Daz Does Tri

I'd actually class myself now in rehab.  Hip is 100% not 100% but I'd say maybe 90% and it doesn't seem to be getting worse. So day off yesterday after Tuesday's relatively successful 4 and absolutely smashed the food and drink lol

Wow, big step up. 4 miles @ 7.30/mm @ 154 bpm Felt kind of OK. Had to focus to relax my glutes and it helped.  Def felt better and being able to run 7.30 avge (this miles were 8.01, 7.32, 7.19, 7.09) off a slow up hill start I will take.

Attempt #4 3 days in a row 1.5 miles @ 9.35 pace with Ange Left Hip flexor tightened up then felt like it pulled. Stopped early to make sure as it def wasn’t happy. In road so progress. Stretch & roll to make sure all ok.  So frustrating as every run I’m still hoping it’s ok tomorrow. I’m in the game but need to keep up the rehab

Boom, 1 mile banked. Well, 4 laps of the park. Fuck knows how slow it was and I was pretty much toast by the end but got it done. Hip - again no 'structural' pain just some aching around outside which feels like it can be lived with. As long as there is no 'locking' I think I am good to go. Rebuild conditioning and aim to get back to some form of running.  I think rehab and diet become more important.  Fuck, just had sugar puffs for breakfast lol Feel a million miles from fitness but still treading carefully as I am not 100% that all is clear

Birthday today, 45. Got pretty much all I could want in life but being able to run feels like something small to wish for (I appreciate it's not always that simple) Attempt last week to run led to pain and weakness.

Well, more like #8 if I'm honest but lets start here. Stretched well, lots of activation work.  Run, on treadmill, long story short didn't happen.  Still not 100% and vague aches all around hip again so stopped.

Blog purely for future reasons - when I have same injury again and to give me some sense of persepctive! DO YOUR FUCKING STRENGTH WORK !!

I've had this hip problem before, twice in fact. 2009 & 2010.  My blog on Fetch is actually pretty useful as it gives me a bit of perspective. 2009 I had a nagging hip prob for 2-3 weeks before it bit hard in a 10k.  Ended up with 6 weeks off with the odd run attempt and diagnosis of everything from tight hip flexors to torn tendon and everything in between (sf, hip bursa, sciatica).

Hip issue is still there.  Went to osteo yesterday.  Back pretty fucked, pelvis rotated, will take a bit to get fixed but none of this is new. No running for 3 days and pain this morning.  I am borderline ready to chuck the towel in. In honesty rest doesn't seem to benefit it.  It eases up but doesn't go away. 50-50 on whether to just run through on pain relief and hope it just comes good.  If not, I'm really not seeing the point in running at the minute.  Could happily just fuck it all off.

AKA #fatcamp Arrive Thursday. Get a bit pissed. Run Friday morning. 5 full

So got today's run in. Scores on the doors - 5 miles @ 7.01/mm @ 140 bpm

Managed to run 3 and a bit miles on Tuesday. Not 100% but certainly not 0% either. More of an ache during and after than pain. Lots and lots of rehab - piroformis stretching and glute work mainly. The piri is very weak and probably the root of my issues.  Physio identified that on Monday, glutes are not as bad as I thought but the arse muscle is the one that's letting the side down. Going to try another run tonight and hopefully have an improvement on Tuesday's run. 

Saw physio on Friday and diagnosis is trapped or aggravated femoral nerve. Makes sense as the vague sensations add up to exactly whats happening. Set an exercise to complete several times daily and hopefully back tomorrow to get the all clear to start running again. Night pain reduced (probs from not running) and I've done a lot of work on glute strength.  Really need to address glute strength, firing and core when I do start running properly again.

I've stretched everything, rolled everything and self diagnosed everything this past 6 days. Fucking hip was in brutal pain when running.  Weird, all over pain that feels tight along lower back, all around the side of the hip (TFL was a prime suspect and stretched mercilessly), in the actual joint and radiating down the femur.  Feels like it's locked up as soon as I take a step, and a dull ache in bed at night.

Things move quickly in sport! Found a huge knot in my mid back, rolling it out and trying to pressure it off made a big difference. Absolute agony but seems to be helping. Focus on that for the rest of the day.  Have a mattress support coming today to firm up the bed as well which should help. Fingers crossed back in the game tomorrow, if I can iron this out we're down to the one main niggle which would be nice! Jesus resting is boring

Well, not quote but still a bit fucked off. Hip niggle is still painful after track Tuesday. Painful walking today on the school run so another zero day where I'll try and rehab it with stretching / rolling.  I'll lay off the nurofen until later to see if anything improves it.

It really feels like I'm on the edge of falling apart at the minute.  Getting through these niggles is critical.  Fucking typical bollocks.  Give me a clear bill of health and I can't be arsed to drag myself off the sofa.  Give me a couple of niggles to nurse and I'm keener than Kipchoge. Session planned tonight was a pretty comfortable tempo 5 x 1,000m on the track with the boy.  Aim to be progressive starting at 3.25 then slicing a couple of seconds off per lap (ish) down to 3.05-3.10 by the end.  200m walk / jog recovery so not a lot of effort really until the last two.

