Training Log Archive: kPa

I would have liked to feel more rested this morning. Felt like I’d had 6 hours sleep rather than 8. I did the session on the track in the woods again as everywhere else is horribly muddy. I’m still feeling a bit tired running, but probably better than yesterday. I was still able to work hard on the reps though.
I think I’ve been a bit low on calories since getting back from the Alps, which hasn’t helped. By the evening, having eaten well all day I’m feeling heaps better.
I had a 60min massage in the afternoon, lots of work on my calves.

Again, I was tired when I got home from work and didn't particularly feel like running. I have a tiny bit of localised soreness at the top of my right hamstring which I assume is the consequence of S&C yesterday (suitcase deadlift perhaps). I didn't really notice it whilst running though. Felt ok in general. Not too tired once I got going. 6 x strideouts on the lane.

In general I felt much better today, but really tired again when I got home from work. I ran to the gym and back along the road for S&C (so actually 2 separate runs). Sluggish to start with but not too bad once I got going. On the way back I had much more energy again.

2 sets of 6-8 reps:

Suitcase deadlift (kg) 2 x 22 22
Step ups (kg) 2 x 12 14
Split squats (kg) 2 x 12 14
Hamstring curls (single leg reps) 16 16
Side plank (hip drop knee to chest) 60s on each side
Captains chair leg raises (reps) 20 20
Single leg arabesque w/ 6kg (reps) 14 14
Adductor side plank - 30s on each side
Reverse plank 55s
DB press 2 x 12 14
DB front raise 2 x 8 8
Pull ups 9 6
Bench dips 20 20

I did the wobble cushion version of the side plank again.
9 pull ups is a PB!
I was hopeless at the adductor planks today - I only did 1 set as it seemed uncomfortable. I don't have any pain in my adductors though.

I had a late flight home last night so I was never going to get much sleep, but I still woke up 1hr before my alarm.
New job. Tired. But not as bad as I thought I’d be. I was planning to have a day off but when I got home I felt a bit sorry for the dog so went for a quick jog around the fields. I actually felt really good whilst running. I had plenty of energy and my legs didn’t feel at all heavy, which makes no sense.

Champex-Chamonix
I felt fairly tired in the morning, but gradually felt stronger as the day went on. There were 3 or 4 of us who mainly stayed together at the front. It was a more civilised pace than yesterday, but by no means easy and early on I had to work quite hard to keep up on the climbs. There were times later on when I felt I could have pushed on ahead but it didn’t seem necessary. We had a couple of breaks and things were generally a bit more relaxed than previous days.
240g carb during the run.

I’m really happy with how these few days went and I don’t feel particularly beaten up now. I ran most of the descents really hard and my quads are fine. The only thing that feels tight are my calves, but it isn’t a big deal. The sections I found hardest (and struggled relative to the others) were the gentle, only just runnable (‘douche-grade’) climbs. But realistically during the race I’ll be hiking most of these.

Courmayeur - Champex
Having been sensible for the last couple of days I decided I wanted to run at the front today and push a little. Us UTMB runners did the first climb together (fairly fast) then waited at the refuge at the top for the CCC runners (their first climb is different to ours). I set off from there with Mimmi, Emelie & Miao and we really went for it all the way to La Fouly. I did drop the others a few times but we stopped briefly to re-group. I felt great, even going over Grand Col Ferret. I was aware the pace was insane, but thought it was worth it for the confidence boost, even if I were to be really tired the next day. We had a break in La Fouly then I continued with Mimmi to Champex at a marginally more civilised pace.
The whole day today was over 2 hours faster than my 2018 race pace for this section.
I ate really well. About 280g carb (MF, bars, sandwich etc)

Contamines - Courmayeur
Different groups set off at different times today, and those doing CCC cut some corners. I ended up running with Elise all day as she was the only person I set off with who was doing the full UTMB route. She was a bit slower than me, especially on the descents. It didn’t really matter as I mainly climbed/descended at my own pace then waited for her. I mainly stopped my watch when I stopped but sometimes I forgot. I was running faster than race pace and there were times when I pushed quite hard on the climbs, but mainly it wasn’t particularly strenuous. I made sure I ran the downhills fairly fast too. I feel like I’m descending quite well. I pretty good all day. I didn’t feel particularly affected by the altitude.
I got a massage on my calves in the evening, they aren’t particularly tight compared to how they sometimes are. I now have some fancy magnetic tape on them to help them ‘relax’. Hmm.
260g carb total (mountain fuel, bars, sandwich)