Monday September 09th. HRV= 80 White.
Another good result after a tough session which has me wondering if I need to start increasing the intensity. Not sure what to do today but got an offer of some company for a lunchtime run and just let it happen. Started at a comfortable pace but could certainly feel it as the run progressed and know I would have slowed down if I was on my own, finished with 11.2K (7 Miles) in 46 minutes. Didn’t have a run opportunity after work as I got late notice of a ‘Code of Ethics’ course at the Athletics Club and I’m feeling better about the lunchtime session. Do what you can when you can.
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session.
Tuesday September 10th. HRV= 75 White.
Early Gym session of mostly mobility work and a slight increase in lifted weight with the Back Squat and improvements is always good, 5 sets of 5 @ 45kg (+5kg). The discomfort I was feeling behind my knees last week has gone and only realised it when asked by my Trainer. Unsure what to do later and trying to decide on either a hilly continuous run or a session of Hill Repeats. Change of plan and went for a shorter than usual lunchtime run as I was told it would also be shorter than usual.
Plan for tomorrow is an evening Steady Track Session with even pace and maybe an earlier Recovery Run.
Wednesday September 11th. HRV=61 Amber.
Woke during the night with very bad pains in lower stomach area it kept me awake for over an hour. Fell back asleep eventually and then woke feeling very tired with the alarm. Not surprised with result but putting it down to lack of sleep and feel ok to continue with training as normal while keeping myself under observation. Also feeling the DOMS from yesterday’s strength session and this could help with keeping the training controlled. Skipped the opportunity to run at lunchtime to benefit from the extra rest ahead of the usual Wednesday night group session. A slight change of pace and plan for this evening to accommodate those recovering from recent races and preparing for upcoming races. Session consisted of a steady 10K at a Pace no quicker than 4:15 per K and no slower than 4:30 per K. This meant a conscious effort to stay slow and we finished the 10K with an avg of 4:15 followed by a few faster laps to loosen out the legs. Finished the evening with a coaching session and much neglected stretch.
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session, lunchtime recovery run, coaching after work and then a repeat of last week’s 3*1K interval session.
Thursday September 12th. HRV=67 Red.
A late night and early morning might be the reason for this but I’ll be taking it easy just in case. Early Gym session with a slight increase on last week including a set of 3*3 Deadlifts @ 95Kg (+5Kg), 3*3 Strict Press @ 35Kg (very tough) plus 3 sets of 4 Pull Ups. Skipping the Lunchtime run and will reduce the volume / intensity of this evenings session. On two minds whether to run or not but settled for a few easy laps with 4* 400M at a faster pace included. Total distance of 5K and then it was home for an early night.
Plan for tomorrow is a short recovery paced lunchtime run or rest. Busy after work.
Friday September 13th. HRV= 70 White.
A good night’s sleep and feeling good but a little creaky in the legs department but you’re supposed to feel that way during times of heavy training. Decided against a lunchtime run but knowing it was my only option I changed my mind and went out for an easy 8K in the hope of loosening out my legs and aid recovery. Took a few minutes before it started to feel easy and at that point I was wishing that I’d stayed closer to work. Finished with 8.5K in just under 40 minutes and not looking forward to standing on the sideline of a football pitch this evening.
Plan for tomorrow is a return to the Parkrun for a time trial and a short but fast Trail Run.
Saturday September 14th. HRV= 64 Amber.
Almost a lie in as most of my weekend mornings have had early starts over the last while. Still woke early but went back to bed after checking my HRV and used the opportunity to take a Beet it shot. Not too concerned about the Amber as today is low volume but high intensity and that seems to stress the body a little bit less and recovery is quicker than when it’s a longer steady paced run. The plan for today’s Parkrun is to run with my training partners from the Wednesday night session (Aidan & Martin) with Martin setting the pace. From the start we were at the pointy end of the field along with one other runner that I got talking to and knowing he was of a similar ability told him we’d be working together for an even paced run. The first lap went well and we held the group together but shortly after half way Aidan started to fall back and was struggling to keep contact. I took the easy option and tried to bring him on rather than staying with the other 2 and then on the final straight I pushed on knowing that Aidan would be the next finisher behind me. Finished in 3rd place with a Season’s best of 17:54 and we got a 1st, 3rd & 4th for the club. Went home for breakfast and then dropped my daughter to her training session before heading to the hills for a short but intense hill run starting with a relentless 5K uphill and then turning to retrace my steps for a fast quad hammering descent.
