Training Log Archive: stiands

Misjudged the distance to the head of the trail by a couple of minutes, but only because I had to start higher up to avoid a patch of snow that hasn’t melted yet.

Ran into the valley on dirt roads with less snow than yesterday after doing the warm up exercises and drills.

Felt alright this morning. Motivated and no pains/niggles. Seemed like my hips were less tight as well.

13 degrees, clear skies and no wind so I wore a t shirt and shorts for the first time this year. Pretty awesome! Backpack weighed a little over 2kg. Had filled water bottles in it.

8 x 3 mins (3 min recovery, «jog» back down)

First rep was definitely a 9+/10 effort from the go. The trail is constantly at a gradient between 50-60%. It’s a very technical trail by Norwegian standards. Considering how rocky it is, the only way it could be more technical is if the rocks were loose. If the rocks hadn’t been there I imagine I’d be down with my hands on the trail a lot, but they have the same effect steps would so it isn’t that bad.

Somehow I timed the going down perfectly so I basically never stood still. Always ended up with exactly 3 mins of recovery.

I knew that if I could replicate the pace and effort of the first rep eight times, this would have been an amazing session. I got the same distance the second and third rep, but to be honest, I didn’t think I’d make it to six reps after the third one. Because it was so steep and basically was like running up a stairwell with tall steps, my quads were really tired. I feared my effort level would be limited by how tired my legs became, but somehow I got through rep 4,5,6. Effort level was still 10/10.

7 and 8 were really painful. Didn’t get as far up this time. Was breathing fucking hard though and quads were on fire.

Found a secure spot to lay down after the last rep and stayed there for 5 minutes until I was ready to go back down again. Looking back it was a fun session. 3 minutes passed by really quickly. I know that I wont compete on a more technical trail ever so it kind of gives me confidence. Also, I’ll get fucking strong by getting beat up by this every once in a while.

Note that the distance for this session is going up 8 times and down 7 times, so I only ran about 150m each rep. Still climbed 600m though which says a lot.

Cut my leg at a rock and bled some, but didn’t notice until after the session was over so it can’t be that bad.

Ran back home. Felt a little sick, like I might puke. But it went away after 5 minutes. Same went for the pain in my quads. Only wished it was a little less hilly. Went at the easiest effort possible.

Went out after handing in my paper. It was a heavy burden, so I'm glad that it's off. Two weeks until the next exam, and then another 10 days until I'm off for the summer.

Went through the entire pre-run routine. Two sets of drills. Felt alright. Yesterday was pretty easy so there's no reason I shouldn't be fine. Not sore anywhere. Maybe my hips are a little tight. I'm going to stretch this evening.

Ran into the valley in hope of finding more dirt than snow. It's getting there. Also scouted out the trail for tomorrow's hill reps. Looking good. Surprisingly dry. Very steep and a little rocky, but they are not loose so I'm not worried.

Somehow I managed to stop my watch accidentally after 3.23 kilometers and only noticed 10 minutes later. Restarted the session. Guess I missed two kilometers or so. Was definitely some climbing there so I think the number should be closer to 200m.

Ran the hill reps on a steep dirt road. All of them were in the 10-9 second range and recovery lasted for 2:45-3:00. Good form today. At least it seemed so to me. Definitely activated my hips, core and upper body. Good times.

Treadmill run to warm up before S&C. Short and sweet. Legs are fine. Not sore in my calves anymore. Spent 15 minutes at 5:00 min/km and 2% incline and then sped up a tad the final 5 minutes to ensure I was getting warm.

Pretty much in control of the paper I was writing so I found time for this in the morning. This didn't feel as good as the other cycling workouts I have done. Might be stress from school, but it didn't seem like I was going as fast at the same effort as usual. Still a pretty good session. I still enjoy these, but want to get a couple of skimo-sessions in before the season is over. Right now it's 12 degrees and it's melting like crazy.

Met up with Yngvild Kaspersen (Adidas-athlete) and ran the long run. Same route as always, but I tried the Carbon Rockets for only the third time and so it was a little quick. Shoes are awesome. Pretty sure I could run even quicker on a flat route like this and it would still be at a moderate effort.

A little sore afterward in my lower calves. Usually I run these in the slowest shoes I've got (the Arahi) and never end up sore or anything.

Don't remember that much, but I'm just so relieved that exam is handed in so right now I don't even care.

Tried heading into the valley on the dirt road, but it was mostly covered in snow yet so had to run on gravel and road instead.

I remember not feeling that good, but I guess all the school stuff was the reason for that.

Must have miscounted the strides because I always to 6, but seem to have only done 5.

6x500m/full recoveries

Finished up some school stuff and went out. Forgot about my drills today. Did my warm-up exercises but..

It was nice out and I was wearing track pants and two upper layers. 6 degrees, cloudy and some wind.

Ran the hilly route to the bottom of the hill I've used for these. Felt alright. Maybe not as good as last time I did these sprints. Don't think there's any particular reason for that. Wasn't tight or sore anywhere.

Changed into the Rehi. It's a very fast shoe. Lighter than the Tracer/Carbon Rocket/Mach.

Splits:
1:53 (5:59)
1:52 (6:04)
1:47 (6:06)
1:50 (6:07)
1:50 (6:06)
1:49

I'm more happy with my effort this time around. It was more even from start to finish. Wasn't scared to run a little quicker early on and I think it made for a better workout. Definitely a 9+/10 for the final four sprints at least.

Took off one upper layer after the third one and ran with my bag the final rep so I wouldn't need to run down, pick it up and go back up the hill again after the final rep. I would have run for longer than prescribed if so.

Ran to the gym. Cloudy, windy and 5 degrees. The snow is MELTING. Maybe May will be a good month after all. Did my warm-up exercises prior to the run. Felt pretty good. A little tired after the workout yesterday. After I started running, I felt better.

Warmed up by doing the pre-run exercises. Got going and again I think my effort was right where it should be. Quads got a little tired and I was sweating quite a bit. Stood up for a couple of five-minute segments in the final 30 minutes to make time pass by quicker, even though these rides actually go by pretty quick.

No coach this session either. Did 6 reps of 40kg deadlifts and that's progress!