Funny, now that I'm looking at my log it doesn't really appear I took it easy, 
but it did feel more relaxed and that's what matters. Tuesday's track workout, my weekly "Yasso 800's" was the toughest of the week by far. Running fast is hard, and this week I made the jump from doing 4 800m repeats to doing 5. The promise of a cold beer for finishing 4 800s and a tasty treat for finishing 5 kept me going. This strategy, although highly effective, is the reason I haven't lost any weight during a year of marathon training. I need to find another reward that works just as well...(unlikely).
I started hill training in earnest this week, although instead of running hills I was walking straight up a mountainside (view from the top, above). I'm sure it doesn't translate perfectly.
In any case, IB & I did the "Grouse Grind" here in Vancouver, which is described on the park's website as:
but it did feel more relaxed and that's what matters. Tuesday's track workout, my weekly "Yasso 800's" was the toughest of the week by far. Running fast is hard, and this week I made the jump from doing 4 800m repeats to doing 5. The promise of a cold beer for finishing 4 800s and a tasty treat for finishing 5 kept me going. This strategy, although highly effective, is the reason I haven't lost any weight during a year of marathon training. I need to find another reward that works just as well...(unlikely).I started hill training in earnest this week, although instead of running hills I was walking straight up a mountainside (view from the top, above). I'm sure it doesn't translate perfectly.
In any case, IB & I did the "Grouse Grind" here in Vancouver, which is described on the park's website as:"an extremely steep and mountainous trail that begins at the 300-metre-elevation and climbs to 1,100 metres over a distance of approximately 2.9 kilometres"
People here in Vancouver use this trail as a kind of extreme stairclimber and you can even get a timing chip that automatically keeps track of your times so you can see your improvement over the summer. The nice thing is it takes less than 30 min. to drive to the mountain from downtown and there is a nice patio on top where you can have a drink and some food after you're done. You also get a nice view and an exciting ride down on the gondola.
Sunday I squeezed in my weekly long run, only 6 miles, before flying out to New York City for a week. It was a gorgeous morning, I've included some snapshots taken on the run...there were more but Blogger wasn't letting me upload them :(
Above, right, that concrete line on the seawall is where 99% of my runs start and finish....Right, view of the West End from seawall on English Bay...
This week's training:
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Yasso 800s - 4 x 800m with 400m jogs between
R1 3:51
R2 3:50
R3 3:53
R4 4:01
R5 3:39
Walking 30 min
Wednesday
5 mi/8K easy (roughly 10:00/6:18 pace)
Walking 30 min
Thursday
The Grouse Grind (for hill training) - 1:13
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Rest
Sunday
6 mi / 10K Long Slow Distance (L.S.D.) - 1:07
Travel to New York City!
Next posting: Running in the Big Apple!
Friday
great to get started! Especially exciting was my first track workout since 1991 on Tuesday. Friday's race was ok, although I still have yet to reach my lofty goal of a 25 minute 5K....At least I PR'ed (even if it was only by 11 seconds). The fact is I felt like absolute crap almost the whole way. I learned 2 things from that race:
