Half Update 11: Peak Week is Here!

The best part about peak week is the fast that it’s comprised of all your biggest training runs AND that they are the VERY LAST ones! That and you feel like a super hero. But I’ve also been tiered, wharfing and getting life stuff crossed off the checklist now that we’ve moved on job wise. Thankfully my remaining trainee has been very low maintenance and we only went once together. But let me tell you I’m feeling it ya’ll. My feet, my lady bits, my shoulders and my armpits are sore! But the end of hell month is finally here. This last month I’ve resented the question “what are you doing later.” The answer is after work I’m running, then running before work so I can work late, then I’ll squeeze in a bath before bed then running again then working late. Yeah that’s half the week right there. This upcoming week I only have 4 runs and I think I’ll feel like a truant school girl.

Tuesday: 7 km shakeout: I’m only going to say this once but hear it, my legs have been sore in life all week and thinking about running later has sucked. That being said a lot of the days I felt way better than I anticipated once I got out there. As those morning runs are getting longer they have to get earlier. This week meant up at 5:40 and on the road by 6:20, yawn! Also I got a new running jacket, yeah. It turns out it’s a running jacket with a back storey. I first saw them a bit over a year ago at Canadian Tire but they we’re $29.99 very light and kids. The thing that kept me from buying it was the heavier adult ones were $39.99 and permanently on sale for $20. Didn’t seem fair. Anyway I was there to pick up plumbing stuff (3rd stop for a vent cover) and they were on for $10! Finally! Anyway I got to test it out on Tuesday since it was raining. It has an extra pocket compared to my New Balance one, is a bit heavier and tucks up into a neat strap in one of the pockets for storage. Literally not by a running brand at all but it’ll fill a gap since my new balance one is just so feather light. I like it!

Wednesday: 14 km hill repeats (16.5): This was a terrible, terrible run and it wasn’t supposed to be! I have an arrangement with my boss/partner that for Wednesday long/fast runs I can take time during the workday to get them done but that literally never happened this training cycle. I was either needed, sick or the weather was wrong every single time. But last week my truck failed it’s safety inspection and had to get a ball joint this Wednesday and that was going to take hours! Perfect! We ran a hood out to Peggy’s Cove EARLY in the am, then it was time for the mechanic. Honey went to help another local company with a wharf project, nearby (4.5 km from the garage). He does that sometimes, helps one other company with the engineering bits of their wharfs or we set the crib and he does the diving for another. He’s just that good at wharfs!

I had a fartlek scheduled and started off that way for the first 4 km. I ran past his wharf project and left him a heart shaped heart arrangement for him to discover after lunch. Then I realized this was actually a hill repeat run no matter what I had scheduled. I pulled a muscle (slightly) in my armpit doing cartwheels for the camera and the picture didn’t even turn out. Sad face! I wanted to avoid the snake turns that made my driving instructor hold on so many years ago on the way home so I hopped on the trail which was also up hill. There isn’t an outlet from the trail that handy to the mechanics. I also knew if I took the road I’d wind up short. I figured I’d be a bit long but not 2.5.

Friday: 7 km recovery run: Up at 5:40 again and I let myself take a km off my run from Wednesday but I figured I’d save it for later in the week. Again I felt a lot better than I thought once I got out there. Afterwords my middle right toe was on fire so I taped a bandaid to it with RC boat tape. Worked great and then I bent over and screwed off an entire wharf with #10 4” deck screws, took 5 batteries, 5 hours and a bucket of screws but it’s finished.

Saturday: 8 km shakeout (4.6 km): My feet are a mess and I filed off 2 corns the night before rather too zealously. One blister is still hanging around on my left foot and both have bruises on the top. I cashed in all 2.5 km plus one with my stepdad. It was a very slow, very short run but it was all I had in me at 7am the day before my long run. I wore my old Boston Boosts since they have a soft, stretchy and uncomplicated toe box and I had no complaints. I ended up taking a 3 hour nap and then re-shooting my sister’s maternity photos since her daughter wasn’t in the best mood last weekend. Update: she had a little boy that same night!

Sunday: 24 km long run: So this was my longest run ever a record that stood since last weekend. That 24 number has been looming large this whole training cycle. I knew it was there I mean I should I wrote the plan but it took me further than I’ve ever been and officially 4 communities over once I realized that I started my sign collection of photos and today was the final one. Funny, silly storey I usually pick up a random piece of road trash and present it to honey as a running present when I get home. Since earth day it’s been harder to find stuff but that’s a good thing. Today I sent him a picture of an obviously recently used red thong and told him he could pick it up himself. EWWW but he laughed about it. How does someone come to leave their underwear on the side of a country road, near several homes? Presumably at night but it’s still close to freezing here overnight and those weren’t there last week. I’m not going to say I’ve never been in a potential lost my underwear vehicular situation before but it’s been a long time since high school but never on the side of the road, I’m a lady after all! At least it gave me something to smile about for about 5 km. Anyway if you think you lost your red undies in Boutilier’s Point this week reach out, I know where they are!

Back to the run. It was a bit colder than I wanted it to be for the outfit I really wanted to wear but the one I choose worked out well. I usually take two naproxen before a really long run  (16 km plus) and voltaren my knees and hips but I forgot today and my knee was twingey but not painful so that was great! I also used moleskin for the first time on my blisters and corns and it worked out well. I was surprised it was still firmly attached when I got home. I also had to sit down halfway and empty the sand out of my socks for the first time. Pro tip: do it sooner rather than later since it felt so good after. So that was it, my peak week for training for the half at bluenose this year, hard part done!

If you’re interested in the plan I’m using it’s the realistic 1/2 marathon training plan I wrote available here. While you’re there check out my other plans too including the new bare minimum 1/2 marathon training plan, more info here. What are you training for this season?