14 months have passed since becoming a dad for the second time and the beginnings of what could resemble a running routine, (I can't call it 'training' yet), have emerged:

Monday 21st July:
AM - Drills and plyos (power skips; bounding; single leg hops; broad jumps etc)
PM - 4m easy running

Tues:
PM - 1m jog/4 x 1M fast/1M jog

Weds:
PM - 10m easy running @ Newcastle under Lyme. Just back in time for team with the in-laws!

Thurs:
REST - Delays travelling back from Staffordshire enforced a rest day

Fri:
AM - Drills and plyos (ankle hops; depth drops / jumps; box jumps; hurdle hops)
PM - 4m easy

Sat:

7.5M Fartlek (long steady, marathon pace efforts)

Sun:

90 mins easy (13m I think) @ Hatfield Forest

Mon 28th July:
AM - Drills and plyos (power skips; bounding; single leg hops; broad jumps etc)
PM - 4m easy running

Tues:
PM - 1m jog/4 x 1M fast/1M jog

Weds:
AM - Strength & Conditioning: (Dead Lifts; SL Squats; Upper body and trunk - moderate intensity / 75% 5 rep max). PM - Can barely move after AM's moderate lifting. REST.


Thurs:
See above - More Rest!

Fri:
AM - Drills and plyos (ankle hops; depth drops / jumps; box jumps; hurdle hops)
PM - 4m easy

Sat :
Southern Athletics Men's League Div 2 North @ Peterborough.

The final fixture of the season and my first appearance for a year or more! Representing Herts Phoeinx 2nd claim:

5,000 metres - 16'41'' (3rd). One gear - 80 seconds per lap and nothing extra for the final remaining laps. 35 seconds slower than PB in 2010. 
1500 metres - 4'28'' (4th but 1st 2nd string runner - so 4 points)! 1 second slower than PB - put this down to S&C work!
2000 metres steeplechase (a 'warm down' immediately after the 1500. 3 points). 

Roll on the Met' League...!

Olga Bondarenko

Progressing from double to single leg landings in plyometrics demands a sharp increase in training intensity, so this week, in order to bridge the gap between single and double leg depth drops, I added some intensity via a resistance band. 

Notice the mid foot landing and use of joints to reduce the force. My knees bend just enough to load the muscles, ready for a subsequent take off. That is the essence of plyometrics, training the muscles to tolerate greater stretch loads and hence store and re-use energy.

In terms of lifting weights, I am adding lower limb exercises to the plyometric sessions on Monday and Friday. This is known as complex training. I am also trying to maintain an exclusive mid-week session in the gym on a Wednesday morning so as not to lose the strength I have gained over the last 6 months. However, since the racing season has started, I have been indecisive over which exercises and how many sets to include each week and this seems more evident this week than ever before.

The 1000's completed on Tuesday were all slower than the three I completed in succession in the Bedfordshire AAA Open 3000m 3 days earlier. Why? The only excuse I can muster is that every morning at Stockwood Park I am starting at 7am - not the time of day to be running or lifting PB's I am sure you will agree!

Next race: Hopefully I can make it to Harrow for a guest appearance for Herts Phoenix in the 5000 metres in the Southern Athletics League on Saturday 20th April. Heavily pregnant Coach Wife has told me to run with my phone though!

Monday: AM - S&C; PM 35' easy running
S&C
3 x 8 Ankle hops
3 x 8 Depth Drops (40cm with added load) interspersed with 3 x 5 Front Squat (70kg)
3 x 8 Drop Jumps (40cm) interspersed with 3 x 5 Dead lift (90kg)
3 x 5 Box Jumps (80cm)
3 x 8 low hurdle hops.
(Total Contacts 111)

Tuesday: AM - 6 x 1000m (2' rec) [3'21'' / 3'23'' / 3'27'' / 3/24'' / 3' 25'' / 3'24'']

Wednesday: AM - S&C; PM - 53' easy
S&C:
Eccentric Calf (heel drops) 2 x 5 (40kg dumbbell)
Front Squats 2 x 5 (70kg)
Dead Lift 2 x 5 (90kg)
Pull Up 2 x 5 (Body Weight)
Press Ups 2 x 8 (with resistance band)
2 x 3 Candlesticks

Thursday: AM - Bondarenko Session, 2 Sets, (3' Recovery); PM - 30' easy.

