Heat Wave

“The temperature in Victoria peaked at 31.6 degrees Wednesday, breaking the previous record for July 7, which was 28.9 in 1952. It’s also the highest since July 29 of last year, when the mercury reached a sweaty 35 degrees.”

I don’t know that I’d call two balmy days a heat wave, but given the average temperature over the last 10 months has fluctuated around 12C, I’ll take what I can get. Hello sunshine.

Following my recent 5,000m race, I found myself inspired but also left... wanting. And so, always the sucker for punishment, I decided to leave the qualitative measurement of “feel” behind and instead stepped up to the plate prepared for a more quantitative approach to training.

Despite not having access to track, or at least not having one conveniently located on my route home, I took advantage of two local footpaths that have been measured out by (I assume) the National Triathlon Center.

On Wednesday I ran 12x400 along the Blenkinsopp Connector, a paved route that runs across the valley, and only seconds from my doorstep. Notwithstanding the shorter intervals I’ve run on my various routes home, having a measured route to keep me honest was humbling: 1:14, 1:15, 1:16, 1:14, 1:16, 1:16, 1:17, 1:13, 1:16, 1:16, 1:15, 1:12.

Two days later, I found myself on the other side of the valley running 800s along the Lochside Trail. Last year I would’ve cruised through this workout with time to spare, but with my fitness building coupled with an undulating route I was again pleased with the results: 2:42, 2:41, 2:43, 2:41, 2:45, 2:42, 2:44, 2:46.

Happy trails.

Training:

Jun 28: comfortable 58:59
Jun 29: easy 43:31
Jun 30: 1:09:56 with 12x400 (2’)

Jul 01: easy 49:38
Jul 02: 1:03:59 with 8x800 (2’)
Jul 03: easy 32:28
Jul 04: rolling 1:21:58

Weekly mileage: 6h49’29”, +/- 94km or 59 miles

Old Friends

The missus will certainly have my neck if she reads this next bit. Nevertheless, after a solid two months of great (summer) weather, I’ve noticed a subtle change in the conditions the last few days. Nothing drastic, but as I ran to work yesterday morning the air was certainly cooler and the air smelled fresh, alive. Perhaps it’s the measured change in the sunrise, now rising at 5:55… which might also explain why Isla has been ‘not’ getting up at 5:30 the last few days.

On the weekend, an old friend moved back to town and it didn’t take me long before I coerced him out for a run. Truth be told, I believe he was chomping at the bit, anything to get him away from his newfound household chores. Regardless, I welcomed the idea of company and as I loped my way toward the Vic High Track earlier this evening, the thought of running partner was the only thing holding me true.

Brad was already at the track when I arrived and after drawing a literal line in the sand, we began the session. If memory serves correct, I led the first lap, or at least the first corner, before running smack into a relentless headwind on the backstretch. Not only did we have the benefit of the added challenge, but the far side of the track is also home to a small mound. I hate dirt tracks.

Earlier that morning, I’d mentioned running 6-8x800 and after the first interval I focused solely on ‘6’. But as each successive repeat finished, the effort seemed to lesson. Partly as I road shotgun while running into the wind, but also because the body seemed to relax into the workout. This changed after #5. This was also the point that Brad said, ‘last one’… to which I replied, ‘one more’. These words came back to haunt me only minutes later.

2:40, 2:40, 2:39, 2:40,

2:40, 2:41, 2:39, 2:40

The session over, I was really happy with the workout and thankful for the company. I always seem to forget the effort required to finish this sort of training… it always seem so much easier once you’re done.

Training:

Monday: day off (scheduled)

Tuesday: easy 50:48

Wednesday: 1:29:40 with 8x800 5kP (2’)

Swiftsure

This weekend, the waters of the coast of Victoria played host to the 66th annual Switftsure Yacht Race, or as was the case for much of the morning, “Driftsure”, although thankfully not accompanied by fog or drizzle. For all the spectators standing on Clover Point watching the mass of 200+ boats the weather couldn’t have been better.

Fearing my date with the track would evolve into my own hellish Driftsure, I managed to coerce Carter to join me. As it was, after a gentle warm-up we toed the start line (sans shirts) on a gorgeous spring morning.

The plan was simple, run 5x800m at 3”-5” faster than 5k pace; based on my recent 5,000m this would have me aiming for 2:43-2:45 intervals. I’d like to blame it on an overeager appetite, but as is par for the course with my track w/o’s I stopped the clock after the first 800m slightly faster than I would have liked (but not entirely unexpected).

I made sure to hit my pace times for the next two pieces, but couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable they felt. It never escapes me that whenever I focus on hitting my splits, my running feels laboured… distracted. With this in mind, I focused on relaxing on my fourth interval, making sure not to overextend myself. The result was pleasing.

2:35, 2:41, 2:40, 2:36, 2:26

For my last one, I decided to concentrate on “not concentrating” but rather ran by feel. I made sure not to go crazy, but let my legs stride out and with Rumon’s assistance, made sure my shoulders were relaxed. The result was entirely surprising particularly as I closed in a 36”, a mark I was struggling to hit while running 10x200m last week.

For those interesting in reading the phenomenal tale of Reid Coolsaet’s inaugural marathon, check out his site here… 2:17:08, congratulations!

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and until tomorrow…

Training:
Thursday: easy 37:39
Friday: day off (scheduled)
Saturday: 1:10:17 with 5x800 (3’)
Sunday: hilly 1:00:08

Weekly mileage: 5h23’52”, +/- 75k or 47 miles