9km Tempo Run, Malcolm's Birthday Party
I was able to get up at 6:30am for my run, with a certain level of apprehension for I was still feeling the effects of the week. My shoulders were super sore and I was wondering why: was it the swimming, the golf, the baseball, the bike accident, or a combination of all? The bruised knees had me a little worried, but I figured those were only surface type injuries and I'd be OK. I started off on a long warm up walk that would take me into the Don Valley Trail network since I wanted to avoid running down the steep hill at the beginning of my 9k on account of the lingering knee issue. It's definitely getting better, but I am still not 100%. The air was heavy and really humid, but at least the temperature was nice. I could tell this run would be a struggle near the end and the route I mapped out would also include one long hill at about the 6k mark. Once my walk was finished I set off...
My goal was to maintain faster than 5:05 pace for the entire 9k. As such, I also wanted to push it for the first 5k partly to see if I could break last week's time (24:36) and partly to bank some time for that long hill that would likely send me over the edge and slow me down. My legs are definitely feeling the effects of the past week of training and they felt tight as I started my run. I managed to hold a pace in the 4:50's at the beginning through sheer will and definitely had thoughts of bailing on the entire run. After about 2k I was starting to get into the run and things were starting to feel better. My breathing became rhythmic and I was enjoying the feeling of maintaining a fast pace. By about the 2.5k mark I had brought the average pace down to 4:50 and was determined to stay as close to this as possible for the 5k as this would definitely give me a best time. I did manage this pace exactly and completed the 5k in 24:14 (7:47/mile pace)!
Of course, now I had 4k left and that hill looming. As I continued to run through Taylor Creek Park I was faced with a couple of spots where the asphalt path was totally washed out and I had to run way around these spots through grass and mud. I almost fell over at one point when the ground slid out from under me, but managed to stay up. The pace was becoming difficult to maintain and I hovered around 4:55/km (7:55/m) at this point as I approached the hill. As expected I was definitely struggling up that incline and my pace started to slip as my heart rate raced into the high 170's. The entire hill is about 3/4 of a kilometre long and not super steep, but it never flattens out. At one point I was almost ready to start walking and could barely take in enough oxygen to keep going, but didn't let myself do this because I was afraid this would spell the end of the run. When I got to the top my average for these last 4 kilometres read 5:12 (8:22/m). I knew I'd have to recover and pick up the pace to finish strong.
Luckily I was able to recover enough after about a kilometre more to start picking up the pace. This was not easy but I really wanted to see if I could hold a faster pace for these 4 kilometres than I did for the last 3k that ended my last tempo 8k run. Last week my pace was 5:09 for the last 3k of my 8k run, and I really thought this was a good target for today. As I continued to run I steadily made progress and with 2k left in the run my pace was back to 5:05. Now I decided to really push towards the end even though my body was screaming for relief. The last kilometre was difficult, but by now I had my average pace down to 5:03 (8:08/m). As I glanced down at my Garmin at the end and pressed the lap button I was more than happy with the 5:03 pace for the final 4k.
In all I ran the 9k in 44:26, which translated to a 4:56/k pace! In mile pace that is under 8:00, and for me that is a great accomplishment. I won't make any time goals for the 10k Zoorun race on October 18th because that course will be hilly, but on a flat course the 50:00 barrier is definitely in jeopardy.
Garmin don't lie.
The google image of my route.
Given how my body is hurting I am considering gearing down a little for the next week and then ramping up again after that until about a week before the race. We'll see how I feel, but I think this might be wise - just some long slow runs for the week maintaining the same distances as usual adding a kilometre every Saturday, a couple more swims, and some weights. Tomorrow is, at least, a well deserved day off.
