[bart simpson]

Originally Posted by kaymin

Cheers - the times aren't too bad - it's more an issue of how I felt - I'm hoping to get to a stage where running 6 minute miles during these sessions is reasonably comfortable. I wasn't comfortable at that pace for the session yesterday. Realistically i need to be running 5:52/3 per mile in Ballycotton if I'm going to come in the top 100. I am hopeful though - I'm running faster in training than I've ever run before.


Saturday, 7 January 2012 - 11 mile LSR; Avg 7:35 min / mile; Avg HR 156, muddy trails / grass

LSR today....it was slow but it wasn't very long. Hamstring on my left leg felt tight and just got tighter as the miles passed. A 30 second stretch didn't do the job so I decided to cut the run short rather than risk an injury. Probably not the wisest decision to do a LSR after a hard session anyway but I'm keen to get the mileage up a bit. I'm unlikely to run tomorrow so that's 39 miles for the week - consistent with the last 3 weeks.

your training is going great, and the easy taper week before ballycotton will make the effort of 5:52/3 a lot easier, the t-shirt makes the challange a bit harder, im just going for sub 60.....il be really jealous if you get one

[kaymin]

Sunday, 8 January - slow 12km kayak

Monday, 9 January - 10.2 miles incl 6 mile tempo at RP + (10 - 20 secs); Avg 6:38 min/mile; Avg HR 169

Gentle wind out there tonight, bliss! Felt energetic this evening for the first time in a while. Happy with how I felt and the pace for the tempo which at 6:06 min/mile average is just about what I wanted to achieve.

Split Avg Pace Avg HR Max HR
1 06:17 165 172
2 06:11 169 175
3 06:10 173 177
4 06:04 175 178
5 06:02 175 177
6 05:55 176 179

[Larry Brent]

Originally Posted by kaymin

Sunday, 8 January - slow 12km kayak

Monday, 9 January

Split Avg Pace Avg HR Max HR
1 06:17 165 172
2 06:11 169 175
3 06:10 173 177
4 06:04 175 178
5 06:02 175 177
6 05:55 176 179

Nice splits there, faster and faster each mile.

[kaymin]

Originally Posted by Larry Brent

Nice splits there, faster and faster each mile.

Thanks - I went out a little conservatively to make sure I finished all 6 miles though the hills actually make the effort level more consistent than the times suggest. Your plan seem to be working for me so far.

Tuesday, 10 January 2012 - 6 miles easy; Avg 7:49 min / mile; Avg HR 147

Easy run with a couple of friends. Stiff from yesterday.

[kaymin]

Thursday, 12 January - 10 miles steady; Avg 6:46 min / mile; Avg HR 167

There was an intervals session on the schedule but i've been carrying some sort of virus the last couple of days so I decided to do a steady run instead - I'll have 8 x 1 miles at RP to look forward to on Saturday

[kaymin]

Saturday, 14 January - 12.5 miles including 7 x 1 mile at RP with 90 seconds recovery jog

The bad news first....
I was supposed to do 8 x 1 mile but had to stop after the 7th due to my left calf tying up in a knot. Calf felt tight during the two runs previous to today - starts off okay but tightens more and more as the run progresses. So i did the sensible thing and cut the session short. One clear day of rest between runs hasn't been enough to resolve the problem. Ice, deep heat, a couple of days rest and maybe a trip to the physio should set it right I reckon.

The good news!
Felt strong on this run - I was running within myself for most of the efforts and am happy to say, for today at least, I didn't have to bust a gut to run 6 minute miles.

Split Avg Pace Avg HR Max HR
1 05:42 156* 178
2 05:53 130* 147*
3 06:02 135* 165
4 05:51 162* 180
5 05:51 171 179
6 06:00 169 176
7 05:59 167 177
*these HR measurements look wrong.

39 miles for the week.

[bart simpson]

Originally Posted by kaymin

Saturday, 14 January - 12.5 miles including 7 x 1 mile at RP with 90 seconds recovery jog

The bad news first....
I was supposed to do 8 x 1 mile but had to stop after the 7th due to my left calf tying up in a knot. Calf felt tight during the two runs previous to today - starts off okay but tightens more and more as the run progresses. So i did the sensible thing and cut the session short. One clear day of rest between runs hasn't been enough to resolve the problem. Ice, deep heat, a couple of days rest and maybe a trip to the physio should set it right I reckon.

The good news!
Felt strong on this run - I was running within myself for most of the efforts and am happy to say, for today at least, I didn't have to bust a gut to run 6 minute miles.

