Week 2 Update: Training For The London Marathon

Week 2 Update: Training for the London Marathon

Just a couple of things to start with. To read the opening story about my training for the London Marathon please start here and come back up for the updates. Secondly, i’d love to hear what you are training for, how it is going and any questions you may have. Please comment below.

That’s two weeks done and here is the week 2 update of my training for the London Marathon 2023. It has certainly been a great week. I am absolutely loving being back on a plan and focussed on training. I find the running at pace feeling easier once again and overall fitness is starting to come back. 

Monday

Unlike last week I took my rest day on Monday. Rest days are important, especially for runners in their 50’s like me. My body appreciates the day off now and again.

Tuesday

Tuesday saw my first track session where I had 8 x 1k reps with 200m active recoveries. The reps were to be hit at 4:00/rep and I hit each one between 3:55 and 4:00. I did them on the gravel track at the Enniskillen Forum, so that is even better. For anyone not familiar with this track, it is slightly more challenging than most. Not only is the gravel a little slow to run on, the massive puddles and elevation change add additional interest. 

Wednesday & Thursday

Wednesday was the first of two consecutive easy days with a 6 mile catch up run with a friend. Thursday was supposed to be a 7 miler. I did the first 4 miles on my own, before meeting a friend for the last 3. These turned magically into 5, but they were really good conversation miles.

Friday

Friday was the second rest day during the week. I did get out for a nice 5 mile hilly walk with the dog. He was as happy as anyone to get out in the forestry. 

Saturday

During week 2 of my London Marathon training I happened to hit an unexpected milestone. On Saturday I completed my 50th parkrun. I have been involved with the Enniskillen parkrun for years. I’ve been part of the team who manage it and I’ve volunteered almost 70 weeks. So, when I was called out for lining up for my 50th, I was caught by surprise. I was delighted to have a good run, on a nice morning. That was my tempo run for the week with an additional 3 miles tagged on. 

Sunday Long Runday

Sunday was my long slow distance run. Again, it was supposed to be 13 miles, but ended up a little long at 14 miles. All told it was a good week of miles and things are ramping up nicely. I am well ahead of where I was last year at this time, see my Manchester post. Here’s to another good week coming up.

Metrics:

I am pleased with the trend in the metrics from week 1 to week 2. Particularly with my weight, protein intake, and the slight reduction in my resting heart rate. I’d like to improve on the other stats this week and keep the momentum going.

Upcoming Week 3 Training for the London Marathon*:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 sets of 5 x 60 seconds hill reps + 5 miles easy
Wednesday: 6 miles steady
Thursday: 9 miles easy
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Parkrun + 5 miles steady (last minute changed to XC Race)
Sunday: 14 miles long slow distance run

* I am running in the Ulster Masters Cross Country Championship on Saturday. This will likely force me to change some of these sessions as I would like to run well for my team. I will adjust as the week progresses and see how I’m feeling.