Falling apart gives you a reason to build something new.

KSU

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

Another week of the same. Happy to keep this session the same for now as I seem to be progressing on it each week so in the spirit of keeping thigs simple and just getting good fundamentals set down will plough on. I stayed out of the park on early parts of this just with the good weather. Low and behold I saw more people in the off licence when passing than would normally nearly attend fecking Mass around easter :mad:

I know a few people have wondered about why I do the tempo's like this rather than a tradition HM'ish pace session. On paper it probably looks a little too easy to be a good workout with 20 min of the session being at effectively Marathon Effort but for me I think these sort of sessions are perfect

Normally people aim to do there tempo's at target or PB marathon effort rather than the on the day pace. this is something I think is lost when people even look at the 1hr rule.

Simple fact is that those paces/efforts are based on a fully tapered person going into a race who might be able to draft etc not someone who has a number of miles under the belt for the week/month might be trying to squeeze run in somewhere with all life's stresses etc. I know HR monitors can in particular on garmins can sometimes seem off but weirdly enough the one time I have never had an issue with readings is during a race, perhaps coincidence or just the impact all that has to carry.

People running at those efforts unless they are truly well aerobically conditioned tend to be overreaching and usually results in form breakdown etc so I would rather pace be dialed back in particular in latter stages and keep everything nice and controlled while still working, The middle segment usually brings HR up to the right intensity yet despite the pace coming back down the HR tends to lag in the Threshold range so you are still getting the right stimulus without risking overreaching or compromising form (leading to inefficient running or injury risk)

As a coach it is also a great tool for teaching that harder and faster is not always better and holding a pace (even slower as long as it is intentional) helps confidence of a runner rather than running too fast and struggling in latter stages. Despite it usually being faster than prescribed people tend to see paces falling back as they tire as a failure of fitness so we just try to eliminate thhhat aspect

KSU

Saturday
AM Yoga + 4 miles easy (7.43 min/m)
PM 6 miles easy (7.22 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Upper body resistance

3x15 reps
Tricep pull ups (R)
Serratus Punches (R)
Push Ups
Diamond Push Ups
Dive Bomber Push up (10 reps)


Nothing too major with this one a handy short one before I started work and then a late night one. Legs suprisingly good and he DOMS from the S and C a bit easier than other days.

With the S and C experimented with a different variation of the Push up at the end. F%^k me its a tough one but great for the shoulders


Sunday
AM Yoga + 7 miles easy (7.39 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Core work

Pushed back the long run as I don't have time tonight and this morning consisted of a easter egg scavenger hunt with the little lad around the house but enough time to get a shorter one in.

Another 50 mile week which solid enough but more shockingly first 7 day week since last July. Hopefully can keep the momentum going.

shotgunmcos

Incorporate the dive bomb push up into your yoga if you dont already. Its basically down dog to cobra and back

KSU

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Incorporate the dive bomb push up into your yoga if you dont already. Its basically down dog to cobra and back

Yes this would be something I do already however the push up is slightly different in that the last part is not as much a hyper extension on the thorasic spine but rather pushing up in a neutral spine position. It's a subtle difference but an important one for this exercise

(although looking back on the video I tagged I realized that your man's form is not great)

Kurt_Godel.

Theres a whole heap of crap on this forum lately; new posters with singular views looking for a fight... you'll not want this, but I'm going to say it anyway if I don't post here for another year, its refreshing to read your log/posts, keep the faith man, and keep on truckin'.

KSU

Kurt_Godel. wrote: »

Theres a whole heap of crap on this forum lately; new posters with singular views looking for a fight... you'll not want this, but I'm going to say it anyway if I don't post here for another year, its refreshing to read your log/posts, keep the faith man, and keep on truckin'.

To be honest since this whole thing kicked off it has almost left me with a more postive outlook on things in general. Maybe it is just that life is ironically a little less stressful but I figured I can either hit the reset button and start anew or I can either get on with what I am doing or get dragged down by the crap.

