Training Log Archive: anglo_scot

Hurting a lot after yesterday's session, my legs being very tight and heavy for the whole run. Cant really remember where we ran for the first half of the run as I was talking but we ended up on the dual carriageway at the back of town. Most of the run was on muddy trails, which was good as every time we ran on tarmac it felt horrible. Everybody who did the session last night felt the same. Tired as well this morning, as I was up until 3.30 writing an essay.

Decent circuits session tonight, although pretty much everybody was lacking in motivation as the session yesterday really caused some damage. This isn't a negative, just when you are running hard for 36 minutes on road and track then the next day is always going to be sluggish. Still, I felt stronger than ever on all the exercises. Another hard day tomorrow with a 9.5 mile tempo, then rest day on Friday.

Short and easy run before tonight's session, running with Matt to Burleigh Woods, one lap, then back via Ashby Road. Cold morning, with my legs feeling pretty tired to begin with.

Another good session this evening which shows I am progressing well week-on-week. Tonight we had a 15 minute effort on the road, 8 minutes recovery, 6 x 800m with a 200m jog recovery on the track, 4 minutes recovery, and finally a 6 minute effort, again on the road.

I warmed up with Blair and then Matt joined in, running around the track for a bit, then on the grass. The calves felt pretty tight and overall my legs didnt feel particuarly fast. I then did some drills and strides before starting the 15 minute effort, which was a loop around campus, starting outside the hipac, up past the Brockington Building, down a hill then onto Epinal Way, before turning left up through the campus main gate and onto another lap. I was with Henry, Frank, Nick and Tom TP for lap 1, passing through the mile in 5.04. Henners then upped the pace as he was only doing the 800m session (a 15 minute effort and 6 x 600m). For lap 2 I was with Frank, Tom and Nick. Nick started falling back at the start of lap 3, myself letting a gap form between Frank and Tom, as I was really trying to prevent lactic acid hitting me so early in the session. I backed off and finished around 40m behind them, feeling like I was right on my threshold, so a pretty good 15 minute rep.

We then had 8 minutes recovery, which I used to change from my trainers to racing flats. For the 800's I was in a group with Blair, Tom and Jake, as well as Frank for the first rep and a guy in an orange t-shirt for 3 or 4. Rep times were 2.21, 2.23, 2.21, 2.24, 2.21, 2.21. On rep 4 orange t-shirt guy absolutely died while running at the front, so the pace lagged for 80m or so. Me and Blair worked well in the last 3 reps, myself taking the pace for the first 400m, Blair taking over for the last 400m. Happy with the times considering the effort at the start of the session, and the short recovery. Actually felt stronger as the 800's progressed. Frank was looking good running 2.16's.

I then had only 3 minutes recovery rather than 4 (does a minute really make that much of a difference!?), before the 6 minute effort. Me, Frank and Blair set of together, running on the same loop as the 15 minute run. I felt good for the first 3 minutes, but the last 2 1/2 minutes I was hurting, as the other two got a gap of 30m ish on me. I still went through the mile in about 5.05 though, which is not bad on undulating course at the end of a tough session. My endurance is very very strong at the moment, although I seem to struggle a bit on the hills- and I am meant to be a mountain runner!!!!

I didnt run for my warm down as my legs were trashed, instead hitting the static bike and cross trainer with Blair and Joe, before heading off to Toby's Cavery with Henners, Tom, Blair, Harry, Joe, Jake (aka Shank) and Matt for a massive meal!

A bright and sunny morning for running, it being light for our morning runs now the clocks have gone back. I met Matt, Blair, Joe and Tom at the hipac, the run today being by longest morning run at Loughborough so far, as we ran up to the Outwoods, running two loops and back. I felt pretty lethargic at the start, heaviness in my legs being with me for the entirety of the run, but this wore off towards the end as the body woke up. The long drag at the back of the woods was pretty tough on the legs, although aerobically I was getting up them ok.

Club run. Started out on the back of the 6 1/2 mile loop, then through the town centre, up Beacon Road, through the Holywell buildings and back to the hipac via Epinal Way. Felt very good, started out easy then picked it up towards the end. Hoping the legs are good for tomorrow nights' session. Faffed around in the hipac for a good hour afterwards doing some stretching and some core work.

