Moving Forward Faster

blockic · 21-07-2014 10:06pm

Monday
5.2 miles easy / 8:01 average pace

All easy running last week to give the groin a change to loosen out and recover from whatever I done to it last week. The routine run in Eckhart Park on this one. Feet were fine after the long run on Sunday...arches were not giving out.

Tuesday
7 miles easy / 7:33 average pace

All easy miles again on Tuesday and it was cooler weather wise all last week which was nice. Low 20's and no humidity, ideal for running..this was my Humboldt Park route, 2 miles to the park, 2 laps and 2 miles home..avoiding territories inbetween.

Friday
5 miles easy / 7:44 average pace

Ran around a new block for this one. All was good until I went west of a certain street, the vibe instantly changed, thankfully a quickly realised and wasn't long turning around! Be careful out there folks!

Runs are routine at the moment, while they might be boring to read after the first 6 months of the year I'm delighted to be able to have routine runs!

Also signed a new lease on Friday which will see me move a few blocks North in September, will have to find new parks to run in although I will still be close enough to Humboldt to use that one!

Downside is an extended commute on which already is a pain in the ass. New place is worth it though!

Saturday
15 miles LSR / 7:55 average pace

Absolutely delighted to get this ling run in. I had aimed at 14 starting off so 15 was a bonus. Set off early on Saturday morning to meet up with people from my new running club (TTAU), all runners would be into the more competitive aspect of running which is why it was only recently formed and still growing. Good news about it is that there are a load of people in around by pace and many going the marathon, I'll be piggy backing on these long runs!

8 of us set off up the shore and we turned around after 9...here the arches started to ache a bit I guess it is all about building up the long runs but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a concern. Got the 15 done and dusted by 10am and it was all planned to get back to see that last few holes of the Open, only to realise that they brought the tee times forward on Saturday.

I was gutted! Still happy out with the run though..a big step.

Sunday
5 miles easy / 7:39 average pace

Made sure I got the tee times right this time! :rolleyes: Watched MacAttack close out the Open without too much trouble and then popped out for a n easy 5.

Next week is...

Week 1 of Marathon training! Target number 1 is the start line!

Week Mileage Summary:
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
5.2m|7m|Rest|Rest|5m|15m|5m

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
37.2m|94.7m|409.8m

blockic · 25-07-2014 4:17am

Monday
5.2 miles easy / 8:16 average pace

So here we go again, the start of another marathon cycle, both scared and excited and at the moment not looking forward to 20 mile LSRs..hopefully that changes as the race gets closer. It will be an exact year since I lined up in Chicago when I run my next marathon this October and strangely as my life has lead me, I will be back running Chicago again.

When I crossed the finish line last year, I knew I would make it back some day...but I didn't think it would be the following year!

For this one I have no target, after the first 6 months dealing with injury this year including much change in my running form, getting to the start line for this one will be achievement enough. Obviously I will set paces based on how my training is going and I will have a rough target on race day, but if it is not near my PB I won't be concerned. All roads lead to the big target of Boston next year.

So for now I'm going to just plug away and see where the training takes me. Going to peak at around 55 miles for this one with a tweaked P&D plan. Low enough mileage but again..I don't want to rush things too soon and that should be enough to get me around in some half decent shape but maybe not optimal!

So the first run was an uneventful 5 miles in Eckhart Park with a view of Willis tower on the horizon, kept me occupied for the duration of the run.

Wednesday
8.2 miles easy / 7:19 average pace

It was a perfect evening for a run, temperatures were the coolest of the week a nice low 20's after the 32 of the previous day. Sunshine, no humidity and a bit of wind made it perfect.

This run was a big game changer for me, It was the first time I have felt strength in the legs all year and also realised that my running form has come on significantly and is much improved. The pace, while it was the fastest I have ran an easy run in some time, felt quite comfortable.

2 laps of Humboldt Park

Thursday
9 miles easy / 7:30 average pace

Another longish midweek run for me, 3 laps of Humboldt this time, similar to last nights run and again pretty comfortable. Recovery run and long run left for Week 1! Beginning to enjoy the runs now the last couple of days!

belcarra · 25-07-2014 9:07am

blockic wrote: »

So the first run was an uneventful 5 miles in Eckhart Park with a view of Willis tower on the horizon, kept me occupied for the duration of the run.

