Trainings of period 15. november .. 11. december

Long time no postings

It has been long time since I last posted something here.It's because I have been lazy: in trainings and in writing as well.
First I had some family issues that prevented me going out to running: my wife was away for 5 days so I had to keep eye on my 3 years old son. That's too young to leave him home alone, and I do not have means to take him with me during running. I could have find some time while he was in kindergarten (and I was supposed to be at work), but I was a bit too lazy for that. Then I was supposed to have "fun marathon" at 22. November, so when I missed a training day after wife arrived I decided avoid going out at day before.
Unfortunately I didn't manage to go to race. At race day very early morning I started to nauseate and vomit. Felt really bad for whole day, and had a temperature about 38.5.  Luckily the temperature fall rather quickly so I was almost normal in following day. But I felt a bit too tired (and was a bit lazy as well) for following week, so there was a bit longer break in trainings. To be honest I should have gone out and took some brisks walks... But, as I said, I was lazy.
The first training after break was at 3. December. That was easy 30 minute jog. I used the Polar "OwnZone". It suggests training heart rate zone based on HR data during the warm up phase of session. But I do not think it is worth of tracking the given HR zones as I do not intend to use that feature much. Next one was at Friday, 5th December, again 30 minute jog, and again OwnZone. I forgot to start the miCoach app in phone so I do not have GPS length for that run. On Saturday I made a bit longer jog, 50 minutes. On that day the weather wasn't too good: there was wind together with snow powder. That wasn't problem in first half when wind was from back. But when I turned back it started to hurt my face. So I increased the speed so I could get home more quickly...
The next training I took was on Tuesday, 9th December: 40 min green. And today I made a 35 minute blue recovery.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
_. 30 min blue recovery	/35:00	137/148	4.47/4.51	7:50/6:03	50	73/88
_. 40 min green	/52:56	150/167	7.26/7.97	7:18/5:20	46	84/91
_. 50 min recovery	/50:15	145/168	6.81/7.17	7:22/5:37	49	86/92
_. OwnZone	/32:53	156/173	5.52/???	5:57/4:42	53	87/94
_. OwnZone	/32:19	143/167	4.1/4.3	7:53/6:27	46	83/92
11. 40.min green	50:00/53:34	148/159	7.96/8.01	6:44/5:26	53	83/89	84%
10. VO2max intervals	30:00/36:14	158/191	5.63/5.66	6:26/3:17	44	83/101	67%
9. Green 50 min	1:00:00/1:07:59	151/170	9.81/10.57	6:56/4:45	49	84/90	80%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:56	137/146	4.53/4.74	7:42/6:15	52	84/90	70%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/35:01	132/148	4.18/4.42	8:23/4:45	48	81/87	86%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:46	133/143	4.44/4.53	7:50/6:32	52	82/90	91%

Weather for today run was a bit cold: temperature +2°C, small breeze. According to
Clothing:  T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, wind stopper, ski hat. gloves.

Started using Strava

I think I have already told that I'm part of miCoach "Marathon Dream team 2h59" (https://community-micoach.adidas.com/groups/dream-team-2h59) group. The organizers of the group also made "club" in Strava, http://www.strava.com/clubs/micoachers. I was a bit curious and wanted to test it out as well, so I created a profile in strava: http://www.strava.com/athletes/7221211 Currently I have some troubles with auto upload activities from miCoach system to Starava, so I have to download & upload each training manually. I will complain about it in miCoach forums soon...

Polar OwnOptimizer test

I also didn't hold uop with promise to make regular OwnOptimizer tests. Now, as there has been long training gap and illness in between I suppose I have to reset the baseline to get new "normal" average values.
I added thee test results into table. They are actually a bit hard to explain to myself... "Hard training" after rest day (was it sign of coming illness, 5 days later?), and overreaching a week after illness... Maybe not so hard to understand after all...

