I'll have a BQ please Bob

The_Boy_Wonder · 07-07-2012 10:54pm

Mon: 10.5 miles @ 8.41 (HR 146) Tough slog home from work including Knockmaroon
Tue: 9 miles back in to work @ 8.44 (HR 137) Down hill back to work so much easier run
Thurs: 9 miles. Garmin battery died after 7.6 miles @ 7.50 (HR 153) just before I started 10 x 100 yard repeats. Can't say I'm a fan of these and the easy parts between the strides were probably a bit long to have gotten the full benefit
Fri: 9 miles back into work @ 8.50 (HR 135)
Sat: 13.4 miles Avg pace 8.16 (HR 150)
The plan called for 13 miles with 8 @ PMP
5 miles LSR - Completed 5 @ 8.53 (HR 139)
And 8 miles @ PMP - If I'm gonna break 3.30 I need PMP to be somewhere in the region of 7.50 and 8.00 minute miles. The 8 miles were completed @ 7.45 (HR 158). One of the miles was a 7.20 after I had restarted having stopped at a railway crossing. Still not able to run by feel!!
Finished the last 0.4 to home in a nice slow warm down pace. Good enjoyable run, weather certainly helps.

Total for the week 50.9

The_Boy_Wonder · 15-07-2012 4:17pm

Mon: 9 miles @ 8.07 (HR 149)
Tue: 9 miles back in to work @ 8.50 (HR 134) Down hill back to work so much easier run
Wed: 9 miles @ 8.32 (HR 144). This was supposed to to include 4 @ 10 miles per hour, but I wasn't feeling up to it. Really need to HTFU for these but on your tod on the way home from work its hard to find the drive sometimes.
Fri: 9 miles back into work @ 8.46 (HR 136)
Sat: 14.2 miles Avg pace 8.58 (HR 140) LSR down home in KK. HR seems a little high for the pace. Had played a round of golf earlier in the day so may be it was just the tiredness in the legs making the pace more of an effort

50 miles for the week

The_Boy_Wonder · 22-07-2012 1:30pm

Mon: 8 miles @ 7.34 (Avg HR of 154). I missed one of the tougher sessions last week, so decided to catchup on it. 8 miles including 4 @ 10 mile pace. First four miles were at 7.54, and then the second four miles @ 7.04.
Tue: 9 miles @ 8.17 (Avg HR 147) Jog home from work so an uphill route
Wed: 9 miles @ 8.49 (Avg HR 137) Recovery jog downhill back into work
Fri: 14 miles @ 8.32 (Avg HR 145) Swapped my LSR to Fri, and did it at a pace that is at the lower range of my LSR pace. jogged from home, in as far as Halfway house, cut across the park, back along Chapelizod Rd, up Knockmarroon, and home via Castlekmock and Blanch villages.
Sat: 5.2 miles @ 9.28 (Avg HR 128) Proprer recovery paced run with the race on Sunday

Sunday: Race Series Fingal 10k - 41.52

PB at 10k is from 10k in K Club at the end of April at 42.57. My 5 mile time was giving 42.30 on McMillan's calc, so the aim was to give 42 mins a real go. Wasn't massively confident as it's a marathon programme I'm following with little speed work done so far. Target pace therefore was 6.45 per mile.
The route was unfamiliar to me as it wasn't in the park, but I was aware of what had been described as a 'drag' from 6-8km. And pretty much back down hill for the 9th KM.
Not much to report from the first three miles. Went through in 6.38, 6.39 and 6.41. Was hoping I wasn't going to pay for being a little ahead of schedule but with the 'drag' likely to cost me time, I wasn't overly worried.
Next mile was tougher with the start of the drag which in 10k terms is definitely a hill. Went through that mile in 6.55. Next mile was just tough. Simple as that. I didn't look at the watch once in this mile cos I knew I was just working so hard and I certainly wasn't losing ground on anyone around me. I didn't notice the mile beep on the watch, but the mile was 7.20. I did look at the watch as I passed the 8k marker and pretty much thought 42 mins was gone (but my maths at that stage might have been pants). Down the hill, pushing as much as I could, passed the 9k marker and thought I'd do well to get 42.30. There was a short steep downhill, turn and short steep uphill and turn and on to the main street. 4/500 metres to go. I really hadn't much left, but just kept pushing. Don't think I went past anyone in the last km, but only a handful went passed me. I got a shock about 50 metres to go, when the race clock was showing 41.55/6/7/8. Thought something was surely wrong, but it just seems the 9km marker was out by quite a bit. So I was pretty happy and pleasatly surprised to see my own watch stopped at 41.52 (same as chip). 6th mile was a 6.38, and the 0.2 mile was at 5.55 pace. (Average HR was 173, and peak at 186 on the sharp rise back on to the Main St.) Bumped in to a few familiar boards faces at the end.
A good day at the office, so fingers crossed I can keep things going like this right through to the end of Oct.

