The Road To Redemption. Part 3 .

Seasons Greetings Fellow Runners.
For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope it was a joyous occasion and you didn't eat too much. Anyway Happy New Year to you all, may you all fulfill your running goals for 2014, or whatever else you resolve to do.
It's been 9 weeks since I started writing blogs covering my buildup for the Dong A Seoul Marathon on March 16 2014. And I'm just about at the halfway stage, already! Boy time flies! The biggest factor affecting marathoners is boredom through the length of an effective buildup. For all the sucess stories there are as much tales ,if not more, of people not achieving their dream through injury or being put off by the idea of putting in the kilometres (miles) ad nauseum; thereby giving up.
To defeat the demons in your head who are constantly trying to talk you out of achieving your goal; the most important thing is to stay in the present. Don't look too far ahead. Keep your mind on the job! Concentrate on getting the work done! I'm not even thinking about what time I'll run on the day. What's more important is to get kilometers or miles in the bank, tick them off in your diary, and then think about your next run. And only your next run! When you are on the startline of the marathon: Tokyo, Seoul, London, Boston, Paris, Rotterdam or whatever spring marathon you're doing, you'll know that if you've managed to get 80% or more of your intended training done then you'll be fine. But to do that requires one big word-CONSISTENCY.
Anyway back to the training. My coach is known for being meticulous and places a huge emphasis on getting in 2-3 months of solid aerobic work before bringing in the quality stuff. In fact one of his athletes competed for UK in the 50k walk at the Moscow World Athletics Championships. Sounds boring, I know ,not to be doing hard interval sessions, however none of his athletes get injured. The first time I was coached by him to my pr back in 1999 I wasn't injured under him. He also concentrates on the last 12k of the marathon. So he knows his stuff! And if you are going to finish fast then you have to have that solid aerobic base that comes through 8-12 weeks of aerobic work which I have already mentioned. And not easy jogging, but at a level where you're working your aerobic system without straining it. Below is what I did last week
Week 9:December 23-29
Monday: Easy 60 minutes
Tuesday: 90 minutes
Wednesday: 60 minutes
Thursday: 80 minutes including 60 minutes at a controlled pace (Heart rate: 145 BPM-156BPM)
Friday: Rest
Saturday:AM: 60 minutes PM: 30 minutes with drills and strides
Sunday:My first marathon progression run for this buildup
2hrs: First 50 minutes (140-150 BPM);50 minutes-1 hour 40 (Heart Rate:150 BPM-156BPM);
1hour 40- 2hours (Heart Rate: 156 BPM-159 BPM)
Run on an out and back course, return leg 90 seconds quicker inspite of strong headwind in places on
return leg.
Weekly Miles: Approx 66 miles (110 kilomeres)
I am now enjoying an easy week. And below is my plan for this week
Monday: 45 minutes
Tuesday: 60 minutes including 3X 5 minutes hard off 1 minute recoveries
Wednesday: 45 minutes
Thursday: 45 minutes with strides
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: My first race for nearly a year; The Yeosu 10k
Following week will be back to the hard stuff. The commencement of specific marathon training when everything becomes more serious.
Thank you for reading this blog and I look forward to comments to which I will be happy to respond.
Yours in running
Owain