Saw alot of good on social media initially and even though people's boredom and human nature starting to creep back it still reminded me of the good. As such I am trying new things in my own life and sharing might be of interest, it might not but sure it's keeping me sane so not wasted. Training is not ultra specific now so perfect time to reset the norm.

Even started using forms of Social Media I swore off many moons ago

Kurt_Godel.

Yeah there is a lot of good, a lot of positives on this forum, better to add to that in these times, it just adds to a more positive life. Carry on and best to you and yours Luke... I'll sign out for another year:D

KSU

Sunday
AM Yoga + 7 miles easy (7.39 min/m)
Daily Challenge Core

Monday
AMYoga

Tuesday
AMYoga
Daily Challenge Resistance band strength session


3 sets x 15 Rest 60 sec between sets
Resistance Band Military Press
Resistance Band Upright Row
Resistance Band Lateral Raise
Resistance Band Bicep Curl
Resistance Band Seated Row
Resistance Band Tricep Pulls


Wednesday
AM Yoga + 4 miles easy (8.19 min/m)

2 steps forward 1 step back. Following 12 day streak I slipped up. 1 day rolled into 2 and excuses as I fell asleep Tuesday/Wednesday night before getting out on runs. The good news is that the bad days are getting better (still managed to do something even if it was only a 15 min yoga routine in the mornings.)

Tuesday was a challenge. A mate of mine (Trainer) was trying to prove a point to a few of us and laid down a gauntlet of a resistance band only workout as some were skeptical about getting a decent strength workout (not sport specific as many of them are the gym head types) Decided to do it as something different along the lines of the daily challenges I have been doing. A solid little workout and a few clever ways to use the RB.

Mileage on course to be a little low this week but won't go chasing.

KSU

Thursday
AM Yoga
PM Fartlek - 10x1/1min (4 min) 8x30/30s
Daily Challenge Core Workout Circuit

Circuit (time listed)
Seated Ab Circles Clockwise (60 sec)
Seated Ab Circles Counter Clockwise (60 sec)
Drunken Mountain Climbers (60 sec)
30 sec rest
Marching Planks (60 sec)
Scissors (60 sec)


This session was long overdue as originally had planned to do it Tuesday :rolleyes: A bit of a step up from the staple fartlek I had been doing with the inclusion of 30 second bouts on top. The 1 min segements were dialed back a little in effort after feeling something that can be described between almost cramping and ready to pop. This loosened out though after the first one and continued on. Not overly concerned with the twinge. All the extra mobility work is definitely paying dividends on known weaknesses I have (left hip has had a number of issues related to pelvic position and muscle inhibition) that I generally compensate for but finally starting to address them so probably having an impact on my gait (or I could just be in the wrong shoes who knows:p) as such muscles which never usually feel tired are starting to be worked a bit more which will help with power and endurance long term hopefully. Doing the little things and the big things will look after themselves approach.

The 1 min reps all in around the 5.30's (don't really look at the watch for these sessions bar the recovery paces) the endurance side of things crept in though as the 30 sec segments ran through and was fairly flaked the last two.

Happy with that session though and control is coming back in at higher intensities so another small step forward in the hope to regain and improve on previous fitness levels.

Those core circuits still a killer but getting better. Nearly able to complete as per prescribed without additional breaks

Swashbuckler

Have you considered a gait analysis? I hear they have really good analysis in New York if you're willing to travel.

OOnegative

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Have you considered a gait analysis? I hear they have really good analysis in New York if you're willing to travel.

And podiatrists and magical foot fairies, tra la la la la.......

KSU

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Have you considered a gait analysis? I hear they have really good analysis in New York if you're willing to travel.

OOnegative wrote: »

And podiatrists and magical foot fairies, tra la la la la.......

All joking aside though there is a great point underneath it that goes beyond foot strike and can be translated to session choices, cadence, HR training and a whole host of other aspects of running

This was actually put very succinctly in a response to cadence running elsewhere

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Cadence is an output, not an input.

