Freshen Up

OK, so off a big block it's time to start feeling fresher. Bring the legs in and start to feel faster as I head towards Torun. There is not a lot to be achieved burying myself and breaking down from here. I need to maximise the build and get quick.

Monday 26th February

Achy back. Head to see chiropractor and back is very sore and tight afterwards. BJJ in the evening and pretty beat up after that.

I think I am at the stage now where I can see the back of two things.

Tuesday

Fuck, my back is absolutely shredded today. Busy day with builders in and home admin but spend much the morning / afternoon stretching, icing, heating, rolling my low and upper back. Quite stressful feeling this beat up off a rest day. Very frustrating. Right side of back - I'm guessing the lumbar spine maybe? is absolutely tight as mahogany.

Eddington tonight but I need to get my body relaxed. Will be quite a bit of r&r before I go trying to loosen off the back and then keep it this way. Annoying, was hoping chiro was key to that door.

OK so as day progressed my back loosened off BUT my left glute / piriformis was crazy tight. Swerved Eddy to make sure but went to bed with it like piano wire.

Wednesday

Up and back is even better. Left glute / piriformis still feels tight but back is improved and generally my whole body feels more recovered like it has caught up.

Will try and loosed off back and hamstrings today and do some general TLC. I'll have to do a test run and see how that goes before I try coke club tonight.

All being well I can run and manage it and I'll be fine. Worst case I do have massage booked for Friday.

Easy mile or so tester after lunch. Seems OK enough but not 100%. Coke club and leg is fine. Slight ache but nothing unusal. Another day bagged another chance to rest.

Thursday

So pretty certain I'll be OK for track tonight and a proper tester. Weather is shocking. 

Right now my concern is that I feel a little flat. I am lacking confidence because I have not completed a session for a while where I really feel dialed in. I kinda knew that this would be the case when I buried myself but i really just need some confidence in my ability right now. Pushing hard without reward is a big killer for me. If I pop some confidence and hit Sunday with a better than expected time then it'll be all systems go. I am worried I have beaten myself up for no reason!

Plan from here is to control what I can control. Eat well, sleep well and keep on top of R&R. Fingers crossed better days lay ahead.

I feel like I may (if not going so well) just go back to the plan I liked which is less running but better paces and one focus session per week and a strong session.

Confidence comes from the training paces.

Hit the track and usual warm up. Session was a taper one. 

1200 tempo in 4.09 then into 6 x 200 off 200 jog in around 80 secs. 34, 34, 34, 33, 32, 30

Wore the Streakflys and they are shit for training at race pace lol

Bit flat today, 34s felt like they were quicker than race pace BUT again in streaks and not feeling the love but still managed to get down to 30.

Friday

Easy 3 or so around Cambourne with 4 x 15 sec strides. OK, legs felt much better today. Had a massage first thing. Body starting to comer back to me. Feel like it did in Lanzarote.

Saturday

Up early and tired. Will sleep in tomorrow. Plan is 5 easy with John today just to stretch the legs out. Working mobility first thing and focus on tight back.

Legs do feel good, so hard to say right now. Feels on a knife edge but I do really need a confidence booster. 

Pretty set on how tomorrow will pan out. Start with a 70 and just see what happens. Pretty sure I'll be leading off that but again just need to see how it pans out. As I feel right now I'd be happy to run 4.29 but realistically anything very low 71 per lap avg should be right so sub 4.27.

Easy 5 with John M, felt pretty relaxed at 7.15 ish pace so good sign. Legs actually feel good, just hoping the back is no issue now. Time to get a line in the sand and start to look at progress this winter.

Sunday

Race day, up and atom !! Legs feel good, back is looser. We are getting there. Need a shakeout this morning and then head over to Lee Valley with plenty of time to spare.

Feel pretty good about today, better than I have been feeling. It's same old mantra though. I'm 49, this is my swan song. Enjoy the opportunity and walk away knowing you did as good as you can.

Got my head around how I want to progress from here. It's been raggy last week but chance to put a full stop on the end and move forward correct.

Let's get focussed and have some fun out there !!

Shakeout - 2km nice and easy. Music on, feel zoned in.

Head to Lee Valley, in time to watch some action. Easy 1.5 mile warm up. Few drills about an hour out. Feel good today, relaxed but very, very unsure of form.

Race plan, get into second place and sit for a lap then keep the pace hot. That's the plan.

Tempo warm up - this is 100% going forward. 800m in around 2.40-2.45. Feel strong and give the lungs the kick that's needed. if I don't do this in warm up I get this feeling build over the first 4-500m before it settles.

More drills, more toilet (it's endless) and strides. I feel good today, have to admit that. Try to focus on being confident and forget what has happened this week.

