Weekly Summary (September 26-October 2)
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 3 x 4 x 500 m @ 9.3 mph [4:02/km] with 1 min off/3 min jog @ 7.1 mph [5:17/km] (Workout total: 7.9 km, 35:55, 4:32/km pace)
Wednesday: 7 km, 33:13, 4:44/km pace (Atlantic Place to Southside Trail return)
Thursday: 1 x 1600 m / 1 x 1200 m / 1 x 400 m @ 9.0 mph [4:10/km] with 4:20 / 3:00 jog @ 7.1 mph [5:17/km] (Workout total: 5.2 km, 25:37, 4:55/km pace)
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 14.21 km, 1:28:40, 6:14/km pace (Tim's to Cape Spear with the group)
Total: 34.3 km
First things first, I don't run near as much as a lot of runners. During the week, I run over lunch hour, which limits the duration of my workouts. I always plan to take Monday and Friday off, and most weekends I only get one run in. So 4 days is usually my goal for the week, and I end up with 3 more often than not. That 34.3 km total is actually tied for my second most in a week this year. Given that, I have tried to really focus on the quality of my runs this year. That is where the interval workouts come in.
I realize for some, those Tuesday and Thursday recaps may look like gibberish. I know when I first started reading running recaps I couldn't figure them out, and it seems like no one uses the same format. So let me try to make some sense of them.
My Tuesday workout was 3 sets of 4 intervals of 500 m (meters) each. Whenever you see a speed given in mph (miles per hour), that means I'm on the treadmill*. The 1 min off/3 min jog describes my rest periods. So in between each of the 4 intervals, I rest for 1 minute. In between each set of 4 intervals, I jog for 3 minutes.
(*I run on the treadmill WAY more than most runners, but that will be the subject of a post on its own!)
So that workout was, in order:
5 minute warm-up / 4 x 500 m interval with 1 minute rest between intervals / 3 minute jog / 4 x 500 m interval with 1 minute rest / 3 minute jog / 4 x 500 m interval with 1 minute rest / 3 minute cool down.
[Note that the total time/distance listed at the end of the recap doesn't include the rest periods or the cool down; just the warm-up and the actual intervals/jogging]
Phew! When you write it all out like that, it makes it obvious why having shorthand notation to summarize it is useful. Some people would argue that tracking that level of detail is unnecessary, and they aren't wrong. It's a personal preference. For me, I find it beneficial to be able to look back and see what paces I was running, and in particular to note when I am not able to complete a run as expected. That occurred during the Thursday workout, as discussed below.
The Wednesday run was a quick out and back recovery run after the Tuesday workout. I've actually started running these without monitoring my pace the last few months. Running with Andrew G throughout the summer has helped teach me to enjoy running without focusing quite as much on my time/pace. My Wednesday run has become my weekly opportunity to just go run for a half hour or so on my own. This particular one ended up being a little quick, as I had a slightly faster runner just ahead of me on the way back and I started settling into his pace. He didn't know I was chasing him, but he certainly helped push me to a good run!
I won't breakdown the Thursday workout in too much detail, as hopefully (wishfully?) my description above will allow others to decipher it. I will comment though that the plan for this workout was to do 2 x 1600 m intervals. It was meant to be a short workout, as my original plan to run up Signal Hill was cancelled due to torrential rain. Unfortunately, this was my first attempt at a longer interval since before the Tely, and I wasn't able to complete the second one. In order to still run the same total distance, I broke it into two smaller intervals. While it's never fun when you don't accomplish your goal in a training run, it is always important to listen to your body and know your limits. Pushing yourself in training will definitely improve your running and your times, but pushing to the point of injury is obviously counter-productive. I find that having the information as to when and how I've pushed myself to the limit is very beneficial in setting and altering my training program. That is one of the main reasons I have taken such care in documenting my runs this year.
Sunday morning was my weekly run with the group. I've had it said to me by some in the club that I run with the "fast" PRC group, although I'm admittedly one of the slowest in our crew. This week we had Andrew G / Kiley / Marc / Steve / Ed / John / Neal in the crew starting at Tim's on Water West and running to Cape Spear, and Todd and Sharon did the last 10-11 km of the run as well. It was a beautiful morning for a run, and we passed a number of runners, including some fellow PRCers, running in the opposite direction.
As I was out enjoying some refreshments late Friday night, I wasn't feeling terribly great at the start of this run. Thankfully, Neal and I settled into a nice comfortable pace at the back of the group. After just under 90 minutes of good conversation, some swearing on the hills, and a couple of much needed energy cubes from Neal, we made it to Cape Spear. As can be seen from the picture below (photo credit: Andrew G), the conditions were near perfect. Needless to say, a few wishes were made that we will see similar conditions in two weeks time!
With that complete, we got to the best part of every long run, and headed back to Coffee Matters for another half hour or so of great conversation with lots of laughs. You never know what will be said during our chats, and obviously the details won't be shared here, but yesterday included tales of a bee in a motorcycle helmet and a driverless car, amongst other fun stories. There might have even been a good "knock, knock" joke for your kids, but that one will have to be saved for another day, hey guys? :)
Beauty day for a run with this crew!
I'll sign-off now, and yes, I do realize this is an extremely long post; brevity has never been a strong suit of mine. So if you plan to read my posts, be prepared!
Cheers and Thanks for reading,
Ryan
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