Tromsø training is kicking into high gear!
And part of that “higher gear”? I decided to start working with a coach again. His name is Donal Moran and he’s Irish, he lives here in London and I met him through the Mornington Chasers, though his coaching is separate from the run club. I’ll share more, but its been a few weeks of working with him now and so far, so good (other than the stomach bug that set me back a little bit last week.) I know I had just shared that I was going to follow the same plan I did for Barcelona, but I had been simultaneously researching other coaches and decided to give it a go. Honestly, I had missed having someone else care about my running, other than me!
Here’s how this past week went:
Monday: Rest from running, still in the Cotswolds. We did do a 4 mile hike with the pups before getting in the car for the two hour drive back to London. (Monday was a U.K. holiday.) I made it back in time to fit in a pilates class at Heartcore in Hampstead with my favorite instructor, Rik. Tons of core work at his classes, I love it.
(hiking in the Cotswolds)
Tuesday: British runners seem to refer to workouts as “sessions” so I’m going to try to do that as well. This was my first session of the week: warm-up, then 4×8 minutes at marathon “strength” (slightly faster than marathon pace or around 8 min/mile) with a 90 sec jog in between. It worked perfectly as my friends Tina and Tilly wanted to do a similar workout, so they joined me for 3 of the 4 sets!
I fit in a gentle pilates class near the office after work at Ten Health. Lots of stretching, which was lovely.
Wednesday: I decided to run commute solo, drop off my bag and add on in Hyde park. We didn’t have an office run this week due to some train strikes, but I still enjoy a run commute! 8 miles total, very easy paced.
Thursday: Another session! This time warm-up, 2×20 min at marathon effort (around 8:20 min/mile) with a 4 minute jog in between. 20 minutes felt a little intimidating, but it shouldn’t be, if that’s my honest marathon pace. It went well- 9.5 miles total.
That evening, Dustin and I had tickets to the “Affordable Art Fair” in Hampstead Heath (literally our backyard.) It was so impressive! I wanted to buy so much, but we ended up not buying anything as its a little tough to invest in artwork when we’re renting here….but so much great stuff and a fun event.
*I also watched the Taylor concert in Paris via social media and am SO excited about the TTPD songs she added- I will be seeing her in two weeks in Lisbon, Portugal over the next May bank holiday weekend!
Friday: 8 mile run with Dustin and Ruth, ending with 4×15 sec strides (solo.) A Heartcore pilates class after work. We also made our way east to Shoreditch for dinner at Brat, a Michelin-starred (yet still casual, not multiple courses) restaurant we’ve been meaning to try based on some friends’ recommendations. We don’t often go out on Fridays since we always long run Saturdays, but it was the only time we could get a booking. It was good, but not as good as the hype we had heard.
Saturday: Long run! I met up with two Mornington Chasers, Tilly and Kelly. Kelly is training for the Edinburgh marathon and tapering, so she just had 12 miles. I did 12 with them and 6 solo for 18 miles. It was a warm one in London too! 80F/27C.
Followed up the run with a 3-ish mile walk in the Heath with the pups before a nice nap!
That evening, we made our way to Kensington to have dinner at the Churchill Arms, a pub that serves incredible Thai food.
Sunday: A bit of a ‘lie-in’ followed by an 8 mile run with Dustin and Ruth, and a chill little Sunday (heading to Liberty for a Margaret Dabbs pedicure and foot treatment and signed up for an evening pilates class.)
Summary: 60 miles of running, 4 pilates classes (3 Heartcore, 1 Ten)
Next week, I am running the Hackney Half. I did it last year a few weeks after the Vienna marathon and had such a great time that I registered again immediately afterwards, so I hope its just as much fun next weekend!
(Post-run snooze for Ruth!)
I’m linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner; check out their blogs to connect with other fitness bloggers for workout ideas and inspiration!
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