Online training Q&A Monday Sept 16th from 8-9pm on the Run in the Dark FB page.
John O'Regan's Blog. Training, Travelling, Running and Racing.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Training Diary 2-8th Sept 2013
Monday September 02nd. HRV= 71 White.
A better than expected result and will try make the most of it. Lunchtime run at a forced easy pace due to heavy legs but hopefully it’ll set me up for something later. Busier than expected after work but made the most of a small window of opportunity and settled for a session of Hill Reps. In my head I was thinking 10 but it was more of an effort than I expected and by halfway I could feel fatigue that was effecting my form and core strength. Tried a 6th with a scaled back effort and on the 7th I knew that it might not be safe to continue as i felt the weakness in my core may have meant needing a toilet. Made my way home and managed an extra hill on the way.
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session
Tuesday September 03rd. HRV= 83 Red.
Unexpected Red and I’m wondering is it because of an enhanced Recovery? Will skip the lunchtime run and retest this evening before deciding if it’s a run or rest day. Easy Gym session of mostly mobility work and a reintroduction to the Back Squat with a 50% reduction in weight. Can feel some discomfort behind both knees and will ice the area later. I’d be more concerned if it was just behind the one as this is more than likely training related overuse. Stress / Rest / Adapt. Retested after getting home and HRV had dropped to 74 which helped the decision making. Hit the road for what was now a recovery run with my legs feeling tired but I soon started to loosen up and the pace increased as the run progressed. Finished with 10K in just under 45 minutes.
Plan for tomorrow is an evening Steady Track Session with even pace and maybe an earlier Recovery Run.
Wednesday September 04th. HRV=71 White.
A great result and as I suspected with yesterday’s result it has since turned to Green as you’ll see from the daily indicator line. Will stick with today’s plan and try make it through the weekend to make the most of my limited time before the next race but I can feel the fatigue building up in my legs although this is how you should feel during times of hard training. Might take Friday off work to fit in an unpressurised long run. Got an offer of a lunchtime run that I couldn’t refuse but probably should have and finished with 11K in under 47 minutes. I’ll know later if this was a good idea. Arrived at the Track and unsure of what I could do but rather than think about it I just let it happen. Similar to last week but rather than a long warm up we went straight into a slower but more even paced run for the full session. The change of pace resulted in one of the lads just missing his 10k race personal best by less than 30 seconds and this is a good sign that his training is getting the results. Finished the evening with my usual coaching duties and today it was a series of 1 mile Time Trials followed by a short Fartlek session and a stretch & mobility cool down. Double serving of Cherryactive before bed
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session, coaching after work and then a yet to be decided run.
Thursday September 05th. HRV=74 White.
A great result and feeling better than I did on this day last week even though my training has been continuous and intense. It’s all about the timing of when you do what and ensuring that you recover and adapt before moving on. Early Gym session with a slight increase on last week including a set of 3*3 Deadlifts @ 90Kg (+10Kg) plus Dumbell Snatch (12.5Kg) and Kettle bell Swings. Depending on how I feel during the day I’d like to think I can manage an interval session this evening but I won’t do anything that might lessen the possible Training Effect from tomorrow’s run.
Met with Martin for a repeat of last week’s session of 3*1K off 2 minute recovery with the intention of running 3:40 per K but all ended up closer to 3:30 pace. A good session with a total distance of 6K and hopefully that’s just enough rather than too much.
Plan for tomorrow is a day off work to make time for a long Trail Run focussing on distance or climbing depending on how I feel.
Friday September 06th. HRV= 90 Amber.
A good score and yet again I reckon the Amber is down to my enhanced recovery. Dropped the kids to school and then it was off to the hills. Went to a familiar area but with no particular plan except to climb as much as possible and with that in mind I purposely took a few wrong turns to explore new routes. In my mind I was hoping to do 5-6 hrs but 2 near falls told me it was time to call it a day and I settled for 30K with 1000M of climbing.
Plan for tomorrow will include a trip to the hills or maybe 2..
Saturday September 07th. HRV= 79 White.
Slept it out having set my weekday rather than weekend alarm and didn’t have time to for a hill run. Feeling good and with a higher than expected result I went to the Track to make the most of my available time. Would have preferred the hills but motivated by knowing I was in shape made the Track session easier and knocked out a 10K in 37:30 after warm up and with cool down. Went home for breakfast, dropped my daughter to training and then I went for a short hill run concentrating on leg strength. Didn’t feel the effects of the earlier session so all is good. Picked up my daughter with 15 minutes to spare and then it was off to a match.
