Monday June 17th. HRV= 65 White.
A great result after yesterday and shows that the pace for my long run was very manageable. Have a few jobs to do in advance of holidays tomorrow and made the most of my free time with a 13K steady paced run over a local race route and followed this with an evening mixed paced 10K starting with one partner and finishing with another.
Early start tomorrow for a flight to Italy and a weeks holiday with the family.
Tuesday June 18th. HRV= 69 White.
Up at 3:30 am and happy with this result. No training today and won’t be adding any stress by provisionally planning to get out on arrival at the hotel. Touched down to very hot temperatures and although it’s been quite warm at home over recent days this is still a shock to the system. Overnighting in Milan before a train journey to Lake Garda.
Plan for tomorrow is an early run if I wake in time but won’t be setting an early alarm.
Wednesday June 19th. HRV= 55 Amber.
Didn’t wake on time but no harm as the traveling and high temperatures have had an effect on the CNS (Central Nervous System). Traveling to Lake Garda by train and the rest of today will be spent settling in and exploring.
Plan for tomorrow is up in the air.
Thursday June 20th. HRV = 55 Red.
Not surprised but still unexpected as I took it easy enough yesterday although the daytime temperature did reach 37C. Will make sure to work on my hydration today as that could be a factor in this morning’s result.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery but includes a trip to a theme park and that means lots of walking in the heat.
Friday June 21st. HRV= 47 Red.
Not good and after my good behaviour yesterday it’s unexpected. No running today but walked a fair distance and temperatures were the same or maybe higher than yesterday.
Plan for tomorrow is up in the air and includes moving to another destination. I’m guessing I won’t be recovered enough to plan a run so I won’t cancel out some sleep time by setting an early alarm only to switch it off.
Saturday June 22nd. HRV=50 Red.
Expected at this stage and I’m glad I didn’t chance an early run. Another long day with a train journey and a walking exploration of the new destination. Temperature still in the high 30s but chanced an evening run when it got a little bit cooler just to tick the box. Felt lethargic to start and ran 3K on a path alongside the lake before turning back and then went 2K out and back in the other direction.
Plan for tomorrow is a day trip to Venice. No running.
Sunday June 23rd. HRV=50 Red.
Expected. Early start for a train journey to Venice and lots of walking in yet again high temperatures.Weekly HRV summary
The timing of the holiday is far from ideal with my next race being so close but for a long term running plan to work it needs to be fitted around your life rather than trying to fit your life around the plan. Missing a few days of training is a small sacrifice on my part when compared to the bigger sacrifice made by my family to accommodate my running every other time. Had a great holiday.
Happy with this result as it shows a Training Effect from the weekend and makes me feel a bit better about finishing short yesterday. On a half day and used the opportunity for a running commute home. Only had time for my usual distance as there’s a reason for the half day with things to do.
A good result followed by a bad start to the day as my train was delayed and that meant missing the Gym session. Legs feeling heavy and not really on form for a run but got a call asking if I was available for Runch (Running Lunch) and off I went for what I thought would be an easy 8K but turned into a Steady 11K. A good run and just what I needed as it’s not often I get the opportunity to train with a faster partner (sub 35 min 10K). Finished the day with a 9K recovery run shortly after getting home from work.
A good result although my legs are feeling fatigued but that’s a more manageable complaint than cardio fatigue. Busy during lunch with no opportunity to run but had time for the runmute in a heavy downpour of rain. Conditions far from ideal but if there’s a chance you could be racing in the rain then you need to train in the rain. Luckily you don’t need to dodge umbrellas during races. Finished the day with a recovery run while coaching.
Decided last might to cancel the Gym session as I’m on holidays next week and might benefit more from a heavy running week and because I haven’t been to the Gym too often over the past few weeks I’d surely have the DOMS in advance of my weekend. Easy run to work keeping the pace slow and heart rate low and followed that with an altered lunchtime run of 8K at a faster pace. A good day with the extra emphasis on recovery.
A good result but may not get the chance to get the most from it as I’m committed to coaching and pacing this evening but will still get a decent session.
A good result but found it hard getting out of bed and paid the price with a shorter than planned run. Settled for 20K rather the 30-40K I was dreaming about. Dropped my wife to the train station and stopped off to watch the finish of a Parkrun to help feed the hunger and looking at the pain on the finish line faces makes you feel a little bit less sorry for yourself.
Perfect. Got a shock when the alarm went off and must admit if I wasn’t meeting someone I’d have stayed in bed. Started the run from home shortly after 7am and the plan was to run along the canal for 27K and turn at a village called Enfield to retrace our steps back to the start. Took it nice and easy but needed to make an early pit stop before 8K at a hotel in a town along the route called Maynooth. No other issues and the run went to plan with my only complaint being I wish it was longer. The run was fuelled with 1 cup of coffee, 1 banana and less than 400ml of water. Refuelled with Porridge made with pre-soaked pinhead oats, coconut oil, Chia bia seeds, crushed almonds, blueberries and Cherryactive.
Another good week but would have liked a longer run on Saturday and maybe a bit longer on Sunday. Next week could be a bit hit and miss and I’ll need to just take what I can.