God knows what week, but back to base was name of the game. So it's a fine line between fitness and the disabled list. This week, started nursing my achey foot / heel. The left shin issue is still there.  By Friday morning I'd developed a problem with my lower back / glute / hip that's a sharp pain pulling intermittently during a run but is constant at night when trying to sleep.

Training last week or so has been absolutely on point. I am fucking flying at the minute.  Everything from easy to tempo is A1. So obviously when anyone gets to the rarefied point in training that everything feels easy and you can't do enough - the niggle fairy hovers in the background ready to fuck you up. To be fair I've had the foot / heel / plantar niggle for some time. I've managed it anywhere between can't feel a thing and agony to walk.  Sometimes one follows the other and in all honesty the painful side has been far less frequent than the non painful (or non existent) side.  I'll take that for a niggle.

So this week I am returning to phase one - base training. I really need to change up a bit, and I need some more strength.  Not a lot of point living on the edge of injury in November.

Niggle hit week, not ideal but what I bagged was pretty good. If I can clear up this heel / foot / plantar issue then I'll be coming into decent shape. It strangely seems happier at a better pace, so looks like I'll have to keep steady efforts in and back off the easy / recovery shit. Mon - REST (planned)

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I ran a proper cross country.  Mansfield didn't dissapoint.  The conditions were absolutely DOG SHIT. No joke, we got there early for Sawyers race in the u13's  and my feet were already soggy.  Couple of hours till Jacobs race with a few minutes where it didn't shit down with rain, then another hour before I was off.  Luckily for my race it was dry - we'll the air was.

First race for a month tomorrow.  Tested foot out today and 100% better, it's a weird one though as it's so on and off.  Fingers crossed tomorrow morning zero issues, although driving isn't ideal and there's a couple of hours of that !

Just under 10 last night at #chubclub with Rich & Dan.  Did a couple at 6.50 pace feeling crazy easy before meeting and then averaged just under 7.30's for the rest. Stopped for a Coke at the Coop then jogged back.  Foot was hurting like hell which is a shitter, think it was the trainers as no pain whatsoever beforehand.

Since Saturday I've sacked off meat.  There's no way I could go full vegan just yet, there's also no way I could completely commit  to giving up meat, it's just a short check to see how it affects performance. I know a lot of the plant based shit is propaganda but I want to check for myself if there's any performance benefits to removing meat from the diet. Diet wise, we've had vegan replacements for both breaded chicken and donner kebab meat.  Got to say, they were both bang on !  They tasted very similar - about 95%, texture was about 80% for both but if you do mix with other food it's hard to tell.  Obviously no greasy aftertaste so all good there.

Well, got the run banked.  Just under 5 miles @ 6.15/mm avge.  HR was high for this but was well over dressed (leggins, long sleeve & body warmer).  Splits 6.34, 6.18, 6.05, 6.01 and 6.19 for last bit. Pace was pretty relaxed but felt like I was moving well.  Over the next 2-3 months this needs to become easier and more regular if mileage stays around 40 per week.  I think it's bang on the sweet spot in terms of quality and mileage for me.

Week away with the family in the Cotswolds, usually my absolute favourite training base but this time the back trails were too waterlogged. Part of the charm of the Cotswolds water park I suppose! Stuck mainly to the roads but it wasn't too bad. Foot is still not 100% but it's much better.

So yesterday - spent most of the day rehabbing. Basically - Foot massage machine

When is a niggle not a niggle?  When it's an injury. Fucked off today, heel pain probably full blown Plantar Fasciitis. Very sore last night and this morning.  Has been more than manageable recently but today was a wake up.  Lots of ice, stretching, rolling, pilates, glute work, calf stretching & hill walking on treadmill.  Finished off by shaving half my lower leg and wrapping in KT tape.

Mon - REST - well needed! Tue - Track - 6 x 400, 4 x 200 Wed - 8.3 easy Thu - Track - 10 x 200, 2 x 400 Fri - 8 easy

Session again tonight, wasn't really up for it. Felt a bit shit during warm up and session was pretty bleugh. 10 x 200 (walked 200m after 8) and 2 x 400.

Sacked of the Garmin for today's run.  First time in a week I've gone free of it and have to say it was refreshing. Pace probably quicker than normal recovery so happy days.  Feeling pretty good at the minute. Do enjoy running on perceived effort.  Takes some confidence to know you can run at a decent clip without the watch.  If all goes well, I'll be ditching it on easy runs too and know they are comfortably around 7 - 7.15/mm.  Need to start thinking about getting on the treddy.  Today was nice, even with the wind but staying indoors on good surface is only going to help.  Will sack the bounding off until the heel's better I reckon.  If the track sesh goes well in the 4% I may have to bite the bullet and do EVERYTHING in them!

Yesterdays rest day paid off handsomly today.  Decent track session bagged, new plan for the next few months to see if it helps.  Ultimately I want to see 400m intervals being knocked out in sub 70 secs and 200m in 30 secs.  So, I'll try anything to see how it helps out. Warmed up well, about 6.50 for the mile then did drills and stretching.

