2008/05/08
I ran last night for the first time in 9 days. I took it very easy and despite that managed 10.5k @ 4:31/km. I'll probably do a similar run tonight, take a day off and do a Powercrank-Brick on Saturday or Sunday.
Tuesday also saw a return to swimming - I attended the club-swim and we did a good set: w7u, short technique set, 500 arms and 28x50 at Threshold ... Nice!
I'm back! ...
Again ...
Again!
2008/05/05
Still no running but quite a bit of cycling and one swim. I was quite depressed about the knee - I'd say that the Sub-3 is well and truly out the window at this stage - now the goal is to make it to the start line. If I do that I'll make it to the finish.
Anyway, on to weekend and what was good about it ... I started off on Friday with a nice swim in the local pool, a pool that I'd never been to before! I did a bout 800m w/u followed by 5x400 on 30 seconds rest: 6:15,6:19,6:21,6:29,6:27 ... Far from stellar but it is a benchmark for the season and, I find, that these are the kind of sets that I benefit most from!
Saturday was 92km on the powercranks. I found this quite easy -or, I should say, quite not too hard- an old out an back route in pretty good weather... Upon returning I decided that I'd do the same route the next day (the original plan was to repeat the same route on my TT bike and see what the difference in speeds was between a fresh PC ride and a fatigued 'standard-crank' ride)... This may or may not have been a good idea. I started out feeling OK and from there deteriorated miserable, seemingly skipping the not-great and just-plain-bad stages... The only positive thing was that I resisted the urge to turn around early (it's not possible to turn around late since it's an out-and-back route to a ferry and, unless your timing is perfect (and there is a ferrw there) turning around late is not an option.)...
Any, later I was thinking; "Is it worth the misery to push on and keep going?"
Is there any benefit in just turning the pedals for the final 90 minutes even though the power being generated is nothing like the power I -hopefully- will generate on race day?
Or more concisely: Apart from any mental benefits, are there any physiological benefits in cycling on empty?
2008/04/29
Tried to run last night - didn't go too well. My left knee began to hurt after about 30 minutes, I kept going for 10 more minutes and ended up walking home the final 3km... I'm pretty pissed off about this - I'll have to rest up for 1 week and see what happens. I'll loose a bit of run-fitness but it will give me time to get some long bike rides in... Worst case scenario, all my running up to now has given me an excellent base, and with a good base anything is possible!
I found this on the web, I'll give it a try:
Patellofemoral pain syndrome got its nickname for an obvious and very unfortunate reason--it's common among runners. The stress of running can cause irritation where the kneecap (patella) rests on the thighbone. The resulting pain can be sharp and sudden or dull and chronic, and it may disappear while you're running, only to return again afterward. While biomechanical issues may be to blame, the cause can often be traced back to poorly conditioned quadriceps and tight hamstrings. Weak quads aren't able to support the patella, leading it to track out of alignment, and inflexible hamstrings can put pressure on the knee. If you want to treat and avoid another bout with runner's knee, add strengthening and stretching to your routine. The three-step quadriceps exercise below is a good place to start. It works the muscles on the front, inside, and outside of your thigh. Do 10 reps of each part on both legs.
Quad Strengthener
Front Thigh: Lie on your back with an ankle weight on your right leg. Fully extend that leg and lock your knee. Keeping your foot relaxed and in a neutral position, lift your leg straight up toward your head as far as you can. Your goal should be to position your leg perpendicular to your body. Return to the starting position.
Inner Thigh: Do the same exercise, but this time, turn out your right leg (toes pointing away from you) to target your inner thigh muscles.
Outer Thigh: Repeat the same exercise again with your right leg turned in (toes pointing toward you) to isolate the muscles of your outer thigh.
2008/04/28
I decided against running this weekend - I hit the Powercranks and got back to back rides in. Saturday 81km (av. 27.6km/h): This was relatively easy and involved little or no pain - plenty of discomfort admittedly, but that's as good as it gets on the Powercranks.
Sunday was a different story, 68km (av. 27km/h): Started out feeling stiff and from there it varied between brief moments of discomfort separated by large portions of pain, suffering and misery... The best thing that can be said for it is that it is done and has probably made me stronger.
It's time to get running again - so, this week the plan is:
Monday:Swim AM, 10k run PM
Tuesday: Weights AM, Swim PM
Wednesday: 15km Run PM - M pace
Thursday: Cycle - at least 90km Powercranks
Friday:Long Run
Saturday: Powercranks - 50-70km
Sunday: Powercranks & Run
2008/04/25
Unfortunately I didn't recover too well from my long run on Monday. I went out for a planned 15km M pacer, but ended up feeling quite sluggish so decided to just run at whatever pace was comfortable - which was 4:25-4:30/km. After about 8km my left knee started to hurt - a dull ache on the kneecap - so I walked for a bit and took the shortest way home... 10.2km @ 4:28/km. Not too happy but I'll hit the weights again and take a few days off running... Powercranks on Saturday and run on Sundy.
It seems that in my current state I can't break past the 55km/week mark. I'll most likely have to hit the weights EVERY WEEK on the assumption that my problem lies in insufficient leg strength - specifically the Vastus Medialus... So we'll address that and re-assess later! - I just have to keep smiling, this is not a major problem!
This seems like a setback, but on the positive side of things - I'm in the best running condition of my life - That's not a bad thing.
Also, this 'best running form' should serve as a great springboard for my cycling ... Vätternrundan here I come!
2008/04/22
I managed to get my long run done last night. I changed the run:walk 10:1 plan to 9min:50seconds - It just seemed like a better number! I went through moments of feeling great and on the third-last and last run segment I put in a few minutes of M pace - which seemed pretty easy! The second last run segment -at about km 26- my legs began to hurt, so that's about my limit at the moment... A few more long rides on the Powercranks and 3 more long runs will address that - I hope!
