Monday July 22nd. HRV= 71 Green.
Today will be a rest day apart from some light walking. Paying attention to my diet and fluid intake but also including small portions of the foods I’ve been avoiding.
Plan for tomorrow is another rest day with light walking.
Tuesday July 23rd. HRV=61 White.
Same as yesterday and finished the day with an Epsom Salt bath and 2 cans of beer but also had a generous serving of Cherry Active to keep the balance right.
Plan for tomorrow is a test run with an escape route…
Wednesday July 24th. HRV= 64 White.
Showing good signs of cardio recovery but legs feeling heavy so today’s run will be dictated by pace rather than HR meaning I won’t try to get into a HR zone that might put extra strain on still damaged muscles but instead will run slower than a pain inducing pace. If I feel any discomfort I’ll stop. I was hoping for some company but ended up running solo and took it nice and easy as planned with my HR staying below 115bpm. Finished the session with an even 8K at an average HR of 111 bpm and I’ll use this as a benchmark to monitor my return to full fitness by repeating a similar session in 1-2 weeks with an 8K track run in the zone of 109-113 bpm. Felt like I could have run longer but you don’t test the depth of the water with two feet. Went from my own training to a coaching session and ended the day with a few glasses of wine and a large bar of chocolate seeing as it’s my week off.
Plan for tomorrow will be the same as today depending on how I feel.
Thursday July 25th. HRV= 66 White.
Higher than expected but I can feel the effect of the wine so it’s self-inflicted. Took it easy for most of the day and then met Aidan for an easy run on the Track. My training partner Aidan (Blake) ran the 12hr race in Belfast and finished 1st with a distance of 115.916K and a new course record so he’s the ideal person to start back training with as we’re both starting from the bottom again. We didn’t have any pre-planned session and just ran at a zero effort and talked about the race and analysed our strategies. The weather is a bit unsettled at the moment and a heavy downpour ended our session at close to 8K. Finished the day with some good food and more wine plus a large bag of chocolate buttons.
Plan for tomorrow is a 5K race to support a local club and I’ll be there to complete rather than compete.
Friday July 26th. HRV= 62 White.
Again it’s lower than ideal but again I know the reason. Will stick with my plan of running the 5K. Got a lift to the race and didn’t bother with a warm up as I didn’t think it was needed and I was busy sorting out our club Teams. Walking back to the start line I found myself towards the front of the race but moved back a few places to avoid getting caught up in a fast pace as it’s a tricky course which I know all too well from the Donadea 50K which is 10 laps of the 5K route but in the opposite direction. I settled in with a small group and got myself comfortable running well within myself and became the pacer which suited as it stopped the temptation to run faster. Approaching a hill at 3K the group started to split and I was soon on my own with the climb feeling effortless. Still resisted the temptation to push on and held off for a slight increase of pace at the finish and crossed the line in 18:49. Much better than expected and before the race started I was thinking I’d be happy with 20 minutes so this is a good sign that the recovery is going well as the result was down to leg strength more than anything.
Plan for tomorrow is the Parkrun if I wake on time and feel up to it. Now is a good time to do a short race as I can use it as my benchmark for returning to form.
Saturday July 27th. HRV=54 White.
Woke before the alarm and feeling OK so I’ll head to the Parkrun to make up the numbers. Did a very short warm up as yet again I don’t think it’s needed as I don’t plan to race. Took it easy at the start keeping the heart rate below previous efforts and tried not to get caught up in those around me. Within the first 2K race positions seemed to be established and I could count 9 runners ahead and then I thought I’d try keep my position in the top 10 by holding off anyone behind. At halfway I got a chance to take a sneaky look behind and it seemed like I had a good gap between myself and the next position and then I noticed that the position just up ahead was getting closer. Probably a bad idea but I started to push just a little bit harder and by 4K I was in 9th position and in the homestretch I made up another position to cross the line in 18:35 and 8th place. A slight improvement on yesterday but it’s an easier course. Legs feeling great after the run but I’ll still take care and not get ahead of myself. Finished the day with an 8K Recovery run on the Track.
Plan for tomorrow is a lie in and training will depend on recovery and how I feel
Sunday July 28th. HRV= 60 White.
A good result and I’m feeling good after an early night and waking without an alarm. Knowing there’s a club Track session on this morning I decide to head over, not to do the session but to do my own thing with the company of the activity around me. Decide to do a Time Trial of 10K with my HR between 140-160 bpm after 2K warm up and with 2K cool down. Yet another good session and I now have a starting point from which to start again.
Plan for tomorrow is undecided.
Weekly Summary:
Recovery seems to be going really well and having monitored my body weight before and after the event it appears that I’m getting back to my ideal racing weight which is a good sign as it’s taken a while to shift the extra weight I put on when training for the Siberian Black Ice Race. Felt like I was 2 months behind schedule going into the 24-hr Irish Championships and now I feel like I’m 2 months ahead of schedule. Tempted to do another 24-hr race before the year is out and take the risk I couldn’t take last weekend now that I have the qualification standard sorted. 
