Training log week of 10 August 2015

Last week was  an unplanned week off -well, sort of.  I didn't run all week but that's not to say that I was inactive. I just got back from a week long vacation with the family at a house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.  While I wasn't doing specific run training, I did get in some pretty long days of outdoor activities between hiking and and a ton of swimming.  It was a good change of pace and some wonderful scenery.  

Training Log: Week of 3 August 2015

Monday

Rest Day. Mobility work hips and lower legs. 

Tuesday 

Thunderstorms last night and this morning means little sleep and no running today.  

Wednesday

Fasted morning run.  Nice temps today and lower humidity.  Had a hard time getting my HR up and felt like I was working harder than I should have. 

Thursday 

Fasted morning run. Cool and clear weather again.  Nice run today.  Got a better night sleep than I did for Wednesday's run.  Kicked out 4 miles and negative split them all.  I felt like I could have kept going but had to get ready for work. 

Sunday

Nice hour long morning run, 6.5 miles.  Thirty minutes out and 30 back and I finished right where I started.  Good test to see how well I maintained pace.  

Sometimes I am just tired (a warning sign of fatigue)

Most of the time when I run I judge my effort by feel or Rate of Perceived Exertion RPE. While I am tracking my pace and HR, I don't usually look at the data when I'm running.  I just review it afterwards and compare to how I felt during the workout.  I am really trying to develop the sense of "feel" so I don't have to constantly rely on the realtime data. Plus, it helps when I actually want to use it (on long runs for example). I don't need to be constantly checking my watch to tell if I'm pushing too hard. 

Well, today was just one of those days where things didn't feel right. I was losing mental focus. I felt like I was breathing heavier than I should and needing to push harder than I should just to keep what felt like an average pace.  

As it turns out, my pace was right about where I thought it would be, in the low 9 mins/mile. But my average HR was only 133 BPM.  That's is lower than I thought it should be. I also usually see a spike in HR when I first start out (especially when I don't warm up first). I didn't see that either.

So what does this mean?  Why is my HR not reacting when my body feels like it's pushing harder?  

From what I have read and heard, not being to get your HR up is either a sign of increased fitness or increased fatigue.  In my case I'm going with fatigue.  Sleep seems to be a luxury for me these last couple of days. Also, I just changed jobs at work so that is adding more stress to my life. I think it's just adding up. I will keep an eye on this over the next couple of days and see how it goes. Also, I'll work on getting more sleep.  

Training log week of 27 July 2015

Monday

Rest day. 

Tuesday

Evening run.  I ran four miles total and pushed the pace on the second and fourth hard.  Got my max HR to 180BPM. 

Wednesday

Hot and humid run after work. Cut it off at three miles

Thursday

Did not run in the morning. I got blood work done first thing in the morning and I I didn't want it to skew my numbers.  I didn't get out in the evening due to some heavy thunderstorms. 

Friday

This would typically have been a rest day but instead I did four miles just to put me over 100 miles for the month. I got 102.7 in July. 

Saturday

Went out fasted today.  Didn't bring any fuel with me either.  Just water.  Got in 8.5 miles before cutting it off.  Felt pretty good the whole time, heart rate and pace stayed steady.  

Sunday

No run today.  That's just part of the family life. 

Total mileage: 19.6 miles. 

Training log week of 20 July 20, 2015

Monday

Rest day. 

Tuesday

Still very humid this morning and we had a late night at my daughters swim meet so I was dragging this morning. Did three miles and called it quits. 

Wednesday

Quick 4 mile fasted run before work. 

Thursday

Quick 4 mile fasted run before work.

Friday

Rest day. 

Saturday

Long run day.  Got out early and finished a 20 mile run in 3:40.  Focused on keeping my HR low and staying hydrated.  For fuel I used Hammer Nutrition HEED.  I tried to take in about 200 calories an hour.  This may have been a little too much for me though.  Towards the end I was getting a little gassy and completely uninterested in drinking any of it. 

Sunday

Rest Day

Total mileage 31.5

Training log: Week of 13 July 2015

Monday - Rest Day

I've been struggling with a bit of IT band soreness on my left leg.  I rolled it out with the foam roller before bed and that seemed to help.

Tuesday 

The IT band was feeling a little better when I went out for my run this morning. I had to cut it short though after only two miles due to lightning. Afterwards, I noticed it was getting little achy again, so I continued massaging it with a softball in the car on the way to work.  

Wednesday 

My leg felt good in the morning but strong thunderstorms rolled through just in time to keep me from running.  

Friday

Well this has been one of those unplanned recovery weeks.  Missed another session yesterday because my daughter was up all night with an upset stomach. But today I finally made it out the door. Four miles first thing in the morning.  Empty stomach, no fuel.  Just some water before I started.  No leg or IT pain today.  Hopefully that is a sign that the weekend workouts will be good.  

Saturday 

Well the trend continued.  Missed another workout.  Blah.  What a week!?

Sunday

Hot and humid morning run. No pre run fuel.  Just water along the way.  Stopped at just under six miles.  Tried out the new arm coolers.  Pretty nice.  I think that they may work a little better if the humidity was lower though or if there were a more consistent wind.  When it did blow, the cooling was noticeable.  

A Fresh Start

There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says: the best time to plant a tree is 25 years ago, the second best time is now.  Basically, it's saying that it's never too late to start.   If you want something different in your life then get started.     You want to lose weight, you want to save for retirement, you want to start a business.  Sure things might be easier if you had started earlier in life.   Those kinds if thoughts are useless.  You cant travel back in time to change your history.  Who cares what you should have started years ago.  If you have a goal for your life then get started now!