Making the Transition Part 4 - Easy and Recovery Weeks

So you've done 8 weeks solid training? Good work- odds are that you're in the shape to run faster than you've ever done before. You're probably getting pretty excited about how fit you are and starting to look at how fast you can run and whether you can add more mileage, an extra session or two - right?

Wrong. Time to step back and relax for a bit. You've been working hard and your body is exceptionally tired right now. Maybe you can realise it with sore legs and each easy run feeling just a little bit harder; or maybe you don't feel it but right now you need to make sure that all of the good progress you've made so far isn't lost to a silly injury or that you lose enthusiasm for your running as the thought of week after week of hard work mounts up.

So, to put it simply, enjoy yourself for a week. It's time to take a quick break, have a look at how far you've come and think about where you're going.

Easy and Recovery Weeks

What Are They?
An easy week is a week that you take off every 3-4 weeks. Generally you cut your mileage by around 25-50% and do less hard sessions and easier paced running.

A recovery week is a week that you take off generally at the end of a season so after a 12 week block of training is generally useful (so 2 easy weeks and then a recovery week). Once a year you'll want to take a longer break. Mileage is cut by 50%-100%.

The Theory
The theory of both easy and recovery weeks is fairly similar but can be split into two main areas. Psychological; physical.

Physically the process of training is a process of breaking down the body. Then it rebuilds itself back up stronger than before. Each run you do is straining the body and causing microscopic tears in the muscle fibres - obviously an actual tear in the muscle is an injury but these micro-tears are a positive - once they are healed up. It takes time for these to heal up though which is part of the reason why you take time in order to run faster after training as the muscles don't heal up immediately. A rest day allows the muscles to partially recover but the knots and problems that can present themselves in the body with weeks of consistent hard training don't relax in simply a week. Taking an easier week allows the muscles to fully recover and all of the little niggles which are present from day to day are given a chance to ease themselves out of the body. Similarly a recovery week does the same. Think about how long it takes for an injury to heal up. Whilst some injuries are acute (instant) many others are chronic. You are already partially injured! What an easier week does is allow the body to recover from that mini-injury.

Psychologically as much as you enjoy running it is the very rare athlete that never feels tired and constantly stays motivated. Many athletes train for a few months as hard as they can, then lose a bit of focus, maybe have a bit of a niggle and before you know it they've lost a lot of the progress they'd previously made. As athlete's have tired and fatigued muscles it does wear having to go out and run almost every day with little relief. Similarly when you have a niggle the knowing that in a weeks time you have a recovery makes it much more manageable. A week off allows you to regain your focus and get you ready to charge out the door once again.

The Practice
For an easy week I generally think that you want to reduce mileage by around 25-50%. Many suggest just a 25% decrease but personally I prefer a much more rapid decrease and I really just don't focus at all on running during that week. I usually include a few strides during the week but I wouldn't suggest that at this point for an athlete (yes- you're an athlete now-not a runner!) following this program but it shows how you incorporate more as you raise your training standard. The way to reduce the mileage is by cutting the "sessions" and cutting the number of runs so if you're regularly running 6 times a week for 40 minutes then just do 4 runs of 40 minutes. Sometimes I add some stretching as well more regularly and occasionally a few weights.

For recovery weeks do the same but cut the mileage even further and don't do strides- simply jog and enjoy yourself. If you've got a friend who's not as fast then go for a jog with them or at your running club go with the slow group for a change- sometimes they're just as interesting as the fast runners!

X-training during the week is fine but do it recreationally. Playing tennis or table-tennis or going for a gentle bike ride is fine. Hammering out hard sessions on the bike is bad!

Sometimes going for a sports massage during this week is helpful as you don't need to worry about running on tired muscles.

Finally (and this is perhaps a little counter-intuitive) - whilst a recovery week is always a recovery week if you're running a competitive schedule over the winter or summer then you're probably hoping to race at some point. With a week of very little running you're pretty well tapered for a good race performance. My "easiest" weeks in the past year have been directly before Herts County XC which was a breakthrough for me and the BUCS XC champs. Your muscles recover and you're in great racing shape so why not treat yourself and get into a race and show off your new abilities. Just make sure this is at the end of the week so you've had a good chance to recover. Similarly if you're thinking about racing a half marathon or longer then an easy week immediately afterwards combines recovering from the race and general recovery from training.

The Schedule
So right now we have an easy week schedule that looks like...

