It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted, a lot has been going on but I’ve been lacking the energy to post about it. Last weekend was the SVN
Viking 100 mile run, and whilst I wasn’t racing the 100 I was there to support the Boyf in his quest for a sub-24 gold buckle! An early 5am start, followed by a lot of standing around making sure he got his Tailwind allocation each lap (and that I noted down the amount of Tailwind, fluid intake and lap time), and clipping the lap cards of other runners was taking its toll. I squeezed in a quick refresher nap about 18:30, more runner support and then another nap before midnight when I got a text from the Boyf alerting me that he was ready for me to come and keep him company on a couple of laps. I love running in the dark, the temperatures are normally a lot more manageable for me, and I like the peace and quiet. It’s also great practice for other races. Given I am not the speediest, there’s a high likelihood that I’ll be finishing SDW50 in the dark, and so it pays to be used to running (walking, or shuffling) on a head torch when you’re covering tricky terrain on very tired legs. To put it bluntly it’s one less thing to worry about!
18.75 miles (3 laps) later and I sent him out for his final mini-lap (due to a course change mid-race), whilst I got changed and started to pack the car. We were both stoked when he finished the race in 21:35:57. A great start to the year, and a gold buckle earned! It also meant I covered my training target for the week as well. Sometimes it can be tough fitting training in around the support of others but luckily this time we were able to balance both.
Last weekend’s efforts meant I was slightly off kilter this week. Whilst I intended to stick to my FASTer Way to Fat Loss plan, a mix of tiredness and back to back meetings meant I dropped my HIIT workouts early in the week. I did manage all my strength sessions though, despite shuffling a couple of sessions to accommodate lunch at the Ritz (so yummy!) and a long run (I really didn’t fancy leg day followed by 15km).
Run-wise, things were looking good, but when I went out on Friday intending to spend 70 minutes on the hills I got to the end of the road and decided enough was enough. Heavy legs and wheezy lungs meant I ran home and clocked up 1.5km instead. I am a big fan of listening to my body, and clearly it wasn’t in the right state for a longer session. It paid off though, as I then managed 15km on Saturday. 5km run to parkrun, my first parkrun since May 2016 and then a run home. I felt fine throughout, despite the weather being freezing, a bit snowy and more than a bit windy. Balance is so important in training, and by listening to my body on Friday I was able to stay on track. If I had stuck with the original plan then I would probably have felt rubbish on Saturday and may not have managed a run at all. This is the awesome thing about TrainAsONE’s plan, it constantly adjusts based on what you do, and what you don’t do. Always keeping your plan at the optimum level for your goal and your current fitness level.
Today was my delayed leg day session (tough work!), followed by sprints in the snow. I wasn’t quite hitting pace but I was pushing hard and I am convinced that is most of the battle. With the conditions underfoot being a bit on the sketchy side, and my legs being a bit dull after a zillion squats and weights lifted I am happy with how things went.
Now I get a day off from running until my 6 minute assessment session on Tuesday. Hopefully the ice will have cleared and the wind dropped by then.
This week will continue to focus on finding balance. Work, training and rest all play a part in making me happy and I am keen to make sure I do my best in all of them. So all being well I’ll be doing a Tabata/HIIT session and 3 strength sessions with the FASTer Way, and 5 runs. I’ll be dropping the FASTer Way sprint session on Tuesday as it clashes with my 6 minute assessment (actually 46 minutes long), as that will definitely deplete my carbs on low carb day…and there’s no need to double-up and risk excessive tiredness or injury.
What have you got planned this week?