This is my Redemption Arc

The Greatest movie quote that was never said 😂

Cheers for the well wishes was sorry to see that even the most enthusiastic posters seem to be struggling with interest to an extent these days, its a real pity. I think part of the reason why I went back to my original username is to garner the same enthusiasm I had when I was first posting as I got a lot out of the boards over the years so hopefully there can be a renaissance for my own selfish reasons as much as the board itself as the grá has certainly been lacking. This was the first Olympics where I actually had to research results and form for work as I was so out of the loop

Friday 10/12

Day 1

5k TT: 20.02 (4.04, 4.00, 4.02, 4.10, 3.46)

Surprisingly not too far off best case scenario. Not a great one for solo TT this was one of the first times I managed to truly replicate a race, went off a little too hard in the first 1k with over exuberance into the wind settled in, stitch rolled around about 3.5k in and struggle but managed to up the pace a little in the last k (wind aided) but was on my hands and knees by the end

So that is where I am. Realistically I have about 100 miles in the legs in total this year so aerobic capacity is absolutely not there to be ramping up big miles to build back in so runs will be shorter and will try to supplement them with drills, strides, rowing and weights to work on mechanics while amiing build back up fitness with the runs focus on being consistent.

Looking at the calendar I think pending restrictions I will come back and revisit this in a few weeks to see how i am progressing on Jan 1st with a local Parkrun. Today was a completely flat 2 lap course so I figure with local PR being a bit hillier even sustaining 19.30-20.00 would be solid work.

Looking at a couple of the more reliable calendars that I have used in the past the race time here would put the following guidelines in place approximately

Recovery Pace: + 9.30 per mile

Easy Pace: 9.10 - 9.20 per mile pace

Steady Pace: 8.10 - 8.20 per mile pace

Tempo: 7.50 per mile

Outside of strides I can't see myself venturing beyond that until 2022

Thanks man, hope your running going well. still playing catch up on the logs (the one area where still seems to be going strong)

Definitely be up for a run in a week or two when can hopefully manage something more than 30-40 min haha

I feel in a weird situation. I definitely am in the same boat regarding slow come back and soreness that has been apparent the last while some down to sleep being halved with the second kid who doesn't sleep through the night however the one thing is that the separation of the sport (as said outside of work for the Olympics I haven't really followed too closely) coupled with it and people completely passing me by I feel almost liberated to start afresh.

I think Beepbeep67 used to have a great mantra around here regarding going to masters in that he drew a line under his previous career in the sport and acted like a completely new runner. I think the only way I am gonna succeed this time is to take a similar approach. Right now I am not considering myself the runner I was previously. My bench mark is 20.02 nothing before that matters. I still have the same knowledge as previous so hopefully make a few less mistakes but I am not letting previous baggage weigh me down and simply wanna enjoy bettering myself from that point

Mon 4 miles @ 8.57 min/mile

Tuesday

AM 5.1 miles (4.1 miles @8.48 + 6x15 sec strides off 1 min)

PM 20 min rowing (4428m @ 30 SPM/143 Ave HR)

Wed

AM 1 mile easy, 3 steady (7.38, 7.36, 7.35), 1 mile easy

Good start to the week overall. paces a little hotter than was prescribed as per the run calculator I plugged my time into but I effort is definitely right so I think it is more down to lack of cumulative fatigue in the legs and the fact that mileage per run is not that high as I am not exceeding 45 min. I reckon as volume creeps up this will adjust for the same effort somewhat

The Rowing is not something I am too familiar with it's simply a bit of early fitness cross training to boost CV fitness a bit while the body becomes more accustomed to handling the pounding so shotgunmcos might be able to interpret the data a bit more than me

Steady run was a little less steady and closer to true Threshold to be honest based off HR though overall the pace was not too taxing I think it is probably a bit of power and fitness not syncing up here and given where I am it will probably take a bit of time for everything to settle into the way it should but for now its work being done so progress.

Cheers man,

That's a fair question to be honest. I can see there are differing view points on this one if you have a look some rant and rave about benefits of rowing given the total body effort and the number of muscles being used.

