Weekly summary - 4 weeks to go

I'm so happy to finish the week with a 10k PB! It confirms I have my form back and can challenge that 3:15 mark in London.

It was another tiring week - I find the combination of a hard Tuesday run with a gym session and a longish run on Wednesday leaves me quite tired by Thursday. I was quite happy to take it easy on Thursday and taper down for the 10k. What a boost on Friday getting such a low HR in my regular fitness test recovery run!

Not long to go now. I'm feeling really on top of things. Worthing 20 this weekend - I'll see if I can push the last half of the race and get another PB (and club record!)

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	8.3 miles	am: Gym session (incl 15x51kg deadlift) + 2 miles treadie	pm: 2x2-miles off 3mins 6:57 no hr 6:46 146bpm 3mins 7:00 145bpm 7:01 148bpm
Wednesday	13.8 miles	am: 4.6 miles easy	9.2 miles 8:55/mile 114bpm Feeling tired
Thursday	7.9 miles	am: 4.2 miles easy	pm: 3.7 miles easy
Friday	4 miles		pm: fitness test 4@9:00/mile 107bpm
Saturday	Rest	am:
Sunday	8.2 miles	Eastleigh 10k 41:29 6:41/mile 152bpm
Total	42.2 miles

Eastleigh 10k 2007

Here's my initial report. I may revise it a bit when I've seen the results of the others - as a team we were a little under strength, but I think the girls at least did OK.

For me, I suspected I was on PB form, so it was all about going out at a good pace and having the confidence that I could sustain that pace. I usually string these reports out a bit, suspense in the story telling and all that, but let's cut to the chase:

km splits:
4:07 137bpm
4:06 148bpm
4:07 151bpm
4:24 154bpm (slight uphill)
4:02 151bpm (slight downhill)
4:08 154bpm
4:10 156bpm
4:05 157bpm
4:07 157bpm
4:09 157bpm
41:29 152bpm

3rd W45 with £30 B&Q vouchers
PB by 40sec, best ever age graded at 78.9%

HR was slightly down on my highest ever 10k HR (155bpm at Totton last year), so probably a bit of fatigue, unsurprisingly. My pace judgement though was pretty good. I'd wondered about trying to keep up with Guy, who I reckoned was heading for just over 40 minutes (which was in fact the case), but I'm glad I didn't try to go with him as I was pretty spent at the end.

It was a very high quality field with 1500 entries. Frank Tickner won the men with a sub-30, and Natalie Harvey won the women with what the race organiser thinks is the UK's fastest time this year (32 something?).

Slight controversy with the club records, as I thought I'd taken the club age record. Having discussed this with Marilyn whose record I thought I'd taken, it seems there was an error and her overall record of 40:34 is actually the W45 record not W50. I'm the club statistician, but if we are apportioning blame then I think the error lies with my predecessor - oops! I guess I need to get faster.

Whatever the stats, I'm very pleased with that result as it's the first time the Macmillan calculator has predicted a marathon time of under 3:15 (just!).

43bpm, 107bpm

Thought I'd blog a couple of heart rates.

43bpm used to be my resting heart rate, although I've seen it much lower than that, depending on when I measure it. (Do you measure it on waking quietly or after being rudely awakened by the alarm clock? There's a huge range of values to be had there.)

No, 43bpm was the heart rate I saw the other night as I stood at my front door waiting for my Garmin to pick up the satellites. Incredibly low. I wonder what my minimum HR is? I haven't tried reading it for ages - I've given up trying to take my resting HR as there is such a large variance depending on how I wake up in a morning.

107bpm on the other hand is the average HR I recorded for a 4-mile run last night.

I have this fitness test I do every now and then. A year ago I ran a 4-mile route from home trying to average 9:00/mile for the whole route. I recorded the data on my Garmin and turned it into a 'Course'. I can then replay this route later and rerun the same route against a virtual 'me', thereby replaying the whole event exactly. Ignoring effects of heat and wind for a moment, the average heart rate for the run is then an indication of my fitness.

Clearly my ability to run 4 miles at 9:00/mile can't be used as a direct measure of marathon readiness, but it does give a good indication of how my running economy is progressing. It's also an easy recovery run, despite being a fitness test, so can be slotted into the training at any time.

Last night I recorded an average of 107bpm. This is only 1bpm higher than my best ever, recorded at my peak last summer.

A good sign! Providing I'm not too tired from all the training, the Eastleigh 10k should go well tomorrow!


I think I may have to record a new version of this 4-mile test - 107bpm is a bit silly even for a recovery run - some couch potatoes would have a resting HR that high.

Weekly summary - 5 weeks to go

Well that was a tough week. My first full week of doubles while working full time on a stressful job with over 2 hours of travelling each day.

