MONDAY
REST & TRAVEL

TUESDAY
TRAVEL

WEDNESDAY
JET LAG

THURSDAY
8.7K easy run – 55mins

FRIDAY
10K Hilly 1:00:06

SATURDAY
10K more hills – 1st 3K were up hill. 10:09:00

SUNDAY
An easy, but zippy 5K

The Joy Of Jet Lag

My last full week of training before the marathon and I spent most of the week getting over my jet lag. The problem with running a marathon on the other side of the world – to where you do the bulk of your training – is that at some point one needs to travel to the country of the marathon. That in itself is not an issue, my family live in Australia so coming here is not a chore. The jet lag, however, is something else. Thankfully I have made this trip a number of times and I have managed to get the jet lag relatively under control.

In many ways, the good thing about having to run (for the purposes of training) – especially when one is jet lagged – means that one is forced to be awake at reasonable times of the day and the daily dose of regular & rigorous activity means that the chances of sleeping through the night are quite high.

Looking Ahead

Next week is going to be tough, mentally. As per the tapering plan that I am following, I only have 2 very small runs and a 15K cycle to keep me sane on the build up to Sunday. Luckily there are lots of hills where I am so I can at least get some decent hill climbing practice in. Hopefully the hill work will keep me ticking over enough to prevent me from flying (or should I say running) off the handle and inadvertently knocking out a 15K run.

The Three P’s Of Marathoning: Planning, Planning & Planning

I have been spreadsheeting my marathon – I remember reading that the running of a marathon is basically an exercise in time and energy management. It can, essentially, be planned – kilometre by kilometre – on a spreadsheet. So I’ve done that, it hasn’t made the marathon feel any less daunting. But at least I have a plan.

After last week’s performance at the Water Of Life half marathon I have decided to aim for a finishing time of about 4:20, which is about 6:10 per kilometre. I reckon there is enough flat and enough down for me to come in under that time.

Wish me luck!