Date	HR Rest	HR Peak	HR Stand	Result	Previous day
9.12.2014	58	115	79	2 - Normal	Rest day
3.13.2014	58	117	80	7 -Overreaching	Rest day, week after illness
17.11.2014	57	111	85	6 - Hard training	Rest day
14.11.2014	58	114	75	3 - Training Effect	Rest day
13.11.2014	59	109	75	3 - Training Effect	VO2max interval
12.11.2014	55	107	68	2 - Normal	Rest day
11.11.2014	52	103	67	2 - Normal	50 min green
10.11.2014	55	102	75	2 - Normal	active "rest day"

Happy running,
Gert

"Be fit" level 7, session 11: 40-min Green

40-min Green

Todays run was normal green run. Not too long, not too short... Weather was a bit cold, and as I went out without gloves my fingers got some cold. At least during first 15 minutes of running when body was not yet heated up. My legs are feeling a little tired after the run. Perhaps it is caused by previous session, seems like I'm not yet fully recovered from VO2 max intervals. The OwnOptimizer test result tells the same. I used again  the Adidas Supernova Glide shoes, and seemed like the factor I set int last time was a bit too high. Adjusted it down today after first 4 km. But it means I should go back and correct paces of the VO2max intervals.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
11. 40.min green	50:00/53:34	148/159	7.96/8.01	6:44/5:26	53	83/89	84%
10. VO2max intervals	30:00/36:14	158/191	5.63/5.66	6:26/3:17	44	83/101	67%
9. Green 50 min	1:00:00/1:07:59	151/170	9.81/10.57	6:56/4:45	49	84/90	80%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:56	137/146	4.53/4.74	7:42/6:15	52	84/90	70%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/35:01	132/148	4.18/4.42	8:23/4:45	48	81/87	86%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:46	133/143	4.44/4.53	7:50/6:32	52	82/90	91%
7 -> 8. Green 40 min	50:00/59:18	146/162	8.30/8.41	7:09/5:21	50	82/91	77%
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was a bit cold: temperature +2°C, very little wind
Clothing: 2 x T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Fingers got cold (during first 15 mins)

Polar OwnOptimizer test

Now I have performed OwnOptimizer tests each morning... It is suggested to perform them 3 times a week, but I suppose I continue daily tests until I understand the patterns.Today's result is still "Training effect" despite that yesterday was inactive rest day.

Date	HR Rest	HR Peak	HR Stand	Result	Previous day
14.11.2014	58	114	75	3 - Training Effect	Rest day
13.11.2014	59	109	75	3 - Training Effect	VO2max interval
12.11.2014	55	107	68	2 - Normal	Rest day
11.11.2014	52	103	67	2 - Normal	50 min green
10.11.2014	55	102	75	2 - Normal	active "rest day"

Happy running,
Gert

"Be fit" level 7, session 10: VO2 max intervals

VO2 max intervals

This was the first hard session after rest week. I started to feel overt raining signs after I had performed previous instance of this training, and subsequently took the rest week. Hope it goes better this time.
I have been running only with my old shoes recently. This time I took the "newer" ones, Adidas Supernova Glide ones I bought  in august (usage 95 km after todays run). Somehow the calibration factor was been changed in the Polar watch so the speed display was really small at the start of the run. I corrected the calibration factor while I was running; unfortunately I did this during the first yellow interval part so that the speed was a bit too slow during it. But rest of intervals went really nice. The feeling was same as in previous time, see http://gertatrunning.blogspot.com/2014/10/be-fit-level-7-session-6-vo2-max.html. And, as in previous session, I finished last red interval with "all in". Somehow I missed the beep from RS800CX that tells the interval is over so I run hard few seconds too long.
The first yellow (4 minutes) had following stats: HR average 167 (max 171), pace: 5:2 (max 4:41), distance 0.73 km, cadence 87 (max 90). This was followed by 1 minute red run: HR average 175 (max 181), pace 4:00 (max 3:45), distance 0.26 km, cadence 92 (max 94).
The work phase was followed by 4 minute recovery in blue zone. I kept jogging slowly and managed to bring my HR down to ~148 bpm.
The second repetition of intervals was where I pushed all-in at the end of red. Stats for yellow: HR 169 (max 175), pace 5:06 (max 4:35), distance 0.78 km, cadence 88/90.
And for second red phase: HR 180 (max 190), pace 3:46 (max 3:22), distance 0.27 km, cadence 95/101.
I wonder if I should put this data into some kind of table so it is possible to compare different  training sessions?