Standard Sunday long run loop, over Beacon and Broombriggs. Felt pretty sluggish all the way up to the top of Broombriggs, but once into Woodhouse Eaves I started to feel a bit better, although I did have that heavy legged feeling for the whole run. Once we got back to the Outwoods gate me, Chris, Tosh and Jamie Langley ran another loop, running down to the reservoir, round it then back into the student village via the main road. Bright and sunny morning for running, and a good turn out as well, with around 20 people doing the long loop over Broombriggs, and about 40 people starting the run.

A cold but sunny morning in Loughborough, this being the first "gloves and hat" run of the winter! I met Henry at the hipac, heading off to Burleigh. We did a loop of Burleigh Woods then ran back to Butler Court (Henry's halls), before I headed off past Brock and up through campus back to Whitworth. Felt very good, maybe slightly tired on the climbs but other than that my legs are feeling very springy. I'm doing a session on the grass this afternoon, as I reckon I need a bit more cross country specific repetition training, taking into account that the distance of the Liverpool race is only about 6500m, and by all accounts pretty flat.

Grass session with Henry, Mike and Ant. The session was 5 x 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute with a 2 minute, 1 minute, 3 minute recovery. Looks easy on paper, I assure you it is not, as I stopped after 3 sets, feeling sick and "swimming in lactic"

Warmed up for 10 minutes or so down from the hipac to Holywell pitches. This is where we had our first casualty of the session, Ant deciding he would just go on a run, due to being slightly worse for wear following Friday Night Disco yesterday night. Quote from Ant: "Anyone fancy cleaning up the sick in my room?". Silly boy....

Anyway, we decided to do the session on the left hand pitch at Holywell, the full loop being around 1 1/2 minutes long. The first set was okay, although it did feel quite fast and I was breathing hard after the first rep. At the end of the first set we had a second casualty, this time Mike stopping for a more legitimate reason; a hamstring pain. Second set was okay, but the third set I went to pieces, Henry gradually pulling away each rep by 5-10m. Fourth set I was dizzy and feeling faint, and good taste the ginger nuts I had consumed two hours previously starting to come up, so within 45 seconds of the 3 minute rep I pulled over, and stopped. Felt pretty bad about it but analysing my training this week I reckon I pushed it just a little bit too hard. Basically I should have rested yesterday.

Warmed down with Henry by running back to the hipac, then a couple of laps of Brock, then back to Whitworth. I've said it previously, sometimes it is good to fail as it makes you realize where you really are in your training. Hopefully another three weeks of training will help me complete the next grass session that I will do, which will be the Saturday before Liverpool.

"Rest Day" today but I decided that I wanted to run anyway, as I've had a bit of a headache all day so I thought some fresh air would help it, which it did. Ran with Harry for 20 minutes up to and around Burleigh Woods. I then did one more lap to make it 3 in total and then ran back to my halls. Felt pretty tired but nice just to get out.

"Speed Efficiency Drills" with a fella called John from the English Institute of Sport Performance Centre. He works for Loughborough Sport but also with professional rugby teams and England Netball, among other teams I think. Basically the session consisted of lower leg muscle drills aimed at creating a more efficient muscle memory when running so you can, in a nutshell, run faster! We started of with a little jog warm up, then hurdle drills combined with dynamic stretches. We then did some drills on the 40m ish indoor track straight, before using the combination of these drills on the hurdles once more, combined with some explosive hopping exercises. We then finished with some glute strengthening exercises.....

...A surprisingly difficult session overall! I seem to have a lot of explosive power and good overall muscle strength, but not much muscle elasticity, meaning my hurdle drills are pretty lacklustre! Basically my hamstrings are way too short! Need to do more stretching!

Decent tempo run this evening, increasing the pace to a tempo within the first 1000m, rather than waiting until after the first mile like two weeks ago. Nick pushed on down Epinal Way, with me and Mike following. We were talking up to McDonald's, but as we hit the "Asian Sector" it went pretty quite as the heart rate increased. Once we got back onto the main road Mike was dropped, with Nick turning right about 3/4 mile later as he was running the 9 1/2 mile loop. I carried on along the 6 1/2 route, feeling pretty strong, although the pace lagged off a bit towards the end due to traffic lights. Legs felt pretty heaving, having just finished a drills session an hour earlier, but the upper body felt strong. I wasn't wearing a watch, so the time was just an estimate based on the time Mike came in at and how far ahead I finished in front of him. Probably quite accurate as I'm pretty sure I was quicker than the last time I ran the course.