It nearly worked. By Saturday I was so tired and my calves were so tight that I felt I had no choice but to rest.

By Sunday though, things were better and I managed a strong 20.7 miles, despite feeling very rough at first having to run the first few miles into a strong cross/head-wind.

The dodgy legs could simply have been the gym session on Friday. I would normally have an easy day on Friday after 3 hard days midweek, but this Friday was my monthly gym assessment with my trainer Elaine. Normally these sessions are really easy, not involving much gym work, just a few bits and pieces here and there. I had some spare time though and made sure I finished up with my usual weight routine, including some 50kg deadlifts. On top of that, I tried 30secs of a plyometric exercise Elaine showed me - scissor jump squats. This had my quads burning after only 30 secs, and I don't suppose it was too kind on my calves either. In the evening, after my run my calves were very tight and by Saturday I was just too tired to do anything. Was this all avoidable?

By listening to my body and taking the rest I needed I seem to be OK and continuing on strongly. Only a few more hard weeks to go!

Monday	8.6 miles	am:4.6 miles easy	4 miles fitness test 9:00/mile following Garmin course. HR 108bpm only 2bpm higher than best ever - good news!
Tuesday	7.8 miles	am: massage	pm: Club run over Portsdown Hill HR 139bpm pace 7:44/mile
Wednesday	12.5 miles	am: gym session, 2 miles on treadie	pm: 10.5 miles 8:31/mile 119bpm good pace - felt good! HR was only 43bpm standing outside front door waiting for Garmin to get satellite lock!
Thursday	10 miles	am: 4 miles easy	pm: 6 miles. 4x1516m off 3mins: 6:36 max 143bpm 7:00/mile 6:23 max 147bpm 6:46/mile 6:21 max 148bpm 6:44/mile 6:24 max 151bpm 6:48/mile
Friday	9 miles	am:2.3 miles gym assessment with personal trainer. Did 30secs of plyometric scissor jump squats - a bad idea?	pm: 6.7 miles easy. Calf tightened up afterwards
Saturday	Rest		Legs feeling very dodgy - a result of yesterday's gym + plyometrics - effectively 4 hard days in a row?
Sunday	20.7 miles	am 20.7 miles @8:42/mile 122bpm Felt tired at first into string headwind, but finished feeling better with a 7:30 mile
Total	68.6 miles

ps this report is a tad late due to pressures of work. Life's tough!

Rest

I blog occasional training sessions (did I tell you about my mile reps last Thursday? No?), but I don't think I've blogged a rest day before now.

After a hard week, along came Saturday and I just didn't feel like running. My calves were really tight, I was worried I'd damage them if I went for a run, and I was generally knackered! A rest day was required.

I run daily. Some people chase 'streaks', desperate to get in as many days in a row as possible, but I'm determined not to get into the mentality that I have to run every day regardless. If I feel I need to rest then I'll rest.

I get lectured every now and then about how I must take regular rest days. I'm convinced it is possible to train hard and train every day, sometimes twice a day. If you get the balance right between hard sessions and easy sessions then daily running is OK. Sometimes you get the balance wrong though.

I had a hard hilly club run on Tuesday, a gym session and a 10-mile run on Wednesday, and a tough mile reps session on Thursday (did I mention that already?), all as doubles - morning and evening. Friday would normally have been really easy, for the sake of balance, but I had a gym assessment session with my trainer on Friday morning. I tried out a plyometric exercise with her - just 30 secs of scissor squat jumps and my legs were burning. I've never tried plyometrics before - they're very hard on the legs! That alone might have been enough to push me over the edge, but I did all my usual leg strength work as well. Friday was no longer an easy day!

I ran an easy, but very tired, hour run on Friday evening, and that just about finished me - my calves were very tight aftrwards. One day of hard running too many - I learned that lesson in Lanzarote last year!

After resting Saturday, today's long run went well despite the strong wind - although I felt very tired at the start running into the headwind. I finished strongly though with a 7:30 last mile. In all, 20.7 miles at 8:42/mile in 3 hours at an ave HR of 122bpm 70%MHR.

I enjoyed my day of rest!

Weekly summary - 6 weeks to go

A cutback week in terms of mileage, but a good quality 400m session. My pace is really improving and may now be back to what it was during the summer.

Looking good!

