Monday 21st Jan. HRV= 68 White.
An early start after a late night and today will be spent travelling. Overdid the food last night and feeling bloated this morning so I’ll take it easy today and try get back on track. Easier said than done as airport food isn’t great.
Departed the hotel at 09:15am and I expect to be home by 7:30pm.
Plan for tomorrow includes dropping the kids to school along with other errands followed by a MAF session similar to last Wednesday to make the comparison and the result will determine my next training move.
Tuesday 22nd Jan. HRV=80 White.
A good result and perfect for a MAF session. Collected my blood results and then had a meeting regarding a project for later in the year. Did so much running around that I almost missed the opportunity to train and ended up cutting the session short by 1K. Session went ok but the drop in fitness after missing 1 week of run training is very obvious. I’ll now take a small step back and rebuild my aerobic base which shouldn’t take long.
Plan for tomorrow is undecided as I’m not back in the zone yet.
Wednesday 23rd Jan. HRV=64 White.
Didn’t expect the result would be this low but then again I am at the tail end of an unusual week and that was obvious from yesterday’s session. No time for a lunchtime run but to make up for lost time I decided to skip my coaching session in favour of a slightly longer MAF session of 16K on the track. Slight improvement on yesterday and the run was mentally tough which made it even more satisfying to complete.
Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session followed by a lunchtime recovery run and if I have time for a second run I’ll take it.
Thursday 24th Jan. HRV=68 White.
Slightly up on yesterday and I expect to be back on track by the weekend or early next week. Early morning strength session with a step back in lifted weight (-20Kg) but an increase in depth. Lunchtime 10K using the MAF zone again and the pace was slightly down on yesterday but that’s ok. No time for a second run as I’m coaching this evening and required for taxi duties.
Plan for tomorrow is up in the air.
Friday 25th Jan. HRV=60 White.
Lower than expected but then again I did have a sneaky whiskey last night and probably got less than 5hrs sleep. Turns out I’m too busy to train today which might be a good thing as I can feel the DOMS coming on from yesterday. On the downside I’m going to a party this evening and that might knock me back a bit. I won’t overdo it but sometimes you need to blend into the crowd and the training should fit around your life rather than your life fitting around your training. I was thinking about setting the alarm for an early start but sleep & recovery can be more important than the training.
Provisional plan for tomorrow is a 30K run in the MAF zone.
Saturday 26th Jan. HRV=66 White.
Late night / early morning and would have liked a higher result but it’s good enough for what I have planned. Session was physically easy but mentally tough and finished knowing I could have kept going. The advantage of doing this type of session on the track is that it’s easier to do an almost identical session in the future to make the comparison and monitor progress. The track also allows for an uninterrupted run and it’s easier to maintain a constant pace with no peaks or troughs. To make it easier I run in the outside lane as the bends aren’t as tight and if it’s a long run I change direction after half way.
Plan for tomorrow is a long Interval session on the track
Sunday 27th Jan. HRV=65 White.
Woke feeling tired and decided to stay in bed as I knew I wasn’t on form for what I had planned. I’m thinking that my Interval Session might be too much too soon so I changed my original plan to a shorter easier aerobic runWeekly HRV Summary
Rebuilding my aerobic base and can already see a return to my fitness after a few disciplined sessions. Next week will be something similar and I’ll include a session of hill repeats to start working on my running specific leg strength.
Before heading to Norway I did a MAF session to get a check on my fitness and on my return I repeated the session to check what I’d lost after a week without running. Both sessions were on the Track and almost identical apart from the second being 1K shorter and the result shows a definite drop in fitness when comparing Pace / HR.
An easy day with 2 short recovery runs. Caught for time as I’m packing and thinking about Norway.
Early morning Gym session with a new Squat and Deadlift PB. Blood test and back into town to meet and collect kit from sponsors. Didn’t find time to run but will try make up for it tomorrow before heading to the airport to fly out to Norway in preparation for the 
Unexpected low result and probably the result of my heavy gym session and blood test with some added pre travel stress. Decided to down grade my run from a Tempo to MAF session and went a little bit longer than last time with 16K. Similar result so all is good. Home for a quick shower and then off to the airport for a 4-5hr flight including a stopover.
