Training log: December 24-30, 2023
This was a good training week. I ran roughly 100 KM at a slower than usual pace. I did some longer runs in the 15KM-17KM range, which I haven’t done in a while. I slept a lot. I did a couple of threshold sessions, but mostly just trained in Zone 2 (approximately 70% of max heart rate). I kept my heart rate around 125 BPM on runs, and ran at a roughly 5:30/km pace. I felt good and my resting heart rate dropped back down to the high 30s.
I also noticed that several things increased my resting heart rate. I realized that my heart rate tends to spike on days that I ate a larger dinner and/or ate later in the evening. Sleeping less than 7 hours also tends to increase my resting heart rate above 40 BPM. On some days, my heart rate would increase after threshold sessions, especially if I didn’t rest during the day.
Next week, I want to publish a post with some interesting data on my experience with Zone 2 training over the past several years. I checked out some my data this week and noticed some pretty insightful information about the effect of Zone 2 training on rest heart rate, pace, and volume. More on this next week.
I’m back in Ottawa now and the weather is much colder than Phoenix. But Ottawa has so many great places to run and I’m excited to be back. I love running in the winter when it’s snowy and quiet.
I’m also stoked to get back into swimming now that UOttawa’s pool will open again (it’s been closed for quite a long time and will re-open soon). I swam a lot in Arizona and enjoyed doing some longer swim sets. This year, I want to log close to 5KM of swimming per week and average roughly 100KM per week of runs. I’m also hoping to do some more threshold sessions on a treadmill this year, and get in some longer runs on the weekend.
I also tend to cycle a lot on a trainer during the Winter. I use a TacX trainer (snap-in and not direct drive) and like to watch movies or documentaries while I bike. It’s a good way to cross train and I’m looking forward to it.
This is my final training week before I take a recovery week to adjust to higher training volume. I had some injuries and didn't feel well during the past couple of weeks, so have to rebuild my mileage. My goal for this week is to run about 100KM with some longer runs in the 15-20 KM range. I am going to continue with double runs on most days.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2024.
All views expressed in this blog are my own and do not constitute any form of medical, nutritional, physiotherapy, or other type of advice. They do not represent — and are not endorsed by — any academic institution.