4 x 40-60 minute recovery runs

and a recovery week schedule of

2-3 x 40-60 minute recovery runs

So...
Weeks 1-4 - Get used to running 5/6 times a week
Weeks 5-8 - Incorporate threshold running and strides into your schedule.
Week 9 - Easy Week

With the recovery week to come later on! This program still has a lot to go but I would imagine the average athlete as outlined at the start of this programme would already be running perhaps a minute or two faster over 10k already.

In the next part we look at fine-tuning your motor and getting ready for some serious racing (though if you've added a race at the end of the easy week you'll already be seeing benefits). We'll be doing this through 5k/10k Pace Work together with our earlier threshold work and strides.

After this Part 6 will be Mile Pace Work concluding the series.

Catch you on the trails,
Bryn

Part 1 - Easy Running

Part 2 - Threshold Training

Part 3 - Strides

Part 4 - Easy and Recovery Weeks

Part 5 - 5k/10k Training
Part 6 - Mile Pace Training

Index of Training Articles

Making the Transition Part 3 - Strides

The first step has been taken towards being a faster more fluid runner. The previous week you'll have done your first threshold or tempo run and that's a great first step to have taken. You're now doing one of the two "base-building" work-outs. It's time to have a look at the second base-building work-out and this time it's focusing on your running efficiency.

The spectrum of running speeds is as broad as a rainbow. Most of the time you're running in green, yellow and blue. The aim of this series is to get you running in the red, orange, indigo, violet and sometimes even ultra-violet and infra-red. To touch upon speeds that you usually wouldn't see and hence give you a substantial advantage. Learning how to run at the lactate threshold will give you a big advantage and there are many stories from athletes who come off a period of just running easy miles and tempo runs and claim that they're in the shape of their life. This may well be true and aerobic ability is the number one component in endurance running but you also need to look at improving your running efficiency and giving your legs the mystical "zip" that track runners seem to have that road runners are accused of lacking.

Strides

What Are They?
Faster paced 100m accelerations done with full recovery.

The TheoryWorking on from the aerobic theory developed last time we can look at how these affect our three variables, VO2 max, RE and LT. Strides are almost entirely based on improving the running efficiency meaning that for a given pace you are running you will be using less energy and oxygen to do so as you get more accustomed to running faster. They have a minor effect on VO2 but it is minimal and little to no effect on the LT - aside from the fact that they do train the body slightly better to clear lactate from the blood but given the length and pace of the strides they are mostly alactic. What is perhaps most interesting about them is that they allow you to work on your stride length and rate as you strengthen the muscles and loosen the legs. They also prepare you exceptionally well for the minor but important surges, hills and tactical moves that may arise during a race.

The Practice
Strides are a fast-paced acceleration of approximately 100m but can really be any length from 60m to 120m. After completing one you can jog or walk back and start the next one but ensure that you are fully recovered.

You want to be focusing on a fast, efficient turn-over. More important than the speed you do them at is keeping your form as close to flawless as possible. Remember watching Haile Gebresellasie run and marvelling at that bolt upright, long striding step- try and copy it. You want to keep your arms parralel and swinging in a controlled but relaxed fashiong with wrists strong. You want to be as "up" as you can be with a lifted pelvis and allow your legs to almost flow under you. Don't overstride but ensure you feet land under your centre of gravity and concentrate on a fast and fluid turnover.

The pace is almost irrelevant here- I personally do them at something around 800 pace I think when in full hard training but 1500m pace is equally fine. The aim is to not strain. This is probably the overriding concept of this series; train don't strain. This isn't a sprint race it's a relaxed stride out. If you watch at your local race you'll see many of the local elite doing these before the race. If you feel yourself getting substantially out of breath then take your recovery as a walk not a jog back and do the next one slower focusing on driving the arms and a fast toe-off. You also don't want to feel any sort of lactate flowing into your muscles- stay loose and relaxed.

Within a session you'll generally want to do something from 6-12 but usually 8 is sufficient and any more and you'll be looking at a more serious session.

Now looking at how to incorporate them. There are two main ways of doing this and both have their merits.

The method I usually use is to do it in the middle of one of my runs- say I'm doing an hour run- I'll run out for 25 minutes, then do 10 strides with jog back recovery using a bush or the like as a landmark each time timing myself for 18-19 seconds for the first to set this landmark, then jog back 25 minutes. by doing them concurrently you can focus on each one on a different aspect of your form which I find very beneficial and helps me isolate different elements very well. The potential can arise however for it to devolve into a challenge and the risk of sprinting arises.