Kitted up tonight, ready to run. Didn't. I'm bordering on being very fit at the minute, it's so easy to get carried away and start burying yourself BUT the focus this week is on the speed sessions and with the first tomorrow it's pointless going into the red for an easy run. In terms of numbers, my CTL is 52, my ATL is 56 and Freshness -12. Yesterday my ATL was 65. Resting today, even though I am feeling good is the right call, there's every possibility I'll be fucked by the time I get up the track.

Couple of easy runs last couple of days. HR low and pace strong. Really strange week.  Monday - Wednesday pretty dog shit and just couldn't recover.  Few more miles than normal but no reason to feel so pony.

Bit of a heel niggle after Wednesday's run, so rested up yesterday. Got the dreaded Uh oh! Strava email to inform me someone local had nicked one of my near 2 mile KOM's by 1 second.  Bit of fuel for the fire.  The segment actually fiishes the end of my 6 mile tempo route luckily enough so fitted in nicely with today's plans. The biggest suspect on the heel niggle is pace - lots of plodding since Saturday with shuffle form TM so really needed to put some effort in today and let the form and 4%'s see if that helps any.

Plan this week was to hit the miles - nice and easy and plenty of them.  Build some conditioning, it's been missed! After Saturdays 5k, managed to get an easy evening run in, plus a nice long (for me) run on Sunday, easy double on Monday, 6 easy in the rain Tuesday & easy shakeout 3 plus 8 last night.  46 miles in 5 days - very decent return for me recently. Got back from last nights run but had a nagging heel pain.  Maybe plantar, but to be safe completely sacked off today's run(s). I am taking no chances from here!  Fuck needing 3 weeks off again because I couldn't sacrifice a few 8/mm shuffles.

Nice and easy this morning.  No Garmin - just a slop around the 4.5 mile route through Caxton.  Wore the trail shoes, great on the trails but calf was none too happy on the road.  Need to think about this, no point taking risks.  Very much considering using the treadmill a lot more through winter.  Just need to get the head in the game. First non-Vaporfly run (apart from spikes once) for months.  Legs were not fucking thanking me!

Phase 2 done.  End of track season, banked a fair few decent performances to be fair, Park runs down from 17.30s to 17.11 (x2), some track races - 2.23, 4.38, 9.54 & 16.52 for 800m, 1500m, 3000m & 5000m to rank just around top 100 for each in v40 age group.  Pretty consistent performances and definitely getting better throughout. The 5000m at Biggleswade was a much better performance than the clock said.  It was properly windy and I had a serious crack at making the gap to leader.  In my head I am in 16.30 shape if all went to plan so 16.30 - 17.00 5k is the new range.  If I can work that down again over the next few months who knows!

Make no mistake, I tapered for this and planned to hit it 100%.  Came into it in good shape of a decent block of training, Sounds like an excuse already lol Arrived at the track 50 mins before kick off - they moved the start 10 mins forward - unheard of ! It was windy - proper windy.  20mph, no gusts just a constant wind.  The warm up showed what was to come - 7.50/mm pace for the first quater of a mile around the park.  Block headwind stuff.

Cutting back this week for Saturday's race.  Really want to have a decent hit out, I've started the season with my best 5k and backed it up with some solid efforts but still haven't gone quick. I've only targeted this race so bit of pressure to get it right.  5 weeks of solid sessions to get used to running hard and a consistent block of 40 mpw.  Not really picked anything after this so this is the line in the sand before winter.  Once the weather picks up again, I'll need to run faster than this without much effort otherwise winter will be a write off.

Going dark. It's been a trend for some people to go dark over the last couple of years - completely blank out their training from Strava and social media.

Steady 10k at just outside 7/mm today.  Looks good on the tin but legs are still smashed and I feel double tired.  Good news that 7s felt like walking but I really need the old bones to start feeling better to push on tomorrow. Not a horrendous week so far - 33 miles bagged so should just about hover around 40 with some quality in there.  Ideally I'll get 2 x track in next week and a Parkrun but we'll see how the legs are handling things.

As holiday season finishes upyesterday was really day 1 of autumn training.  Time to get consistent. Things are pretty good, I'd say off last weekend I'd be fairly confident of going 16.45 in an evening 5k.  Still, fucking long way to go !!!

After Thursday's tough session, the legs were pretty battered on Friday for an easy 4 mile spin out.  HR was lunar, think it hit 160 bpm for 7.30/mm at one stage.  Decided to hit Great Denham Parkrun on Saturday for a hard workout. The plan was see how the start went and if OK push on, if not just try and do some productive efforts.  Off to Venice in the afternoon (see what I did with the title!) so wanted something banked in case I didn't do much whilst away.

Session today, first 'proper' session on the new plan.  A 1,500m winter special from the days I was one of Ken Leader's Red and Gold army! 12 x 400m off 30 seconds recovery. 

Plan today was 5 progressive. Olden days Daz would have started around 7/mm and pushed down to 5/mm by then end with last bit practically flat out.  Finish feeling fresh as a daisy and ready to go hard the next day. The old body doesn't hold up to that any more.  Started around 7.30/mm and pushed down to 6:45/mm with an easyish last mile.

