T minus 5 weeks

This past week was among the most intense and benefit-packed weeks of training that I can remember. Two quality workouts that challenged but were a success, and a 30-kilometer run this morning at 5:30/K and 700 meters elevation gain. Alas, I got lost in Har Homa again because they evidently don't believe in signs to indicate dead ends and twice I found myself trapped with no way forward but up some stairs. And that climb up Gei Ben-Hinnom is killer every time; I was basically cursing and doubting I could finish today's run from halfway through the fifth kilometer.

Tuesday morning was when I set out to see if I had it in me this early in the season to run 45 minutes at 4:20/K. It turned out I did, but it was tough. Could I have gone longer? Probably, but the 10-minute cooldown to end the run had to be among the slowest 10 minutes I ever experienced. Being in Tel Aviv for the holiday, I elected to run along the beach promenade. A couple of runners tailgated me for parts, and that may have helped.

Then on Thursday, still wary of attempting mile reps at the track, I undertook for the first time Ron Warhurst's "The Michigan." The Michigan is an on-track/off-track interval session that blends 10K and 5K race pace with short tempo runs. It turns out my intervals were a little off the mark, and some of my rest periods weren't really rest because of the track's distance from the Rail Trail where I ran the tempos. Nonetheless, it was high up there on the difficulty scale as far as track workouts go. Luckily, there are only three tempo intervals in between four HIITs; had there been a fourth tempo, I might have just jogged it.

Next week? I have the dreaded mile reps penciled in for Monday. If I'm in Tel Aviv again over the weekend, I'll attempt a 1-hour Steady-state run at 4:25, per Week 3 of Sebastien Locteau's 10K plan. Five weeks to go to the Eyal 15K, twelve to the Maccabi 10K.