Can't believe you are still acting like an outsider at this stage...:rolleyes:
It'll always be Sears Tower to the locals!:pac:

blockic · 28-07-2014 4:38pm

Saturday
4.4 miles recovery / 8:06 average pace

So the end of last week went a bit tit's up on me. Was supposed to run this recovery run on Friday but the lure of drink on took over. As a result I pushed my 2 runs out a day as I was in no state for LSR on Saturday morning.

Ran a very easy 4 miles instead which was routine enough.

Sunday
11 miles LSR / 8:12 average pace

Bad move leaving my long run to Sunday this week! Yesterday was absolutely roasting in the low 30's and the fact that I didnt start til 10am didn't help either. There was a dead heat and no breeze which was unusual beside the lake.

I ran this along the Lake Shore, then onto Northerly Island where I threw myself into the lake for a couple mins, then passed Soldier Field where Liverpool were playing later in the day and then I finished up in Grant Park.

This was a real slog, it was supposed to be 13 miles with 8@PMP but once I set off there was no way I was hitting PMP today with the weather...2 miles in I said I'd reduce it to 6, 4 miles in I decided to cup them all together.

At six miles I was drained from the sun beating down and then at 9 miles i was down at recovery pace, Although I know that, pace would be way down today with the heat anyway, I decided to cut the run at 11 as I was getting nothing out of it and I was spent.:(

Typically once I finished, a nice breeze arrived for the rest of the day and it cooled down slightly. :mad:

Here's to a better long run next week!

Week Mileage Summary:
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
5m|Rest|8.2m|9m|Rest|4.4m|11m

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
37.6m|132.3m|447.4m

blockic · 29-07-2014 4:49am

Monday
12 miles MLR / 7:13 average pace (incl. 2 + 2M)

What a difference a day makes, to both the weather and my running, yesterday hit home with me about the effort I am going to have to go through the next 11 weeks.

Weather was much cooler today about 19-20c when I set off, it was glorious!!

It's hard to motivate yourself when you don't have an exact target to get out for runs, I was wrecked after work and was dreading going out for a planned 11 MLR.

I have had to front load this week as I need Friday and Saturday off due to the Lollapalooza festival here in Chicago(party time). This is a once off as I would really rarely do this sort of distance back-to-back.

As I set off on this I was dreading it and wondering would I get through this 12 weeks without caving and abandoning the whole thing. By the end of the run I was loving running again and could have easily done 4-5 more. Halfeay though I decided to put in some marathon pace miles to make up for the disaster yesterday.

It's a funny aul game.

"Never, ever, ever judge a run by the first mile" was a quote I saw on Runners World over the weekend, and not a truer word could be said tonight.

4 miles easy
2 miles @PMP (6:33, 6:47)
1 mile easy
2 miles @PMP (6:55, 6:40)
3 miles easy

The first and third M split were under a bridge so are a bit off, I suspect that all were in around 6:45...a tad fast as I want to stick to 7min for these at the moment. But a positive nights work none the less.

blockic · 31-07-2014 3:13pm

Tuesday
5 miles easy / 7:43 average pace

A routine easy run after the long run on Monday, bagged a CR on Strava for the Wicker Park loop in the process. Think I will find segments to tick off now on my easy runs to keep me occupied on these otherwise fairly mundane jogs!

Wednesday
8 miles LTR / 7:02 average pace (incl. 2 + 2LT)

Another good run last night in Humboldt Park, my target for the LT was 6:20 again, doing these a bit too fast, the result was I lost concentration and a bit of energy on the last one!

2 miles easy
2 miles @ LT (6:10, 6:11)
1 mile recovery
2 miles @ LT (6:07, 6:17)
1 mile cool-down

2 days off now!:cool: Needed as my knee was giving out a bit this morning when I woke up, too much running the last 5 days! The rest should sort it out.

Very happy with the months mileage and number of runs I got in, will take the same gladly next month!