Another short run this morning, and another morning where I woke up feeling very tired. Met Matt at the hipac (third consecutive day that Harry hasn't turned up!), and ran into town, through the main street and back the way we came. The routes of the morning runs are very boring now due to it being a lot darker. Legs feeling a bit stiff, but otherwise ok after the session yesterday.

Had a bit of a shocker once I got back to my halls. Basically you need a keycard to unlock the door between 8pm and 8am, which I forgot to take with me, so I was left standing in the cold for a good 25 minutes waiting to be let back in!

Club run, meeting at Brock. My legs felt pretty heavy running out to Woodhouse Eaves (can't remember how we got there as I was talking to Jake the whole way), but once we headed back to Loughborough I started to feel a bit more springy, although I do have pretty tight muscles at the moment. Pretty hilly route (for Loughborough anyway), and I seemed to get up them strongly. Circuits this evening.

Good circuits session this evening, think I am getting stronger on all exercises. Managed to do all stations, the Achilles holding up well (touch wood). Slightly more intense session than last week, as we only had 30 seconds recovery.

Very short and easy run with Matt before the session tonight. I was very sleepy when I woke up, and took a good 20 minutes to get changed and get out of the door! Felt lethargic all the way through the run, and still sleepy when I finished!

Great session tonight! Very pleased to get off to a good start in the first session of this particular block in the Gandy programme. The session was pretty much a mile reps session, the option being 4-6 x 5 minutes (the 1500/5k/10k session) with a 60 second recovery. In that session there was also an 800m group doing 6 x 1000m, starting at the same time as the 1500/5k/10k session, and also a few people doing 4 minute reps.

I warmed up with Harry and Mike for a bit, then with Henry and Jake. Did about 1.75 miles round the track, then a few laps of the grass infield. Inside the hipac, while I was doing my drills and strides, hardly any of the endurance group were talking....there was definitely an air of tension due it being the first track session of the winter!

First rep I got in a group with Henry and Jake, running 4.50 through 1600m, this feeling very comfortable. Rep 2 was pretty much the same, although I was breathing perhaps a touch harder. We hit 4.53 on this one. Third rep was when the hard work started, with me, Henry and Blair (who was doing 4 minute reps) latching on to Baddick and Samuels, hitting 4.50 again. I felt tired after this rep, and vowed that rep 4 would be my last! I took the fourth rep lap by lap, and at 1200m I found I was still with Henry, so took confidence in this and passed 1600m in 4.53, with Baddick not too far in front, and Samuels just behind me. Rep 5 Henry really pushed on, and absolutely trounced me. He must have ran 4.48, while I ran 4.58. Still, I was pleased I got through it, and was still very close to Baddick. I think I finished in front of Samuels too. I started rep 6, but finished at 800m (2.26?). Henry ran a good last rep. The Gandy plan is based on progression, so hopefully in two weeks time I can run 6 reps at a consistent 4.50 pace.

Warmed down with Henry, Jake, Blair and Tom T-P (all freshers like me, the future of LSAC is bright!). Felt pretty bad at the start but felt ok again by the time we got back to the hipac, after running on Brock fields. Overall a good start to structured sessions. 5 weeks to Liverpool, a lot of hard work ahead.

Another misty run this morning, meeting Matt at the hipac. Due to it still being dark we ran a really boring route, simply running along Epinal Way then turning around once we hit 15 minutes, running back exactly same way. I find it weird how you never notice the sun coming up when your running in the morning, by the time I got back it was pretty much light! Felt a bit sleepy for the entire run, but the body seems to be feeling okay.

Club run. It was getting dark by the time we set off so we just did loops round housing estates, ending up nearby the Thorpe hills. Started off easy, but then picked up to 6.20's at one point. I was trying my hardest to stay as relaxed as possible due to the mile reps session tomorrow night. Apart from some tight hamstrings, I was very comfortable, and finished feeling fresh.

