Mississauga Marathon, Training Week 5!

Again, I can NOT believe I'm already into week five of training! Probably because the first week I was away and the second week I only "caught up" with three runs. So really, I don't feel like I've been training that long.

Famous last words I'm sure. Ask me how I feel about the training come Easter.

Of course, there is SO. MUCH. going on right now what with work that is teh krazy busy and trying to pack a house and still feed a family and keep laundry folded and clean etc... Phew. I really feel like a hamster on a wheel or like groundhog day so often. Anyway, enough with the pre-able. Here is how week five shook out.

Monday: Rest day.

Tuesday: Tempo day! I was up again at 0500 and headed to the gym for a treadmill tempo run. I've discovered that I vastly prefer running tempo on a treadmill. You have way more control over the pace and you don't have to continually adjust when you're going too fast or too slow like how you do when you're outside. So I hit the treadmill and was sluggish. After 10 minutes of a warm up, I did bump the pace up to tempo pace (5:02/km or 8:06/mi) but I only stayed there for 10 out of 20 minutes. I rounded out the run at easy pace again and decided to cut the run one kilometer short due to time limitations (I needed to get that 0703 train to Toronto). 5k, 28:42

Wednesday: Bliss. It was 12 degrees Celsius out! Simply amazing weather and I was eager to run. I had enjoyed a great lunch at the Beer Bistro which included an amazing beef burger and two Cooper's Sparkling Ale's so I didn't feel like running tempo. Combine that with the fact that I had run a PB just three days before and I gave myself leave to run easy with Wayne and Steph and enjoy the balmy weather. I did also get in the kilometer I had missed the day before. 11k, 1:08:09

Thursday: Clinic night! We had a yogi in to talk to us about breathing. It was very interesting and something I should think about for at least five minutes a day. It really can make a difference to a run. I know that if my breath gets away from me on a run, I tend to freak out and think that I'm going to die, so being able to calm down and relax makes a huge difference. After the talk, we all headed out for another easy run even if the weather was back to winter temperatures. 8.5k, 50:31

Friday: Rest. I did have to take Alasdair for a check up for his hip and the doctor told us that he was fine. And very bright. Aw, a mum's pride knows no bounds.

Saturday: My husband had to work wot the only way for me to ge a run in before noon (which is what I prefer as I run in the morning on Sunday's) was to set the alarm for 6am and get going. I didn't bother with breakfast and just found my way throug a most blissful run. Yes. I big puffy heart running! 6.25k, 38:23

Sunday: I had made plans to meet up with Ali and her husband Colin to run the last 10k of the Around the Bay route and then back again. We all started up chatting (well, Ali and I were chatting and Colin was hanging back keeping quiet) and I found it a bit difficult to keep my pace at 6:50-7:00/km that Ali wanted. I quickly adjusted to pace as I was more interested in running with her then worrying about fast of slow. Very sadly, Ali hurt herself/ had IT band problems and ended up with her worst run to date. She told Colin and I to keep going and we did, picking up the pace to about 6:05/km and tackled the hills, including Valley Inn and then back again!

The hills are no joke, my friends.

We ended up catching back up with Ali who had called for a ride by that point and there was nothing left for Colin and I to do but to keep running back to the cars. As I was worried about Ali, I started to pick up the pace and kinda forgot about the silent Colin who was running a personal distance record and doing double duty on the hills as well. When I heard him breathing a bit heavier, I looked at my watch and whoops we were running at 5:40/km (or my target marathon pace). I reeled it in and we chatted a bit about food (a fave subject of mine in any circumstance but especially during long runs) and how to fuel for running in general. I made a point of telling Colin that I usually wasn't very hungry on Sunday's but was generally starved on Monday's following a run. Well, as the day played out, my stomach made me a liar and I couldn't stop eating. The same thing happened the last time I ran these hills with some friends. What is it about Burlington hills anyway?

Colin stopped at 19k with 1k to the cars to walk and cool down. I wanted to get to the cars and picked up the pace to 5:21/km for the last kilometer (very nice considering my target winter half marathon pace is 5:27/km). Just as I turned into the lot, so did Ali's brother with Ali freezing in the car. It was a sad panda day that she got hurt and we couldn't enjoy running together again, but I don't think we've seen the last of each other. With son's the same age and so much in common, I'm sure we'll be hanging out again soon.

20.01k, 2:14:17.

Total distance: 50.76k, Total Time: 5:20:02, Average pace per KM: 0:06:18

So, it was a slow week.  But as quoted in my Daily Mile above and in the words of my other musical boyfriend Dave Matthews;

What's the use in worrying?

What's the use in hurrying? 

On to week six! I've already started rest day right... with a big glass of Beaujolais!