..it's gotta be 'complex'. Due to the impending birth of that little alien creature that will soon be inhabiting various moments of my life I came to the decision earlier this week that I need to take every bit of training and not completely focus on the 'big workout'. So i am approaching everything day by day.
Not the optimal situation, but probably essential for now. Therefore, I've decided to pull the old Australian 'complex system' of training out of the bag. For those who aren't familiar with the 'system' it is (with some slight personal variations) a system of training that advises some very lydiard long run concepts mixed in with shorter fartlek, hill and tempo sessions. It has been used by many of the good Australian runners over the years (Deek, Moneghetti, Wardlaw, Troop, etc...) has produced many other great results. Even now Craig Mottram is being coached by Chris Wardlaw (Mona's coach), who has been one of the main instigators in ti's evolution (often seen as beginning with De Castella's coach Pat Clohessy). In essence it's the same pattern of workouts week after week, with some variations to 'specificity' in training.
In general it looks like:
Mon 16km run
Tues: monofartlek
Wed: 20-25 km run
Thurs: hill session or track session of 8 x 400m off a 200m float
Fri: 16km
Sat: 7-8 km hilly tempo run
Sunday: 2-2 1/2 hr long run
Chuck in some 4-6 mile morning runs and that's it. You can see it's evolution at:
http://glenhuntly-athletics.com/assets/wardlawtraining.pdf
I forgot to post last week's training. it's been busy this week.
Mon: 1 hr 67 min run (felt great considering the Sun Run the previous day)
Tues: 16 x 60 sec hard off 30 sec jog and then 6 x 30 sec hard -30sec jog
Wed: 90min
Thurs: 10 x 3mins off 1min. I did it on my 'Mundy Park 1km' outside trail. I am not sure how far it is as I created it last yr when it was dark and i needed a place to run, but it measure out to approx 3mins of running so good enough. Consistent too.
fri: 66min run plus Bikram Yoga
Sat: 65 min quick run (same loop as Mon and Fri) PM 38mins
Sunday: see previous post for 'long fartlek'
Considering the Sun Run, my recovery and the various sessions I put in a very good week and the best part is that I responded to the training and recovery very positively
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
'12 step program'...
...my name is Mark and I have a problem. I am 'scatterbrained'. A combination of my personality, 'running brain' (as my wife calls it) and life in general (later with that story) I messed up this morning's planned big marathon session (10mile decent pace warm up, 10mile at MP pace and short warm down) as I failed to once again properly read the weekly email that Dick sends out.
Normally we do weekend workouts at 9:30 at Stanley Park on Sat, so I 'assumed' the same time again. Now having said that most Sunday runs begin at 9:00 so I should have known better. For some reason I read Dick's email just before I was about to leave and saw in red lettering 9:00....oops (as it takes me about 30mins to get to Stanley Park). As I wrote to Dick in an email I should have shown up and did a shorter warm up and ran 12-13 miles, but alas I was not a happy camper.
Maybe it was meant to be as I had originally planned a long marathon fartlek I did before both CIM and Ottawa (before Sacramento it went well, but before Ottawa I had been really sick). I had himmed and hawed about this and decided to do show up chat with Dick and go from there). So I had another cup of coffee and debated on where to do the session. I was going to run around the streets, but decided to do a combination of the outer Mundy Park loop, so I had some semblance of pace, and then headed out on the bike path around Mundy Park and then back into the park to see if things changed.
The session was a quicker 40+ min warm up and then get through 7 x 6mins at MP pace effort/HR and 3 mins a little slower using my HR monitor (so mid 160s for the MP effort and low/mid 150s for the easier part) and then 3mins off 2mins til I hit 1 hr 20mins. This is how it went:
1) warm up of approx 11km (single approx 5km loop at Mundy) with a 19min loop and then (with a slower HR and effort level) 18mins and then a little extra tagged on to hit 11km
2) get a gel,water, change shoes, etc....
3) head out on my first fartlek loop and was concerned as my HR was bang on, but my splits were quick the first half loop 8:05 (I toned it down and ended up at 16:30) so considering the easier parts decent
4) out on to the road I went and then came back for my nos. 6and 7 (had some fluid replacements as I practiced drinking, but i should have thrown a gel in there or probably earlier) and then back out. Ran a very controlled loop at 16:42 (but 8:15 first half so more even than nos 1 and 2), which was a pleasant surprise.. I was afraid I might have slowed down, but in fact it felt good
5) did 2 x 3mins off 2min same way, but after I hit 7 I lost my focus and my form faltered on the second 3 minuter. It was like last yr when I tried to run with my upper body and not my core.
