What a fantastic week!!!
The weather is changing and spring is definitely in the air now as I already showed in yesterdays' post. However April still had a mind of it's own and that was very noticeable in the runs I had this week. I've had cold weather, warm temperatures, rain and alraidy a +20 degrees run. All that in the space of 5 days (reminder I run between Wednesday and Sunday with a rest on Saturday), so that gives you an idea how quickly things changed.
Another factor I utilised a lot this week is running at different times of the day. I've ran twice in the morning, once in the afternoon and even once in the evening. I love running in the evenings as it's usually warmer and fewer people under way, but this also depends on the time of year and the weather. Now that the days are getting longer again and the weather is turning warmer I am looking at running more in the evenings again, however when I'm unemployed I will try to vary this, so that my body won't get used to a certain rhythm.
Due to the fact that I was made redundant I have also reconsidered going to Valencia for the marathon. It would be really cool to go abroad to run a marathon and I would've loved to have gone there as I've never been there or Spain before, but unfortunately until I have certainty on the job-area it's an expense we can't cover at this moment in time. Therefor I have decided to move my plans forward a bit and do the Luzern marathon instead. This one will take place on the 28th October, so 5 weeks before Valencia. However this will be more like a 'Home-match', there will be a lot of Swiss music along the way, it's very scenic as it goes along the 'Vierwaldtstättersee' and through Luzern's historical centre and you're doing the same course twice, so it also gives you a chance to get used to the route and once you're in the rhythm that could help as well.
Below at the bottom of this post I've drawn a new training schedule how I attempt to achieve the required level before the actual marathon in Luzern.
Here are my runs since my last running post last Sunday:
Wednesday 4.4.
- Weather: Warm and sunny, very enjoyable lunchbreak run
- Distance: 5,02 km
- Time: 26 mins
- Pace: 5:12 min/km
- Training Effect: 3,5
- Goal: Getting used to running on tired legs
Recap
Very pleasant run, slightly sore from the last ones, but the 2 days rest really helped. I ran alone and with nice weather, so I managed to focus a bit on cadence without forcing myself to overdo it. I also noticed that Garmin has started with new badges today, which is fun to add to my posts in the future.
Thursday 5.4.
- Weather: Clear and cool when I left, but raining in my face in the last kilometer
- Distance: 6,01 km
- Time: 31,5 mins
- Pace: 5:15 min/km
- Training Effect: not measured
- Goal: Getting used to distances
Recap
My second 'longer' run in the 3 day streak and quite pleasant to start with, but it's noticeable that 3 days running in a row does take its toll on the body as I feel little pains of tiredness quicker. It's a good feeling though to still complete an exercise despite these 'pains'. The run itself was nice, except for when it started raining, hopefully that will be a thing from the past now that summer is approaching.
Friday 6.4.
- Weather: Cold but clear as we set off in the morning
- Distance: 5,05 km
- Time: 27 mins
- Pace: 5:21 min/km
- Training Effect: 3,3
- Goal: Getting used to running on tired legs by running short distances several days after one another
Recap
My colleague and I decided to run earlier as the office was still closed due to something with the electricity, so we set off early. My colleague apparently didn't feel as fit or used to running on sore legs as I did, so we were slower than usual. It was an enjoyable run as I didn't have to push myself too much in preparation to my first longer run on Sunday. Although I also had the smaller pains it didn't affect me as much, but it is nice that I didn't have to push myself. Condition over speed!
Sunday 8.4.
- Weather: Warm and with a pleasant breeze
- Distance: 14,3 km
- Time: 80,5 mins
- Pace: 5:38 min/km
- Training Effect: 4,6
- Goal: the long Sunday run, preparing for the distance
Recap
Okay, okay, I might have exaggerated slightly with the new Garmin badges and congratulations, but I'm very proud of myself. This was my longest run to date.
As we had plans in the morning with some friends and we were invited in the afternoon, my neighboor and I set off at 5PM for our usual run instead of 8:30AM. The benefit was that the weather was much warmer and there are fewer people under way as they get ready for dinner.
We started off with a good pace, however due to the lack of trainings my neighboor had done in the previous weeks, he had trouble keeping up and throughout the run I had to hold myself back to ensure that he kept up. This was alright as I knew I would have to do another 3 kilometers when we would end our round, so I was glad that him holding me back set a nice overall pace. In the end we were not that slow as we finished the first 10,78km in 62 minutes, which is pretty good for us, but he had clear trouble throughout.
Afterwards I set off for the additional 3 kilometers and I was clearly faster doing each kilometer approximately 45 seconds faster as when I was with my neighboor.
Here are my last 4, midweek runs in comparison with one another:
Here are my last 4, Sunday runs in comparison with one another:
Conclusion
This is will be the standard I have set for myself for the next couple of weeks to slowly increase the distance and get used to it and as I'll be on holiday in 2 weeks I hope I can maintain the level I have set this week, but if I can't this will also be the level I'll be picking up when I return. This is the first week that I have run 30 kilometers and there won't be many more that I'll do fewer than this.
Below is the schedule I have drawn for myself on the hand of the initial one, but with a longer time to build up the distances, so that I can slowly get used to them. If I feel the need to adjust or take a break I will also do so, I have enough flexibility here:
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Keep running and stay fit!
Doron
!steemitworldmap 47.334180 lat 8.386726 long Oberwil-Lieli, Aargau D3SCR