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Training Diary Weeks 22–24 of the Rebuild

The hard work is over at the end of the Kaisergarten loop. Here, the cool-down home begins. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020.

The objective going into these last three weeks of training had been to continue to push for consistency and increased volume.

I’ve accomplished that goal by introducing a fourth weekly run. To do so, my legs needed a bit of backing off in the first week. I could then step on it again in the last two weeks, introducing some speed work to create more variety and get familiar again with faster paces.

It’s been getting darker by the day, sometimes chillier, oddly even busier on the streets in the early morning hours lately. But I nonetheless enjoyed three tremendous training weeks and solid progress on my path back to the level of fitness I had enjoyed before this past spring.

Left Week 22 begins with an easy effort through the dark morning city, crossing into Mülheim for a bit. Mülheim, November 24, 2020. Center Bridge construction (and first deconstruction) after a big accident has me cut off from the usual footpath along the autobahn. Approaching here: the pass under the autobahn just to cross over it shortly after. Mülheim, November 24, 2020. Right On the way home already on this relaxed 60 minute run. Mülheim, November 24, 2020.

Crossing the autobahn that’s already busy with morning traffic. Mülheim, November 24, 2020.

The initial plan for week 22 had been to bump the schedule to five runs, including another strides session and a longer long-run. That would have surmounted to an increase from six to 6.5 weekly hours on the feet.

Hold that thought.

Left I tried a loop along the autobahn and around a cemetry and park for the second run of the week, a short 45-minute up-tempo bit of fun. Mülheim, November 25, 2020. Center No lights whatsoever on the path along the autobahn and at the park on the other side makes it quite the dark outing. Here, the morning traffic on the A40 offers a bit of illumination. Mülheim, November 25, 2020. Right Blurry bits of everything and nothing as the camera points toward its holder. Oberhausen, November 25, 2020.

Passing a parked car that’s picking up an additional passenger on the short stretch of road. Mülheim, November 25, 2020.

The first two runs were on point. Two shorter efforts: 60-minutes easy-peasy and 45 minutes of speedier paces, which I enjoyed particularly, despite the pitch-black that greeted me on the sort-of trails that formed the loop I had picked out (a loop without traffic interruptions).

But I decided to give my legs a bit more time to adjust to the step up from three to four runs before adding a fifth weekly session.

So I took out the strides, another shorter steady run, and switched the plan for the long-run, staying at four runs and reducing to five hours this week.

Left Christmas trees on sale at a supermarket I pass in teh early stages of this week’s Saturday long-run. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020. Right Adapted the concept of the 20-minute tempo run for a 2-hour run. Going up from the normal 1 hour total duraion by adding a second tempo segment and doing 2 30 minute easy segments. Here’s a tunnel crossing during the later stages of the 20 easy minutes that started the run. Essen, November 28, 2020.

The ghostly shadow of the old gas tower looms in the dark of the canal trail. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020.

Left “Slinky Springs To Fame,” the bridge that crosses the canal at the Kaisergarten park, greets in its illuminated state a few minutes before the second tempo segment begins. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020. Center Entering the Kaisergarten after a loop through an industrial area. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020. Right The hard work is over at the end of the Kaisergarten loop. Here, the cool-down home begins. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020.

Left Same spot still, but a clearer view of Oberhausen castle. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020. Right A bit of winter sunrise on the way home. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020.

A bit of winter sunrise on the way home. Oberhausen, November 28, 2020.

Long-run came early this week. It also was a special type of long-run. I adapted the 20-minute tempo run — a 20-minute tempo segment cushioned by 20-easy-minutes before and after. I threw in a second tempo segment and did one 20-minute and two 30-easy-minute segments for a total duration of two hours.

Despite the chilly temperatures, I enjoyed a very lively Saturday morning run. Good fun.

Left and center Ending a slight down week with hillier-than-usual 60-minute loop. Mülheim, November 29, 2020. Right When you go up, you have to go down again eventually. Essen, November 29, 2020.

To close out the week, I rolled myself out of bed early Sunday morning again to add one more relaxed hour on my feet to the week’s tally.

I opted for a route that’s slightly hillier than usual. I already enjoyed it much more than the first time I had picked it.

I had no complaints at the end of this week. Solid progress, the fun of playing with a variety of paces again, adapting to four weekly runs, legs that feel happy enough to move onwards.

Left Starting the week with 90 easy minutes. And a sidewalk full of “stuff.” Mülheim, December 1, 2020. Center More sidewalk action after leaving the Ruhr riber wetlands. Oberhausen, December 1, 2020. Right More sidewalk action after leaving the Ruhr riber wetlands. Oberhausen, December 1, 2020.

Hugging the autobahn on a dark sidewalk with some car traffic on the road between sidewalk and highway. Mülheim, December 1, 2020.

The week began with a solidly relaxing 90-minutes. Happy feet paired with a pace that was on point. The darkness could give way if you ask me. But that’s a natural element you’ve simply got to punch your way through, to borrow one of my favorite Sci-Fi tv-lines.

The back-do-back action continued with Wednesday’s return to some strides. Instead of the softer (but pitch-black) grounds of the Gleispark, I opted for the long straights of the adjacent industrial park.

Dark, yes. Harder asphalt, yes.

But the illumination of the stores in the background bathed the foggy morning in some fascinating colors and textures. Not the worst backdrop for some speed work.

Left Speedwork in the dark is on the schedule for the second run of the week. Here, a scene from the warm-up. Oberhausen, December 2, 2020. Right Another impression of the Gasometer from the third run of the week. Oberhausen, December 4, 2020.

Fog and lights mix well. Instead of going into the dark park nearby, I stayed at the industrial park for the 10 quick 20 second intervals. Oberhausen, December 2, 2020.

