Balancing

In order for me to get in a run on Friday, I took advantage of the commute and ran home from work. The idea seemed good at the time, and Monday, well it was an entire weekend away.

After a solid workout and an accompanying long run, I found myself staring into an empty shed… and wondering why on earth I ran home on Friday. This missing piece to this story involves a lonely bike that was securely locked-up in the sub-basement at work. I suffered the entire way as I jogged down an empty Quadra Street on a quite Monday morning.

Tuesday, I rested.

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As for today, I fully expected to feel good on my run home, or at least I thought I deserved to feel good. If nothing else, my mindset was correct. And so it was on a balmy July afternoon, I wallowed in the discomfort as I paced out an undulating route home. I need to make sure that I stay on top of the training and not the other way around.

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Training:

Monday: easy 36:44 (unscheduled)

Tuesday: day off (unscheduled)

Wednesday: easy 1:06:14

Answered

Three questions were asked of me lately, two by friends and one of myself. Thought I might use this opportunity to address them.

Q. Is Hicham the same person as in this article?

A. Mark, I have no idea how you came across the TC article but as Dr. Evil already pointed out, yes, he is the same Hicham that ran with us in Boston. Don’t be fooled by the moniker, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

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Q. Doesn't Jack Daniels’ state that repeats at that pace should not exceed 5 minutes each (re: my w/o last Tuesday)?

A. Thomas, the short answer is yes. I believe that Daniels’ is one of the best coaches around and I’ve had success with his marathon program. As I train for the RVM though, I thought I’d try something different. I’ve built a framework based on Gabriele Rosa’s emphasis on speed (arguably the world’s greatest marathon coach), allowed for 2-weeks of transition, and then tacked on an approach used by Ronaldo da Costa (2:06:05). As a check, I’ve overlaid this on my preparation for the California Int’l Marathon in 2006 (my fastest marathon to date)... the result is eerily similar.

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Q. What the hell was Bruce thinking when he gave me this w/o in 2006, and why am I doing it again?

A. Because I want to reconnect with my speed. Almost three years ago, Bruce gave me the following w/o as I prepared for the CIM, 3x [600 2:00, (1’) 1,000 3:12 (3’)], and in an effort to build upon the past I attempted the session Saturday morning.

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I wasn’t too worried about the 600s (2:00), but the idea of running 1,000s at +/- 3k pace (3:12) was worrying. I really don’t enjoy the discomfort of running 5k pace, and I like 3k pace even less. Not wanting to dwell on the inevitable though, after running a short warm-up I hopped straight into the first 600. I kept the rhythm steady and told myself not to worry about finishing 2” slow; much better than the alternative. As the seconds ticked away during my recovery, I could only grin as I toed the line about to begin the faster paced interval. 3:11, wow, that was unexpected.

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I tried to concentrate on relaxing during the second set but as the times indicate, I believe there is an inverse relationship with these concepts where I’m concerned. The last set rolled around all too soon but as it turned out, I shouldn’t have worried. That is not to say there wasn’t a little bit of desperation in the last lap.

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2:02, 3:11

2:03, 3:14

2:01, 3:11

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As I was cooling down, two friends of mine showed up at the track to start their own w/o, 6x200. I watched them for the few and then was coerced into keeping them company for a couple. I couldn’t believe the butterflies in my stomach as we started, but all that quickly vanished. Can’t recall running that fast in quite a while, 27.3. I was half way through the second 200 when I felt my blood turning to concrete and decided to shut in down coming out of the corner, 29.1. Fun though, stupid considering my achilles, but fun.

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Training:

Thursday: steady 35:56

Friday: easy 38:42

Saturday: 1:05:52 with 3x(600m (1’), 1,000m) (3’) + 2x200m

Sunday: easy 1:56:55

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Weekly mileage: 6h24’18”, +/- 90k or 56 miles

Each Peach Pear Plum

With the missus away, I’ve just finished playing Mr. Mom which this week means reading Each Peach Pear Plum innumerable times; luckily I’m easily amused. And now, with a steaming cup of Wild Sweet Orange tea nestled up against the keyboard, I can enjoy a rare quiet moment.

Yesterday, after weeks of glorious sunshine I found myself staring at the drops of rain as they ran down my office window. And with an upset stomach to boot.