Been away at the holiday home for a couple of weeks.  It's my favourite place in the world to train. Quiet trails, a near 800m lake loop & no wifi !! Long story short, week 1 started to feel like I was really getting somewhere.  Hit Swindon parkrun on the second Saturday thinking I could go sub 17 and boom, legs just felt completely flat. Could not push pace, couple that with a Garmin signal problem (7/mm for first few hundred meters slowly reducing to a 5.37 first mile), a hilly course and the head went and it was barely a threshold effort at 18.13 (they messed up the winners time and gave him 2nd place so officially it was 18.25 which 5th place got lol). I ran 17.51 for 5k of my 0.45m on / off alternate laps on the Wednesday before which was a 5 mile session!

Wow, last couple of days have been tough.  Last nights run was supposed to be on the harder side of steady but just couldn't get the legs into it.  Finished up with 6.5 @ 7:26/mm - HR was crazy low but perceived effort was high.  This mornings run was another slog 8:34/mm - not sure the first couple of miles was accurate - but on the plus side legs felt slightly less fucked up at the finish than the start!  Will probs try and plod same again later.

Easy 3 this morning. First mile felt like I was back on the couch to 5k but settled in and felt pretty good by the finish.  Need to keep these regular easy doubles in, they help with the weight and keep the miles up.   Nice to run with no pressure either, I'm not fussed if these are 8s or 9s just nice to run totally relaxed. Kingston Handicap tonight.  Arrived late so no warm up.  Set off with Chris from riverside (first timer) a minute up on Al.  No need for me to run these at 100% this is a great way to get some decent pace runs in at threshold.

So after Saturdays horrific Parkrun, the plan was to run 800m at the EAL in Peterborough on Sunday. Achillies felt pretty gubbed in the morning and after warming up with Sawyer decided it wasn't worth the risk. Carded a zero for the day and hoped a good night sleep would clear it up a bit.

So Thursday, felt indestructible after a decent track session. Woke up Friday morning feeling horrible. Tried a run - absolute fuck fest, think I lasted a minute. lungs ached and felt shite. Ended up in bed early not fancying my chances of Parkrun today. Alarm went off at 7 and to be fair I felt good.  Woke up, legs felt shocking but a cup of tea and a slice of toast later I knew today I would be running.

Went to bed all smug and confident, woke up like an 80 year old !! Not sure what happened but my lungs were in a terrible state, had real trouble taking a deep breath and had a feeling like my whole respiratory system was aching.  My back ached and ankle was sore and legs generally felt fucked!

Easy 3 to spin the legs and burn some of the 4 lbs I gained in Munich off this morning. Pace came in at a respectable 8.02/mm to be fair.  Easy day then track tonight. Change of plan from the usual #chubclub tempo as I wanted a fitness test adn Dan wasn't about anyway. Met DC and the plan was 4 x mile off 200m walk recovery (~3 min).  Agreed to aim at 5.30 and see what happened. Take a lap each as the wind was pretty strong.

5 days with the family in Munich - we do love a city break!  First the review.  It's a bit shit if I'm honest.  Fucking expensive. Everyone smokes like it’s 1976. It's a bit like Paris. Could do with a lick of paint. No good for running. People take their dogs to the zoo (?? Ffs) Won’t be rushing back.

Wow, yesterdays run was tough.  I am not going to mention the heat, I've moaned enough all winter to begrudge the mercury tipping over 30 but combination of tired legs from track and weaher pushed the HR lunar for pace.  Possibly the most un-economical easy run of the year at approaching threshold HR on some parts. Sacked the planned 8 down to 5 to be sensible - at the minute it's about retaining fitness and keeping everything healthy and fresh.

Track tonight. Not gonna lie, I really didn't fancy it today and couldn't see how on earth I was going to drag my ass round double last weeks session. Warmed up with DC, strides and stretching and into the set -

Easy & Steady double day today.  Yesterday 8 @ 7am was a bit of a shocker, so a nice easy 3 mile loosener early doors followed by a steady 5 late afternoon in the sun. The loosener was a very easy 8:34/mm and the steady 5 was 6:52/mm.  Nice pace in the conditions and I cut the planned 10k a mile short because the HR would be high because of the heat.

Rested yesterday for Ange's birthday.  An all-dayer in London was great fun but ended up with a kicker of a hangover this morning.  To be fair it's not that bad but having had a good break from drinking sessions recently I'm just not used to it and am not in a hurry to do it again! Got out at about 5pm for an easy 5.  Knee swelling had gone down but it still feels something (or maybe it's just in my head) - either way I planned to keep it easy just to keep things in check.

Good joke that one !! Rest day today. After last nights decent tempo for some reason my knee swelled up in bed. Not exactly sure but Dr. Internet tells me it's likely ITBS.  Swelling is fairly localised to top outside of right knee and isn't painful.  Get that 'fluidy' feeling when I extend and retract leg. Feels slightly tight to and some clicking on the tendons so looks like closer to the bone.

