30k Training - Week 2 Recap

Week #2 has come & gone already. 9 weeks left until my 30k race!


Here's my training week in review:


Day 1 - Monday - Boot camp.
Once again I had another commitment and couldn't make it to boot camp.  Ugh!  Next week is the final session so I. Must. Go!


Day 2 - Tuesday -  40 mins EASY.
Easy, conversational pace = VERY SLOW! This is a tough one for me.  40 minutes keeping my HR between 60-70%.  
I'm sure as people pass me on the street they say "Oh, there's a runner! Wait, she looks like she's kind of running, but not really.  She's not really walking either.  What exactly is she doing??"
My pacing for this run should probably be closer to 8min/km.  My run tonight was about 7:15. I really find this pace hard to keep.  My knees seem to bother me a bit at this pace as well.  Probably because I'm shortening my stride as I try to slow down. I'm sure there's some running guideline that would tell me that's not the proper way to do it but I'm really unsure what is!


Total for this painfully slow run - 5.81 kms in 40:00 minutes.




Day 3 - Wednesday - 6x1k @10k pace.
When I started this run I thought "Hurray, I get to run fast tonight!".
Yeah, this wasn't happening for me. Not sure what my problem was (aside from the fact that my HRM was not adjusted properly for the first half of the run which just totally drove me crazy & kept me very distracted!).
I don't know whose "10K" pace this is...but apparently it's not mine.

Borrowed from http://roadrunner.name.my/

Goal was to keep my HR between 88-92% for each of the 6 1km intervals.  I could barely do it, was frustrated and eventually talked myself out of it.
I would give this run a big FAIL, except that I did try and wasn't home sitting on my couch eating chips (which I've been known to do!). And, I was able to run one 5:36min km, which means I was pushing it!


Run stats - 10.2 kms in 1 hour 12 minutes.


Day 4 - Thursday - 40 mins MOD.
I had to change up the plan a little on this night as I went running with a friend.  Something that doesn't happen very often so I do try to take advantage of it.  Company is nice sometimes!
I turned off the HRM and we just went running.  Funny thing is we actually ended up pretty close to what my target for the night was supposed to be.
40 mins with HR between 70-85%.  My average HR was 86% and we ran just shy of 40 minutes.


Total distance was 5.49 kms in 35:43 minutes.


Day 5 - Friday - 4x6mins.
Another speed workout!  After Wednesday I was a little nervous. 

This one was structured a little differently.  The goal was 4 6min intervals run at 80-85%. There was also a 10 minute warm up & cool down period.
This one was better. My average HR for each interval was 87%.  A touch higher than the goal, but I was able to run consistently and this tells me I should also be able to do the intervals at the increased HR from Wednesday.
Overall, I was quite please with this run.

Total distance was 7.04 kms in 50:00 minutes.


Day 6 - Saturday - REST DAY.
I really missed running on Saturday.  I rarely do not run on Saturday's so I really felt like I was missing something all day.  I did enjoy afternoon of lounging by the pool, no complaints there!


Day 7 - Sunday - Long Run 150 mins
What is it with my weekend runs and RAIN?? Again as soon as I stepped outside the heavens opened and poured down on me.  I ran anyway.  I tried to run toward the blue sky in the distance.  After 30 minutes the rain was behind me.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this run.  I didn't feel like I ran for 2.5 hours.  I didn't feel like I was continually having to slow down or speed up.  I was able to run consistently with few annoying beeps from my HRM.  I managed to get in 1.5 more kms in the same time as last week although I did run a different route.
I am going to give credit for this run to both progress and less up hill running!


Total distance 19.34km in 2hours 30minutes.


Total stats for the week:
Distance - 46.88km (4.64km more than week #1)
Time - 5:48:04 (10 minutes more than week#1)
Average pace - 7.25min/km


With the exception of the speed work on Wednesday, a much better training week. Still areas for improvement, but I'm feeling much better about the HR training itself. I didn't fit in any strength training either which I'd like to do twice a week.
Next week brings new challenges as it's supposed to be very hot & humid here.  As well, we are going out of town for the weekend so I may need to reorganize things to ensure I get my long run in.  Hopefully it works!