So, my third 100 mile week in a row! 103.3 miles which beats my previous biggest week from two weeks ago by a whopping 0.8 miles! 😉 I started the week feeling something like the tin man after my big 20 mile long run with 10 miles at marathon pace. However my recovery doubles did their job and the legs gradually came back to life.
Indeed weirdly this week has almost felt like a mini-recovery week, with the lack of the usual Tuedsay LT session followed by an MLR on Wednesday, which is always hard work. This gave the legs a bit more breathing room, and having recovered well from Sunday’s long run Wednesday’s medium-long run went really well. The pace averaged out at 7:31/mi, similar to last week, but the average HR was lower and the effort felt relatively relaxed.
The end of the week was a little tougher, with a long 11 mile session with 6 at LT on Friday. Initially I thought I might have to call it off, as the weather was very cold and I wasn’t going to risk running fast on icy paths. However weirdly although it was freezing out, frozen paths were nowhere to be found so it was game on. I was pleased to average 6:31/mi for the LT section, with the effort feeling hard but manageable. The legs also felt really good afterwards, not too beaten up like they can sometimes after a longer, faster session.
The final run of the week was the big one, 22 miles around Worcester. I was very pleased to average 7:22/mi overall, which I think is my fastest ever long run anywhere. My legs felt strong despite being at the end of my third 100 mile week in a row, and the pace didn’t slow at the end even though I ran it fasted. A big confidence boost and a great way to end another big week of training. Just one more 100 mile week next week before I get a well earned recovery week…