6) my session was going from great to a mess, when I realized what I was doing and decided to do 60 sec off 30 sec, but was able o get the form back and finish strongly. I was amazing what a difference in the 'struggle' form versus the 'strong' form.
7) a combination of probably needing more nourishment and getting through the tough section made the last 10-15 mins a struggle
But wait it gets better (not the workout, but my idiocy). I check my cell phone whenever I am away from it and see I have 2 missed messages. 'Two' uh oh....I call Julie ASAP....no answer at home...call her cell...no answer....look at my who has called me section and see a phone call from home. 'Oh man, here it goes'. I call Julie's parents home...no answer....eeeekkkkk....call Julie's mom's cell...but she hasn't heard from Julie. Okay stress level goes down.
I pull into the driveway and her car is there...*deep breath*. All this time she'd been sleeping, and the message I saw about her calling from home was in fact my original call home to her. If that doesn't explain me right now then nothing will....funny thing is I've been pretty calm, but she is technically due in one week, so my high alert button has gone from cruise control to attentive.
Normally we do weekend workouts at 9:30 at Stanley Park on Sat, so I 'assumed' the same time again. Now having said that most Sunday runs begin at 9:00 so I should have known better. For some reason I read Dick's email just before I was about to leave and saw in red lettering 9:00....oops (as it takes me about 30mins to get to Stanley Park). As I wrote to Dick in an email I should have shown up and did a shorter warm up and ran 12-13 miles, but alas I was not a happy camper.
Maybe it was meant to be as I had originally planned a long marathon fartlek I did before both CIM and Ottawa (before Sacramento it went well, but before Ottawa I had been really sick). I had himmed and hawed about this and decided to do show up chat with Dick and go from there). So I had another cup of coffee and debated on where to do the session. I was going to run around the streets, but decided to do a combination of the outer Mundy Park loop, so I had some semblance of pace, and then headed out on the bike path around Mundy Park and then back into the park to see if things changed.
The session was a quicker 40+ min warm up and then get through 7 x 6mins at MP pace effort/HR and 3 mins a little slower using my HR monitor (so mid 160s for the MP effort and low/mid 150s for the easier part) and then 3mins off 2mins til I hit 1 hr 20mins. This is how it went:
1) warm up of approx 11km (single approx 5km loop at Mundy) with a 19min loop and then (with a slower HR and effort level) 18mins and then a little extra tagged on to hit 11km
2) get a gel,water, change shoes, etc....
3) head out on my first fartlek loop and was concerned as my HR was bang on, but my splits were quick the first half loop 8:05 (I toned it down and ended up at 16:30) so considering the easier parts decent
4) out on to the road I went and then came back for my nos. 6and 7 (had some fluid replacements as I practiced drinking, but i should have thrown a gel in there or probably earlier) and then back out. Ran a very controlled loop at 16:42 (but 8:15 first half so more even than nos 1 and 2), which was a pleasant surprise.. I was afraid I might have slowed down, but in fact it felt good
5) did 2 x 3mins off 2min same way, but after I hit 7 I lost my focus and my form faltered on the second 3 minuter. It was like last yr when I tried to run with my upper body and not my core.
6) my session was going from great to a mess, when I realized what I was doing and decided to do 60 sec off 30 sec, but was able o get the form back and finish strongly. I was amazing what a difference in the 'struggle' form versus the 'strong' form.
7) a combination of probably needing more nourishment and getting through the tough section made the last 10-15 mins a struggle
But wait it gets better (not the workout, but my idiocy). I check my cell phone whenever I am away from it and see I have 2 missed messages. 'Two' uh oh....I call Julie ASAP....no answer at home...call her cell...no answer....look at my who has called me section and see a phone call from home. 'Oh man, here it goes'. I call Julie's parents home...no answer....eeeekkkkk....call Julie's mom's cell...but she hasn't heard from Julie. Okay stress level goes down.
