Weekly summary - 8 weeks to go

I've said it before but: my highest ever weekly mileage! There were some tough sessions too, and all done while holding down a job. It's going to get tougher next week though as my employers have chosen to add a 40-mile commute to my workload. I'll have to get up 30 minutes earlier. I hope I can be disciplined to go to bed 30 minutes earlier too! Somehow I'm going to have to absorb an extra 90 minutes travelling into my day. I managed it during the winter on just 2 doubles a week. Can I cope doing 5 doubles?

Back to the weekly summary though: it all culminated in me running our club relay as a solo effort. The relay is 9 legs run as teams of 3, each person doing 3 legs of 2 to 3 miles each. Each leg has at least some off-road, while some are completely off-road. I'm amazed how you can fit a 22.1-mile circuit of running onto Hayling Island without ever crossing your path. It's a nice run!

I set off mid-pack, surprised at how many runners I was ahead of. After 3 legs though, things settled down as the faster runners of the teams behind me came running past. It was nice, and surprising, to finish ahead of 2 teams. Shame I didn't have a realistic handicap though: I was handicapped the same as the teams - assuming I was running the 22.1 miles at a pace I could sustain for just 3 miles! Not surprisingly, I finished last on handicap.

Dave and Suzy hosted the event on behalf on race organiser John and did a fantastic job. It was a lovely fun social event, and great weather too!

Monday	5.2 miles	easy run
Tuesday	13 miles	am:4 miles easy pm:9 miles pace test
Wednesday	14 miles	am:4 miles easy pm: 10 miles steady	Feeling really tired for evening run. Wind and rain didn't help!
Thursday	12.3 miles	am: 4 miles easy pm: 8.3 miles club session	110m hill, 200m jog recover down, 400m flat, 150m jog recover. Hills: 37s, 37s, 37s, 37s, 34s, 35s, 34s. 400s: 1:42, 1:42, 1:40, 1:41, 1:40, 1:41, 1:41
Friday	12 miles	am: 4.4 easy pm: 7.6 steady 8:24 117bpm
Saturday	6.2 miles	Easy run
Sunday	22.1 miles	Club relay done as solo effort	8:24/mile 133bpm 77%MHR. Felt I should have been running faster for that HR, but it was off-road, hot and windy
Total	84.8 miles

Marathon pace test

Last night was another of my pace tests. To recap, this originally developed from an idea that a marathon is run at the maximum pace you can sustain for at least 10 miles without any cardiac drift. If your heart rate is rising at the end of the run, then you aren't going to be able to sustain that pace for a full marathon. You're looking for your maximum steady state pace. This doesn't guarantee your endurance is good for the 26.2 miles, but at least it gives you an idea of the heart rate to run at given proper endurance training. If you were to factor endurance in, you would want to be able to run 16 miles at least without any drift, but there's no way I'm going to be running 16 miles at marathon pace in training!

Of course, to do this test you have to have constant conditions, so it's best to do it as circuits to avoid varing terrain, gradient and weather (wind).

From marathon experience I now know that my marathon HR is 145bpm. The test then becomes more a question of what pace can I sustain at 145bpm, rather than what heart rate I should be running at.

A caveat on cardiac drift. It's not just lactate that causes it - temperature and dehydation can affect it. In the winter I don't tend to overheat, so I find I get up to mara HR fairly quickly and then hold it there. In the summer I spend the first few laps getting hotter and hotter so it takes a while before I hit a steady state and my HR stops rising. The pace is also likely to be lower due to the effects of heat - blood being used for cooling and not powering the muscles.

With me so far?

Here's the results of last night's run: a 1 mile warmup and then 5 2415m laps running at what I felt was marathon pace.

2415m (~1.5 miles) continuous laps. 1.5 miles warm up/cool down not included

Lap	Lap time	Mins/mile	bpm	%of max HR
1	10:56	07:17	132bpm	76%
2	10:50	07:13	138bpm	80%
3	10:53	07:15	141bpm	82%
4	10:59	07:19	141bpm	82%
5	10:54	07:16	141bpm	82%

Yet again fatigue has stopped me hitting marathon HR. I've never found fatigue affects my pace/HR relationship, just my ability to hit a pace, ie lower HR. What you have to watch out for is when you do see your pace/HR affected then that is a sign of overtraining.

So from the above, I'd say my current marathon pace at 18C (it'll hopefully be cooler in Abingdon) is 7:05/mile when extrapolated up to 145bpm.

