Training Diary 19 – 25th Nov

Monday Nov 19th. HRV=68 White

A good start to the week and a lot higher than expected as I thought the long day yesterday would have been a bit more stressful on my body but a low TE of 1.8 for the run confirms I was working at the lower end of my Aerobic Zone and can safely continue.  Went for an easy recovery run of just over 7K to assist rather than impede my recovery.

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 20th. HRV=70 White

Early morning strength session consisting of 5 sets of 3 (1 ¼)Squats with 52.5Kg, 3 sets of 3 Strict Press with 37.5Kg and finishing with 2 sets of max chin ups.  No time to run but I probably need the rest anyway.

Plan for tomorrow is 6*1k intervals which I’ll add into my running commute home.

Wednesday Nov 21st. HRV=81 White

What a difference a day off makes and this result is just what I want for an interval session day but I can feel the effects of yesterdays strength session so my timing is off.  Decided against the intervals as I think the strength session coupled with the very recent long run might be pushing my luck.  Rather than lose the benefit of today’s high score I did a MAF test (Maximum Aerobic Function) on the track with a set distance of 10K in Heart Rate zone of 137-142 bpm.  Covered the distance in 42:38 with avg HR of 140bpm. Forgot to lap per Km for comparison.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/245494159

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of Power Clean & Deadlifting and a lunchtime Massage. Unsure about my run as I might be stuck for time and don’t know how I’ll feel after massage.

Thursday Nov 22nd. HRV= 78 White

My strength coach decided against doing Power Clean when I told him how I was feeling (muscular) and instead I did some upper body work.  Lunchtime massage and I seemed to be a lot worse than expected with both IT bands (illiotibial) very tight.  Walked the pain away and felt reasonably ok by the time I got back to the office.  Decided to run on the track again after finishing my coaching duties as it’s a safe way of testing my post massage recovery, my thinking is I’m never too far from the car if I need to stop.  Used the Garmin (610) with a regular programmed session of 50 minutes @ 145-160bpm.  Finished the session which was comfortably hard with an average HR of 150bpm and went home happy.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/245883001

Plan for tomorrow will depend on 2 factors. 1. HRV result.  2. When I find out how busy my Saturday will be.

Friday Nov 23rd. HRV=66 Amber

As expected and the low score is evident of my quality session last night.  Tried a Tempo run during my lunch break as I expect to be busy tomorrow but my run was slowed down by upper body DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).  Almost a rest day.

Plan for tomorrow is an afternoon Tempo run.

Saturday Nov 24th. HRV=83 Green

Stress / Rest / Adapt. Excellent Result and shows the difference an easy day can make. Made the most of my available time with a run that included 20 mins Steady State and ran any hill I could see.  Planned the session wrong and spent almost as much time on my cool down getting back to base.

Plan for tomorrow is a 2-3hr run.

Sunday Nov 25th. HRV=75 White

Expected lower and this tells me I didn’t work hard enough yesterday.  Plan has changed accordingly and instead of just going for time on feet I turned it into a session and ran at 145-150 bpm for as long as comfortably possible.  Comparing pace with heart rate I was starting to slow down at 19K and I then decided to head for home as I wanted quality over quantity.  Finished off with 30K in 2hr08 and so ends a great week.

Weekly Summary

Blue line is starting to curve upwards again and I’m starting to feel like I’m getting back on form.  Limited time with good planning and the guidance of ithlete meant 3 quality sessions and continuous improvement.

Plan for next week is a to include a few shorter but faster speed sessions and if time allows I’ll try for a red result by the weekend with a planned overreach before Friday in preparation for a 10K cross country race on Sunday.  Saturday will be a forced rest day due to a meeting.  Confidence is increasing.

Training Diary Nov 12th - 18th.

Monday Nov 12th. HRV=74. Green

A good start to the week and makes me think I made the right decision yesterday.  Lunchtime run of 10K which doubled up as a *MAF test (Maximum Aerobic Function) and the result showed my Aerobic fitness is down on what it was when last tested.  Had an opportunity to run again and made the most of a free 45 minutes by running a steady 10K.

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mainly squats and a lunchtime or evening recovery run.

Tuesday Nov 13th. HRV=72. White

Early morning strength session consisting of 5 sets of 3 (1 ¼)Squats with 50Kg and 5 sets of 3 Strict Press with 37.5Kg.  A big increase from last week and I’m now back on track with my strength work.  Evening recovery run started ok but started to feel a bit nauseous after less than 3K.  Decreased the effort but shortly after climbing a hill at 8K I had to stop and threw up.  Felt ok almost immediately but thought it best to walk rest of way.  Appetite suppressed and a bad finish to a good day.

My plan for tomorrow has changed from running a 5K race to marshalling at the race instead.  No definite run planned and I’ll take what I can get.

Wednesday Nov 14th. HRV=63.2  White

Expected a low result after last night but apart from that I’m feeling ok.  Lunchtime recovery run of 8K keeping my HR below 130bpm, feeling good.  Busy night ahead as Senior Marshal for the Mark Pollock ‘Run in the Dark’ 5K & 10K.

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of Power Clean & Deadlifting and a lunchtime run of 8-10K or a running commute home depending on how I feel.

