Manchester Marathon Training Week 5: The "Recovery" Week

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 13.1k steady with strides.
Wednesday: 19.6k run to work & 8.8k run home (total 28.4k)
Thursday: Rest.
Friday: 7.8k easy run.
Saturday: 9.6k SELCC Race 1: Leigh + 2.6k warm up (total 12.2k)
Sunday: 24k long run.

Total: 85.5k (53.1m)

A 53 mile recovery week, which actually felt easier than it sounds given the past two weeks were 60+!

Yes, my recovery week included a cross country race. The return to Leigh, which despite being an

XC at Leigh. I always find a Rohdale Harrier to race!

easy course is by far and away my least favorite. There is nothing to it, pan flat either on a golf course, field, or path. There was however plenty of mud. The word around our club gazebo was trail shoes would be best as spikes were not recommended with the long compact path and shorter concrete sections. Having ran the race I think I'd have preferred my spikes; the mud was so deep in places I couldn't get any traction and was slipping all over the place. Looking at my Strava stats I also wonder if even in trail shoes I could have put more effort in for a better time? Perhaps but I don't have much confidence in my trail shoes in that mud.


The weather hasn't been great this week and due to other commitments I had to squeeze my long run it early on Sunday morning long before any ice and snow from the previous night had chance to clear. It might only be a 15 miler but I still managed to pass through areas of solid ice, slush to three inches of snow. The conditions made traction hard, especially going uphill but given it was a long slow run it didn't matter that much!



So that is the end of the first Mesocycle, things can only get tougher from here with my first 20+ miler on the horizon for next Sunday. 

Bring it on!