Monday	2 miles	easy running coaching the beginners group
Tuesday	Rest		First rest day in ages
Wednesday	9.6 miles	am:2 miles treadie+weights pm:7.6 miles steady 8:23/mile 120bpm	Very encouraged by the pace for sucha low HR!
Thursday	6.5 miles	Interval session: 15x400m reps with 150m jog recovery, generally around 54s, down to 130bpm, pace around 6:30/mile reps: 98s 132bpm max 98s 142bpm max 98s 150bpm max 99s 160bpm max 97s 145bpm max 97s 146bpm max 97s 147bpm max 96s 149bpm max 97s 149bpm max 97s 148bpm max 96s 150bpm max 97s 150bpm max 97s 150bpm max 98s 149bpm max 95s 152bpm max	Felt good!
Friday	6.5 miles	easy pace 8:41/mile 116bpm	Felt tired
Saturday	6.6 miles	am: 4.6 miles easy off road pm: 2 miles treadie+weights
Sunday	15 miles	steady pace hilly road circuit 8:47/mile 117bpm
Total	46.2 miles

Weekly summary - 7 weeks to go

My first decent hard week of training - at last!

I knew I was going to be tired by the end of the week, as demonstrated by my inability to run at marathon effort in the MMH20, but this was all part of the plan really. I will take an easy week this week, hopefully recover well, and then be able to push on hard the week after.

7 weeks to go! London sounds really close now.

Monday	6.7 miles	am:2 miles treadie plus weights pm:4.7 miles varied pace	Evening session coaching the beginners
Tuesday	10.6 miles	am:4 miles easy pm:6.6 hilly club run 7:58/mile 137bpm	Portsdown Hill run: 2 miles up 300ft climb, steep 250ft downhill, 1 mile flat, steep up 150ft, back down. Couldn't quite get HR up to marathon effort - tired
Wednesday	12 miles	am:2 miles treadie plus weights pm:10 miles steady	Very windy! Hard work
Thursday	7.5 miles	am: massage pm:mile reps session, 4*1-mile generally at 6:50 max HR 154bpm
Friday	12.1 miles	am:4.5 miles easy pm:7.6 miles easy/steady 8:39/mile 116bpm
Saturday	6 miles	am:easy 6 miles
Sunday	20 miles	Mad March Hare 20 2:39:00 133bpm	Very wet, very windy, hard work!
Total	74.9 miles

A little light swimming: Christchurch Mad March Hare 20

I knew things were going to be tough when at mile 1 we had to run through ankle deep water and my shoes and socks were sodden. I had no idea at this stage just how tough though!

After 16 miles of continuous rain and many many flooded sections of road, we were treated to the ultimate water torture: a stream, or was it a drainage ditch, had burst it banks and the darling little torrent was joyfully bubbling its way down the road. We had to run 400m or what felt more like 800m ankle deep in water. I've run through floods before, but what was quite bizarre this time was that after we emerged heavy footed from the flood, my feet were frozen - I had absolutely no feeling in them at all. Never before have I run with my legs apparently ending at the ankles. They took a mile to thaw out and get the feeling back. Ouch!

While all this was going on we were battling into a very strong headwind. This was tough!

So as you can guess, my finish time wasn't sparkling - but it was never meant to be. The plan was to jog the first 5 miles, which I did, and then push the pace up to marathon effort. I knew from the start though that this was going to be difficult: after a hard week's training of 72 miles with a hard mile reps session on Thursday, 12 miles on Friday, and a weary 6 miles on Saturday, I knew fatigue was going to be a factor. This was only ever supposed to be a training run on the way to London though.

I never managed to get my heart rate above 140bpm: 5bpm below my usual marathon effort. Most of the time my HR was much lower. The result was my pace never got up to my current marathon capabilities. Having said that though I was only 5secs/mile outside my marathon PB pace over the last 15 miles of this race, so the signs are there that I've made good progress since Abingdon (and the illness!).

In the end I crossed the line in 2:39:00 (going by what the marshal shouted), for an average heart rate of 133bpm or 77% of maximum. Not much more than a steady run, despite the effort I put in. I'll take that as a positive.

We got 4 girls across the line, so hopefully have a reasonable team score - well done Amanda, Marilyn and Belinda. The boys suffered somewhat, particularly Neil who only finished a few minutes ahead of me. I suspect their result wasn't what they had hoped for!

That was just about the worst conditions I've raced in, second only to the horizontal hail of the 2004 Stafford 20. Even the torrential rain of the Isle Of Wight Marathon didn't come close. By the end my hands were so cold it took a huge effort to squeeze the safety pins open to take my race number off. Then there was the mud of the playing fields which hosted the finish line and the changing tents. Perhaps next year we might have a ground sheet?

Now don't you just hate it when you walk into the tent to find there's a mad woman in a Victory AC vest shouting "Wasn't that fantastic?! I love conditions like that! Great fun! What a race! Boy I enjoyed that!"? Sorry girls, but there were such dark dejected looks on your faces I felt the mood needed lifting a little. Running - love it!

