Ben's Place

Race Report: Buckin' Hell 2024

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Race Report

Buckin' Hell 2024 - 35km

After dropping out of my previous race due to an injury, the Buckin’ Hell 35km was my first race since February and marked my longest run ever. Given that my goal race was only three weeks later, my plan was to approach this day as a training run, so that I could recovery quickly and continue training over the following weeks.

The Buckin’ Hell course is fairly unique, with a long descent in the first half and finishing off with a 1000m ascent over the final 10km. Since I wasn’t aiming for an all-out effort, my plan was to be conservative until the final climb, and push it on the ascent.

The race began at the Mt. Seymour Resort and immediately started with the second-largest ascent of about 400m. This was the only section of the course I hadn’t run before, and I was surprised by how steep it got, with some light rock climbing sections. Following my plan, I took this first section conservatively, hiking many parts and staying with the group I was with.

After the 7km ascent and descent loop, the long descent to the bottom of Seymour began. I didn’t push the downhill hard, but I still started to make up ground, spending most of the time alone passing people.

At around 15km, I was surprised by how good I felt, and was optimistic about the remainder of the race. However, near the end of the descent, both my calves completely cramped, immediately stopping me in my place. I had noticed some discomfort in one calf earlier on, but was shocked that they cramped up given how good I still felt overall. After letting the cramping ease up for a few minutes, I decided to continue, but there was still significant discomfort in my calves, and I couldn’t push off well with my stride.

The rest of the race was disappointing, having to hike many sections just to get through to the end. A few kilometers after the first incident, my calves cramped up again, and I had to wait until they calmed down before pushing on. For the final ascent, I ended up hiking most of it, which was frustrating since the few times I did run, the rest of my body felt great aside from my calves.

Near the end of the climb, my calves locked up for a third and final time. With only a few kilometers left, I pushed through to the end, but at this point, my calves were in bad condition, and I couldn’t even run the flat sections for long. However, I managed to complete the entire 35km and finished the race with a time of 5:15.

Putting aside the calf issues, I thought I did well in the first half of the race, sticking to my plan perfectly. Realistically, I believe I could have run around 4:30 while keeping the effort moderate, which makes me confident about my current fitness heading into the rest of my races.

Training Log Entry 45

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 45

May 27 - June 9, 2024

After taking 10 days off from running, I gradually eased back into training. While my calf issue had only slightly improved, I was told that I could still run, and slowly rebuilt my mileage with flat, easy runs. The subsequent two weeks were inconsistent, with me taking days off when my calf felt particularly bad. However, after a couple weeks, I felt ready to resume proper training.

Monday May 27

Off

Tuesday May 28

Easy Run

Distance

10.6km

Time

51:19

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

56m

Easy Run

Distance

10.6km

Time

51:19

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

56m

The beginning of this run did not feel particularly good. Although the soreness in my legs was tolerable, I aerobically felt felt weak, which made finding a comfortable rhythm challenging. Fortunately, after a few easy kilometers, I began to feel really comfortable and everything began to feel effortless. The rest of the run went by smoothly, culminating to a total of 10.6km.

Wednesday May 29

Easy Run

Distance

14.0km

Time

49:02

Avg Pace

4:55/km

Elev Gain

50m

Easy Run

Distance

14.0km

Time

49:02

Avg Pace

4:55/km

Elev Gain

50m

Much like the previous day, I did not feel very good at the start, with some discomfort in my ankles making the first few kilometers clunky. After that I felt a bit better, and gradually increased the pace in the second half of the run. Despite not being as easy as I would’ve hoped, I successfully managed to complete 14km for the day.

Thursday May 30

Off

Friday May 31

Workout:

4x2', 1x45" Hills

Distance

10.8km

Time

56:43

Avg Pace

5:15/km

Elev Gain

236m

Workout:

4x2', 1x45" Hills

Distance

10.8km

Time

56:43

Avg Pace

5:15/km

Elev Gain

236m

This day’s session marked my first workout since my injury. Given my uncertainty about my legs’ condition, I opted for an easily adjustable workout of 2-minute hill intervals.

Starting the warm-up, I felt exhausted throughout my whole body. To make things worse, I rolled my ankle during the warm-up, leaving me not very confident heading into the actual workout.

Unsurprisingly, the first rep felt slow, with my legs lacking any pop. Over the course of the next few reps, it gradually improved as I felt more comfortable. In the end, I did four 2-minute reps before transitioning to some 45-second hills. Due to time constraints, I only did one additional rep, but I felt surprisingly strong at the quicker pace.

While I never felt amazing at any point during this workout, I came out largely satisfied with this first workout back in quite some time. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume amounted to 10.8km and 236m of vertical gain.

Saturday June 1

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

31:22

Avg Pace

4:36/km

Elev Gain

43m

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

31:22

Avg Pace

4:36/km

Elev Gain

43m

On this day, I felt surprisingly good during the recovery run. My legs were moving really well, with little soreness from the previous day’s workout. I ended up going way too fast for a recovery day, but I still felt relaxed throughout the 6.8km run.

Sunday June 2

Long Run

Distance

18.6km

Time

1:42:20

Avg Pace

5:30/km

Elev Gain

475m

Long Run

Distance

18.6km

Time

1:42:20

Avg Pace

5:30/km

Elev Gain

475m

Total Mileage

Distance

60.8km

Elev Gain

878m

Monday June 3

Off

Tuesday June 4

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

52:14

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

173m

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

52:14

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

173m

This week marked the first week that I attempted to follow my usual training schedule. To start it off, this day’s session was an hilly easy run.

Similar to previous week, I had a lot of soreness in both my legs at the beginning of the run. While it mostly subsided after a few kilometers, I never quite felt relaxed, particularly during the uphill sections where I felt weak in my ankles.

Despite these challenges, I managed to complete 10.1km with 173m of elevation gain.

Wednesday May 29

Easy Run

Distance

13.8km

Time

1:03:06

Avg Pace

4:35/km

Elev Gain

66m

Easy Run

Distance

13.8km

Time

1:03:06

Avg Pace

4:35/km

Elev Gain

66m

Since my calf wasn’t feeling great, so I opted to forego my scheduled workout and instead went for a longer, easy run.

Overall, this run went well. Once again, my legs were sore at the start, but they eventually loosened up, allowing me to increase my pace slightly during the second half. At the moderate pace, I felt strong and had no trouble maintaining it without exerting myself too much.

Towards the end, I did experience some discomfort in my right foot, however, I pushed through and completed the run, covering a total distance of 13.8km.

Thursday May 30

Off

Friday May 31

Workout:

1x Nicole's Ascent, 1x Water Main to Trans Canada

Distance

12.3km

Time

1:05:16

Avg Pace

5:18/km

Elev Gain

308m

Workout:

1x Nicole's Ascent, 1x Water Main to Trans Canada

Distance

12.3km

Time

1:05:16

Avg Pace

5:18/km

Elev Gain

308m

Due to a shorter build-up for my upcoming race, caused by recent injury, I am trying out a new strategy to quickly build up my fitness. The idea is to reduce the volume during workouts but increase their intensity, specifically during hill sessions. This way I can recover quickly and be able to get in higher volume on easy days. Following this idea, the workout this day consisted of one rep each of Nicole’s Ascent and the segment from Water Main to Trans Canada Trail.

Starting off Nicole’s, I felt reasonably good. My legs had some pop, which made the lower grade sections pretty comfortable. Although the steep portions were challenging towards the end, I managed to push through despite having to stop a few times before completing the ascent.

The second rep had multiple rolling hills, but was predominantly downhill. Despite this, my legs were really fatigued from the first rep, so I focused solely on just finishing the workout, which I ultimately managed to do.

These two intervals spanned 2.7km and about 200m of climbing, contributing to a cumulative session volume of 12.3km and 308m of elevation about.

Saturday June 1

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

33:02

Avg Pace

4:53/km

Elev Gain

42m

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

33:02

Avg Pace

4:53/km

Elev Gain

42m

After the previous day’s hard workout, my legs were still fatigued, leading to a significantly slower recovery run compared to the prior week. Nonetheless, I kept it easy the entire time, while experiencing minimal discomfort from my injuries, which was good to see. Ultimately, the run covered a distance of 6.8km.

Sunday June 2

Long Run

Distance

17.5km

Time

1:56:26

Avg Pace

6:39/km

Elev Gain

780m

Long Run

Distance

17.5km

Time

1:56:26

Avg Pace

6:39/km

Elev Gain

780m

Total Mileage

Distance

60.4km

Elev Gain

1,369m

Training Log Entry 44

Mon, 20 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 44

April 29 - May 5, 2024

Monday April 29

Off

Tuesday April 30

Off

Wednesday May 1

Easy Run

Distance

10.8km

Time

51:01

Avg Pace

4:44/km

Elev Gain

57m

Easy Run

Distance

10.8km

Time

51:01

Avg Pace

4:44/km

Elev Gain

57m

I felt bad throughout this whole run. My legs were sore all over, especially my right foot and left calf, making my stride awkward and uncomfortable. Fortunately, it was only muscle soreness and nothing more serious, so it doesn’t seem like I have any significant injuries.

Although it wasn’t a relaxing run, I still managed to complete 10.8km.

Thursday May 2

Easy Run

Distance

13.0km

Time

1:01:31

Avg Pace

4:43/km

Elev Gain

66m

Easy Run

Distance

13.0km

Time

1:01:31

Avg Pace

4:43/km

Elev Gain

66m

This run was an clear improvement compared to the previous day. While I was never got totally relaxed, I was able to find a relatively comfortable rhythm and maintain a steady pace for most of the run.

Although there was still some discomfort in my right foot, the overall leg soreness had improved a little compared to the previous day, and I managed to achieve a solid 13km.

Friday May 3

Workout:

7km Ascent/Descent Tempo

Distance

15.5km

Time

1:19:53

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

383m

Workout:

7km Ascent/Descent Tempo

Distance

15.5km

Time

1:19:53

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

383m

Due to my recent injuries, whether or not I will race next weekend remains uncertain, nonetheless, on this day I did my last scheduled hard session, a 7km ascent/descent tempo run.

At the start of the climb, I felt surprisingly strong, moving really comfortably through the opening section. The steeper sections later in the ascent were still challenging, however, I successfully finished the climb feeling stronger than my previous attempts.

Following a two-minute rest, I began the descent, which turned out to be fairly average. At times, I felt that I wasn’t capitalizing on the downhill very well, while at other other times, I was struggling to get through the punchy uphills. Moreover, my achilles started bothering me midway through the descent, but fortunately, never began serious.

Overall, the tempo covered 7.7km and about 300m of elevation gain, averaging 5:34/km for the ascent and 4:57/km for the descent. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the entire session amounted to 15.5km and 383m of elevation gain.

Saturday May 4

Following the previous day’s workout, I started to experience a large amount of swelling and discomfort in my left calf. Given that my calf has consistently posed problems over the past few months, particularly affecting this current training block, I decided not to participate in the upcoming race and instead concentrate on healing this injury.

Sunday May 5

Off

Total Mileage

Distance

39.2km

Elev Gain

505m

Training Log Entry 43

Sun, 05 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 43

April 15 - 28, 2024

Monday April 15

Off

Tuesday April 16

Easy Run

Distance

10.4km

Time

53:48

Avg Pace

5:09/km

Elev Gain

194m

Easy Run

Distance

10.4km

Time

53:48

Avg Pace

5:09/km

Elev Gain

194m

I began this week feeling sluggish. My legs were heavy, making it difficult to settle into a comfortable rhythm. The uphills were particularly hard, even at a relaxed pace, and although the downhills were okay, I never felt fully relaxed at any point.

In total, the run covered 10.4km and 194m of elevation gain.

Wednesday April 17

Workout:

2x Lower Snake, 1x Powerline

Distance

11.3km

Time

1:03:18

Avg Pace

5:35/km

Elev Gain

336m

Workout:

2x Lower Snake, 1x Powerline

Distance

11.3km

Time

1:03:18

Avg Pace

5:35/km

Elev Gain

336m

The plan for this session involved a shorter hill workout of 4-5 reps of the Lower Snake ascent, a 70m climb over 500m.

At the start, I was struggling to move very well. My pace was slower than what I was aiming for, and my legs began to tighten-up on the first rep.

After completing the first climb, I took the descent very easy. As I neared the bottom of the hill, something struck the back of my head. Confused, I looked around for the source, only to notice an owl perched nearby, staring directly at me. Unsure of why the owl attacked me, I dismissed it as a one-off incident and continued with the workout.

The second ascent felt similar to the first rep, and I again made my way back down. However, upon descending, the owl once again hit the back of my head. Now panicking, I picked up pace and exited the wooded trail as quick as possible. The owl hit me two more times while descending before I eventually managed to escape.

Since Lower Snake trail was obviously unusable anymore, I moved over to the Powerline trail. Still shaken by the entire experience, I opted to finish off the workout with a single 5-minute uphill interval, which went by without any issues.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the session was 11.3km with 336m of elevation gain.

Thursday April 18

Off

Friday April 19

Easy Run

Distance

13.3km

Time

1:08:56

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

327m

Easy Run

Distance

13.3km

Time

1:08:56

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

327m

My Achilles wasn’t feeling very good this day, leading me skip to scheduled workout and instead do a longer easy run.

Although my legs were quite fatigued, I managed to get through the long uphill section without any major issues, albeit with more hiking than preferred. The downhill was quite smooth and, fortunately, my achilles only had some minimal discomfort.

All in, the run covered 13.3km and 327m of elevation gain.

Saturday April 20

Easy Run

Distance

6.9km

Time

32:52

Avg Pace

4:47/km

Elev Gain

43m

Easy Run

Distance

6.9km

Time

32:52

Avg Pace

4:47/km

Elev Gain

43m

This day was a fairly standard Saturday recovery run. My legs were moving well, but they were definitely fatigued from all of the climbing I had accumulated so far this week.

It wasn’t as relaxed as I would’ve liked, but I still managed to get in 6.9km for the day.

Sunday April 21

Long Run

Distance

22.0km

Time

2:22:52

Avg Pace

6:30/km

Elev Gain

1074m

Long Run

Distance

22.0km

Time

2:22:52

Avg Pace

6:30/km

Elev Gain

1074m

For this week’s long run, I did a big session up and around Mt. Seymour. The route consisted of two long ascents, one at the very beginning and another near the end. I specifically wanted to simulate doing a hard ascent late in a race, which my next one will have.

The run started off with an ascent on Old Buck trail. My legs were pretty tired heading in, so this climb was challenging, but I made sure to take it easy and felt pretty good.

Following the ascent was a long and technical downhill, which transitioned into a flatter, rolling hills section. While I felt strong for most of this, by the end, my energy level was getting really low, and the punchy hills were becoming hard to get through.

By the time I made it to the second big ascent, I was completely exhausted. I tried to run as much of it as possible, but in the end, I had to hike a large portion of the ascent and still struggled to complete it.

Once I did manage to get to the top, I began the final descent to the finish. This went fairly smoothly, although I ended up getting lost and had to stop multiple times to find my way back on course.

Ultimately, I finished the route and concluded the long run, covering 220km and 1074m of elevation gain. This brought the weekly mileage to 63.9km and 1973m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

63.9km

Elev Gain

1974m

Monday April 22

Off

Tuesday April 23

Easy Run

Distance

11.8km

Time

1:06:08

Avg Pace

5:35/km

Elev Gain

307m

Easy Run

Distance

11.8km

Time

1:06:08

Avg Pace

5:35/km

Elev Gain

307m

Coming off Sunday’s big long run, my calves were still extremely tight. Aside from that, I felt pretty good heading into this run, but since my plan was to make this another big vertical week, I started off the run very conservatively.

While the calf tightness was a bit concerning at some points, I was moving really well, especially on the uphills. I managed to settle into a comfortable stride, which even at fairly high grades, felt strong and not overly taxing.

I did come across an unexpected very steep section, so to keep the effort level low, I just hiked it. But aside from that, I had no issues holding a steady and consistent pace throughout the 11.8km run.

Wednesday April 24

Workout:

7km Ascent/Descent Tempo

Distance

14.2km

Time

1:14:25

Avg Pace

5:16/km

Elev Gain

381m

Workout:

7km Ascent/Descent Tempo

Distance

14.2km

Time

1:14:25

Avg Pace

5:16/km

Elev Gain

381m

The plan for the day was to do a hard race-pace workout in the middle of this high-volume training block. The workout consisted of a 7km ascent and descent tempo, with the goal to minimize the amount of hiking done during the ascent.

Entering this workout, my legs felt awful. They were extremely heavy and generally quite stiff. Consequently, I began the ascent conservative, and concentrated on maintaining a short and steady stride. While it was a challenge the whole time, I settle into a decent pace and grinded through the ascent without any hiccups.

I ended up pushing the ascent a bit too hard, so upon reaching the top, I took a 2-minute rest before beginning the descent. Although mostly downhill, a substantial stretch consisted of rolling hills, making this part challenging as well. I focused on maintaining my momentum going over the short rolling hills, which, despite my fatigued legs, allowed me hold a respectable pace throughout this section. Eventually, near the end of the descent, my legs began regain some life in them, allowing me to finish the tempo off strong.

Unfortunately, I failed to start my watch at the beginning of the descent, thus, based on the data I have, the average paces were 5:37/km and 4:47/km for the ascent and descent, respectively. Considering how tired I was before this session, I am quite pleased with these results. Although I wished I recovered better during the descent, given my recent training load, this was to be expected.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the entire session covered 14.2km and 381m of elevation gain.

Thursday April 25

Off

Friday April 26

Workout:

4x2' Hills, 4x45" Hills

Distance

11.9km

Time

1:04:35

Avg Pace

5:35/km

Elev Gain

270m

Workout:

4x2' Hills, 4x45" Hills

Distance

11.9km

Time

1:04:35

Avg Pace

5:35/km

Elev Gain

270m

For this Friday workout, I did my first speed workout in quite some time, 4x2’ hills followed by 4x45" hills.

From the start of the warm-up, my body felt considerably exhausted, with my legs lacking any pop in them. Consequently, the start of the workout was a huge shock to my system, which made the first few reps particularly hard. To make sure I completed the entire workout, I eased off the paced, and got quite more comfortable by the third rep.

Following the 2-minute intervals, I moved on to the 45-second hills. These felt noticeably stronger compared to the longer reps, but they still lacked any good pop to them. Nevertheless, I was recovering quickly between these hills, making these short hills go by relatively easy.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total distance for the session was 11.9km, with 270m of elevation gain.

Saturday April 27

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

32:47

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

43m

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

32:47

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

43m

This was just another easy recovery run. While I did have some discomfort in my left calf, I managed to keep the intensity low, and complete the 6.8km run feeling decent.

Sunday April 28

Long Run

Distance

22.6km

Time

2:05:51

Avg Pace

5:34/km

Elev Gain

706m

Long Run

Distance

22.6km

Time

2:05:51

Avg Pace

5:34/km

Elev Gain

706m

For the last big long run before my upcoming race in two weeks, I decided to tackle Burnaby Mountain again. I wasn’t feeling great from the start, but did managed to loosen up a little after the first few kilometers.

Following a section of rolling hills, I arrived at the first major climb of the day. Given how I felt, this went fairly well, and I was able to run more of the ascent than I had anticipated. However, soon after was the second climb, which I struggled to maintain a consistent pace. By the time I reached the top, I was completely drained and needed to take a long break to fully recover.

Despite being worn out, I actually made it through the next section quite well, running the entirety of Cardiac Hill without any hiking for the first time ever. After that, it was mostly downhill, so I took it easy and wrapped up the 22.6km long run with 706m of elevation gain.

This finished off the weekly mileage at 67.3km and 1706m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

67.3km

Elev Gain

1706m

Training Log Entry 42

Sun, 21 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 42

April 8 - 14, 2024

Monday April 8

Off

Tuesday April 9

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

54:33

Avg Pace

5:24/km

Elev Gain

161m

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

54:33

Avg Pace

5:24/km

Elev Gain

161m

Pleasantly surprised, I started the week without any significant discomfort from my recent injuries. My legs were extremely fatigued, as expected after Sunday’s hard long run, so I felt rather sluggish the entire time. However, I still managed to loosen up and started to feel quite good by the end.

In total, the run covered 10.1km and 170m of climbing.

Wednesday April 10

Workout:

3x Lower Snake + Uppercut Ascent - 800m w/ 120m elevation gain

Distance

12.3km

Time

1:12:15

Avg Pace

5:51/km

Elev Gain

411m

Workout:

3x Lower Snake + Uppercut Ascent - 800m w/ 120m elevation gain

Distance

12.3km

Time

1:12:15

Avg Pace

5:51/km

Elev Gain

411m

This Wednesday session involved a long hill workout of three intervals of the Lower Snake + Uppercut ascent, which consists of 120m of climbing over 800m. I felt quite good going into this workout, with minimal soreness in my legs and no significant discomfort from injuries.

As it was my first time running this trail, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The terrain was similar to Nicole’s, but a bit shorter and less steep, averaging around a 13% grade compared to Nicole’s 18%. Although challenging, I was able to push the pace, and I made it through the first two ascents without any problems. During the final ascent, however, fatigue set in, forcing me to pause midway before completing the last interval.

Overall, I’m pleased with how this workout went. Despite still recovering from Sunday’s hard long run, I completed the session mostly unscathed while feeling like I was moving fairly well uphill. Additionally, I was happy to see that I had very little discomfort in my achilles during this workout, although I took the descents slow to be careful.

Including both the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume amounted to 12.3km with 411m of elevation gain

Thursday April 11

Because of a busy work schedule, I needed to take the next two days off.

Friday April 12

Off

Saturday April 13

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

32:33

Avg Pace

4:45/km

Elev Gain

37m

Easy Run

Distance

6.8km

Time

32:33

Avg Pace

4:45/km

Elev Gain

37m

Following two days off, I was feeling really stiff. However, the biggest issue was the stomach discomfort I was experiencing. I’ve had some stomach issues over the previous few days, but on this run, it felt much worse and made the entire run a struggle to get through.

In the end, I did manage to complete the run, covering a distance of 6.8km.

Sunday April 14

Long Run

Distance

23.0km

Time

2:15:00

Avg Pace

5:52/km

Elev Gain

800m

Long Run

Distance

23.0km

Time

2:15:00

Avg Pace

5:52/km

Elev Gain

800m

While I had planned to go out somewhere for this week’s long run, given the current condition of my achilles and stomach, I decided to do the run around Burnaby Mountain. I still wanted to get a long session in, so I planned my route to include three big ascents, totaling over 800m of elevation gain.

Fortunately, when I started this workout, the stomach discomfort from the previous day had completely subsided. I felt pretty good early on and settled into a conservative pace, knowing this was going to be a long effort.

The first ascent went fairly smoothly. I hiked more than usual, given that this was the first of three ascents, but felt strong throughout. During the descent, my legs recovered quickly, however, because of my achilles, I took it slow and careful.

The second ascent, up Nicole’s trail, proved particularly challenging. By midway, my legs were fatigued, and I had to take my first break of the run. After resting briefly, I completed the remaining portion of Nicole’s, though I had to hike much more than usual. The final stretch of the second climb was at a more manageable grade, and I was able to complete it without any major issues.

A longer descent followed before the third and final ascent. This climb was shorter, and although I attempted to run as much of it as possible, my legs were reaching exhaustion, forcing me to hike a significant portion of it.

I finished up the final long descent and flat section to conclude this week’s long run. My watch messed up from the start of the third ascent till the end, but I estimate that the total volume was around 23km and 800m of elevation gain.

While this was a solid long session with no major issues, the cumulative soreness from my recent injuries made it difficult to find a comfortable rhythm. In particular, on the flat sections, I struggled to stretch out my stride and loosen up, which I believe impacted my recovery between the climbs.

With this, the mileage for the 4-day week totaled 52.1km and 1234m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

52.1km

Elev Gain

1234m

Training Log Entry 41

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 41

March 25 - April 7, 2024

Monday March 25

Off

Tuesday March 26

Easy Run

Distance

10.7km

Time

51:55

Avg Pace

4:51/km

Elev Gain

46m

Easy Run

Distance

10.7km

Time

51:55

Avg Pace

4:51/km

Elev Gain

46m

I started this morning’s run feeling quite stiff, but I eventually loosened up over time. Although I never was completely relaxed, I settled into a good pace and was able to maintain it with minimal effort. Fortunately, I didn’t notice any discomfort in my calf or achilles during this run, although I was very cautious the entire time, particularly on any inclines and declines.

In total, the run covered 10.7km.

Wednesday March 27

Workout:

8x(3' on, 2' float)

Distance

15.6km

Time

1:08:59

Avg Pace

4:26/km

Elev Gain

75m

Workout:

8x(3' on, 2' float)

Distance

15.6km

Time

1:08:59

Avg Pace

4:26/km

Elev Gain

75m

After taking it easy and allowing my achilles to heal over the past couple weeks, this day marked my first workout in a while. The workout consisted of 8x(3’ on, 2’ float), which would be one of the longest fartleks I’ve done in recent years.

Similar to my previous fartlek workout, I found it easy to settle into a quick pace, and had no issues holding it throughout the entire workout. To conserve energy, I concentrated on maintaining a short and quick stride, making the reps feel almost effortless. The floats were also fast, while still being enough time to recovery completely between reps.

By the final two intervals, the fatigue set in slightly, but I still managed to hold the pace and finish the workout strong. Ultimately, I completed the 40-minute fartlek covering 9.56km, with splits of:

4:01/km (4:29/km)
4:09/km (4:26/km)
4:02/km (4:26/km)
4:04/km (4:34/km)
4:08/km (4:26/km)
4:00/km (4:31/km)
4:04/km (4:12/km)
3:51/km (4:28/km)

The average pace for the ons was 4:02/km, while the floats were 4:26/km. Overall, I’m very pleased with this day’s results, especially returning from injury. Though there was some discomfort in my achilles, and occasionally in my left ankle, it never became a significant problem.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the whole session amounted to 15.6km.

Thursday March 28

Off

Friday March 29

Easy Run

Distance

15.5km

Time

1:24:11

Avg Pace

5:27/km

Elev Gain

400m

Easy Run

Distance

15.5km

Time

1:24:11

Avg Pace

5:27/km

Elev Gain

400m

Due to falling behind on writing my updates, I will only be giving the stats for the remainder of the week.

Saturday March 30

Easy Run

Distance

6.3km

Time

30:59

Avg Pace

4:55/km

Elev Gain

81m

Easy Run

Distance

6.3km

Time

30:59

Avg Pace

4:55/km

Elev Gain

81m

Sunday March 31

Long Run

Distance

19.7km

Time

1:47:07

Avg Pace

5:26/km

Elev Gain

568m

Long Run

Distance

19.7km

Time

1:47:07

Avg Pace

5:26/km

Elev Gain

568m

Total Mileage

Distance

67.7km

Elev Gain

1170m

Monday April 1

Off

Tuesday April 2

Easy Run

Distance

10.4km

Time

49:29

Avg Pace

4:45/km

Elev Gain

55m

Easy Run

Distance

10.4km

Time

49:29

Avg Pace

4:45/km

Elev Gain

55m

Upon starting this day’s run, I had quite a bit of soreness, especially around both ankles. It took some time to loosen up, but once I did, I got more comfortable and I began moving reasonably well. Overall, while I never felt entirely relaxed, leading to a slightly higher effort level than I would’ve liked, I’m happy that I felt minimal discomfort in my left calf.

The total distance covered was 10.4 km.

Wednesday April 3

Workout:

6km Hill Tempo

Distance

13.7km

Time

1:12:47

Avg Pace

5:19/km

Elev Gain

342m

Workout:

6km Hill Tempo

Distance

13.7km

Time

1:12:47

Avg Pace

5:19/km

Elev Gain

342m

This day’s workout was one I’ve been planning for some time: an ascent/descent tempo of Burnaby Mountain. For this first attempt, I opted to split-up the ascent and descent, and take a 2-minute recovery between each rep.

Entering into this workout, my legs felt decent, however, I had an unusual pain in my left lat. Despite the fact that my arm swing irritated it, I chose to proceed with the workout, as the pain did not feel serious.

As anticipated, the ascent proved challenging right from the start. My goal was to maintain ~20km race effort, so I focused on staying relaxed and holding a consistent pace. Although I hiked specific steep areas, as I had planned to, I successfully completed the entire ascent without any breaks.

Following a 2-minute rest, I started the descent. Compared to the ascent, the descent involved more technical terrain. Due to the lingering concerns regarding my achilles, I refrained from pushing too hard, but nonetheless maintained a solid pace and completed the descent without experiencing any issues.

In total, the tempo covered 5.91km and 230m of elevation gain, with average paces of 5:38/km and 5:21/km for the uphill and downhill sections, respectively. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day amounted to 13.7km with 342m of elevation gain.

Thursday April 4

Shortly after beginning this day’s run, I experienced a sharp pain around the back of my left foot. Since there were no signs of tightness in my achilles beforehand, I’m unsure if the discomfort is from my achilles or rather from my ankle. Regardless, due to the intensity of the pain, I made the decision to abandon the run and rest for the day.

Friday April 5

Easy Run

Distance

14.2km

Time

1:07:46

Avg Pace

4:47/km

Elev Gain

68m

Easy Run

Distance

14.2km

Time

1:07:46

Avg Pace

4:47/km

Elev Gain

68m

With no real soreness in my achilles or ankle, and everything feeling fine after doing some exercises, I decided to try out an easy run this day. Fortunately, I did not encounter the same pain as the previous day and made it through the entire run without any problems. There was some general soreness in my legs, however, overall I felt pretty good and managed to get in a solid 14.2km.

Saturday April 6

Easy Run

Distance

8.0km

Time

38:49

Avg Pace

4:52/km

Elev Gain

37m

Easy Run

Distance

8.0km

Time

38:49

Avg Pace

4:52/km

Elev Gain

37m

Feeling decent heading into this run, I opted to go for a slightly longer Saturday run compared to recent weeks. While my legs were quite sore, I experienced no major pain flare-ups during the run. While maintaining a low effort level, I managed to cover 8km, albeit feeling much less comfortable than the previous day.