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
10. VO2max intervals	30:00/36:14	158/191	5.63/5.66	6:26/3:17	44	83/101	67%
9. Green 50 min	1:00:00/1:07:59	151/170	9.81/10.57	6:56/4:45	49	84/90	80%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:56	137/146	4.53/4.74	7:42/6:15	52	84/90	70%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/35:01	132/148	4.18/4.42	8:23/4:45	48	81/87	86%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:46	133/143	4.44/4.53	7:50/6:32	52	82/90	91%
7 -> 8. Green 40 min	50:00/59:18	146/162	8.30/8.41	7:09/5:21	50	82/91	77%
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was good: temperature +7°C, almost no wind
Clothing: T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. A little bit too warm

Polar OwnOptimizer test

I also performed the OwnOptimizer test this morning. I'm a bit surprised that the values are higher than on a day when there was a 1 hour run performed on a day before. I should review my old data; I seem to remember similar pattern at that time (Higher values after rest days than after training days).
If anybody could shed a light I would be thankful.

Date	HR Rest	HR Peak	HR Stand	Result	Previous day
12.11.2014	55	107	68	2 - Normal	Rest day
11.11.2014	52	103	67	2 - Normal	50 min green
10.11.2014	55	102	75	2 - Normal	active "rest day"
08.11.2014	63*	110	86	2 - Normal
07.11.2014	64*	103	77	2 - Normal
* - Rest period was sitting

Happy running,
Gert

"Be fit" level 7, session 9: Long run (50 min green)

50-min green zone run

It's time to jump back into "Be fit" level 7 plan. As the "recovery" was not caused by severe issues I hope I can continue at the point where I made the break. So I took the next session from plan, "50-min green" long run. Forgot to take gloves, and as the weather was kind of cold and windy I headed towards the Kadrioru park (hoping to get some wind protection from trees). The hilly course didn't affect the numbers as much as I expected...

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
9. Green 50 min	1:00:00/1:07:59	151/170	9.81/10.57	6:56/4:45	49	84/90	80%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:56	137/146	4.53/4.74	7:42/6:15	52	84/90	70%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/35:01	132/148	4.18/4.42	8:23/4:45	48	81/87	86%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:46	133/143	4.44/4.53	7:50/6:32	52	82/90	91%
7 -> 8. Green 40 min	50:00/59:18	146/162	8.30/8.41	7:09/5:21	50	82/91	77%
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was ok: temperature +2°C, gentle breeze (5 m/s)
Clothing: 2 x T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Almost ok, fingers got a bit cold

 

Polar OwnOptimizer test

I restarted the ownoptimizer testing, now with "HR rest" period lying down. Interesting that HR values are lower on 11.11 than they were 10.11, despite of doing 1 h green run on 10.11. Perhaps the non-training activities from Sunday did have an effect, as well as sitting at work all day on Monday.

Date	HR Rest	HR Peak	HR Stand	Result
11.11.2014	52	103	67	2 - Normal
10.11.2014	55	102	75	2 - Normal
08.11.2014	63*	110	86	2 - Normal
07.11.2014	64*	103	77	2 - Normal
* - Rest period was sitting

Coming races

There are two "winter" marathons taking place at the end of this year. One is "4. Pääsküla raba marathon", http://www.haanja100.ee/en/4-paaskyla-marathon-regulations , and the other is "2014 old year marathon", https://www.facebook.com/events/1487504294859562/ They are one month apart, on 22.11 and 20.12. I plan to run them very easy, more like long training sessions. I hope to get a lot of new knowledge during them, as I have not run marathons with low intensity yet. And I hope that one of them would be on snow... Just hope that not on ice.

Week 2 summary

The table below contains just some basic data.

Week	Actual count	Planned count	Actual duration	Planned duration	Distance	S&F duration
Week 1	4	4	3:15	2:54	26.5 km	1:20
Week 2	3	4	2:19	3:00	18.4 km	1:09
Recovery week		4	2:44		21.4 km	1:08

The training time was incresed by 18% compared to previous week and -16% compared to week 1. Well, previous week had one missed training which was peformed at the start of this week. Add in the miCoach strength and flexibility, "Non-equipment training" plan, "Activate" phase. It added 1:08 training time, so total training time for week was 3:52

And the zone breakdown for running trainings were:

Week	Blue zone		Green zone		Yellow zone		Red zone
	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach
Week 1	1:10	1:36	1:24	1:31	0:43	0:04	0:00	0:03
Week 2	0:54	1:17	0:47	0:54	0:29	0:06	0:07	0:03
Recovery week	1:38	1:46	0:52	0:53	0:10	0:01	0:00	0:00

Week 3 overview

The current week will have total time increase 3%. Intervals are the same as in week 2. I hope that jumping in after resting week is not too much for my body. Good that I have time for trial-and-errors...

