Just a few days to go...

Mon (26 Sep):
OFF. core strength

Tue (27 Sep):
12k easy (5.32) @ river/padang
Surprisingly slow pace even after a full day off. Also, did some drills to prep for tomorrow's track work.

Wed (28 Sep)
2.6k warm up, strides (CCAB track)
6*800m (2.59, 2.58, 3.00, 2.58, 2.59, 2.55) = avg 2.58, av cadence 199
2mins jog in between
6*200m (40, 40, 39.4, 39.7, 39.3, 38.9) = avg 39.6, av cadence 200
2k cool down

Some speed work to freshen things up. Still bugged by cold and felt light headed during the intervals, so I was surprised to do 6 reps all under 3mins (3 miles of work at 5k pace). Ran the 200s controlled (39-40secs) and not all out to avoid risk of pulled muscles etc. It's interesting to see my cadences for the 800s & 200s are basically the same. Stride length during the 800s was 800m/ (200spm*3:00) = 1.33 meters, while on the 200s was 200m/ (200spm*(40/60secs))= 1.50 meters.

Thu (29 Sep)
40mins easy (5.10), Padang grass
Felt unwell. Headache and runny nose. Need to to see a doctor before it gets worse.

Fri (30 Sep)
40mins easy (5.32)
On antibiotics. Did some light drills in advance of tomorrow's workout.

Sat (1 Oct)
30mins warm up (5.30)
20mins tempo @ 4.15
15mins tempo @ 4.09
10mins tempo @ 4.03
5mins rec in between
30mins cool down (5.30)
Total 23k

Last workout for this training cycle. Still taking antibiotics, but in general, felt better. The 20mins and 15mins tempo included a moderate 200m long hill (Melbourne is undulanting between 35-42k). Actually planned to do 20-15-10-5, but decided to skip the 5mins effort since my HR was already above 180. With about a week to go, don't see the neccesity to push it.

Sun (2 Oct)
30mins recovery (5.22) , Padang grass

Total 68k for the week

Pheww...finally made it to the 1-week taper !!! The last 2 marathons have seen me injured 5 weeks and 3 weeks out, so I am very grateful to finally reach this stage.

Legs were generally okay, some soreness, but in general, the problematic post-tib tendon has been holding up so far. Hopefully can get the flu/cold under control in the few days.

Since I am only doing 1-week taper, plan for next week is have a 'drastic taper' by running only over every second day.

In last 9 weeks I have done 74, 80, 55, 95, 87, 114, 90, 85, and 68 km weeks, averaging around 80k per week. That's not too bad for my standard, but most of those kms were really easy, in the 5.00-5.30 min/km range. The slow training pace was attibuted to the post-injury rehab and the fact that I simply need to run slower nowadays between workouts. During that time, I probably had about 6-8 'good' workouts, the rest was mediocre.

Comparing to the GC 2009 and Seoul 2010, this training cycle produces the least mileage and slowest average training pace. But I am excited because I am given the opportunity to toe the start line after DNS/DNF in my last 2 marathons.

Weather for next Sunday looks warm at 23c - which is not much different from SG weather. Windy condition is also forecast, with headwind on the way back. Melbourne is Melbourne!

My plan is to simply determine the pace on the fly. Normally the first few kms can tell me whether the pace will be sustainable or too hot to handle. There are so many uncontrollable factors in the marathon anyway. Being able to start is already half a battle won.