The Laufen Mountain's Journey

Hard not to be happy with this week's runs. After burning my legs pretty badly on last Sunday's kayak adventure (which was sensational!). I took Sunday and Monday off from running, and more then made up for it Tuesday! Early morning run, followed by a lunch run for a total of 19k... on a Tuesday.  Followed by a 13k run Wednesday, taking back Meloche Hill segment. Hadn't realized I lost it, but it's given me some extra motivation to hit the segments. Ending the week at 62.2 km ran, bringing the annual total to 1,065.6 kms. Which is back on track for the annual stretch goal of 2,022. Got one bike ride in with Jeremia this week. Happy to be out on the road, but will hopefully have my mountain bike situation sorted soon. Here's to another active week next week!

As I'm winding down the Trailblaze for Wishes, I'm thankful for the opportunity it gave me. I took my foot off the marathon gas pedal, and was having some fun raising money. The other thing it did was take the pressure off long run Sundays, which I love, but it allowed me to explore some other hobbies.  I started Father's day off with an intense bike ride, which was just incredible! Ended Father's day with the most relaxing kayak ride. It's been so long since I've been in a kayak, and I'm happy it went better than the rollerblading I did last summer. Hoping to continue to get better, and get the kids excited about it too... well not mountain biking... cuz I broke my Huffy:(

I tried posting on Mondays to include my WHOOP data, but it's all been "great effort, sleep could use improvement" and Monday's are busy. I tried writing last week's post a few times, but kept getting side tracked.  I've officially kiboshed the marathon training plan until July. Trying to train for a marathon, do charity runs, cross train, do yoga and do things with my children was ambitious.  Looking forward to pushing for a four hour marathon starting July 24th. I've come to discover that Thursdays are my best PR days. I don't know why, but I tend to have my best runs on Thursdays.  Going to wrap up June with some morning runs for me, and some evening runs for charity. Seems like a good balance.

I ran a PR half today, and it feels pretty good.  I mean, I don't , I'm sore as hell! Last month I hit a PR of 2:01 and change. Today I did it in just under 1:55!  It was work, and I kept telling myself I'd let off after the next km. I'm happy I've pushed writing the blog posts to Monday, because yesterday I wasn't feeling awesome about my running week. I was purposely trying to taper, while doing charity runs, but still felt guilty for not hitting my weekly kms.  Today was validation for not hitting my weekly kms, and the actual good it will do. Even though I didn't hit my kms, I did a few costume runs. Those.are.taxing .  My Weekly Performance Assessment has the usual " optimal strain, sleep could use improvement " header. Which hammers home how strenuous running in a costume is. I'll be interested to see next week's WPA, because my strain for the half marathon was 20.5.  WHOOP uses a scale of 0 to 21 to measure strain. Which makes 20

Apparently if I wait till Monday, I'll have my Weekly Performance Assessment from WHOOP. Which is a little more insight into the past week running. I might have to try this Monday thing out for a bit. Today's WPA, strain was overreaching and sleep fell short... preach WHOOP, preach. I'm still not 100% and the runs I am doing are kicking my ass. Going to sleep in a little tomorrow and run after the kids go to school, so hopefully we can get that recovery up. After being sick and getting side lined with that for a week, I've been struggling balancing charity runs and training runs. Which in and of itself seems like an insane statement after re-reading it. I've had alot of fun, and definitely felt the support from my home town, doing these costumed runs. They've come with different and unique challenges, and hopefully some lessons learned.  Here's to finding fulfillment in this week's runs. 33.9km ran last week, 755.2km this year.

I'm disappointed that I only ran 10k this week. I was sick and the 10k I did run, was for charity. I should be more satisfied, but now, in this moment, I'm not. It's likely the lack of a cathartic run that has me feeling off. Which I'm hoping to rectify tomorrow morning.  I wish I had more insight, but I don't. Here's to a better week. Weekly distance: 10.9km (22.6km less than last week)  Yearly distance: 721.3km (12.2km ahead of 2,022km plan)

An absolute roller coaster of a week, ending with a man cold. A colleague passed away on Tuesday and it really overshadowed everything else. I poured me feelings into my run Tuesday night, I'm not sure if it helped, time will tell I guess. Was feeling really crummy and light headed on Sunday, so I canceled my long run. I felt guilty about it, less so today as I continue to feel worse.  I did my first Make-a-wish run as Batman, and the response has been overwhelming.  Here's to many more for a great cause! Weekly distance: 33.5km (13.4km less than last week)  Yearly distance: 710.3km (40km ahead of 2,022km plan)

