Week 7: Training for the Manchester Marathon
A big week of training.
Published March 14, 2023
Last week was a busy one for me regarding fitness and training. From cardio and tennis sessions to a 20-mile race.
Here’s a recap of my week.
Monday was a planned rest day, allowing me to recover from my previous week’s training and prepare for the upcoming week.
On Tuesday, I started the day with a cardio session, and I was happy to see that I hit 144 bpm with ease. In the evening, I headed to the gym and ran six kilometres on the treadmill at a steady pace. It was a good workout.
Wednesday was an interesting day as I received the results of my VO2 Max test, which showed that I had a VO2 Max score of 55. While sceptical of the result, I decided to do a Cooper test to verify it. A VO2 Max of 55 suggests I can run a Cooper test of 3 km in 12 minutes. So, I set the treadmill to 15 km/h (a 4:00 /km pace) and ran at that pace for 12 minutes. To my surprise, I managed the pace for 12 minutes. Thus verifying the VO2 Max test result. Later, I joined in with a Cardio Tennis session.
Thursday started early with an hour of a tennis hitting session. In the afternoon, I did a 1000-calorie Cardio Session, which was quite challenging but rewarding.
Friday and Saturday were planned rest days that gave me a chance to recharge for Sunday’s race.
Sunday was the big day - the 20-mile Granite Way race. The first 5 km of the race were challenging for me as my left calf muscle was tight, but it loosened up, and I picked up the pace until the ten-mile mark. After the 10 miles turnaround point, I struggled to keep the same pace because I was worried about my knee complaining. Fortunately, my knee only acted up once during the race at the 15-mile mark, where I had to walk for a minute. However, my thighs got incredibly painful from 17 miles to the end. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to finish the race in 2 hours 52 minutes and 36 seconds. It was a great experience, and I was proud of myself for completing it.
In conclusion, last week was a productive and exciting one for me in terms of fitness and training. Despite the challenges I faced during the 20-mile race, I was happy with my performance and felt motivated to continue pushing myself to achieve my fitness goals. Onwards and upwards to the Manchester Marathon.