With 4xmile on the schedule, I had originally thought I might jog up to Vic High but the idea of running multiple laps on a wet, muddy dirt track somehow didn’t seem as appealing. Luckily, with me working in town I decided to take advantage of the old horse oval, jogged over to Beacon Hill, and ran session there. I borrowed the w/o from the corresponding week of my Sacramento build, the plan was to descend the set, 10k to 5k effort (5:36, 5:32, 5:28 & 5:24); the reality wasn’t nearly as smooth.

Unless I check my pacing every 200m, I tend to open this sort of workout too fast. Hell, I open every workout too fast. With this in mind, I made sure to hold back on the first mile and concentrated on settling into a comfortable rhythm (5:34). During that lap, I broke the loop into three segments and I decided to run the last section more aggressively on my second mile. I smiled looking at the time (5:27), but knew that I had just delivered myself a knockout blow if I was to run the session properly. Ouch.

Despite running 2/3’s of the third mile quite strongly, I wasn’t surprised with the result (5:30). I now knew that my last mile was going to be a battle. After shaking out my arms and dodging a few peacocks, I started the last interval content on at least equalling my previous best. The first half went reasonably well but I could feel arms and shoulders tightening up. Rounding the last corner, I turned back into the park only to jump up onto the grass to dodge an unforgiving motorist. Pleasantly, this only fuelled the fire and I was able to squeak out the result I was looking for… not the planned 5:24, but a victory all the same.

The jaunt home was a disaster. It wasn’t until much later that evening that I realized I had just averaged four 5:30 miles, 6.2 km at 17:05 5k pace… not too shabby given last weeks 17:07 performance.

Training:

Monday: day off (scheduled)

Tuesday: 1:28:41 with 4x1600 (2’) 10kP-5kP

Wednesday: easy 38:45

Regroup and Recover

The Sidney Days 5k has been a means to an end. Running three 5k races within a short period of time has allowed me to remain focused/excited while working on the larger agenda, i.e. regaining my enthusiasm and foot speed. With this objective in mind, I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve set aside this week and next as a transition period of sorts. Having just come off a block where I’ve been running, 100s, 200s and 400s, I’ve given myself some latitude over the next two weeks to have some fun and recoup, before approaching a marathon build that I haven’t tried before, but one that I’m very excited about... if for no other reason than its simplicity; more on that later.

All that said and done the last few days have been good, Sunday particularly satisfying. With a day packed full of adventure (Strawberry Festival followed with a b-day party), I had a small window of opportunity. Given the warm weather we’ve been enjoying, I was out the door shirtless and after dropping off the previous night’s DVD, it was a loop of Cedar Hill, up and over Mount Tolmie, around the university campus before running through Mount Doug and home. As enjoyable as the jaunt was, the real kicker for me was how effortless everything felt. This is not to be confused with easy… but despite the undulating route, I felt comfortable and ran as if on cruise control.

Lastly, “A Touch of France” continues, and on a day where Columbia HTC displayed superior tactics, I dished out steak au poivre avec frites… damn I’m good, perhaps even better than that Cavendish bloke.

Training:

Friday: steady 48:53

Saturday: day off (unscheduled but planned)

Sunday: steady 1:28:28

Weekly mileage: 5h02’00”, +/- 71k or 44 miles

Sidney Days 5k

Yesterday was the last of three planned summer 5k events and it left me wanting... not an entirely bad feeling, but something I certainly didn’t expect.

After taking a month down after Boston, I spent the last several weeks getting in touch with my turnover and speed: I managed to jump on the track several times, tweak my achilles (actions not necessarily connected) and participated in my most feared event, not once but three times.

So it was that yesterday, Canada Day, the girls and I drove out to Sidney on a gorgeous summer morning to participate in the Sidney Days 5k. Despite a sore throat (Isla has been sick); I was looking forward to the event and if nothing else, enjoying the day with family. After scanning the 2008 results, I was amazed at the turnout. Not only were there an additional 100+ participants, but the calibre of runner was much higher. Still, after a routine warm-up with Hicham I found myself starring down Bevan Avenue and directly into the sun.

Once the gun had gone off, I quickly became engulfed in sea of arms, I felt in the midst of a 300+ participant track event. Even after splitting the opening kilometre in 3:16, I still found myself surrounded with unfamiliar completion and in about 30th place... I couldn’t help but think it might be once of ‘those’ days.