Week	Total time	Increase	Long run	Interval run
Week 1	2:54		40 min green (+10 min blue)	Yellow intervals, 29 min 9 x 1 min yellow
Week 2	3:00	3%	45 min green (+10 min blue)	VO2 max intervals, 30 min 2 x (4 min yellow + 1 min red)
Week 3	3:05	3%	45 min green (+10 min blue)	VO2 max intervals, 30 min 2 x (4 min yellow + 1 min red)

Again, add the 3 exercises of strength and flexibility, planned duration of 45 min.

Happy running,
Gert

Rest week, session 4: Blue 30 min recovery

Blue 30 min recovery

The last session recovery of the week was on Saturday, and Sunday will be rest day. Hopefully I have recovered well enough to take higher training loads next week. The HR graph is garbage for the start of session: probably because I played with OwnOptimizer testing on morning and the skin lost the moisture during that period. The running index might be influenced as well... The peak HR was recorded to be 175, I took maximum from the later session period for statistical data.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:56	137/146	4.53/4.74	7:42/6:15	52	84/90	70%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/35:01	132/148	4.18/4.42	8:23/4:45	48	81/87	86%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:46	133/143	4.44/4.53	7:50/6:32	52	82/90	91%
7 -> 8. Green 40 min	50:00/59:18	146/162	8.30/8.41	7:09/5:21	50	82/91	77%
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Also the last "Activate" strength and flexibility plan session was on Saturday. I'll take next "Non-equipment" plan starting on Monday, it will be "get lean" I believe. Not sure if this is good choice, maybe I should go with "Get Strong" instead. But I'm curios to see, those three weeks will not be wasted (even if the plan is too easy).

Weather was good: temperature +4°C, gentle breeze (5 m/s)
Clothing: T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Almost ok, fingers got a bit cold

Polar OwnOptimizer test

Second OwnOptimizer test today (prior to training). I think I have to restart the testing and make a new baseline: I have been sitting during the "rest" part of the test so far. But, today, I actually made two tests. First was giving 66-110-80 and "3 - training effect" as a result. I think that it is because of the sitting position is changing too much between test, and hence the effort that heart needs to do. Seems like the "Resting" heart rate is influencing test result more than other two, so the sitting position really needs to be consistent. Can't do that well enough; will be lying down for next tests.

Date	HR Rest	HR Peak	HR Stand	Result
08.11.2014	63	110	86	2 - Normal
07.11.2014	64	103	77	2 - Normal

Happy running,
Gert

Rest week, session 3: Blue 30 min recovery

Blue 30 min recovery

Another easy recovery run, two more during this week. Didn't get enough rest at night, children were waking me up. And I still woke up at 5:30 in morning. A little bit tire feeling after the tarining and during the first half of day. Today I run in the Kadrioru park http://www.visitestonia.com/en/kadriorg-park?site_preference=normal. It is a bit more hilly than my normal course. And more traffic lights to stop on. But it's actually nice place to run, just not worth in case of 30 min jog.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
_. Blue recovery	30:00/35:01	132/148	4.18/4.42	8:23/4:45	48	81/87	86%
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:46	133/143	4.44/4.53	7:50/6:32	52	82/90	91%
7 -> 8. Green 40 min	50:00/59:18	146/162	8.30/8.41	7:09/5:21	50	82/91	77%
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was good: temperature +6°C, gentle breeze (4 m/s)
Clothing: T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Ok.