Beacon Hill-Broombriggs Loop again this Sunday, same as last week, although this time we were about 4 minutes quicker! Felt very good, climbing exceptionally well on the Beacon and on Broombriggs (although breathing heavy on the latter climb, mainly down to following Mike Cooke as he chased some non-Lboro runners that he spotted ahead of us!). As we hit Woodhouse Eaves me, Mike, Matt and Alex separated from the group, Mike stopping just as we got back into the Outwoods, due to stomach problems. Felt great going through the woods, stopping at the gate to let the group catch up, whom only ended up around 30 seconds behind us. I then ended up smashing it back to Matt and Alex, catching them back up at the Holywell hill, just as we entered the student village. Ran with them all the way to the hipac. Finished off with 4 x 100m ish with Blair and Harry. Upper body feels strong, with a bit of pop in the legs. Looking forward to the first hard session of the year on Tuesday; 6 x 5 minutes.

Ridiculously misty for the entire run this morning, you could only see perhaps 50m ahead! It's past mid-day as I'm writing this and it still hasn't cleared up! Possibly a sign of a cold winter ahead?

First club fartlek today, the session consisting of a steady run up to the Outwoods, then a fartlek in the woods, going hard up each hill, and steady/easy on the flats. There is around 5 sections of hill in the Outwoods, these ranging from steep 30m segments to a long drag of 400m +. You then finish off with an easy jog back to the hipac. I felt pretty decent today, took a while for my legs to warm up (stiffness etc), but once we got into the woods and onto the hills I began to feel light and quick, my form holding up very well on the climbs. The long drag at the back of the woods was hard going on the first lap, although in the second lap I felt brilliant, taking it on at the base of the climb and holding the lead by 10m or so all the way to the top of the climb. Once back to the hipac I finished off with 4 x 200m, taking a 100m walk recovery, with Mike. Did 31, 29, 29, 28, and they felt very fast for the pace they were actually ran in! In a months time hopefully I can run 28-27's if I can continue to do the 200's twice a week. Will also start doing 80-100m strides after every run now.

Rest Day.

I'm sure this was faster. I didnt wear a watch and had to ask somebody I finished with at the end of the run, so they might have started it before the club run began? We ran the 5 mile route, starting out easy but then picking up after 1 mile. At this point I moved up to the front group with Frank, Andy and two other guys. I felt good for the next 3 miles, running easily through the two housing estates, just behind Frank. Frank increased the pace about 600m before Thorpe Hill, a steep climb at the beginning of the last mile or so. I blew up here, and was then caught by Andy and another guy (albeit after taking a wrong turn) with 600m or so to go. Felt sick all day, so to get a tempo run in, especially after missing the one scheduled for Tuesday is quite pleasing. Did 4 x 80m ish with Blair Brown and Alex afterwards. No pains, just tired muscles from circuits yesterday.

A short run to test out the legs after yesterday's mishaps. The lowdown basically is that both calves are now very tight, although the right one that cramped up yesterday seems to be ok. Felt tired from the off, it was dark, cold and wet. Ran with Matt on the 6.5 mile loop until we cut back into campus, running all the way to Holywell before coming back via Ashby Road. Not too sure if I will run again today, I will see how walking goes first!

Ran with Jamie, Chris Perry, Howard Thomson, Henry Pearce, Jake Wightman and another guy who I don't know yet, meeting at Brock field. I never register where we go in the first miles of the club runs as I'm too busy talking, so about 4 miles in I found myself running over the M1! We then cut down a bank (getting obliterated by nettles in the process!) and headed back into Loughborough via housing estates. Felt tired up the hills, due to having only just finished the morning run 4 1/2 hours before starting this second run of the day.

Best circuits session yet. I still did not do the whole thing, missing out the box and tigger jumps, but in all the other exercises I felt strong. I was most pleased with the leg extensions as in week one I could hardly hang onto the bar, and in week two I couldn't extend my legs straight. This week however I could extend my legs out straight, the next step being to get them higher. Was in a group with Harry, Matt, Joe, Alex Goodall, and another guy. Was a funny circuits session, Joe deciding to cover his face in chalk before doing the leg extensions, and then topping this by cramping up on the lunges, on his first lunge!