Usual efficeint organisation for the race series despite the different venue. Tough enough course

Total for the week 52 miles plus one PB

The_Boy_Wonder · 28-07-2012 5:20pm

Bad week this week. Mon to Thursday = nothing. Just bugger all motivation and then guilt for missing sessions!
Anyhoo, I decided on Fri morning enough was enough, and if I could get out of work on time, I'd head across to Donadea for the 5k and give 20 min barrier ago.

Donadea 5k: 20.06
My PB is from sometime in May at 20.42, but my 10k time from last week popped into McMillan, and it was saying 20.09, so I reckoned I'd give the sub 20 a good shot.
I started too far back in the field. My own fault just got caught out with the smaller field and should have known better. So the first mile there was a lot of weaving a lot more frantic than it should have been. Still first km was 4.01. Not too bad. Second km I was still overtaking a few but obviously not as many as things pread ouy, and I went through that in 3.55. Third km was tough with the rise up in this km. I think I lost concentration too, as pace for that km was 4.10. I don't think it was that tough a km. I didn't panic, I was only 6 seconds off and it was still doable. Next km terrain was up and down (mostly down), and went through that in 4.00, so still six seconds off. Last km I was working as hard as I could. Breathing was very laboured, but kept going, but alas final km was also 4.00, so finished 6 seconds over target.
Not too disappointed. I gave it a good effort. I'm not far away. And it was a 30+second PB which is decent over that distance. Maybe with a less frantic first km, and a tarmac surface I might get closer. I'll give it a go later in the year again, maybe Rathfarnham if it fits in around marathon plan.
I didn't have the HR monitor so not sure what max I hit, but I've not known breathing to be that all over the shop!

Sat - 16 miles @ 8.01 (HR 152)
Plan said 16 miles with 10 at PMP. First 6 miles completed @ 8.26 (HR 142). Then upped the pace and the 10 miles were completed in an average of 7.45 (HR 160).
This was a tough enough session and I was under pressure keeping the PMP for the last few miles, but I kept at it seeing as I had such a lazy week.

jcsmum · 28-07-2012 6:59pm

Great 5k PB and Lsr today!

The_Boy_Wonder · 29-07-2012 3:23pm

Sun: 6.5 miles recovery @ 9.33 (HR 138)... very achey. Felt like such an old man, and regretted not sitting in a cold bath after yesterday's LSR. Still went through a longer stretching routine after the run today so feel much better

total for week 27.5

The_Boy_Wonder · 05-08-2012 7:44pm

Mon: 9 miles @ 9.09 (HR 140) Hamstring was not in the best of shape and probably shouldn't have been running, so didn't follow the session in the plan and just ran very comfortably home from work. Good stretch afterwards
Tue: 9 miles @ 8.43 (HR 141) Hamstring was deifintely better and running downhill made things a bit easier
Wed: 9 miles @ 8.28 (Hr 146) Didn't get out of work til 9, so I was doing well to even get this run in and pace was better than earlier in week, if not quite as quick as it should have been
Sat: 18.5 miles @ 8.51(HR 142) jogged from home down to the park (6 miles), then met jcsmum and digijem for another 6 or so which flew by with the chat, and then jogged back home again. Went pretty well, and was strong towards the finish which was much better than prior week. I think the easy sessions during the week meant the body wasn't too tired going in
Sun: 6 miles @ 9.00

Total for the week 51.5

Edit... went through the 1000 mile mark during the LSR too!

jcsmum · 05-08-2012 9:05pm

The_Boy_Wonder wrote: »

Mon: 9 miles @ 9.09 (HR 140) Hamstring was not in the best of shape and probably shouldn't have been running, so didn't follow the session in the plan and just ran very comfortably home from work. Good stretch afterwards
Tue: 9 miles @ 8.43 (HR 141) Hamstring was deifintely better and running downhill made things a bit easier
Wed: 9 miles @ 8.28 (Hr 146) Didn't get out of work til 9, so I was doing well to even get this run in and pace was better than earlier in week, if not quite as quick as it should have been
Sat: 18.5 miles @ 8.51(HR 142) jogged from home down to the park (6 miles), then met jcsmum and digijem for another 6 or so which flew by with the chat, and then jogged back home again. Went pretty well, and was strong towards the finish which was much better than prior week. I think the easy sessions during the week meant the body wasn't too tired going in
Sun: 6 miles @ 9.00

Total for the week 51.5

Edit... went through the 1000 mile mark during the LSR too!

Congrats on the 1000 miles. Pity we didn't know, we could have stopped for coffee and cake...I could have done with the break!

