The 10th of 18 Weeks
The tenth week of the marathon training plan went like this:
Monday: 10-12k E. Ran a nice out and back near the cottage trying to avoid the hills as much as I could as this was supposed to be a recovery run. After the Long run the day before, and with the real work coming up over the course of the next six weeks, I was conscious of keeping things really smooth and easy. Legs were a bit sore, but perhaps not as much as I would have expected, which is a good sign. The total was 12k E at 5:36/km. We drove home from the cottage so no strength training, just relaxing at home watching a bit of the Jays and David Price's first start for the team.
Tuesday: 4x1200m or 3x1600m. The last speed session of the training plan was quite possibly the toughest. Legs felt like lead on the 2k jog to the track, and then on each repeat with about 600m or 400m to go I started to lose control of my quads and had to really concentrate to maintain form and not crumble to the tarmac. Still am impressed that I was able to maintain pace when it felt like I was slowing way down. A tough workout to be sure! Splits were 6:34.74 (4:06.71/km), 6:29.05 (4:03.16/km), and 6:31.10 (4:04.44/km), for an overall average pace of 4:04.74/km. Glad to have made it through the track sessions relatively unscathed as these workouts historically are dangerous from an injury proneness perspective. The average pace for all the speed sessions combined ended up being 4:04.93/km, which is definitely acceptable as it is under the goal pace of 4:10/km and in my self imposed range of 4:00/km-4:10/km. The entire workout amounted to 10k SP at 5:22/km. The slower pace on the total is the result of walking half the rest interval lap, but I figure that's ok since the plan actually called for a 600m rest interval. In the afternoon I managed to get to the gym for some rolling and stretching.
Wednesday: OFF. Another well earned day OFF. Only thing to report is that at lunch time I went to the gym for a decent running specific strength training session and some rolling and stretching. And that the clinic where I've been going for massages every two weeks messed up my appointment so when I arrived they told me my next appointment was set for September 2nd! I was not happy about that.
Thursday: 13k T. On a beautiful morning for a run I went into what is likely the toughest run of the week without the usual level of concern or trepidation. The results definitely reflect the better attitude and the weather, which was calm, clear, not too humid, and 15C. In other words, ideal. I jogged the 2k warm up and that went better than usual, so as I started in on my 13k Tempo portion I was feeling pretty good about my chances at a good pace. And was I right! My slowest split was the fourth at 4:35.08 and all the rest were under 4:33/km. Towards the end of the run my calves started to tighten up a bit, but the last three splits (4:19.54, 4:21.32, and 4:19.15) were more in the Strength range rather than Tempo, but my breathing was fine so I definitely feel like I was in the right zone. The average for the tempo portion ended up being 4:27.53/km (which is a tidy 7:10.53/mile), well under BQ pace (both slow BQ goal of 4:37/km AND fast BQ goal of 4:30/km)! Even the average for the entire run was close to slow BQ goal pace as I completed 16k T at 4:38/km. I'm definitely feeling like my fitness is getting to places it has never been before. At lunch time I hit the gym to do some rolling and stretching and I even went in the sauna for a bit just for good measure and because it just feels nice to sweat a bit without doing a lick of work.
Friday: 8-10k E. Went out for what will likely be the easiest and shortest run for the rest of the training plan feeling pretty good about the prospect. These are so easy mentally speaking that the preparation is pretty much nil. No apprehension is a nice contrast to the typical worries that accompany a "something of substance" workout. I ran around Riverdale and just kept it real easy. Ended up finishing 8k E at 5:33/km. Only thing to be mindful of was tight calves. Before lunch I went to the gym for a decent strength training session, though I had to cut the rolling and stretching routine a bit short as we had a work function linch outing that I couldn't be late for.
Saturday: 13-16k E. Got in at the cottage very late the night before so wasn't asleep till past midnight and it was a bit tough getting out of bed. Still woke up without an alarm at 6am, but decided to just chill for a bit. Made it out for the run at about 8am and decided to run an out and back simply to avoid the 2km uphill climb that would have faced me late in the run had I used the regular route. This was on account of the tight calves of course. The run itself was fine and executed as an easy run should be executed. However, when I checked the average pace at the 10km point it was somewhere around 5:30/km. The average pace for the total run surprised me as it ended up being 13k E at 5:11/km. Must have really picked it up in the last 3k without feeling it at all. I walked half a kilometre at the end as that was how far I ended up from the cottage in order to measure the difference in distance from the corner of the main road around the lake and the highway.
