April 8 - 14, 2024
5K training week 3 of 12
In which it is spring! And then kind of...summer?
This week's schedule
Monday
Easy: 5.37 miles (9:57), avg. HR 152?
upper body strength
Finally, some decent weather. I felt relaxed even after Sunday's 10 miles.
Tuesday
Easy/strides: 6.22 miles (9:39), avg. HR 157, max 181, 82% Z1-2
core
I feel like this run went fairly well. The reason I spent so much time in zone 3 was that once I started doing strides, my HR really didn't drop much again. I attribute this at least somewhat to most of that portion being uphill.
I swapped my usual core/lb strength days because of my meeting schedule, so I used this short workout as my warmup. I was glad I wasn't trying to register for MW because I had an important meeting at 10:30! That would have been a challenge
Wednesday
Easy/strides: 7.34 miles (9:47), avg. HR 155, max 177, 87% Z1-2
lower body strength/HIIT
I was trying to take it extra easy because the past couple of days were a bit more effort than I was going for, and I did okay...for a couple of miles. Then the sun came out (thanks forecast that told me it was going to be cloudy all morning
) and it was warmer than I've run in since I got back to DC. Very much preferable to last week, but still an adjustment.
Possibly because of the higher temps, I had the same issue as Tuesday with my HR just staying high when I started to do my strides. Another part of that was probably continuing to run slightly uphill - it was the same route both days. In this case, though, I got the mixed blessing of getting stuck at a light for at least a minute, which at least gave me a chance to recover. I'm still not feeling particularly tired, so I don't think it's a huge deal. Probably my easy runs will slow down again naturally once I start doing more speedwork again.
The strength was tough! In a good way, though. (Unless you asked me during the 45s of jump squats or squat jacks, in which case I was just dying
).
I also finally had a chance to try the Tracksmith Turnover Short Tights that I got essentially free thanks to the
PR Bonus they're doing this spring (because $80 shorts will never be in my budget, even if I win the lottery). They were fine, but if I were actually spending $80 on a pair of shorts, I would want them to be amazing, and they definitely weren't. I followed the size guide on their website and ordered a medium, but I think I should have just gone with a small because they were a little loose. I had to tug the legs down sometimes even with the silicone on the inside. The waistband was also kind of scratchy. None of this would be worth mentioning if they were like $25 shorts, and since I didn't pay for them I'm happy enough with them. The material is nice and they dry really quickly, and although I haven't tried it on a run yet, the back pocket is plenty big enough to fit my phone - all good things. But if this is what $80 shorts are like, I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
Thursday
off
I remember nothing that happened. Oh wait, I got a free sandwich from Potbelly! That was good. I like Potbelly.
Friday
Easy/strides: 4.24 miles (10:08), avg. HR 160, max 177 (?)
total body strength
It was raining in the morning, so since I could run in the afternoon, that is what I did. (It was still windy, though.) I was trying to keep it pretty easy since Saturday was going to be kind of a lot, but I'm not sure how I did. (HR data is questionable.)
I was not really tapering for this particular parkrun, though, so I did use weights where applicable in the strength workout. Only later did it occur to me that I also don't usually do total body strength the day before a workout or long run, and Saturday was both, so maybe it was not my best idea... It still wasn't that hard, though
Saturday
Parkrun: 4.48 mile WU/strides (10:15) + 5K @ 5KP (7:18) + 4.55 mile (10:43)
Total: 12.14 miles
yoga
My first parkrun! I left my house about an hour beforehand so I could run there, which turned out to be about 4.5 miles. Maybe a little longer warmup than I was hoping for. I tried to run pretty easy and did a few strides as I approached the start.
I got there about 10 minutes before the event was supposed to start, which gave me enough time to pop into the restroom and do a few drills. The volunteers were super nice - one woman was welcoming newbies and giving sort of an overview of the process, which I sort of knew from all of the British
YouTube channels I follow but had never actually experienced, so that was good. There were, according to the results page, 66 participants and 13 volunteers there, which was a good crowd for the space but not too many to manage.
Parkrun starting area
At 9 they did a bit of a welcome announcement and tried to get people to volunteer for upcoming runs (one guy eventually signed up). Then we lined up, one of the volunteers did a countdown, and we were off!
The course is an out-and-back along the C&O Canal Towpath. Pretty much a pancake other than one small dip. The trail there is packed dirt/gravel, which isn't the speediest surface out there but is fairly stable. It can get muddy, but today the puddles were easy enough to dodge. No wet socks
The first few moments of the race were a bit messy, with 66 people trying to fit themselves onto a trail that's maybe three people wide. It sorted itself out fairly quickly, though, and then I was able to move at a good pace.
After being sick for three weeks and only being a couple of weeks back into training, I knew wasn't in the same shape I was for my Princess 10K PR, so I planned to aim for about that 10K pace (7:23) and see how that felt, hoping I might be able to speed up later in the race. The first mile felt fairly good, if getting a bit tougher by the end. That came in at
7:19 - so far so good.
