Monday August 19th. HRV= Forgot to pack ithlete.
Still feeling the after effects of the wedding and lazy about doing anything. Settled for same as yesterday with an out and back on the flat but went a little bit further for 8K. Still in Kerry.
Plan for tomorrow includes a 4hr Drive home.
Tuesday August 20th. HRV= Forgot to pack ithlete.
Woke early but not on form and was looking for excuses not to run and then it was too late to do anything. Long drive home and I’ve an Ultra Running meeting in the evening with limited time between my arrival home and departure again which helped focus on training. Got ready for the meeting and went via the Track for a quick session of 3*2K off 20 seconds recovery for a total distance of 10K.
Plan for tomorrow is a Steady Track Session with even pace..
Wednesday August 21st. HRV=58 Amber.
Lower than I’d expected but then again yesterday was far from ideal with a long drive and a rushed session before going to a meeting and I’m only now realising that I missed my dinner and snacked instead. An almost repeat of this day last week but the group has grown to 5 as word of mouth is increasing the interest. Started with a 2k warm up at a slightly faster than usual pace caused by the chatting and not concentrating on the session and then kicked off the middle 10K and found ourselves having to always slow it down rather than speed up. Completed the 10K in 38:50 which was 1 minute faster than last week and ended the session with a 2k cool down and a walking lap. Finished the evening with a coaching session and a chance to do some running drills and a reminder that I need to do more.
Plan for tomorrow is a running commute and coaching after work.
Thursday August 22nd. HRV=57 Red.
Unexpected low and it’s back to bed. Might chance something short and fast on the Track after coaching as I find the short fast work usually fatigues my legs before i get a chance to put my heart under too much stress. This is partly down to my ratio of slow twitch to fast twitch muscle fibers. Got a bit lazy as the day went on and felt like going home after coaching but a few others turned up for the session and we settled for 4*1K @ 3:30K off 2 minutes recovery.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on how I feel.
Friday August 23rd. HRV= 56 Red.
Probably should rest today but feeling ok and thinking this could be still the after effects of the weekend. Rested for most of the day and retested with a better result. Went for an evening session on the Track with the intention running at a zone in and around 85% of my HR max for up to 50 minutes but struggled to get into it and cut the session short.
Plan for tomorrow will include a trip to the hills with my next race in mind. Unsure about Parkrun.
Saturday August 24th. HRV= 65 White.
A good result and can feel yesterday’s session in my legs so that makes the Parkrun decision of not running. Dropped my daughter off at her training and went to the hills for a short but intense session on tired legs. Climbed strong and made sure not to stop at any stage and gave the quads a good hammering on the descent. Tomorrow should be interesting as the cumulative fatigue is setting into the legs.
Plan for tomorrow is a medium distance long run of 30K
Sunday August 25th. HRV= 54 Amber.
Lower than I’d like but feeling good and I’m putting my recent low scores down to the fact that I’ve missed a few recordings after forgetting to pack ithlete for my trip to Kerry last weekend and it’s resetting a new baseline. Today is a group run so I stuck with the plan but might have erred on the side of caution if it was a solo effort. Met with Aidan & Liam and off we went for a 30K distance over rolling roads aiming for 4:30 per K (7:15 mile). The pace was conversational and we were always falling into a faster rather than slower trot so the effort was to slow down rather than speed up which made it an enjoyable morning. Finished just slightly ahead of schedule after running a 4:25K (7:07 Mile), almost perfect
Plan for tomorrow is undecided and time dependent.
Weekly Summary:
Low volume but happy with the intensity and finished with a decent distance session although I’m a little bit concerned about my climbing time with the Mountain Ultra so close.
Perfect as I was expecting lower after yesterday’s long run. I can feel some discomfort behind both my knees and I’m happy with that as it’s the pain from work rather than injury and knowing the difference comes from experience. Stress / Rest / Adapt and my plan for today is now an easy run staying below the discomfort zone.
Lower than expected so it’s back to bed. Took it easy for most of the day and didn’t run during lunchtime. Retested when I got home and the Recovery was good. With a new race in mind I decided to head for the hills and ran an out and back session of 1hr each way for a distance of 19-20K with 680M of Ascent. A good run but would have preferred more climbing but didn’t want to risk going too far just in case my legs weren’t ready for the increased climbing and my pace slowed on the return in fading light. Knowing when to call it a day is an acquired skill.
An excellent result and feeling good but my legs know they did something a little bit different yesterday. Skipping the lunchtime run and will stick with the Track session. I’d like to head for the hills again but wouldn’t make it back in time for coaching at 8pm. Plenty of company on the Track this evening and it’s the usual plan when with a group of running for pace rather than by heart rate and that suits. Started off with 2K nice and easy but getting progressively faster as we ticked off the laps and then it was 10K trying for an average pace of 4 min per K (6:27 Mile) and then a cool down of 1K easy and then a walking lap. Completed the 10K in 39:53 with legs still feeling fresh and a smiling face. Finished the evening with a coaching session and had the opportunity to do my much neglected stretching and felt more energised leaving the Track than I did when arriving over 2hrs earlier. That’s the power of positive energy from being around like minded people.
