Falling apart gives you a reason to build something new.

KSU

So It's 2020.

I am coming off my worst running year to date which followed a cycle of building from fitness to a certain point and letting life knock it down

Managed 3 races over the course year - a solid 5 mile Cross Country in January (28.34), local 10k in July (steady consistent 35.21) and a phoned in marathon with 70 miles training over the course of 8 weeks prior (3.09.05)

Following that the slide continued and the turn of the year saw me probably in the worst shape of my life. Drew a line under the year and starting anew for 2020. While there was a few things going on throughout the year the biggest issue I suffered from was stress and anxiety which has become apparent that I did not handle well and let it consume me. This is not something I cared to admit to anyone (including myself) and put it down to being busy but simple fact was I was shying away from stuff and not keeping on top of things like I should have. This year I am focused on taking care of myself a bit better in that regard and the goals going forward for the year are simple: Restoring myself to 2017/2018 levels of performance and fitness

There are no target races or anything lined up just gonna take things nice and slow building back

Week Starting 1/1

Wed - OFF
Thursday - 4 easy (7.27 min/m)
Friday - 4 easy (7.50 min/m)
Sat - 3.8 easy (8.18 min/m)
Sun - 4 easy (7.45 min/m)
Mon - 4.4 easy (7.59 min/m)
Tues - 3.1 progression (7.19 overall) - 7.35, 7.23, 7.03

Paces etc don't look terrible here but in reality they don't tell the full story. These got progressively slower as the week went on because fatigue was kicking in first few days. Definitely running harder than I should for easy effort but I was just focused on getting out every day. Not starting on Wed 1st was a tactical choice as I didn't wanna get bogged down in an arbitrary chasing of days to fit the calendar but after that focus is about being consistent this year.

Monday was the first proper controlled run after the initial few days reintroducing myself to running. Truth be told mileage is low because I am not fit enough to run for longer at the moment and flagging by the end of these

Tuesday's progression was cut short as was working too hard but in reality this was probably down to underestimating morning commitments. Was running a new coachee through session in the morning and ran it with her so effectively became a double day without being the intention and fatigue got the better of me though having said that did manage about 4-5 miles as part of that session.

sideswipe

Best of luck with everything KSU. In terms of running I'm sure your knowledge and history will have you up to speed in no time.

KSU

sideswipe wrote: »

Best of luck with everything KSU. In terms of running I'm sure your knowledge and history will have you up to speed in no time.

Usually bounce back quick enough with fitness but have found this one a little different presumably because the base as been eroded again and again last year so just have to be patient

skyblue46

All the best with the rebuilding. I'm sure once you get into a routine,or the best sort of routine that life/work allows, you'll have yourself in tiptop shape. Happy new year man.

OOnegative

Tell the truth, you want your Poster of the Year title back!!! Great to see you back around the place L.

skyblue46

OOnegative wrote: »

Tell the truth, you want your Poster of the Year title back!!! Great to see you back around the place L.

His shared Poster of the Year title

shotgunmcos

Any reason why you attempted a progression run on day 6 when your paces and energy was sliding the first few days? I'd have thought a good underlying base but you mooted that thought. Just curious?

A couple of weeks of easy running letting your body adapt as it wants and finding the grá again before work?

Great to see the new log.

KSU

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Any reason why you attempted a progression run on day 6 when your paces and energy was sliding the first few days? I'd have thought a good underlying base but you mooted that thought. Just curious?

A couple of weeks of easy running letting your body adapt as it wants and finding the grá again before work?

Great to see the new log.

Simple answer - Psychological

At the moment trying to establish patterns of training and getting used to getting back out and pushing when the mood doesn't suit. I got into a habit of justifying laziness/stress trumping actually getting out and just sucking it up to an extent.

The other side of it is trying to establish Routine i.e 2 sessions a week. Overall the session itself was not overly hard I just underestimated fatigue from the morning endeavours and a fairly blustery evening.

KSU

skyblue46 wrote: »

His shared Poster of the Year title

OOnegative wrote: »

Tell the truth, you want your Poster of the Year title back!!! Great to see you back around the place L.

Thats what I meant about getting back to 2017/2018. Its all about the glory to hell with the running :P

ariana`

It's great to see you back here, i wish you the best of luck with your return to fitness and former glory (as joint Poster of the Year that is :P)

While you're struggling to come to terms with running at a different level (for now!) remember you're in the good company of our great Sonia

There are often times now when I think to myself: how can I be so bad at something I was once so good at?

AuldManKing

You should read this guys blog - not too sure where he went to, but a bit of a legend. Top, Top log though.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=60659898&postcount=1

KSU

AuldManKing wrote: »

You should read this guys blog - not too sure where he went to, but a bit of a legend. Top, Top log though.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=60659898&postcount=1

1st section of that is a warning of what not to do regards overtraining and a lesson that there is no talking to young adults who think they know everything (as opposed to the older fart who still thinks he knows everything before you here)

Annie get your Run

AuldManKing wrote: »

You should read this guys blog - not too sure where he went to, but a bit of a legend. Top, Top log though.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=60659898&postcount=1

20! Whippersnapper


On a slightly more serious note, watch those stress levels, we could swap places and I can coach you on managing that...!



