First step on the ladder ....

Sunday 22^nd September to Saturday 28^th September

On Sunday I ambled down the street to Bakers Road to watch the finishers coming in at the Charleville half marathon. It was very hot and it affected the leading runners times by a couple of minutes with the according knock on for the rest of the field. September is when the half marathon season is in full swing all geared towards the Dublin marathon. I had visions of getting under 90 minutes in this particular race assuming I would pick up the momentum I created last year. No chance this year.

Nevertheless it was good to talk to some local runners and Mallow clubmates. Headed out for my usual 4.3 mile run that evening. On Monday decided to cool things down a bit with a snappy-ish 2.5 mile walk with Aoiffe and on Tuesday did a 45 recovery run around the grass pitches of Mayfield GAA club. The last two runs/walks were designed to get the heart rate down. By Wednesday I did a hilly 5 mile jog up in Cork with another snappier 4.3 mile effort in Charleville on Thursday. Friday was a rest day.

That left me facing into a 5.7 mile “LSR” on Saturday. The legs were feeling it that stage and the pace was very slow around 9.45 pace.

I have been running my back to basics strategy for a month now. There was been some progress but it has been all rather slow. That said I am now running 4/5 times a week. When I started 4 weeks ago the longest run I could manage was 3 miles in 34 minutes with a HR of 145 to 152. Currently I can run 4.3 miles at a 8.15 pace but I suspect the HR was probably in the 160’s. A lot of people have said to me to not wear or ignore the HR strap but the heart rate is what determines how fast or far you can run. It is the true arbiter of performance. My Hr readings last year would have been proof of this. I only hope that prolonged running at different paces over 4/5 days a week over the next 3 months will lead to a improvement in my aerobic capacity. I obviously burned myself out last summer, here’s hoping a long base running period will  see me through. Phil Maffetone's method on the other hand calls for keeping all runs under 135 to 140 Hr which means a pace (in my case) of probably 12minute pace.

The idea behind this is that my heart will strengthen and that I will be able  to maintain this Hr level at a faster pace leading to a greater improvement in my running..  This of course could mean 3-4 months of slow walk/jog/running.In previous posts I spoke about possibly using the Maffetone method . Now I am not too sure. That kind of patient running would see me go a bit crazy. Further investigation awaits but now I am thinking running  most days will have the same effect I do agree though that speedwork would be a error. At least I am out running now and have been doing the last 4 weeks.

Mileage this week – 22.3 miles.

Looking up at the ladder

21^st September

It’s been a while since the last blog report. I am still a work in progress, at least I hope it’s progress.  On August 19^th I did 3 runs in a week. 5 weeks later I am still on 3 runs a week. I am happy to keep it conservative enough allowing for rest days every 2^nd day. There are running reasons for this, which i will explain later and work reasons too, which I won’t be explaining. Coming back from holidays, the cardio system had gone to bits. It was obvious I was well and truly overtrained. Maffetone in page 143 of his “Big Book....” goes into more detail but the signs were easy to tell. Elevated heart rate, inability to perform the simplest cardio workouts (like walking up a hill without feeling tired), no interest in running, susceptibility to colds, stomach bugs and coughs and so on.  There were other personal stressors at play and maybe some dietary ones too. Blood tests didn’t show up anything majorly wrong with my system though the medic did say anaerobic activity should be kept at a minimum. He also suggested a walking routine most days would help with recovery.

Anyway back to the present. I walk probably 30 mins a day to and from the car to work plus the odd 3 mile walk with my wife in the evening. This has certainly settled my on going fatique while use of the foam roller has aided recovery with my groin pull and provided some relief to my quad issues. I’m up to 3 X 4 miles a week running at a average pace of 9 minute miles. HR has varied this week from 138 (9.27 pace) to a whopping 166 (8.27 pace) but the desire for running is coming back. I can hardly see myself racing anytime soon, at least not this side of 2013 but it’s a start. I’m not making any predictions, I have a general  idea of where I want to be by Christmas but won’t be revealing anything yet. The Connemara marathon is looming in April 2014 but that is firmly at the back of my mind now. I am starting at the bottom of the ladder and I won’t be in  a position to return to club training for a while yet not until the aerobic side of things rights itself out. This is a pity and I wish all Mallow runners the very best over what will be a busy few months for members.

Weekly mileage. Week beginning- August 19^th- 12 miles a week (inc 4 mile walk), August 26^th 11.5 miles a week, September 2^nd 3 miles (sickness), September 9th 11.8 miles, September 16^th 13miles