The second method is one which might be suitable if you do end up up running them too hard- the aim of these runs is to be alactic (without lactate) - then rather than do all of them in one go then split them up into your run. Do a 15 minute warm-up and then do a stride and carry on jogging. Every 5 minutes do a stride-out and carry on jogging until at 45 minutes when you stop and jog the 15 minutes left to get home as your warm down- you've done 6 strides during your run. This has the benefit of doing your strides over slightly different terrain but is harder to accurately judge pace- it forces you to get the "feel" right.

Some suggest doing these at the end of your run- I don't advocate this because it tempts people to sprint too much and you're running fast on tired legs and generating some lactate into the legs which isn't being cleared out.

In the first week (the second week of your tempo runs) incorporate these runs into one of your easy runs with a warm-up, strides and then warm-down lasting the length of your usual run. Aim to do 4 strides the first week, then 6 then 8. Once you've done 8 you've hit the total you need to be doing! I generally find that an 18 or so second stride and then a 100m jog back takes roughly a minute but if you need longer recovery then definitely take it but make sure you slow down your strides as well.

The Schedule:
So right now we have a weekly schedule that looks like...

4 x 40-60 minute easy runs
1x 20 minute warm-up, 8 minutes strides, 20 minute warm-down.
1 x 15 minute warm-up, 20 minutes @ threshold, 15 minute warm-down

So...
Weeks 1-4 - Get used to running 5/6 times a week
Weeks 5-8 - Incorporate threshold running and strides into your schedule.

Where...
Week 5: 2 x mile at tempo pace
Week 6: 15 minutes tempo, 4 x strides
Week 7: 20 minutes tempo, 6 x strides
Week 8: 20 minute tempo run, 8 x strides

In the next part we look at something a bit different- Recovery Weeks. I'd suggest undertaking this after finishing off getting used to Threshold and Strides.

Right - that's it for now. Catch you on the trails.
Bryn

Part 1 - Easy Running

Part 2 - Threshold Training

Part 3 - Strides

Part 4 - Easy and Recovery Weeks

Part 5 - 5k/10k Training
Part 6 - Mile Pace Training

Index of Training Articles

Making the Transition Part 2 -Threshold Running

So by now you'll have been training at a higher frequency for a few weeks and after the initial lethargy probably be feeling fairly good about yourself. You're probably finding all of your runs a little easier and starting to find yourself running more fluidly - possibly you've even lost a little weight. Hopefully you're enjoying your running more as well.

It's time for step 2: Run differently.

Once you're running regularly 5-6 times a week and focusing on relaxing more on your runs then you need to start thinking about how to progress. Running easily is a great way to progress and if all you do is build that up consistently you will make huge strides forward. You can super-charge that performance though with a combination of just 4 different sorts of runs. This piece will introduce one of them as the first step to getting you running faster. These two are what I'd define as "basics" running where you improve your basic running ability and they'll be followed up by the other two where you fine-tune the motor. Each of these sessions is prefaced by a 15 minute warm-up of very easy running and a 15 minute warm-down. You can opt whether to stretch after this warm-up. Generally I prefer to stretch at other times and when doing core but some prefer to do it now.

Threshold Running

The Theory:
The general running paradigm, greatly simplified, is that each runner has a given VO2 maximum which measures how much Oxygen you can take in and use. From this each runner can maintain a certain percentage for an hour in terms of limiting the build up of lactate - otherwise known as their lactate threshold. This is further complicated by different runners using a different VO2 volume at different paces so as one runner might run at 6mm at a VO2 of 60 whilst another at a VO2 of 65 - this is known as running efficiency.

I'll expand on this in a later post but essentially you can improve your performance by increasing your VO2 max, LT or lactate threshold or RE running efficiency. Threshold or tempo running improves your LT primarily or the %age of your VO2 max you can maintain for an hour but also has significant but lesser benefits for the novice runner of VO2 max and running efficiency at 5k-Marathon paces.

The Practice:
Threshold running is running at a pace that you can hold for approximately one hour. As a rough guide use the following paces based upon your 10k time...

40:00 -> 6:30
42:30 -> 6:55
45:00 -> 7:20
47:30: -> 7:45
50:00 -> 8:10

If your 10k is between these then interpolate.

It is better to introduce these gradually. In the first week (with the usual 15 minute warm up and down) replace one of your normal runs with a mile at the pace suggested above, run for 5 more minutes easily, another mile at the pace above. The next week after the warm-up, run for 15 minutes at the pace above. Finally graduate onto doing a 20 minute tempo run.

