Week 23

Week 23.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
3rd Jun	Rest Day
4th Jun	10.00	16.09	01:56:57	11:42	5.1	242	334	1062	2	137
5th Jun	Rest Day
6th Jun	10.50	16.90	01:56:54	11:08	5.4	608	639	1249	2	144
7th Jun	Rest Day
8th Jun	10.20	16.42	02:00:16	11:51	5.1	603	601	888	1	127
9th Jun	Rest Day
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	681.06	1096.02	5 days 09:00:20			15,974	16,053	74,183
To go	571.63	919.98

Despite being TT week I'm pleased with my mileage in the penultimate week before the big day.

Saturday 4th June was a steady Zone 2 session from Onchan into Douglas (via Liverpool Arms/Groudle) to pick up my car which I left down there the previous night.  My Zone 2 heart rate is 135-145 so I'm very pleased with my average pace of 11:42 while keeping to the lower end of my zone (137 average).

On Monday 6th I decided to stay clear of the main roads as much as possible and drove up to Douglas Head for an "out and back" route along Marine Drive, continuing along the old Castletown road towards Santon until I reached my half way point of 5.25 miles before turning around.

I have to say it was one of the best sessions I have done for a long time.  I felt really comfortable so just pushed to the upper end of my Zone 2 HR to average 144, with a pace of 11:08 per mile.  What pleased me more was when I loaded the data back into my PC and saw the elevation gain of just over 600 metres. 

I knew that route was hilly but because it's spread out over 10 miles I didn't think it was quite that hilly. 

The views along Marine Drive are stunning in this weather. I was hoping to catch sight of a basking shark but unfortunately it wasn't to be.  Believe it or not I have never seen one in the 35+ years I have lived here. 

A couple of years ago I did see a 'super pod' of Dolphins, again from Marine Drive, but that was the first (and only) time I have seen anything other than seals.  It was quite a spectacular sight but unfortunately I had no camera.  There must have easily been over 100 dolphins, maybe 200, all heading South towards Port Soderick, many of them jumping clear of the water.

I will definitely be adding that 10 mile route onto my regular list, even if it does mean a short drive there and back (unless I want to make it a 16-18 mile out and back!)

It was so quiet and peaceful up there on Monday that I went back and did the same route again on Wednesday, although I turned around slightly short of my 5.25 mile mark.

My plan was to make this a very easy Z1 session and stay as close as possible to the lower end of my Zone 1 heart rate (125-135, and I averaged 127).  My car was parked in the disc zone on Douglas head which has a 2 hour limit, so with it being a slower pace I cut the walk short to make sure I didn't end up with a parking ticket! 

I got back to my car in 02:00:16 and fortunately there was no sign of a traffic warden.  Whenever I walk the dog up there I park next to the arches on Marine Drive, which isn't a disc zone, but I parked in the disc zone on purpose to make sure I wasn't walking for more than 2 hours this close to the Parish.

So while on the plus side I didn't get a ticket... on the down side I did get a blister!!  In my blog last week I mentioned that since wearing the new lighter Saucony fastwitch I never have any problems with the back of my heel so could probably get away without a blister plaster on that part of my foot...but how prevention is better than cure.

Well.... guess where I got the blister!  I could feel it start around the 4 mile mark and I honestly don't know why.  It's only a very small blister and you can't actually see it (it's just underneath the skin), so it's currently protected with some Compeed and I'm just hoping it holds up on the day. The last thing I want is for it to start giving my jip in the first few miles otherwise it's going to be a long day!

5 days to go now, so training really should be winding down.  I am planning on a very easy 5 or 6 miles on Monday and Wednesday and no more. 

Apparently it takes 3 weeks of training for your body to start adapting to the stresses.  IF this is true then it means any training you do this week won't increase your performance for the big day anyway, and just increases your chance of something going wrong (like a blister!). 

I was going to write about food and drink in this post but unfortunately I have run out of time, but I will try and write something in the next couple of days.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.