London Marathon 2015 (Week 7 of 12)

Week 7

Week 7 started quite normally with an early morning 5k along the canal in Bingley to loosen the legs after Sunday's Locke Park 20.

There was then a disappearing day as we took a flight to here:

and then to here:

With a 21 hour flight and 11 hour time difference Tuesday vanished from a running point of view.

So we're now down under and this is where the rest of the London build up will take place, arriving back in the UK early in London week.

After arriving in Melbourne the rest of the week has been nothing short of stunning in terms of running venues, expectations were pretty high but nevertheless they have been well and truly surpassed :)

The week's running endeavours have just been coincidental to to experiencing 'the sporting capital' that is Melbourne. On Wednesday, starting from our digs it was a case of straight onto the F1 course in Albert Park, which had just seen Lewis Hamilton's victory a couple of days before.

Thursday saw a visit to the ICC Cricket World Cup quarter final between India and Bangladesh at the MCG.This was the quarter final that England would have been playing in but the less said about that the better.

Saturday saw a visit to the IAAF Athletics meeting in Albert Park, featuring David Rudisha, and then Sunday had the Asia Pacific Ironman Championship around the corner on St Kilda's beach.

As can be seen below the midweek running about was as steady as usual. Then on Saturday the chosen parkrun was Maribyrnong, about 6-7 miles north west of Melbourne. Fantastic venue and course, out and back on the river Yarra. 

Week 7 of 12 (Mon 16/3 - Sun 22/3)

Mon 16/3 : 3.1 miles @ 9:44/mile (Bingley, UK)

Weds 17/3 (am) : 3.1 miles @ 9:01/mile (Melbourne)

Weds 17/3 (pm) : 7.0 miles @ 8:53/mile (Albert Park, Melbourne)

Thurs 18/3 : 7.0 miles @ 8:49/mile (Albert Park, Melbourne)

Fri 19/3 : 8.5 miles @ 9:05/mile 

Sat 20/3 : 9.0 miles (incl Maribyrnong parkrun 17:53 (3.1 miles @ 5:45/mile))

Sat 21/3 : 13.0 miles (incl Herald Sun 15.5K 1:01:01 (9.65 miles @ 6:18/mile))

Total Mileage - 50.7 Miles

Wednesday 17th March

Accommodation on the edge of Albert Park meant that for our stay here this was our 'step out of the door' running venue:

Thursday 18th March

Enjoying the ICC Cricket World Cup quarter final between India and Bangladesh:

Friday 19th March

Friday's running took in a trip up the 900ft Eureka Skydeck, even for someone like me who is scared of heights this was an impressive experience:

Followed by a loop out of the city taking in these mildly pleasant beach areas :)

Saturday 20th March - Maribyrnong parkrun (17:53)

After the previous few days of long flights and loads of walking a time of 17:53 seemed better than could have been expected but you couldn't help but get an extra spring in your step from the surroundings:

And what a post parkrun coffee/breakfast venue:

This was the route back to Melbourne post breakfast, taking in Flemington Racecourse (home of the Melbourne Cup) on the left:

Just by chance we were told that there was an IAAF athletics meeting scheduled in Albert Park for about the time we were likely to get back. A certain David Rudisha was down to appear fresh from his win in Sydney last week. And what a smiley, accommodating chap he was:

Sunday 21 St March - Herald Sun 15.5K, Melbourne (1:01:01)

Sunday's race was an unusual distance being 509m short of 10 miles but promised to be a bit of an iconic event with 32,000 competitors.

As late entries we were put in the last wave, which meant that we would probably get 15-20 minutes of free running and then ......

............ Meet up with this little lot:

It was a case of experiencing the event rather than racing as such, especially with some of the views on offer. This was crossing the Bolte Bridge at about halfway:

All in all, Hannah and myself were both surprised that we managed to clock times of 1:01 considering that we had just been there to enjoy the experience. What a brilliantly organised and remarkably relaxed event for the numbers taking part.

After a short walk back to the digs for a shower, it was then just 10 minutes around the corner to watch the Asia Pacific Ironman Championship on St Kilda's beach. This was Yvonne Van Vlerden, who was 3rd in this picture with about 400m to go after 9 hours of effort. She did, however, finish 2nd.

In summary, it was an action packed week all round. From a marathon training point of view it looks like quite a low mileage week but there were miles upon miles of walking to add to the exercise tally and that can't do any harm, right?

Marathon Building Blocks:

15th Feb: 18.6 miles @ 6:16/mile

22nd Feb: 10.0 miles @ 6:04/mile

28th Feb: 3.1 miles @ 5:48/mile

28th Feb: 3.1 miles @ 5:50/mile

1st March: 13.1 miles @ 6:24/mile

8th March: 26.21 miles @ 6:23/mile

14th March: 3.1 miles @ 5:46/mile

14th March: 3.1 miles @ 5:36/mile

15th March: 20.0 miles @ 6:25/mile

21st March: 3.1 miles @ 5:45/mile

22nd March: 9.65 miles @ 6:18/mile

Next week sees a flight to Adelaide and apparently some kangaroo cuddling :)