Bondarenko Session (a favourite of Olga Bondarenko in the run up to her Olympic 10,000m gold and record, 1988):

• Run 400m @ 5k pace (78'')
• Recovery 400m@ steady pace (92'')
• Run 300m @ 1500m pace (55'')
• Recovery 300m @ steady pace (69'')
• Run 200m @ 800m pace (35'')
• Recovery 200m @ steady pace (46'')
• Run 100 sprint (15'')
• Recovery 100m @  steady pace. (23'')

Friday: AM - S&C 
S&C: 
3 x 8 Power Skips
4 x 8 Bounding
4 x 8 Single Leg Bounding
4 x 5 High Hurdle Hops
4 x 5 Broad Jumps interspersed with 3 x 5 Dead lift (90kg)

Saturday: A busy week finally caught up with me - REST!

Sunday: AM - 60' easy

25th March - 7th April

The routine of alternate easy run / hard run days is working well. Monday, Wednesday and Friday have Strength and Conditioning work scheduled with an easy run at the other end of the day (if possible), whilst on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I run at a harder intensity. Sunday is for a longer run, although I haven't gone beyond 60 minutes so far this year.

The 4-day Easter holiday broke this routine and posed some training challenges. Being away from Luton does have its downside - no access to a gym or track - and the weather put paid to the Good Friday AAA Open meeting at Gosling Park. Instead, Good Friday was spent away from home with Coach Wife and so a little exploring was required on Saturday morning to find a natural incline suitable for a Kenyan Hills session. (The weekend was great by the way - thanks to Naomi's Grandma for looking after our daughter)! On Bank Holiday Monday I jogged over to the Flitch Way to use the forgiving surface for leaps, hops and jumps, much to the amusement of a couple of dog walkers sharing the path with me!

Not to be denied a race on the track before the season begins proper, I entered the 3000m at the Bedfordshire AAA Open Meeting at Stockwood Park, Luton. To make the most of the 70 mile round trip from Bishops Stortford, I dragged Coach Wife and daughter along with me, not to watch my 7 and a half laps of the track but to visit Woodside Farm & Leisure Park, a place every toddler should visit!

I finished the race in 9'40'', about 20'' quicker than I had anticipated, which means I am a lot closer to a sub 16 minute 5000m than I thought I would be at this stage. After a quick opening 200m, I settled down to lap consistently at 78-79 seconds with a 71 second last lap. Hopefully I can achieve my 5000m target at the 18th May Southern Area League fixture at Wodson Park, which will also mark the end my Paternity Leave. After that  date I will probably just be happy for 16 minutes sleep!

 

Naomi takes Dad for a spin in her tractor at Woodside Farm & Leisure Park

Refueling post race at Cheeky Monkey's Play Barn

25th - 31st March

Monday: AM - S&C; PM - 40' varied pace running

S&C:

Ankle Hops 3 x 8

Depth Drop (40cm) 3 x 8

Drop Jumps (40cm) 3 x 8

Front Squat 3 x 5 (65kg) interspersed with Box Jumps (80cm) 4 x 5

Low hurdle hops 3 x 8

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x 6

Bent Over Row (50kg) 3 x 5

Tuesday: AM - 'Up the clock' (400m - 800m - 1200m - 1600m - 2000m; 2' recovery & 6' recovery before final rep) [75' - 2'40'' - 4'05 - 5'40'' - 7'05]; PM - 30' easy running

Wednesday: AM - S&C; PM - 53' easy

S&C:

Front Squat 3 x 5 (65kg)

Single SL Dead Lift 3 x 5 (65kg)

Bent Over Row 3 x 5 (50kg)

