Training Diary 07th -13th Jan 2013.

The Spink, Glendalough.

Monday Jan 07th. HRV=64 White.

Expected higher after an easy day yesterday.  I’ll proceed with caution as this could be an advance warning of an illness brewing. Today will be an easy day.  Easy lunchtime run of 40 mins followed by an evening run to a meeting with Athletics Ireland.

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session and my run will depend on HRV but will be nothing longer than 40 mins.

Tuesday Jan 08th. HRV=65 White.

Only a slight improvement but my HR is slightly higher than yesterday and just as I expected from yesterday’s result I’m coming down with something.  Slightly congested and there’s a pain in my sinuses when I blow my nose.  Today will be another easy day.  Early strength session and surprised myself with a strong session even though I can still feel the DOMS since Saturday.  5 sets of 3 (1 ¼)Squats with 60Kg (New PB) and 3 sets of 3 Deadlift with 95Kg (small decrease).

Plan for tomorrow will depend on HRV but I’m hoping to be on form for a Tempo run.

Wednesday Jan 09th. HRV=75 White.

A great result and I’m feeling a lot better which shows I dodged the bullet by heeding the advance warning.  Legs still not recovered from the recent hill run and that’s partly because my training has continued and not forgetting the squat session yesterday.  Decided against the Temp run and instead I did a variation on my MAF test by running 13K instead of my usual 10K.  Took a few minutes to loosen up and get into the zone and when I finished the results were surprising.

Plan for is an early strength session with Power Clean and a lunchtime recovery run.

Thursday Jan 10th. HRV= 75 White.

Same as yesterday but my HR is slightly less and I managed a good session last night so the signs are good.  Took a step back with the Power Clean with reduced weight but higher volume as I hadn’t done them since before Christmas.  Session consisted of 3 * 5 instead of my usual 5*3 with 40Kg (-7.5Kg) and 3*3 Strict Press with 30Kg (-5Kg) alternated with 3”3 max chins and finished with 2* 1min plank.  Lunchtime recovery run with the DOMS keeping my HR nice and low.  Finished the day with a Team meeting and some good news regarding a kit sponsor.

Plan for tomorrow is a lunchtime run and the effort will depend on how I feel.

Friday Jan 11th. HRV=78 White.

Showing signs of good recovery but I still have the DOMS.  Lunchtime run taking it nice and easy to aid recovery rather than trying for a training effect

Plan for tomorrow is an early trail run in memory of a friend killed on Mt Kilimanjaro last weekend to mark the occasion of his funeral.

Saturday Jan 12th. HRV= 82 White.

An early start for an easy run over one of the most scenic routes in Ireland called theSpink.  Took it nice and easy and enjoyed the moment.

Plan for tomorrow is undecided.

Sunday Jan 13th. HRV=73 White.

Alarm went off at 6:00am and didn’t feel like getting up.  Took the interrupted lie in and almost missed the chance to run but luckily I found time just before it got dark and decided on a MAF test to make the best use of my available time. Session went well and noticed a 1 sec improvement per K since Wednesday using same venue and same conditions.

Plan for tomorrow is an easy lunchtime run followed by an evening Tempo session and I’ve to also find time to back my winter gear for a training camp in Norway.

Weekly Summary

A good week and think I made the right decision to reduce the intensity based on how I was feeling and instead of being knocked backed with an illness I’ve still made some slight improvement.

Next week I’ll be trying to load the first few days if time allows with some high intensity sessions in advance of a Team training week in Norway.  I’d like to head away in an almost over trained state to get the most from the forced rest days which may help with adaptation.

Djouce Mountain

My plan for this weekend was to spend as much time as possible in the mountains concentrating on ascending / descending rather than distance while carrying my race day kit. on Saturday I went to Glendalough and did my usual run on The Spink and although my climbing was strong I felt a lot of pain in my IT band while descending so I walked the down rather than increase my chance of injury and I cut the session short. I had planned on running it 3 times by reversing the route each time and avoiding the long flat stretches.

On Sunday I went as planned to Crone Wood in Wicklow with Tony and we went for a mixed run on road, trail and mountain peaking on Djouce mountain. The attached graph from my Polar HRM shows the profile of our run and yet again I climbed strong but was very slow while descending. Shortly after arriving home I felt fully recovered but the problem is still there so maybe I should take it easy over the next few days and leave the hills until race day. It's probably better to arrive at the start line slightly undertarined rather than injured.

The Spink / Glendalough

My training so far this year hasn't included much hill work and because 'The North Face 100' will include 4500M of Ascent / Descent it's important that I prepare my hill climbing muscles as much as possible over the next few weeks.

With that in mind I finished off last week with a short run in Glendalough taking in a circuit of  a classic route called The Spink and added a few extra climbs concentrating on ascent & descent rather than distance.  The attached photo was taken during my run which started at the Glendalough Hotel next to the small lake which is visible in the middle of the Photo.

I'll take it easy enough this week and treat it as a rest week but as soon as I return from London it'll be back to business and I'll be training in the hills with every available opportunity.  Having completed 100K fairly recently I'm confident that I can cover the distance and having ran non stop up the Empire State Building I know I can climb.  Running London and finishing as planned will prove I can hold a steady pace and I'm injury free unlike this time last year when I was out of action for almost a month with a back injury before the Inca Trail Marathon.  It's all coming together......

I'll be running at a set pace of 8 min mile during the London Marathon using the mile markers and clock to determine my effort and in Australia I'll be using my Heart Rate to determine my effort and pace.  This will mean slowing down on the climbs and speeding up on the descents and flat.