running towards

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Mon 26/10: pm - 23 mins very easy @7:32/km (3.1km)
Tues 27/10: pm - 39 mins easy @5:03/km (7.7km)
Wed 28/10: pm- Track 3 x 800m, 2 x 400m (90s, 60s rec) roughly 3:20/km pace

Monday was planned to be a day off but I decided to join my OH on her C25km session, it served pretty well as a recovery run as the legs were feeling fairly battered. Tuesday was in the dark on the riverside trail I've been using a lot. It's become fairly slippery and wet the last couple of weeks and I can't see myself being able to do anything other than easy paced running on it during the winter, which is probably a good thing on balance, to be honest.

Last night I headed to my nearest track for my first midweek track session. The track is free to use for the public and floodlit in the winter evenings, it's a fantastic facility to have for the community and something that you don't see in Ireland. The conditions were fairly cold with a deceptive headwind on the home straight, and it took a good while to feel properly warmed up. I had planned for 5-6 x 800m off 90s, but I wasn't able for it and had to switch to 400s after 3. Good to get a proper idea at this stage of where I'm at; the track never lies, and I clearly have a way to go yet. Positives from the session are that on the warm-up I felt looser and more flexible than I have before now. I added a short plyo circuit of hops into the warm-up that I picked up from Adam Gimili's instagram.

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Thursday 29/10: pm - 43 mins, 4:59/km (8.6 km)
Friday 30/10: - OFF
Saturday 31/10: 50 mins, with 2 x 2km in 8:10, 7:53 (10.3 km)
Sunday 01/11: 80 mins at 4:57/km (16.1 km)

The track session on Tuesday really did a number on my calves, so even on Saturday's run they were fairly sore. Given that I was happy enough with those 2km efforts. Sunday's long run was good, the soreness from the track had completely disappeared despite Saturday's run. I was able to stay relaxed aerobically throughout but my legs were struggling the last 15 mins. This makes sense as I haven't had a run as long as this since the end of May. I was surprised at the overall pace, it felt like I was going about 30s/km slower. Overall delighted with the week. Volume trending up at a sensible rate, fitness is coming along.

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Mon 02/11 - pm - 23 mins v easy recovery, 5:31/km (4.1 km)
Tue 03/11: - pm - 51 mins easy, 5:05/km (10.1 km)
Wed 04/11: - OFF
Thurs 05/11: - 51 mins easy, 5:06/km (10.1 km)
Fri 06/11|: - OFF
Sat 07/11: - Track - 5 x 400m off 2mins walking rec - 78, 77, 77, 77, 73 (8 km) - also plyo hopping drills beforehand
Sun 08/11: - Long Run 80 mins, 4:52/km (16.5 km)

Mixed week of training to be honest. We just got a puppy last weekend and while I'm absolutely delighted to have him, taking the little fella out in the middle of the night to do his business has had an impact on my sleep. I found myself low on energy this week and I would liked to have had a 6th run in there and a second workout. Having said that, I'm still plugging away and getting fitter every week.
The track session was OK, I probably need to slow these down a bit and up the volume but I find it difficult mentally to run slow on a track. Something to work on. Yesterday's long run went well, it was a lovely mild afternoon to be out running. My feet were sore towards the end but aerobically I felt very comfortable and I ended up negative splitting which is a good sign. There were a few kms in the second half that were in around 4:30/km pace.

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Mon - Off
Tues - 39 mins, 5:03/km (7.7 km)
Wed - 51 mins, 4:46/km (10.6 km)
Thurs - 40 mins, 4:50/km (8.1 km)
Fri - circuits, bodyweight exercises
Sat - Off
Sun - circuits, bodyweight exercises

Definitely a 'down' week. Good to fit in the circuits but could have done with another run in there.

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Mon 16th - 52 mins, 4:53/km (10.7km)
Tue 17th - 42 mins, 4:44/km avg with 2x2km in 7:26, 7:25 (8.9 km total) - Lunch Run
Wed 18th - 53 mins, 5:10/km (10.2 km)
Thurs 19th - off
Fri 20th - Hills - 5 x 20s, 5 x 35s, 2-3 mins active rec + 5 mins between sets (9.5 km total)
Sat 21st - 39 mins, 4:39/km (8.45 km)
Sun 22nd - 79 mins, 4:57/km (16.1 km)

Good week, highest volume since March/April. Birthday was in there too. Taking inspiration from Ciarán Ó Lionáird's comeback attempt and that I've a few good years left. He's a little older than me so hopefully I'm not dead yet either. He does a lot more training that I do, however.

