Sunday 22nd July 2018
I feel like I’m getting fitter. These days any increases in fitness are small and incremental, but are very satisfying all the same.
On Tuesday I ran a 4:30 mile with a cold. Whilst this is ill-advised and not something I want to try again, the fact that I can run that time with terrible legs and a temperature shows that my basic level of fitness must be high. I shouldn’t have raced given how I felt earlier in the day but still managed a time I’d have been pleased with on a good day a couple of years ago.
Saturday’s track session was pleasing; I managed to run all the 300s in between 45 and 47 seconds with only a minute between efforts. Speed has never been a strength of mine so I know if I can keep up with faster runners on the short track sessions I am doing well.
I just hope I can translate this into a couple more good results before the end of the season, starting with a 3000 at Stretford on Tuesday night.
My Week
Monday: 8km easy (8)
Tuesday: BMC Mile, Tipton – 5th in 4:30.54 (8)
Wednesday: rest (0)
Thursday: 16km easy (16)
Friday: AM 9km easy / PM 10km easy (19)
Saturday: track session 8*300 off 60s – 46,47,46,46,46,46,47,46 / PM 9km easy (19)
Sunday : 15km easy (15)
Wednesday 27th June 2018
There is a fine line between training hard and overdoing it.
Last week I skipped a race with a cold. It might have just been coming anyway, it might have been brought on my heavy training and a weakened immune system; it’s hard to tell. What I do know, though, is that you don’t always feel how you are expecting to feel. Sometimes I can handle large amounts of intense training and at others my body refuses to cooperate.
Recently, I have been following the blog of my friend John, a runner I knew at university and have recently been reacquainted with. He is one of the best triathletes in Scotland and posts the kind of training that makes me look like a part timer. As well as describing his races he describes perfectly what I often feel when in heavy training and supposedly at my fittest: fatigue, permanent hunger, aching muscles and joints and all the other ailments associated with being an athlete.
The challenge is to distinguish ‘good pain’ from ‘bad pain.’ The former is normal fatigue resulting from hard training and must be ignored at all times; the latter is illness and injury and needs to be taken seriously. I’m glad I didn’t race through illness last week as I came back fresh and had a good race on Saturday, and am now half way through a big training week.
My Week
Monday: AM 10km easy / PM 10km easy (20)
Tuesday: 9km easy (9)
Wednesday: 17km easy (17)
Thursday: AM 10km easy / PM track session 10*200 off 150 jog (22)
Friday: rest (0)
Saturday: Birmingham Relays Mile B race, 2nd in 4:27.21 – PB, approx splits 70,67,66,64 (10)
Sunday: 22km moderate / PM 8km easy (22)
Sunday 23rd July 2017
Happy with a new mile PB. Hopefully I can carry this form through to next week and run a fast 3000.
Monday: rest (0)
Tuesday: AM 8km easy / PM Tipton BMC mile – 8th in 4:27.3 (15)
Wednesday: 16km easy (16)
Thursday: AM 10km easy / PM 10km easy – abandoned session due to tight hamstring (20)
Friday: 12km easy (12)
Saturday: grass session 10 sets of 60s/60s (14)
Sunday: 14km easy (14)
Taken from my training log.
Sunday 28th July 2013
I had fun racing and pacing the miles on Saturday. Did some good tempo work. And like god, I took a rest day on the 7th day.
Monday: 16km easy (16)
Tuesday: AM 8km easy / PM mile ring road tempo – 4×400 off 60s – mile – 4×400 – mile: 5:20 / 73, 71, 70, 68 / 5:10 / 72, 70, 70, 66 / dnf last mile (25)
Wednesday: 16km easy (16)
Thursday: 26km easy, 9 of which barefoot (26)
Friday: 17km easy, 4 of which barefoot (17)
Saturday: AM 9km easy / PM BRAT mile race – 1st in 4:40: 77, 73, 68, 62, paced B race to 5:14, 6km tempo 20:15 (27)
Sunday: Rest (0)
Week total: 127km
Sunday 23rd December 2012
Penultimate week of logging in imperial. Mainly easy-paced running this week except for a flat out mile in terrible conditions on Saturday.
Monday: 10 easy (10)
Tuesday: 17 easy (17)
Wednesday: 4 easy (4)
Thursday: 12 easy (12)
Friday: 10 easy (10)
Saturday: Christmas Mile 4:39. Cold, wet, windy. (8)
Sunday: 20 easy/steady (20)
Week total: 81 miles
2012 total: 3354 miles