Sunday: 16k E. The last "Easy" Sunday run on the training schedule came after one of my patented "accidents". Yes, the injury prone runner is not prone to running injuries only ;) The night before we had to pull the boat out of the lake to take it up to the cottage the the in-laws rent each Summer. As I arrived with the truck and trailer at the launch there as another truck occupying the spot so I went down to let them know that we had to get our boat out. They were having issues with their boat motor "from 1967" apparently, so were fiddling with it right at the end of the ramp. One guy said he'd move the truck while the other moved the boat to the side and slid it up onto the shore a bit. Well, as he sat in the boat fiddling with the motor the boat started to slip back into the water so I, the good Samaritan, grabbed it an tried to pull it back up onto the shore. As I did this I slipped and fell hard, slamming my shin into the boat and landing on my ass. The shin hurt and I had a big bruise there, but other than that I thought I was ok. Later, after spending far too much time washing the bottom of our boat, I noticed that the muscles on top of the right foot and front of the right shin hurt and I had real trouble lifting my foot. Crap!!! I iced and stuff, but I was really worried that my attempt at a good deed would derail my marathon training, which had been going better than ever! In any case, I woke up with some concern, but put the foot pain out of my mind and went out for my run. In the end the only thing that I really was concerned about was my left calf and how tight it felt. But I managed to run the 16k E at 5:15/km nice and easy, and am very pleased with the fact that on the familiar 2km climb back up to the Lake at the end of the run on Hwy 14 I never broke from my 3-3 breathing pattern and maintained a decent pace. These hills used to kill me! Now I am running them like they are just another normal obstacle of little significance. Nice! Week 10 down, 8 to go! Let's rock it!
Total for the week: 75 km at 5:13/km average pace.
Monday: 10-12k E. Ran a nice out and back near the cottage trying to avoid the hills as much as I could as this was supposed to be a recovery run. After the Long run the day before, and with the real work coming up over the course of the next six weeks, I was conscious of keeping things really smooth and easy. Legs were a bit sore, but perhaps not as much as I would have expected, which is a good sign. The total was 12k E at 5:36/km. We drove home from the cottage so no strength training, just relaxing at home watching a bit of the Jays and David Price's first start for the team.
Tuesday: 4x1200m or 3x1600m. The last speed session of the training plan was quite possibly the toughest. Legs felt like lead on the 2k jog to the track, and then on each repeat with about 600m or 400m to go I started to lose control of my quads and had to really concentrate to maintain form and not crumble to the tarmac. Still am impressed that I was able to maintain pace when it felt like I was slowing way down. A tough workout to be sure! Splits were 6:34.74 (4:06.71/km), 6:29.05 (4:03.16/km), and 6:31.10 (4:04.44/km), for an overall average pace of 4:04.74/km. Glad to have made it through the track sessions relatively unscathed as these workouts historically are dangerous from an injury proneness perspective. The average pace for all the speed sessions combined ended up being 4:04.93/km, which is definitely acceptable as it is under the goal pace of 4:10/km and in my self imposed range of 4:00/km-4:10/km. The entire workout amounted to 10k SP at 5:22/km. The slower pace on the total is the result of walking half the rest interval lap, but I figure that's ok since the plan actually called for a 600m rest interval. In the afternoon I managed to get to the gym for some rolling and stretching.
Wednesday: OFF. Another well earned day OFF. Only thing to report is that at lunch time I went to the gym for a decent running specific strength training session and some rolling and stretching. And that the clinic where I've been going for massages every two weeks messed up my appointment so when I arrived they told me my next appointment was set for September 2nd! I was not happy about that.