Sunday April 7

Long Run

Distance

25.0km

Time

1:51:17

Avg Pace

4:27/km

Elev Gain

70m

Long Run

Distance

25.0km

Time

1:51:17

Avg Pace

4:27/km

Elev Gain

70m

In order to get a substantial amount of time on feet without aggravating any of my injuries, I chose to do a flat and extra long long run this week. I anticipated the pace to naturally get quick because of the route, however, I went in focused on maintaining a consistent effort, and refraining from pushing hard until the final 10km.

My legs initially felt heavy, and took some time to find a good rhythm. Once I settled in though, I felt strong and was moving quick, albeit working a tad harder than I would’ve liked.

Unfortunately, shortly after the halfway mark, I experienced a minor breaking problem, prompting me to pause briefly and catch my breath. Once I resumed, I quickly settled back into the same pace without any issues.

Near the end of the run, some mild discomfort popped-up in my achilles, but by maintaining good form, it remained manageable and never get any worse. During the last 5km, I push the pace hard, which was challenging, but managed to finish the 25km long run with a solid average pace of 4:27/km.

This long run concluded my week with a total mileage of 71.2km and 571m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

71.2km

Elev Gain

572m

Training Log Entry 40

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 40

March 11 - 24, 2024

Monday March 11

Off

Tuesday March 12

Off

Wednesday March 13

Workout:

2x Nicole's Ascent - 1km w/ 175m elevation gain

Distance

12.6km

Time

1:17:58

Avg Pace

6:11/km

Elev Gain

477m

Workout:

2x Nicole's Ascent - 1km w/ 175m elevation gain

Distance

12.6km

Time

1:17:58

Avg Pace

6:11/km

Elev Gain

477m

On this day, I repeated the same workout as the previous week, which was two reps of Nicole’s Ascent.

Similar to the previous week, my legs weren’t completely fresh going into the workout, but I felt more awake than usual for an early morning run. The beginning of the first ascent wasn’t too bad, and I was moving decently well. My goal for this workout was to complete at least the first rep without any breaks, so as soon as I reached the really steep sections, I started to mix-in some hiking to maintain a steady effort level throughout the climb. Although it was still challenging, I managed to complete the first rep without any issues and felt relatively good.

After taking the descent relaxed, I began the second climb. Having recovered reasonably well, the start of the ascent felt comparable to the first rep. For approximately 2/3 of the way up I maintained a steady pace, but towards the end, my legs began to tire and I needed to hike a bit more than the first rep. Despite this, I managed to also complete the second ascent without any breaks, making this a very successful workout.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the session totaled 12.6km with 477m of elevation gain.

Thursday March 14

Easy Run

Distance

9.7km

Time

47:55

Avg Pace

4:55/km

Elev Gain

40m

Easy Run

Distance

9.7km

Time

47:55

Avg Pace

4:55/km

Elev Gain

40m

After the previous day’s hard workout, I was surprised to find that my legs felt remarkably good going into this run. I was able to maintain a relaxed pace throughout the entire run, however, I did experience some discomfort in my left achilles, which I’ll need to monitor over the next few days.

In total, the run covered 9.8km.

Friday March 15

Easy Run

Distance

14.1km

Time

1:05:18

Avg Pace

4:38/km

Elev Gain

62m

Easy Run

Distance

14.1km

Time

1:05:18

Avg Pace

4:38/km

Elev Gain

62m

Given the recent discomfort in my achilles and the planned hard long run on Sunday, I opted to skip this week’s Friday workout for a longer easy run.

Despite my intention to maintain an easy pace, I found myself settling into a more moderate tempo. Surprisingly, I felt quite comfortable and maintained the pace throughout the session without any difficulties. By the end of the run 14.1km run, I noticed a some slight tightness in my achilles, but it generally felt better than the previous day.

Saturday March 16

Easy Run

Distance

6.3km

Time

31:23

Avg Pace

4:59/km

Elev Gain

142m

Easy Run

Distance

6.3km

Time

31:23

Avg Pace

4:59/km

Elev Gain

142m

This Saturday recovery run ended up being fairly standard. Over the course of the run, my legs gradually loosened up and started to move really well.

While the route had more elevation gain than normal, with 142m of climbing, I finished the 6.3km run feeling good.

Sunday March 17

Long Run

Distance

18.0km

Time

2:07:40

Avg Pace

7:06/km

Elev Gain

981m

Long Run

Distance

18.0km

Time

2:07:40

Avg Pace

7:06/km

Elev Gain

981m

This week’s long run was a route up Mt. Seymour, consisting of a single ascent and descent to focus on sustained uphill running.

The ascent began right off the start and felt surprisingly comfortable for the first few kilometers, thanks to the smooth trail which made it easy to settle into a consistent rhythm on.

As I continued, however, the trail conditions rapidly deteriorated upon reaching the snowline, making it even difficult to hike through. Although I considered turning back, I was already close to the summit, so I press onward, albeit at a sluggish pace. Near the top, I had to make multiple detours, but eventually reached the top successfully still in one piece.

Because of some trail closures, I began my descent on the road. Midway through my descent I attempted to get back onto the trails, but the poor conditions made it difficult to follow the trail, so I returned back to the roads once again. Eventually, I was able to join back onto the trail I originally ascended. While I did develop some discomfort in my left achilles by this point, I still managed to finish off the remainder of the descent quite fast.

Totaling 18km with 981m of elevation gain, this run fell short of my expectations due to the unfavorable weather conditions. Nonetheless, it marked a significant personal best in weekly vertical gain, with a total mileage of 60.7km and 1701m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

60.7km

Elev Gain

1702m

Monday March 18

Off

Tuesday March 19

Easy Run

Distance

10.5km

Time

55:11

Avg Pace

5:16/km

Elev Gain

194m

Easy Run

Distance

10.5km

Time

55:11

Avg Pace

5:16/km

Elev Gain

194m

On this first run of the new week, my legs felt considerably sore, especially in my achilles. The first few flat kilometers were quite slow, and it took some time before I became somewhat comfortable. Surprisingly, the uphill section of the run felt controlled, enabling me to complete the climb while maintaining a low intensity level.

During the downhill, I was cautious due to my achilles, making sure to avoid being too aggressive on the steeper sections. However, on the gentler grades, I was able to stretch out my stride and started to feel really comfortable.

In total, the run covered 10.5km with 194m of elevation gain.

Wednesday March 20

Upon waking up this day, I noticed that my left calf and ankle had become significantly swollen, while my achilles was quite tender. As a result, I decided to take some time off until the swelling subsides.

Thursday March 21

Off

Friday March 22

Easy Run

Distance

10.4km

Time

50:55

Avg Pace

4:54/km

Elev Gain

54m

Easy Run

Distance

10.4km

Time

50:55

Avg Pace

4:54/km

Elev Gain

54m

After two days off, the swelling in my left calf and ankle had decreased significantly. Although it hadn’t yet fully cleared up, I decided to go for an easy run to test it out.

To my surprise, the run went better than expected. While I remained cautious to avoid aggravating anything, I was still able to relax and settle into a decent rhythm. My achilles did feel a little sore towards the end, but it was bearable, and I managed to complete 10.4km without any significant problems.

Saturday March 23

Easy Run

Distance

6.6km

Time

31:51

Avg Pace

4:52/km

Elev Gain

37m

Easy Run

Distance

6.6km

Time

31:51

Avg Pace

4:52/km

Elev Gain

37m

This run felt very similar to the previous day. I moved relatively well throughout, although I continued to be cautious about both my calf and achilles. Overall, my problem areas did feel slightly worst than the day before, but I still managed to get in 6.6km.

Sunday March 24

Long Run

Distance

18.0km

Time

2:07:40

Avg Pace

7:06/km

Elev Gain

981m

Long Run

Distance

18.0km

Time

2:07:40

Avg Pace

7:06/km

Elev Gain

981m

Despite the rocky week, the goal for this session was to log a decent amount of volume, so I chose to do a flat and relax long run.

Most of the swelling in my calf and ankle had receded, and going into this run they both felt significantly better. I started off slow, intending to take most of the run easy, but soon found myself settling into a fairly aggressive pace. Surprisingly, I felt really good and managed to hold the pace without any issues.

Things were going smoothly until around 13km in when I experienced a brief breathing problem. This caught me off guard, but as I didn’t have high expectations for this run, I simply took my time to fully catch my breath. Once recovered, I started back up and felt great, settling right back into my earlier pace.

Over the final 3km, I picked up the pace a bit, which caused some discomfort in my achilles. Nonetheless, I finished the long run strong, completing 18.4km at an average pace of 4:32/km.

For the 4-day training week, the week’s mileage totaled 45.8km with 342m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

45.8km

Elev Gain

342m

Training Log Entry 39

Sat, 16 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 39

March 4 - 10, 2024

Monday March 4

Off

Tuesday March 5

Easy Run

Distance

9.9km

Time

51:24

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

205m

Easy Run

Distance

9.9km

Time

51:24

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

205m

This day marked the beginning of my training block for the Survive of the Fittest 18k in early May. My primary goal for this block is to substantially increase my weekly vertical gain, and this day’s hilly easy run was the first step towards that goal.

From the start, my energy level was quite low, making the first few flat kilometers feel sluggish. However, as the grade started to increase, I gradually began to find my rhythm, albeit at a fairly conservative pace.

During the descent, I was bit concerned about some discomfort in my calf, so I didn’t push it too hard and maintained a relaxed pace.

In total, the run covered 9.9km with 205m of elevation gain.

Wednesday March 6

Workout:

2x Nicole's Ascent - 1km w/ 175m elevation gain

Distance

12.5km

Time

1:15:24

Avg Pace

6:03/km

Elev Gain

474m

Workout:

2x Nicole's Ascent - 1km w/ 175m elevation gain

Distance

12.5km

Time

1:15:24

Avg Pace

6:03/km

Elev Gain

474m

For the first workout of the new training block, I did two reps of Nicole’s ascent, a repeat of the workout I failed to complete a few weeks ago.

In the warm-up, I felt a tad sluggish due to my body not being fully awake. Nevertheless, the first rep started off well, feeling comfortable in the early stages of the ascent.

By three-quarters of the way up, my legs began to fatigue significantly, prompting me to take a break. Eventually, I managed to complete the first rep, albeit while feeling completely drained. Despite this, I pushed on to at least finish the workout, regardless of how much of the second ascent I would need to hike.

The second rep was just as difficult as the first, but thanks to going at a more conservative pace, it felt smoother, allowing me to complete the workout without any issues.

Thinking back on both attempts at this workout, I’ve now realized that this trail is far more demanding than I had originally assumed. Given this, I’ve decided to maintain the current volume for this workout until I can finish it at a more reasonable pace.

Including the warm-up and cool down, the session totaled 12.5km with 474m of elevation gain.

Thursday March 7

Easy Run

Distance

9.0km

Time

44:21

Avg Pace

4:57/km

Elev Gain

39m

Easy Run

Distance

9.0km

Time

44:21

Avg Pace

4:57/km

Elev Gain

39m

After the previous day’s hard workout, my legs had no energy left in them. Thankfully, this day was on a flat route, and staying at a relaxed pace allowed me to ease into it without much issue. As I got into the second half, my legs began to loosen up, allowing me to complete the 9km run relatively comfortable.

Friday March 8

Workout:

5x(4' on, 2' float)

Distance

13.0km

Time

58:18

Avg Pace

4:29/km

Elev Gain

67m

Workout:

5x(4' on, 2' float)

Distance

13.0km

Time

58:18

Avg Pace

4:29/km

Elev Gain

67m

This day’s workout consisted of a fartlek of 5x(4’ on, 2’ float). Given how long it had been since my last fartlek, and the considerable vertical gain I’d done so far this week, my expectations for the workout were quite low.

Much to my surprise, my legs felt incredibly fresh right from the start. My stride was compact and powerful, allowing me to maintain a solid pace with relative ease. The 4-minute reps flew by quickly, while the floats offered more than enough time to fully recover.

Unfortunately, early in the fourth interval, I experienced a breathing issue, forcing me to stop to catch my breath. It ended up being quite severe as I struggled to catch my breath even after resting a few minutes.

Despite my breathing not having fully recovered, I decided to resume the workout. As expected, my legs and breathing felt bad as I started back up. However, surprisingly, my condition began to rebound very quickly. Within a few minutes, my breathing and legs had fully recovered, allowing me to finish the fartlek like the problem never happen.

The 30 minute fartlek covered a distance of 7.18 kilometers, with the following split:

4:05/km (4:35/km)
4:05/km (4:34/km)
4:04/km (4:33/km)
3:57/km (4:27/km)
3:57/km (4:27/km)

These translate to average paces of 4:01/km and 4:31/km for the ons and floats, respectively.

What’s notable about this workout was that my cadence during the ons averaged 175 steps per minute, an approximately 5-point increase from my typical rate. I attribute the high cadence, along with my improved hip strength from the recent hill sessions, to the success of this workout.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume amounted to 13km.

Saturday March 9

Easy Run

Distance

6.1km

Time

29:35

Avg Pace

4:49/km

Elev Gain

12m

Easy Run

Distance

6.1km

Time

29:35

Avg Pace

4:49/km

Elev Gain

12m

I felt pretty good during this recovery run. My left calf and achilles were a bit sore, but I was still able to move well and felt relaxed throughout the run.

Afterward, I did 4x100m hill strides, which did irritate my achilles slightly, so I’ll need to be a bit more careful about it for the time being.

In total, the run and strides added up to 6.5km for the day.

Sunday March 10

Long Run

Distance

19.6km

Time

1:43:02

Avg Pace

5:16/km

Elev Gain

571m

Long Run

Distance

19.6km

Time

1:43:02

Avg Pace

5:16/km

Elev Gain

571m

This week was another long run up and around Burnaby Mountain, with the goal of accumulating a significant amount of vertical gain. The plan was to cover 500-600m of vert over the course of the run.

From the start, my legs felt heavy, but I wasn’t too concerned since my focus was on getting the volume, rather than maintaining a specific pace.

The first big climb was challenging, and I found myself hiking more frequently than usual, especially in the early stages. However, once the gradient eased off a bit, I began to find my rhythm and maintained a steady pace while keeping my breathing under control.

After reaching the top, I enjoyed a brief flat section before embarking on a steep descent. The downhill didn’t last long, and I soon began the second ascent. Although it was relatively short, this climb was very steep, and because of my heavy legs, I had to hike a significant portion of it.

Following the second climb, I went over some rolling hills before tackling the final descent. I managed to get through this section with relative ease, however, I did experience some discomfort in my left knee during the latter stages of the descent, which caused me to slow down slightly for the remainder of the run.

Overall, the long run covered 19.6km with 571m of elevation gain. This brought the week’s mileage to 70.5m with 1381m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

70.5km

Elev Gain

1381m

Training Log Entry 38

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 38

February 26 - March 3, 2024

Monday February 26

Off

Tuesday February 27

Off

Wednesday February 28

Off

Thursday February 29

Easy Run

Distance

6.9km

Time

34:06

Avg Pace

4:56/km

Elev Gain

37m

Easy Run

Distance

6.9km

Time

34:06

Avg Pace

4:56/km

Elev Gain

37m

After taking four days off following the 25k race, I went into my first run back feeling relatively well-rested. Although the general fatigue had subsided, some parts of my body were still quite sore, specifically in my hips and calves. Despite this, I was moving decently well at easy pace, however my breathing was slightly labored and I never felt completely relaxed.

In total, the run covered 6.9km.

Friday March 1

Easy Run

Distance

9.8km

Time

48:42

Avg Pace

5:00/km

Elev Gain

43m

Easy Run

Distance

9.8km

Time

48:42

Avg Pace

5:00/km

Elev Gain

43m

This day’s run was a significant improvement over the previous day, particularly in terms of my breathing. I focused on holding back the pace and remaining relaxed, which ended up going well. Since my legs were still sore, it didn’t feel as comfortable as it typically would have, but the run was still a promising step forward given how recent the race was.

The total volume for the day amount to 9.8km.

Saturday March 2

Easy Run

Distance

6.2km

Time

31:53

Avg Pace

5:07/km

Elev Gain

92m

Easy Run

Distance

6.2km

Time

31:53

Avg Pace

5:07/km

Elev Gain

92m

For this Saturday run, I did some exploration, which resulted in a slightly slower overall pace than usual. Overall, I didn’t feel particularly great during the run, with my hips feeling quite tight. Despite this, I was able to cover 6.2km and found a promising bike path suitable for threshold repeats.

Sunday March 3

Long Run

Distance

16.0km

Time

1:11:46

Avg Pace

4:29/km

Elev Gain

36m

Long Run

Distance

16.0km

Time

1:11:46

Avg Pace

4:29/km

Elev Gain

36m

This week, my plan was to do a short and flat long run. The goal was to maintain a comfortable yet strong pace throughout, without pushing too hard.

Right off the start, I found myself falling into a fairly aggressive pace. While it didn’t feel excessively hard, I was not confident about my ability to sustain the pace for the entirety of the run.

At 3km in, I experienced a minor breathing issue and had to stop briefly to catch my breath. This was the first time in quite a while that I’ve had a breathing issue, but given how minor it was, I wasn’t too worried about it.

Following the break, I quickly settled back into the same pace, now feeling noticeably more relaxed. Although my hips did begin to tighten up in the final few kilometers, I successfully completed rest of the long run feeling strong.

In total, the long run covered 16km at an average pace of 4:29/km, and brought the weekly mileage to 38.9km with 208m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

38.9km

Elev Gain

208m

Training Log Entry 37

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 37

February 19 - 25, 2024

Monday February 19

Off

Tuesday February 20

I was still feeling a bit under the weather, and with the race coming up on Saturday, I decided to take an additional day off.

Wednesday February 21

Easy Run

Distance

7.8km

Time

37:21

Avg Pace

4:48/km

Elev Gain

37m

Easy Run

Distance

7.8km

Time

37:21

Avg Pace

4:48/km

Elev Gain

37m

After the extra day off, I had a bit more energy, but my legs were still feeling flat during this run. The entire run felt uncomfortable, with my legs feeling heavy and lacking any pop. However, I still managed to keep the intensity level low by going at a conservative pace and taking a couple breaks to shake out my legs.

Since I’m tapering this week, the planned distance was shorter, so I ended up running only 7.8km.

Thursday February 22

Easy Run

Distance

5.8km

Time

27:39

Avg Pace

4:46/km

Elev Gain

35m

Easy Run

Distance

5.8km

Time

27:39

Avg Pace

4:46/km

Elev Gain

35m

Although my legs still weren’t perfect, they felt somewhat better on this day’s run. The run was only 5.3km, which felt relaxed but wasn’t as effortless as I would’ve liked. In the middle of the run, I did 5x100m strides, which all felt decent.

Combining the run and strides brought the total volume for the day to 5.8km.

Friday February 23

Easy Run

Distance

3.1km

Time

14:59

Avg Pace

4:54/km

Elev Gain

17m

Easy Run

Distance

3.1km

Time

14:59

Avg Pace

4:54/km

Elev Gain

17m

For the day before the race, I opted for a relaxed 3.1km shakeout run. My sickness had been improving gradually throughout the week, and though my legs didn’t feel entirely fresh, they felt pretty good on this day.

Saturday February 17

Run Ridge Run 25k

Distance

25.0km

Time

3:07:55

Avg Pace

7:30/km

Elev Gain

1157m

Run Ridge Run 25k

Distance

25.0km

Time

3:07:55

Avg Pace

7:30/km

Elev Gain

1157m

Although it wasn’t the outcome I had hoped for, I did successfully complete my first-ever trail race without any major issues.

I will be sharing a detailed recap of the race in a separate post in the coming days.

Sunday February 18

Off

Total Mileage

Distance

42.4km

Elev Gain

1246m

Training Log Entry 36

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 36

February 12 - 18, 2024

Monday February 12

Off

Tuesday February 13

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

48:54

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

40m

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

48:54

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

40m

Over the previous week, I thought that I had gone a bit too hard on my easy days, so I focused on holding back and maintaining a low intensity level during this run. I did a good job in this regard, focusing on keeping my stride short and compact, which helped reduce the impact on my legs. Although I felt like I was going easy, the pace ended up being faster than expected, but I mainly attribute that to how fresh I felt going into the run.

In total, the run covered a distance of 10.1 km.

Wednesday February 14

Workout:

5km Tempo @ Steady, 5x200m w/ 1' rest

Distance

13.9km

Time

1:03:13

Avg Pace

4:32/km

Elev Gain

54m

Workout:

5km Tempo @ Steady, 5x200m w/ 1' rest

Distance

13.9km

Time

1:03:13

Avg Pace

4:32/km

Elev Gain

54m

This day’s workout was a 5km tempo at steady pace, followed by 5x200m with 1 minute recovery. With my next race less than two weeks away, I aimed to keep the intensity level moderate, so I chose a relatively flat route and focused on maintaining a controlled pace.

At the beginning of the workout, I struggled to find a comfortable rhythm. It had been a few weeks since my last tempo, so it took me a little while to adjust to the pace. However, by focusing on keeping a high cadence and relaxed arms, I was able to settle into a good pace by the end of the first kilometer.

I maintained the pace comfortably for the next few kilometers, feeling strong and in control. In the final kilometer, the trail became rocky and uneven, requiring me to navigate through some rough patches. Nevertheless, I managed to pick up the pace and finish the tempo strong. My splits for the 5km tempo were 4:01, 4:13, 4:08, 4:08, and 3:59, averaging 4:05 per kilometer in a total time of 20:28.

For the 200m intervals, I was still running on the rocky terrain, so I prioritized feeling strong over worrying about pace. As expected, the uneven ground made it challenging to establish a consistent stride and rhythm, but I completed the intervals without issue. My splits for the 200m intervals were 37, 39, 38, 42, and 38, averaging 38 seconds.

Overall, I was pleased with how well this workout went and how well I controlled the intensity throughout.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total mileage for the day came out to 13.9km.

Thursday February 15

This morning I woke up feeling quite tired, and with my race coming up soon, I decided to the day off.

Friday February 16

Workout:

6km Hilly Tempo

Distance

12.0km

Time

1:00:00

Avg Pace

5:00/km

Elev Gain

300m

Workout:

6km Hilly Tempo

Distance

12.0km

Time

1:00:00

Avg Pace

5:00/km

Elev Gain

300m

With just eight days until race day, this Friday workout would be my last hard session before tapering. The plan was to do two reps of Nicole’s ascent, a 1km climb with approximately 175m of elevation gain. While I anticipated needing to hike certain sections, my goal was to run as much of the ascent as possible.

Initially, my legs felt decent, and I was making good progress. I reached the three-quarter mark of the first rep without any issues, but then fatigue began to set in. The steep grades in the second half of the climb proved challenging, and even alternating between hiking and running was still very difficult. Eventually, I completed the ascent, albeit with a couple of breaks and feeling extremely exhausted afterwards.

Given how my legs felt after the first rep, I decided to modify the workout and turn it into an up-tempo hill loop. The route began with a flat section, but it quickly turned into short, punchy climbs that were challenging given the condition of my legs. The downhill was no issue, and after another flat section, I finished the 6km loop.

In retrospect, I think my poor performance can be attributed to dehydration. I’m still adjusting to running early in the morning and need to work on drinking enough before my workouts.

My watch died early in the session, but I estimate the total distance was around 12km with 300m of elevation gain.

Saturday February 17

Easy Run

Distance

6.1km

Time

28:44

Avg Pace

4:42/km

Elev Gain

12m

Easy Run

Distance

6.1km

Time

28:44

Avg Pace

4:42/km

Elev Gain

12m

After the previous day’s disappointing workout, I was pleasantly surprised by how good I felt on this recovery run. Similar to last week, I accidentally went a bit too fast, but unlike last week, I managed to maintain a very relaxed effort level throughout.

Following the 6.1km run, I did 4x100m hill strides. Unfortunately, these didn’t go as well as I had hoped, with some discomfort appearing in my left calf.

Combined, the run and strides brought the daily volume to 6.5km.

Sunday February 18

Long Run

Distance

15.0km

Time

1:12:39

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

38m

Long Run

Distance

15.0km

Time

1:12:39

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

38m

As this was the final long run before my race next Saturday, the plan was to do a short and flat long run. However, after feeling a bit under the weather the previous day, this run turned out to be a real challenge.

From the start, my body felt tense, making it difficult to relax and settle into a rhythm. Things only got worse as my stomach began to act up around the 5km mark, forcing me to take multiple breaks over the next several kilometers.

Despite the setbacks, I managed to cover 15km, albeit feeling terrible by the end.

The long run brought my total mileage for the week to 57.4km with 456m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

57.4km

Elev Gain

456m

Training Log Entry 35

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 35

January 29 - February 11, 2024

Since I was moving to Vancouver at the end of January, I didn’t have time to write a log for that week. Therefore, I decided to combine the previous two weeks into this single entry.

Monday January 29

Off

Tuesday January 30

Easy Run

Distance

10.2km

Time

1:01:36

Avg Pace

6:01/km

Elev Gain

80m

Easy Run

Distance

10.2km

Time

1:01:36

Avg Pace

6:01/km

Elev Gain

80m

After taking four days off due to pain in my left foot, I was relieved to complete this run without any major issues.

A large amount of snow had accumulated on the trails over the previous few days, which made many sections difficult to run through and resulted in a much slower pace than usual. However, this was welcomed given the uncertainty of my foot’s condition. Fortunately, I experienced minimal discomfort in my foot, and my legs felt fresh from the extended break, allowing for a smooth and relaxed run.

In total, the run covered 10.2km."

Wednesday January 31

I traveled to Vancouver this day, so I didn’t have time for a run.

Thursday February 1

Easy Run

Distance

9.6km

Time

46:52

Avg Pace

4:52/km

Elev Gain

12m

Easy Run

Distance

9.6km

Time

46:52

Avg Pace

4:52/km

Elev Gain

12m

For my first run out west, I opted for a familiar route from my SFU days, a loop around Burnaby Lake.

After a day of travel, my body felt understandably stiff, and this run served as more of a shakeout than anything else. My stride being somewhat clunky, and taking the pace a little too hot, led to some breathing issues on this run. I took a couple of brief breaks early on and, luckily, managed to find a comfortable rhythm by the midpoint. The second half went by smoothly, finishing off the 9.6km run.

Following the run, I added on 5x100m strides, all of which also felt clunky. This brought the day’s total to 10.1km.

Friday February 2

Easy Run

Distance

10.5km

Time

50:16

Avg Pace

4:47/km

Elev Gain

18m

Easy Run

Distance

10.5km

Time

50:16

Avg Pace

4:47/km

Elev Gain

18m

This day’s run covered the same route as the previous day, but was a significant improvement in every way.

My legs still had some lingering tightness, but my stride was noticeably smoother and more efficient, allowing me to settle into a comfortable rhythm with ease. While my average pace remained slightly faster than usual, both my legs and breathing felt surprisingly comfortable at the pace.

Following the run, I again tacked on 5x100m strides, which felt significantly stronger than the previous day’s.

The 10.5km run and strides combined for total volume of 11km.

Saturday February 3

Easy Run

Distance

6.1km

Time

29:13

Avg Pace

4:49/km

Elev Gain

12m

Easy Run

Distance

6.1km

Time

29:13

Avg Pace

4:49/km

Elev Gain

12m

Considering the lack of workouts this week, my legs still felt completely fresh for this Saturday recovery run.

The run felt similar to the previous day, with both my legs and breathing remaining strong and relaxed. Although the pace was a bit quicker than ideal, I didn’t feel like I was over exerting myself, and I completed the run 6.1km run feeling good.

Sunday February 4

Long Run

Distance

17.7km

Time

1:36:00

Avg Pace

5:26/km

Elev Gain

510m

Long Run

Distance

17.7km

Time

1:36:00

Avg Pace

5:26/km

Elev Gain

510m

The plan for this long run was to do my first proper mountain run up and around Burnaby Mountain. With my inconsistent training recently due to my foot injury, I set a modest target of 15km for the day.

Starting the run, I felt fresh during the flat opening few kilometers. As the ascent began, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of spring that my legs had. Despite the rugged trail with numerous roots and rocks, I found the majority of it to be runnable. A few steeper sections with 20-25% grades required me to power hike, but I did well at conserving my energy over the course of the ascent.

Upon reaching the top around the 10km mark, I enjoyed a brief flat section before heading downhill along a more buffed out trail. The descent was similarly steep, as I let legs go and bombed the downhill which lasted about 3km.

Near the bottom of the mountain, I got slightly lost and ended up adding around 2.5km to my planned route. Despite the extra volume, my legs still felt relatively good, allowing me to finish the long run strong.

In total, the run covered 17.7km with 510m of elevation gain and brought the weekly mileage to 55.2km with 637m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

55.2km

Elev Gain

637m

Monday February 5

Off

Tuesday February 6

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

48:48

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

36m

Easy Run

Distance

10.1km

Time

48:48

Avg Pace

4:50/km

Elev Gain

36m

Despite still having sore legs from Sunday’s long run, this day’s run ended up being really solid.

Although my hips were quite tight at the start, I quickly fell into a comfortable pace, and my hips gradually loosened up as the run went on. My breathing also had no issues, which significantly helped with maintaining a relaxed effort level.

In total, the run covered 10.1km.

Wednesday February 7

Workout:

5x2' hills, 5x45" flat

Distance

12.7km

Time

1:07:47

Avg Pace

5:20/km

Elev Gain

270m

Workout:

5x2' hills, 5x45" flat

Distance

12.7km

Time

1:07:47

Avg Pace

5:20/km

Elev Gain

270m

For my first workout out west, I planned to do 5x2’ hills, 5x45" hills.

My legs were quite heavy from the start of the session, which made the 2-minute hills quite challenging. The hill was steeper than I had anticipated, but regardless of that, I didn’t feel like I was moving quickly and was exhausted after each rep. Surprisingly, however, was that my splits were faster than I had expected when I looked back at them.

