Things will come to those who wait...

Monday: 4 miles easy

Hadn't intended on running today but got a chance and got 4 easy miles in.

Tuesday: AM 8 miles, PM 3 miles

Double day, glorious run in the morning on grass which was still frozen from the night before. Was feeling good and kept the pace around the 7 minute mile mark I think. 3 more very easy miles in the evening.

Wednesday: 46 mins easy

Jogged over to my parents house, kept this one a little shorter due to race.

Today: Emyvale 10k

Position: 7th
Time: 36:57

Up in Monaghan for the New Year and the plan was to hit the now traditional 10k race in Emyvale. Was not encouraged when I was woken by the howling wind and rain battering the window and considered staying in bed but the brother was driving up to meet me so dragged myself out. The trees were bending sideways with the wind on the drive over and I briefly considered the 6k but this might be the only 10k I run all year so stuck with the original plan. Got signed up and did a warm up out on the first mile of the course, realised we would have the wind directly in our faces for the first 3k but maybe some shelter then after that.
After a long wait on the startline in the freezing wind and rain we were off. The race starts with a downhill and people flew off, I held back but must have been in 50th place at this stage. Gradually picked people off and hit the 1st k in 3.38 which was about right. My plan was to run nice and easily for the first 3k and not flog myself, which I did but this meant a lot of the faster groups got away from me and I ran the whole race on my own. Was under a little pressure at 3k but as soon as we turned off I felt much better. Chased down a few lads who I thought I could tuck in with but they were suffering and I had to push on again on my own. Got the 5k in 18.30 exactly and was feeling pretty good, apart from a minor stitch.
The course up to this point is best described as "rolling". Lots of sharp climbs followed by steep downhills. Started to work a bit harder from 7k onwards and at 7.5k the real fun began, two long steep uphills, each about 200m each to really sap the legs. The first one wasn't too bad and I managed to pass a guy here, passed 8k in 29:42 Recovered a bit on the downhill but the next one killed me and I was really labouring as we came off the top of it. Wind was back in our faces now and when we passed the 9k mark I thought I was in trouble. Then we started passing people from the 6k race and I could hear the announcer at the finish so kept digging. This kilometer felt soooo long as I was really hurting, glanced at the watch with about 200m to see 36:16 so sprinted and just got under the 37 mark (36:57 officially).
Delighted with that, especially given the bad conditions and tough course. Think I could get under 36:30 on a better day but not too bothered and not sure if I'll do another 10k this year. Felt very strong the whole way through and nice to start the year with a PB.

Overall it's been a good year, after a slightly disappointing summer which kind of fizzled out I got a really good winter in and I'm feeling fitter and stronger now than ever. Hopefully it means good things for this years outdoor track season.

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Well done lad. PB's over 5 and 10k over the last few weeks, The strength is definitely there for the season to come.

Thanks NE, here's hoping it pays off this summer!

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 62 mins easy

Up to the grass for this one, which wasn't in the best condition and nearly had a couple of slips. Felt good though and was tipping long nicely by the end.

Wednesday

AM: 4 miles easy
PM: Session 3x(4x400m) in a 2 min cycle, 3 mins between sets

Splits: (79, 81, 78, 80), (76, 75, 76, 76), (76, 75, 75, 76)

Headed into the track tonight with no real idea what we were doing and the coach wasn't there, so made this one up on the spot. The plan was to do three sets of 4x400m @ 5k, 3k and finally mile pace (80's, 75s and 72s). Conditions are the track were not particularly pleasant with the wind proving to be the biggest nuisance. First set went fine and the pace felt nice and steady. Second set was a lot tougher, dropping from 5.20 a mile to 5 minutes flat and I was glad to have the four done. Decided here to just try and hit the same pace again rather than speed up as it was just too windy and I don't think I could have finished the session. Last set was tough but knowing we only had four to do made it easier and we managed to keep the pace the same as the second set. Tough session and looking back now, maybe a bit too intense for someone who is supposed to be in base phase. Still, nice get some running in @ close to mile pace, I think with the wind these were worth 73-74 on a calm day.

Had a massage today and between that and the session, the legs are a little tender. Couple of very easy days are now in order.

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 7 miles easy

Step-back week so cut my usual 8-9 mile run to 7 miles. Ran on road and felt a bit rough at the start, but picked up by the end. Very windy.

Wednesday

AM: 5.2 miles easy
PM: 6 miles w/session

10x200m off 200m jog, 4x400m off 45 secs rest

Wasn't sure that I was going to be able to get out to the track tonight, so headed out this afternoon for a short run before the weather got bad. Turns out I could go to the track then, which maybe wasn't that ideal as I only finished my first run at 3pm so maybe a little close. Conditions were horrendous, extremely windy with severe gusts. I wanted to keep the volume fairly low and do a slightly faster workout to get some speed back into the legs. Decided on 10x200m keeping to the side of the track that was a little more sheltered.
The plan was to run these at 1500m pace and apart from feeling a bit rusty on the first one or two it went pretty well. I hot mostly 35/36 seconds for each one finishing with a 33 and a 32. I definitely was holding back a little in this so hopefully that can be improved on. Took 200m jog recovery between these so not a lactic building session but a nice way to introduce a little speed back into the legs. The coach then called us over to jump in with him for a few 400's, the lads weren't too keen as we would have the full brunt of the wind but I jumped in for a few. These were very tough and I was done after three, but was convinced to do one more. Hit 74, 74, 76, 72 which was pretty good given the wind, Short recoveries with these reps (45 seconds) so a good workout.