This is all you need to do at present. The aim of this run (and this training in general) isn't to be killing yourself- it's to be making consistent strong gains in your aerobic ability. Many choose to hit runs of this type at a very hard pace and leave themselves exhausted. When you get a chance watch the elites run on the TV at one of the major marathons or in a major 5,000 or 10,000. How hard do they look to be working? Barely at all most of the time. The key is to learn how to float through a race- not muscle through it. There will be a time to kill your body in tough work-outs but it's certainly not right now.

Whilst tempo running the aim should be to feel like you're running at a relaxed but fast pace. If you feel like you're overly straining then ease off slightly- whether you run at 6:00 or 6:15 or 6:30 isn't a huge issue as long as you feel you're working at a decent aerobic level. Fairly soon you will find it much easier to relax into this pace and hit the right pace instantly. That said I've regularly been guilty of messing up my tempo pace but the trick is to try and run by feel and get into a rhythm.

If you're training for any race distance between 10k and the marathon these sessions will be the staple of your sessions.

The Schedule:
So right now we have a weekly schedule that looks like...

5 x 40-60 minute easy runs
1 x 15 minute warm-up, 20 minutes @ threshold, 15 minute warm-down

In the next part we look at the second session that is part of our "basics" - Strides - I'd suggest integrating this into the second week of your "tempo" build up.

Right - that's it for now. Catch you on the trails.
Bryn

Part 1 - Easy Running

Part 2 - Threshold Training

Part 3 - Strides

Part 4 - Easy and Recovery Weeks

Part 5 - 5k/10k Training
Part 6 - Mile Pace Training

Index of Training Articles

Training Week Commencing 20/07/2009 til Week Commencing 24/08/2009

Week Commencing 20/07/2009
Fri: Did massage + drills PM 20 minutes cycling
Sat: massage + drills 40 minutes cycling
Sun: 60 minutes cycling
Mon: 60 minutes cycling
Tue: 64 minutes cycling (32.18@56:03)
Wed: 70 minutes cycling (16.1 @ 26:30,40 in 70)
Thu:Rest
Fri: AM 5 minutes running- no pain but still didn't feel quite right PM 40 minutes cycling outdoors got soaked.
Sat: AM 7:39 running 1 mile. Groin still not right and little bit of pain at half way but better on way back PM 90 minute cycling 53km including 5 x 2 [1] hard.
Sun: AM 4:30 running better PM 90 minute cycle (50km)

Week(ish) Totals: Running: 13 minutes Cycling: 444 minutes Glad to get some decent work on the exercise bike done- looks like it'll be my main method of training for a while!

Week Commencing 27/07/2009
Mon: 90 minute cycling 48.8km
Tue: Rest
Wed: AM 8 minutes running , relatively pain free bar one short period 90 minutes cycling (45km), PM 10M TT on exercise bike (23:45 PB), 45 minutes total
Thu: AM 10 minutes running - actually pain free (aside from tripping up over a style...) best yet by some way. PM: 90 minutes 50.50km
Fri: AM 12 minutes running- again best yet and didn't feel anything but a tingle - stopped to stretch briefly at 6 PM 2:03 65.55km on exercise bike
Sat: Rest
Sun: 10 minutes totally pain free running with decent form! 120 minutes cycling inc. 3 x 5 hard (165-170), 5 rest

Total Running: 40 minutes Total Biking: 658 minutes
Total: 698 minutes

In terms of total training minutes, bar my 104 mile week, this is probably well up there.

Week Commencing 3rd August 2009
Mon: 18 minutes running
Tue: 23 minutes easy running 90 minutes cycling
Wed: AM 15 minutes easy running
PM 15 minutes easy running felt very tired so didn't cycle
Thu: AM 5 mins v. easy running
PM 135 cycling exercise bike (74.52km) inc. 5 x 2k (0.5k rec.), 2:47,45,41,40,29 all recs just over a minute. Last effort close to flat out.
Fri: AM 30 mins running, 60 mins cycling (32.22) PM (90 mins cycling 52.21km - interesting that this didn't feel too hard as my fastest steady ride yet over 90 minutes)
Sat: AM 40 mins running 60 mins cycling (32:22)
Sun: 120 minutes cycling (66km)
Total time running: 146 minutes Total Time Cycling: 555 minutes
Total time : 701 minutes