Due to time constraints, I converted the 45-second hills into flat reps. My legs started to loosen up during these intervals, and they felt much stronger. I kept the recovery time short to around 1 minute, which I had no problem maintaining.

The total volume, including the warm-up and cool-down, was 12.7km with 270m of elevation gain.

Thursday February 8

Easy Run

Distance

9.7km

Time

48:08

Avg Pace

4:56/km

Elev Gain

39m

Easy Run

Distance

9.7km

Time

48:08

Avg Pace

4:56/km

Elev Gain

39m

I was still quite quite from the previous day’s hill workout, so I took this run nice and easy. Overall, it felt comfortable, but I could tell that pushing myself harder would have been a challenge.

I noticed some tightness in my left calf, but it didn’t cause any discomfort while I was running. However, it’s something I’ll need to keep an eye on to prevent it from becoming a bigger issue.

The run covered a total distance of 9.7km.

Friday February 9

I was feeling quite drained from my new work schedule, so I decided to take this day off to rest.

Saturday February 10

Easy Run

Distance

7.3km

Time

33:26

Avg Pace

4:34/km

Elev Gain

38m

Easy Run

Distance

7.3km

Time

33:26

Avg Pace

4:34/km

Elev Gain

38m

After the extra rest day, I felt completely recharged heading into this run. Since I was feeling really great, I accidentally picked up the pace a bit too much for an easy day, but I still felt controlled and relatively relaxed.

I decided to do my strides at the turnaround point instead of where I started, as the terrain there was more suitable. All of the 4x100m strides felt quick, despite the being a bit uneven.

I finished up the second half of the run feeling strong, to end with a total volume of 7.3km.

Sunday February 11

Long Run

Distance

20.3km

Time

1:55:38

Avg Pace

5:42/km

Elev Gain

700m

Long Run

Distance

20.3km

Time

1:55:38

Avg Pace

5:42/km

Elev Gain

700m

This week, I again did my long run up and around Burnaby Mountain, with the goal of reaching 1000m of elevation gain for the week. The route included the same initial climb as the previous week, with an additional long ascent near the end.

Compared to the previous week, this run proved to be far more challenging. My legs tired early on in the first climb, leading me to take multiple breaks and eventually power hiking a larger portion of the ascent. Even on the flat sections, my legs weren’t recovering well, making it a challenging to finish the climb.

Upon reaching the top, I diverged from the previous week’s route and descended along a different trail. Unfortunately, this path turned out to be a long series of slippery stairs, which had to descend very cautiously. While I did manage to recover somewhat during this section, I’m not fond of staircases and may avoid this particular trail in the future.

Following the descent, I had a final climb of approximately 150m over a kilometer. By this point, my legs were utterly exhausted, so I resorted to power hiking for the majority of the ascent. Despite the steep grade, I pushed through and eventually reached the top, leaving only downhill and flat sections until the finish.

I completed the remaining kilometers surprisingly strong and concluded the long run at 20.3km with 700m of elevation gain. This resulted in a weekly mileage of 60.1km and a new personal best total vertical gain of 1084m, surpassing my previous best by over 200m.

Total Mileage

Distance

60.1km

Elev Gain

1084m

Training Log Entry 34

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 34

January 22 - 28, 2024

Monday January 22

Off

Tuesday January 23

Easy Run

Distance

10.0km

Time

50:47

Avg Pace

5:04/km

Elev Gain

62m

Easy Run

Distance

10.0km

Time

50:47

Avg Pace

5:04/km

Elev Gain

62m

After the previous hard week of training, my body had yet to fully recover heading into this first run of the new week. My legs sore and strained breathing, made it difficult to relax and settle into a consistent rhythm. However, I did begin to feel slightly better during the second half, which allowed me to finished the scheduled 10km decently well.

Wednesday January 24

Workout:

35' Hilly Tempo @ Steady Pace

Distance

15.6km

Time

1:10:27

Avg Pace

4:31/km

Elev Gain

153m

Workout:

35' Hilly Tempo @ Steady Pace

Distance

15.6km

Time

1:10:27

Avg Pace

4:31/km

Elev Gain

153m

Building upon the previous week’s workout, this day’s session consisted of a 35-minute hilly tempo at steady pace. The route was identical to last week’s, with a hilly opening 4.5km and flat trails for the remainder.

Although I felt better than the previous day, I wasn’t as fresh heading into the workout compared to last week. The start of the tempo felt decent, but the inclines were not as comfortable as I would’ve liked. I attempted to hold back and focus on making it through the hilly section unscathed, but, unfortunately, I experienced a breathing issue around the 3km mark.

After catching my breath, I resumed the tempo feeling okay, though my breathing hadn’t fully returned to normal. After another 2km, I encountered yet another breathing problem, causing me to stop once again.

Thankfully, after this break, I felt considerably better. The remaining flat section of the tempo went really well, as I increased my turnover and held a good pace all the way till the end.

The 35-minute tempo covered 8.4km with 70m of elevation gain, broken down into the following kilometer splits:

4:16
4:15
4:15
4:08
4:12
4:06
4:07
4:02
4:01/km (for 400m)

While the average pace of 4:10/km was quicker than the previous week, the overall performance was quite disappointing. Nevertheless, I was pleased with how my legs held up throughout the tempo, particularly given their condition during the past few runs. My pacing was also solid, something I was worried about heading into the workout. If not for the breathing difficulties, I believe maintaining this pace would have been easy.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume reached 15.6km with 153m of elevation gain.

Thursday January 25

Easy Run

Distance

7.0km

Time

36:26

Avg Pace

5:12/km

Elev Gain

31m

Easy Run

Distance

7.0km

Time

36:26

Avg Pace

5:12/km

Elev Gain

31m

After dealing with some mild discomfort on the top of my left foot for the past few days, this run marked the first time where this injury became a major issue.

Previously, the discomfort was barely noticeable while running, only becoming mildly sore post-run. However, on this particular day, the pain was much more prominent, forcing me to stop multiple times throughout the run. Ultimately, I managed to complete 7km before deciding to quit.

Following the run, the aching pain was quite intense, but subsided after icing. Nevertheless, I plan to take the rest of the week off from running, so that the pain can fully subside.

Friday January 26

Off

Saturday January 27

Off

Sunday January 28

Off

The total mileage for the week ended at 32.6km with 247m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

32.6km

Elev Gain

247m

Training Log Entry 33

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 33

January 15 - 21, 2024

Monday January 15

Off

Tuesday January 16

Easy Run

Distance

10.6km

Time

54:36

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

65m

Easy Run

Distance

10.6km

Time

54:36

Avg Pace

5:10/km

Elev Gain

65m

This week my plan is to fully return to my regular training schedule. Given the planned high increase in volume, my focus this week is on keeping the easy runs very relaxed to ensure I can get through the scheduled workouts.

Luckily, the fresh layer of snow on the trails on this first run of the week made it easy to hold back and maintain a relaxed pace. Initially, I had some breathing issues due to some bad allergies I’d been struggling with for several days. However, as the run progressed, my congestion began to clear up, and by the end, I felt significantly better than when I started.

While my legs didn’t feel amazing at any point, I nevertheless accomplished the goal of keeping the run relaxed. In total, the run covered 10.6km.

Wednesday January 17

Workout:

30' Hilly Tempo @ Steady Pace

Distance

14.0km

Time

1:04:18

Avg Pace

4:35/km

Elev Gain

145m

Workout:

30' Hilly Tempo @ Steady Pace

Distance

14.0km

Time

1:04:18

Avg Pace

4:35/km

Elev Gain

145m

As part of the build-up to my 25km trail race at the end of February, this session was my first race-specific workout, consisting of a 30-minute hilly tempo at steady pace. The goal was to quickly settle into a hard yet comfortable pace where I felt strong on the uphills and could recover quickly on the downhills. The initial 4.5km of the route contained most of the elevation gain, so my plan was to remain controlled through this section and increase the pace in the final few kilometers to finish strong.

Fortunately, everything went according to plan and I quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm that felt effortless. I focused on keeping my arms relaxed and my cadence quick on both the uphill and downhill sections, which really helped me mentally lock in. The only issue I encountered was some ice on the road, which made me slightly cautious on the downhills.

Following the hilly section, the rest of the tempo was predominantly flat. To maintain an overall moderate intensity for the tempo, I gradually increased my pace over the final few kilometers while continuing to focus on staying relaxed. Only in the last 3 minutes did I speed up significantly, but I still felt strong and remained in control right till the end of the tempo.

The 30-minute tempo covered 7.12km with 70m of elevation gain, with the following kilometer splits:

4:19
4:17
4:20
4:13
4:16
4:10
3:57
3:43/km (for 120m)

With an average pace of 4:13/km, I’m very satisfied with this performance, particularly considering how comfortable I felt throughout it. I thought I settled into a solid pace that I could maintain for an extended period of time and can handle most hills without difficulty. Additionally, I was happy with how my breathing felt, never having any concerns throughout the workout.

My plan over the coming weeks is to increase the volume of these hilly, steady-pace tempos, and this session has given me a lot of confidence in being able to follow through with this plan.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the session amounted to 14km.

Thursday January 18

Easy Run

Distance

10.0km

Time

57:47

Avg Pace

5:47/km

Elev Gain

197m

Easy Run

Distance

10.0km

Time

57:47

Avg Pace

5:47/km

Elev Gain

197m

Although I felt good immediately after the previous day’s workout, I began to feel its effects on this run. Deciding on a hilly easy run ended up being questionable choice, given how my legs felt on the uphill sections. Maintaining a consistent pace for an extended period was difficult, and I needed to take several breaks throughout the run.

Despite these difficulties, I managed to reach the day’s target, covering 10km with 197m of elevation gain.

Friday January 12

Workout:

5x330m Switchbacks, 5x45" Hills

Distance

13.7km

Time

1:13:11

Avg Pace

5:19/km

Elev Gain

284m

Workout:

5x330m Switchbacks, 5x45" Hills

Distance

13.7km

Time

1:13:11

Avg Pace

5:19/km

Elev Gain

284m

For this session, I decided to try out the switchbacks off the LaHave trail. The workout consisted of 5 reps of the 330m switchbacks, followed by 5 reps of 45-second hills. The structure is similar to my 2-minute + 45-second hill workout, but with a focus on efficiently climbing the steep inclines at race effort.

Unsure about the difficulty of the switchbacks, I started the workout off conservatively to get a feel for the route. Surprisingly, despite the around 40m of elevation gain in the 330m long hill, it proved to be much more runnable than anticipated, and my fresh legs made the reps surprisingly smooth. My splits for the switchbacks were 1:53, 1:54, 1:49, 1:48 and 1:45, averaging 1:49.

After that I moved on to the faster 45-second hills for some speed work. Despite the fatigue already in my legs, these shorter hills also felt strong, as I focused on maintaining good form with a compact and quick stride.

Overall, I was happy with how strong I felt during this workout. The switchbacks were a good simulation of the terrain I’ll encounter in upcoming races, making this a productive race-specific session.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the day’s volume totaled 13.7km with 284m of elevation gain.

Saturday January 20

Easy Run

Distance

5.5km

Time

28:14

Avg Pace

5:07/km

Elev Gain

20m

Easy Run

Distance

5.5km

Time

28:14

Avg Pace

5:07/km

Elev Gain

20m

Despite having already accumulated a significant amount of mileage and vertical so far this week, I felt unexpectedly fresh during this Saturday run. My legs showed little signs of fatigue throughout the 5.5km, and being able to just relax and coast the entire time was nice to see.

Following the run, I did 5x100m strides, which also felt great. The strides brought my total mileage for the day to 6km.

Sunday January 21

Long Run

Distance

20.4km

Time

1:40:40

Avg Pace

4:57/km

Elev Gain

69m

Long Run

Distance

20.4km

Time

1:40:40

Avg Pace

4:57/km

Elev Gain

69m

Following the previous day’s run, I started to have some pain on the top of my left foot once again. Although it had mostly subsided by the morning, I decided to be cautious and altered my plan for this week’s long run from a hilly route on the roads to a flat trail route instead.

Feeling relatively fresh, I started the run at a conservative pace. However, all of the work from the past week quickly caught up to me, and I struggled to pick up my pace much at all. Aerobically I felt decent, especially considering how long this run was compared to recent weeks. Unfortunately, the tightness in my hips caused significant discomfort and ceased up a lot towards the end of the run.

Despite these challenges, I managed to complete 20.4km, albeit at a much slower pace than usual. This brought the total weekly mileage to 74.7km with 790m of elevation gain.

Reflecting on the week, the over 20km of increased mileage and over doubling of vertical gain over the past week likely contributed to the difficulties during the long run. Nevertheless, I intend to remain in the 75-80km mileage range while gradually increasing my vertical over the next few weeks, as I believe this will be beneficial for my upcoming races.

Total Mileage

Distance

74.7km

Elev Gain

790m

Training Log Entry 32

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 32

January 8 - 14, 2024

Monday January 8

Off

Tuesday January 9

Easy Run

Distance

8.3km

Time

43:57

Avg Pace

5:18/km

Elev Gain

75m

Easy Run

Distance

8.3km

Time

43:57

Avg Pace

5:18/km

Elev Gain

75m

After taking three days off, the pain on the top of my left foot had subsided somewhat, though it hadn’t vanished entirely. Despite this, since the aching pain was relatively mild, I decided to put it to the test and see how it felt while running.

The day before we had some snowfall, but not much ice had formed and the trail was still runnable, albeit covered in packed snow. This actually worked in my favor, as it forced me to slow down and placed less pressure on my foot.

During the run, I could still feel a faint ache in my foot, but it was subtle enough that I could easily ignore it. Apart from my foot, I felt reasonably well. Given I took three days completely off, I was, as expected, a bit stiff overall.

In the end, I managed to clock in 8.3km for the day.

Wednesday January 10

My foot felt similar to the previous day, so I had planned to go for another run. However, a storm rolled through for most of the day, so I decided to take the day off.

Thursday January 11

Easy Run

Distance

8.0km

Time

40:25

Avg Pace

5:03/km

Elev Gain

66m

Easy Run

Distance

8.0km

Time

40:25

Avg Pace

5:03/km

Elev Gain

66m

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a great run this day. Despite only going at a moderate pace, I found myself working harder than usual, as I struggled to settle into a comfortable rhythm and remain relax.

However, things went much better during the 5x100m I did afterwards. These felt much stronger compared to the easy run, which was encouraging. Additionally, I didn’t experience any issues with my foot during either the run or the strides, which suggests that it’s recovering well.

The total distance including the 8km run and the strides came to 8.5km.

Friday January 12

Workout:

7km Tempo

Distance

13.8km

Time

1:00:48

Avg Pace

4:25/km

Elev Gain

53m

Workout:

7km Tempo

Distance

13.8km

Time

1:00:48

Avg Pace

4:25/km

Elev Gain

53m

Since my injury concerns had subsided over the past few days, I decided to push myself on this workout day with a 30-minute tempo at steady pace. Given my recent inconsistent training, I knew this would be a challenge workout, but I wanted to see where my current fitness was standing.

At the beginning of the tempo, I felt decent but not entirely comfortable. My pace felt good, but the effort level was higher than I would have liked. To help try and relax, I focused on keeping my stride short and quick, which helped slightly.

Unfortunately, around 3km in, I realized that my effort level was unsustainable, so I took a brief break. Considering my recent training, I wasn’t too discouraged by this setback, and was perfectly fine with splitting up the tempo.

When I resumed the tempo, I could tell that I was still pushing too hard. My condition wasn’t improving as I kept going, so I took another break at around 4.5km. At this point, I checked my watch to see that my average pace was 4:02/km, which was significantly faster than my target of 4:20/km. Seeing this fast pace made me completely reevaluate the workout and I decided to adjust my goal to maintaining the current pace for 7km.

The final stretch was tough, but I managed to hold on and finish the tempo at a respectable pace.

The splits for the 7km tempo were the following:

4:02
4:05
4:07
3:56
3:52
3:52
4:02

Even considering the breaks, with an average pace of 4:00/km, I was very surprised with how well my legs were moving. I believe this improvement was largely due to my increased cadence, but it was also likely the cause for my stride being uncomfortable.

The key takeaway from this workout is that my pacing needs some work. This is the aspect I’m most concern about heading into my upcoming races, but with some longer, hillier tempos planned for the coming weeks, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to work on it.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day amounted to 13.8km.

Saturday January 13

Easy Run

Distance

4.5km

Time

25:45

Avg Pace

5:41/km

Elev Gain

14m

Easy Run

Distance

4.5km

Time

25:45

Avg Pace

5:41/km

Elev Gain

14m

After the previous day’s unexpectedly hard workout, I was feeling the effects during this run. My legs were heavy and the entire run felt considerably more challenging than it should have.

I only managed to get in 4.5km before calling it, but I followed up with 5x100m strides, which felt surprisingly snappy. This brought the total volume 5km.

Sunday January 14

Long Run

Distance

16.3km

Time

1:15:44

Avg Pace

4:38/km

Elev Gain

139m

Long Run

Distance

16.3km

Time

1:15:44

Avg Pace

4:38/km

Elev Gain

139m

My plan for this week was to do a relaxed, moderate-length long run. It had been three weeks since my last long run, but after Friday’s workout, I was confident that my fitness was returning rapidly.

Despite aiming for a relaxed effort, I struggled to control my pacing and pushed the pace too hard. My legs didn’t feel very fresh from the beginning, with my sore glutes making the uphills particularly difficult. This combined with numerous icy and muddy sections made it difficult to establish a smooth rhythm, and led me to take a few breaks.

In the final third of the run, the road conditions improved significantly, which helped me start to feel better. However, I was already aerobically exhausted by this point, which made the remainder of the run still challenging.

Although the effort was harder than originally planned, I managed to cover 16.3km at a respectable 4:38/km average. This long run brought my total mileage for the 5-day training week to 52km with 350m of elevation gain.

Total Mileage

Distance

52km

Elev Gain

350m

Training Log Entry 31

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 31: January 1 - 7, 2024

Monday January 1

Off

Tuesday January 2

After taking a few days off, my calf felt much better. Most of the swelling had subsided, and only a slight tightness remained, but it wasn’t concerning anymore. Luckily, this week turned out to be a recovery week, so taking it easy wouldn’t significantly impact my current schedule.

My first run back went as smoothly as I could have hoped. While my legs were fresh and moved well, my breathing was a bit labored. I struggled to relax, resulting in a few brief stoppages throughout the run. However, after the run, I noticed that my pace was quite a bit faster than I had planned, which explained the difficulty.

Following the 8.2km run, I did 5x100m hill strides,all of which felt strong. This brought the total daily mileage to 8.8km.

Wednesday January 3

Since I only had a single workout scheduled for Friday during this recovery week, I decided to slightly increase the intensity this day by doing a hilly route for this easy run.

Following the sharp uphill first kilometer, I settled into a steady pace and held it reasonably well. While the pace was only moderately fast, I found myself working harder than normal to maintain it. My stride felt clunky, making it difficult to relax and I wasn’t recovering very well on the downhills.

Despite these difficulties, I completed the run, covering a distance of 12km with 170m of elevation gain.

Thursday January 4

Since I woke up feeling quite sore this day, I opted for another hilly easy run this week.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel great during this run. My legs lacked any energy, making the long uphill segments particularly challenging.

During the brief flat sections where I could open up my stride, I did feel somewhat better and was able to move at a decent clip. However, due to some discomfort in my right foot, I found myself running cautiously and feeling tense overall for most of the run.

Despite these issues, I was able to log 8.2km with 170m of elevation gain.

Friday January 5

For my sole workout of the week, I did a fartlek consisting of 8x(2’ on, 2’ float) My objective was to get a good amount of volume while maintaining a moderate intensity, so I decided on longer floats and focusing on staying controlled during the fast intervals.

Prior to the workout, I noticed some mild soreness on the top of my left foot, but it didn’t seem to worsen during the warm-up, so I decided to continue with the fartlek. Unfortunately, I struggled to find a consistent rhythm throughout the fartlek, largely due to tightness in my right glute. Despite my paces being reasonable and aerobically feeling strong, the fatigue in my glute made it difficult to sustain the pace, forcing me to take brief breaks after the 4th and 6th reps.

The 30-minute fartlek covered a total distance of 6.85 kilometers, with the following splits:

4:09/km (4:37/km)
4:14/km (4:36/km)
4:13/km (4:47/km)
4:09/km (4:47/km)
4:09/km (4:44/km)
4:02/km (4:51/km)
4:06/km (4:42/km)
3:59/km

These splits yielded average paces of 4:08/km and 4:43/km for the ons and floats, respectively. Overall, I consider this an acceptable workout given it is a recovery week.

Regarding the condition of my foot, while the soreness didn’t intensify during the workout, afterwards, the discomfort became more pronounced. As I’ve never experienced such an injury before, I plan to be very caution over the next few days.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day amounted to 12.2 kilometers.

Saturday January 6

I woke up to my foot aching quite a lot, so I decided to take the remainder of the week off and reevaluate next week.

Sunday January 7

Off

The total mileage for the week totaled 41.2km with 420m of elevation gain.

A Look Back at 2023 and Plans for 2024

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A Look Back at 2023 and Plans for 2024

2023 was an up-and-down year for me when it came to running. I began January with what seemed like a minor foot issue, but snowballed into multiple injuries that plagued my first half of the year. It wasn’t until the fall that I found some consistency and got my mileage to a satisfactory level.

Reflecting on my training as a whole, this year I made some important changes that I’m pleased about. I incorporated new workout types, such as long hill sessions, and added more vertical in my training overall through easy hilly runs. Moreover, I addressed some of my weaknesses, specifically longer threshold/tempo workouts, and genuinely feel like I’m starting to become comfortable maintaining those paces.

Looking ahead to 2024, several big changes are on the horizon, which are very exciting. Firstly, I will be moving out to Vancouver in early February, marking my return back after 4.5 years. I’m really eager to go all in on mountain/trail running once I get out there. I’ll even have convenient access to a nearby mountain that I can use for my daily training.

With this move and increased stability in my life, I’m looking forward to resume racing in 2024. My first race will be the Run Ridge Run 25km taking place at the end of February. This will be my first race since July 2019 and my first trail race ever. The longest races I’ve done previously were 7km cross-country races during high school, so this will be an entirely new experience for me.

Due to injuries over the past few years, I often failed to meet most of the goals I’ve set. Therefore, for 2024, I’ve set both quantitative and qualitative goals to ensure that even while injured, I will still have targets to strive for.

2024 Goals

100km mileage week
2500m vertical week
Complete a 50km run
- Ideally, a race. I missed out on the one I initially planned on running, but I have some backup options I’m looking in to.
Prioritize feeling relaxed over the pace on easy days
Restore balance to my daily routine
- This includes various small adjustments aimed primarily at improving my mental health such as improving my sleep schedule, cleaning up my diet and getting regular massages. Making these changes should be fairly easy once I move.

Ultimately, running is my favourite thing to do, and I hope that in 2024, I can maintain good health and log as many miles as possible.

Training Log Entry 30

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 30: December 25 - 31, 2023

Monday December 25

Off

Tuesday December 26

After the hard long run on Sunday, I was still feeling the effects during this first run of the week. Despite trying to stay relax and getting into a comfortable rhythm, I found myself struggling and needing to stop multiple times throughout the run. In the end, I fell short of my scheduled volume and only covered 10.8km.

I tried to do some flat strides afterwards, but started to feel some tightness in my left calf and stopped after three strides.

Including the strides, the total volume came to 11.1km.

Wednesday December 27

For this workout, I again attempted a 7km tempo. After my poor pacing in the previous attempt, which led me to split the workout into two segments, my goal this time was simply to finish the full distance. My strategy was to maintain a controlled pace for the initial 5km, and then push the final 2km.

Although my legs still felt a little fatigued, I felt generally good heading into the workout. The first 3km went smoothly, and I got into a comfortable pace. However, from 3-5km, the route had some unexpected hills which made it challenging to sustain the pace.

By 5km, I knew that completing the full 7km at the current pace would be ambitious, so I adjusted my goal to 6km. The final kilometer hurt a lot, but I pushed through and finished the tempo without blowing-up.

The kilometer splits of the 6km tempo were the following:

4:07
4:17
4:21
4:16
4:16
4:09

With an average pace of 4:15/km, I hit my goal pace, but failed to cover the entire 7km distance. This was pretty disappointing, however, the tempo included about 50m of elevation gain, which was more than I had expected.

After the tempo, my legs were completely fried, making it a huge struggle to complete the cool-down.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, my total mileage for the day reached 13.3km.

Thursday December 28

After the previous day’s hard workout, my plan for the rest of the week was to take it easy and rest up for this Sunday’s big long run. Sticking to that plan, I did a relaxed and hilly run on this day.

Initially, my legs felt quite heavy, so I took the mainly uphill first half easy, walking sections whenever necessary. As the run kept going, my legs started to feel much better, and I ended the run feeling surprisingly good.

The total distance covered was 10.8km with 190m of elevation gain.

Friday December 29

The planned workout was a threshold interval session, consisting of 10x600m intervals with 90 seconds rest between. The primary goal was to get some more threshold pace volume, while keeping the intervals short to maintain an overall moderate-intensity level.

Starting the workout, my splits were slower than I anticipated and my stride didn’t feel very strong. Nevertheless, keeping a conservative effort level remained my top priority, so I held the slow pace and focused on staying relaxed. This approach went well and it allowed me to recover effectively during the short rests.

As the workout progressed, I began to experience some discomfort in my left calf. While it didn’t significantly affect me during the intervals, the pain persisted and worsened over time. Growing increasingly concerned, I decided to cut the workout prematurely after six reps.

The splits for the 600m intervals were as follows: 2:25, 2:24, 2:24, 2:20, 2:23, 2:17, resulting in an average of 2:23 (3:59/km).

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume was 12km.

Saturday December 30

After finishing the previous day’s workout, I started to experience some swelling and tightness in my left calf. Because of this, I decided to take the rest of the week off and allow my body time to recover to hopefully jump back in next week.

Sunday December 31

Off

The total mileage covered during this four-day week was 47.2km with 390m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 29

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 29: December 18 - 24, 2023

Monday December 18

Off

Tuesday December 19

I began this week still feeling somewhat fatigued from Sunday’s hard long run. Despite my legs moving decently, they were still quite sore, making it challenging to fully relax during the run. Although I completed the planned volume, my splits were inconsistent, and the effort felt more difficult than expected, considering the average pace.

I skipped doing strides, leaving the total distance for the day at 12.1km.

Wednesday December 20

This Wednesday workout consisted of a fartlek of 3x(10’ on, 2'30" float). This was a repeat of a workout I did a few weeks ago, but with a shorter float of 2:30 instead of 3 minutes. Given how well this workout went the previous time, I was keen to see how I would do after several solid weeks of training.

From the warm-up, I felt exceptionally good, particularly in terms of my relaxed breathing, which gave me confidence for the workout ahead.

The first 10-minute rep was very smooth, with a nice spring in my stride that felt effortless.

The second rep also started off well, but towards the end, my legs began to tire. However, thanks to me feeling aerobically amazing and taking the floats easy, I recovered quickly and felt good heading into the final 10-minute interval.

The last rep proved challenging, requiring me to push quite a bit the maintain the pace till the end. Interestingly, my breathing stayed under control throughout the rep, indicating a clear improvement in my aerobic fitness. Only my leg strength had issues, likely from the recent increase in volume.

The 35-minute fartlek covered 8.34km, with the average paces for the intervals being the following:

4:09/km (4:57/km)
4:04/km (5:09/km)
4:03/km

The overall average pace came out to 4:05/km, exactly matching the pace from the previous time I did this workout. While it’s slightly disappointing not to see an improvement, this was still one of my better workouts recently, with plenty of positives to take away from it.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume amounted to 15.5 km.

Thursday December 21

After the previous day’s hard workout, my legs were feeling understandably exhausted. Coupled with the cold and windy weather, this resulted in an all-round sluggish run.

I kept a low-intensity for the entire run, and by the end, I had found a decent rhythm.

Following the scheduled 10km, I ended with 5x100m flat strides, which only felt alright.

All together, the day’s total volume tallied to 10.6km.

Friday December 22

Since I enjoyed last week’s hill workout so much, I decided to repeat the same workout, comprising of 5x2’ hills and 5x45" hills.

Unfortunately, compared to last week, the 2-minute hills proved to be considerably more challenging this time. By the final 30-45 seconds of each rep, my form had begun to deteriorate, and I had to push hard to get to the end. Although the paces of all the 2-minute hills were faster than what I ran last week, it wasn’t to the extent that I should have been struggling.

After completing the fourth rep, I chose to cut the 2-minute hills and adjust the workout from 5 to 6 45-second hills. Overall, these shorter hills felt significantly better. My stride remained quick and powerful throughout each uphill, and I had no difficulties in completing any of the reps. Similar to the 2-minute hills, the splits for these 45-second hills were better than last week’s, but I could easily manage this increased pace and I felt more refreshed post-workout compared to the previous time.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day amounted to 14.2km with 170m of elevation gain.

Saturday December 23

Despite my hamstrings being noticeably sore from the hill workout, I surprisingly felt quite fresh during this Saturday recovery run. As the run progressed, I was able to gradually increase my pace, and my legs generally felt really good after completing the run.

Following the 6km run, I did 4x100m flat strides, which all felt very strong.

Including the strides, the total distance for the day came to 6.4km.

Sunday December 24

My plan for this week was to do a long and fast long run. The route was a flat trail course, which was penciled to be one of the lengthiest runs I’ve ever attempted.

Feeling reasonably fresh going in, I tried to conserve energy early on and build-up to a fast final 8km. This strategy went well initially, as I managed to keep a controlled pace during the opening kilometers. However, by the 5km mark, my legs had already began to show signs fatigue.

During the middle portion of the run, which was mostly on a slight downhill, my pace naturally increased. I tried to remain relaxed, but the fatigue still continued to gradually build-up. At the 14km mark, I briefly stopped to regroup before heading into the final segment.