The_Boy_Wonder · 07-08-2012 8:16pm

jcsmum wrote: »

Congrats on the 1000 miles. Pity we didn't know, we could have stopped for coffee and cake...I could have done with the break!

Sounds like a better reward than the bottle of lucozade and strange looks I got in the petrol station on the run route home!

The_Boy_Wonder · 07-08-2012 8:24pm

Mon: 9 miles @ 7.42 (HR averaged 151) First 3 miles @ 8.13, next three at MP and averaged 7.44, and then three more that were supposed to be at HMP, and I completed them @ 7.10. Hardest session I've done in a while but I suppose thats more down to me not putting huge effort into previous midweek runs

Tue: 9 recovery miles @ 9.00 - HR 130

Gavlor · 07-08-2012 8:58pm

Thanks for one of the best written logs on the forum. It's phenomenal mileage you're doing. I wish I had the time! What is your target for dcm?

The_Boy_Wonder · 11-08-2012 5:21pm

Gavlor wrote: »

Thanks for one of the best written logs on the forum. It's phenomenal mileage you're doing. I wish I had the time! What is your target for dcm?

Thanks. Plan is to give 3.30 a good shot. I have eight and a half minutes to improve so hopefully the training miles will pay off

The_Boy_Wonder · 11-08-2012 5:31pm

Wed: 12 miles @ 7.59 (HR 149) Longer trip home from work that included Knockmaroon. Tried to keep pace a little stronger than previous weeks midweek runs

Thurs: 9 recovery miles @ 8.51 (HR 135)

Sat: 20.5 miles @ 8.56 (HR 142) Was awake with the birds so headed down to the park early. Did 6 on my own, then another 6 with Aimman, and then we were joined by macinalli for the next six. Good to have the company and chat but can't say this was easy! Not sure if it was the weather or the harder runs during the week. I went back out for the last two myself and tried to push the pace a bit harder but wasn't happening! Still first 20 miler of the plan done.

average_runner · 12-08-2012 9:34am

The_Boy_Wonder wrote: »

Wed: 12 miles @ 7.59 (HR 149) Longer trip home from work that included Knockmaroon. Tried to keep pace a little stronger than previous weeks midweek runs

Thurs: 9 recovery miles @ 8.51 (HR 135)

Sat: 20.5 miles @ 8.56 (HR 142) Was awake with the birds so headed down to the park early. Did 6 on my own, then another 6 with Aimman, and then we were joined by macinalli for the next six. Good to have the company and chat but can't say this was easy! Not sure if it was the weather or the harder runs during the week. I went back out for the last two myself and tried to push the pace a bit harder but wasn't happening! Still first 20 miler of the plan done.

If any of ye guys interested in running lsr in Lucan on a early sat morning let us know. Have s 2 year old and pregnant wife so early is good.

The_Boy_Wonder · 12-08-2012 4:20pm

average_runner wrote: »

If any of ye guys interested in running lsr in Lucan on a early sat morning let us know. Have s 2 year old and pregnant wife so early is good.

Most of the time I'm not the greatest for early on a Sat, but if I know I need to get the run done early I'll be sure to let you know. It's a great feeling to have 20 miles done by 11am!

The_Boy_Wonder · 12-08-2012 4:39pm

Sun: 5 miles @9.12 HR 131

total for the week 64.5... First time over 60 miles in a week (probably never to be repeated!!)

The_Boy_Wonder · 19-08-2012 11:48am

Mon: 10.5 miles @ 7.40 (HR 158) Plan had 10 miles incl 6 at LT (10 mile race pace). I was on a day off so went to the park. Car thermometer was saying 24/25 degrees. I did the 4 or so miles warm up miles @ 7.50 pace. And the started the LT miles. Didn't find any of these easy and in the end only managed four of them. HR was showing the pace was tough with the heat not helping. Four miles went 6.55, 7.17, 7.07, 7.12. Took the two miles back to the car nice and easy and drank about two litres of water before I got going
Tue: 12 miles @ 7.56 (HR 149) Home from work with Knockmaroon thrown in to wake me up if nothing else!
Wed: 9 miles recovery back to work @ 9.05 (HR 132)
Thurs: 9 miles home again @ 8.23 (142) It happened and that's about it!
Fri: Rest
Sat: With a bit of doubt around whether the park was going to be accessible with the motor races, I decided to do do something different and something I've been meaning to do for ages. So I took myself off to Glendalough to do my LSR. I'd never been down there so wasn't sure what lay in store other than knowing it would have plenty of hills. So I started off and the first 8 miles had a climb and descent of 1700ft. that excluded one section which was pretty much a stairs (just stopped the watch and walked this). Pace wasn't good either going up the climb or coming down. One up hill mile was a 14 minute mile with a HR hitting 170. Then first down hill section was on a boardwalk and this was slow as when you came upon someone I either had to step into the marshy bog, or wait til either I or the other person could stand on to the log joins (10.23 pace mile). Then the next downnhill section was hopping in, on and around rocks and stones (12.40 pace mile). Got back to a nice paved flat section then for the next three miles. Back to the car for a drink and then off up another hill but not as bad this time, with one mile climbing 400ft, then back to the flat section again from there and back to the car, and finished off with one lap of the car park (it'd be rude not to!!)
Overall a tough run, but incredible views down there and lucky the weather was pretty nice for it too.
18 miles @ 9.32 (Avg HR 146)
Sun: 6.6 recovery miles @ 9.18 (HR 132)

