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.