the title suggests that i am currently training towards some goal. not sure what that is yet....
thought i would also post a few random days of food consumption here and there for those that have asked about it. i've started eating more cooked food than usual but as the days get warmer i'll probably move closer to eating at least 60% of my daily food consumption in fresh fruit. i've noticed more and more vegan ultra-endurance athletes popping up or perhaps i am just becoming more aware...
my eating is largely based on eastern nutritional philosophy and healing my body through plant-based nutrition and is influenced by books such as healing with whole foods, the china study, nutrition and athletic performance, and i'm waiting for brendan brazier's thrive book to arrive.
TRAINING
monday: 14.53 km (1:04) - 4:25 pace // yoga session - core & back
a steady run out to the lakes. the last 5k was challenging with the wind blowing in my face but finished strongly running the last kilometres in 3:36. finished up the day with a yoga session with my wife before bed. a great way to unwind...
tuesday: hills - 12 loops (560m) - total time 1:18 (14.5 km)
a tough session with short recovery. averaged the same as last time i did this workout but this week i added two repeats and shortened the recovery by 30 seconds.
splits - 2:08, 2:05, 2:02, 2:03, 2:00, 2:04, 2:05, 2:07, 2:08, 2:08, 2:03 - average 2:04.9 (3:43 / km)
food highlights:-
immediately post-run: beet, apple, orange, romaine smoothie
breakfast: oats w/ almond milk, raisins
snack: fresh dates
lunch: lentil & tomato dhal w/ brown rice
dinner: quinoa pudding (actually ended up more like a yummy dessert than a dinner - cooked with fried banana, coconut oil, milk & meat, raisins and carrot)
wednesday: 10 km (0:45) - 4:30/km
easy run to work. legs felt a little tired from yesterday but happy to get there and enjoy last nights leftovers.
pm run: 18 km (1:26) - hilly run
ran home and made sure i included all the hills i could including the sanctuary drive in leonay, mitchells pass and hare street glenbrook. felt spent when i crawled through the gate. loving it!!
thursday: 16.1 km (1:10) - 4:26/km easy run
went out with no plans for the run and ended up running around the river and up mitchells pass before looping back to work running the last 15 minutes around threshold. pushed the climb from emu plains up mitchells and felt good.
food:-
breakfast: large bowl of rockmelon, blueberries, raisins, almonds
snack: dates, almonds (pre-run)
post-run: 2l of water, fresh dates, pumpkin seeds (high in iron), almonds
lunch (late): lentil & tomato dhal w/ brown rice, green tea
dinner: black bean chilli w/ grilled veggies & avocado
friday: 12 km (0:56) - run workout
at home with the kids today so booked them into the gym and jumped on the treadmill. got bored within five minutes so upped the pace every 500m starting at 4:40 pace and ending at 3:40 pace for the last kilometre. added to the fun setting the incline to 12.5% were i held the pace with my heartrate settling on 83% of max till it was time to grab the kids (18 minutes total climbing ~400m over 3.7km). rounded out the session with some 200m repeats at maximum warp speed. still had some energy left in the tank which was disappointing. need to think of a harder strategy to crush myself next time.
saturday & sunday: family time...
wife out of town...
summary:
mileage was not as high as i would like but overall not bad considering my wife has been away for four days. managed to put in two solid workouts and a couple of strong runs which made me feel like my fitness is improving.
the workouts need to be made harder and with more volume if i'm going to continue to build fitness but built over time and not rushed to avoid burnout, overtraining or worse, injury. of course that means i need to give consideration to my easy days both before and after my sessions to allow my body to recuperate and take on the full benefits of the workout. easy days are my weakness. i know that i should include them in my weekly schedule but i always feel weak and stale the day following... perhaps a change of scenery and more time spent on the trails will help relax the effort.
can't wait for next week...
Monday, October 26, 2009
overcoming sickness...
not much happening on the running front lately due to sickness but thankfully i've finally recovered from my experience with chicken pox... not something i would want to get again.
after taking a week off and missing most of the world masters training is finally getting becoming a regular thing again... this time away from running allowed me some to sit back and reflect upon what running means to me and what i would like to get out of it. now i'm feeling highly motivated to build my training up to another level.
the plan is to take the next couple of months and work on building base endurance and focus on some of the strength issues that i have been concerned about over the last 12 months.
now on to the training. i'm feeling good right now and even though my races didn't go as planned at the world masters the training i did before hand gave me the confidence that if i wasn't brought down with the pox i would have reached my goal times. no time for thinking about it now...
training summary - a solid start with week one being all about getting healthy and getting back in the running groove...