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x 6

Candlestick 2 x 3

Thursday: AM - 3 x 4 x 200m (2' recovery between 200's & 5' recovery between sets of 4) [all circa 30'']

Good Friday: AM - 40' easy running

Saturday: AM - 10' easy run - 20' Tempo/Kenyan Hills - 10' easy run

Easter Sunday: 40' easy running

1st - 7th April

Bank Holiday Monday: PM - 20' easy run to the Flitch Way - 20' Plyometrics - 20' easy run back home

Plyometrics:

3 x 8 Power Skips

3 x 8 Bounding

4 x 8 Single Leg Bounding (mximal hops)

4 x 5 Broad Jumps

4 x 5 Hi 'Hurdle' hops (without the hurdle)

Tuesday: PM - 4 x 0.91 Mile Reps [circa 5'04'']

Wednesday: AM - S&C PM: 53' easy running

S&C:

Front Squat 3 x 4 (70kg)

Dead Lift 3 x 5 (80kg)*

Pull Up 3 x 4 (body weight)

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x 6

2 x 3 Candlesticks
* replaces single straight leg dead lift to economise time and to add work to gluteal muscles.

Thursday: AM - 6 x 400m (4' recovery) [69'' +/- 2'']; PM - 35' easy running

Friday: AM - S&C: 
Ankle Hops 3 x 8

Front Squat 3 x 5 (70kg) interspersed with Depth Drop (40cm) 3 x 8

Dead lift 3 x 5 (80kg) interspersed with Drop Jumps 3 x 8 (40cm)

Box Jumps (80cm) 4 x 5

Low hurdle hops 3 x 8

Saturday: RACE: Bedfordshire AAA Open Meeting - 3000m (2nd) [9'40'']

Sunday: 60' easy running

Trip to Milton Keynes

I do like to run twice a day if one of those runs is on the track. An easy run of a few miles helps recover from, (if the track session is AM), or prepare for, (if the track session is PM), the high intensity of track running. The additional mileage accumulated is also of benefit and is an important factor in the distance runner's training schedule.

However, I was provided little opportunity to follow Tuesday's early morning interval session with an evening run. After work I made the short trip from Luton to Milton Keynes to collect coach wife and Naomi from the train station and later that evening became re-united with the usual weekday evening routine. They had both spent a few days away visiting family and, whilst I waited for their arrival on platform 4 at Milton Keynes, I pondered what Naomi’s reaction would be having not seen or spoken to her daddy for 4 days. "Moon" she said, pointing right past me and towards the sky as I helped Coach wife lift the buggy off the carriage. "Look mummy, the moon". Perhaps if she grows up to be an astronomer I won't hold her interest in the moon over her own dad that evening against her!

As for Thursday, I give no excuse other than tiredness. The weather wasn't exactly enticing that evening and it would have taken a lot of bribery to get me outside. I also reminded myself that, whilst this is only my 6th consecutive week of training, it is the most running I have done for 12 months and, on the eve of the track season, I don't want to invite illness for the sake of a 30 minute jog.

　

Week Commencing 18^th March 2013.

A 'recovery' week on the traditional S&C work so good opportunity to introduce some more plyometrics on Friday. I have also measured the 'mile' reps I frequently run and admit the distance being closer to 0.9 than 1 mile!

　

Monday: AM - S&C; PM - 45' easy running

S&C:

Ankle Hops 3 x 8

Depth Drop 2 x 8

Straight Leg Dead lift 3 x 5 (80kg) combined with Drop Jumps 3 x 8

Front Squat 3 x 5 (60kg) combined with Box Jumps 4 x 5

Low hurdle hops 3 x 8

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x 8

Bent Over Row (45kg) 3 x 5

Tuesday: AM - 5 x 800m & 400m (2' & 1' recovery) (800's circa 2'39; 400's circa 75'')

Wednesday: AM - S&C; PM - 53' easy

S&C:

Front Squat 3 x 5 (60kg)

Single SL Dead Lift 3 x 5 (60kg)

Bent Over Row 3 x 5 (45kg)

