Calwell Oval - 25 laps in lane 5

Today:
Distance:
Warm up - 940 metres in 4' 23" at 4' 40" per km
Cool down - 2.36 km in 10' 24" at 4' 24" per km
Cruise intervals: 11.3 kms in 46' 47" at 4' 08.5" ave per km
Weather: perfect, sunny, temp 23-25 degrees, humidity 60%, wind calm
Week: 26.85 km
Jan & Year: 177.6 km

On holidays this week and the week has started well. Thunderstorm, lightning & rain last night softened the grass on the Calwell oval. Recently mowed, lane 5 is in great condition. Lane 6 should also be good as it looks like it hasn't had much use recently.
Rode the mtn bike down on a perfect morning, no one about at the oval which was handy. Usually I have to dodge and weave around golfers or model airplanes or kites being tested.
The warm up didn't need to be long as the bike ride also served this purpose. Usual conditions applied today, bare feet, changed direction after each set of 5 laps. A long enough recovery between each 5 lap set as well as these sessions are designed to maintain a speed as opposed to all out sprinting. Rhythm and consistency with a gradual improvement as the session goes on.
Started conservatively with the 1st 5 laps done in 9' 40", around 4' 19" km pace. The rhythm was good, 2nd set in 9' 27" at 4' 08", 3rd set in 9' 20" at 4' 07', 4th set in 9' 14" at 4' 05" and last set in 9' 05" at 4' 02".
Great day, I liked the feel of the fresh, short grass. Finished with a jog around the outside of the oval, before riding home. Second favourite running training session after those long hard Saturday runs over the hills and mountains.
Chatting with Liz on Saturday, her training week is very similar to mine, she would be much faster. Nothing too dramatic about either to tried and tested methods whether running short stuff, marathons or ultras. One long, hilly run usually on the weekend, one mid week run, maybe 20 km over hills or at least undulating, one faster session, either intervals or tempo run, a few easy recovery days helping to build up the base, and a rest day.
Then the only difference with running a marathon or any ultra is the length of the long weekend run. My ultra training just ups that Saturday run from 35 or so kms to 60 km with a couple of long race runs to build stamina, and help mentally that you can cover the distance. Nothing too complicated about any of it. Once that base is established or rebuilt after a rest, any event can be tackled without too many changes.