Weekend’s training:
Working in a parkrun into a 3 easy, 3 hard, 3 easy run and taking 5 seconds off my PB
Today’s training:
Reluctantly accepting that I’m going to have to take a couple of weeks off training to let my weird foot injury (metatarsalgia I think?) recover. Sick as a parrot.
Yes it's a pain when you have to face facts that you're injured/ill/knackered.
This is one of the reasons i look at weekly average over 10 weeks, as opposed to strictly trying to hit 40/10000 every week without fail. When i was kickboxing it was the same with weight... no point weighing myself every day due to variations. Just same time every week.
I'm in a similar but less extreme situation to yourself at the moment. I've been hammering everything recently... diet/training/racing... and whilst my race performances have been good, i don't feel like i'm making massive progress like i did in 2018. Struggling to make it count in the hard training sessions. And suffered with a cold since last week, which i compounded by running the XC on Saturday.
Luckily there's no race this weekend, just a steady champs recce, so i'm dedicating myself to a steady week, no hard sessions, to let myself recover. Then next week ramp it up again and hopefully a big pb at the Long Mynd Valleys.
Very impressed at that dedication Travs. I'm sure it will pay off in races even if it doesn't feel like you're making progress right now.
For myself, I don't train at anything like that level. That said, the last two or three months i've upped my training - to a still-pitiful level compared to many on here, I'm sure - and now doing something like 30 miles a week, plus 3-4 hours of cycling as well. I'm not sure what the average ascent is but I doubt it is more than 2,000m / week. It's difficult for me to find time to do more than that, so the key is to try and make it count when I do go out, which I don't find easy to be honest. The one pleasing thing is that increased training does not seem to have caused any injury / illness issues (yet, at least), and I'm hoping over the next few months that I'll be able to up the training a bit more.
To be honest, the best thing I could do really would be to join a club, but unfortunately the local clubs near me (Pennine and Glossopdale) both train on nights that don't work that well for me.
Longbeard, your 30 miles and 7000ft is not to be sniffed at...!
Joining a club where I can train regularly has certainly helped me, even if they aren't a Fell club. Training and racing against better runners has been what's pulled my performance up a bit.
Travs, enjoy your ‘rest’ week and come back stronger for it!
Longbeard, 30 miles is still a strong week, especially with the cycling on top. Also, it’s not just how much you do but what you do with it
I’ve meditated and realised that this is a great chance to spend a couple of weeks working on strength/conditioning and doing a lot of biking – rather than a couple of weeks missing out on running (though I reserve the right to check Strava and this forum to see what i’m missing out on).
I'm back to around 50 miles a week. trying to get 2 x 5 hours a week in that and lots of hill reps. High peak approaches and I don't feel like I have a 40 mile race in them yet
After lauding my regular weekly mileage I've had a solid week of complete rest, after realising that my feeling of 'staleness' is quite possibly due to the combination of heavier training and quite a manic (but certainly not Fishwicking) levels of racing.
Hoping it leaves me fresh for the Long Mynd Valleys this weekend, and possibly the final league XC on Saturday, although hopefully the team is strong enough that i can skip this.
Bought a pair of massive-soled Hoka road shoes yesterday with my winter prize-winnings, so imagine i'll turn into a trail-ultra-running hippy after a few outings. Must admit on first impressions they were comfortable out of the box, but significantly different to my usual preference.
A steady 9 miles around the dark streets of far west Cov. Again kept it steady and went round at conversation pace with another endurance lover and ex GB Triathlete.
Caused some merriment with my massive orange Hokas. But first decent run in them and I was fairly impressed. They even made our track feel comfortably cushioned... I don't have the phobia of the track that is held by some of my clubmates, but it is admittedly very hard, harder than road, due to it being designed for wheelchair racing.
Will get a more strenuous hill session in tomorrow, then a light runout Saturday, ready for Sunday's big race.