Training Diary for Monday 01st to Saturday 07th July 2013.

Monday 1st July HRV= 68 White.

A good result after a good weekend and a big difference when compared with last Monday (holidays).  Legs feeling better than they did yesterday morning so the recovery is going well.  Lunchtime session in the Gym of 3*3 Deadlift @ 95Kg which felt easier than expected considering it’s been a while.  Finished off with a circuit of Hanging Knee Raises, Kettlebell Swings and Chin Ups * 4 rounds.  Finished the training day with a short Interval session on the Track of 3* 1K @ 3:30K pace off 2 min Recovery with long slow warm up.  Could feel the effects of the earlier strength session and expect to be sore tomorrow.  Had a serving of Cherry Active before bed.

Plan for tomorrow is running commute to work.

Tuesday 2nd July HRV=56 Amber.

Lower than expected but stuck with the plan and left the house slightly earlier to allow for a slower easier run.  Didn’t follow up with any other sessions.

Plan for tomorrow is a lunchtime run and an evening recovery run before coaching depending on recovery.

Wednesday 3rd July HRV= 81 Green.

Better than expected result and this changes today’s plan.  Easy lunchtime run as I have the DOMS and followed than with a 1hr steady run over a hilly route keeping the pace no faster than 4:20 per k and no slower than 4:30 per k with a finishing average of 4:21.  Went from there straight to a coaching session and an opportunity for a much neglected stretch.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/337084144

Plan for tomorrow is a running commute to work and possibly a second run.

Thursday 4th July HRV= 69 White.

Stayed up late last night watching a film and found it very hard getting out of bed.  Hit snooze a few times and then did my old trick of letting the HRV score decide what I do.  Legs said no but the heart said go and less than 15 minutes later I was out the door at an easy pace that got progressively and surprisingly quicker.  Didn’t run during lunch but stayed behind after coaching to join the senior athletes for a middle distance speed session.  I was thinking I’d do 5*400M as fast as possible but knew after the first one that it wasn’t a good idea.  The first 2 reps went ok with splits of 74 and 74 but the lactic build up slowed the next 2 reps to 79 and 78 seconds and that’s when I called it a day.  These sessions are supplementary training and the trick is to do just enough or a little bit less rather than too much.

Plan for tomorrow is an easy day as I’m planning to make the most of Saturday.

Friday 5th July HRV= 63 White.

Wanted higher but in hindsight it could be lower.  Legs feeling loose but also have some tenderness which I’m sure is a result of last night’s session.  Lunchtime run of just over 11K which ended up slightly faster than I was planning or expected I could do.  Hopefully this is a good measure of my recovery brought on by the increased leg strength.  That’ll be all for today and this evening it’s couch potato time.  Put the effort into your training but put more effort into your recovery as you can only do what you can recover from.

Plan for tomorrow is the 5K Parkrun and then I head for the hills.

Saturday 6th July HRV=62 White.

Happy with this result and woke before the alarm.  Made a porridge breakfast and let it go cold to have after the Parkrun.  Arrived at the venue 30 minutes beforehand and got straight into a 25 minute warm up to toe the start line just before the off.  Positioned myself at the front and my plan was an even pace to finish sub 17:50.  Started on target with a 3:31K and then I started to lose it as I was too far behind the lead pack and too far in front of the chasers to force the pace.  Next split was 3:37 and then it was 3:38, 3:39 and finally a 3:43 to finish 4th in 18:10.  It’s an improvement on last week’s Parkrun by 14 seconds but not forgetting I’d ran a 17:56 for 5K last Friday. I seem to be getting complacent with the shorter distances and not digging deep enough when on my own and I’m thinking the solution might be to stay with the lead pack and try hold on as long as possible.  Had my breakfast shortly after finishing and then it was a short drive for a short but very enjoyable hill run with some good climbs.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/338327509    Parkrun.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/338327552   Trail Run

Plan for tomorrow is a long run.

Sunday 7th July HRV=67 White.

