This will be an abbreviated summary because my to-do list is long and my time is short! It was a big week…

Monday – biked 1:15:00 on the trainer then hit the pool for our evening swim session (2050m).

Tuesday – Ran an easy 6K at lunch and 4 x Willow Farm Lane hill repeats after work (14K) on slick streets with snow coming down. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Wednesday – Easy 5K run at lunch, short 30 min. ride on the trainer after work, then 1:30:00 swim (3050m).

Thursday – Marathon clinic night: 13K run with 5K tempo.

Friday – 1:35:00 swim (3000m) where I learned butterfly! Skipped my planned run in favour of extra rest for the big weekend ahead.

Saturday – double brick!

Sunday – 20-miler!

WEEK SEVEN
Total Run Distance: 80.9 km (50.3 mi)
Total Run Time: 7:40:59
Run Pace: 5:41/KM (9:08/mi)

Total Bike Distance: 85.1 KM (52.9 mi) [estimated]
Total Bike Time: 3:15:00

Total Swim Distance: 8100 m
Total Swim Time: 4:05:00

Total Training Time: 15:00:59

After yesterday’s workout-fest I rested up and re-fueled the best I could and tried to pump myself up for 20 miles the next morning.

Waking up to more snow, freezing temps and pretty tired legs, I was less than excited to get out there, but luckily I knew had all of my peeps waiting for me and going back to bed was not an option.

The first third or so of the run was pretty tough with long climbs, busy roads and a biting northerly wind in our faces constantly. It felt soooo good when we finally changed directions, and the rest of the run wasn’t so bad. We did have a few more hills, including a monster known as Hell Hill around the 18 mile mark. (yes, I planned the route… “what doesn’t kill you”, right?)

A highlight was our water refill station at a friend’s house that I arranged (with help from my co-instructor) complete with orange wedges and candy! It felt like an oasis on this tough day and pumped me up enough for the final stretch – even when our group leader decided to push the pace for a few clicks.

It was a huge relief when we made it back to the store and my watch beeped 32KM. We even had leftover oranges and candies waiting for us! What a spoiled bunch.

All things considered, the run went pretty well. My legs were a bit sore and definitely on the tired side, but I hung in there and even managed to throw in a few race pace kilometres. I can’t wait to find out what it feels like to tackle a long run without having put them through a beating the day before. I probably won’t plan on a 2.5 hour workout on April 15th.

I’ve since spent the majority of the afternoon in a horizontal position, including a killer catnap on the couch. With 15 hours of running, cycling and swimming under my belt for the week, I am definitely looking forward to a sleep-in and rest day tomorrow!

How was your weekend?

I convinced my friend P (and her hubby, U, who often comes along for the ride) to join me for another big workout this morning. Truthfully, though, it didn’t take much convincing. Lucky for me, she’ll say ‘yes’ before finding out what’s involved in my training schemes.

Today’s agenda included 2 x (45 minute ride, 30 minunte run). 

I had a party to get to at noon, so we had to forgo the Saturday sleep-in and get started early. I woke up to discover a generous dumping of fresh snow (and it continued to snow all morning).

6:30AM enthusiasm

I had dropped my bike and trainer off ahead of time so there would be less gear to schlep early Saturday morning. I was so glad to have done that! There were still a lot of bags involved, as usual.

bag lady

I had my usual pre-endurance workout breakfast of  tea, OJ and a PB&J bagel then headed over to P’s house. I took a few minutes to lay out my gear for transition and we got started.

I’m in charge of the overall workout plan, so P gets to decide on our bike workouts. Our first 45 minite ride entailed a 15 minute warm up, 20 minutes of 1-min hill/1-min sprint intervals (no rest in between) and a 10 minute cool down. These intervals make the time fly by and before we knew it, we were hopping off the bikes and layering up for our first brick run of the day.

There was a ton of snow on the ground and none of the roads or sidewalks had been cleared, so we trudged along and ran in tire tracks when possible. There wasn’t much traffic out at all and it was actually a very peaceful and enjoyable run. 30 minutes later, we were back at homebase and ready for round 2.

After a quick wardrobe change we hopped back on the bikes to discover extremely sluggish legs. I couldn’t believe how tired they were! I felt better after warming up, but this ride was a lot harder. The interval set this time consisted of 15 minute warm up and 20 minutes of 3-min hill/1-min sprint intervals, followed by 10 minute cool down. As we wobbled up the stairs after, I had serious doubts about the second brick run we had on deck!

Out we shuffled… to find even more snow! This time P’s hubby had to stay behind to catch up on shovelling. We were definitely tired, but not terribly. Despite all the snow and messy roads, it was such a beautiful morning and very hard not to be happy out there. We followed the same route (our foot steps were long gone!) and found ourselves at the “finish line” in no time – well, about 30 seconds slower than the first run.

We were exhausted but happy after a big morning of workouts.

After cleaning up and heading to another friend’s one-year-old’s Birthday party, I was rewarded for my efforts with unlimited make-your-own fajitas and a cupcake. Hit the spot!

And now I’m trying to wrap my mind around a 20 mile run tomorrow… after that, I will definitely have earned Monday’s holiday sleep-in.

I mentioned CrossFit in yesterday’s post and it stirred up some conversation in the comments (which I love!). It seems there is a bit of a controversy between CrossFit and endurance running.

For those interested, Jill shared this article. It addresses “CrossFit Endurance” which I believe is separate from “regular” CrossFit and geared more towards endurance training rather than ”just” overall body strength and conditioning. Correct me if I am wrong. Rob?

I won’t comment on the points argued in the article because I don’t have any experience or enough information to form an opinion. I will simply say that our guest speaker introduced us to the option of incorporating CrossFit as a supplement to endurance (run) training for improved overall body strength and fitness. As far as I can tell, there is no harm in that.   

That being said, it’s not something I intend to pursue (at least not now). I’m sure I could benefit from some kind of strength training regimen, but I can’t am not willing to fit it into my packed schedule of running, cycling and swimming. That might change down the road - like when I eventually hire a coach and he or she tells me that I have to.

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Happy Friday! Catch you on the other side…..

1. 2 months til Boston!! Can you believe it? Time is flying and that makes me both excited and terrified. I’ve waited and wished for that day for so long and I need to make sure that (a) I’m ready [I will be], and (b) I don’t let it blow right by me [I won't].

2. Have you heard about the new Running Blog Database by 2 Slow 4 Boston? It’s a comprehensive and interactive database of over 500 blogs so far (and counting)! Click on over to make sure you’re in the list. It’s easy to add your favourite blogs as well.

3. Tonight at the marathon clinic we are hosting a guest speaker from our local CrossFit facility. This activity lifestyle has been sweeping the fitness world and I’m looking forward to finding out what it’s all about. Have you tried CrossFit?

Happy Thursday (almost Friday)! And even better… it’s a long weekend!!! I have a 2.5 hour double-brick planned for Saturday, 20-miler on Sunday followed by much-needed date night with the hubs, then sleeping in and some R&R on Monday. ahhhh…….