Monthly Summary

Month|Runs|2013 Miles|Runs|2014 Miles
January|22/31|174.2|8/31|39
February|22/28|196.9|1/28|2
March|24/31|216.1|7/31|25.3
April|17/30|120.2|12/30|48.5
May|20/31|151.8|17/31|97.2
June|18/30|149.7|19/30|107.1
July|26/31|220.4|22/31|157.3
August|27/31|250.5||
September|24/31|197.3||
October|18/31|135.4||
November|10/30|67.5||
December|1/31|4||

Pacing Mule · 31-07-2014 3:21pm

Yeah he's back.

"Sure I will leg it out on a mundane easy run and tick off strava course records whilst I am there - just for the fun of it."

blockic · 31-07-2014 5:26pm

Pacing Mule wrote: »

Yeah he's back.

"Sure I will leg it out on a mundane easy run and tick off strava course records whilst I am there - just for the fun of it."

Haha..only targeting the soft ones obviously..or making up my own that no one else will run! Ha!

cianc · 31-07-2014 6:36pm

Coming back in leaps and bounds. Great stuff.

blockic · 05-08-2014 4:43am

Saturday
5 miles easy / 7:44 average pace

Thankfully I had no hangover after the Music Festival all day on Friday! Some great craic though but happy I stayed disiplined. (tang, rudimental were amazing live! Performance of the day!)

As a result I got out mid-morning for this run and ran the routine loop in Eckhart Park in nice morning sunshine!

Highlight of this run was using experimenting with the instagram and strava connectivity that links your photos to your strava runs...said I'd try it out and it works pretty well. Nice to see where people actually run or show where you run, kinda like an upgraded "Photos of where you run" thread! Kept me occupied anyway.

Sunday
15 miles LSR / 7:49 average pace

Met up with one of the girls from TTAU for this. TTAU being my new club (Track & Trough Athletic Union). Some nippy people around here I tell ya that much, great to have targets out in front of you for sessions etc!

I ran east to the lake shore and then ran north meeting up after 6 miles...had company for 6 more miles and then ran the remaining 3 myself which was gruesome in the morning heat!! Dunno how i'd race a half at the moment as I was tired after 13 miles at LSR pace!

Thing about here is you have to get the long runs in early if you want it to be comfortable-ish, starting this one at 7:30am...and that is late enough for here! The lads go at 6am...I'll leave that one off for now I think!

Great to get the long run in and it was better than the previous week!

Finally over the 40 mile barrier for the week, been a long time coming and was relatively comfortable with it, nice to be getting back in the groove.

Week Mileage Summary:
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
12m|5m|8m|Rest|Rest|5m|15m

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
45m|20m|492.4m

blockic · 05-08-2014 4:52am

Monday
11 miles MLR / 7:26 average pace

Plan for tonight was 8 miles easy with strides, but the weather was nice and cool with a bit of drizzle, so at about 7 miles in I decided to continue and take advantage of the weather and get my MLR in for the week as I was feeling very comfortable. Need to take advantage of the cool weather here when you get it.

Ran this in Humboldt. This is the second week in a row I have done the long run and MLR back-to-back, it is risky in that it increases injury risk but beneficial in the fact that I am getting decent mileage in, within 48 hours. My long runs should be back to Saturday now in future so it should work better. The decision was off the cuff today.

This run felt real good and it was a bit of progression, started at 7:45 and finished at around 7:10-7:15 a mile naturally.

When it's cool like this, I really do feel my form coming back which is nice to see but I now realise when it's warm it is really just all about getting the miles in at a slower pace (within reason) as the pace on those days may not be a true reflection of where I am at..

Anyway enough blabbing, I might to a track session on Wednesday as the group are doing one and then some marathon pace miles in my LSR this weekend to round out the week. Getting the grá back.

digger2d2 · 05-08-2014 11:32am

blockic wrote: »

Met up with one of the girls from TTAU for this. TTAU being my new club (Track & Trough Athletic Union). Some nippy people around here I tell ya that much, great to have targets out in front of you for sessions etc!