Start time - 19:44:19
Finish - 22:15:38
Dist - 30.69km
Av. HR - 143
Pace - Max: 3:49/km, Av. 4:55/km
Cal - 1769
Running Index - 71
Ascent - 65m
Cadence - Max 95, Av. 90
Stride Length - 113cm
All done with Run:Walk 9 min:50 seconds
35 minutes non-stop swimming followed by a 10 minute sauna today at lunch. Felt tired after but feel better now. I had planned to do 90 minutes on the Powercranks later but I have decided that I'm done for the day.
Today, a little sore but happy! Only 3 planned long runs remaining before Stockholm Marathon.
2008/04/21
Well, the plan was not executed as expected. I swapped Friday's long run for a quick 15km - with 55mins at M pace: 4:15/km 154 av. HR. Saturday I hit the bike and planned to do as long as possible on the PCs. 25km in I was feeling OK and decided to do a lap that I remembered being 30minutes - it turned out that it was 30km and it turned the ride into a 72km suffer-fest. The last hour was all pain and misery. SSunday was a day of rest.
Tonight I plan to get the long run in - at least 2:30 run:walk 10:1 wearing a cammelback... I hope I can get through it injury free - only 4 longs rens left to Stockholm Marathon!
2008/04/18
I'm getting back into shape again! I did my second cycle of the year last night - only 40km on the Powercranks but because of work and family it's all I could get in and faced with the choice of 40km or 0km, the choice was obvious! It didn't feel so bad but the average speed was still a paltry 25.6km/h - I'm not bothered, I know the speed will come. I'm hoping that the Powercranks benefit my running too, there is no definitive proof out there, but some people report that they have gotten run-benefit from their PCs - Chickie V being the most notable of them. The thing is though, how do you measure if they gave a benefit or not?
The plan for the comming days is:
I have to ballance all this around some painting/cleaning and fathering...
2008/04/17
I broke out of my usual pattern -or should I say rut!- and did some quality running last night. Upon heading out the door I had half a plan - "Run some threshold sets". I still felt stiff from the gym so was not too optimistic about the potential quality of the run but I struggled on nonetheless.
I warmed up for a long time, during which it was a struggle to hold 4:40/km - I was stiffer than I suspected... Anyway, I sucked it up and did my first tempo set:
4 mins, 3:50/km, 167 av.HR - then a 1 minute walk, 1 min @ 3:40/km and a short jog followed by my next set:
3 mins 3:45/km, 169 av. HR - then a 1 minute walk and a 1 minute jog followed by the next set - uphill:
3 mins 4:20/km, 169 av. HR - then jog home
Total - a not very structured and certainly not boring 10.00km
Here is the graph:
2008/04/16
Rest day yesterday. I did a short swim - 30 mins with a few hard efforts. nothing too strenuous since I was still in pain from yesterdays weigh training. I had a breakthrough of sorts though - I managed to swim 3 lengths underwater -3x16.6m- that's 50m by my counting and a new PB! My athletic performances may not be up my usual standards but as long as I excel somewhere I'm quite happy... I'm off for a massage now and will do a short hard run tonight - probably 15km with 3-4 T sets thrown in on the flat sections. I'll have a quick read of Jack D's book to se what my interval and recovery should be.
2008/04/15
I did some leg stabilising weight training yeaterday lunchtime and in my infinite wisdom then decided to do my first outdoor bike ride in the evening... To say it didn't go well would be an understatement!
I planned to do approximately 65km at an easy pace on the Powercranks, so, giddy as a child on christmas morning, I headed out on my first ride of the year. About 25km from home -with the shortest way home being 22km- my legs simply said, "That's enough of that for now!". 50 minutes later -after taking Frank Day's name in vain more than once (more than a hundred times actually)- I arrived home with the followiong statistics: 47km, 25.6km/h average speed... the lowest numbers I've had for YEARS. The only way is up from here!
I've just looked at my archives and see that my first outdoor Powercrank session last year was on 2007/04/10 (this year was 2007/04/14). Distance was 32km and average speed was 26km/h. Two weeks later I managed back-to-back 75km rides @ 28km/h... there's hope!
So, what I'm after is to go from this: 
to this: 
ASAP.
2008/04/14
The last few days are what could be consedred a rest period - my first propper one since November. My running had reached a plateau and I was beginning to hurt during my long runs so I finally decided to take a break. The break consisted of mainly 15km easy-mod-hard runs with an attempt at Yasso 800 set on 3mins - I shortened the rest period to 1:30 and failed on the 7th set - I did it in 3:00.01!
I'm in the end-game of my Stockholm Marathon prep with just under 7 weeks left. That will be done as follows:
Run every second day. From now on ALL long runs are run/walk 10:1
2008/04/04
I have just completed 48km of running in 3 days and, not surprisingly, I'm a bit battered! With the shortest way home being 8km I got a sudden pain in my left knee - just on the patella and had to do a run-stretch-walk-run type arrangement to make it home in one piece... I think I managed to avoid any long term damage and will confirm this on Sunday when I next attempt to run... until then it is rest rest rest! I will probably swim on Sturday and do a series of 400m tests - Easy, Mod-Hard, Hard and hope that the last effort is under 6:20 - that would make me quite happy, and if I could back that up with a 15km pain-free run on Sunday I would be over the moon!
2008/04/02
Just back from a trip to Finland that included some partying, visiting of relatives, a 27km run in the snow and a 11k tempo run - also in the snow.
2008/03/26
Monday was a rest day, after which I still didn't feel great. On Tuesday, despite still feeling a little fried, I went for an easy 9.5k lunch time run... This was backed up with my first swim with the tri-club for some months - which was a test day:
200 w/u
200 various technique
400 arms
200 east
Test set:4x200 max pace, on 7 min
I managed: 2:56,3:04,3:05,3:06
By no means great but it is great to have a benchmark directly after returning to training... I hope to get all 4 under 3 mins next time and all under 2:50 by the mid season.
