Intervals 30-Jun-2015

Started well and strong, got to the 5th sprint and the heat started telling on me, by the end I was upright by default. Recoveries just weren't cutting it today, felt like they were shorter than the sprints.
I know our ability to sweat makes us the planets best distance runner, but my body missed that memo. Sweating rivers and still struggling with heat. I was evidently intended to chase reindeer rather than gazelle, imagine it would take a while before one of them stopped due to heat exhaustion though.
Anyway I did it, it wasn't impressive, but it beats nothing.

3.91 miles in 33:22 average speed 7mph

Squats 30-Jun-2015

Well the fact I did everything I intended to this week, apart form on last circuit when depth on jump squats and overheads was less than ideal, has to be a good sign. The fact I felt ready to drop at the end of it demonstrates how stupid it is to do no rest circuits that effect the same body parts but that's all part of the fun I guess. It is quick, intense and I do remember it making the following block pretty good last time so I will persevere with it, despite it's obvious stupidity.

4 circuits X 10 reps (a side in case of lunges), no rest except sip of water at end of each run through.

Jump squats 70kg, need more depth next time
Step forward lunges 10kg plate in each hand, needs to be 15kg a side next time
Kettlebell goblet squats 24kg, needs to be 28kg next time
Overhead squats 25kg disc, want to aim for more depth, see how I go, bit wobbly by the time I get here.

Running 29-Jun-2015

Somebody moved us a lot closer to this big ball of flaming gas today and forgot to get rid of excess moisture from the air. Subsequently I was melting and even though I felt as though I had more physically at the end there was nothing in the lungs to provide much needed oxygen to the body.

6.99 miles in 54:06 speed 7.7mph pace 7:44 min mile

Running 26-Jun-2015

There is no such thing as an enjoyable epileptic seizure, but last nights was as close as they get, a relieving seizure. As with many things symptomatic epilepsy is aggravated by stress, something I have been a bit overdosed on the last few weeks. Normal situation for me is either I get a fair size seizure at the height of this stress or as it's released, the change seems to be the final push. I almost always get warning, normally a day or so, but sometimes the warning is around for a week or more, this time it was over 2 weeks and it gets to the point where you just want it to get on and happen. Stress has reduced a lot and I now know a lot of what is coming up so this was just a relief, especially as the prolonged warnings are accompanied by ridiculous tiredness and really mess with my training. So next week back to abnormal and should get my first full week in around a month, going to count that as week 1 of the block.
Humidity on the run was insane. I know water vapour doesn't condense at low altitude, it freezes at high before becoming rain, but the bit I had today felt like it wasn't falling but as if I was running into it as it formed. Not far off target though and considering I will get a severe kick in the rear for pushing it after last night I will have to take what I can from that.

7.03 miles in 53:07 speed 7.9mph pace 7:33 min mile

Running 25-Jun-2015

Too darned hot. tried ignoring it but there is a limit for wusses like me who suffer badly in the heat. For those of you for whom 24 centigrade is just dandy and charming, enjoy it, for me this is 1.5 times melting point and approaching evaporation point, especially with the humidity.
Actually fairly happy with the run considering and finished knowing I'd given everything, but it wouldn't be right if I didn't want more and was annoyed at it not being faster for how hard going it was.

7.03 miles in 53:47 speed 7.8mph pace 7:39 min mile.

Intervals 23-Jun-2015

This wasn't expected to be wonderful. Legs, butt and back are really giving me grief from yesterday's squat session, other areas ache but not as badly. Pacesetter backed out because he trained legs last night, light weight or what? I tried running as if he was there and in fairness I think I must have done pretty well at this, especially as my legs sent a memo at the end of the 6th sprint when I wanted them to keep going for the recovery to say they had died or left with no forwarding address. First 8 were consistent sprints, last 2 were slower because I had nothing left.
I now feel totally wasted, which is perfect.

3.92 miles in 33:15 average speed 7.1mph

Squats 22-Jun-2015

Time is not being my friend of late and this will be the case for a few weeks to come so I have decided to go back to doing something I did a couple of years ago which killed me then and is doing so again now, no rest heavy circuits. The idea is to have a weight a bit below rep max to allow fatigue to become the intensity, great for endurance, but keep it heavy enough to maintain a strength focus. There is no formula for working this out, it has to be try it and adjust. Aim is to be up to 5 circuits within 2 weeks then load more weight again.
Session was last night, I ache like hell.

4 circuits X 10 reps (a side in case of lunges), no rest except sip of water at end of each run through.

