March Training

Usually a month for marching but I’m glad I put in the miles with the running as well.

Goals

Feeling a lot more positive about the marathon so will stick with the same goals as last time.

Goal	Target Time	Vibe
A Goal	~3:15	🔥
B Goal	<3:30	💪
C Goal	<3:45	🙏
F Goal	Finish	🤞

Training

Arrived in Da Nang on the 3rd of March and after settling in to the new gaff I instantly got to work.

The city is an absolute joy to run in compared to other places in SE Asia. Staying close to the beach so have a long stretch of (mostly) decent footpath to run on. Due to these benefits I massively upped the mileage and got 2 solid weeks of running in.

Screenshot of Strava showing weekly running progress

From 0 to 90

So not as good as 16 weeks, but better than the Chiang Mai Marathon prep.

A picture looking over at Da Nang beachside buildings at night

Da Nang reminds me of Galway – it’s like looking out on Salthill

Week 1

Started really strong in week 1, with some relaxed longer runs and a sub 20 5k Parkrun on the Saturday. Felt I needed a long run though – especially since the legs completely went in Chiang Mai – so I went out on Sunday.

Started well but a mixture of lack of water/gels, the route becoming more hazardous within the city, and just not enough training, meant it turned into a bit of a disaster after the 20k mark.

The sights were great, the pace not so much

Had a massage that evening which definitely helped the recovery. They’re on every street here which is a beauty.

Week 2

Continued where I left off and managed to get a good interval and tempo run in this week. The tempo run was on an absolute peach of a day too.

A row of palm trees between the beach and the road

Wes Anderson style

Da Nang downtown picture taken from a bridge. A body of water with boats on it in the centre

🩵

Spent an afternoon at Recharged – a quality space with sauna, steam room, and ice bath, as well as nice food and even areas to work from.

Felt it was time to upgrade the runners so I went along to a Nike store and picked up a pair of Pegasus 41s and then went on a bit of a voyage looking for gels and thankfully found some eventually – even managed to get the High 5 brand I’m used to.

Week 3

Currently tapering ahead of the big day. I did go for a good 5k run with the Tag Fitness Club – a Whatsapp group I discovered via the Expats in Da Nang FB page.

Really nice gang and good to meet a few heads ahead of the race.

A smiling crowd of people sitting on some steps after they completed a running session