Unfortunately, the final 8km proved to be very challenging, with my legs quickly buckling in exhaustion. I switched to focusing on maintaining a steady pace, but I still required two extra breaks before ultimately completing the 22km run.

Thinking back on my training this past week, it’s unsurprising that my legs couldn’t handle this particular run. With two high-intensity workouts, and, for only the second time ever, reaching a weekly mileage over 80km, this was likely too much for my body to handle right now. Nonetheless, I’m optimistic about my ability to continue with increasing my weekly mileage and long run distances in the upcoming weeks. However, I’ll ensure that my Friday sessions are more moderate on weeks when attempting challenging long run.

The culmination of this run brings this week’s total mileage to 80.8km with 380m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 28

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 28: December 11 - 17, 2023

Monday December 11

Off

Tuesday December 12

I entered this week still experiencing the same hamstring and foot pains that began last week. Some of the irritation in my hamstring had extended down to my calf, but it wasn’t at the level to require complete rest. Therefore, I went ahead with this day’s run cautiously.

During the run, I didn’t encounter significant discomfort from the injuries, which was encouraging. However, my energy level was quite low, which made getting through the run challenging. The combination of holding the pace back and running a flat out-and-back course, made the run feel extremely tedious on this day.

Despite this, I completed the scheduled 12km, but skipped doing strides to avoid irritating anything.

Wednesday December 13

Due to the couple of lingering injuries, I opted to alter the planned 7km tempo workout to a 30-minute steady pace effort. This adjustment allowed me to maintain a comparable volume while reducing the overall intensity.

At the beginning of the workout, I felt very flat. I had planned to start slow and gradually increase the pace, however, my legs didn’t feel like they would be capable of accelerating very much.

As I progressed, I gradually began to feel better, but at around 3km, I experience a breathing issue. This was very unexpected, given the current modest pace, so having to stop and catch my breath was discouraging.

After resuming, I deliberately pushed the pace harder. While still below my usual tempo pace, I did managed to speed up and felt felt like my legs were moving better.

Unfortunately, another breathing issue arose at 5.5km, requiring a second break. Following the brief stoppage, I decided to extend the tempo by two minutes and increase the pace again to close it out. During the final portion, I managed to hit a decent pace and completed the rest of the workout without incident.

Because of the stoppages, I decided to extend the tempo 32 minutes. I again increased the pace and managed to finish the rest of the workout without anymore issues.

The 32 minute steady pace tempo covered a distance of 7.11km with the following splits:

4:50
4:46
4:40
4:28
4:29
4:14
4:03

Although the workout didn’t go entirely smoothly, the average of 4:30/km matched my target pace and it was overall a decent workout given my condition going in.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume amounted to 14.2km.

Thursday December 14

Similar to the previous day, I was extreme flat throughout this day’s run.

My legs struggled to get going, resulting in a slower-than-usual first half. Despite managing to slightly increase the pace in the second half, I still remained feeling sluggish.

Thankfully, my recent injuries didn’t cause any discomfort during the run. However, I still chose to omit doing strides just to be safe.

The total distance of the run came to 11km.

Friday December 15

This Friday session was a hill workout consisting of 5x2’ hills and 5x45s hills. This workout was based on something I saw recently, and interested me since I hadn’t done many 2-minute hill intervals before.

The 2-minute reps felt extremely smooth. I quickly found a good pace and managed to run the intervals strong and comfortably. Thanks to the long jog back recovery, I was able to run these fairly hard, but I was quite exhausted my the end of the 2-minute hills.

Following a longer set break, I transitioned to the 45-second hills. In contrast to the 2-minute intervals, the 45-second hills focused more on my pure speed, so I was able to still push these hard despite just the work I just did. Despite feeling strong and running good paces on the uphills, I was very exhausted by the end of each rep, causing the recoveries to go a bit long.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this workout and was happy with how I ran. The 2-minute reps hit a good speed endurance sweet spot that I believe I’ve been missing lately in my training and want to continue to work on in the short term.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day reached 14.1km with 220m of elevation gain.

Saturday December 16

Despite feeling quite fatigued from the previous day’s hill session, I was quite surprised by how well I was moving during this run. The pace was slow and my legs lacked much pop in them, but I still managed to feel smooth and relaxed the entire time.

To finish off, I did 5x100m flat strides, which were also nice and smooth.

In total, the 5.6km run and strides brought the day’s mileage to 6.2km.

Sunday December 17

I woke up feeling somewhat uneasy due to discomfort in my left hamstring. Being cautious, I opted for a flat and relaxed long run similar to last week. I chose the same point-to-point route to Mahone Bay and aimed to hit a similar pace.

Despite the intention to keep the effort controlled, I failed miserably and ended up completing the run at a much faster pace than I had planned. The first 3 kilometers went by smoothly, but by the fourth, I found myself well already ahead of the goal pace. In an attempt to rein it back a bit, I took two short breaks, though they did not help much and I continued to increase the tempo.

By the final 3 kilometers, exhaustion had set into my legs, and my knee drive had began to fad. Somehow, I managed to push through these last few kilometers fairly strong and complete the 20.5-kilometer run with a 4:37/km average.

What surprised me most was that, despite starting the run not feeling extremely fresh and with noticeably heavy legs, I still managed to hold this pace without any major blowups. However, I was extremely dead post-run, probably more than I’ve felt in the past year.

Fortunately, my hamstring was pain-free during the run, but I did have some pain in the ball of my right foot.

This long run brings the week’s total mileage to 78 kilometers with 460 meters of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 27

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 27: December 4 - 10, 2023

Monday December 4

Off

Tuesday December 5

On Sunday night, we had our first snowfall of the year, and as a result, the trail conditions had deteriorated significantly. Fortunately, they were still runnable enough for me to use on this easy day, although the occasional icy patches and puddles slowed my pace slightly.

Starting off the run, I felt great and was moving well, considering the conditions. However, by the second half, my legs began to feel fatigued from the extra effort required to navigate the icy trail. Aside from that, I felt aerobically strong throughout the run.

After completing the 11km run, I finished off with 4x100m hill strides. Since I’ll be doing many trail races in 2024, I’m trying to sprinkle more hill work into my training. Thus, I’m experimenting with including faster uphill strides at the end of all my easy days.

Including the run and strides, the total volume for the day amounted to 11.5km.

Wednesday December 6

The planned workout for this day was 7km tempo at threshold pace. Given that the longest continuous threshold effort I had completed recently was only 5km, this workout was going to be a substantial increase in volume. Despite this, I felt relatively confident in my ability to complete this workout due to my recent fartlek performances.

Unfortunately, the recent snow forced me to move the workout from the flat trails to the slightly rolling roads. I began the tempo and quickly settled into a comfortable pace. I focused on maintaining a compact stride and not excessively pushing during the uphills.

Although my legs felt good, my breathing never fully relaxed. I blame this to a combination of factors, including the cold weather and the fact that I couldn’t zone out as well as I would’ve liked.

Given how I was feeling about half-way into the 7km tempo, I decided break up the workout into a 4km and 3km. I finished up the remainder of the 4km, took a 3-minute break, and jumped into the 3km interval.

While my legs were beginning to get tired, I overall felt more comfortable during the 3km rep. My had no issues with my breathing and my stride felt a bit stronger, allowing the workout to finish smoothly.

The average pace for the 4km was 4:12/km, and for the 3km, it was 4:02/km. Looking back, I probably should have started the workout a tad slower to help get through the full 7km tempo. Despite everything, I’m pleased with the results, but I’m planning on attempting the workout again next week, hopefully on the trails.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the session was 14km.

Thursday December 7

When I started this day’s run, I was surprised by how icy the trail had become. Compared to Tuesday, the ground was significantly more slippery, which slowed down my pace considerably. Fortunately, I was on the roads during the second half, where there was less ice to worry about.

Regardless of the route’s condition, I didn’t feel great during this run. My legs felt heavy, and were not moving as smoothly as I would’ve liked. As a result, I ended up cutting the run short from 10km to 8.5km.

Following the run, I did 5x100m hill strides. I went hard during them and they were quite fast, but I could feel my glutes tiring by the end of the strides.

The run and strides combined to total 9.1km in volume.

Friday December 8

This Friday workout was a threshold interval workout consisting of 7x1km with 2 minutes rest. The goal was to maintain a moderate intensity throughout the session and stick to the 2 minutes rest as best as possible. Due to the poor trail conditions, I opted to do the workout on the roads and tried out a new location in the process.

The first two intervals were somewhat clunky due to me needing to adjust the route to fit the entire 1km within the flat section of the road. However, the rest of the workout went by smoothly. I felt comfortable for most of the session and the 1km reps flew by surprisingly quickly.

The primary issue of the workout was my pacing. The 1km splits were as follows:

3:50
4:03
4:00
3:54
3:50
3:57
3:43

This averages to 3:54/km and exceeded my target of a 4:00 average, significantly. Aside from the last rep, I maintained a similar moderate effort level throughout the workout, so this variability in splits was surprising to see. I did notice some fatigue in my right glute during a few reps, which may have contributed to the decreases in speed.

As for the recovery, I followed the prescribed 2-minute rest for the three intervals before taking a longer 4-minute set break after the fourth. However, fatigue started to set in towards the end, resulting in closer to 3-minute rests for the final two intervals.

To conclude, this workout was a tad more intense than I had intended, but the would’ve gone smoother with better pacing.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 15.6km.

Saturday December 9

This was a yet another standard Saturday recovery run, which felt great. I managed to stay relax and simply coast through the entire run. The icy trail significantly slowed my pace, but it helped me keep the effort level low.

During the run, I noticed some discomfort in the ball of my right foot, which I suspect is due to the recent runs on pavement and icy terrains. As a precaution, I opted to skip the strides for this session.

The total distance of the run was 5.5km.

Sunday December 10

I woke up this morning with a couple of nagging pains in my legs, specifically in my right foot and now also, my left hamstring. Because of these issues, I decided to modify my planned long run route from an entirely paved and hilly course to a flatter route on the trails. I didn’t expect the trail conditions to be great, so I went in with the goal of completing the target mileage at a relaxed pace.

Once I started running, my body felt good overall. During the first few kilometers, the trail was not in great shape, but it eventually cleared up much more than I had anticipated. I still kept the pace under control to avoid aggravating anything, but luckily my legs remained pain-free more the majority of the run.

Unfortunately, around the 15km mark, the trail conditions deteriorated again and remained that way until the end of the run. While it was still runnable, running on icy patches placed more strain on my hamstrings, which caused some discomfort in both of them. Despite this, I stayed relaxed and finished the run feeling strong.

Overall, the run went by smoothly. Aerobically, I felt extremely strong, and I never had any thoughts of taking a break. The run also passed by quickly, likely due to the controlled pace. Although I didn’t experience any issues with my foot during the run, it, along with my hamstrings, were fairly sore afterward, but not to a concerning amount.

The total volume of the long run was 20.8km, bringing the weekly total to 76.4km with 460m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 26

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 26: November 27 - December 3, 2023

Monday November 27

Off

Tuesday November 28

After the previous recovery week, I jumped back into my regular training schedule with a sizeable easy long.

My legs felt great at the start, but I still made sure to keep the pace relaxed. Unfortunately, I experienced some breathing issues during the first half of the run, which forced me to stop twice and catch my breath.

Despite these hiccups, the second half was much smoother. I found a comfortable rhythm and managed to pick up the pace without much effort.

The run concluded with a total distance of 12km.

Wednesday November 29

This first workout of the new training cycle was intended to serve as a warm-up for the planned upcoming long threshold sessions. The workout consisted of 5x(5’ on, 1 float). My goal was to complete these 5-minute reps at a pace that would be manageable even without the floats.

I began the workout feeling pretty good and quickly settled into a strong rhythm. The first set went by smoothly, however, about a minute into the 2nd rep, I had a minor breathing issue and needed to briefly pause. Fortunately, I was able to quickly rebound from the stoppage and resume the workout without any issues.

The paces for the workout were as follows:

4:07/km (4:57/km)
4:06/km (4:27/km)
4:10/km (4:57/km)
4:03/km (4:29/km)
3:56/km (4:30/km)

This yielded average paces of 4:04/km and 4:39/km for the ons and floats, respectively, aligning closely with my goal paces.

I’m pleased with how the ons’ paces cut-down over the course of the fartlek. Although I’m surprised by the couple of slower floats, I felt really good during them and recovered effectively within the brief 60 seconds. Overall, I felt strong and comfortable during this threshold, despite the small setback.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume of the session amounted to 14.3km.

Thursday November 30

This run was a really struggle. I felt drained both physically and mentally heading into the run, and things didn’t improve once I got going. My energy level was low and I just couldn’t seem to get into a rhythm. I ended up taking a few breaks, just to get through the run.

Despite the issues, I managed to cover 9.5km on the day.

Friday December 1

This Friday workout was a strength workout consisting of 800m, 8x300m hills, 800m.

Like the previous day, I was fairly tired going in this session. Even after warming-up, I still didn’t feel completely loose, and my stride felt flat.

The fatigue made the first 800m brutal. Despite running faster than planned (2:54), the interval felt much harder due to my choppy arms and legs.

During the hills, I finished each rep completely exhausted. While none of the reps felt easy, they never worsen as the workout went on, which was good to see.

Given how I felt, I focused on form during the hills. Particularly on maintaining a compact stride, which I felt I achieved reasonably well.

By the time I reached the second 800m, my legs were very heavy, so I chose a mostly downhill route to help complete the rep and finished with a time of 2:55.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume of the session was 12.1km with 215m of elevation gain.

Saturday December 2

I felt relatively good during this recovery run. Although I never fully relaxed, I definitely felt better than I had during the previous few days. The 5x100m stride, I did afterwards, felt great too and had a nice pop to them.

Including the 5.6km run and the strides, the total volume came to 6.2km.

Sunday December 3

I went into this day uncertain with how my body was feeling, thanks to the several small setbacks I experienced earlier in the week. Because of this concern, I decided to do a flat long run on the Bull Run Trail out to Queens.

To my surprise, I felt great once I started running. My legs were moving well, my upper body was relaxed and my breathing had no issues. Despite how good I felt, I still kept the beginning conservative to avoid burning out down the line.

By 4km, I had settled into a steady pace and maintained it for most of the run. Around 13km in, I briefly experienced some glute fatigue, but it vanished shortly afterwards. Apart from that, I felt fantastic throughout the run and never felt that I was pushing too hard, even towards the end of the 19.2km.

The average pace of 4:41/km was really solid, and is very similar to the long run from two weeks ago. However, different from the previous run, the splits this time around were more even, whereas the previous session had sharper negative splits towards the finish.

With the competition of this session, my total weekly mileage ends at 73.3km with 440m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 25

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 25: November 20 - 26, 2023

As this was an easy recovery week capping off my 6-week training cycle, I decided to focus on keeping the easy days truly relaxed. I’d been pushing a bit too hard on some recovery days recently, so I wanted to get use to dialing it back, so that I will be able to handle future mileage increases.

Monday November 20

Off

Tuesday November 21

The first run of this recovery week went exactly as planned. I was surprisingly fresh going into the run and felt smooth the entire time. Although I picked up the pace towards the end, I kept the intensity level low and finished feeling strong.

The total distance of this run was 8km.

Wednesday November 22

I started off this run feeling just as fresh as I had the previous day. While my hips did feel a tad tight at certain points, I generally felt quite comfortable throughout most of the run. For the final ~2km, I picked up the pace a bit, however, this did not feel very comfortable and my legs lacked any pop.

I unfortunately forgot to start my watch at the beginning, but the route should’ve been around 10km.

Thursday November 23

A combination of multiple unfavorable circumstances made this run less than ideal. Specifically, I had to do this run much later in the day than usual, and the route included far more hills than I would’ve liked for an easy run.

My legs were already slightly exhausted beforehand, and the constant pace changes from the ups and downs left me uncomfortable for most of the run. Even though I partially walked the steeper inclines, the overall intensity level was still too high for a recovery run.

In the end, I covered 8.2km with 140m of elevation gain.

Friday November 24

For my sole workout of this recovery week, I opted for a fartlek of 6x(2’ on, 2’ float). My goal was to stay controlled and gradually increase the pace over the course of the session.

At the start of the fartlek, I didn’t feel particularly strong and struggled to find a comfortable rhythm. Both my breathing and leg were working harder than expected, relative to the paces I was hitting. This trend persisted during the floats, where I was unable to relax and fully recovery during them.

My paces for the intervals were:

4:18/km (4:49/km)
4:11/km (4:36/km)
4:13/km (4:44/km)
4:05/km (4:34/km)
4:12/km (4:52/km)
4:11/km (4:37/km)

This made the averages for the ons and floats 4:12/km and 4:42/km, respectively. Although the paces for both the ons and floats were close to my targets, the intensity level of the workout considerably higher than I would’ve liked.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume of the session was 11.2km.

Saturday November 25

I felt pretty good on this easy 5km run. After a sluggish start, I eventually warmed-up and started to feel good. I finished it off with 5x100m strides, bringing the total mileage to 5.6km.

Sunday November 26

To wrap up this recovery week, I did an easy long run on the Glen Allen loop route.

I felt decent as I started the run at a conservative pace. However, despite the low volume leading up to this long run, my legs felt more sluggish compared to recent weeks.

The route featured several sizeable hills, which I partially walked to keep the intensity level moderate. Nevertheless, the constant ups and downs made it difficult to find any rhythm, and even during the flat sections, my legs lacked any pop.

Ultimately, I finished the route feeling alright, covering 14.1km with 180m of elevation gain. This brought the total distance for the recovery week to 57 kilometers with 390m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 24

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 24: November 13 - 19, 2023

Monday November 13

Off

Tuesday November 14

After last week’s jump in volume, I began this week with my legs still feeling very exhausted. I hoped that I would start to feel better once I got into the run, but that did not happen, and the entire run was a slog. Nonetheless, I did managed to cover 11.7km on this day.

Wednesday November 15

My plan for this workout was to get a fast time on the Naugler Road 4km route. The entire workout consisted of the hilly 4km followed by a fast 1.5km.

During the warm-up, I was already concerned about how my legs were feeling. They were better than the previous day, but not as good as I had hoped for this workout.

Undeterred, I began the 4km and felt good initially. I took out the opening uphill 1km faster than usual, confident that I would recover during the long downhill. However, at 1.6km in, I experienced a brief breathing issue and had to stop the rep.

After quickly catching my breath, I found myself uncertain about how to continue. Given that my breathing had fully recovered and the strong desire to complete the 4km, I decided to jog back to the start and try again.

For the second attempt, I set my expectations lower and started off conservatively. Despite my legs being even more worn out, I managed to complete the 4km this time with a respectable time. My splits for the effort rep were 4:09, 4:11, 4:08 and 3:56, averaging 4:07/km. Although my target was closer to 4:00/km, I am satisfied with this result given the circumstances.

As I had reached the planned volume with the failed first attempt, I called the workout at this point.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 13.3km with 160m of elevation gain.

Thursday November 16

I felt extremely exhausted from the previous day’s workout during this run. Despite my legs feeling relatively good, I struggled to settle into a comfortable rhythm and found myself pushing harder than I would’ve liked. My original plan was to cover 10km, but I ultimately only managed to complete 8.2km in this run.

Friday November 17

For this Friday’s workout, I once again tackled another long hill session. The plan was to set a new record of 8 hill reps, amounting to 12km in volume.

Despite how I felt during the previous few days, I started off the workout quite strongly. Aerobically, I felt really good, and although my legs lacked some pop, they were moving well. However, after completely the first 3 reps, my hips began to tighten-up. Since I wanted to complete 5 reps before taking a break, I opted to adding some power hiking to help get through the following uphills. By doing this, I successfully finished 5 reps before taking my first break.

The remainder of the workout proved to be quite challenging. After running entirety of the 6th rep, I took a another brief rest. Then, I completed the final two reps with some power hiking mixed in to finish off the workout.

Upon concluding this long workout, my legs were utterly exhausted. While I am satisfied with the result, it’s clear that that I need to improve my hip strength, given their discomfort during this day’s workout and the previous long run.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 15.9km with 430m of elevation gain.

Saturday November 18

This was the most physically tired I’ve felt in a while. My legs could barely move, and I felt like I was just shuffling for most of the run. I did manage to cover 5km, but I skipped the strides at the end.

Sunday November 19

Originally, I had planned to do another 20km long run, but considering how my body felt after two very hard workouts this week, I decided to scale the distance back to 18km. I also decided to keep the run flat, and went with a point-to-point route to Mahone Bay on the trails.

My body felt a lot better going into this run compared to the previous day, but I was still concerned about how my hips would handle this volume. Because of this, I started off very conservatively and focused on keeping my stride compact.

After I warmed-up over the first few kilometers, I surprisingly felt amazing. My pace naturally increased throughout the run, while maintaining a steady effort level and never feeling like I was overexerting. I didn’t stop once during the entire run, making this the longest continuous effort I’ve completed in nearly a year.

All things considered, this was probably my quickest long run since college. Excluding the easy start, the final 15km of this 18.4km run was at 4:35/km pace and the final 5km was at 4:18/km pace.

This session wrapped up the week with a total mileage of 72.5km with 850m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 23

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 23: November 6 - 12, 2023

Monday November 6

Off

Tuesday November 7

I went into the first run of the week feeling quite exhausted overall. Both mentally and physically, I wasn’t feeling at my best, which resulted in this run not going very smoothly. I did start to feel better by the end, but for the majority of the run, I never felt like I could get into a relaxed rhythm.

As for the route, I followed Mines 2 Road, like I did two weeks ago, but took a different path to try to avoid the flooded sections. Unfortunately, this path also had many flooded sections, so I had to maneuver around the water for a few kilometers.

I forgot to restart my watch after a break, so I’m missing some data, but I estimate the run covered 11.5km all together.

Wednesday November 8

Building on my recent threshold workouts, this day’s plan was to do 3x(10 minutes on, 3 minutes float). When I first planned this workout, I didn’t think much of it, however, this was actually a very large increase in volume, with 36 minutes of continuous hard running. My main goal was simply to get through the whole workout without any breaks, so I wasn’t as concerned with the pace of the floats as I would usually be during fartleks.

I started the workout not feeling particularly strong, but settled into a good rhythm by the end of the first rep. I felt really comfortable at this pace and managed to maintain it for the remainder of the workout. The paces for the 10-minute intervals were 4:10/km, 4:04/km and 4:01/km, averaging 4:05/km over 7.3km. While the floats were a bit slower than usual, as a expected, the average pace was still honest at 4:51/km and I had no issues recovering during the floats.

In total, the fartlek covered 8.6km. I am extremely satisfied with the results and attribute the success to how I gradually buildup the pace during the fast reps and maintained an honest effort floats.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the session was 15km.

Thursday November 9

Despite the previous day’s hard workout, I felt surprisingly good heading into this run. My legs were initially a bit sore, but after a few kilometers, they started to move a lot better. I finished the run feeling good, covering 9.7km on the day.

Friday November 10

Given the long Tuesday workout and my plans for a big long run this week, I chose to make this day’s workout moderate in both volume and intensity. What I decided on was a speed workout consisting of 10x300m hills.

I didn’t feel especially strong during these hills. Both my hips and calves were struggling, so I didn’t feel like I was driving up the hills that well. During the final few reps, I focused on shortening my stride, which helped significantly, so I may have been overstriding up to that point. Despite not feeling strong, my splits were still respectable, averaging 71 seconds per 300m hill.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 13.8km and 200m of elevation gain.

Of note, I’ve noticed that my cool-downs have become significantly faster recently, likely due to improved aerobic strength. I don’t struggle to complete longer cool-downs anymore and can maintain a more reasonable pace without pushing at all.

Saturday November 11

This Saturday run was a typical easy recovery session. I felt pretty good coming off the previous day’s workout, but my legs were fairly exhausted from this week’s increased volume. After the run, I finished off with 5x100m strides, bringing the total volume for the day to 5.5km.

Sunday November 12

The primary goal for this week’s long run was to hit the important milestone of 20km. I chose a route which I ran about a year ago, so I will be able to compare where my fitness is at.

My body was in good condition going into the run, and stayed that way for most of the time. Aerobically, I was very strong and my legs were moving well.

Since I felt so good, I found myself settling into a faster than usual pace. While I managed to maintain this pace for almost the entire run, the final 6-7km was difficult to get through. This final stretch mentally felt very long, with my legs beginning to fatigue at this point, especially in my right hip.

I ended up taking brief breaks at the 15km and 17km marks.
Following these breaks, I picked up the pace for the closing kilometers and finished the run at 20km.

Considering the fast average pace I maintained, I’m fairly satisfied with this run. My aerobic strength was able to handle the volume, so my leg endurance just needs to catch-up, which should come quickly.

This finishes off the week’s total mileage at 75.5km with 540m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 22

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 22: October 31 - November 5, 2023

Monday October 30

Off

Tuesday October 31

I started off this week, similar to last week, with a longer easy run. I followed the same loop route in Italy Cross as I did a few weeks back, but I went in the opposite direction so that the larger hills were at the very start of the run.

I felt pretty good at the beginning, but the hills at the start were tough, and my legs never completely recovered from them for the rest of the run. About halfway through, there was another steep hill, and I ended up walking most of it to avoid pushing it too hard.

Then, with only a few kilometers left, I unfortunately experienced a bad breathing spasm. Since one of the side effects of these spasms is that my body temperature quickly decreases, and this was the first really cold and windy day of the season, I could not recover at all and had to wobble my way to the end. It had been a long time since I’ve had such a bad breathing problem, so it’s frustrating how quickly it ruined my entire run out of nowhere.

The total distance of the run was 11.7km.

I still plan on doing this route again, however, I’m definitely going to go the opposite direction since the uphills are more gradual compared to the direction I went today.

Wednesday November 1

For this workout, I decided to do 4km tempo at threshold pace, followed by 5x(30s on, 1’ float). This was another strength workout, similar to the one I did two weeks ago, aimed at getting comfortable doing longer efforts. The 4km was on a hilly route, so I focused on pacing the tempo smartly to avoid burning out on the later hills.

This workout nearly ended up being one of the best workouts I’ve had in a very long time. I felt extremely strong during the tempo. The first kilometer was almost all uphill, but I did a good job keeping my hips up and floating up the hill. I maintained a moderate effort the whole time, and my pace was still very good.

Everything was going well until 3km in when I experienced a minor breathing issue. It was so small that I tried to push through it since I was feeling really good beforehand, but as I started the last hill of the course, my leg strength disappeared, and I had to take a break. Fortunately, I recovered quickly and was able to finish the last kilometer of the tempo, but I overall felt much worse during this kilometer than how I was feeling during the rest of the rep. In the end, the splits for the 4km were good, with times of 4:11, 4:06, 4:03 and 3:46, averaging 4:02/km.

By the time I started the small fartlek, I had completely recovered. This part of the workout was much smoother, and I felt really strong. The fast reps gradually got quicker each time, while the floats were faster than usual but still felt comfortable. The splits for the ons were 3:40/km, 3:32/km, 3:21/km, 3:18/km and 3:17/km, averaging 3:25/km. The splits for the floats were 4:21/km, 4:28/km, 4:22/km, 4:39/km and 4:29/km, averaging 4:28/km.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 14km.

Thursday November 2

I was extremely exhausted from the previous day’s workout, which made this hilly easy day challenging. My legs were too tired to handle most of the climbs, so I ended up walking and taking many breaks throughout the run.

My initial goal was to cover 10km on this day, but I only managed to complete 7.1km.

Friday November 3

For this day’s workout, I did a longer threshold interval session. The workout consisted of 8x800m with 2 minutes rest. My goal was to maintain a moderate intensity level, to ensure that followed the rest and avoid overtaxing my legs before the weekend’s long run.

This session turned out to be a solid workout. My initial goal pace was fairly conservative at 3:10 per 800m, but I managed to run the intervals much faster. The 800m splits were 3:08, 3:07, 3:05, 3:04, 3:02, 2:59, 3:01 and 2:55, averaging 3:03 (3:49/km).

I found a good rhythm during these reps, and my arm swing felt especially smooth. Most of the workout was at threshold, and it was only during the last two reps that I pushed a bit harder. Although I had planned to take a longer break after 4 reps, I was feeling really good and ended up taking only about 30 seconds of extra rest. Apart from one other rep where I also took a little extra rest, I was able to maintain the 2 minute recovery time.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the session was 14.7km.

Saturday November 4

This was a decent easy Saturday run. Going into it, I was feeling quite tired, but surprisingly, my legs felt good. I went off course a bit and walked some steep hills, but I still managed to comfortably cover 5.1km.

Afterwards, I did 5x100m strides, bring the total mileage for the day to 5.7km.

Sunday November 5

After last week’s easy long run, my goal was to go a bit harder while continuing to increase the distance. Therefore, I decided to do a flat point-to-point route from Hebbville to Queens County.

Overall, this was another solid long run. Given how flat the route was, I focused on gradually building up the pace to avoid starting off too quick. By the 4th kilometer, I had settled into a good pace, which I was able to maintain for the majority of the run.

While the splits stayed consistent, how I felt varied quite a lot. Right from the beginning of the run, my chest was tight, and I felt like a breathing issue could happen at any moment. I tried to relax my arms and not push the pace any further, but the tightness continued to persist. Then, at around the 10km mark, my chest started to loosen up, and my breathing felt much more relaxed.

The remainder of the run went smoothly. I took a brief break at 13km and then picked-up the pace for the last few kilometers.

The total distance of the run ended up being 18km.

This concluded the week with a total mileage of 71km with 600m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 21

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 21: October 23 - 29, 2023

Monday October 23

Off

Tuesday October 24

To start off this week, I decided to do a new route that I’d been wanting to try out. The route followings Mine 2 Road, an old logging road that is a mix of pavement and dirt, and has very little traffic.

This run turned out to be very enjoyable. While the road is almost never flat, aside from one long and steep hill, it wasn’t overly hilly. At about 1.5km before the turnaround point, the road changes into a forest road, with a narrower and rockier path. My only complaint about this route is that, in this forest section, a portion of the road is flooded, which forced to to frequently slow-down or walk to avoid the water.