The order was pretty static from where the initial jumble had sorted itself out. A little in front of me, I could see two guys, Gray Shirt and Reluctant Volunteer (though maybe not that reluctant, since I think his shirt said he had volunteered at 100 parkruns!
). I wasn't losing any ground to them, but I wasn't gaining any either. However, I didn't foresee myself being able to run much faster, so I didn't try to catch up with them. By the time we turned around at the halfway point, I was starting to hurt.
Photo from the turnaround point of me slowing to go around a cone with Gray Shirt and Reluctant Volunteer on the way back
Shortly after that, Gray Shirt started to pull away. I managed to catch up to Reluctant Volunteer, but I didn't have the energy left to pass him - I was doing everything I could just to hold onto my pace.
Mile 2: 7:16.
With a little more than a mile to go. I felt like I was dying. 5Ks suck
My breathing was a mess, my legs hurt, and I kept telling myself, "Just one more mile." Then "Just three-quarters of a mile." "Just 0.6 miles." I was hanging onto my pace with my fingernails. (And my fingernails are pretty short.) Reluctant Volunteer, who I imagine was probably tired of hearing my ragged breathing behind him, started to pull ahead, but I couldn't go any faster. Finally, the finish came into sight right around the three-mile mark.
Mile 3: 7:21.
I ran as fast as I could for the last 0.1 miles, which was apparently 6:54 pace, and staggered into the little finish "chute". One of the volunteers handed me a little plastic card, and at the end of the chute another volunteer scanned my parkrun barcode and took the card back. I guess that's how they track people's times without chips.
After that I just sort of leaned against a railing for a couple minutes while I remembered how to breathe. My legs still hurt. I went over to the water fountain to fill up my handheld, and then eventually forced myself into a cooldown jog home. (I think there was coffee afterwards, but I wasn't staying this time.)
My cooldown started off quite slow as my legs protested having to work again so soon. But they felt better after a few minutes. Unfortunately 4.5 miles was rather longer than they wanted to go, so by the time I got home they were pretty much trashed. 12 miles with an all-out 5K in the middle is maybe pushing the boundaries of my fitness right now
You get an email from parkrun with your time a few hours after the event, so I had to wait a bit to get my official result. It came in around lunchtime at
22:43. I was 11th overall and 3rd female
(The first two were about 12, though. Make of that what you will.)
I'm reasonably happy with that. It is a PR, officially at least, which wasn't much of a surprise since my last 5K was a year ago and kind of a mess. It's the most evenly split 5K I can remember running, so that's good. Unofficially, Strava says I actually ran a faster 5K DURING the Princess 10K (22:25), so I would have been more excited if I could have beaten that time. But I really didn't taper and I've only done one other workout since I was sick for most of March, so I'd say it's pretty good considering. And room to improve in parkruns #2 and 3!
Strava race analysis chart
Long run days are yoga days, so I did that. Today's video, ominously entitled "Strength", was a bit rough on my tired core muscles, but it was pretty short so it wasn't too bad.
Sunday
Easy: 5.47 miles (10:28), avg. HR 152, max 169, 97% Z1-2 (?)
upper body strength
I decided, given how tired I felt after the parkrun/long run on Saturday, that I did not need to run 7 miles on Sunday. 5 (and a half) was fine. I ended up actually feeling pretty good, but knowing that last time I got injured, it was on an easy run after a long run workout, I decided not to push it. It was warm but not unpleasant for an easy run.
I stopped at the farmers market on the way home, as I usually do on Sundays, and they had a new stand with ENORMOUS doughnuts. So of course I got one. It was delicious. I foresee many future post-run indulgences
Me taking a bite of the giant doughnut
Actually, it was much easier to fit a 5 mile run into my Sunday morning than a long run. Maybe I should just switch all of my long runs to Saturdays...
Thinking about that, and because I had just given my core extra work on Saturday, I decided I would just do Monday's upper body strength instead. It's a good routine.
Total
Running: 6h 42m, 40.77 miles
Strength/mobility: 2h 23m
Total: 9h 6m
Strava weekly log
It was a big week! Parkrun was a great alternative to a race - would definitely recommend if you have one in your area. I'm looking forward to going back in a few weeks. (Speaking of which - I realized I messed up the dates on my schedule, so upcoming parkruns are actually May 18 and June 15, for
@avondale and anyone else who might want to join!)
Coming up
Next week's schedule
I'm seriously considering just moving everything back a day so I can keep doing my long run on Saturday and, more importantly, a shorter run on Sunday. So don't be surprised if this changes. And tomorrow I'll be watching the Boston Marathon while I'm working!
ETA a photo from the parkrun
)
Still a bit of a lingering cough, but it doesn't seem to be having much of an impact on running so whatever.
A little bit more coughing afterwards but better than Sunday.
3 x 10: bicep curls, tricep extensions, overhead press, dumbbell pullover, chest fly, close row
So anyway, not sure about HR data for this one but also not too worried about it because I've been running easy for three weeks and working a little too hard on the hills one day isn't going to kill me.
) Meeting up would be super fun! If any of the dates I'm planning on doing it would work for you, let me know!
Who thought this was a good idea again?
But I felt pretty good.