It was after roughly one mile that the field started to come back. I settled in about 3m behind Hicham, confident that riding his coattail would see me through (my goal was 16:XX). After taking stock around 2k (no marker) I was a bit surprised with my comfort and despite being nervous, opted to pass Hicham knowing now that I was now going to be running scared.

We covered kilometres 2 & 3 in 6:58 (3:29 avg.) which was disappointing, enough said. I could still see Kevin Searle down the road, and despite being out of reach he wasn’t too far away that I couldn’t attach an imaginary line and hope for a free ride. Over the last two kilometres (3:28, 3:24) I really concentrated on my turnover and that imaginary line. I was also aware of the conversation I was having with myself, but unlike the typical negative self-talk, the nattering this time around was a positive exchange. I knew it was going to be tough, but I believed I was going to slide under 17:00 with just a few seconds to spare.

My office time, 17:07, the result... satisfying. Over the last 6+ weeks I’ve managed to improve my 5k by 20” (Black Press 5000 17:27, Twilight Shuffle 5k 17:23 & Sidney Days 5k 17:07). Outside of the performance though, what I’m taking away most from this small training block is a) a renewed desire to run, b) positive self-talk and c) a sore throat... being sick in the summer sucks.

Training:

Monday: easy 30:20 with 6xstrides

Tuesday: easy 18:29

Wednesday: 1:05:12 with Sidney Days 5k 17:07, 12th OA, 4th AG

Thursday: easy 50:38

A Taste of France

To place what I’m about to tell you into context, know that I’m an avid fan of cycling. It’s been almost ten years since my last race, but that hasn’t stopped me dreaming (particularly as I was a better cyclist than runner).

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Even though the majority of my saddle time is now logged traveling to and from work on a decommission rail line, I still occasionally dash for imagined sprint bonuses.

So it was earlier this year while following the Giro d’Italia, that I declared May to be… Italian Food Month, and then spent the subsequent weeks filling our table with venetian rice pudding, tagliatelle with walnut sauce, and sausage and lentil stew. But with the Tour de France starting in a few short days, I decided to get a leg up on July (French Food Month) and have perfected a brilliant boeuf bourguignon… I’m really looking forward to the month ahead.

As for the running, my achilles continues to slowly heal. I was happy with how it held up after the pseudo 100s on Tuesday, but even so decided to sneak in an extra day of recovery before running some (pseudo) 200s on Friday.

I’m very pleased with how my running has come around, if not physically then mentally. On Wednesday, I’ll race the last of the Summer 5k Series after which I’m going to dial things back for a few weeks before launching into a solid 12-week marathon build. Whereas last time around, I felt I was struggling to find some/any energy, I’m really looking forward to the months down the road. October couldn’t come soon enough.

Training:

Thursday: easy/steady 1:08:39

Friday: easy 49:08 with 12x37” 3kP (1’)

Saturday: easy 53:49

Sunday: 46:22 with 8xstrides

Weekly mileage: 6h17’42”, +/- 88k or 55 miles

Old Sneakers

I’m happy, and perhaps a bit proud to say that I managed to heed my own advice and did not run yesterday’s workout on the track. With my achilles on the mend, and the last of the 5k summer series next Wednesday I decided to run the session on a grass field not too far from our home.

The route to the park was undulating and served as a good warm-up. After arriving at the field, I did a few light stretches but then quickly jumped into the session. I’d originally scheduled 15x100m 3kP (20”) but opted for the much more civilized 15xdiagonals on an empty soccer pitch.

The workout unfolded without incident and with a few minutes to spare, I decided to take a marginally longer way home. I was glad to see that my achilles wasn’t aggravated but I iced it all the same. But as they say, “the proof is in the mudding” and it wasn’t until this morning, half way through my run to work, that I knew I was well and truly on the mend. One more session this Friday and then race time.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that on Sunday I went by my favourite running shop and picked up a new pair of shoes. My calves had been sore, along with most of the other muscles, joints and ligaments in my legs, and it wasn’t until I tallied up my mileage that I understood why… 1600+ kilometres. Stupid, just stupid!

Training:

Monday: easy 41:26

Tuesday: 1:15:04 with 15xdiagonals

Wednesday: easy 43:14