Summary of week ending 30/09/2012

Mon 24/9 - 12M double; 5M & 7M recovery runs
Tue 25/9 - 17M double; 7M recov & 10M 2M fast-1M slow session
Wed 26/9 - 12M double; 7M & 5M recovery runs
Thu 27/9 - 17M double; 5M recov & 12M incl 6x1K off 60s jog
Fri 28/9 - 17M double; 7M recov & 10M a bit more than steady run
Sat 29/9 - Rest
Sun 30/9 - 13M incl 12M cross-country tempo
TOTAL - 88M

Three laps of the National course - hard

13M incl 3 laps of the National Cross-country course hard

Instead of a long run today, I ran a longish tempo on the National course on the Heath. I was in the mood for going for it having watched the Berlin marathon on a dodge live stream online channel. And I had the added incentive of a large focaccia for my lunch (above) in the oven - which I had been lovingly preparing while watching the marathon.


I ran a bit of a look around the south part of the Heath and then headed off on the course proper from the Lido. I ran the three laps pretty even in terms of effort (not sure about the times). I was pretty spent by the end. In the kind of way that meant that when I stopped I felt like there was a conveyor belt below me. And two hours later I realised I had to lie down and go to sleep.

Rest day

No running. Just a haircut and some shopping.

Ten a bit more than steady

17M double; recovery run & steady run
7M am recovery run
10M pm at 5.45-6.00min/M effort (with a big pack... so actually slower than that)

I was pretty tired this morning still after yesterday's kilometre reps. And most of the day my legs were a bit on the reasuringly achy side. But come home time, I managed to coax a pleasing amount of spring out of them and hit a good pace. Despite my heavy pack. (I was running back into town from Romford.) I kept it not too long and stopped at Mile End.

A tidy little session at Regents Park (in a rain storm)

17M double; recovery run & K rep session
5M am recovery run
12M pm incl 6x1K at ~3.08-3.15min/M off 60s jog

My legs are aching (positively) after this evening's session. It felt good. Even if I was trailing in Danny's wake as per usual.

Tom, Danny and I met at the Hub and ran six kilometer reps on the grass with a minute jog recovery between them.

Like Tuesday, I felt like I found a rhythm and could think about staying relaxed and holding good positive, long-striding form. My splits weren't that great. But I was pleased with them - it was on grass, pissing it down with rain and headlong into the wind for parts of the lap.f

Another gentle twelve

12M double; recovery runs x2
7M am recovery run at 6.40min/M
5M pm recovery run at ~6.45min/M

Nice and easy today in the end. I was thinking of doing something faster this evening, but have rejigged my week to run it tomorrow. Probably more sensible. I felt great this morning.

Fairly swift

17M double; recovery run & 10M fast and slow session
7M am recovery run at ~6.45min/M
10M pm run alternating 1M at ~7.30min/M and 2M at ~5.30min/M

Today was a semi-hard day. Tomorrow is going to be more full on.

For my evening session I alternated one mile segments run slowly with two mile segments run not far off marathon pace. It felt really good. Fast enough that I could get my teath into it. But calm enough that I had time to think about my form - something I think I should do more of. I was trying to concentrate on keeping my stride long by pushing off well rather than overstriding.

Inspired by this article in Running Times that Shaun pointed me in the direction of, I also counted my cadence. I often do this just to keep my concentration when running hard - particuarly in races - but rarely do at an easy pace. I came out with about 176/minute at easy running and 198 running hard. Pretty high. Hmm. Food for thought...

Twelve nice and gently

12M double; recovery runs x2

5M am recovery run

7M pm recovery run

Just two easy runs today. My legs are a bit sore, but at the same time relatively full of beans. A session tomorrow...

Back racing!

8M pm incl ~6K road relay (19m47s)

It's SO good to be back racing. I was really buzzing on the start line... even if about 400m in I could tell the legs aren't quite there yet! Still, it was great to be out there. The conditions - pelting rain - added to it. And so did the Highgate team spirit.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a barbecue used as an aid to the athletic warm up routine, but it seemed to work.

Can't wait for the next one.

Six and six

12M double; recovery runs x2
6M am recovery run at ~9.00min/M
6M pm recovery run at ~6.45min/M

Recovery today. Very gently in the morning with Y around the Heath. And then more speedily around the perimeter roads in the evening.  I'm pretty sure I ran past Dave Bedford, but resisted the temptation to stop and embarrass myself (and him).

