Good week this week, started quite good on Monday with 4,5 km running and then pretty much nothing until Sunday for another 4,4 km. Not very well disposed this week but there has been lots to do and I have gotten home tired and out of what. Better next week!
Day by day
Monday
Running 4,5 km – from home via Slammertorp rd then on the illuminated track and back through the center, good round.
Tuesday
Resting
Wednesday
Resting
Thursday
Resting
Friday
Resting
Saturday
Resting
Sunday
4,4 km in Altorp with Jenny. I felt like crap, the running was bad, the trail however was great so I hope to do it a few more times before the snow sets in, and the company was splendid as always. Love to run with Jenny, it is something I always look forward to.
I have had a break from the running for nine days but today I took myself out again and it was terrible. Can’t believe how fast you loose the hard earned condition but I also know by now it comes back rather quickly, a coupl of more runs and I should be going great again.
I had to take a break because I have this muscle in my right hip that started to act up. It has done that before and always when I increase the distance or the speed of my runs. Usually I can match it around with putting some short distance runs between the long ones but this time it did need some proper rest.
I am not certain whic muscle it is but I have been to several physicians a few years back and they agreed it was not the actual hip that was the problem but a muscle that is a wee bit too short to actuate properly when I am running. Stretchning it works a bit but in the long term strengthen it by running slow and careful is what will help.
But today I was at it again, a nice 6,5 km run in 8:15 tempo, felt really slow for some reason but it actually isn’t – not compared to my usual speed on this distance. But anyway, it’s getting better and I think I will get a 10 k run in before the end of the week again. But a slow one. And a bit of walking if necessary to calm things down.
Basingstoke was a bit of a strange place to me. Very sort of run down in the centre area, sad looking people in most places but once you got out of there to the Old Basing area it was different. Much nicer. So I did most of my running out to the east of the actual city and I liked it quite a bit actually.
The downside is the lack of sidewalks. It is a narrow road, 30/40 mph but people generally seems to drive a lot faster and the lack of sidewalks makes it a risky business to go running here in the dark so that is not recommended. I did my runs in the afternoon and that was ok though I had a close encounter with some stingy nettles trying to avoid a car at one time. I was running in shots.
Last day I ran in the War Memorial park, rather central to the Basingstoke city and it was a different experience. Lots of people there, children and dogs playing and then a number of drunks yelling offensive words at people walking (and jogging) past. Quite the experience when I answered back and decided to not run past them again ;)
Day by day
Monday
Starting of from the hotel at London Rd. and then around Basing Commons and back again. A nice route actually with asphalt the whole way. Made a couple of wrong turns on my way back but it did not matter, I was not out to do it on any particular time, I was just happy to go running.
Tuesday
Another round similar to Monday run but farther away in a bigger circle and checking out that nice old railway bride (and the pub on the other side, where we went back in the evening to grab some drinks and a meal) and it was a beautiful run! My legs was a little tired but I managed a steady and nice pace anyhow.
Better than last week, still under the 20 km I want to do in a a week on average (or more really) but still okay considering traveling and all that. Tempo is not so bad, running in unfamiliar terrain and so on, and the condition figures (mainly VO2max and ventilation) seems to be on the right track still.
I have decided that next week will be really good working out :)
This week I was working with the radio systems all the week and I managed only two workouts which felt a little bad but that’s life sometimes. On Sunday I left for Basingstoke, UK for training with Motorola on their TETRA system so the next week is all about running in Basingstoke.
Day by day
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Jogging at Järvafältet. My nice 8 km route there was begging for me to come out and it felt really good. Nice tempo as well, around 8 min/km which is not bad considering…
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
Slammertorp route here in Kallhäll. All the way, the most hilly part as well. 7:33 tempo and a nice runners high actually.