Jump squats 70kg, need more depth next time
Step forward lunges 10kg plate in each hand, needs to be 15kg a side next time
Kettlebell goblet squats 24kg, needs to be 28kg next time
Overhead squats 25kg disc, want to aim for more depth, see how I go, bit wobbly by the time I get here.

Running 22-Jun-2015

Not a happy bunny. Humidity was at a level where most of the oxygen I was breathing had a few hydrodgens keeping it company and I struggled just to breathe. Worked like heck but knew it was rubbish, 22 seconds a minute behind target, slowest run on this route, not a good start to the week.

7.04 miles in 55:28 speed 7.6mph pace 7:52 min mile

Running 19-Jun-2015

A better run today. Pace setters were there and when I started catching them near the end still had some energy left to keep me working like heck right to the end. Of 3 starters I finished 3rd, I travelled 0.7 miles further but still finished seconds behind them ready to collapse. 2nd best time on this route.

7.03 miles in 52:06 speed 8.1mph pace 7:24 min mile

Running 18-Jun-2015

Well today was strange. I was running at the limit of my lungs so expected something pretty awesome as a time. I didn't expect to be 6 seconds a mile off target pace. I could give excuses, heat humidity etc. which are all valid but in truth I was disappointed at the pace consider my RPE, but accept this was all I had today.

7.03 miles in 53:26 speed 7.9mph pace 7:36 mile

Deadlifts 17-Jun-2015

Well the after effects of doing intervals with someone who really can sprint was a very achy core. Not had lower back and obliques aching from running in a long time, may it happen again many more times.
Today I am suffering the effects of having been pulled out of the session too quickly to have stretched after training. Normally I would be aching today I am didn't stretch aching.
Want life to get back to remotely close to normal, really messing with my training at the moment. This is my worst block in some time.
Corrected some form issues including foot position that was making my legs wobbly. I know the last 3 on my set of 12 were far from perfect and doing that weight for them killed me for future sets. Next time need to try 10 with 102.5, maybe 8 with 105 so I can get the 6 rep weight up.

Deadlifts from static with fat gripz
15 x 85kg, 12 x 100kg, 6 (should have been 10) x 105kg, 8 x 100kg, 10 x 90kg, 12 x 80kg, 15 x 70kg

Intervals 16-Jun-2015

Today I had a pace setter who can sprint substantially better than I can which was brilliant. Later in the session I got 1 where I finished just ahead of him and a couple where it was a close finish hard to say who was ahead or if it was a draw. However there were 4 where he was at least a second ahead of me at the end of the sprint, which on 20 second sprints is massive. In short I was thoroughly caned and worked like hell to try keeping up.
His recoveries were slower so I brought my pace down during these too. So overall distance is lower today which shows how little these stats mean, because I worked harder today than I have in some time on intervals. There is no substitute for having someone better than you to really make you work.

3.86 niles in 33:43 average speed 6.9mph

Price of Pain Tolerance

I have encountered a number of pseudo disabled or just general whingers who complain because they wake up in pain, often daily. I have been doing this for decades and if anything have tried turning it to my advantage. Knowing I am going to wake up in pain anyway means I can train harder and be in pain from the day or so before rather than damage I caused decades ago. Part of my acceptance seems to derive from my knowing the pain I feel is largely from stupid things I have done so is my own fault.
Becoming accustomed to this over the years has given me quite a high pain tolerance, something until recently I have thought was a strength with few drawbacks and I felt I could deal with these. An example is when I broke 3 of my toes a number of years ago and accepted the anti-inflammatory medication but refused pain relief, not because I am too tough, but because I judge what I can do based on pain so if I don't feel the pain I would push too far and cause more damage. Basically I am too stupid to use painkillers in this type of situation but smart enough to realise this and work with it.
There is an example of where this can go horribly wrong I saw over the weekend and this has made me think a bit. My father is someone else who got used to waking up in pain daily and just dealing with it. Pre-seat belt laws he had an accident driving a van where the van ended up on its side with him going through the windscreen and landing in a pile of glass on the floor. I was passenger in the van with a seat belt, got hurt a little but I remember the blood around him making it clear his was far worse. The damage to his back wasn't enough to stop him working, he had a family to feed and got on with it. So when new bits of pain started up they were largely ignored in the same way. The latest of these was in his liver, an area close enough to his back to be ignored until it left him stranded at the roadside unable to drive due to pain. After some tests etc. they found he has inoperable advanced liver cancer and infection, considering the liver can grow back with anything up to 80% of it removed this has been an issue for some time.
This is the cost of pain tolerance. We become so used to feeling pain daily and just ignoring it that we don't report things until they are too late. In the case of my father, he will pay the ultimate price for this by dying from something that is incredibly easy to fix if caught early enough. The liver is the most resilient organ so cancer or damage here is usually fixed by simply removing the affected part and allowing the body to replace it. There are lifestyle changes during recovery and often liver diseases have a lifestyle cause, like long term excessive alcohol consumption which have to stop permanently but it's easier to fix than a heart issue.
I know the pain I wake up in is more than he grew accustomed to so even though I am less upset than many expect me to be about his upcoming demise it has had an impact on me. My father wasn't present for most of my upbringing and for various reasons his promises to see me fell through so often I remember responding to one promise of see you on Friday with 'Which Friday?' before walking away. A macho person would declare this showed how little they cared, in truth this showed how much damage it had caused. The impact his demise is having on me is very different to this. I am realising how badly damaged or close to death I could be before bothering to tell one of the thousands of overpaid and under competent GPs we have here in the UK. It's not a pleasant thought.
Everything in life has a cost. My fitness costs time and effort from training, fortunately I enjoy this but the training costs energy which I have to eat, while I like nice food much of what I eat is literally just fuel because I need it. The benefits I get from being fit and the enjoyment I have for my training make this worthwhile. Now of course I have to figure out if my life of being so used to background pain I barely seem to notice it is worth the damage that could occur without me realising. Truth is of course I am likely too far down the road to be able to do anything about it, but none the less it will take some thought.

