10 points for getting the music reference in the title.
This is a bonus post. Like that second bout of chicken pox you’re assured you’ll never get. You’d think after batting out 25,000 words already this week, I’d have ran out of things to say, right? Ha! Wrong.
As I mentioned in my last outpouring, after a couple of warm-up weeks I’m going to start training again in earnest from Monday. Well, Monday’s a rest day, so actually, Tuesday. This means adding structure and purpose to runs, and all those delicious trimmings that come with them.
Running has grown to be a huge part of my life. Like a third child. Sometimes second, depending on how much my son has wound me up, but either way, it’s more important than my wife 😜.
Training for these events it a huge life commitment and it ends up taking over everything, like a conquestual superpower. Sleep is the first thing to go. I find though that the process and ensuing deprivation of time actually makes me more efficient at life; I’m not completely sure how, but I manage to fit it all in without too much sacrifice. I think it all comes down to motivation; if you’re suitably motivated, you’ll tame unnavigable rivers to get where you want to be. Then throw self-belief into that mix, and you can do it riding a novelty Lilo shaped like a slice of watermelon in a pair of flamboyant sunglasses, supping a cocktail through a straw.
I’m not a mantra person, but there are a couple of universal truths that everyone needs to hear every now and then to unlock that mental door:
1) You are much better than you give yourself credit for.
2) You are capable of profoundly more than you believe you are.
3) It is normal. It just looks a little weird. Try not to scratch it though.
I don’t know how I drifted there, but pulling this thing back towards the middle.
I started writing these blogs again with the purpose of journaling my training, to share the journey with all its lumps and bumps and outlet this pent-up, bizarre, kaleidoscopic perspective. To do this, I need to be open and candid about what I’m doing, but am mindful that comparison is the thief of joy.
That’s not my term by the way. I nicked it.
Unless you’re an elite runner that gets to start a race with your big toe touching the start line (rather than us lot back there, partying if third class), running and races and events and goals and growth and disappointment and success and achievement all of that is an exclusive, one-on-one competition that’s You vs. You.
It may be “Last Year You” vs. “This Year You”, or “A You That You Want To Be” vs. “The You That You Are Now”, but it’s always You vs. You. And Me vs. Me.
The strongest people in life aren’t those who achieve things without fear or obstacle, they’re the people that had to strive to overcome, and the people who went from A to B via a respectable scrabble score. Those obstacles are often ourselves, or inherent aspects of our lives that formulate this unique match-up. You vs. You can never be replicated.
You overcoming You, Me overcoming Me, and That-Person-Over-There overcoming That-Same-Person-Over-There are all incomparable and incompatible.
I remember how proud I was to run my first ever 5K. I remember sitting on Google Maps, trying to figure out a 10K route and concluding that one doesn’t exist. The world just isn’t physically big enough to fit in on. I still actually refer to 10K as “the impossible distance”, and say to myself in marathons at 32km, “just the impossible distance left”. I remember having to Google how to attach a race number.
Basically, what I’m saying is that any stats, distances, efforts or training loads that I write about or discuss is relative to the goals I’ve set myself, and not to show off or lay some kind of gauntlet. I cobble my own training plans together and make decisions that seem to work for me. If I handed them to a sports scientist, they’d probably coo over them like crayon drawings and put them on the fridge until the next recycling-bin day. I’m sure a lot of my experience is transferrable. I’ve certainly got a few “don’ts” that are invariably applicable that involve curry houses the night before hard efforts.
So now that the rules of engagement are set, I basically structure my weeks as:
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – Morning: Session run (intervals, repetitions or hill repeats) / Evening: Recovery (exercise bike) and strength session (focus on build).
Wednesday – Morning: Easy run / Evening: Recovery (exercise bike) and foam rolling
Thursday – Morning: Steady run (sandwiched between warm-up and cool-down periods at easy pace) / Evening: Recovery (exercise bike)
Friday – Strength Session (focus on movement) / Recovery (exercise bike)
Saturday – Easy run / Recovery (exercise bike)
Sunday – Long Run / Rest
I’m pretty religious with the runs, but the rest of it tends to be a battle of discipline. I’m hoping the added transparency will help hold me to account.
And my training paces are loosely based on a 4-hour marathon time. The paces tend to correspond well with my body and heartrate zones. I tend to monitor my training on a high-level by keeping a weathered eye on HR zones, but control my runs on a working level through pace and perceived effort. I do about 20mins of stretching after every run.
My target training pace breakdowns are:
Intervals – 4:30min/km
Reps – 4:00min/km
HM pace (threshold) – 5:00/km
M pace (steady) – 5:30/km
Easy pace – 6:15 - 6:30/km
Next week (Week 1), my main focus will be feeling my way into higher efforts and getting an understanding of current fitness. Injury potential is quite high for the next couple of week, so I’ll listening out for any creaks and moans.
Again, please utterly and unconditionally forgive the appalling mash-up of units.
Tuesday:
6.62km Interval Session consisting of:
1mi (1.61km) warm-up at easy pace
3x 1km at HM pace with 0.2km recoveries at easy pace
1mi (1.61km) cool-down at easy pace
Wednesday:
2mi (3.22km) at easy pace
Thursday:
4mi (6.44km) consisting of:
1mi (1.61km) at easy pace
2mi (3.22km) at run-to-feel pace (will be somewhere between steady and easy)
1mi (1.61km) at easy pace
Saturday:
2mi (3.22km) at easy pace
Sunday:
5mi (8km) at run-to-feel pace
I'd like to promote a bit of discussion in these posts as well. If you're interested in any of it, or something doesn't make sense, or wonder why I think some of this could ever be construed as a good idea, let me know.
I’m this guy on Strava strava.com/athletes/37954945 if you’re on there and / or in the slightest bit interested. Please add me as I’m looking forward to building the social aspect of running.
Anyway, let’s go!
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