For The Fun Of Running

Training Diary Weeks 8–10 of the Rebuild

Exploring a backroad on the Troja side of the Vltava. Prague, Czechia, August 19, 2020.

The hot days and nights of summer have clung to my training for the majority of these first 10 weeks back at running after the involuntary spring break. They have now mostly faded into chillier fall mornings that are accompanied by a resurgence of the pandemic here in Prague and in many places across the world.

While that is a theme I might pick up on in a future training diary, the fun of running it won’t diminish again.

Weeks 8–10 brought the good old feud with humidity, paces edging closer to what I used to be able to do before the spring, and barking legs as a reminder to keep training balanced so the fun of running can be enjoyed consistently.

Clockwise from top left to bottom right Cloudy but humid early morning along the Vltava river on the Troja side. Prague, Czechia, August 18, 2020; crossing Troja bridge from Holesovice to Troja at the beginning of the week’s second run, I noticed a hot-air balloon over Stromovka park and pointed the camera backward. Prague, Czechia, August 19, 2020; passing a dog and its human companion on the Troja side a few minutes later. Prague, Czechia, August 19, 2020; exploring a backroad on the Troja side of the Vltava. Prague, Czechia, August 19, 2020; I had to navigate around a massive puddle on the way back to the riverfront. Prague, Czechia, August 19, 2020; blurry Stromovka park near the end of run number 3. Prague, Czechia, August 21, 2020.

I had cut the long-run the week before to help the legs adapt to the gradual increase in weekly volume. That decision was the right call.

With week 8, I returned to three 90-minute runs during the week and a 2 1/2-hour long-run on Sunday.

Despite the humidity and legs that were happier but still not exactly fresh, I made progress on the pace front. Variety, I find, is the keyword in this phase. One run in the recovery spectrum, one easy, and one as a progression run from easy to up-tempo.

Clockwise from top left to bottom right The first 2.5 hour run since returning to running begins with a lonely kayack at dawn. Prague, Czechia, August 23, 2020; quiet river paths on a cooler but still very humid Sunday morning. Prague, Czechia, August 23, 2020; few people but a number of sheep on the way to the village of Klecany. Prague, Czechia, August 23, 2020; the Vltava river just outside the boundaries of the city of Prague. Czechia, August 23, 2020; more people out there as the clock keeps ticking, just as this cyclist in the village of Klecany. Czechia, August 23, 2020; point of return for this particular long-run at the end of Klecany. Following the path along the river down to the left would bring us to the village of Rez. Czechia, August 23, 2020; back the way I came for the second half of the run. Prague, Czechia, August 23, 2020; morning sky over Prague. Czechia, August 23, 2020.

The long-run was the best of the bunch. I enjoyed the serenity of the riverfront on a Sunday morning while progressing through the paces, starting super easy and ending on a bit of a tempo push. Not many people out and about.

Nature. Peace. Focus. Three words that describe the fun of running.

An overview of week eight of my training after the break (running only). 4 runs, their durations and average paces.

The week may have been new, but the trend line still continued. High humidity on the home stretch of summer. Progress with the paces. Legs that wavered between being snappy and tired.

The recovery run that opened week 9 had the legs swing to the snappy and happy end of the spectrum. The average heart rate dropped another notch while the average pace improved as well.

Clockwise from top left to bottom right Starting the week with a recovery run along the river. Pictured here is the street leading to the waterfront as a tram passes. Prague, Czechia, August 26, 2020; on the way home, daylight has pushed dawn aside. Pictured here the view of Troja bridge. Prague, Czechia, August 26, 2020; exploring a path paralell to the waterfront during the second run of the week. Prague, Czechia, August 27, 2020; more action on the main paths a few minutes later. Prague, Czechia, August 27, 2020.

But I had made a crucial alteration to my training plan that week. I swapped the down week planned for week 10 with the full plate designed for week 9. Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday and Thursday for a recovery and an easy run.