Compare this to my previous test 6 months ago

Very pleased!

Weekly summary - 9 weeks to go

This week was spent taking it fairly easy after the 28 miles last Sunday.

It didn't get off to the best of starts Sunday evening though, when I had a bad bout of sickness & diarrhea. It seemed to be a 24-hour wonder though, as by Tuesday morning I was feeling fine. Maybe it was the chicken panini I had in Salisbury?

I was feeling great by the end of the week so was starting to pick the speed of my evening runs up a bit. My heart rates have been getting lower and lower lately and I'm probably running most of my runs too easily: Thursday morning was only 103bpm, 60%max, and many of my evening runs haven't been much faster. I've resolved to try to keep my evening runs 'steady' and pick up the pace a bit to get my heart rate nearer 70-75% of max, 120-130bpm . The pace is getting up towards 8:00/mile but because it takes a while for my HR to rise, then for short runs I'm still only averaging 115bpm. Nice to know I need to train faster after years of trying to train slower!

I've already written about the Everton 10k. I'm pleased with the result in context of the high mileage.

Next week I have my first marathon pace test of this campaign - looking forward to the results - then on Sunday I'm running our 22 mile club relay race solo - should be an interesting week.

Monday	Rest		Tummy trouble!
Tuesday	10 miles	am:4.3 miles easy pm:5.7 miles easy club run
Wednesday	15.3 miles	am:4 miles easy pm: 11.3 miles steady 8:30/mile 117bpm	Would have been quicker, but met some friends and ran the last few miles with them
Thursday	9.9 miles	am: 4.5 miles easy 103bpm!!pm: 5.4 miles steady club session 8:16/mile 117bpm	Avoided the hill session and ran steady on my own
Friday	12.5 miles	am: 5 easy pm: 7.5 steady 8:21 115bpm	Trying to keep HR up
Saturday	7.5 miles	Steady run 8:31/mile 113bpm	Feeling good
Sunday	10.3 miles	Everton 10k plus warm up/down	42:04 3rd lady, 1st W40 ave HR 152bpm
Total	65.5 miles

Pot hunting: the Everton 10k

My racing has changed over recent months, as I think I've mentioned before. Whereas in the past it was always me against the clock, now it is me against the other women in the field. Proper racing!

This race needed to be against the clock though. This was my one opportunity to do a 10k to assess my fitness ahead of the Wolverhampton Half Marathon in 2 week's time. This was a time trial. As I entered though, I couldn't help thinking that I had a chance of placing in the prizes. I think I'm becoming a bit of a pot hunter! This was a low key race with only 150 entrants. My chances were good!

Everton is a village just outside Lymington on the edge of the New Forest. It's nothing to do with the 'blue half', OK?

As we waited around on the playing fields before the start I sized up my opposition. It's funny how you pretty much know who the main opposition are just on initial inspection. There was a young lean woman in a Southampton vest - a definite possibility. Then there was the seriously lean woman in the non-descript vest - not a club vest as far as I could tell, but you just knew this one meant business. I could tell from that wiry frame, minimal body fat, purposeful expression - she had a rather 'elite' look about her. She looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't place her.

We lined up ready to start. I was 2 rows back: ambitious but realistic. I looked across and there was Southampton girl. There was also a Hardley woman in her purple club vest who looked like she knew a racing flat when she saw one. Seriously lean woman was lined up right on the start line shoulder to shoulder with the fast men. Either she was hopelessly optimistic about her abilities or she was a top 10 contender. I suspected it wasn't the former!

We were off in the usual mad scramble. I was determined to run at what I felt was an even pace and not do the mad sprint start, which resulted in a few people coming past and a gap opening up ahead of me. Southampton girl was well away, but I found myself in what was probably 5th place behind a tiny woman in turquoise and purple Hardley girl a little further ahead.

The course was a loop out from Everton of around 4km, back through the village and out the other side for another loop of 6km. The first half is fairly flat but I'd been warned about some nasty little ups and downs in the second half as the course crossed a small river.

The first km was slightly uphill, so it was just as well I was sensible, unlike tiny turquoise woman whom I passed at 2km as the course turned back towards the village. Hardley purple girl was still visible up ahead maybe 100m away.

I was maintaining a brisk pace but the fatigue of 83 miles in the previous 7 days was showing in my heart rate which was lower than I would have expected: I just didn't have the energy to push the heart rate (and the pace) higher. I kept pushing as best I could and tried to keep the km splits near to 4:10, my target for the day.