Total for the week 65 miles

macinalli · 19-08-2012 1:49pm

That's great work TBW - takes a brave man to pick Glendalough as the venue for an 18 mile LSR!

The_Boy_Wonder · 19-08-2012 9:19pm

macinalli wrote: »

That's great work TBW - takes a brave man to pick Glendalough as the venue for an 18 mile LSR!

Lets put it this way it's wasnt the wisest decision ive ever made!

hot to trot · 20-08-2012 9:53am

Hills are speedwork in disguise. You will benefit greatly from this run. But why turn off the watch ? You time the length of time it takes to cover from A to B, just cause you have sections slower than you like , it still counts.:)

The_Boy_Wonder · 23-08-2012 10:58am

Legs were not in good shape after the LSR in Glendalough. DOMS were pretty bad on Monday and not much better on Tuesday. Can’t remember being these weary and achey since marathon in March.

Mon: 9 mile slog @ 8.45 (HR 136). For about 6 miles the pace was definitely over 9.00 miles, but a monsoon like rain shower for 15 minutes made me quicken up the pace to try and get home and in out of it.
Tue: Another 9 mile slog back into work @ 8.40 (HR 135)
Wed: 9 miles @ 7.38 (HR 152) Legs were coming back around. Plan had 9 with 6 @ LT/10 mile race pace. First three miles @ 8.20 and then six at approx 7.20. That’s not quite 10 mile race pace, but it was a decent effort. I’m not going to give myself too much of a hard time over it.

Frank Duffy 10 mile Sat, so going to have a rest day today and tomorrow, and then give 70 minutes a crack on Saturday, and this week's LSR will be Sunday (with less hills than last week!)

The_Boy_Wonder · 26-08-2012 4:27pm

Sat: Frank Duffy 10 mile 68:51
Last year I completed this in just outside 80 minutes at that was a good day at the office for where I was. I'd hoped to go under 70 in it this year, so the idea was to keep the pace under 7 minute mile the whole way around. I managed to do that through the first 8 miles without ever feeling under pressure or uncomfortable. I was a minute up on where I wanted to be after 8 miles, so two more 7 minute miles and I'd be under 69 mins. At this stage I was still climbing up the upper glen and by the time I'd reached the crest of the hill average pace was 7.42, so I got busy on working a bit harder. Finished mile 9 in 7.07, so I didn't have a huge amount to make up on the flat mile 10 to get the 69. Only the effort at a sprint finish in an effort to over take one guy (who'd been 30/40 yards ahead of me for the last three miles) did I feel that I was over extending myself. HR averged 162, and the sprint at the end produced 181 for a max.
So far so good with this DCM plan.

I popped the time into McMillan to see what equivalent prediction time it's giving. 3.13. I'm fairy certain if I tried to acheive that, I'd be a mess by mile 20 (if not before) but I will up the intensity of the harder sessions and maybe 3.20 can be the stretch target. It also indicates my long runs should be a little quicker than I have been doing.

Sun: 20 miles @ 8.14 (HR 143). Solo slog in the heat of the day. Not much to report other than sort of getting lost somewhere around Finglas/Glasnevin, and foolishly going 13 miles without a drink

57 miles for the week

The_Boy_Wonder · 03-09-2012 1:07pm

This was a step back week in the plan. I did miss some sessions during the week with work etc, but made up for it on the weekend

Tue: 9 miles @ 7.58 (No HR as I tracked this one on runkeeper on phone)