Rest Day- was up late doing an essay so I didnt wake up early to run with Matt, as I was just going to go later on, on my own. However I was woken up at around 8.30 by a massive cramp in my right calf....I was literally rolling around on the floor, grasping my calve in pain, as the cramp happened. Anyway, I'm finding it very difficult to walk now, the calf is extremely tight and it keeps threatening to cramp again.......UPDATE: 11.00 and the tightness has subsided after taking ibuprofen and paracetamol, as well as continuously stretching the muscle out. Will walk to lectures now and see how that feels.....UPDATE: 14.00 and I can walk pretty much normally, although I now have a dead leg sensation in my calve, it kind of feeling like a tennis ball is stuck in there. Definitely sticking with my decision not to run today, will keep taking the medication and will attempt a jog on my own tomorrow morning.

Nearly missed the run as I fell back to sleep after my alarm went off. It took me just 4 minutes to get up and arrive at hipac! Ran with Matt to Burleigh via a couple of loops of the fields. The mornings are defiantly growing darker as it was pretty gloomy in Burleigh Woods today. Ran back via Ashby Road. Achilles was a bit tight, I need to get on top of this now and get some physio, as it shouldn't be tight at all.

Club run, feeling very good, although the Achilles was niggling at me yet again. I know, I know...why don't I just get physio now? Well at the moment it is £35 that I can't afford, and hopefully with continued stretching, foam roller-ing and self massage it can get back to normal. I'm going to give it a week before I resort to physiotherapy. Anyway, this evening we ran round a pond (although I'm sure one of the guys said it was a "reservoir") twice, before heading off onto the 6.5 mile loop, and back to the hipac. Ran with Adam Kula-Przezwanski, James Straw, Harry and Tim for much of the run, while Matt was at the back and turned off early. Quote from Matt after the run, "I was struggling tonight...had a turtle's head from minute one".

Recovery run after yesterday. Didn't feel too bad actually, just very stiff/tight legs! A massive group at the start, with around 40-50 people, however this dwindled down when we hit the Outwoods. About 25 of us ran to the Beacon, with about 12 doing the full loop over Broombriggs. Cut off early onto a farm track then back into the Outwoods after we ran through Woodhouse Eaves so I only hit 12 miles this week. Aerobically extremely easy the whole way, and the Achilles did not hurt.

Shakeout run before today's race. Ran it in flats to see how the Achilles will hold up. It ached but it seemed ok. Just ran from my halls to the stadium and back.

Warmed up for 10 minutes or so with James Douglas, then stopped to put my number on etc, before carrying on for another 10 minutes. The Achilles was defiantly still aching, but runnable. Usual drills & strides routine before I started.

ERRA National Six Stage Road Relay Championships, Clumber Park

The National Six Stage was in Clumber Park, Worksop this year due to an E.Coli outbreak in Sutton Coldfield. James brought us in in 24th place, myself setting of with Chris Smith (GB senior mountain runner) just ahead of me. I caught Chris on the first climb and didn't see him for the rest of the race. Around 2 minutes in I was hurting, and trying to key off a Birchfield athlete, the Sudanese runner Abdul Aziz-Abdulrahman. For the entire first lap I was with him, and by the second, where I was hurting even more, he started to get away. However, I pushed the downhill section on lap 2 and managed to catch him going over a bridge with 1000m to go. This is when the pain (not to mention the lactic acid) really hit me, and I struggled on this section, this being made worse by some guy with an Alsation getting in my way, causing me to step of the road and onto the grass, losing 2-3 seconds. Needless to say he got a mouthful from me and probably the officials as well! With 600m to go Abdul had 30m on me, and was catching some athletes in front. By 400m to go I was struggling, and with 200m go lactic acid had taken over my legs! A Tipton athlete and Aaron Scott of Notts AC passed me in the last 30m. I finished in a time of 15.35, which was decent. I finished 9th out of the U20's who will run the European trial race on November 24th. Pleased with the run overall, especially after not doing any specific sessions, whereas other people that I know have. Next race is Birmingham League on November 10th. Six weeks till the trial, work to be done.

We finished 25th overall, our highest position in quite a while. Top 20 next year, at least.

Oh, and the Achilles didn't hurt, nor in the warm down....strange.

Warmed down with Tom TP and a bit with James. Had to dive in the bushes a few times...stomach was all over the place for a good 10 hours after the race, I even resorted to taking imodium!

Easy run before tomorrow's race, round Burleigh pitches. Very worried about the Achilles now as it hurt for a lot of the run. Seems to get better when it warms up but I have no idea how it will react on road, at a fast pace. Aerobically ok, and my whole body feels fast and strong....apart from the f**king Achilles, obviously. Going to foam roller my calve and take some ibuprofen.

