Week 6: Training for the Manchester Marathon

Struggling with energy levels.

Published March 6, 2023

Training for a marathon is proving itself to be no easy feat. Week six began well for me, but I was struggling by the end of the week to keep my energy levels up.

Here’s how my week went:

Monday was a planned rest day, which was much needed after the long run from the day before.

On Tuesday lunchtime, I ran 5 km on the treadmill with a pace of 4:44 /km. In the evening, I ran another 7 km on the treadmill with a pace of 4:58 /km.

Wednesday was a busy day of training. I started with a session of Cardio Tennis during my lunch break. Then, I participated in the Cranbrook Running Club 4-mile time trial in the evening. I completed the 4 miles in 29 minutes and 54 seconds, which was three seconds faster than last month.

On Thursday, I attempted a Cardio Session but struggled to keep my heart rate high enough through the session. My energy levels dropped from this point on, and I began to feel the strain.

On Friday evening, I ran 7 km on the treadmill. I ran the first 4 km at a steady pace and then set the treadmill to intervals mode for the final 3 km. I jogged at 8 km/h between fast runs at 15 km/h.

Saturday was the kids’ and parents’ Synergy 360 workout with Hanna. I didn’t have the energy for it this week, and I struggled. On the other hand, Hanna had a great time and looked relaxed.

Despite my low energy levels, I got a half-marathon long run on Sunday with a pace of 5:48 /km. Unfortunately, my knee began hurting again at 18 km, which continues to be concerning.

My running Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR) for this week was:

Chronic workload = (54 km + 39 km + 45 km + 56 km) / 4

Chronic workload = 48.5 km

ACWR = Acute workload (week 5) / Chronic workload (average of weeks 1-4)

ACWR = 45 km / 48.5 km

ACWR = 0.93

Based on this calculation, my ACWR for this week was 0.93, which is within the recommended sweet spot. So, this should suggest that my training load for this week was appropriate to further allow my knee to heal. And was within my 0.9-1.1 target for the week. So, all in all, I don’t think my knee got any worse.

Next Sunday’s long run will be the Granite Way 20-mile race. I haven’t run that far before in one go, so I have no idea what to expect. I can only hope my knee enjoys the race too.