Plan for tomorrow is a medium distance Trail / Hill run concentrating on climbing.
Sunday September 08th. HRV= 82 White.
Yet another good result but I’m stuck for time as my son was asked to play a match at short notice so yet again to make the most of my limited time I head to the Track after dropping my son to the match. Luckily the Track and pitch are close together and I manage to knock out an almost identical session to yesterday but with a little bit more and make it back to the match missing less than 15 minutes of play.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery.
Weekly Summary:
A great week but yet again would have preferred more time in the hills. Showing good signs of improved fitness and might ease back on the faster sessions next week and use the Parkrun as a time trial to see where I’m at…Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Training Diary 26th Aug-1st Sept 2013.
Monday August 26th. HRV= 69 White.
A great result considering how I was feeling after yesterday’s long run. Legs still feeling a little bit fatigued so I settled for an 8K recovery run at lunchtime. Might leave it at that for today as I’m doing an online Q&A for www.runinthedark.org
Back to the Gym tomorrow and not looking forward to it.
Tuesday August 27th. HRV= 72 White.
A good result and feeling better than yesterday. Early Gym session and it was a lot easier than expected with mostly mobility work and a consultation to plan my next few months with the main focus on the 24-hr World & European Championships in Latvia next May (TBC). Won’t be doing too much in the gym this side of the Isle of Man Mountain Ultra as I can’t afford the recovery time costing run time and I need to get as much time on the hills as I can. Running commute home and my plan was add in a few Km at what should be by half marathon pace but the stride sensor had a low battery so it was back to heart rate based effort. Stayed steady throughout by slowing on the climbs and speeding up on the flat to keep the HR profile stable and without peaks & troughs. A good run
Plan for tomorrow is a Recovery paced running commute to work followed by an evening Steady Track Session with even pace..
Wednesday August 28th. HRV=62 White.
Woke early and when getting out of bed could still feel some tenderness behind my knees so I decided to bin the run in favour of the evening session. Met with 3 others and we set out to repeat last week’s session but from the off we were running at a faster pace. It didn’t feel too fast but the effort was made to stay controlled. After a 2k warm up we started the session aiming for an even 4:00 per k for 10K but it was always faster. Went through 10k in 38:40 and then 2 of us pushed on with another 1K in 3:30 before starting a cool down. A good run but tomorrow will tell if it was too much. Too soon to go testing the fitness and you don’t want to leave your best effort on the training ground. Finished the evening with the usual coaching session and an opportunity to stretch.
Plan for tomorrow is an early gym session, coaching after work and then a yet to be decided run.
Thursday August 29th. HRV=72 White.
Unexpected result and it’s good when you get it in your favour but today might not be the day to make the most of it. Yesterday’s session felt manageable but it was still a tough session. Early Gym session with reduced volume and intensity but did include a set of 3*3 Deadlifts @ 80Kg plus Walking Lunges and Core work. Will see how I feel later and make my run decision at the Track depending on who turns up. Legs started to tighten up as the day went on and didn’t think I’d be on for a repeat of last week’s 4*1K @ 3:30K and scaled it back to a lower volume & intensity session of 3*1K @ 3:40K. Started the session and felt better than expected but didn’t get too carried away. The Intervals ended up as 3:30s without any extra effort but stuck with plan of only doing 3 as the knock on effect could be a bad day tomorrow. Total distance for session was 7K.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on how I feel but thinking about a running commute.
Friday August 30th. HRV= 60 White.
Woke at 6 and switched off the alarm rather than hitting snooze. Woke again at 6:35am and wondered was it too late to run? Took a chance and was glad I did as it was a perfect morning. Could feel my legs starting to tighten up as the day went on and also starting to feel some tenderness in my glutes after the gym session. Finished the day with a second run of 13K at recovery pace on the track with someone preparing for a 24-hr Race.
Plan for tomorrow will include a trip to the hills with my next race in mind. Unsure about Parkrun.
Saturday August 31st. HRV= 69 White.