Woke without an alarm and took my time getting ready as time is on my side today.  Decided to start at the track with the intention being to finish on the track with a few easy laps working on race pace.  Didn’t feel great as the run started with my legs feeling heavy and lethargic so I decided to keep it flat to start in the hope that I’d come alive.  Started to warm up after 5K and then added in some hills but the tiredness came back and I made the decision to cut it short and took an early escape route.   Finished as planned with a few laps of the track but the distance is well short of what I’d wanted.

Plan for tomorrow is a short Tempo or Recovery run depending on recovery from today.

Weekly HRV Summary

A good week with some decent session although I would have liked to finish with a longer run.  Next week will be reduced volume while maintaining or increasing intensity.

Training Diary for 24th to 30th June 2013

Monday June 24^th. HRV= 59 White.

A slight improvement and unexpected after the long day yesterday.  Today is yet another long day as the journey home begins.

Plan for tomorrow is a return to training run…

Tuesday June 25^th. HRV=53 White.

Not bad considering I only arrived home at 1:00 am after an action packed day trying to fit in some last minute sightseeing between a train journey to Milan and the flight home. Tried an easy run of 6K before breakfast and found it very tough mentally.  Took it easy for the rest of the morning / afternoon and finished the day with a slightly faster 10K over a hilly route

Plan for tomorrow is to make the most of my last day off before going back to work but depends on recovery.

Wednesday June 26^th. HRV=71 Green.

Back in the game and normal services will resume.  Started the day with an easy 10K to test the legs and prepare for a more intense hilly 13K in the afternoon.  Finished the day with a controlled Fartlek run of just over 5K as part of a coached session with the club.  This consisted of 2*90 seconds, 4*60 seconds, 4*30 seconds and 4*15 seconds with same time as recovery between reps.  Rather than running these as max efforts I stuck with my 5K pace based on my PB.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/333575696

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/333724795

Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session and a lunchtime 10K.

Thursday June 27^th. HRV=68 White.

Easy Gym session of back squats taking a step back but still doing enough to bring on an exercise induced training response and the DOMS.  Skipped the lunchtime run in favour of a later 6* 1 minute interval session in advance of tomorrow’s race which I’ve still to enter.  Session went well and was slightly faster than my race pace as I’m already feeling the effects of this morning’s gym session.  The gym session may seem badly timed being so close to a race but this is a race of lesser importance as I don’t have the luxury of a taper being so close to my next 24-hr Race (22 days).  Signed up for the 5K race before going to bed.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/334107211

I’m expecting my legs to be sore / stiff tomorrow morning so the plan is an easy lunchtime recovery run to prepare for the race.

Friday June 28^th. HRV= 78 White.

A great result and the baseline is heading in the right direction again.  Easy lunchtime run of 5K in just over 25 minutes to loosen out the legs in advance of this evenings race. Not feeling great in advance of the race and I hate just running for the sake of it but will still give it a good shot and hope to go at least sub 19 mins.  Decide to start slightly back from the start to avoid going off too fast and it works.  I settle into a nice pace before the first K passes and running better than expected and from here to 4K I’m making up lots of places and think I was only passed once before the finish line.  Official results give me a 17:56 and an unexpected season’s best.  Don’t think I could have run any faster but I’ve no doubt that I could have maintained the pace for longer.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/334515484

Plan for tomorrow is a local Parkrun in the morning followed by a short Trail Run in the afternoon but as always it will depend on recovery…

Saturday June 29^th. HRV=69 White.

Perfect and I woke before the alarm.  Stuck with the plan and drove to a local Parkrun (5K) with the intention being to run hard for as long as I can and then just hold on for a little bit longer.  Found myself on the start line although I’d planned to position myself a bit further back but didn’t get caught up at the start and let myself settle behind the lead pack and over the first K I fell back to about 20th position by not chasing.  Got comfortable quite quick and was surprised to see my 1K split of 3:33 and kind of guessed it might be hard to sustain so I decided to hold rather than try increase the effort.  My pace did falter by a few seconds but I was also starting to make up places and by the time we started the second of the two laps I was in 6th position with all but the lead runner within reach. On the home stretch I managed to position myself comfortably in 4th position and think I may have relaxed slightly as it was seeming like a good result but then I saw the 3rd placed runner look behind which made me wish I’d kicked a bit more.  Crossed the line in 4th and forgot to stop my watch but the official time has me at 18:25.  Very happy with this result so soon after the last race.  Finished the training day a few hours later with a shorter than usual trail run.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/334670236

Plan for tomorrow is a medium distance long run.

