July 28 - August 3

Monday (OFF)
One of my last off days before resuming running.

Tuesday (10km)
39 minutes at a stiff pace with Chris. I did not feel as smooth as I did before my break, but I had no trouble keeping up a good pace. We went through Gibbons. I had to dash back for my frisbee game.

Wednesday (OFF)
The final off day off recovery. I did weights and core in the morning.

Thursday (13km)
57 minutes with Chris on the Brescia trails. It was hot. Again, I did not feel all that smooth, but there was never any doubt that I was going to finish.

Friday (OFF)
I slept in, and did a weight workout rather than a run. I planned to run in the evening instead, but there was a massive rainstorm when I became available to run. Oh well.

Saturday (14km)
63 minutes on my own through Gibbons Park and into Ross Park. I noticed that the bike path has been extended through Ross Park. I hope the plan is not to ultimately send it next to the river. I thought I was moving quickly, but it was only 4:16-4:20kms. I did a sprint finish followed by a short jog.

Sunday (19km)
I had a short night last night and did not feel great for this one. Neither did Chris. He asked me to start 13km into his run, and run the final 17 with him. He was not going to bail, he said. I believed him, but even if he did, I figured I could make it a few k beyond where he quit, which would have been good enough for a decent effort. Did a 2km warmup, then sat in the car for 45 minutes before I could warmup again. Fortunately, the goal pace for today was slower than what I was doing previously: 3:55 vs. 3:45. Those 10 seconds per kilometre make a big difference. I was within a couple of seconds for the first few kilometres. At about 20k, Chris realized he was not going to finish, but said he would go as far as he could. I was hoping he could make it to 26k, leaving just 4k for me to do on my own, but it was starting to be clear that he was having trouble. A few times I got two steps on him and had to slow a bit to let him catch up. His 24th km (my 11th) was in 3:59, which was our slowest for the day. He made it another half kilometre before apologizing and dropping out. That km for me was 3:55, then I increased my pace. I went 3:45/3:45/3:40 and had to ask for water. That k was 3:42 (I might have lost 2km to drink the water). I decided to go fairly hard in the final kilometre, but my stomach disagreed. I vomited three times in the final km, still running 3:36. Saturday nights need a better sleep.

Total - 56km. Really easy week. This was about what I was aiming for this week, but with an extra rest day. It was nice to have a good run on Sunday after a week and a half of easy or no running.