That easy run was a bit more stressful than planned. Not because I went out harder than planned. Because I vacated my dawn running spot to evade the strong winds on Thursday. The stress of navigating around the throngs of pedestrians, runners, cyclists, and skaters roaming the streets of the golden city as if nothing was the matter this summer sufficed to pin me back to the early hours of the day for my runs.

Clockwise from top left to bottom right Crossing a footbridge into old town in the arly stages of the long-run. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; welcome to the heart of Prague. Namesti Miru around the corner opens the path to the narrow alleys and historic architecture of Prague. Czechia, August 30, 2020; Old Town Square in all its glory. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; I welcomed the unusual emptiness and circles around the square before continuing the old town loop. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; a quick glance back with the famous golden clock that attracts snap-happy tourists day in, day out. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; next stop: Wenceslas Square with the recently renovated Národní muzeum in the background. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; final stop: the national theater, located at the edge of old town. From there, I looped around the Vltava river and headed back home. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; that final loop handed me this view of Prague as I crossed the river. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; and a sideways glance a few meters later. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; a big puddle on the passage leading to marina Liben, shortly before ending the run. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; the passage from marina Liben to Troja bridge was still nice and quiet. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020; so was the narrow sidewalk I dared to use only because I suspected it would be quiet at 7:30 on a Sunday morning. Prague, Czechia, August 30, 2020.

For the long-run I had planned something special. An exploration of old town. Sunday’s before sunrise is probably the only time of day I’d willingly hang out at the touristy of all tourist hotspots these days.

I knew the paces I wanted to do and how long I wanted to be in that area. What I didn’t have was a precise route for old town. I only knew when I needed to be on my way out of the downtown area to make it home in time for the 2 1/2-hour mark.

That was a liberating experience. I enjoyed a solid progression run, with decently calm streets in the city, new explorations of places I hadn’t been to in quite a while, and again plenty of progress on my quest to regain fitness.

An overview of week nine of my training after the break (running only). 3 runs, their durations and average paces.

Summer’s over. Week 10 welcomes fall, chillier mornings, and my trusty headlamp to combat the darkness that creeps deeper into the day with every day that passes.

After the down week, it’s now time to push the weekly volume roughly back to what I was used to. About 8 hours or 80 km. The legs seem to be ready. Progress keeps coming. And the closer I get to the paces I used to be able to do, the stronger the sense of enjoyment becomes.

Clockwise from top left to bottom right Scenes from my early morning runs along the Vltava river. Prague, Czechia, September 1, 2020 (first two), September 2, 2020 (next two), September 3, 2020, (next one), September 4, 2020 (final three).

I kept varying the effort levels throughout the week. From easy to progression (easy to up-tempo), up-tempo, and recovery to relax the legs before the long-run.

The long-run this time was spent at the riverfront again. Nice, quiet, and enjoyable. Done as a progression run again, the paces I managed to squeeze out, were now closer to what I was used to than ever before.

Clockwise from top left to bottom right Scenes from an early morning run along the Vltava river. Prague, Czechia, September 6, 2020.

That naturally makes the fun of running stand out. But rivers (or the water in general) seem to be one of my favorite running spots. There’s a natural beauty and peace that quiets my mind and makes me smile.

An overview of week 10 of my training after the break (running only). 5 runs, their durations and average paces.

The 10-week summary of my return to running couldn’t be more positive.

While I had some struggles in the early weeks, I’m now back to the weekly volume from before. I’m within roughly 30 seconds per kilometer of the paces I could manage. I learned to better listen to my body and take days off more seriously than before. I’ve dropped the minimum heart rate I can run at and can now do truly easy or recovery runs.

Despite the heat and humidity even around dawn, despite the pandemic beginning to surge again, despite the sometimes heavy legs, the fun of running has never been so apparent to me. And that’s really all that matters.

An overview of the first 10 weeks of my training after the break (running only). 37 runs, their durations, average paces, and average heart rates.

So much for this training diary update. The next running musings might arrive in a few weeks near the beginning of October. We’ll see. Until then, there’s going to be more journalism and photography writings I hope will pique your interest.