Everybody in the club went to the SU last night so no run was organised. Felt groggy when I started running (to say the least!), and the Achilles ached for the first 1/2 mile. Thought I was going to be sick after 2 minutes as well but this passed a couple of minutes later! Actually felt decent running-wise once I got going. Ran up to Burleigh, did two laps and ran back.

Club run from the hipac on the 5 mile loop that we tempo'd last week. Ran it very easy with a slight pick up towards the end, as most people are racing on Saturday. Had a few calve spasms but nothing to worry about. Achilles problems better today , although it feels a bit stiff. Put on my flats after the run and did 4 x 200 with a 100m walk recovery. Did them with Joe, he reckons we were doing sub 30's but I am not so sure as they felt very very easy. Then did 2 100's inside the hipac. No trouble with the Achilles when I did this.

Ran with Harry and Matt from the hipac. Headed out along the same route as the tempo run last night, but then carried on along a bunch of cycle paths, before deciding to cut left and into a field. We ran across this field until hitting a muddy track. We could see the Outwoods over a couple of crop fields to our right, so we just cut along the edge of these before heading up the stepped hill and into the Outwoods. We ran for 5 minutes in the woods before running back via Holywell and the Library. Felt tired and stiff from the tempo, but not too bad towards the end of the run.

Ran from the hipac to Burleigh, one lap of Burleigh the opposite way round then back to the hipac via Ashby Road and the hockey pitch. Legs tired, but felt ok aerobically.

Same circuit as last week. Did not do all the stations this week as I twinged my Achilles on the box jumps. Also gave high knees, tigger jumps and lunges a miss. Felt better on the upper body stuff than I did last week, i.e.. I didn't fall to pieces on the second set of press ups! Was in a group with Matt, Harry, Chris Matthews and two other guys.

Ran from the hipac to Burleigh with Matt, lap of Burleigh then back via Ashby Road. Felt tired when I got up and also for the first 10 minutes running, but finished off feeling good. Just a short run this morning due to the tempo this evening.

I really enjoyed tonight's run. We had a "meet the coaches" thing to attend at first for all members of the club, so we didnt actually get running until around 6.45. It started off steady for the first mile (6.19ish), with a group of around 20 guys, but with a group of 4 going ahead early on into the run . Felt really good and was zipping along at the front of the group. After passing Gandy at about 3 miles me and another two lads got a gap of about 30m once past the traffic lights at McDonald's. None of us really knew where to go so seeing as the front group, consisting of Mike, Frank Baddick, Nick Samuels and Andrew Mariani, were about 10 seconds ahead I decided to chase. I think this mile must have been around 5.25-5.30ish, as I bridged the gap in just over a minute, dropping the other two. As I hit the back of the front group Mike turned around and said something like "oh, I was wondering when you would turn up!" From there onwards the pace got faster and faster, it following a pattern of something like 5.41, 5.20, 5.15ish mile pace, until we finished at the university gates. The last 10 minutes were tough and I was just about hanging on in the end, but like last week the effort was kept right on that red line between aerobic and anaerobic, so some good lactic threshold training. The rest of the week will consist of steady and easy running plus the circuits session tomorrow. I'll also do some 200's and 100's after the run on Thursday, just to wake up the legs a little bit before Saturday's road relays.

For some reason my alarm didnt go off this morning so I had to run on my own. I couldn't get to sleep for ages last night so I probably just slept through. Ran quite hard, more out of annoyance for missing the run than anything else! Did the usual Outwoods loop. I noticed of a lot of grey squirrels this morning, and even spotted a fox trotting along the trail around 30m in front of me! Couldn't tell if it was a reynard or a vixen though, it was gone in about 2 seconds! Felt pretty good and finished off feeling very fast.

Club Run. Very easy tonight, not a bad thing as we have a hard tempo run tomorrow night. Ran along the canal, then through a cemetery and back to the hipac. About 30 people + running. Feeling "bouncy".

