurl after number 6!  Intervals ranged from 8.06 mins/mile to 8.17mins per mile.  Not bad up quite a steep hill :)

If im gonna sum the week up - Id say slightly below par.  Felt quite tired.

Stepping up the training a bit this week in frequency and feeling
pretty good about it too!
Monday
15 mins of 1 min intervals / 1 min recovery on the bike and then the rower followed by an upper body strength workout including Chest Press, Lat Pull downs, Shoulder Press, Pecs, Rear Delts, Bicep curls and tricep extensions.

Tuesday
6 x 1km Intervals at 4.5-5min/km (7.5-8min/mile) pace with a 5 min recovery period between each one.  Worked really hard and on the middle couple of intervals really found my rhythm and felt bloody brilliant!!  One day Ill run like this over distance ;o)

 Wednesday:
 Spinning Class – a high energy interval session on a spinning bike gradually increasing the resistacne throughout the workout.  Great thighburner!

 Thursday:
Today I caught the bus to work so I could RUN HOME!! I did 9.5 miles in 1:24mins so an average of 8:50min/mile and considering it was a “comfortable” run I was quite pleased with the timing.

 Friday:
Cycled to work and back – direct route both ways felt quite good on the way there at 35mins but a bit slower on the way home, although the weather was a bit pants by then lol!

Saturday:
Longish cycle ride while distributing posters!!  Did just shy of 40 miles and by the nature of the ride it was a bit stop and start but I enjoyed the ride out! I also took a pit stop at COVENTRY RUNNER where I got myself a new pair of trainers plus they very kindly donated a voucher for a pair of trainers for the “Guess the finishing time” competition.

 Sunday:
 REST!
 
I am uploading all my training onto FETCHEVERYONE as it neatly combines my schedule and training altogether which is good for a quick overview.  Although when I upload a few days training it posts the lot to facebook / twitter and makes it look like Im a training  FREAK!