We get bogged down with the output and looking for black and white answers here that often things get completely lost. The old adage of running being a simple sport is indeed true if you are looking at it from a polar simple vs complicated aspect however it is also incredibly nuanced

Just taking a few examples

Pace as a metric is all well and good but how a person runs it will matter hugely in terms of performance. Give someone an all out 400m and they can usually bust out a solid time that would be a huge outlier to what they could do for say 4 or 8 reps. Some of this is fitness however some of this can simply be someone fighting their own mechanics (tense posture, not breathing right, tight upper body etc) that simply breaks down with fatigue

Similarly to those who lift weights, many people can get a weight from point a to point b but often they cheat their own body (engage stronger muscles etc) to complete rather than complete right (think of a lateral dumbell raise where suddenly a person is using the back and every other muscle group under the sun to get the weight up)

Even recovery days where people take a day off and use as a cheat day for booze and snacks compromise the goal of the day and would probably be better of with an extra day if it kept them in moderation on all aspects that influence recovery.

Taking a step back and focusing on input (i.e good quality for whatever the aspect is) will have so much more benefit in all aspects of running (and most aspects of health etc to be honest) than trying to increase output as a corrective measure.

KSU

Friday
AM Yoga + 4 mile run (8.35 min/m)
PM
Daily Challenge Resistance band upper body

Another day which got the better of me got out for the morning buggy run but unfortunately post dinner and post work I ended up falling asleep on the couch so main run went out the window. Did manage to get a bit of resistance work done during the day though.

3 sets x 15 Rest 60 sec between sets
Resistance Band Military Press
Resistance Band Upright Row
Resistance Band Lateral Raise
Resistance Band Bicep Curl
Resistance Band Seated Row
Resistance Band Tricep Pulls


Saturday
AM Yoga + 4 mile run (7.56 min/m)
PM 25 min tempo (10/5/10) 3 min jog 4x30 on/off
Daily Challenge N/A

Weekend off and got out for my run while the little lad went down for his afternoon nap. Drop in miles definitely impacted me I was fresh as a daisy and floating along really had to keep the reigns on this one.

Session was very controlled and feeling good through it. Last one of these for a while as the plan is to switch things up a little post Time Trial but 4 weeks of this session the progression is fairly apparent

Week 1 ||Week 4
10 min @ 6.43 pace (153 bpm)||10 min @ 6.29 pace (155bpm)
5 min @ 6.06 pace (167 bpm)||5 min @ 6.03 pace (161 bpm)
10 min @ 6.43 pace (170 bpm)| |10 min @ 6.29 pace (164 bpm)

Sunday
AM Yoga
PM 10 miles easy (7.49 min/m)
Daily Challenge Resistance band upper body + core

3 sets x 15 Rest 60 sec between sets
Resistance Band Military Press
Resistance Band Upright Row
Resistance Band Lateral Raise
Resistance Band Bicep Curl
Resistance Band Seated Row
Resistance Band Tricep Pulls


Circuit (time listed)
Seated Ab Circles Clockwise (60 sec)
Seated Ab Circles Counter Clockwise (60 sec)
Drunken Mountain Climbers (60 sec)
30 sec rest
Marching Planks (60 sec)
Scissors (60 sec)
Deadbugs (60 sec)


The temptation to try and chase miles there as always but I thought better of it.

Despite only getting 38 miles in the bank I did get running 5 days out of the 7 and plenty of accessory work so not a total disaster. Hopefully there will come a point where it will be easier but feel like I am working hard at the moment on the other aspects which normally ignore and am getting fitter even if it doesn't fully translate to endurance just yet. Diet is pretty good overal and translating to getting a bit leaner.

KSU

Monday
AM Yoga
PM 7 miles easy including 6x20s strides ( 7.19 min/m)
Daily Challenge: S and C (legs)

3x15 reps (unless stated)
Bring sally up squats (full song)
Crab walk (resistance band)
Single Leg Romanian dead lift
Pistol squats
Single leg Glute bridges

Followed up with a bit of core

The mobility with yoga and all other ancillary work seems to be helping anyway as for the first time in a long while I had the mobility to do proper ass to grass squats for the full song.