Plan for tomorrow is a Long Trail / Hill run concentrating on climbing.
Sunday September 15th. HRV= 76 White.
A great result but my legs are feeling the effects of yesterday and the weather seems a bit rough so I do a double take knowing it might not be a day for the hills. I go back to bed thinking I need to go but thinking back to last Friday when I had a close call due to leg fatigue I think it’s the right choice. When I finally get up I get caught up watching the Great North Run and the weather gets even worse and I almost miss my Long Run opportunity. Eventually I notice a break in the weather and take my chance for a long run and just run without any plan on where to go and make it up as I go along to arrive home 30K later. It felt a bit tougher than it should have and that makes me think I needed it more than I realised.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery but hope to do a steady state run at lunchtime as I’m bust with an online Q&A in the evening.
Weekly Summary:
Again it’s another good week but would have preferred more time in the hills and not happy to have missed the long run opportunity on Sunday. Fitness is definitely improving and my Parkrun time trial resulted in a Season’s best without a lot of effort and without a Taper.
A better than expected result and will try make the most of it. Lunchtime run at a forced easy pace due to heavy legs but hopefully it’ll set me up for something later. Busier than expected after work but made the most of a small window of opportunity and settled for a session of Hill Reps. In my head I was thinking 10 but it was more of an effort than I expected and by halfway I could feel fatigue that was effecting my form and core strength. Tried a 6th with a scaled back effort and on the 7th I knew that it might not be safe to continue as i felt the weakness in my core may have meant needing a toilet. Made my way home and managed an extra hill on the way.
Unexpected Red and I’m wondering is it because of an enhanced Recovery? Will skip the lunchtime run and retest this evening before deciding if it’s a run or rest day. Easy Gym session of mostly mobility work and a reintroduction to the Back Squat with a 50% reduction in weight. Can feel some discomfort behind both knees and will ice the area later. I’d be more concerned if it was just behind the one as this is more than likely training related overuse. Stress / Rest / Adapt. Retested after getting home and HRV had dropped to 74 which helped the decision making. Hit the road for what was now a recovery run with my legs feeling tired but I soon started to loosen up and the pace increased as the run progressed. Finished with 10K in just under 45 minutes.
A great result and as I suspected with yesterday’s result it has since turned to Green as you’ll see from the daily indicator line. Will stick with today’s plan and try make it through the weekend to make the most of my limited time before the next race but I can feel the fatigue building up in my legs although this is how you should feel during times of hard training. Might take Friday off work to fit in an unpressurised long run. Got an offer of a lunchtime run that I couldn’t refuse but probably should have and finished with 11K in under 47 minutes. I’ll know later if this was a good idea. Arrived at the Track and unsure of what I could do but rather than think about it I just let it happen. Similar to last week but rather than a long warm up we went straight into a slower but more even paced run for the full session. The change of pace resulted in one of the lads just missing his 10k race personal best by less than 30 seconds and this is a good sign that his training is getting the results. Finished the evening with my usual coaching duties and today it was a series of 1 mile Time Trials followed by a short Fartlek session and a stretch & mobility cool down. Double serving of Cherryactive before bed
A great result and feeling better than I did on this day last week even though my training has been continuous and intense. It’s all about the timing of when you do what and ensuring that you recover and adapt before moving on. Early Gym session with a slight increase on last week including a set of 3*3 Deadlifts @ 90Kg (+10Kg) plus Dumbell Snatch (12.5Kg) and Kettle bell Swings. Depending on how I feel during the day I’d like to think I can manage an interval session this evening but I won’t do anything that might lessen the possible Training Effect from tomorrow’s run.
A good score and yet again I reckon the Amber is down to my enhanced recovery. Dropped the kids to school and then it was off to the hills. Went to a familiar area but with no particular plan except to climb as much as possible and with that in mind I purposely took a few wrong turns to explore new routes. In my mind I was hoping to do 5-6 hrs but 2 near falls told me it was time to call it a day and I settled for 30K with 1000M of climbing.
