Monday, January 12, 2009

Training recap #1

Over the course of the next few months, I will try to review my experience with the Jack Daniels training plan as I prepare for the Boston and Vancouver marathons.

Sun 4 Jan - no run today. Jade has a fever so we can't go outside to play.
Mon 5 Jan - had to stay home from work to take care of Jade. Tried out the Wii fit exercises for 90 minutes while she slept.
Tue 6 Jan - 6 miles treadmill, race pace 7:26/mi. Felt comfortable
Wed 7 Jan - 6 miles treadmill, 7 x Threshold Intervals (TI) of 800m (6:50/mi) with 400m recovery in between. It was tough to do the 6th and 7th ones. Heart rate a bit higher than yesterday
Thu 8 Jan - 3 miles treadmill, Threshold Tempo (TT) run. Felt tired afterward.
Fri 9 Jan - had to stay home from work again and can't leave house to run - I really should get a treadmill for when I'm housebound....did some yoga stretches.
Sat 10 Jan - First long run of the year, It was -14C so I dressed with a base layer, running tights and an old pair of shorts to block the windchill out front. On top, I had a base layer, 100fleece and my windbreaker. I added a fleece neckwarmer to pull up over my nose if the wind was nasty but never used it. The snow was crunchy and the sun was out. It was a beautiful mid-afternoon in January for a run. I took my regular route and felt pretty good. About 30 minutes in, I was already pretty warm and the road was getting slushy. A car coming toward me splashed my tights with the stuff and it froze there...Can't be mad, he meant well to give me some room. I notice that most of the drivers are very courteous; leaving room, slowing down, waving at me, etc. I never noticed this before along this route. Must be the time of day and also the fact that I'm out here in the dead of winter - running, and people probably assume they should encourage this guy sticking to his resolution..Mile 6, Still feeling pretty strong but I have to start thinking about turning around now. I decide to continue and head back at mile 7. At this point, I have some Ultima and head back toward home. The route back always seems to go faster. I decide to do some accelerations up the hills to home. In all there are about 10; not steep but noticeable enough. It is just fun to step it up and over the crest and the slow back down to an easy pace until the next one. Each hill is about 100-200 metres. I arrive at home feeling invigorated and motivated. It was a great 20km.

Total for the week : 45 km

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