I pull into the driveway and her car is there...*deep breath*. All this time she'd been sleeping, and the message I saw about her calling from home was in fact my original call home to her. If that doesn't explain me right now then nothing will....funny thing is I've been pretty calm, but she is technically due in one week, so my high alert button has gone from cruise control to attentive.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Feeling flat...running decent....
It's been a hectic week with too many later day runs. I hope they don't begin to catch up with me....hope being the operative word.
I haven't posted since my Sun Run due to leaving my computer at school and then simply not getting around to it....now the report.
I ended up at 30:39, which was okay considering things. It was an interesting race as (like many Sun Runs) there were two groups early on. I ended up in the second group, but was actually chomping at the bit to catch up around the 2km point, but decided that might be a tough go considering how I haven't really raced hard for a long time.
In the end I made the choice to simply hang out, but the aggression of wanting to catch up meant I surprisingly wanted to control the second pack. From about 2-3 km on I was at the front of the second pack (another Mizuno athlete Rajean Chiasson alo seemed to want to control the pack as well so we did quite a bit of the work and dictated the nature of the pack) and simply threw in some surges and countered when necessary.
I never felt as though I was in any real problems with the pace. In fact it felt quite easy, til the racing began around 2km, and then I realized I had no 'getty up and go'. I caught Eric Garner (sub 4 min miler) with about 600m to go, but he was able to come back and out kick me. I realized over the last 400m I have no speed right now. But I also realized I was fairly fatigued and couldn't get my body to run much faster, irrlevant of the earlier pace.
That's always an interesting situation. You are tired from training so you really cannot hurt yourself because you are fatigued, but you are fit enough to run decent. What's exactly where I was. After I finished I didn't even feel that banged up. It was almost too easy. Even th next day I was rolling again. I ended up as first masters and 4th place Canuck so a double payday. 'Sweet as....'
Mon: (day off) AM 62mins nice PM 38mins
Tues: 70mins
Wed: 16 x 1min hard-30 sec easy easy then jog 90 sec jog and then 6 x 30sec hard- 30 sec easy easy jog and then some 15 secs off 45 sec
Thurs: 85mins
Fri: actual back off 46mins quick
Sat: AM 45 mins at decent clip
PM 30mins plus 4 x 10-15 sec hill strides
Sunday: race 10km....had a later run planned but our neighbours invited us over for dinner and I couldn't resist a beer.
I haven't posted since my Sun Run due to leaving my computer at school and then simply not getting around to it....now the report.
I ended up at 30:39, which was okay considering things. It was an interesting race as (like many Sun Runs) there were two groups early on. I ended up in the second group, but was actually chomping at the bit to catch up around the 2km point, but decided that might be a tough go considering how I haven't really raced hard for a long time.
In the end I made the choice to simply hang out, but the aggression of wanting to catch up meant I surprisingly wanted to control the second pack. From about 2-3 km on I was at the front of the second pack (another Mizuno athlete Rajean Chiasson alo seemed to want to control the pack as well so we did quite a bit of the work and dictated the nature of the pack) and simply threw in some surges and countered when necessary.
I never felt as though I was in any real problems with the pace. In fact it felt quite easy, til the racing began around 2km, and then I realized I had no 'getty up and go'. I caught Eric Garner (sub 4 min miler) with about 600m to go, but he was able to come back and out kick me. I realized over the last 400m I have no speed right now. But I also realized I was fairly fatigued and couldn't get my body to run much faster, irrlevant of the earlier pace.
That's always an interesting situation. You are tired from training so you really cannot hurt yourself because you are fatigued, but you are fit enough to run decent. What's exactly where I was. After I finished I didn't even feel that banged up. It was almost too easy. Even th next day I was rolling again. I ended up as first masters and 4th place Canuck so a double payday. 'Sweet as....'
Mon: (day off) AM 62mins nice PM 38mins
Tues: 70mins
Wed: 16 x 1min hard-30 sec easy easy then jog 90 sec jog and then 6 x 30sec hard- 30 sec easy easy jog and then some 15 secs off 45 sec
Thurs: 85mins
Fri: actual back off 46mins quick
Sat: AM 45 mins at decent clip
PM 30mins plus 4 x 10-15 sec hill strides
Sunday: race 10km....had a later run planned but our neighbours invited us over for dinner and I couldn't resist a beer.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
It’s racing...it’s racing time (sung to the tune of Flight of the Conchords ‘It’s Business Time’)
...well the beginning of racing season begins in earnest this weekend with the Sun Run, and honestly I have no idea how it's going to go. Training has been going quite well recently, but I am also not in full focus yet, and haven't really backed off for this race. We'll know a bit more of my future plans around 9:30 Sunday morning.
