Easy Run (3 miles)...

With the 9 mile speed work session that Brian and I did yesterday, we decided to just take it easy and do 5k (3 miles) of runs through the Lucan Area Trails Association trail and the trail of Paul Hodgins, north of Clandeboye Ontario. Despite the short distance, our legs were sufficiently tired from last night's speed work that our pace was somewhat pedestrian. However, it wasn't about the speed -- it was just about getting in some easy miles to let the legs loosen up. Mission accomplished!

Speedwork - 9 x 1 mile repeats (10 miles total)

We did 1 mile repeats tonight and it went much better than last week. No long run on the weekend, so my muscles were fully recovered. Here are my splits:

7:05
6:59
6:59
6:59
7:01
7:00
6:59
6:58

So an average exactly where we were targeting -- 7:00 per mile. My right hamstring was a bit tight, but not tight enough that I felt like I should stop. I just kept working to keep it loose.

Easy Run (5 miles) 34 miles total this week.

Brian and I did 8.33k (just over 5 miles) today at a very slow pace, in order to give both our legs' a chance to repair. Our average pace was 5:14 per k -- so still not terrible -- but it was certainly fast enough. This is likely it for the week for running, so we'll cap it at 34 miles this week. I'll do a lower distance this coming weekend -- probably just 13 miles -- so next week will be lower overall as well.

Speedwork - 8 x 1 mile repeats (but ended up 6) (7.5 miles total)

We did speedwork at TD Waterhouse Stadium today. After our 1.5 mile warm up, the goal was to do 8 x 1 mile repeats (4 times around the track). But after 5 repeats, my left calf and right hamstring were both very tight, and I didn't want to risk damaging them, so I did a slow mile and then pulled the plug on the night. Here were my times:

6:49
6:52
6:50
6:52
6:53
7:35

So my average for the first 5 repeats was pretty quick, for me: 6:51. But I pulled the plug on the speedwork after those 5 because I was afraid I'd damage a muscle or hamstring or something. Anyhow, including the warm-up miles, I did about 7.5 miles tonight

Long Run - 34.5k (21.4 miles) - London to Port Stanley

Gayle Stuebing and I did our first long run together in preparation for the Hamilton Road2Hope marathon on November 6, 2011. I'm going to pace her and while her original goal was to do it in under 4 hours, she is now feeling that a 3:50 is do-able -- and I agree.

We knocked off the 34.5k distance at an average pace of 5:30/k -- and it was pretty consistent throughout the whole run. The total time was 3:10:03 and we had about 20 minutes of water stops along the way, so it took us about 3:30 overall.

Here are the laps:
5:54
5:40
5:33
5:20
5:33
5:32
5:34
5:24
5:25
5:22
5:30
5:26
5:27
5:34
5:23
5:26
5:29
5:35
5:19
5:34
5:30
5:40
5:31
5:25
5:29
5:30
5:33
5:26
5:40
5:38
5:26
5:26
5:27
5:46
5:06 (508 m.)

Extrapolating the 5:30 average pace over the full 42.2 kilometers and we'd be doing a 3:52:06 marathon -- and this was without a taper (although it was with water breaks along the way). Anyhow, a very good run!

Speed Work - 7 x 1 mile repeats

We did speed work tonight at Gibbon's Park in London. This time, the legendary John Ferguson had us do up to 7 repeats of 1 mile at a pace roughly 30 to 60 seconds per mile faster than the target marathon pace. While my target pace last year was 7:51 per mile, I started the run looking for a 7:08/mile pace. But I kept beating it! Eventually I settled into a 7:00/mile target, but was able to beat that pace consistently -- even at the end. Here are my splits:

6:53
6:58
6:54
6:59
7:00
6:51
6:50

So, my gaggle of running buddies -- Bruce, Chris & John -- and I did extremely well. Certainly the cool weather helped, but so to has the consistent weekly runs that Johnny puts us through.

Long Run - 21.1k at 5:32 average pace per k.

Kelly Vivian, Jenny and I went out for a long run today. We did 12 km around Lucan, and then I ran home (and added another 1.6k on William Street) to get me to 21.1 km -- done in 1:56:38 running time (there were a few walk breaks in the first 12k) for a 5:32 pace. I've committed to pacing Gayle Stuebing in Hamilton's Road2Hope Marathon in November and we need to knock off a pace of 5:41/k, so I was happy with my average pace. My solo 9.1 km were at about a 5:15 pace and I had no problem maintaining it.

Speed Work - Parloff Relay, Part Deux...

We did a Parloff relay tonight -- 25 minutes of Jenny and I each doing a 400m lap of the track at UWO. Looking at what I did the previous relay on July 15, I achieved 1:31 per lap and Jenny was at 1:40 per lap. This time, our times were:
1:27 (Bruce)
1:49 (Jenny)
1:25 (Bruce)
1:44 (Jenny)
1:27 (Bruce)
1:44 (Jenny)
1:22 (Bruce)
1:42 (Jenny)
1:22 (Bruce)
1:40 (Jenny)
1:23 (Bruce)
1:37 (Jenny)
1:23 (Bruce)
1:37 (Jenny)
1:19 (Bruce)
1:33 (Jenny)
1:18 (Bruce)

It was certainly cooler out tonight as opposed to July 15, but I also simply felt stronger. My average was 1:23 per lap (x 9 laps instead of 8 last time) and Jenny's was 1:41 -- almost exactly what she did in July (and she didn't feel like she was running that strongly). So it was a good night!