Well, today was the day my legs (and pretty much every other body part, including my brain) gave up. Did the first mile at target pace on the treadmill but nothing about it felt good. got halfway through the second and had to jump on the rails for a sec. Then got back on but slowed down. Did that mile at about 30 secs slower than target. Made a pitstop to the bathroom and attempted mile 3. Nope. Done.
I'm going to let it go because all my workouts have been stellar to date. But a few factors may have contributed to this fail....
- workout shuffle: did VO2 bike on mon., tues. off - didn't drink anything today. Although that is fairly common. - cookies this afternoon maybe not great fuel - overall cumulative fatigue. Plus run focus with 1 extra FTP run each week
Again, not worried about 1 wko and hope tomorrow FTP bike goes better. Will make a massage appt for fri. Legs feeling very heavy/stiff.
Got in my run tonight. 7.25 in 1:15 (started with the 15' warmup), z4 target was 10:02, beat them on all 3 intervals (9:57, 9:49, 9:52), then finished out with another 20' at 10:11 (between z3-z4). I dont know what it was about this workout tonight, but I feel really beat up already. Normally that sensation doesnt start for 12-18 hours. VO2 intervals on the bike tomorrow then a much needed rest day.
Wednesday Run DONE ! Was a hard one...1 hour / 7.6 miles
3x1 (5') @ Z4 but ended doing very close to Z5...so the intervals were OK but added mileage I could only do Z1.5 or so, breakdown below:
-1 Mile warm up : 8:10 (Z1.5) -3x1 Mile intervals : 6:54 / 6:54 / 6:57 (Z4 for me is 7:10 and Z5 is 6:47) -Rest between intervals I made a mistake and did 5' when it was supposed to be 4... -Added 2 miles at the end at 8:28 and 8:00 (Z1.5 or so..)
when I got back home was really tired...
Not looking forward to tomorrow VOmax in the bike...
So, I just had to check to see what was going on! Even though it is late, I thought I would check:
@Jan - must be only the advanced plan. Also, unless the workout is "high" priority, I see it as optional regardless.
@Micheal - yes, I am also entering into the part of the OS where my calves are always twitching. It seems as though I never, ever, get enough rest anymore!
Ran 3 X 1mi today and target was 7:30. I did 7:54, 7:25, and get this - 7:05! The last one was because I was in front of the school bus because I was running late. I had to run past all the parents in the neighborhood at the bus stop and I had to look like an athlete and not some old guy struggling on his last mile!
Time to chill and gt some good rest before tomorrow's bike wko!
I'm impressed with all the good reports I'm reading. Keep it up! Friday's coming.
I got my run in this evening after work. It's turned cold here again and the temp was 31 when I headed out the door. I did the 15 minute warmup and launched into the first interval which I did in 7:10 (my target is 7:10). It was hard but mostly because of the cold air. I cut down the recovery interval by a minute and hit the second one which I did in 7:11. I kept that recovery at 4 minutes because I was in a relatively busy area of the park and hit the last interval when I got out to the sidewalk along the road and did that one in 7:17 which was OK since that one was slightly uphill and my normalized graded pace for that was 7:11. I ran home from there and ended up with 6.73 miles in 57:45. When I got home I hit the yoga mat and did my 2nd core workout for the week.
It looks like I am not the only one with tired legs. Just curious - usually after 4 weeks, there is a down week - does that come for us after the core OS training?
Rest is worked into the plan. We never get a rest week until after our OS if that is what the coaches have on the agenda for you. I believe my plan is followed by a swim focus. Our plans are not the typical build for three weeks, recover for one, but that is not to say that you can not hack your plan to reflect less intensity in the 4th week. Remember, we are all self coached athletes. Many of the experienced peeps in the house will tell you that following the plan as is, can lead you down a dark hole if you do not listen to your body. If you feel you need more rest, reach out to the coaches in the macro thread with your concerns. That is what they are there for.
... Remember, we are all self coached athletes. Many of the experienced peeps in the house will tell you that following the plan as is, can lead you down a dark hole if you do not listen to your body. ...
My 4th OS, been down that dark hole 3x, once I felt like I was never going to recover from the funk - it lasted for nearly 4 weeks of minimal training..... By week 4-5 if you have more than 1 WKO where you are flat/struggling/cement-legged/etc. in a row, STAND DOWN! Your body is trying to tell something - listen up or you will comprimise not only the OS but the beginning of your racing season.