It's been a hectic last two weeks, and training time hasn't been optimal, but it' been solid. I didn't really begin taking any back off time til yesterday (Fri) and even then I did a solid session of Bikram (hope I didn't leave it too late) last night. That's the sort of week it's been. I was at work til 5 last night, got home at 5:30, went for a run, ate and it was 7:45. But it has been the only time all week I have been able to go and my right hip (mostly IT band) has been acting up all week. I would have preferred t go Thurs or Wed, but both days were long and would have meant an even longer day. If my legs felt terrible or my runs had been sluggish I might be worried, but they’ve been strong. Now just get me through 10km and things will be peachy keen.
It's been a hectic last two weeks, and training time hasn't been optimal, but it' been solid. I didn't really begin taking any back off time til yesterday (Fri) and even then I did a solid session of Bikram (hope I didn't leave it too late) last night. That's the sort of week it's been. I was at work til 5 last night, got home at 5:30, went for a run, ate and it was 7:45. But it has been the only time all week I have been able to go and my right hip (mostly IT band) has been acting up all week. I would have preferred t go Thurs or Wed, but both days were long and would have meant an even longer day. If my legs felt terrible or my runs had been sluggish I might be worried, but they’ve been strong. Now just get me through 10km and things will be peachy keen.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Timing aka...
....what events will I be running in the next few weeks? Not due to any running issue, but rather some little living creature that is about to enter my/our life. Jules is officially expecting on May 3, but anything can happen and this one is out of our control (driving her nuts).
This world revolves around running (doesn't it???), but the issue of my racing schedule has popped up. So here are the rules of my current game (as explained to me):
1) I can race, but......
2 I must always be near my cell phone (first time I really had one)...and If I go for a run I must immediately check it after my run.
3) I am not allowed to go out of town to race if no little one has yet decided to arrive.
4) I m not allowed going for a run while Julie is in labour.... (What’s the deal with that one.....there are good trails around the hospital!!!!)
...other than that everything is normal as usual....well kind of...
Training this week was solid....I am trying to keep some semblance of my 'track' speed up as I decide to take on this bloody marathon one more time. I find if I don't, I tend to have more hip/back issues.
But this time I am enjoying the process (like my first one). As long as I am having fun (is that possible in running???!!!) than I run well. I sometimes forget that, even when I've been very fit I have run poorly, and been in good (not great) shape and run well. Even in regards training I am trying to keep things both simple and 'fun' (not that it is always fun).
The week as it was:
Mon: tired from Sat ad Sun, but still a nice 67 min run at a good clip
Tues: short track workout at Richmond. Once my Wed session went down the tubes (8 x mile) I decided on what I have come to term a 'Frank Shorter' week. In other words make it as simple as I possibly can. The UBC guys were doing 6 x 800m off 2min, so I ended up doing 6 x 1000m off a 200m (80-90 sec jog) , except for no. 3 where I ran with them and put my spikes on for the last 3. It was pretty (actually very) controlled as one of the UBC guys would go through 300 and would tow him through the next 500 and keep on going. I was probably more concerned about helping him get through the workout and toned down what I might normally do. In the end I managed low 2:50s and felt nice and consistent
Wed: 1 hr 12 min quick....felt easy though
Thurs: afternoon 52 mins at Mundy park trails, but a good clip PM 34mins
Fri: controlled fartlek style run 12 x 3min at just above threshold effort with 2min jogs, but altered easier sections with mid 150s HR and then mid 140s (at halfway I made sure to tone it down to mid/high 130s). On my last 2 I ran 2 'posts' at threshold HR and ran 3:17 and 3:18, so a good sign
Sat: 1 hr 6 mins good pace, but easy PM 30mins
Sunday: met Dick ad Steve in some messy conditions for a planned 22 miles on the POCO/Pitt Lake trails (wasn't it close to 20 degrees a few days go). My stomach was bugging me early on and when I took a gel at just before halfway I really began having issues (By the way I found out what happens to gels that go beyond expiry dates.....bleccchhh). Around halfway we met Norm and Dick hopped on his bike. I think he regretted this decision as he froze his behind off. I had originally planned on structured surging on the way back, but ended up going to the bathroom. I told the boys I would catch up and felt much better after my little break, so threw down 1 min surges every 5 mins. I felt great and made up the distance relatively quickly. I probably should have kept on going once I caught up, as once I slowed down my R hip progressively seized up, and my stomach kept on bugging me.
