Training Log Archive: WIn the 30 days ending Sep 30, 2013:
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Monday Sep 30, 2013 #
Cycling 1:10:00 [1] 23.5 km (2:59 / km)
For some reason, Patrick really wanted to scope out a meandering route through the community above McKinnon in anticipation of roller-skiing around there (for 3 hours, no less). So, we did sort of an easy spin going back and forth throughout the community, where I got to hear all sorts of statements revolving around "I have no idea where we are and I couldn't get back here by myself if my life depended on it". Is the average person really devoid of an modicum sense of memory or direction, or are they just playing stupid to further mock my sport? Considering the regularity of which they do the latter, I get the impression its that.
Sunday Sep 29, 2013 #
Roller Ski 2:05:00 [1] 29.2 km (4:17 / km)
I woke up and looked outside, and it was kinda cloudy, but 8 degrees and looked really nice. The plan was to do two hours out at Strathcona around the acreages there. Basically the minute we started skiing, it started raining, and really didn't let up for two hours. Thank goodness for Marwe's and they're dynamite fenders, because despite the rest of me being pretty darn wet, my feet were dry and toasty.
Probably could have gone further if it had been dry, because we had to be very careful in some super slick sections.
And, now my arm joints hurt. Roller skiing is bloody high impact.
Probably could have gone further if it had been dry, because we had to be very careful in some super slick sections.
And, now my arm joints hurt. Roller skiing is bloody high impact.
Orienteering intervals 1:10:00 [1] 10.0 km (7:00 / km)
shoes: New Balance 1600
Oops, I forgot to start my watch when we start running, so this is not quite so accurate.
O-terval session that Louise planned which I had my mother place pinflags for. I advertised the club to come along, and we had almost six people! I think what held most people back was the word "sprint". Or possibly "training". Or mentioning "nationals". Or "race". Or maybe it was the instructions that no nylon, knee-highs, or pyjama pants were necessary. I can see how that last one would really scare away a few people.
Either way, a campus I know really well often makes me very lazy, and this was no exception. I don't look at my map nearly enough, but I did run very fast and that reminded me that running that fast is not the least bit beneficial if you can't keep up the navigation. Just need to scale it back, invest that time in planning, and it'll provide dividends in the long run. I think that the faster training pace helps in me unconsciously activate my hip flexors better and get naturally get better extension. Basically, running fast without thinking about running fast.
O-terval session that Louise planned which I had my mother place pinflags for. I advertised the club to come along, and we had almost six people! I think what held most people back was the word "sprint". Or possibly "training". Or mentioning "nationals". Or "race". Or maybe it was the instructions that no nylon, knee-highs, or pyjama pants were necessary. I can see how that last one would really scare away a few people.
Either way, a campus I know really well often makes me very lazy, and this was no exception. I don't look at my map nearly enough, but I did run very fast and that reminded me that running that fast is not the least bit beneficial if you can't keep up the navigation. Just need to scale it back, invest that time in planning, and it'll provide dividends in the long run. I think that the faster training pace helps in me unconsciously activate my hip flexors better and get naturally get better extension. Basically, running fast without thinking about running fast.
Saturday Sep 28, 2013 #
Running tempo 1:15:00 [4] 14.2 km (5:17 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Morning Fast Trax workout before a day at the shop. This time around, a 40 minute "TT" at 90% of goal race pace, or marathon pace ish. Good news! I kind of have one of those now. Well, not really, but having done those two other epic workouts at around 3:50, I decided to settle with that. In fact, that is about 90% of a 3:30 pace, which is right around my 10k time. Which, I suppose then I should have aimed for 3:45. Oh well, whatever.
Generally the flats were very comfortable, and the big question is always whether you can recover back to that pace after being punched in the face after each uphill (yes, a boxing metaphor). Do you take a little from each blow, or do you recover to the same form again in short order? In general I felt like I did, though most of the larger hills were followed up by a gentle downhill to recover.
So, in 40 minutes we hammered out a very comfortable 10.2k with 82 meters of climb and 95 meters of loss. Which is funny because I'm fairly certain we started and finished in the same place.....
Generally the flats were very comfortable, and the big question is always whether you can recover back to that pace after being punched in the face after each uphill (yes, a boxing metaphor). Do you take a little from each blow, or do you recover to the same form again in short order? In general I felt like I did, though most of the larger hills were followed up by a gentle downhill to recover.
So, in 40 minutes we hammered out a very comfortable 10.2k with 82 meters of climb and 95 meters of loss. Which is funny because I'm fairly certain we started and finished in the same place.....
