Dedicated or crazy...you be the judge!

It was 7:45pm on New Year's Eve and I was all alone in the gym at work, powering up the treadmill to get in the 9k run I had bailed on earlier in the day. Anne and the kids were already at Celine's house eating, drinking and being merry.

As I increased the speed to a 5:15 per km pace, I thought to myself, "What's wrong with this picture?"

However, with my half marathon only two weeks away, I knew this was a crucial week in my training cycle. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to juggle my training plan this week due to some insomnia Tuesday night. So although I was not happy to be running on the last night of 2010, I knew missing a run at this stage of the game could negatively impact my performance on January 15th.

After warming up for 2k, I began the first of five, 1k intervals as follows - 750m with the treadmill at a 6% incline, followed by 250m at a 0% incline, all at a 4:45 per km pace.

The first interval went okay and so did the next two, but as I started the 4th interval, I was having serious thoughts about ending the run early. My heart was pounding and my legs felt like cement pillars.

Somehow I was able to convince myself that the pain was worth it and that if I was going to be here, I might as well complete the entire run. However, as the 7k mark approached, I felt a sense of relief as I could slow the speed down to a very manageable 5:15 per km pace for the last 2k.

After, as I walked from the gym to the change room, I was proud on myself for not bailing on the last two intervals, but a weird feeling washed over me...the place was eerily silent...spooky really...like being in a horror movie and I wasn't the leading character...I was half expecting to run smack into Jason Voorhees around the next corner!

Fortunately, I survived and was able to join the rest of the gang to ring-in 2011 satisfied and guilt-free.

Happy New Year everyone and good luck with all your resolutions and goals!

The benefits of an early morning run

Yesterday Anne went back to work so I was home with the kids. The plan was for me to get my 9k run in after Anne got home from work. Unfortunately, when 4:30pm rolled around, I just wasn't feeling it, I wanted to stay home and spend time with Anne and the kids, so I bailed on the run.

I had another rest day scheduled on Saturday this week, so I just shifted things a bit. I took the rest day yesterday and then bumped the remainder of my runs up a day.

To ensure I got the run in, this morning I got up early and went to the gym to do the 9k run I had missed yesterday. I was home by 7:30am, in plenty of time for Anne to get to work.

The 9k was another tempo run comprised of a 2k warm-up and a 2k cool-down at 5:15 per km, sandwiched around 5k at 4:15 per km. As I drove to the gym, I became a bit concerned, wondering if  I'd be able to hold that pace for 5k, especially so early in the morning. To my surprise the tempo part of the run was relatively easy.

Sure I was breathing heavy and worked up a good sweat, but it felt comfortable, my legs were strong and I was sure I could keep that pace up for a long time. In fact when the cool-down phase of the run approached, instead of slowing to the scheduled 5:15 pace, I only reduced the speed on the treadmill enough to get to a 4:45 per km pace and held that for a kilometre. Then I ran 500m at a 5 flat pace and slowed to 5:15 for the last 500m.

Although I hadn't had an early morning run in weeks and was a bit slow to get out of bed when the alarm went off at 5:45am, it felt good to get the blood pumping before sunrise. And as I sit here typing this post, I feel energized and ready for the day ahead!

Down and out!

I woke up this morning with my head feeling like it was going to explode and I'm sure I could have roasted marshmallows on my throat!

So I called in sick, took some more Cold FX (hey I'm not going to give up on it just because of one cold) and climbed back into bed.

I barely heard Anne and the kids getting ready for work and school. And while I didn't sleep all the time, I basically stayed in bed most of the day.

In addition to a lost day of work, I missed a scheduled 8k run today. That concerns me as my race is exactly one month from today. And while this is only my second missed run since I started training with Ian, missing a run or runs at this stage can really impact my performance in the half marathon next month.

Perhaps I pushed the issue yesterday and should have listened to my body...it knew I was sick and needed rest. One of these days I'll listen.

Nothing I can do about it now except get to bed early tonight, take more Cold FX and keep my fingers crossed that I'll b ready to go tomorrow.

Monday, Monday...

Another rest day. The calm before the storm really. Ian has planned my toughest week of training so far for this week.

It starts tomorrow with a repeat of the run I did last Tuesday that I wasn’t supposed to do until tomorrow. For a better explanation, see my post from December 7^th.

So tomorrow it’s an 11k run broken down as follows – 2k @ 5:15, 2 x (2.5k @ 4:05, followed by 1k @ 4:15), then 2k @ 5:15 to finish. Then Wednesday through Saturday it’s 8k per day at various paces. The week is capped-off by a 17k run with intervals ranging 4k @ a 5 minute per km pace to 1k @ a 4:30 clip.

Total for the week – 60k.

Despite my two screw ups last week and the fact I fought off a cold over the weekend, I feel great today. Legs are not stiff at all and my right hip that usually gives me some discomfort, especially after a long run is 100%.

So bring it on Ian, bring it on!