As we passed half way I was exactly on schedule having kept a fairly even pace. We started the second loop and crossed the river that we would meet coming back in. My pace immediately started to suffer, but at least the uphill bits got my heart rate up a few beats back to where it should be. Up ahead, Hardley purple girl was definitely getting closer. The race was on.

I passed a thick-set guy (I think that's the term) as we turned into quite a breeze at the far end of the course. He immediately sped up and took the lead again blocking my way. Why do that? We weren't in the same race. Why get all man-on-man with 3km still to run? I braced myself against the wind and took him again, this time shutting the door on him so I could concentrate on closing down Hardley purple girl without having to fight his elbows. He accepted defeat.

As we turned back towards the village, Hardley purple girl turned to look back. She knew I was there!

I was now right behind her as we crossed the little river and gritted our teeth against the hill up to the 9km mark. It made sense to sit back and not waste too much energy overtaking on the uphill. Should I continue to sit behind her and take her in the run in? I reminded myself that this was a time trial and should be pushing hard. I was helped by a guy coming past whom I latched onto briefly to overtake. I left Hardley purple girl behind and focussed on a young guy ahead whom I remembered from the scrum at the start.

We now had just 200 metres to go and I was shoulder to shoulder with the young guy on the run in. The thing I'm finding a lot lately is that you don't want to get into a finish line sprint with someone over 20 years your junior. They have much faster finishing speed, these young things. I was left in his dust, but finished strongly to take what I believed was 3rd place. Result!

As I jogged back along the course, encouraging the other runners still coming in, I spotted seriously lean woman and jogged along with her. It was Kathy Bailey, yet another of the Winchester elite ladies. Finally I get to put the name to the face. She'd finished in 36:16 - wow! She confessed she'd lost a minute in the last half, and the final hill had taken all her finish speed out of her legs. It's not just me then!

I finished in a time of 42:04, a PB by 68secs, 3rd lady and first W40, getting a nice silver salver for the trophy cabinet.

It would have been nice if the MacMillan calculator was predicting a 3:15 marathon from that - it's saying 3:17:25, but given the breeze, the hills and my 83-mile week, I think I'm OK. I'll have a small taper for the Wolverhampton Half Marathon in 2 week's time and see what I get there.

Looking good!


Splits + HRs:

1	4:11	136bpm
2	4:12	148bpm
3	4:05	151bpm
4	4:09	152bpm
5	4:13	152bpm
6	4:12	152bpm
7	4:18	155bpm
8	4:21	156bpm
9	4:15	155bpm
10	4:07	159bpm

Fun with 8 treadmills

This is fantastic!
8 treadmills, the band "OK Go", their tune "Here it goes again", some inspired choreography and a single take:
Enjoy it!

I love the skating!
My local gym has 8 treadmills. Hmmm....

Weekly summary - 10 weeks to go

Well that was an interesting week! Two PBs and a marathon!

I started with a rest day on Monday and an easy 4 miles on Tuesday, tapering for the 5k. My body didn't like that - I got cramp in my calf on Tuesday evening after I showered. I'm not used to resting!

The 5k went very well. The report is linked below. A new 5k PB and what I believe is the club record.

Thursday was our club handicap: 7.5 miles of mixed terrain over 4 footbridges and 12 gates. I pushed hard and got a 40sec PB, but still was running below marathon effort, even though I was touching 7:15/mile on the road bits. I need to do a marathon pace test soon to assess my condition - I think I'm in good form!

By Saturday I was feeling a bit depleted, but on Sunday ran the Salisbury 54321 trail marathon feeling really good. It was nice to finish a tough 28 miles feeling so fresh. The down side was that something I ate afterwards, maybe the chicken panini, disagreed badly with me and I had a bout of S&D on Sunday night, leaving me feeling a tad weak. I've recovered well though - a 24-hour wonder.

An easier week for me this week in quality terms but I'll keep the quantity going with lots of doubles.

