Today, I’m doing a long run to build endurance.
The workout
A long run of 26K in heart rate zone 2.
Afterwards
Running went well, but the weather sucked. Like last week, a lot of wind and even more rain. Oh well, it’s a good mental workout this way too.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it out on Garmin or on Strava.
Today is hill sprint day.
The workout
I’m doing 10 times 400 meter hill ‘sprints’ (sprints are typically shorter) in a bicycle tunnel near my house today. Slowly running down to the start is recovery.
Afterwards
I was used to doing this workout, but with ‘only’ 8 times 400m. 10 was okay, but muscle fatigue, especially in the upper legs, does strike after 6 or 7 intervals. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. The intervals felt good, but the tunnel floor was wet, so it was kind of slippery, and my shoes squeaked like mad.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it out on Garmin or on Strava.
So, as I promised myself, I will not do two workouts a day anymore. So, today I’ll ‘only’ do an hour of circuit training at the gym at work to work on core strength and strength in general.
I think the decision to switch the long run and intervals was a good one. On Tuesday, my legs were still feeling tired, but Wednesday, I felt much better.
The workout
A tempo session of 7 times 1000m at lactate threshold — around 3:50/6:10 — totaling at 14K including warming-up (2K) and cooling-down. In between the intervals, 500m at a slow pace for recovery. I ran at the industrial terrain near the harbour, because there are no traffic lights there and there’s a stretch of road of approximately 1K with only three corners.
Having no traffic lights to stop for is vital for intervals, but I kind of forgot that around the time of the run, all employees would leave their work to go home and there would be a lot of cars and trucks. Add falling darkness and you see what I mean. No real problems, though, although I hate having to look for traffic during intervals.
Afterwards
The intervals went great. Somehow, the pace, although a bit too fast in the first couple of intervals, and cadence felt very natural and I didn’t have to push hard. Great run.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it out on Garmin or on Strava.
Today, another long run. This wasn’t the original plan, though. I’ll explain.
After the race on Saturday, I was supposed to do a recovery week, but the next race is two weeks away now and during the last race, I could really feel I had already run more than 70K that week. So, I switched this week and the next – more mileage this week, less next week. I’m not sure it’s smart, but we’ll see. That’s how I was planning to do a tempo run today of 7*1000m, but my legs feel tired still, so I decided to do tomorrow’s long run today, and the tempo work-out tomorrow. Thursday I won’t run, so that good after a tempo run anyway.
The workout
A simple long run of 17K, to the Kandelaar bridge and back.
Afterwards
Most of my runs, I use a metronome and for long runs, I mainly use 190 spm, but I sometimes feel this is too high for slow runs. I used 186 spm and while it might sound like a small difference, it is quite notable. My legs are still a bit sore, but the run went fine.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it out on Garmin or on Strava.
Because of the race on Saturday, today I’ll do an easy run.
The workout
An easy long run of 15K. Although the workout at the athletics club was fartlek and involved speedwork, I just took it easy. It felt like I needed it.
Afterwards
I can clearly feel my legs have had a beating yesterday, so I’ll have to make sure to rest enough and don’t train to hard the days after the race. 15K in zone 1 and 2 were okay.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it out on Garmin or on Strava.
One of the runners in Schoonhoven dropped out of the race 100 meters before the finish, as he collapsed. Naturally, people were worried, as he was taken to hospital by an ambulance. Today I read in the local newspaper Het Kontact he is fine, so that’s good news. There’s also a photo made near the start of the race.
I’m also mentioned, even as a ‘proven marathon runner’… Didn’t see that one coming. Below you’ll find the printed version.
Today, a third tune-up race, a 6K in Schoonhoven.
The race
The race was a 6K on the dyke in Schoonhoven which means catching a lot of wind if there’s wind. And wind there was…
Afterwards
Avantri turned out to be a very nice club. The weather, however, wasn’t really. There was a lot of wind, even to 49km/h in the region of the race. As the race was on a dyke, this was really tough.
I was planning to do this race as a test on pace 3:25, but I had to abandon that plan after a kilometer with full headwind and I dropped to 3:35. I managed to complete the race around that pace, finishing first in 21:30, but I feel the test has failed. I must be realistic though, as all times this year were much lower than last year due to the wind. (Some tips for running with wind can be found here.)
One other thing that didn’t help was doing a 12K run yesterday, as I could definitely feel my upper legs were tired. And another thing that bugs me still is I still feel something in a tendon in my right foot. It seems to be less problematic than yesterday, though.
Maybe I should just be happy having run and won the the race…
Afterwards, I ran 10K to cool down and get some miles in, because I feel 6K (and 3K warming-up) aren’t much for a distance runner.
Race data and results
If you want to see the race, check it out on Garmin or on Strava. The official results can be found on Uitslagen.nl.
As I wrote yesterday, two rather exhausting workouts on a single day wasn’t the best idea ever. Luckily, I had a day to recover yesterday and today’s plan is a long run of 14K.
The workout
A long run of 12K in heart rate zone 2, preferably not on concrete.
Afterwards
Well, finding a route that did not involve miles of asphalt is difficult where I live. There is, however, a small park near my house, but it’s only a kilometer long. So, I ran it 12 times. Yes, that is as boring as it sounds, but the upside is that you don’t have to pay attentions to where you’re going and you can focus on technique.
One thing that troubles me a bit is that after Wednesday, I feel something in a tendon in my right foot. I guess I could have overstretched it during a strength exercise (I suspect lifting weights while balancing on a ball…), but I hoped it would be gone after a day of rest. It doesn’t hurt much, but it definitely feels ‘off’.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it out on Garmin or on Strava.
Two workouts today. (Just like yesterday, because I decided to go swimming in the evening…) One workout is strength training, so an hour of circuit training at the gym at work. I’ll focus on the running workout here, though.
The workout
Today I’m doing a speed workout to test my pace for the 6K test race on Saturday. This is a track workout, consisting of 5 times 800 meters at race pace with 2 minutes recovery in between. As I’m planning on reaching around 87K this week, I’ll be running to and from the track, making those sections of the workout my warming up and cooling down.
Afterwards
Okay, doing an hour of strength training and a hard workout like 5*800 meters at race pace is too much. Especially when doing both before having a proper meal. I managed to do the intervals within the pace I set (3:20/5:22) and the run to and from the track, but it didn’t really feel well, especially the last two kilometers to my house. It felt like not having proper fuel, which probably was exactly the case. So, note to self: even though your schedule almost forces you to do two workouts like these on one day, don’t.
Workout data
If you want to see the workout, check it out on Garmin or on Strava.