Roller Ski 55:00 [1] 14.09 km (3:54 / km)
Patrick coaxed me into doing a roller-ski after work. I probably would have rather ran, but, whatever, its okay. Headed up Mckinnon Ravine and then toured through the neighbourood. Both Crestwood and Parkview are very, very well paved and doing a meandering ski through that community would be very possible. Super smooth and fairly low traffic. Its a bit of a spaghetti network of trails so it wouldn't be all that hard to jazz it up too. Personally I think it would be more interesting to do some sort of time trial instead of just a long ski. You could start way over at Walterdale, all along River Valley Road, climb up Mckinnon, and then pad it out to make a 10k TT.
Say, great idea me. Let's do that sometime.
Say, great idea me. Let's do that sometime.
Friday Sep 27, 2013 #
Running 40:00 [1] 8.49 km (4:43 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
A little crushed for time, so I thought I'd do my usual 45-50 minute loop, just to get something in. But, I've also forgotten that my pace is a little faster, so my usual 45-50 minute loop only took 41. Doh. Upside was I felt really, really comfortable in that pace the entire time.
Thursday Sep 26, 2013 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 13.13 km (4:34 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
A nice brisk run around the east part of the river valley before working. Around the 45 minute mark, my IT band in my left leg was a little bothersome. I'd say that's just twinges of an old injury, but.... that was in the other leg! Not overly worried, though, just needs a bit of stretching and rolling and it'll be taken care of. 7 years of doing clam exercises 365 days a year make my IT band fairly resilient to these sort of things. I wonder if I could do a 1RM test of my hip rotator muscles....
Wednesday Sep 25, 2013 #
Running intervals 1:30:00 [4] 16.34 km (5:30 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Another Wednesday, another Frank's race. This time the mysterious "George Smith" special at Kinsmen. This was by far the best and my best of all the Frank's races so far. Lots of single track, so lots of dainty road runners all nervous and caution going around corners and up hills. I actually heard one person say "The majority of those corners were a greater than 90 degree turn!!" That's a thing to be concerned about?
The course was not the greatest marked, either, which meant that despite finishing third, I actually finished 10th, because a large number of people decided to ignore the poor old course marshall and decree that they knew where the course went, promptly doing the wrong course and finishing ahead of me. And this is a two lap race! How do you go the wrong way in a two lap race? These are the same people that I think regularly get lost on race courses. They're just those kind of people.
The course was not the greatest marked, either, which meant that despite finishing third, I actually finished 10th, because a large number of people decided to ignore the poor old course marshall and decree that they knew where the course went, promptly doing the wrong course and finishing ahead of me. And this is a two lap race! How do you go the wrong way in a two lap race? These are the same people that I think regularly get lost on race courses. They're just those kind of people.
Monday Sep 23, 2013 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 12.1 km (4:58 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi Streak (circa 2009
I briefly considered doing the longer loop at brisk pace, but settled on this what with the possibilty of having rest day tomorrow and knowing that #chasingfrankchasingnewguy will be coming up on Wednesday with the myserious "George Smith" special. The results from last year suggest its a 20 minute race, but at a pedestrian 3:50 pace. So.... sounds like a crapton of climb.
So how do we feel about the new hotness song?
So how do we feel about the new hotness song?
Sunday Sep 22, 2013 #
Running intervals 1:50:00 [5] 24.08 km (4:34 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Wow. So I thought last week's marathon workout was tough. But now, it was switched around, so the high speed stuff was first, followed by marathon pace. The goal was 3 miles @ 3:30 (achieved! avg. 3:28), and then settle into 7 miles @ 3:50 (comfortable for the first 3 miles, then really ramped up the struggle, but averaged 3:56) and then 1 mile @ 3:12 (NOT EVEN CLOSE).
The problem with the 7 miles was that I was almost a little still too on a high from the fast 3 miler, and then set me up badly for the 7 miles. I recovered very well, but ran a 3:42 the first k, and then suffered a bit on k12 where I did a 4:10, though that included a climb. The run back on River Valley Road was very tough.
Then the one miler came, and I tried to run my balls off, but my legs just were not responding anymore. I desperately struggled to crank out a 3:48 pace, which was painful. It wasn't the lungs so much as the legs. Then again, this was a marathon prep workout, so that was probably the idea.
Then I had to stagger home and proceed to keel over and die. But! According to Strava, during that workout I ran a 1:29 half marathon (a PB! sort of), a 61 minute 10 miler (a PB! sort of), and a 17:19 5k (not a PB, but, not bad for being part of a training workout).