@ Elizabeth - good notes by others thrown at ya. I'm gonna heap on with this....these OS schedules are 'flexible' cuz the hours are fewer. BUT! don't be fooled into thinking that the order of workouts is not much more than random. As Brenda mentioned, our rest comes on Mondays and Fridays, not 3 weeks work then 1 week rest. My point is that you need to do everything you can to 'stay on schedule' so that the reward of those rest days is maximized.
don't double up the hard stuff when you miss a hard stuff day.
put as much energy into paying attention the the rest/recovery/nutrition as you do to the actual workout.
to make huge improvements, remember that there's much more to this than the sweat. The 'training' doesn't stop when the workout ends.
I'll second the importance of staying on schedule. I notice a difference when flip-flopping WKOs. It was OK last week for Thanksgiving, maybe because I was off from work and got lots of recovery, but things are ugly this week.
Good morning all! As part of my run focus, I did my Wed run this morning. The only trouble is that it snowed and iced here in STL for a portion of yesterday and was bitter cold this morning. I largely still hit my zones but had to tippy toe/snow shoe through a good portion of the run, so I went more off of effort. I got the work done. Like the others doing the run focus, I am starting to feel the effects in that I need to get more rest.
2x what Scott said on the pile of fatigue I feel in my legs ... this run focused OS-Advance is no joke for sure! This year in January (JOS) I thought the same but this NOS-RF outperforms JOS easily!!
I did my 3x1mi intervals and was able to hit all 3 miles at almost exactly 1.00 but I need to mention that I really took it very very easy in between the intervals - even slower than LRP.
So have any of you paid close attention to your running form...and your should v hip rotation ...and come to the realization that your arms and hips haven't been working properly.....ie. synchoronus rotation v counter rotation....shortening/blocking my stride and neutralizing core torque...?...I have and my bod is so out of whack...drill time....hill bounds? Skip Jumps? thoughts?
@ JL - I can't do much advising on anything run, but I've been talking to local coach in the area about this kind of thing. (Now, keep in mind that Im rehabbing an achilles so my interval volumes are already very low) He insists that I spend more time warming up with drills, the ones you already know, in 40-50m repeats for about 10'. Then, move into about 10-20' of 200-400m repeats of smooth running with just paying attention to every step's form and feel. Then, once I move on to the scheduled intervals...don't think about it. Just run.
It seems to be helping me pay attention to things like what you're talking about, tho I am early in this new warmup. It does add about 30' to a workout too. I just cut the end 'remainder' portion shorter.
But...again....I'm far from a run expert who could offer any advice. I was just catching up and could relate to the need to tweak form so...
Got in a treadmill run today since that "cold front" reached finally South Texas! Followed up with some aqua-jogging. Although the run focus called for a repeat of Wednesday, I am still just doing LTHR until I can get stronger.
@Joe, Stark announced back in Week 4 that he needed to step away from EN/ the OS for a few months to take care of some personal stuff. Hopefully, he'll be back soon
RE-post from earlier this week. Would love feedback on this if you feel so inclined : )
Really trying to focus more on my data this year. Interesting that I never hit Z5 today. I think part of me tried to maintain a z4 to finish a hero and not a zero? Still didn't hit the numbers I should have. Looking forward to test week!!
@Emily - looks like this should be in the Bike Thread but anyhow I'll put some of my thoughts here: First of all I don't know what your Z5 HR Zone is so it's hard to tell how far you are off. If you were able to hit your target earlier that OS and now your HR is fading downwards it could be that your are in a light sort of "overtraining". As an result of that HR usually tend to be lower as expected and even if you make a very hard effort it won't increase as you want it to be. The second thing I could think of is your pre-workout nutrition/hydration. If you ran low on sugar (Carbs) your HR will also start to decrease ... as soon as you start to refuel as you body needs it your HR should go up again.
@Emily, are you taking about your bike workouts as Stephan suggested? If so, I have another suggestion about why you aren't hitting your Z5 HR. I train with power and I've noticed that even though I'm hitting our exceeding my Z5 power zone that my HR Doesn't hit Z5 until the last interval of at all. That tells me that I'm getting fitter.
When you're doing your intervals do you feel like you are going as hard as you can but you can't get your HR to Z5? If that's the case then it's probably more of what Stephan said.