Call area, ready to roll. Chat with a few guys. Down and line up.

The Race

The gun goes bang. I settle into 3rd on the inside and notice Nick S is off the front. Get boxed in at 100m and pace and effort feels correct. Through 200m (for some reason I think it's 400m) start to get boxed back without dropping pace into 4th / 5th and Nick is miles ahead. Through 500m in 1.28 and mental math says this is correct but Nick S is about 4 secs up.

Patchy part of the race. I try to advance and the settle in but immediately get passed outside. Pace isn't quick enough, I am aware of this but am never really in a position to move out so have to be patient. Through 800m (2.22 is best guess) and hold. Laps not making sense. 1000 m in around 2.59 so 1.31 for the following 500m. Still 4-5 secs behind Nick and at some stage I drop to 6th place but not really an escape route. Mentally I feel like I have fucked it up.

Just after 3 laps to go Ryan (who wins) kicks hard past everyone and gaps the group and moves towards Nick. I'm in a terrible position but get space on the inside and then off the bend I can see daylight and an escape route. With 425m to go I'm well down on Nick and Ryan who is now passing Nick.

I kick - shades of the mile all over this race - and I am finally free. Through the virtual bell in 3.17. Mental math mean nothing BUT I am actually a 70 sec 400m off of a 4.27 which was pre-race target.

I motor round the bend as I am catching Nick really quickly. Plan is to TT pass and put a big gap on him to break his confidence. Pass quick and keep moving. I am actually moving really well here. Ryan is ahead maybe 2-3 secs but I am only focused on gaping everyone behind.

Through the bell in 3.50 and I think oh a 30 lap off of a 4.20 and absolutely gun it around the bend. Now I see Ryan is actually coming back to me and the gap is actually closing. 100m to go and mentally pat myself on the back but quickly sense John W putting in a big effort to close behind me. 

Off the last bend and give it everything. Gap in front not growing and gap behind not closing - I am stunned to see the clock tick over 4.22 and pass around 4.23.

THANK FUCK FOR THAT. My initial feeling is HUGE relief.

4.22.96 for 2nd place. 2nd quickest OAP 1500m and from a scrappy race I closed with a sub 66 last 400m. That's top 2 400s of the year.

I would say I am over the moon BUT I am honestly more relieved than anything. I was so nervous about how that would go that if I had run 4.32 I would not have been suprised.

Finally feels like I have set a time worthy of the training and justifying my decision to move to Andy's group and change clubs. No idea where that kick came from but if that tool starts making itself available I am really back in the game !!

2+ mile cool down.

Decision to fuck the Garmin off is set in stone. I'll Timex the runs. This will either be a season highlight or a stepping stone and I'm hoping it's the latter.

Time to start getting quick now. I have to rely on the fact that strength work is done. Now I feel the need.

Torun target is 9.15 - 37 per lap (74 secs). That's 4 secs slower than today.

Plan now, start to focus on a proper training plan and build confidence from training times.

Monday 4th February

New week new me !! Headed to Lower Mill for a supply run then home and out to the gym. Basic strength. Hammys very tired and tight, need to watch those.

Tuesday 

Easy day, no double while I recover. Plan is Eddy session tonight then back on big push for the weekend. Last chance to gain some fitness before the focus is on getting the legs in A1 condition.

Do not want to run too hard tonight. I'm strong and I'm fit so just coming down off the weekend. Today isn't the time to go deep, just focus on a solid hit out and staying in the right place. Head is good again so that's something! 

Now I have a confidence builder and the consistency vibrations have slowed right down it's time to settle and build in consistency. I have a massive opportunity from here to get better and hit races in shape to nail those target times. None of my main season goals are a million miles away from here so DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID

Eddington - quick jog the short way as running late. Warm up as usual, short group tonight after Cambridge Half. Easyish session to prep the legs. Andy is in base mode and I'm coming off a race so 2 laps (1.6 miles) at HM, 2 laps at 10k, 4 x 300. Paces (obviously not HM lol) were 5.35/mm for the first 2 laps then lifted to 5.25 for the second 2 laps. Felt pretty relaxed, just small fatigue. The 300s I just ran behind the boys at 3k effort, bit lethargic but good to turn the legs over. Probs just under 5/mm. Off a minute recovery for those. Standard cool down and back home.

Need to track food properly from now as that really helps get me ready.

Wednesday

Up and few chores today. Plan is to loosen off back through the day and do some lighter activation band work and lightly work my legs. Coke club tonight nice and easy. Want to feel stronger and more recovered by time I go to bed. Back tracking food to make sure I get correct nutrition in. Has slipped since Saturday.