Slept it out having set my weekday rather than weekend alarm and didn’t have time to for a hill run. Feeling good and with a higher than expected result I went to the Track to make the most of my available time. Would have preferred the hills but motivated by knowing I was in shape made the Track session easier and knocked out a 10K in 37:30 after warm up and with cool down. Went home for breakfast, dropped my daughter to training and then I went for a short hill run concentrating on leg strength. Didn’t feel the effects of the earlier session so all is good. Picked up my daughter with 15 minutes to spare and then it was off to a match.
Yet another good result but I’m stuck for time as my son was asked to play a match at short notice so yet again to make the most of my limited time I head to the Track after dropping my son to the match. Luckily the Track and pitch are close together and I manage to knock out an almost identical session to yesterday but with a little bit more and make it back to the match missing less than 15 minutes of play.
A great week but yet again would have preferred more time in the hills. Showing good signs of improved fitness and might ease back on the faster sessions next week and use the Parkrun as a time trial to see where I’m at…
A great result considering how I was feeling after yesterday’s long run. Legs still feeling a little bit fatigued so I settled for an 8K recovery run at lunchtime. Might leave it at that for today as I’m doing an online Q&A for 
A good result and feeling better than yesterday. Early Gym session and it was a lot easier than expected with mostly mobility work and a consultation to plan my next few months with the main focus on the 24-hr World & European Championships in Latvia next May (TBC). Won’t be doing too much in the gym this side of the Isle of Man Mountain Ultra as I can’t afford the recovery time costing run time and I need to get as much time on the hills as I can. Running commute home and my plan was add in a few Km at what should be by half marathon pace but the stride sensor had a low battery so it was back to heart rate based effort. Stayed steady throughout by slowing on the climbs and speeding up on the flat to keep the HR profile stable and without peaks & troughs. A good run
Woke early and when getting out of bed could still feel some tenderness behind my knees so I decided to bin the run in favour of the evening session. Met with 3 others and we set out to repeat last week’s session but from the off we were running at a faster pace. It didn’t feel too fast but the effort was made to stay controlled. After a 2k warm up we started the session aiming for an even 4:00 per k for 10K but it was always faster. Went through 10k in 38:40 and then 2 of us pushed on with another 1K in 3:30 before starting a cool down. A good run but tomorrow will tell if it was too much. Too soon to go testing the fitness and you don’t want to leave your best effort on the training ground. Finished the evening with the usual coaching session and an opportunity to stretch.
Unexpected result and it’s good when you get it in your favour but today might not be the day to make the most of it. Yesterday’s session felt manageable but it was still a tough session. Early Gym session with reduced volume and intensity but did include a set of 3*3 Deadlifts @ 80Kg plus Walking Lunges and Core work. Will see how I feel later and make my run decision at the Track depending on who turns up. Legs started to tighten up as the day went on and didn’t think I’d be on for a repeat of last week’s 4*1K @ 3:30K and scaled it back to a lower volume & intensity session of 3*1K @ 3:40K. Started the session and felt better than expected but didn’t get too carried away. The Intervals ended up as 3:30s without any extra effort but stuck with plan of only doing 3 as the knock on effect could be a bad day tomorrow. Total distance for session was 7K.
Woke at 6 and switched off the alarm rather than hitting snooze. Woke again at 6:35am and wondered was it too late to run? Took a chance and was glad I did as it was a perfect morning. Could feel my legs starting to tighten up as the day went on and also starting to feel some tenderness in my glutes after the gym session. Finished the day with a second run of 13K at recovery pace on the track with someone preparing for a 24-hr Race.
Slight change of plan and stayed local for a medium distance run of 25K over the same route as last Sunday but taking an escape route to shorten the distance. Missed the opportunity to add in a hill run and finished the day with an 8K recovery run including a few controlled hills
A good result but legs feeling fatigued and I might not get what I want from this session. Started on a climb and tried to minimise the amount of recovery time by running hard on the descents and avoiding the possible flat sections as much as possible. This meant doubling back and repeating climbs whenever I felt there was too much recovery time. With roughly 10K to go I was starting to feel the effort required to lift my legs and kicked a rock twice so I knew it was time to think about finishing. Slowed it down and made my way back to the start with 1000M in the bank.
A good week but would have preferred more time in the hills.