2008/03/23
Lots and lots of training (relative to MY training load) since the last entry. I had a day off after the run test last week - that week ended up being a 50km week. That's a little less than I planned, however, I didn't feel up to a run on Sunday so I listened to my form and skipped it.
This week bagan with a solid 14km run that had 32mins of M-paced running in the middle section (32 min, 4.14/km, 156 av. HR). Annother day off was followed by my long run for the week: 24km, 4.49/km, 145 av. HR - I had many aches and pains during this run and found it very hard going for the last few k... I ate/drank nothing during and lost 2.5 kg during the run... I ate and drank after and was back to normal weight by bedtime.
I decided that some swimming was long overdue and it was time to take the plunge - I swam 3 times in 4 days and, unsurprisingly, discovered that I could neither swim as fast or as far as I could this time last year.
Swim 1 was 200 w/u, 2000m easy (35:09) 200w/d... I began to feel tired after about 1399m of the 2k set.
Swim 2 was 200 w/u, 2000m easy (34:52), 3x100 on 1:50, 200 w/d
Swim 3 was 200 w/u, 2500m easy (2k split:35:00, 2.5k:45:00), 5x100 on 1:50, 200 w/d
I finished off the week with 60km running and am now quite tired - time to rest and recover and see what happens next week.
10 Weeks until Stockholm Marathon
2008/03/15
Plan: 3km run-test -indoor 200m track. prediction: 10:37, Av. HR 178, Cad 96
Actual Result:10:34, Av. HR 172, Cad 98 ... not too bad - puts me at a VDOT od between 55 and 56.
2008/03/14
Plan: 10-12km run tonight.
2008/03/13
Just a short quick run tonight... I started out with a short warm-up and then plodded off at a little over M pace. I intended to slow to M pace for the second half of the run but I felt so good that I decided to keep the pace where it was. I ended up with 4:16/km - 158 bpm for the entire run and for the main set it was :
I have decided that I will do the 3km run test with the club on Saturday. I can finally benchmark my current fitness and see if I am training at the intensity that I should be. One consideration is that we will be doing other tests for the 90 minutes preceding the actual run-test, I wonder if this will skew the result... or provide me with a good excuse if I don't perform to my expectations: I'm hoping for 10:37 - that would put me on a VDOT of 55, which in turn would give me a potential of 2:56 in the Marathon.
2008/03/12
Did my longest training run in 5 years on Tuesday. I was quite tired at the end and felt like I had been run over by a train the next day. I drank or ate nothing for the run -1:57.00 in duration- and upon weighing myself after I discovered that I had lost 2.5 kilos.
One of the good points worth noting was that I managed to keep my cadence high throughout the run - I averaged 91 compared to 89 for my last long run. Alos, HR was lower and speed was hightr, despite the fact that 50-60% of the run was into a pretty strong headwind. I'll try an M run tonight and see how I have recovered before I get too excited. It's coming up on 11 weeks to go; That means 7 more weeks of building distance of my long run and the duration of my M runs before I do 2-3 weeks of high intensity running.
2008/03/09
I'm taking an unplnned rest day today. I didn't get my long run in this week -or last week for that matter- but I think that there has been a lot of quality sessions that will stand to me. I'll probably attempt a long run on Tuesday and see how I go... The plan is 24-26km, with the option of changing that plan if it feels a little on the long side...
I aslo plan to get my swimming back on track this week AND get some cycling done - I am supposed to be a triathlete after all... And even though I'm only running at the moment, I'll never run like a runner so I should start doing the other sports just so I appear like a mediocre triathlete rather thatn a shit runner!
So the plan is set: 1 week, 1 long run, 3 swims, Get on the bike(and go somewhere).
The story so far:
2008/03/05
Had what could be classed as a breakthrough run last night... I started out, not sure what I was going to do, but in the end I just ran... I kept my pace steady and ended up with 14km, 4:31/km, 147 av. HR (15.9 points)... These, I believe, are lifetime best figures for me. Now, I realise that training figures mean very little, infact, it the past is anything to go by -and I think it is- training figures causing over confidence and subsequent injury have been my downfall. So keeping that in mind and that fact that I have a marathon on the not too distant futue, I'll take encouragement from the figures and leave it at that.
2008/03/03
Since last Tuesday (the 26th) I have done quite a bit of running... 56km last week in total. A lot of quality work, even the ong run day was broken into and AM and PM M paced run... That means a relatively easy week to come followed by a pretty hard week after that.
2008/02/26
Went spinning during lunch, took it pretty hard but felt good. After work I did a 31 min M run - (4:14/km, 160 av. HR) 14.9 points. I wasn't going to do it because it was late and I still didn't feel good - I hadn't since Saturday... I decided to bite the bullet and head out and do a short one. I felt really good... very strong and still a spring in my step at the end.
2008/02/23
14 weeks to go. Did 3x10min M pace... felt shit. HR was quite low but RPE was very high... not happy!
2008/02/21
Just back from a 22km E run. I decided to use the good old run:walk strategy until I feel more secure about my knee health - Run 10min/walk 1min... easy enough. Right knee began to hurt after 18km so I walked for a bit and then ran 4:12/km for a while to stretch it out - that seemed to do the trick allthough tomorrow will tell the real story.
Here's how the year looks so far:
The recent dip in average pace cadence and running index are due to the fact that I am using the run:walk method.
2008/02/17
It's been a while since I wrote anything - - I suppose that I was trying to ignore the knee problem as much as possible and writing in this blog would force me to dwell upon it... so I didn't.
I rested up for three days - doing nothing but core work and leg strengthening dips. Thursday and Friday I did spinning and a bit of weights. Saturday I attempted a run: 40 mins with 22 mins M pace - felt good and HR averaged only 151 for the M set. Sunday was the same run except I did 3x10min M with 1 min walking between each set... It felt tough although I don't have the HR data yet I reckon that it was substantially higher than Saturday. I'll rest up today and -maybe- do a long run on Tuesday but from now on I'll do 10:1 run:walk for most of my runs.