Wed: 9 miles @ 8.24 Back in to work. HR 143

Sat: Dingle marathon 4.05. (HR 146 Avg pace 9.17)
A number of weeks back I had hoped to do this marathon as a training run, but couldn’t find accommodation so gave up on it. But as it happened I got a call-up to pace the half during the week so I decided then to run the rest of the full once pacing duties were done.
First half: This was my debut in pacing and I had dizzymom with me for the trip and we were pacing the 2.15 group. This equals 10.15ish pace and is something I wouldn’t do too many miles at in the recent past. Dizzymom had the good sense to run some miles during the week at this pace to help with the job. The half marathon course doesn’t have the monster climb, but plenty of ups and downs and we were pretty much within a few seconds of where we needed to be for most of the trip. The 13th mile was down hill and we made up a few seconds here and we were encouraging anyone around us to push on here, and the last 0.1 was spent running backwards/sideways trying to get the last few to sprint out to the finish. I think we finished with 3 or 4 seconds to spare. I did enjoy it, even if I did spend quite some time checking the watch and having to be reigned in once or twice by my pace buddy!
Second half: The idea for the second half was to try and do 13 PMP miles or 8.00 miles. I had lost about 90 seconds finishing the half, getting through the chute, and back up to the full route. First mile back out of Dunquin had an incline and a toilet stop, so that was a 9.00 mile, but fired out 8.00 miles or just under for the next 6/7. I munched a Kellogs elevenses bar around mile 15, and half a banana around mile 21, but other than that I was fuelling myself on just water. I had passed Belcarra and Aimman on their pacing duties through these miles. Then I came to the bottom of the hill at about 21.5 miles. Aimman had given me the heads up it was steep at the bottom, but I was still a bit surprised and my pace just died. Dropped into a walk for a little but turned a corner and saw the climb evened out a bit, so got jogging again, got near the top and was down to walking again at a water stop, and the volunteers lifted me when they said this was the top. Put the boot down on the downhill on the other side and kept the pace under the 8.00 mile from there to the finish.
Kind of a weird experience for me in marathon finishing that strong! So all in all 1.50 for the second half. For a 4.05 total and my second best marathon time! Rewarded myself with a couple of the complimentary hot dogs!

It’s a lovely marathon and there’s a great buzz around the town so I’d definitely recommend it. It’s not a PB course but one to experience and the weather played ball for the most part for us. Serious respect to the ultras as well as 50 miles on any terrain couldn’t be easy, but throw in the Conor pass and all the other undulations and it makes tougher again.

44 miles for the week

Aimman · 04-09-2012 11:32am

Fair play for following through at the halfway point and turning it into a long training run. You were in good shape passing by at the 21M mark.

The_Boy_Wonder · 04-09-2012 8:31pm

Aimman wrote: »

Fair play for following through at the halfway point and turning it into a long training run. You were in good shape passing by at the 21M mark.

Half a mile up the road I was breathing like an elephant in labour though!

The_Boy_Wonder · 08-09-2012 3:53pm

Monday: 12 miles @ 7.49 (HR 154) - My default mode is to be a lazy runner and plod somewhere between 8.30 and 9.00 minute miles. I was happy I put a bit of effort in. This run included a trip up Knockmaroon

Tuesday: Early morning 9 miles back into work @ 8.55 (HR 134)

Wednesday: 11 miles @ 7.35 (HR 156) - The plan had 11 miles with 7 at LT. So 2 warm up miles were followed with miles as follows, 6.57, 6.58, 7.08, 6.59, 6.57, 7.05, 7.04 and then 2 easy miles. Tough enough session but happy to have it done.

Thursday: Another early morning 9 miles. Pace 8.50 and HR 134.

Friday: Happy enough to have a rest day. I lost a toenail in Dingle, so it was a bit uncomfortable with the runs this week, resulting in me obviously chnaging something with how I run as I picked up some nice blisters on toes.

Saturday: 20.7 miles @ 7.52 (HR 153). Decided to push the pace on the LSR this week to see how it went. Wasn't feeling the love for loops in the park so headed off on the same route I did a few weeks back with one or two detours. It was a bit on the warm side and not for the first time running up the Upper Glen Rd knocked the sh!t out of me along the way, but kept the pace going. I was happy enough to get home in the end. If I was able to hold the average pace from today for the full 26.2 it would bring me to a 3.26 marathon.
Encouragingly the HR is about 10 beats under the HR rate I averaged in Barcelona, so I might have a few more seconds per mile to improve on this run

beeduybe · 08-09-2012 4:00pm

Some really impressive training the last few weeks. You're well on track for DCM.

The_Boy_Wonder · 08-09-2012 9:59pm

beeduybe wrote: »

Some really impressive training the last few weeks. You're well on track for DCM.

Cheers. Been trying to put the extra pace in, rather than just going through the motions.
Your own log is showing you're in good shape for DCM too

Now to stay injury free and in good health for the next few weeks and we'll be sorted!

jcsmum · 10-09-2012 10:04am

No mention of any ice cream I see... tut tut!

The_Boy_Wonder · 10-09-2012 1:29pm

jcsmum wrote: »

No mention of any ice cream I see... tut tut!

I could spout some nonsense about cleaning living, but it was just a case of being too busy boozing!

