4 weeks in...

As mentioned before, I've divided my training weeks into blocks of 4. Each with its own goal. Yesterday marked the completion of the first block. 

I considered Block 1 as my honeymoon block, the easy block which would be a nice segway into Block 2 - slightly more intense. The goal for Block 1 was for me to transition from 0 (almost) running to consistent running and by the end of it to build up to running for a duration of 1 hr. Happy to say that it has gone well. This 4 week period was important because the idea of running 1hr at a stretch was not too daunting but the task of running consistently was still challenging enough. I feel it probably wouldn't have gone as well as it did if I had set myself loftier goals of say, a running a 12K straight away.

My time "off" running certainly shows in my training though. It has affected my fitness and endurance levels and most visibly it has affected my overall pace. Whereas before I could comfortably finish 8.5K in an hour, it is now a struggle to even do 7K. I used to consider 7'45" as my "run-forever pace" (you know, the pace that you can run at which feels so good that you feel like you can run forever at that pace) that has now slipped down to 8'45" or even 9'00" I would say. I'm trying not to be too concerned by it. The main goal for this race is to just to complete it but ideally I would love to finish it in under 4 hours. I'm hoping as the weeks go by, my paces will improve.

For Block 2 (weeks 4 to 8) I have set myself the goal of building up to running for 2 hours. Its not unchartered territory per se, but the last time I ran for 2 hours was 5 years ago. So yes, I'm definitely a bit nervous about it but having managed to get through the 1st block, I do feel positive going into the next one.

Wish me luck!