Friday
Resting
Saturday
Resting
Sunday
Resting
This Week
Total distance
11.66
km
Total tim
1:33:13
HMS
Avg tempo
8:00
min/km
Avg. speed
7,5
km/h
Max. HR
172
bpm
Avg. HR
150
bpm
Training Effect
4.1
TE/EPOC
Energy spent
2 051
kcal
VO2(max)
51
ml/kg/min
Peak EPOC
201
ml/kg
Max. ventilation
83
l/min
Max breathing
41
bpm
Last Week
Total distance
20.54
km
Total tim
2:55:02
HMS
Avg tempo
8:31
min/km
Avg. speed
7.0
km/h
Max. HR
162
bpm
Avg. HR
149
bpm
Training Effect
4.0
TE/EPOC
Energy spent
3 405
kcal
VO2(max)
47
ml/kg/min
Peak EPOC
80
ml/kg
Max. ventilation
90
l/min
Max breathing
41
bpm
Not enough workouts really, will regard this week as a maintaining week but not very developing. Although I managed to up the pulse a bit with some good VO2max results as well. Next week I will be running in Basingstoke so we will have to see how that works out :)
This week was actually very good, personal best on one run (6,5 km) and generally good workouts all over. 5 workouts in the same week and over 4 hours spent running. That is exactly what I was going for so I feel really good about that.
Although several runs felt rather shitty this week I also had a very good one. Strange how that works really, my sunday run which was going to be a nice slow jogg for about 8,5 km over Järvafältet and back again was terrible. Hard winds did their thing but I also had trouble pushing on and I ended up walking short periods to get my muscles back in order.
Day by day
Monday
7 km in Svinninge with Jenny and Linda, good run, lots of hills, about 200 height meters to cross which definitely was a good workout!
Tuesday
4,3 km asphalt in Kallhäll – one of my old runs that I really like sometimes. Felt good this one.
Wednesday
6,5 km to Jakobsberg and back again on the other side of the rail tracks. A new fave of mine with about 2/3 on asphalt and 1/3 on gravel road.
Thursday
Resting day
Friday
6,5 km to Jakobsberg and back again, this time personal best for the distance!
Saturday
Resting day
Sunday
A miserable 8,5 km run that never felt really good. It was just painful from start to end but I managed to get through it. 8:40 tempo.
This Week
Total distance
35.54
km
Total tim
4:38:58
HMS
Avg tempo
8:19
min/km
Avg. speed
7.2
km/h
Max. HR
174
bpm
Avg. HR
149
bpm
Training Effect
4.2
TE/EPOC
Energy spent
3 962
kcal
VO2(max)
33
ml/kg/min
Peak EPOC
221
ml/kg
Max. ventilation
87
l/min
Max breathing
42
bpm
Last Week
Total distance
26.8
km
Total tim
4:03:42
HMS
Avg tempo
9:06
min/km
Avg. speed
6.6
km/h
Max. HR
173
bpm
Avg. HR
148
bpm
Training Effect
4
TE/EPOC
Energy spent
3 032
kcal
VO2(max)
32
ml/kg/min
Peak EPOC
169
ml/kg
Max. ventilation
93
l/min
Max breathing
42
bpm
Did about 10 km more this week than last week. Can explain why my legs are a little bit more tired this Sunday than what I want them to be. But I onlu spent about 30 min extra in workout which means my pace has picked up a bit. Average pace was 8:19 compared to 9:06 last week which is definitely a difference.
I spent about 1000 kcal more running this week than last. Good development really. Heart rates are the same but one interesting thing stands out, the ventilation has increased. I think I know which run this is, that was the friday run where I was running much harder than normal and had to really think about breathing to get enugh oxygen in.
I was prompted on Twitter to test out the Android mobile app ”iMapMyRun” and so I did today. My first impression was that the software is not there yet, it has not reached a mature enough state to seriously compete with BuddyRunner or Endomondo or CardioTrainer or to be used even for beginners.
When registering I got buttons to select imperial/european units but none of the buttons seemed to work when I pressed them and in the end I had to chose to move on. When I did so I could not find another way to go back and change the settings, nor could I update my personal data such as weight and so on.