Writing this a day late as I was lazy yesterday and didn't bother to write a description of the run. We ran a new route (a new route for me anyway), up through Outwoods then into the Beacon Hill Country Park, running just below the Beacon summit before heading downhill then up to Broomriggs. Some great views of the Leicestershire countryside at the top of here, it being a sunny, fresh, autumn morning. We then headed down into a village called Woodhouse Eaves, quite close to Wellbeck Defence College, and then back to Loughborough via farm tracks and fields. The run started off slow but then picked up once people started to drop, I was running with Mike for most of the run, and felt progressively better as the run went on.

Club run on Outwoods loop. The group splintered after 2 miles or so when Mike hit the front! Ran with him, Tom TP, Matt, Harry, Tim and a couple others for the rest of the run. Felt decent and had a bit of zip on the flat while I felt fairly comfortable on the uphills, despite the fact that the body is still aching from Wednesdays' circuits session, and the tempo on Thursday. However, once back into the village, just as we hit the library my left calve/Achilles started to spasm, this causing me to stop and stretch. It didn't really go away so I just decided to walk the last bit back to my halls, but then after 3 minutes or so of walking I was able to run again. Both my calves were cramping during the night as well! Weird.

Rest Day

Burleigh loop with Matt this morning, Harry was a no show! Bit of an effort getting up today, very tired and sore after yesterday's triple training effort, although not as sore as I was expecting after the circuits session. Getting out of bed is only going to get harder when the morning's grow colder, wetter and darker! We ran at a decent clip, the pace naturally slacking off as we went through the woods (which is really twisty and turny) but then picked up once onto Ashby Road. Finished feeling ok. No Achilles trouble.

Club Run. We did the "4 3/4 loop" today, although in actual fact it was bang on 5 miles according to those who were wearing a Garmin. Arrived at the hipac intending to run as I felt, setting off fairly slow due to the stiffness in my hamstrings and glutes. This wore off after 2-3 minutes, and was able to bring the pace down from 6.30's to 5.45's, running with Mike, Tom Traviss-Pollard, Guy Learmonth and Andy Richardson. Jamie Knapp and another guy who's name I don't know yet were out in front by around 80m, so me, Mike and Tom decided to chase. We bridged the gap in about 2 minutes or so, and ran with those 2 along with Alistair Donaldson on the bike to tell us where to go. I was feeling great, my legs had a bit of zip in them and I was able to talk. I found myself at the front at 3 miles, and pushed on with Tom. After around 5 minutes we didnt know where to go so waited for the guys to catch up then me and Tom pushed on again. With around a mile to go we hit a sharp left and then quite a steep hill for 30-35 seconds. I felt pretty sluggish at this point and wasn't generating much power up the hill, but then again I seemed to run well off the top of it. Felt good all the way to the finish, apart from the last 600m where I needed a number 2! Good effort, kept it aerobic the entire way. Achilles troubles were non-existent tonight.

Easy run with Harry and Matt. We were all tired this morning so it was slow for the whole run. We ran the Outwoods loop starting from the hipac, up into the village, past Holywell, into a housing estate then crossed the main road and up into the woods. There's a nice, undulating 3k loop that we run which is perfect for these easy runs, and good for longer runs as you can just add on a couple of more loops. I suppose it's kind of like a less muddy Gelt Woods. Feeling pretty tight and tired this morning, it being a bit of an effort on some of the hills. Did not feel my Achilles while on the run, and only felt it on once when I got up. This afternoon's run will probably be another easy one, with circuits taking places half an hour later.

Ran with Matt from the hipac, past my halls, through the village, a couple of laps of the pitches next to the stadium, then up into Burleigh. Did a loop of Burleigh then back to the hipac pretty much the same way we came. Felt tired/sluggish at the start but a bit more spritely by the time I finished.

The classic Gandy circuit tonight, hasn't really changed since the days of Coe, McGeorge, Buckner etc. The only thing that seems to be missing is the rope climbs.... both disappointing and a relief at the same time! Tonight was an introductory circuit (again in accordance with Gandy's progressive training cycle), so we only performed each exercise twice, for 30 seconds (the recovery being 30 seconds thus 2 minutes at each station).

