Blog 2- November
Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying the winter grind and still remembers what the sun looks like! In this blog I give a summary of the month as well as describe my current training schedule.
November has been a big month of training for me where I headed out to the French Pyrenees for 3 weeks of altitude training (from the 30/10- 20/11). Upon returning to the UK I competed in my first Cross Country race in 2 years at the Liverpool Cross Challenge alongside a number of fellow club mates. From this performance, as well as the summer track season, I was selected for the Mixed Relay at the European Cross Country Champs in Lisbon for Great Britain on the 8th of December, which I am incredibly proud and excited for!
Altitude training is now commonplace among British endurance athletes with various groups going out from the UK each year. Font Romeu is a popular destination due to cheap flights, accessibility and abundance of good running (including a freshly laid track). I went out on camp for a few reasons; running and living at altitude stimulates the production of red blood cells which is beneficial for endurance running. Additionally, being away on camp creates a unique opportunity to focus on your training without the normal distractions you get back at home. These factors culminated in it being an ideal time for me to kick-start my winter and start laying the foundations for next summer’s track season.
My training at the moment is geared towards volume and base work. This means a lot of time on my feet working the sub-maximal zones, trying to improve my aerobic threshold. During November I was running around 80 miles per week. While I want to move this on to around 90-100, 80 was enough to gain the aerobic benefit I needed. Mileage is an important factor in endurance running but is by no means the only aspect and it’s always a compromise between training benefit and injury risk. A lot of the supplementary training I am doing right now is centred on reducing this risk. I will use a foam roller for around 20 minutes per day as well as going through a mobility routine both before and after every run/session. I am also doing Strength and Conditioning (S&C) twice a week which has a dual purpose of building power and strengthening weaker areas. On top of this I always have a full rest day in a week to relieve the load on my body. For a bit of further insight, below is a summary of a week’s training I undertook in Font Romeu:
I returned to the UK on the 20th of November and raced the Liverpool Cross Challenge 3 days later. I finished 13th which I was reasonably happy with. I felt a little race rusty having not raced this season but I really enjoyed being back out on the mud and mixing it again. Gaining the GB vest for Lisbon was a huge boost and I can’t wait to represent my country again!
I am looking forward to cracking on with some more base work through December before starting to gear up for a few indoor races in the New Year.
Thanks for reading!
JD
TRAINING WEEK COMMENCING 4th NOVEMBER
Monday- AM easy 7 miles, PM easy 5.5 miles
Tuesday- AM track session (10x600m, 2 mile tempo), PM easy 4.5 miles
Wednesday- AM easy 10 miles, PM S&C
Thursday- Rest
Friday- Tempo/hill session (5 min tempo, 5 x (30, 45, 60 second hills), 5 min tempo), PM- easy 5 miles
Saturday- AM easy-steady 16 miles, PM S&C
Sunday- AM easy 9 miles, PM easy 4.5 miles
(82 miles)
