The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Monday, March 9
· Yahoo Sports
Good morning everyone.
For those of you who haven’t checked the hoddle these last few weeks, then you might’ve missed that I’ve begun documenting my training for my next marathon, which is on 4 April. The goal is to smash by personal best and see just how close to a 3-hour marathon I can get (pretty close, I think).
Visit librea.one for more information.
The whole point of this is to almost document my anxiety from all this training. It’s a big commitment to run a marathon. It’s sure as heck very difficult during the cold and dark winter months, and aiming for a new personal best is no small matter either.
Still, I carry on – literally one foot after another. One day at a time. One week at a time. Let’s see where things are.
(Catch up on Weeks 9, 10, 11 and 12 here)
Week 13:
The sun is shining, spring is coming and fitzie keeps a’running.
We’re in the final stretches of the core block for my marathon training plan. After my run on Sunday, I have now but one big run left: the 22-miler, which is on tap for this Sunday. So where does that leave the week leading up to it? It’s mostly about maintaining mileage and preventing fatigue.
The second bit might be more difficult, considering how little sleep I got this past week. That really affected me on Sunday (more on that to come).
But what I didn’t realise is that the clocks have sprung forward, which means that the sun doesn’t set until after 7pm now – huzzah! This means fitzie doesn’t need to wear his LED lights during his post-work runs. Thank goodness. And it seems like I can finally swap my thermal gear and gloves for the tank top and running hat again.
The marathon still doesn’t quite seem real, though. It’s strange going through a training plan that’s so long because you don’t quite focus on the 26.2, but the next run that’s on your calendar. That’ll all change after this week’s training is over and done with, but it’s still a ways to go.
Sunday: 18 miles
This was my third 18-mile run during my training block, and it didn’t feel my best. None of my 18-milers did, now that I think of it. I always felt better running 16’s or 20’s. There were a few factors making this day tricky: three straight nights of little sleep, cross-country travel that made it difficult to rest my legs (ironically), and a lack of fuel the day before because of the flight.
I also dressed slightly warmer than I should’ve, but that’s fine.
My average pace for this run was 7:22/mi, which was about 10 seconds slower per mile than my 16-miler run last Sunday.
I wouldn’t call this one a confidence-building run, but at least I was able to pull through in a challenging situation. Still, this Sunday is the big one.
Monday: Rest day
A proper rest day too. Focus will be on eating some more of the calories I lost during that Sunday run, and hopefully sleeping a little more.
Tuesday: 8 mile recovery run
This takes about an hour or so. The toughest part is going slow – very slow. Sometimes I find myself actually pulling myself back to keep me from exerting too much effort during it.
Wednesday: Treadmill run TBD
I’ve only got a couple speed workouts left. These are usually done on the treadmill. I’m not sure if I’ll hit it up again this time or if I’ll try to find some area where I can do my workout.
Thursday: 12 miles
The last 12-mile Thursday run went super well, and I felt strong throughout. This might be a little more challenging as it’ll come after work, so we’ll see how tired I am. Nevertheless, the sun should be shining which will make the miles a lot easier. TBD if I do this one at goal pace.
Friday: Gym
A pretty easy gym session where the goal is to have as little stress on the legs as possible. Heck, I might just do a straight-up upper-body workout.
Saturday: 8-9 miles easy
Just a nice easy Saturday morning run before the big run. Time on the couch watching college hoops, eating well and maybe grabbing a coffee will probably round out what I hope to be an uneventful day.
Expected total weekly miles: 52-54
Fitzie’s track of the day: Nothing From Nothing, by Billy Preston
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold: “Igor Tudor’s missing piece in his relationship with his Tottenham players”
The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham decided not to spend big in January. Now it may cost them far more”
BBC: “Bottom of the league, magic in the cup – Port Vale’s ‘incredible’ run”
The Guardian: “Police condemn ‘shameful’ behaviour of Celtic and Rangers fans in Ibrox clashes”