A great result and feeling good. Decided to head for the hills do a few reps on the Sugarloaf mountain trying to get as much climbing done in the shortest amount of time. Didn’t factor rush hour traffic into my plan and with limited light I ended up making a detour to a location a little bit close and with less traffic. Started off with a gradual climb of 262M over 3K and made my way to a shorter but steeper climb of 94M over 1K and did a few repeats of the shorter climb. Comparing the two climbs they seem similar but descending the longer one to do a repeat would mean too much recovery time. The weather wasn’t great when I started and got progressively worse so I decided to finish after 3 reps as I still had the descent back to the car.
A good result after yesterday’s session but I’m guessing that my leg strength & fatigue prevented working my heart & lungs as I should or could. Was half tempted to head for the hills but decided on the Track with the intention being a repeat of Wednesday’s session or faster. Started off ok and probably went too fast for the working part of the session and began to crash at 5K. Held on at pace for another K and then slowed it back for a recovery K and then called it a day in the hope that I’d manage an evening recovery run when I arrive in Kerry. Finished packing the car and then it was a 4hr drive to Kerry and no time to run.
Hoping for higher as legs feeling good and guessing it’s cardio fatigue from the long session yesterday. Woke without an alarm as today is a Bank Holiday meaning I can head to the Track at my leisure. My plan now is to repeat last Sunday’s 14K but using a lower heart rate to allow for the unrecovered state. Arrived at the Track shortly after 11:30am and was regretting not starting earlier as it was starting to get quite warm but luckily I’m usually well prepared and had sufficient fluids and change of gear in the car. Started off with an easy 2K warm up with a slight increase in effort with each lap to slowly elevate the heart rate and then I pushed into a pace very close to 80% of my HR max and ran for 10K followed by a 2K cool down. Pleasantly surprised with a 10K split of less than 38 mins which is a big improvement on the session from last Sunday and it feels like the only effort was between my ears. Went home for breakfast and then it was a short trip to the mountains for a hike with my son followed by an evening Recovery run of 5K on the Track.
An excellent result but can feel a tightness in my Hamstring similar to last week so it’s a change of plan and today is now easy running. Lunchtime Recovery run of 6K at 65% of HR max followed by a similar evening session which doubled as a route selection for Cross Country training.
Not expecting a red and I’m guessing it’s because of a big drop in my resting HR but I know that’s down to the extra recovery as it’s back to a normal level. Can still feel some discomfort in my Hamstring but I know it’s a running related DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and that’s to be expected and needed for improvement. Forgot to bring a second T-shirt to work so it’s a either a lunchtime recovery run or being able to leave a change of clothes in work to allow a running commute tomorrow. Skipped the lunchtime run thinking I’ll get more from the longer morning run. Met Aidan on the Track and our plan was 2K warm up followed by 10K at 4 min per K for an even 40 mins and then 2K cool down. Session went better than expected with the pace feeling effortless and taking less than an hour. Finished the day with my usual coaching duties and an opportunity to stretch.
Perfect and as expected with yesterday’s result it has since changed to an Amber. Feeling fatigued after getting out of bed so I decided to cancel the commute and maybe save myself for a steady state run this evening. Lunchtime Recovery run of 5K around the city centre forcing a slow pace to allow for traffic and can feel the tiredness in my legs. Followed that with an evening session on the Track similar to yesterday but included an extra 1K at my 5K pace. Felt really strong throughout the session and my HR avg is starting to fall.
A good result after yet another quality session meaning I might do something similar again today but more intense. Didn’t have time for a lunchtime run as both my Heart Rate Monitors need replacement wrist bands. The Garmin 610 was needed the replacement weeks ago but I got lazy about getting it sorted seeing as I have the Suunto T6D and now I’m caught out. Can’t do without them both and made a temporary repair on the Suunto with selotape.
Woke before the alarm so it’s Parkrun but it’ll be rushed as I need to be home 30 minutes after the race starts and it’s a 10 minute drive:-). Went with the same plan as last week and this time it went a little bit better. From the start there was an obvious leader and I found myself sitting in 4th position and behind a competitor that always finishes ahead of me. Took a chance and went ahead of him within the first 1K and then set my sights on getting into 2nd place. Caught up with number 2 by the 2nd K and could hear from his breathing that he was struggling so I knew it was safe to push on. The race leader had created quite a big gap but remembering how I felt last week I knew there was always a chance that he might fall back and that helped stay motivated. I was almost forgetting about the runner in 4th place but soon got a reminder as he caught up and passed shortly after 2K. I stayed on his shoulder as managed to stay with him as we finished the first loop and was still very close as we hit 4K but then I started to fall back and lose precious seconds and each time I tried to attack he pushed on. By 4K the gap had increased enough that I knew I’d never catch him in a sprint finish so I tried again to make up some ground but the strength wasn’t there. Crossed the line in 3rd place with 18:07 and 14 seconds behind 2nd place. My time was only 2 seconds faster than last week but I felt like I’d had a much better day with my pacing was more even and having someone ahead meant having to stay focused and fight that little bit more.