Split Avg Pace Avg HR Max HR
1 05:42 156* 178
2 05:53 130* 147*
3 06:02 135* 165
4 05:51 162* 180
5 05:51 171 179
6 06:00 169 176
7 05:59 167 177
*these HR measurements look wrong.

39 miles for the week.

your really flying it now kaymin, good session there,

[kaymin]

Originally Posted by bart simpson

your really flying it now kaymin, good session there,

Thanks - today was the best I've felt for any of these hard sessions. I think I'm too optimistic for my own good though - I've been limping around all day today so a visit to the physio is definitely needed - hopefully it won't sideline me for more than a few days. I'll be kayaking in the meantime in any case. Good luck with getting the better of your injury - best not to rush back too early (who am I to talk!).

[kaymin]

Sunday, 15 January
12km kayak - tough - managed to stay with the fast group but it was a struggle.

Monday, 16 January
Physio - i went into the physio room walking reasonably freely - a day off running on Sunday helped ease my calf greatly. I left limping though. I'm told my calf muscle feels good so I should be okay. Got the go ahead to run easy that evening but I decided against it as I think if I can't walk without limping I shouldn't go for a run

Tuesday, 17 January - 6 miles steady; Avg 6:40 min / mile; Avg HR 162
Was in a bit of a rush so I ran harder than I probably should have. Didn't feel particularly good either. Stiffness in calf muscle made this an uncomfortable run - I put it down to the vigorous physio session from Monday.

Wednesday, 18 January - 10.5 miles steady; Avg 6:46 min / mile; Avg HR 164
Not much sleep last night so this was a bit of a struggle. Calf felt okay during the run but has since seized up a little so I'm limping now when I walk. Bit of a mystery why I'm suffering pain given what the physio told me. Bought a roller to see if I can sort myself out.

This week is shaping up to be a disaster - I feel I'm going off the boil by not doing any of the hard sessions. Might take tomorrow off and do a hard session Friday assuming my calf is not acting up.

[Larry Brent]

Like I said to Bart, still plenty of time. For the calf try some eccentric exercises in addition to whatever else you're doing if you're not doing them already e.g.:

Walt Reynoldís Special Achilles Strengthener
Stand facing a wall about 25-30 inches away. Balance on the right leg (foot pointing forward) and the left leg held just in front of the body. Bend the right knee ( half squat) as you do this extend the other leg forward so that the toes touch the wall. Then return to start position. Repeat this again but with the leg extending to the wall but more towards the left (diagonally). Repeat again but this time move the left foot across the body toward the wall. Now repeat all 3 movements on the other leg. Do this 4-6x to start and build to 20. You can hold weights as you get stronger.

10m race specific training is pretty tough - e.g. 3 x 3m at 10m pace is strong going. I think you need to train just to be able to do these sessions, so make sure your non-sessions days are real recovery efforts.

Best of luck.

[kaymin]

Saturday, 21 January - 12.2 mile kayak

Tough kayak. Paddled well, probably because of an easy week training wise. One of my clubmates toppled into the canal - ouch.

Monday, 23 January - 8.2 miles; Avg 6:43 min/mile; Avg HR 167

First run in 5 days - I wanted to give my calf enough time to heal and judging by how it feels now I think it's worked. I'll attempt a hard session tomorrow. I ran a miserly 16 miles last week - I hope this week will be better.

[kaymin]

Tuesday, 24 January - 12.1 miles including 5 by 1 miles @ (RP minus 10secs) with 90 secs recovery jog

I suffered on this -

Split Avg Pace Avg HR Max HR
1 05:39 171 178
2 05:52 175 184
3 05:56 176 184
4 06:02 172 181
5 06:07 173 182

The wind and the inclines make my splits seem all over the place when I wasn't really that inconsistent effort wise. At an average of 5:55 min/mile for the efforts I'm at least 5 seconds per mile slower than target. Joined a couple of friends for a 4 mile easy run at the end - 7:25 pace as I need a decent weekly mileage this week. Calf seems okay though not perfect.

[menoscemo]

Was that you I ran past at the back of the new train Station at Grange castle? You were leading a group of 4...

[kaymin]

Originally Posted by menoscemo

Was that you I ran past at the back of the new train Station at Grange castle? You were leading a group of 4...

Might have been - there was 3 of us though - would have been passing the train station at around 7:15pm. I gave another runner a half nod as we passed - maybe that was you?

[menoscemo]

Originally Posted by kaymin

Might have been - there was 3 of us though - would have been passing the train station at around 7:15pm. I gave another runner a half nod as we passed - maybe that was you?

Yeah that was me, the other 3 lads were trailing behind you I recognise you from Limerick pacing. Looks like you were travelling the same pace as me too (assuming you were on your cooldown )