Mile reps

13M double; recovery run & mile rep session
5M am recovery run
8M pm incl 5x1M off 2mins recovery

I avoided the long slog back from Romford with my pack today to save my legs for the weekend. It's always pretty heavy going. Instead, I ran in to Liverpool Street first thing and then headed to the Heath after work for some mile reps. I didn't feel that speedy. Legs a bit sluggish. But I churned them out.

Looking forward to racing the Southern 6 Stage at the weekend. It's my first race since May. Not sure where I'm at fitness wise, but I'm dead excited to be toeing the line again.

Rest

No time for running today. Just a fine curry with a pair of running brothers. One of them shortly to run Berlin in under 2h30m judging from his training.

And it turns out that if you want to eat curry out of a foil swan, Croydon is the place to go.

Five and five

10M double; recovery run x2
5M am recovery run
5M pm recovery run

Two gentle runs. To and from work. Pretty shattered after yesterday. Though I slept LOTS last night which might have mitigated things a bit.

More of Ron's 2K reps. Nine of them.

20M double; recovery run & 2K rep session
6M am recovery run
14M pm incl 9x2K off 90s jog

I kept on kidding myself during the day that I wasn't going to run this session. But I did manage to get out there and do it in the end. I found a pretty decent if somewhat undulating course to run it over. But more importantly, I was in the mood for it once I came to it. It's a pretty tough session. Fast enough that each rep hurts. But long enough that the end of the session seems a long way away even at half way. A good start to the week.

Recovery

6M am recovery run

A nice gentle one this morning to mull over some work (I was involved in a public debate this evening and not particularly relishing the prospect).  My quads could feel Sunday's hills still.

Killer hill reps (with some help)

11M am including 9x1.35K up & down hill reps off 90s

This is the first time I've run this session so it was a bit trial and error. The aim was to find a 1K long hill that I could run hard up, turn, run hard down and then recover for 90 seconds before repeating. In the end the best I could easily find in the Heath was the run from the Lido to the top of Parliament Hill. It measures at more like 700m up. But the steepness of the hill felt like it made up for what it lacked in distance.

I was joined by Henry and Svenja who both seemed admirably eager to join in my Sunday morning masochism.It definitely made it easier to push myself through the session and I even had them split the task of pacing me up different sections of my final rep. Which was highly effective but did not prevent me from being effortlessly overtaken by yet another Highgate-ite as I stumbled the final few metres.

It was a cracking session. As proven by the mild headache and limb ache that I still have as I write this 10 hours later.

Rest

A busy day. No running.

Easy on a Friday

5M am recovery run

The last couple of days have swung me back from full of beans to pretty shattered. (Which is probablby appropriate.) So I took it easy today. I'm feeling in need of a nice relaxing, sleep-filled weekend. And some hill reps.

Much needed recovery

12M double; recovery runs x2
6M am recovery run
6M pm recovery run

My last two days have caught up with me. I'm tired now. Hopefully I'll be back to full energy tomorrow for another killer rep sesh from Ron.

I think a lack of sleep might also be playing a part. I have been in bed late every night this week.

Andy Murray started it. I got into bed at 11.30 on Monday night but foolishly got up again when I realised he was only a set away from victory and I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Three hours late, I was still listening to Radio 5. But glad I did. I'd never previously taken in the level of endurance required for a full on five setter.

Still full of it

16M double; recovery run & 2K rep session
5M am recovery run
11M pm including 9x2K rep session

Still full of beans...

I ran Ron's killer 9x2K rep session this evening on the way home from work (late). I got out of work at 9 and was lucky that the rain had passed. I left most of my stuff at the office, so I only had my phone, keys and my credit and swipe cards in my shorts' pocket.

I ran the reps off 90 seconds recovery with 3 minutes between sets of three - i.e. between rep 3 and rep  4 and between 6 and 7.

The main disadvantage of starting it so late is that I ended up going to bed still totally full of Thai curry.

Back to it - feeling full of energy

17M double; receovery run & steady run
7M am recovery run
10M pm steady run at ~5.45min/M

I was probably brewing this yesterday without noticing, but I was full of energy this morning. I think it's going to be one of those weeks where I'm full of it.

Anyway, I was having to slow myself down on my way in to work this morning (around the Heath for four miles and then straight down through Kentish Town and past St Pancreas.

On the way home I was intending to keep things fairly sedate while testing out my buttock. But it felt fine and I seemed to wanted to push the pace. So I did.

The phantom railings are fun at high speed.

A precautionary rest day

A precautionary rest day

I'm still a bit sore after yesterday. Better. But still can feel it. So I'm taking this week's rest day today to let it settle down.