Words fail me, you were such a nice lad when you left Ireland, I even considered giving you the go ahead to ask O's sister out.... And now look at you!

tang1 · 05-08-2014 7:19pm

Have yet to have the pleasure of seeing them live yet(rudimental) but seen there show from Glastonbury this year and it looked very impressive. I thought this year was the year to beat you mileage wise, not going to happen i'd say with the way your running lately. Keep it going.

blockic · 07-08-2014 5:00am

digger2d2 wrote: »

Words fail me, you were such a nice lad when you left Ireland, I even considered giving you the go ahead to ask O's sister out.... And now look at you!

Haha, digger on fire this week. Don't mention the war, claralara-croft lives up to her name and get's very sensitive on that matter. Haha!

blockic · 07-08-2014 5:16am

Tuesday
5 miles recovery / 8:17 average pace

Routine recovery run yesterday, although the legs were feeling it from the previous two day's long runs. I don't think I could have gone faster if I tried. Ran a new block of Augusta-California-Wabansia-Ashland to bring 5 miles exactly.

Wednesday
8.7 miles session / 4 x (1000m @5KP + 800m @HMP)

Met up with a few from TTAU for this one on the Lake Shore Track downtown, there is a new track opening up a bit further north on Montrose but it is not ready quite yet. Looking forward to trying it out though as the track here is a bit 'square' and only like 3 lanes wide, with it being downtown it is also pretty congested.

Good session this, with a mix of paces. My target was 80 second laps for the 5K pace and 95 second laps for the half marathon pace.

1.8 mile warm up
1000m @ 5KP (3:34) + 800m @ HMP (3:09)
1000m recovery jog
1000m @ 5KP (3:35) + 800m @ HMP (3:10)
600m recovery jog
1000m @ 5KP (3:35) + 800m @ HMP (3:11)
600m recovery jog
1000m @ 5KP (3:37) + 800m @ HMP (3:08)
1 mile cool down

Realised that 1000m was too long recovery for the first rep, so cut it to 600m for the remaining reps. I was happy with the display once I was done, I wasn't hands on knees after the session which meant I was not all out, but looking back at the paces now, I'm a bit disappointed with the 1k reps, I guess my 80 sec lap target was a bit ambitious. Happy with the 800m reps though as they are about right so nice and controlled.

A good nights work and may go for a recovery jog or rest completely tomorrow.

blockic · 11-08-2014 8:28pm

Friday
16 miles LSR / 7:14 average pace (incl. 8m @PMP)

Had to get the long run in early last week as I needed Saturday off to go to Madison, WI to play some golf and the possibility of a few beers on Saturday night meant that Sunday would not look good either.

Ran this on the Illinois Prairie Path out in the Western Suburbs, running through Naperville & Warrenville. Weather was quite humid and the fact that I didn't find water until 12 miles in did not help either!

The pace miles went well and it was nice to get a long run in out in the countray setting for a change to mix it up a bit. I also got a tiny bit of elevation on a run too for a change! :pac: Delighted to get it in before the weekend started.

4 miles easy (7:40)
5 miles @ PMP (6:50)
3 miles easy (7:46)
3 miles @ PMP (6:42)
1 mile easy (7:40)

Sunday
5 miles recovery / 8:08 average pace

A victory in a Ryder Cup format of golf on Saturday meant that I cut a bit loose on the social scene on Saturday night. :pac: Thankfully some waters before bed meant I was not too bad yesterday and got out for my planned recovery run. Out in Naperville for this as well and was back to settle into the PGA for the rest of the evening when the leaders tee'd off. What entertainment. Rory with a similar score to me on Saturday. :pac:

Great to see yaboya1 trying to be the new drquirky over on the golf forum.

AuldManKing · 12-08-2014 11:37am

those 800's seem fast for HMP!

great to see you back into it - savage pace on that long run - fair play. You got a woman yet

yaboya1 · 12-08-2014 12:54pm

AuldManKing wrote: »

those 800's seem fast for HMP!

Are those the split's for each individual 800m, rather than the km pace for each one?
What time are you targeting in Chicago?

AuldManKing · 12-08-2014 1:03pm

yaboya1 wrote: »

Are those the split's for each individual 800m, rather than the km pace for each one?
What time are you targeting in Chicago?

Actually you're right, that's 6:20 ish per mile.

