Training Diary 15-21st April 2013

Monday Apr 15^th. HRV= 75 White.

Better than yesterday but feel like I’m playing catch up and I’m unsure as to what I should do over the next few days.  The weekend just gone should have been the peak of my training but now I feel like I need to extend the peak into this week.  Lunchtime 10K in my aerobic zone followed by a running commute home at my 24-hr Race Pace.  Took a lot of effort to keep the pace slow especially during those moments when another runner passes by at a pace just slightly faster.

Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session and a lunchtime Recovery run.  Will add in a second run if time allows and I feel able for it.

Tuesday Apr 16^th. HRV=80 White.

A good result and I’m now glad that I took the weekend off as it’s better to miss 2 days training when needed than to miss a week of training recovering from illness or overtraining.  Early Gym session testing my 1 Rep Max for the back squat, lost concentration and stopped at 75kg before finishing the session with 3 sets of walking lunges with Dumbbells.  Easy Lunchtime 10K with legs feeling tired and heavy and a similar evening run of 10K with tired legs.  Looking forward to starting the Taper.

Plan for tomorrow is an evening run of 20K +.

Wednesday Apr 17^th. HRV=68  White.

A bit lower than expected and I have the DOMS so the plan changes ever so slightly.  Didn’t feel like I maxed on the squats yesterday but I’m now glad I stopped when I did.  Lunchtime run to loosen my legs out and started to move well after 2K and finished with 11k in just under 50 mins.  Much better than expected but legs started to stiffen up again in the afternoon although I still felt I’d be ok for an interval session in the evening which I went and set up.  Plan changed again after getting home and changed to run.  On my way to the track I knew my legs just didn’t have it in them for a fast turnover and the interval session was then changed to an easy / steady paced road run.  Session became 13K over a hilly route and into a cross or headwind for the most of it.  Not the most enjoyable run and if I didn’t have company it wouldn’t have happened.

Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session plus a lunchtime 10K and hopefully a second run if time allows.

Thursday Apr 18^th. HRV=73 White.

Early Gym session of Power Clean with 40Kg and 5 sets of 3*5 Strict Press @ 30Kg + 4 chin ups.  Shorter than planned run of 8K as my legs are still feeling tired and I’m still recovering from the DOMS and don’t want to slow the recovery too much.

Plan for tomorrow is medium effort 30-40K run.

Friday Apr 19^th. HRV= 65 White.

My plan for today has slightly changed and instead of the longer run I opt for a shorter but faster session of just under 20K with 14K at Tempo Pace which included a 10K split of under 38 mins.  Added in a second recovery recovery run a few hours later of 6K.  A good day.

Plan for tomorrow is 15-25K.

Saturday Apr 20^th. HRV= 61 Amber.

Expected and rather than run early I postpone the run until the afternoon to extend my recovery.  Went out at my planned race pace over a hilly route and picked the pace up halfway through even though I knew I shouldn’t.

Plan for tomorrow is a 20K + Run at my planned race pace.

Sunday Apr 21^th. HRV= 62 Red.

Not what I wanted but knew it was possible.  Today is the end of my peak week and tomorrow is a rest day so my plan for today stands but I limit the distance to 20K and keep my HR at lower end of Aerobic and my pace will be no faster than race pace.  This is planned over reaching.

Plan for tomorrow is a rest day and coaching.

Weekly HRV Summary

A good comeback from last weekend and overall a good week with a mix of sessions / distances & intensities.  Tomorrow is a rest / recovery day and the Taper begins.

Training Diary 8-14th April 2013

Monday Apr 08^th. HRV= 70 White.

Lower than expected.  Easy lunchtime 10K and feeling slightly fatigued, decided to cancel my run home.  Went to watch my son play a match and then took the opportunity to run a recovery 5K with the Couch to 5K group from my club.  Legs still feeling tired and think this was a good decision as it prevents the temptation to run faster / longer.  Cancelled my Gym session tomorrow as there’s no point in digging the hole any deeper.