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	4 miles	easy run 108bpm 8:54/mile	Resting for the 5k, but my body's not used to it - I got cramp in my calf after my shower!
Wednesday	7.1 miles	Promenade 5k 20:22 152bpm 6:33/mile	km splits: 4:05 4:09 4:07 4:00 3:58, HR splits: 139, 152, 155, 155, 158
Thursday	13.3 miles	am: 4 miles easy pm: 9.3 miles - 7.5 mile club handicap 58:19	2nd PB in 2 days. HR splits: 132 146 135 140 139 139 139 141, so still below marathon effort
Friday	9.6 miles	am: 4.4 easy pm: 5.2 easy
Saturday	6 miles	Easy run 9:28/mile	Feeling quite tired/carb depleted
Sunday	28 miles	Salisbury 54321 trail marathon 10:28/mile	Fun!
Total	68 miles

Salisbury 54321 Trail Marathon

5 rivers, 4 hills, 3 country estates, 2 castles and 1 cathedral is what we were promised, 1 rather long training run was what we came for. Tigger's mate Roo persuaded me to run this one with her as a slow alternative to the usual weekend long run. As long as we kept it really slow then we'd be fine using it for training. It promised to be quite a picturesque run so well worth the effort.

The race HQ and start was Salisbury Fire Station:


We were off at a leisurely pace following the river, and then climbed up to the ancient fort of Old Sarum:


It was then on to the Clarendon Way, through the grounds of Clarendon House, and on to the beautiful Longford Castle:


There was a surprising amount of road, but lots of trails, paths, and open fields:


We were supplied with maps, but the route was well way-marked and we rarely needed the map. There were regular checkpoints where our numbers were taken to ensure we all got round safely, and no one took shortcuts. Some of the checkpoints were in beautiful locations, such as this one on the edge of the 'enchanted forest':


The enchanted forest was beautiful with all the yew trees, but it made Susie go all blurry and shoot rays of pure blue thought from her head:

(The path was marked by a rather long piece of blue string)

On we trekked through the villages neighbouring Salisbury, and on through the meadows, looking for our first view of the cathedral. We ran past 'Constable Close' - clearly a police station nearby - and eventually got our first view of the cathedral:

It's big!:


A jog through the centre of Salisbury, through the at times bemused, and at times oblivious, tourists, and we were soon back at the fire station. "Where's the finish line?" This was a fairly relaxed event - there was no line, but a 'finishing desk' where we registered for our medals. Equally relaxed was the distance - my GPS registered 28 miles. I'm not sure if we get official results - this is an event to be savoured not raced.

A moment of excitement at the end was when the siren went off in the fire station and the crew scrambled out to their truck parked outside in the yard. It might seem obvious but firemen really do slide down a fireman's pole! They weren't all men either - good to see a firewoman in the crew.

Some free food might have been nice at the end - maybe I didn't look hard enough. I did purchase the world's largest Belgian bun for a pound though. It took two of us to devour it. Teamwork by me and Tigger's mate Roo right to the end!:


28 miles in 4:52. Training objective achieved.

Portsmouth Promenade 5k

Funny how the tone of a race is set within the first few hundred metres.

The start of the Promenade 5k is a tad hectic. It starts in the car park of the Mountbatten Leisure Centre, turns immediately left and then funnels through onto the promenade along a short narrow piece of tarmac wide enough for one person, causing a mad scramble over an uneven bit of grass, kerb and gravel. Fun!

Having got the mad scramble over and got past the usual hangers on who should have been further back on the start line, I took stock of those around me. I was running shoulder to shoulder with Tina with whom I'd had the battle in the 5000m, and I was on the heels of Kim, the W40 winner of our Billy 5 race. I'd noticed Kim's time in the Billy 5 and had wondered if I'd have beaten her if I'd been able to do the race. I guess I was about to find out how my speed matched up to hers.

Kim and Tina were the main rivals I'd spotted before the race and here we were running together after 400m. I guess we all have a pretty good idea of our pace!

We passed 1km in formation as we headed north up the promenade around Portsmouth harbour. This was the low-tide version of the race: lots of rotting seaweed - lovely! There was a stiff breeze blowing into our faces, wafting the sweet perfume of methane, bad egg, cabbage and a hint of ambergris. I've not sampled Jade Goodey's new pefume - I wonder...?

The wind was going to cause problems with my pace plan. I was determined that this race was strictly against the clock. The club record stood at 20:35 - 1 second inside my track 5000m time. I needed to run each kilometre under 4:07. There was also the consideration of how close I could get to 20:00 or 4:00/kilometre. We love making time targets for ourselves don't we? 20:00 for me though had special significance: on the Macmillan calculator a 20:00 5km predicts 3:14:58 for a marathon - my Abingdon target. I know you can't really predict marathons from 5k's but it's an intriguing target.