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Mon 23rd - off
Tue 24th - 41 mins, 4:38/km (9 km)
Wed 25th - off
Thu 26th - 60 mins, 4:48/km (12.6 km)
Fri 27th - 43 mins, 5:08/km (8.4 km)
Sat 28th - 40 mins, 4:50/km (8.2 km)
Sun 29th - 79 mins, 4:51/km (16.2 km)

An OK follow-up to a big jump in volume the previous week. Struggled for energy and to find time to run, I should have had a 6th training day in there. I do think keeping all the runs easy/moderate was worthwhile as towards the back of the week I was starting to feel a bit beat up. This coming week will be a 'down' week again - but will still aim to get a good 40km in as well as some circuit type strengthening and maybe a cycle. The track has been closed recently but with the covid rules changing again this week I'm hoping it will re-open so I can use it from next week. I'd like to stay at the 60-70km volume in the next mini-block, try and get the legs used to handling that regularly with 2 sessions in there. I also want to start doing my long runs on a hillier route as almost all my runs are dead flat. Requires more planning as there aren't too many hours of daylight at the moment and I don't want to be doing all my long runs in the dark if I can help it.

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A poor enough week, only 3 runs. On the Saturday I did a 13 km run with 2 x 10 min efforts at about 4:00/km.

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5 days running, all between 4:30/km - 4:50/km. No sessions, no long run. Not great.

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Only 4 days running but 1 x hills session and a nice 18.1km long run on consecutive days.
I haven't had access to the track lately with Covid restrictions and with work being really hectic I had fallen into a habit of doing too much easy running and not enough of anything else. For some reason I decided to use a ridiculously steep hill for the hills session. I picked a section that took about 30s on the first one. I walked back in between, second one was 32s and the last 20m were a real struggle to keep the legs moving. The breath came back OK on the walk down so off I went again. This one was 34s and again it was very tough to get to my arbitrary finishing point. And that's when the trouble started. A wave of lactic the likes of which I hadn't experienced in years hit me all of a sudden. I sat down on a log. I wanted to lie down but I was still on the hill and it was pissing rain and mucky. A family walked past with their dog. I tried standing up. Not happening. I couldn't catch my breath. My glutes were so full of lactic it was sore to sit on them, so I stood up again and started walking down the hill, but I realised after a few steps that I was too knackered to get down to the bottom. I leaned up against a tree and decided I needed to sit down again. I spotted another log I could sit on up, but it was about 20m up the hill. I decided to go for it, but halfway there my vision started to go blurry and honestly I thought I might faint. But I made it and eventually my heart rate started to calm down and I started feeling a bit better. I cursed myself for trying to take on such a beast of a hill having done no lactic work in a month. 15 mins after finishing that 3rd rep I jogged the 4km or so back to the car without any trouble.

Felt fine the next day and managed a nice long run - 18.1km.

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5 days running, no long run. All runs between 4:39-5:10/km. Yesterday I did a simple 40mins easy but added in 6x10s hills to keep in touch with some turnover work. I think I'm going to keep that as a regular run because I found myself deliberately running slower during the run knowing that I had the hills coming at the end. The hills themselves were good. Nice and smooth and not very difficult.

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It's been a mixed year! The first lockdown got me into the habit of taking running more seriously but I did too much and ended up injured by the end of May. The injuries didn't completely settle down until September, by which point I was starting again from a fairly low base of fitness. I steadily increased the volume between September and November but have plateaued in December as I struggled with motivation, the lack of sunlight and decent weather, and not being able to access decent running routes as easily with the track closed and short daylight hours. I was also promoted at work in November and have a fair bit of extra responsibility which I found has been leaving less mental energy to put into the running the past few weeks.

Having said all that, I've been able to avoid injury the last few months and have been listening to my body any time niggles have started to surface. And thankfully so far they haven't progressed to anything serious.

