A.M. Marathon specific long run in the plan. Inspired by reading how the Japanese train I ran continuous 4k circuits around a lake, it helped to focus in. A little nervous apprehension beforehand, I struggled with a similar shorter workout end of Dec, but as soon as I started at marathon pace the doubts disappeared and I knew I could finish the workout. 5k warmup, then I concentrated on keeping each 5k split under 21:15. Splits: 21:11, 21:06, 20:59, 21:06, 21:13 (started to fade on the last one and had to work harder to achieve the split), cooldown 5k. Fueling – I ate an energy bar 15 mins before starting, then drank diluted apple juice at 10k, 20k and 30k. I felt much happier this week by just sticking to fluids only while running. This was billed as a confidence builder workout and in that respect it achieved its aim: I feel a bit happier after this, this is the fastest I've ever managed to run a long run in training.
Total 35,1k in 2:33:08, av pace 4:22/k, 7:01/mi with 25k at gmp. | 