Week 4

Monday - rest or xtrain

I've been struggling to find a way to keep Spinning in my schedule on the new training plan and Monday night seems to be the only time that works (bonus that my favourite instructor teaches Monday nights). That being said, Monday is my only scheduled rest/xtrain day so I will have to decide on a week-to-week basis if I should take the class, opt for something lighter or take the day off completely. Coming off a pretty light Week 3, I knew this would be a good time to squeeze in a class and it felt great to mix things up.



Tuesday - 20K medium-long (2 runs) with 4x2000 cruise intervals (tempo pace with 40 second "recoveries")

I started LT/tempo training in Week 1 with 3 x 2000 cruise intervals, followed by a 6K steady tempo (same distance) in Week 2. The cruise intervals are truthfully not much (if at all) easier physically with the super short breaks, but much easier mentally. I find that the intervals are a great stepping stone and confidence-booster for the steady tempo distance, so I decided to follow the same pattern with the increase to 8K. This week I ran 4 x 2000 and next week I will run 8K continuous.

I set out at lunch for the workout and found (to my dismay!) very sloppy sidewalks. After a very frustrating warm-up in the snow, I headed to my usual loop on some quiet streets so I would able to run on the road for the most part, but not the entire time. Each time I was forced onto the sidewalk, I had to work so hard and barely felt like I was moving. I also had to make a quick emergency pit-stop part way through (good times), which became a slightly extended break.

The plan: 2K warm-up, 4 x 2000m at target tempo pace (4:40-4:50/KM)* with 40s recoveries
*adjusted from original target of 4:50

The results:
4:50 - 4:41
40s recovery jog
4:46 (snow) - 4:40
pit stop
4:40 - 4:39
40s recovery jog
4:31 - 4:46 (snow)

Average tempo: 4:42/KM


After work it was time to complete the second portion of my medium-long day and I was glad to have a couple of friends to meet. They were doing their tempo run that evening, but I was able to join them for the warm-up, then do my own thing on the trail while they picked it up, and we re-connected for the cool-down. It was great to have the company and I know I would have had some trouble finding the motivation for a cold, dark run after the hard workout at lunch.

noon: 10.2KM (6.4mi) - 50:02 - 4:54/KM (7:54/mi)

eve:   10.4KM (6.5mi) - 1:01:31 - 5:55/KM (9:31/mi)



Wednesday - 10K easy

Wednesday night I was excited to meet up with my training group for our usual Wednesday night run club. A couple of girls wanted to run some extra ahead of time, so we met a bit earlier to add on a couple. The nice thing about running with the group is that there are so many people out running all kinds of paces so I can always find someone to run with at whatever pace I'm looking for that day. In this case, it was supposed to be a recovery run a.k.a. S - L - O - W. It was a fail in that department as I got caught up with some of the front runners. I kept trying to reel it in, but I let my legs get away from me. Not so smart when this run is sandwiched between my two workout days. I need to be more careful. That being said, I had a really enjoyable run and felt good.

13.3KM (8.3mi) - 1:15:21 - 5:40/KM (9:07/mi)



Thursday - 12K hills

This clinic doesn't typically include hill repeats as part of the regimen, but coach decided to mix it up a bit this time around so we get a taste of everything. I'm not much of a proponent for hill repeats myself*, but I decided to go along for the ride. We ran a ~3K warm-up over to one hill, finished 3 repeats, then a short run over to a second hill for another 3 repeats, followed by a cool-down jog back to the store. My legs felt pretty tired from the get-go, which was not a surprise since I'm pushing it quite a bit this week after a week of vacation. We tackled one hill at a time and before I knew it, the workout was done.

The distance ended up slightly shorter than planned, but Tuesday and Wednesday had both been longer so I didn't bother with my usual laps around the parking lot to round it off. ;)

11.5KM (7.1mi) - 1:04:55 - 5:39/KM (9:05/mi)



Friday - 10K recovery

I was running at lunch and I knew I didn't really have time for 10K at a slower pace, so I shortened it a bit, knowing I still had some distance in the "bank". My legs felt surprisingly good and I had a really hard time slowing down to a true recovery, but I ended up with a nice consistent run (only 8s difference between my fastest and slowest KM).

8.7KM (5.4mi) - 50:50 - 5:51/KM (9:24/mi)



Saturday - 8K easy

I met a friend for a jaunt around the neighbourhood, and ran a little longer than planned. The miles ticked by easily as we chatted away, not bothering to look at our Garmins at all. I love these runs sometimes!

10.3KM (6.4mi) - 57:08 - 5:33/KM (8:56/mi)



Sunday - 28K long run with 13K MRP

Perfect Sunday

30.0KM (18.6mi) - 2:47:08 - 5:34/KM (8:58/mi)




Total Week 4 Mileage: 94.4KM (58.7mi) 
Total time: 8:46:55
Average pace: 5:35/KM (8:59/mi)


Today I will be enjoying a rest day and an appointment with my favourite physio tonight. What could be better?

15 weeks to Mississauga Marathon!