Not many runs this week, but they were purposeful and awesome!  I ran a 24:55 5k and 51:51 10k for my fartlek run.  COME ON! Look out the Flash!  Followed by a beautiful run Thursday. Then watched the sunrise on today's run. Ran 27k today and it wasn't fun.  After a week of crummy recoveries, the lactic acid was real in the calves.  Walked more at the end than I wanted to, but knew I still had a full day ahead of me.  I couldn't write the rest of the day off, because we were picking up a foster puppy!!! This will definitely get me out walking on my recovery days, and she's been super sweet so far. Looking forward to the start of the Make-a-wish fundraiser, and the wacky runs that will accompany them. Weekly distance: 46.9km (14km more than last week) Yearly distance: 676.8km (45.3km ahead of 2,022km plan)

Three weeks into marathon training, and I had to let the off the gas a little. Absolutely the right thing to do after pushing myself too hard last Sunday. This week has an extra recovery day in it, which should help with next Sunday's run. Ran 15k a year ago 6 minutes slower, so that's awesome! Looking forward to getting back into a good routine once everyone's back at school Weekly distance: 32.9km (19.7km less than last week) Yearly distance: 629.8km (37.1km ahead of 2,022km plan)

What's not to love about today's long run? I mean aside from not being able to use my legs anymore. PRs for half marathon, 20k, 10mile and 15k.  I really pushed it, and am paying for it now. That being said I biked 15.7 km and ran 25k. Which I'm proud of, I was trying to engage a wider stride, which paid off. Also, where the big pain is coming from.  Engaging more of my quads, and they're pissed! Week 2 of marathon training is in the books! The difference in pace for this week's long run, versus last Sunday leaves me hopeful for the progress I can make between now and October.  The difference in strain and the recovery from the night before week over week, speak to the importance of recovery. Of knowing when to push it, and when not to. Learning what lies at the end of a super strenuous day, may impede future strenuous days, or more likely push me for more gains. I think the saying is "pain is weakness leaving the body". Well I'm going to be super st

First week of marathon training is done! I loved it! It was structured, it accounted for lots of recovery and it's building toward a good marathon time. It's a twelve week training plan, so I'll be doing it twice before Detroit. I hope the first time to hit 4 hours, then tighten it up the second time. Today's long run was felt pretty awesome. I set out with an easy pace in mind and managed to hold a respectable 6:30 km for the first half of the run.  Still munching on my gummy bears every 5k, so energy was still good at the halfway point. I was even able to increase speed a little. Trail running seems to be a lot more forgiving on the shins.  Last summer they were significantly cooler than the road as well. So I think that's where a good portion of my long runs will take place. I managed my second best half time, while stopping to take pictures. Which is helping 42.2 not seem like the monster it was last time. Raising money for St. Judes is going well. I've

Pretty happy with my running this week.  Nothing crazy, but it was consistent. Excited that 5:30/km is becoming more of a natural pace, and 6 flat is more of a recovery pace.  Still a ways off from 4 and change needed for Boston, but improvement is good. Going to start official marathon training next week,  there's a Marathon training plan available through Strava that conveniently starts with a recovery day (which I'm sorely in need of).  Up until now it's been logging kms to log kms, now it'll be building towards the daunting 26 miles. I didn't get in the cross training or yoga in that I wanted to, and it shows. Here's to a better week next week! Weekly distance: 44.7km (0.8km less than last week) Yearly distance: 494km (17.5km ahead of 2,022km plan)

A great week running, but no cross training or yoga for balance. Instead it was a pretty low key March break. I worked and tackled some projects around the house, but managed to relax with the family as well. I still need to take some time to unplug from work, someday.... but that's work John's problem. Apparently Thursdays are my days to lay down some PRs. Broke last week's Thursday PRs with this week's Thursday run. Commitment to myself for next week. Cross train three times, yoga three times, good steady mileage.  Weekly distance: 45.5km (11.8km more than last week)  Yearly distance: 449.2km (11.6km ahead of 2,022km plan)

I had a pretty good week running.  I didn't get in my long run today, but instead got some projects accomplished.  In retrospect my Thursday run was pretty great. I crushed another PR on Fryer, and got into the top 10 for times. Plus my third fastest 5k time. It was very rewarding to see gains in my speeds. I broke 400km yesterday, which is super exciting! I remember the anxiety of being under 100k at the start of the year, now I've got a more ambitious goal that is keeping my feet closer to the fire 😬 I still need more weight training, but have had some great yoga sessions with Tiff. Weekly distance: 33.7km (0.7km more than last week)  Yearly distance: 403.7km (4.8km ahead of 2,022km plan)