2008/02/11
I managed to get annother good run in on Saturday - 1 hour with 36 mins of M (4:12/km). I felt pretty good all the way and was pretty happy with my week... until last noght. I went for a 30 min E leg-loosner run, nothing big, 4:55/km HR 133, all was fine. Later in the evening I stood up and felt a little click and the old right knee pain from last year returned! It hurts now when I straighten my leg, not when I bend it. I'm pretty pissed off but I'll manage the situation as best as I can - no running until all the pain is gone and when I do start running again I'll be extra careful... Not much more I can do about it - accept it, get over it and manage it.
2008/02/07
Todays run would be what I consider a breakthrough workout... In real athlete terms it's no great shakes, to me however it showed that I am indeed on the right path. I managed to do get through it without any aches or pains on a pretty tough course faster than E pace...In analytical language -which is my best form of language- it was: 22.1km @ 4:52/km @ 145 av. HR. It was pretty hilly at the start and I felt fairly fresh at the end. With around three kms to go I did 1km of M pace, just to see how it felt.. great was the feeling and my HR never only reached a miniscule 157 bpm by the end. To sum it up, I#m pretty happy - only 16 weeks left and 14 more long runs to do before Stockholm marathon
2008/02/06
Doesn't seem like it has been three days since I've done an update - I suppose that's because I'm actually getting some proper training in for the first time in a few months!
Monday was a short sharp run - I'll have to admit I was still a little tired from the weekend and I managed to do a 45 minute run with 8 min of T - 4:01/km 162 av. HR. Tuesday I did a spinning session and went pretty much all out - I made a small lake under my bike and 24 hours later I still feel it in my legs when I attempt steps. I backed it up with a 2.5km same in the evening… Which brings be back to an old point - I have to get swimming regularly again. I feel the strength and form is there but after 20-30 minutes I have dead arms. I know it will come back quickly!
2008/02/03
I'm just back from a tough bike session... Two hours on a 200m track on the Powercranks. Too tired to comment properly, but let's just say that I have not gone that deep in a long time. Below is a picture of the 11 humped monster, ohterwise known as my HR curve for the session:
2008/02/02
Nice run today - 31 mins M set. 10 mins with the wind at my back, easy, 21 mins into the wind, not easy. Here's the whole story:
2008/02/01
I managed to get a long run in last night - after my family duties were fulfilled, so it was 20.40 by the time I took my first step. I felt great until about 14km in, by which point I was feeling some aches and pains in my right knee. I immediately backed off, took the shortest way home showered stretched and took a precautionary anti-inflammatory. In the end it was 18.6km at 4:55/km 145 av.HR. Today I feel pretty good - not good enough for a lunch time run, but pretty good. I'll probably do a 30 minute run later in the evening. Run data to folllow:
2008/01/31
Just did some core training last night - I was a little pushed for time... Nothimg more to say about that! I hope to get my long run in tonight but because I was so late to get to work I'll probably not be able to get out with a clean conscience - that's a whole other story.
I have indoor cycling to look forward to on Sunday.
2008/01/30
Did the run last night and survived it. It turned into a harder run than I intended because I felt so good: E 4:36/km, 138 av. HR, 18.5 mins - M 4:17/km, 156 av. HR, 10 mins - T 4:01/km, 158 av. HR, 8.5 mins - E 4:48/km, 148 av. HR, 19 mins
The reason why the M and T intervals have such similar HRs and differenc Paces are because the M pace run was into the wind and the T pace run was with the wind... Interesting to see how much the wind affects me. A windy race day could ruin my chances of going under three hours and there's not too much I can do about that except prepare for the fact!
2008/01/29
I'm suffering froma sore throath and slight chills at the moment - it started on Sunday morning. Saturday's run was probably the precursor of whatever sort of ailment it is. I usually completely stop training when I am sick but in this case I think that I'll follow the 'above the neck' rule and do an easy short run tonight and see how it treats me... Tune in tomorrow and see if it was a good idea!
It's hard not to train when Epic Camp is in full swing - it's an inspiring site to read, you can also listen to Ironman Talk's daily podcast... great and sometimes funny stuff!
2008/01/26
I had a busy day yesterday - without going into the specifice, I'll just say that I was pretty much on my feet from 08.30 until 22.30... I woke up this morning and decided to do an M run. I felt flat from the off and it got progressively worse as the kilometers dragged by... 20 minutes into the M set I simply stopped and walked - I have no Idea what the problem was, but there clearly was a problem. I ran home at 5 min/km and that didn't feel easy. Time for R&R and see what happens next week...
2008/01/24
I'm resting today - I eventually did the double run yesterday, but not as I originaly intended. I opted to go home by train and then do a shorter, more intensive run later in the evening. I ended up doing 34 mins of M paced running> 4:18/km, av HR 157... HR was a little on the high side, I suppose that is a result of it being the day's second run. I felt great all the way aroung and found myself exceeding my target pace at times so I had to back off a few times - what did people do before the Polar RS800SD? I'd be lost! It's a busy social weekend coming up now -family obligations and the like- I wonder if I'll get annother rn in this week... time will tell.
Here's he M run:
2008/01/23
I ran to work today - 12.6km at an E pace. My intention was to run home also but my knees are not feeling the best... I now find myself at a crossroads:
Run home and get the benefit of 25km in my legs today or exacerbate a potential injury!
At times like this most people do the run and the reasons for this are both cruel and simple: You will only know if the decision to run was the wrong decision - you will never know if the decision not to run was correct!
Being faced with decisions time and time again it seems inevitable that eventually -if one is prone to the conservative decision- that the athlete will say "to hell with it - I'm doing the run"... Then, and only then, will they know if the conservative approach was the correct one:
- If their history of conservativism the right choice, they will know because they are injured
- If their history of conservativism the wrong choice, they will survive the workout and feel that they have wasted so much potential training.