After a solid 5 day block today's planned session was the 5 mile threshold (159 bpm) tempo.  Strong warm up and cool down makes it a solid workout. Hard to guess what would happen but with fatigue and heat I'd guessed it may go over threshold but the plan was always to stay relaxed.

Woke up this morning and my legs were properly fucked.  Coming down stairs I had practically marked it as a rest day. After some easing off and walking about, have to say they started to come to life but started today's easy run not expecting much.

... my boys!  I can't say how strange it is to run a track session with my kids.  Sawyer's coach didn't turn up so he ran with us.  With my need for speed and Jacob needing 1500m sessions this worked out perfect. 2 x (4 x 200m). A proper old school standard session from the history books.  Started Sawyer 20m up and he finished just in front of me on most.  Jacob obviously strong in front averaging 29.xx with me in 32/33.xx and Sawyer probs running equivalent of 35 secs per rep which is way under 800m pace.

Hmm, this is an interesting one and not one I thought I'd seriously consider back when I was running 18.30 Parkruns not too long ago. A 15.xx for 5k has always had masses of appeal as I think it's really the point where you separate good club runners from ones that are really decent.  It's actually not that good a level at all in national terms but as a local athlete if you run a 15 then you'll be expecting to win or top 3 every race nearby. It's kind of the point where people expect you to win races. At the moment I'd consider myself a 17-17.30 runner that can go sub 17 on a good day.  For the purpose of this I'd like to consider myself a 16-16.30 runner that can go sub 16 on a good day! From Mcmillan calculator the racing equivalent times are as follows - 5,000m - 15:59 (5:09 per mile) against 16:59 (5:28 per mile) 3,000m - 9:05 (4:52 per mile) against 9:54 1,500m - 4:15 (4:34) against 4:38 800m - 2.04 (4:09) against 2:23 5 miles - 26.30 (5:1

Tough week this week. 2 races, lots of tired runs, no sessions but finished on a high. Mon - REST Tue - am) 3 easy pm) 1500m Kettering 4.38:93 Wed - 4.35 recovery Thu - am) 5 steady pm) 7.5 steady Fri - 6 steady Sat - 3k - 9.54 Sun - 10 steady @ 6:55/mm

Been tired this week, not quite recovered from the 1500m on Tuesday and I think lack of consistent sessions has left everything feeling a bit of a struggle. Headed down to Walthamstow - an old haunt - for the SAL match as a non scorer in the 3k.  Actually felt today would go well, races have gone OK even if training this week has been laboured.  Warmed up well, felt confident but boy it was warm !

Time to start building some structure and focus into my training.  I'm still just kinda winging it with an outline and then crashing through races as they turn up. Long term, I don't really have any goals - I know I'm not interested in anything long (even 10k I can't seriously be arsed with) and I'm enjoying track so I know long term something track based would be ideal target.  I must admit it would be nice to 'chase again next year but lots to put right before then.

1500m last night.  Actually really look forward to track races again. I can't believe I didn't take it up again years ago. I have to say, bang for buck, track racing is so much more enjoyable than road racing.  It's considerably more measurable against itself.  The pace is always quicker. It's over faster. The national rankings are achievable.  Time commitment is much less.

Push yourself to breaking point, rest, recover, race. And repeat.  That was the plan hen I was younger.  Back then, breaking point took some doing. I could do hard intervals the day after a race! Nowadays I need a proper shuffle to recover.  Saying that I am really feeling the benefit of more regular racing recently.  My easy & recovery runs are definately improving. I'm enjoying the racing if I am honest, something like 9 races this year on PO10!

Parkrun this morning.  I fucking hate early starts !! Plan was very simple.  17.30 target BUT sub 18 a must (that's the ranking time for Parkrun on po10!) Still not 100% confident, especially on early starts.  Aim in my head was go off at 5.30 pace first mile.  If all is well try and run 5.30 through the card, however, if going well keep the HR down and card this as a hard tempo.

Back to the Peterborough GP 5k series tonight. Obviously I've been a bit so-so about form lately.  I know I am fitter I'm just not faster. The plan for tonight - set off around 5.20/mm and see what happens.  Luckily, I've banked a 16.59 so no point fannying about nibbling at that.

Right now things certainly feel like they are coming to a plateau.  Gateaux would be better if I am honest. Racing tomorrow, not exactly sure how it'll go but I do know I am roughly in the same ball park as last time.

Crazy fucker! Ummed and arred today about what to do.  I must admit confidence isn't soaring going into Wednesday.  Like I said yesterday, I'm fitter through longer & consistent training time but I'm not feeling faster. Today decided to do a 2 mile tempo, just as a confidence boost really.  Saturdays hungover Parkrun had me wondering if it was even possible to run flat 6s !! Easy 3 mile shake out this morning (after a solid hour s & c session). Felt good but a little 'leggy'.

Rest day Friday, legs totally unresponsive. Went on the piss Friday night. Nothing too heavy but Parkrun Saturday morning was a disaster!

