Sunday 18th February 2018
I have done 51 parkruns now and yesterday was the quickest of the lot. I hadn’t planned a Saturday morning blast but felt good at the start and decided to test myself. Although 15:36 on its own is not a particularly spectacular 5k time and nowhere near my best, I was pleased to run a relatively quick time on tired legs in the middle of a 90 mile week before I had really woken up. My fitness is good at the moment and I am excited for the next couple of races.
My Week
Monday: AM 10km easy / PM 12km easy (22)
Tuesday: AM 10km easy / PM 16km tempo run 56:31 (28)
Wednesday: 17km easy, drills and hurdles (17)
Thursday: AM 9km easy / PM 17km moderate (26)
Friday: rest (0)
Saturday: AM parkrun in 15:36, strides / PM 9km easy (26)
Sunday: 25km easy (25)
Sunday 4th February 2018
I like cross country season. I enjoy the challenge of racing man-to-man over difficult terrain and being unconcerned by the time on the clock. Cross country is endurance racing at its purest and the thing I look forward to most when winter is on its way. But on reflection, it is actually the only thing I look forward to about winter. Now February is here I have well and truly had enough of winter and am looking ahead to track season. I am looking forward to packing the gloves, hats, long sleeved tops, tights and jackets away and not having to dress for an Arctic expedition every time I lace up my trainers. I am looking forward to daylight runs before and after work, to training on grass without having to wear spikes, to lung-busting track sessions that leave me gasping for air, to open meets on warm evenings when everyone is there to run fast, to striding down the canal topwath in a vest and shorts with the sun on my back, to steeplechase, to live athletics on TV, to long days and short nights and to looking forward to every run.
I’ve had enough of winter and can’t wait for summer.
My Week
Monday: 17km easy (17)
Tuesday: AM 10km easy / PM 16km tempo run 56:23, weights (27)
Wednesday: 16km easy, drills and hurdles (16)
Thursday: AM 8km easy / PM hill session – 10*2:30 (29)
Friday: rest (0)
Saturday: 30 min fartlek – 60s on/off, 5*15s hill sprints (17)
Sunday: 26km moderate (26)
Sunday 24th December 2017
Everything is sore. Calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, abdomen, biceps. The list goes on. This week I did the full set – a road session, a track session and a cross country session. The holy trinity, if you will. And for good measure I also did a weights session and plenty of strength and conditioning work.
I can’t always handle the volume and intensity of training I have put in this week (137km, 10 runs, 3 hard sessions) but it is easier to when I am not at work and can therefore get a full night’s sleep. When I don’t have somewhere to be in the morning I can get the 10 hours of sleep I typically need, as opposed the 7 or 8 I usually manage, which enables me to recover much more fully in between runs.
Now I have several consecutive weeks of good training behind me I am looking forward to scaling it back slightly towards the end of next week with a view to racing the county championships in two weeks’ time. In my current shape I feel I can run really well.
My Week
Monday: AM 10km easy / PM 11km easy, hurdle drills (21)
Tuesday: AM 10km easy / PM 16km tempo run 55:09, weights (27)
Wednesday: 13km easy, hurdle drills (13)
Thursday: AM 11km easy / PM track session 8*600 off 90s in 1:43,43,42,43,42,43, strides (27)
Friday: rest (0)
Saturday: AM grass session 5*1600 off 2:00, 5:13 average / PM 10km easy (26)
Sunday: 23km easy (23)
Sunday 17th September 2017
Standard training week. I’m gradually building the mileage and the length of the sessions up.
Monday: 16km easy (16)
Tuesday: AM 9km easy / PM road session 800, 10*500, 800 off 60s (23)
Wednesday: 16km easy (16)
Thursday: AM 9km easy / PM 16km tempo (26)
Friday: 16km easy (16)
Saturday: rest (0)
Sunday: 25km moderate (25)
Sunday 10th September 2017
This was my first proper week of training after the break – lots of tempo running and conditioning work.
Monday: 16km easy (16)
Tuesday: AM 8km easy / PM 15km progression run (25)
Wednesday: 15km easy (15)
Thursday: AM 8km easy / PM 15km progression run (24)
Friday: rest (0)
Saturday: 16km in 63:40 with 5*200 hills, 5km tempo on grass in 17:38, 5*200 hills (16)
Sunday: 24km easy (24)