It's getting close now.
And last week wasn't a good week training wise due to family issues. Never mind though, I managed to fit in the two fast sessions and a ten miler before the race on Sunday.
This week and the next should be the hardest tro weeks of the plan, next week having a 40km run. This week though has had a ten miler on monday and 5 miles today.
Tomorrow will be 5 X 1600m and Frday will be 9km at marathon pace. Thursady should be 8 kilometers easy whist Saturday will be a rest day before my all out half marathon effort on Sunday.
I had to reschedule things a little as half marathons do not come around too often in Galicia, therefore it's a week earlier than the schedule recommends, thus, this weekend is the half and next weekend is the ultra long one.
In reply to Sampedro, I know that Rodrigo Gavela does not beleive in running huge distances in marathon training, about 1 3/4 hours is the longest that he recommends I think. I originally agreed with him, but last year I really found the last ten kilometers hard, which I put down to lack of endurance. I have the impression from what I've read, that Rodrigo's plans work well for runners who already have that base and are comfortable running 30 kilometers or so, but who have concentrated too much on distance and not enough on speed. Personally, I'm quite comfortable between 10 km and half mara distances, but due to lack of trails or towpaths, as nearly all distance training is on asphalt I hardly ever go over 20 kilometers.
Probably Rodrigo would say that 20 kilometers are too many but I would like to cover all angles, bearing in mind that I blew up last year. With a good taper I should be OK.
Sampedro by the way, has been accepted for New York this year, good luck with the training, what plan will you be following?
Regarding last weekend, 12 undulating kilometers in 37'38" which I'm pleased with. The race itself was, in my opinion, fairly well organized, although reading the Galician forum one would not think so. Last year I ran Arteixo after a bit of a layoff and was surprised how well I ran considering the course. This year it was 3 kilometers longer, and people had told me it would be tough, so I was well pleased to dip under 4 minutes per kilometer.
For those who can read Spanish, take a look at the FORO on
http://www.correrengalicia.org to see some of the complaints about this race (which again, the shop was a sponser). There were problems, there wasn't enough water for the back markers at the water station, and the results were out on the times. Having said that, one guy in particular organized this event and it would seem that all he has received is criticism, whilst the course was virtually traffic free (the odd car whilst we were out in the countryside, but traffic free in the villiage), there were drinks, a free tee shirt etc etc, but people still complain.
When all the race organizers give up under the criticism and there are no more carreras populares in Galicia, what will these people say then? In the shop people ask me if I can organize a race for La Coruña, but when people complain so much, I have to ask myself if it's worth all the hassle.... probably not.
Five Weeks to Toral de los Vados (2005)