Polar OwnOptimizer test

As I wrote already I want to measure the training state somehow. So I decided to use the OwnOptimizer feature in my Polar RS800CX. The test is comparing five HR characteristics between tests, which are taken at rest position and while standing. The other name for the test is "orthostatic test". There's some good information about the test at Polar web "The what and how of orthostatic test": http://www.polar.com/en/support/the_what_and_how_of_orthostatic_test?product_id=64983&category=faqs Also, the RS800CX user manual has some information http://www.polar.com/e_manuals/RS800CX/Polar_RS800CX_user_manual_English/ch09.html#OwnOptimizer

Date	HR Rest	HR Peak	HR Stand	Result
07.11.2014	64	103	77	2 - Normal

The "Normal" state is expected as the watch does not have baseline yet - so it considers whatever values it gets as my "Normal" ones. And actually I have zero knowledge about their meaning as well. I looked at my history and I have performed this OwnOptimizer test with my old RS400 during some period of year 2008. But I think they can't be anyhow compared to values I have today...
The what and how of orthostatic test displays two additional parameters that are not captured when performing test with RS800CX: Resting and standing heart rate variability. But, the test protocol is very simple and the Polar ProTrainer 5 can generate OwnOptimizer test result from the exercise I can record with watch. Perhaps I will try to perform such manual tests for a while to record that extra information... The test protocol itself is very simple: 3 minutes rest + 3 minutes standing up. Let's see how it turns out in practise.


Happy running,
Gert

Rest week, session 2: Blue 30 min recovery

Blue 30 min recovery

First easy recovery run, two more during this week. Feeling was very good, I would like to train harder. But perhaps I will stick with original decision.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
_. Blue recovery	30:00/34:46	133/143	4.44/4.53	7:50/6:32	52	82/90	91%
7 -> 8. Green 40 min	50:00/59:18	146/162	8.30/8.41	7:09/5:21	50	82/91	77%
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was good: temperature +9°C, moderate breeze (7 m/s)
Clothing: T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Perhaps a bit too warm.

"Be fit" level 7, session 8: Green 40 min

Training session 8: Green 40 min

I started to have some signs of overtraining as I wrote in previous message. There was a small knee pain during the workout. The knee continued to send the alerting signals for the rest of the day and evening. So I skipped going out on Saturday morning. I also had feeling like I would be getting flu on Saturday/Sunday - that is AFAIK another sign of (too) hard training. So I had a rest day on Sunday as well.
But the feeling was rather good on Monday morning so I went out for a run. It was actually "rest day" in original training plan, and because of the overtraining sign I had I took the 40 min green I had skipped on Saturday. This time I had (just a tiny bit) pain in right heel, during rather short distance. But I decided I will postpone the training plan for one week and take only 30 min recovery sessions instead (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). But the run went nicely otherwise; there was moderate breeze, helping from back in first half and against me after turning back.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
7 -> 8. Green 40 min	50:00/59:18	146/162	8.30/8.41	7:09/5:21	50	82/91	77%
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was good: temperature +8°C, moderate breeze (7 m/s)
Clothing: T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Good.

Week 2 summary

The table below contains just some basic data.

Week	Actual count	Planned count	Actual duration	Planned duration	Distance	S&F duration
Week 1	4	4	3:15	2:54	26.5 km	1:20
Week 2	3	4	2:19	3:00	18.4 km	1:09

Here I could add was also performing the miCoach strength and flexibility plan, "Non-equipment training", "Activate" phase. It added 1:09 training time, so total training time for week was actually 4:35

And the zone breakdown for running trainings were:

Week	Blue zone		Green zone		Yellow zone		Red zone
	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach
Week 1	1:10	1:36	1:24	1:31	0:43	0:04	0:00	0:03
Week 2	0:54	1:17	0:47	0:54	0:29	0:06	0:07	0:03

Happy running,
Gert

"Be fit" level 7, session 7: Blue recovery

Training session 7: Blue recovery

So I did it: performed today the Blue Recovery planned for Sunday. The session itself was easy, as supposed from recovery one. The temperature was near zero and the road was a little icy and slippery in some places. For the first time this year.
I thought there were no wind during the first half of the run. But after turning back the wind was noticeable and I needed to walk a little in order to keep HR under control (below 140 bpm).

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
8 -> 7. Blue recovery	45:00/48:03	136/145	6.01/6.10	7:59/6:01	51	82/93	91%
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was good: temperature +1°C, small wind
Clothing: 2 x T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat, gloves. Good.

