Sydney Marathon Diaries

While the weather is cooling down here, the wind is not. July/August here is notorious for how windy it is, and it caused a bit of havoc this week with gusts up to 70km/hr. Trying to tell myself that it is basically hill training, but it is draining getting smashed in the face with cold wind.

Big week this week with care packages from Black Sheep, Fractel & Pace Athletic with kit to review over the next 3 weeks. While exciting to finally start reviewing apparel as part of Zato AC, getting that off the ground and coming up with a system has been time-consuming.

I thought I would do some first impression reviews of these here:

Black Sheep Kit

Cycling brand that this year has transitioned into creating running products. Their Fly range is what I am most excited about. Best value for money laser cut race kit and 3-inch shorts that still maintain some modesty while promoting full range of motion.

 Fractel x dsplacd

Only worn this on one run so far, but Fractel is my go-to for running hats as they accommodate large head sizes.

Pace Athletic x Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 

The Speed 4 isn't a new shoe by any means, but this collab is really cool. Featuring the colors of NSW to represent the Sydney Marathon and using Indigenous artist Glenn Liddiard. Not sure if this fits into my shoe rotation as part of the marathon block. Where I see this shining is for threshold sets under 90mins. The lower stack and nylon plate add some responsiveness without needing to use a carbon-plated race shoe for faster paces. But compared to the cushion of the Superblast 2, it doesn't quite cut it for runs over 90mins.

Currently, my program has either easy runs, which don't require the Nylon Plate, or Long Runs of 20-30km (12.4-18.6 miles). My training plan after the marathon block will include a lot of 10km (6.2 miles) threshold pace runs, so I can see these racking up the kms (miles) then.

Keep an eye out for the full reviews of these over the next 3 weeks and hopefully more.

Let's jump into the training week.

Weekly Breakdown

Sunday: Long Run

Session 1

• 16km (10 miles) @ 5:31 min/km (8:53 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 159 BPM

Session 2

• 8.19km (5.1 miles) @ 5:39 min/km (9:05 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 147 BPM

Wind gusts of up to 70km/hr (43.5miles/hr) changed this session from a marathon pace session to an easy day split into 2 sessions, with the second being on the treadmill. Honestly, just happy to get the volume in on such a wild and windy day.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Easy Run

• 6.1km (3.8miles) @ 5:39 min/km (9:05 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 147 BPM

Wednesday: Treadmill Run

• 6.1km (3.8miles) @ 5:43 min/km (9:12 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 134 BPM

Thursday: Midweek Long Run

• 3.2km (2 miles) @ 5:34 min/km (8:58 min/mile)

• 16.1km (10 miles) @ 4:43 min/km (7:36 min/mile)

• 1.6km (1 mile) @ 4:20 min/km (6:58 min/mile)

• 3.2km (2 miles) @ 5:16 min/km (8:29 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 166 BPM

• Total: 24.1km (15 miles)

Pumped with the result on this one! After a mentally draining day, I wasn't even sure I was going to get out but pushed through. Once we got rolling on the marathon pace section, the run felt easy. 4:45s (7:38s) felt like forever pace and a big confidence builder ahead of Sydney.

Came out of this workout with a HM PB of 1:40:43, and most of that in sub-threshold HR and conversational pace. Days like this make all of the volume and hard work feel like it is paying off, as paces like this would have been threshold pace not long ago.

Friday: Treadmill Run

• 6.1km (3.8miles) @ 5:43 min/km (9:12 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 141 BPM

Pace Athletic sent through their Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 collab shoe for a review, so I'll be running in these a bit more over the next couple of weeks. Keep your eyes peeled!

Saturday: Easy Run

• 6.1km (3.8miles) @ 5:23 min/km (8:40 min/mile)

• Avg HR: 148 BPM

Total Weekly Volume: 72.7km (45.2 miles)

Weeks are feeling bigger and bigger, and to be honest, the fatigue is kicking in. Still 7 weeks to go, these sessions are only going to get bigger and harder, but seeing the progress is super motivating to continue pushing through the fatigue.