Sounds like a loose-loose situation to me!
2008/01/21
Just back from a relatively long M paced run - all the details are below...
2008/01/20
It's been a while since I checked in... the reason is that I haven't done anything! I ran home from work on the 16th as I said I would and went swimming on Thursday. The Thursday swim was the first sign of some swimming ability that I have shown in a long time. We did a 500 meter set, which I took mod-hard and I managed 1:35/100m splits. I know Ian Thorpe is not going to start worrying about his records just yet, but I'm nonetheless happy with my progress. The Wednesday did not have anything to write home about - I attempted 10 min E, 35 min M, 15 min E. It didn't work out as planned... I ran into a headwind all the way home so for what I felt was M effort I didn't reach M pace the pases were: 10min E(4:54/km,141 av. HR) 35min M(4:27/km, 155 av. HR), 15min E(4:53/km, 146 av. HR) ... neither pleased nor dissapointed with the run. I'll take a few days off to re-charge and probably do a long run again on Tuesday.
Here's my new project:
2008/01/16
I felt pretty good after Sundays long run - no leg knee or foot pain! I'm pretty happy with that, so happy that I decided to take an easy day on Monday where I only did my 22 minutes of core exercises. Tuesday was somewhat harder: I went spinning during lunch where I tried to keep my HR above 160 all the time - this was difficult and proved to be a pretty good session. In the evening I went swimming with the club. There was quite a lot of confidence building -or should I say illusion strengthening- technique work before the main set, which caused me quite a lot of discomfort. It was a measly 12x100 on 1:45 but my limited time in the pool made the last few sets of it very very difficult... by the last few sets, I mean the last 10x100!
I feel recovered today so I'll do a M run home from work today. Specifically, 10 min E, 35 min M, 10 min (or whatever is remaining) E...
2008/01/13
Saturday turned out not to be too bad after all, allthough the set was not hard and I chose to cycle with the slow group... I think we averaged 30km/h for the session, which, for the first Powercrank session of the year was pretty good in my humble opinion.
I backed up the week with my -not so long- long run... 19km at 4.52/km - almost bang on what the J.D. method recommends for my level of fitness. It felt good all the way around, with no fade at the end and ended it with 90 seconds at marathon pace, which was pretty easy... quite happy all round.
I took some photos:
Here's the run data from tonight:
2008/01/11
Thursday and today have been a wake up call - I swam with the club last night and went spinning before work this morning and was in a world of pain for both of these sessions. This time last year (and the year before) I considered swimming merely 'practise' ... I went along and swam for an 60-90 minutes during which time I concentrated on my technique and occasionally swam quite hard, last night -which was a recovery week- I just hung on for dear life. I wasn't worried too much, I realise that it's mainly technique based and will come back quite easily. Spinning on the other hand was a similar story, but one with a lot less hope! I have probably been on some form of pedal driven contraption -be it a spinning bike, MTB or road bike- a total of 8 hours over the past 4 months, this, I discovered is not nearly enough to even maintain a remedial level of fitness. This morning I had that burning sensation in my legs that I have not had for about four years, this seems bad, but coupled to the fact that the 'burn' started at a HR of 130 and in the dieing minutes of the session I managed to get my HR to 159, by which stage I could have cooked bacon and eggs on my now almost flaming thighs. There's something that makes this even more depressing: I have a 2 hour track session with the triathlon club tomorrow - may god have mercy on me!
2008/01/08
Wednesday's run was a carbon copy of last Fridays - E, 25min M , E. The only difference was there was less wind and no snow on the ground which made it very easy. I managed to hold 4:18/km for the M set at 152 av. HR. The only thing is that my feet seem to be taking a bit of a battering... I'll have to back off on the running for the next couple of days and hope they come around: I REFUSE TO BE INJURED this year!
On the way home from the run I stopped off at my favourite (and only) local chin-up bar and cranked out 5 sets of 7 ... this is 'up' from 6x6 last week... I've been thinking about why I am chasing this chin-up goal at all because it will benefit absolutely nothing in my triathlon pursuits ... I decided that being a first time father my performance in triathlon will most likely be sub-par, I simply still wanted to be able to do something that most of my peers can't! Good reason? Maybe not, but that's it!
2008/01/06
I ended the week with a 46 min run: E, 25min M , E. I warmed up and started the M part straight into 33km/h of ice cold wind and about half-way into the M effort, turned around and -of course- had a tail wind to complete the interval. It should come as no surprise that the headwind had more of a negative effect than the tailwind had a positive one... 4:34/km out 4:09/km back - I think my average for the total was 4:24/km... This is 0:07/km slower than my desired pace, however, considering the ice and snow, the temperature and the wind I reckon I'm not too far off the mark.
Here's my training so far:
I'm just back from my first treadmill run of the year: 5 min E(4:55/km, 131/150 av/max HR), 20 min T(4:00/km, 165/171 av/max HR), 5 min E(4:55/km, 159/156 av/min HR).
I'm pretty happy with the session - It will be interesting to see how I recover from it and if I will be able to do my long run on Wednesday. I did 6x6 chin-ups after in the gym. I never made my goal of doing 20 non stop chin-ups before christmas - I'm sticking with the goal, I'm just slightly stretching the timeframe!
2008/01/05
It's been a week since my last entry - I managed to get 3 runs in in that time and am now on my way out to do a fourth. After the Saturday MTB ride I rested on Monday, because I'm ashamed to say - I was tired! Monday was an easy run because I had planned to do a relatively hard run on Tuesday... Which I kind of did: It was only 8.5km, but it was on a snow covered wet forest trail. I took the first 5.5km easy - even though I never really settled into the run - then for the last 3 km upped the effort a lot... unfortunately, the pace did not increase by much at all! The two segments of the run looked as follows: 5.5km,5:18/km,153 av. HR / 3km,4:57/km,168 av. HR. This run was followed by a Sauna and two dips into a lake that was a mere 1 Degree C ... Very very cold, but I don't think there is anything that can make a person feel more alive - it certainly turn all the senses to overdrive!