-- week one --
sunday (oct 18) - 9.02 km, 40:18, 4:28 pace
sunday marked a return to running after taking a few days off and my legs were aware of it. felt loose but fatigued towards the end as my lungs rebelled with infection...
monday: 12.61 km, 58:36, 4:39 pace
tuesday: 11 km, 1:00 -- 20 minutes of hill repeats
ran down to glenbrook in the afternoon and spent 20 minutes running around the hills. very tired...
wednesday: 13 km, 1:00
easy out and back from work
thursday: 14.59 km, 1:06, 4:33 pace (lunch) // 11.24 km, 57:26, 5:07 pace
first double run today. ran around the river at lunch and then backed up with a run home due to a flat battery. the run home was tough up mitchells pass.
friday: rest day
saturday: 8.4 km, 36:35, 4:21 pace // 13.35 km, 1:00, 4:31 pace
the am run was mostly at tempo pace and the evening run was out to finch look out and took in a few trails up at warrimoo. beautiful day...
sunday: 17.66 km, 1:20, 4:32 pace
interesting run out to mulgoa. i had planned for my wife to pick me up after about an hour so with that in mind i went out harder than normal and made it through what felt like 80 minutes at 60 minute pace on the hillls. 30 minutes later when my wife found me i was a mess. still enjoy these challenges but need to be more prepared and carry some money or nutrition.
-- week two --
the plan is for more volume, more runs plus some yoga and strength sessions thrown in before my wife leaves for a four day weekend with the girls in tasmania...
after taking a week off and missing most of the world masters training is finally getting becoming a regular thing again... this time away from running allowed me some to sit back and reflect upon what running means to me and what i would like to get out of it. now i'm feeling highly motivated to build my training up to another level.
the plan is to take the next couple of months and work on building base endurance and focus on some of the strength issues that i have been concerned about over the last 12 months.
now on to the training. i'm feeling good right now and even though my races didn't go as planned at the world masters the training i did before hand gave me the confidence that if i wasn't brought down with the pox i would have reached my goal times. no time for thinking about it now...
training summary - a solid start with week one being all about getting healthy and getting back in the running groove...
-- week one --
sunday (oct 18) - 9.02 km, 40:18, 4:28 pace
sunday marked a return to running after taking a few days off and my legs were aware of it. felt loose but fatigued towards the end as my lungs rebelled with infection...
monday: 12.61 km, 58:36, 4:39 pace
tuesday: 11 km, 1:00 -- 20 minutes of hill repeats
ran down to glenbrook in the afternoon and spent 20 minutes running around the hills. very tired...
wednesday: 13 km, 1:00
easy out and back from work
thursday: 14.59 km, 1:06, 4:33 pace (lunch) // 11.24 km, 57:26, 5:07 pace
first double run today. ran around the river at lunch and then backed up with a run home due to a flat battery. the run home was tough up mitchells pass.
friday: rest day
saturday: 8.4 km, 36:35, 4:21 pace // 13.35 km, 1:00, 4:31 pace
the am run was mostly at tempo pace and the evening run was out to finch look out and took in a few trails up at warrimoo. beautiful day...
sunday: 17.66 km, 1:20, 4:32 pace
interesting run out to mulgoa. i had planned for my wife to pick me up after about an hour so with that in mind i went out harder than normal and made it through what felt like 80 minutes at 60 minute pace on the hillls. 30 minutes later when my wife found me i was a mess. still enjoy these challenges but need to be more prepared and carry some money or nutrition.
-- week two --
the plan is for more volume, more runs plus some yoga and strength sessions thrown in before my wife leaves for a four day weekend with the girls in tasmania...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
thursday short and fast...
stepping out of the office i was again greeted with the cold wind which has been hanging around for the last few days. i was hoping for a windless lunchbreak to run my final short fast session before the 10k race this sunday but it wasn't happening. still had to make the most of it though...
the wind was chilly but i managed to get through a 5 km warmup in 22:10 feeling ready to get into it. i had planned on running 4-5 sets of 600m at 3-5k pace + 300m at 1500m pace with a 1 minute recovery between each. i managed to get through the first two sets feeling ok but i started suffering some bad stomach cramping issues which added some pain to the session. to ease the pain i modified the session and ended up running 4 x 300m repeats alternating 5k pace and 1500m pace with 45 seconds recovery between each. i was happy to finish this workout and hold the paces i was trying to hit. stomach sorted itself out on the cooldown back to work. it at least probably helped me control the pace without pushing harder than was necessary.
