Another week of training and I have to say I am LOVING the process of marathon training right now. I listened to a really great podcast by Rogue Runners (recommended by a reader) and instead of seeing a BQ as something I am so far from, it made me see it as something I simply need to ‘up my game’ for. To work harder, and if it will happen. One day, it will happen.

So here’s how this week went down…

Monday – Off

Tuesday – Track Tuesday

10 x 400m with my track buddies – you can join us by signing up here. It’s free and really friendly.

Annoyingly I’d forgotten to charge my watch so it survived for the warm up mile and died, but I ran on feel. Aiming for 6.35-40 pace with easy 200m recoveries.

Wednesday – Reformer Pilates Class

I went with my friend Veronica to a Reformer class at Frame. In the past, the reformer classes I’ve done are hard but include a lot more stretching. This wasn’t like this at all, and had some all round awkward moments. Fun to do a class with a friend but maybe not one I’ll rush back to!

Thursday – Run Commute 4 miles watch-free

Testing out the last of my running backpacks for this Best Run Commuting Backpacks post.

Friday – Barrecore class with Veronica

Saturday – parkrun 3.1 miles

Tested a new-to-me parkrun…Reading. Since moving I haven’t been to parkrun because I’ve spent every weekend on my PT course so far. I loved the course, friendly atmosphere and the sunshine!  I did my threshold workout within this run, having had a bit of a botched effort earlier in the week where I hadn’t hit the times I wanted.

Goal: 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at 7.30-45, 1 mile cool down

Actual: 1 mile warm up, 7.31, 7.25, 7,32, 0.5 mile cool down

Accidentally ran a 5K PB, 23.20 – it wasn’t a full out effort for me and this was a little confidence booster to know that I have some speed in my legs and happy to nail the paces for the workout.

Sunday – Great South Run 10 miles – 1.25.17 + 4 cool down miles

I was invited by Garmin to run the Great South Run on Sunday with their team and was so excited to take part. I’ve never done a Great Run race, and have Great North Run on my bucket list, so it was fun to try one of their race series. Also I was thrilled to test out another Garmin running watch – the 935 – review coming soon!

I arrived with plenty of time before the race to chill out, watch the elite start and prep for our 11am start. I like the way the race was staggered by corral times, however, by starting further back than our anticipated pace, we did get caught up with the wave in front of us quite quickly.

My plan was to run with Emily (who has just finished an Ironman – listen to my podcast with her here), and chat. After a 7.40ish min mile to start, I reeled it in and fell into pace with Jack from Garmin and Emma.

The miles ticked by without much incidence, we were running about 8.20-30 min miles, waving to the crowds and enjoying the gorgeous route.

The weather was warm. Hotter than we were expecting for a mid-October race in our leggings and with only water stops every 3 miles, I think some runners struggled. I certainly saw a large number of ambulances and runners that looked to be in serious trouble being helped by paramedics. I actually ran up to two girls in the final stretch to ask if they were OK or needed some help.

I love using races as training runs however I do have a bad habit of running them a little too fast, something I’m trying to work on. I was glad I had the team around me to chat with and stop me getting competitive with myself.

On a side note – can I just say how happy I was to work with a Garmin. It’s a brand that I’ve worn and used since I first started running 6 years ago. My first running watch was a Garmin, and my 30th Bday present to myself was a Garmin. It’s a brand I am fully behind and hope I can work with in the future.