The back-to-back run was followed by a day of rest - well, not total rest; I walked 90 minutes with a pram... which leads me to Thursday:17.4km,4:49/km,147 av. HR.(21.5 Points). This was exactly the effort that I intended to run at, the pace is 10sec/km off my intended pace - I'll have to blame the snow for this. It was the first day that the city was covered with snow and I'm not liking it already - it does not feel the same: To avoid slippage the strike must be altered (sub-consciously mainly) and the kick is almost non-existent... I'll be attempting a run today with two M intervals and one T interval, I'll see if it is possible in the snow before, possibly, retiring my quality runs to the treadmill.
20 Weeks until Stockholm Marathon
Best Album I have heard this month:Take to the Skies, by Enter Shikari
Best Book read this month:Post Office, by Charles Bukowski
2007/12/29
I decided to rest for a couple of days after the 'long' run on Wednesday. Today I headed out on my MTB for just over two hours of windy muddy wet fun! I found it pretty hard going and after just 30 minutes I was hurting - it ws then that I realised that I hadn't sat on a bike of any type for four weeks, and before thta it was annother four weeks since I had been spinning! I tried to stay motivated and managed to get 2:11 done. A nice bath followed by lunch made me forget all about it.
Best Book read this month:Stuart: A Life Backwards, by Alexander Masters
2007/12/26
Chrtistmas is upon us so my training has taken a bit of a back seat... Since my last entry I have run twice: Today and Monday. Monday's run was a hard slog - I was pressed for time so I wnet for a good quality session. It went like this: 12 min M pace (4:15/km, 152 av. HR), 4:40 E (4:49/km, 151 av. HR), 2:30 T (4:07/km, 163 av. HR), 2:20 E (6:03/km, 146 av. HR), 8:00 M (4:18/km, 162 av. HR), 28:00 E (4:56/km, 152 av. HR). The JD table give that just under 18 points, which is the most points I have ran since I read the book.
Today I thought I was going out for an Easy and relative long run. It was easy but I just felt realy good all the wy around and by the time I gou home Irealised that I'd done 17.2km! I was surprised how easy it was - I even managed to do 7x6 chin-ups on the way home and as I sit here writing I don't feel a long run in me, even though I've set a new point record: 23.4! I'll see what tomorrow brings I suppose.
2007/12/21
Not so busy this week. Monday's run was followed by our work Christmas party so that pretty much made Tuesday a day of rest and recovery. Wednesday's athletic endeavours consisted entirely of a 30 min swim in the work pool - probably the hottest pool on the planet! Upon jumping in I felt a warm sensation - this , to me, suggests that the water was hotter than 37 C... I didn't need a sauna after that swim!
Thursday I went out for a long-ish run: 14km at 144 av HR at 4:44/km - lots of 4s' in that run-data! Felt great all the way around and had a nice cold beer after. Tomorrow is the tri-clubs two or three hour spinning. I can't decide if I'll do two or three... My bike time is almost zero these days - three hours might be asking for trouble... I'll sleep on it and decide in the morning. 'Til then...
2007/12/17
I had a friend visiting for the wekend so I only managed to run Saturday and again today, Monday. Saturdays run was the usuall 10k around the water route. I decided to run it at a fairly steady pace - no intervals at all. It felt good all the way around and I averaged 4:28/km with an average HR of 152. It was neither a blistering pace nor a bradycardiac HR, but I was pleased nonetheless. Todays lunchtime run was annother 10k affair - An easy conversational pace at 4:41/km at and average HR of 147 ... It's time to start increasing the distance I think... I'm not going to get too far (or too fast) around the marathon with nothing but a string of 10k runs under my belt. There's plenty of time left, but it's time to start using that time!
2007/12/14
I was pressed for time last night so decided to mix up the run somewhat - to make it a little harder and more interesting. I broke it up into sections of E,M and T paces - these sections were decided by the geography of the run, not some complex physiological analysis. There are some two sections of the run that are difficult to run fast on - there are people, bikes and bad terrain to contend with; these were the E sections. Anyway, it looked something like this;
And it looks like this:
It's now the morning after and I feel like I have survived the run... I had been very tired the previous mornings and was a little worried that my cold from last week was still lingering and ready to pounce again, I seem to have dodged that bullet, however, that does not mean that the decision to go running was wise, probably just lucky.
2007/12/12
Swimming last night was not as easy as advertised ... well, it was, but I didn't swim as I should have. Attendance was poor and as a result I got my very own lane. As a result, after the warm up and drills I did the main set my way; It should have been 8x100 Easy on 2:05, I did 10x100 Not-Easy on 1:40. I know I should forget form that has come and gone, but I am still 8-10 seconds/100m off my best and stillhope to get that back sometime ... preferably sometime soon! I can't decide if I should rest of run tonight. I was sick for a week and have returned relatively hard: Mon: AM Swim, PM Run, Tue: Swim. Wed: Rest? Run?
2007/12/11
Run went well last night. I still had a spring in my step at the end but did feel like I had done a good run. I managed 16 chin-ups at the end and had a shower, a good stretch, nice hot chilie con carne and a beer. All seemed well until I woke up this morning. I was very tired... I felt like I had been glued to the bed, I just couldn't find the energy to move. I'll cancel spinning today and just go swimming tonight instead - the club has just finished it's prep-1 phase so we're is in the middle of an easy week - sounds tailor made!
2007/12/10
I'd say that I am 99% recovered, it's time to train again. Because it's only December, I decided that it was better to recover completely before I did anything at all. I have to admit that I needed encouragement it follow this plan, or more precisely; I needed to be sternly discouraged from training yesterday, or to be completely honest; I was not allowed to train yeserday!