This world revolves around running (doesn't it???), but the issue of my racing schedule has popped up. So here are the rules of my current game (as explained to me):
1) I can race, but......
2 I must always be near my cell phone (first time I really had one)...and If I go for a run I must immediately check it after my run.
3) I am not allowed to go out of town to race if no little one has yet decided to arrive.
4) I m not allowed going for a run while Julie is in labour.... (What’s the deal with that one.....there are good trails around the hospital!!!!)
...other than that everything is normal as usual....well kind of...
Training this week was solid....I am trying to keep some semblance of my 'track' speed up as I decide to take on this bloody marathon one more time. I find if I don't, I tend to have more hip/back issues.
But this time I am enjoying the process (like my first one). As long as I am having fun (is that possible in running???!!!) than I run well. I sometimes forget that, even when I've been very fit I have run poorly, and been in good (not great) shape and run well. Even in regards training I am trying to keep things both simple and 'fun' (not that it is always fun).
The week as it was:
Mon: tired from Sat ad Sun, but still a nice 67 min run at a good clip
Tues: short track workout at Richmond. Once my Wed session went down the tubes (8 x mile) I decided on what I have come to term a 'Frank Shorter' week. In other words make it as simple as I possibly can. The UBC guys were doing 6 x 800m off 2min, so I ended up doing 6 x 1000m off a 200m (80-90 sec jog) , except for no. 3 where I ran with them and put my spikes on for the last 3. It was pretty (actually very) controlled as one of the UBC guys would go through 300 and would tow him through the next 500 and keep on going. I was probably more concerned about helping him get through the workout and toned down what I might normally do. In the end I managed low 2:50s and felt nice and consistent
Wed: 1 hr 12 min quick....felt easy though
Thurs: afternoon 52 mins at Mundy park trails, but a good clip PM 34mins
Fri: controlled fartlek style run 12 x 3min at just above threshold effort with 2min jogs, but altered easier sections with mid 150s HR and then mid 140s (at halfway I made sure to tone it down to mid/high 130s). On my last 2 I ran 2 'posts' at threshold HR and ran 3:17 and 3:18, so a good sign
Sat: 1 hr 6 mins good pace, but easy PM 30mins
Sunday: met Dick ad Steve in some messy conditions for a planned 22 miles on the POCO/Pitt Lake trails (wasn't it close to 20 degrees a few days go). My stomach was bugging me early on and when I took a gel at just before halfway I really began having issues (By the way I found out what happens to gels that go beyond expiry dates.....bleccchhh). Around halfway we met Norm and Dick hopped on his bike. I think he regretted this decision as he froze his behind off. I had originally planned on structured surging on the way back, but ended up going to the bathroom. I told the boys I would catch up and felt much better after my little break, so threw down 1 min surges every 5 mins. I felt great and made up the distance relatively quickly. I probably should have kept on going once I caught up, as once I slowed down my R hip progressively seized up, and my stomach kept on bugging me.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Why can't things ever be easy for me!!!!???
....Just as I get back into a nice routine, things become difficult. Well no one ever said I like to make things easy for myself. Due to report cards this week, an altered coaching track meet I a forced back into solitary training once again.
The lads were meeting for a nice long session on Wed, and we had a HS track meet that meant I couldn't go with them. I ended down at the Kajaks practice, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do.
Then again this may not entirely be a problem, as it forces me to be a bit more mentally tougher. But it is also forcing me to alter facets of my training, which I am actually enjoying. Not the working out on my own part, but the part where I have to tweak things to get optimal results. Normally it would be tuck in and go for a ride with other, but now I need to play tricks on myself to get what I need. Not that I am drastically altering things. Instead I am just using the old quote of 'there's more than one way to skin a cat'.....
I guess we'll find out if it works.....
The lads were meeting for a nice long session on Wed, and we had a HS track meet that meant I couldn't go with them. I ended down at the Kajaks practice, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do.