Sunday June 30^th. HRV=56 White.

A great result but legs not feeling great.  Decided to keep the route flat to work on endurance without overdoing it and stayed on the canal for 35.5K in just over 3hrs.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/335223041

Weekly Summary:

A great week and a good return to form after last week.  My base line is moving upwards again and I think the right decisions were made last based on my training volume / intensity and race results for this week.

Wicklow Way Ultra recce.

Let the Taper begin..

With Eoin Keith Connemara 20111.

Getting the Taper right can be the hardest part of a training programme and the trick is to do just enough without doing too much. Looking back over my training diary and the build up to previous 24-hr races I noticed that last year I took part in the Trail World Championships only 2 weeks before the Energia 24-hr race in Belfast and that seemed to work well so today I took the opportunity to do my last long training run with Eoin Keith along the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain way. 

J.B Malone  memorial. Photo Alan Rowlette.

My plan for next week is a sports massage and at least one track session of 4*1K intervals with race paced runs on other days of up to 1 hour and I'll avoid any routes with hills.

Starting the Taper.

Trail Running in the Alps

My original focus for this year was the 24-hr World Championships in Brugg Switzerland which was cancelled so I then decided to sign up for a 24-hr Race in Belfast on July 22nd as it was a continuation of how I was already training.  The training for this event consisted mainly of long slow runs based on a heart rate level well inside my aerobic zone and close to what I would usually class as a recovery run.

This all changed with my late selection for the Irish Squad to compete in the World Trail Championships as a chance to run for Ireland will always take preference over any other race.  I wouldn't call myself a Trail Runner but I am quite strong in the hills as I make sure to include a decent trail run in my training routine at least once every 2 weeks and because I'm aware of these events and the possibility of being selected I always train to be event specific at short notice.

In between events I train at the higher end of my Aerobic Threshold and would train almost every day with as many double days as I can manage without actually planning them and taking whatever opportunity might arise.  To make the transition from 24-hr to Trail Running I first of all substituted as many runs as I could with Trail runs and spent as much time as possible in the hills.  To maximise my time I tried to run for maximum ascent with minimum distance to work on my climbing muscles and also included hill sprints on short hills and longer slower intervals on longer hills.

To peak with my training I had a massage today which went better than planned and I was very happy with the lack of pain which tells me I must be doing something right.  Following on from the massage I did an 18K run at slightly faster than my Aerobic pace which also went well.

Last week I ran an un-tapered 5K with a new PB of 17:26 and the recent inclusion of running specific Crossfit training with  Stephen Weinmann & John Belton at Performance Therapy Ireland has without doubt kept me injury free and made me stronger.

World Trail Championships (course recce)

Tony ascending Diamond Hill during course recce.

Descending Diamond Hill with Kylemore Abbey in the background.

As part of the race preparation I went to Galway with Tony Brennan to meet with Keith Whyte, Barry Murray and Richard Donovan to do a recce of the WTC course and get a feel for what to expect.  The race starts Kylemore Abbey and follows the road into Letterfrack before the serious climbing starts.  The ascent of Diamond Hill which happens within the first 10K is fairly severe but the pain numbing views are spectacular.  I've ran trails all over the world and this has to be one of the most impressive courses I've ever been on.  

The short recce was enough to get a feel for what to expect and I finished the day looking forward to race day and have a fair idea of my race day plan.

A mixed week.

The Outsider Crew at the Adventure Weekend.

With Mark Pollock & Gearoid Towey for the Outsider Think Tank.