In an effort to appease your disappoinment I should let you know I have indulged in some post-LSR McFlurry wispa gold's and McFlurry galaxy caramels over the past couple of months. Not quite Muprhy's but will that do?

The_Boy_Wonder · 13-09-2012 9:06pm

Mon: 9 miles @ 8.10 (HR 139) Worst run in a good while. Heavy legs, creaky hips, crampy stomach. Got caught out by change in the weather so was standing around in short sleeves in the cold & rain for 5 mins waiting for Garmin to pick up a satellite connection. Not a whole lot of fun from start to finish. Still got it done.

Tue 9 miles back into work @ 8.14 pace. Much better than Monday. Pace was a bit quicker than most AM runs as I hadn't been killed by the pace from previous day.

Wed: 9 miles @ 7.48 (fogot the HR monitor). P&D plan said this was to include 5 x 800m @ 5k pace. So did 3 miles waarm up and then started the intervals. These are never easy but I managed to get through them at the relevant 6.30ish pace. Splits were 3.20, 3.13, 3,18, 3.18, 3.16. The easy piece in between was roughly .3 of a mile, which in hindsight was a little long. Two easy miles after the intervals. I see from the next few weeks, the intervals are regular sessions.

Rest on Thursday and Friday before the half in the park on Saturday

menoscemo · 13-09-2012 9:09pm

The_Boy_Wonder wrote: »

Rest on Thursday and Friday before the half in the park on Saturday

What's the target? I reckon you could get close to 1:30.

Are you coming to Ryans after?

The_Boy_Wonder · 13-09-2012 9:16pm

menoscemo wrote: »

What's the target? I reckon you could get close to 1:30.

Are you coming to Ryans after?

I'll introduce myself to the 1.30 pacers and see how long I can stay with them! I'm confident I should still be with them after 10 miles and then after that god knows with Military Rd and the Upr Glen in the last few miles. Will give it a shot.

Unfortunately won't be able to Ryans this time

Best of luck with the pacing

belcarra · 14-09-2012 9:28am

The_Boy_Wonder wrote: »

I'll introduce myself to the 1.30 pacers and see how long I can stay with them! I'm confident I should still be with them after 10 miles and then after that god knows with Military Rd and the Upr Glen in the last few miles. Will give it a shot.

Best of Luck tomorrow Stephen!
If you can hit 1:30 that would be a great time!
Although I hope the 1:30 pacers are better than the 2:15'ers in Dingle!!

jcsmum · 14-09-2012 10:46am

The_Boy_Wonder wrote: »

I'll introduce myself to the 1.30 pacers and see how long I can stay with them! I'm confident I should still be with them after 10 miles and then after that god knows with Military Rd and the Upr Glen in the last few miles. Will give it a shot.

Unfortunately won't be able to Ryans this time

Best of luck with the pacing

Best of luck tomorrow. I'm considering hanging on to the 1:40 pacers for a bit.

The_Boy_Wonder · 14-09-2012 1:31pm

jcsmum wrote: »

Best of luck tomorrow. I'm considering hanging on to the 1:40 pacers for a bit.

For about a mile, before you speed off down the road ahead of them!

Good luck to you too, will keep an eye out for the fancy new singlet or will you be hollering "step aside, club runner coming through!!":D

The_Boy_Wonder · 14-09-2012 1:33pm

belcarra wrote: »

Best of Luck tomorrow Stephen!
If you can hit 1:30 that would be a great time!
Although I hope the 1:30 pacers are better than the 2:15'ers in Dingle!!

Yeah 1.30 will be a stretch. Will be happy with 1.32 or under.
A bit harsh on one half of the Dingle 2.15 pacers!! I was glad someone knew what they were doing:)

jcsmum · 14-09-2012 1:46pm

The_Boy_Wonder wrote: »

For about a mile, before you speed off down the road ahead of them!

Good luck to you too, will keep an eye out for the fancy new singlet or will you be hollering "step aside, club runner coming through!!":D

Me? Never :cool:;)

