The first month

I'll try to post weekly accounts of my training from here on out, but here's a summary of what I've been doing in the past month to bring you up to speed:

Week 1: May 18-24

• Total distance: 24km
• Number of runs: 4
• Longest run: 9km
• Other activities: 2 long walks on the beach while I was home in NS!
• Total training time: 4:30

Week 2: May 25-31

• Total distance: 24km
• Number of runs: 4 (including a 4km tempo run and 5km steady run)
• Longest run: 11 km
• Other training: none
• Total training time: 4:40

Week 3: June 1-7

• Total distance: 22km
• Number of runs: 3 (including a 5km tempo run and 5 km steady run)
• Longest run: 12km
• Other training: cycling 42km
• Total training time: 5:10

Week 4: June 8-14

• Total distance: 29.5km
• Number of runs: 4 (including a 6.5km tempo run and a 5km steady run)
• Longest run: 14km (plus a few "strides")
• Other training: cycling 42 km; yoga class (90 minutes)
• Total training time: 7:30

Today was my hottest long run so far. I headed out shortly after 8:00 am but it was already more than 20 degrees. By the time I landed home almost 2 hours later, temperatures had soared to 27 degrees. However, I'm happy to report that I felt fine throughout. I was pretty well hydrated when I left, and took half strength gatorade along, put on lots of sunscreen and stayed in the shade whenever possible. For the last 5km I was running into a light breeze that helped to keep me cool too.

So far, so good. My plan is to focus on making the most of my mid-week runs and cross-training while my long runs are still relatively short. In general, I do my "tempo" runs at a 6:00/km pace (though I did one that was a bit faster this week) and my "steady" runs at about 6:30/km. My goal race pace is 6:45 so I am hoping those training times will get me there. Guess we'll see.