Then again this may not entirely be a problem, as it forces me to be a bit more mentally tougher. But it is also forcing me to alter facets of my training, which I am actually enjoying. Not the working out on my own part, but the part where I have to tweak things to get optimal results. Normally it would be tuck in and go for a ride with other, but now I need to play tricks on myself to get what I need. Not that I am drastically altering things. Instead I am just using the old quote of 'there's more than one way to skin a cat'.....
I guess we'll find out if it works.....
Sunday, April 5, 2009
GRRRRRRRR.......
......as Bill Squires used to say 'The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat'...
.....and that is what my long run today seemed to do. I normally wouldn't post a second update, except something is going on with my running. I don't know whether it's my fitness coming along to a new level, my renewed ability to relax or what, but as I often say who cares as long as I get there on time.
I did my standard 'SFU run', and figured I might feel a little flat from yesterday, but the opposite occurred. Anyone who has done the loop with me knows that 48-49 mins is standard (heck even some days 50) anything below that is cruising pretty good, but today I did it in just over 44 without really trying (I dn't think I've ever gone under 46 and that was trying). The idea was to see how I felt and then either make it a steady run or do a long run hill fartlek style (run the uphills harder after 30-4mins). When I checked out my watch at various sections I knew I was moving, but it was so easy. The strange part were all the surges I ended throwing in on various hills (some as little as 5-10 secs and others 4-5 mins).
The trails are also windy and I was moving so quickly on the flatter sections and the later stages of the run that I kept on running off the trails at various twisty corners. It was entirely new territory for me and something to consider as a staple of training. Runs like this are what most runners want to feel like and I can honestly say I haven't had this sort of run.....well ever. Now the question is what does his meaan how does my body respond over the next week or so....
.....and that is what my long run today seemed to do. I normally wouldn't post a second update, except something is going on with my running. I don't know whether it's my fitness coming along to a new level, my renewed ability to relax or what, but as I often say who cares as long as I get there on time.
I did my standard 'SFU run', and figured I might feel a little flat from yesterday, but the opposite occurred. Anyone who has done the loop with me knows that 48-49 mins is standard (heck even some days 50) anything below that is cruising pretty good, but today I did it in just over 44 without really trying (I dn't think I've ever gone under 46 and that was trying). The idea was to see how I felt and then either make it a steady run or do a long run hill fartlek style (run the uphills harder after 30-4mins). When I checked out my watch at various sections I knew I was moving, but it was so easy. The strange part were all the surges I ended throwing in on various hills (some as little as 5-10 secs and others 4-5 mins).
The trails are also windy and I was moving so quickly on the flatter sections and the later stages of the run that I kept on running off the trails at various twisty corners. It was entirely new territory for me and something to consider as a staple of training. Runs like this are what most runners want to feel like and I can honestly say I haven't had this sort of run.....well ever. Now the question is what does his meaan how does my body respond over the next week or so....
I write this as I....
..head out the door for a long run....mostly because I am procrastinating and enjoying a lazy morning.
It was an interesting week, mostly because I haven't done a double yet, and am going to end up well over 100 miles....how does this happen???? I honestly have no real idea...except I am an idiot at times.
I was really looking froward to a session with Steve and Ryan on Wednesday, but I only quickly looked over an email Dick had sent out. I swear it said Burnaby Lake....and then when I showed up and no one was there I wondered what had I done. I called my wife and she said Bear Creek (about a 5-10min drive from where I work, as opposed the good 45-60mins from where I had gone from work and was now stuck). It was a horrible day, so I simply told myself this is a 'character' session. A good thing was there was only disappointment in not being able to workout with other people, but the question of what was going to happen never wavered.
So off I went around Bby lake doing 3mins hard-1 min walk/jog. It wasn't have bad considering how cold and wet it was outside and how wet and flooded the trails were. I was able to time a few 'posts' (took a few where I could run full post and then took 60 secs) and ended up at 3:10-3:13 so good times considering the conditions. The 3:13 was literally running through puddles in wet shoes and freezing my behind off).
