Training Log Archive: fletch

Event: 6 Inch Trail Marathon
 

It's gotten to the point where a long run is a mental challenge if you're feeling a bit flat or disinterested. Today was one of those days, and I felt like I was plodding along from the start. On the plus side, it felt pretty comfortable and nothing was hurting. T'was a surprise looking at my watch for the first time and seeing 1:00 and 12.2km. By that stage I had gone a different way to what I intended - I had planned a few options last night and forgotten which bits linked together, so rather than heading to hte coast from the south side of Lake Monger, I did a complete lap and ended up finishing my lap of Herdsman before heading up Hale road and out towards the coast. Fortunately common sense beat stubborness this morning and I accepted that I wasn't going to make the coast without going much too far. Turned up Brompton/Drabble - Brighton-St Brigids --Scarb Bch Rd and home.
A few funny twinges in my right hamstring in the second half - I did something minor when I picked up a volleyball on the run yesterday morning. Achilles was good until about 20km when it got a little niggly low down on the lateral side. Also slight plantar fascia issue throughout in right foot. Can't remember when I did that... but it wasn't new.

Niggles really were very minor though, and it ended up being pretty enjoyable (and faster than expected) despite not really wanting to start.

Calves a bit tight for the first 5 minutes but loosened up well. Decided that yesterday wasn't a day off and counted it as my weekend tempo effort. Long run tomorrow.

C • Easter 2

Sprint training at Minim Cove. With tRicky and Tooms - Mass start with some forking. Pretty scratchy effort. Left #4 in the wrong direction and had to back track as I was headed into a dead end. Then got ahead of myself with a poor bit of map memory from precious runs in the area and took the lower track along the river when I didn't need to. Followed it up with an adventurous attempt out of the last control just to see if I could, but missed the best way up through the cliffs and it was significantly slower anyway.
3.45km covered on the course.

Slightly suboptimal routes through 2 and 3, also a little from 15-16 where I left the control crooked then took my original route to 16. Apart from that, I thought I would just try to find a way through the impassable cliff out of the 2nd last, as I knew i was coming last anyway. Didn't work (not surprising) so I finished a fair bit further back from tRicky that I should have.

Felt better - more in control than the first one, but pretty stuffed physically as I went pretty hard on the first course and didn't have much recovery.

Token lap of the oval cooldown afterwards. Achilles felt better (a bit) today, so it was either the self-massage last night, or my achilles prefer these shoes to the K-swiss, or a combination of the 2. Might do this week's long run in the Nikes as well.

Fartlek. 9x(3:1.5).

Felt pretty tired. Stayed off the beach as my right achilles is getting worse. Really need to get on top of it. Will look back at my old rehab program for the same problem and also possibly modifying the heel of my Kswiss shoes.

Yesterdays TT was equal in time with February this year, when I was coming off some good training and en-route to breaking my 10km PB. (and equal 2nd fastest I've done on this loop) MAtching that in mid - December with targeted races in late April is quite happy-making. Just have to keep up the running consistency now...

Distance approximate. Will update later.

Recovery run in the evening as I just couldn't get out of bed this morning. Went a bit further this week, maybe a bit too far for a recovery run but it felt pretty easy. Was hard to keep the pace slow knowing that it was quite short and not on sand.

Achilleeezes a bit niggly, particularly right. Time for a good stretch and some ice.

Hooray. I am requalified (but no more competent than previously).

Had been looking forward to this as a gauge of where I'm really at for a while, but was tired and headachey for most of the afternoon and eyes realy sore from evil chlorine in the pool. Took a couple of panadol and a claratyne, but still not 100% when I got there. Did some token extra warm-up before 5:30, which started to get things moving, and by the time the real warm-up was finished I felt pretty good.
Tried to hold a steady pace the whole way rather than do anyting stupid early and felt like I had got it pretty right, but my arms felt heavy by half way. Usually this would be catastrophic, but I put it down to the swiming and plugged away.
Passed shanel on his maiden TT at the 3km mark and ran strongly up 3/4 of Durston before popping badly. Didn't push hard enough for the first half of the downhill, but managed to get going again for the last few hundred.
Finished feeling like I had paced it well for hte most part, but still lacking that willingness to totally bury myself in the last km.
Maybe I ppushed harder than I reaslised though... felt shattered all evening

Edit: Oh yeah, 17:15 for the 5km :) Forgot to mention that bit...

Tooms' Golf Course 5k TT - Splits

Should have had a bit of a spin on the bike before stretching, or gone for a beach run after school or something, coz 2 days in a row of nothing seemed a bad idea, but then I thought about the Swim requal I have to do tomorrow before the evening TT and thought that just stretching would be enough after all...