Week 3 - Copenhagen marathon

Week 3

Fix Your Diet, Kid...

I think when you’re working pretty hard (whether it’s training, life, business—whatever it may be), nutrition often takes a hit. We’re busy, tired, in a rush, and so nutrition suffers. I keep complaining about my trending-down recovery scores, and then I look around the house, kitchen, fridge, and I just see junk... Diet Coke, Snickers, pancakes, sweets, etc. None of the above are bad on their own, in moderation (maybe Diet Coke), but daily... just before bed, etc.? Of course, your recovery scores will look like sh*t the next morning.

Last night, I resisted all temptations, had an electrolyte with water, rice, a burger, and veg for dinner, and—as fate would f*cking have it—my recovery score today was much, much better.

So, a little more of that, please, going into next week.

We now have a marathon, and that’s bloody exciting. We’re not doing a countdown yet, ha... but it’s probably 14 weeks to go if I had to guess.

Week Ending 2nd February

Miles at marathon pace (sub-2:15), effort, or quicker: 15 miles
Marathon plan: Copenhagen

Training Week

The week was okay. I got a stomach bug late Thursday evening, and on Friday, I had a really sore head. I made a decision to rest because I’ve been managing this descending HRV for, what, two weeks now? Creeping down to 35–40 instead of 50–60. I thought it was time to listen to the signs. HRV was 38, and resting heart rate was also 4–5 beats higher. That was enough to decide I needed an easier day—and an easier day with work. Burning the candle at both ends while being useless with nutrition and recovery is a recipe for disaster. But we all do it.

I watched a documentary on Winning the Kentucky Derby, and it just made me feel bad about my own application to life, body, and mind lately. Working like a dog on the business, 8 AM – 9 PM, honestly, no days off, and yet I’m not looking after myself. Ignore being a fast runner—we must look after our bodies for life. Good food, hydration, etc.

I followed week one (with a twist) of the training plan, and I thought that made sense, given that I just got the marathon entry. It also removes any indecision about what I should do. One of the lovely things about putting together a good plan is that I can’t justify why something else might suit me better—especially on the 6 × 3 minutes hard day, which I hate. But I remind myself: If you can set it for everybody, you can bloody well do it yourself.

Training Breakdown

Mon – AM: Easy 5 miles only (recovery)
PM: Same loop as the AM—slow again, recovery.
(I should start adding some hill strides here from tomorrow.)

Tue – Race-specific: I’m labeling this day as a priority 10. It’s so important to test yourself. I went to Victoria Park intending to run pretty hard for 10K. HRV was a beautiful 38, resting HR 46 (normally 40–42), but I just wanted to get on with it. I didn’t expect to feel amazing, but that’s part of the race-specific vibes.

10K – 31:20. First mile was the slowest, then it gradually got better. Composed myself, told myself to focus on the mile I was running, and found some kind of rhythm. Hopefully, I feel better in the next version of this session.

Easy 5-mile double.

Wed – 5 miles. (This day needs to become 10, and soon... A good marathon build for me contains lots of 8–10 mile days.)
PM: Physio. Always great in Galgorm with Steele Physio. The usual, which is why I don’t double—physio is normally at 4 PM, and I don’t like to run after treatment.

Thurs – After feeling terrific last Thursday, I felt horrible today. It explains the poor nutrition, the ups and downs in training.

Plan was 6 × 1K, with 80–90 seconds rest, and run them pretty hard. 3/10 for today—not because I didn’t try. I’m actually super proud of myself (which sounds ridiculous) for getting out and working hard—10/10 for effort.

But I rushed the session. Debated a long run, dog walker came, and I only had 45 minutes before she’d be back... Pathetic warm-up, barely any drills, strides, etc. And then I’m trying to run a 1K at VO₂ max or 5K effort? Wise up is what we’d say.

Didn’t give my body or brain a chance... First rep was 3:04 (final rep 2:48). I just rushed this—maybe because I find this session really tough, nerves, I don’t know. But that’s why I started following the 262 Plan—it’s a good plan, and it removes any indecision or justifying changing days like today. Anybody can do 8 × 1K threshold. Nobody (I think haha) likes doing 6 × 1K at Zone 5.

PM: Easy 5-mile double.

Fri – Rest day (bad stomach). Was happy it was just a bad stomach and not a virus, cold, or throat issue.

Sat – Felt good today. On Saturdays, I join a group in Belfast (Mark Kirk’s group), which really helps fitness and psychology—being around people instead of always solo. Most of the group were away racing, so I ran the reps solo, but that’s okay. The 300s at the end, I had help from the faster guys, which was great.

8 × 1K – 75–80 sec rest – 2:57/8 average. Felt WAAAAYYY better than Thursday, which was lovely. Probably just above threshold effort... or threshold when you’re telling yourself porky pies, haha, and you’re definitely working a bit harder.

5 × 300s fast – 90 sec rest – 48, 47, 46, 45, 44. Loved it. Loved pushing these.

PM – Rest.

Sun – Easy run with the group – 11 miles.
Lovely, easy day. This is running at its peak—good company, getting a run in together.

Reflection

I’m always going to be harsh on myself, but this wasn’t a great week. I’m okay with that because running isn’t my only focus in life. But I like to think of each week as an opportunity—to get closer to your race goals or drift further away. And this week? I probably stayed in the same spot. I didn’t move forward.

A good addition to each week:

• Maintain

• Moved forward

• Moved backward

It’s a good thing to reflect on: Did you do enough this week to move forward and get closer to your goals?

I did the amount of running that made sense this week and kept my psychology in a good place. But did I do enough to run a strong marathon? Unlikely. Some parts of the week went well, but overall, it was lacking—gym, recovery, nutrition, more volume, etc.

Week total: 60 miles (soft)
Score: 5/10

Scully

See you next week.