Week 2

Monday - rest/xtrain

I opted out of a bike ride on my day off from running this week to give my legs more of a break. I did my strength routine with core and push-ups, which I've kept up 3x per week for 3 weeks now - I can tell I'm getting stronger!

Tuesday - 10K with 3 x 2000 tempo intervals

I was out the door early and at the park for my first tempo intervals (slightly faster than continuous tempo pace) of this cycle. I was a little intimidated by the pace target and caught myself making excuses before I started... "It's early in the season, so it's okay to be slower." 

The plan: 3 x 2000 at 4:30/KM (7:14/mi) with 500 recoveries

It took most of my 3K warm-up to wake up, but my legs felt ready to go when it was time to start the intervals. I felt pretty strong and steady throughout, and remembered how much I love these runs! With the exception of inadvertently sucking back a massive bug during the last set (and the gagging that ensued), they went great.

(4:31, 4:31)
(4:31, 4:31)
(4:30, 4:27)

Can you see me? :)

10.0KM (6.2mi) - 51:51 - 5:11/KM (8:20/mi)



Wednesday - 10K recovery

I decided to sleep in and join Wednesday Night Run Club and had the best intentions of riding my bike to the store as well. Unfortunately, that did not go as planned... but I did have a nice run with some great company, on a hot evening and a hilly route! Wednesdays are recovery days so we kept it nice and slow.

10.0KM (6.2mi) - 59:49 - 5:58/KM (9:37/mi)
+strength/core


Thursday - 16K (2 runs) with 6 x 600

I was up early and hit the track for my interval workout, hoping they would go much better than my 400s last week. I had to keep the warm-up short because I didn't want to run very much overall distance in the morning, knowing that I had a group run after work. After a short warm-up, it was time to start moving fast - and surprisingly, my legs cooperated!

Goal: 6x600 at ~2:24 (4:00/KM) with 400 recoveries

Results: 2:24, 2:24, 2:24, 2:25, 2:23, 2:21

I really wasn't sure what to expect at clinic that night after a workout in the morning; it's been a long time since I've run 20K on a week day! We were just doing an easy run (don't worry, group speed work starts soon!), and I actually felt really good. 

I also won a sweet gym bag from the Adidas reps who were at the store to introduce their new line.

AM: 8.0KM (5.0mi) - 41:36 - 5:12/KM (8:22/mi)
PM: 12.0KM (7.5mi) - 1:06:06 - 5:30/KM (8:51/mi)



Friday - 6K easy 8K Barefoot Bootcamp

8.0KM (5.0mi) - 49:18 - 6:09/KM (9:55/mi)
+push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, jacks



Saturday - 6K easy

Hubs joined me at the park for an easy run, followed by a visit to the farmer's market. It was the perfect way to start our Saturday!

5.8KM (3.6mi) - 32:35 - 5:37/KM (9:02/mi)



Sunday - 28K with 13K MRP

I opted out of the group run and met up with my friend P (we are planning to run the marathon together in October) for this long run with MRP. I had no idea what to expect, since I don't feel in shape whatsoever for my ultimate goal race pace at this point - understandably, in Week 2! We decided to aim for something between that goal and my race pace from Mississauga - anything in the 5:00 to 5:10/KM range would be good.

We kept it easy for the first half of the run, and hubs joined us for a while before tackling his own ridiculously fast MRP. Neither P nor myself were really feeling up to it, but we reluctantly picked up the pace when it was time.

By 5K I pretty much wanted to quit and even announced that I was not going to make it 13K. Luckily P reminded me that quitting wasn't an option, but we could back off the pace. That sounded like a good idea, although we didn't really slow down at all. We plugged away, one K at a time, and somehow managed to finish the workout within the range we'd planned.

MRP splits: 5:06 - 5:08 - 5:03 - 5:10 - 5:01 - 5:04 - 5:06 - 5:01 - 5:04 - 5:07 - 5:14 - 5:07 - 4:56

I know it's early in the season and this pace should start to feel a lot more comfortable as the weeks go on... I hope!

It was a warm and sunny morning and I felt like I was melting by the time we hit our 2K cool down. It's time to start these runs even earlier; finishing at 10AM is a bit late when the sun is already high in the sky.

28.3KM (17.6mi) - 2:33:13 - 5:24/KM (8:42/mi)
13K (8mi) MRP at 5:05/KM (8:10/mi)



Total Week 2 Mileage:  82.1 KM (51.0mi)
Total Time: 7:34:19
Average Pace: 5:32/KM (8:54/mi)
Cross-training: 3x strength/core