Training 24-30 November

I have been going over my training log to see what worked for me when I reached my peak level of fitness prior to July's marathon and August's ultra. Doesn't appear to be any real secrets in there. Moderate consistent weekly volume, a couple of medium distance runs greater than 100 minutes in length and at least two to three good marathon specific long workouts per week for nine weeks.

But after the event is over and you've been training hard for a few months leading up to it. How do regain your motivation to increase the volume and intensity of training? This is the question that I have been asking myself on a daily basis and I have been falling short of an answer. Well that has now changed and I have finally found what I was looking for. An epic bush run of almost mammoth proportions. Lots of vertical gain and trackless Australian bush. The cloud of apathy has been blown away.....time to get training!

Monday:
PM: Easy run - 12k (0:50)
Easy run around work.

Tuesday:
AM: Easy run - 10k (0:44)
Easy run to work carrying a full load of work clothes and food. The running felt smoother than it has in months.

PM: Easy run - 19.3k (1:30)
To make up for my lack of endurance at the moment I decided to add a few kilometres to my run home. I felt great for the first 7-8km. My legs felt loose and the effort felt very easy. I checked my heartrate and was happy that I was running below MAF heartrate and the pace was around 4:30 pace - a good sign that my fitness is improving.

I started to feel the effort at about the 10k mark when the ground started pointing in an upwards direction and just settled into it trying to keep the HR below threshold. While the effort was there and I was tiring I managed to feel strong throughout the run which encouraged me to deviate the run onto some nice singletrack and stairs in the Knapsack gully.

A couple of days like this and a big run on the weekend and my fitness will quickly improve.

Wednesday:
Easy run - 14km (1:04)
Went out for an easy run around work. Felt good considering what my legs felt like after last night's run. Threw in a couple of fast surges near the end to loosen up the legs.

Thursday:
AM: Easy run (to work) - 13.6k (1:03) w/ 3k MP (heartrate) in 4:02, 4:05, 4:06
Met up with Sean this morning for a nice easy run down Mitchell's Pass before departing on our separate ways. Me to work and Sean back up the hill. I had the easier option. Felt good throughout the run and was happy with the MP effort as I seemed to running up a gentle incline following the river. Recovery between runs is improving but the energy is still a little lacking.

PM: Easy run (to home) - 13.22k (1:10)
Tough run home. Trying to get in as many hills as possible I decided to run up on the trails through to Lapstone Station, back down Lapstone Hill on the highway and up Mitchell's Pass. By the time I reached the top of MP I was trashed. Grabbed the hose and doused my legs for about 10 minutes. Felt good.

Friday:
AM: Easy run (to work) - 10k (0:47)

With my bag packed full of work clothes, food and books it was feeling rather heavy (about 5kg) which made the run a little tougher than usual. Still feeling good and pleased with myself that I managed to only drive the car to work twice this week. Trying to do my bit for planet earth and save a little money.

Saturday:
PM: Moderate run - 5k (0:20)
Thought I had better get out and log a run. After an easy warmup tried to run sub 4min pace for 3k. Threw in a few surges to finish up.

Sunday:
AM: Easy run - 18k (1:25)
My excuse for a long run. I was hoping to run for longer than this but when I woke up I wasn't too excited to lace up the shoes and head out the door. My wife convinced me to head out and she would pick me up on the way. Took about 75 minutes before I started feeling OK.

Week total:
Logged about 130km of running. Still lacking a long run. Next week's goal!

Training 17-23 November

Still trying to build my fitness back up. Starting to see some improvements there but still have a long way to go. Need to start getting into some long runs. Well that's the plan next week when my wife returns from her girl's long weekend away.

Monday:
Easy run - 13.4k (1:00)
Got out at lunch for two loops of the Nepean River Two Bridges route.

Tuesday:
Tempo run - 16.2k (1:11)
Went out after work. Ran a 2km warmup before running what was planned to be a long threshold session but after 6km, averaging about 4min pace I got bored and decided to throw in some faster running. Ran 2400m at ~3:45 pace as 1x1000m, 800m, 600m with a 200m jog. Finished up with a few 150m long strides to complete the session. Felt good immediately after stopping.

Wednesday:
Easy run - 10.1k (46:05)

Thursday:
Easy run w/ short speed - 10.35k (54:00)
Ran down to Glenbrook Oval and squeezed in 6x400m before the oval was in use. Planned on running around 80sec/400m but after the first I decided that I would try and make them progressively faster in 79, 78, 76, 74, 72, 71. Slower than when I ran them about 2 months ago when I averaged about 71 seconds for the session. On the way back home also threw in 5 x 100m hill sprints which completely wiped me out.