workout: 2 x (600m (3k pace)-300m (1500m pace)) (1' recovery), 4 x 300m (45" recovery) alt. 3k pace/1500m pace
warmup: 4 km (22:10)
2 x (600m-300m)
600m - 2:02 - 3:23/km (49)
300m - 56.2 - 3:07/km (70)
600m - 2:02 - 3:23/km (56)
300m - 57.3 - 3:11/km (1:57)
4 x 300m
300m - 1:02 - 3:26/km (47)
300m - 54.8 - 3:02/km (44)
300m - 1:01 - 3:23/km (47)
300m - 54.5 - 3:01/km
cooldown: 2 km (10:00)
the wind was chilly but i managed to get through a 5 km warmup in 22:10 feeling ready to get into it. i had planned on running 4-5 sets of 600m at 3-5k pace + 300m at 1500m pace with a 1 minute recovery between each. i managed to get through the first two sets feeling ok but i started suffering some bad stomach cramping issues which added some pain to the session. to ease the pain i modified the session and ended up running 4 x 300m repeats alternating 5k pace and 1500m pace with 45 seconds recovery between each. i was happy to finish this workout and hold the paces i was trying to hit. stomach sorted itself out on the cooldown back to work. it at least probably helped me control the pace without pushing harder than was necessary.
workout: 2 x (600m (3k pace)-300m (1500m pace)) (1' recovery), 4 x 300m (45" recovery) alt. 3k pace/1500m pace
warmup: 4 km (22:10)
2 x (600m-300m)
600m - 2:02 - 3:23/km (49)
300m - 56.2 - 3:07/km (70)
600m - 2:02 - 3:23/km (56)
300m - 57.3 - 3:11/km (1:57)
4 x 300m
300m - 1:02 - 3:26/km (47)
300m - 54.8 - 3:02/km (44)
300m - 1:01 - 3:23/km (47)
300m - 54.5 - 3:01/km
cooldown: 2 km (10:00)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
wednesday windy speed session
wednesday:
i went out with the intentions of running a session of quarters but the wind had other ideas. i felt nice and relaxed heading over to the grass track and after running my strides i was ready to go. i wasn't feeling fired up but i thought i would be able to work for it today.
after the first repeat i knew it was going to be tough. on the second repeat the sprinklers came on. and by the third i was thinking one more and i'm going back to work. i think i'll try and have another go at it tomorrow.
run: 3.2k easy, 4x100m strides, 4x400m (1min recovery), 3k easy
warmup: 3.2k - 4:50/km pace
4x100m - 114m-21sec-(3:05/km), 115m-19sec-(2:46/km), 108m-19sec-(3:02/km), 114m-16sec-(2:28/km) - it's easy to see which way the wind was blowing.
4x400m
1) 1:16 (419m) (3:02/km)
2) 1:19 (422m) (3:10/km)
3) 1:17 (401m) (3:12/km)
4) 1:13 (405m) (3:02/km)
2.5k cooldown w/ 500m @ 3:40/km
i went out with the intentions of running a session of quarters but the wind had other ideas. i felt nice and relaxed heading over to the grass track and after running my strides i was ready to go. i wasn't feeling fired up but i thought i would be able to work for it today.
after the first repeat i knew it was going to be tough. on the second repeat the sprinklers came on. and by the third i was thinking one more and i'm going back to work. i think i'll try and have another go at it tomorrow.
run: 3.2k easy, 4x100m strides, 4x400m (1min recovery), 3k easy
warmup: 3.2k - 4:50/km pace
4x100m - 114m-21sec-(3:05/km), 115m-19sec-(2:46/km), 108m-19sec-(3:02/km), 114m-16sec-(2:28/km) - it's easy to see which way the wind was blowing.