Today I swam at lunch - I concentrated on technique, particularly the pull phase, or more particularly still, the transitional phase between the catch and pull. I find that, when tired, this is where my stroke begins to fall apart. I concentrated on trying to feel the water during this phase - I think that most of us have a tendency to 'let go and re-catch' the water during this phase - at least that's what I feel myself and also what I see when I am training with other trithletes.
I'll do an easy run tonight and attempt some chin-ups... The chin-up goal, while not in any way important, has drifted off track. The goal was (and is):20 chin-ups before christmas. I was at 16 before I was sick, tonight I'll see where I am and then I'll really see if it can be done.
2007/12/05
--Sick-- Have a cold, I'll be out of action for the rest of the week, so my devoted reders, aka me, will have notheing to read for the next few days!
2007/12/04
I've been a bit lazy the past few days, not with my training, just my writing - I simply couldn't be bothered! Since Friday I have done quite a bit: Johan and I did a lunchtime run and we smoked it! We did the 5k lap in 22:17... considering the conditions, and the fact that we were going at only about 85%, I think it was pretty fast. Saturday morning I went to Bosön on Lidingö to do 2 hours of indoor cycling on a 200m banked running track. It's great fun and because of the size of the track you really think that you are flying. The set we did was 6x:
- 10 min w/u
- 10 min AeT
- 1 min Rest
- 3 min Hard
- 2 min Rest
- 10 mins w/d
The average speed for entire session was 31.7km/h. We were doing ~33km/h for the AeT sets and 36-39km/h for the Hard sets. I was nicely tired at the end!
Sunday was a non-starter... I had a few -quite a few- beers on Saturday night and was laid up for the day... I was still hung-pver going to bed at 12.30, I was glad to say goodbye to the day.
Monday was business as usuall - Climbing, Swimming and a solid run: 46 mins, 18mins E (4:35/km), 8 mins T (4:01/km), 8 mins up-hill T (4:35/km), 12 mins E (4:55/km)... 15 chin-ups on the way home.
2007/11/30
It ended up being quite a good week after all. Monday was a rest day - with a little bit of swimming and climbing, Tuesday was a total rest day, Wednesday - run, Thursday - swim with club, Friday - run.
2007/11/27
It's time for a rest. Sunday I did a 16km run and can still feel it today, in fact, I think that I ran too much last week. This week I will back off and do some weights and swimming and start afresh again next week... I have to remember that I have lots of time to prepare for Stockholm Marathon IF I DON'T GET INJURED!
2007/11/24
I did my first propperswim in allmost three weeks thismorning: Up at 8:30, in the pool by 9:10, did 200w/u, 7x400... The 400s were done in:7:02,6:51,6:46,6:40,6:30,6:41,6:31. It is probably the slowest I've been for tree years, however, when you take into account the fact that there is a new baby in the house -our first one- it puts it into perspective. It's not too bad.
While I was training in the public lanes there was a club training two adjacent lanes. Boys only, I'd say ranging in age from fourteen to sixteen, it's hard to say, but they were swimming a little faster than me, probably the speed I swam at last year - not bad, but hardly Ian Thorpe. Anyway, that's not the point! I was completing one of my sets and I one of the guys came past me at a tremendous speed: To say he made it look as if I was standong still would be a gross understatement, this guy was flying! I let my ego calm down and continued swimming and reckoned that it was probably their number one guy, nothing wrong with being humiliated by the best I thought. Unfortunately, the very same thing happened again on my next 100 ... A torpedo comes pst me - a different guy, probably only 160-165 ih height, I began to get suspicious. I stopped at the end of the pool and saw that they were teathered to a line and were being sling-shot up the pool... I have never seen that before and was instantly relieved!
Now at home waiting to begin to re-organise some storage - can't wait!
2007/11/23
Just back from a lunchtime run with Richie. All my running and cycling gear was in the wash so I went out in my cross-country skiing gear. I discovered that it is not waterproof and when wet, it is not windproof. We took it nice and handy and managed to do just under 10k in 46 minutes. I'd rate it as an E run: 9.56km in 46:51 @ 150bpm @ 90 Cad... Dr. Jack would rate that at a tad over 13 points; That gives me a total of 43 points so far this week. Annother long run on Sunday will bring me to about 55-60, which I think is plenty for this time of the year.
One minor thing worth noting - My "Polar Running Index" has dropped quite a lot this week. I don't realy believe in it too much -in absoulte terms at least- however, when the number is dropping something must be happening! I'll keep an eye on it and maybe might take a break if it continues to drop.
2007/11/22
Annother run last night. I couldn't really decide how to take it: Easy, Tempo or whatever so I just headded out and ran as I deemed fit at the time. It ended up being an Easy run (4:47/km, HR 149) because I found that I had no 'spring' in my step, so I just kept it easy and did 16 chin-ups at the end... 4 more needed to reach my goal of 20!
One minor problem --- my bursitis is coming up again. Not pain yet, just a sensation. I'll keep an eye on it and see how I am going to manage it.
2007/11/20
I'm on he comeback trail now --- I've decided that I'll do Stockholm Marathon and not IM France. With a new baby in the house, it just doesn't seem fair to commit myself to an IM... So it will be a running year, something I've wanted to do for a long time and I have a long standing goal Id like to achieve: a Sub 3 hour Marathon.
Saturday and Monday I did some relatively long runs: 12km and 14km. The run last night was just about what I am capable of tollerating at the moment. I think I'll back it off a bit for the moment and do annother long one on Saturday or Sunday - I should be ready for it then. Last night I felt a real lack of base indurance. I can ,when fresh, hold 4:20-4:30/km very very easily but by the end of the 14k yesterday I was finding 4:55/km just about right - this is the Pace Daniels suggests it my E pace (to be used for Long and Recovery runs) so I suppose the guy is pretty spot on!