Personally wouldn't be a huge fan of it as a cross training mechanism simply because you are going from a seated position which can ultimately lead to shortened hamstrings if good form is not applied and inhibit influential group muscles that are primarily used in the running action. Having said that given where I am any bit of CV and resistance work is going to compliment my running as well as the fact I can do this in the evening when kids are in bed without leaving the house. I was actually thinking about this on my run this morning and I think as my training progresses I might move these to Mon/Fri which will be used for now anyway as more recovery/step back days of 30-35 min running and opt for something a bit more specific (doubles, core, plyometrics etc)

As with everything though it's better than doing nothing even if it isn't optimal it can still be beneficial

Weds PM 20 min circuit

4 sets with 3 min recovery

Unweighted Barbell for this one. In this early stage everything is still based around conditioning so circuit work nearly at failure at the end but good to get routine going again

Thurs AM 5 miles (4@ 8.43 min mile + 6x15 sec strides w/1 min rec)

PM 20 min rowing (4892m @ 34 SPM/146 Ave HR)

Legs feeling the circuit work the night before but but loosened out somewhat with the rowing in the evening

Fri - 2.2 miles @ 9.11 pace

Legs thankful of this one. but overall happy with the week to date a good bit of work one throughout while remaining optimistic and enjoying it. I am hoping this format will just keep me going till I get to a fitness level I can get stuck into things again in the new year

Peanut butter

Rolled Oats

2-3 ripened bananas mashed

Spoon of brown sugar

Mix in a bowl, form into balls and flatten with back of a fork and in the oven for 15 min. Great for sweet tooth and keeping hunger at bay

Tues - 4 miles easy (8.55 min/m) + 6x15 sec strides off 1 min jog

Wed AM - 5 mile progression - 8.43, 8.05, 7.47, 7.35, 7.25

Bit of a weird one. still not 100% after the dose. Decided to swap out steady run for progression as it was a bit more moderate and take less out of me. Ideally probably could have pushed it a day but have my booster this afternoon so more than likely will be feeling worse tomorrow rather than better. In the end though worked out because felt grand throughout. Paces felt nice and controlled throughout and to be honest nothing more than a solid cruise by the end.

Happy enough to be back on track after minor set back I know progresion won't be linear but going in the right direction.

Sat

5k Time Trial: 8.04*(4.00,4.04)

Well I definitely jinxed this by saying that I was in better Shape Truth is I do feel in better shape but the little lads teeth causing the lack of sleep ultimatly immunes systems down and he got a dose which he kindly passed around. A couple of nights on couch with a 1 year old coughing in your face will destroy the most resilient of people. Never developed to more than congestion really and HR seemed okay but between that and sleep I think I was just wound up. Realistically I think I gave up mentally with TT long before physical head just wasn't there so a big fat fail

Sunday OFF

Literally had the keys in hand when the little lad screamed out which nixxed late night run and hope for a 2022 run streak

Mon - 5 miles recovery (9.17 min pace)

Tuesday 5.8 miles easy including 4x15 sec strides

Wednesday 5 mile progression (8.39, 8.12, 8.04, 7.51, 7.32)

Been in a routine of getting this in between the late night wake ups this week even if it meant frosty enough conditions A bit of reflection time in appreciating the estate I am living in and from training perspective. 2 mile loop, a 1 mile flat smaller lap, fully lit, approx 800m hill and little to no traffic what more could I ask for in terms of actually making the best of my surroundings.

Finished up the progression run feeling fairly controlled coming by the only person I ever see on these runs; little old lady who is always out walking her dog in a pram at this time an oddity till I had the self realization that the woman out walking her dog presumably has the same preconceptions about my madness being out at that late hour roaming the streets alone

Cheers M

Will definitely take a look at that admittedly my form no doubt could do with work, based on memory of a crash course from a couple of rowers years back.

Given there have been many a nights in the couch with the young lad between teeth and sickness probably no harm in not being complacent about the back

I think the thing that really drove this home for me was one of my coaches as a teenager. Used to do the odd run with him and occasionally he would ask if we could dial back the pace on recovery runs etc (was running in the 7 mid min range) Initially I thought he was trying to be nice till I bought into it and saw the results. He was a 2.16 marathoner at the time and helped highlight there is little room for ego in training

Definitely on the same wavelength.

Currently I am simply just trying to establish routine and get back in the habit of running. As such base/fundamental phase is simply about running (albeit within myself so that illness/injury/ motivational waning aren’t an issue.

I think overall the first half of this year will probably target 1500/5000. I think the training associated with that is less time consuming (with lack of sleep and kids commitments playing a role I know aiming too high will lead to a boom/ bust cycle) The other side of it is that that sort of training was what I grew up on and 1500 was an event that I could hold my own in even when marathon training. While I was never graced with blistering speed I could normally rattle out a low 4.20 at some point most years.

I think you hit nail on the head though regarding incremental, in no rush and happy to build up modestly this year so definitely won’t be trying to smash it out of the park any time soon but simply build running back up into part of my life with the time available for it

The Milo of Croton reference appeals to the classics degree in me as well as the premise it’s one I have heard plenty of times in the past.