Finished off last week with an early trail run over a familiar route not to far from home which gives a great workout for a short amount of time.  As I was due at the Adventure Weekend later the same morning I made the most of my available time by running out for 60 mins which is almost all uphill before turning to retrace my steps and returning home.  The talk went quite well and although nervous beforehand I got so into it that I wanted it to last a bit longer.

All of last week was spent with easy runs of between 10-20K making sure to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone and I put a bit more effort into my stretching and mobility exercises as prescribed by John Belton.  Tuesday & Thursday included a 2 hr gym session with Mark Pollock continuing with the Project Walk routine and Saturday I was back with Performance Therapy Ireland to continue my strength and conditioning programme.  I was wiped out after my session but know it hit the right spots so a big thanks to Stephen and John.

Finished off the week with the same run as last week but went a little bit further and turned at the top of 2 Rock mountain.  Starting off I could feel my legs were feeling the effects of yesterday's gym session but my heart rate was right were I wanted it to be so I took it slow and steady.

Trail running and snowshoeing in the Alps.

The Plan

Less than a week after returning from Perth I got a call from the Producer / Director of my almost finished documentary asking if I was available to do some filming the following weekend and after checking my availability I was then told, 'oh by the way it's in France'.

Relaxing in Morillon

A week later we flew to Geneva accompanied by two mountain guides (Gary McConville & Tony Ruddy from the Millenium Gym in Lurgan) and drove to a village called Morillion in the French Alps.  According to the locals it was one of the worst seasons for snow and this is when it's worth having a guide as it saved a lot of time wasting looking for an alternative location.

The Crew taking in the scenery.

Day 1 was spent at 2500M +  running in deep snow and using snowshoes which took a lot of effort because of the altitude but that couldn't take away from the breath taking scenery and as tough as it was I didn't want it to end.  I took whatever opportunities I could to stop and just take it all in and there were moments when I was all alone and they're the ones that make it all worthwhile.

Ready for action.

MSR Snowshoes as supplied by Great Outdoors

Day 2 was spent lower down in the surrounding valleys running along the most amazing trails with every turn more amazing than the last.  Yet again it was tough at times but the rewards far outweigh the effort and although my muscles were hurting I couldn't help but smile.

My unplanned adventure.

Reality Check

Jarlath running along the Dublin Mountain Way.

Over the past few weeks I've followed a very structured plan knowing what I was doing days and weeks in advance and yesterday that plan included what I would consider a key training session as I tried to simulate a section of the race as best I could by running through mountainous terrain with tired legs.

The plan was to run rather than drive the 24K from my home to the starting point of what's now a regular mountain run and complete the mountain section for a total distance of close to 50K with almost 1000M of ascent.

The training in the previous days was quite intense and included a strength & conditioning session on Friday with John Belton as well as my running commute to work. This was followed on Saturday with a short but fast interval session of 4*800 M with warm up and cool down for a total of 10K and then a 20K recovery run a few hours later.

Sunday morning I woke up at 6:00am feeling very tired and hit the snooze button on my alarm more than once but I knew staying in bed wasn't an option because Jarlath would be waiting for me in the village. I eventually got up at 6:30, had my breakfast of a Cinnamon & Raisin Bagel with peanut butter and 500Ml of Powerbar energize and was out the door at 6:55 to meet with Jarlath 10 minutes later. The plan was for Jarlath to run with me to our usual mountain run starting point where I'll then meet with some other club runners. During the first section of the run I carry a 500Ml bottle of Powerbar Energize which I start sipping within the first hour. We arrive at the meeting place a few minutes late and continue on our way with Alison, Cathy and Brendan and with the new faces it feels like the day is starting all over again. The girls had ran a 10 mile race the day before so their plan was to run out for 8K to keep me company and return to the car along with Jarlath. As the girls double back Brendan takes the lead and we continue onwards and upwards and I'm starting to feel the effects of the previous week in my legs. Brendan is tippy toeing up over the rocks and I'm finding it an effort to jump onto rocks that appear as steps up the mountainside.