I understand your logic of not wanting to be 'lazy' and pushing yourself out the door but there's a fine line between not being lazy and pushing too hard too, if you're stressed in other areas of your life and you push your training on top of that stress, the results can be not so nice, so just keep one eye on how you are feeling, and whether it's your body or your mind that's sending you signals. Edit to say you know all that but I'm just saying .



Good to see you back!

KSU

Annie get your Run wrote: »

20! Whippersnapper

On a slightly more serious note, watch those stress levels, we could swap places and I can coach you on managing that...!

I understand your logic of not wanting to be 'lazy' and pushing yourself out the door but there's a fine line between not being lazy and pushing too hard too, if you're stressed in other areas of your life and you push your training on top of that stress, the results can be not so nice, so just keep one eye on how you are feeling, and whether it's your body or your mind that's sending you signals. Edit to say you know all that but I'm just saying .

Good to see you back!

Completely agree when I said about pushing myself it is not so much in the intensity side of things but rather just getting out the door. I think the lack of running was compounding the stress as it had always been my outlet

Once I am out the door the body is certainly dictating the runs (as easy needed)

KSU

Week Starting 8/1

Wed - OFF
Thursday - 5 easy (7.56 min/m)
Friday - 5 incl 4 progression (7.48, 7.32, 7.11, 6.45)
Sat - OFF
Sun - OFF
Mon AM - 4 easy (8.02 min/m) - PM - 5.3 easy (8.10 min/m)
Tues AM - 6 easy (8.27 min/m) - PM - 6 easy incl 6x20 sec strides (7.55 min/m)

Weekly Mileage progression
Week 1 - 23.3
Week 2 - 31.4

Still a bit of 2 steps forward and 1 step back but it was progress and definitely starting to feel like I have turned a corner with no longer feeling like the runs are a drag beyond 30 min.

Progression run went better than planned and surprised to see sub 7 by the end though did have a strong wind on my back for large chunks of this one. pulled it back to a mile cooldown at the end though just to ensure I wasn't overcooking things.

Monday and as if a flip switched it was part of the norm for the day. Diet has improved as well so helping with being more energetic.

A few more weeks of easy and the odd progression run and strides and should be up to bring sessions back in

Younganne

Good to see you back L. take it handy and you will be flying again in no time.

I hear ya on the running helping stress levels, but I find its a fine line to get the balance when not being able to run. It will take time and perseverance.

Remember the importance of accepting the level you are at now and going with that level. The fitness will return as the body & mind adapts again.

Happy New Year

KSU

Younganne wrote: »

Remember the importance of accepting the level you are at now and going with that level. The fitness will return as the body & mind adapts again.

Happy New Year

You to A.

Definitely at a point now where I am being very patient and not worrying about getting in shape. Probably a tendency to be taking it too handy at the moment but I think this will stand to me and allow me to bank a bit of training. Not viewing training as trying to attain perfect training as part of a training block but rather just focus on making small improvements week on week till I am fit enough to tackle something specific.

KSU

Wed - 7 mile progression - 7.14 min/m average
Thursday - 5.3 easy (7.50 min/m)
Friday - 2 mile tempo (4) 6x20s hills (60)
Sat - OFF
Sun - 10.2 easy (7.47 min/m)

Capping off 50 miles in a calendar week and my first 6 day week since July. Progress.

Progression run went well felt quite controlled win on back for a number of miles and made a few favorable turns with regards shelter and tailwinds but overall happy with it and seeing 3 sub 7's without really forcing things. Progression runs always seem to come a bit easier to me so they are great for a bit of a confidence booster perfect for where I am right now.

Friday and tempo miles in around Marathon effort nothing too strenuous just something to put a bit of fatigue into the legs followed by some light turnover work. Had planned a little longer hills initially but ran out of hill :P

Long run today and first time over the hour since the comeback. Met up with a number of lads from the club who were running longer and though the temptation was there to continue on with them I had a bit more sense.

In a good place currently with regards to where I am with my training and it doesn't feel too demanding or taxing while also seeing plenty of area's to build on over the coming weeks before getting into the nitty gritty.

KSU

Mon AM 6.6 easy (7.52 min/m) PM 3.9 easy (7.46 min/m)
Tues 7 mile Progression - 7.03 min/m average pace
Wed 7 easy (7.48 min/m)
Thurs 7.5 easy (8.03 min/m)

Weekly Mileage progression
Week 1 - 23.3
Week 2 - 31.4
Week 3 - 46.1

Slow and steady wins the race. A lot more easy stuff but definitely feeling aerobically stronger. Progression run showed a bit of improvement though was alot less windy so probably accounts for a bit of it though all the. Getting to the stage where I am conciously pulling back the miles to not make too big a jump as the goal is still just to have training ingrained with every day routine without it being a mental drain just yet. Aim is to get fit slowly rather than ramp up too quick and not sustaining it.

Spotted AMK floating around my neck of the woods this week so reached out to catch up for a run on Thursday, Have managed to tick off my monthly goal of running with company atleast 3 times a week, Amazing how it can help break things up,

KSU

Friday OFF

Scuppered as the little lad decided to wake around 10pm (something he hasn't done in a few months so kicked off before I got out and wasn't going back into his cot.

