Training Diary for Monday 30th Sept to Sunday 07th Oct 2013

Le Cheile A.C Novice & Masters Team.

Monday September 30^th. HRV= 62 White.

A good jump since yesterday and shows signs of recovery but I know my legs are still repairing and I won’t rush back into normal training.  Went for an easy 5K after work and had a relaxing evening which included an online Q&A for http://www.runinthedark.org/training/.   I’ll avoid the Gym until next week to allow the race recovery and adaption.

Plan for tomorrow is unsure but I expect to run.

Tuesday October 01^st. HRV= 66 White.

Didn’t feel like I had a lie in and woke feeling tired.  Took the opportunity for an easy / short lunchtime run and could feel my legs starting to loosen up towards the end, 8.5K in 37 minutes.  Got text message after work to ask if I was running and ended up with a second easy run of 9K in 40 minutes.  It was an effort to stay slow with the second run and had to watch the pace rather than heart rate as that seems to be back to normal and remained low for the most part.  The dark evenings are becoming more obvious and I’ll soon need to work on a winter plan as routes will need to be changed.

Plan for tomorrow is a lunchtime run and I’ll go be feel.

Wednesday October 02^nd. HRV= 73 White.

A great result but still feel like my legs are recovering so I’ll continue to take it easy for the next few days which means no Sprinting but may increase the pace slightly.  I’m hoping to get back into the hills on Saturday to build on the Training Effect from last Saturday and try hold onto that improved leg strength by maintaining what I’ve got.  Easy lunchtime run but finished a bit faster than planned partly because I can feel the legs getting back to normal and sometimes it can be hard to stay disciplined.  Out for dinner after work and had a few drinks seeing as it’s an easy week.

Plan for tomorrow is undecided but I’m hoping for an early night.

Thursday October 03^rd. HRV=65 White.

Not surprised with the drop after the day I had yesterday and I expect that this is more because of the night out than the training.  Easy lunchtime run similar to yesterday and finished the day with 5K on the Track after coaching and included 6* 100M strides to loosen out the legs.  Feeling good and surprised to cover the distance in just under 20 minutes.

Plan for tomorrow is undecided as I’m thinking about the Parkrun on Saturday and there’s also the Cross Country on Sunday.  Parkrun would be leisurely but the XC is a Race..

Friday October 04^th. HRV= 59 White.

Much lower than expected.  Easy lunchtime run of 5K with the weekend in mind.  Relaxed for the evening and went to bed early

Plan for tomorrow is the Parkrun as I’m committed to volunteering after finishing.  Intensity will be decided tomorrow.

Saturday October 05^th. HRV= 77 Green.

The early night paid off and I woke before the alarm to a great result.  Plan for today is a bit mixed as I’m unsure of what to expect but I’m hopeful of a sub 18 finish.  Stood towards the front and expected a fast race as there were quite a few new faces and a lot of club singlets.  Started conservatively with the aim of going through the first k in 3:30 but felt the pace was a bit slow so I took the chance and went to the front and pushed it to suit what I wanted.  Went through the 2nd K in 3:35 and that’s close to my usual and I’m still feeling ok with an extended gap.  Slowed down to 3:39 as I hit the 3K mark and then dug deep to try keep the lead in preparation for the slow drag to the finish.  Hit the 4K in 3:32 and from here to the finish I just tried not to slow too much and did just enough to keep the lead.  Crossed the line, changed my Tshirt and helped out with scanning the rest of the field.  Stayed around for a few minutes after it was all over to chat and eat biscuits and then it was off to the hills for an 8.5K Recovery run while my daughter was training.  Probably not ideal prep for tomorrow’s race but the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing and my main thing is a few months away and I can’t afford detours every other week.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/385781982

http://www.parkrun.ie/griffeen/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=17

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/386043514

Plan for tomorrow is the Novice & Masters Cross Country County Championships..

Sunday October 06^th. HRV= 75 White.

Perfect and all is good.  Went out for a short run before breakfast to loosen out the legs and work up an appetite as the best time to consume carbs is post exercise because glycogen uptake is an exercise induced response and the muscles are more responsive post exercise.  Finished with a walking cool down and then it was my usual porridge mix of a volume relative to the time to race. Got a lift to the venue and arrived in plenty of time to watch the junior athletes put in some great performances while still having time to check out the course and watch the Novice & Masters Ladies race start. Had a quick Team chat and then found my position close to the front and got into a good position quite quickly.  Shortly after the first straight I found myself bunched in with a group of 5 and struggled to break free and when a gap presented itself I sprinted through and forced the pace a bit too much and felt the pressure as I tried to recover without losing my position.  The course was 2 3/4 laps with a few sharp hills and tight turns and on the start of the second lap I remember thinking how glad I was that it was only 1 more full lap before the short lap.  It’s a bad sign when these thoughts enter your head so I tried to focus on improving my position with the limited time available rather than wishing it to end.  I started to close the gap on a pack up ahead and knowing that I’m always caught on the sprint finish I made an attack on one of the hills, recovered at the top and attacked again on the next hill to really push it out.  Made up a few places and before I knew it I was heading down the straight to the finish.  Conscious of how many times I’d lost ground at this point in a race I tried to put in a finishing kick and managed to hold it to the end.  Crossed the line in 5th place (I think) and led my Team to Silver in the Novices Race, Bronze in the Masters Race and an individual Gold in the Masters 40-44 category.

My son was watching and he later told me that I was in 11th place starting the last lap and he was hoping I’d make up a position to get a top 10 finish and was surprised to see how strong I was towards the end but he also told me that if the finish line was 10-20 meters further away then I’d have been caught as the gap was closing fast.  Must do more speed work!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/386669975

Plan for tomorrow will depend on Recovery and includes the online Q&A .