The problem with the 7 miles was that I was almost a little still too on a high from the fast 3 miler, and then set me up badly for the 7 miles. I recovered very well, but ran a 3:42 the first k, and then suffered a bit on k12 where I did a 4:10, though that included a climb. The run back on River Valley Road was very tough.
Then the one miler came, and I tried to run my balls off, but my legs just were not responding anymore. I desperately struggled to crank out a 3:48 pace, which was painful. It wasn't the lungs so much as the legs. Then again, this was a marathon prep workout, so that was probably the idea.
Then I had to stagger home and proceed to keel over and die. But! According to Strava, during that workout I ran a 1:29 half marathon (a PB! sort of), a 61 minute 10 miler (a PB! sort of), and a 17:19 5k (not a PB, but, not bad for being part of a training workout).
Cycling 50:00 [1] 20.6 km (2:26 / km)
The plan was to get on my 'cross bike for a great first ride and spin out my legs from the morning. And I did that for a wonderful 50 minutes, until I got a flat in my front tire. Fortunately I brought my phone and got a pick-up, though UNfortunately, that pick-up came with an obligation to do an evening run with them. DOH.
Running 55:00 [1] 9.3 km (5:55 / km)
shoes: Saucony Mirage
Triple down? Heck, why not. My right knee did not agree with this at all, but it was a very slow pace and I wasn't not vewy bovvered at all.
Saturday Sep 21, 2013 #
Orienteering 1:30:00 [3] 11.19 km (8:03 / km)
shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 212
Argh, this map frustrated the bejeepers out of me. Well, many things do, in this case. Firstly, I show up irritable because I don't like starting at 12. Why not 10? or 11? 12 means that your whole day is wrapped up in the 1.5 drive there and 1.5 drive home. Super irritating.
Second, the map is really not very good. Every year it gets more dead-fall-y and the vegetation gets more and more useless as a means to navigate. I decided to give it a try without my compass, to work on reading. There aren't many contours, and they're all 2.5m so it was fairly tough with no bearings to go on. Plus, you can't rely on the vegetation at all? Going through an area of white and hoping to notice the rough open on your right? No matter, because everything in front of you is fight green! Over the hill with no trail? Good news! There's three new trails!
So, there were quite a few mistakes, largely brought on by my inability to read where I was on the top or the side of a hill, and having no compass to correct on direction. It makes me think that I've become too dependent on my compass, and something I should really work on.
Oh yes, and flushed a moose out of the woods and saw it barrel and maximum speed straight through what we'd called green slash. It was like a freight train through the woods. And... straight towards the control I was going to. Awesome.
Second, the map is really not very good. Every year it gets more dead-fall-y and the vegetation gets more and more useless as a means to navigate. I decided to give it a try without my compass, to work on reading. There aren't many contours, and they're all 2.5m so it was fairly tough with no bearings to go on. Plus, you can't rely on the vegetation at all? Going through an area of white and hoping to notice the rough open on your right? No matter, because everything in front of you is fight green! Over the hill with no trail? Good news! There's three new trails!
So, there were quite a few mistakes, largely brought on by my inability to read where I was on the top or the side of a hill, and having no compass to correct on direction. It makes me think that I've become too dependent on my compass, and something I should really work on.
Oh yes, and flushed a moose out of the woods and saw it barrel and maximum speed straight through what we'd called green slash. It was like a freight train through the woods. And... straight towards the control I was going to. Awesome.
Running 30:00 [1] 5.78 km (5:11 / km)
shoes: Saucony Mirage
I felt like I really need to go out and do a quick shake out of the legs. Or maybe I just wanted to put more miles in my Mirages so I'd have an excuse to throw them out!
Friday Sep 20, 2013 #
Running 1:25:00 [1] 17.09 km (4:58 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Another great crisp run with a new variation of the usual loop. Instead of going back around Fort Edmonton, I cut across to Whitemud and went home that way. Nice variety, but more pavement required. Complete loop, though, and no doubling back anywhere. And of course, 4 major climbs out of valleys. I like how each of the climbs are sort of evenly spaced throughout the run, so its like a crisp 4k, climb, crisp 4k, climb. Its nice.
Thursday Sep 19, 2013 #
Running 50:00 [1] 8.83 km (5:40 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
There's a flaw with running with Paul before our thursday evening shift, and its that he has just gotten back from roller-skiing and is not so keen on going for a faster or longer run. And... that's pretty much exactly what I want to do.
Wednesday Sep 18, 2013 #
Running 40:00 [1]
Putting out and picking up pinflags from the last Wednesday night of the year at Rundle. 29 controls over 3.0k for a sprint. It was definitely a touch long as a sprint, but it wasn't so much a sprint as a "sprint-styled" course. I had never intended to be a pure sprint, but that's what was implied by the e-mail, I suppose.