Saturday 2 tempo (3) 2x1 T (90) 6x20s hills (60)

Splits: 6.49, 6.49, 6.27, 6.29, - hills (hard) 4.50-5.40

I think sometimes overlook what is in front of us. I could have went further afield but had everything I needed right on my doorstep and the local estate is a great little one for sessions. A fairly flat 1 mile loop and a decent hill all within the confines of a recovery segment.

The aim of this session was to build on last weeks with 2 Threshold reps while there is a bit of volume and pace coming into the sessions the intensity is still not there and session is designed to be running within myself. Started off with the 2 mile around MP effort. This felt it (in a good way) as realistically this felt like the 1st two miles of a marathon rather than the last two which was the aim. finished up and a decent recovery. Next was threshold reps and felt not quite hard but on the upper end of comfortable. The short recovery between was perfect.

Finished these up and off to hill. Not quite as steep as last week but a decent gradual incline all the same - perfect for a bit of turnover work which is what I want at the moment i.e top and tailing the training (building volume and high end aerobic work as well as short turnover work) as the weeks progress (and the fitness) the aim will be to bring the emphasis to a more narrow range (i.e working towards the higher intensity 10k-HM work) but for now everything continues to feel somewhat controlled and training within myself building the base.

Sunday - 10.5 miles (80 min) easy (7.52 min/m)

2nd later night run and truth be told I had to bargain with myself to get out. I was tired from a couple of late nights so it took me about 20 min to actually get out the door. Once I got out I started to get into it though. Effort felt fine though wind was a nightmare and dreaded coming back into it. Finished up the run roughly same distance as last week. Didn't feel as easy without company but gonna get those sort of days. The main thing is that it isn't every run that feels like that and with being off next week should be able to get out with some of the lads for company.

Another 50 mile calendar week though Wed-Wed should see an increase. Continues to go in right direction.

KSU

Mon OFF

A few things at home meant that I juggled off day (which has become a staple in the plan so far not by design but will keep in place for now while mileage is not being chased)

Tues
AM 6.7 easy (7.56 min/m)
PM 6.8 moderate w/ 4x20 sec strides (7.20 min/m)

Run mutes in and out. Absolutely baltic in the morning. Felt good on the way home and had a bit of pep in the step so went with it (seeing as I was running a little late as well)


Wed 7 mile progression (6.50 min/m average)

3rd week in a row for this one. not the greatest of sleep last few days (little lads sleep patterns been off last few days ) so feeling a bit tired. 1st mile a little quicker than perhaps should have been, mile two and wasn't feeling amazing. Mile 3 and I really was not feeling it and thoughts came on about canning the run. After that though it was smooth sailing and was cruising. Even come the last mile I felt like I was holding back a gear. First time since I been back running hit a bad patch and managed to come through so happy with it and strength is coming back week by week. Will be another two weeks roughly of base before bringing in sessions.

Mile Splits per progression run

Week 1|8.19||7.30||7.23||7.05||6.54||6.50||6.34
Week 2|7.51||7.25||7.15||6.57||6.45||6.37||6.31
Week 3|7.30||7.07||6.54||6.47||6.40||6.31||6.14

Swashbuckler

I really must dip into the training logs thread more often. Completely missed this til now. Welcome back! Yeah stress is a m*therf*cker when it comes to training. I learned the hard way like yourself. Awareness of it is the biggest thing.

If you're looking for some tips feel free to take a look at my log. Some great training going on in there. You might recognise a lot of the sessions

MY BAD

All the best with your training. Looking forward to see you progress

KSU

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I really must dip into the training logs thread more often. Completely missed this til now. Welcome back! Yeah stress is a m*therf*cker when it comes to training. I learned the hard way like yourself. Awareness of it is the biggest thing.

If you're looking for some tips feel free to take a look at my log. Some great training going on in there. You might recognise a lot of the sessions

Haha notice that alright bringing back memories for sure

Yeah on the stress side of things I probably needed to just take a step back at times but I think I have a tendency to be all or nothing so found it very hard to dial back certain things at times and prioritising things better.

A working progress but definitely getting there

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote: »

All the best with your training. Looking forward to see you progress

Might need a bit of patience in this log for a while I imagine. I think last year I was putting targets in to try and stoke the fire but I was stressing hitting certain progression of fitness in order to match with these goals something which again stoked the all or nothing nature and sadly went to nothing when i had a set back.

This time around I am being a bit more patient and building up slower building a foundation of fitness to work from. Probably won't be too much racing the next 2-3 months but I want to come into the summer in good nick and go from there.

KSU

Thurs 6.2 miles easy (7.44 min/m)

Handy one on lunch break around UCD. Great to see serious development going on with the new track between that and a new Gym in work I am hoping will have all I need before long

Fri OFF

The first unscheduled missed day in a while. For one reason or another just knew I wouldn't get out without it having a major impact on things overall so bit the bullet on this one. At this stage of training better to pick my battles for when I truly get into the thick of things


Sat 6x20 sec hills (60s), (3 min), 3 mile MP, (3 min) 2x1 mile Threshold (90 sec)

Splits (4.50-5.10) - (6.48, 6.47, 6.44) - (6.15, 6.14)

Been going through a good debate on speed sequencing in sessions and points for putting speed first and speed last. While I am normally a fan of the latter I said I would give it a try because while I am not fully sold on the logic behind it the argument did have bits of merit so I thought why not try meet somewhere in the middle and start to rotate the sequence.

