This week marks Week 1 of getting back into training for the Gold Coast marathon. Having train through summers for a July marathon in 2024 as well, I am already dreading all the runs in the heat.
I was inspired by Brady Holmer’s newsletter who is currently documenting his road to Boston training log. My only goal/hope through this weekly update is to remain accountable through my training, share whatever minimal knowledge I might have and have fun while training for a marathon in the Indian summers!
There are two major things different in this block compared to last year to begin with -
I sadly am not doing my summer month in the Himalayas like the last two years. I will miss my training in the mountains, especially April 2024 where I felt like I used those 5 weeks quite well and showed up in the city with solid fitness gains.
I intend to get back on the bike this season for various reasons. A prime reason is to add more aerobic volume without having to do a double run every week in 40 degrees weather. I also have a couple of thoughts on what to train for after Gold Coast that currently excite me and biking plays into it :)
Week of March 3 - March 9
Weekly Totals:
Running: 55.06km (5 days of running/6 total runs)
Biking: 5 hours and 10 mins - 129.39km
Week 1/Day 1 (Monday)
Workout: 6km super easy - The idea was to just get back into running and flush out whatever fatigue that was left.
Shoes: Puma Velocity Nitro 3
Week 1/Day 2 (Tuesday)
Workout: 8km super easy - Felt like shit through the run - All I could think of was how the body behaves like a newbie runner everytime I start a new block after a big break.
Shoes: New Balance 1080 V13
Week 1/Day 3 (Wednesday)
Workout: 11K with 5 ^ 20” Hill strides - Finally had some company with the boy band getting together. Felt sluggish through the hill strides and walked down for recovery.
Shoes: Asics Novablast 4 - My fav shoe forever!
What else did I do: Strength in the evening. Absolutely hated dragging my ass out but I realised through my last block that this is something my body needs to stay strong and happy.
Week 1/Day 4 (Thursday)
Workout: 39K ride - First ride in ages after changing my gravel tyres (38c) to regular road tyres (30c) - Showed balls of glass across all downhills but so much fun!
Week 1/Day 5 (Friday)
Workout: 7K in the morning followed by an 8K in the evening with 6 ^ 20” strides. The evening run made me very sure of replacing my double runs with an indoor bike ride. I just can’t get myself through another block of running in 35-38 degree weather in the name of double runs.
Shoes: Pume Velocity Nitro 3 for both the runs
Week 1/Day 6 (Saturday)
Workout: 15K easy - Finally had the deja vu moment where I realised I was feeling like due to the high pollen content inside the park I run. I decided to run on the roads next week to see if the effort feels much easier which it actually did!
Shoes: Asics Novablast 4 - Note to stop experimenting with new shoes and just hoard this as a daily trainer!
What else did I do: Another day of upper body strength!
Week 1/Day 7 (Sunday)
Workout: 91K long ride - I was excited while shitting my pants thinking of this ride. Had solid company through the ride with the TBA group to get me through this. I had a super low moment between 55-60K where I got dropped by the bunch. I thankfully caught up to the bunch on a re-grouping stoppage and was strong from there to the finish.
Fuel: 5 FUP gels + a protein bar - FUP reload in both the bottles.
Plans for next week - Excited to finally set-up my indoor trainer and do a FTP test. Will continue to build more mileage while trying to add 3 rides a week along with some strength.
Coaching website - pondiexpress.com
Twitter - pondiexpress
Instagram - pondiexpress
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