Sat was interesting. I misunderstood the workout as it was a 10 mile continuous (for Steve and Ryan), and I thought it was 2 x 5 mile. Due to a session in my long run from Monday I was only really interested in a traditional tempo style run. I ended up doing 5 miles in a single loop and stopped and did a bit more after a short break because I didn't want to end up in 'non man's land'(in 20/20 I forgot that the 6-7 mile mark ended up near where we started and I should have done that). I had one goal.....RUN RELAXED....and that was achieved. In fact I felt better and better as we went along and got in a nice rhythm that I haven't had in a while. My fitness level is fine...it's the inability to correlate that fitness to some tempo style workouts that have been frustrating. It was a workout I felt would have been quite easy to finish. Considering how much training I had done for the week and how my legs felt this was very encouraging as a 'break through' week that I have been looking for in this type of training.
Monday: 2 hr 5mins, but done as run from my house, around the POCO trail and back home, but I took a marathon style long run from Bill Squires, so after a good 40mins I did 3 x 1 min surges in a 10min set, then threw down a solid 15min surge took 5 mins, then 3 more 1 min surges and then ran hard, but controlled the rest of the way home (a good split considering everything). I was absolutely flying til I hit the last 15 mins (makes sense as it was the 1 hr 50-55 mark)
Tues: 70 mins with dug
Wed: 10 x 3mins (mostly) with 60 sec walk/jog
Thurs: 69mins
Friday: 76 mins good solid run.....had to slow myself down
Saturday: 6 mile warm up 5mile below tempo-2min rest 2 x 3mins off 30 sec jog at tempo Pace HR -6 mile warm down
Sunday:hmmmmmmmm some sort of long run....just gonna enjoy it and then try to get in another short run tonight....I got to have at least one dbl.....
The week that was
It was an interesting week, mostly because I haven't done a double yet, and am going to end up well over 100 miles....how does this happen???? I honestly have no real idea...except I am an idiot at times.
I was really looking froward to a session with Steve and Ryan on Wednesday, but I only quickly looked over an email Dick had sent out. I swear it said Burnaby Lake....and then when I showed up and no one was there I wondered what had I done. I called my wife and she said Bear Creek (about a 5-10min drive from where I work, as opposed the good 45-60mins from where I had gone from work and was now stuck). It was a horrible day, so I simply told myself this is a 'character' session. A good thing was there was only disappointment in not being able to workout with other people, but the question of what was going to happen never wavered.
So off I went around Bby lake doing 3mins hard-1 min walk/jog. It wasn't have bad considering how cold and wet it was outside and how wet and flooded the trails were. I was able to time a few 'posts' (took a few where I could run full post and then took 60 secs) and ended up at 3:10-3:13 so good times considering the conditions. The 3:13 was literally running through puddles in wet shoes and freezing my behind off).
Sat was interesting. I misunderstood the workout as it was a 10 mile continuous (for Steve and Ryan), and I thought it was 2 x 5 mile. Due to a session in my long run from Monday I was only really interested in a traditional tempo style run. I ended up doing 5 miles in a single loop and stopped and did a bit more after a short break because I didn't want to end up in 'non man's land'(in 20/20 I forgot that the 6-7 mile mark ended up near where we started and I should have done that). I had one goal.....RUN RELAXED....and that was achieved. In fact I felt better and better as we went along and got in a nice rhythm that I haven't had in a while. My fitness level is fine...it's the inability to correlate that fitness to some tempo style workouts that have been frustrating. It was a workout I felt would have been quite easy to finish. Considering how much training I had done for the week and how my legs felt this was very encouraging as a 'break through' week that I have been looking for in this type of training.
Monday: 2 hr 5mins, but done as run from my house, around the POCO trail and back home, but I took a marathon style long run from Bill Squires, so after a good 40mins I did 3 x 1 min surges in a 10min set, then threw down a solid 15min surge took 5 mins, then 3 more 1 min surges and then ran hard, but controlled the rest of the way home (a good split considering everything). I was absolutely flying til I hit the last 15 mins (makes sense as it was the 1 hr 50-55 mark)
Tues: 70 mins with dug
Wed: 10 x 3mins (mostly) with 60 sec walk/jog
Thurs: 69mins
Friday: 76 mins good solid run.....had to slow myself down
Saturday: 6 mile warm up 5mile below tempo-2min rest 2 x 3mins off 30 sec jog at tempo Pace HR -6 mile warm down
Sunday:hmmmmmmmm some sort of long run....just gonna enjoy it and then try to get in another short run tonight....I got to have at least one dbl.....
The week that was
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