Definitely woke the legs up and the first mile on the MP tempo I really had to reign in. Hadn't been feeling great all day but session was manageable. Bit of heaviness in the legs by the end as was a decent bit of volume to the session though all in all still not digging to the well on these and happy to just feel out a controlled effort. I know paces will level off soon but happy with how its going so far.

Sunday 12 miles easy (7.46 min/m)

Got out at a reasonable time for once of a weekend. Moved the run up to 90 min as opposed to the 80 the last few weeks. Windy as hell as seems to have been half of Jan but was in my face on way out and I know would be on my back on the way home. Definitely a stronger run than other weeks either a sign of progress or I need to run at a reasonable hour more often but job done.

Capped off the week with 47 miles a little shy of what had been previously but considering I missed an extra day not terrible. Hoping to make a conscious to try and get out every day this month (dunno how feasible will be with an American trip)

AuldManKing

KSU wrote: »

Sat 6x20 sec hills (60s), (3 min), 3 mile MP, (3 min) 2x1 mile Threshold (90 sec)

Splits (4.50-5.10) - (6.48, 6.47, 6.44) - (6.15, 6.14)

Been going through a good debate on speed sequencing in sessions and points for putting speed first and speed last. While I am normally a fan of the latter I said I would give it a try because while I am not fully sold on the logic behind it the argument did have bits of merit so I thought why not try meet somewhere in the middle and start to rotate the sequence.

Jonathan Marcus again, is it!!

He was on Final Surge Podcast talking about this very topic - you'd love it (the lingo), but it bored me to tears as it wasn't concise and in digestible bite sized chunks for the non initiated like me - but he seemed to be making a decent argument that 'Speed' at the end a session is useless and there is no real evidence that it recruits fibers.

KSU

AuldManKing wrote: »

Jonathan Marcus again, is it!!

He was on Final Surge Podcast talking about this very topic - you'd love it (the lingo), but it bored me to tears as it wasn't concise and in digestible bite sized chunks for the non initiated like me - but he seemed to be making a decent argument that 'Speed' at the end a session is useless and there is no real evidence that it recruits fibers.

Been following the debates with him and Magness for a while which took me down some very dark holes of literature mind you like yourself alot of it went over my head to an extent. I would very much fall under the Steve Magness way of thinking on it but I am also not an amazing 5k runner so willing to hedge my bets to prove I am wrong

For me the speed at the end of the session (albeit not the max velocity CNS stuff) is a form correction technique just as much as a speed development I feel for endurance athletes this fatigue combating approach has alot of merit.

KSU

Mon 7 miles easy (7.52 min/m)

Just a handy on on lunchbreak. Been a better year in terms of actually managing to get away from the desk at work meaning able to squeeze in runs of decent length without putting pressure on getting out after. Definitely helped the life/running balance a bit this year so gonna make sure to try and use this alot more as long as things stay alright in work.

Tuesday 7 mile progression + 5x15 sec strides

Another week, another progression run. not too much to be said about this except it went in the right direction. Paces hovering in around the 6 min mark by the end which is about where I want to be by the end of base phase on these to be honest. One more progression run next week will see the end of the base phase overall happy with these as they are acting as a tempo at this stage of training as I don't have the miles in the legs to do a straight out 7 mile tempo at this stage so its a good compromise between volume and intensity.

Decided to add my strides to this as well as trying to keep this up 2-3 times a week just for turnover to complement all the lower intensity miles.

Week 1|8.19||7.30||7.23||7.05||6.54||6.50||6.34
Week 2|7.51||7.25||7.15||6.57||6.45||6.37||6.31
Week 3|7.30||7.07||6.54||6.47||6.40||6.31||6.14
Week 4|7.21||6.58||6.45||6.34||6.22||6.12||6.02[/QUOTE]

Swashbuckler

Would it be right to say you've structured your base with mainly two sessions, one long and the rest easy, with the two sessions being a progression run and the other a mix of tempo/hills/some threshold recently?

I'm wondering if I've jumped into CV/10k stuff a little too soon and should have spent longer hovering around tempo/aerobic/some hill work.

KSU

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Would it be right to say you've structured your base with mainly two sessions, one long and the rest easy, with the two sessions being a progression run and the other a mix of tempo/hills/some threshold recently?

I'm wondering if I've jumped into CV/10k stuff a little too soon and should have spent longer hovering around tempo/aerobic/some hill work.

In a nutshell yes that is the format

Progression runs tend to be my bread and butter I just find them one of the easier types of sessions. At this stage of my training as well they have a lot of merit. The are effort based the aim is always to start easy and finish up at HM effort. There is also the built in safety mechanism in that I don’t overcook them because my rule is that every mile must be quicker than the last so jumps are controlled as well as the confidence that the type of runs brings. As mentioned as well above I find that it’s a good way to act as a tempo with a bit more volume as get a few miles in before hitting into the tempo efforts which at early stages of training I think helps.

With regards the other session yes it is a very light session in so far as the recoveries go it’s simply a way of touching on variety of paces without being too taxing while still getting decent volume.

