Won't back Down

Now that exams are over I can finally update my blog after a long lay off filled with lots of studying, training, and coffee. I mean lots and lots of coffee. Seriously, one day of last week, I had a double espresso in the morning, went to class where someone brought a couple trays of coffee, and because others in the group were light coffee drinkers, and I couldn't bear to let hot black coffee (even though it was tims which tastes disgusting relative to what I'm used to) go to waste, I had two large Tims cups of coffee, only about 30 minutes after my morning espresso. I then had my usual Starbucks coffee in the afternoon, and then a espresso when I had got back home from school. A little bit later, one of my roommates who had purchased an awesome new espresso machine that day, offered my one, and obviously I accepted. Suffice to say it was a really good night of studying. But really to tell you the truth I don't actually feel very much when I drink coffee, I feel immune to it. The only time I actually feel any effect is when I don't have it. I would never go a morning without coffee, it is essential, it is routine, and based on previous experience it would likely trigger a migraine that would last for a couple days -its happened before where I ran out of coffee or had to leave in a rush. But if I do miss a coffee around mid-afternoon which may happen from time to time (maybe once a month) if my schedule is crazy that day, then I certainly feel the effects. I don't get a headache, but just feel exhausted. Yesterday afternoon was one of those days, did my final exam, then core workout, then had a meeting with my coach, then went on a 70 minute run (ya you heard me - but more on that later), then went to a physiotherapy appointment, and by the time I got back it was 5 and I had to start packing stuff for home. About an hour later when I sat down in my chair I fell out cold asleep for about 30 minutes upright in my chair.

But anyways to the important stuff - training. Now that I have the next little while (3.5 weeks) off from school I am starting a really heavy training block. The leg has got a whole lot better in the last week, and I've been shaving 5-6-7 seconds off per kilometre on each successive run. Plus the mileage actually wasn't that pathetic. Last week was 85 kilometres, this week I'll probably hit 95. Although the leg was actually sore today on my way over to swim. Its about 2.5km each way (so 5k total to-and-from the pool), so I figured even though it was supposed to be an off day from running after 8 days in a row, 5k was no problem. Well it was pretty sore, not awful, but not like it was yesterday where I finally dropping 4:20s on my 16k run - ya it sounds pathetic considering I need to be rolling sub-3 minuters for races in 2015 - but it is a far far way from where I was about 2 weeks ago, or a month ago where I wasn't able to run at all. I don't actually think it was the running on the supposed-to-be day off as the cause of the discomfort because 2.5 either way is not enough to hurt it. I think it was just the brutal weather conditions, like seriously where the heck did this snow come from, holy smokes its still coming down. Yesterday I ran in shorts, today I was mid-shin deep in snow. I figure a combination of two factors contributed to the hip hurting today: 1) the height of the snow on the sidewalks meant that I had to drive my knee up a little more which made my hip a little annoyed, and 2) the slippiness of that snow (like my goodness it was like a skating rink) meant that my foot would land and slip back a little every stride which put a little stretch on the hip on made it a little angrier. Anyways, no worries, I'm sure I'll be fine for tomorrow's run. Unless that is I actually tired myself out too much with today's swim. Let me tell you it was a fast, long, and downright exhausting one. 2 hours of high intensity stuff, no pull bouy that entire time so lots and lots of kicking. The set was a nice easy 500m to warmup, then 250m all out with kick board and fins on, then around 400 m of drills. Then hit the main set which was, 500m at moderate-hard pace, then 5X50m sprints leaving on 50 seconds, 1X100m, then 5X50 leaving on 50, 100, and then repeated the set of (500, 5X50, 100, 5X50, 100) four times. So total the set is 4X500m, 40X50m, 8X100. Afterwards a cool down. Ran home, and hit a 45 minute core workout. Tiring, but a solid way to start the training block. Here a 50 from a couple weeks ago, a 37 sec 50 to start for that workout 30X50m, then 20X100.

Wow just saw how the video shows up on the blog site - terrible quality you can't see anything, whatever.

In terms of the schedule, assuming everything keeps progressing how it has been (other than today), me and my coach put together a game plan which is as follows: 

 - Hit my first workout next Wednesday - a 15 minute tempo run at 10k pace. 

- Run two doubles per week and aim for 95k this week, 100k next week, 110 the next, then 120 and sit at 120 for a while (not big mileage but you'll understand why when I explain a couple of the workouts that are planned on the indoor track Wednesday nights in January)

- 20 minute tempo on the 24th, then 25 min on the 31st, all at 10k pace (so roughly 3:10s) 

Her plan is to just stick to tempo runs in December for me to build back leg strength, to be able to handle the workouts in January. As she said for me, really track is just a bonus, since all the focus is really on the XC Canadian Championships next fall in Guelph. The schedule for races is:

- make my debut January 31st in the 3000 at the York Open

- Race another 3000 at the Windsor Team Challenge (one of the biggest meets of the year)

- And finish with a 1500 at the Hal Brown Last Chance Meet at UofT

- By finish that is hypothetically speaking that I'm not in the Top 3: teams can only enter 3 for the OUA Championships, and based on the fact that our team is super deep for track and that I had a really long lay off compared to everyone else building hard miles on miles throughout the XC season with fast races in between, I'm probably not going to be able to whip myself into top 3 speed in such a short time. Not to mention on the team there is a runner who won a silver medal at the Canadian Championships this summer in the 1500, another who is on the short-list for Team Canada in Rio for the triathlon. So ya it'd be tough to crack the top-3 regardless, but especially when considering my injury. But anyways after the track season we planned a likely early outdoor schedule to be: 

- 5k in Burlington on Mar 1 

- 5k in Hamilton Mar 29 (when she said, "So the Around the bay is on the 29, so you could do the 5k," I thought in my head, "What about the 30, I want my revenge," then out loud "Ya the 5k sounds good." 

- 5k in Grimsby Apr 4