We passed 1km in 4:05 - on target for the record but a bit behind 20:00. The wind was making it tough to go much faster though so I contented myself sitting with Kim and Tina. Kim had other ideas though and started pulling away. Soon she was several places ahead, but I didn't feel confident to go with her pace despite my 20:00 target. The second kilometre came up in 4:09 - the wind was taking its toll.

Kim was still getting away but I sensed Tina was slowing a little so I pushed ahead of her. I guess I had the confidence of already having beaten Tina. As we turned away from the wind I felt better and sensed the gap to Kim starting to shrink a little. As we looped around the Lido I had to jostle my way round a guy who seemed all elbows. This was the twisty turny part of the course - chances were I was going to lose a little time. As we turned back into the wind, Kim seemed strong again and I was no longer closing. I think my height puts me at a disadvantage in the wind.

3km came up at 4:07 - back on record pace - just!

We now turned back out of the wind as we made our way round the lake. More twisty turny bits and we were back on the promenade with Kim getting ever closer.

4km: 4:00 - that's better. I was now on Kim's shoulder.

Should I hold back and wait for my moment to overtake Kim? I reminded myself I was against the clock and pushed on past Kim. It wasn't a particularly decisive move, but I felt strong and started to pick off others as I tried to pick up my pace in the final kilometre.

We entered the park for the final 400m run in, more twisty turny, and I positioned myself for the final run to the finish funnel that I spotted the other side of the flower bed. Push, push, push, oh bugger! The finish line was actually another 100m away down the far corner of the park. I guess I should have done my homework. I tried to keep my pace going as 2 people I'd just overtaken came past me - oops!

With a final kilometre of 3:58, I crossed the line in 20:22 - a new club ladies' overall record.

It was a quality field: Lucy Elliot broke Karen Hazlitt's course record by 30 seconds with a 16:30ish (from memory). Toby Lambert was beaten into 2nd place in the men, by a Belgrave Harrier, whose name escapes me - sorry! (Quality journalism here!)

It appears I was the first W40, but I don't think I get a prize for that as the prizes are awarded for the series, this being the 3rd and final race.

Not a bad evening's work, but I still want that 20:00! Some people are never satisfied!

Weekly summary - 11 weeks to go

An easier week, but with a killer mile reps session run at 5k pace.

After last weekend I was feeling very tired, not helped by having lost a bit of sleep and not being able to have the lunchtime naps I'd become used to on my hols. After feeling wacked out on the Tuesday night run I decided a rest day was called for on Wednesday so that I could attack the mile reps.

I pulled my week back together quite well.

As I write this I've had another rest day to make sure I'm on top form for a midweek 5k, then it's back to full mileage.

Monday	5.5 miles	easy run
Tuesday	11.5 miles	am: 4 miles easy pm: 7.5 miles club run 7:53/mile 125bpm 72%MHR	Struggled to get my HR up - very tired
Wednesday	Rest		My first rest for a month - needed it!
Thursday	11 miles	am: 4 miles easy pm: 7 miles 4*1-mile 3-min recover 6:36, 6:40, 6:41, 6:38, max HRs 149, 152, 154, 157bpm	Fastest ever. Very pleased!
Friday	10 miles	am: 5 easy pm: 5 steady
Saturday	6.21 miles	Easy but hilly run on country lanes
Sunday	15.5 miles	8:30/mile 122bpm 70%MHR	Lovely run around Shropshire countryside. Hot though!
Total	59.7 miles

Mile reps

I occasionally blog individual training sessions when they are significant, and last night was one of those.

The club session was mile reps, which fitted well with my plans. The challenge laid down to me by Mike Gratton was to do the reps at 5k pace. That would be 4 miles of running at a pace I could only sustain for 3 miles if done in one go. Tough!

Apparently this was a session Seb Coe would do - 4 * 1600m at 5k pace with 90 second recoveries. His 5k was 13:20 though - 4:17/mile - so a little bit quicker than my 6:36/mile. I decided to do them off 3-minute recoveries - 90 seconds being a tad ambitious for my first attempt at 5k pace miles.

We had a freshly marked out-and-back mile course, courtesy of my surveyor's wheel. Armed with my Garmin I aimed at 6:30/mile and off I went in the heat.

