Taper limbo (Brighton marathon training, weeks 14 & 15)

Week 14 of the ‘2016 improver plan’ that I am using as a template for my training. [Available via Virgin London Marathon plans, devised by Martin Yelling.]

Even as I started week fourteen, with my final long run just a couple of days behind me, it felt odd that my ‘long’ run this week would be a mere 90 minutes. I felt that, with three weeks still to go, there was still more I could, and should, do. I countered myself by recalling everything I have read; about the importance of a well-observed taper and, in particular, that no fitness gains can be made in the taper period. Nonetheless, my desire to do more was reflected in continuing my habit of running fractionally longer each day than specified in the training plan. Such, it seems, are the internal dialogues of a runner in marathon training.

I chose workout pace targets of 4:29/km steady marathon pace, 4:09/km tempo, and 3:45/km fast. Friday’s workout required another steady pace, which I inferred from the training plan, should be slower than marathon pace. I chose 4:39/km as my target for this workout element.

week 14 – ending Sunday 26 March

day	training
Mon	—
Tue	45 mins easy	(5:00/km average)
Wed	15 mins easy (warm up) 10 x { 1 min fast 1 min jog } 9 mins easy (warm down)	(4:56/km average) over all sets: { (3:39/km average) (5:05/km average) } (4:58/km average)
Thu	—
Fri	11 mins easy (warm up) 11 mins steady 11 mins steady (marathon pace) 11 mins tempo 10 mins easy (warm down)	(4:57/km average) (4:38/km average) (4:28/km average) (4:08/km average) (5:06/km average)
Sat	—
Sun	95 mins easy	(5:00/km average)
total	3 hrs 58 mins (+18 mins versus training plan)

Week 15 of the ‘2016 improver plan’ that I am using as a template for my training. [Available via Virgin London Marathon plans, devised by Martin Yelling.]

Week fifteen flew by not least because, as anticipated in my training plan notes, I began to feel faster and lighter on my feet as the week progressed. I managed to limit my exuberance to adding one extra repetition to Wednesday’s interval session and running Sunday’s long easy run at 4:40/km which is at the limit of what I can legitimately label ‘easy’ – anything sub 4:40/km I define as ‘steady’.

week 15 – ending Sunday 2 April

day	training
Mon	—
Tue	34 mins easy	(4:48/km average)
Wed	10 mins easy (warm up) 6 x { 1 min fast 1 min jog } 3 mins jog 10 mins steady (marathon pace) 10 mins easy (warm down)	(4:57/km average) over all sets: { (3:43/km average) (5:21/km average) } (5:11/km average) (4:28/km average) (5:01/km average)
Thu	—
Fri	7 mins easy (warm up) 24 mins steady (marathon pace) 6 mins easy (warm down)	(4:55/km average) (4:28/km average) (4:59/km average)
Sat	—
Sun	70 mins easy	(4:40/km average)
total	3 hrs 6 mins (+14 mins versus training plan)

Just a week to race day!