Jaysus, Johnny, those 800's are awful slow.

yaboya1 · 12-08-2014 1:08pm

AuldManKing wrote: »

Jaysus, Johnny, those 800's are awful slow.

You're like the British media. Build him up just so you can knock him straight back down

blockic · 12-08-2014 4:27pm

yaboya1 wrote: »

Are those the split's for each individual 800m, rather than the km pace for each one?
What time are you targeting in Chicago?

Ya, there are actual splits.

Have no target as of yet other that to get around to get another one under my belt. Anything from 3:15 to 2:55, likely to be closer to the former rather than the later though! Have no expectations for this one. This it partly why the motivation is lacking a bit!

AuldManKing wrote: »

Actually you're right, that's 6:20 ish per mile.

Jaysus, Johnny, those 800's are awful slow.

Yup, around 6:20 a mile for HMP, unfortunately that is where I am right now, would love to see a HMP of 5:XX sometime in the future!

yaboya1 · 12-08-2014 4:30pm

blockic wrote: »

Anything from 3:15 to 2:55, likely to be closer to the former rather than the later though!

Not so sure about that, judging by Friday's long run.
Could well be the other way around :cool:

blockic · 12-08-2014 4:32pm

Monday
11 miles MLR / 7:48 average pace

Mondays seem to be the best day for me to get these in. Humboldt Park loop x 3. Was very humid out so had to dial the pace down a bit, was feeling pretty tired too.

I upgraded to the Mizuno Wave Inspire 10 a couple weeks back and have been building up with them, felt a big difference at the start from the 9 but getting used to them now. nice trainer. Have about 50 miles done. I can confirm that these are not pink but most definitely red this time! :cool:

Last week or so I have started to get a slight shin splint feeling in my left leg, worst it has been now today so taking the day off and RICE it. Combination of new shoe and upping mileage I suspect, will have to monitor it and tone back a notch if it continues to be an issue.

Getting to the start line is the main thing.

AuldManKing · 12-08-2014 4:36pm

I see you avoided my other question

Gavlor · 12-08-2014 4:57pm

Your new nickname is sicknote.

Stop pussying around and do some proper running!

belcarra · 12-08-2014 5:01pm

Gavlor wrote: »

Your new nickname is sicknote.

As a proud Gooner I wouldn't take that abuse Johnny!

blockic · 12-08-2014 5:15pm

AuldManKing wrote: »

I see you avoided my other question

Haha, you'll have to come over to find out!

Gavlor wrote: »

Your new nickname is sicknote.

Stop pussying around and do some proper running!

Says the boyo here, I'd say I have done more miles that the entire group of 3:40 pacers combined the last couple months!!

Like your native county, you remind me of Sergio Garcia. When the going gets tough (more than sub 3), they get all excited, panic and bottle it...or just don't show up at all...or in your case just don't do any training!

Gavlor · 12-08-2014 5:47pm

blockic wrote: »

Haha, you'll have to come over to find out!

Says the boyo here, I'd say I have done more miles that the entire group of 3:40 pacers combined the last couple months!!

Like your native county, you remind me of Sergio Garcia. When the going gets tough (more than sub 3), they get all excited, panic and bottle it...or just don't show up at all...or in your case just don't do any training!

I'll have you know that i ran 4 miles today....... granted its my first time running since june 16th :eek:

However I have almost 2000km done on the bike over that period. So I reckon I'll be fine!!

Remind me one last time which one of us dropped out of a marathon??????

EDIT: Are you hitting on AMK??!!! You do realise he's a married, straight (I think), possibly jewish man?

menoscemo · 12-08-2014 8:26pm

blockic wrote: »

Says the boyo here, I'd say I have done more miles that the entire group of 3:40 pacers combined the last couple months!!

Don't know about AMK but you have definitely done more than me and Gavlor combined. Before today I had done 10 miles in the last 3 weeks :rolleyes::eek:

Gavlor · 12-08-2014 8:52pm

menoscemo wrote: »

Don't know about AMK but you have definitely done more than me and Gavlor combined. Before today I had done 10 miles in the last 3 weeks :rolleyes::eek:

Yeah but your boxing or cycling or have climbed Everest or something? right?

Moving Forward Faster

Comments