Sunday 14th September 2014
I did a hard half marathon session on Saturday that Bud had set me. I was happy with the rest of my week too. Third week over 140km in the last four.
Monday: AM 10km easy / PM 13km easy (23)
Tuesday: AM 10km easy / PM Metchley session: 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 mins off 1 min recovery (29)
Wednesday: 20km easy (20)
Thursday: AM 11km easy / PM 10km progression run, 16km in total (27)
Friday: rest (0)
Saturday: 3 miles 15:53, 3 mins recovery, 5 x 3:00 off 90s, 3 miles 15:45 (24)
Sunday: 26km easy (26)
Week total: 149km
Taken from my training log.
Sunday 31st August 2014
Two tough sessions, especially the one on Friday. After two big weeks (by my standards anyway) I will now go easy for a few days to prepare for next Saturday’s 10000m.
Monday: AM 10km easy / PM 12km easy (22)
Tuesday: AM 10km easy / PM Metchley session – 1 x 10 mins off 2 mins, 4 x 5 mins off 2 mins, 4 x 30s off 45s (30)
Wednesday: 18km easy (18)
Thursday: 20km easy (20)
Friday: AM 10km easy / PM 5:00, 8×0:30 hill, 5:00, 8×0:30 hill, 5:00 (29)
Saturday: rest (0)
Sunday: long run – 60 mins moderate, 40 mins hard, 20 mins easy (30)
Week total: 149km
Taken from my training log.
Monday 30th June 2014
We’re now half way through the year, so I thought I’d write some thoughts on how my running is going. I’ll start with the numbers. Yesterday I took the opportunity to add up my mileage for the year to see how much I’ve done:
Days so far: 180
Number of runs: 205
Rest days: 28*
Km run: 3134
Miles run: 1948
Km per day: 17.4
Km per week: 121.9
Although numbers themselves don’t tell the whole story, they still tell me quite a lot.
Firstly, I have had more runs and more rest than in previous years. No, that’s not a typo. This year I have made sure I have a rest day every single week without fail. I have then been doing double days a couple of times per week to keep the mileage high. I have found this to be hugely advantageous psychologically; knowing that my next rest day is only ever a few days away allows me to put more effort into the training I am doing and it means I never lose my hunger or feel like running is a chore.
Secondly I am running higher mileage that I have in previous years. My weekly average is 122km or 76 miles, with the odd week significantly higher or lower, but with most falling in the 115-135km bracket. This helps. Although I didn’t feel like it was getting me anywhere at the start of the year when I was still recovering from injury, I now feel stronger than ever before. Running in the morning before work, though tiring at times, really does seem to help the recovery process. In fact, when I roll out the door at 5:30am, I have no choice but to run easy and couldn’t push the pace if I tried. This keeps the pace within the ‘recovery’ zone and I get the intended benefit. Even if it does mean feeling a bit sleepy after lunch at work!
Thirdly, and you won’t find this in the numbers, I feel I am training smarter not harder. I am getting better at making my training sustainable by not killing myself in every session I do. Pushing yourself to the limit has its place, but not all the time, and it is important to be able to save your best for races rather than sessions. Training over unusual distances (on road in the winter and grass this summer) has stopped me getting obsessed by the numbers on the watch, and focusing more on putting in the right amount of effort. Although I don’t have the PBs to show for it yet, I feel they are not far away if I keep training the way I am.
*this includes any day when I haven’t been running and are indicated by a zero in the training log. In some cases I have had full rest; in others I have been cycling or for a long walk.
Sunday 29th June 2014
A tiring week at work but I still managed to get decent mileage in. The best run of them all was Sunday evening’s long run on the Wolverhampton canal with Stephanie joining me on her bike. Good tempo run and session too.
Monday: 16km easy (16)
Tuesday: AM 10km easy / PM Metchley session: 3xlap, 2xhalf, 3xlap – 60s recoveries (27)
Wednesday: 18km easy (18)
Thursday: AM 11km easy / PM 17km including 6 mile progression run on towpath (28)
Friday: AM 11km easy / PM 10km easy (21)
Saturday: rest (0)
Sunday: 2 hours out and back on the towpath with Stephanie cycling (30)
Week total: 140km
Taken from my training log.
Sunday 15th June 2014
Tempo run was 30 seconds quicker than 2 weeks ago. I feel like I’m going in the right direction.
Monday: 14km easy + hurdle drills and 5 water jumps (14)
Tuesday: AM 10km easy / PM Metchley session: 2 lap tempo, 4×400, 2 x 1 lap, 4×400, 1 lap hard. All off 60s recoveries (28)
Wednesday: bike ride, no run (0)
Thursday: AM 12km easy / PM 15km moderate (27)
Friday: 15km easy (15)
Saturday: 5 mile tempo 26:58 – 5:38, 26, 20, 19, 16 – 2 sets of 5x~60m hill reps (18)
Sunday: 29km easy (29)
Week total: 131km
Taken from my training log.