2007/11/17
1 hour E run taday... Pace very conservative, nice day... Here's my run data for the first month:
2007/11/15
Finaly got out for a run last night. I was feeling almost 100% recovered so just went for a run to test how I was. Managed to get 10k done in 49 minutes... I felt pretty good but definitely felt that I had been sick - It became progressively more difficult to hold pace and form as the run progressed (even though I was running at an easy pace). According to my new buddy Jack Daniesl PhD., my run was worth a grand total of 13 points... Actually 13.132 points to be exact! (49 mins x 0.268). Next thing to do is keep the intensity low and try to get 50 points done this week.
2007/11/14
I have been oout of action with some sort of virus, mostly very tired with other unspecific and varied symptoms. I seem to be getting the better of it and will soon resume training again soon. I will -if I get the chance- put the powercranks and new bars on the racing bike tonight and then hopefuly will get going on that part of my training... I'm still considering IM France. I have two possible plans for next year:
- IM France
- +Small Holiday
- +Beautiful Course
- +Possible to get a Hawaii Slot - improbable though!
- -Financial Cost
- -Time Cost
- 3 hour Marathon
- +I think I can do it
- +Could follow it with a new PB in Sala (HIM)
- +Inexpensive
- +Will be in a good position to do Stockholm 2Athlon
- -No IM
- -Lots of running => higher possibility of injury
2007/11/08
I did a pretty hard run last night. I had planned to do a relatively long and easy one but due to unforseen circumstnaces my time was limited and I ended up doing 9.5k with 16min of T pace in the middle. On the way home I stopped off at my local chin-up bar and managed to crank out 14 chin-ups... One could argue that the last one did not count, because I had to alter the position of my head in order to get my chin over the bar - but feck that - I'm counting it. So I only have to add 6 more to reach my goal... Simple!
Here is the .hrm file from thre run, followed by run data report:
2007/11/05
I ended my first big week well - that is top say, hit 8.5 hours injury free.
To sum it up quickly, Id say:
Swimming is slow and needs a lot of work - I've come to the unfortunate realisation that my relatively quick swimminmg over the past few years are NOT from a deep natural talent! It's just been down to the fae that I've been swimming 3 times a week for a couple of years. When the work stopped I slowed down instantly!
Running is not too bad at all - I'm on track, I just have to remember my rules!
Cycling - I can't comment on this. I should get that 'cross bike built soon. All of the parts are there, I just have to get up off my arse and build the thing... then I can get going.
2007/11/02
The past two days have been pretty hard:
Yesterday I did lunchtime spinning and decided to smack it! I started out with a relatively thoug w/u and increased the effort every 8-12 minutes. For the last 3 minutes of the class I was pretty much maxed-out.
Hit the weights room after that and 4x10 chin-ups (on the machine with -5kgs).
Ended the day swimming with the club... Arms are sore today.
Richie, Johan and I headed out for a leisurely jog around the Ursvik 5k before lunch. I had decided that I was going to take it pretty hard and increased the effort after about 1.5k. I felt smooth for what seemed like a whole minute and was pretty much dead on my feet for the last km. On the way back to the office Richie joked about a sprint home, I encouraged it (by means of a subtle put-down) and we took off... Like the silly, silly men that we are! I'm now tired and content, all-in-all a good week. Tömilen is in 8 days, so that will be by next hard day, until then I'll just go through the motions - strutting my stuff around the general Kungsholmen area and possibly Hellasgården ... Oh yea, and not to mention, the odd bit of fathering!
Here's the HRM file from the 5k section:
2007/10/30
I intended to do an easy (Av. 137) run today. Johan came along and we headed out at what seemed like a reasonable pace to run from work, around the Ursvik 5k and back.
I'm sure none of us intended it but the pace did not remain too easy and by the time I got back to work we had ran 9.77k at an average HR of 150! While this is by no means a
killer run, it still is above what I intended and a possible path to injuy. I think that in future I'll use Kungsholmen as my E runs from now on.
Annother 'rule' I'm going to introduce this year is: Don't run 2 consecutive days in 2007.
2007/10/29
Further to yesterdays entry, I hae been reading and planning and have come up with a run plan.
I have set my intensities as follows:
- E (Easy): Av. 137 (70% MHR), Max HR allowed during run 147
E running is for all long runs (Runs longer than 70 mins) and warm-up and cool-down. - M (Marathon Pace): Av 157-167, depending on duration of run and/or time of the year.
M pace uns will vary from 20-60 minutes and will be considered a hard run. - T (Threshold): Av. 170. These will be done as 20-30 mins at T pace, or n x (15 min @ T pace w/ 3 min rest).
This, along wit a bit of common sense should get me through the season fast, fit and injury free.
2007/10/29
I am starting to get some stability back into my training again. I'm back running now and intend get run-fit again soon.
My current short-term plan is:
- Run every second day, alternating easy/hard on every run... that gives me a hard run every 4 days.
- Cycle to work 3 times/week.
- Swim twice/week.
- Long MTB ride every week.
- Start to do some weights - for run-strength.
- Be able to do 20 chin-ups by Christmas... currently, I can do 13 at the end of my 50 min run.
My main goal is to build run endurance and not to get injured. I have to remind myself after EVERY breakthrough: Rest, Revover and Repeat - ONLY in that order.
Historicaly, after a breakthrough run I tend to Repeat, Repeat, Recover, ... etc... which has been a constant path to injury.
I'm rambling, bottom line is: No injuries in 2008!
2007/10/21
I re-discovered MTB-ing last weekend. I wnet out to Hellasgården for three glorius hours. Here are some photos:
2007/10/17
So, now is tome for reflection...
- What worked and what didn't?
- What will I do next year?
Next yeat... IM Nice, Vatternrundan, Vasaloppet, Stockholm2Athlon Lidingöloppet?