Week Commencing 10th August 2009
Mon: 38:30 running w. omega (5.3 7:15mm few light twinges), 90 cycling 48/9km
Tue: 40 easy/steady - couple of twinges but not too bad.
Wed: 45 steady - First 25 minutes v.good, next 10 minutes some twinges, last 10 fine.
Thu: 9 min warm up, 10:30 2 mile meant to be at 2 mile pace 5:13/5:17, 9 min warm down. No real twinges or problems. 100 mins cycling
Fri: Rest day
Sat: AM 30 minutes (4.2 miles) - 7:08 pace at reasonable clip PM 30 minutes at similar pace with 3 strides in. 90 minutes cycling (48km)
Sun: AM 35 minutes running at easy pace PM 32:30 with 2 miles at steady pace (6:00/5:40) very easy and relaxed. 75 minutes on exercise bike (40km)
Total Running Time: 279.5 Total Cycling Time: 355
Total: 634.5 minutes

Week Commencing 17th August 2009
Mon: 15 warm up and down, 12 x 400 (100 jog ~30 secs) 2 77s, 5 78s, 4 79s and a 72 to close. Felt good in first session back- was moving relatively smoothly and not struggling aerobically. Target was 80 so hauled self back in. 90 minutes cycling 51km
Tue: Really bad DOMS on inner hamstring area which struggled with.
Wed: Slightly easier but still in a lot of pain
Thu: 20 minutes recovery pace- in quite a lot of pain
Fri: 40 minutes easy/steady pace- moving well and no pain
Sat: 10 min warm up 10 x 750m grass loop (1 rec.) 2:25,24,23,23,22,23,24,21 Moving very easily and could have done quite a few more but kept it short so as to not aggravate groin, 10 min rec. PM 30 minute cycle (16.1)
Sun: AM 36:30 steady 5.7 miles avg. 6:24 but pace varied - very hot and legs just felt clumsy PM 36:30 recovery @ 8:14- 4.45 miles through forest around chickney and back by rugby club. Saw two foxes. Felt Wmuch better than earlier.
Total = 242 minutes running 120 minutes cycling

Week Commencing 24th August 2009
Mon: AM 39:30 easy to steady run 5.7 mile loop. Very hot. PM 36:30 easy running @8mm with OMEGA club - kicked in over final 150m to test groin and was absolutely fine.
Tue: 12 x 400 (2 minute loop) averaging 73s with a few 71 and 72s then a 1600 in 5:22 - all fairly relaxed w/u of 8 minute w/d 10 minutes
Wed: AM 42 minutes easy 7:42mm warm with a strong wind up the Valley and back by Rugby Club. Relaxed run and felt good. Left hamstring and right calf very slightly sore after session yesterday. After this run in the afternoon I felt a pain at top of my left groin so cancelled second run.
Thu: Rest day- just did 8 minutes to test groin and was fine. 40 minutes cycling 21.1km
Fri: Tempo run, 10 warm-up, 6k avg. 5:49 but dead on my feet almost from the start with last few k around 6mm, 8:30 warm down
Sat: AM 50 minutes easy inc. 8 x Canova Hill sprints PM 40 minutes easy @ 8mm
Sun: Progression run- 15 warm up, 2k@6:30 pace, 2k@6:00 pace, 2k@5:30 pace, 15 warm down
Total: 40 minutes cycling 354 minutes running (check total)

Week Commencing 31st August 2009
Mon: AM 40 easy @8mm inc. 8 x strides, 30 minutes cycling (16.77) PM 40 recovery @9mm ran with the lads from Omega but with Peter now living in Switzerland pace is much slower!
Tue: PM session at a very windy NR - 11 @ LT and was about 2 miles (82/lap) followed by 9 x 600 off 70 seconds averaging about 1:51/52 with a 1:46 chucked in the middle for a bit of fun 41:30 cycling 22.70km
Wed: 52 minutes easy with Martin avg. 7:58mm
Thu: 15 minutes warm-up + drills/strides, Cambridge 5k, 2nd place 16:15 - meant to be at tempo pace but probably ran too hard in the middle, sat back in the first k then started to take closer order and caught leaders at about 2k when Diarmont pushed clear- ran with him till about 4k with him consistently breaking and me closing the gap then over hte last k let him go. Could possibly have tried a little harder but with race on Sunday and knowing this was already too fast didn't want to do too much. Measuring on gmaps I got the race at 5.1km. 15 w.d. with Nick, Ian and Chris. Rumours of a Hereward team emerging...
Fri: Rest
Sat: 40 minutes easy around Cardiff inc. 8 x strides and then some drills. Surprised at how much of a valley Cardiff seems to be in - ran most of it uphill through some housing estates
Sun: Cardiff 10k- 15 warm up and then about 5 minutes of strides and drills. 33:14 - struggled to keep up over first 2k with Ben Paviour then dropped back slightly and ran with a Coventry Godiva runner for most of the way reeling in two Bristol runners. 11 warm down with various runners all much better than me! Not very pleased with the time- as fast as was possible given the amount of time I had to train but nowhere near where I wanted to be. A few months hard training will get me there I hope though... PM 20 minutes recovery and then drills

