Recovery done!! Back to work!

Well after almost a month of short runs (6-10k), the real work begins again this week.  There's been a couple of nice things about this recovery period.  First and foremost, I needed the time off to rest.  I didn't think I did when I started this recovery phase but looking back at it now, I was tired and sore.  Now I feel refreshed and all ready to beat the crap outta myself again for the next 14 weeks.   Second of all, I got a great opportunity to get back to running in my minimalist shoes.  I think almost all of my runs since the Bluenose have been in my Vibram  Bikilas or my New Balance Minimus trail runners.  Now that my feet and stride have adapted somewhat to the minimal way, I'll continue wearing them on as many runs as I can, except for my long runs on Sunday. For those I'll stick with my Kinveras. 

Now that the mornings are light and warmer, I've started incorporating cycling into the training as well.  I commuted to work (26k) 4 days last week and drove back to Bedford one day as well for a weekly total of 120k over 5 rides.  I hope to continue with the cycling because I love it and its a great way to get some cross training in.  Plus I save money in bus tickets. lol

So this week begins the fall marathon training program.  This weeks total distance will be 50k, 21k of which will be my long run on Sunday.  This may sound crazy but I'm actually looking forward to the long run this weekend.  After so many shorter runs that actually feel like warm ups, it'll feel good to get out and just run for a couple of hours.  Great therapy.  Of course by the time October rolls around I'll be looking forward to just being able to run some shorter runs again.  lol.  From now until October 7th, I'll be running at least a half marathon every Sunday.  The goal for this training session is to get my marathon pace from 5:50 a km down in the 4:40 a km range.  I've been told this may not be realistic but I'm going to shoot for it and lets see what happens this fall.  I'd rather set my goals too high and miss than to set them too low and hit them. 

So I'll be updating this again on a weekly basis, usually on Sunday evenings when I can look back and reflect on all the happenings on the week.  I hope that anyone reading this will find them somewhat informative, humorous and motivating. 

Onward and upward.