13-16 March workouts

Training in view of Sunday's marathon continues regularly. I'm not really fresh, the aftermath of the 2^nd of March half marathon is still there. This was widely expected: fully recover after a half marathon requires at least 3 weeks.

Let’s go to training of the second half of last week:

Thursday, rest

Friday, in plan a medium run. In view of marathon, I still give up to my usual work on the medium run and insert a similar job. I would like to try a slightly lower rhythm than marathon one, with the aim to keep it for a long time, at least 1h15’. If my marathon pace is right, go a little less fast should result me quite easy. 

That's the theory, unfortunately there is a small detail that is called reality! 

At 5 a.m., after heating (15' very slow run, 4-5 strides), I shoot into my usual measured ring. After a while I see that the heart rate does not rise as it should and at the first mark I am quite slow. What does this mean: simple, I'm tired, I have not recovered well previous workouts or did not sleep well (true) or there is something else that I don’t understand. The signals that I get from my body, however, are very clear and now I know what I should do in theory: either go back home or do a slow run. In theory! The last time that something similar had happened to me I had wisely hearkened to my body, but today the impulse prevails. 

I do not want to give up, I go on increasing speed, and we will see that this will leave consequences in the next days. I reach the target, at 150 bpm, with a rhythm of about 4'25''/km. The problem is that I do not run easy as it should, but I've decided and I hold up. I keep the pace without going into cardiac drift for about an hour, then the last 15’ beats go slightly up, another sign that the pace is not easy. 

At the end I reach 17 km in an average pace of 4'25''/km. If I had to rely only on this session I would say that I can forget a 4'15'' marathon pace! But the race is another thing and I still don’t give this idea up.

Saturday, in plan a slow run, 1h15' at about 128 bpm. The too heavy workout of Fridays left consequences.  I feel pain at hips! After heating, the discomfort disappears but today I am not brilliant even though I feared worst. At home after 15 km at 5'35''/km.

Sunday, in program a slow long run program. One week to the marathon, so I began some tapering. Until next Saturday I would lower the total volume of weekly mileage and I will not make the usual workout of Friday, but only a short slow run Friday. I do not give up the Sunday long run which I reduce to 2 hours. I still have pain at hips, which does not affect the run but I feel it clearly every time I stop and then start again. I'm a bit better than yesterday and the result is a nice ride in the parks and on the Appia Antica and Parks (Aqueducts and Caffarella). 

25 km at 5'15''/km, finishing pretty fresh.