Thursday: 13k T. On a beautiful morning for a run I went into what is likely the toughest run of the week without the usual level of concern or trepidation. The results definitely reflect the better attitude and the weather, which was calm, clear, not too humid, and 15C. In other words, ideal. I jogged the 2k warm up and that went better than usual, so as I started in on my 13k Tempo portion I was feeling pretty good about my chances at a good pace. And was I right! My slowest split was the fourth at 4:35.08 and all the rest were under 4:33/km. Towards the end of the run my calves started to tighten up a bit, but the last three splits (4:19.54, 4:21.32, and 4:19.15) were more in the Strength range rather than Tempo, but my breathing was fine so I definitely feel like I was in the right zone. The average for the tempo portion ended up being 4:27.53/km (which is a tidy 7:10.53/mile), well under BQ pace (both slow BQ goal of 4:37/km AND fast BQ goal of 4:30/km)! Even the average for the entire run was close to slow BQ goal pace as I completed 16k T at 4:38/km. I'm definitely feeling like my fitness is getting to places it has never been before. At lunch time I hit the gym to do some rolling and stretching and I even went in the sauna for a bit just for good measure and because it just feels nice to sweat a bit without doing a lick of work.
Friday: 8-10k E. Went out for what will likely be the easiest and shortest run for the rest of the training plan feeling pretty good about the prospect. These are so easy mentally speaking that the preparation is pretty much nil. No apprehension is a nice contrast to the typical worries that accompany a "something of substance" workout. I ran around Riverdale and just kept it real easy. Ended up finishing 8k E at 5:33/km. Only thing to be mindful of was tight calves. Before lunch I went to the gym for a decent strength training session, though I had to cut the rolling and stretching routine a bit short as we had a work function linch outing that I couldn't be late for.
Saturday: 13-16k E. Got in at the cottage very late the night before so wasn't asleep till past midnight and it was a bit tough getting out of bed. Still woke up without an alarm at 6am, but decided to just chill for a bit. Made it out for the run at about 8am and decided to run an out and back simply to avoid the 2km uphill climb that would have faced me late in the run had I used the regular route. This was on account of the tight calves of course. The run itself was fine and executed as an easy run should be executed. However, when I checked the average pace at the 10km point it was somewhere around 5:30/km. The average pace for the total run surprised me as it ended up being 13k E at 5:11/km. Must have really picked it up in the last 3k without feeling it at all. I walked half a kilometre at the end as that was how far I ended up from the cottage in order to measure the difference in distance from the corner of the main road around the lake and the highway.
Sunday: 16k E. The last "Easy" Sunday run on the training schedule came after one of my patented "accidents". Yes, the injury prone runner is not prone to running injuries only ;) The night before we had to pull the boat out of the lake to take it up to the cottage the the in-laws rent each Summer. As I arrived with the truck and trailer at the launch there as another truck occupying the spot so I went down to let them know that we had to get our boat out. They were having issues with their boat motor "from 1967" apparently, so were fiddling with it right at the end of the ramp. One guy said he'd move the truck while the other moved the boat to the side and slid it up onto the shore a bit. Well, as he sat in the boat fiddling with the motor the boat started to slip back into the water so I, the good Samaritan, grabbed it an tried to pull it back up onto the shore. As I did this I slipped and fell hard, slamming my shin into the boat and landing on my ass. The shin hurt and I had a big bruise there, but other than that I thought I was ok. Later, after spending far too much time washing the bottom of our boat, I noticed that the muscles on top of the right foot and front of the right shin hurt and I had real trouble lifting my foot. Crap!!! I iced and stuff, but I was really worried that my attempt at a good deed would derail my marathon training, which had been going better than ever! In any case, I woke up with some concern, but put the foot pain out of my mind and went out for my run. In the end the only thing that I really was concerned about was my left calf and how tight it felt. But I managed to run the 16k E at 5:15/km nice and easy, and am very pleased with the fact that on the familiar 2km climb back up to the Lake at the end of the run on Hwy 14 I never broke from my 3-3 breathing pattern and maintained a decent pace. These hills used to kill me! Now I am running them like they are just another normal obstacle of little significance. Nice! Week 10 down, 8 to go! Let's rock it!
Total for the week: 75 km at 5:13/km average pace.
Labels: marathon training 2015, running
posted by Vava at
10:44 AM
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