Wow, very tired run tonight. Legs heavy like a bag of spanners. No idea if I'll be able to run hard tomorrow but seems unlikely based on tonight's shit show.

Oh shit we've done that one a few times. Easy peasy run today.  Legs are pretty shagged if I am honest.  Race Sunday took a fair chunk out and last nights tempo just added a layer of fatigue.  It's a bit of a conundrum now as to wether I a) continue to bank fatigue and keep the training load high in expectation of future adaptions or b) back off, rest up and stay sharp and bank respectable times now.

Tempo Tuesday. Last week I had 3 track races (2 x 800 & 1 x 1500) and a failed tempo.  Aside from a 2 min and a 9 min effort I haven't done the usual 4-5 mile efforts for nearly 3 weeks so this week is about re-focusing on that. Plan was the usual threshold effort.  1 mile strong warm up.  Stretch & drills and into the 4 mile St Ives effort with the dreaded hill. Quick stop to bring down HR and then mile or so cool down at a strong pace.

East Anglian League today.  Interesting day as between myself, Jake & Sawyer we covered a ruck load of events (9 between us). My first event was the 800m.  After Wednesday I was confident a) I could run in spikes this time and b) I could go under 2.20.  Gun went off and settled in decent position. Pretty much isolated in 5th place but confident I'd hold off the guys behind.  Exactly same as Wednesday I didn't start moving well on the first lap.  Pushed as much as I could in 72 secs at the bell.  Not confident of a sub 2.20 I just worked hard on lap 2.  Caught a fast starter and pretty safe in 4th place. Miles and miles behind the first 2 (2.02 & 2.05) in 2.23.3.  3/10ths quicker than Wednesday.

Nice easy 8 with the monkey last night. 8ish at 7:30 ish avge spot on. Felt really easy and started to think I can start covering distance again without too many problems! Today session was 40 min threshold. Hit Godmanchester and head along Cow lane to Hemmingfords and back.  159 bpm absolutely no worries.

As planned did the 800m at the Cambs open tonight at St Ives. Felt pretty shite all day but was always going to get something done. Warmed up OK, really do need to do a solid warm up nowadays for anything with effort. The body can't go from cold to hot anymore!

Steady 10k yesterday. After Parkrun with the kids, legs felt good. Settled on low 7's at around 150 bpm so bang on steady effort. Run came in at 7/mm on the dot.  A good sign that fitness is there but must admit felt a bit shite after a week without doing much productive. Funny how the head goes, 6 miles felt a fairly long way after last week whereas beforehand it barely felt like I'd warmed up !

...come to those who wait. Legs are still pretty wrecked but much better than they have been.

Wow, I had no idea how much a battering I could give myself playing football.  Never again while I'm running !! Managed a mile on and off on Tuesday. Felt achey and pulled a bit on the hip flexor.

Dads 5-a-side tournament yesterday. 7 10 min games later and I am ruined.  I mean totally ruined!  I can barely walk, my hip flexors are shot, my back is in bits.  I've got a massive lump on my shin and one on my head!!

* This is an important note to self blog. If I ever have to come back again, re-read this!!! Alternative title - the most important blog I'll ever write 4 weeks ago - Recovery runs - 9/mm Easy runs - 8.15/mm Steady runs - 7.30/mm Threshold - 6.45/mm 5k pace - 5:53/mm (guestimate) After a consistent block these zones are currently- Recovery runs - 8/mm Easy runs - 7.15/mm Steady runs - 6.45/mm (guestimate) Threshold - 6.05/mm 5k pace - 5:30/mm Preston pace is all about how it feels. You train right -> you get fitter -> you run faster  So many people say easy runs are 8/mm and that's what it is ??  Easy is easy, today 7:54/mm was easy, you cannot just stick a pace to it. If your paces for each zone do not get quicker then you are not improving and your training is not working. Notice there is no steady data because I am not really doing any steady runs. I aim to do a hard day followed by a recovery and then easy day and loop around.  Ideally

Wow, Thursday I am not going to lie, I was battered. Felt like a hangover!  3.6 easy miles to loosen the legs off and they felt much worse than when I went to bed Wednesday evening. 2 miles very easy at the Track in the evening just to try and shake them out was all I could manage. Good stretch & a hot bath later and woke up Friday feeling much better.

Ferry Meadows, Peterborough 5k series.  It's the Cambridgeshire old middle aged road runners version of what Watford is to track. Guaranteed fast conditions, guaranteed company and guaranteed chance of a decent time. Have been training well lately, after an 18.12 within last weeks 5 mile tempo I fancied sub 17.30 earlier this week.  Went to bed last night feeling a bit rough and today felt shite.  Not shite enough to sack off the only chance of a race for about 2 weeks but still not great.  Really had to do this race so set my stall out at sub 18 being a must with a 17.30 if things went well.

Decent double day today. 4.3 this morning at a very easy 8/mm flat. On the trail route (this has become well overgrown) felt really, really easy at that. possibly best run for effort yet. Evening run a bit more effort but still below steady (RPE can't fine HR strap) - 7.20 pace for 5.3 miles, checking out nice and relaxed.

