Hanson's Marathon Method Week 6 Plan

What happened in week 5 training!

Monday - 8k easy run with a pace of 6:20. I did it with an average pace of 6:17.

Wednesday - This was speed training of 7 x 400 metres with 400 metres recovery in between. As usual this went well.

Thursday - Today I was supposed to run 8k at 6:20 but found it impossible to fit it in my days schedule so instead I ran 5k today and will run the other 3k tomorrow.

Friday - I ran the other 3k from yesterday today.

Saturday - This is where things get confusing! With Christmas coming up fast there are a few of my sons Christmas parties I have to go to. One is next Wednesday at the athletics club so there is no training for my son that day. Therefore, instead of running 6.5k today, I decided to do next Wednesdays speed training so ran 12 x 400 metres speed with 400 metres recovery. This was pretty hard and I was glad that I had already been doing speed training each week even though it isn't in the Hansons Plan. At half way instead of jogging the 400 metre recovery I walked it and then continued running again. This made the 12 x 400 metres easier to manage.

Sunday - Today should have been a 9.5k but I was ill in the night so decided not to run at all today!

Week 5 Overall - This week started of normal and then went a bit strange. I expect the training to be all over the place until after Christmas now.

Hanson's Method Week 6 Plan (the training plan underneath is for my friend Danny)

Monday      - 4k with a pace of 6:20
Tuesday      - 6.5k with a pace of 6:10
Wednesday - OFF
Thursday    - 6.5k with a pace of 6:20
Friday         - Tempo 8k marathon pace 5:18
Saturday     - 11k with a pace of 6:20
Sunday       - 13k with a pace of 5:40

Monday      - 6.5k with a pace of 6:20
Tuesday      - Off
Wednesday - 12 x 400 metres speed training with 400 metres recovery
Thursday    - 6.5k with a pace of 6:20
Friday         - Tempo 8k marathon pace 5:18
Saturday     - 11k with a pace of 6:20
Sunday       - 13k with a pace of 5:40

Hanson's Marathon Method Week 5 Plan

What happened in week 4 training!

Monday - 8k easy run with a pace of 6:14 which should have been 6:20. The temp was only 2 degrees and with the wind chill I'm guessing it was in the minus! I ran by the harbour again as I love running there and looking at the lights shining in the water.

Wednesday - This was speed training of 7 x 400 metres with 400 metres recovery in between. This went very well again even though it was a little cold! 

Thursday - Easy run of 5k today. I had to run the first 3.5k faster than I wanted to as I only had 20 minutes to get as much of the 5k done before I picked up my son from school. Average pace in the end was 6:14 instead of 6:20.

Saturday - Easy 8k today at a pace of 6:10. I did it with a pace of 6:07 so close to perfect. For me, this was the hardest run so far! At around 2.5k my right calf is aching quite a bit. I figured it was because I was running on tired legs. I just ignored it and waited for it to disappear which it did at around 6k. I guess it just needed to loosen up a little. I wonder how it's going to hold up tomorrow....

Sunday - Today was an 8k with a 5:40 pace. I'm not sure what happened to me today! It could have been the cup of coffee and peppernuts (small ginger tasting biscuits) that I had 15 minutes before my run, it could have been because it was raining loads, or it could have been because I wore my brooks which keep my feet warmer. Whatever it was I was feeling GREAT!! 

As soon as I started running my pace was high. I decided to just go with it and see what happened. What happened was my pace just got faster and faster!! After I'd run 2.5k I made the decision to do a test 5k and see how much of a difference this Hansons Method was making. I ran the 5k in 25 minutes and 59 seconds which I think is 27 seconds faster than my previous 5k best! I'm very happy!

I then ran the last 3k with an average pace of 5:41. It was SO hard to run slower though and my pace was still way too high until I had run 7k.

Week 4 Overall - This has been a crazy week especially the weekend! Why was I so tired and achy on Saturday after a days rest and running at an easy pace, and yet so full of energy on Sunday?

Hanson's Method Week 5 Plan

Monday      - 8k with a pace of 6:20
Tuesday      - Off
Wednesday - 7 x 400 metres speed training with 400 metres recovery
Thursday    - 8k with a pace of 6:20
Friday         - Off
Saturday     - 6.5k with a pace of 6:00
Sunday       - 9.5k with a pace of 5:40