Plan for tomorrow is undecided and will depend on my recovery.

Tuesday Apr 09^th. HRV= 85 Green.

Stress / Rest / Adapt and this is my highest score in quite a while.  Woke at my usual Gym time and same scenario as last Thursday, if the signs of a recovery were there I’d use the available time productively.  Ran to work taking it nice and easy and added a second recovery run during my lunchtime of 8K.  An unexpected window of opportunity meant I could add in a 3^rd session of just under 10K at Recovery pace and this is ideal in the build-up to a 24-hr race as the cumulative fatigue is similar to what I’ll experience during the race.

Plan for tomorrow is an evening run of 20K +.

Wednesday Apr 10^th . HRV= 81 White.

Higher than expected and today’s plan has slightly changed to quality over quantity based on my HRV.  Legs feeling heavy so I skipped the opportunity to run during lunch and instead saved myself for a later session of 3*2K intervals off 90 seconds recovery.  I was aiming for 3:30-3:35 per K but spent most of the first rep warming up and maybe next time I’ll include a throwaway rep of close to planned pace at the start.  Average pace per 2K of: 3:38K, 3:34K & 3:35K and a total distance of 13K with warm up and cool down.

Plan for tomorrow is an early Gym session plus a lunchtime 10K and hopefully a second run if time allows.

Thursday Apr 11^th. HRV=73 White.

Early Gym session of mobility work and did 3*5 Back Squats with 60Kg and 3* max chin ups.  Lunchtime easy run of 10K in just under 42 mins and I can feel my right ITB starting to feel the effects of the recent workload.  Think it’s time for a massage.

Plan for tomorrow is medium effort 30-40K run.

Friday Apr 12^th. HRV= 69 Amber.

Plan for today is slightly changed and rather than a tiring long run I opt for a shorter but more intense interval session.  An interval session isn’t as tiring because of the recovery between reps and the reps are short enough that the HR isn’t elevated for too long.  Session was 10*1K at average pace of 3:35K off 60 second recovery.

Plan for tomorrow is a Tempo Run of 15-25K.

Saturday Apr 13^th. HRV=61 Red.

Today is now a rest day so it’s back to bed.

Plan for tomorrow is similar to last week with a long mixed terrain run.

Sunday Apr 14^th. HRV=61 Red.

Unexpected after resting and taking it easy yesterday.  Today is now a rest day and I’m not happy.  Sent a text to my club mates cancelling a planned meet up halfway through my run and then it was back to bed.

Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery but I’m thinking a lunchtime easy run and a running commute home.

 Weekly Summary

A bad end to my peak week as I’m close to 100K short of my plan but then again it could be a good end as the double Red show’s that if I’m not coming down with an illness then I may have been training to my max and peaking just in time.  With less than 4 weeks until the 24-hr World & European Championships I’d like to think that it’s the latter.  Tomorrow will tell.

I’m still awaiting the official Team announcement for this event and expect it will be made next week, fingers crossed.

Preparing to Taper.

Photo by Alan Rowlette.

It's been a tough 2 weeks with a lot of quality sessions including double days, gym sessions and track work but I'm glad to say it all went to plan and I'm now preparing to Taper.  My plan for next week is reduced volume with increased intensity which will include steady runs of up to 1 hour and maybe a track session.
This day last week I ran the Celbridge AC 5K and finished in 18:05,  way off my PB but still a 2 second improvement on the Donadea 5K from 2 weeks earlier and it show's that at least I'm not going backwards with the training.


  

Peaking again. Again.

In anticipation of my next race I'm midway through a 2 week peak which consists of a high volume week at low intensity followed by a lower volume week of higher intensity finishing with a 5K race.  Recovery since the 24-hr race has gone very well and thats one of the benefits of not getting caught up in a race especially when there's a race of more importance so close.  Heart Rate profiles in the attached are not exact as there were quite a few unexplained peaks & troughs.

