Week 5

Monday -  rest or xtrain


I had a physio appointment and opted for a rest day, which I thoroughly enjoyed!



Tuesday - 21K medium-long (2 runs) with 8K tempo

We were expecting a massive snow storm from Tuesday to Wednesday, but luckily I was able to sneak out over lunch to squeeze in this run just as the snow started to fall. It was cold with a nasty wind and the roads were getting pretty slick/sloppy, but I was able to push through it. Given the conditions and the big week I had just wrapped up, I wasn't surprised to find that my legs felt really tired. I got through the first half of the workout alright, but it was a major struggle to hang on through the second half. I paused for two quick breaks, which was not in the plan, but gave me enough oomph to finish it off.

Somehow I still managed some decent splits (target: 4:40 - 4:50):

4:46
4:49
4:42
4:42
4:45
4:48
4:45
4:46
avg 4:45/KM (7:39/mi) for 8K (5mi)

Tuesday after work I was able to round up some company for part 2 of my medium-long day. It was cold and windy but the snow held off for us. My friends had a tempo run on deck, so I joined them on the warm-up/cool-down portions and plodded along the trail at my happy pace while they did their workout.

noon: 10.5KM (6.5mi) - 53:06 - 5:03/KM (8:03/mi) 

eve: 10.0KM (6.2mi)  - 59:07 - 5:55/KM (9:31/mi)



Wednesday - 10K easy

Snowmageddon Run!

11.0KM (6.8mi) - 1:10:02 - 6:22/KM (10:15/mi)




Thursday - 2 x (2000 tempo, 1000 5KRP)

Thursday is clinic speed work night. The group had a slightly different schedule than my own, but I was able to make it work and run with the group for part of it. Since hubs had decided to take it on the easy side, it worked out well for him to run with me. Yay!

We were happy to find that the paths we use had been cleared with a little help from a sunny afternoon. There were a couple of rough patches (and some of the trail is not lit at all - yikes!) but for the most part, we were okay.

Original plan - as per my schedule:

2000 at tempo pace (4:40-4:50/1000)
200 recovery jog
1000 at 5K pace (sub-4:30/1000)
500 recovery jog
and repeat

Here's how it shook down, after a slow and steady warm-up run (~4K) to the park.

1000 @ 4:39
1000 @ 4:23
200 jog (1:27)
1000 @ 4:42
1000 @ 4:33 (holding on for dear life)
250 jog (1:29)
2500 @ 5:07/KM avg pace

I was completely spent after the second 2000 (which was straight into an ugly head wind, I might add), as I wheezed and gasped to hubs: "I'm done!"

He suggested a longer loop at MRP (sitting on the curb seemed like a better idea at the time, but I knew I would freeze to death doing so) and I reluctantly agreed. The more practice I get at MRP on tired legs, the better, so off we went. We ended up comfortably under target MRP and I didn't even die doing it!

It may not have gone exactly according to plan, but I put in a solid workout - my 3rd in the last 5 days - so I'm calling it a success.

13.3KM (8.3mi) - 1:14:12 - 5:35/KM (8:59/mi)



Friday - 8K recovery

The usual lunch route - my favourite way to break up the work day, especially a Friday. Some sections of the sidewalk were a complete snowy mess and there was a biting wind for about half of the route, but I was just happy to be out there. My legs felt pretty tired after Thursday night's workout, so it was easy to keep the pace on the slow side.

8.4KM (5.2mi) - 49:45 - 5:55/KM (9:32/mi) 



Saturday - xtrain

After making some changes to the training plan, I decided to stick with cross-training on Saturday. I went back to Bootcamp at the gym for the first time in a few weeks. It was a doozie of a workout with 75 minutes of jump squats, burpees, charlestons, kick-boxing, lunges, spiderman - you get the idea!

I got home and put a first coat of paint on our powder room, which should also count as a workout! I almost got stuck in the crouch position while painting behind the toilet!



Sunday - 32K long

Character-building snowy run

32.0KM (19.9mi) - 3:11:18 - 5:59/KM (9:37/mi)




Total Week 5 Mileage: 85.2 KM (52.9mi)
Total time: 8:17:30
Average pace: 5:50/KM (9:24/mi)

This turned out to be a bit of a tough week. I could tell I was tired from a big Week 4, I struggled a bit through both of my workouts and dealt with some pretty crazy snowy conditions for 2 runs. This week is a recovery week and I can tell that I need it.



14 weeks to Mississauga Marathon!