In terms of this as a base I am not aiming to be in race shape till mid summer so it gives me a bit of luxury in being patient so this extended block is to undo slot of the lost fitness from last year as well as reestablishing habits so I wanna spend an extended bit of time running comfortably before I start asking to dig in.i know myself that would lead to the similar boom bust format that happened last year so trying to learn from my mistakes.

From a physical perspective though wouldn’t worry about 10k paces it’s one of those great intensity’s which can be used year round as Tom Schwartz training (Tinman) proves. I know question probably comes from the Lydiard article but truth be told that more refers to quicker than 5k intensities as long as you are not running too long or with too short recovery 10k effort is a fairly safe training intensity. Tempo work should be a key part of training at this stage but 10k will compliment it well

Swashbuckler

KSU wrote:

From a physical perspective though wouldn’t worry about 10k paces it’s one of those great intensity’s which can be used year round as Tom Schwartz training (Tinman) proves. I know question probably comes from the Lydiard article but truth be told that more refers to quicker than 5k intensities as long as you are not running too long or with too short recovery 10k effort is a fairly safe training intensity. Tempo work should be a key part of training at this stage but 10k will compliment it well

No to be honest it's nothing to do with the article. More to do with horsing around with the little one last week and feeling a twinge in the same area in the hip plus general fatigue from last week's training has me questioning if even my "conservative" approach was still a little on the aggressive side for this time of year. Also made me realise how close to the edge I still am in terms of getting reinjured so wondered if spending more time away from the 10k pace stuff for a while yet might be a better approach. Similar to yourself I'm kinda targeting summer timeframe to be in decent 10k shape.

Sorry for the hijack

KSU

Swashbuckler wrote: »

No to be honest it's nothing to do with the article. More to do with horsing around with the little one last week and feeling a twinge in the same area in the hip plus general fatigue from last week's training has me questioning if even my "conservative" approach was still a little on the aggressive side for this time of year. Also made me realise how close to the edge I still am in terms of getting reinjured so wondered if spending more time away from the 10k pace stuff for a while yet might be a better approach. Similar to yourself I'm kinda targeting summer timeframe to be in decent 10k shape.

Sorry for the hijack

Not at all, always good to get a bit of interaction (gets quite lonely outside of shotgunmcos' log :P)

With regards hip niggles generally these would be loading type injuries so the two biggest drives would be fatigue and volume.

Tempo style work could be just as detrimental so a few ways that could recifty this

1) Keep total work time low in early stages - i.e 75% of overall rep volume (so say 6x3 min drops to 4)

2) Segment reps to reduce fatigue from intensity
So perhaps 2x (3x3 min) 5 min between sets
or
modulate work time with same recovery
3 min, 2 min, 3 min, 2 min, 3 min, 2 min w/ same recovery

4) drop intensity back (MP and HM efforts but with longer recoveries) these can combat running on fatigued legs.

What ever the approach the main thing about base phase is that every run should feel controlled and coming away from it feeling almost energized rather than having the dig in. It's a building phase so you are just looking to introduce the key ingredients of what you need for later training to build specific race fitness.

KSU

Wed AM 4 easy (7.55 min/m) PM 7 easy (7.45 min/m)

Dunno if this was down to simply waking up so early and body actually being a bit more lively by the time I could get out or just making progress on the running motivation side but dropped the little lad to creche and out the door for a handy one just to flush out the legs a bit and then out on lunch break from work so a full day without impacting on life. The dream is to get this on a continual basis but we continue to move towards it.


Thurs 4 miles easy (7.51 min/m) hill circuits, 4 mile easy (8.02 min/m)

At the moment Gym is not on the cards between simply trying to get the running side of things in order as well as not trying to do everything at once and falling by the wayside. Having said that knowing how crucial some strength work is I had been having a good think about it and decided to go old school with some Lydiard type hill drills.

6x50m high knee lifts (decent incline of north of 5%)
6x50m bounding

Did these on a grass hill though it was a little on a wet side so a couple of sinking steps but did the job. A good little workout on the legs by the end. Decided to do this in middle of the run so well warmed up but also running long enough in each segment before and after to keep the HR up for a decent duration. Definitely something I want to keep up and know that being part of a run will help with the consistency

Fri 4 mile MP (3) 2x1 mile T (90)

Splits 6.43, 6.40, 6.42, 6.46 - 6.10, 6.09

This one was a bit of a drag, 4 am, 5 am and 5.30 am wake up's for no apparent reason this week I think had there toll, perhaps it is the body clock adapting to getting to bed a little earlier the other side but either way probably a little more tired the last few days. Between that and being caught a little time wise when I did get out the motivation was lacking a little. This was similar to those feeling's I got the last year however managed to barter with myself to finish out the session. The effort in the session was grand the MP miles nice and controlled. Legs a little heavy come the threshold miles but I think to be expected as first time since I came back that I had strung 7 consecutive days of running (63 miles) together.

In years gone past I would have jumped straight back into mileage and just battled through till I started feeling better but overall I feel better with this approach and think it is one which will bear better results just focusing on patience and consistency

Swashbuckler

That was a nice session on Friday.