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x 5

Candlestick 2 x 3

Thursday: AM - 6 x 300m (3' recovery) (reps #1-5 circa 50''; rep #6 46'')

Friday: AM - S&C

S&C:

Power Skip 3 x 8

Straight Leg Dead lift 3 x 5 (80kg) combined with bounding 3 x 8

Single-leg bounding 3 x 8

Front Squats 3 x 5 (60kg) combined with High Hurdle Hops 4 x 5

Broad Jumps 4 x 5

Saturday: 4 x 0.91miles (2' recovery) (5'10''; 4'57''; 5'02''; 4'58'')

Sunday: 55' easy

'Rest' week

Some words of wisdom from an amateur distance runner...

"Never bother to plan a rest week into your training schedule, they often arise with no notice and little choice".

These words have not been quoted from an experienced pro coach but are from a chap trying to balance work, family, running and sleep into every 24 hours that the earth spins. I have learned just to let the rest weeks happen, and this last week, (or the latter part of it), is a good example of that.

As intended, I did reduce the weight I was lifting, (see previous blog on simple S&C programming), and introduce some plyometric training, (more of which next week), but some personal business requiring Thursday and Friday off work and a weekend away from home on a training course was enough to disturb the (vital) routine and write off half of the week:

Monday: AM - S&C; PM - 40' easy

Tuesday: AM - 6 x 1000m (circa 3'30'', but last two reps 3'28'' and 3'25''); PM - 30' easy

Wednesday: AM - S&C; PM - 53' easy

Thursday: 30' easy

Friday: REST

Saturday: 10' easy 1 x 18' Kenyan Hills 10' easy

Sunday: REST

S&C, including Plyometrics, (Monday):

Ankle Hops 3 x 8

Depth Drop 2 x 8

Straight Leg Dead lift 3 x 5 (60kg) combined with Drop Jumps 3 x 8

Front Squat 3 x 5 (60kg) combined with Box Jumps 4 x 5

Low hurdle hops 3 x 8

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x 8

Bent Over Row (45kg) 3 x 5

S&C, (Wednesday):

Front Squat 3 x 5 (60kg)

Single SL Dead Lift 3 x 5 (60kg)

Bent Over Row 3 x 5 (45kg)

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x5

Candlestick 2 x 3

4th March 2013

This week, I decided to cancel my membership to one of the well known budget fitness facilities and instead direct my £16 per month to Active Luton, who manage the gym and track at Stockwood Park. Yes, £16 per month for 8 lanes of synthetic track, a lifting platform and 4 Olympic sized bars! If you doubt that is good value for money then you must be from Luton because in my first week there I have seen only a handful of people training!

The schedule below outlines the third week in a row of near full training. I can't remember the last time I have managed such a feat. Just like I can't remember the last time 3 weeks passed without feeling unwell or being snowed in. Speaking of illness, I seemed to have avoided the worst of the latest virus imported to the household from Naomi's nursery, unlike coach wife. The most likely reason is that this is a strain of something I have suffered from previously. However, I couldn't say my new found robustness had nothing to do with the re-introduction of a Vitamin D supplement to my diet. Vitamin D is mainly associated with bone health and muscle function but it does play a role in immunity...

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2879394/

 

If I had had insufficient levels of Vitamin D before starting the supplements, then I am certain I wouldn't have been the only person in the UK to suffer. Not least because the production of vitamin D in the skin relies on exposure to the sun, and anyone who has lived in the UK for the last 18 months has probably had very little exposure to, if at all seen the sun!

 

Perhaps those branded supplements are paying me back already!