Slight change of plan and stayed local for a medium distance run of 25K over the same route as last Sunday but taking an escape route to shorten the distance. Missed the opportunity to add in a hill run and finished the day with an 8K recovery run including a few controlled hills
Plan for tomorrow is a medium distance Trail / Hill run concentrating on climbing.
Sunday September 01st. HRV= 70 White.
A good result but legs feeling fatigued and I might not get what I want from this session. Started on a climb and tried to minimise the amount of recovery time by running hard on the descents and avoiding the possible flat sections as much as possible. This meant doubling back and repeating climbs whenever I felt there was too much recovery time. With roughly 10K to go I was starting to feel the effort required to lift my legs and kicked a rock twice so I knew it was time to think about finishing. Slowed it down and made my way back to the start with 1000M in the bank.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on recovery.
Weekly Summary
A good week but would have preferred more time in the hills.Saturday, August 31, 2013
Training Diary 19th-25th Aug
Monday August 19th. HRV= Forgot to pack ithlete.
Still feeling the after effects of the wedding and lazy about doing anything. Settled for same as yesterday with an out and back on the flat but went a little bit further for 8K. Still in Kerry.
Plan for tomorrow includes a 4hr Drive home.
Tuesday August 20th. HRV= Forgot to pack ithlete.
Woke early but not on form and was looking for excuses not to run and then it was too late to do anything. Long drive home and I’ve an Ultra Running meeting in the evening with limited time between my arrival home and departure again which helped focus on training. Got ready for the meeting and went via the Track for a quick session of 3*2K off 20 seconds recovery for a total distance of 10K.
Plan for tomorrow is a Steady Track Session with even pace..
Wednesday August 21st. HRV=58 Amber.
Lower than I’d expected but then again yesterday was far from ideal with a long drive and a rushed session before going to a meeting and I’m only now realising that I missed my dinner and snacked instead. An almost repeat of this day last week but the group has grown to 5 as word of mouth is increasing the interest. Started with a 2k warm up at a slightly faster than usual pace caused by the chatting and not concentrating on the session and then kicked off the middle 10K and found ourselves having to always slow it down rather than speed up. Completed the 10K in 38:50 which was 1 minute faster than last week and ended the session with a 2k cool down and a walking lap. Finished the evening with a coaching session and a chance to do some running drills and a reminder that I need to do more.
Plan for tomorrow is a running commute and coaching after work.
Thursday August 22nd. HRV=57 Red.
Unexpected low and it’s back to bed. Might chance something short and fast on the Track after coaching as I find the short fast work usually fatigues my legs before i get a chance to put my heart under too much stress. This is partly down to my ratio of slow twitch to fast twitch muscle fibers. Got a bit lazy as the day went on and felt like going home after coaching but a few others turned up for the session and we settled for 4*1K @ 3:30K off 2 minutes recovery.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on how I feel.
Friday August 23rd. HRV= 56 Red.
Probably should rest today but feeling ok and thinking this could be still the after effects of the weekend. Rested for most of the day and retested with a better result. Went for an evening session on the Track with the intention running at a zone in and around 85% of my HR max for up to 50 minutes but struggled to get into it and cut the session short.
Plan for tomorrow will include a trip to the hills with my next race in mind. Unsure about Parkrun.
Saturday August 24th. HRV= 65 White.
A good result and can feel yesterday’s session in my legs so that makes the Parkrun decision of not running. Dropped my daughter off at her training and went to the hills for a short but intense session on tired legs. Climbed strong and made sure not to stop at any stage and gave the quads a good hammering on the descent. Tomorrow should be interesting as the cumulative fatigue is setting into the legs.
Plan for tomorrow is a medium distance long run of 30K
Sunday August 25th. HRV= 54 Amber.
Lower than I’d like but feeling good and I’m putting my recent low scores down to the fact that I’ve missed a few recordings after forgetting to pack ithlete for my trip to Kerry last weekend and it’s resetting a new baseline. Today is a group run so I stuck with the plan but might have erred on the side of caution if it was a solo effort. Met with Aidan & Liam and off we went for a 30K distance over rolling roads aiming for 4:30 per K (7:15 mile). The pace was conversational and we were always falling into a faster rather than slower trot so the effort was to slow down rather than speed up which made it an enjoyable morning. Finished just slightly ahead of schedule after running a 4:25K (7:07 Mile), almost perfect
Plan for tomorrow is undecided and time dependent.
