Sunday, June 21, 2015

The 3rd of 18 Weeks

The third week of the marathon training plan went like this:

MondayOFF or 10k E. Had a chance to run with someone I'd met through a running group and although it meant I'd have to get up earlier than normal I jumped at the chance. It was nice to be out the door before the Sun was up and running with a purpose in mind, knowing that someone would be waiting for me to show up. So much better to run a recovery type effort while chatting the whole way. Managed 10k E at 5:15/km in the end. In the afternoon I went to the gym for a short running specific strength training session followed by rolling and stretching. A good day heading into my second speed session! I think I will have to slow down on the Monday efforts though. There is nothing to be gained by going even a little bit too fast on these runs and I am afraid that the cumulative effect of doing so when sandwiched between a Long run and a Speed session will be detrimental to my progress. We'll see if my running buddy is OK with slowing down next time we hook up...

Tuesday7k E or 8x600m. Woke up at 4am to the sound of a massive rain storm and got up to close the windows. Not much sleep after that until the alarm went off at 5:30am. At that point it wasn't raining, but within ten minutes of getting up it was steady rain again. Tried to wait it out, hoping it would subside, but at a little past 6am I decided that I wouldn't have time to get my workout in if I waited any longer. By the time I got to the track I was thoroughly wet, but not soaked. Started in on my 8x600m repeats and while running the first rep the rain came down hard again! Soaked through and shoes felt like they weighed several pounds each. Nevertheless, I managed to complete the workout, wringing my shirt out as much as I could after each repeat, and the rain stopped when I was into my last rep. Managed to keep the pace fairly steady with the spread for the 600's being 2:23.6 to 2:30.0, though most were in the 2:24-2:25 range (roughly 4:02/km, with my faster repeat at 3:59/km and slowest at 4:09/km). The repeats in order based on pace per kilometre were: 3:59, 4:09, 4:01, 4:01. 4:02. 4:01, 4:03, and 3:59. With the 2km jogs to the track and back home, and the 400m jogs between each rep, I managed 12k SP at 5:13/km, right on target with the goal of the session. In the afternoon I went to the gym for a full rolling and stretching routine and no weights.

Wednesday: OFF. It's funny how I feel like Wednesdays are earned as an off day, and yet somehow I still miss having a run on the training plan on this day. This week the legs totally deserved the day off and I suspect that each of the coming weeks in the training plan will be much the same. I seem to be somewhere in the grey area between wishing I had a run on the schedule, and feeling guilty that I do not, and somewhat looking forward to not having to add mileage at whatever intensity. It's a weird feeling and I think I may someday benefit from running every day of the week, but for now must be cautious. In any case, I still managed to get to the gym for a lunchtime strength session specific to running (glutes, hamstrings, core, calves, stability, and some push ups and chin ups, followed by rolling and stretching) so the day wasn't a complete wash.

Thursday: 7k E or 10k T. After a day off and a nice massage on the legs I was still feeling the cumulative effect of the mileage building up in my body. A late night after one of the boy's baseball games also meant that I was not going to get the sleep I wanted, and naturally I slept right through my 5:20am alarm. I typically wake up before the alarm goes off, but this time it was my wife who nudged me awake at 5:38am as the radio volume had, evidently, woken her up. I set it to as low a volume as I possibly can so that it doesn't disturb her, but this proved to be a problem this morning. In any case, I got up and tried my best to get moving as quickly as possible. However, in my groggy state I didn't manage to get out the door for my Tempo run until a few minutes past 6 am. The plan called for either a 7k Easy effort, or a 10k Tempo run. I was thinking that I would do something in between, maybe a 2k warm up, 7k Tempo, and 1k cool down for a total of 10k, and given the state of my legs this would have been wise. However, as I ran my two warm up kilometres I decided to play it by ear and see how the run would feel. If I was struggling to maintain the prescribed 4:45/km pace I would only do 7k at Tempo, but if I was feeling good enough to go the full 10k I would. Lo and behold, my first split was FASTER than the goal pace at 4:37/km and I wasn't feeling all that taxed. Yes, it was tougher than Easy effort, but it should have been or else the whole lactate threshold training is not being accomplished! So I just focused on how the run SHOULD feel and kept running based on that. Ultimately that first split ended up being my slowest as well, with the fastest at 4:30/km, and the total Tempo portion of the run, which was ten kilometres in the end, averaged out at 4:33.76/km. In other words a lot faster than the goal pace (Boo!!!), but right on my BQ pace (Yay!!!). The Hansons Marathon Method requires these Tempo runs to be practice of the marathon goal pace, and not necessarily the same type of Tempo runs of any other programs. Therefore, I think I have to watch my pace a bit more closely in the future. However, if this feels right and 4:45/km does not why should I do the slower pace? Perhaps I'm being an idiot for questioning the plan... The total for the day was 13k T at 4:45/km, which interestingly enough was the pace I was supposed to have run for the Tempo portion! Oh well... I'll stick to the plan, but I reserve the right to run on feel when I'm feeling good enough to run a bit faster on the day. Just have to be careful, is all. In the afternoon I went to the gym to do a full session of rolling and stretching, with some sauna to cap it off. A good day of training and a great first Tempo run of the marathon training plan!

Friday7-12k E. After a late night for a variety of reasons to do with the younger son's grade 5 "graduation" and such, I had real trouble once more waking up. By the time I was in my car en route to the trails at Crothers Woods it was well past 6am and I didn't really feel all that awake anyway. However, I had been looking forward to this break from the road, having abandoned the trails last week due to the rain and mud, and I was still happy to be out running in unfamiliar territory. The run itself was tougher than expected, which is not particularly surprising given that I have not run any trails in a long time, but it sure was fun. I had to stop now and again to get my bearings as I am prone to getting lost even on the streets in a city built on a grid. In the end I managed 7.2k E at 6:55/km on the single track trails and definitely used muscles that are ignored on the sidewalks. That slow pace was not indicative of the effort required, but I did manage to keep it pretty loose and easy most of the time, but forced to work a bit harder on the many steep and technical uphill sections. In the afternoon I went to the gym for some more running specific strength training, rolling, and stretching.



Saturday: 7-10k E. Arrived at the cottage late Friday evening and set my alarm for a reasonable 7am to try and get a decent start to what promised to be a long day of construction. Woke up long before the alarm went off and set off on a nice 7k E at 5:26/km. Barely broke a sweat. The rest of the day was taken up with demolition, shopping for materials, then construction. It was tough to eat during all that, and by the end of the day I was so beat I barely had enough energy to make dinner, but I forced myself to do so.

Sunday: 8-16k E. Woke up so stiff and sore it was like I'd never worked out before. I guess construction uses your body in unique ways, or at least abuses it. In particular my lower back felt completely jammed. Nevertheless, I finally made it out the door at 8:30am for my run. Unlike the day before the heat and humidity had me sweating before the first kilometre was through and I knew this would be a battle for the entire distance. And it was, all 16k E at 5:29/km of it. The hills around the cottage felt bigger and longer than ever before, but I kept telling myself that these are the runs that help you get through the last few miles of the marathon and never gave in to stopping and calling it quits. Only took a short rest break after I crested the last of the hills of the day at a bit past 15km. By then I was toast...

Total for the week: 65.2 km at 5:24/km average pace.

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