 

Monday: AM - S&C; PM - 30' easy

Tuesday: Midday - 10' easy 2 x 10’ Kenyan Hills 10' easy

Wednesday: AM - S&C; PM - 53' easy

Thursday: AM: 20' cycle; PM: TRACK: 4 x 600m (5' recovery) (all approx 2' +/- 2'')

Friday: AM: S&C; PM: Rest

Saturday: 4 x (approx) 1 Mile (on road) (between 4'58'' and 5'05'')

Sunday: 61' easy

　

SC:

Front Squat 3 x 5 (70kg)

Single SL Dead Lift 3 x 5 (70kg)

Bent Over Row 3 x 5 (60kg)

Press Up (with resistance band) 3 x 6

Candlestick 2 x 3

 

 

25 Feb 2013

As the temperature rises to a tropical 4 or 5 degrees and my feet are not sodden at the end of every run, I am reminded that spring is upon us. According to science / legend, this is a time to phase out some of the winter / gym work and replace it with more specific training, namely ‘speed work’, ahead of summer competition. But historically, I have never had a period of gym work to phase out. Like many amateur endurance runners, I have doubted the importance of strength and conditioning and worried about the time I was spending not running. But increasing mileage brings only a diminishing return and, in my case, a chronic Achilles tendon injury! Perhaps most importantly though, there is now an abundance of literature suggesting that strength training reduces the oxygen cost of running at a given pace, which to an endurance runner, is like finding gold. So since late summer 2012 I have been attempting mine this pool of untapped potential.

　

But now March has arrived, I have to prepare for the possibility that I might be able to compete on the track this summer. Pregnant coach wife looks bemused when I mention the possibility of racing again this year. The schedule she has put together for me contains a long, extended break from all running from May onwards, when we will be expecting the arrival of our second child.

　

Even so, I heeded the advice of introducing speed work and could have been found at Stockwood Park in Luton on Thursday afternoon, running on an athletics track for the first time in 9 months. At 5 seconds a lap slower than my training times in 2010, my hopes of running 5,000m in under 16 minutes for the first time are faint. (Pregnant coach wife tells me my hopes of running 5,000m in over 16 minutes are equally faint). Yet undeterred, last week I continued with an easy day / hard day routine with S&C accompanying the easy runs, a routine suiting me quite well at present::

　

Monday: AM - S&C*; PM - 30' easy

Tuesday: Midday - 10' easy 2 x 10’ Kenyan Hills 10' easy

Wednesday: AM - S&C; PM - 53' easy

Thursday: Midday - 5 x 800m (avg. 2’40’’)

Friday: AM: Hit the snooze button so no S&C today. PM - 30' easy

Saturday: PM - 10' easy 20' (60'' hard / 60'' easy) 10'easy

Sunday: AM: 60' easy; PM - 2 hrs in the allotment

　

*SC:

Front Squat 3 x 5 (65kg)

Single SL Dead Lift (65kg)

Bent Over Row (55kg)

Chest Press (55kg)

Candlestick 2 x 3

2013 finally gets going

Cold weather and mild illness has provided very little material for me to write about in 2013, but I did string together a decent 7 days of training last week, (though the mileage is modest at best):

Monday: AM: S&C*. PM: 39' easy

Tuesday: 10' warm up, 2x10' Kenyan Hills, 10' cool down

Wednesday: AM: Abandoned S&C, still recovering from Monday! PM: 41' easy

Thursday: 20' indoor cycle. PM: 4 x 1M (approx) (avg 5.20'mile)

Friday: AM: S&C* PM: 30' easy

Saturday: An early start to the day tending to a poorly 2 year old was enough to undo plans for a varied pace run in the morning. I should have gone out in the afternoon but got too absorbed in the rugby and warmth. Therefore a REST day.

Sunday: AM: (A somewhat foolish) 3 hours in the allotment against the icy winds. (Cue another illness next week)

Sunday: PM: 44' easy. 


*S&C for this week as follows:

Front Squat: 3 x 5 (60kg)
Single SL Dead Lift: 3 x 5 (60kg)
Seated Row: 3 x 5 (45kg)
Seated Chest Press: 3 x (52kg)
Candlesticks: 3 x 3

I have no races to my name so far this year and only a vague plan to race (St Claires 10k) next month. The track season begins in April and, with high training volumes not an absolute necessity for the shorter distances, that may be the most realistic chance of competing seriously this year. Although when child number 2 arrives in early May that could easily change!

