Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ok, so who didn’t get swept up by the Winter Olympic Games?! It was quite something to have a couple of weeks where CTV was completely devoted to sports. We certainly got a bit of everything with these games. Fantastic triumphs, close finishes, disastrous mistakes…the drama was big and made the games very exciting indeed. Watching the events in the evenings was distracting and that is this week’s excuse for neglecting my blog. 

Now here’s some real excitement. Monday was a double with 75′ /30′. Tuesday Jon had me do one of my favorite wos: 50′ of alternating 5′ (marathon/10km effort) at the lakes. The warm-up felt really cruddy so I eased myself into the wo and it took about 15′  before I woke up and felt smooth. It went along  just fine in the end and I felt stronger on the whole from when I did this wo in September.

5′ splits avg/km: 3:50 – 3:30 – 3:43 – 3:35 – 3:47 – 3:33 – 3:49 – 3:36 – 3:39 – 3:33

Wednesday was a day off, Thursday was a two-hour run covering nearly 28km, Friday was another double with 80′/30′. Saturday morning  the group met at the Oak Bay track and included Jim, Jon, Todd, Ian and Dave. It was another warm morning and the wo Jon gave us was another one I really liked doing: 4 sets 0f 1200m/400m (1′) with 3′ between sets. I was to aim for an average of 78″/lap for the 1200s and 76″ for the 400s. I had a very good wo,  feeling comfortable running just a smidgen quicker than the plan: 3:57 – 76 – 3:56 – 75 – 3:56 – 75 – 3:53 – 72

Sunday was a 90′ run around the Thetis trails and I felt very recovered from the wo the day before so I was glad about that. I am backing off a bit now this week to get ready for the Harry’s Spring Run Off  in Vancouver next weekend so Monday I did a lighter  double of 50′/40′, 12 x 30″ up slopes with the rests shorter than in the past yet still getting to “my tree”, and today was a day off.

Sunday, Feb 21, 2010

We have been having quite the stretch of gorgeous weather. No complaints from me! It has made running on the dry trails here in Victoria so lovely. Over a week has passed since my last update. Last Friday had the usual 75′ morning run, 30′ after work. Saturday the group met at Sea Ridge for the last hill repeat wo. I got 13 x 1′ runs up the hill in the 30′. I kept the rests as close to 80″ as possible and managed to get to “my spot” and even a few slightly beyond.  My birthday was on Sunday and my brother Al was in town for the weekend to help celebrate. A group of us all went out for dinner followed by chocolate cake and entertaining policing stories by Al! The group that morning met at Thetis for 90′ of trail running around the campus at Royal Roads. It was another stunning day! Jon, Mel and Rui did a tempo run while Matt and I did a steady run. I was due for a recovery week so Jon gave me a couple of easy days to start the week:  Monday and Tuesday were 50′ at an easy pace (I did 8 x 100m grass strides on the Tuesday) with Wednesday off. Thursday was a 2 hour run, Friday 75′/30′ all done in the warmth of the sun (in February!!). Yesterday’s wo had the group meeting at the Oak Bay track. 16 x 400 straight through off of 1′. I paced the wo well and felt very comfortable from start to finish while gradually picking up the pace. I finished feeling like I could have done a few more!

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All of us could not believe how warm it was! We were all wearing shorts and t-shirts! I love it!!

Today Matt, Adam and I ran from Thetis and did a loop around Royal Roads and Juan de Fuca. I didn’t feel any stiffness from yesterday’s track wo. Backing off a bit last week was a good thing for me.  I still cannot get over how lucky we are to be able to run on these beautiful trails. It’s unexplainable how running through the woods can make me feel so light and free, every time.

Thursday, Feb 11, 2010

The posts are pathetically boring as of late but until I have more time that’s the way it is going to be. The week was a bit different. I was planning on running the Cedar 12km but after Tuesday’s wo, my left hamstring felt tight. I had Wednesday off so I thought that would rest it up but I felt tightness again part way through my 75′ run on Thursday. Friday’s wo was 10 x 30″ upslopes at Lambrick and again, it was tight. Jon and I felt then that running a hilly race would probably not be wise but I waited to see how it would feel on Saturday. Saturday was an easy 30′ along the Goose and around Swan Lake and although it felt better, it was still not 100%  so the race was a no-go. Sunday I just ran 60′  sticking to a flat route with Matt from the lakes over to the base of Willis Point Road and back.  My hamstring felt completely fine so a smart decision not to race and injury avoided. Monday I got in 75′ in the morning and 30′ after work. Tuesday Jon gave us a hefty wo: 6′ (90″) 12′ (3′) 6′ (90″) 8′ all at 10km pace. I ran counter clock-wise starting at the bridge near the zero marker. I was going along ok until the last few minutes of the 12′. The next 6′ interval wasn’t easy but I refused to cut it short and got in the last 8′ but it was kind of ugly: 3:35/km –  3:29 – 3:23 – 3:32 At least the paces were ok. Wednesday was off and today was a two-hour joy-ride with Nick. We ran from the lakes over to Mount Work, then over to Francis King…then we got lost. I cursed a lot - Nick grew up on that run.  We got ourselves on Burnside to Helmcken and ran on the Colquitz trails back to the lakes. Muddy, wet and cold, I drove straight to work and having brought all my work clothes with me, was planning on taking a shower there…I didn’t bring a towel.  As a result, I spent the day damp and dirty underneath my warm-up pants/top  (I brought some dry running gear)  and stuck wearing wet socks and shoes (dammit) looking like a drowned rat and smelling like one too.  I took the longest, hottest shower when I got home.