In the interest of keeping the logs interesting and the discussion going

I've often wondered if you were to do up a Grads plan nowadays, would it be all that different to the one you did years ago? Has any of your thought process or methodologies changed since?

KSU

Swashbuckler wrote: »

That was a nice session on Friday.

In the interest of keeping the logs interesting and the discussion going

I've often wondered if you were to do up a Grads plan nowadays, would it be all that different to the one you did years ago? Has any of your thought process or methodologies changed since?

Very good question.

To be honest there is always things I would probably tweak here or there but I think that is the nature of coaching we are always changing and even with athletes I work with the training tends to naturally evolve in different ways.

Overall I like the overall design of those plans though and I would be confident they would get a person to the start line in fitter shape that they have ever been in. They probably won't suit everyone as they are not based on target times and as a result some people won't see them as aggressive enough to achieve there immediate goals. In truth there are other plans which will probably get people from A to B quicker but it is designed with the view of continual long term progression i.e building on cycle after cycle which is a patience not for everyone.

As you can see from my own base phase it is very much based on the same principles as the one in the Grad plan.

The only thing that immediately stands out would be inclusion of more hybrid style sessions for the bit of hard work (i.e hills and the AP stuff) being tacked on to sessions in small amounts rather than singular sessions tackling them (so say 3-4 x 1 min hills at end of CV etc. The only issue I would have around that is that it might over complicate what is designed to be a basic plan.


(Could talk about drills, S and C etc but I think these would largely be ignored or alienate people from the plan)

KSU

Wasn't gonna update this given training wise had not been anything to write home about the last while but with every in the boat of no racing/ specific training figured no harm updating especially in self isolation.

Wen't through a bad patch - short term sleep issues which ended up leaving me hugely run down and bringing on a long string of illness which couldn't shake.

As a result training once again went by the wayside bar the odd isolated run and the odd pacing of coachees through sessions (nothing quicker than 7.30 thankfully as anything more and I would have probably been pretty useless as a pacer :P)

Since Thursday though the new world order kicked in. Now set up working from home for the forseeable along with herself and with the little lad off creché so will lead to interesting times to say the least. Normally I am fairly laid back about these kinda things but with high risk family members we are taking it fairly serious as well as me having to go into the office Friday followed by it being shut down midshift as a precautionary measure.

Despite the negativity around I am trying to make the best of it. Without a commute, getting him to creché, alot less meetings and work being a very strange place (hugely affected by everything as it is sports related but busy as a result of innovation to tackle it) Getting to spend more time with the family. focusing on creatively keeping him entertained while working and doing things for our own sanity it could be the making of my rebuild to a fit and healthy runner again

Had planned to get straight back into running but had some stomach issues (not corona related but none to pleasant all the same) so yesterday was the first day I got out for a run

Tues
35 min easy - No garmin

Couldn't find the garmin and the strava app wouldn't record so just got out and ran. Wind was a killer and park was rammed so this consisted of bobbing and weaving offroad. For once had no issue with pedestrians clearing house as you run near

Gonna use the extra time to work on yoga, S and C and all the things that usually fall by the wayside. Did the yoga every morning last year and found it a great way for starting the day and gonna try repeat the same routine I did back then and hopefully instill good habits during this period.

KSU

Wednesday

AM Yoga

Last year when living with the OH family got into a very good yoga routine. Basically with so many of us under one roof and with a new born I was up at the crack of dawn most morning's with him so rather than wake everyone in the house I used to bring him downstairs. Given that he was still in the non mobile stage it was a perfect way to start the day and keep him entertained.

I really found it helped with my running as well as mentally prepping for the day as new age as that sounds but given the current circumstances and with herself working an earlier shift than me I figured perfect time to re-introduce it into my routine to compliment the running.

Routine consists of

Childs pose into Cobra Pose
Sun Salutations
Downward facing dog followed by single leg (each leg)
Frog Pose
Pigeon Pose
Triangle Pose
Warrior Pose to Warrior Pose II

It's a handy little routine for about 15-20 min and really focuses on most distance runners key area's (i.e hips) and as again new age as it sounds the deep breaths really do matter as you need to oxegenate the muscles .

PM Fartlek

10 min warm up, 6x1 min hard 1 min moderate, 10 min cooldown

Short and sweet. Plan to hammer away at the paces for now and just slowly build the sessions lengths as well as overall mileage. With the last come back attempts I have been patient and conservative building back but with so many of them for so long I can't truly remember the last time I have really been taxing on the body so rather than take the same approach I am just gonna work hard fort short durations and build the mental tolerance along side the physical fitness. Patience is there in the current running climate so happy to tip along. Surprised there was sub 6 paces there but happy all the same though probably over cooked first one or two judging by the recoveries in the latter stages (ran all by feel not looking at the watch.

