Jueathon - Day 6

Well, I'm getting closer to blogging on the right day at least!

Sometime ago I bought a new gadget (those who know me will now be raising their eyes in a knowing way - new gadgets are a feature of my life). This was a watch, no - a heart rate monitor, no - a distance calculator, no - a calorie counter etc etc. Lots of runners have similar gadgetry we kid ourselves into thinking they will make better runners/cyclists/swimmers whatever. Deep down we know that it is regular, mind focussed training that is the only gadget we really need. It is fun though analysing the training, looking at pretty charts and trying to beat the time on the route we did before. The down side (maybe) of this particular piece of kit is that it uploads the data to a log, then feeds back on how I'm doing. Now, if I've not been well/demotivated/busy/ash cloud, or any other excuse, it cuts no dice with this coach. A lazy week is a lazy week and you can't argue/reason/make excuses to a machine! The same goes the other way if you decide to have a blast on the spin bike - "Train Less in Zone 3" is the response. This week, the "coach" has demanded a recovery week!
I'm actually going to do as I'm told just to see how well it works. I've been in the doldrums training wise for some time now - I've gone from running 2 marathons in a month, to barely being able to run for 3 miles. The reasons for this are complex, but I've been trying to get back to the level I was - or at least somewhere near it for some time. It may well be that I've tried too hard at times  and I do know that there have been times I've not tried hard enough. So a structured "do as I'm told" training is now my goal.
This rather protracted preamble brings me to the "recovery" training that started yesterday. A slow half hour on the gym bike keeping my heart rate in zone 1 followed by an hours body pump, again, keeping the heart rate low.
Today should be a running day, but I'm off out for a very slow trot/walk before work.