This balloon was quickly burst however as the missus of 6 years came into the kitchen for a chat obviously on the back of all these Run 5 Donate 5 posts on social media. Conversation went as follows

OH "Whats your best time for 5k"
Me "16.15 is my best but probably in about 17.30 shape now why?"
OH "Oh right yeah I have definitely been selling you short so"
Me "??"
OH "Yeah I been telling the girls you run around 22/23 min in the whatsapp group"

It's a good thing she wasn't with me just for my sporting talent so. Anyone Covid 19 negative with a couch to spare. May need a bit of time to reevaluate me life :p:p:pac::pac:

Swashbuckler

It seems like your missus has a similar interest level in your running to my missus.

KSU

Tuesday
AM Yoga
PM Fartlek (10 x 1/1 min) 4 min jog 2x30/30
Daily Challenge: Push Ups

3x reps to failure
Basic push up
Pike Push Up
Inner pec push up
Tricep push up


Followed up with a bit of core

Suns out guns out weather out there today and the last of these sort of fartleks for a while. nice undulating lap for this one but paces were toasty. Most importantly big improvement on the recovery paces which is what this session has been about so 20 min of solid work in there. The plan was 8x30 sec reps as well but a few danger signs from the hamstrings of cramp after the battering from the leg work yesterday saw me wuss out and can these. Very happy with the session.

Today's Daily challenge was more of a challenge than anything I have done in a while. The aim here was to try and target as many upper body muscles as I could with this one using only push up variations. Avoided cheating by including more whole body push ups or combo exercises. Reps to failure really took there toll as the volume added up however the whole thing with push up's is that they are one of the few exercises which it is show that reps to failure is the most optimal way to approach them unlike many other exercises as gravity doesn't gradually take its toll on form as fatigue accumulates.

KSU

Wednesday
AM Yoga
PM 7 miles easy ( 7.37 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Plyometrics

3x15 contacts

Wall knee drives
Pogos
Lateral bunny hops
Single leg bounds
Depth jumps (15 each leg total)


Followed up with a bit of core

Another day down and getting into a nice little groove. Hamstrings still shredded from Monday and legs a little heavy from yesterday but all around been a good few days training so hopefully manage to keep the ball rolling.

Also been a good few days for " self-development" (the wellness buzzword hence the quotations) with some interesting online courses the past few days from prominent Irish professionals between a injury webinar from Colin Griffin yesterday and Sharon Madigan today. Would advise people to keep their eyes open as there is so much quality content doing the rounds at the moment which normally would be reserved for paid conferences and workshops.

Laineyfrecks

Watched the Sharon Madigan one today too, very interesting. Cheers for putting the link up

KSU

Laineyfrecks wrote: »

Watched the Sharon Madigan one today too, very interesting. Cheers for putting the link up

No bother didn't catch it till a bit later. Similar to content she has put on for other workshops (moreso the first half anyway) but does come at nutrition in a different way that well worth taking on board.

Laineyfrecks

KSU wrote: »

No bother didn't catch it till a bit later. Similar to content she has put on for other workshops (moreso the first half anyway) but does come at nutrition in a different way that well worth taking on board.

Yeah, she made me think about a few things so will have to research them for myself. Actually kinda explains a few things for me too.

KSU

Thursday
AM Yoga
PM 7 miles progression( 7.11 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Nap - Fail!

A few bad nights sleep with the little lad saw me attempt a challenge that I am not good at - switching off. So when he went down for afternoon nap I attempted to do the same, didn't really work but a valiant effort was made.

Light progression just to run through the gears and finished at roughly MP for the run definitely running within myself throughout

Friday
AM Yoga
PM N/A

Was gonna be a late run however after a chat with the OH I got a morning window for the TT so i decided just to take the day off and focus on that rather than run for the sake of a few miles late night.

KSU

The scene is set in a post Apocalyptic Clondalkin......