Just as we reach the junction of the Dublin Mountain Way and Wicklow Mountain Way I make a judgement call and decide to turn back rather than run the extra 2k to my planned turn around. My legs are tired and I know the risk of injury is now increased and that's something I can't take a chance with. Running an extra 4k could potentialy knock my training back by days or even weeks and having the unfinished business gives me a reason to repeat the run another time. On the run back my quads are feeling the effects of the descent and the rocky steps which require little jumps are showing the tiredness in my legs so I'm happy that I've made the right decision.

Arriving back at the car I'm in relatively good shape and being surrounded by smiley faces helps to forget about the pain. I'm too sore to stretch but make sure to down a carton of chocolate milk before the journey home.

Getting back to my house I was shattered and all I wanted to do was sit down but I know how important the recovery process is so without too much thinking I run a cold bath and prepare a double helping of Powerbar Recovery which I'll drink in the bath. Getting out of the bath was a struggle and I felt so tired that I went to bed for an hour.  For the rest of the day I took it easy and wore compression tights under my trousers and waking the next day it's hard to belive the weekend I've had.

As the Spartathlon is so close I don't have the option of resting in advance of these key sessions because every other session is just as important so it's essential to get the recovery right and the balance between the mix of hard and easy days. Train hard but train smart by mixing hard days with easy days and put the same effort into your recovery as you put into your training.

Training

The Spartathlon route is quite hilly and includes a mountainous climb of 980M after checkpoint 47 at 153K and with this in mind I decided to hit the mountains for a run and start working on a suitable training route to simulate the climb as much as possible.  The end result was a 22.5K run with 860M of ascent compared with 980M over 13K for the Spartathlon.  It's close but the shorter distance of 13K means the climbs are steeper and that usually means a steeper descent and less recovery time.  For the moment I'll settle for this route because of the short travel time to and from but I will try to get at least 2 other mountain runs completed with a bit more climbing and maybe even try today's route at night.

Apart from the very enoyable end to the week it didn't all go to plan and included 1 forced rest day at a cost of 24 K and a shortened semi long run at the weekend.  On the plus side I did manage to run 6 good quality sessions and gave myself a good benchmark to measure future weeks against.

Some of my race kit arrived this weeks thanks to Salomon and the testing has begun.  I've also gone Metric so my distance for this week is 120K.

1001 Miles.

Today's run brings my total for this year to just over 1000 miles and comes just as I'm about to start my Taper.
Next week will probably be my last big week of training and I've yet to decide if this weekend will be the last of my back to back long runs. Sometimes rest is best and as this next race is without doubt my most important race to date so I think it could be best to err on the side of caution.
One thing I do know for certain is that my last long run will be the London Marathon on April 25th.

I can run but I can't hide

I've started using a 'Spot Me' satellite messenger thanks to the Great Outdoors which allows family and friends to track my location anywhere in the world. I'll be testing the unit over the next few weeks to familiarlise myself with it's use starting with the Mobile Marathon Relay for the Jack & Jill Foundation starting on Friday 07th August. Later this week i'll post a link so you can check out the unit in use.

Although I say I'm testing the Spot Me it's really a tried and tested unit and is one of the compulsory items supplied and carried by competitors in the Yukon Arctic Ultra a race which I took part in back in 2005 (100 Mile category).

As well as finding a user's location the 'Spot Me' also makes it possible to follow user's adventures via Google Maps tracking a route in real time. But most importantly, in times of need, a user can request assistance from family / friends or from an Inernational 911 Emergency Response Centre which will direct help to an exact location if requested.

I have on ocassion carried an emergency transmitter when travelling in an extreme environment which is good for one use only although it will be replaced if used in a real emergency. These units can cost a few thousand euro but for less than €200 and a yearly registration of around €100 the Spot Me is now making this technology more accesible and adding a fun element to something that can be quite serious.

An obvious use which springs to mind would be for the parent of a teenager heading off on a backpacking trip for a few months. The Spot Me is an inexpensive way of knowing where they are and where they've been.

Click Here for a recent article in the Irish Times about Spot Me.