Woke before the alarm but a little too early and stayed in bed a little bit longer to try get a little bit more sleep before a 07:00am start. Met with Aidan and our plan was a simple out and back along the canal with a few small detours to add distance without having to think about it. We arrived back at the Track after doing 35K and finished the session with 10K on the Track at a controlled 24-hr Race pace. Could have kept going but finishing knowing that is good enough as it means no breaks in training caused by needing extra Recovery time. Finished the day with a 5K Recovery Run and all is good.
Hoping for higher as legs feeling good but I’ll take it easy today and keep it Aerobic. Easy lunchtime run of 8K with low heart rate. Legs feeling a bit lethargic and I’m guessing it’s an after effect of yesterday’s session.
Expected higher but then again the last few days have been of a higher intensity even though the volume has been lower. Departed the house at my usual time and because I’m not working on my 24-hr pacing I just went by feel with an easy start and letting the run evolve. Picked it up after 2K and locked into a heart rate at the upper end of my aerobic zone which meant steady on the flat, slowing on the climbs and picking it up on the downs. Finished at my usual spot and was surprised to see I was almost 20 minutes faster than recent running commutes. It’s good to be running natural again but must remember to leave the house later or take a detour and extend the journey. Average Pace = 3.58K / 6.22 Mile.
A good result after a decent session yesterday. Easy lunchtime run that ended up a bit faster than planned as I found myself having to push harder to get into the zone. Probably faster than it should have been and was glad to finish and dodge the rain but legs feeling heavy and that might alter my second run plan. Decided on a Track session of 5*800M off 5 minute Recovery aiming for 2.40 per rep as this is fast enough to be an effort and it’s easy to monitor the pacing as its 40 seconds per 200M. Session went ok but my stopwatch started acting up and resetting at random times during some of the laps which had me thinking I was on for an almost effortless 2.15 for 800 but I soon copped on when I hit the final 100M and tried to push it out. Felt like I could have done another 5 reps but that’s probably because the Recovery was too long relative to the effort. My split times averaged 2.40 – 2.46
Seems the Track session yesterday took a bit more out of me than I realised. Went back to bed as I think I’d get more of a benefit from delaying this morning’s run until this evening when I’ll be more awake, more rested plus fuelled and hydrated. Retested after getting home from work and got a score of 70 so I decided to head for the Track and join in with the club’s middle distance session. Arrived early to do a long slow warm up and could feel some tightness in my right hamstring which was obviously as a result of the 800s yesterday. Thinking on my feet I extended the warm up and decided to change my plan rather than risking an injury. Gradually picked up the pace and over the course of 2k I was starting to get my HR elevated to the upper end of my aerobic zone and feeling ok so the plan was now a repeat of last Sunday which was 2K Warm up, 10K steady state and 2k cool down. Repeating a similar session is a good way of monitoring progress. Being conscious of the tightness in my hamstring I made sure to stay at a pace that didn’t result in any discomfort and didn’t throw up any reminders. The session was far from easy as my head wasn’t fully tuned in but I stuck it out aided by the company trackside for the last few K.
Much higher than expected but I’ve decided to take it easy and rest the hamstring just to be on the safe side. Went for a very easy 8K run during lunchtime and left it at that for the day.
Woke before the alarm so it’s Parkrun. Decided to go for a Training Effect today with my plan being to stay as close to the lead pack at the start and then hold on for as long as possible. Started as planned but my fast start seemed to be a bit too fast and I found myself leading the race which wasn’t what I wanted. For a moment I considered falling back but then I thought sure what’s the difference and maybe this could be what I needed. Knowing from most of my other races that I don’t have a sprint finish I thought it best to set a fast even pace from the start to gain what I might lose towards the end so I pushed on a little bit more. As the first lap finished I had the chance to take a look back and I could see that I’d made a gap of maybe 2 minutes on the next placed runner but I was feeling the pressure and knew I could easily lose that time over the next lap of 2.5K so I tried to maintain what I had gained. By the 3rd Km I could feel my pace starting to slow but knew I could afford to lose a few seconds and from here until the finish I just tried not to lose too much time. Finished first with over 1 minute on 2nd place and although it isn’t a PB it’s a big improvement on last week and more proof that my recovery is going well. Went home for breakfast and then it was off to the hills for a leisurely 10K with 6K of climbing.
A good result and met with Aidan (training for a 24-hr race) for a 35K run along the canal at a leisurely pace. Could have gone longer but think this is a safe distance so soon after the 24-hrs. Finished the day with an even easier 10K on the Track with 2 others that are in training for a 24-hr and a 48-hr race. Conversation got a bit boring.