In 2021 I want to do some races again. For a start, even just training on a track would be nice. I intend to plan my training better and get back in the habit of morning runs when the light comes back. I've been mostly doing 5 day training weeks the last while but I want to get that 6th day in there on a regular basis.

I'm not going to set goals for the year right now because I can't predict when I'll be able to train on a track which has a big impact on being able to prepare for 800m. Let's reassess that at the end of March.

So, for the first 3 months of 2021:
- Sub 19:00 5km TT
- Sub 5:20 mile TT
- Averaging > 60km weeks (sensibly!)
- At least 1x circuits / bodyweight workout per week

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Week of December 8th to Jan 3rd '21

Looking back on my Strava log, my legs were feeling fairly beat so I decided to make this one a recovery week of sorts so I could start January off in a good position. I say of sorts because I was eating and boozing away the disappointment of Covid Christmas away from family and friends. Ah well. I still had my partner & our little pup, so plenty to be thankful for.

M - off
T - 50 mins @ 4:57/km (10 km)
W - 35 mins @ 5:01/km (7 km)
T - off
F - off
S - 23 km cycle
S - off

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M - 50 mins, 4:35/km (11 km) - steady effort on trail
T - 40 mins easy + 6 x strides, 5:20/km avg, (8.5 km)
W - 52 mins, 4:57/km (10.5 km) - easy effort
T - 31 mins, 5:00/km (6.2 km) - easy
F - 40 mins, with (1, 2, 3 mins) x 2 off 1, 3 mins, 4:47/km avg (8.1 km) - this was hard
S - off
S - 98 mins, 4:45/km (20.8 km) - flat trail by the river, possibly my longest run ever. Last 20 mins were tough.

A solid start to January.

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M - 31 mins, 5:09/km (6.1 km) - easy
T - 51 mins, 4:34/km (11.3 km) - steady effort - this was a memorable one, more on that below
W - 40 mins easy + 6 x grass strides, 5:15/km avg, (8.5 km)
T - 41 mins, 4:47/km (8.6 km) - in the dark and cold
F - off
S - Shlippery Intervals on grass, 64 mins, 5:08/km (12.6 km)
15 mins easy warmup
6 x 2 mins, 2mins jog rec
15ish mins easy warm-down
S - 87 mins Long Run, 4:51/km (18.1 km)

Another solid week. In December I was really struggling for motivation to head out in the dark, cold, and/or wet before/after work so I decided to try running at lunch-time during the work-week so at least it would be light out. It's been a massive success so far, and even though it means I have to plan my work around it in that I start working earlier, it's made running easier and generally improves my mood in the afternoon. I also find I'm not as stressed about having to work later when it happens, because I don't have a run to worry about afterwards.
That Tuesday lunchtime run was a memorable one. Even though I'm writing about it more than a month later it's very clear in my mind. It was on one of my usual routes on the riverside trail - I can either go upstream or downstream - but as the tide was fairly high I decided to go east and upstream as the downstream path can get flooded by the high tide fairly easily. I was feeling good and the weather was sunny, clear and not too cold. The first half passed without incident although I could see the river was higher than I ever remembered seeing it. Beautiful. At the halfway turnaround point 26 mins in, I managed to arrive exactly at Twickenham Railway bridge, but the path under it was flooded. OK, no problem, I was planning on stopping here anyway. I did a little stretch, which I often do at the halfway point of my runs, and started back towards home. Unfortunately for me, the tide had continued to come in on my outward journey, so where I had previously been running on a dry trail with beautiful scenes of high-tide reaching the river-bank, the river had now breached the banks and there were long sections of ankle to mid-shin deep water blocking my way home. I had work meetings after lunch to get to, so there was no option but to plough on. It was actually pretty fun, if a little cold. An interesting running experience.

The Saturday session was good, even if I could have done with cross-country spikes instead of trainers. I did it around the local cricket pitch (field?) Because I'm only using Strava app for GPS, I can't track pace during intervals. But some of my km splits were well below 4 mins, which indicates I was moving well for the 2 min intervals, because the recovery pace was verrrry slow.

