Monday Mar 18th. HRV= 72 White.
Race day and a good result after yesterday’s low score and race day stress can also lead to a lower than normal result. Up at 8:35am and after a relaxing few minutes I had a cup of coffee and went out for a short pre breakfast run to loosen out my legs. Felt terrible during the run but past experience means that’s a good sign as it’s the body preparing for what’s ahead. Didn’t have my usual breakfast as I was out of pinhead oats but instead had 2 slices of Gluten Free toast with Almond Butter and more coffee, followed this with a shower and then got ready and departed the house at 10:30. All my kit was ready to go from the night before and that allows for a stress free start to the day.
We had a good turnout from the club including my two training partners Liam & Aidan and our plan was to run together and all going well would help each other as we do in training. Today’s race is the County Road Race Championships for Intermediate & Masters and n a race like this there’s a better chance of a Team prize so you need to be strategic as every position counts. Our plan was to try start at 3:30 K pace and hold it for as long as possible but a congested start and an incline meant a first Km of 3:39 and although the next 2 K were either downhill or flat I think we had already felt the effort at the start so there wasn’t too much time made up. In hindsight I’m thinking that to try get a position at the start we may have started too fast and possibly closer to 3:00 per K rather than the planned paced and then paid the price on the long incline. It might have made more sense to start a little bit easier and speed up but that’s easier said than done.
The next Km (2) split was a slightly faster 3:35 but was aided by a decline and for me it felt more of an effort than it should have . My training partners were still with me at this point but they too were feeling the effort and started to fall back. By the time we reached the halfway mark they had fallen off the pace and I was on my own in no man’s land ahead of the mid pack and behind the lead pack. I hit the 3Km in 3:32 and then began chasing down the tail end of the lead pack that had at least 30 Metres on me. It started to become more of an effort to stay on pace as the course now climbed gradually for the next 2K and although my HR seemed stable I could feel my legs just didn’t have that zip. I lost a bit of time and hit the 4Km mark in 3:40 but had also closed the gap on the runners just ahead so my guess is they were falling back and that gave me a slight boost. It was a looped course so I knew what to soon expect and all I needed to do was stay strong until 5K and then it was almost over as the approach to the finish was relatively flat. Went through 5K in 3:51 which was also the incline that I’d ran for the first Km and by this time I’d made up about 4 positions and caught one of the faster guys from my club and we dug deep and ran the last K together. We battled it out and made up one more position and on the final approach to the finish he pulled away and crossed the line about 2 Metres before me but that didn’t matter as we were both on the same team and had done enough to earn a Silver in the Intermediate Team event. I was first home for my club in the Master’s race helping earn another Silver and to top it off I got Gold in the Master’s 40-44 category. My finish time was 21:49 with an average pace of 3:38 per Km and my last Km was my fastest at 3:27. I was happy enough with that as it’s showing a return to where I want to be but it’s still way off what I should be doing. Finished the day with a 7K steady run on the Track in 28mins.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/286043268 Heart Rate spiking at start and First Beat error correction gave a HR avg =155 / max=158
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session, a lunchtime MAF session and a short evening Recovery run.
Tuesday Mar 19th. HRV= 73 White.
Better than expected. Early gym session of mostly mobility work and stretching with a shorter than usual set of 3* Walking lunges and then it was 2 minutes of hell on the Airdyne Trainer. Didn’t have time for a lunchtime run today and bad weather meant my son’s football training was cancelled and with it my evening run opportunity. First non running day in 26 days but I don’t mind as i was planning on taking it slightly easier this week in advance of the weekend’s race.
Plan for tomorrow is an evening Interval Session with shorter but faster reps than usual.
Wednesday Mar 20th. HRV=68 Amber.
Expected higher after rest and maybe it’s the race catching up on me. I’ll proceed with caution and stick with the planned intervals as the pace will be much easier than usual. Session was 6*1K @ 3:45 per K pace and it felt effortless but tomorrow will tell.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery.
Thursday Mar 21st . HRV= 79 White.
An improvement and normal service will resume but I’ll be keeping Saturday’s race in mind. Did my usual pre race session of 6* 1 minute fast / slow with every second rep into the wind and felt strong. Had a second opportunity to run as athletics was cancelled due to bad weather so I finished the day with an easy 5K on the track.
Plan for tomorrow is rest in advance of race day.
Friday Mar 22nd. HRV=84 White.
Excellent result and just what I’d want during a Taper. The weather for tomorrow isn’t great so I’m rethinking my footwear and that got me out for a short run to think on my feet while trying out a pair of Salomon S-lab Fellcross.
Plan for tomorrow is the Wicklow Way Ultra.
Saturday Mar 23rd. HRV= 63 Amber.
Much lower than I’d like but I’m putting it down to race day nerves. Up at 6:15 and had my usual breakfast finished for just after 6:40 and then relaxed for 30 minutes watching TV and drinking coffee. Got a lift to the race that started at 9:30 and was home again at 6pm. Will post a seperate Race Report but for the moment I finished slower than planned / expected which was partly due to the underfoot conditions and a few moments of self pity. Finished in 16th position out of 112 finishers in a time of 5hrs28 with a HR avg of 137bpm / max 155bpm.
Plan for tomorrow is a Recovery or Rest day.
Sunday Mar 24th. HRV=52 Red.
Up at 7:15 and felt good to go but when I got out of bed my feet felt slightly numb but that’s not an issue. Looked out the window and looking like a nice day so it’s so far so good. Did my HRV test and the almost expected result meant it was back to bed and with a clear conscience as it’s good to get a Red line after a Race or tough session as it show’s you worked. Feeling ok as the day progressed but starting to feel some pain in my hamstrings & quads and that confirms the wise choice this morning. Will take it easy for a few days to help with adaption to the recent stresses.Weekly HRV Summary
A good week bookended with 2 good races and some quality training that I think will be of benefit as I prepare to get more event specific for my next 24-hr Race. Next week will be recovery orientated and I’ll reduce the volume but keep some intensity and if I can fit it in I’ll do a Parkrun next Saturday and more than likely I’ll be running a local 10K on Easter Monday and I’d like to be on form for that.
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