Thursday Nov 15th. HRV=74.5 White

Late night before an early morning and was tired getting out of bed.  This is the time when having a definite session planned makes all the difference as it stopped me from hitting the snooze button.  Early morning strength session consisting of  3*3 Power Clean @ 42.5Kg and 3*3 Deadlift @ 80Kg alternating with a set of max chin ups.  Tried a heavier weight with the Power Clean but couldn’t get it.  Have the DOMS since Tuesday and can feel a knot in my left calf.  Lunchtime recovery / easy run of 4K to loosen out the legs and followed that with an easy to steady 10K

Plan for tomorrow is a lunchtime meeting with the ‘Black Ice Race Team’ followed by recovery paced run to part 3 of a coaching course after work (same as last week).

Friday Nov 16th. HRV=67 White

Lunchtime meeting regarding the Siberian Black Ice Race.  Easy paced run of 40 minutes to part 3 of coaching course.  Spent 2-hrs outdoors doing running drills and getting cold.  Had an offer of a lift home and took it.

Plan for tomorrow is same as last week with a 1hr run to part 4 of my coaching course and might run home depending on how I feel.

Saturday Nov 17th. HRV=73 White

As planned with an easy paced run to and from my coaching course.

Plan for tomorrow is an early start for a 65K run along the Royal Canal from Mullingar to Leixlip.

Sunday Nov 18th. HRV=71 White

Up at 3am for a drive to Mullingar to run 65K back along the canal.  Run went as planned and finished without any issues.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/244443109

Weekly Summary

Blue line is starting to curve upwards again and I’m starting to feel like I’m getting back on form.

Plan for next week is to get back into a regular routine and include some speedwork to prepare for a possible 10K cross 

Siberian Black Ice Race minus 105 days.

Finished off the week with a long run along the Royal Canal starting from Mullingar and finishing as it passed through Leixlip.

ithlete HRV Training Diary 5 – 11 Nov

Monday Nov 05th. HRV=76

Normal training will resume. Couldn’t make it to my strength session so I altered my run plan to make the most of the available time. Recovery run of 5K followed by a later Tempo Run of 13K with the middle 10K in under 40 minutes. Took a while to warm up as I’m starting to feel the drop in air temperature but once I got going it felt great. Could have kept going but once I hit TE 4 (Training Effect) on my Suunto Heart Rate Monitor I took the foot off the accelerator and cruised home. The higher the TE then the longer the recovery and because I want to train tomorrow there’s nothing to be gained from doing more than I need to.

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mainly squats and the run will be time dependent.

Tuesday Nov 06th. HRV=74

A slight drop since yesterday but It’s higher than expected after the intensity of yesterday’s run which I’m happy with. Strength Session consisted on 5 sets of 3 (1 ¼)Squats with 40Kg and 5 sets of 3 Strict Press with 30Kg. This is a slight reduction in lifted weight but sometimes you need to take a step back before going forward. No time for a run as life got in the way.

Plan for tomorrow is a lunchtime run followed by a running commute home.

Wednesday Nov 07th. HRV=72

Change of plan today as my wife & daughter are both sick and I had to leave work early. Barely managed to get out for a run and made the most of an available hour with a Tempo Run similar to Monday while my son was training.

Plan for tomorrow is a lunchtime strength session of mainly Power Clean and an evening running commute home. Hoping I don’t get sick..

Thursday Nov 08th. HRV=60 Amber

Expected after yesterday’s run but didn’t think it would be so low. Lunchtime strength session of 3*3 Power Clean @ 42.5Kg and 5*3 Deadlift @ 80Kg. Really liking the Power Clean but still haven’t got the hang of it.  Running commute home at recovery pace because of low HRV score and finished off the evening with 2hrs coaching which gave me the opportunity to do some stretching. The low score has me wondering if I’ve caught the bug that my wife and daughter have.

Provisional plan for tomorrow is a recovery paced run to part 1 of a coaching course after work. Luckily the course is being held at a venue that I pass on my way home.

Friday Nov 09th. HRV=74 White

Signs of recovery. Easy paced run of 40 minutes to part 1 of coaching course. Spent 2-hrs outdoors doing running drills and getting cold. Had an offer of a lift home and took it.

Plan for tomorrow is a 1hr run to part 2 of my coaching course and might run home depending on how I feel.

Saturday Nov 10th. HRV=76 White

As planned with an easy paced run too and from my coaching course. Spent most of the day outdoors and wasn’t properly dressed for the cold. Didn’t have enough to eat during the day and by the time I got home I was starving. Ate mostly junk before going out for a few drinks.

Plan for tomorrow is a medium long run off approx 2hrs. Intensity will depend on HRV result and I’ll follow a flattish route to focus on leg turnover and speed rather than just strength.

Sunday Nov 11th. HRV= 55 Amber

Totally unexpected even after last night as I still got to bed before midnight and had a lie in. Probably should have taken a full day of rest but found it hard not to run and went for a disciplined 40 minute recovery run keeping my HR under 120 bpm.

Weekly Summary

Not a great week but I’ve made the most of my available time and could really feel the difference when I went back to the Gym after missing last week’s sessions.

I’ve started to add a training load to my daily results and would have used this function previously but forgot about it. My method of calculating the TL (Training Load) is by using TE (Training Effect) from my prioritised daily run session. TE is measured on a scale of 1.0-5.0 and for my TL I have TE 5.0 =100 so I’d record a  TE of 3.2 as 64.  For training I use a Suunto T6D & Garmin 610 both of which measure TE. http://www.suunto.com/global/sports/fitness-and-endurance/Training-terminology/training-effect

Plan for next week is to get back on track and increase my long run distance to 60K following on from the Marathon.

For further information check out my ithlete case study.