Still, people appeared to have fun and mistakes were made, and if that happens at Rundle Park, then my work here is done.
Listened to as an album, every single bloody Avicii song sounds the same as the last. Singularly, very enjoyable.
Still, people appeared to have fun and mistakes were made, and if that happens at Rundle Park, then my work here is done.
Listened to as an album, every single bloody Avicii song sounds the same as the last. Singularly, very enjoyable.
Tuesday Sep 17, 2013 #
Running 1:20:00 [1] 15.56 km (5:08 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi Streak (circa 2009
Oof, this was tough, not because I was flying, but because my stomach was in no way agree-ing with me. 3/4 through I had a "moment", and then it felt better, but there was a long time where this was a struggle. Took all the short options of my 10 mile loop, meaning it was only about 15.6.
I actually knew it was going to be ugly right from the start, but I gamely resolved myself to tough it out. Maybe my stomach lining will be stronger for it.
.... maybe probably not.
I actually knew it was going to be ugly right from the start, but I gamely resolved myself to tough it out. Maybe my stomach lining will be stronger for it.
.... maybe probably not.
Monday Sep 16, 2013 #
Note
(rest day)
So, hilariously, I forgot I took a day off on Friday, and ended up taking Monday off as well. That was real real dumb. Makes me feel like last week was therefore a recovery week (Despite racing four times), and that I really need to get back at it on Tuesday. (though as I write this, its Tuesday morning, doh!)
Sunday Sep 15, 2013 #
Orienteering 1:30:00 [4]
shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 212
Another new map for the Provincials long! I felt like this map was a bit more honest than yesterday. Much of the white on the middle probably should have been more like the light green on this map today, and there was plenty of it. But, at least you would enter it knowing what you were going to face.
In general I was quite pleased with how this went, the long leg from 3-4 went really well in the hillside, I pretty much exactly hit my line side-hilling, slow going, but a nice steady managable climb where I could keep the pace high and still feel fresh at the top. A few sub-optimal hooks in places where I should have attacked with more confidence, but the rest went quite well.
There was several new trails that made stop and be very nervous, especially on 9 when I hit a new trail and thought that I might have gone completely haywire at one point, but I stuck with my plan and it turned out okay. Its a bad habit to bank on trails like that, I should have just stuck with my gut and the contours and I could have gone full speed straight towards the control. Despite that hiccup, I was generally pleased with how the route to 9 went, I think it was probably the best choice.
Great weekend, and a cool new club member who is here from the CZ until December. She's a MTBO-er, and a pretty bloody legit one.
As in, Junior World Mountain Bike Orienteering champion of 2010.
http://oris.orientacnisporty.cz/Osoba?id=5110
In general I was quite pleased with how this went, the long leg from 3-4 went really well in the hillside, I pretty much exactly hit my line side-hilling, slow going, but a nice steady managable climb where I could keep the pace high and still feel fresh at the top. A few sub-optimal hooks in places where I should have attacked with more confidence, but the rest went quite well.
There was several new trails that made stop and be very nervous, especially on 9 when I hit a new trail and thought that I might have gone completely haywire at one point, but I stuck with my plan and it turned out okay. Its a bad habit to bank on trails like that, I should have just stuck with my gut and the contours and I could have gone full speed straight towards the control. Despite that hiccup, I was generally pleased with how the route to 9 went, I think it was probably the best choice.
Great weekend, and a cool new club member who is here from the CZ until December. She's a MTBO-er, and a pretty bloody legit one.
As in, Junior World Mountain Bike Orienteering champion of 2010.
http://oris.orientacnisporty.cz/Osoba?id=5110
Running 1:10:00 [1] 11.8 km (5:56 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Got home about 5, and around 7 Patrick called me up to go for a run. I actually initially thought when I got home that I probably *should* go for a bike ride or something, and then felt tired and lazy and didn't. So thank goodness he called me up. We went for an excellent little trail run scoping out how the slump of Keillor road was affected by the flooding this year. A large portion of it had just broken off and disappeared, so that was kind of crazy. Good stuff.
Saturday Sep 14, 2013 #
Orienteering race 1:00:00 [4]
shoes: New Balance 1600
Okay! Provincial Champs. Unfortunately, there was no competition, so it was tough to really really run my brains out. However, that just makes it more of a shameful thing that I didn't read my control description on the control where I assumed it was the inside corner when in fact it was the outside corner a level above. I saw it on the map and thought "Ah ha! Its a trick! It'll be inside corner!" without actually looking at the description. I had plenty of time to look, but I was a cocky jackass and didn't bother and it bit me in the ass.