Not surprised at result after yesteday’s flight but was hoping for higher.
A restless night and I was constantly woken by the pain in my frozen toes and an old injury to my right knee was playing up with the cold. The day was spent working on an economical means of moving with the bike and a system of communication that was simple but effective. We trialled our methods and ideas over marked trails in surrounding forests and discussed potential problems and hazards while trying to come up with solutions.
A similar day to yesterday with the temperature dipping even lower to a very cold -23.
Early start and following breakfast we broke camp and packed the van before hitting the trails again for our last session to perfect the system we think works best. Spent a few hours going back and forth with a changing pace and worked really hard to make the most of our last few hours. Finished off with a 5hr drive back to Oslo including a stop off for a proper meal.
Expected higher after an easy day yesterday. I’ll proceed with caution as this could be an advance warning of an illness brewing. Today will be an easy day. Easy lunchtime run of 40 mins followed by an evening run to a meeting with Athletics Ireland.
Only a slight improvement but my HR is slightly higher than yesterday and just as I expected from yesterday’s result I’m coming down with something. Slightly congested and there’s a pain in my sinuses when I blow my nose. Today will be another easy day. Early strength session and surprised myself with a strong session even though I can still feel the DOMS since Saturday. 5 sets of 3 (1 ¼)Squats with 60Kg (New PB) and 3 sets of 3 Deadlift with 95Kg (small decrease).
A great result and I’m feeling a lot better which shows I dodged the bullet by heeding the advance warning. Legs still not recovered from the recent hill run and that’s partly because my training has continued and not forgetting the squat session yesterday. Decided against the Temp run and instead I did a variation on my MAF test by running 13K instead of my usual 10K. Took a few minutes to loosen up and get into the zone and when I finished the results were surprising.
Same as yesterday but my HR is slightly less and I managed a good session last night so the signs are good. Took a step back with the Power Clean with reduced weight but higher volume as I hadn’t done them since before Christmas. Session consisted of 3 * 5 instead of my usual 5*3 with 40Kg (-7.5Kg) and 3*3 Strict Press with 30Kg (-5Kg) alternated with 3”3 max chins and finished with 2* 1min plank. Lunchtime recovery run with the DOMS keeping my HR nice and low. Finished the day with a Team meeting and some good news regarding a kit sponsor.
Showing signs of good recovery but I still have the DOMS. Lunchtime run taking it nice and easy to aid recovery rather than trying for a training effect
An early start for an easy run over one of the most scenic routes in Ireland called the
Alarm went off at 6:00am and didn’t feel like getting up. Took the interrupted lie in and almost missed the chance to run but luckily I found time just before it got dark and decided on a MAF test to make the best use of my available time. Session went well and noticed a 1 sec improvement per K since Wednesday using same venue and same conditions.
Taking it easy today with a running commute to and from work at an easy pace. Legs feeling heavy and fatigued or maybe I’m just feeling lazy from the recent festivities. Looking forward to getting back into a ‘normal’ routine.
No expected as I behaved myself last night but did stay up very late. Abandoned my plan and went back to bed. Felt restless all day and eventually cracked which meant putting on the head torch for a short slow trail run. For some reason I thought I’d feel better by starting the year as I meant it to continue.
Lunchtime recovery run as planned, legs still feeling heavy. Evening Tempo session felt a bitter harder than it should have and I know my legs are tired as I struggled to get into the zone. Cut the run short by reducing the Tempo section but did the usual warm up & cool down. I’m not overly concerned about the tiredness in my legs as that’s easy to rectify and once my engine isn’t showing any signs of excess stress I’m happy enough.
A good result and shows I didn’t get the training effect from last night’s run. Took a step back with the strength session and was happy enough with having to only drop the squat weight by 2.5kg to 55kg. A good start to the New Year. Finished the day with a short recovery run.
A good result but I have the DOMS from yesterday’s strength session and decided to rest rather than run today in preparation for tomorrow.
An expected result and my legs are stiff and sore from yesterday’s run. Did an easy hour avoiding hills and keeping my heart rate and pace low and comfortable.