Monday 10th June HRV=50 Amber.
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.
Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session.
Tuesday 11th June HRV=64 White.
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.
Plan for tomorrow is a running commute home and maybe some easy distance while coaching.
Wednesday 12th June HRV=72 White.
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.
Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session and a lunchtime 10K.
Thursday 13th June HRV=68 White.
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.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery.
Friday 14th June HRV= 68 White.
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.
Session didn’t go to plan as I was stood up but that could have been a blessing in disguise as I bonked after less than 5K of easy running. Struggled on to finish with 11K of slow running on empty in the cold and rain that added the finishing touches to how I was feeling. Still a good run as these are the ones that train the mind.
Plan for tomorrow is a long run but need to fit it between football matches and taxi duties.
Saturday 15th June HRV=69 White.
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.
Plan for tomorrow is a long run with an early start.
Sunday 16th June HRV=70 White.
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.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery but I’d like to do a Steady state run of 1hr+ or another long run
Weekly Summary
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 start to the week and my new training cycle. Easy lunchtime run of 30 minutes keeping my HR below 130bpm, legs feeling heavy since the session last night but apart from that I’m feeling good. Met some club mates after work and did a repeat of yesterday’s session but ran for pace rather than heart rate as that’s the compromise when running with others. Only 2 minutes slower than yesterday but average heart rate was 8 beats lower which has me thinking that the pace for this run might be more economical.
Change of plan as my Gym session is cancelled so I used the opportunity for a long recovery run to work keeping my HR below 130bpm. Wasn’t really on form for this run and tried to convince myself to stay in bed but the guilt was keeping me awake. Made a deal with myself as and if this morning’s reading was an Amber it was back to bed for a few more minutes. Here’s a few tips from Men’s Running magazine about the running commute with a little contribution from myself: 
Lower than expected and HR higher than usual even though I think yesterday was a good recovery day. Skipped the opportunity to run during lunch but instead ran home at an easy pace and went a little bit longer after meeting a club mate running towards my direction as planned.
Before going to bed last night I wasn’t expecting this result but when waking I felt tired. Easy Gym session of single leg squats and an abdominal routine. Will decide this evening whether to run or not. Normally I’d just skip the run but chances are my weekend could be a write off so I want to maximise my available time but will be cautious not to overdo it. Didn’t run.
A great result and I tried to make the most of it with a long Tempo run but the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) were starting to kick in and the effort felt a little bit too much. Decided to do a longer warm up but in my mind I was torn between a hard session to make up for what I might miss over the weekend but also wanted to listen to my body and not negate the training effect from the strength session by working weak muscles that were trying to repair and adapt. Finished meters short of 16K in 62 minutes after a long lazy warm up and walked to cool down. The long drive didn’t do my legs any favours and the hours of inactivity meant serious cramping by the time I reached my destination.
A good result after yesterday but my legs feel totally seized up. Went for an early run of 10K and felt like I was running on the spot for the first half but managed to get going on the return and finished in 41 minutes. Would have liked a longer session as my thinking is the extra miles will cancel out some of the damage I might do at the wedding.
Delighted with this result after a long day yesterday. Only got to bed at 4:00am and was up again at 9:00am. Dreading the drive home and in advance I pre planned to stop if suffering from cramps. Journey went ok but felt tired when I got home, wanted to run but had all the reasons why I deserved the day off but also knew I needed to get out. Weighed myself and the one day damage became visibly obvious and without any further thought I was out. Took it easy and finished with 25K in just under 2hrs, better than nothing and during the run I thought about a few long sessions I might do over the coming days and weeks.
Could have been worse as the weekend was a possible write off but managed to salvage 45K.
First day of Taper. Resisted the temptation to run during lunch and spent the evening coaching a group of beginners as part of the club’s Couch to 5k programme. This was ideal as it forced an easy pace and meant I had to stretch while demonstrating. Finished the evening with 2 glasses of wine thinking I deserved it and then realised I hadn’t eaten a dinner but snacked instead.
Lower than expected but could be down to my lazy attitude yesterday. Revisited a Deadlift PB of 117.5Kg for a 1 Rep Max and only stopped there because my PT noticed I was losing form and called an end to the exercise. The weight isn’t anything special but it’s all relative to the sport and it’s enough to bring on a training induced response with enough time to recover in time for the race. Lifted close to 1300 Kg for this session. Lunchtime easy run and my plan was to run by feel expecting my legs to feel lethargic and stiff. Surprised at how easy I was moving and went through the first 1k in 4:10 and without any extra effort I dropped under 4 mins. Decided to stay as I was and finished the session with 10k in 39:40. Finished the day with a big dinner, dessert and 2 glasses of wine.
Much lower than expected but then again yesterday was an intense day with an overindulge rather than recover. Today is now a rest day and although it’s not what I wanted it could be what I need as forced rest can be guilt free.
Almost stayed in bed after looking out the window and seeing the rain but knowing that you train your mental strength on the days you don’t want to helped with the decision. Early running commute to work in the rain keeping the pace nice and easy with a low heart rate.
Feeling good today and I’m guessing it’s partly because I didn’t have a gym session yesterday. Lunchtime recovery run of 8K at my planned 24-hr pace. Finished the day with an Interval session to loosen my legs out and decided on 5*1K without any pressure to hit a specific pace. Session went better than expected and my splits were 3:19, 3:18, 3:20, 3:20 & 3:17. Haven’t ran this fast in a while and may feel it tomorrow. 
Much better than expected, woke without an alarm, the sun is shining and my legs feel fine so it’s back to the Track. I haven’t really got a plan in mind and decide to just run steady and test my mental strength. Started with 2K at an easy pace and then increased it to a working pace just outside my comfort zone and held it for 16K before finishing with a 2K recovery. Total for session was 20K in 1:20.31 with a middle 10K split of 38:30 or thereabouts. Finished the day with a walk in the woods. 
Reduced volume with high intensity as planned but I’d prefer if my base line was climbing a bit more. I’m back on the Cherry Juice (