Archive for September, 2007
Training diary (last weekend)
Sunday, September 30th, 2007Having done the New Forest Marathon I found last weeks training particularly hard and had even worried myself that I may be injured as my left thigh was very sore all week. Having said that I had (by my standards) a good run yesterday at the Littledown 5 and it was also nice not to have to do a long run this weekend. It made it feel slightly easier as I spent an hour in the gym tonight and felt positive about my fitness with upcoming marathons and training.
No Comments »Tough workout
Friday, September 28th, 2007I did a tough workout in the gym during the lunchbreak today. Legs, back, abdominals and upper body exercises. I hope to do 2 workouts in gym each week until Christmas. The purpose is to increase my overall body strength to able to handle high-mileage training later in the winter.
I finished the workout with 30 mins of tempo training on the stairmaster. Equivalent of 7 kms of fast running.
My feet are beginning to feel better. Next week I will start running again. I restrict the running to 30 kms next week and build from there.
My motivation is not 100% right now. It is bit hard to focus on a race that´s more than 4 months away. On the other hand it is good to able to relax a bit and try out different types of training.
No Comments »My new training schedule
Friday, September 28th, 2007Have now started on the new schedule. A nice easy start with a 2 mile loop on a warm and pleasant day. I have come up with a schedule that builds up the mileage every other week with the main runs on 2 consecutive days with a short run on the following day that I hope will keep the legs from ceasing up.
I am hoping that I can change my sleeping pattern so that at least for the 2 mile loops I will be able to get them done before I start work. I have jacked in the bed and swapped it for the floor which I hope will also help me feel less aching in the mornings.
I am contemplating getting one of those ‘wake you up with fake natural light’ type alarms. Maybe I can get one that also speaks to me in Gaelic?
Training Schedule
I have now put together a draft training schedule.
The main ideas are to have 2 longish runs one after the other and to build up mileage every other week, doing something like half the mileage in the intervening week to help recovery. I also want to try a shorter run on the day after the 2 long runs to see if that will help make me less achy during the daytime. I will also have a shorter ’speed’ session, which will maybe be speed sometimes and hills sometimes. Then I add a very short run which I have as a compromise between a day off and doing a little.
This may change a little as my training progresses.
My Routes
2 mile loop
This is a nice run from my house round in a loop. At the end of the 2 miles I have a couple of hundred yards to walk as a small cool down.
The first half mile is downhill to the sea. The second half mile is a pretty tough uphill. The third is a much more gentle uphill which levels out and the last is level with a short down then up to finish.
I use this in place of a rest day just to keep the legs ticking over. I am happy if I get back inside 20 minutes, particularly when the wind kicks up.
My Equipment
Shoes
My preferred shoe for the road is Nike Free 5.0, and for the trail Nike Free 5.0 trail. I also sometimes run in Nike Free 7.0 which give a tad more support and are definitely a bit easier on the feet over rocky terrain. I will give any version of Nike Free a go, and also own a pair of Walsh’s for fell type terrain but find them a bit too narrow for comfort.
When not running I rarely wear anything other than Vivo Barefoot, a very thin soled shoe which seems to help toughen up my feet.
I’m not sure I could recommend my footwear unreservedly to others. The Free are designed to be half way between running shoes and bare feet, so don’t offer much in the way of cushioning or support. This means you really have to ‘listen’ to your feet and legs and change the way you run so that your body can provide its own cushioning. The average runner who changed to Frees and carried on running as they are used to would probably pick up an injury pretty soon. Most people that wear them use them as a training tool for short runs only.
No Comments »My week so far
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007I currently have a crushed heal on my left foot, caused by wearing a pair of trainers that I suspected were faulty after having only ran in them for a short time. Nonetheless I chose to run and paid for the indecision, although to be fair it doesn’t stop me completely.
To compensate I have increased my cycling taking time to ride the 33 miles home. not done every day I might add.
I regularly attend my gym, normally about three times a week again depending on work and family life, but I do take part in the advanced spinning class for an hour, before then hitting the running machine and then weights.
Distance running. I usually use the work run.. not the full 33 thank god, but it depends on how I feel. some days I park my car 15 miles away and cycle in to work, before running back to it at the end of the day.
Swimming. I try to keep up swimming by always doing 2.5miles. which is about 150 lengths with another 10 added making 160 because I always loose count, typical man..
This weeks training so far:
Two occasions at the gym completing the above, and once swimming the 2.5miles. I can not train tomorrow (Thu) due to other commitments,
Friday is a rest day for me from work, so I plan to run a 15 mile route over hilly route locally. this will be followed later in the day with the 2.5 mile swim and a spinning session in the gym.
My next run of note is the Leicester Marathon which I am taking part in to use as distance running, I am not a competitor because I plod, about 4hr 15mins, but it maintains by running level which I am happy with. I train because I like the challenge of doing hard events others don’t and to test my resolve. There would be no point in setting a challenge.. if you knew you could do it….
No Comments »Training commences
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Training has started, but with my mouth not my feet. A neighbour dropped by last night with a present. A bit of a local delicacy and tradition, there is a small island / sea stack a few miles off the north of the island. Since ‘time immemorial’ the islanders have visited once a year to catch guga.
This is the first time I have tried this, or anything quite like it. A gamey meat that is very salty and sea-like, I should imagine it very good food for training.
Soon I will start on the legs.
No Comments »Recovering this week
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007My feet are still sore from a 100 km race I ran on Sept 15. There will be no running this week to give the feet some time to recover. Instead I will make two visits to the gym.
Long-distance running is lot about leg-strength. Strong legs will carry you through the last third of a long race. Between Sept and Dec I try to lift some weights 1-2 times a week to strengthen my legs, abdominals and back.
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