Long (but not too arduous)

18M am long run (easy)

I took a bit of a risk this morning on the run. My right buttock, as I said yesterday, was a bit sore... who knows why... I had ony run gently on Friday morning. It seemed to appear in the middle of the night.

Anyway, it was feeling better by mid-morning today. So I decided to give my planned long but gentle run a go. I'll know tomorrow if it was a bad idea. I'm a bit tight sore right now, but less so than yesterday. I should think it'll be ok...

My route today was a new one... down to the Regent's Canal, along the canal to the A40, then back to Regent's Park and up across Primrose Hill to the Heath. I then ran a few loops around the Heath - finding my way to new (for me) corners. Like Sandy Heath. And the West Heath.

It all added up to 18 miles. At about 7min/M pace.

Taking it easy again

5M am recovery run

My legs are tired in patches at the moment... feeling great for a couple of days and then a bit ragged for a couple.

Today was the latter. Plus a bit of a buttock twinge, so I avoided a second fun and stuck with the one nice and gentle one with Yasmin around the Heath in the morning. Cracking running weather. And I'm finally learning my way around the further corners of the Heath.

Just seven

7M am recovery run

Just seven this morning. Dinner with Ron and co in the evening. Hope the hangover isn't too bad...

At least this time I'm not running the Dartford Half in the morning.

Regents Park reps

15M double; recovery run & 1.3K rep session
5M am recovery run at ~6.45min/M
10M pm incl 5x1.3K hard off 60-90s recovery

Another solid speed session. Not quite what I had scheduled, but the invitation to a session on the grass at Regent's Park with Danny and his troop, plus a relatively early getaway from work made it one not to miss...

What's more, it turned out to be a real Highgate bonanza with the Pochee Memorial 5K Stakes taking place alongside our session. They had a steel band and everything. Marshalls in luminous socks. You get the picture.

Anyway, the session felt good. Danny was kind and cruised the first one at a pretty much perfect pace for me - 3min8s per K on grass in my clompy trainers is more than acceptable. He sped off for the remaining reps, but I kept my pace pretty even. Other than the last one, which was 5 or so seconds slower.

Nice to be back in the Highgate fold!

Ten, steady

17M double; recovery run & steady run
7M am recovery run
10M pm steady run at 6.30-5.45min/M

My legs were not in the best mood this morning after yesterday's session, but they loosened up nicely on the gentle run Yasmin took me on around the Heath before I headed to work.

My evening run was swifter, but not hard... ready for something a bit more full on tomorrow. I ran at a fairly steady pace the whole way, keeping my breathing under control but quite hard. My legs felt good the whole way and enjoyed the rhythm. Even on the hills.

2K reps along the canal back from the Paralympics

16M double; recovery run & 2K rep session
6M am recvovery run at 6.30-7.00min/M
10M pm incl 6x2K hard off 2min recovery (and 5 min easy in the middle)

I went to the Paralympics today with my family. There was no Mo, but it was still a great atmosphere and pretty moving in parts. But then I'm just a sporting soft-touch and anything gets me welling up.

I ran my recovery run around and through the Heath again in the morning. Really good conditions again. I ran my second run, sweating like a pig, back along the canal from the Olympic Park. The canal is pretty good for long reps and tempo running I think. But I wouldn't want to do shorter reps careering under the bridges with cycles coming the other way.

The reps today were 2K and off 2 minutes recovery. I ran them in two blocks of three with five minutes of easy running between the blocks (which worked well as it was the segment between Upper Street and the re-emergence of the Regent's Canal heading West). My legs are in a nicely painful state and my lungs a little bit raw in a way that tells me it was a good session.

Recovery

7M am recovery run

Just one today. A nice easy recovery run around and through the Heath. I really need to get a grip and learn some good routes through the Heath - I spend too little time there given where I live. And too much time running on the rounds circling it. It was a cracking morning for a run. A good start to what turned into a great day.

A pyramid rep session around Port Meadow

7M incl 800-1000-1200-1500-1200-1000-800 off 90s

My stomach was still full of the large amount of food I had eaten yesterday (for mum and dad's ruby wedding anniversary celebrations), and I wasn't sure how it would react to these reps. It quite often objects to hard, short reps at the best of times. But I got away with it and probably had the best rep session in this block of training. It was nice doing it around a circuit, so I had somwhere to strive to get to. And it was also good have a couple of companions to chase after (who were taking a shorter route)... even if they did get to the Wolvercote Canal Bridge before me.

Rest

A scheduled rest day...