Did a Jingle Jog 5k race today. 2nd place in the old fart 50-59 ag 23:53 on a brutally hilly North Georgia route. 34th overall out of 705. Amazing to see 11 year olds running a 21:00 like they were out playing tag! I want to be young again!
Getting harder each week.. That said I got the full 50 minutes in. I have a 5K this afternoon that I am running in a full Grinch costume so I will be at Z1. Just having fun. Pics to come later. http://tpks.ws/381L
@mark & @stefan -- Thanks guys! Yep, I meant to put this in the bike forum for week 6. My mistake.
It does sound more like what you are doing Mark. I'm recovering just fine after each interval. I think I am holding back so I can make it through the entire workout without bonking. I'll focus more on it in week 7, making sure to update on the correct forum next time.
As for the run today, it felt great! I chose to brick it since I was with a group from my local tri team. Nailed the zones although my pace was not where it usually is. I did start off with my group in z1 for the first mile.
I just wanted to check in and say wooohooooo! I ran the Jingle Bell 5K today in cold, windy, Rochester, NY. My Z5 pace is 8:18, so my goal today was to run solid 8:18's. My time was 25:24 for an average pace of 8:12. Hit a major cross wind coming into finish, but WOW, it was strong! THANK YOU Coaches and to the team of all the awesome support!!!!!!
It was cold, for here, this morning when I did my run with a brisk wind from the north. I was just a little slower than my target pace on both intervals.These Z2 out, Z3 back runs seem harder than the Z4 intervals for some reason, probably because they are longer.
Had to cut my planned long run short today due to family constraints but still was able to get the full MS in. Incredible how long these 2mi feel compared to 1.5mi. Hit both intervals pretty nice with IFs of 1.03 and 1.01. Total duration was only 55' but ran 13.5k so that's pretty nice though. Here's the total workout -> http://tpks.ws/iFMt Have a nice recovery
Comments
I'm going to let it go because all my workouts have been stellar to date. But a few factors may have contributed to this fail....
- workout shuffle: did VO2 bike on mon., tues. off
- didn't drink anything today. Although that is fairly common.
- cookies this afternoon maybe not great fuel
- overall cumulative fatigue. Plus run focus with 1 extra FTP run each week
Again, not worried about 1 wko and hope tomorrow FTP bike goes better. Will make a massage appt for fri. Legs feeling very heavy/stiff.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/412295443
I started with 1 mile warm up in Z2+ - rest of intervals were 8:45, 8:52 and 8:42. All close to my Z4, which is 8:44.
I am not going to push too hard tomorrow as I am racing a 5K on Saturday and would like to beat my initial test time from October.
My plan is lights out by 10:30 EST tonight.
Buena Sera!
3x1 (5') @ Z4 but ended doing very close to Z5...so the intervals were OK but added mileage I could only do Z1.5 or so, breakdown below:
-1 Mile warm up : 8:10 (Z1.5)
-3x1 Mile intervals : 6:54 / 6:54 / 6:57 (Z4 for me is 7:10 and Z5 is 6:47)
-Rest between intervals I made a mistake and did 5' when it was supposed to be 4...
-Added 2 miles at the end at 8:28 and 8:00 (Z1.5 or so..)
when I got back home was really tired...
Not looking forward to tomorrow VOmax in the bike...
@Jan - must be only the advanced plan. Also, unless the workout is "high" priority, I see it as optional regardless.
@Micheal - yes, I am also entering into the part of the OS where my calves are always twitching. It seems as though I never, ever, get enough rest anymore!
Ran 3 X 1mi today and target was 7:30. I did 7:54, 7:25, and get this - 7:05! The last one was because I was in front of the school bus because I was running late. I had to run past all the parents in the neighborhood at the bus stop and I had to look like an athlete and not some old guy struggling on his last mile!
Time to chill and gt some good rest before tomorrow's bike wko!
I'm impressed with all the good reports I'm reading. Keep it up! Friday's coming.
I got my run in this evening after work. It's turned cold here again and the temp was 31 when I headed out the door. I did the 15 minute warmup and launched into the first interval which I did in 7:10 (my target is 7:10). It was hard but mostly because of the cold air. I cut down the recovery interval by a minute and hit the second one which I did in 7:11. I kept that recovery at 4 minutes because I was in a relatively busy area of the park and hit the last interval when I got out to the sidewalk along the road and did that one in 7:17 which was OK since that one was slightly uphill and my normalized graded pace for that was 7:11. I ran home from there and ended up with 6.73 miles in 57:45. When I got home I hit the yoga mat and did my 2nd core workout for the week.
