This Is Happening (4).

Half Way Through Half Marathon Training : ) 

Mojo's Runner; by James Best, Used w Permission

"It's not me! I wish!" : ) GH

I'm running four times per week now. Used to run 5 - 6 times per week when I was serious. Add up all the runs over all the years and the total would be very high, and not once did I look as smooth and speedy as Mojo's runner, top photo.

That being said, I'm slow and steady (and approaching svelteness, in my opinion), and am approaching London's April 26th half-marathon race date with growing confidence.

 Steady Eddie - Walking to the Downtown YMCA three times per week. 

 Walking north on the Wortley Rd. overpass to UWO once each week

I find microfilm at UWO. Found this painting

under the Wortley Rd. overpass at Horton : ) 

While running recently, a few thoughts about "where I'm at in my training" have crossed my mind.

E.g., I've got a pretty well balanced weekly routine:

On Sunday I do my long run, to develop stamina, and on the last two Sundays I have completed 8.25-mile runs at a comfortable pace. I am steadily running under 6:00 minutes per kilometre, just slightly faster than my projected race pace. But I still have to add five miles (about 8 km.) to the long run, so we'll see how the next half of the training schedule goes. 

The Terry Fox Pathway has mileage markers, so I can time

each half- or full-kilometre. Steady as she goes!

Monday is an 'R' day; rest, relax, catch up on my laundry, reading, Samurai Sudokus, etc.

Tuesday is a "hill run" day, i.e., a 5 - 6 mile run on a treadmill at the Y. Some treadmills have a +/- 'incline setting' function, initially set at 0.0 so people run on a flat surface. During most runs I set the incline at 0.5, slightly uphill, but on Tuesdays I adjust the incline from 0.5 to 2.0 or 2.5 or 3.0 for 250 metres at a time, hoping to build leg strength for hills on the race course. I run on a steeper incline 12 - 16 times over 8 - 10 km. distance, and I think the extra work will pay off on the race course.

Wednesday has become "speed work" day. I gradually change the speed per kilometre on the treadmill over 8 - 10 km., from an easy, warm-up pace of 9.6/9.7 kph to race pace (10.1/10.2 kph) to 10.5/10.6 (for now; higher numbers are ahead). In other words, I slowly accelerate from speeds that are slower than race pace, to race pace, then to faster than race pace, with the hopes of raising the bar in my comfort zone.

Thursday is a 'W' day, during which I typically walk to the University of Western Ontario to collect information about WWII from vast stores of microfilm.

Photo Credit - Editorial cartoon by Canadian James Reidford

from the Nov. 17, 1943 issue of The Montreal Star

I reversed the order of 'W' and 'speed work' last week

due to having a bit of a cold/fever/sneeziness. 

Friday has become "race pace" day at the YMCA, with most time during the run spent at 10.1 - 10.3 kph. Hopefully, on the April 26th race day I will be very comfortable at my projected, desired speed, i.e., just a bit faster than 6:00 min. per kilometre.

Another thought has also returned regularly while involved in training runs, ie., I like the idea of 3 runs at the Y followed by a long run outside. As long as the pathways are clear I will continue to hit the road on Sundays, to see how the indoor training is helping with my slow and steady long runs, some of which will be on parts of the actual race course soon.

For now, all is well and by Sunday I should be ready to add another kilometre or mile to the long run on the Terry Fox Pathway or TVP (Thames Valley Parkway) to UWO.

Photos From Along the Way:

Hell, Michigan. My running group "danced with dirt"

Gord warms up for his first leg.

I return home from UWO via this bridge regularly 

Five o'clock traffic on the Horton Street Extension

Last week was Week 8 of 17. So this week I hit the halfway point 

I already plan to change Friday (Y 5 mi. Easy) to Y 6 mi. Speed

and run 9 miles outside on Sunday, Easy - weather permitting

More to follow as I continue work on The GREAT Canadian Comeback.

Please link to This Is Happening (3)

Photos GH

Photos From Along the Way (2).

Terry Fox Pathway Scores a 10

This journal entry goes a few years back : )

This winter I have not ventured onto the Terry Fox path, west of Wharncliffe Rd., because I either head to the YMCA for workouts or walk north toward the UWO (for research purposes) on the Thames Valley Trail However, when warmer weather returns and the path is clear of ice or snow, I will head west to try out my running legs. I have registered for a half-marathon race in April (on Sunday the 26th) and will want to see how my indoor, treadmill training translates to tarmac.

That being said, my computer's photo files run deep and offer up good views of one of London's most popular pathways.

Photos from Along the Way:

Please link to Photos From Along the Way.

Photos GH

This Is Happening (3).

Run Slower! Run Slower!

I am heading north toward The Fork of the Thames. Temp -1 Celsius.

I can be very specific about the speed of each run I have completed at Downtown YMCA and recorded in my journal (re distance, time, average speed in miles and km). And since my last entry on January 15 I have adhered to my half-marathon training chart and have had positive results during three runs and workouts and two long walks per week.

Got the numbers to prove it.

But I had a nagging feeling that I was going 'too far too fast' on the treadmill (such an easy thing to do, you just have to push a button). And though the last 3 - 4 months of running had prepared me well for increases in speed over distances from 3 - 5 miles ( I was recording PBs or 'personal bests' on a regular basis), one side of my brain was regularly sending fleeting messages to the other side that went a little bit like this:

- you ate up this kind of training in 2003 and 2004 as you prepared to run a qualifying marathon for the Big One (Boston marathon)

- you're 16 - 17 years older now

- why not play it safe and take it a bit slower?

- you ain't no spring chicken anymore, Gordie Boy!

And, over the last few days I have started listening to the message: Go slower, and enjoy the view.

So, today's workout as recorded on my training schedule - 7 Miles, Speed Work - has now been scratched out and changed to "7 Miles, Easy." After all, I had a very good 'hill workout' this past Monday, a very good 'speed work run' (faster than my planned race pace) on Wednesday, and a steady, easy-ish run on Friday. All in all, I want to be a Steady Eddie rather than someone skirting with injury.

Photos from TVP, London (earlier in the year):

We are now into February and I look forward to adjusting my month's worth of workouts to a more conservative pace. If I feel strong and steady by Feb. 29 - after I get a couple of 7 and 8 milers under my belt - then I might turn up the 'speed work dial'... just a notch or two.

Update from Monday, Feb. 3:

I ran 12 km. (7.456 mi.) on the treadmill yesterday. City paths and sidewalks were snow-covered. 

Pace: I ran slowly for 0.3 - 0.5 km., then gradually increased the speed from 9.6 - 10.1 kph, a couple of kms at a time. My race pace will hopefully be very close to 10.0 - 10.2 kph.

There are 12 weeks of training to go. Still healthy! 

Please link to This Is Happening (2).

Photos GH