Mississauga Marathon Training Weeks 10 & 11

Well, well. Last week was a busy week and although I had every intention of getting around to a recap, I was unable to do so.

That means you get a double recap this week. Lucky you!

Week 10 was the second week in a row where I had 76k on the plan. I was a bit tired and my planter fasciitis was hurting a bit. I took charge and decided that I'd make a better effort to roll and ice. I also wanted to get back to basic core work. I took care of the foot, but not the abs. This week. I swear!

Monday January 27: I was supposed to do 10k, but I got out of bed, put on my clothes and when I got outside it was snowing and blowing. Oh well, no sense in turning back, might as well try to get at least 5k in. I hit the road because there is no way I'd have any chance on the un-plowed sidewalks and trudged through a slow 6k. 37:37

Tuesday January 28: I was supposed to do 14k with intervals, but I just couldn't get to sleep on Monday night. Even though I went to bed at 9:30pm, I was still awake at 11pm. It made my alarm at 4:30am VERY early. Ugg. No way to not run and no way to fit it into the work day, so I hit the gym anyway and did 10k easy. 58:10

Wednesday January 29: I don't know if you can believe it, the guy I announced almost four years ago, heads to kindergarten in September! I had to register him and that started at 9am in town. I was able to go the the gym at the late hour of 6:30am and attempted my 5x1000m intervals at 4:26/km This was a very difficult run, with lots of jumping off during the hard parts and I cut it short after 3 intervals and then did 4x1000m at race pace (5:02/km). I finished off the 14k in a reasonable time. 1:17:12

With Princes Anna from ... Frozen? (we haven't seen it)

Thursday January 30: Running Room clinic night! Because my plan calls for more running than the standard Running Room plan, and because I missed 4k on Monday, I hit the streets in the early am for a nice, but slippery 6k in 36:25. Then, after a day of work and no real dinner, I joined the group for 8k in 44:31. The difference in these runs were night and day. The first was cold with difficult footing and alone. The second had good company, easier, clear footing and it was warm (at -5c).

Friday January 31: Another early morning 10k in sloppy, sloppy conditions because of the mild temperature of -3c! I ended up running on the roads in the early morning and saw my paces improve by as much as 30 seconds a kilometre as a result. 10k, 1:02:36

Saturday February 1: Sam agreed to come out to Milton to start a run at 6am on a Saturday morning and keep me company. God bless her. While tempo was supposed to be part of the plan, I couldn't keep it up. Sam listened to my breathing and counseled me that I may want to get that looked at. It sounded like asthma to her (I've had this difficulty breathing in the cold since my lung infection in the fall). As a result, I've taken my puffer before every run since and have had an easier time with my breathing. Anyway, Sam and I had a great chat if not great conditions to run in (we stuck to the road the whole time) and we got 22k in, even as Sam said, the time was depressing considering what we were throwing down in the summer; 2:11:02

We are still happy to be DONE though

Total KM: 76.02 (47.23mi) Total Time: 7:37:33 Average Pace per KM: 0:05:53 (0:09:41/mi)

Week 11. CUTBACK WEEK!!! WooHoo! Only 60k on the plan this week. The winter finally broke me this week though. I did plan at least one run outdoors with the running room, but as you'll see, Old Man Winter had other ideas.

Monday February 3: Rest. I just took the day off even though the plan was 10k.

Tuesday February 4: WooHoo! Less intervals. 3x1000m which I did on the mile at 4:26/km pace. I so wanted to stop after 10k, but knowing that I had already missed my Monday run, I pushed through to finish the 14k per the plan: 1:19:19

Wednesday February 5: The plan was to run 10k with the Running Room free run as Thursday my husband had to use my car as his was to be in the shop. Although I knew that there was snow expected, I didn't quite realize that the snow would come down all day long. We got an email in the afternoon from Chris saying that they were calling off the run due to conditions. I knew I HAD to get a run in though, so I headed to the gym and pounded on the 10k on the treadmill in my new shoes which were $40 off! 58:14

Thursday February 6: The plan called for 8k. But um, I decided that my low VW Jetta wagon would be able to back through the plowbank and well, it didn't. Let me tell you, Ken was super happy with the pre 5:30am wake up of: "My car is, um, stuck." He dug me out and I still went to the gym and ran 6k. The Olympic coverage made it all okay. 34:46

Friday February 7: I had to run another 10k because of missing some mileage the day before. No worries, treadmill and Olympics and a pre-5am gym call and I got it done. I even ran two miles at 5:15/km just because. 56:18

Saturday February 8: What a day. 8am: Alasdair hockey practice, 9am: Fergus tumbling class, 10:30: Fergus birthday party, 2pm: Alasdair birthday party. Ken has to work 10-3 and my folks were off to visit my sister. No problem. I get up at 4:30am all week long to run, I'll just do it on a Saturday. Because I was SO OVER winter and the sidewalks still were a mess and because I had 6x6mins of tempo on the plan, I decided to go to the gym and run on the treadmill. When I got to the gym at 5:27am. It was closed. Even though there is a huge sign saying "OPEN 24 HOURS!" Not on Saturday. Nope. On Saturday it opens at 7am. Bah. Because I'm over winter, I go back home and climb back into bed. I take Fergus to his birthday party. As I arrive, I realize that that parking lot of the party place is very empty. I check the email invite. The party is on Sunday! When I get back home, my folks let me know that they don't plan to leave until 4pm. AWESOME. I go into replan mode and my folks don't mind watching the kids while I book it to the gym and pound out a very sweaty 20k (complete with 6x6min tempo at 4:46/km pace) in 1:49:30. Thank God for parents.

Total KM: 60 (37.28mi) Total Time: 5:38:07 Average Pace per KM: 0:05:38 (0:09:04/mi)

Well, that's the last two weeks. This week, week 12 is my first 100% week. Maximum mileage. 85k. While I'm still over the cold and crappy footing, I will be outdoors this week because hill training starts on Wednesday and I plan on running on Saturday in Burlington with the girls. For the other runs? I see no sense in turning away from the treadmill. It has served me well this winter.