Malcolm, the youngest of my two, is 4 today! We had a small party for him at home with a few of his friends from the daycare that he just left as he's started Junior Kindergarden. I'd like to think that he can "keep in touch" with these little guys, but it's not realistic. Everyone had a great time, the noise was unbearable, and the cake was wayyyyy too sweet. They're now gone, and I'm exhausted. Special kudos goes to my wife for making yet another Pokemon cake (it was Pikachu last year for Owen's birthday). Malcolm requested Geo Dude, and I think she did a wonderful job:
Enjoy your weekends everyone, and run hard!
My goal was to maintain faster than 5:05 pace for the entire 9k. As such, I also wanted to push it for the first 5k partly to see if I could break last week's time (24:36) and partly to bank some time for that long hill that would likely send me over the edge and slow me down. My legs are definitely feeling the effects of the past week of training and they felt tight as I started my run. I managed to hold a pace in the 4:50's at the beginning through sheer will and definitely had thoughts of bailing on the entire run. After about 2k I was starting to get into the run and things were starting to feel better. My breathing became rhythmic and I was enjoying the feeling of maintaining a fast pace. By about the 2.5k mark I had brought the average pace down to 4:50 and was determined to stay as close to this as possible for the 5k as this would definitely give me a best time. I did manage this pace exactly and completed the 5k in 24:14 (7:47/mile pace)!
Of course, now I had 4k left and that hill looming. As I continued to run through Taylor Creek Park I was faced with a couple of spots where the asphalt path was totally washed out and I had to run way around these spots through grass and mud. I almost fell over at one point when the ground slid out from under me, but managed to stay up. The pace was becoming difficult to maintain and I hovered around 4:55/km (7:55/m) at this point as I approached the hill. As expected I was definitely struggling up that incline and my pace started to slip as my heart rate raced into the high 170's. The entire hill is about 3/4 of a kilometre long and not super steep, but it never flattens out. At one point I was almost ready to start walking and could barely take in enough oxygen to keep going, but didn't let myself do this because I was afraid this would spell the end of the run. When I got to the top my average for these last 4 kilometres read 5:12 (8:22/m). I knew I'd have to recover and pick up the pace to finish strong.
Luckily I was able to recover enough after about a kilometre more to start picking up the pace. This was not easy but I really wanted to see if I could hold a faster pace for these 4 kilometres than I did for the last 3k that ended my last tempo 8k run. Last week my pace was 5:09 for the last 3k of my 8k run, and I really thought this was a good target for today. As I continued to run I steadily made progress and with 2k left in the run my pace was back to 5:05. Now I decided to really push towards the end even though my body was screaming for relief. The last kilometre was difficult, but by now I had my average pace down to 5:03 (8:08/m). As I glanced down at my Garmin at the end and pressed the lap button I was more than happy with the 5:03 pace for the final 4k.
In all I ran the 9k in 44:26, which translated to a 4:56/k pace! In mile pace that is under 8:00, and for me that is a great accomplishment. I won't make any time goals for the 10k Zoorun race on October 18th because that course will be hilly, but on a flat course the 50:00 barrier is definitely in jeopardy.
Garmin don't lie.
The google image of my route.
Given how my body is hurting I am considering gearing down a little for the next week and then ramping up again after that until about a week before the race. We'll see how I feel, but I think this might be wise - just some long slow runs for the week maintaining the same distances as usual adding a kilometre every Saturday, a couple more swims, and some weights. Tomorrow is, at least, a well deserved day off.
Malcolm, the youngest of my two, is 4 today! We had a small party for him at home with a few of his friends from the daycare that he just left as he's started Junior Kindergarden. I'd like to think that he can "keep in touch" with these little guys, but it's not realistic. Everyone had a great time, the noise was unbearable, and the cake was wayyyyy too sweet. They're now gone, and I'm exhausted. Special kudos goes to my wife for making yet another Pokemon cake (it was Pikachu last year for Owen's birthday). Malcolm requested Geo Dude, and I think she did a wonderful job:
Enjoy your weekends everyone, and run hard!
posted by Vava at
1:12 PM
1 Comments:
Great run (congrats on an awesome pace), happy b-day to Malcolm, and kudos to the Mrs for a sweet looking cake.
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