Despite all these things, I felt great throughout the run. My legs didn’t feel particularly amazing at first, but they gradually warmed-up, and by the end, I had a good spring in my stride.

The total volume of the run was 11.7km with 130m of elevation gain.

Wednesday October 25

I didn’t know what I wanted to for this workout, given that I have a hard hill session scheduled for Friday and I didn’t want to overexert myself. What I ended up deciding on was a fartlek of 6x(3’ on, 2’ float).

Unfortunately, this workout ended up being quite frustrating due to issues with my breathing. During the float after my 1st rep, I experienced a minor chest spasm, which luckily subsided quickly. I continued on with the fartlek, however, the same thing happened again at the beginning of the 3rd rep, causing me to stop once again.

Luckily, for the rest of the workout, my breathing was much better. The splits for the fast reps were 4:12/km, 4:16/km, 3:55/km, 4:01/km, 4:08/km and 4:07/km, averaging 4:06/km/ The splits for the floats were 4:40/km, 4:32/km, 4:36/km, 4:42/km, 4:48/km and 4:42/km, averaging 4:40/km. Although my average paces were spot on, I am displeased with the inconsistency of the hard efforts.

Given that the first two reps were much slower than the rest of the workout, I wasn’t the pacing that caused the breathing issues. I suspect that the issues may have stemmed from taking too much time stretching after the warm-up before getting into the hard effort. To prevent this problem in the future, I plan to adjust my warm-up routine a little.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total mileage for the day was 13.4km.

Thursday October 26

Both my breathing and legs didn’t feel good going into this run. I didn’t have the energy tackle any hills, so I frequently walked and took breaks throughout the run.

I had to make some detours, so my route ended up being all over the place. Nevertheless, I managed to get 8.1km in for the day.

Friday October 27

For this hill workout, the plan was to do 7 hill loops, matching the most I’ve done in a single session. It had been over a month since the last I’d done a full long hill workout, since the last attempt was cut short, so I was eager to get a lot of volume in. However, given my breathing issues during the previous workout, I wasn’t very confident going into this session.

Overall, this workout went relatively well. From the start, I could tell that my legs weren’t entirely fresh, and my right hip felt particularly tight. I managed to complete the first 3 loops continuously before taking my first break. At that point, I realized that 7 reps was a bit too ambitious, so I adjusted my goal down to 6 reps.

By the 4th rep, my legs were getting heavy. While my aerobic strength was decent, my legs were struggling to keep up. Because of this, for the last two loops, I changed my strategy, and power-hiked some of the very steep sections of the climb. There are two short sections where the grade is about 20%, so I opted to hike at those points. This only amounted to about 30 seconds of hiking within the 5-minute uphill interval, so it didn’t significantly take away from the overall workout and I was able to complete my goal of 6 reps.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the volume for the day was 13.6km with 340m of elevation gain.

Saturday October 28

My legs, especially my right hip, were quite sore after the hill session. Despite the soreness, I still managed to get through this run fairly well. I gradually loosened up over the course of the run, and the 5x100m strides I did afterwards had some pop to them.

The total distance of the run and strides amounted to 5.8km.

Sunday October 29

My goal for the long run this week was simply to hit my weekly mileage target, so I didn’t concentrate on pace and focused on finishing the week feeling good. I still had some concerns about how my breathing and legs were feeling, so I focused a lot on staying controlled.

I started the run feeling pretty good. I had worked on the hip that had been bothering me before the run, and it was moving much better. After starting conservatively for the first few kilometers, my legs started to feel really good, especially on the uphills.

Once I settled into the pace, the entire long run felt effortless. My stride was compact and smooth, and I made a conscious effort to relax my shoulders, which I believe made a significant difference. My pacing remained consistent throughout the run, and I managed to not push too hard at the end, to maintain an overall moderate intensity level.

After the run, I felt exceptionally good. Although I don’t usually track my heart rate closely, I was surprised to find that my average heart rate was about 20 bpm lower than during a typical long run.

The total distance covered during the run was 17km, bringing the week’s total to 69.5km with 730m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 20

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 20: October 16 - 22, 2023

Monday October 16

Off

Tuesday October 17

This first run of the week didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. While my legs and overall energy level felt good, my breathing was a bit off. After taking a couple breaks early in the run, my breathing improved, but I never felt like I could relax as much as I wanted.

My watch died on me early into the run, but I estimate that the run, including the 4x100m strides I did afterwards, totaled 9.5km for the day.

Wednesday October 18

The workout for this day consisted of 5km at threshold pace, followed by 5x200m with 1-minute rest. The purpose of this workout was to get more comfortable running longer reps at a fast pace, as I’ve been struggling with endurance and breathing issues during longer tempo runs. The 200s at the end were added simulate pushing hard with tired legs.

Overall, the session went relatively well. I got through the full 5km without any major issues, although it wasn’t as comfortable as I would’ve liked. I struggled to find a smooth rhythm during the tempo, which made the whole thing feel longer and more difficult. My kilometer splits were 3:56, 4:06, 4:11, 4:09 and 4:05, averaging 4:05/km.

As for the 200s, I split times of 36, 36, 34, 37 and 36, averaging 36 per 200m. I felt strong running at these paces and managed to stick to the 1-minute rest. However, I was very exhausted after each rep.

Reflecting on this workout, I believe that shortening my stride and increasing my cadence could help make the tempo feel more comfortable. My average cadence was only 166, so next time I would like to aim for at least 170.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total mileage for the session was 13km.

Thursday October 19

I had planned on doing a easy hilly run at the MARC this day, but I instead ended up doing some exploring on the roads surround the park. A significant portion of the run was on Bolivar Road, a nice dirt road that primary consists of rolling hills. I took a side path off the road, which led me to a residential street that took me back to the main road leading to my starting point. After completing the loop, I continued in the main park for another few kilometers to finish off the run.

Since my legs were very sore from the previous day’s workout, I kept the pace very easy throughout the run.

The total mileage for the run was 9.8km with 190m of elevation gain.

Friday October 20

Since my legs were still tired from the previous workout, I wanted to limit the amount of impact, while still getting in a solid strength workout. The workout chose to do consisted of 1km, 8x300m hills, 1km. The goal was to do the 1km reps at threshold pace and run the hills feeling controlled.

Despite my sore legs, I managed to get through the workout relatively well. The first 1km wasn’t particular smooth, but I eventually found my rhythm and finished with a 3:52. For the hills, I focused on maintaining a smooth stride and arm swing, and keeping the pace consistent throughout each rep and the entire workout. This strategy was effective, and I felt strong throughout most of the workout. However, my hips started to get tired in the final stretch of the last few reps. The recovery between the hills was good and I felt like I did a good job at pacing. For the final 1km, I split 3:39, which was definitely a bit too fast for what I had planned.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the session was 12.3km with 160m of elevation gain.

Saturday October 21

Going into this run, my legs were completely drained and were the worst they’ve felt the entire week. I was able to get 5.3km in for the day. However, it was nowhere near as effortless as last week.

Sunday October 22

Going into this week’s long run, my legs were still really fatigued from the previous workouts, so I decided to do flat out-and-back route.

At the start, my legs legs didn’t feel too terrible, but I was struggling to get my breathing to relax. After looking at my splits later, I realized that I increased my pace pretty aggressively at the start, which likely made this issue worse.

Luckily, after taking a few early breaks, my breathing started to improve and I felt a lot more comfortable. However, my tired legs began to catch up to me, which made the second half of the run not as smooth as I had hoped.

Nonetheless, I managed to finish the run after 16.4km. This brought the weekly mileage to 66km with 500m of elevation gain.

While my legs were an issue for much of the week, I’m not very worried about them in the long term. I did some hard workouts this week and I believe that my legs will adapt and recover quickly if I continue on with this higher intensity.

Training Log Entry 19

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 19: October 2 - 15, 2023

I was running late on finishing up the last week’s post, so I decided to combine the past two weeks into a single update.

Monday October 2

Off

Tuesday October 3

I began this week feeling incredibly exhausted. Throughout this run, I had very little energy and was never able to maintain any consistent pace for an extended period of time.

I decided to stop the run at 7.5km. I followed up the run with 5x100m strides to add a bit more mileage for the day.

After this run, I was considering making this an easy week, but decided to see how the workout the next day goes before making a decision.

Wednesday October 4

For this day’s workout, I decided to do a fartlek of 10-15x(1’ on, 1’ float), leaving the actual number of reps open to how I was feeling. I opted for this workout since I wanted to get in some speed work in before my planned long hill session later this week and felt I could manage this workout despite my recent training.

Although I felt somewhat better during the warm-up compared to the previous day, my energy level was quite low. Once I started the workout, I didn’t feel very comfortable, especially during the floats. Despite this, I aerobically has recovering well and the reps went by quickly.

After the 9th rep, I stopped to remove my bottle which was bouncing a lot in belt. This break took longer than expected, which ended up ruining my momentum. I took another break after the 11th rep and then decided to end the workout after the 12th.

Throughout the workout, I felt like I was running at a slow pace. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my splits afterwards. The splits were the following (floats in brackets):

4:02/km (4:35/km)
4:02/km (4:39/km)
3:53/km (4:29/km)
3:46/km (4:23/km)
3:44/km (4:43/km)
3:46/km (4:30/km)
3:46/km (4:24/km)
3:38/km (5:00/km)
4:02/km (4:43/km)
3:39/km (4:29/km)
3:45/km (4:11/km)
3:27/km

The average for the ons was 3:48/km, and for the floats it was 4:33/km. Although the floats were a bit all over the place, I’m overall pretty satisfied with these splits.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 12.2km.

Thursday October 5

Despite having a decent workout the previous day, I felt extremely exhausted again this day. Similar to Tuesday, I struggled to maintain any consistent pace for an extended period of time, and it took a considerable amount of time for my legs to recover during breaks. I decided to end the run after only 7.8km.

Thinking about the symptoms I’d been experiencing recently, I realized they lined up with having an iron deficiency. I’ve dealt with low iron levels before, but I hadn’t taken any supplements in the past year. After this day’s run, I started taking iron supplements, so I’ll observe if this helps improve my condition over the next 1-2 weeks.

Friday October 6

I went into this session with the plan of doing a long hill workout of 8 MARC loops. Despite the workout being 12km of volume, I thought I could at least finish it, even if it meant going at a slow pace.

However, despite my confidence, I was only able to complete 3 reps before my legs ran out of strength. It was the same issue my legs getting fatigued quickly and not being able to recover without taking frequent and long breaks.

Despite everything, I still managed to cover 8.5km with 210m of elevation gain for the day. After this run, I made the decision to take the rest of the week extremely easy.

Saturday October 7

Off.

Sunday October 8

For this week’s easy long run, I followed my regular loop starting at the Glen Allen trail head.

Overall, the run went fine. I kept the effort level really easy, taking frequent breaks. Despite being low on energy, I still managed to cover 13km for the day.

Although the run wasn’t anything great, I was very surprised to discover a newly made trail extension. A few months ago, I had mentioned how the trail was currently disconnected at Pine Grove Road, with no easy connection onto the LaHave Trail. To my surprise, they fixed this in almost the exact way I had envisioned. The trail now continues from Pine Grove Road to Highway 10, which is partially shown in the photo below.

After crossing Highway 10, the extension continues towards the LaHave Trail. However, this segment is still under construction and has only been cleared, as you can seen in the photo below.

The last time I ran through this area was in early September, and I didn’t notice any signs of construction workout back then. So I’m very surprised at how quickly all of this was accomplished.

After including this 13km long run, I concluded the week with a total of 49.6km and 580m of elevation gain.

Monday October 9

Off

Tuesday October 10

Knowing that I needed to take it easy for a little longer, I decided to make this a down week as well.

The first run of this week was not much better than the previous few. Once again, I felt overall weak and couldn’t maintain a steady pace for a long period of time. My legs felt alright, and I had a little pop in them, but I lacked the strength to sustain the pace.

In the end, I managed to complete 8km for the day.

Wednesday October 11

This was the first run in a while that I felt pretty good during. I decided to do a loop route in Italy Cross that I’ve been wanting to do. The route mainly consists of rolling hills, which is something I generally avoid during easy days. However, the hills actually made this run really enjoyable. I did take a few breaks, especially near the end where there were some steeper hills, but in general, I was recovering quite well from the hills, which is something I’ve been struggling with lately.

The run ended up covering 12km with 120m of elevation gain. I’m considering doing this route more often on my easy days once I’ve built up more strength again. My current easy day routes have become a bit stale recently, and mentally, loop routes are much easier to get through.

Thursday October 12

On this day, I decided to do another hilly easy run. I felt pretty good during this run, although my legs were a bit tired going in, even though the previous day I kept it easy.

I ended up doing 9.7km with 200m of elevation gain during this run.

Friday October 13

For my only workout of the week, I did a fartlek of 7x(2’ on, 2’ float). The goal was to keep the workout very controlled during the ons, while maintaining my usual target pace during the floats.

This ended up being a good workout that was slightly ruined by poor pacing. Throughout the fartlek, I refrained from checking my pace and judged everything by feel. Even though I aimed for only a moderate effort, I pushed too hard during the ons, which led me to take breaks after the 3rd and 5th reps. The splits for the ons were 4:06/km, 3:55/km, 3:49/km, 4:09/km, 4:08/km, 3:54/km and 3:53/km, averaging 3:59/km. The splits for the floats were 4:31/km, 4:22/km, 4:32/km, 4:39/km, 5:17/km, 4:47/km and 4:34/km, averaging 4:39/km.

Early in the workout, I didn’t feel very comfortable and struggled to find a good rhythm until the last few reps. The last two reps were very smooth and I felt very good afterwards, which was encouraging to see.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 13km.

Saturday October 14

This was undoubtedly the best Saturday run I’ve had in the past few months. Though it was just 5.2km, I felt incredibly relaxed, and the entire run felt effortless. I had some soreness from the previous day’s workout, but I managed to gradually build up during the run, which flushed out my legs really well.

After this run, I can confidently say that I’m feeling much better since taking iron supplements again.

Sunday October 15

Even though I was feeling much stronger, I didn’t want to get ahead of myself and stuck with an easy long run to wrap up this down week. For the run, I decided on a flat out-and-back route and planned on maintaining a controlled pace.

Despite not following my plan of keep the run easy, this turned out to be one of the best long runs I’ve had recently. Overall, I felt really strong and managed to keep a steady pace Throughout most of the run. I did take a brief break at 11km, primarily to stop me from pushing it too hard. However, that didn’t help very much and I pushed the last few kilometers probably a little too hard given the plan going into the run.

What excited me the most is how strong I felt. Although I still need to work on my pacing, this run has given me the confidence to start working towards much longer run again.

The total volume for the day was 16km, bringing the weekly mileage to 64km with 530m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 18

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 18: September 25 - October 1, 2023

Monday September 25

Off

Tuesday September 26

I started off this run not feeling that great. I was quite stiff and my effort level was getting a bit too high for early into the run.

At around the 3km mark, I took a break and started to feel a lot better when I started back up. I was able to maintain a smooth and short stride, which made the rest of the run extremely effortless.

I wanted to get at least 10km, but unfortunately, I was short on time and I only got 8.6km for the day.

Wednesday September 27

Continuing to build the volume in my Wednesday workouts, for this week I did 3x10’ at steady pace with 4’ rest. The idea was to have longer reps at a faster pace while taking extended rests to maintain an overall moderate intensity.

During the warm-up, I didn’t feel great. My pace was really slow and I even had a small breathing spasm, which made me uncertain about continuing with the workout.

Nevertheless, I still ended up doing the entire workout, although the splits were quite mediocre. In the first rep, I struggled to get up to pace and split 4:34/km. However, as the workout progressed, I began to feel better and hit splits of 4:18/km and 4:06/km. The effort level remained consistent throughout the workout, so I did a good job at pacing the workout given how my legs felt.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 14.2km.

Thursdays September 28

Since I don’t plan on doing a hill workout this week, I decided to do an hilly easy run at the MARC on this day.

Overall, I didn’t feel very good aerobically during this run. The pace was very slow, and I had to take multiple breaks to ensure the effort level never got too high. Also, I had some irritation in my left calf, which made it difficult to stay relaxed.

Although I hoped to get more mileage, I finished the run at 8.3km with 190m of elevation gain.

Friday September 29

I had initially planned to do some faster intervals for this day’s workout. However, due to my iffy calf, I decided to go with a more controlled workout. The workout I settled on was 8x800m at threshold pace with 2’ rest

While I managed to get through this workout fairly well, the session was quite all over the place. The road that I had planned to use was a bit short and had too much of an incline that I was okay with. After the first two reps, I ended up using the trail instead, which was better but still not completely flat.

Due to some reps being uphill or downhill, the paces were all over the place with splits of 3:21, 3:09, 3:05, 3:02, 3:14, 3:07, 2:45^* and 2:58, averaging 3:08 per 800m. I had a small breathing spasm during the 7th rep, so I only did 700m for that rep. While I didn’t feel great at the beginning, the workout got easier as it went on, and I finished the workout still feeling pretty good.

In general, my stride wasn’t very smooth, which may have been due to me being cautious about my calf. Fortunately, I did not have any major issues with my calf throughout the session. My recovery was fairly good, although I did take some extra rest during some reps, mainly because I had to modify the route.

In the end, I am fairly satisfied with how comfortable the workout felt. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 14.2.km.

Saturday September 30

This was yet another easy 5km Saturday run. I felt pretty good after the previous day’s workout. However, my left calf was not feeling very good.

Sunday October 1

For this week, the plan was to do a fast long run. I decided to do the full point-to-point route from Bridgewater to Mahone Bay, which I hadn’t done in quite a while.

This run turn out to be decent. Aerobically, I felt a bit better than in past weeks, however, I still had to take a couple of breaks during the run. My calf was bothering me quite a bit, so I pulled back the pace and focused on striking the ball of my foot to avoid irritating it. When I did pick up the pace at the end, I didn’t experience any significant pain, so it doesn’t seem like my calf will be anything major.

The overall pace wasn’t as fast as I would’ve like, but I still managed to get 16.3km for the day. That brought the total mileage for the week to 66.6km with 500m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 17

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 17: September 18 - 24, 2023

Monday September 18

Off

Tuesday September 19

I began this week with a pretty good run. I followed my usual Monday route and felt better aerobically than in the past few weeks. I probably picked up the pace a bit too quickly and took an extra break (outside of the big hill). However, I kept a consistent pace throughout and it overall felt smooth.

In total, the run covered 9.5km.

Wednesday September 20

For this workout, I built onto last week and did a fartlek of 6x(3’ on, 2’ float). This was a sizeable volume jump from last weeks 6x(2’ on, 2’ float), so I went in prepared to scale back the workout if necessary.

Fortunately, I managed to get through the entire workout fairly well. I didn’t feel as smooth as I did last week, however, however, the trail I was on was not as flat and had quite a few potholes in some sections. After the 4th rep, I took a short break, however, this ended up ruining my momentum and led to another break after the 5th rep and slowing down the remaining floats.

The splits for the fast reps were all good, hitting 4:09/km, 4:16/km, 4:13/km, 4:02/km, 4:09/km and 3:41/km, averaging 4:05/km. The floats, on the other hand, were not as good, with splits of 4:44/km, 4:42/km, 4:59/km, 5:07/km, 5:07/km and 4:37/km, averaging 4:52/km. This was a stark contrast to last week’s session where my floats averaged 4:32/km.

In the end, I am quite satisfied with many aspects of this workout and excited that I’m starting to be able to get through longer fartlets. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the volume for the day was 13km.

Thursday September 21

I started off this run not feeling that good. I had to take a few early stops, but then I started to feel better and got through the rest of the run fairly smoothly. In total, the run covered 8.9km.

Friday September 22

This Friday workout was another long hill session at the MARC. Building on the last hill workout, the plan was to do 7 hill reps.

Going into the run, I didn’t feel amazing aerobically, However, it turned out to be an amazing workout. One of my goals going in was to complete 4 reps continuously, which would’ve been a personally best. Surprisingly, I was able to crush the goal and got through 5 reps relatively easily. My legs felt amazing during the uphills, and though my breathing wasn’t perfect, I was recovering well during the downhills. I did take breaks after the 5th and 6th reps, but I definitely could’ve completed the entire workout without any breaks if I wanted to push it a bit more.

I was also surprised to see that each reps got progressively faster, with splits of 5:16, 5:07, 5:04, 5:04, 4:59, 4:55 and 4:52. It didn’t feel like I was going particularly fast during the workout, so seeing these splits afterwards was incredibly encouraging.

With the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the workout was 15km with 350m of elevation gain.

Saturday September 23

Overall, I was quite tired after the previous day’s workout, but I still managed to get through this day’s run. While I didn’t feel aerobically that good, my legs still had some pop in them.

In the end, the run covered 5.2km.

Sunday September 24

I wanted to increase the elevation gain for this week, so I decided for a somewhat hilly route for this long run.

Similar to last week, my breathing didn’t feel great at the start, but I really focused on relaxing and getting into a comfortable rhythm. As the run went on, I started to feel better. My legs felt strong on the uphills, but I didn’t pick up the pace and kept the overall effort level controlled.

The run ended up covering 16.1km with 140m of elevation gain. This brought the total mileage for the week 68km with 690m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 16

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 16: September 11 - 17, 2023

Monday September 11

Off

Tuesday September 12

I started off this week feeling very tired. Going into this run, my legs and hips were sore, and my overall energy level was quite low.

Surprisingly, the run didn’t turn out too bad. The first half was pretty slow, but by the end, I did start to get to a decent pace. However, I never felt comfortable throughout the run. I only stopped twice, but both times were longer than usual because my legs weren’t recovering well. I did manage to get a good amount of mileage on the day, with the run covering 9.5km.

Wednesday September 13

This workout ended up being quite frustrating. I decided to do the same workout that I had skipped the previous week due to my calf cramping, which was a fartlek of 6x(2’ on, 2’ float).

Once again, I didn’t feel great going into the run, and my warm-up was pretty slow. Nonetheless, I still went along with the workout and was surprised by how good I felt once I started going. For the first half of the fartlek, I felt incredibly smooth, and the fast reps went by quickly and effortlessly.

Starting at the 4th rep, I decided to pick up the pace. However, during the 4th rep, I had a small breathing spasm, which forced me to stop. Up to that point, I bad been feeling really good, so it was very discouraging when this happen. Fortunately, I was able to catch my breath quickly and continued with the fartlek.

While my breathing wasn’t as relaxed as before, I managed to finish the rest of the workout and hit good paces in both the fast reps and floats. The splits for the fast reps were 4:19/km, 4:15/km, 4:10/km, 4:03/km, 3:55/km and 4:58/km, averaging 4:06/km. While the floats were 4:45/km, 4:36/km, 4:29/km, 4:25/km, 4:21/km and 4:36/km, averaging 4:32/km. Overall, I am happy with how my legs felt running at faster paces, and I think my breathing is slowly improving, especially considering how strong I finished the workout.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 12.6km

Thursday September 14

This was another not so good run. I was really exhausted going into it and I couldn’t maintain a steady pace throughout the entire run. I did cover 9km, but it was very slow and I felt really bad overall.

Friday September 15

My aim for this week is to do a fast long run, so I opted for a moderate-intensity workout on this day. The workout was 5x1km at threshold pace with 2:30 rest.

Overall, this workout went extremely well. The splits were 4:07, 4:07, 3:55, 4:04 and 3:45, averaging 4:00. Reps 1, 3 and 5 were on a slight downhill, while reps 2 and 4 were uphill. These 1k’s all felt very smooth, and it was only during the last two reps that I felt like I was pushing a bit towards the end.

I’ve been having some irritation in my left calf/hamstring over the past few days, so I focused on maintaining a short stride and landing more on the balls of my feet. However, when I was going faster in the final rep, it did feel a bit awkward.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 12.5km.

Saturday September 16

A tropical storm was coming through, so I took this day off.

Sunday September 17

The route for this week’s long run was a point-to-point out to Mahone Bay. The original goal was to make this run fast, however, it didn’t quite go as planned.

Going into the run, I didn’t feel that great. My chest was tight from the start, and it never loosen up throughout the run. Although I didn’t experience any breathing spasms, it felt like I was on the verge of having one for most of the time. I had a few early breaks to try and calm my breathing, but nothing I tried was working.

For the remainder of the run, I was stopping frequently, which led to my pacing being all over the place. My legs didn’t all feel that great, but it was likely because my breathing was causing my body to tense up.

In the end, I managed to finish the 16km run, which brought my weekly mileage to 59.6km with 320m of elevation gain over 5 days.

Training Log Entry 15

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 15: September 4 - 10, 2023

Monday September 4

Off

Tuesday September 5

I really wasn’t feeling very good during this run. I wasn’t able to relax, which caused my breathing to struggle and required me to take quite a few breaks. The plan was to do 10km, but I only managed to do 8.6km.

Wednesday September 6

The scheduled workout for this day was a fartlek of 6x(2’ on, 2’ float). I felt pretty good going into the run, but during the warm-up, I started to feel a deep muscle cramp in my left calf. After finishing the warm-up and some stretches, I tested the calf for a bit, but decided not to continue with the workout since going fast seemed to irritate it the most. Instead, I opted to continue with an easy run.

For the rest of the run, I didn’t feel any more discomfort in my calf, but I was being very cautious about keeping an easy pace. Aerobically, I felt better than the previous day, but I still wasn’t able to relax and establish any sort of comfortable rhythm.

I ended up covering close to my intended mileage for the day at 11.5km.

Thursday September 7

I did have some swelling in my calf after the previous run, but by the next morning it felt much better. Despite that, I wanted to make sure I didn’t aggravate in any further, so I took that run very easy.

During the run, I focused on keeping a short stride and avoiding putting pressure on my calf by staying off my toes. I got through the entire run without any issues, and also did it without any breaks, however my legs were really tight and sluggish the entire time.

The total mileage for the run was 8.3km.

Friday September 8

The goal for this day was to continue off last Friday and do a big hill workout at the MARC. Initially, the plan was to do 7 hill reps, but considering how I was feeling early on, I changed it 6 reps.

Although my legs didn’t feel as fresh as they did last week, they were still in pretty good shape at the start. My goal was to complete the first 3 reps continuously without any breaks. Unfortunately, half-way into the first rep, I rolled my ankle quite badly. It was really frustrating when this happen, but I took a short break to walk it off and then continued the workout. Apart from that brief stoppage, I managed to get through the 3 continuous reps, although it wasn’t easy.

For the remainder of the workout, my plan was to complete the next 2 reps continuously and then finish off with a single rep, however I ended taking rests after each of the reps. The high humidity on this day was making me feel sluggish as the workout progressed. My breathing felt fairly good the whole time, but my legs began to lose strength towards to end, making the last two reps, in particular, very tough.

Despite everything, I did manage to finish the workout, making it my longest hill workout at the MARC. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total volume for the day was 13.1km with 300m of elevation gain.

Saturday September 9

On this day, my legs were extremely tired, but I was still able to get in an easy 5km. Once again, it was really humid this day, which made it difficult to relax my breathing and keep the effort level low during the run. My ankle was a little sore and swollen from the roll the day before, but it wasn’t nearly as severe as the previous sprain and doesn’t seem like it’ll be an issue.

Sunday September 10

I was still feeling pretty tired going into this long run, however I still chose a to do quite hilly route.

Overall, the run was alright. I was able to get into a nice rhythm and maintained a steady pace throughout the run. Although, I didn’t feel amazing and my hips, in particular, were quite tired. In the last 5km, my legs started to get tired, leading me to take a couple of short breaks, but my overall pace never fell off.

The long run totaled 15km, bringing my weekly mileage to 61.1km with 580m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 14

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 14: August 28 - September 3, 2023

Monday August 28

Off

Tuesday August 29

This was my first run back after taking the last week off due to an ankle sprain. My goal was to take the run very slow and be extra careful about foot strike to avoid irritating my ankle.

During the run, my legs felt really good, but as I expected, my breathing wasn’t great. I had a breathing spasm fairly early into the run and had to take a few breaks to catch my breath. Fortunately, my ankle felt pretty good and was only slightly sore.

The run ended up totaling 8km.

Wednesday August 30

I wanted to do a bit more than just an easy run this day, so I decided to do a mini fartlet consisting of 5 sets of 2 minutes steady and 8 minutes easy. There was no specific pace for the fast segments, I simply focused on picking up my cadence and keeping it controlled.

This workout ended up feeling pretty good. I never felt like I was pushing too hard during the fast reps, but my stride did feel a bit clunky. The paces for them were all over the place, splitting 4:36/km, 4:26/km, 4:44/km, 4:51/km and 4:20/km. My breathing was much better compared to the previous day, but I did still take a couple of breaks.

The total volume for the session was 10.5km.

Thursday August 31

I did an easy 8.5km on this day and was feeling pretty good during this run. I was feeling really comfortable and my pace ended up being faster than I was expecting. I took the steep hill easy, as I usually do, and had a couple of extra breaks, but my aerobic strength was definitely getting back to where it was before the injury.

Friday September 1

For this Friday session, I did a long hill workout at the MARC. I was a little hesitant to do this workout, because of the risk of rolling my ankle again, but I really wanted to do this workout so I went ahead with it anyways.

I did 5 hill reps for the workout, and it ended up going surprisingly well. I was able to get into a comfortable pace during the uphills, and was recovering really well on the downhills.

The only hiccup occurred when I experienced a minor breathing spasm near the end of the 2nd rep. However, I took a short rest after the rep, and didn’t have any breathing issues for the rest of the workout.

Had it not been for that breathing problem, I was almost certain I could have completed 3 consecutive loops without any breaks, which would have a first. I ended up taking recovery breaks after the 2nd and 4th reps, which was still an improvement over previous workouts where I typically end up taking breaks after almost every rep.

Each rep was also progressively faster as the workout went on, and during the last two reps, I even managed to kick during the final stretch of the hill.

In total, including the warm-up and cool-down, the session covered 11.3km with 260m of elevation gain.