I plan to do a bunch of training on the U of A campus in anticipation of nationals to work on this exact thing. Really need to solidify a system. I'm thinking of drawing an arrow in permanent marker on my hand pointing towards the control description.
Great idea, or the greatest idea?
I plan to do a bunch of training on the U of A campus in anticipation of nationals to work on this exact thing. Really need to solidify a system. I'm thinking of drawing an arrow in permanent marker on my hand pointing towards the control description.
Great idea, or the greatest idea?
Orienteering 1:10:00 [4]
shoes: inov-8 Oroc 280
A middle! On a new map! How ridiculously exciting! I cannot think of the last time I've been on a new map in Alberta! No, wait, I can, it was last summer. Nevertheless, I was excited, I ran in Bragg Creek mid-summer and thought there could be some great terrain around here.
I really tried to focus on man-ing it up and going straight as I can. I had the mantra of making a strong plan and finding big features. Sometimes I forgot and it went a little haywire, especially on 2 where I totally overshot the control because I assumed "it was open and therefore nice and easy". Famous last words.
Its a shame we didn't get on this map before Worlds, because there was one section around 7-9 that was very, very familiar to some of the terrain in the long in Finland. It was young forest, with really bad visibility because of low branched pine trees. The ground was a little slower than in Finland, but it really, really reminded me of Vuokatti. Its not necessarily difficult contours, but the fact you really can't see very far really ramps up the difficulty, and I took extreme care to be able to pick out features along the way, and ultimately really nailed that section. I should go back there sometime and do some control picking. Its a small area, but would be good practice.
And then there was the terrain around 13 that Nev described as "the greatest 30 meters of terrain" he's ever experienced in Alberta. That was pretty much bang on, you came over the hill, saw the control, and go to bound downhill in this lovely white moss-covered forest.
It was a wonderful 16 seconds.
I really tried to focus on man-ing it up and going straight as I can. I had the mantra of making a strong plan and finding big features. Sometimes I forgot and it went a little haywire, especially on 2 where I totally overshot the control because I assumed "it was open and therefore nice and easy". Famous last words.
Its a shame we didn't get on this map before Worlds, because there was one section around 7-9 that was very, very familiar to some of the terrain in the long in Finland. It was young forest, with really bad visibility because of low branched pine trees. The ground was a little slower than in Finland, but it really, really reminded me of Vuokatti. Its not necessarily difficult contours, but the fact you really can't see very far really ramps up the difficulty, and I took extreme care to be able to pick out features along the way, and ultimately really nailed that section. I should go back there sometime and do some control picking. Its a small area, but would be good practice.
And then there was the terrain around 13 that Nev described as "the greatest 30 meters of terrain" he's ever experienced in Alberta. That was pretty much bang on, you came over the hill, saw the control, and go to bound downhill in this lovely white moss-covered forest.
It was a wonderful 16 seconds.
Thursday Sep 12, 2013 #
Running 40:00 [1] 6.5 km (6:09 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Met up with Paul for a run before the shop. This is a bit of taper pre-weekend of racing. Quite hot out there too, so that was quite nice!
Wednesday Sep 11, 2013 #
Running 1:40:00 [4] 18.66 km (5:22 / km)
shoes: Asics Tarther
Its like, I look forward to Frank's race, but man do I dread the Frank's races. This time around was quite surprising, there were a lot of really quick guys, and then seriously took off from the start. Probably 10 of them. The strategy this week was to be a pit more conservative and try and ramp it up. I think I did that, but far fewer of those guys faded off as I hoped the would. Shockingly, two other guys took down Frank, so the calibre has ramped up considerably, and I couldn't gain back up to Jack or Brian, and was once again a few seconds behind Loshack. The stomach was really not agreeing with me again, especially on the climbs and descents, where I feel like I quickly tighten up and nothing feels as good.
There's no doubt that the last few months I've been focusing a lot on flatland speed and done almost no climbing intervals, but I don't recall it feeling bad.
Then did a longer-ish quite slow cool-down jogging over to orienteering, but just picked up some maps for training later. Or... drawing my own course on....
Stupidly, my heart rate spiked at the beginning so it claims I was running at 214 or whatever, probably didn't have it wet enough. But, I'm modestly pleased to see that I was able to get up to 184 max by the end (which is a minor accomplishment for me). Hovered generally around 177 though. Typical.
Okay, last one. For now.