 

Flu strikes

It has been quiet on this blog front recently and for one very good reason - flu has left my training in tatters! Pregnant coach wife says she saw it coming. "I have no time for sympathy" she says. "Just make sure you stay away from me and your daughter"!

As I lay quarantined in my own bedroom for 48 hours with some newly acquired hindsight, I wandered how I didn't see it coming. Early mornings getting to the gym before work and busy evenings putting a stubborn 2 year old to bed, followed by a run, followed by a late evening meal and an even later bedtime. Throw in some slack meal planning and a sudden drop in the temperature outside and I was clearly vulnerable.

So what next?

While flu like symptoms usually subside after several days, it is considered wise to delay a return to training for at least another week, and resume only gentle training at that. Even for budding amateur athletes, Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome is a real risk if sufficient recovery is not allowed for. For me, that will mean no resistance work or hard interval sessions until the New Year, which I must confess, at present doesn't sound like a bad thing at all!

Having said that, I did put in a brave if not foolish performance for Thurrock Harriers in the Essex Cross Country League on Saturday. Thurrock have been going well this season, currently battling for 4th spot with Havering, and I was finding the thought of staying away difficult to come to terms with. My intention was to run the race at a steady pace, looking after myself whilst collecting a handful of useful points for the team. However, the bottomless conditions and the usual pride a runner has when lining up for a race put paid to that. It was the toughest race I have done in 12 months and I only had 35th place, (3rd home for Thurrock), to show for my efforts. Not a day to remember, less so after learning that Havering had finished 3 places ahead of us. And to make matters worse, I felt exhausted for the rest of the afternoon and retired to bed a full hour before Match of the Day! Pregnant coach wife says she could see that coming too!

With that said then, here is the training leading up to and beyond the recent illness...

Sunday 25th Nov: Chelmsford 10K (34' 55'')
Monday: AM: S&C.  PM: 45' easy.
Tuesday: AM: 30' indoor cycle.  PM: Rest (muscles feeling very tired after Sunday's 10K).
Wednesday: AM: Slept in, no S&C today.  PM: 60' easy.
Thursday AM: S&C  PM: Rest (Good excuse - I had an online application to complete).
Friday AM: 30' indoor cycle.
Saturday AM: 43' easy from Cheshunt station to Lea Valley.  PM: 38' steady from Lea Valley to Cheshunt station. Arrived on the platform just to see my train pulling away - D'oh!
Sunday AM: Train from Bishops Stortford to Cheshunt was late so ran 38' steady from Cheshunt station to Lea Valley.  PM: 22' tempo run from Lea Valley. Not feeling great and not confident  of making the train at Cheshunt (again) so I intercepted it at Enfield Lock.
Monday 3rd Dec: AM - S&C . PM: Rest. Still not feeling great...
Tuesday: Ill. Sudden fever, sweating, chesty cough.
Weds: Ill
Thurs: Ill
etc.
etc.
Mon 10th Dec: Return to work
Wednesday 12th Dec: 20 mins indoor cycle
Friday 14th Dec: 30 mins indoor cycle
Sat: Essex League Cross Country @ Basildon, 35th, 32' 18''
Sun: (Much needed) rest.

The remaining few weeks of 2012 will be 2 or 3 30 minute easy runs / indoor cycles per week. Beyond that, I need to think how to get the most effective training into an increasingly time limited week, without risking further illness. Any ideas?

Naomi moves up to a big bed and Dad does the Chelmsford 10K

There is good evidence to follow a training schedule consisting of a gradual, weekly percentage increases in order to develop muscle strength.

For example...
Week 1, lift 90 - 95% maximum.
Week 2 - 95 - 100%
Week 3 - 100 - 105%
Week 4 - 80 - 85%

However, for double-busy dads, my advice is to ditch the 'recovery' element in week 4 and go for complete rest. I am sure there is some benefit in lifting 80%, but is it worthy of 60+ valuable minutes at the gym? Not in my opinion and so this week, I did no S&C.

However, it was not my intention to do so little running again this week. Below is not so much a training diary as an excuses diary...

