Training Log Entry 34

January 22 - 28, 2024

Monday January 22

Off

Tuesday January 23

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

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

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.