There's no doubt that the last few months I've been focusing a lot on flatland speed and done almost no climbing intervals, but I don't recall it feeling bad.
Then did a longer-ish quite slow cool-down jogging over to orienteering, but just picked up some maps for training later. Or... drawing my own course on....
Stupidly, my heart rate spiked at the beginning so it claims I was running at 214 or whatever, probably didn't have it wet enough. But, I'm modestly pleased to see that I was able to get up to 184 max by the end (which is a minor accomplishment for me). Hovered generally around 177 though. Typical.
Okay, last one. For now.
Tuesday Sep 10, 2013 #
Running 1:15:00 [1] 12.57 km (5:58 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Originally it was going to be a rest day with coaching kids program. Then it turned into roller-skiing, then it turned it to a straight run. But, it was not a bad run since it was quite slow and recovery esque. I'm not sure every workout needs to be high speed, just the majority of them. This one would not qualify as one of those.
Monday Sep 9, 2013 #
Running 1:25:00 [1] 17.39 km (4:53 / km) +174m 4:39 / km
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Another grrrrrrreat run around the 10 mile loop which I extended a little (channeling my inner Baguette there). In Wolf Willow, there's this pretty technical singletrack I used to regularly do (on my bike), but hadn't done in years because there was a bunch of new construction and I assumed it was overgrown and unused. Turns out that's totally not the case, its still there, and as technical as ever (though not on foot). It has one section of this pretty high scary bridge which has now gotten all warped and super sketchy and there was a homeless guy underneath, which was difficult not to envision he was actually some sort of troll.
The trail extended it from 10 miles to 17.39km, so it made it a bit longer, and was naturally a bit slower, but super fun. The pace was generally tough, but really satisfy-ing-ly productive.
But then I saw Yannick faceblog about a "long training" that he did, where he ran 23k in 1:32. So... I still have a bit of a ways to go.
The trail extended it from 10 miles to 17.39km, so it made it a bit longer, and was naturally a bit slower, but super fun. The pace was generally tough, but really satisfy-ing-ly productive.
But then I saw Yannick faceblog about a "long training" that he did, where he ran 23k in 1:32. So... I still have a bit of a ways to go.
Sunday Sep 8, 2013 #
Running 1:20:00 [1] 16.08 km (4:59 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Have you noticed how I haven't been complaining about things during my runs as much lately? On one hand, it may be that I've exhausted all the things that piss me off (highly unlikely), a more accurate theory, though, is that the workouts lately have felt much more productive than the same ol' same ol' as before.
This is mainly, I think, because I'm just plain ol' running faster. I feel more tired more often, but my workouts feel as though each one is more productive. Am I getting faster? Possibly not, but were it not for my legs being pretty sore, this would have been a very comfortable workout aerobically, and it was 16k in 80 minutes! This is really what I was gunning for when I look at people like Julian and Murray who do many of their workouts very fast. I may have skipped over the "building" phase to eventually become accustomed to that pace, but I just don't have the patience, or the time, for that.
Ain't nobody got time for that.
Damon Albarn week continues, but with what.....?
This is mainly, I think, because I'm just plain ol' running faster. I feel more tired more often, but my workouts feel as though each one is more productive. Am I getting faster? Possibly not, but were it not for my legs being pretty sore, this would have been a very comfortable workout aerobically, and it was 16k in 80 minutes! This is really what I was gunning for when I look at people like Julian and Murray who do many of their workouts very fast. I may have skipped over the "building" phase to eventually become accustomed to that pace, but I just don't have the patience, or the time, for that.
Ain't nobody got time for that.
Damon Albarn week continues, but with what.....?
Saturday Sep 7, 2013 #
Running intervals 1:45:00 [4] 22.43 km (4:41 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi Streak (circa 2009
So, my sister is running the New York Marathon. She has this training program, that has some fairly ridiculous workouts. She was particularly concerned about one, which I proposed, as a sign of solidarity, I would also do (she lives in the Cayman Islands, so... remotely).
The workout was 7 miles at marathon pace, and then 3 miles at 5k pace. This workout is, of course, ridiculous. The first 7 miles actually aren't that bad. Due to me being an idiot, I actually converted into KM and accidentally converted 6 miles, so I first did 9.6-ish km at 3:53 pace, my goal pace being 3:50, which is around a 2:40 marathon.
That actually felt quite comfortable. I did the first part on the road and then switched to the trail and it still worked out quite effectively. So, after doing 9.65 km very comfortably in 37:47, it was time to ramp it up and attempt to do a mind-boggling 3:20 pace for another 3 miles. Now, at the best of times, a 3:20 pace for me is pretty tough. That's a 16:40 5k, which I think I'm just about capable to do right now, but probably not after doing a tempo 10k. But, I gave it a merry old effort.