Friday:
Easy run - 15k (1:12)
Easy run out to the Whitewater stadium through the new development areas. Had a few stomach issues which have plagued me since eating some leftover Chinese.

Saturday:
Hilly run - 12.2k (56:40) - Mt Portal
With about an hour of opportunity available for a run I thought this would be a good one to test the hill legs. Boy was I right. I have plenty of work to do.

Sunday:
Rest day. Was planning on heading out for another run in the National Park this morning. Felt tired when I was woken up by my young fella and after seeing the gale force winds outside the window blowing the trees around I decided that running just wasn't going to happen. Save myself for tomorrow!

Training 10-16 November

While away in Thailand for two weeks I took an opportunity to take a break from running. It may have been a mistake as I am finding it very hard to get back into it.

Monday:
AM: Easy run around home - 8.86km, 43:16, 4:53 pace

PM: Easy run to Riverloop plus Leonay - 11.53km, 54:39, 4:44 pace

Tuesday:
PM: Easy run - 13.14km, 1:01:56, 4:43 pace.
Tough run later in the day up to Warrimoo via the trails behind the tip. The hills seemed much steeper than I remember which really highlighted my lost fitness.

Wednesday:
AM: Easy run - 10.01km, 46:10, 4:37 pace
Ran to work with the pack full of work clothes and food. Felt OK.

PM: Easy run - 12.82km, 1:12:28, 5:39 pace
The run home was brutal. The heat had already topped out at 30degC when I stepped out the door. As I hit the first climb up to Lapstone Station I was beat. Fell into a regular walk/run pattern but by the time I hit the Glenbrook Caltex I was toast and running on fumes. Grabbed a gatorade, downed immediately and proceeded to run home. Took about an hour to cool down.

Thursday:
PM: Fartlek (unstructured) - 8km, :36
Parked the car at the lagoon and planned on running down to glenbrook oval to run intervals but when I got there it was being used. Thought about running around the trails around Knapsack and headed that way but ended up at the soccer ovals there and decided to just run some fast laps of the perimeter. Was hoping to take it out easy but mistakingly went out too hard. Ran 4 long laps and 2 shorter laps before deciding to head back to the car and call it quits.

Splits:
500m, 1:35, 3:12 pace
460m, 1:32, 3:21
471m, 1:32, 3:16
466m, 1:34, 3:22
243m, 0:43, 2:58
253m, 0:43, 2:50

Friday:
AM: Easy run - 0:55
Parked the car at work and ran to the nearest oval. Decided to thrown in a few faster laps around the 400m track - 800m in 2:51, 400m in 1:26, on road - 800m in 2:53, 650m in 2:19. Wore the HR monitor and found my max HR dropped after each repeat at similar effort. Didn't push hard and aimed to run no quicker than 84 seconds/400m to keep the effort in check. Finished up with a nice easy jog along the river.

Saturday:
AM: Easy run - 6.4km, 27:59 (4:22 pace)
PM: Easy run with wife and dog - 5.5km, 33:21

Sunday:
AM: Hill session - 14km, 1:19
Drove down to the river to meet Mister G for our first run together in ages. While waiting I managed to put in a nice easy 2km warmup along the trail that follows the river. After another 4-5 kms of easy running we arrived at The Sanctuary Drive to start our hill session. I worked hard but took it relatively easy until the last. During the cooldown back to the car we put in 1km of 100m fast, 100m walk to help loosen up the legs. Felt good. Will aim for 8-10 repeats next time out building to about 15-20 over the next few months.

Hill reps:
260m, 1:22
264m, 1:25
267m, 1:28
269m, 1:30
265m, 1:27
261m, 1:13

Week total: about 80km

Training 5-11 October

The last week of training before heading over to Thailand. I also have a three day break up to Port Macquarie at the end of the week. I'll call that a short recovery break...

The training this week...

Monday:
PM) 14.5km easy (1:05) - good effort with 3k of climbing

Tuesday:
AM) 45min steady w/ 5k @ MP + 500m @ 10k
PM) 60min - 1k w/up, 3k Tempo + HILLS: 10x200 in 47-50sec + 5x100m in 25, 23, 23, 22, 22, 3k c/down.

Wednesday:
N) 40min steady w/ 5.4k tempo + 5x80m strides
PM) 75min steady
Had a good run at lunch but by the time the afternoon rolled around I wasn't in the best of states. Was going OK for the first 30 minutes before catching up with a mate but as we rolled along and the pace quickened my stomach quickly let me know that the rest of the run was going to be a slog. The last 20 minutes was spent in fartlek fashion where I would run as quickly as I could muster before the stomach cramps and desire to vomit forced me to a slow crawl. After about 60 seconds I would be ready to go again. I was never so happy to get back to the car.