4x400m
1) 1:16 (419m) (3:02/km)
2) 1:19 (422m) (3:10/km)
3) 1:17 (401m) (3:12/km)
4) 1:13 (405m) (3:02/km)
2.5k cooldown w/ 500m @ 3:40/km
Monday, October 5, 2009
tuesday easy
i was greeted with perfect weather at the start of my run which made for a pleasant loop around the river during my lunch break. just an easy cruise to allow my legs to absorb the work i have been putting into them ready for another blitz on them tomorrow.
run stats:
easy run 59:29 (13 km)
avg pace: 4:34/km
splits: 4:48-4:37-4:46-4:27-4:34-4:37-4:29-4:38-4:29-4:36-4:27-4:31-4:20
run stats:
easy run 59:29 (13 km)
avg pace: 4:34/km
splits: 4:48-4:37-4:46-4:27-4:34-4:37-4:29-4:38-4:29-4:36-4:27-4:31-4:20
monday speed workout
i was planning on just heading out around home for a 60-70 minute run but as it was still raining i decided to run a workout instead. my legs were feeling quite fresh from yesterday's run and i've been enjoying them lately.
after a good 15 minute warmup i got stuck into the workout. the plan was to run 2 x 800m (1' rest), 2 x 400m on 2', 6 x 200m on 1' and then finish up with 1km at 10k effort. having run faster than normal during yesterday's long run i was fully expecting to be struggling throughout this session today due to the shorter rest intervals that i had planned. after the first 800m repeat i settled into a good pace and i knew i was going to have a good workout. i was consistent throughout the workout hitting all my target paces and when it came to run the 1km to finish up i was surprised how effortless it felt running at 3:38 pace. hopefully a sign of good things to come. i have been continuously amazed at the moment with how good my legs are feeling post-run and how quickly i feel like i'm recoverying from session to session.
workout stats:
3.2k warmup (5:00 down to 3:50 pace)
workout: 2 x 800m (60" rest), 2 x 400m (40" rest), 6 x 200 (30" rest), 2-3' jog, 1k @ 10k effort
800 - 2:39
800 - 2:39 (started slow, finished fast)
400 - 1:19
400 - 1:18
200 - 0:38
200 - 37
200 - 37
200 - 37
200 - 38
200 - 35
2-3 minute jog (until HR below 110)
1000 - 3:38
10 minute cooldown
after a good 15 minute warmup i got stuck into the workout. the plan was to run 2 x 800m (1' rest), 2 x 400m on 2', 6 x 200m on 1' and then finish up with 1km at 10k effort. having run faster than normal during yesterday's long run i was fully expecting to be struggling throughout this session today due to the shorter rest intervals that i had planned. after the first 800m repeat i settled into a good pace and i knew i was going to have a good workout. i was consistent throughout the workout hitting all my target paces and when it came to run the 1km to finish up i was surprised how effortless it felt running at 3:38 pace. hopefully a sign of good things to come. i have been continuously amazed at the moment with how good my legs are feeling post-run and how quickly i feel like i'm recoverying from session to session.
workout stats:
3.2k warmup (5:00 down to 3:50 pace)
workout: 2 x 800m (60" rest), 2 x 400m (40" rest), 6 x 200 (30" rest), 2-3' jog, 1k @ 10k effort
800 - 2:39
800 - 2:39 (started slow, finished fast)
400 - 1:19
400 - 1:18
200 - 0:38
200 - 37
200 - 37
200 - 37
200 - 38
200 - 35
2-3 minute jog (until HR below 110)
1000 - 3:38
10 minute cooldown
Sunday, October 4, 2009
sunday longish...
sunday:
i'd only scheduled myself to a 90 minute run today and with the rain falling on and off i ended up getting out for my run a little later than planned. on my drive down to the flatlands it looked like i had a window of opportunity weather-wise before the skies reopened and began dumping again.
the run started out rather unexcitably but after about 50 minutes running around 4:30 pace i decided to pick it and began running 10 minutes at 4:00 pace, followed with a 1 minute walk (trying to maintain some element of running form) and then straight back into 10 minutes at 4:00 pace (typical barry mcgee strategy). i kept this up for two 10 minute segments and then shortened them to down to five minutes with 1 minute walk. i felt great at the end running the last 5 minutes at quicker than 3:50 pace. sometimes you need to mix it up a little to make the run a little more interesting. i ended up thoroughly enjoying the run, feeling loose and relaxed running at a slightly faster than normal pace.
run stats:
3 loops of the river: 19.5 km in 1:27:30
avg pace - 4:29/km
avg HR - 148
i'd only scheduled myself to a 90 minute run today and with the rain falling on and off i ended up getting out for my run a little later than planned. on my drive down to the flatlands it looked like i had a window of opportunity weather-wise before the skies reopened and began dumping again.