Unfortunately, I sort of ran out of flat ground, so I can't make a really solid measurement. But, for the first 2k I was running my balls off and hitting about 3:32 pace. When the hill started, that went out the window, of course, though the effort stayed the same. What was really good was once I climbed out of the river valley and got onto flat road, I was really able to recover and actually hovered around 3:25 for the last 500 meters or so! (shut up, small victories).
All in all, a really really good workout, but bloody hard. I suspect that its assumed that you won't be able to get to or maintain the 5k target pace, but its more of trying to push yourself to go faster after doing a prolonged pace at marathon speed. That's my theory anyway. I like it!
Also, legs, abs, and shoulders still pretty ruined from that stupid plyo workout. Stupid plyo workout.
The workout was 7 miles at marathon pace, and then 3 miles at 5k pace. This workout is, of course, ridiculous. The first 7 miles actually aren't that bad. Due to me being an idiot, I actually converted into KM and accidentally converted 6 miles, so I first did 9.6-ish km at 3:53 pace, my goal pace being 3:50, which is around a 2:40 marathon.
That actually felt quite comfortable. I did the first part on the road and then switched to the trail and it still worked out quite effectively. So, after doing 9.65 km very comfortably in 37:47, it was time to ramp it up and attempt to do a mind-boggling 3:20 pace for another 3 miles. Now, at the best of times, a 3:20 pace for me is pretty tough. That's a 16:40 5k, which I think I'm just about capable to do right now, but probably not after doing a tempo 10k. But, I gave it a merry old effort.
Unfortunately, I sort of ran out of flat ground, so I can't make a really solid measurement. But, for the first 2k I was running my balls off and hitting about 3:32 pace. When the hill started, that went out the window, of course, though the effort stayed the same. What was really good was once I climbed out of the river valley and got onto flat road, I was really able to recover and actually hovered around 3:25 for the last 500 meters or so! (shut up, small victories).
All in all, a really really good workout, but bloody hard. I suspect that its assumed that you won't be able to get to or maintain the 5k target pace, but its more of trying to push yourself to go faster after doing a prolonged pace at marathon speed. That's my theory anyway. I like it!
Also, legs, abs, and shoulders still pretty ruined from that stupid plyo workout. Stupid plyo workout.
Cycling 1:45:00 [1] 32.43 km (3:14 / km)
I wanted to try and shake out my legs from the morning's workout, and it ceased raining enough to get Nev&I out on the mountain bikes for a light spin. Stuck to the gravel trails so we don't ruin any of the singletrack.
I'd like to say it made my legs feel less sore when I got home.... but, no. Just, no.
I'd like to say it made my legs feel less sore when I got home.... but, no. Just, no.
Friday Sep 6, 2013 #
Running 30:00 [1] 5.27 km (5:42 / km)
shoes: Saucony Mirage
I most definitely need to get back on the morning run train, so I took baby steps with a 30 minute metabolism morning. Just gotta get out the door first, and focus on that. I like running in the cold-ish, so when fall rolls around I think I'll quite enjoy the 0-10 degree weather.
Running 1:05:00 [1] 10.48 km (6:12 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Managed to drag the Moore boys out for a run around the Whitemud. I actually expected them to moan and winge about how [fast/long/climb] we were going, but they were fairly chilled out about it, although we were actually going quite slow.
There's also this weird art thing going on in Whitemud called "Ramble in the Bramble" which is, from what I can tell, an exhibition of tying garbage to trees and having hipsters walk around drinking champagne and discussing the interpretive nuances of using construction reflective vests to symbolize drying animal pelts.
I'm certainly not cultured enough. Or cool enough.
There's also this weird art thing going on in Whitemud called "Ramble in the Bramble" which is, from what I can tell, an exhibition of tying garbage to trees and having hipsters walk around drinking champagne and discussing the interpretive nuances of using construction reflective vests to symbolize drying animal pelts.
I'm certainly not cultured enough. Or cool enough.
Thursday Sep 5, 2013 #
Weights 1:00:00 [1] 5.59 km (10:44 / km)
shoes: Saucony Mirage
I wanted to run for longer, but things got in the way, so it had to be scaled back a lot. Shifted more running to tomorrow, and today I decided to get back on the strength field train and did some plyos over at a hill by the shop. Single-leg hops w/stabilization, side to side hops, side hops, jumps, fast single-leg hops, squat jumps, and clap pushups, all x 3 sets.