CC tonight, just the 8. Tired and achy but to be expected. Loosen off the hammys and hope that releases the back. 

Thursday

Back tight but loosening just being awake and moving around. Will test out minimal prep tonight and just usual warm up. 

Hit the track, and Jacob joins us tonight. He's late (obvs lol) so shortened warm up while he gets ready. No Andy so myself, Matt & Kieron doing main session and Ian / Jacob joining in for most of them.

Session is 16 x 400m. First 8 off 45 recovery and 5k pace then next 8 at 60 recovery but 3k pace.

Start with an 80 but settle in and then bring it down to 76 before relaxing them into 77s and average that for the 8.

Straight into the next 8 and they reel off in 73s with the last 3 in 72,71 and 68 all feeling strong. Really good session.

Really pleased with that and the Takumi Sen 10 are a big step up on track work. No foot issues with stability so glad I found those shoes at the right time.

Last big session before Torun. Feeling mega happy with where I am at right now. Know it's not sub 9 shape that I wanted but equally I'd be dissapointed not to crack 9.20 from here.

Friday

Up and out earlyish to run easy with John. Nice easy route on the road and trails and about 9.6 miles in about 73 mins. Nice and relaxed. Back still tight.

Will run longer on Sunday and probably more steady, Hopefully get a shakeout in tomorrow morning BUT it's going to be a LOOONNGG day at the wedding.

Saturday

Start of the mayhem. Out last night for beer and curry. 2 1/2 miles shakeout was all I had time for. Legs fairly battered so no major panic.

Sunday

I can't imagine many people lining up at the Europeans next weekend were 10 peroni and a bottle of wine deep a week out. Woke up not to bad to be fair just tired. Massive fry up to settle the stomach.

Very tired threshold effort. 5 miles in 31.14 pretty relaxed. Felt tired but pace wasn't a huge issue. Just good to get something done with a degree of pressure. 2 miles cool down and 7 for the day. Not ideal but it is what it is. Big chineese for monthers day dinner. Pret starts now with a big ass sleep and start the detox !!

43 ish miles for the week. Felt really strong on sessions so looking good after last weekend. Not ideal weekend but it's a wedding and I was best man. Now the aim is to get to the start line with the best version of me that I have. No more hay to put in the barn now we just have to polish the turd !!!

Championship Week !!

Come round so quick hasn't it ??!!

Ok so starting the week in a not ideal place health wise coming off a boozy and foody weekend BUT I'm in a gopod place physically and all that I need to do now is get to the start line in A1 shape.

Plan from here this week is to run relaxed sessions with not too much junk mileage. Get used to cruising at 3000 / 1500 pace and start to feel less stress on the body. Eat really clean and drink plenty of water. Track food daily up until travel. No S&C just mobility. Plenty of sleep. Good haircut and a massage on Thursday. Hay is in the barn, can't put any more in. 

As always I'm behind where I want to be but ahead of where I was. Likely to be one of the slowest in the 'A' race and that's always fun eying up how many competitors that are faster on paper that I'm going to shit on !!

Monday

Rest. Mobility, work on hamstrings. Eat well and stay relaxed and get a really early night and bosh a melotonin and touch wood get a really positive start to the week.

I'll shave up and sort race kit today.

Tuesday

Eddington !! Taper session tonight. 

Long lap tempo - 5.34/mm

6 x 400 off 2 min walk / jog (71,74,71,71,70,72)

Long lap tempo - 5.24/mm

Felt pretty good, piriformis (?) a bit tight but felt very relaxed on the second tempo. Really positive place to be in right now.

Ate well, and a really good sleep Tuesday night

[8.5]

Wednesday

Body composition analysis. Peak flow 710 was off the chart. Blood pressure good.  All results good and slight improvement on last years InBody analysis.

Body weight this morning about 10 st 2 lbs so all good in the hood. Just need to stay healthy and will rock up to the race on Sunday in prime time condition.

Thursday

Massage am. Track pm. Not ideal as needed to rest but met Jake up there. 1 mile tempo (5.40) and then 5 x 200 in around 34/35. Felt heavy and unresponsive which is no surprise after a massage.

Friday

Rest day. Feel pretty battered and a busy day. Back and glute still tight. Hate proper taper weeks as feel like all form is leaving my body !!

Saturday

Up and atom. Easy 2.5 mile shake out this morning. Feel OK, much better after massage. Travel to Poland. Race in blog...

And that folks was the build to Torun.

Long story short - worked pretty well. 4.22 and in sub 9.20 shape. Happy with form and fitness. More work to be done? Sure - always.

Found out my back / hips / hammys is mainly down to my hammys being week and tired (overworked) so next block will need to focus on addressing that before I race again.