Training Diary 18th – 24th Feb 2013

Monday Feb 18^th. HRV= 66 White

An Ok start to the week but I’m feeling slightly congested so I won’t overdo it.  Easy 8K run during lunchtime letting my legs decide the pace as there’s some fatigue since the weekend.  Heart Rate a little bit higher than usual but that’s reflective of how I’m feeling.  Second run of 10K running to the offices of the Athletics Association of Ireland for a meeting of the Ultra Running Committee.  Still feeling congested but the run went ok and made sure to keep my heart rate at the lower end of my aerobic zone.

Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session and I expect to be taking a step back.  My run plan is undecided but I’m thinking hill repeats.

Tuesday Feb 19^th. HRV=74 White

A great result and I’m feeling a little bit better, running yesterday’s session according to HRV has allowed continuous training.  2 Hard boiled eggs for breakfast and a cup of coffee as it’s a gym day.  Early Gym Session of mostly foam rolling and mobility work, did 3 sets of walking lunges with 7.5Kg Dumbbells and will ease back to where I was but take a step back as each event gets close.  Have time for 2 runs today starting with lunchtime MAF session which didn’t go to plan as my HR was spiking and I know because of the figures that it was a problem with the signal so I ran to pace instead and made an educated guess at what it should be.  Spiking can be caused by the contact points on the chest straps not being wet enough and this is a common problem on cold and windy days when it takes a while to warm up and start the early stages of sweating.  Simply wetting the contact points won’t always be sufficient as the silicone type pad won’t hold the moisture.  Saliva works well when cold as it’s sticky and wont roll of the contact points but don’t lick the strap unless you wash it after each use for obvious reasons.  Evening session of Hill Repeats on a 300M long hill with a 30M climb which I think is long enough to bring on a burn but short enough not to overcook . The recovery is then short enough to prevent the HR from dropping into the recovery zone and each rep gets progressively harder.  Started to lose power after the 6^th rep so I took a longer recovery and finished stronger which has me wondering if I warmed up sufficiently or should have added an extra rep?

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/275377178

Plan for tomorrow is an easy Lunchtime Run and an evening Tempo or Interval Session to wake the legs up.

Wednesday Feb 20^th . HRV=76 White

HRV moving in the right direction even though I’ve been training continuously hard and fighting a head cold.  Easy Lunchtime Run at Recovery Pace to test the legs and hopefully prepare them for an evening session.  Felt a bit lazy during this run as I ran the middle portion with someone else and then it was an effort to get back to work on time.  Didn’t have use of the car when I got home which meant running to the track and leaving the house earlier than planned so I didn’t have time to eat.  Knowing in advance I’d be rushing I had a beet it shot on the train journey home and made a cup of coffee while getting changed.  Felt a bit drained when I arrived at the track and wasn’t looking forward to the planned session of 6*1K @ 3:30 per K.  Met my training partner and told him how I was feeling and that I didn’t expect to get through the session.  Did the 1st rep and it was an effort to get the legs moving and asked my partner to lead out the 2^nd  which felt slightly easier and I’m thinking it’s because I didn’t need to concentrate on pace but instead I just switched off and followed.  He led out the next few reps but started to slow on the 3^rd so I picked it up towards the end and we both agreed that we would finish with the 5^th.  The 5^th came and went and during the recovery I remembered the difference a recovery can make so we took a chance on the last interval and eased into it before picking up the pace for the last 500M.

Don’t quit, Recover.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/275377178

Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session and due to time constraints I’ll try repeat my Tuesday Hill Session late evening.

Thursday Feb 21^st. HRV=70 White

Expected lower and will try make the most of this today but time will be tight, result makes me think I can start running my Intervals faster or maybe include an extra 1 to 2 reps.  Early Gym session working on depth in my squat and my flexibility seems to be improving, lifting less than before but feeling stronger.  Finished the session with hanging leg raises and a variation on the sit up.  No time for a lunchtime run as I had a meeting / interview to close of a planned documentary feat the Siberian Project.  My evening coaching session finished late and today became a rest day

Plan for tomorrow is the Hill Reps I missed last night.

Friday Feb 22^nd. HRV=76 White

Expected higher after resting yesterday but still going in the right direction.  Lunchtime MAF session gone wrong as my HR was spiking as per Tuesday and instead I just sat into a pace that was already dialled into the virtual partner on my Garmin, session felt comfortably hard @ 10K in 41 mins.  Finished off the day with a hill session similar to Tuesday but less reps and added in 2 other hills on the run home.

Plan for tomorrow is an early local run and a short afternoon trail run.

Saturday Feb 23^rd. HRV=73 White

Change of plan as my son’s soccer match has an early kick off and then my daughter was too sick to go training so that meant missing both planned runs.  Made the most of an free hour in the late afternoon and hit the Track for 6* 1200M intervals with 1 minute recovery.  Tough going but I reckon with company I could go longer / faster and maybe add in a few extra reps.

Plan for tomorrow is a 25K Trail run along the Wicklow Way with an early start.

Sunday Feb 24^th. HRV=79 White

Expected a low score and possible Amber after yesterday’s session and this makes me think I need to start running my reps faster and longer.  Slight change of plan as a heavy fall of snow overnight has made roads in Wicklow impassable.  Drove as close as possible to another location in the hills and settled for a 2hr run in the snow with 680M of ascent.  The pace and distance were less than planned but all it was a fantastic run on snow covered trails.  Went for a second shorter run at Tempo pace just before it got dark to make up for the easier effort this morning so all in all it was a great day.

Plan for tomorrow is a set of hill reps and possibly an easy lunchtime run.

Weekly Summary

A good week with a few quality sessions and it went almost as planned.

Diet and Training

A full week without chocolate and my body weight is now at 71.7Kg.  Next step will be to cut out crisps and each week I’ll add something else to the list.  I find it easier to ease into a new routine rather than try make too many changes at once.  Interesting results from Inside Tracker mean making a few adjustments to my diet which includes increasing my calcium and iron intake as my levels are borderline low.  Be proactive with your health because you need to be a healthy person first and fitness comes second.