Saturday.

This run was a recce for  Sunday's run as I needed to work out timing and distance to join up with my club mates doing a shorter trail run as it meant a lift home.

Sunday

Mentally & Physically this was a tough run as I ran it on tired legs following Saturday's run with deadlines to meet.  Very happy with how it went and finished knowing I could have kept going.  I'll decide what I do tomorrow when I wake up.

Donadea 5K.  27/07/12

Attached photo from a recent race thanks to James Shelley of LeCheile AC.  I ran this race during my recovery and was hoping to finish in approx 20 minutes running by feel.  I wasn't sure what to expect so soon after the 24-hr race but after 1K I felt good and stayed steady but didn't get carried away.  Approaching 4K I decided to push a bit and then got caught in a race with another guy and we stayed with each other until the last 400M and I happily crossed the finish line in 18:07.  Not a PB but better than expected and a sign that my recovery has gone well.

Peak Week. Day 5.

Distance: 18K in 1hr30min.  

Avg Pace=5:03 per K.

HR avg=133 in zone 126-146bpm.

Another warm day and another good run even though yet again it was shorter than planned.  Finished strong and without any issues knowing that I could keep going and that in itself means a lot.  Tomorrow I'm planning a double session starting with 16K before breakfast and the same after lunch but slower and flatter. 

Peak Week. Day 3.

Distance: 10K in 42min10.
Avg Pace=4:14 per K.

HR avg=150 in zone 146-153bpm.

Something just wasn't right before I started my second run today so I decided to forget about it and just do some stretching.  Nothing serious but when driving to the running track for the usual Wednesday night club session my left knee felt a bit tender when using the clutch and at this stage I can't afford to take a chance.

My earlier run went well and my HR avg was down by 2 beats for the same run only two weeks ago which if nothing else it shows I'm going forward rather than backwards and my recovery strategy must be working.

Tomorrow is yet another split session but I'm thinking that I might forget about the earlier shorter run and just stick with a later 16K which I might extend depending on how I'm feeling.  But then again I could also end up taking a rest day if my knee feels the same.  Train hard but train smart and sometimes it's best to rest.

Peak Week. Day 2.

Distance: 21K in 1hr44.
Avg Pace=4:56 per K.

HR avg=131 in zone 126-146bpm.

Slightly shorter than planned but still long enough for a training effect.  Another very warm day and I started to feel the effect of the heat after less than 10K and was preparing for a shop stop to buy a drink.  The bad patch soon passed and from tomorrow I'll make sure to drink more throughout the day.  Tomorrow is almost an easy day with a split session of 10K around lunchtime followed by a late evening 16K in my recovery / ultra zone of 120-128bpm.

Peak Week. Day 1.

Distance: 30K in 2hr35.  Avg Pace=5:09 per K.
HR avg=131 in zone 126-146bpm.

It was quite warm today and the bulk of my run was done from work to home with a backpack running into the sun.  It was quite warm and I sweated a lot but on a scale of 1 to 10 of what I might expect in Greece it was probably a 1.  As usual I slowed going uphill and pushed the pace on the downhill to ensure I spent as much training time as possible in the zone and I did notice that the slowing on hills has started to reduce which is a good sign. On the approach into Lucan village I met up with a group from Le Cheile as planned and the route then changed which was a nice distraction and the final few K passed with less effort.
Most of the runs for this week will be in the same zone to ensure I still have the energy to continue running day after day rather than tiring my legs out with faster efforts as the objective this week is to get my legs used to the high volume of work and from next week when my Taper starts they should in theory recover stronger.  Based on previous Ultra Races my race plan is to run as close to 130bpm as possible which could change on the day but for the moment that's the plan and I'll train accordingly.
The plan for tomorrow is 35-40K depending on available time and i'll also spend some time using my foam roller.