The build is finally biting, so today should absorb the work, not add to it.building
Toronto Half Marathon · 18 days · Updated 2026-04-14T08:18
Today's Focus
No run is planned today, and that is the right call. Saturday's 12.02 km long run was the first session that actually looked like HM build work, and with ATL at 25.9 and TSB at -19.9 your job today is to let that load settle. Easy walking and normal mobility are fine, but do not turn this into an unplanned filler run.
This Week's Job
Week 5 is the peak build week: 32 km total with a 16 km long run, last 3 km at race pace (5:40/km). This is the biggest week of the block. The key is not bravado, it is arriving at the quality sessions with enough legs to execute them honestly.
Training Load
CTL is 9.8, ATL 25.9, TSB -19.9. That combination says you are carrying real accumulated fatigue for the first time since the metatarsal layoff. The good news is the 7-day CTL trend is still rising (+4.3), so the build is moving. The caution is that freshness is low enough now that adding junk volume would be expensive.
Recent Pattern
The last 7 days were three runs for 24.03 km, progressing 4.04 km, 7.97 km, then 12.02 km. That is a clean progression in distance, but the 7.97 km run averaged 153 bpm, a little hot for what should still be controlled build work. Saturday's 12 km at 146 bpm was the more useful signal: longer, steadier, still aerobic.
Toronto Half Readiness
Toronto Half Marathon is 19 days away. You are not in taper yet, but you are past the fragile restart phase. The metatarsal history still matters because the fastest way to lose this race is to confuse momentum with permission and stack too much stress in the next 7 days.
Open Questions
- How did the foot feel later on Saturday and Sunday after the 12 km run, especially under the 5th metatarsal area?
- Do you know which day this week is meant to carry the first real quality work, so we can protect that session instead of leaking effort elsewhere?