Mile reps - a recovery experiment

I thought I'd post Thursday night's mile reps session. It was an encouraging session in terms of my pace, but it was also an experiment, as I was recovering by jogging until my HR dropped to 125bpm. This was as a result of a discussion I'd had about a recommendation in 'The Coach' magazine about waiting until your HR has dropped to 120bpm during recoveries.

The discussion was that 120bpm seemed a bit low considering that most people jog at a higher rate than that. Everyone has a different max HR anyway, so why make a blanket recommendation of an asolute heart rate? I remembered, during a roastingly hot summer's 8*1000m session, using 125bpm as a mark for recovery, so decided to try using this level as a recovery experiment for the night's mile reps.

So the plan was to jog between each of the 4 1-mile reps and go again once my HR had dropped to 125bpm. Here are the results:

6:47 max HR 150bpm 1:31 recovery
6:49 max HR 154bpm 1:51 recovery
6:51 max HR 154bpm 1:36 recovery
7:06 max HR 149bpm 1:15 recovery (taken after the last rep prior to the warm down)

The last one was a bit slow: I think I could have done it quicker if properly motivated - I was running on my own at the end - I'm in a bit of a no mans land pace-wise at the moment. It's noticeable how the lower effort of the last rep required less recovery.

During the recoveries my HR was dropping quite quickly after an initial plateau, so 120bpm recoveries wouldn't actually be that much longer. I was knackered by the last rep though: I really felt I needed longer recoveries - our standard club session is to take 3 minutes recovery. Despite the increasingly tough efforts though, my recovery seemed the same each time.

On the Runner's World forum, 'Slow-Coach' did some research into recommendations for HR during recovery. Here is her reply:

A bit of lunchtime Googling revealed a range of prescriptions as to what your HR should go down to during the recovery as follows:

Brianmac.com: 100-110 bpm
Sportsmedicine.com: 100-110 bpm
Marc Grosso (US coach): 120 bpm
Powers and Healy, 2001; Fox, Bowers and Foss, 1993 and Reilly et al: 120-140 bpm
Ackland and Reid, 1994: Training HR - 50 bpm
Gerschler: effort at 170-180 bpm; recovery at 120-140.

These last authorities are cited on a couple of sites.

However, no-one says why a particular value is necessary.
My theory would be that the recovery HR should depend on the age-related maximum of the individual and the intensity of the effort. So the "Training HR - 50 bpm" is the closest fit to that I think. But it depends on which energy system one is trying to train. I think if it's the lactate system one should keep the recoveries shorter (i.e. restart at a higher % of your max), than if it's the ATP system. But there is no real guidance I could see on Google.

So the jury's out then. I think, as ever, HR is just one more source of input into a session. I think its main use is to ensure you are getting sufficient recovery; it's not a reason for cutting your recovery in my opinion. If you find that your HR isn't dropping so much in later efforts then take longer recovery to ensure you recover to the same HR as previous efforts. What the recovery target should be is anyone's guess, but maybe 'Training HR - 50 bpm' is a good guide. As 'Slow-Coach' says though, different sessions may require different recovery levels as lactate training requires a shorter recovery than sprint intervals.

Weekly summary - 8 weeks to go

That's better! I'm starting to feel more like my old self with some decent mileage. I still seem to be clearing my throat regularly and coughing up gunk, but the symptoms are very mild. I had a blip on Thursday when it felt like my throat was getting sore again, but it didn't amount to anything. Maybe when I'm sore from gym work or running it kicks my immune system? I've often wondered whether muscle damage is treated by the body like an infection and causes the glands to swell - I've experienced similar symptoms before when tired, thinking I'm coming down with something, and then felt fine the following day. Whatever the case, the panic is over.

As I write this, I've take some time off work and am doing a week of hard training to kick start the campaign. I seem to be back on track. Fingers crossed I'll have recovered my former pace in time for London and can have my first proper crack at 3:15!

Monday	4.5 miles	Easy run coaching the beginners
Tuesday	10 miles	am: 3.5miles easy pm:6.5 tempo run 2 x 2-mile with 3min jog recover. miles: 7:25 131bpm, 7:22 143, 3mins, 7:15 147bpm, 7:17 150bpm	Felt good! Well paced - not my fastest, but well on the road to recovery
Wednesday	10.7 miles	am:Gym sesh with 2miles treadmill pm: 8.7miles easy 119bpm 8:54/mile
Thursday	5.5miles	pm: jogged the club session	Throat felt a bit iffy, but turned out OK
Friday	6.4 miles	am: Gym assessment with trainer pm: 5.8 miles easy
Saturday	6 miles	am: easy 6 miles 114bpm 9:14/mile
Sunday	20 miles	Bramley 20: Steady run 2:53:03 8:39/mile 127bpm
Total	63.1 miles