So, 11 miles for the day (so much for a step back!) but the rest of the week will be handy. Will do a session of some sort on Saturday. A new plan is been put in place so looking forward to that. Turns out I might be able to run the Leinsters after all and I'm actually considering the 3,000m. I could run a 1500 at the National League and a 3k at Leinsters and see how they compare and then work on the weaknesses.

ECOLII wrote: »

Nice of you to pace coach through 1st session back

Solid work, looks like your indoor season similar enough to mine (although will be dropping down for Leinsters to 800)

Ha I wish man, he was cruising along and I was sucking air through a straw and fighting the urge to vomit!!

Yeah, hope I can make the Leinsters now, might be able to put together a relatively decent indoor season.

Monday: 4 miles v. easy

Knew I wouldn't get out for my double run on Wednesday so got a few extra miles in here instead, unfortunately a last minute call from work meant I had to cut it short.

Tuesday: 7.5 miles easy

Headed up to the grass for this, wore my Inov-8's which are great on the muck with lots of grip. Didn't feel great at the start but after about 3 miles things picked up and I was feeling great by the end. Really picked the pace up for the last 2 mile.

Wednesday: Session

3x(400m, 600m, 400m, 200m) @ 1500m pace

Recovery: 60 seconds between reps in first set, 80 in 2nd, 2 minutes in 3rd with 6 minutes between sets

Splits: (74, 1.53, 73, 36), (72, 1.51, 72, 35), (71, 1.50, 70, 32)

Very long stressful day in work, leaving me very tired heading out for this. Another problem was the smog around the track, it is stuck in the middle of a housing estate and can be a real problem when the weather is calm. The idea with this session was to touch on 1500m pace, but with the recovery increasing with each set it meant there was no big build of lactic, but it still left the legs nicely fatigued. First set was the toughest, took a while to get into it and was struggling to get up to target pace (72 seconds per 400m). Second one was better and the 6 minutes recovery was enough to give it a good lash. Got into it a bit more here and pulled away from my brother on a few of the reps. Third set the fatigue was kicking in but once you got the 600m over you, you could relax slightly. Finished with my fastest reps of the night. There was some lactic build up on the last 100m of the final 400m, but nothing too serious.

Nice to get a bit of pace into the legs and this felt pretty good and makes me feel a bit better about attempting a 1500m in ten days or so. Will talk to the coach to see what he says. Mileage is a bit low so far this week but hope to make it up by the end.

ECOLII wrote: »

Hell of a session there, 1st set along would have been a great session in itself but to do three definitely a baptism of fire with 1500 specific work, gonna have to watch my back next week :eek:

Ha tell me about it man, I thought it was a mis-type when I seen 3 sets! :eek: The recovery was generous though so it didn't seem like a real lactic curdling session but tiring all the same. Hopefully we can have a bit of a battle anyway (for the first 400m anyway!)

ECOLII wrote: »

Looks like there is one or two more boardsies who could be on the startline also, mind you I am on standby so there is a very small chance I won't be in the guest race if we are short (which shouldn't happen as there are probably about 4 lads who can run between 3.48-4.15 ahead of me that are should be available for call up

Ah cool, hope you don't get called up (no offence!), would be nice to have some company in the guest race. Worried about getting blown out of it completely.

Thursday: 55 mins recovery

Big standard recovery run on a very cold evening. Very slow as the legs were tired after the session

Friday: 9 miles total + circuits

Out for an easy run in the early afternoon, conditions were pretty rough, wet and windy. Did an hour in total. Headed into circuits then in the evening and did another 10 mins running to warm up. Had a bit of a sore knee so left out ant of the circuits that required a lot of bending/jumping.

Saturday: How not to run a session

Headed into the track again for another session today. Was slightly nervous as the coach hadn't told me what I was doing until I got out and I was expecting something rough. The plan was for the first real lactic building session: 600m timetrial, 10 mins rest, 400m as fast as possible. I was doing this on my own and the conditions weren't great. I found it really cold and the wind was strong on one side of the track. Did a long warm up, drills and strides and put the spikes on for the first time since July!! I had no idea what pace to run and at and boy, did I get it wrong. I was thinking somewhere around 1.35 would be OK?
Went off and started waaaaaay too hard, checked the watch after 200m and I hit 29, shit. A guy from the club jumped in here with me and I kept going, hit 400m in 60 flat. However the game was up here, the legs immediately tied up and no matter how hard I tried the legs would not respond and I started to feel like Bambi! I actually started laughing with about 100m to go as I'm sure I looked ridiculous flailing my way slowly down the home straight. Finished in 1.36, which was not a disaster but talk about a bad way to run it.

Stood around for 10 mins trying to recover before trying to go again, had a pacemaker this time. Overestimated how fast I thought I could do this rep, maybe 62? Asked for 31 at 200m which we hit but again the legs went heavy and the last 100m was a real struggle. It really is amazing how long 100m can feel when the lactic is flooding into your legs, finished in 64. The next 15 mins were not pretty as the lactic really started to build and I had to lie on the track to recover. Eventually got up and walked a lap to help flush it out, then jogged 10 mins. Extremely tough session and disappointed with my pacing, rookie mistake. Anyway coach said it wasn't a disaster and the fact that I hit 60 for the 400m is encouraging. I just could have done it in a less painful way. Will get out for a few miles later to flush the legs out, and then try to do a long run tomorrow.