ithlete HRV Training Diary 22-28 October

Monday 22^nd October:  HRV = 74

Higher than expected after 3 back to back steady runs and less than adequate recovery over the weekend.  Lunchtime strength session of mostly squats and the lifted weight has increased by 2.5Kg per rep.  Had a Team meeting after work regarding the Black Ice Race and then a running commute home of 20K which wasn’t very enjoyable.  I’d forgotten what it was like to run alongside busy roads in the dark.

Provisional plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mostly Power Clean and an evening Tempo run making the most of a free hour while my daughter is at training.  My gym session starts at 8am and I’m wondering if it would be counterproductive to run the 20k to the gym?

Tuesday 23^rd October: HRV= 74

Again higher than expected after yesterday’s sessions.  Early Gym session which consisted of Power Clean (5 sets of 3 reps at 45Kg), Strict Press (4 sets of 3 reps at 35Kg) and some core work.  Slight increase in my lifted weight and I felt it.  Almost a repeat of last week and just barely managed to fit in a run.  It was late when I got out and had to settle for an easy 5K using a head torch.

Plan for tomorrow is provisionally a lunchtime recovery paced run followed by a running commute home at my Marathon pacing pace and then.

Wednesday 24^th October: HRV=69 Amber

Wasn’t expecting this and decided to skip the lunchtime run and instead of my longer commute home I ran a shorter local run of 12K  keeping my HR below 130bpm.

Provisional plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mostly Deadlifting and my HRV score will determine whether I run or rest.

Thursday 25^th October: HRV=65.5 Red

Even though I got Amber yesterday I wasn’t expecting this as I feel fine but this is why I measure my HRV as it gives an advance warning.  Plan for today has changed.  I’ll still do my Gym session but won’t run.  It’s too close to the Marathon to take chances.

Strength Session of 5*3 Deadlift at 60Kg and 3* 10 Squats at 40Kg with some core work.

Friday 26^th October: HRV=73

Back to normal but HR seems a bit high so I’ll proceed with caution.

Plan for weekend is undecided and will depend on HRV and muscle fatigue.  I’ll only do what I can recover from as I want to be on form for the Marathon on Monday.

Saturday 27^th October: HRV=73.5

Heart Rate back to normal.  Took it easy today as I had too much to do including a visit to the Marathon expo to collect my race number.  Ran 6K at easy pace with 6*1 minute fast.  Clocks go back tonight and I’m looking forward to the lie in.

Sunday 28^st October: HRV=76

The signs are good for tomorrow and I now wish I was racing it.  Was asked to run with 2 lads today doing 6 Marathons in 6 days for the Alzheimer’s Society and because of my lie in I ended up running a bit longer than planned.  30K with 6* 1 minute fast to loosen out my legs before meeting the lads.  Back to the expo today to meet some friends.

ithlete HRV Summary

A slight dip in my blue (base) line this week and because I know it’s not training related I expect it’s an early warning of a cold / flu.  After getting the Red line on Thursday I adjusted my training because the added responsibility of pacing the Marathon on Monday means I’m committed to run regardless of how I feel. Judging by my HRV result of 76 on Sunday it would seem that I made the right adjustment to my training midweek.

For further information check out my ithlete case study.

ithlete Heart Rate Variation & Training.

Monday 15^th October: ithlete HRV = 75.

A great start to the week after a busy weekend of training and family activities.  Wasn’t expecting my HRV to be so high as I’d done an early 30K yesterday and didn’t have a good food day.  Went to bed last night almost 1.5kg heavier than this time last week.  Plan for today was a lunchtime strength session and an evening recovery run but the run has now changed to a slightly harder running commute home of 18K.  I’m pacing the Dublin Marathon later this month and today I’ll run at my pacing pace of 5min per K or less than 135bpm.

Provisional plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mostly Power Clean which I’m still trying to get the hang of and an evening Tempo run making the most of a free hour while my daughter is at training.

Tuesday 16^th October: ithlete HRV= 69.

Early Gym session which consisted of Power Clean (5 sets of 3 reps at 40Kg), Strict Press (4 sets of 3 reps at 32.5Kg) and 3 sets of 20 Kettlebell Swings with 12kg.  Life got in the way and didn’t get a chance to run today.

Plan for tomorrow is undecided and will depend on my HRV reading /muscle fatigue and available time.

Wednesday 17^th October: ithlete HRV=78.