Saturday September 2

I didn’t feel great during this run. My shoulders were really stiff, and they never really loosened up throughout the run. This made it difficult to relax, but I still got 5km in for the day.

Sunday September 3

I didn’t want the mileage for this week to be too high, considering I took the prior week off, so I only did a shorter long run.

Overall, the run went fairly well, but my pacing was all over the place. I did a good job keeping it relaxed for the first 5km until I reached the steep hills. However, after partially walking the hills, I started to increase my pace a bit too much. While I did feel pretty good, I knew I was pushing it a bit too much, so I stopped for a minute to pull myself back.

When I started back up, I did manage to keep the next kilometer easy, but I ended up pushing the pace again after that. This time, though, I was able to maintain it until the end, considering that the run wasn’t very long.

The run ending up being 14.1km, which brought my total mileage for the week to 57.5km with 550m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 13

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 13: August 21 - August 27, 2023

I woke up on Monday to find my ankle being incredibly swollen due to the ankle roll on the Sunday’s run. It was the most swollen my ankle had been in a very long time. However, I could still walk fairly normally after moving around a bit.

Until the swelling went down, I decided to take a few days off from running before making my next decision. By Thursday, the swelling had mostly gone down, but my ankle was still quite sore when moving laterally. To let it fully heal, I decided to take the rest of the week off from running.

During the week, I did do a bit of swimming. On Wednesday and Friday, I swam at a lake to try and maintain some of my aerobic fitness.

Apart from the swimming, I also did some ankle strengthening exercises, and by the end of the week, my ankle felt about 90-95% healed.

Training Log Entry 12

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 12: August 14 - August 20, 2023

Monday August 14

Off

Tuesday August 15

I didn’t feel very good during this run. My hips were really tight, causing my legs to feel flat the entire time. I took a few short breaks just to catch my breath because my chest felt quite congested, but other than that, my breathing was good. I’m glad that my pace was at least back to where it should be after last week’s string of slow runs. Ultimately, the run covered 8.4km.

Wednesday August 16

After not doing any workouts the last week, my goal for this day’s workout was to get my legs used to faster running by having the volume high while keeping to a moderate intensity. I settled on the workout of 3x(10 minutes) with 2 minutes rest. The goal was to run this at steady pace, which to manage the short rest, I thought 4:25-4:30/km would be good.

During the warm-up, I wasn’t feeling particularly good about the workout. My legs felt heavy, and my chest tight, making it difficult to loosen up during the warm-up. Nonetheless, I took my time to stretch and got into the workout.

All in all, this workout went quite well. I ended up running much faster than planned in all of the reps, running paces of 4:18/km, 4:16/km and 4:14/km. The effort level was also higher than I intended, leading me to take 4-5 minutes rest between the reps. I struggled to find a good rhythm throughout the workout. The trail was much more uneven then I had expected, causing me to frequently avoid pot holes and muddy sections, which made it difficult to settle into a pace.

During the third rep, I ended up taking a 30s break at the 7:30 mark after hitting the wall. I’m pretty okay with this, considering the faster I was running and ambitious total volume of the workout.

Another positive from this session was that I had absolutely no pain in my calf or hamstring throughout the workout. Over the previous few days, I’ve been doing some rehab exercises for them, and I am really surprised by how quickly they’re improving.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the day’s total mileage was 14km.

Thursday August 17

I didn’t feel too good during this hilly easy run. My breathing wasn’t as relaxed as I would have liked, and I found myself taking more breaks than usual. I might have been tired from the previous day’s workout, however my legs didn’t feel any more sore than they usually do. Ultimately, the run ended up being 8.8km with 176m of elevation gain.

Friday August 18

For this session, I did a hill sprint workout for the first time in quite a while. I’ve been avoiding these workouts due to my calf injury, as sprinting uphill places a lot of strain on it. The workout consisted of 10x300m with a jog back recovery. After the 5th rep, I took a couple extra minutes for a set break.

Overall, this workout was pretty good. The splits were 87, 85, 86, 82, 83, 79, 80, 82, 80 and 79, to average 82 per rep. I felt pretty flat at the beginning, but got much more comfortable by the end. I was pretty rusty at doing fast hills, and had to focus on shortening my stride after the first few slow reps.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, I finished the day with 12.9km and 180m of elevation gain.

Saturday August 19

Right from the start, my legs were considerably stiff, and I struggled to get into a relaxed rhythm throughout this run. Specifically, my stride felt choppy, which caused me to go faster than I had intended In the end, I finished the run at 6km.

Sunday August 20

Considering this was my first proper long run in two weeks and that the workouts I did earlier in the week were quite taxing on my legs, I was uncertain about what I wanted to do for this run. Ultimately, I decided to keep the run relatively flat and do a point-to-point long run on the trail.

I tried to make an effort to start off extremely relaxed and build up the pace only during the last ~5km. However, this plan did not goes as expected. For some reason, I struggled to hold my pace back and ended up pushing way too hard during the first 5km. Just as I was about to take a break in order to slow myself down, I suddenly rolled my ankle quite badly. The roll wasn’t serious enough to prevent me from continuing, but it did manage to slow me down, at least for a few kilometers.

The remainder of the run was alright. I kept a good pace, but the aggressive start and the fatigue from the week did catch up to me, making the run feel harder than I would’ve liked. My pacing was also a bit messed up since the spot I initially intended finish turned out to be 3km short of my target distance, so I had tag on a significant chunk at the end.

All in all, the run ended up being 16.4km. With this, the week’s total mileage reached 66.3km with 520m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 11

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 11: August 7 - August 13, 2023

After the past few weeks of steadily increasing my mileage, I’ve decided to make this a down week. In 2022, I started scheduling my training in 6-week blocks, where every sixth week I would have a down week with much lower mileage and either one or no workouts. Since I’ve been injured for most of 2023, I haven’t been able to stick to this schedule. But considering my current volume, it felt like the right time to use this week for recovery and them get back on this schedule starting next week.

Monday August 7

Off

Tuesday August 8

This session was like last Tuesday’s run and similarly well. I felt nice and relaxed, while maintaining an honest pace the entire time. I did take a couple of short breaks to ensure that the effort level stayed low. The total distance ended up being 8.5km.

Wednesday August 9

The plan for the day was to do my one workout of this down week. This workout was going to be 6x(2’ on, 2’ float) at a much more controlled effort. However, after finishing my warm-up and do some stretching, my left calf and hamstring were really bothering. As a result, I decided to postpone the workout.

Instead, I turned this session into an easy run. Due to my leg, the pace came down quite a lot. But worst of all, I had a pretty bad breathing spasm towards the end. This really took a lot out of me, and even after resting for a while, I struggled to complete the rest of the run,

Ultimately, I did manage to finish the run, which totaled to 8.7km. I might try to do this workout again later in the week, or I might just skip it altogether depending on how my body feelings.

Thursday August 10

Once again, I did another easy day at the MARC this week. I stuck entirely to the trails for this run, given that the mileage this week isn’t my primary concern.

All in all, I didn’t feel great during this run. I had really low energy from the start of the run, which made the uphills particularly sluggish. Although my leg was feeling slightly better than the previous day, running on uneven terrain was probably not wisest choice. Nevertheless, I finished this run with 7.3km and 170m of elevation gain.

At the beginning of this week, my plan was not to drop the mileage significantly and still hit around 60km. However, after these past few days, I’ve decided to shift gears and take it really easy for the remainder of the week, without thinking about mileage.

Friday August 11

I started this run not feeling very good. My legs felt heavy and in the first 2km I had to stop a couple of time. However after that, I started to feel a lot better and finished the rest of the run relatively smoothly. My left calf/hamstring still still wasn’t feeling that great, so the overall pace was fairly slow. In the end, I did 9.1km for the day.

Saturday August 12

My calf didn’t feel great when I woke up, so I decided not to run on this day. Instead, I ended up going for a swim at a lake. I’ve been interested in adding some swimming into my training, primarily to help improve by breathing. I probably only swam for about 20 minutes, but it turned out to be far more tiring than I anticipated.

Sunday August 13

For this week’s long run, I only planned to do 12km very easy.

All in all, the run didn’t go very well. Over the past week, I’ve been having some breathing problems due to allergies, and during this run, I could really feel their impact. By the time I reached the halfway point, I was already feeling aerobically tired.

After taking a fairly long break, I starting my way back at a slower pace. During the second half, my left leg started to bother me quite a bit which caused me to slow down quite significantly. Luckily, my leg wasn’t hurting enough for me to consider stopping altogether. I even picked up the pace for the last 2km and that didn’t make it feel any worse.

With this run, I finished my down week with 45.4km and 350m of elevation gain over 5 days.

Training Log Entry 10

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 10: July 31 - August 6, 2023

Monday July 31

Off

Tuesday August 1

My legs felt pretty tired going into this run, however, this ended up being a really good day.

Many things that I’ve been trying to improve during easy mileage all started to click together:

I was mid-foot striking instead on being more on the balls of my feet.
My breathing was very relaxed, and I felt aerobically strong.
I didn’t start out too fast, and was patient with building up the pace.

The run ended up being 9.7km. Having a good first run of the week really makes be optimistic about the rest of the week, especially since I am planning on increasing my the mileage.

Wednesday August 2

To get over my mental block of not being able to do over 5km continuously at threshold pace, I decided to do a workout that was longer than 5km and gradually build up to the pace. The planned workout was a 6km that increases to threshold pace my halfway.

Though I planned to start out relaxed, it ended not going as I planned. My first kilometer was a 4:10, and then followed by 4:29 and 4:26 which were closer to the pace I wanted to start at. Unfortunately, after a 4:15 fourth kilometer, I had another minor breathing problem that forced me to stop.

After getting my breath back, I finished the last 2km with a 4:11 and 4:06. This made the average pace 4:17/km for the 6km.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total mileage for the day came to 14.3km.

Thursdays August 3

Similar to last week, I did my run at the MARC this Thursday to get some vertical in. I spent a bit more time on the road at the beginning to make sure I didn’t end up being short on distance like last week.

When I got on the trails, I did the same thing as before, keeping the effort level relaxed and walking when necessary. However, I did end up walking less compared the last week.

In total, I covered 10.8km with 220m of climbing.

Friday August 4

Since my goal for this week is to focus on increasing my volume, I decided to keep the intensity low for this workout to make sure my legs aren’t dead for the long run. The workout I decided on was was 6x800m, 5x200m. The plan was run the 800s at a moderate pace (3:05-3:10), with a shorter 2:00-2:30 rest, and finish with some fast 200s with 90s rest.

Overall, this workout went quite well. The 800s were right on pace, splitting 3:09, 3:11, 3:08, 3:09, 3:04, and 3:00, to average 3:06. While I started on well with the rest, I did have to take a little extra before the last 2 reps and the 800s didn’t feel as relaxed as I would have liked.

For the 200s, my spits were 40, 42, 37, 38, and 35, to average 38. The splits weren’t as fast as I planned, but I did recover between reps well.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, the session covered at 14km.

Saturday August 5

For this day, I did an easy 6km run. The pace was pretty slow but I felt relaxed the whole time. However, my left calf was bothering me a bit possibly because of the 200s the day before.

Sunday August 6

The goal for this long run was to get 18km and finish off the week with a good amount of mileage. Given that my legs weren’t feeling that their best, I decided to keep the route flat for this long run. The route I ended up doing was a point-to-point run, starting in Middlewood and following the Bull Run trail to Bridgewater.

This run ended up being really brutal. I was struggling to maintain any pace and had to take breaks frequently throughout the entire run. My entire body felt exhausted, possibly due to the increased mileage or maybe from not eating enough before the run. However, I did manage to finish the full 18km, though the final stretch was really tough.

This brought the week’s mileage to 72.8km, with 480m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 9

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 9: July 24 - 30, 2023

Monday July 24

Off

Tuesday July 25

I planned out a new loop route, which I tried out during this run. The route follows some old access roads that I ran down once a few years ago. At the start of the road, there is a sign stating that a bridge is closed. However, I remember seeing that sign the last time, and it was only inaccessible for cars.

Everything went well at the beginning. There was a bit a flooding on the road, but other than that, it was going smoothly. That was until I reached the bridge and discovered that it was completely gone now. The recent heavy rain had cause the water level to rise, and a wooden crossing had been dislodged and sent downstream. If the water level wasn’t high, I’m fairly sure I could have crossed it.

After seeing the bridge, I went back to the start and finished the rest of the run on the trail. This part was really smooth. I got into a nice, easy rhythm and finished 9.1km very smoothly.

Wednesday July 26

For this day’s workout, I tried to do the 5km threshold, which I failed to do a few weeks back. I did this workout on the roads by Riverport, so the entire route was on pavement and it had a few hills.

I didn’t feel the best from the start, but it wasn’t too bad. The first few kilometers were the most hilly, so I knew that once I got through them, the ending would be easier. However, a little over 3km in, I had a very unexpected breathing spasm that forced me to stop. It was fairly minor, but it once again stopped me from completing the full 5km all the way through, which was extremely disappointing.

After a couple of minutes, I started up again to finish the rest of the 5km. During the last part, I was hurting quite a bit because of breathing still being off from earlier.

I finished up the threshold with an average pace of 5:17/km. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total mileage for the day was 11.7km.

Thursday July 27

I decided to do my easy day this day at the MARC to get a decent amount of climbing in. Overall, the run went well. I took it very easy and walked some hills just to keep the effort level low. The run ended up being 8.4km with 170m of climbing. I had initially planned on getting more mileage, but my time on feet was already getting up their for the day.

Friday July 28

For this session, I tried a type of workout that I had never done before. The workout was 6x1km, with a pick-up between 400m to 600m. I discovered this workout from a recent Sweat Elite video. My target times were 4:00-4:05/km pace for the beginning and end segments, and 3:20-3:30/km (40-42s) for the pick-ups.

I wanted to make sure the easy sections were on pace, so I closely payed attention to my watch to avoid starting too fast or slowing down at the end. The paces were good for the easy sections, but there were some reps where I started a bit too fast. For the 200m pick-ups, I did speed up in all of them, but the actual paces were slower than I planned, averaging 44s. Looking back, my target pace was probably a bit too ambitious, so I am fine with how it went.

The splits for the 1k’s were 3:56, 3:58, 3:53, 3:46, 4:00 and 3:55, averaging to 3:55. I really enjoyed this workout since the pace changes made the reps feel short. Only the last 400m of a few reps felt challenging, but those sections forced to stay engaged and keep the pace honest after the pick-ups.

Altogether, I did 15.3km for the day, which was longer than I had planned but helped offset the shorted run the day before.

Saturday July 29

My legs felt extremely tired this day. However, I still managed to do a easy 5.5km. For the entire run, I never really felt that good.

Sunday July 30

My legs still felt heavy this morning, so I was unsure about what to do for this week’s long run. Ultimately, I decided to go for a relaxed, longer run.

I did my regular loop route starting from the trail at Glen Allen Drive. The first ~5km didn’t feel that great, but after walking up some of the steep hills, I got into a comfortable rhythm and felt good for the rest of the run.

I finished the loop at about 15.5km and added on an extra bit to finish the run at 17.75km. It feels good that my long runs are actually starting to get longer again.

This brought my weekly mileage to 67.7km with 600m of elevation gain. Since my injuries haven’t been bothering me as much lately, I thinking of increasing my mileage a bit faster over the next few weeks.

Training Log Entry 8

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 8: July 17 - 23, 2023

Monday July 17

Off

Tuesday July 18

The run this day was really rough. I wanted to get some more hills this week, so I ended up doing a fairly hilly route for this easy day. The way out was pretty good, but on the way back my legs were completely trashed. Uphills became extremely difficult, and I wasn’t able to go very far before needing to stop. However, I managed to finish the out-and-back and added on a flat 2km at the end to reach 8.7km for the day.

Wednesday July 19

For this workout day, I did a fartlek of 5x(3’ on, 2’ float). This was a decent jump in intensity compared to my last fartlek session of 6x(2’ on, 2’ float), so I was a bit cautious going in.

Overall, this workout went very well. The paces for the on’s were 4:11/km, 4:20/km. 4:11/km, 3:59/km, 4:03/km, averaging 4:08/km. These splits were faster than I was expecting and I ended up taking an extra minute rest after the third rep, which I was fine with, given the paces. The floats felt much more comfortable in this workout, compared to my last fartlek, and they were at a good pace, averaging 4:38/km.

This workout was definitely one of more difficult I’ve done recently, so I’m very pleased with how it went. Including the warm-up and cool-down, the total mileage was 11.5km for the day.

Thursday July 20

This was one of the best easy days I’ve had in a while. Although my legs felt pretty heavy, and my left hamstring was a bit tight at the start, I was able to get into a comfortable rhythm and felt better as the run went on. At about 7km, I did take a short break, but that was mainly to prevent myself from picking up the pace any further and maintain a low effort level. I finished the run with 9km, and I was glad to see that my splits were overall very consistent.

Friday July 21

For this session, I did 10x400m with 1'30-2’ rest and a 5’ rest after the 6th rep. This was the same speed workout that I did a few weeks back, so this was a test to if my speed is improving.

For the 400s, my splits were 81, 80, 80, 79, 80, 79, 78, 77, 78, and 74, which averages to 78. Over the course of the workout, my stride started to feel really comfortable, which helped in bring the splits down. The recovery between reps also felt good, and the 5-minute set break even seemed longer than necessary. The last time I did this workout, I averaged 82, so my speed is definitely coming along.

With the warm-up and cool-down, the total mileage for the day was 12.8km.

Saturday July 22

For this run, I did an easy 6km. My calf didn’t feel great at the beginning, and I felt pretty stiff overall, but I started to loosen up as I got into it. Towards the end of the run, I did have a small breathing spasm, which caught me off guard, but I recovered quickly from it and felt fine afterwards.

Sunday July 23

For this week’s long run, I chose an out-and-back route starting from Mahone Bay and heading out to Martins Point along the Dynamite Trail. This was the first time I’ve ever been on this section of the trail, so my goal was to do a longer run and see as much of the trail as possible.

I started off well, but I was a bit too aggressive with picking up the pace, which made my already tired legs feel less than great. At about 5km in, I checked my watch and realizes that I hadn’t started it, which was unfortunate.

After finally starting my watch, I slowed down and finished the first half comfortably. However, on the way back, the heat and leg fatigue started to catch up to me. The last 2-3km were particularly difficult, and I needed to take a few breaks.

In the end, including the missing start, the run was 16.8km. There was also 150m of elevation gain, which was unexpected, but a lot of the trail is on a 2-3% incline, which adds up over time.

With this run, my weekly mileage totaled 64.9km with 400m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 7

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 7: July 10 - 16, 2023

Monday July 10

Off

Tuesday July 11

I didn’t have a good night’s sleep, so I felt mentally exhausted going into this run. My calf was also bother me, making the run quite uncomfortable. Originally, I had planned to do 9km, but I ended up only doing 7.5km.

I also decided to not do any strides because of how my calf felt.

Wednesday July 12

I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do for this day’s workout, but I decided on doing a ~4.5km tempo run along Naugler Road. The road consists of three back-to-back hills and very little flat running, which makes this road good for strength session.

However, the workout did not go as planned. Once again, I had to stop halfway through the effort and take a minute to rest. The main issue, once again, was my pacing. The rep starts with a long uphill, where I split the first k in 4:26, but then I had to stop partway up the second hill. The last time I did this workout I was more conservative at the start. I went 4:44 and was able to gradually bring the pace down for the rest of the rep.

Despite not going according to plan, I still managed to finish the workout much faster than last time, averaging 4:17/km with 70m of climbing, excluding the break. Fortunately, my knee didn’t bother me, so the downhills were a bit smoother, although I am still cautious about my calf.

Including the warm-up and cool-down, I finished the day at 12km.

Thursday July 13

For this run, to focus on getting more mileage on my easy days, I chose a flat route and made a conscious effort to keep the pace slow.

I felt quite good following the previous day’s workout and started off strong. It ended up getting really hot out, so I took a short break at the turn-around point. On the way back, I slowed down my pace, but it was still pretty rough finishing the run.

In the end, I finished with 8.5km. Since my calf wasn’t feeling great, I decided to not do any strides.

Friday July 14

For my Friday workout, I did another interval session. The workout consisted of:

1600m (3’ rest)
1200m (3’ rest)
800m (2'30 rest)
400m (2’ rest)
300m (1'30 rest)
200m

Since it was hot out, I decided to do the workout on the Bay to Bay trail, which has lots of shade.

Overall, this workout went very well. I made a point to pay attention to my watch during the reps to make sure my pacing was on target. During the mile rep, I felt very comfortable. I went through 1k at 3:53, which was slightly fast, so I pulled back a bit and finished with a 6:22. During the 1200m, it was opposite. I started off slow and had to pick it up in the last 200m to finish with a 4:51. Although this was still slow, the issue wasn’t fatigue but rather being overly conservative, which I much prefer.

Mentally, after those two reps, the bulk of the workout was over since I don’t need to focus as much on pacing for reps under 1km. The 800m, 400m, 300m and 200m went well, and I was able to bring down the pace with each rep, running times of 2:56, 1:24, 61 and 39, respectively. I wanted the 400m, 300m and 200m to be a little faster, but considering I was running on dirt and there were some uneven patches where I was doing the shorter reps, these times were pretty good. Overall, I am starting to feel stronger and more comfortable running at faster paces.

With the warm-up and cool-down, I finished with 12.9km for the day.

Saturday July 14

This Saturday, I went for my usual easy 5k run. My legs felt a bit heavy, but overall, I still felt fine during the run.

Sunday July 15

This week, I decided to do an easy long run to Crescent Beach. The route is pretty hilly and a bit long given my current mileage, at about 17.5km. Therefore, I planned to take the uphills easy and be okay with taking breaks when needed.

Unfortunately, the run didn’t end up going well. From the start, my legs felt heavy, and I could never get into a comfortable rhythm. While I didn’t feel great, it wasn’t going horribly since the majority of the hills are at the start. Howver, at 8km, I had a really bad breathing spasm. Even after a long break, I still didn’t feel good and thought about cutting the run short. But I decided to keep going.

For the next 2km, I run-walked and then took another longer break. After that, I was pretty much back to normal. The last part of the run went relatively well. I slowed down a bit, but felt much more comfortable.

In the end, the run ended up being 16km, bring the weekly mileage at 62km with 400m of elevation gain.

Training Log Entry 6

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 6: July 3 - 9, 2023

Monday July 3

Off

Tuesday July 4

I felt pretty good going into this week and started it off with 8.8km on this day. However, again with this run, I am still struggling to finish easy runs without taking any breaks. My breathing has been a lot better recently, but I’ve noticed that my leg strength hasn’t been there. My hips, in particular, get tired quickly, which may be due to the faster workouts lately. After the run I did 5x100m strides which were quicker than usual, so it’s really my leg endurance that is lacking.

Wednesday July 5

My plan for this day’s workout was to do a 5km threshold. My calf was bothering me a bit, so I avoided doing it on the roads and stayed on the trails for most of it.

After the warm-up, I was already sweating buckets because of the humidity, so I knew lasting 5km would be difficult. Therefore, I switched the workout to 3km + 2km at threshold pace.

The 3km felt alright, although I never felt particularly comfortable during the rep, and my hips felt tight. Despite this, I got through it feeling aerobically strong.

The 2km started with 800m slightly downhill and the rest slightly uphill. I probably went too fast on the downhill and had to stop at 1400m. After a short break, I did a 600m to get to 5km in total.

The splits were 12:41 (4:10/km), 5:34 (3:55/km) and 2:13 (3:37/km). With the warm-up and cool-down, I ended the day at 11.6km. I feel alright about the workout, considering how I felt after the warm-up, but I wish my pacing was better.

Thursday July 6

I did 8.1km easy this day. My breathing felt pretty good, however again, my hips were really tired, which caused me to take multiple breaks. I’m confident that after a few more hard workouts, my leg strength will come back and fix this recent issue.

On the bright side, my knee felt noticeably better during this run, but my calf is still the same. It also got really hot by the end of the run, so I’ll need to start my runs earlier from now on.

Friday July 7

I did another interval workout for this week’s Friday session. The workout consisted of 4x1k with 2:30 rest, followed by 5x200m with 90s rest.

Since it had been a while since I’ve done 1k repeats, I planned to start conservatively and gradually bring the pace down. However, this did not end up actually happening. The first rep was 3:44, which was 20 seconds faster than planned. For the second rep, I managed to pull it back to 3:59, but I was already hurting and needed to take some extra rest. The last two were 3:46 and 3:44, but were really tough to get through. I never felt comfortable during the 1k’s, and my legs struggled to keep up during the last 300m of most reps.

After taking a ~5 minute break, I started the 200s. These went very well. I ran 36, 36, 34, 33, 33. I recovered really well between reps and stuck to the 90s rest. I had a nice long and smooth stride, which made the 200s feel very comfortable.

With the warm-up and cool-down, I finished the day at 12.1km. Overall, I am pretty happy with the workout.

Saturday July 8

My legs were really trashed after the workout, so I just did 5km very easy. My foot was bothering me a bit at the start, but it got better once I started running. Aside from my foot, my knee was a little more sore than usual, and my quads were heavy. However, both felt better after I rolled them out after the run.

Sunday July 9

For this week’s long run, I chose a route that starts at Old Chelsea Road and ends at Wentzells Lake. This majority of route is on dirt roads with constant rolling hills, but it is overall net downhill.

I felt decent going into in the run, but by halfway, my legs were starting to give up. This was likely due to having two hard workouts this past week for the first time in a while. Looking at the splits afterwards, I definitely started out much faster than I was planning. Though later in the run, the splits started to go all over the place.

A big mistake I made was not bringing any water for this run. The humidity was high and by the end of the run I was starting to feel nauseous. Despite that, I still managed 15.5km at a pretty good pace even, although I had to take a few breaks in the back half.

With this long run, the total mileage for the week totaled to 62km with 400m of climbing.

Training Log Entry 5

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 5: June 26 - July 2, 2023

Monday June 26

Off

Tuesday June 27

Off. My left calf and right knee were really sore so I decided to take an extra day off.

Wednesday June 28

My calf and knee felt sightly better this morning, so I decided to test them out with a slow run. I didn’t feel very good during this run. The humidity was at 99%, making breathing quite difficult and forced me to take a few breaks. Both my calf and knee weren’t feeling too good, so I didn’t go further than 8km.

Thursday June 29

Again, my calf and knee felt slightly better than the previous day, so I planned to do an easy 10km.

I decided to run on the paths near the power lines that I discovered a few weeks ago because the rough terrain would naturally slow me down. The first 1km was entirely uphill to the trail, and just as I reached the top, I experienced a breathing spasm. It took a few minutes to get my breathing under control, but due to the humidity, I never felt completely comfortable for the rest of the run. Once I started back up, I soon discovered that the trail was completely flooded. I tried an alternate path to get around the flooded areas, but it ended up being a dead end. Therefore, I decided to leave the area and get back on the roads.

I found myself along Lower Branch Road, and since I had already ascended part of it, I decided to go to top of this hill, which is an elevation gain of ~100m over a little over 2km. My legs felt quite good as I went up at a reasonable pace, but my breathing was struggling, leading me to take a couple breaks during the climb. Both my calf and knee didn’t respond well to the downhill, so I had to take the descend fairly slow. My original plan was to tag on a bit on the trail to reach 10km, but I started feeling light-headed due to the heat, forcing me to stop there.

In the end, the run covered 7km with 150m of elevation gain.

Friday June 30

Since I’ve been struggling to sustain long efforts in the high humidity, I decided to do an interval workout this day. I’ve been meaning to do a speed workout anyways, since I’ve been feeling a bit flat these past few weeks.

The workout consisted of 10x400m with 1:30-2’ rest and a 5’ set break. I ended taking the set break after the 6th rep because that ended me on the side where my gear was. I chose to run this workout on Mayfair Drive, a very flat residential road that is a bit over 600m long and has virtually no traffic. Despite the humidity being over 95%, this morning it was misty which definitely helped a lot.

Overall, I am very happy with the workout. I wore my Prime X’s for the workout, and although they never irritated my foot like last time, they didn’t feel extremely comfortable while running at a higher cadence. Nevertheless, I maintained even splits between 78-83 seconds (majority of which were 81-83) and averaged 82 seconds. What I’m most happy about is how I stuck with the 1:30-2’ rest between reps, with only the last 2 reps going a few seconds over. Surprising, I didn’t have any issues with my calf, but I could feel my knee during the later reps.

I really want to get some of my speed back, so I think I will add on a few quick reps at the end of my fartlet and tempo days.

I had a long warm-up and cool-down, so the total volume for the day ended up being 13.7km.

Saturday July 1

I felt pretty good this day, the best I’ve felt after a Friday workout in a while. However, because of the humidity, it was difficult to keep by breathing relaxed. I ended up going 5.7km for the day. Although my knee is still causing some trouble, wearing a knee strap helps alleviate most of the pain while running.

Sunday July 2

I was really unsure about what I wanted to do for this day’s long run. It was still humid, so I didn’t want to do a fast long run. But with how my knee and calf were feeling, I didn’t want to risk aggravating them with an excessively long run. In the end, I decided on doing the loop route starting from Glen Allan and go by feel, running fast if I felt good and taking breaks when needed.

Luckily, it started to rain early on during the run, so the humidity didn’t bother me as much. I took the beginning conservatively, and then walked most of the two steep hills at around the 5km mark. I also took downhills easy, but since it wasn’t bothering my knee significantly I was able to pick up the pace when the grade wasn’t too steep.

Because of the shoes I was wearing, I avoided the rocky sections of the trail and took a slight detour on the road. Along the way, I scoped out alternative routes to access the LaHave trail. It seems there is a fairly straightforward path through a wooded area that could bridge the two disjointed trails. The trail adjacent to the highway is relatively new, so I hope they will eventually create a better connection to avoid having to run alongside the road.

Once I got back into town, I took another break walking up a hill and then pushed the pace for the last relatively flat 3km. Both my knee and calf started to bother me a bit, but I managed to maintain a decent pace.