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M - 30 mins, 5:31/km (5.3 km) - everything sore
T - off
W - off
T - 50 mins with 2x2km hard ~3:30/km pace, 4:37/km avg (10.3 km)
F - off
S - 65 mins, 5:38/km (11.7 km) - easy easy
S - 88 mins Long Run, 4:52/km (18.1 km) - Cold, slippy, icy

Middling, 6/10 week. Hard to remember exactly but with the 3 rest days I think I was listening to the body. I've been bordering on the first stages of shin splints at a few points in the last couple months and I don't want to go down that road again in a hurry.

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M - off
T - 50 mins, 5:30/km (9.2 km) - keep the easy running easy
W - 6 x 2mins off 2mins rec jog, 44mins, 4:51/km avg, (9 km) - mucky trail
T - 42 mins, 5:18/km (8 km) - easy again
F - 46 mins, 4:38/km avg, with 2 x 10 mins tempo efforts (4:05/km, 3:55/km pace)
S - 62 mins, 4:43/km, (13.1 km) - steadier effort than the pace suggests. It was cold.
S - 90 mins Long Run, 5:20/km ( 16.9 km) on hilly, very slippy trails in Richmond Park. I could really do with trail shoes going forward, took a slide in the muck at one point but luckily no damage except my to my pride.

Another solid week. At this point I'd started learning the value in taking the easy days very easy.

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M - off
T - 51 mins, 5:41/km (8.9 km) - lunch run
W - 58 mins, 4:50/km (11.9 km) - evening run
T - 42 mins, 4:50/km (8.8 km) - very mucky and wet, lunch
F - 51 mins, 5:07/km (9.9 km) - lunch run
S - off
S - off

Everything was feeling OK for another solid base-building week but after the run on Friday evening my left ankle was not feeling the best. Not sure what was going on there but when I was still slightly limping on Saturday morning getting out of bed I decided to pull the weekend runs. Retrospectively giving myself kudos for this move because there hasn't been hide nor hair of this niggle since.

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M - 46 mins, 4:38/km (9.9 km) - Lunch run in the cold
T - 52 mins, 4:38/km (11.34 km) - Another cold lunchtime run by the river
W - 39mins with 1 x 2km hard (3:25/km pace), 4:44/km avg (8.2 km) Tried a second one but had to stop with a stitch. First one was a PB on that stretch.
T - 51 mins, 5:15/km (9.74 km)
F - 48 mins, 5:08/km (9.42 km)
S - Hills. 6 x 10s + 4 x 20s, with 20ish warm-up + 20ish warm-down, 75 mins 5:21/km avg (14.01 km)
S - 68 mins Fartlek, 3x1km efforts (3:39, 3:34, 3:37), 4:52/km avg. (14 km) - this one was in the dark and fairly mucky in places.

Good training week, highest distance I've ever covered despite no long run. I guess if you're chasing volume then running 7 days a week is the way to go, but for me I think 6 days is better for a lot of reasons. I had swollen throat glands for the whole week and a slightly elevated RHR so I must have been fighting some low-level infection, but no temperature, low energy, or any other symptoms. It wasn't covid, I checked.

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M - off
T - 41 mins, 5:27/km (7.6 km) - stiff and sore, recovering after previous week
W - 56 mins, 5:03/km (11.1 km) + 6 x strides - still a little stiff, strides felt good
T - 46 mins, 5:04/km avg (9.1 km) Fartlek: 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1 min off 60s rest. Felt strong here. Much more controlled than the last time I did this session, despite less rest.
F - 50 mins, 5:06/km (9.9 km) - started slow but progressed through to sub 4:30/km pace towards the end
S - Gimme 1000 Challenge:
10 sets of the following:
20 x Jump Squats
20 x Jumping Split Lunges
20 x Press Ups
20 x Mountain Climbers
20 x Kick Sits
49:37 in total - DEAD
S - 90 mins, 5:29/km (16.5 km)

A good week's work despite the lower distance covered. The swollen throat glands I'd been dealing with the previous week cleared up and my RHR went back down towards normal so I'm pleased I got through that while still training steadily. And in more positive news, I really feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this easy running concept. I've been keeping an eye on my HR plots after runs, and lately have been mostly staying in zone 2 territory for the easy stuff. Reading about how slow Farah and Kipchoge and these elite guys/girls go on their easy days made me focus on it. Strava has helped with that too. It can be a great learning tool when you know what to look for.