The first few went OK, but my jog recoveries were becoming more walk recoveries with each rep. I struggled for the 3rd and was doubting I could do a 4th, but I had Bernie as a hare to chase. I pushed hard down the last 400m - I did it!

Times:
6:36
6:41
6:40
6:38

I think the turnaround at 800m slowed me by a few seconds, so I hit my target pretty well. The Garmin was measuring long, as it was generally reading 6:30/mile.

I have a 5k road race next week. Bring it on!

I love the satisfaction of nailing a tough session!

July total mileage

July total mileage: 311 miles

Year to date total: 1686 miles

My highest mileage month ever. 45 training sessions and 1 rest day. The mileage was helped by the fact that I had 2 weeks holiday which I used to put in some big weeks. The challenge is now to keep the mileage going while back at work. I also have a 5k and a 10k race that I will taper for, so this might limit the number of 80-mile weeks I can do. I won't be short of long runs though, and the quality of the training will be high, so it's all good.

Going well!

Weekly summary - 12 weeks to go

What a week that was!

First up, on Tuesday, I did my second mega session, designed to push the boundaries of my training a little. This involved first running the usual Tuesday club run, this time as a tempo run, accelerating for the first 4 miles reaching 7:00/mile on the 4th mile and then jogging the last 2. That would be a perfectly good session on any other day, but I then added a speed session on at the end: 10*400m at faster than 5k pace, generally running faster than 6:30/mile. I thought it was going to be tough but I felt great, no doubt helped by the fact that I had taken the fortnight as holiday and could rest well between sessions.

Ah, rest! I could take lunchtime naps when I needed, and boy did I need them! This was a big mileage week - the life of a pro athlete.

After 14 miles on Wednesday split 4/10 across the now usual double, the next hard session was Thursday and the club 'short' handicap race. I did the 3.65 miles, over bridges across fields and through gates, in 26 minutes: a PB by 30 seconds. It felt like I was pushing hard, but in fact my heart rate was a beat below what it was last time. Good news!

Friday was a relatively easy day running-wise. The 7.5 mile recovery run was followed by a drive up to London to watch the athletics at Crystal Palace. My ankle is still a bit sore though from riding the clutch for an hour round the M25.

I stayed overnight with my athletics coach friend, and joined in her hill session in Greenwich park the following morning. The precursor to the session itself was a 651m hill time trial. Ouch! My legs were fine, but my lungs hurt. It felt like I'd been punched in the chest, my throat was raw and I couldn't stop coughing! I gather this is normal, but it was a little disconcerting. I had a few minutes to recover before we hit the hills again for 12 minutes of short steepish hills followed by 12 minutes of longer gentler hills. Now that's a hill session!

The following morning was a 20.2-mile run around the sights of southeast London: Greenwich, Charlton, Thames Flood Barrier, The Millennium Dome, Antony Gormley's brilliant Quantum Cloud sculpture, Royal Naval College, Greenwich Park, Blackheath Common and round again for a second lap. We were doing 8:00/mile on the flat; there are a surprising number of hills - I thought that area was flat. What a great long run - makes a big change to my local scenery.

81.4 miles

Now that's a week of hard training.

It's back down to earth with a return to work this week, but I'm going to have an easier week anyway - there's no way I could keep up that volume and intensity of training for too long!

Monday	10 miles	am: 6miles easy pm: 4 miles easy
Tuesday	13 miles	am: 4 miles easy pm: 9 miles mega-session: tempo run followed by 10*400m	tempo run: 7:51 117bpm 7:30 129bpm 7:11 141bpm 7:01 141bpm 1.6mls jog, then 10*400m 1min jog recover: 100s 97s 96s 98s 97s 96s 97s 96s 97s 92s - running on feel not Garmin
Wednesday	13.9 miles	am: 4 miles easy pm: 9.9 miles easy 107bpm 9:11/mile
Thursday	5.8 miles	Club 3.65 mile handicap race plus warmup/down	PB by 30s but felt tough despite HR being lower than previously: 143bpm
Friday	7.5 miles	easy run
Saturday	8 miles	Greenwich park hill session	651m hill time trial in 2:54, followed by 12mins short steep reps + 12mins long reps
Sunday	23.2 miles	am: 20.2 miles 8:20/mile 122bpm 71%MHR pm: 3 miles easy	Greenwich-Thames Flood barrier-Dome-Blackheath, repeat. last 5 splits 8:00 7:52 7:47 8:05 8:04
Total	81.4 miles