Early 2010 Training

Starting to get the kind of miles in that I hope for on a regular basis. I still get frustrated that really I only have enough energy for 10 miles a day during the week and then something longer at the weekend once but I have to be realistic. That sort of schedule can still add up to 60 miles per week and from experience is easily enough to get me through most events and then have a period of exceeding this for a few weeks leading up to really long races. I know from experience that running 12 - 13 a night plus a 18 - 22 at the weekend (albeit with a heavy pack) is enough to run me down into the ground and require sleep at during the day. 

This year has been ok so far but even with 4 marathons/ ultras under my belt in 2 months its still not really enough for me. I have lacked real quality long training runs at the weekends, rarely exceeding 10 miles in one go in fact. Each week consists of 8 - 10 runs during weekdays ranging from 3.5 miles in and out of work (most days) and then a 10km at pace thrown in once or twice a week at lunchtimes. I figure this is enough but I wonder if I would be better taking all of the mileage in a day and running it in one hit rather than breaking it up ie. 14 miles on a Monday rather than 4 in to work, 7 at lunch, 4 home again. The problem is this isn't the way my time works out, if i didn't do it the way i do i would sit on the bus to work - boring, stay in at lunch - boring, and be late home every night ala desert training - a problem. Whether this new regime will pay off or not will be dictated by performance at Washington in 2 weeks time. All my long runs this year have been as part of races. 3 hours 59 on the first weekend of the year just to get back into it and prove to myself I could still run a comfortable marathon after the excesses of the Sahara. 45 miles at Country to Capital very slow just building up strength. 30 miles at Winter Tanners the weekend after, massively pushed sections of the course and was a very tough work out. I tipped just over that all to easy to cross line of exhaustion for about 48 hours after this and that may just have been enough to tip my over the edge for the following weekend and throw me out of the Thames Trot 50. London 50km was the first sign that things were pretty good. The first 10km I was flying under 7 min mile pace by a distance and I was through 26.2 in 3hr26 without much pushing. With wandering around lost for so long in Richmond Park my true marathon time there was probably about 3hr15 and I could have shaved masses off of this. So all in all I have to accept that my marathon effort in Washington should be ok but I would feel better with say an 18 miles at 6:52 p/m under my belt rather than just 12 or so. Who knows what that last 6 - 8 miles will be like but if I get myself in a good position at 2 hours ie. 18 miles I should be able to go for it and hang on.

Badwater and FC508 are paid for now so just the logistics to sort out. Im not even going to think about FC508 until Ive run through Death Valley and over the Alps at the end of August. There's no point.

So the next 4 weekends I'll be running 5 marathons. That will really make me feel a lot fitter and healthier especially if i can break 3 hours at Suntrust and finish the JCC without issues. I need to tell myself to enjoy that 3 dayer rather than race it but for me sometimes those two things go hand in hand....