Saturday's thing was a fitness challenge in aid of Pieta House and The Irish Cancer Society. One of the guys on the gaa team I've played with in London organised it, so I decided to do it and help the lads raise a few quid. It wasn't like I had too many plans for my Saturday afternoon. I also had a notion that as I had been neglecting circuit type training recently this might be just the trick to get me back in the swing of it and make up for a few missed weeks (months really!!). I was not expecting what was to follow.
After 2 sets, 5 minutes in I was already struggling. By the end of the 5th set I really wasn't sure I would be able to finish. The two jumping exercises in a row were destroying my legs and the kick sits - no I'd never heard of or done them before either - were awkward, slow and despite not seeming to do much, simultaneously worked my trembling legs, arms, and core. I definitely suffered from a lack of upper body work in the past year since the gyms shut. The press ups were actually the hardest ones to get through towards the end. But get through it I did, eventually. However, now, more than 24hrs later, my entire body is in throes of the worst DOMS I've had in years. I'm walking like a cowboy after coming out of Coppers at half 3 in the morning.
Despite the complaining, I do think it was all worthwhile. Our club raised 1500 quid yesterday and the whole event raised more than a quarter of a million, so I feel pretty good about that, as the two charities are fantastic organisations.

Given what I put my unsuspecting and unprepared body through yesterday, today's long run was a tough, strange experience. My calves and feet felt fine, but every muscle higher than my knee was aching with every step. Aerobically the whole thing was very comfortable, and I kept below 140 bpm almost the entire run, but OMG THE DOMS!!! I had to navigate flights of steps a few times and coming down especially towards the end was a real struggle. I'll be feeling the after effects of this challenge for a few days I think. Definitely deserve my day off tomorrow.

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M 22/02- off
T 23/02 - 45 mins easy, 5:03/km (8.9 km) - very stiff and heavy-legged
W 24/02 - 60 mins progressive - technical difficulties means no gps data (~12.5km)

On Monday I was genuinely struggling to walk after Saturday's shenanigans. Heavy DOMS tend to be worst on the second day I've found. Since then they've gradually started to clear but I'm still getting regular reminders during the day that I've put my muscles through the ringer when I go to stand or sit down.

Tuesday's run started fairly gingerly but I loosened up somewhat as I went. Most of my runs are out and back affairs, and often I'll take a couple mins to stretch at the turnaround point. Not a chance on this one; me with the range of motion an arthritic penguin. Still, three of the later k's were down around 4:40/km without much increase in effort. Weather was gorgeous - Spring has arrived in London.

Today - Wednesday - brought with it some noticeable and welcome improvements in my aching muscles, but not enough to attempt anything too difficult in training. I headed out again at lunchtime in glorious weather again with the goal of a 1 hr progression type run, without working too hard. I was on the riverside trail again and could feel immediately I was moving more freely than the day before. I gradually started to up the pace from 'easy' without going beyond what I could maybe hold for an hour. On the way back I hit the lap button on my trusty old Timex as I passed under Chiswick Bridge, so I could check my split from there to Kew Bridge, exactly 2km upriver. Lucky that I did, because my phone had stopped GPS tracking shortly after I'd left home. I came in at 8:03 which is faster than I expected for the effort level. Maybe the training is working. The GPS fiasco is annoying though, I really should just bite the bullet and buy a Garmin; I've been talking about it for ages. To myself.

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Lunch time: 55 mins w/ 50 steasy + stretches & strides, 4:52/km avg (11.3 km)

Am over the worst of the sore legs now, I was moving much more freely today. It was about 12 degrees and cloudy at lunch and it was grand from the start in my shorty shorts. Headed east, upriver on the trail today which I haven't done too often in recent weeks as it gets bogged with muck in bad weather. The recent warm, dryish spell has largely sorted that so I was in business.

Started off the first k just under 5:00/km and was cruising at about 4:30 pace by the turnaround at halfway. Stopped for a little stretch and a few strides, which felt great, before heading back. The return 4 k's on the trail were between 4:19-4:30, before easing back at little on the last 2 on the tarmac back to home. The overall average pace was brought back a lot by the one where I was doing the strides and stretches, the real average was around 4:30/km when I moving. HR tracking from my fitbit had me around the 140 bpm mark for most of the run apart from the strides, and the whole thing was very comfortable.

