Rest Day

As noted in the previous post, today is a rest day without any activities planned. I don't usually take many days like this, as I tend to fill in the rest days in my running schedule with either cycling or walking sessions. As such, this taper period feels a bit weird as I'm used to working hard up until the day before my races. I naturally understand the importance of this process for longer distances like this, but that doesn't stop my subconscious from looking out the window and thinking that I should be out there doing something ;) Either way, I have a plan and I intend to stick to it one way or the other...

Yesterday, I did my 6K LSD run as planned and it felt quite nice to do a short and slow run like that. I targeted a 5min/km pace, which is slower than I usually do these runs, and kept my heart rate below 70% for most of the session (it went up a bit as I ascended the hill at the end). After heading back for lunch, I went back out on the bike and did an easy 30K ride (55% HRR/27.7km/h) to even things out. In both sessions I focused on my form and took care to keep my cadence in the ideal 95rpm range.

Tomorrow, the plan is to do a continuous 10km run at my half-marathon race pace (4:44min/km). In addition to being the final major workout prior to the race, this will also give me a better feel for maintaining that pace, as well as the feasibility of maintaining it for the full distance. I'm planning on heading out in the morning for this session rather than the afternoon runs that I generally do during the week in order to get ready for the early morning starts.