Thoughts and happenings from a life on Malta

Ten hours worth of training this week, which included days with two training sessions each, makes for a week of solid work. Positive feedback also comes from the aerobic threshold session I did on Friday at 5.30 in the morning;  certainly not the ideal time for speed work and neither is the location. Not being much of  a track fan, I prefer to jog down to the Pwales road (leading from Xemxija to Ghajn Tuffieha), which conveniently serves as a warm up, and then do the session along the flattest stretch. This has a slight, but none too compromising, incline on the way out. Also, if a wind’s blowing then it’s almost guaranteed to meet me head on during the “up”section.  Nonetheless, last Friday’s 3 x 20′ at 150-153bpm were done 20 seconds per kilometre faster than 3 weeks ago.

The week of solid work

Training hours: 10 / Weight: 70.7kgs / Body fat: 12.2% / Muscle mass: 69.6% / Water: 57.8% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 47

Due to work commitments, and because it was time I did so, I reduced the training volume for week nine. This meant Monday was dedicated to sloth while I did only one session-per-day on the remaining days, while still doing the key workouts. These were a 3×20′ @ 150-153bpm on Tuesday, a short hills fartlek on Friday and the long run (the longest so far) on Christmas day. Again I included some longish hills: Manikata, 1.4k with an elevation change of +94m; Ghajn Zejtuna, 1.8k with an elevation change of +109m.  Despite these hills, and having run for 2:15, I only climbed 420m. This serves as another reminder of how massive a 3000m climb is and how much respect the Etna marathon deserves.

Training hours: 7 / Weight: 71kgs / Body fat: 12.3% / Muscle mass: 69.4% / Water: 57.6% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 48

Tuesday 13th, an 11k run which included some interesting hill speedwork: L-imbordin (aka Mzieb), San Martin and Xemxija.  These hills have challenging gradients even though, in the context of the Etna marathon, they are mere ramps. Take San Martin for example, which rises 110 metres over 2 kilometres. Even if I had to run it up 21 times (for a marathon distance), I would gain an elevation of 2300m – still a full 700m less than the Etna race!

The morning itself was ideal for such a workout, with the roads bare of traffic, a refreshing 15 degrees and a complete absence of wind. I woke up full of enthusiasm and the legs responded reasonably well to the effort. However,  the lungs were in overdrive, leaving me panting  towards the top of the hills.

Training hours: 9 / Weight: 71.4kgs / Body fat: 12.4% / Muscle mass: 69.6% / Water: 57.7% / Bone mass: 3.0 / Resting heart rate: 51