Planned to do some finn-sprints like I did with the team at WOC, but those totally don't work on road shoes. Couldn't stop, couldn't start. I'll add some of them next time when I wear trail shoes. Also, I wish I had an agility ladder. I think orienteers neglect agility. Euros can get that simply by running through the forest.
Planned to do some finn-sprints like I did with the team at WOC, but those totally don't work on road shoes. Couldn't stop, couldn't start. I'll add some of them next time when I wear trail shoes. Also, I wish I had an agility ladder. I think orienteers neglect agility. Euros can get that simply by running through the forest.
Wednesday Sep 4, 2013 #
Running 1:40:00 [3] 17.57 km (5:41 / km)
shoes: Pearl Izumi Streak (circa 2009
I was reminded tonight why I haven't done Frank's XC series in a long time. Actually, as I write this, I'm STILL being reminded why I don't. And when I wake up tomorrow, I expect I still will be reminded of that fact. I don't know how in the world I plan on doing both the race and orienteering.
Anyway, a shorter course, 5k, around Hawrelak lake, then up my usual trail to the top of Keillor Road and then back. Frank the Beef was there, so we were all able to give up on winning, but there was still a good battle with myself, Brain, Loshack, Jack, and 5 Peaks guy in Blue. We traded off quite a bit, it seemed like everyone would try to accelerate, and then become too gassed to continue. I think any average running coach would like at our style and just hang his head in disdain. Both Loshack and Brian were able to pull away slightly, 3 and 6 meters respectively, so they took 2nd and 3rd, a couple seconds ahead. I think I probably could have given more, I'm not sure.
Next week I want to try starting off at a bit slower pace, but to really hammer the climbs. Today I was really backing off the climbs, largely out of fear. The run home with 10 x 10sec sprints was also particularly unpleasant.
I've been on a real Damon Albarn kick lately, but I suppose if there's any song of his that's the best.....
Anyway, a shorter course, 5k, around Hawrelak lake, then up my usual trail to the top of Keillor Road and then back. Frank the Beef was there, so we were all able to give up on winning, but there was still a good battle with myself, Brain, Loshack, Jack, and 5 Peaks guy in Blue. We traded off quite a bit, it seemed like everyone would try to accelerate, and then become too gassed to continue. I think any average running coach would like at our style and just hang his head in disdain. Both Loshack and Brian were able to pull away slightly, 3 and 6 meters respectively, so they took 2nd and 3rd, a couple seconds ahead. I think I probably could have given more, I'm not sure.
Next week I want to try starting off at a bit slower pace, but to really hammer the climbs. Today I was really backing off the climbs, largely out of fear. The run home with 10 x 10sec sprints was also particularly unpleasant.
I've been on a real Damon Albarn kick lately, but I suppose if there's any song of his that's the best.....
Monday Sep 2, 2013 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 11.62 km (5:10 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
The ol' legs were really suffering on Monday. I really wanted to double down today and get a head start on hours on the rest of the week (seeing as how it was labour daybour), but after the morning which was quite tough, I felt like I spent most of the afternoon wandering out all zombie-esque. Not even a nap made me feel less tired.
Listened to another Freakonomics episode, this one about "Jerks", which... quite frankly did not have anything to do with economics. Though I did learn apparently Ty Cobb was a huge jerk, but didn't kill a black waiter (or a white waiter - no waiters were killed. By Ty Cobb).
Listened to another Freakonomics episode, this one about "Jerks", which... quite frankly did not have anything to do with economics. Though I did learn apparently Ty Cobb was a huge jerk, but didn't kill a black waiter (or a white waiter - no waiters were killed. By Ty Cobb).
Sunday Sep 1, 2013 #
Running 2:05:00 [1] 21.84 km (5:43 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Sweet long-ish run around a pretty solid new loop. I wonder how long it would take me to run that at my new higher speed pace. Its not super ideal because the first thing I did was run through the university and that's less fun. Still, lots and lots of trail as well, and a couple of good climbs. Great day to be out, legs pretty tried afterwards. It rarely does 2+ hour effors.
Cycling 1:10:00 [1] 28.3 km (2:28 / km)
Legs were pretty tired, especially calves, so I tried to spin them out with a road bike around south edmonton. A lot of people hate trying to do rides around urban areas, but I actually don't mind them. Mainly because if I get bored, there are so many ways to abort and head straight home.
Can't do that if you ride 50k immediately out of the city. Only one way to get back then. That, of course, is to use your phone and get someone to pick you up.
Can't do that if you ride 50k immediately out of the city. Only one way to get back then. That, of course, is to use your phone and get someone to pick you up.