Decent training block over half term.  After my last post I eased up to the Westminster Mile.  We stayed in London the night before as Jacob's race was a big one but it worked out really well as I was off in Wave 1!

Settled on the tempo tonight.  Decided I just needed to man up a bit. Or person-up if we're being PC.  I'm training fairly hard so things are going to ache! Got to the track, did a solid mile warm up at 6:48/mm. Felt OK.  Did usual drills and stretching.  Have to admit that as much as this is a pain in the arse it does help.

Struggle today, feel very lazy & unmotivated. Fitness is a funny thing, spend months dreaming about being in half respectible shape and then when I get here I'm trying to talk myself out of a session!

Standard tempo session tonight.  Hit the track then 2 laps at a decent pace (7:15/mm).  Stop and stretch then drills.  Head out to the car park to start. Legs felt heavy beforehand and I wore the Pegasus instead of the 4% this week.

Easy run today. Just under 10 at just under 8:20/mm.  HR best yet on an easy run - 137 bpm. Felt very achey beforehand, started slow but felt better as it went on.  Few grumbles but at 5 miles it clicked into place and the niggles went and the pace felt much easier. Tired by the end but it was a good day out there today.

After a cracking start to the week I ruined myself by getting slightly hammered Friday night and fully and totally bollcksed Saturday night. Saturday was a busy day looking after kids whilst Ange wen't to a lecture for her Uni course and ended up carding a very disappointing zero when I only needed an easy 5.

After #tempoTuesday came #wankyWednesday. A very laboured 10k @ 8:40/mm around the trails. In honesty I was pretty tired and should have rested Wednesday rather than Thursday but I wanted to keep the weight down (it was lowest for years post run - 10st 12.6 lbs) so Thursday worked out OK as I had a million and 1 admin jobs to sort.

Tempo tonight.  After a standard 4.5 & 5 yesterday over the trails I decided on only 1 run today.  Weight is about where it needs to be so the focus is shifting towards quality over volume. Hopefully tomorrows run will confirm that as I need to be under 10 st 13 lbs after the run and I can pull the plug on a volume first approach. So tonight.  DC couldn't make it so it was a solo effort.  Strong warm up (7:20/mm) and some drills.  Must say the legs felt pretty good beforehand.  Decided to do last weeks route in reverse so bigger downhill start but a longer drag in mile 3.

Last few days have been very lethargic. Trail running from home has felt very ploddy, really struggle to get anything remotely like decent pace going. Last night I cracked out a decent 4 miles in Cambridge whilst Jacob waited to watch the county champs 1500m. 4 miles at 6:54/mm - felt pretty tough if I am honest BUT it was much better than it has been.

Last few days have been serious bleught  - could not really be arsed and when I did I've felt pretty lethargic and drained. Just decided to take my foot off the gas.  Form isn't going to go anywhere overnight. Rest Wednesday, pilates plus 9 easy and 3 recovery Thursday, easy 5 Friday and a shuffle 2 and steady 4 Saturday.  Sounds a lot but leaves me on 38.4 for the week with a day to go.

Rest day yesterday, not feeling 100% if I'm honest. The footy certainly cheered me up but I think that affected my HR today! The good news is post run weigh-in and I'm below my initial target weight - 10st 13.6 lbs - get in !!

Currently on a 10 day run streak of 80 miles.  I am, to be honest, pretty fucked.  Mind you, every morning I wake up feeling that I need a rest and I end up getting it done. The plan today is an easy 10 miles (VERY easy) and expecting pace to be around 9-9.15/mm so it really is a doddle.  Mind you it is absolutely chucking it down so not the worst day to card a zero.  I have to admit it is likely !!

I don’t measure fitness by the sessions, I measure it by the easy & recovery runs. Obviously they all help but when I’m running nice and relaxed on my easy runs and the pace is around 7.30/mm I know I’m well on the way.

...catchy monkey. It feels like it's getting close now.  Weights down, sessions are getting better, pace is coming. Still keeping everything crossed that the aches and strains don't become serious.

Interesting stat - I am currently ranked 2nd V40 in the UK over 1000m.  Impressive huh !!  Not really, there's only about 9 of us that have done it but still looks good on my Power of 10.  To be fair that's a bit like a duathlon stat ;) 9.8 miles @ 8:56/mm yesterday. Legs were truely battered, exactly how I need to be feeling.  Totally ruined but that fatigue pays back double.  30 miles in 3 days too, on for a decent mileage week by some way.

Easy run day planned today, 10 at a nice and slow 9.30/mm (sub 130 bpm).  Legs feel ok -ish this morning so I'd imagine I can talk myself in to it. Mileage is good this week. 20.2 in 2 days and another 10 today gets me ahead of schedule.

Laying in bed last night, was thinking about today's run and hoping I woke up with good legs so I can get the session done.  Then I cast back to the old days when I started my old age return to running fitness in 2009. Back when I was running solo with no training partners, no advice, no one to impress I thought nothing of running well over 8/mm every day. The plan was simple. Run as many miles as you can and build a huge engine (a-la Hadd).  Guess what. It worked.  The plan was never to run 8/mm every run and call it easy, the plan was to run easy at whatever pace and in a few months easy (by definition on the HR) would be much quicker.