My last 5k was staff relays off a weeks training in 18.21 last year and this is was to be my first race effort since Dublin Marathon (also unfit) so the bar was set pretty low.

Training has consisted of light tempo's and a couple of 20 min fartleks with nothing further thaan 1 min efforts so from a racing perspective I was not hoping to set the world alight having said that diet has been good and a lot of mobility work, plyometrics and S&C so I was not exactly completely unfit.

With change up from my normal run time due to planning around the family it meant that my initial course route was out the window (normally no cars as late night around the estate) so just stuck to the park. A small bit of congestion to avoid (pushing me out onto grass verges to keep the 2m) but overall the loop was fair and the paths were decent. I won't lie I was nervous for this one simply because I haven't had to dig in for so long as all the efforts have been short bouts with a recovery effort never too far away so the sustained nature of a race was not gonna be pleasant.

Just like a race I got out like the clappers only to panic and realise I was sub 5 pace after a minute so needed to dial it back. The loop itself was pretty much 2k meaning 1,3 and 5km were into the wind (was light enough) though this was negated somewhat from the ever so gradual incline (if you can even call it that) 1st k was 3.18 and too fast I knew I was gonna pay for it.

2km and pace was okay though pushed up onto the verge a few times which kinda saw the head drop somewhat. (3.28) was still under the 17.30 mark I had in my head and not feeling too bad.

The next 2km were poor though. Still had pace in miles on the watch so when I saw I was creeping back up to Threshold pace (+5.50s) I panicked and the body just slotted into a safe controlled effort that it dien't wanna push beyond, dark thoughts about pulling the plug crept in but I stood determined just to see it out good, bad or indifferent. (3.36, 3.39) just coming to the last km however I spotted a dad and his son on the bikes tipping along casually at a healthy clip so used them as a marker to try and reel in just to jolt the body. Given my beard is coming to caveman levels at the moment it was probably a scary sight to see just a beard and shades with legs barrel towards them (a few nervous looks back from the dad but hopefully this was just about making sure that they were out of the way for when I came by )

Finished in 17.40. given the deviations for avoiding people I will take that. Truth be told fitness wise I do think I am not as bad as I thought however the way training has been building slowly it was always gonna expose me here as I physically and mentally haven't prepared myself for longer efforts. It wraps up a nice little block of training however and something to build on as the fartlek sessions will change to more 10k efforts in coming weeks and a little more threshold work in the tempo's.

Some great runs out there today fair play to everyone and a huge fair play to B for organizing. Great to see some positives come out of this thing for the board in general and hopefully created a bit for people to help keep focus.

KSU

Saturday
AM Boards 5k Time Trial (17.40)
PM
Daily Challenge: Bodyweight leg work

Followed up with a bit of core

Skipped Yoga for the first morning in since I started the routine. Simple reason was that there is some static work in it and didn't wanna compromise power with the Time trial in the AM


Sunday
AM Yoga
PM 12 miles easy (7.55 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Resistance band work

Followed up with a bit of core

Legs definitely feeling the day before so just tipping along with time on feet despite feeling like garbage actually the first time over 90 min in over 2 months. Again not trying to force the mileage just trying to keep relatively consistent and build it organically.

There is a little bit of a shift with the training now from the previous 6 weeks and there will be a bit more variety to the fartlek sessions moving to the odd CV style workout. Overall though the aim is to keep tipping away with the sessions kept simple and making sure that I focus on keeping up the supplementary work as the run specific fitness grows.

KSU

Monday
AM Yoga
PM 7 miles easy incl 6x20 strides (7.36 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Full body calisthenics circuit

30 sec on 30 sec rec

Cobra Push up
Skater Lunge
Plank to toe tap
Elevated glute raise
In & out jump squat
Crab Walk
Tuck Jump


Followed up with a bit of core

Tuesday
PM 7 mile Progression
Daily Challenge: Push up Circuit

3x15 reps
Basic push up
Pike Push Up
Diamond Push up

Body a little tired at the moment (not in a hugely concerning sense) slips in motivation for the little extra's appearing so now is the time to regain focus and guard against complacency.