The circuit was:

1. Bench Dips; what it says on the tin, doing dips while supporting yourself on a standard wooden bench
2. Box Jumps; 9 boxes of various heights, jumping on top of one box, hitting the floor and immediately springing up onto the next one.
3. Horizontal Sprints; In the press up position supported on a wooden box, bringing your kness/quadriceps up towards your chest in a rapid fashion. This gets very difficult after 20 seconds.
4. Planks; This was continuous for 2 minutes, but you do 30 seconds of side planking on your left arm, then the normal plank position, then a right armed side plank, then back to the normal plank.
5. Rebounds; Placing your hands on a box about shoulder height you rebound of the floor and back down for 30 seconds. Works your calves/Achilles tendon.
6. Calf Raises; Continuous, but 30 seconds of both legs slow, then both legs "bouncy", left leg, then right leg. This makes your calves burn!
7. Single Leg Squats; standard squat on one leg, trying to get the kneecap in line with the foot each time you squat
8. Sprint Arms; Self explanatory, 2 minutes of swinging your arms in the motion of a sprinter. Difficult for the last 45 seconds or so.
9. Hanging Leg Extensions; THIS WAS HARD!! Consisted of hanging on a bar and extending your legs out in front of you until maximum extension (the aim is to get them completely straight), holding the position, then bring them down to repeat. This literally hurts everywhere.
10. Back Extensions; Lying on your stomach you raise your legs up, and then lift your head up, holding the position for 2-3 seconds before bringing it back down to repeat. This was also continuous. Particuarly hurts in the abdominals, trapezius, and obliques.
11. Press Ups; To be as bouncy as possible, so when you get good you are able to clap between press ups. Press ups are a lot more difficult after having already performed the above exercises.
12. Abdominal Crunches; a modified form of sit-ups in which the knees are picked up alternately towards the upper body. You then perform the sit up, bringing your chest/head towards the knees. Very hard.
13. Rapid Jumps; I didn't do this one as I thought the very fast jumping would aggravate my Achilles (which seems to be getting back to normal, touch wood). Basically it is a high, slow jump followed by two very fast one's, the aim being to develop explosiveness.
14. High Knees; fast high knees on the spot, trying to keep the upper body straight and the arms pumping.
15. Bounds; bounding the length of the gym, in the lunge position, so it works your quadriceps and hamstrings but also adds in explosive power.
16. Leg Extensions; Lying on your back you bring your kness up to your chest then alternately extend each leg straight, then bringing it back to your chest, the aim being to be slow and controlled.

Was in a group with Matt, Harry, James Wilkinson and Rob Whittle. Next week I think it is 3 x 30 seconds. Will probably hurt in a lot of different places tomorrow morning!

Met Mike and Harry at the hipac and ran through campus, past Holywell, into a housing estate then up into the Outwoods. Took a toilet break in the woods then carried on round a lake, then back to Loughborough via the main road. Felt quite tired, not used to running this early yet. Achilles is ok, can still feel it but no real pain.

Club run on the "6 1/2" course (it's actually 6.72!). This is the course that we will tempo next week, but before today's run Gandy just told us that this is a steady to relaxed week. Basically he doesn't want us to smash everything in the first month as his training cycles are all based on progression, so if you really hurt yourself in training within the first 2 weeks then progression will almost certainly be deterred in the following 10 weeks. I ran in the second group with most of the guys, it starting off easy then picking up a notch every couple of k's, until we were running 6.10-6.15 pace. This felt really comfortable, the only trouble being my stomach, as I only had my dinner 45 minutes before the run.....fish pie and running do not mix! The pace slackened off in the last mile due to road crossings. First triple day in training tomorrow with 2 runs and a circuit session.

Met Matt at the hipac, then ran through the campus, past the stadium then into Burleigh Woods. Did a loop of the woods then back to my halls via the main road rather than cutting through campus again. We were going at a decent clip, legs felt great but my right Achilles is still quite tender. Ok to run on I think, may possibly have difficulty running at a faster pace in flats. I also have a cough/cold which is making my chest very tight.

Club run from the hipac. About 25-30 guys and girls running, setting off at an easy pace (7.30's) but then getting quicker once Mike Cooke hit the front (got to 6.30's probably). Need to keep tab of where we are running, it's so easy to forget running in a group. Eventually got to Holywell Park where the stadium is, running round that, back through campus, past my halls, to the hipac, then added on round Brock with Mike and Sam Tosh. Felt good, Achilles still giving me jip and legs spasming again, like they did at the Dumfries 10k, just not as bad. Need to keep on top of these little niggles with a lot of foam rolling and stretching. On the plus side I took some ibuprofen which has taken the edge of my cold/cough, so no tight chest when running.