Aimman · 14-09-2012 1:50pm

Best of luck for tomorrow. Enjoy

The_Boy_Wonder · 16-09-2012 3:42pm

Sat: Race Series Half Marathon 1.29.39
Last race before DCM. Decided I'd line up with the pacers and give it a go. As the first 10 weren't overly testing and my 69 minutes for the 10 miler three weeks back, I was confident I could stay with them until 10, and then see how things unfolded up the last testing three miles. That said I'd have been very happy to go under 1.32 as a more realistic target.
Things were a bit congested with the crowd around the 1.30 pacers, so pushed on a bit down the Kyber (without getting ahead of the pace) kept ahead of the pacers until mile 3 and I thought we were a little behind schedule but nothing to panic about. Water stop at mile 3 was a bit of a disaster for me. Everyone usually goes for the first table, so I passed the first two tables but couldn't get a cross traffic to the tables and ended up just knocking the water out of the young lads hand in attempt to stretch across. Was annoyed at the time, but it was a lesson learned for the next one. I think the pacers pushed a little through mile 5 (fastest on my garmin). My HR had been a bit high through the first few miles (same pace as 10 miler, but HR 10 beats up), but hoped it would settle down miles 5 to 10 as the elevation was easier. Got myself ready for the water stop at mile 7 as I was taking a gel. There was about a 70/80 meter gap between pacer 1 and pacer 2 with clusters of runners around both, so got myself in the gap between them and got the gel in just before the water stop. Wasn't making any mistakes and went straight for first table. I did stop dead there with other runners but managed to get a cup and got most of it into me! Not much to report over the next few miles other than feeling a bit claustraphobic down the footpath as the pacers had closed to ten yards apart and we were all one group, so I'm sure it was quite packed for the other bigger pace groups.
Once we had ten miles done and I knew the race really was beginning here. Tried to get more water on board at the last water stop but was focused on the fact we were running uphill already, and I was behind the pacers. I didn't think Military hill was going to be quite that tough as it didn't take as much out of me as Upr Glen during the ten miler. So by the time I got to the top I was 20 yards behind pacers. I knew I'd catchup through the S bends and the drop down towards the hospital, but was worried then about the Upper Glen Rd drag up ahead. Caught the pacers again, but half way up the Upper Glen I was going backwards, 10/20/30/40 yards. So really was just working as hard as I could and try and not let the gap get any bigger. Anyway, got to the top and the next job was to try and close the gap, again. My HR was up at 5k pace now, so I just kept pushing and I was getting closer once we got on to Furze Rd. Pacers easing off and the cheering crowd helped and I managed to get across the line just under in 1.29.39. I was delighted the line came just in time as the tank was empty.

I really don't think I'd have squeezed under 1.30 without the pacers as I'd never have paced myself that perfectly nor would I caught them without them being a visible target up ahead in the last half mile.

HR averaged 168.
So 7 and a half minutes off my PB from Bohermeen in March and all in all a very good day at the office.

Sun 17 miles @ 8.50 (HR 138) Met up with Vagga and Grizzly for an LSR. First couple of miles were fine, but legs were becoming increasingly heavy as the miles passed. Still got the job done

DigiJem · 16-09-2012 7:47pm

That’s some improvement since March, super running.

jcsmum · 17-09-2012 10:46am

Wow S, that is some PB!!!! And to knock out a 17 mile LSR the following day!!!! Super stuff!

Aimman · 17-09-2012 12:14pm

Well done on the PB, fair play to ya.

hot to trot · 17-09-2012 2:03pm

Brill running all weekend. Well done

beeduybe · 18-09-2012 5:56pm

A great weekend of running. Well done.

The_Boy_Wonder · 22-09-2012 3:23pm

Mon: Rest after last weekends efforts

Tue: 12 miles @ 7.45 (HR 151)

Wed: 9 miles easy back into work @ 8.48 (HR 129)

Thurs: 9 miles @ 7.54 (HR 149). This run included 5 x 0.6 mile intervals (plan was 1000km, but I'm a miles man and 0.6 miles was a lot easier to keep track of. Normally I dread these interval sessions but wasn't too preoccupied about it until I was two miles into the warm up. And after that I didn't really enjoy the run. Intervals had paces of 6.34, 6.30, 6.25, 6.31 & 6.40. Got a stitch in the middle of interval 2 and hamstrings were none too happy during interval 5. Warm up, recovery sections and warm down were all pretty slow.

Fri: 5 miles early miles. Pace 8.53

Sat: 21 miles @ 7.42 (HR 148)
Down home in KK. I knew friends were out for a 20 miler at 7am, but didn't make it out of bed in time so it was a solo run. I had read an article on McMillan about fast finishing LSR's, and I think I read Meno or CL doing something similar, so I said I'd mix up the LSR and give this a go.
11 miles @ 7.56 (HR 144)
6 miles @ 7.30 (HR 152)
1 easy mile @ 8.11
3 miles @ 7.04 (HR 163)
Tough enough run. Legs felt okay at the end and definitely had more miles in them, but not sure what pace they'd have taken me. Not HMP anyway.

The_Boy_Wonder · 01-10-2012 11:50am

Sunday: 4.3 miles @ 9.11 pace. An attempt to loosen the legs after LSR the previous day. Bit of a slog.