Legs feeling good, body feeling better.


Shoe Review section:
I was in my Hoka Clifton 6's for today's run, and I must say I'm very impressed with these for an easy/recovery day shoe. I kind of reluctantly bought them when they were going for a good price and having read positive reviews. They're awful gammy looking yokes compared to the Pegasus 34 & 35s I'd been running in previously. They took a while to break in as well, the rocker thing in the midsole annoyed me at first. But, they are amazingly comfortable once broken in, with serious cushioning, a lot lighter than they look, and they are seriously durable. I've got 600 odd kms on mine now and after a recent clean they look and feel like they cool easily take another 300. The tread wear considering that they don't have much rubber on the outsole is minimal as well, and no hint of peeling. Also more capable of handling faster paces than you might expect. 9/10

On the other hand I'm more than 300 kms into a pair of Pegasus 37s and while they look sharp, I just can't bring myself to like them. At all. Firstly, they're higher off the ground than previous editions, so from the start it felt like I was running 'on' them rather than 'in' them. They're stiff underfoot, almost like a racer except they're not for that because they're as heavy as Cliff Burton's bass tone. Well, maybe not that heavy. Anyway, the upper is almost minimalist, which makes no sense in a shoe like this, and the lack of cushioning in the tongue is especially annoying as I can feel the laces across my forefoot unless I leave them practically loose enough to shake off like a slipper. OK, I'm exaggerating slightly but the point is valid. Running at faster paces in the 37s kind of feels like you've got bricks attached to your feet by rubber bands, because you're high up but all the weight is underfoot in the midsole. Not for me, sorry. 4/10

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F 26/02 - 43 mins easy, 5:06/km (8.5 km) - legs tired, great weather
S 27/02 - Hills - 64 mins, 5:48/km moving avg (11 km)

20ish easy warmup
stretches and drills
6 x 10s hills, fairly steep
5 x 20s hills, less steep
20ish easy / cool-down

The weather has been great the last week. I hope spring is here to stay, it just makes everything easier, more enjoyable, and better to look at. I did this hills session next to Brentford City's new stadium, which they share with London Irish Rugby club. It's got a semi-closed access road running right by it with a short, steep hill of about 80m plus a longer, lower gradient hill in the opposite direction, maybe 170m or so. There's a cycle lane running through it but it's closed to traffic from one side meaning it's usually fairly quiet. Yesterday, Brentford were playing Stoke, but even though there were some security guards directing cars and a few kids kicking a ball around, I was able to get my session done without too much hassle. When the fans are back attending games I'll have to keep an eye on the fixtures to avoid that. Also, I did spot a few players coming out after the game and hopping into taxis including the former Liverpool and Swansea midfielder Joe Allen.

The session itself went OK. I didn't feel as sharp as when I last did it 2 weeks ago but fitness wise I felt solid. I still have some very slightly stiffness deep in my hamstrings and glutes from last weekend, so maybe that explains it the lack of 'pop'. Also, I had a feeling like a slight stich coming on during the warmup and cool-down, and at one stage a weird tightness in my back. I spent longer than usual doing mobility stuff and drills to make sure nothing was really off, but will be keeping an eye on that over the next few days.

Long Run planned today. No heroics, it will be slow, 100-110 mins, and mostly on trails to keep the legs and mind happy.

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Sunday 28/02 - 81 mins, 4:28/km (18.2 km) + 2 x 5.5 km bike rides

I went fairly off-script for the Long Run compared to what I had planned. I had a few things to do during the day so by the time I got around to the run the sun was low in the sky and I knew I'd be struggling for light towards the end. I hadn't been running in Richmond Park for a few weeks so decided to cycle there and get the whole run in on the lovely trails. It was a fine clear afternoon, not too cold, and more like spring than winter for sure.