I have another Time Trial Thursday, organised by the club so using that as hard effort this week and just moderate sessions around it before starting into next block of training.

Progression run went well feeling nice and controlled throughout and finished with another couple of miles in me at a faster pace if needed.

KSU

Wednesday
AM Yoga
PM 5 miles easy (8.08 min/m)
Daily Challenge: Plyometrics

3x15 contacts (each leg)
Wall Drives
Pogo's
Lateral bunny hops
Single leg bounds


Followed up with a bit of core

This was a miserable one, out after work and was lashing down. Gave myself every out for this one - TT tomorrow, it's raining, it's only gonna be a shakeout so nothing to be gained anyway, body is tired anyway could do with a day off.

In the end got out but ready to turn back after a mile as I couldn't warm up and I was already soaked to the skin. it got better however and by the end of the run I was considering doing usual 7 anyway but happy with the 5.

First time in a long while I didn't take the easy way out.. Baby steps but they all add up.

Laineyfrecks

In terms of motivation, usually the battles with ourselves are the hardest ones... think a wise man said something like that to me recently;)

Swashbuckler

For what it's worth, what's keeping me going is reminding myself that only the mentally strong will come out of this in better shape than they went in. The rest will come out worse off. So it's a big opportunity to close the gap if youre more stubborn than the rest.

The pupil becomes the teacher.............

KSU

Everyone is getting fierce sensible and wise round these parts

Thursday
AM Yoga
PM Club 5k time Trial - 17.34
Daily Challenge:N/A

Followed up with a bit of core

Date for this one was only announced last week and with being commited to both not quite ideal but just took it as it came and went after it. Body is tired at the moment starting to get a good cumulative fatigue feel despite the mileage not being huge.

Out straight after work with no messing about as had a few scares with the little lad waking up once or twice that this might not happen (given it was a team even would have been a nightmare) thankfully he settled shortly before I headed out.

Weather was ideal and at this hour I knew I could use my original route course for last weeks time trial, effectively a 1 mile loop around the estate.

1st km I wanted to learn from the mistakes of Saturday so made sure to keep things in check however I want to look at the watch as little as possible given that I shut down last week mentally (more then likely as a result of clock watching). 3.25 for the first km which was with a slight downhill and wind mostly on my back.

I knew it in myself that physically I was still tired from last weeks effort so this was gonna be a tough one. The second km and I was already slowing more than Saturday despite a more conservative start with a 3.33. The next km proved however course profile and wind had a bit more to do with that than actually falling off as I came back with a 3.29. At 3k I was 5 seconds down on where I was in the last TT however the head was still in it and I was still working. Where the last one I had given up at this stage here I was on the edge meaning I was racing to fitness levels.

Next km and despite it being another slower one I had knew I had more to give in the last km so managed to up it. No sprint finish but a hard sustained close as the reps went 3.36 3.27 for my second fastest split

Finished in 17.34 according to strava (17.32.7 on garmin but took about the same off at the weekend)

6 seconds faster than the weekend but realistically that can be accounted for simply by the bit of congestion in the park however I definitely wasn't as fresh for this one so in my mind was a much better raced effort and alot happier with it than the weekend. Still a long way to go with the fitness but the head was definitely in a much better place.

Now time to take fitness I have built since starting back and build a little strength on it. Mileage won't changed hugely might manage to increase by 10 mpw over the next block but again the aim here is for it to be organic while the other aspects of training are maintained

Swashbuckler

KSU wrote:

Body is tired at the moment starting to get a good cumulative fatigue feel despite the mileage not being huge.

It's not just me then. Really feeling it this week from the TT effort last weekend.

KSU

Swashbuckler wrote: »

It's not just me then. Really feeling it this week from the TT effort last weekend.

:P

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/75896207-31d3-4384-b35d-6e847be34c21#_XIylO5SyK.copy