Running 15-Jun-2015

Well the weekend was interesting. Not as much sleep as I needed, a lot more time driving than I needed. Generally mentally and physically shattered in the name of ensuring my son got to see his grandfather before he dies, which dependent on how the process of draining fluid from his liver goes will either be very soon if not well or they can't because the swelling is stopping him eating or fairly soon because regardless he is well past curable.
Run was different. My pace setter got caught up in a meeting so I started without him expecting him not to be able to join in. On my way back I saw him and decided to finish his run out and back with him. Subsequently the distance is slightly higher, I would say the pace is not much slower than I would have got without doing this, I may have got 7.8mph but no more today. Calorie burn was insane 1,012 calories in just over an hour.

7.75 miles in 01:00:52 speed 7.6mph pace 7:51 mile

Running 12-Jun-2015

Well I have long maintained weight training is safe with the caveat, if you do the movements right, something only possible if you are focused and paying attention. I have sometimes wondered how much it would take to make me incapable of being able to focus in and make training so dangerous I daren't even start the session. Now I know. It required me dealing with the fact the man whose long term abuse has meant despite her greatest effort my wife has not been able to keep herself able to walk denying criminal charges and having to make statements about it, my son needing to be pulled form school for his mental health and it taking an age to do so which is damaging him, then getting a call saying my dad is dying of liver cancer and having to organise getting to be able to have my son see his grandfather before he dies. Life has been better and one at a time these things will resolve. Hopefully I will extract my head from my rectum in time for weights next week.
Run was slower than normal as I decided to simply help the pace setter improve his pace by going along with him on his distance, still good therapy.

6.5 miles in 53:28 speed 7.3mph

Running 11-Jun-2015

Heat up, speed down, pace setters absent. Not best pleased. 21 celcius, 100% humidity and negligible wind I couldn't even feel.
Feel absolutely shattered and ready to flake out asleep, which just makes it worse.

7.05 miles in 54:58 speed 7.7mph pace 7:47 min mile

Intervals 09-Jun-2015

Intervals are all about feel. The distance I covered this week was less, as was the overall pace because I brought someone else along who is not at my level at this time. this meant the recovery stages were at a slower pace than normal, but the trade off was I had loads to give the sprints.
The guy I was with had never done intervals before so every sprint he was watching me disappear, but for a first time out he was frankly pretty awesome. I feel like I have had my lungs panel beaten from the inside, so i'm happy too.

3.93 miles in 33:55 average speed 7mph

Squats 08-Jun-2015

Well after 2 weeks without doing squats it was a bit much to expect this to be a good session.
Life is currently doing a good job of getting in the way of my training at the moment as well meaning I was rushing a bit and not allowing enough rest time. Net result I got to the set of 10 on the way back up the reps and felt ready to pass out, then decided it had to be time to stop.
I will get fully back into it again but at the moment there are other things more important. Aggression I can use and some stresses give me plenty of this, however when the stress involves things I can't control that are affecting those I care about it's more upsetting then aggression generating, that I can run off but not blast out in weights. Hopefully this situation will soon be sorted. Life never runs out of stress, not if you're doing it right, it's just a case of keeping the right sort of stress in your life.