I often don't run with music but I had the earphones with me and I think my choice of hard rock for the first half, and Daft Punk for the second probably pushed my pace faster than I had intended. Despite the hilly terrain I found my legs just wanted to run and I let them. 42 mins in I reached a good turnaround spot - right before a massive hill - making the decision to turn back easier. I was 9km from where I'd left the bike and I'd have to be hitting a decent clip on the way back to avoid being in pitch dark for the last couple of k's. I bargained that the faster pace and the 2 bike rides there and back would make up for the shorter run.

In fairness, I think I made the right call because I was very glad I'd remembered to pack lights for the ride home by the time I got back to the bike. And the run itself was a pure joy. I was reeling off sub 4:30 k's without feeling like I was working too hard, it was just one of those ones where you find yourself in a flow and it all feels very easy. There was even a sub 4:00 split in there, although that one had 41m of descent! Overall, Strava tells me I hit 5km (20:47) and 15km (1:12:50) bests, which must be good sign at the end of a high volume week and without feeling like I was really flogging myself.

I had a fine 90 minute doggie walk with my partner earlier on which left my step count well over 30k for the day.

I totalled just over 70 kilometres for the week with some nice runs and a hills session in there. considering I'd started the week struggling to move with the DOMS from the previous Saturday, it was a good solid week of training.

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Wk 1, Jan 4-10 - 65.2 km
Wk 2, Jan 11-17 - 65.3 km
Wk 3, Jan 18-24 - 45.5 km
Wk 4, Jan 25-31 - 66.3 km
Wk 5, Feb 1-7 - 39.6 km
Wk 6, Feb 8-14 - 76.8 km
Wk 7, Feb 15-21 - 54.3 km
Wk 8, Feb 22-28 - 70.5 km


My goals for this block were to improve my consistency with 6 days a week, average over 60 kilometres per week, stay healthy, and start getting comfortable running at that frequency. I think, aside from a few blips here and there, I've done a fairly good job. I just worked out the average and I squeezed over my target, although of the 3 weeks with lower values, 2 were because I had niggles that I wanted to rest, and the 3rd was when I did that mad challenge which meant I missed a session on Saturday. I feel like a much stronger runner than I was 8 weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to this next phase.

One big positive is that I've cut way back on the booze. I did the dry Jan thing and have more or less continued that through February, bar a few exceptions. I do love a drink, but I'm finding my training goals a good motivator to avoid altogether or just have a couple of cans watching sport rather than a lot more than that, which I'm well capable of doing if I put my mind to it....

I've been trying to get consistent good sleep during the week instead of playing catch-up at weekends, and have been mostly successful. I have had a fair bit of work/life stress recently which has me waking up in the middle of the night sometimes. So when that happens and I'm short a hour or two from the 7 I aim for, I've been trying to fit in a nap after work.

My plan for March is going to be to keep knocking out 70 kms weekly, as I think the legs can handle that now, and also begin to add more quality in advance of the tracks opening again on the 29th. I'm also going to do a couple of time trials, just to see where I'm at. 1 mile on Sat 20th, and 5km the following Saturday.

the descent

M - off
T - 40 mins easy + strides, 5:03/km average (9.4km)
W - 60 mins, 4:37/km (13 km) - felt really strong
T - Intervals 6 x 1min, 2mins rec, 15ish up, stretches, drills, strides, & 15ish easy after (9.5 km) - again felt really strong here. Did this on riverside trail.
F - 62 mins, 4:47/km (13.1km) - Lower legs were feeling beat up on the second half of this one.
S - Was meant to be a hills session but having done 25 mins easy and working my way through stretches and drills, my legs weren't feeling great so I decided to stop. It was feeling like the beginnings of shin splints on my right side and the left wasn't far behind.
S - No running. Did some stretching, mobility, foam rolling, and bodyweight stuff


On reflection it would have been a better idea to take this week as a recovery week instead of launching straight into a new block. Sleep wasn't great during week - work has been fairly full on, and I probably should have taken the easy training days a little easier. It's hard to reign yourself in when you're feeling good, though.