Cheers everyone.
Thanks!
My 4th OS, been down that dark hole 3x, once I felt like I was never going to recover from the funk - it lasted for nearly 4 weeks of minimal training..... By week 4-5 if you have more than 1 WKO where you are flat/struggling/cement-legged/etc. in a row, STAND DOWN! Your body is trying to tell something - listen up or you will comprimise not only the OS but the beginning of your racing season.
don't double up the hard stuff when you miss a hard stuff day.
put as much energy into paying attention the the rest/recovery/nutrition as you do to the actual workout.
to make huge improvements, remember that there's much more to this than the sweat. The 'training' doesn't stop when the workout ends.
2x what Scott said on the pile of fatigue I feel in my legs ... this run focused OS-Advance is no joke for sure! This year in January (JOS) I thought the same but this NOS-RF outperforms JOS easily!!
I did my 3x1mi intervals and was able to hit all 3 miles at almost exactly 1.00 but I need to mention that I really took it very very easy in between the intervals - even slower than LRP.
http://tpks.ws/zhbR
@ JL - I can't do much advising on anything run, but I've been talking to local coach in the area about this kind of thing. (Now, keep in mind that Im rehabbing an achilles so my interval volumes are already very low) He insists that I spend more time warming up with drills, the ones you already know, in 40-50m repeats for about 10'. Then, move into about 10-20' of 200-400m repeats of smooth running with just paying attention to every step's form and feel. Then, once I move on to the scheduled intervals...don't think about it. Just run.
It seems to be helping me pay attention to things like what you're talking about, tho I am early in this new warmup. It does add about 30' to a workout too. I just cut the end 'remainder' portion shorter.
But...again....I'm far from a run expert who could offer any advice. I was just catching up and could relate to the need to tweak form so...
Keep up the great work!
Got in a treadmill run today since that "cold front" reached finally South Texas! Followed up with some aqua-jogging. Although the run focus called for a repeat of Wednesday, I am still just doing LTHR until I can get stronger.
Anybody seen John Stark? Where are you buddy?
@Roy - congratulations on the WSM!
Really trying to focus more on my data this year. Interesting that I never hit Z5 today. I think part of me tried to maintain a z4 to finish a hero and not a zero? Still didn't hit the numbers I should have. Looking forward to test week!!
http://app.strava.com/activities/98789560
First of all I don't know what your Z5 HR Zone is so it's hard to tell how far you are off. If you were able to hit your target earlier that OS and now your HR is fading downwards it could be that your are in a light sort of "overtraining". As an result of that HR usually tend to be lower as expected and even if you make a very hard effort it won't increase as you want it to be.
The second thing I could think of is your pre-workout nutrition/hydration. If you ran low on sugar (Carbs) your HR will also start to decrease ... as soon as you start to refuel as you body needs it your HR should go up again.
@Emily, are you taking about your bike workouts as Stephan suggested? If so, I have another suggestion about why you aren't hitting your Z5 HR. I train with power and I've noticed that even though I'm hitting our exceeding my Z5 power zone that my HR Doesn't hit Z5 until the last interval of at all. That tells me that I'm getting fitter.
When you're doing your intervals do you feel like you are going as hard as you can but you can't get your HR to Z5? If that's the case then it's probably more of what Stephan said.
Cheers
It does sound more like what you are doing Mark. I'm recovering just fine after each interval. I think I am holding back so I can make it through the entire workout without bonking. I'll focus more on it in week 7, making sure to update on the correct forum next time.
As for the run today, it felt great! I chose to brick it since I was with a group from my local tri team. Nailed the zones although my pace was not where it usually is. I did start off with my group in z1 for the first mile.
http://app.strava.com/activities/99073911/overview
This was out at Z2 (7:40) and back at Z3 (7:22)
I did :
1 mile warm up at 8:15
3.5 miles at 7:39
3.4 miles at 7:19
overall great run in a balmy 27F (done barely 2 hours after finishing 90 mins in the bike)
link ---> http://connect.garmin.com/activity/413207699
Hit both intervals pretty nice with IFs of 1.03 and 1.01. Total duration was only 55' but ran 13.5k so that's pretty nice though.
Here's the total workout -> http://tpks.ws/iFMt
Have a nice recovery