Today I took it for a test run and I used other tracking software at the same time. After about 2/3 of the way the iMapMyRun software stopped recording it seems and instead it just plotted the last position when I turned it off at my finish. Therefore it just went in a straight line for the last 1/3 of the run. Definitely something fishy was going on there. Neither did it record the GPS elevation data for some reason, the accompanying web site says ”There was an error retrieving the elevation”, I have no idea why. Of my 5 km run this app recorded only 3.
Both other recording apps (Google Tracks and Endomondo) worked fine through all this. On top of all that it feels unintuitive and quirky and a little backwards but that may be just me expecting things from being used to the other apps in this field.
When the workout finished I got a ridiculous question about peanyut butter, an ad that felt intrusive and out of place. Peanut butter is hardly the stuff for athletes so it felt rather misplaced. The whole app and the accompanying web site is riddled with ads. If you are viewing your runs, you have to upgrade to the payed version or wait 15 seconds before you can see your run. Again it is not on the level with the competing softwares in this respect.
My recommendation is to wait and see if this app matures. In the mean time check out BuddyRunner or Endomondo, both very mature and well working GPS tracking apps for runners.
This week, easter week was a very good week actually. Foodwise we kept in check and I had some really good runs including my first 10 km run this year. Weather has been perfect for outdoors activities so it has been a real pleasure to be outdoor this week. Dun has been nice and warm but in the nights the temperatures drops down and best runs are done in the afternoons really.
I have started using a new sports tracker on my Android phone called Endonundo and so far, for all similar softwares I have tested this one seems to be best of them all. I also love the BuddyRunner software but Endomondo does very much the same thing but has even better statistics.
Day by day
Monday
speed in the forest, 2.35 km in 6:36 tempo, pretty good for being me actually, I was very happy with that.
Tuesday
Altorp 6.7 km with Jenny, had a really good time as always and although I came home late it was a really good run that.
Wednesday
Resting, no training.
Thursday
My first 10 km this year. Eastern Järvafältet and that was good as well, but HARD. I was struggling at the end to keep it together and I had some walks in the middle of it as well but I did it even if it took me 99 minutes. My first 10 km run this year
Friday
Short runt at home, a very slow run to just flex everything up a bit from the 10 km the day before.
Saturday
A 5km run a new route I have not done before. Down to the Görväln castle and then back home again. Beautiful run but some hills that was really straining and by now I am starting to feel the miles in my legs this week. Decided this was last for this week!
Sunday
Resting.
This week
Total distance
26.8
km
Total tim
4:03:42
HMS
Avg tempo
9:06
min/km
Avg. speed
6.6
km/h
Max. HR
173
bpm
Avg. HR
148
bpm
Training Effect
4
TE/EPOC
Energy spent
3 032
kcal
VO2(max)
32
ml/kg/min
Peak EPOC
169
ml/kg
Max. ventilation
93
l/min
Max breathing
42
bpm
Last week
Total distance
16,8
km
Total tim
1:19:16
HMS
Avg tempo
8:29
min/km
Avg. speed
8.29
km/h
Max. HR
175
bpm
Avg. HR
153
bpm
Training Effect
5
TE/EPOC
Energy spent
1 162
kcal
VO2(max)
32
ml/kg/min
Peak EPOC
159
ml/kg
Max. ventilation
96
l/min
Max breathing
45
bpm
10 km more than last week is not horse manure. Probably too much of an increase in a single week but I feel good nevertheless. Time spent training also increased to more than the double, not bad at all but my average time dropped with 30 s/km. Not too surprising, longer runs and more km into the legs. Spending almost 3 times the amount of energy on running as last week, yay, almost two days worth of food.
Average heartrate has dropped a bit, longer and slower running and perhaps a bit better condition as well but the max hartrate is very similar and shows that I am still about 10 beats from maxing out. Good thing, don’t wanna do that alone… tried it once and i had such a bad tunnel vision I thought I was gonna faint.
