11/18/2019 0 Comments Hypo ½ Training Week 6: Snow, slush, ice; Plant-based diets; and a rookie mistakeThis week started off with a 15 cm (6 inch) dump of snow and temperatures of -20°C (-4F) with the windchill, but warmed up by nearly 30 degrees to 7°C (44F). Between the high snowdrifts, the melting slush and rain that quickly turned to ice overnight, and the widely variable weather, I needed pretty much every piece of running gear and clothing I own (except for shorts)!
A Busy Long Weekend Sunday, November 10 was our Hypo ½ clinic’s Long Slow Distance run. It was also my youngest daughter’s 8th birthday party, so I wasn’t able to make it to run with the group. I ran early in the morning by myself instead, which was not nearly as enjoyable, but hey, that’s Mom life. On November 11, we Canadians celebrate Remembrance Day to honour the sacrifices made by our brave veterans in World Wars I & II, as well as in more modern campaigns. My son is an air cadet with the 395 Squadron, so our family joined him, his fellow cadets, veterans, soldiers, and other members of the public in a Remembrance Day parade and ceremony. Unfortunately, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month this year, the weather was at its worst yet, and we froze our toes off standing outside for over an hour in -20°C. But by mid-afternoon, the mercury rose to -10°C (14F) and it was nice and sunny for my run. Because things were so much colder in the morning, I was feeling pretty cocky and comparatively warm, and didn’t bother carrying my phone close to my body, but in my jacket pocket. It bricked halfway through, preventing me from listening to my favorite podcast. And because it was the holiday Monday, there were still plenty of sidewalks and roads that were unshoveled or unplowed, so I had break more than a few paths for myself through calf-deep snow. It was tiring, but a good leg workout. Slush and Ice The temperature kept rising and dipping around the freezing mark throughout the rest of the week, with icy mornings and evenings, and slushy afternoons. GoreTex shoes and ice grippers were a must, at least for this gal, who, given a relatively clear sidewalk, will still manage to step in every puddle and icy spot. Rookie Mistake Our Hypothermic Half Marathon training group joined the Honolulu Marathon training group for our weekly running clinic, and we were treated to a presentation on Plant-Based diets given by half marathon clinic co-instructor Ed Gallagher and another plant-based marathoner. Since I’m a long-time vegetarian and have been fully vegan for the past 5 years, this was preaching to the choir on my part, but many other runners were interested in how plant based diets can improve athletic performance, recovery, and general health (watch the documentary The Game Changers on Netflix if you’re similarly curious). We went out for a 5K Tempo run, which I had planned to run at around 5:30 minutes per kilometer, but it was a really nice, warm (somewhere around 5°C), clear night, and I was feeling good (cocky again!), and ran the first couple of kilometers closer to 5:11 minutes per K, which was much too fast a pace to keep up for the entire run. I ended up with an average pace of 6:12min/K, which was much slower than I could’ve run if I’d stuck with a more reasonable pace from the beginning. Positive splits are not what I was aiming for! I don’t make this mistake often, but when I do, I feel like an idiot. A tired, huffing and puffing, sweaty, drained idiot. Still, it was a lovely night for a run. Week 6 (Nov 10-Nov 16) Training: Training Schedule: Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov 15 Nov 16 9K LSD OFF 5 Tempo 3 Tempo 4 Steady OFF 3 Steady What I ran: 9K LSD 6 Steady 5 Tempo 4 Steady 5 Tempo OFF OFF
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AuthorKathy Istace runs and races in one of the coldest cities on earth. Archives
December 2020
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