Mon 26 Jan - TI 8x800m. I felt good running these today. Total 11km.
Tue 27 Jan - Easy 5km run today. I put the incline to 1% since I was running on a treadmill. I read in Jack Daniels book that this makes treadmill running a little harder to simulate wind resistance running outside. There was a little difference, but not really noticeable. Afterward I did some stretching and core exercises.
Wed 28 Jan - TT run today. 3 miles. total 10k with warm up and cool down. I concentrated on keeping the same cadence the entire time regardless of the speed I was running. It was pretty tough to maintain 180 steps per minute at slower speeds - I felt burning in the front of my lower legs because the strides had to be so short. I'm sure I'll get used to it though.
Thu 29 Jan - day off from running today. Did 20 min. rowing plus stretching and core exercises.
Fri 30 Jan - I was suppposed to run 6 miles at race pace but only ran 4 because I had to get back to work. What a terrible thing to have work get in the way of running...I do find race pace still a little fast at this point even if I'm not out of breath or in the high HR zone. I think it is just a question of getting used to maintaining that pace.
Sat 31 Jan - 20 miles easy today. It was not that cold and I headed out the door at 7 a.m. The extra hour of sleep was necessary, I suppose. I tried to use my long run loop that takes me around Hudson and then around St-Lazare but my usual trail that takes me from Altsonvale to Harwood was not plowed and hadn't been used all winter judging from the amount of snow on the ground. I decided to take Mayfair into Hudson Valleys and then loop back via Harwood to connect back to my route. This leg of my circuit takes me through farms and ranches. For about 6 km, I had a biting cold headwind and concluded that my new gloves were not conceived for this kind of running. Up to this point, I was quite comfortable. My gloves are Black Diamond and are made of a very dense Polartec fleece. They are supposed to keep me warm and also block the wind but I think the fact that the fleece is so dense creates a wicking problem. My warm hands were actually sweaty at this point and the gloves were becoming quite wet. When I hit the headwind, the wet gloves actually started to freeze. I had to make fists to keep my fingers warm. Once they were sufficiently warmed up, I tried to put my fingers back in their spots but the glove tips actually froze solid. Within seconds, my fingers were cold again so I abandoned that idea and made fists again for most of the rest of the run. Although I wasn't running fast, I was feeling the fatigue of running in snow covered roads. I did not have any gels with me but I did have some raisins and Nerds (those little hard candies that are pretty much pure sugar). I had the raisins at about 8 km and now I was eating some Nerds. Not sure if it was psychological or not but I actually felt the energy boost within 5 minutes of eating them (and this is why I don't let my kids eat candy...). The next leg is pretty much uphill for about 5 km. At the crest, I veer left onto Ste-Angelique and head toward St-Lazare town centre. At this point I am over 20km into my run and decide to modify my route to head back toward Hudson via Cote St-Charles instead of looping St-Lazare. This way I would complete my run closer to home because the detour I had to do in Alstonvale added some distance to my planned loop. I am not fond of running on St-Charles because it is a main thoroughfare and usually quite busy (as far as country roads go). I am 8 km from home so I will have to do an extra little loop in my neighborhood to round out my total distance. I have some more Nerds and concentrate on maintaining my cadence as I head down the final stretch. By the time I cross Harwood again, I am anxious to finish, I look at my watch : 1.5 miles to go. I decide to finish my run by doing some strides (10 strides of ten seconds each). Given the road conditions, it is quite hard to build up speed but at least I manage to maintain some traction. Soon enough, my run is done. I head into the house and start removing the layers of clothing and gear. I am famished and feel a stiffness in my quads and calves. It seems the Easy run was not so easy...
Total weekly mileage : 66 km
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