Wk 9: Mon 3rd – Sun 9th March

Run: 7hr (51 mi) / Gym: 0mins / Crosstrain: 0 mins

Week 9 kicked off on Monday with a regular morning run where I nudged the pace up a notch, hoping my heart rate would still hover in the 130s (zone 2). It mostly did, but a niggle in the knee made itself known, likely aggravated by Sunday’s cold-start 5k. Tuesday was a battle against the 6.10am alarm, which I eventually conquered by 6.30am. I managed to push for two miles mid-run closer to marathon pace, which went okay but left me wondering if I could actually sustain that pace much longer. Wednesday was pure struggle — tiredness and workload teamed up to keep me grounded. I took the day off, reassuring myself there’s still plenty of time before the autumn marathon to build mileage and lock in that speed endurance.

Feeling fresher by Thursday, I cranked out a morning 7.6-miler by feel, pleased to find I was running faster without a significant spike in heart rate, although it did nudge into the 140s, hinting I might’ve been a touch too ambitious. The evening saw me clocking another 7 miles, this time zeroing in on running form after diving into Shane Benzie’s The Lost Art of Running. The book’s focus on harnessing the body’s natural elasticity through fascia was fascinating, and I tried to incorporate those elements of form, feeling noticeably quicker despite the heart rate creeping well into the 140s — hardly ideal for base building, but encouraging from a form perspective.

Friday was supposed to feature both a run and a gym session, but fatigue reared its head again. I settled for a shorter run in the morning and ditched the gym altogether in favor of rest. Saturday’s session was a satisfying 10-mile combo: a 3-mile warm-up, parkrun, and a 4-mile cool-down. The 5k felt sharper, though still a long way off from where I want to be. At least I’m giving my body fair warning ahead of the speed work scheduled to start in 10 days. Sunday was all about squeezing in a run before a rugby tournament trip to Sheffield with my eldest. Thanks to an early arrival and some Strava map wizardry, I managed to knock out nearly 6 miles, albeit spending the day marinating in my own sweat. All in all, a week where fatigue and motivation wrestled hard, but the miles are creeping up, and the foundation is being built.