A good result but I’m feeling physically tired so I decided to stay in bed a little bit longer. The lie in cost some time and instead of a long easy run I went for a shorter hilly run at a steady pace. Followed this with an evening recovery run of Track laps.
A great result but still feeling physically tired which could be caused by a spell of warm weather and dehydration. Ran to work as planned and happy with the effort on a very warm / sunny morning. Skipped the opportunity for a lunchtime run but ran home instead with a slight detour for a total of 40K for the day. Weighed myself when I got home and had lost 2Kg in bodyweight. Made a conscious effort to rehydrate before going to bed
Happy with this result as yesterday turned out to be a tough day with the high temperatures and running with a pack (commute). Feeling good but I’ll take the warning and skip the running commute to work. Lunchtime Recovery run but feeling good and the pace was a little bit faster than expected or planned. Followed that with an evening session of an easy paced run that got progressively faster as the terrain allowed and my legs started to warm up. A good run but probably too hard with the high temperatures and I know it’ll cause some dehydration. Finished the day with a coaching session after finishing my own training which didn’t help with recovery but it was a good finish to the day.
Bad timing but not surprised and putting this down to dehydration and insufficient recovery. Don’t want to waste the day as tomorrow might be a forced rest day so compromised with a short recovery run taking time to stop and take in the scenery whenever my heart rate started to climb. Cancelled the speed session I was considering.
A double Red and far from ideal. I don’t mind red lining when I know it’s the result of a hard session but this is caused by the warm weather and I’m guessing it’s more dehydration than a training effect. Will take it easy today to be ready for the weekend. Instead of my own session I went out as a pacer with a club mate and that meant a disciplined easy run for less than 1hr and almost as good as a rest day.
A better than expected result and if I had the time I’d have abandoned my long run for a Tempo or Interval session but at this stage I need to stay event specific. Started early to finish early with an out and back along the canal with the plan being to turn at 15K and when I got back to the starting point I’d run in the opposite direction for as long as I had left of my available time. Turned into a social run as I met a some friends & club mates at different points along the route unplanned and had company for some part. Finished with 40K and a little bit of sunburn on a dehydrating morning.
Alarm went off at 05:10am. Great result but the legs are feeling tired and an early morning isn’t helping. Grabbed a quick cup of coffee and drove to the hills to meet a club mate. Parked close to the climbing and it was straight down to business with a 5K climb. Probably started a little too fast and felt it on the next climb which went on for 3K but apart from that I felt fairly ok and recovered quickly and was moving well on the flat. Decided to take a short cut on the return which cut out 20K but considering how fatigued my legs were feeling I think it was a good call as there were promises to keep.
A great week and increased on last week’s distance by 20K but would have liked to increase the long run distance. Next weekend will be my last opportunity for a decent long run.
Better than expected even though it should be higher but based on the weekend it’s a good result. Legs feeling stiff / heavy and did a short lunchtime run of 8K to try get them moving again. Running Commute home and from the start it felt more of an effort for the pace and HR. Legs tired and wasn’t mentally switched on so I’ll call it a good run.
A slight improvement which wasn’t expected as I felt tired last night and still carrying the excess weight gain from the weekend. Relatively easy Gym session of Sumo Deadlift and standing lunges with front leg elevated. Legs feeling ok so I went for a short recovery run to make the most of the good weather. Followed this with a 20K after work starting easy but picking it up as the legs started to come alive.
A good result and looking like a great day. No time for a lunchtime run but ran home and after a quick change made my way to the Track to coach for 1.5hrs and even managed a short recovery run.
Gym session cancelled so I used the opportunity for a running commute. Felt tired getting up and was very tempted to stay in bed but made the right decision.
Unexpected but I’ll take the warning. Easy lunchtime run of 7K keeping my HR around 120bpm and happy with the resulting pace for the easy effort. Had the opportunity for a second evening run with a club mate and I took it as he’s nursing an injury and just wanted to test the recovery. Between the 2 of us we agreed on a 4-10K route with a few escape options if there were any problems. Started a bit faster than I expected but the pace was manageable and as the run progressed so did the pace. We took a chance and picked it up for the 9th Km and then eased back to recovery at a pace than was now feeling easy. A good run and totally unexpected. 
A good result after yesterday. Went to the track and the plan was 3*1K after a long warm up and a short break / distraction to coach a few footballers. Coaching session went well but when I tried to do my Intervals I just couldn’t get the legs going. Not sure if it was because I was on my own or just simply fatigue from yesterday but it was still worth getting out of bed for.
Just what I wanted in advance of a long run and the plan is for 40-50K. Started off on my own and met a club mate running towards me along the canal and we continued in the direction I was heading which was also back towards his house. We continued on for 15K and then turned to retrace our steps before leaving the canal at 20K and then I was on my own. I didn’t have any particular route planned and sometimes this can be a good idea on a long run as you don’t start to dread what’s ahead when you’ve only started. Some of my direction decisions were made by the flow of traffic and I finished close to my house with 45K. Definetly had more in my legs and wasn’t feeling any drop in energy and that’s a great way to finish.
A good week and managed to make the most of the running commute with a few extra Kilometres clocked up and I’m now back up to 160K (100 Miles) for a week.