MARIUS BAKKEN; VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON TRAINING UPDATE!

TOUGH SESSION
8 x 6 mins at 5.59 pace [ H.M.P.] with 2 mins active recovery between each effort at 6.48 pace.
Mon 12th
Blustery wind again but sunny, my legs did not feel quite right and it was not until the last effort that i realized that I'd been 'sitting down' when I ran, pulling myself up tall brought a dramatic improvement and my legs started to flow round and I finished strongly inc 6 x smart strides at end.
Note to oneself; check and recheck for good posture!
Average pace inc active recoveries 6.16 pace, plus 6 x 20 sec smart strides .
Total time [ inc warm up - down] 1 hour 17 mins
Note from Marius Bakken
I wanted to give you an extra tip in the last 3 weeks leading up to London. It will be parts of a revised 100 day marathon plan that I'll have ready sometime this summer (have to finish up medical school first, my final exams of the 6 year study is in two months) The tip is to be extra careful with the 6 x 20 seconds for the tapering period after the runs. In this period that you are in now, only do these at about your 3k to 5k pace , no faster, not even at the end of them ! This helps you preserve extra elasticity in your muscles. Otherwise with the increase in rest you risk using this extra rest in those strides and pump "speed" instead of preserving them in the longer effort runs / the marathon itself that you need for the last parts of the marathon.