Going Long

Time  39:23

Distance 6.23k (3.9mi)

Pace  6:18/km

First run back after the Ottawa race.  Nice to get moving again. 

Left work under overcast skies and hoped (!) that the rain would hold off.  It did. 

Ran west from downtown along the Martin Goodman Trail, and found it weird to feel so warm on a run.  Temp outside was 20C, so I was cooking a little bit.  Not bothersome, but different from all of the training I've done up to this point in 2009.

Time  1:04:24

Distance 10k (6.25 mi)

Pace  6:36/km (10:18/mi)

HR Zone 140-160 bpm

HR Max 177, Avg 153

In Zone 83.4% of run

First long run of the new schedule.  Big crowd, as it was the first official tune-up for Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon taking place on Septmber 27.  The marathon clinic is large anyway, and I only see a few familar faces in the sea of runners.

I decided to stick to my heart rate training, and keep my pace below 140 bpm.  With the weather so warm, it was difficult to do it consistently.  I hovered between 138 and 142 for most of the first half of the 13k, but busted the range most of the second half.  Keeping down in this range is 7+ minutes per kilometer pace, which was still a struggle after two weeks off.

The watch was beeping constantly because I was over the range I had set, so I'm glad I was running alone.  Don't want to bother anyone with the unrelenting beep-beep-beep that it sounds.  It used to drive me nuts, but now I hardly even noticed because it's been burned into my memory so deeply!  :-)

Time  1:33:25

Distance  12.96k (8.1 mi)

Pace  7:12/km (11:31/mi)

HR zone  120-140 bpm

HR Max 156, Avg 142

In zone 37.8% of the run

Beautiful morning.  Still.  Quiet.  Blue sky.  No clouds. 

Back to my Autumn 6k route, out and back along Annette St, through Baby Point and onto Dundas St W near the Loblaws. 

Saw a fox on Baby Point Rd scoping some of the squirrels scurrying about.

Felt good to be moving with some authority along the newly reconstructed section of Annette.  The bike lanes give me some smooth gliding along the shoulders of the road now.

Time  37:02

Distance  6.23k (3.9 mi)

Pace  5:56/k (9:30/mi)

HR Zone  140-160 bpm

HR Max 176, Avg 156

In Zone 76.9 % of run

Almost didn't make it out this morning.  Alarm went off, but I rolled over and pressed snooze.  If I do that enough times, it makes me late enough that a run isn't possible before work.  Luckily it only happened once today, so I was able to set out at just before 6 am.

I'm going to keep a list of wildlife that I encounter along my runs this summer.  Yesterday, a young fox eyeing some tasty morsels (squirrels) along Baby Point Rd.  Today, a large snapping turtle, probably 10" diameter wedged under the fence at Stinky Pond at the south east corner of High Park.  Of course, the inevitable Canada Geese (and their piles of crap) along the Lakeshore near the mouth of the Humber.  And, while walking back to my place after finishing up, a "died beetle" which the girls would have loved to see.

Time  1:01:45

Distance 10.01k (6.25 mi)

Pace 6:09/km (9:51/mi)

HR zone 140-160 bpm

HR max 176, avg 153

In zone 67.4% of the run

Today was supposed to be a day off, but I ended up out there to make up for yesterday.  It was just too rainy to go out yesterday, and today was a much better situation out there.

Had a good 10k run, kept my heart rate in the lower ranges and still had a pretty decent time.  I wonder if my cardio is improving?  Not sure.  Feeling good about the first two full weeks of training, though.  I hope the next sixteen follow suit.

Time  1:04:42

Distance 10k (6.25mi)

Pace 6:27/km (10:20/mi)

HR Zone 130-150 bpm

HR Avg 139, Max 174

Up a bit late this morning, and I had to get out and get home and up to my folks to make brunch for the lot of them.

Felt good for most of the 13 k.  Took it very slow, keeping myself under my 143 bpm threshold for a good portion of the run.  It was getting warm by the time I was finishing up, not sure how that will work on the long run Sundays this summer.   I'll have to get up at 5 am to get out and finish before the melting point.

For the second time in my running life, I had to stop for a break in the weeds.  I'm glad I did, because I couldn't have made it home feeling so uncomfortable.  Why is it that you can't clear your bowels on demand before leaving home on a long run??  One of the mysteries of running.

Time 1:38:58

Distance  13k (8.1mi)

Pace  7:36/k (12:10/mi)

HR Zone 120-143 bpm

HR Avg 139, Max 233

In Zone 62.9% of run

The municipal workers strike is on in Toronto.  Beind a manager in the I&T division, I have been re-deployed to other essential work - cleaning Union Station.  I had my first afternoon shift yesterday.  The group of people I'm with seem to be great, it will make the time fly by.

The only reason I mention it is that my running routine is slightly shifted.  I had been getting out before 6 am on most work mornings, in the cool of the summer mornings.  Now, I'm going to be running either after dropping the girls off at daycare after 9 am or once I get off shift at 11 pm. 

The 9 am run is what I did today.  Hot hot hot is all I can say about it.  Or maybe it should be Humid humid humid?  heheheh  20C when I headed out, and I was baking as I went up Windermere from the Queensway.  Averaged 6:13/km over the 6k, which was a bit shy of what I had been able to do on the flatter Annette/Baby Point route that I had been running the last two Tuesday early mornings.

Time  37:28

Distance 6.02k (3.76mi)

Pace  6:13/k (9:57/mi)

HR Zone  140-160 bpm

HR Avg 150, Max 169

In Zone 70.3% of run

Late night run from Union Station home.

Time (approx) 1:08

Distance 10.3k (6.3mi)

Pace 6:36/k (10:33/mi)