Some problems with body

I also got a signal from my body today that makes me worry a little: there was a little pain in my left knee. It was just a little tiny pain, and it lasted just for minute or two, at the start of the run. But I felt it again in morning after I arrived to office. It makes me wonder if I have re-started the trainings with too high intensity? Just to remind, I had a 3 week break due to angina with very high temperature. But the training load has not been very high in my mind. On the other hand, my feet actually felt tired on day prior to VO2max intervals, and I have added the strength & flexibility plan to the schedule. So I might be over-training a bit actually. But it is hard to decide if it the case... The www.polarpersonatrainer.com site has "Training load" graph, but I'm all green there. Perhaps it is so because the marathon race is still in baseline period, and I feel like that baseline needs a reset.
Another option would be to start using orthostatic test available in my Polar RS800CX. But it has similar "baseline" problem: it needs first two week period to generate a baseline before it can start giving usable values. Perhaps I will do it, but a bit later, when I have got used with the current training level.
By the way, I also performed the strength & flexibility session this morning. Seems like my abdominal muscles are the weakest part at moment: some exercises felt much harder than others, and they seemed to be working on muscles in that area. Our company organized a physiotherapist lecture today about problems arising from sitting all day around, at it provided some good information how to strengthen those ones. As well how to work in upper body muscles in order to relieve lower-back pain (I have some problems with it). And she told that knee problems can be result of outer thigh muscle weakness... I have some thinking to do and add some bits to the current strength & flexibility plan.

Happy running,
Gert

"Be fit" level 7, session 6: VO2 max intervals

Training session 6: VO2 max intervals

So today was the first run with red section of this training plan: VO2 max intervals which had 2 times 4 minutes in yellow + 1 minute in red and 4 minutes blue for rest between the sets.

Today I applied a bit of water to my ski before putting the HR belt on. And I did not have any issues with HR readings. Let's see if moisturizing of skin will prevent future issues with HR readings.

I felt rather good during the session. But, running index does not reflect this... Well, I have not monitored the running index of interval sessions. And the warm up phase was rather short as well (3 min blue + 3 min green) - I have usually had at least 10 minutes of warm up before intervals, so comparing to old data might not be sensible.

The intervals itself felt reasonably easy to perform: first 4 minutes yellow, HR average 168 (max 174), pace: 5:31 (max 5:10), distance 0.71 km, cadence 89 (max 91). This was followed by 1 minute red run: HR average 178 (max 184), pace 4:13 (max 3:58), distance 0.24 km, cadence 92 (max 94).
The work phase was followed by 4 minute recovery in blue zone. I kept jogging slowly and managed to bring my HR down to ~140 bpm.

The second repetition of intervals was also reasonably easy to perform. Stats for yellow: HR 165 (max 174), pace 5:41 (max 5:16), distance 0.70 km, cadence 88/91.
During the second (and last) red phase I went all in before the end of phase. That resulted slightly higher stats for the phase: HR 180 (max 189), pace 4:00 (max 3:37), distance 0.25 km, cadence 94/97
The maximum HR 190 was recorded a few seconds after the red zone ended. It indicates that I was able to keep up the effort till the end of red zone.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Run index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
6. VO2max intervals	30:00/31:38	153/190	4.58/4.91	6:54/3:37	45	81/98	76%
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

For some reason my RS800CX and Polar ProTrainer are giving a little bit different numbers. Like maximum pace is reported to be 3:37 in the watch but "only" 3:42 in the ProTrainer. I'll use the numbers from watch here as I think they are more accurate: ProTrainer is re-calcualting them based on data from 1s samples collected.

Weather was quite good: temperature +3°C, no wind
Clothing: T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Good.

Next sessions during the week

I should have rest day on Friday (Well, actually 15 minutes of strength and flexibility) and then sessions on Saturday/Sunday. But I actually would like to have free day on Sunday(s), so I think I'll take the Blue recovery session tomorrow instead of Sunday... But let's see how I feel tomorrow morning, if I'm tired I might skip that session all together.