Week Commencing 7th September 2009
Mon: AM 38:30 2k warm up, 4k steady (4:07,4:24,3:52,3:53), 2k warm down + Drills
PM Meant to be 40 at recovery pace with jogging group but turned out to be 3 seperate handicap efforts. Took first one of 2.2 miles v. easy at 7:5x minute miling. Second one of 2.7 miles I started at around 6mm till halfway where I eased off and ran in at 7:30mm. Last one of 1.6 miles I hit relatively hard at around 5:20 minute miling over undulating terrain. 43:01 avg. 6:36mm followed by a pint from the local brewery.
Tue: AM 40:40 avg 9:27mm (recovery) + Drills
PM 44:13 Easy/Tempo/Easy run k splits (4:50,4:32,4:40,4:24,3:29,3:10,3:01,3:36,3:43,4:30,3:32,0:40) avg 6:24mm Went out very relaxed with Nigel's group watching Chris/Nick disappear into the distance and at the dog leg roughed out they had about 2 minutes on me. Accelerated to catch them and splits show how I ran to reel them in then gradually eased off once I caught them with the last 2k relatively easy (3:32 is very very misleading for last k as it's a very significant descent for the entire k)
Wed: AM Drills!
PM: 15 wu and wd + drills and strides 3 x 3.6k @ 80/lap [3 minute one lap jog] 11:57,11:59,11:57 - hard work on the track but thankfully had Noel and Richard dropping in and out (apart from a superb effort by Noel on the second). Really pleased as these were very under control.
Thu: Rest day- AM Drills PM 38:00 cycling (21.8km)
Fri: AM 52:28, 2k warm up, 8k @ LT (3:35-3:40), 2k warm down. (3:40,3:35,3:39,3:31,3:35,3:32,3:16*,3:31) Mum decided she wanted to come along on the bike so got her to carry some water but didn't have cap on right so she lost most of it! Felt good for most of it- not totally smooth but not bad either. AVG: 3:32 (aka 2:29:26) in trainers
Sat: 15 min warm up 3 sets of 5 x 20 second hill (jog down) with 3 minutes inbetween. 10 min warm down
Sun: 90 minutes 20km averaging 7:35 split into 30 easy, 30 steady, 30 easy. K splits of Easy (5:14,5:35,5:06,5:16,5:05,4:35) Steady(4:13,4:18,3:44,4:21,4:13,3:27,3:41) Easy(4:53,4:52,4:59,5:24,5:14,5:03,0:41).

Training Week Commencing 29th June 2009

Week Commencing 29th June 2009
Mon: AM 40 easy PM 55 easy with Will Mackay around Wandlebury- nice run and good to have someone to chat with, even if he is a tab!
Tue: Rest
Wed: 15 minute warm-up, 27:53 5 miles 1st place MWRRL around Welwyn. Drifted clear of Paul Greaves with 800 to go. 15 warm down
Thu: 20 minute warm-up, 17:02 5k @ Haverhill, 1st, big group up steep first hill, pulled clear with another bloke overr 3rd k, he slowed and Harry Fowler caught us at 4k and I went clear with about 500m to go again easing clear, 15 minute warm down bare-foot on grass.
Fri: 40 min AM leg quite painful, 40 min PM leg an awful lot better and generally just a better run, 21 minutes on grass
Sat:AM 40 min easy leg not perfect but much better than yesterday PM 41:34 easy w. 24 minute barefoot on grass , leg better than yesterday but not as good as the morning. PMPM 30 mins cycling (15km) (367)
Sun: AM 60 easy PM 40 easy
Total: 467 minutes running 60 minutes cycling

I felt really good on the Sunday. Took a day off on Monday. When I ran on the Tuesday I struggled to run more than 3 minutes and was in a lot of pain- grade 2 muscle strain. A week later it was no better but then ater seeing a physio it loosened greatly and I was back doing short runs within a week of that.