Surprising, when I finished the run, I saw that I had only covered 13.8km even though I initially expected the detours to make the route slightly longer. Regardless, I decided to call it a day at that point.

With this, the 5-day week concluded at 48km.

Training Log Entry 4

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 4: June 19 - 25, 2023

After last week’s failed attempt at returning to my regular training schedule, this week’s plan to once again aim for 2 workouts on Wednesday and Friday and get the mileage in the low 60s.

Monday June 19

Off

Tuesday June 20

This run was really all over the place. In the first half, I my breathing wasn’t feeling that great and I had to stop a couple times. But on the way back, I started to feel better and sped-up quite a bit. However, when I did pick-up the pace, I did notice some discomfort in my left calf, similar to last week.

I ended at 8.5km and was planning to do some strides afterwards, but considering how my calf felt I decided to not do them.

Wednesday June 21

The weather was extremely nice this day. I started in Mahone Bay and ran my fartlet workout on the Bay-to-Bay trail. The workout consisted of 6x(2’ on, 2’ float).

Overall, it went pretty well. I felt comfortable on the ‘on’ intervals and never struggled to complete a rep. The paces were all over the place, with times of 4:16/km, 3:58/km, 4:16/km, 4:15/km, 4:11/km, 3:59/km, averaging out to 4:09/km. On the floats, I wasn’t recovering as quickly as I would’ve liked, which made the floats feel shorter. I ended up taking an extra 30s rest after the 4th rep. The average pace for the floats was 4:53/km, which is slower than my goal pace of <4:40/km.

There are a few parts of the trail that are a little sandy, but overall its well maintained and has lots of shade. One of my goals for this summer is to do the entire 8km trail segment in sub 32 minutes (4:00/km).

Thursday June 22

After the workout the day before, my legs were very tired, especially in my hips. It was also quite hot this day, so I just slogged my way to complete the day’s mileage.

During the run, my left calf started to feel concerning again, even though it had been completely fine the day before. It could be that the shoes I wear on easy days are irritating my calf. I wore my Endorphin Speed 2’s for the previous workout, which haven’t given me any issues.

While on this run, I came across someone who was leveling the trail. The sections they worked on made the trail very soft, so I hope they either flatten it or that it will firm up quickly on its own.

Friday June 23

On this day, I did my typical Friday workout, which is continuous uphill repeats. This has become a regular part of my training over the past few months. One of the unique aspects of ultra/mountain races, compared to track and road running, is the significant role that elevation gain plays on race strategies. My goal is to minimize the amount of time power hiking during races, so I have made these continuous uphill runs a key component of my training.

Unfortunately, where I currently live, there are no mountains or very long uphill roads. The best place I have found to do these workouts is a mountain biking trail at the MARC. This route is about 800m long with a bit over 50m of elevation gain. The terrain is highly technical, with lots of roots, large rocks and small drop-offs designed for mountain bikers. The grade of the trail also changes frequently, with only a few short flat segments.

Below is a picture of the trail.

There are no paces in the workout, just a target number of reps and the goal of limiting the number of breaks at the top. This day I did 4 uphill reps. I felt decent during the workout. My breathing wasn’t an issue, but my legs were definitely not used to the climbing after a few weeks of not doing this workout. I finished the first two reps continuously and then took about a 1 minute break after the second and third reps.

This wasn’t the best workout to do considering how my calf has been feeling lately. I took the downhills very slow, which resulted in them being close to the same pace as the uphills. However, for me, going that slow makes the recovery less effective since I am breaking my stride while going down. This also caused my knees to be sore, which I noticed late in the workout.

Overall, including the warm-up and cool-down, I got 11.3km with 250m of climbing for the day.

Saturday June 24

My legs were completely fried after the hill workout. I just did a very short and slow 4km shake-out to get ready for Sunday’s long run. Both of my knees didn’t feel too good at the start, but felt a bit better after the run.

Sunday June 25

The plan for the day was to do a fast long run. I ran on the Bull Run Trail from Conquerall Road to County Line Station Road, which is a bit over 15km. One of my goals for this summer is complete a fast effort over the entire ~23km trail, so this run was meant to test out going harder on this route.

I felt okay when I woke up. My legs were not completely recovered, but I did a bunch of rolling and activation exercises before heading out.

Overall, the run didn’t go as well as expected. The humidity was very high, which drained a lot of the energy out of me. I started out too fast, and at only 6km in, I had to take my first break. Checking my pace afterwards, I was going much slower than what I felt like I was running at the time, likely due to the humidity.

After the break, I threw out the plan of going hard the entire run and instead focused on shortening my stride and keeping a smooth pace. Things were going well, but my pace did go down in the middle section. I managed to pick it up for the last 2km, although it wasn’t particularly fast, and those 2km felt like an eternity. In the end, I got through the run and finished with 15.2km.

This week’s total mileage was 60km with 430m of elevation gain, which is almost double compared compared to the past few weeks.

Training Log Entry 3

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 3: June 12 - 18, 2023

This will be hopeful be the last week of a short 3 week transition back into my regular training schedule. After bringing back one workout last week, the goal for this week is to have two workouts, on Wednesday and Friday, and keep the mileage in the low 60s.

Monday June 12

Off

Tuesday June 13

This ended up being a terrible day for me. Legs felt heavy from the beginning, but I wasn’t too concerned. However, just 1k in, I had a bad breathing spasm. After walking for about 15-20 minutes, I managed to feel slightly better, but I still struggled to get much of anything going. I decided to stop at a bit over 5km.

After returning home, I rested for about 15 minutes before going out for another 3km. Although this run went better, my breathing was still problematic. Also, I starting to have some medial knee pain while running on pavement, which is concerning.

Wednesday June 14

I had scheduled to do a 5km threshold workout this day, but because my breathing still felt bad, I decided to do a vertical workout instead. I’ll go into more detail about this type of workout the next time I do it, but for this run, I could barely do anything.

From the start, taking deep breathes was difficult which made even the warm-up difficult to finish. After the first hill rep, my legs were already fried and I had to stop the workout there.

After these past two days, I decided to focus on recovering and take the rest of the week easy.

Thursday June 15

Off.

Friday June 16

I was planning on taking this day off again, but in the afternoon I got an urge to run. I was feel pretty good decided to do a short workout.

Since I wanted to pick up the pace, I decided to do a 10 minute threshold in the middle of run
Wore the Prime X’s for this which ended up causing some issues. The shoes irritated my right arch for most of the run, especially during the fast section where I had to stop for a few seconds about every 1km. With the rests, I did end up averaging 3:53/km during the threshold.

My breathing during the run felt better than earlier in the week but my knee and back were pretty sore afterwards.

Saturday June 17

Did a 6km easy run this day and was happy with the effort level. My knee was sore when I woke up, but it never bothered me during the run. I’ve been trying to focus on shortening my stride length during easy runs to lower the impact on my legs and help with my endurance.

Sunday June 18

Woke up this morning feeling pretty sore in both hamstrings and my left calf. For a moment, I considered taking the day off but ended up still doing the long run.

My plan was to keep it easy and do a loop starting from the trail-head at Glen Allan Drive. This route has become one of my favourites because it’s a loop course that mostly stays on the trails and has a bunch of different terrains (flat, sharp hills, gradual inclines, rocky, a bit of pavement).

I was very happy with how this run went. It has been awhile since I’ve done a long run at an effort level that I felt I could realistically sustain for quite a while.

Since I was taking it easy, I partially walked up these two back-to-back steep hills. Otherwise, I kept a steady pace the entire time. The picture below is of one of these hills.

My hamstrings never ended up being an issue, but my calf didn’t feel that great. No pain, but it felt unhappy.

Finished comfortably with 14.5km and 150m of climbing, but if my calf hadn’t been an issue, I realistically could’ve gone up to 20km.

This ended the pretty rough week at 39.3km.

Training Log Entry 2

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 2: June 5 - 11, 2023

Time for the second week of the training log. After bringing up my mileage this past week with mostly easy runs, the plan for this week is to maintain the mileage in the low 60s while adding back one workout.

Monday June 5

Off

Tuesday June 6

Didn’t sleep very well the night before, causing me to feel sluggish throughout the entire run. I decided early on that it would be fine to take some breaks in order to hit the full mileage for the day. Sometimes walking or stretching for just a few seconds can bring new life to my legs. However, this didn’t end up helping during the first half, so I decided move my planned strides to the turn-around point (instead of after the run) to try and loosen up. I did 5x100m strides which felt comfortable and quick, but I did feel a bit a tightness in my left hamstring. On the way back, I felt slightly better, but overall wasn’t as comfortable as I would hope for after a rest day. Still managed to hit the goal of 10k for the day.

Wednesday June 7

Going into today’s run, I felt a bit better compared to the day before, but still not how I would like to feel. At the start of the run, I picked up the pace too quickly which caused me to take a few breaks in the first half. However, in the second half, I felt more under control and was able to pull back the pace.

To get rid of this sluggish feeling I’ve been having, I think I need to work on going to bed earlier, since once the sun comes up I struggle to get any good sleep afterwards.

Thursday June 8

For this day I split the run into two parts.

The first part was a bit over 7k and felt better than the day before. I only stopped once and the pacing was fairly even the whole time but my breathing felt a little strained.

For the second part, I tested out my new pairs of Adidas Prime X’s, which are the first racing carbon super shoe that I’ve ever worn. They’re probably not the best shoes to have as my first pair, because of their illegal stack height, but I bought them because I was able to get them for cheap. In this part, I did an easy 1k and then did 5x100m strides. Running in the shoes felt very odd. I had to pay a lot of attention to every step I made and it felt awkward running too slow or when my cadence got too quick during the strides. Afterwards I messed around with how I laced the shoes and I think that’s something I’ll have play around with a bit more.

Friday June 9

This run was my first workout in 2 weeks and also the first full run in the Prime X’s.

In the warm up, I had some soreness from the shoes. At the start, I had them laced up tight, since I felt that they ran a little big on me, but after the warm up I loosened them and which felt a lot better.

The plan for the workout was 6x(2’ on, 2’ float) but only ended up doing 5 reps. Since it was my first workout in a while and I haven’t been feel good lately I didn’t set any paces and never checked my watch during the workout. Overall, the workout went okay. Once I picked up my cadence, the shoes quickly became a lot more comfortable. While my legs had no issues during the workout, my breathing was not great and was definitely what made the workout feel difficult. My breathing felt similar to how it feels after a long break from running. The worst air quality lately may be causing the discomfort. Because of this, I took an extra 60s break after the 3rd rep to catch my breath.

In the end, the paces were really good with the on’s averaging at 4:02/k and the floats at 4:34/k. To compare, in the last fartlet workout of 10x(1’ on, 1’ float), I averaged 4:09/k and 4:36/k for the on’s and floats respectively. I would definitely contribute the speed up to the shoes since I really didn’t feel that great during the workout.

Saturday June 10

Standard short and easy Saturday run. Legs were sore after the workout so I was just trying to flush the legs before Sunday’s long run. There was a 5k race happening on the trail so I had to adjust the route. The run felt okay, just hoping that I feel fresh tomorrow so I can get a good long run in.

Sunday June 11

Decided to do a very similar point-to-point long run to Mahone Bay as I did last week. I wanted to avoid any breathing issues, so I focused on staying relaxed for most of the run and only pushing it at the very end.

While I never had any issues, my breathing never felt completely relaxed and I my crest had some tightness for most of the run. Other than that, my legs were feeling good and I had a good rhythm.

At 10k, I took a short break just to calm down my breathing to avoid any spasms from happening. I picked it up after that for the last 4k and has very surprised to split 4:09 and 3:51 for the last 2k’s. This was one of the fastest long runs I’ve had in quite a while and has gotten me extremely positive about how my training is heading.

This ended the week exactly as planned at 61.4k.

Training Log Entry 1

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Training Log Entry 1: May 29 - June 4, 2023

This is the first entry of my personal running training log. The idea of this is for me to reflect on my past week of training and be honest regarding all of the good and bad things while also talking about any interesting routes that I discover. My goal is to continue this as long as possible and make an update everyday (that I run), even if it only ends up being a sentence or two.

Recent Training

Since the beginning of 2023, I have been plagued by countless minor injuries which has made it difficult to build up any sort of fitness. This has been disheartening because from May 2022 to January 2023 I went completely injury (which was the longest I have gone since my university track days) and built up to my highest mileage ever at 80k/week. Luckily, I am fairly close to being pain free and have started to build up decently but still have to be cautious with the sort of runs I do (fast downhills, too much pavement, etc).

I currently have no planned races but I do have a few goals runs for this year such as a fast Bull Run Trail FKT attempt (~25k), completing a LaHave River loop (30k+) and finishing a 50k (race or solo). I also want to get my mileage up to 100k however that might be difficult with the injury setbacks.

With all that said, lets begin the first week of the training log.

Monday May 29

Off

Tuesday May 30

The goal for this week was to build aerobic fitness, therefore, I decided to not do any workouts and just focus on getting some slow and easy mileage. I’m particularly focusing on the “slow” part since lately I’ve been struggling hold back the pace during easy days causing me take brakes during my runs which I hate doing.

This first run was a good start to the goal. My planned route was ~8.5k but I felt very relaxed and smooth so I tagged on bit more to get to 10k. I did walk once at this very steep hill but I planned to do that from the start since it is an easy day.

Wednesday May 31

The most effective way to slow down my pace is to go off trail and do what I call exploration runs. For this run, I went around the wooded area between King St and Upper Branch Rd. This area has no marked trails or roads but when looking at satellite images I could tell that there were some paths and a large clearing for electrical lines. I was surprised to find that many old trails exist in this area. Some were along the electrical lines as I expected, but many were in the wooded areas with most of them being very wide and runnable (even though I could tell hardly anyone uses these paths). The pictures below show both types of trails.

The way I got into the area by Logan Rd wasn’t great, since some flooding force me to do a bit of bushwhacking. But off Lower Branch Rd there is an easily accessible entrance which takes you right up to the electrical lines which plan to use in the future. As for the run, plenty of stopping and hiking happen, which is to be expected for my first time exploring the area, but I definitely think some nice runnable loops could be routed out for slower more technical days. Unfortunately my watch died about 3k in, but I estimated that I did about 12k in total.

Thursday June 1

Since the run the day before was quite slow, I wanted to pick up the pace a bit closer to my regular easy days. Was feeling really good until right at the turn around point I had a breathing spasm. This has been a sporadic issue for the past few years which I think may stem from a combination of allergies and stress causing diaphragm spasms. I’ve figured out that the fastest way to get my breathing back under control is to lie down and do breathing exercises. After doing that I am generally breathing normally again. I managed to finish the run after that but never got my rhythm back so the second half felt pretty hard.

Friday June 2

The mileage the past few days definitely caught up to me this day. Legs felt heavy from the start but wanted to get 12k even if the pace was slow. Had another breathing spasm 3k in. After stopping for a bit I was able to continue on and get through the rest of the run. Never really loosened up at any point but was still a bit surprised with how slow the pace ended up being.

Saturday June 4

Short and easy this day. Started with a loop around Hebbs Farm which has a lot of tree roots, jagged rocks and narrow paths which forces you to go easy. Ended with a couple faster k’s on the main trail to finish with a little less than 5k. Still felt sluggish similar to the day before.

Sunday June 4

Went to bed later than normal the night before, yet somehow slept in quite a bit getting up after 8 which never happens. Since I was feeling good I decided to do a faster point-to-point long run to Mahone Bay.

Felt amazing from the start. Since it’s been raining these past few days, there are virtually no allergens in the air and my legs had some good pop to them. I was a little cautious at the start since my foot arch has been a bit sore lately but taped it up before the run and it never ended up being an issue.

Thing though didn’t go completely smoothly. At a bit over 7k in, some guy stops me and starts warning me that the trails have been closed since Thursday because of wild fires and that I would be fined if I got caught being on them. Even though I had been running on the trails every day this week and have already passed by a few people this run, I just listen to the guy for the time being and went on to a random dirt road off the trail. This road led me to the side of the highway and after going along it for a bit, I was able to find another path that got me back onto the trail which I continued to use for the rest of the run.

This while thing forced me to stop for a while, which was really frustrating since I was feeling so good, but I quickly got back into a rhythm and closed the rest of the run really fast. At the end of the day, it was a really good long run and a perfect rebound from the past few days.

This ended the week at 62k which was a large jump from last week’s 49k but definitely needed.

An Empirical Analysis Packing Discriminators in Generative Adversarial Networks

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

An Empirical Analysis Packing Discriminators in Generative Adversarial Networks

The following was originally written in December 2018 as a final project for my undergraduate machine learning course. Additions and clarifications have been made while transfering the report over from LaTex.

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) [Goodfellow14] are a family of generative models that have had recent success in generating samples from complex distributions. GANs have been used to produce realistic text, numerical and image samples effectively however they generally encounter a common issue where the model produces samples with little diversity. This problem is referred to as mode collapse and a significant amount of work has been put into finding techniques to alleviate this issue. One of these proposed techniques is a simple extension to the discriminator architecture called packing [Lin18] where the network is trained to validate against multiple samples jointly.

In this report we be performing an empirical analysis on packing to better understand how it works in GAN training. We test networks with and without a packing discriminator on synthetic datasets where mode collapse can be easily be monitored and distribution statistics can be changed to observe how effective packing is under different settings.

Preliminaries

Mode Collapse in GANs:

Mode collapse is a phenomenon in GANs where the generator produces samples that lack the same diversity as the target distribution. More specifically, mode collapse is when the generator’s learned distribution assigns a significantly smaller probability density around the region of a mode compared to that of the target distribution [Lin18]. Mode collapse occurs when the generator becomes so overconfident in certain samples fooling the discriminator that instead of exploring the rest of the data manifold for undiscovered modes, the generator continues to produce similar samples to minimize its loss function.

An example of mode collapse happens while training on the MNIST dataset which has the 10 digits (0-9) as its modes. Using a standard GAN architecture, the model often fails to generate all of the digits, only discovering a few of the distribution’s modes no matter how long the network trains.

Figure 0: A GAN encountering mode collapse (bottom) vs one that is not (top) [Cho18]

Several approaches have been proposed to deal with mode collapse. These approaches include label smoothing, different loss functions, mixing multiple GANs together and using batch statistics during validation. While many of these techniques have shown to be effective, there is little understanding as to why certain techniques work and which are the most suitable for different cases.

Packing:

Packing is an extension to the standard GAN architecture where the discriminator labels multiple samples jointly to a single real/fake label. The same general network architecture and loss function are maintained from the standard GAN however the discriminator is modified from a network that maps a single input $x$ to a binary label, $D:x \rightarrow \{ 0,1 \}$, into a packing discriminator which maps $m$ inputs $x_1, x_2, …, x_m$ to a single joint binary label, $D:x_1, x_2, …, x_m \rightarrow \{ 0,1 \}$. We refer to $m$ as the degree of packing and the $m$ samples are drawn independently from the real distribution $P$ and the generator distribution $Q$ while training the discriminator.

In a standard GAN, the network can be thought as learning a distribution $Q$ which minimizes the distance between itself and the real distribution $P$, $\min d(P,Q)$. When using packing, the discriminator is given samples from the product distribution of degree $m$ which changes the optimization problem to $ \min d(P^m, Q^m)$. Exposing the discriminator to the product distribution allows for it to better detect the presence of diversity (or lack there of) in generated examples enforcing the generator to explore a wider area of the data manifold and avoid missing modes.

Packing introduces little added computation, going from $\mathcal{O}(wrg^2)$ per minibatch update in a standard GAN to $\mathcal{O}((w+m)rg^2)$ in a GAN using packing of degree $m$ where $w$ is the number of fully connected layers, $g$ is the number of nodes per layer and $r$ is the minibatch size [Lin18].

Experiments

Setup

To analyze the effects of using a packing discriminator, we compare networks with and without packing across different variations of our baseline dataset. The dataset is a 2-dimensional multivariate Gaussian distribution $\mathcal{N}(\mu, \Sigma)$ with 25 means at $(-4+2i, -4+2j)$ for $i,j \in \{0,1,2,3,4\}$, each with $\Sigma=0.0025 \cdot \mathcal{I}$ (seen in the leftmost plot of Figure 1). Experiments are done on variations of the baseline dataset with different variances, mode concentrations and arrangements.

All of the networks use the same generator and discriminator architectures which can be seen in Table 1.

Generator	Discriminator
$z \in \mathcal{R}^{2} \sim \mathcal{N}(0, \mathcal{I})$	$x_1, x_2, … , x_m \in \mathcal{R}^{2}$
$Dense(2 \rightarrow 400)$, BN, ReLU	$Linear(2 \cdot m \rightarrow 200)$, LinearMaxOut(5)
$Dense(400 \rightarrow 400)$, BN, ReLU	$Dense(200 \rightarrow 200)$, LinearMaxOut(5)
$Dense(400 \rightarrow 400)$, BN, ReLU	$Dense(200 \rightarrow 200)$, LinearMaxOut(5)
$Dense(400 \rightarrow 400)$, BN, ReLU	$Dense(200 \rightarrow 1)$, Sigmoid
$Dense(400 \rightarrow 2)$, BN, Linear

Table 1: Generator and discriminator architectures

The discriminator uses LinearMaxout [Goodfellow13] with 5 maxout units as its activation function. The generator and discriminator both use the standard GAN loss function from [Goodfellow14]. The synthetic training dataset has 100,000 samples that the networks are trained on for 100 epochs using Adam [Kingma14] with equal updates on the generator and discriminator. All other parameters can be found in Table 2.


Learning Rate = 0.0001
$\beta_1$ = 0.8
$\beta_2$ = 0.999
batch size = 100

Table 2: Additonal hyper-parameters

During the experiments we monitor how many modes the generator learns over time. For multivariate Gaussian distributions, a mode exists at each of the distribution’s means and we consider that a mode is lost if no sample within 3 standard deviations of the center of a mode is generated during testing. Other metrics measured are the number of epochs it takes the network to learn all the modes, the proportion of generated samples within 3 standard deviations of a mode (% high-quality samples) and the Jensen-Shannon divergence (JSD) between the target and learned distributions. All metrics are calculated from 2500 samples generated after each epoch.

The dataset, hyper-parameters and metrics closely follow those from the 2D-grid experiment in [Lin18].

Results

The first set of experiments examine the effects of packing on data with different levels of noise applied to it which is simulated by increasing the variance of our baseline target distribution. On the noise-free baseline distribution (Figure 1 and Table 3), the network is only capable of generating 19 of the target distribution’s modes when using a standard discriminator however by adding packing the network learns all 25 modes at $m=3$.

Figure 1: Samples from a 25 mode distribution with $\Sigma=0.0025 \cdot \mathcal{I}$

Table 3: Results from Figure 1

When noise is added to the distribution the severity of mode collapse decreases with the standard GAN, recovering 23 modes when $\Sigma=0.01 \cdot \mathcal{I}$ (Figure 2 and Table 4) and all 25 when $\Sigma=0.1 \cdot \mathcal{I}$ (Figure 3 and Table 5). Applying noise to the inputs of the discriminator is a technique that has been explored before [Salimans16, Arjovsky17] and is understood to help smooth the target distribution’s probability mass. In our experiments, applying noise increase the area in the data manifold where the training data lies making the discriminator less strict and allowing the generator to explore without being penalized as severely.

Figure 2: Samples from a 25 mode distribution with $\Sigma=0.01 \cdot \mathcal{I}$

Table 4: Results from Figure 2

Figure 3: Samples from a 25 mode distribution with $\Sigma=0.1 \cdot \mathcal{I}$

Table 5: Results from Figure 3

The other experiments looked at how the complexity of the distribution impacts the effectiveness of packing. On a low complexity distribution with 9 modes and $\Sigma = 0.0025 \cdot \mathcal{I}$ (Figure 4 and Table 6), the standard GAN can only produce 8 modes after 100 epochs however when packing with $m=2$ is added, remaining the network quickly discovers all 9 in just 3 epochs. This observation shows that the non-packing network quickly converges to 8 of the modes and then stops exploring to prioritize improving the quality of the samples for the modes it has already discovered. When packing is added this bottleneck is bypassed immediately and the network discovers the final center mode.

Figure 4: Samples from a 9 mode distribution with $\Sigma=0.0025 \cdot \mathcal{I}$

Table 6: Results from Figure 4

On a high complexity distribution with 81 modes and $\Sigma = 0.0025 \cdot \mathcal{I}$ (Figure 5 and Table 7), none of the three networks are able to discover all modes. No packing and packing with $m=2$ discover 59 and 58 modes respectively however we do see $m=3$ significantly outperforming the others discovering 69 of the 81 modes. The architecture used in the experiment is clearly not deep enough to adequately learn this complex distribution however we can still observe from the experiments that adding packing can reduce the degree of mode collapse even in shallow networks.

Figure 5: Samples from a 81 mode distribution with $\Sigma=0.0025 \cdot \mathcal{I}$

Table 7: Results from Figure 5

To see if the distances between modes impacts how the network explores the data manifold we perform the last experiment on a baseline distribution with randomly spaced modes (Figure 6 and Table 8). All three networks were unable to discover all 23 modes (two pairs of modes combined during the random shuffling) with them each producing the same 20-21. From the plots in Figure 6, we can see that each network failed to discover the same 3 modes in the center-left region of the data manifold. These modes have a relatively larger distance to its neighbours compared to the rest which caused the network to not explore far away from the modes it had already discovered and find the remaining modes. This observation shows that GANs can become biased in its learning, focusing on exploring regions of the manifold that have a high likelihood of generating samples that will fool the discriminator and fails to explore the low likelihood region, where new modes can be discovered, even when packing is being used. How the target distribution is modeled highly influences the generator’s susceptibility to mode collapse and could be important to consider in future work.

Figure 6: Samples from a 23 randomly spaced mode distribution with $\Sigma=0.0025 \cdot \mathcal{I}$

Table 8: Results from Figure 6

Across all experiments, a couple of trends can be seen about packing:

1. As the packing degree $m$ increases, the number of epochs it takes the network to discover all the target distribution’s modes also increases. This is best seen in the experiment with $\Sigma = 0.1 \cdot \mathcal{I}$ (Figure 3 and Table 5) where the network not using packing takes 16 epochs to discover all 25 modes while using packing with $m=2$ takes 27 epochs and $m=3$ takes 62. The reason behind this can be explained by how increasing $m$ causes the discriminator to become stricter about the diversity of the inputs it is validating. This leads to the generator being given less information and as a result taking longer to learn. This is the biggest downfall of packing since GAN training is already very slow and other techniques like adding noise do not hinder the model’s convergence rate to the same degree.

2. Packing is shown to generate a distribution with a smaller JSD compared that from a standard GAN. In some cases, this can be explained simply by the model discovering more modes which cause a lower JSD by definition however this fact can be also observed in experiments where both the packing and non-packing networks discover the same number of modes ($\Sigma = 0.1 \cdot \mathcal{I}$ [Figure 3 and Table 5] and randomly spaced modes [Figure 6 and Table 8]). Since minimizing the JSD is equivalent to finding the optimal discriminator [Goodfellow14], we can say that packing produces a theoretically better model. On the other side, packing has shown to decrease the proportion of high-quality samples compared to that of the standard GAN during these experiments. This quality difference can be explained by how packing causes the network to take more time to discover all the modes (which it is capable of discovering) leading to less time for the generator to prioritize producing high-quality samples. If we were to continue training beyond the 100 epochs done in the experiments, the packing networks should be capable of eventually achieving the same % high-quality samples as the standard GAN.

Using JSD as a model quality metric has also been found to have issues. In image generation, a small JSD has been shown to not always be correlated with visually superior samples and is the reason why models are typically evaluated using metrics like Inception score [Salimans16] or FID [Heusel17]. The advantage of a lower JSD is therefore not as significant as we may have hoped for in image generation but in other domains like numerical data, this may be an important property for a model to have.

Conclusion

Packing is a simple extension to the standard discriminator architecture that empirically shows to reduce mode collapse in many cases. The technique typically produces a distribution that includes more modes from the target distribution with a lower JS divergence than a non-packing network however other techniques like using noise can also alleviate mode collapse while taking less time to train. Packing is an interesting technique that may be beneficial in certain cases but has issues which hold it back from being widely usable.

References

[Goodfellow14] Goodfellow, I., Pouget-Abadie, J., Mirza, M., Xu, B., Warde-Farley, D., Ozair, S., … & Bengio, Y. (2014). Generative adversarial nets. In Advances in neural information processing systems (pp. 2672-2680).

[Lin18] Lin, Z., Khetan, A., Fanti, G., & Oh, S. (2018). Pacgan: The power of two samples in generative adversarial networks. In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (pp. 1498-1507).

[Goodfellow13] Goodfellow, I. J., Warde-Farley, D., Mirza, M., Courville, A., & Bengio, Y. (2013). Maxout networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:1302.4389.

[Kingma14] Kingma, D. P., & Ba, J. (2014). Adam: A method for stochastic optimization. arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.6980.

[Arjovsky17] Arjovsky, M., & Bottou, L. (2017). Towards Principled Methods for Training Generative Adversarial Networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:1701.04862.

[Salimans16] Salimans, T., Goodfellow, I., Zaremba, W., Cheung, V., Radford, A., & Chen, X. (2016). Improved techniques for training gans. In Advances in neural information processing systems (pp. 2234-2242).

[Heusel17] Heusel, M., Ramsauer, H., Unterthiner, T., Nessler, B., & Hochreiter, S. (2017). Gans trained by a two time-scale update rule converge to a local nash equilibrium. In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (pp. 6626-6637).

[Cho18] Cho, J. (2018, April 04). CycleGAN : Image Translation with GAN (4). Retrieved from http://tmmse.xyz/2018/04/02/image-translation-with-gan-4/

Belief Contractions on Large Ontologies with Minimal Knowledge Loss

Fri, 05 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Belief Contractions on Large Ontologies with Minimal Knowledge Loss

The following was work I did during my NSERC Undergraduate Research Assistant position at Simon Fraser University during Summer 2018. The report assumes the reader has prior knowledge about knowledge representation particularly descriptive logics.