Squats with knee sleeves
15 x 90kg, 12 x 105kg, 10 x 120kg, 8 x 130kg, 2 (should have been 6) x 140kg, 8 x 120kg, lift off with 105kg

Running 08-May-2015

Oh I do love the inaccuracy of GPS. I start at the same place, finish at the same place, the mid point and route all identical. Somehow today it was 0.2 miles less than on Friday of last week, there was me thinking plat tectonics was a slow inches a year process, but obviously not.
In a classic case of do as I say not as I do, I was just telling someone this morning that when it's hot and humid time becomes irrelevant, today was misty drizzle, not as hot as last week. But more importantly my pace setter brought his midway point forward a bit making his route a couple of hundred metres shorter overall, something I only found out when I could see the so and so and kept pushing ever harder to catch him. I failed to do so but knocked almost a minute of my time for this route, think it may be a PB on this one.

7.03 miles in 52:09 speed 8.1mph pace 7:25 min mile

Deadlift 06-May-2015

I knew last week was unlikely to be a complete one for training, life is not always good for your routine.
I managed to get in the start of the deadlift session and got pulled away after my set of 6 to get on with other more important things.
In terms of the session it went well, increased weight and even though my set of 8 was missing the latter half, I can't complain too much when the set of 10 was a pretty good one, up until the last rep, with my previous 6 rep weight. Not sure how fatigued I would have been on the way back up the reps but hopefully this week will go to normal plan.
Fairly sure I could nail 107.5kg for 6 if I went for 105 for 8, maybe even 110. Will find out this week.

Deadlift
15 x 85kg, 12 x 95kg, 10 x 102.5kg, 4 (should have been 8) x 110kg, 6 x 105kg.

Running 05-Jun-2015

For those living in countries where 24 celcius is mid winter, you have my sympathies. For me this is 1.5 x melting point and with 100% humidity I was suffering. There was a massive 3.8mph wind which in terms of cooling was the equivalent of someone wave a sheet of paper from the other side of the room.
Fortunately I did get a pace setter today and he took a half mile shortcut meaning when I got to the halfway point I knew he would have got to his and turned back already and I had to give it all I had to get back roughly a minute after him.
Net result was actually a good run 4 seconds a mile above summer target on my hottest day of the year so far.

7.23 miles in 53:49 speed 8.1mph

Bench 03-Jun-2015

Definitely a session where I got to a point and energy left the building. 7 or the 8 on 75kg where good clean reps, the 8th worked it's way up with a bit of seesawing, definitely red light worthy.
Happy even though set of 6 was actually a 4 as I did better on weight than I expected overall.

Bench press
15 x 50kg, 12 x 60kg, 10 x 70kg, 8 x 75kg, 4 (should have been 6) x 77.5kg, 1 x 70kg + 7 x 60kg when it became clear there would be no 2nd with 70, 10 x 50kg, 12 x 40kg, 15 x 30kg felt so much harder than such a light weight should.

Fast standing shoulder press with 30kg target 60 reps
18, 13, 11, 11, 8 which at the time I worked out should be 60 and as typing up realised was 61

Intervals 02-Jun-2015

Well that was fun. I do tend to suck at intervals, being a less than spectacular sprinter, so they normally fit into the category of do them because it improves my ability at stuff I do actually enjoy. Today somehow I managed to enjoy doing them, which is unusual for me.
Started strong, first sprints felt really good and the recoveries were good. Next few the sprints were OK but I started feeling ready to die during recovery, all good so far. By the end the sprints were becoming really hard work and recovery wasn't feeling long enough, the perfect interval session. I will improve these pathetic lungs if it kills me.

Overall stats mean nothing on intervals but I post them anyway.
3.99 miles in 32:46 average speed 7.3mph

Running 01-Jun-2015

Not too bad if fair. After a week off, which included a couple of all you can eats this was pleasingly acceptable. Won't be acceptable for long of course but today I will be kind to myself.

6.21 miles in 48:03 speed 7.8mph

Deadlifts 25-May-2015

Writing this up a bit late, a week late in fact. Session was a couple of days late as it was. Forearms ached like heck for a few days after this but my grip is definitely improving with the fat gripz.
This was the only training I did last week and it was a leftover from the week before. Took a break and spent time with family so I don't regret it at all. come lunchtime when I struggle to run a decent pace, this evening when squats suffer and tomorrow when I ache like heck I may have some regrets, but that's fine.

Deadlifts with hold from stop with fat gripz
15 x 80kg, 12 x 90kg, 10 x 100kg, 8 x 105kg, 6 x 110kg (last couple less than tidy), 12 x 100kg, 10 x 90kg, 12 x 80kg, 15 x 70kg

Want to start at 82,5 or 85kg next time to increase all round. Was supposed to have chins after this but my limited time window shut and I stopped there.