KSU

Thurs

AM Yoga

PM 5 miles easy - 7.31 min/m

Paces a bit on the quick side but amazingly didn't feel it. One silver lining in this whole thing is that life has slowed down somewhat. Yes work is still busy (in fact in some ways busier) but without the commutes etc everyone seems to be a lot more conscious of their well being, taking that bit of extra time for family/unwinding/reaching out to communicate to friends and family hopefully people will take alot from this (personally I hope to as well not go back to the status quo especially given the last 18 months)

Continuing on with the supplementary work and keeping people tipping over another daily challenge for people

Bring Sally Up Squat Challenge

Simple premise. Squat on the Up/Down Cues of the song

KSU

Friday - Monday

AM Yoga
Daily Challenge : Bring Sally up exercises

The comeback was always gonna have one or two hiccups till the routine fully started to be in. Unfortunately that came in the form of teething 2 yr old (hasn't got any through in a while) and a burst pipe in the house all while trying to remote work. Still kept up the morning yoga routine and while working tried to get roughly 60-90 seconds of a set exercise for the day ever hour as a way of trying to condition

Tuesday
AM Yoga + 4 miles easy (8.17 min/m pace)
PM 5 miles easy (7.28 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Bring Sally Up - Tricep Dips

Looking after the little lad for the first few hours as OH starts before me but made the decision giving the hiccups around night running over the weekend that I was gonna buggy run to assure I was at least getting on run done per day. Its not a running buggy and a bit more heavy duty but have heard people using it to run. Kept me honest.

Evening run was cruising surprised pace was what it was but I think the conditioning side of things probably helping with that

Wednesday
AM Yoga
PM 20 min warm up, 20 min Fartlek (10 x 1/1), 20 min cooldown
Daily Challenge Double leg mountain climbers

Felt good during the session here big step up on last week where I was gassed by the end. I put this down to pacing better as I had overshot the early reps last week but looking back the paces were relatively comparable. Was very happy to keep recoveries consistent as well.

shotgunmcos

I like your format of am, pm, daily challenge. Might borrow for a bit. Should really be doing yoga anyway.

KSU

shotgunmcos wrote: »

I like your format of am, pm, daily challenge. Might borrow for a bit. Should really be doing yoga anyway.

Work away any thing that people find useful that is half the reason for me posting daily challenge etc just to give others idea's as well.This self isolation is trying to get me to focus on doing the things we normally ignore. So core, flexibility and mobility heck even spending a bit of timing prepping high quality food

For instance cooking side of things is trying to experiment a bit more so lunch yesterday to prep for a few days of work to try and get that on point with that regard. Cheap, healthy, easy to make and well balanced

**DISCLAIMER**

https://gph.is/2cMORjL

Salad
Kale
Cucumber
Cherry Tomato's
Avocado
Sunflower Seeds
Chickpeas

Dressing (home made) - massaged into kale to soften
Lemon Juice
Dijon Mustard (table spoon)
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Side
Roasted diced Baby Potato tossed in garlic salt and rosemary

Prep
Salad including dressing 20 min
Potatoes 1 hr

(Yes I know this log is a bit all over the place at the moment but sure I reckon more logs are turning into online diaries at the moment so any sort of positive aspects of lifestyle to improve training I am gonna put in be it recipes, yoga poses, exercises etc.)


Thursday
AM Yoga + 5 miles easy (7.40 min/m pace)
PM ----
Daily Challenge: Plyometrics

Had planned on a morning buggy run but the little lad had been up early so was ready for his nap earlier than usual so I popped out while he was so that I could get out and let her get work done as I was off and keeping him occupied for the day.

Out the back with himself all afternoon and as the body has been feeling the challenges recently with arms and core aching (definitely over doing when not used to the exercises but acting as good conditioning at the moment) I decided today's challenge would be a good plyo workout

Single Leg bounds
Two leg bounds
Standing long jumps
Depth jumps
Speed Skaters
Pogo Jumps

I dunno whether it was the plyo's frying the CNS or just the early start coupled with full on day with himself but I was falling asleep by 6 in evening and didn't make it past 9 and slept like an absolute log.

KSU

Friday
AM Yoga
PM 4 miles easy (8.21 min/m pace)
Daily Challenge: Push Ups

Bit of a vanilla day. Run consisted of a buggy run in the park with the little lad on my lunch break from work to give her some space to get a bit done. Managing the WFH day by day between us. All dependent on what sort of mood the little guy is on any given day.

The Daily challenge was a mixture between pause push ups via 1 min bring sally up's and just sets of 30 as I wasn't gonna last the day doing the pause push ups

KSU

Saturday
AM Yoga
PM Session (see below)
Daily Challenge: Split Lunges

15 min warm up,
25 min tempo (10 MP/5 LT/10 MP)- 6.43-6.07-6.42 paces
3 min jog
4x30 sec (30 sec rec)
15 min cooldown

https://www.strava.com/activities/3229633445/overview

Legs definitely feeling the challenge by the time I got out for the session but with conditioning being key aspect at the moment the sessions more just about ticking box somewhat

The estate had and eerie Xmas day feel to it with not a person out and save one car it could have been mistaken for a post apocalyptic wasteland.

Session itself went well a bit windy but overall quite controlled. HR showed fitness still lacking but every day is a step in the right direction.

Aside from the exercise side of stuff been battling a killer sweet tooth with sitting around the house so found a decent recipe for a bit of a better substitute.

Peanut butter cookies
Peanut butter (crunchy)
Porridge Oats
Brown Sugar
Raisins
Egg

Simply stir ingredients in bowl and crack egg and mix. Form medium size balls and place on baking parchment. Use fork to push centre to flatten into cookie shape. 170 degrees in oven for 10-15 min and boom. Snacks sorted. Little guy a bit of a fan as well so win win.