Left Out of the dark and into the bright city lights. Oberhausen, December 4, 2020. Right Traffic lights stop on the way home. Oberhausen, December 4, 2020.

The second half of the training week began with rest on Thursday and Friday’s 90-minutes lively effort along the dark canal. I’m definitely edging closer to those pre-spring paces; reassuring, rewarding, and enjoyable.

Varying paces helps for sure. So does being patient. A third element is the long-run.

I had my eyes set on a nice route, hugging the river Ruhr on its way to Duisburg, crossing over at the lock just shortly before Ruhrort, and passing through the inner harbor on the way home via the main train station and university campus.

Picture me surprised to find the bridge closed. Not the kind of surprise I enjoy.

The solution was to take the next bridge, scrap the inner harbor, and aim for the train station in a straight line.

The run went smoothly, despite this route adaption and the construction-riddled main road leading from the train station homewards. I enjoyed a superb 2.5 hours on the feet, progressing from easy to tempo. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start my Sunday.

Left A 2 1/2 hour long-run marks the end of a solid week. Oberhausen, December 6, 2020. Center Crossing the Ruhr en route to Duisburg Ruhrort (would have come across better with a smidge more light…). Oberhausen, December 6, 2020. Right The plan was to cross the river at the lock again and head for the inner harbor. But the crossing that’s shortly after this lovely spot was cordned off because of construction. So, I had to improvise and go one bridge farther. The inner harbor has to wait. Oberhausen, December 6, 2020.

Left Approaching Duisburg main train station after running up the pedestrian zone. Oberhausen, December 6, 2020. Right After first crossing over the autobahn and then under the railway tracks, this lovely active street brings me back to Oberhausen via Mülheim. Oberhausen, December 6, 2020.

At the end of the week, it feels like I’ve now adapted to four runs per week, and the weekly mileage is up too. A solid, productive, and fun week.

There aren’t any pictures for the start of week 24. Tried some video for a change, but with ever-more darkness out there, there’s nothing worth showing.

The run, most importantly, was superb. A solid 90-minutes, dropping the paces on the easy end of the spectrum. It all feels more relaxed and natural again.

The goal for the week is again to have four sessions, going up to about seven hours, including a special type of speed workout.

For speedwork this week, I decided to introduce hill reps. Great fun, even in the muddy dark. Here’s one of the rewards: the view from the top of the waste tip that is almost the only suitable place for this task close-by. Oberhausen, December 9, 2020.

Left The city from up high. Stopped for a moment after a hill rep session to enjoy the lights of the city in the dark. Oberhausen, December 9, 2020. Right 20 easy minutes framed the hill session. Here’s a scene from the surprisingly busy morning streets on the way home. Oberhausen, December 9, 2020.

Instead of the intervals on the flat, I picked one of the few spots around here that support hill reps. I started nice and easy with 10 by 30 seconds of work up the waste tip, after a 20-minute warm-up, followed by a 20-minute cool-down.

Phew. Pacing in the unstable dark is a bit tricky, but I almost regret not having introduced this type of workout sooner. Bag-loads of fun, in a way. Took a moment to glance over the city from the top before commencing with the cool-down.

Left Leaving the quiet comforts of the canal trail near the Kaisergarten park for the final 30 minutes of Friday’s 90-minute progression run. Oberhausen, December 11, 2020. Center A new day begins to slowly brighten up as I edge closer to the end of the 15 k loop. Oberhausen, December 11, 2020. Right One of the ubiquitos signs of the pandemic are masks. It’s a bit blurry in this scene, but signs signaling mandatory mask zones have sprung up as winter began rolling in. Oberhausen, December 11, 2020.

After a bit of an unrestful night, I didn’t have the highest expectations for the final weekday run. The plan was to split the 90-minute canal loop into an easy first and a slightly faster second half.

In the end, I wasn’t too far off what I had planned. But in the second half, I could definitely feel that it wasn’t the best of days.

Still, a solid effort and some quality mindful moments in the quiet dark along the canal.

Left The longer the long-run, the earlier it gets. A good 90 minutes into the 3 h of time on the feet this rainy and warm winter Sunday morning, the calm of the Ruhr trails is left behind in Ruhrort. Duisburg, Germany, December 13, 2020. Right A phase of heavy drizzle had set in minutes earlier, making for wet feet and streets. Duisburg, Germany, December 13, 2020.

Left I expect some form of artificial lightsource behind this intense night sky over the industrial areas of Ruhrort that led me to the gren trail (grüner Pfad). Duisburg, Germany, December 13, 2020. Right Crossing under the autobahn via an artfully beautified tunnel on the way back home. Duisburg, Germany, December 13, 2020.

For the fourth and final run of the week, a long-run was on the schedule. Coming in at about three hours, I’ve completed a gradual increase from two to two and a half and now three hours.

It was dark, rainy, and too warm for mid-December. And it was calm and quiet.

It was also an easy and relaxed effort. Very relaxed for the first hour, stepping it up a smidge for the final two hours. Felt solid. Good fun despite the slow paces. Had neglected this range for a week or two. So it was good to get in some quality time here as well.

Looking at the data after the fact, I’m quite satisfied to be back in the sub 140 bpm realm for the easiest of efforts (and the paces here are making progress as well). So all’s well.

That brings three solid weeks to a close: up to seven hours of running again while keeping it at the 65 km from last week. The hill reps are a keeper. Paces keep slowly dropping. The legs feel fine. The fun level keeps gradually increasing. More to come.

Three weeks and their runs in duration per run (above) and broken down per week (three below).

That’s it for this running training update. There’s most likely one final look at the training diary at the end of the year. Next week, I’ll post a fresh batch of reading recommendations and hopefully two special pieces.