Training Log Archive: bendover

iw and hfw

road cycle from home to sandbanks and back.

what was meant to be an easy trundle to rejuvenate sore muscles turned into a bit of a slog due to a strengthening head wind along the sea front on my way back. what had been an enjoyable ride quickly got tedious. not much fun battling the elements on a fixed gear bike. good to get out nevertheless. nice sunset.

Event: Sothern Champs, Hambleden
 

jog warm up and stretching

southern champs

in the immediate aftermath of this race i was disappointed, as i had run 10 mins slower than my target time of 100mins. however, while i'm aware that this lack of satisfaction will push me on to improve physically, i guess i just need to have a sense of perspective - 9 months ago I would have struggled to finish half of this distance, let alone race it!

race was ok, but i struggled in the first half of the course with a stiff lower back - i shot a wedding yesterday - its a long day - i left my house at 8am, drove to minehead and photographed for the best part of 9 hours, then drove for another 2 hours to Bristol. I'm used to waking up tired and stiff the day after a wedding, but don't normally race the next day. over the first 6-7km i just didn't feel relaxed running. things eased up a bit after that, yet while i was running smoothly on the flatter sections, my downhill running is poor, and i didn't have much to give on the latter section of the course when it came to the uphills. i probably missed about 3 mins, one minute of which was just sloppiness through tiredness at #18. i pulled myself together after that and made sure that i ran clean through to the finish.

pros:

- pretty much ran the whole way, bar a couple of the steeper hills towards the end of the course.

- navigation was smoother than last week; planning ahead was good and i made clear decisions and stuck to them when it came to route choice.

- the last few controls were through flatter terrain - i ran strong and clean through this section.

cons:

- mobility and running smoothness poor in the first half of the course. lower back is painful now.

- ran out of energy for the hills in the latter stages of the course. downhill running slow and awkward.

- lost concentration near the control circle on a couple of occasions, probably accumulated 3 mins of mistakes through sloppiness.


solutions?

i need to build back in a consistent longer run over the next 7-8 weeks, and also try and get into terrain. my schedule is pretty crazy at the weekends between now and the british champs - i might be able to squeeze in some orienteering on the 3rd april, but apart from that today was the last race i'll do between now and BOC Classic in Sheffield. I've got a lot of weekends away shooting and visiting Gwen in Ireland - so I'm going to have to eitther do my long runs midweek or be super disciplined at the weekend to fit in something longer.

i should drop some weight over the next couple of months if i stick to the healthy eating regime; that's going to help with the hills. I think the downhill running is basically always going to be shit. i can live with that.

finally, with the longer runs i'm going to try and build some quality into them - strides, and sometimes a higher tempo section towards the end of the run to simulate classic distance racing.

any other thoughts appreciated!

C • Comment is Free 19

pathetically slow and painful warm down jog.

weight 82.9kg last night. aim is to drop down to sub 81 by the time BOC comes around.

IW and HFW

brisk run from home to pick up hire car.

really easy run from home with matt who i am trying to get fit (this is going to be a real mission...)

did 2 x 100m strides. legs are a little bit sore today, hopefully they will ease off in time for thursday.

IW and HFW - windier than usual.

hill intervals. finally worked out a way of getting a good session in on the days when i work an evening shift - simply combine all my breaks into one 90 min lunch break. why i didn't think of this before i'm not sure, but anyway it worked really well today.

nice brisk warm up through talbot woods and down into bourne valley, then did a 2 min hill interval that took in a flattish section to start, then a real steep slog, a downhill and another sharp uphlll to finish.

2.00
2.01
1.58
1.56
2.01
1.53

all with 1.45 rec, then an easy 10 min warm down.

iw + hfw

real nice lope round meryck park, puggs hole, bourne valley, central gardens and back through meryck park

felt pretty decent, although getting the warning signs of needing new trainers - getting some niggles in my right heel on striking. bring on payday.

some rules up until BOC.

• No junk food. Eating in between meals is fruit only.
• Lower carb intake. Cut out bread entirely. Pulses, cous cous.
• Return to recommended portion sizes for pasta/cereal etc.
• No alcohol midweek. Moderation at weekends
• No ‘full fat’ Coca Cola.
• Drink more water

C • its the first one 2

C • its the first one 8

iw and hfw

warm up then 7x3 min road intervals with 1 min rec.

left my bloody HR monitor at my sisters place so no HR readings this evening.