Kildare Senior Road Race Championships.
Monday Apr 01st. HRV= 78 White
A good recovery since yesterday and better than expected for race day. Didn’t do my usual pre breakfast race day run in favour of the extra time in bed as I’m still adjusting to the clocks going forward. Unsure of my form but confident that I’ll go under 38mins has taken my mindset away from racing and that in itself has helped keep the stress levels controlled plus today’s race is hosted by my club and I don’t have far to travel so even with the lie in I arrive in good time to relax and mingle before the start. When the race started I was conscious of the possible fast pace and tried not to get caught up in an early sprint. The start seemed slow enough but when I checked my watch I soon realised that it was too much too soon and I purposely dropped back to get closer to my planned pace. The opening stretch went for 3k on the hard shoulder of a featureless road and was made easy by being amongst a group of 5-10. At the end of this stretch we turned sharp left and went up and over a humpback bridge crossing a canal and the railway and then the race starts. This short sharp hill is a killer but local knowledge meant I didn’t attack it hard but waited until I’d cleared it before making a break and then I was on my own and chasing down individual runners with the closest being between 60-100M away. This section went on for less than 2k and was undulating but sheltered and my plan was to get to the end of this stretch on pace before turning left again for less than 500M and into a headwind when I knew I’d need to dig deep and then as I cleared halfway I’d push on. I started to gain on the runners ahead and was also caught by someone from behind and then I became part of a group of 3 before reaching the 6K marker, I tried to get comfortable running as a group but as we hit a downhill stretch I was gone. I’m guessing that the effects of the recent trail race meant my legs just couldn’t cope with the high impact from running downhill and rather than the other competitors picking it up I was simply falling back. A sizeable gap was created as each time they went out of view on a bend made it harder to regain contact as my concentration was starting to go. I wasn’t feeling any pain but it was an effort to maintain the pace as my legs were feeling heavy and in my head I was trying to work out my finish time if I eased back from here. Had I done enough to go under 38 mins? In the distance I could see a house that I knew was close to the 7k mark and that became my new focus and soon enough after passing it I could see that I was starting to make up some ground. I caught up with the runner just ahead and made some distance on him on him at a hill just after 8K but what goes up must go down and he tore past me on the downhill and it felt like I was running through quicksand as I tried to maintain contact. Approaching the finish I get a glimpse of the position behind me and do my best to improve on or at least maintain what I’ve got and make a poor attempt at a sprint finish. Crossing the line in 37:16 it’s over 2 minutes slower than my PB from this time last year but it’s a faster average pace than my last 5K Parkrun on 29/12/12 (18:38). http://connect.garmin.com/activity/291743355
Finished the day with an evening 10K recovery run and all is good.
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session and an undecided run.
Tuesday Apr 02nd. HRV= 71 White
A good result and the training can continue as normal. Early gym session including 5*5 squats with 57.5Kg which felt tough enough but still manageable. Legs feeling better than they should do after a race but then again this is what I want as these shorter races are part of rather than the focus of my training. I’m expecting the DOMS tomorrow and with that in mind I scaled back my run to a Recovery effort with my son cycling alongside and we took our time with stops to look over bridges and enjoy the start of the brighter evenings. Covered 10K in just under 1hr not including stoppage time.
Plan for tomorrow is an evening run of 20K +.
Wednesday Apr 03rd. HRV= 65 White
Slightly lower than expected but I have started to notice a trend with the lower scores after a good lifting session in the Gym. The recovery run was a good choice last night and I’ll skip the opportunity to do a lunchtime run to be better prepared / recovered for a better quality session this evening. Legs still feel stiff since yesterday’s gym session and it took a few minutes to warm up. Didn’t run as far as planned but it was over a hilly route and managed to keep the HR at the upper end of my aerobic zone, finished with 16.1K in just under 70 mins. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/292868318
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session and 2 runs with intensity depending on recovery.
Thursday Apr 04th. HRV=71 White
Gym session changed to lunchtime and with not having the definite morning session I found it hard getting out of bed and hit the snooze button twice even though I was planning on using the opportunity for an early run to work. Did a mental deal with myself and if I got an Amber reading it was back to bed for another 30 minutes and based on my session last night this was highly likely. Better than expected result and a deal’s a deal. Still have the DOMS so I took it nice and easy and less than 10 minutes later I knew I’d made the right decision. You seldom regret the runs you do but may regret the ones you don’t do! Lunchtime Gym session of Power Clean: 3*3 @ 40Kg, Deadlift: 3*3 @ 95Kg and finished with an abs circuit. A cold evening on the track and when my coaching session finished I took the opportunity to do a 5K recovery run made easier with the brighter evening and extra activity still going on.
Plan for tomorrow is a running commute home with a possible detour to add some distance
Friday Apr 05th. HRV=65 White
Not sure what I was expecting but could be worse. Legs still feeling the DOMS but not as bad as yesterday
Plan for tomorrow is still being decided and time dependent. Early morning away match with my son and in the afternoon I’m a guest speaker at the Kildare Marathon open day. Will try fit in a short fast run of up to 1hr at some stage.
Saturday Apr 06th. HRV=80 Green
A better than expected result and to make the most of it I head to the Track for an uninterrupted Tempo session. Mentally it was tough to start and I could fell a tiredness in my legs which didn’t help but thinking on my feet I broke it into manageable chunks and completed a good quality Temp session. Used my Suunto T6D and forgot about pace but instead concentrated on time in zone.
Plan for tomorrow is a long mixed terrain run with the first 2hrs on the road and then hitting the trails.
Sunday Apr 07th. HRV=80 White
Better than expected, had a quick cup of coffee and off I went as planned. First 2hrs were fairly uneventful except for a detour and pit stop and was surprised at how well I was running after a tough week. Met a club mate just before going off road and the pace increased ever so slightly and when we reached the open mountain I started to bonk. My pace slowed to a walk at times and I knew every step I took from this moment had to be retraced on the return and I was unsure if I was able for it. Made a judgement call and decided to turn around rather than risk going too far. There was still snow on the hills and the trails were covered with a layer of ice which meant more care would be needed on the descent and running on tired legs would mean I’d be less responsive and you don’t always get a second chance. Covered 35K rather than 50K and finished the day with a 5K recovery run. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/294486179
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery but I’m thinking a lunchtime easy run and a running commute home.
Weekly HRV Summary
This week went almost as planned and it continues into next week as the peak continues. The runmute (running commute) gets a mention in the current edition of Men’s Running magazine.
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