Training Log: June 1-7, 2025
This was a fun and challenging training week. And I'm happy it’s over.
Summary of the past several weeks. These past weeks, I’ve been slowly building my running mileage. I increased my mileage by roughly 10% per week. Last week’s mileage was 70KM, and this week’s mileage was closer to 80KM. I used to run between 100-120 KM per week, and I find it’s been tough to re-build mileage more recently. But the weather is only getting better, and it’s a blast to train outside in Ottawa during the summer. This coming week will be a periodization week, where I drop my mileage to at least 50% of last week’s volume.
Why do I periodize my training? I periodize my training and take periodization weeks for several reasons. They allow my body to adapt to greater mileage, avoid stress fractures, and prevent over-training. They also help me reduce and clear systemic fatigue. Even though I may not have localized muscular fatigue or soreness, my body still accumulates systemic fatigue from the stress of training over long periods. I feel less systemic stress after a periodization week. I also find that periodization allows me to maintain a high training volume — and stay disciplined — over long periods. It gives me something to look forward to as I complete harder training cycles.
Here is an overview of this week’s training:
Running mileage and type of training. This week, I ran 82 KM and trained mainly in Zone 2 (roughly 70% of max heart rate). I didn’t do any speed workouts or threshold sessions. Instead, I added more double runs to my week to increase volume. I still find that the second run of the day tends to be easier than the first, and I try to space out my runs by at least 5 hours or so. Ideally, I like to run very early in the morning, and then again around noon. This gives me more time to recover before the next day’s training session.
Strength training and kettlebells. I’ve incorporated more strength training and core work into my training schedule. There are so many great kettlebell exercises that help identify muscle imbalances, pinpoint weaknesses, and build core strength. They are pretty challenging in the beginning, and I can see that I am improving incrementally.
Sleep and resting heart rate. I slept roughly 7 hours/night, which is less than I like. I try to sleep closer to 7.5 or 8 hours/night, but it hasn’t happened lately. I felt pretty tired in the mornings, but trained anyways. My resting heart rate was closer to 38 BPM, which is higher than usual for me. I find that sleeping less, eating late, or eating a heavy dinner all increase my resting heart rate. Ideally, I like to eat a small dinner at least 3 hours before I sleep.
Plan for periodization week. My goal for periodization week is to do some easy runs, one threshold session, bike a lot, and return to swimming. I miss swimming and am excited to get back in the pool.
Plan for the next several weeks. I plan to increase my running volume back up to 90-100 KM/per week for 3 weeks, and then take another periodization week so that my body can recover.
Otherwise, I’m eager to finish some research and writing projects. More on that soon.
Have a great week!
All views expressed in this blog are my own and do not constitute any form of medical, nutritional, physiotherapy, or other type of advice.
They do not represent — and are not endorsed by — any academic institution.