Weekly Summary:

A great week and finished with 2 good races.  Low volume but high intensity and Recovering really well.

Training Diary 26th Nov – 2nd Dec

Monday Nov 26th. HRV=60 Amber.

Probably should be a rest day but did the next best thing with a recovery run keeping my HR between 120-130bpm.

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mainly squats and an evening run with the intensity depending on how I feel and available time.

Tuesday Nov 27th. HRV=72 White.

Early morning strength session consisting of 5 sets of 3 (1 ¼)Squats with 52.5Kg, 3 sets of 3 Deadlift with 95Kg and finishing with some foam rolling..  No time to run but I probably need the rest anyway.

Plan for tomorrow is a pre race 6-10*400M @ 75-80 seconds which I’ll do during my lunch break. Number or reps will depend on how long it takes to warm up as time is limited.

Wednesday Nov 28th. HRV=70 White.

Rested yesterday and expected a higher result which has me thinking that the strength session took more out of me than I thought.  Started my interval session and could feel a tightness in my right hamstring but thought it safe enough to continue.  The recent lack of speed work was another limiting factor in the session and I couldn’t move my legs fast enough or run hard enough to put myself under any real pressure.  Not a great session but finished knowing I’d worked hard and no further complaints from my hamstring.  Splits were: 82, 80, 76, 78, 80, 79.  The DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) from yesterday’s strength session started to kick in by evening time so I decided against a second run and only because I have a race at the weekend.

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mostly Power Clean and a lunchtime recovery run of 40 mins max.

Thursday Nov 29th. HRV=66 White.

Didn’t think yesterday’s interval session would cause this drop as it was relatively short.  Early morning strength session of 5*3 Power Clean with 45Kg and 3*3 Strict Press with 40Kg.  This was a very tough session and I’m still struggling with the Power Clean technique and should be lifting 47.5Kg comfortably at this stage.   Easy lunchtime run doing just enough to get a training induced response without hampering my recovery.  Managed to fit in a short Interval session of 4*600 during a club coaching session, splits were; 2.07, 2.05, 2.05, 2.05 with a long recover and focusing on quality over quantity.  Finished before I needed to finish

Plan for tomorrow is an easy lunchtime run with 6*1 minute fast / 1 minute recovery and might include a second evening run depending on HRV score.  If higher than 66 I’ll aim for a double day.

Friday Nov 30th. HRV=75 White.

Much higher than expected and the perfect result ahead of an interval session.  Lunchtime run of 6K which included 6* 1 min fast covering an average of 298M per rep and finished comfortably.  I wasn’t looking forward to the race on Sunday but I’m now feeling a bit more confident.

Tomorrow is a forced rest day due to a running related meeting that involves a 10hr round trip.

Saturday Dec 01st. HRV=78 White.

Expected lower even though it was a short enough session yesterday but the accumulation of the faster sessions made me think I’d be in the red.  Early start for a rest day and I’ve 10hrs of travelling today for a 3hr meeting.

Plan for tomorrow is a 10K Cross Country Race.

Sunday Dec 02nd. HRV=66 White.

Surprised with this low score after a day off yesterday and maybe it’s only now that the fatigue is kicking in? Could it be a training response similar to the DOMS?  Feeling ok so I put in down to pre race nerves and less than 1hr later I had a dodgy stomach which confirms I could be right.

Jogged 7K at an easy pace to the race start and arrived with 15mins to spare and got changed and completed my warm up in the rain.  Lined up and took off just behind the lead pack and more or less finished in that position having lost maybe 2 places and close to 1Km behind the race winner.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/248581768

Weekly Summary

A slight dip in my blue line which I was expecting as the result of some quality sessions but I expected to do better in today’s race as I’ve been running as fast in training but then again I need to factor in the cross country conditions when making the comparison. 

Looking at my low Heart Rate I know I should have been running faster but the power wasn’t there and I put that down to the fact that I trained through rather than tapered.

Plan for next week is a few longer Tempo / Steady runs and if time allows I’ll head for the hills on Sunday.  Nothing is cast in stone and it’ll be day by day to make the most of what I’ve got.

Still Here.

Since my last post I've been easing back into a regular routine and slowly increasing my training volume having got the good news that my iron levels have returned to normal and yesterday I took part in the National Novice Cross Country running on the Kildare Team which will probably be my last race of the year and the end of my recovery period.

Curragh Camp, Kildare.

There's nothing like a cross country race to get the legs moving and this race was the fastest cross country I've ever ran.  I knew I'd be out of my depth with this one but it's great to get the opportunity to compete at this level and sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone for a reality check.
The race course was a relatively flat 4* 1.5K lap with lots of twists and turns and apart from a few very muddy sections the underfoot conditions were quite good.  I finished towards the back end of the field which I kind of expected but I needed this race and for me it's a good end to the year.

My strength work has been neglected over the past few weeks due to cross country racing commitments for my club but I start back with that tomorrow as part of my preparation for next year.

Back to basics.

No 17 Personal Training.

With my season more or less over I've gone back to basics and on the advice of John Belton at No17 Personal Training have started on a Strength & Conditioning programme to improve Core Stability and Leg Strength while maintaining Fitness & Endurance.  John travelled to Holland with the Irish Team for the recent IAU 100K World & European Championships and based on his observations has come up with a plan to work on my weaknesses and make me stronger.

My weekly routine now includes 2-3 sessions with John which includes some Olympic Weight Lifting moves and Mobility Exercises.

Running Volume has reduced with less running distance but I'll continue to include some high intensity workouts and short races of up to 10K and Cross Country when available.  I'm already thinking ahead to next year and the intention is to recover from what I've done this year while building a strong base from which to start next year.
I'll post a more detailed explanation of my strength routine shortly.

Kildare Masters Cross Country Championships.