My week in sports #11
Marathon preparation is in full swing and I have started my training schedule for the 42.195k. That means running 4 times a week, and trying to squeeze in some strength training every now and then. This week, I was supposed to be skiing. But then Covid-19 happened. Bye bye vacation.
Monday – 16 March
We arrived in Laax, Switzerland on Thursday last week and we were able to enjoy the slopes on Friday. The news that the area would be closed on Monday came as a disappointment, and quite frankly as a surprise, as the entire village and ski area was utterly deserted. When we woke up on Saturday, full of enthusiasm to make the most of the two remaining days, we saw the message that on Friday evening, it was decided to shut down immediately. So that was it. After feeling sad about it for two days, we decided to go for a hike on Monday. We visited the Cauma lake, which was mostly frozen. It was so pretty!
We have swam in this lake during summer time and it had always been so cold! So, of course, we decided to give it a try and see how cold exactly the water feels when you need to cross snow to get in the water. IT WAS COLD. But so cool!
Tuesday
We were supposed to drive back to The Netherlands on Thursday evening, but with all the countries panicking and shutting down borders, our families in NL became a little worried we might not make it back. So we (somewhat reluctantly) decided to head back on Tuesday morning. We did get an ‘access denied’ at the German border, so it turned out to be a solid decision. No running though, as we had to turn around and drive through France, Luxemburg and Belgium. Home late, sleep quickly.
Wednesday
As I didn’t have the time to train yesterday, I decide to go for a run today. It’s really odd to work from home on a Wednesday and I feel restless the moment I wake up, so I head out the door immediately. It feels good to go for a run, something to take my mind of it. I decide to do the planned interval run with a 10x 2min. To keep it interesting, I decide to make the 3rd, 6th and 9th interval quicker. I feel good afterwards!
Type: Interval
Distance: 10km
Duration: 58 minutes
Thursday
Usually Thursday is track training, but that isn’t happening. So I go for a run myself. I head out the door right away when I wake up, but for the first time ever, I notice I might have had too little to eat. I feel exhausted after 6km and I can only get myself to run 9.5 instead of the planned 11. After refuelling with some breakfast, I feel better! Not a good run, but a good lesson nonetheless.
Type: Easy run
Distance: 9.5k
Duration: 57 minutes
Friday
Rest from running, as I have two medium long runs planned for the weekend. I decide to do a strength workout from home, as the gym is closed. Over the years, I have done quite some rounds of Kayla Itsines’ BBG programme and it has always worked for me. So I decide to sign up again and give it a try for the next few weeks. A full body workout without giving it my all (because, you know, running is priority and it’s really hard if you’re sore ALL OVER) is the result.
Saturday
With all the social distancing going on, the group of people I can run with has been limited to one person. That is still much better than doing everything alone though. We planned to do a slow 14k, as that is what my schedule tells me to run. We end up with a 15k, with strong head wind for the first 9km. My heart rate is a little higher than necessary due to the wind, but I feel alright. We end the training with 3 sprints of 50m and walk home. That was a good one, I am not too tired afterwards :).
Type: slow long run
Distance: 15km
Duration: 1 hour and 36 minutes
Sunday – 22 March
I need to do a long run again, aiming for marathon pace this time. Damn. The strong head wind has turned and I have tailwind for the first 7km. That means that the second part of the training will be a lot harder as I am already a little tired. On the bright side, I decide to start practicing with eating during long runs and I take some small gummy bears at the 9k mark (I really, really, really, cannot deal with gels). It goes well :). I am hitting the right pace nicely, but I do feel tired when I get home, the wind has really knocked me out!
Type: long run marathon pace
Distance: 13k
Duration: 1 hour and 13 minutes
So no skiing for me. A part of me does not mind too much, as I can stick to my schedule for now. But mostly, I feel a bit down for everything that is being cancelled and restricted. It’s for the best, and I am thoroughly lucky that we are still allowed to run here (and that I picked a sport that can be done individually and outside!). Let’s hope we can continue this. For now, my marathon has not been canceled just yet, but in the back of my mind, I am preparing for that disappointment… Let’s wait and see. Wait, and see.
Did you run as well? Maybe you decided to pick it up after a long time or maybe you lost your marathon goal for now. Let me know!
Running Ella 