Monday: AM: 40' indoor cycle   PM: 4 x '1 mile' on road, (just a bit short of a mile to be honest) - 5'03''; 5'02''; 5'03''; 5'03''. Pleased with the consistency but still a bit of pace to find!

Tuesday: Work event in Cambridge followed by Naomi evening and bedtime duties meant a mandatory rest day. There is only one way to travel in Cambridge though, so I did clock a few miles on the bike

Wednesday: Managed just 20 minutes of jogging between Natalie, my wife, returning late from work and my fortnightly sport massage clinic at Bishops Stortford Running Club.

Thursday: AM: Nothing. (Early start required for a busy day at work). PM: 16 x 50 second intervals on grass with 70 second recoveries.

Friday: AM: 35' indoor cycle. PM: Put up Naomi's new bed. Fun and games getting her to sleep in it put paid to any ambitions for an easy recovery run before meal time.


Saturday:
AM: The best chance of a run was early AM but I passed this opportunity in favour of getting Naomi into town and to a local toddler session (free bacon sarnies for dads)! 'I have all day, I'll go later' I thought.
Midday: Horizontal rain anyone?
Evening: More horizontal rain followed by more fun and games getting little Naomi off to sleep again. No running today then.

Sunday: 2pm: Chelmsford 10K.

There is no official result as I write this but I did just duck under my target time of 35 minutes. I am happy with that, despite seeing some old nemeses about a minute or so ahead. Even so, the most important factor was that for the first road race since I can remember, my Achilles felt strong and I was pain free. In order to keep it that way, the next 7 days running will be low intensity. 3 sessions of hard running since Monday has caused extreme tightness in both calves, probably a cause of the Achilles problem in the first place.

Certainly not a week to remember for running. I blame the illness last week for an overwhelming sense of lethargy these last 7 days. Perhaps I tried to do too much too soon. How do other runners out there return after illness? Is there a law I have not learnt yet?

Monday and Wednesday I managed to do what I needed on the S&C front. Tuesday and Thursday I couldn't even get past the front door! The weekend did not provide much to write about either, (apart from a wonderful family wedding in Surrey - thanks to mum for being on nanny duties), but at least I got out and did something each day.


Chelmsford 10k next week - there will be no rest or taper for this, I need to get the miles in!

Monday
AM: S&C:
Back Squats 3 x 5 78kg
SL Dead Lift 3 x 5 94kg
Push Press 3 x 5 34kg
Pull Up 3 x 5 body weight
Barbell Roll Out 2 x 5

PM: 30' easy

Tuesday: Nada. Probably would not have mustered the strength to run even without the responsibility for bedtime today.

Wednesday
AM: S&C: (as for Monday)   PM: 60' easy (too much in one day???)

Thursday: Nada.

Friday: Dragged myself out at 7pm to do 30' in the rain

Saturday: 10' easy 20' continuous long hill rep's (tempo pace) 10' easy

Sunday: 30' around Godalming, Surrey @ hangover pace

Run Down

There are lots of rules to running and getting fit in general but there is one that should never ever EVER be broken. Whether you are starting to run for the first time, returning after a long injury or transitioning from a heel strike to forefoot running style, my advice is to always ALWAYS build gradually. Unless of course you are me and you suddenly have more time to train, have a pain free Achilles for the first time in 18 months and can see the cross country season fast approaching. Under those circumstances you may overrule the golden rule, so long as you can live the consequences.

Manflu struck Thursday morning, two days before the second Essex League Cross Country fixture at Colchester's Hilly Fields. I don't want sympathy so I will finish here and cut straight to the training diary.

Monday: AM: S&C.  PM: 30' easy

Tuesday: AM: Indoor cycle 25' easy.  PM: Intervals on grass - Up the Clock*

Wednesday: AM: No S&C - work trip to Peterborough.  PM: work late, 25' easy

Thursday: S&C: PM: Ill :(

Friday: Ill and need to get better quickly for Cross Country tomorrow.

Saturday: Essex League Cross Country, 8.5km. 32' 45''. Position 26th. PM: Single Malt.