Lunchtime run of 5K at my recovery HR in the rain.  Took it nice and easy as I have a tougher session planned for later.  Session number 2 didn’t go as planned as the weather was quite bad and I needed to carry a bag with dry clothes.

Plan for tomorrow is an early strength session of mostly Deadlifting and lunchtime run of 8-10K depending on how I feel.

Thursday 18^th October: ithlete HRV=73.

Strength session cancelled so I ran to work rather than wasting the free time.  The run felt quite effortless and ran at my Marathon pacing pace which was well within my aerobic zone.

Plan for tomorrow is a running commute home and some stretching / mobility work.

Friday 19^th October: ithlete HRV=72.

Running commute home at a steady but comfortable pace

Plan for weekend is undecided and I’ll take what I can get.

Saturday 20^th October: ithlete HRV=77.

Higher than expected so I made the most of it coupled with my available time.  Early 15K at marathon Pacing Pace with club mates followed by an evening 10K Steady run.  My plan was to run hard enough to really stress myself but I found my legs weren’t as recovered as my heart.

Sunday 21^st October: ithlete HRV=70.

Today was similar to yesterday but my early run was less than 10K and my evening steady 10k was slightly faster.

ithlete Summary

My blue line is showing a steady upward climb and I feel like I’ve fully recovered from my 24-hr race last month. My short term focus is on the Dublin Marathon next weekend and following that I’ll put all my intention into preparing for the Black Ice Race in 132 days time.

For further information check out my ithlete case study.

Dublin Marathon 2012

Last Monday I ran the Dublin Marathon as one of the 3:30 Pacers.  This wasn't a planned day out but an unexpected opportunity which I'm glad I took.  Being so soon after the 24-hr World & European Championships I was unsure if it was a good idea as the added responsibility meant I couldn't just go with how I felt on the day and would be required to run and finish as planned.  The brief was to finish in 3:29.30 and my finish time was 3:29.17 as per the official results so it was almost perfect.

Siberian Black Ice Race

I'm always asked what was my toughest challenge and I think this next race will be it!  I've been asked by Mark Pollock to join his 3 man for an epic challenge that will be more than a race it'll be an expedition.  Preparation has started and because of the extreme nature of this event and our team circumstances we will need to test out all our gear and equipment in advance and some items will need to be invented first.  During the race Mark will use a custom build hand cycle that's being assembled in Alaska and we expect to have this mid December and will travel to Norway in January to test it out.

24hr World & European Championships 2012

A very successful trip to Poland.  I'll post a detailed race report in a few days but for the moment here's a news item from Athletics Ireland.

The World and European 24 Hour Championships took place over the weekend in Katowice, Poland. Ireland were represented in both men’s and women’s races by experienced ultrarunners and some strong performances reflected this. Pride of place must go to Ruthann Sheahan’s extraordinary performance. Ruthann covered in excess of 229 kilometres over the 24 hours and finished in 5th place in the European Championships and 7th in the World Championships. This is a new Irish record for the event and a breakthrough performance for Ruthann.

Deirdre Finn, the Irish 24 hour champion from 2011, was the other Irish representative but unfortunately her challenge was hampered by stomach problems and she finished in 73rd position.

The men were led home by John O’Regan who is the Irish 24 hour champion.
John finished 25th European and 31st in the World Championship. He was supported by Eddie Gallen who completed his 5th World Championships 24 Hour. Eddie was 33rd in the Europeans and 42nd in the World Championships.

This was a very competitive championships with numbers increased from previous championships. Over 250 athletes took part representing 35 nations.

T minus 3 days.

Stuck for words at the moment but can say my training has gone to plan and I've no possible excuses.
Updates will be available from the Race Website or from the IAU Website.

From the Athletics Ireland Website.

The World and European 24 Hour Championships takes place in Katowice, Poland on 8/9 September.  Ireland will have teams participating in both men’s and women’s events.  The men’s team will consist of John O’Regan and Eddie Gallen.  John is the reigning national champion having won the title at the Energia 24 Hour race in Bangor, Co Down on July 6/7.  Eddie finished third in this race and was runner up to John in 2011 also.

The women’s team will comprise of Deirdre Finn and Ruthann Sheahan.  Deirdre was the national 24 hour champion in 2011 and also included the Bangor 24 Hour race as part of her preparations for Katowice.  The weather conditions were very wet on that occasion so the team will be anticipating a different challenge in Poland.

Each of the team will have a support person in attendance to assist with refuelling and race strategy in what promises to be a gruelling competition.

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.