Tuesday, Feb 2, 2010

Blogging is still low on my priority list at the moment so here’s another week’s worth of training.  My long run of 2 hours on Thursday felt really good along the trails at Mount Doug. Friday was an easy double with 75′ in the morning and 30′ after work. Saturday I met Dave and Ian at the Oak Bay track for my first track wo since August. Jon gave us the same wo while he had the other half of the group doing hill repeats. It drizzled rain the entire time but it was warm with no wind: 2 sets of 8 x 400 (45″) with a 3′ set break aiming for 3km pace (78″/lap for me) with the guys starting each rep off of my 45″ rests. The wo went  well and the effort felt steady for me straight through despite feeling flat in the warm-up:

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Sunday was the usual 90′ hilly run at Thetis with Jon, Adam, Matt C and Matt P and Nick.  Yesterday a steady double of 75′/30′ and today a wo at the lakes: 5′/4′ @ 10km, 3′/2′ @ 5km, 1′ @ 3km and 30″ @ mile all with 90″ rests. Dave and Nick did this one with me and we stuck to the back stretch between the 9km and 6km markers. The intervals  were paced well except the 1′ rep which, according to the Garmin, was at 10km pace…uh, I don’t think so, unless  I lost focus completely and Dave and Nick were really slacking off, as I wasn’t too far behind them:

3:30/km – 3:31 – 3:22 – 3:15 – 3:30 – 3:05

If you want real quality blogging visit Alias Basil, a favorite of mine.

I thought this was too true and funny not to share.

Wednesday, Jan 27. 2010

The week flew by. Work has been busy and it looks as though it will be that way for a while yet so blog posts are going to be less frequent and sparse  until I have more time. Training is going well. I did the usual 2 hours on Thursday last week, a double of 60′/40′ on Friday and 30′ of 1′ hills on Saturday. That hill session went well. I got to the same spot as the week before but my rests were a little shorter so an improvement from last week. Sunday was a 90′ run on the trails at Thetis. Monday was a double of 75′/30′. Tuesday I met Dave at the lakes and we did a 10km tempo. I felt decent and ran 35:40 for the loop. Today was a day off with some plyos.

That was the dullest post ever.

Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010

The week had been busy but I am still managing to get in some good running. The Sunday morning 90′  run included me, Jon, Mel and Swanny. We met at Thetis but headed over to the trails at Royal Roads. I felt pretty good after the previous day’s hill wo.

Monday was a double day of steady 60′/40′. On Tuesday I met Ian, Dave and Swanny at the lakes. Jon had a stomach bug but he had us all doing the same wo: 5′ @ 5km (2′) 10′ @ 10km (2′)  5′ @ 10km (1′) 5′ @ 5km. We started near Beaver Lake rd heading up the back stretch going clockwise. The first interval was a bit of  a shock. 5km pace  felt a bit foreign and stiff. I found things got better and I felt smoother as I went along. Ian wanted to end where we started so we did a 180 about 8 minutes into the second interval. It went reasonably well I thought for my first interval wo in a while. It was another dry day today! The weather has been incredible so far this winter! Splits: 3:25 – 3:34 – 3:15 – 3:29

Today was a day off but I did my plyo routine with some core after dinner.

Saturday, Jan 16, 2010

Jon had the group meet at the bottom of Sea Ridge this morning for the wo. After a week of  just steady running, I was confident the hill repeats were going to be just fine this week and they were. I made sure to give myself a few climbs to get into it and focused on staying relaxed – I got in 13!  We had really lovely weather this morning which was a nice break from the last few days of relentless rain. I don’t think any of my runs this week were finished with me wearing dry clothing and shoes. I cannot tell you the countless minutes I have spent in the shower trying to clean the dirt that seems to get embedded around my toenails. Charming.

Too busy and lazy to give stats again this week. I am sure that will be a huge disappointment  ha!

Tuesday, Jan 12, 2010

I have been meaning to update my blog. I still feel a bit like I am on holiday mode with it. I continue to do a lot of steady running these days. I did a hill wo on Saturday (30′ of 1′ hills). It was a rough one for me so we cut it down to 20′.

The group met at the Saanich Fairground on Sunday morning to do a 90′ steady run before the race. It seemed like everyone I knew was racing! There was s good battle between Natasha and Lucy with Natasha out-sprinting Lucy with 50m to go. Great race!

I have had a few heavier weeks of volume so this week Jon gave me the Tuesday wo off and replaced it with a steady run and it looks like less volume for the week in general so a mini break for me. Work is keeping me on my toes these days. It looks like it’s going to be a hectic spring term in the office. I have to make sure I find the time to sing!

Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010

The weather was still pretty lousy this morning. The group met at Lochside school for the wo: 3′ @ marathon effort/ 6′ @ 10km effort for 36′ (4 sets). Today’s group included me, Ian, Jon, Jim, Adam and Nick. Jon is nursing a sore ankle so he ran the wo pacing me when I needed it. We all ran the Lochside, Blenkinsop loop. I felt pretty good, the second 10km effort felt hard but once I warmed up, I was able to hold the paces pretty well. Jon pulled me through the last two sets, making sure I didn’t slack on the marathon bits. It was a good one, done in cruddy conditions. I got to chat a little with Jim and Adam about marathon training and racing on the warm-down. It sounds like fun! I was sure I got in a hot shower this time at home which made the rest of the day much better!

Avg km pace/interval (10.08 km covered) :

3:36 – 3:33 – 3:34 – 3:33 – 3:47 – 3:23 - 3:41 – 3:34

A very good friend of mine named Caroline Holden, who I met at McGill  years ago, has a really funky web site for singers and those interested in the Alexander Method (she is a certified teacher of the technique). She did an  interview with me on Skype for her Masterclass series. It’s a long one and we sound like a couple of goof-balls but we always were that way.