60 miles for the week

Monday: 9 miles @ 8.27 (HR 141) Pretty late getting out of work, so shortened the planned 12 to 9
Tuesday: 9 miles back in to work @ 8.45 pace
Wednesday: 9 miles @ 8.38 this should have included 5 x 1000m, but legs were just shockingly dead. No life in them at all. Think it was just the toll of heavy miles and tough LSR on the Sat.
Thursday: 9 miles back in to work. It's downhill and with the wind and pace was much better @ 8.14 (HR 138). I think the first 2/3 miles were a bit like Wednesday, but things improved after that.
Friday: 20.5 miles @ 8.11 (HR 141) Off to Liverpool for the weekend, so moved the LSR forward to Fri morning. Legs still feeling heavy and just tried to keep the pace between 8.00 and 8.20. Decided to sit in a cold bath after to try and help with recovery. Great fun altogether!
Saturday: No garmin with me in Liverpool and runkeeper wouldn't launch, so just ran comfortably for about 40 mins, prob about 4.5 miles
Sunday Running streak of 12 days ended with an AI Final rest day!

61 miles in the week. Not the greatest quality in the runs the week, but hopefully the volume will still stand to me

The_Boy_Wonder · 07-10-2012 1:46pm

Mon: Rest

Tue: 12 miles @ 7.48 (HR 154) Not much to report other than trying to keep pushing the pace in the run as previous week hadn't been great in terms of quality of runs

Wed: 9 miles into work @ 8.23 (132) Pace probably a little to quick for proper recovery run

Thurs: 9 miles @ 7.50 (HR 154) This run included 5 x 1000m intervals off 2 minute recoveries. I got a new garmin on Monday and this was the first opportunity to try out this feature not on my old one. Interval pace for the five was 6.32, 6.33, 6.21, 6.38 & 6.39. Pace probably not at 5k pace but when you're doing these on your own its hard to keep pushing right out to the end of the interval. Tbh in the middle of the fourth interval I wasn't going to bother with the fifth, but toughened up enough to start it and was fine then really

Fri: 9 miles back into work 8.40 (HR 133)

Sat: 21 miles @ 7.48 (HR 152). With Berlin the previous week and Athlone 3/4 this weekend, there was no takers for a group run in or around my pace, so I was on a solo run. So with that I decided to do the previous weeks prescribed PMP miles per the P&D plan, which was 20 incl 12 at PMP. I didn't really plan the run out too well, but knew it was roughly 8 miles from home to parkgate street and same back via different routes, so I was covering a different route through parts of Dublin 15 to make up the extra four. First 8 miles were fine and went through them in an average pace of 8.04 and the HR averaged 143.
Started off the PMP, trying to get the pace under 7.30. Everything was going fine but not planning out the route meant I went almost 14 miles without any fluids (normally just bring money and pop into a shop). I actually went from mile 6ish through to mile 14 without passing a shop and in hindsight I should have taken the small detour into Chapelizod village. So after some sports drink and at 14 miles I was in parkgate street and I knew I was going to be going over 20 miles and the shortest route which meant the slow pull of Chesterfield Ave and the company of a head wind - fun times. It wasn't until about mile 16/17 that I knew I was struggling to hold the pace. I have been trying to do my LSRs off just water or some sports drink (ie no gels), but going 14 miles without anything meant I'd run the glycogen stores way too low. I got 19 miles done, and I just couldn't hack anymore PMP (11 done instead of 12). 11 miles @ 7.28 (HR 159). Looking back on the stats when I got home I can see HR was 169 for the last mile which is where I'd imagine will be over the final few miles in DCM, so I shouldn't really have been 'quittin' on the PMP. That said I hadn't felt that rough in a run since DCM 2011.
Last two miles averaged 8.22 pace which was suprising seeing as I was in a jock (would have expected much lower)

Not the performance I was hoping for from the last 20 miler. When I was finished my confidence had taken a real battering and thinking that 3.15 might just be a bridge too far this time around. Some more reasoned thinking since knows part of the poor performance was down to my hydration or lack thereof. Still the seed of doubt is festering. I'm pretty annoyed with myself not to getting the basics right.

Sun: 5.3 easy miles @ 8.46 pace

65 miles for the week. Weekly mileage will drop off now over the last three weeks to give the legs time to recover for DCM

belcarra · 07-10-2012 10:56pm

TBW - Take the learning about nutrition and move on from this run.
You know you've done far better sessions/lsrs @ PMP so the only difference was the lack of energy this weekend.
As long as you fuel well for DCM that shouldn't be an issue.

I'd stick with whatever the plan was before this weekend so if that was 3:15 go for it!

jcsmum · 08-10-2012 11:21am

Sorry to hear Saturday's LSR didn't go to plan. Don't let it knock your confidence, by the looks of your log it's probably been the only blip in your DCM training.

I'll have a BQ please Bob

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