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