Training effect is a 4 which is great compared to a 5 last week which was overtraining. Getting better at keeping slow on the long runs and not over-excerting myself to the point of breaking down rather than building up.
Ventilation and breathing is up a little though VO2max seems very similar. A higher peak EPOC and a lower Training Effect just means I have leveled on the training effect scale (to a level 6.0 from a 5.0 where I started).
Tomorrow is a resting day and then monday is a free day, I will see if my good friend Jenny can manage a nice run together then, looking forward to the next time.
Weight wise I have gone up 0.5 kg this week. Still keeping diet but I have also noticed my legs are getting stronger. I believe I am building more muscle. This is good, it means I will be able to run faster and longer and increase my metabolic rate even when I sleep. Good stuff that.
First on Tuesday started out nice together with Jenny in Näsbypark, a 7 km mainly on asphalt but with a bit of trail as well. Good workout and lovely dinner as well. Got home rather late from that however, takes time going from Täby to Järfälla although you could drive there in about 20 minutes.
Second workout was my favourite route here close at home. A long startup and then two laps with a finish down at the lake. Chose the middle tough route on one of the laps, in total about 5 km and even if my condition is now improving after the flu it was still tough.
Third workout was a 5 km in Altorp together with Jenny again. Very good quality run, lovely weather, really really good run.
I have not been writing much about my workouts here lately. The reasons are that I, as usual, lost the continuity in my workouts when the snow came, it is of course entirely possible to run in snow but I am not a very keen snow-jogger I must admit. Running indoors, while good for stuff like interval training is making me more or less mental really after a while. I actually read a book las time I ran my usual 5 click on the treadmill, that’s how tedious that is, staring out over the usually empty gym. I wish there was a TV set to watch the news or something while you are beating the treadmill.
But now the outdoorsy environment is back on track again, spring albeit very late this year is finally here, and it is definitely weather to go out and run which I did start off well enough and then suddenly came the flu and put and eand to my running efforts for about 3 weeks. My flu was not really that bad, about 4 days of fever but then a long recovery before I was actually feeling well enough to go running.
And now I am doing it again. Working my way back up into some kind of shape and I actually like it a lot − especially since my good friend Jenny has gone running with me again, we have been out three times now this year and every time is really good!
The routine is as usual, trying to get 3 quality runs in every week, no matter really the days, trying to get rest between the runs but I am actually about to violate this right now since I am actually scheduled to run tomorrow evening but I just can’t resist the woods right now so I will go and run a short but fun track, about 3 km is what I had in mind.
Me before a run at my favourite track
I have also limited my energy intake to about 2000 kJ less than usual (that’s around 500 kcal for you non-SI guys) which means I have started to shed some of the excess weight. I hope to be able to shed some 20 kg or so until the Kista race takes place in November. After that I should loose another 10 kg and I should have reached a reasonable goal weight for my kind of height but my first goal is to get 10 kg lighter. I think it will improve my running a lot.
I am starting my 3 rd week now of food planning (dieting sounds so dull, does it not?) and it is actually going pretty well. This weekend has been a bit over the energy budget however, it was also planned, the move night with the guys is once a month and that night I will drink beer, eat what I want and have a good time.
So that is what has been going on at this front for a while. I am also happy that some friends from Wales will be coming over this summer to do some hiking in the highlands and out in the archipelago. Need some fitness there as well since walking up- and downhill in the highlands carrying what you need is also pretty tough sometimes. I need some good maps to plan the trip which I have ordered both in digital and paper form, it will be really nice!
I have not been in these highlands for about 10 years so it will be like a completely new thing for me as well. I am planning for 2 nights camping out in the free, so I need to go through my gear to see the tent and everything is in good working condition as well as the backpack and hiking boots and so on. We are likely to go the first week in August as it seems now and I am so looking forward to it.
