Week 5

Total distance run this week: 32.3km
Number of runs: 4
Tempo runs: 2 (6km each)
Longest run: 16km
Other activities: 42km cycling
Total training time: 6:30

A pretty decent week of training overall -- though I found today's long run a bit tough. It wasn't hot (only about 23 degrees) but the humidity shot up to 80-90% while I was out so I had to slow down in the second half to offset its effects. Perhaps I wasn't well enough hydrated either. In any case, not one of my best runs, but perhaps next Sunday's will be better.

I picked up a new gadget this week that I hope will make it easier to reach my training goals for Chicago - a Garmin Forerunner 305. For the uninitiated, Garmins use GPS technology to track a runner's time and distance. The one I bought also has a heart rate monitor. I'm hoping it will help me run more consistent paces. After more than 7 years, I know what my normal long slow run pace feels like, but am still strugging to find and keep tempo and steady run paces.

One of the big advantages of my new Garmin is that I don't have to stick so rigidly to a planned route in order to ensure I run the scheduled number of kilometres.

For example, when I left home today, my plan was to cross the canal at Carleton University and run down Prince of Wales drive to Dow's Lake. When I got to Carleton, however, the path through the arboretum looked so inviting I ran along it instead, even though I knew it was a shortcut to the lake. Without my new Garmin, I would have been hard-pressed to figure out how to adjust my route from that point on to make sure I ran the full 16km -- but, with it, no problem. As I neared my own neighbourhood, the Garmin told me I needed a bit more distance, so I spun around the block once more before heading back to the house. I think I'm going to like this. Long runs could get a whole lot more interesting in the coming weeks.