Thursday:
AM) 50min easy (run to work)
N) Long interval session

Friday-Sunday:
I will be in Port Macquarie with the family for a friend's 40th birthday and while I am packing my running gear I'll be lucky to get out on the road. Perhaps Saturday and Sunday will see me getting out for a run. The rest might do me good though!

Training 28 Sep- 4 Oct

Over the weekend my wife and children at various times all suffered from some sort of virus which completely drained your energy and cause stomach cramping and distress. I was hoping it wouldn't get passed on to me but sadly no such luck. Come Monday and I was suffering big time. Struggled to eat, struggled to run. By Tuesday afternoon things were starting to improve and during the run physically I felt great but my stomach was still a little off. Wednesday was all good though.

This week has been a low volume, rest week with my sights set on running a fast 10km on the weekend. My previous best was recorded during my last marathon where I covered 10km in 39:56 on my way to the finish. During training leading up to the marathon I covered the distance in a time of 38:05 during a long run workout but as yet I haven't had a go in a 10km race. I really hope that I finish the run with the feeling that I gave it my all. I'm tired of second guessing myself when I know that I can push myself harder. The challenge is mostly in the head!

Sunday:
AM) 16km easy (1:17)
Left a little late in the morning for a run and it quickly got hot. From the first step I knew the run was going to be tough as my legs felt very heavy and I was thinking more about how far I would have to run before my wife picked me up and less on the run itself. After about an hour though I started feeling better and the last 2km where a real treat!

Monday:
Sick - 40min Easy run around the river
Felt like crap!

Tuesday:
PM) 30min steady (most of it sub 4min pace)
Felt even worse than Monday. Everything I did was a struggle but managed a quick run in the afternoon during a window of feeling OK.

Wednesday:
AM) 40min steady
PM) 60min easy w/ strides
Woke up and things were mostly back to normal. Still suffering from low energy. Had a good run at lunch but struggled through the arvo session although still managed to kick the pace up when I wanted during the strides and over the final kms.

Thursday:
AM) Short rep session
Headed down to the local sports oval for a quarters session....only six of them today. I haven't run a 400m rep for about 12 months and I was expecting them to all be slower than they were. Averaged 72sec and was happy with that.

Friday:
AM) Recovery run.

Saturday:
AM) RACE - 10k (39:36)
Felt lethargic and tired from the moment I got out of bed and it continued right throughout the race. Ran at goal pace (3:45/km) for the first four kilometres but from there on my legs just felt extremely heavy and fatigued. Couldn't muster the drive to keep pushing along and ended up just sitting on 4min pace. Kicked it in with a 3:30 to finish. Put it down to a good tempo run and made a mental note that I need to try and work out the best way for me to freshen up before racing.

To come.....

Training 21-27 September

Mentally I feel like I have turned a corner. My running is starting to improve and I think as the volume increases that physically I am adapting to the workload and recovering more quickly between sessions. Well those were my thoughts at the start of the week...

Sunday:
AM) short fartlek session

The plan was to run an easy 30min recovery session but I was feeling a little frisky. Ended up running a fartlek session using telegraph poles as markers for when to run hard and when to run easy. Felt good!

Monday:
AM) 1h easy w/ strides
PM) 1h easy

Just a couple of easy runs.

Tuesday:
AM) hill session

Today's hill session didn't go to plan at all. I was scheduled to run 15 repeats but after 5 I was completely done with it. Maybe it was the heat and humidity after the rains yesterday which brought me undone. On the climbs my lungs and legs felt heavy. Out of frustration on the way back to the car I started alternating 30 seconds hard with 30 seconds of easy running. Felt better.

Wednesday:
AM) 45min steady
PM) Mid long run

Felt ordinary and expected to have a very poor run. Goes to show how you feel prior to the run is no indication of how you'll perform. Started out struggling but of course that was before I knew we were moving along at quicker than 4min/km pace. Fast runners make it look easy. After a regroup I found a second wind and was able to finish the session with an average pace for the 27-28km just shy of marathon pace.

Thursday:
AM) 1h easy - with Simon for two laps of the river. Great morning for a run!

Friday:
noon) Easy run
Wilted during my run in the heat. Got about 10km into the run when I realised I was in trouble but when you've gone out, you need to come back. Drank from all the bubblers and taps I passed but it didn't seem to help the situation. Even drenching my face, neck, arms, legs and hat didn't help...

PM) Long Interval session
Regrouped a few hours later with the idea of getting in some quality. Started out conservatively but when I started on my first interval running faster felt reasonable and I was able to cover about 4kms on the first. After a 5min recovery jog I started on the second repeat and while it felt tough I was able to get through it covering another 4km. With a hard 5min left to go I tried pushing it a little and managed to average slightly quicker than 3:20/km pace to finish up the quality work. An easy run back to the car completed the day's training with over 30km in the books.

Saturday:
AM) Easy session
The day started off with thoughts of running long but as the heat quickly picked up I decided that the hour of running I had in my planned schedule would be enough. With my wife picking me up on route to my mother's place for her birthday lunch I went a little over the allotted time but I did manage to add a little excitement to the run when I had to jump over a 2m long brown snack as it crawled out of the creek and ended up in front of me on the footpath. It must have been quite a site as I side-stepped and jumped simultaneously.

Summary:-
Another 130+km of running for the week making it (I think) the third in a row. Looking at the schedule for next week it looks like it's going to be a reduced volume week with a 10k race on the weekend. While some runners look forward to their rest (lower volume) weeks I am already starting to fret over the lack of running and the rest that I know I need to take. I'll have to find another way to fight my demons and quieten the voices that compel me to lace up the shoes and hit the road.

Training 14-20 September

I'm hoping that last week signaled a return of form and I can continue to feel good while running and training! A month of feeling depleted has been hard on the motivation but I struggled through knowing that I would eventually start feeling better and thankfully that's what happened over the last few days.... excluding Sunday though.

This week was to start with a long run on Sunday morning but another restless night filled with children's coughing fits and nightmares when the alarm went off at 5:30am I hit stop rather than snooze. At 6am when the first of the children woke for the day I immediately knew my long run plans were cancelled. Not a happy start to my training for the week.

Although I didn't get out for my long run I did however manage to get in two runs for the day. The first was in the rain before lunch which included roughly 16 minutes threshold during a mindless 35 minute run around the streets. The second run was later in the evening with my wife and to say I was struggling would be an understatement.

Training summary

Sunday:
AM: 35 minute run w/ 4.2km threshold (av. 3:48 pace)
PM: 60 minute easy run

Plans for the remainder of the week...

Monday:
AM: 50 min easy w/ strides
PM: 60 min easy to moderate

On a hot day both runs were hard work but enjoyable. By the time I had finished running home I was ready to eat....and that's what I did. I consumed all the fruit and drink that I could stomach before making a start on cooking dinner for the screaming masses.

Tuesday:
AM: longer session with short hill reps

Got up at 4:45am this morning to meet Simon for an easy 10k before heading down to the start of where I run my short hill workouts. Session called for 30 repeats with a fast jog back down recovery. I started out conservatively and although I successfully completed the workout in hindsight I should have pushed myself a little harder. Perhaps knowing that I had a 10km run to after the session to get to work was on the back of my mind and kept me from going harder. I need to work HARDER!

Wednesday:
PM: 90min steady w/ strides
Forgot to do the strides but had an awesome run. I was at a local conference today which meant that I ate lots of cheese, fruits and nuts etc which left me feeling a little full and bloated. Afternoon tea (about 2 hours before I was planning on running) I consumed 2 small pieces of cake - for the energy during the run of course!

At the start of the run I assumed that I would be struggling early but I quickly settled into a good pace with little effort (sub 3hr marathon pace) and found as the run went on that I started feeling better and better with each passing kilometre. By the end of the run I had completed a half marathon in under 90 minutes, it felt relatively easy and I was feeling great. Good enough to keep going - you betcha! I find it always surprising when I have a great run (or workout) when I feel so ordinary in the hours leading up to it and the opposite happens when I am feeling good.

Thursday:
AM: easy run
PM: interval session

Managed to get out for the interval session late in the day which only allowed for 50 minutes of run time. After a short warmup I got stuck into and ended up running 5 x 4min efforts with 90 second recovery. I was scheduled for six repeats but didn't have the time. Speed was supposed to be quicker than 5k race pace and I found it tough. This faster training makes all the marathon training that I have done in the past seem easy. Of course this is where I need to work in if I'm going to improve at the shorter distances.

Friday:
AM: recovery run

I can't quite remember this day but I do know that I did manage to get out for an easy run of sorts.

Saturday:
PM: easy w/ a little threshold

I had no real plans when I headed out the door so just went out and ran. After about 4km I tried pushing the pace and ended up running 3km at slightly quicker than threshold. I felt immediately great when I started working the pace and my form feels like it has improved over the last few weeks.

Summary:

Another good week in the books but still lacking a good long run effort. I will need to address this soon!

Weekly mileage was up around 130km again for the second week running. Coach has told me that I need to build on this. I will try next week...