I might even come out of this whole thing domesticated.

Swashbuckler

KSU wrote:

Aside from the exercise side of stuff been battling a killer sweet tooth with sitting around the house.

#metoo

KSU

Sunday
AM Yoga
PM N/A
Daily Challenge: modified plank

Monday
AM Yoga + 4 miles easy (8.17 min/m)
PM 6 miles (7.19 min/m) + 4x20 sec strides
Daily Challenge: Mobility circuit

Sunday Took off as I had done 5 days for the week so continuing to build slowly without jumping in all guns blazing. Made sure to do supplementary work though to ensure that I was actually using the time productively.

Monday lunch run was another buggy run. Nearly bagged at 20 min as the boss was letting it be known that he wasn't best amused however on the way back he settled down again so continued on.

Evening run and just got in a good rhythm and was cruising I effort wasn't huge but just stride opened out and I was feeling good so went with it especially as my runs are still on the short side I wasn't too worried about compromised recovery.

This week rather than single exercise challenges I am continuing with doing different things but doing full workouts/ routines. This one was a mobility workout just to work on good running skill and technique with regards range of motion a decent one to do even as a warm up

2 sets of 12 reps of each exercise
Lunges
Squat
Lateral Split squat
High knee's (on the spot)
Knee Hugs

A tip regarding squats. Use a stick (sweeping brush etc) and hold overhead. This is a handy screening technique which will highlight area's of restriction. Alot of people think they are doing perfect squats till they try this. As a diagnostic tool it can be good for pointing people in the right direction for area's to work on with regards flexibility and mobility.

Laineyfrecks

Cheers for the cookies recipe! Made them yesterday, quick & easy to make & taste great!

Hannibal_Smith

If you put a few drops of vanilla essence in to the egg and beat them together before dropping them in, they're even more lush.

They're also delicious crumbled over ice cream - there was only 1 left and there was killings over it so had to invent a way to share it out :mad:

KSU

Tuesday
AM: Yoga
PM: N/A
Daily Challenge: N/A

Plan for today was session so no buggy run in the morning and was holding off the daily Challenge till post session.11.20 pm came around and I was in middle of the shoes going on when I heard noise rumblings from the demon lair. The teeth striking again so Run canned, Strengthwork canned and another night sleeping on the couch with himself.

On bright note hopefully in the home stretch of teeth as he can't really fit to many more in the gob (I hope)

The Daily challenge was to be a general body weight strength workout

3 sets of 15 per exercise

Single Leg Glute Bridges
Pushups
Pistol Squats
Spiderman (Bear Crawls)
DeadBug
Bird dog

KSU

Wednesday
AM: Yoga + 20 min Fartlek (10x1 min on/ 1 min off)
PM: 4 miles easy (8.21 min/m)
Daily Challenge: As per yesterdays missed session

Session is nothing flash just getting a bit of work done at the moment. Made sure to get out on my work lunch break after the day before with himself. Madd the best of the daylight running on the local cycle track. Path is well over 3m wide so plenty of space for social distancing, not that it was needed as the one cyclist was finishing up as I got near.

Great little undulating loop perfect for fartlek though a little exposed so any bit of a breeze is felt. Been a long time since I felt in the last few reps of the session I was hurting and having to dig in not so much on the reps but to keep the recoveries honest as the aim of this for me is 20 min of solid work keeping the HR up.

A Handy run in the evening to flush out the legs and followed it up with the strength work from yesterday. Pistol Squats were aided by a seat but showed up a definite weakness in the leg glutes which ties in with my injury history so one to definitely work on. Despite being BW only it was tougher than I gave it credit for

KSU

Thursday
AM Yoga
PM 6 miles (7.15 min/m) + 20 min drills
Daily Challenge Shoulder Resistance band workout

Definitely a bit more of a lax atmosphere regarding lockdown vs Monday. Alot more cars out and a few people. Hopefully won't see a backslide in terms of social adherence.

I dunno if it is due to the mileage being low or all the ancillary work but was pulling the paces back feeling very good throughout the run. Feel like training is more akin to middle distance at the moment with the low moderate intensity mileage and the heaps of ancillary work but I do feel it is providing a good foundation to build from rather than just simply an aerobic base.

Legs still feeling the workout last night so didn't wanna overdo with more leg work or plyometrics so a bit of resistance band work the help work on form and lack of torso rotation in stride I figured would be beneficial in long run

3 x 15 reps per exercise

Serratus Punches
Face Pulls
Tricep Pull Down
Woodchoppers
Over and back (rotator cuff rotations)

KSU

Friday
AM Yoga
PM 25 min tempo (10/5/10) 3 min jog 4x30 on/off
Daily challenge Core workout

The ancillary work caught up a little as was feeling tired I’m glutes and hamstrings somewhat having said that paces despite an improvement were fairly controlled for the seasion. Continuing the Keep it simple stupid training plan. A few fast strides at the end with one dodgy reading as met first car in the road (local chipper closing so all delivery drivers let out at once)

Core session a little lack lustred after session just wanted to get to my bed

15 rep circuit

Cross body crunches
Heels to heaven
Butterfly crunches
Scissor flutters