Saturday's rest day was followed by an evening of getting shit faced so Sunday's great intentions were actually two pretty slow hungover plods. Finished up with 35 for the week, following 47, 43 & 43 so should just about get me over 180 for the month which will be highest mileage since March 2012. I've had a few months around 170-180 since but nothing approaching 200 which is where I really would like to get.

Legs are absolutely battered today.  8 day streak, but that's included a run with DC, a race and a track session.  90% sure the won't come back to life enough to get out (especially as we've got 40 mph winds) so I'll probably zero the day and dust the bike off and do a 45 min spin on the turbo.

Why do I blog?  I have only 1 reader and 1 audience - me.  This stuff is pretty useful when I'm in need of some ideas to see how / why I got in shape previously. Admittedly, there's not been many nuggets for about 7 years but still - you never know when it's going to click !!  Who knows, someone may one day read this shit and find it interesting !! Track session last night. 10 x 300m.  I've avoided track for a month or so because I hadn't felt my legs can stand up to it.

Corby open last night. 1000m in 3.06:9 for 5th place behind Jake (2.55:5 pb). Very pleased with that, was expecting something like 3.20 considering I really struggled with 3.30 avge on my last track session.  Lots more to come - especially weight off !!  Since the start of April I have buried myself in miles. Aiming to run around 50 per week they have come in at 48, 43 & 42 which isn't too bad and much better consistency than I have had for ages. It's hard work some days and a bit easier others but I'm definitely getting the old runners feeling back.

Bit of a ball ache this week.  The shin isn't 100% so along with everything else decided to rest it up and do rehab exercises. Not the end of the world.  Running doesn't aggravate it so if I can loose the issue I should be able to build.

Back to the old 5 mile HR test today. Setting the same. 1 mile @ 140 bpm, 1 mile @ 150 bpm, 1 mile @ 155 bpm, 1 mile @ 160 bpm and 1 mile cool down. Really struggled to keep below 150 bpm for second half of first mile but just under 7:30/mm (walkd for 10 secs to bring it down). 7:02/mm for the 150 bpm mile pretty good considering a good head wind and 6:43 for the 3rd mile.

It's all I shout at the boys while they are doing efforts.  Well, in fairness Sawyer actually always runs with good form. He only needed on session and he's not dipped since. Jacob on the other hand needs reminding.  Effort throwing your arms in the wrong direction is wasted effort.  The boy has big aims this year so needs to get every ounce out.  Form is key to running quickly.  That effort needs to be focused on going forwards! My running form this week is 100% helping rehab. The shin is still not healed but feels noticeably better daily.  Sunday I struggled walking without any pain but post run mornings now are easier and it's getting to the point I can look at running 5/6 times per week.

Flying visit to Lower Mill yesterday to fit a new bed and take down the old one.  Bit of a ball ache but nice to see the summer home. Back today, out to the track. Ran 2 laps with DC then 3 1/2 mile loop around town trying to focus on form.  Not a lot of change, it 100% feels better but I still haven't cured the injury - I'm just not making it worse. Fingers crossed the relaxed week will ease it off. Interesting to find driving from the knee made hill running a lot more powerful.  Recently the wind and hills have fucked me but effort was noticeably calmer doing this. I just need a bit of luck now.  If the niggles go (shin and achillies) I think I could be dangerous this year.  It's going to take a huge slice of luck though for everything to clear up anytime soon.  Like I say it appears the new form stops causing new damage I just hope the old damage fucks off.

"The definition of madness is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results" - or some shit.  Basically stop doing the same shit that gets you injured you twat.

Adding quad DOMS to 'the list'. They are properly sore. At various times on today's run different things ached! 3 miles progressively down to 8:15 pace, nice and easy. That pace is actually good considering. Was pretty knackered by the end, that's 5 straight days with 3 on the plan.  Feel OK considering and tomorrow will be active rest (i.e pilates and bike). I'll do some weights tonight.

2007 - started running to loose weight for impending wedding. 13.5 stone 2008 - ran first and second marathon. Joined a running club 2009 - got more serious, just outside 3 hrs at London. Got injured 2010 - properly serious. 75 min half, 2.50 at Amsterdam after injury 2011 - loads of miles, terrible form. Cannot believe I kept running 2012 - got serious, ran well. Got injured, bought a bike. 27.11 for 5 miles 2013 - did an Ironman. Ran low 17 5k consistently 2014 - age group triathlon. Chopper year 2015 - cycling 2016 - tried to do Ironman. Mum died. Marathon & cycling. Last half decent run form 2017 - cycling 2018 - bit of running. Injured. Cycling. Entered a marathon. Started running. Injured 2019 - running

Seriously, why am I getting 6 or 7 views per post ? This drivel is appalling even by my low standards !! So, Happy New Year! Spent the past 10 days away in the Cotswolds at our holiday home. Beautiful place on a lake with the advantage of a spa and gym on site. So plenty of rehab weights and long walks to keep the comeback on track.