the run started out rather unexcitably but after about 50 minutes running around 4:30 pace i decided to pick it and began running 10 minutes at 4:00 pace, followed with a 1 minute walk (trying to maintain some element of running form) and then straight back into 10 minutes at 4:00 pace (typical barry mcgee strategy). i kept this up for two 10 minute segments and then shortened them to down to five minutes with 1 minute walk. i felt great at the end running the last 5 minutes at quicker than 3:50 pace. sometimes you need to mix it up a little to make the run a little more interesting. i ended up thoroughly enjoying the run, feeling loose and relaxed running at a slightly faster than normal pace.
run stats:
3 loops of the river: 19.5 km in 1:27:30
avg pace - 4:29/km
avg HR - 148
Friday, October 2, 2009
enjoying training...
i'm really getting into my workouts at the moment. today's workout capped off a great week of training. the speed workouts aren't leaving me as beat up as i have been expecting. my focus on optimal nutrition may have something to do with that. energy high, workouts good, recovery fast and i still dropped 2kg in bodyweight. we also have been invited out tonight to eat. hoping there will be something on the menu that i will eat so i don't appeal anti-social.
ok on to the training...
friday:
on getting up i decided to go out early for an easy run taking in a few of the hills up to warrimoo and back. felt good and relaxed.
run: 8.2k easy (39:50)
saturday:
went down to the flatlands for another workout. plan was a little flexible but i managed to get out of the session what i wanted. workout details were 3 x 1200m at tempo effort, 2 x 800m faster, 6 x 300m faster again. recovery was 2 minutes between the 1200s and 800s and 100m between the 300s.
workout: 3 x 1200m (1-2'), 2 X 800m (2'), 6 x 300m (100m)
warmup: 2.4km 11:57, 129HRav
1200m - 4:32, 164hr, 3:47/km (1:18 jog)
1200m - 4:36, 172hr, 3:50/km (1:58)
1200m - 4:34, 176hr, 3:48/km (3:15)
800m - 2:48, 177hr, 3:30/km (2:00)
800m - 2:46, 179hr, 3:27/km (2:58)
300m - 58.9, 166hr, 3:16/km (0:52)
300m - 58.3, 171hr, 3:14/km (0:56)
300m - 58.0, 174hr, 3:13/km (0:57)
300m - 57.0, 175hr, 3:10/km (0:52)
300m - 55.2, 174hr, 3:04/km (1:03)
300m - 55.0, 175hr, 3:03/km
cooldown: 1km 6:09
i must have worked myself hard during this session because by the time i reached the car i was having trouble putting the key into the ignition. i grabbed some bananas on the way home to make myself a big green banana smoothie (bananas, broccoli and lsa). two hours later and i'm feeling great and psyched to get out for another run. easy run tonight and a long trail run tomorrow morning.
ok on to the training...
friday:
on getting up i decided to go out early for an easy run taking in a few of the hills up to warrimoo and back. felt good and relaxed.
run: 8.2k easy (39:50)
saturday:
went down to the flatlands for another workout. plan was a little flexible but i managed to get out of the session what i wanted. workout details were 3 x 1200m at tempo effort, 2 x 800m faster, 6 x 300m faster again. recovery was 2 minutes between the 1200s and 800s and 100m between the 300s.
workout: 3 x 1200m (1-2'), 2 X 800m (2'), 6 x 300m (100m)
warmup: 2.4km 11:57, 129HRav
1200m - 4:32, 164hr, 3:47/km (1:18 jog)
1200m - 4:36, 172hr, 3:50/km (1:58)
1200m - 4:34, 176hr, 3:48/km (3:15)
800m - 2:48, 177hr, 3:30/km (2:00)
800m - 2:46, 179hr, 3:27/km (2:58)
300m - 58.9, 166hr, 3:16/km (0:52)
300m - 58.3, 171hr, 3:14/km (0:56)
300m - 58.0, 174hr, 3:13/km (0:57)
300m - 57.0, 175hr, 3:10/km (0:52)
300m - 55.2, 174hr, 3:04/km (1:03)
300m - 55.0, 175hr, 3:03/km
cooldown: 1km 6:09
i must have worked myself hard during this session because by the time i reached the car i was having trouble putting the key into the ignition. i grabbed some bananas on the way home to make myself a big green banana smoothie (bananas, broccoli and lsa). two hours later and i'm feeling great and psyched to get out for another run. easy run tonight and a long trail run tomorrow morning.
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