Weekly Summary:
Low volume but happy with the intensity and finished with a decent distance session although I’m a little bit concerned about my climbing time with the Mountain Ultra so close.Training Diary 12th-18th Aug
Monday August 12th. HRV= 65 White.
Perfect as I was expecting lower after yesterday’s long run. I can feel some discomfort behind both my knees and I’m happy with that as it’s the pain from work rather than injury and knowing the difference comes from experience. Stress / Rest / Adapt and my plan for today is now an easy run staying below the discomfort zone.
Plan for tomorrow is a running commute.
Tuesday August 13th. HRV=52 Amber.
Lower than expected so it’s back to bed. Took it easy for most of the day and didn’t run during lunchtime. Retested when I got home and the Recovery was good. With a new race in mind I decided to head for the hills and ran an out and back session of 1hr each way for a distance of 19-20K with 680M of Ascent. A good run but would have preferred more climbing but didn’t want to risk going too far just in case my legs weren’t ready for the increased climbing and my pace slowed on the return in fading light. Knowing when to call it a day is an acquired skill.
Plan for tomorrow is lunchtime Recovery run and a Steady Track Session with even pace..
Wednesday August 14th. HRV=76 Green.
An excellent result and feeling good but my legs know they did something a little bit different yesterday. Skipping the lunchtime run and will stick with the Track session. I’d like to head for the hills again but wouldn’t make it back in time for coaching at 8pm. Plenty of company on the Track this evening and it’s the usual plan when with a group of running for pace rather than by heart rate and that suits. Started off with 2K nice and easy but getting progressively faster as we ticked off the laps and then it was 10K trying for an average pace of 4 min per K (6:27 Mile) and then a cool down of 1K easy and then a walking lap. Completed the 10K in 39:53 with legs still feeling fresh and a smiling face. Finished the evening with a coaching session and had the opportunity to do my much neglected stretching and felt more energised leaving the Track than I did when arriving over 2hrs earlier. That’s the power of positive energy from being around like minded people.
Plan for tomorrow is Hill repeats on a Mountain working on climbing rather than distance.
Thursday August 15th. HRV= 68 White.
A great result and feeling good. Decided to head for the hills do a few reps on the Sugarloaf mountain trying to get as much climbing done in the shortest amount of time. Didn’t factor rush hour traffic into my plan and with limited light I ended up making a detour to a location a little bit close and with less traffic. Started off with a gradual climb of 262M over 3K and made my way to a shorter but steeper climb of 94M over 1K and did a few repeats of the shorter climb. Comparing the two climbs they seem similar but descending the longer one to do a repeat would mean too much recovery time. The weather wasn’t great when I started and got progressively worse so I decided to finish after 3 reps as I still had the descent back to the car.
Plan for tomorrow will depend on my waking time but also includes a 4hr Drive to Kerry for a Wedding.
Friday August 16th. HRV= 76 White.
A good result after yesterday’s session but I’m guessing that my leg strength & fatigue prevented working my heart & lungs as I should or could. Was half tempted to head for the hills but decided on the Track with the intention being a repeat of Wednesday’s session or faster. Started off ok and probably went too fast for the working part of the session and began to crash at 5K. Held on at pace for another K and then slowed it back for a recovery K and then called it a day in the hope that I’d manage an evening recovery run when I arrive in Kerry. Finished packing the car and then it was a 4hr drive to Kerry and no time to run.
Tomorrow is a non-training day unless I can manage something before the Wedding.
Saturday August 17th. HRV= Forgot to pack ithlete.
Woke early and took a chance on heading out for a run on a local 10K loop with an option to shorten it to 8K if I wasn’t feeling good. Took just under 45mins without stressing myself and that’s it for today.
No plan for tomorrow and anything is a bonus.
Sunday August 18th. HRV= Forgot to pack ithlete.
Stayed overnight at wedding and woke with a bad hangover and not feeling good at all. Spent most of the day in a bad way and went for a lie down in the afternoon and woke feeling even worse. Decided to chance a run as punishment and settled for an out and back 6K. Feeling a little bit better after the run and maybe that’s because I know the day wasn’t a total write off. Still in Kerry.
Plan for tomorrow is undecided and time dependent.
Weekly Summary
Not a bad week overall and happy that although the training volume was reduced I still managed to train every day. Training has changed slightly as I have an invitational entry to the Isle of Man Mountain Ultra at the end of September.
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