One of my early primary school memories is borrowing a programming book from the school library and typing up some very basic games on our commodore 64 computer at home. I had no way to save the program, that I knew of anyway, it would just run in memory and I would play it for a while and then it was gone. But I was intrigued and have had an interest in computers and technology ever since.

Running Technology

Now I work as an IT systems administrator and project manager and have completed a Bachelor of Technology (Information Systems). So as you might guess running and technology are two big passions of mine combined. This week I want to write a little about what and how I use technology with my training and racing. If you’re a traditionalist and hate tech and data you may want to skip this.

Running GPS watch

Most runners, especially distance runners, are familiar with GPS watches. A very handy tool for tracking the basics – how long did I run for, how far did I run, how fast did I run. And some extras – how hard was the run (heart rate, pace, elevation), how well did I run (splits, cadence, stride length and other advanced metrics). In races and training it’s also pretty much essential to be able to check in on how fast you’re running, how long you’ve been running for and how far you’ve gone.

I use the Garmin FR235 which I think is one of the best value price/feature wise running watch available at the moment. This watch uses optical heart rate which isn’t perfect but it’s worth it to lose the heart rate strap! DC Rainmaker is a site I frequently visit – a great resource for reviews.

Training Log

Garmin Connect

Garmin watches upload run data to an online log called Garmin Connect. Garmin Connect is actually pretty good, but there are a couple areas it is lacking in which is why I also use two other online logs.

Training Peaks

Training Peaks is what I use as my main training diary. The key features of Training Peaks are it’s performance management, analysis and planning functionality. Every run is given a Training Stress Score (TSS) which is calculated based on time run, heart rate and pace. Many coaches and athletes will plan weeks around weekly mileage or weekly duration, which is a little flawed because it doesn’t quite indicate how hard or easy the week or workout was.

TSS is also used in algorithms and charts which very usefully indicates current and predicted fitness and fatigue levels. Also a value which they call Training Stress Balance (TSB). For serious training periods TSB value should be well into the negatives, while positive TSB values should be targetted when tapering for a race. Exactly what value is interesting in itself, it can be worth looking back at how you fresh or fatigued you felt racing at different TSB values and use that as a guide.

Strava

Strava is essentially social media for runners and cyclists. It’s a great way to see what others are doing and motivate each other training. For example seeing Brigitte’s last marathon training long run pop up.. 3 hours, 34km and 7 and a half laps of Albert Park Lake! Or Stephanie pulling off a great 15 min threshold. Or the young guns like Liam and Cody doing some bloody fast and big sessions!

Weight and nutrition

This is not an area to be over looked. The less weight you’re carrying the more efficient you’re going to run – to a point of course you want to still be within a healthy weight range. Nutrition is also very important not just for weight loss but also to ensure you are eating the right amounts and the right macronutrients to fuel your training.

I keep an eye on my weight using a withings wifi scale. Ok I’ll admit a wifi scale is a little unnecessary but it is pretty convenient and you get cool graphs…

Nutrition I have been tracking my kilojoule intake using the app myfitnesspal. This also links with Garmin Connect to automatically bring in the kilojoules burned from running. If you can be bothered recording everything you eat it’s a very useful tool and I think I’ve got great results from doing this both in terms of dropping some weight and training/recovering better.

This week

Period: 6 Mar 2016 – 12 Mar 17

This is the start of the second block of training. My training is typically structured in 4 week blocks. This block is another base training block with 3 weeks building and the 4th week slightly less volume for recovery.

A couple small changes came in to gradually build general fitness. 2km reps my recovery between reps changed from 2 minutes to 1 minute 30 seconds. 800m reps increased from 4 reps to 5 reps. Thresholds and long runs get slightly longer, although still not too long in this base phase.

It was a solid week of training. The reps were tough and I struggled especially with my last 2km rep. I think I’m coming in to training Tuesday with tired legs from the heavy gym session I’m doing on Monday. At this point going to stick with it but may need to make a change there if my legs continue to be really tired on Tuesdays.

Felt like I trained well on the weekend with a good 15 minute threshold run at Altona Hill with the crew.. shout out to threshold friends Peter, Phil, Tom and Mechelle. And felt quite good on my Sunday long run averaging 5:17 pace, faster than usual I think for me at You Yangs.

Running

1%-ers

Summary