Painful week running this week! I spent too much of it feeling sore, and took an extra recovery day.  Which was needed, but I was far too reluctant to take.  It was bumping my foot into Tiff, and looking like a soccer player after taking a hit.  My son looked at me like I was an idiot "Dad, take a break". So I did. While I was busy feeling like I hadn't run enough.  I glossed over the fact that I ran an amazing half, immediately followed by a personal best on Meloche Hill.  Which is typical, gloss over the good, focus on the negative. A good Sunday long run is good for the soul. It's even better when your body's not beaten and bruised and you can actually enjoy it.  Even though the kms were low this week, they were some quality kms! With warmer weather comes alternatives for cardio, looking forward to getting back on my bike this month. Going to try and balance this week with some good runs and more cross training.  It still feels like a chore, and not like a part

What an awesome week running!  Last weekend I got in some pretty great long runs, but didn't hit the half distance. I was a little disappointed that I hadn't done a half in January, and February is almost at a close.  Last weekend didn't scratch the itch, so I was hoping the weather forecast was accurate and I was going to have a beautiful day for a long run today. Set out for 21.1 with no real route in mind.  I knew I wanted to hit Meloche and get closer to taking it as the local legend.  As I was running I decided to try and hit it enough to take it.  I changed up the route every time I approached it, and ran down streets that I haven't run down before. My watch messed up the run, which is typical now 😒. Maybe it's time for a factory reset.   The WHOOP however performed swimmingly! It's still calibrating, but has enough baseline to recommend strain effort for the day, which I exceeded today... I did get in some cross training this week, and am looking for

I had a great week running! I took advantage of the warm weather where I could, and took a rest day on the coldest day.  In hindsight, I should have done some foam rolling and yoga, because my Saturday run felt pretty stiff to start. The Saturday run also gave me some funny perspective.  My watch was being difficult at the start, I think my sleeve canceled my run, which then caused it to auto record. Which is worse in the most first world way, it gives me slightly less data.  I didn't stop and fiddle with it, because Strava was recording as well,  and frankly "boo hoo John" you're not getting enough data?  Which by the end of my run was ironic. My first foray into smart watches was a Samsung Gear Fit, which I don't think recorded many (if any) Fitness activities. I just wanted it to be more connected to my phone, it was fancy and techy and relatively cheap to dabble my feet. Previously, I could never find wearing a watch comfortable, so the Gear Fit was a great

I didn't get out for the Sunday long run I was hoping for, but I finished a work project and grabbed a couple of presents for my wife. I had some really good runs this week.  I'm having consistently better vertical scores while running, which I'm attributing to core workouts and yoga. The ankle was/is bothering me today which helps with missing a long run.  With the temperature expected to be well below -10, tomorrow morning might be a yoga and core workout. Hit my weekly target and broke 200k, so overall a good week! Goal for next week is to get some more cross training in. Weekly distance: 31.7km (1.7km less than last week) Yearly distance: 227.6km

Rolled my ankle on Thursday, and it sidelined me Friday. Luckily I have an ankle brace from the last time I was a clutz.  It's helped immensely, and I'll be rocking that bad boy for a while. Ended the week with a beautiful run! I was worried that I wouldn't hit my weekly target after rolling my ankle.  As much as I want to hit 200k tomorrow,  I think my ankle will be better served with a rest day tomorrow. Overall, I'm happy I hit my weekly distance goal, and am doing well against my annual target. Goals for this week are to keep an easy pace and take it easy on the ankle. Weekly distance: 32.9km (8.9km more than last week) Yearly distance: 196.3km

Absolutely loving the Mirror! Doing different workouts, and stretches has been great. Pushed myself too hard, and had to take an extra day off. Ended up having a really good run due to the rest, so that's a bonus! Was short of my weekly goal, but am still ahead on my annual goal.  Going to work out smarter next week, and enjoy a day of above an freezing temperature! Weekly Distance: 24km (down 16.8km from last week)  Yearly Distance: 163.6km

I'm really proud of the week I had running.  I broke 100km, and have remained very consistent despite the cold.  I've been building up my weekly mileage to be marathon ready. In December I ran a 5k everyday, which I didn't think was something I could do!  Moving into the New Year, January's daily goal was 6k. With one week left in January, I'm going to break 150km which is exciting for the first month of the year. In February my daily goal will be 7k, and then start a marathon training plan in March. The Mirror arrives tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to incorporating it into the workout regimen.  The goal is to combine some strength training and yoga more consistently into the weekly routine. At some point I'm going to have to reign in the caloric intake, to speed up the weight loss.  Shooting for a gradual reduction till mid February, then start dialing it in more. Weekly Distance: 40.8k (down 6.1 from last week) Yearly Distance: 139.3k