The week started out on Sunday in Ottawa amongst the ice sculptures which were pretty cool! But instead of a long run it was 8 miles of skating on the canal and my streak of 12 long runs of 20+ was ended.
Another neat sculpture which stands about 5 feet high.But back to reality a few days later with a work trip to Dartmouth, NS. Winter really has quite a grip on us now as we've been in the deep deep freeze for about 2 weeks now with no end in site. I was able to get a 7 miles in early on Tuesday before our meetings but it was a might nippy at -28C with the wind. Any thoughts of going fast or too long were quickly squashed as I was on a tight schedule.
On Weds there was a bit more time before starting our trip back home so was able to fit in a decent hill workout in downtown Dartmouth. After a 3 mile easy warmup I found myself at the foot of the Maple Street hill which is well know by local runners and an unwelcome part of the annual Bluenose marathon. My workout plan called for 6 hills and that's what I was able to pull off but the urge to walk became quite strong after about 3 of these at about 3 minutes up and 2 minutes jogs back down. The hills and valleys in elevation and heartrate tell the story. Finished the run with another 3 miles back to the hotel.
Thurs - back home at last and just an easy 8 miles on heavy legs. Also submitted my Boston application and received a little bonus cheque for my age group placing at Wineglass. A little late but that's fine.
Friday - another cool day with winds and windchill near -20C and waited till later in the day to get my medium long run of 15 miles in. Ran it as an out and back figuring to run into the wind on the way out and do my marathon pace miles on the return leg. But somehow it seemed that the wind was shifting continually and was in my face during most of the way. Still managed to get in 5 miles at just under MP at 7:30 pace and heartrate of only 147 avg. It was work but quite manageable despite the weather and all the layers. Maybe the new shoes helped!
Here are the new shoes, Mizuno Wave Riders and this is pair #23 for this brand. They work very well for me and I can easily get 500-800 miles on them before it's time for fresh ones. Bought 2 pair so that I can save one for the marathon.
Today was just a short 1 hour run to give the legs an easy day before the long run planned with Marc and Andrew on Sunday. It was cold again but I've got the layering thing down pretty good now.
Total for the past week was only 53 miles for 73% of my planned week. Oh well, at least my Parrot predictor is coming down to near the 3:30 mark. Actually looking at my plan, next week is scheduled to be a rest week but since I've slacked off so much this week, maybe I'll call this a rest week and just repeat what I'd planned last week. Does that make any sense? I'll bounce it off 'the boys' in the morning and see what they think.
Happy running!
Thurs - back home at last and just an easy 8 miles on heavy legs. Also submitted my Boston application and received a little bonus cheque for my age group placing at Wineglass. A little late but that's fine.Friday - another cool day with winds and windchill near -20C and waited till later in the day to get my medium long run of 15 miles in. Ran it as an out and back figuring to run into the wind on the way out and do my marathon pace miles on the return leg. But somehow it seemed that the wind was shifting continually and was in my face during most of the way. Still managed to get in 5 miles at just under MP at 7:30 pace and heartrate of only 147 avg. It was work but quite manageable despite the weather and all the layers. Maybe the new shoes helped!
Here are the new shoes, Mizuno Wave Riders and this is pair #23 for this brand. They work very well for me and I can easily get 500-800 miles on them before it's time for fresh ones. Bought 2 pair so that I can save one for the marathon.Today was just a short 1 hour run to give the legs an easy day before the long run planned with Marc and Andrew on Sunday. It was cold again but I've got the layering thing down pretty good now.
Total for the past week was only 53 miles for 73% of my planned week. Oh well, at least my Parrot predictor is coming down to near the 3:30 mark. Actually looking at my plan, next week is scheduled to be a rest week but since I've slacked off so much this week, maybe I'll call this a rest week and just repeat what I'd planned last week. Does that make any sense? I'll bounce it off 'the boys' in the morning and see what they think.
Happy running!