Happy running,
Gert

"Be fit" level 7, session 5: Long run

Training session 5: 45-min green zone

Today I went out for 55 min run. Unfortunately my RS800CX had some problems with HR reception: the number was jumping in range of 0-200. Restarted the exercise several times, problem still persisted. Finally got usable display, thought the few first minutes are still unusable. But it means that exercise in Polar watch is 10 minutes shorter. And that explains why the distance difference is so big today. But I wonder what could cause such error? Too dry skin so that contact between belt and skin was insufficient? Some static electricity which caused transmission errors? Something else? Now, when looking at older exercise data I also see some "plateaues", i.e. periods where HR remains constant. They always seem to be at the start of exercise, so they could be related to the time when body has not started to sweat enough. And all those troubles caused me to miss some pace limits for miCoach app, which is reflected in score as well. (Plus the fact that I stopped a few time to take some photos)
The wind was quite stronger today, and tail wind in first half. It seemed to help my quite a bit, so I assumed that the running index would be increased. But 49 seems quite normal for my current state... After I turned back the wind caused HR to increase so I dismissed the HR alarm.
BTW, I read that "Blue is a comfortable easy effort and Green is a medium effort." from today's session training notes. For me, my current Green is actually comfortable easy. But it means HR at range 150-155. Should I increase it so that it would became "medium"? For me 155 seems rather high for long runs...

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Running index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
5. Green 45 min	55:00/1:08:01	149/163	7.80/9.04	7:37/5:18	49	85/91	67%
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was quite warm but a bit windy: temperature +11°C, moderate breeze (6 m/s: tail wind in first half of run).
Clothing: T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat. Good.

Two pictures

I thought I should share some photos of the track I'm usually running. So I stopped today few times and tried to take some photos. But I run early in the morning, today I went out about 6:15. So unfortunately it was still quite dark and I did not manage to get any good ones, my phone had troubles with focusing... And, I actually have near-zero experience with phone photography. But I still selected two better ones to share:

They are taken from about same location, but opposite directions. This sidewalk is called "Pirita promenade" and it's part of course of the "SEB Tallinn Marathon".

Happy running,
Gert

miCoach "Be fit" level 7, session 4

Training session 4: Blue recovery

This session was "active recover", i.e. very easy jog for 45 minutes. I supposed I need to perform run-walk style of exercise but I actually managed to keep jogging for the most part of it. The first half had tail wind, and I think I needed only two short walking periods to maintain HR below 140. And the way back, when the wind was against me, I needed a bit more walking but still not too much.

Session	Duration plan/actual	HR avg/max	Distance Polar/GPS	Pace avg/max	Running index	Cadence avg/max	miCoach score %
4. Blue recovery	45:00/48:48	139/153	6.00/6.32	8:00/6:49	49	81/90	81%
3. Green 40 min	50:00/55:03	151/163	7.81/7.98	7:05/5:24	48	84/89	89%
2. Yellow intervals	29:00/31:28	149/171	4.52/4.68	7:05/4:28	48	81/95	55%
1. Green 40 min	50:00/59:17	145/163	8.2/8.55	7:08/5:27	49	81/90	81%

Weather was Ok for the autumn: temperature +4°C, small-to-medium wind (5-6 m/s: this time the head wind was in second half of run).
Clothing: 1 x T-shirt, 2 x long sleeve shirt, track suite, ski hat, gloves. Good.

Week 1 summary

The table below contains just some basic data. I'm not sure what exactly should I track, perhaps I will add a few columns during coming weeks

Week	Planned duration	Actual duration	Distance
Week 1	2:54	3:15	26.5 km

I was also performing the miCoach strength and flexibility plan, "Non-equipment training", "Activate" phase. It added 1:20 training time, so total training time for week was actually 4:35

And the zone breakdown for running trainings were:

Week	Blue zone		Green zone		Yellow zone		Red zone
	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach	Polar	miCoach
Week 1	1:10	1:36	1:24	1:31	0:43	0:04	0:00	0:03

Week 2 overview

The coming week will have total time increase 3%, but the interval run intensity seems to be much higher.

Week	Total time	Increase	Long run	Interval run
Week 1	2:54		40 min green (+10 min blue)	Yellow intervals, 29 min 9 x 1 min yellow
Week 2	3:00	3%	45 min green (+10 min blue)	VO2 max intervals, 30 min 2 x (4 min yellow + 1 min red)

Add in the 3 exercises of strength and flexibility, planned duration of 45 min. But I suppose it takes me a bit over 60 minutes.

Happy running,
Gert