Sharp Taper

I ran a grand total of 19 miles this week, not by design but more because other priorities took over and as the work for Connemara is done there was no point in stressing out trying to get a few more miles in.

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I did complete my final race specific long run last weekend, covering just over 30 miles in 3:48 (7:34 pace @ 139 HR), although my pace did slow to 8:00 over the last few miles. Still, an encouraging run. A 12 mile recovery club run in the hills to the south-west of Cork the following morning went reasonably well at a very manageable 9:07 pace and equally manageable average HR of 108 - dropping to as low as 92 on one downhill section. My legs felt a bit sluggish for a few days but recovered sufficiently for my Tuesday "speedwork" which I cut back to a 5 mile progression @ 6:46 pace average (about 7:07 to 6:36). My other 2 runs of the week, on Wednesday and Friday, went off without a hitch - however tomorrow's Mallow 10 mile PB attempt will be the real test as to whether or not I am fully recovered. After that it's back to 2 weeks of easy(ier) running.

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Here's an interesting video on running economy I came across on the Natural Running Center Site.

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