Code can be found here.

The field of knowledge representation deals with finding efficient methods to represent, store and perform inference on large collections of data. When dealing with large knowledge bases, a user may require to remove a fact that was previously believed to be true however has been rendered false after the addition of new information. What makes this operation difficult is that simply removing the belief (represented as a formal logic axiom) is often not enough since the combinations of many other beliefs in the knowledge base can also infer the same false fact resulting in no knowledge actually being removed. Various contraction methods working on different formal logics have been proposed which ensures that a belief is completely forgotten by removing multiple axioms from a knowledge base. In [Dawood17], a kernel contraction algorithm was constructed for $\mathcal{EL}$ TBox. The contraction is performed by removing a minimum set of axioms which infer the belief and using a heuristic to select the a prefered set when multiple minimum sets exist. One of these heuristics is Specificity which weighs axioms by their generality within the domain. We will be expanding upon the Specificity heuristic to create a total preorder relation that orders axioms based on the amount of epistemic loss that they cause when removed from a TBox. The Hierarchical Total Preorder, will work on $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ TBoxes and will be shown how it can be implemented into the kernel contraction algorithm.

$\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ Description Logic

Description Logics (DL) [Baader07] are a family of logics used to model relationships between entities in a domain. DLs consist of three types of entities, concepts which represent sets of individuals, roles which describe relationships between individuals and singleton individuals from a domain. A DL knowledge base is composed of two parts, the ABox containing extensional knowledge and the TBox containing intensional knowledge. The ABox states assertions about individuals using concepts and roles such as $Doctor(Betty)$ and $brotherOf(Tim, Jill)$. The TBox contains subsumption axioms that describe relationships between concepts and roles such $Dog \sqsubseteq Animal$ and $brotherOf \sqsubseteq parentOf$. Many DLs exist with varying expressibility and reasoning complexity. The language that we will be using is $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$.

$\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ [Baader05], an extension of $\mathcal{EL}$, is a lightweight DL that has limited expressibility but boasts polynomial time reasoning and is used on large ontologies like SNOMED CT. The table below outlines the syntax of the language.

Name	Syntax	Semantics
top	$\top$	$\Delta^{I}$
bottom	$\bot$	$\emptyset$
nominal	{$a$}	{$a^I$}
conjunction	$C \sqcap D$	$C^I\cap$$D^I$
existential restriction	$\exists r.C$	{$x \in \Delta^I$ $\|$$\exists$ $y \in \Delta^I$: $(x,y) \in$ $r^I$ $\land$ $y$ $\in$ $C^I$}
concrete domain	$p(f_1, … ,f_k)$ for $p \in$ $R$	{$x \in$ $\Delta^I$ $\|$$\exists y_1, … , y_k \in$ $\Delta^{D_j}$: $f_i^I(x) = y_i$ for $1 \le i \le k \land$ $(y_1, … y_k)$ $\in p^{D_j}$}
GCI	$C \sqsubseteq D$	$C^I \sqsubseteq D^I$
RI	$r_1 \circ … \circ r_k \sqsubseteq r$	$r_1^I \circ … \circ r_k^I \sqsubseteq r^I$

An $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ TBox is a finite and consistent set of GCIs and RIs. We refer to the left hand side expression as the sub-concept or sub-role and the right hand side expression as the super-concept or super-role for GCIs and RIs respectively.

Belief Change

The most prominently used construction of belief change is the AGM framework [Alchourron85]. The framework models an agent’s state of knowledge with a belief set which is a closed under logical implication set of sentences. Belief sets state exactly what the agent currently perceives as true. There are three belief change operations for modifying these sets:

Expansion: Adding a new belief to a belief set.
Contraction: Removing a belief from a belief set.
Revision: Adding a new belief which may create an inconsistent belief set that requires other beliefs to be removed.

The operation we will be focusing on is contraction.

While AGM describes contractions using belief sets, [Hansson93] describes a different approach using belief bases. Belief bases are sets of beliefs not closed under logical implication which better models what an agent with finite memory would store and are equivalent to DL TBoxes.

Two methods of belief base contractions are regularly used, partial meet contractions and kernel contractions. Partial meet contractions [Alchourron85] are done by using remainder sets, maximal subsets of a belief base $K$ that do not entail the axiom we wish to contract, $\alpha$. The contracted belief base is the intersection of a select set of remainder sets. Kernels [Hansson94] are minimal subsets of $K$ that entail $\alpha$. To perform a kernel contraction of $\alpha$ we select an axiom from each kernel and remove them from the belief base. Kernel contraction is the method that we will be considering from now on and is denoted by $K \div \alpha$.

The following five postulates [Hansson93] are used to capture the definition of a belief base kernel contraction:

Success: If $\nvdash \alpha$ then $K\div\alpha \nvdash \alpha$
Inclusion: $K\div \alpha \subseteq K$
Core retainment: If $\beta \in K$ and $\beta \notin K\div\alpha$ then there is a set $K’ \subseteq K$ such that $K’ \nvdash \alpha$ but $K’ \cup \beta \vdash \alpha$
Uniformity: If for every $K’ \subseteq K$ we have$K’ \vdash \alpha$ iff $K’ \vdash \beta$ then $K \div \alpha = K \div \beta$
Relative closure: $K \cap Cn(K\div\alpha) \subseteq K\div \alpha$

If a function satisfies the first four postulates then it is a kernel contraction and if all five hold then it is a smooth kernel contraction.

The kernel contraction algorithm that we will be working was introduced in [Dawood17]. The algorithm calculates all $\alpha$-kernels, kernels that entail $\alpha$, in $K$ using the axiom pinpointing algorithm [Baader08]. We denote the set of $\alpha$-kernels in belief base $K$ with $K \perp \alpha$. An incision function then selects axioms from each kernel to remove from the belief base. The set of axioms chosen by the incision function is called the drop set, $\sigma(K \perp\alpha)$. Since we prefer to remove as few axioms as possible, the incision function selects a minimum drop set. The calculation for minimum drop sets is equivalent to the minimum hitting set problem [Garey79, Dawood17] therefore a hitting set algorithm is used to find drop sets. Once a minimum hitting set is selected for the drop set, the axioms are removed to form the contracted belief base, $K \div \alpha$.

Hierarchical Total Preorder

Since an $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ TBox is equivalent to a belief base we can use the kernel contraction $T\div\alpha$ on some $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ TBox $T$ and axiom $\alpha$. Once the kernels are calculated and the minimum hitting sets are found we typically have multiple equal sized sets to choose as the drop set. Aside from simply removing as few axioms as possible, we ideally want to achieve the contraction with as minimal knowledge loss to the TBox as possible. Expanding on the specificity heuristic from [Dawood17] and exploiting the axiom hierarchy found in $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$, we can define a total preorder binary relation which can order axioms by their importance within the TBox to help make our decision.

The hierarchical preorder relation, $\le_{HP}$, is based off the concept of an epistemic entrenchment [Gardenfors88], $\le_{EE}$. An epistemic entrenchment is a total preorder over the axioms of a belief set that represents the relative epistemic loss caused by removing each axiom. The relation $\alpha \le_{EE} \beta$ states that $\beta$ is equally or more entrenched in the knowledge base as $\alpha$ and therefore during contractions we would prefer to remove $\alpha$ over $\beta$. An epistemic entrenchment is defined by five postulates, transitivity, dominance, conjunctiveness, minimality and maximality. These postulates capture the definition of epistemic loss in standard logics however not all postulates can be applied to description logics.

For the hierarchical preorder, we will form a new set of postulates to formulate a preorder that still uses the metric of epistemic loss to order the axioms but can applied on $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ TBoxes. In $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ we can measure epistemic loss as the number of entailments related to the most general expression that are lost. For example, in the TBox $ T =${$A \sqsubseteq B, B \sqsubseteq C, C \sqsubseteq D$}, removing $C \sqsubseteq D$ results in losing the entailments $A \sqsubseteq D, B \sqsubseteq D$ and $C \sqsubseteq D$, however removing $A \sqsubseteq B$ only loses the entailment $A \sqsubseteq D$. Since removing $A \sqsubseteq B$ causes less epistemic loss we have $A \sqsubseteq B \le_{HP} C \sqsubseteq D$.

Before we formulate the postulates we need to first define some terminology that will help us describe the subsumption hierarchy of $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ axioms.

Def 1 Connected Axioms:

For some TBox $T$ and axioms {$A\sqsubseteq B, C\sqsubseteq D$} $\in T$, where $A,B,C,D$ are either all concepts, existential restrictions and conjunctions (GCI) or all roles (RI). If either:

{$A\sqsubseteq B, C\sqsubseteq D$}$ \models A\sqsubseteq D$
{$A\sqsubseteq B, C\sqsubseteq D, \mathcal{S}$}$ \models A\sqsubseteq D$, where $\mathcal{S} \subseteq T$ are support axioms, and no subset of {$A\sqsubseteq B, C\sqsubseteq D, \mathcal{S}$} entails $A\sqsubseteq D$

then $A\sqsubseteq B$ is connected with $C\sqsubseteq D$, $A\sqsubseteq B \mapsto C\sqsubseteq D$. We refer to $A\sqsubseteq B$ as a $\textit{LHS connecting axiom}$ of $C\sqsubseteq D$ and $C\sqsubseteq D$ as a $\textit{RHS connecting axiom}$ of $A\sqsubseteq B$.

Def 2 Subsumption Path:

For some TBox $T$, axioms $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are on the same $\textit{subsumption path}$ if there exists a sequence of axioms {$x_1, x_2, … , x_n$}$\in T$ for $n\geq1$, where both:

$x_i \mapsto x_{i+1}$ for all $1 \leq i \leq n-1$.
$x_1 = \alpha$ and $x_n = \beta$.

{$x_1, x_2, … , x_n$} is a $\textit{subsumption path}$ of $\alpha$ and $\beta$.

We now define the four postulates that we will be following while constructing the hierarchical preorder:

Transitivity: If $\alpha\le_{HP}\beta$ and $\beta \le_{HP}\delta$, then $\alpha \le_{HP}\delta$.
Totality: For all $\alpha, \beta$, $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ or $\beta \le_{HP} \alpha$.
Minimality: If belief base $T$ is consistent, then $\alpha\notin T$ iff $\alpha \le_{HP}\beta$ for all $\beta$.
Hierarchical: If $\alpha \mapsto \beta$ and {$\alpha, \beta$}$ \in T$ for some belief base $T$, then $\alpha \le_{HP}\beta$.

Transitivity and totality are the two properties a total preorder must follow. The hierarchical postulate is a new postulate that captures the connection between subsumption hierarchies and epistemic loss in description logics. For example, if we have $\alpha \mapsto \beta$ then$\beta$ is higher in the subsumption hierarchy than $\alpha$ which means removing it will cause more entailments to be lost from the TBox, therefore $\beta$ causes more epistemic loss than $\alpha$.

Hierarchical Weighting Function

When given a hierarchical preorder relation like $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$, we must determine which of the axioms causes the greater amount of epistemic loss when removed. To measure this, we will weights axioms based on their position within the TBox using the hierarchical weighting function.

The function takes an axiom $\alpha$ and first confirms if $\alpha \in T$ (if not we assign $weight(\alpha) = -1$) and then calculates $weight(\alpha)$ by going through the following 4 phases.

Subsumption Hierarchy Phase

The initial phase weighs $\alpha$ based off its placement within the TBox’s subsumption hierarchy. This is calculated by using the set of LHS connecting axioms of $\alpha$, $LHS(\alpha)$. To find the LHS connecting axioms that appear from using support axioms we first calculate the indirect children of the existential restrictions in the TBox.

Def 3 Indirect Child:

Given $A$ is a concept, existential restriction or a conjunction of concepts and existential restrictions, $B$ and $C$ are concepts and $r$ and $s$ are roles:

If {$\exists r.C \sqsubseteq A, B\sqsubseteq C$} $\in T$, then $children’(\exists r.C) = children(\exists r.C)\cup${$\exists r.B$}
If {$\exists r.C \sqsubseteq A, s\sqsubseteq r$} $\in T$, then $children’(\exists r.C) = children(\exists r.C) \cup ${$\exists s.C$}
If {$\exists r.C \sqsubseteq A, B\sqsubseteq C, s\sqsubseteq r$} $\in T$, then $children’(\exists r.C) = children(\exists r.C)\; \cup $ {$\exists r.B, \exists s.C, \exists s.B$}

We can use these indirect children to find all LHS connecting axioms for each axiom by using the rule:

$A\sqsubseteq B \in LHS(C\sqsubseteq D)$ if $B = C$ or $B \in children’(C)$

The subsumption hierarchy weighting procedure can now be executed as follows:

Subsumption Hierarchy Weighting Procedure:

If $LHS(\alpha) = \emptyset$ then $weight(\alpha)=0$.
If $LHS(\alpha) \ne \emptyset$ then $weight(\alpha) = i+1$ where $i$ is the maximum subsumption hierarchy weight among all axioms in $LHS(\alpha)$.

Since cycles are allowed to occur in the TBox we have an anti-cycling check for the recursive step in the above procedure. While keeping a list of all previously visited axioms in the current recursive stack, if we try to get $weight(\beta)$ and $\beta$ is already in the visited axiom list we do not consider its weight at the current recursion level.

An example of the subsumption hierarchy weightings procedure is shown in the following:

Example 1:

TBox:


$A \sqsubseteq B $	$B \sqsubseteq C$	$C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D$	$\exists p.E \sqsubseteq F$
$A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E$	$D \sqsubseteq E$	$r \sqsubseteq s$	$s \sqsubseteq p$

LHS Connecting Axioms:


$LHS(A \sqsubseteq B)= \{\} $	$LHS(B \sqsubseteq C)=\{A \sqsubseteq B \}$
$LHS(C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D)=\{B \sqsubseteq C\}$	$LHS(\exists p.E \sqsubseteq F)=\{C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D, A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E\}$
$LHS(A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E) =\{\}$	$LHS(D \sqsubseteq E)=\{\}$
$LHS(r \sqsubseteq s)=\{\} $	$LHS(s \sqsubseteq p)=\{r \sqsubseteq s\}$

Weights:


$weight(A \sqsubseteq B)=0$	$weight(B \sqsubseteq C)=1$
$weight(C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D)=2$	$weight(\exists p.E \sqsubseteq F)=3$
$weight(A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E)=0$	$weight(D \sqsubseteq E)=0$
$weight(r \sqsubseteq s)=0$	$weight(s \sqsubseteq p)=1$

Support Axiom Phase

An issue with subsumption hierarchy weights is that support axioms are under-weighted. If we consider Example 1, we have $C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D \mapsto \exists p.E \sqsubseteq F$ because of the support axioms $S =${$r \sqsubseteq s, s \sqsubseteq p, D \sqsubseteq E$}. With the axioms of S we have $T \models C \sqsubseteq F$ however if we remove any of these axioms this would not hold. When we perform a contraction of $A \sqsubseteq E$ on TBox T we get 2 kernels:

$K_1 =$ {$A \sqsubseteq B, B \sqsubseteq C, C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D, \exists p.E \sqsubseteq F, D \sqsubseteq E, r \sqsubseteq s, s \sqsubseteq p$}
$K_2 = ${$A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E, \exists p.E \sqsubseteq F$}

Removing the lowest weighted axiom in $K_2$ we simply choose $A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E$, however $K_1$ has 3 axioms with a weight of 0 to choose from, $A \sqsubseteq B, r \sqsubseteq s$, and $D \sqsubseteq E$. The issue is removing $A \sqsubseteq B$ preserves $T \models C \sqsubseteq F$, while removing either $r \sqsubseteq s$ or $D \sqsubseteq E$ does not because its causes $C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D \mapsto\mkern-16mu\not \exists p.E \sqsubseteq F$. Since removing these two axioms causes a greater amount epistemic loss to the TBox we need to adjust their weights to reflect this.

The support axiom weighting phase makes adjustments by matching the support axioms’ sub-concept/role with axioms that have existential restrictions with the same concept/role in their super-concept.

Support Axiom Weighting Procedure:

Given $A,B$ are concepts and $r,s$ are roles:

For axioms in the form $A \sqsubseteq B$ with $weight(A \sqsubseteq B) = i$:
- If $X \sqsubseteq \exists r.A \in T$ with $weight(X \sqsubseteq \exists r.A) = j$ and $j \ge i$, then $weight(A \sqsubseteq B) = j$.
For axioms in the form $r \sqsubseteq s$ with $weight(r \sqsubseteq s) = i$:
- If $X \sqsubseteq \exists r.A \in T$ with $weight(X \sqsubseteq \exists r.A) = j$ and $j \ge i$, then $weight(r \sqsubseteq s) = j$.

Continuing with Example 1, applying the support axiom weighting procedure results in the following:

Example 1 cont.

Support Axiom Adjustments:

Since {$C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D , r \sqsubseteq s$} $\in T$, $weight(C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D) = 2$ and $weight(r \sqsubseteq s) = 0$, set $weight(r \sqsubseteq s) = 2$.
Since {$C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D , D \sqsubseteq E$} $\in T$, $weight(C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D) = 2$ and $weight(D \sqsubseteq E) = 0$, set $weight(D \sqsubseteq E) = 2$.

Weights:


$weight(A \sqsubseteq B)=0$	$weight(B \sqsubseteq C)=1$
$weight(C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D)=2$	$weight(\exists p.E \sqsubseteq F)=3$
$weight(A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E)=0$	$weight(D \sqsubseteq E)=2$
$weight(r \sqsubseteq s)=2$	$weight(s \sqsubseteq p)=1$

Cycle Adjustment Phase:

Next is an optional phase to deal with cyclic TBoxes. Say we have the TBox:


$A \sqsubseteq B$	$B \sqsubseteq C$	$C \sqsubseteq A$

The weights assigned in the subsumption hierarchy phase varies depending on the order the axioms are processed. For example, if we start with $B \sqsubseteq C$ we would gets the weights:


$weight(A \sqsubseteq B) = 1$	$weight(B \sqsubseteq C) = 2$	$weight(C \sqsubseteq A) = 0$

The anti-cycling check prevents the procedure from entering an infinite loop however the hierarchical postulate is broken because $weight(B \sqsubseteq C) > weight(C \sqsubseteq A)$. Another problem is that the current weights state that removing $C \sqsubseteq A$ causes the least amount of epistemic loss however all of the axioms in the loop cause the same amount of loss. To fix both these issues, the cycle adjustment procedure identifies loops and increases all of the loop’s axioms to the maximum weight among these axioms.

Cycle Adjustment Procedure:

If $\alpha$ is in a cycle comprised of the set of axioms $\ell \subseteq T$, then $weight(\beta) = i$ where $i = max(weight(\beta))$ for all $\beta \in \ell$.

Applying this procedure on the above TBox gives us the weights:


$weight(A \sqsubseteq B) = 2$	$weight(B \sqsubseteq C) = 2$	$weight(C \sqsubseteq A) = 2$

Offset Adjustment Phase

The support axiom phase adjusts support axioms’ weights to better reflect their potential epistemic loss within the TBox, however these adjustments can break the hierarchical postulate. In Example 1’s TBox, we currently have $weight(r\sqsubseteq s) = 2$ and $weight(s \sqsubseteq p) = 1$ however since $r \sqsubseteq s \mapsto s \sqsubseteq p$ we require $weight(r \sqsubseteq s) \leq weight(s \sqsubseteq p )$. The offset adjustment procedure fixes this by checking that all of the axioms have a larger weight than their LHS connecting axioms and increases the axiom’s weight when this does not hold.

Offset Adjustment Procedure:

If $LHS(\alpha) = \emptyset$:
- $o_{\alpha} = 0$
Else, For all $\beta \in LHS(\alpha)$:
- If $weight(\beta) > weight(\alpha)$, then $o_{\alpha} = o_{\beta} + weight(\beta) - weight(\alpha) +1$
- Else, $o_{\alpha} = o_{\beta}$
$weight(\alpha) = weight(\alpha) + o_{\alpha}$

Like the subsumption hierarchy weighting procedure, the offset adjustment procedure also contains the same anti-cycling check during the recursive step of calculating $o_{\beta}$ to prevent infinite loops.

Finishing Example 1, we go through the offset adjustment phase and get the following:

Example 1 cont.

Offset Adjustments:

Since $weight(r \sqsubseteq s) > weight(s \sqsubseteq p )$:
- $o_{s \sqsubseteq p} = o_{r \sqsubseteq s} + weight(r \sqsubseteq s) - weight(s \sqsubseteq p) +1 = 0 + 2 - 1 + 1 = 2$
- $weight(s \sqsubseteq p) = 1 + 2 = 3$.

Weights:


$weight(A \sqsubseteq B)=0$	$weight(B \sqsubseteq C)=1$
$weight(C \sqsubseteq \exists r.D)=2$	$weight(\exists p.E \sqsubseteq F)=3$
$weight(A \sqsubseteq \exists p.E)=0$	$weight(D \sqsubseteq E)=2$
$weight(r \sqsubseteq s)=2$	$weight(s \sqsubseteq p)=3$

Using Hierarchical Weighting Function in $\le_{HP}$

With the hierarchical weighting function we can now implement $\le_{HP}$ to solve hierarchical preorder relations using the following rule:

$\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ iff $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\beta)$

Algorithm 1 outlines the relation validity checking and weight calculation processes. Here we are assuming that the TBox T stores pairs of axioms and their weights.

Postulate Proofs

We will now prove that the hierarchical preorder relation follows the postulates previously introduced.

Theorem: The hierarchical preorder binary relation $\le_{HP}$ satisfies the transitivity, totality, minimality and hierarchical postulates when applied to an EL++ TBox.

Proof: Given TBox $T$ and axioms $\alpha, \beta,\delta$.

Transitivity: Assume $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ and $\beta \le_{HP} \delta$. This means that $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\beta)$ and $weight(\beta) \le weight(\delta)$ which implies $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\delta)$ therefore giving $\alpha \le_{HP} \delta$.

Totality: For all $\alpha, \beta$ we have their weights, $weight(\alpha)$ and $weight(\beta)$. If $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\beta)$ then $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ and if $weight(\beta) \le weight(\alpha)$ then $\beta \le_{HP} \alpha$. Therefore for all $\alpha, \beta$, we have $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ or $\beta \le_{HP} \alpha$

Minimality: ($\Longrightarrow$) Assume T is consistent and $\alpha \notin T$. In the hierarchical weighting function we initially check if $\alpha \in T$. Since this is false, we assign $weight(\alpha) = -1$. The minimum weight any axiom $\beta$ can have is -1, therefore $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\beta)$ and $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ for all $\beta$.

($\Longleftarrow$) Assume T is consistent and $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ for all $\beta$. We then get $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\beta)$ for all $\beta$. Since $T$ is consistent, we know that there exists some axiom $\delta \notin T$ that would make $T$ inconsistent, therefore $weight(\delta) = -1$. Since $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\beta)$ for all $\beta$ we must have $weight(\alpha)=-1$ which can only occur when $\alpha \notin T$.

Hierarchical: Assume $\alpha \mapsto \beta$ and ${\alpha,\beta} \in T$. To check if $\alpha \le_{HP}\beta$ we begin by getting $weight(\alpha)$ and $weight(\beta)$. At the start of offset adjustment phase we have $weight(\alpha) = i$ and $weight(\beta) = j$ where $i,j \ge 0$. During the phase, offsets for $\alpha$ and $\beta$, $o_{\alpha}$ and $o_{\beta}$, are calculated and added to each of the axioms’ weights. Depending on the values of $i$ and $j$, $o_{\beta}$ has the value:

If $i>j$ then $o_{\beta} = o_{\alpha}+i-j+1$
If i $\le$ j then $o_{\beta} = o_{\alpha}$

Applying these offsets, we get:

If $i>J$:

$$ \begin{aligned} weight(\alpha) &= i + o_{\alpha} \\ weight(\beta) &= j + o_{\beta} \\ &= j + o_{\alpha} +i - j + 1 \\ &= i + o_{\alpha} +1 \end{aligned} $$

If $i \le j$:

$$ \begin{aligned} weight(\alpha) &= i + o_{\alpha} \\ weight(\beta) &= j + o_{\beta} \\ &= i + o_{\alpha} \end{aligned} $$

Therefore the hierarchical weighting function always terminates with $weight(\alpha) \le weight(\beta)$ and thus always returns $\alpha \le_{HP} \beta$ whenever $\alpha \mapsto \beta$ and ${\alpha, \beta} \in T$.

This proves that the hierarchical preorder binary relation $\le_{HP}$ satisfies all four postulates.

Kernel Contraction with Hierarchical Preorder

Returning to the problem of selecting which hitting set to remove in the kernel contraction algorithm, we can extend the definition of $\le_{HP}$ to create a new total preorder relation that works with sets of axioms, $\le_{HPS}$. The relation $H_1 \le_{HPS} H_2$ where $H_1,H_2 \subseteq T$ states removing $H_2$ causes an equal or greater amount of epistemic lost as removing $H_1$. For set weights can say $weight(H_1) = sum(weight(\alpha))$ for all axioms $\alpha \in H_1$. To validate $\le_{HPS}$ relations we use the rule:

$H_1 \le_{HPS} H_2$ if $weight(H_1) < weight(H_2) $ where $H_1, H_2 \subseteq T$

In order for the kernel contraction algorithm to be smooth, we must ensure that the same drop set is chosen every time we repeat a contraction. Therefore we assume that a canonical ordering of the axioms exists which can be used in tiebreakers where multiple axioms have the same minimum weight.

When choosing which hitting set to remove, all of the hitting sets are ordered with $\le_{HPS}$ and then the set that is at the bottom of the preorder is selected as the drop set. Algorithm 2 outlines the kernel contraction algorithm $T\div\alpha$ using $\le_{HPS}$.

Smooth Kernel Contraction Proof

We will now show that $T\div\alpha$ is a smooth kernel contraction by proving that all five postulates hold.

Theorem 2: The kernel contraction described in Algorithm 2 satisfies all five smooth kernel contraction postulates when applied an $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ TBox.

Proof: Given a TBox $T$ and axioms ${\alpha, \beta}$

Success: Assume $\nvdash\alpha$. When the pinpointing algorithm is applied, a finite number of $\alpha$-kernels are calculated that each entail $\alpha$. $\sigma(T \perp \alpha)$ is a minimum hitting set of the kernels so the set will include axioms from every kernel. Therefore the contracted TBox $T \setminus \sigma(T \perp \alpha)$ will have no $\alpha$-kernels and $T\div\alpha \nvdash \alpha$.

Inclusion: The algorithm never adds new axioms to $T$ therefore $T\div\alpha \subseteq T$.

Core Retainment: Assume $\beta \in T$ and $\beta \notin T\div\alpha$. That means $\beta \in \sigma(T \perp \alpha)$. Set $T’=T-\alpha$ which means $T’ \subseteq T$ and $T’ \nvdash \alpha$. If we add $\beta$ to $T’$ then at least one $\alpha$-kernel exists in $T’ \cup \beta$ since $\beta$ is in a minimal hitting set of the kernels. Therefore $T’ \cup \beta \vdash \alpha$.

Uniformity: Assume for every $T’ \subseteq T$, we have $T’ \vdash \alpha$ iff $T’ \vdash \beta$. In [Hansson94], it is explained that our assumption is equivalent to $T \perp \alpha = T \perp \beta$. When the incision function is run on $T \perp \alpha$ and $T \perp \beta$, the same set of hitting sets will be calculated and since the preorder using $\le_{HPS}$ is unique (assuming $<_*$ exists), $\sigma(T \perp \alpha) = \sigma(T \perp \beta)$ and therefore $T\div\alpha = T\div\beta$.

Relative Closure: For some axiom $\beta$, if $\beta \in T$ and $\beta \in T\div\alpha$, then trivially $\beta \in T \cap Cn(T\div\alpha)$. Also trivially, if $\beta \notin T$ then $\beta \notin T \cap Cn(T\div\alpha)$.

For the case where $\beta \in T$ and $\beta \notin T\div\alpha$. Let us assume that $\beta \in Cn(T\div\alpha)$. We know that $\beta \in \sigma(T \perp \alpha)$ therefore $\beta$ is found in at least one $\alpha$-kernel. More specifically, since all hitting sets calculated are minimum, we know that for all $\alpha$-kernels that contain $\beta$, there must be some $\alpha$-kernel $k$ where no other $\delta \in \sigma(T \perp \alpha)$ is found. If this is not true then the hitting set would not be minimal since $\beta$ would be unnecessary. After removing the axioms of $\sigma(T \perp \alpha)$, we should have contracted $\alpha$ and have $T \perp \alpha = \emptyset$ however since $\beta \in Cn(T\div\alpha)$, there exists a subset of axioms $S \subseteq T\div\alpha$ where $S \vdash \beta$ and therefore $S \cup k \setminus \beta \vdash \alpha$. This contradicts the success postulate for kernel contractions. Therefore $\beta \notin Cn(T\div\alpha)$ thus $\beta \notin T \cap Cn(T\div\alpha)$. Since all axioms fall into one of these cases, we have $T \cap Cn(T\div\alpha) \subseteq T\div \alpha$ always holds.

This proves that Algorithm 2 is a smooth kernel contraction.

Future Work

The hierarchical total preorder relation is a versatile method for ordering axioms and sets of axioms in TBoxes that do not need to be normalized and can be cyclic. When used in kernel contractions, the preorder limits the amount of epistemic loss caused to the TBox and maintains the smooth kernel contraction property.

This hierarchical approach is simply one way of ordering axioms. Future work can be done into developing new preorders or epistemic entrenchments that use different approaches to weighting axioms that work better under certain contexts. An issue with the hierarchical weighting function currently is that after every contraction, the entire TBox needs to be re-weighted in order to update the preorder. Developing a way to adjust weights after a contraction is an avenue to explore further. Finally, though the preorder was construction for $\mathcal{EL^{++}}$ TBoxes, it would be interesting to see if the method can be expanded to work with more expressive descriptions logics like the $\mathcal{ALC}$ family.

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