Five in a row

I've just completed an 8.5 mile run in the pouring rain, a little taster for what training through winter for a spring marathon is going to be like. Of course, it's totally fine, it does make your step slightly heavier, but it can be quite refreshing too.

Since the Nike 10k race at the end of August, I've completed a run of at least an hour every Sunday, in an effort to build up a good base on which to start my proper marathon training. I've not managed to fit in much in between, but with six months to go, I figured I've still got time.

I had a first attempt at interval style training yesterday, running one lap of the local field, followed by a two minute recovery. I managed the following, loosely based on Yasso 800s:

• 2 x 800m at pace (approx. 3m 15s) followed by 2 minute walking recovery
• 2 x 400m at same pace followed by 1 minute walking recovery

My first goal is not to increase the pace, but to sustain it for longer and do 4 x 800m, rather than having to step down to the 400s. We'll see how that goes and take it from there.

In summary for the week:

• 40 miles cycling
• 1 hour swimming
• 18km running
• 30 min resistance training