Laineyfrecks

Hopefully it's not shin splints but a good call to listen to the body & stop. It is very hard not to just go with it when the legs are feeling great!

the descent

90 mins on the bike with 2 laps of Richmond Park. Took the day off work and did this in the morning to keep the cardio working while I give my legs a few days to take a break from running. Normally at the weekend the Park is very busy but it was more chilled today. My trusty steed is an old steel Raleigh racer from the 70s that has seen much better days, I picked it up second hand for 80 quid after my lovely and much more expensive Road bike was stolen. The Raleigh definitely doesn't attract as much attention, but I think I should put a bit of work into it if I'm going to be spending more time on it doing long rides. For one thing, the cables on the gear-shifters need adjustment, I couldn't access the highest (lowest?) gears today which meant I had to embarrassingly dismount to walk up the steepest section of one of the hills on both laps. The second time around was particularly embarrassing when a fella I'd put in his 70s cruised by me on his electric bike as I pushed mine up the hill, panting heavily.

Cycling is a different game to running though, it feels harder on the leg muscles but easier on the lungs, sort of.

Strava had me averaging 23 km/hr and maxing out at 60 km/hr I guess on one of the nice downhill sections. I got passed easily by a good few fellas on serious looking machines. HR from fitbit had me 105 bpm average but it was much more up and down than my running ones. Max was 150bpm even though it felt like I was working harder than on plenty of times he uphill sections.

the descent

T - 09/03 - 58 mins cycle, 23.2 km - 1 lap around Richmond Park
W - 10/03 - Home circuit + stretching, foam rolling

So, I'm going to take this week as a down week / cross-training week to give the legs a little break from running. Yesterday's ride was after work, just about had enough sunlight to head out for an hour and arrive back with the last rays fading. Like Sunday, I headed for Richmond Park, but I went around the other direction this time and only did one loop. This meant I was whizzing down that really steep section I'd had to dismount for the previous day, and none of the slopes in the anticlockwise loop were as steep so I was able to stay peddling the entire way. Just about. I do still need to invest some time adjusting those bloody gear shifters.

Anyway, it was a fine evening to be out, it really cleared the head of all that nasty work stuff that tends to stay in there long after it's wanted or needed.

This evening was just some simple bodyweight exercises plus stretching and a good thorough foam roll. 30 mins total.

Motivation is high for training at the moment, I really enjoyed watching the Euro Indoors over the weekend. As well as the positive showing by some on the Irish team, and a great standard of competition across the board, I had a personal interest in that I used to train with one of the GB 400m runners who was making his senior debut at the champs. He's 29 and works as a Maths teacher, has been plugging away training consistently since he was a kid, despite never being funded as an elite athlete, and now has a European Bronze medal from the 4x400m. He never lost faith through injuries or periods of plateau in performances, even though at one point he hadn't PB'd in about 3 years. Inspiring story, and an absolute legend of a guy, delighted for him.

ReeReeG

the descent wrote: »

Motivation is high for training at the moment, I really enjoyed watching the Euro Indoors over the weekend. As well as the positive showing by some on the Irish team, and a great standard of competition across the board, I had a personal interest in that I used to train with one of the GB 400m runners who was making his senior debut at the champs. He's 29 and works as a Maths teacher, has been plugging away training consistently since he was a kid, despite never being funded as an elite athlete, and now has a European Bronze medal from the 4x400m. He never lost faith through injuries or periods of plateau in performances, even though at one point he hadn't PB'd in about 3 years. Inspiring story, and an absolute legend of a guy, delighted for him.

I think I read about that guy, he had to go teach a Zoom class right after the heat or something?! I couldn't believe they didn't get a sub for him for a day or two!

You must be one of the few feeling motivated around here, fair play!

the descent

ReeReeG wrote: »

I think I read about that guy, he had to go teach a Zoom class right after the heat or something?! I couldn't believe they didn't get a sub for him for a day or two!

You must be one of the few feeling motivated around here, fair play!

Yeah apparently he had to do that alright. You would think they would have been able to get a sub for him when he's off running for the country. Teachers in the UK aren't as well looked after as they are in Ireland I think!

On the motivation - running has been a real lifeline for my mental health since covid started, one of the positives for me to take out of this very strange and uncertain time we're living through. Things in the UK will start opening up from the end of March, the mood seems more optimistic than at home, even though I don't think Ireland will be as far behind as the politicians are saying at the moment. I'm looking forward to being able to train on a track again, and will try to resist the temptation to overindulge in the pubs! But at the same time, some indulgence will be in order. :pac: