Training Log Archive: schnitzer

5:00 WU
5:25 WD

Strava segment trophy hunting, mostly pushing hard.

Maybe a little silly challenging an August CR considering the conditions underfoot but it didn't look too hard a time to beat. Wrong but missed it by less than a minute.

Interesting to see that the HR info seems to back up my idea that an avg of 160bpm is still just about a steady run for me. Avg. of 163bpm overall today but warmed into it over the first 20mins or so. The last 15mins looks more like an avg of late 160s (max 173), breathing very hard but a maintainable level of effort for sure. Not entirely unlike what a middle distance o race feels like, providing one is clean through the controls of course :)

Started off with some orienteering but ended up mostly terrain running. Tough out there or at least tougher than usual anyway.

05:30 WU
06:15 WD

Less steep hills, steady. 10, slushy reps.

It does get a bit like that here in Stockholm over the Winter, just waiting for it to be over. It's not like what I would describe a running nightmare but today for instance the few inches that came down started to melt immediately so it was at that slushy consistency, enough to both sap some energy and provide virtually no protection from the rocks and roots that you can't see. The sheet ice on the larger trails just won't budge. Please don't leave any helpful comments regarding xc skiing instead, 9/10 Winters in Stockholm it just isn't possible and/or isn't enjoyable.

The elevation measurements from my Garmin are a joke, corrected or not. It's a good job I didn't buy it for that reason. Come to think of it I didn't really buy it for measuring distance either but it's nice that it seems to be ok at that.

Exploring again, looking for some good routes through the terrain in order to design a long, hilly run. Some good ideas but also some less ideal, crappy bits.

I've worked out how my Garmin estimates the hr zones, based on 220-age max heart rate then 10% blocks from there. I think I may be able to tweek these a little more personal without requiring a professional metabolic assessment :)

In any case I'll carry on with my own estimations with AP intensity i.e. it can't be an intensity 5 session if I can maintain the level of effort for more than a few mins.

C • Threshold 2

Benchmark terrain route, steady.

Garmin Connect says that I was mostly in heart rate zone 4 but also a lot in zone 5 - what's that all about then? I only averaged 160bpm.

So if I push hard and say average 165-170bpm or run 5*1km and average say 175bpm on the last rep, that's all zone 5 is it? I guess the 'zones' are probably a bit of guesswork based on my weight, height etc, a bit like when my scales give me a body fat percentage.

Short trail route, steady with new Garmin :)

If that was the last cold of the Autumn/Winter then I got ill six times compared to the five the year before. I feel slightly better about it all now, all pretty normal.

Well who would have known?

Easy trail/terrain run, with new headlamp. I went for an OLight H15B in the end which I hope will make training at night and the occasional night orienteering activity a little safer (approx 2.5 times the lumens of my Petzl Zoom). It is also much lighter, has a diffuser for map reading and has the possibility to substitute the battery pack with 4 AAAs.

On order is a Garmin Forerunner 230, decided against paying the extra for a 235 based on mixed reviews of the optical HR sensor. I have also become a Strava member and joined my orienteering club's team on there.

All this feels a little over the top, still unsure of how much training/racing I can enjoy whilst being always tired and regularly ill. You only fail if you don't try right?