Sunday AM: Fed the ducks.         PM: 50' at a very easy pace. More Single Malt.

S&C sessions:

Monday: There was the traditional Monday morning queue for the squat rack so...

Dead lift, 3 x 5, 85kg. 
Single heel drops (machine), 3 x 5, 107kg. 
Pull Up, 3 x 5, body weight minus 9kg. 
Barbell roll out, 2 x 6

Thursday:

Back Squat, 3 x 5, 75.5kg. 
 Straight leg dead lift, 3 x 5, 89kg. 
Then as for Monday (excluding Dead lifts).

* 'Up the Clock' is a normally a track session consisting of the following 5 reps: 400m - rest - 800m - rest - 1200m - rest - 1600m - 5' rest - 2000m. The distances I ran on Tuesday were approximate (but not far off).

Pending better health next week, weight will again be added to the S&C program and mileage increased, albeit  more gradually now. The week after will be a bit of a wind down ahead of the Chelmsford 10k. It will be interesting to see what I can do over 10km compared to two years ago. Going by the recent Essex League and Met' League cross country performances, I think I am about a minute slower than the 33'50'' I ran in at Hatfield BroadOak in 2010. I would like to one day run a minute quicker than that!

Okay, here goes...

Running, or even training, was simple before I became a dad. Way back then, I would be able to go the track at Thurrock after work on a Tuesday and breeze through half a dozen 1000's and then be back down there on a Thursday evening to test my speed against the middle distance runners. Racing on a Saturday never needed much planning and as for long runs on a Sunday, being out all morning would often go unnoticed, especially if X Factor had recorded from the previous night.

How things change when a little one comes along. Not that I wasn't warned! And not that I would want it any other way. Naomi brings me far more pleasure than running ever did and only half the frustration! But things certainly aren't simple anymore. Far from it in fact. Running is much further down the list of important things to do in a day and, on some days, going for a short easy run isn't even possible. Throw into the mix an on-off Achilles tendon injury for the last 24 months and you won't be surprised to learn that neither training nor racing have featured prominently in life since I won the Bungay Black Dog marathon in 2010.

However, the Achilles has been getting stronger in recent weeks thanks to some specific work in the gym and I am beginning to find just a bit more time to squeeze a run in here and there, which brings me to the reason for starting a blog.

I am not a great writer and am far from a great runner. I may be the only person who reads this blog but that doesn't matter. My theory is that if I publish my training diary to the world each week then I will be determined to get out and run more, even if it means heading out at 5am on a Sunday morning. This blog may be my only hope of putting together one last season of solid Cross Country and track racing. Will I ever run under 16 minutes for 5000m? Can I score a top 30 finish in the Met League? Could I be capable of a sub 2:40 or even 2:35 marathon? And still be a good husband and father? Only time will tell but if I manage it, you will read all about it here...

Here is my training week commencing 29th October, (the highest weekly mileage I have managed in 2 years):

Monday AM: S&C*; PM: 30' easy

Tuesday AM: Rest;  PM: 50' stepping stones (easy / steady)

Wednesday AM: S&C*; PM: 53' easy

Thursday AM: Indoor cycle, 35'; PM: 2 x 12 minute hill reps (Kenyan Hills)

Friday AM: S&C**; PM: 25' easy

Saturday: 6 x 3' intervals, on grass, (approx 900m

Sunday: Just about made it out the house before the fireworks went off, 60' dead on, very easy running - calves were aching from yesterday!

S&C*:

3 x 5 Dead Lifts - 80kg; 3 x 5 Push Press behind neck - 34kg; 3 x 5 calf drops (machine) - 100kg; 3 x 5 Pull Up - Body Weight minus 9kg; 2 x 6 Barbell roll out

S&C**:

The 'benchers' must have been having a lie in on Friday morning as the squat rack was free...

4 x 4 Back Squat - 73kg (form went on the final rep); 3 x 5 Straight Leg Dead Lift - 84kg, then as for Monday's session except for Dead Lifts.