EAT MY DUST!!

DAVE_K

Off work and back home where my parents live for the last two days. Went out for a run around some country lanes this morning. Don't know how far I went but it took me 47:50 and i gave it socks for a lot of it. It was a very enjoyable run. There was plenty of hills in it, no traffic at all - these roads are a grade up from a bog road with a green bit going down the middle.......perfect for training on and I'm kicking myself I haven't been using them more when I've been down here in the past. Met a pack of 6 donkeys on the road, all standing around........they thought when they saw me coming that I was running after them so there was a couple of hundred metres of running with me and about 10 yards ahead the donkeys giving it socks......top class.

DAVE_K

26th December Fields Of Athenry 10K

Had been training a lot for this and my goal was to beat 45 min. Xmas however (and my poor will-power) got the better of me and Stephen's day saw me carrying over 1/2 stone excess weight...........beer, chocolates and general gluttony did nothing to improve my performance. Only day I took it anyway easy was Xmas day and even then there was 2 or 3 beers had so in my attempt to beat my PB i failed miserably.......well more or less - i ran it in 46:05 which given my condition I was happy enough to do.
It was a really nice race though - the weather held up well and the route was enjoyable - a couple of small hills but nought too bad. As for the breakdown of the race itself.......my plan was to try and keep to a 4.30 min/k pace for the first 8 k and then push it a little for the last 2 coming in under 45. The first K i ran too slow - about 4.55 - mainly from trying to get through the crowds (approx 1000 people I was told) - so picked up the pace for k 2 coming in around 9:10 on the watch which is around 4:15 on the K. I kept it at this pace for the first 5 and passed the 5 k marker bang on 23:00 mins - the clock on the 5 k marker was a nice touch I thought. At this point in the race I thought i was doing OK and looked alright to achieve my goal. I kept going well until 6 k......and I think hit a hill somewhere around here.......and started to struggle - i lost my confidence in my ability to keep to the pace I was at and started to slow a bit while I had a -keep going/slow down- battle between my head and legs. I crossed the 8 k mark at I think around 37:30 - ran 9 in about 4.30 and managed to pick up the pace for K 10 to about 4:00ish. Although I hadn't come near to beating 45 min I wasn't too disappointed - i know now the pace I need to do it and the area I need to train - my pace between about 25 mins into a run and 40 mins which a bit of tempo work might sort out. There's a 10 k race in Castlebar at the end of January which I'm going to run and I'll aim to do what I should have done on the 26th then - hopefully in better physical condition. In the coming months Mrs K has decided to hold on in Castlebar whilst I go to Dublin to work during the week which has its upsides and downsides - namely a b1tch of a drive up and down on Friday and Monday but will give me plenty of time to train during the week and if i can manage a run on Saturday and Sunday whilst in down in Castlebar there should be plenty of time for training. The running calendar looks to be filling in a bit so there'll be plenty of motivation.

DAVE_K

29th December

Went for a run around Castlebar town. Not sure how far I went but ran for about 45 mins. It was nice with a few small hills thrown in. There was a bit of ice on the footpaths in places but I kept upright. I'm back down home for a couple of days so will get out on the country lanes later on for a run.

MCOS

Hi Dave_K

You held it together to come within a minute of your target so it was worthwhile race. You learned a few things. I'm full sure you can hit 45' for that 10k in Castlebar at the end of Jan. Just how hard did you work the days before and were your legs tired? Were you doing a lot of weights?

Substituting a tempo run for one of the weights sessions sounds like a good idea.

Perhaps
1 speedwork session (maybe with those donkeys )
1 tempo run 4-5 miles at 10k+10sec
1 lsr for 90 mins at 10k +2mins (or 9-10 miles easy)

Not doing any 2 back to back or coupled with heavy weights. Any other runs should be easy 30-40 mins. Just a thought :cool:

The commuting will be tough so I'd suggest getting a more structured plan written down for yourself otherwise you might tend to do whatever session you 'feel' like. A few years ago I used to travel over and back to the UK most weeks and it was hard to get consistency without a plan.

DAVE_K

MCOS...........on the day of the race I'd done 1 10 K about 4 days before but as far as the whole week before went that was it - no weights, no run and a shed load of booze and food.
I felt pretty confident after the race in that I knew the pace I needed to run and it wasn't too bad, i just didn't have it in me to do it for the 10 k on the day - the 7th and 8th K banjo-ed me..........the legs weren't it really - just general fatigue and the importance of achieving my target diminished psychologically for the 2 K. I was with a group (just hanging on, didn't know them personally) who were all averaging 4.30 per K and i was thinking - just stick with these and you'll get here - but we hit a hill at about 6/7 k and they slipped about 100 metres ahead, 100 m I never made it up. All said and done though it was my 2nd fastest race - the fastest being 45:19 after a couple of months tri-training............I'd never worn a watch either for a race which was good - i found it encouraging to look at the watch and go - next k marker should be coming up soon and it did...........well for most of them anyway!

I'll be giving the LSR a go and as I'm down for the 1/2 for Connemarathon will try and get some longer runs in. I'm going to cut down on weights too in the new year - although I might do a 5 *5 squat/deadlift/bench press twice a week - probably the day before/of the commute as it'll be ideal for recovery.

You doing Connemara?

DAVE_K

Did a 38 min run - not sure how far - whens my garmin that santa brought going to arrive!! - up through some country roads, the grounds of my old school, down the back road we used to cycle to school through and then around Ballinasloe town, and up the road to my bro's house. It was a nice run, cold but dry - who can complain with that. I'll be hanging around Ballinasloe for a few days so will make the most of the terrain.

MCOS

DAVE_K wrote: »

You doing Connemara?

I haven't entered. I wanted to do a medium length run before my first Tri and decided on Ballycotton. Now it doesn't look as though I got in I did really think about the 1/2 though. I'll find another option as soon as I get confirmation I'm not in Ballycotton.

DAVE_K

31 Jan - did 4 k at the track at about 4.45 per k. I had planned to do more but got a dull ache in my lower back. I get this sometimes......especially if I go straight from my desk and into a run. If I run in the mornings I never get this. Keep going and I can run it off eventually so it's never a problem in a race or the like.......but I decided to pull over yesterday when it came as there was a race on today.

1 Jan Tir Chonaill Athetics Club New Years 8 K
Packed the kids and the missus in the car first thing this morning and headed for Bundoran to do this race - stayed in last night and got a good nights kip.
Plan for the race was to hold a 4.30 min/k pace for the duration. I hadn't run an 8 k before and i have to say I liked it........its a good primer for a 10 k but without those painful k's in the middle between the 5 and 10 k mark. The course was nice and although down on the flyers as flat had a few smallish hills thrown in. About 100 people I'd estimate did the run part of it - there was walkers as well but they started 30 mins before everyone else. I started well enough and passed the 1 k mark in about 4.35 and for most of the rest of the race crossed my K marker at the target pace. I passed 5 k on the 22:40 mark which was about 10 seconds off target. The 6 K marker wasn't painted down so i don't have a split for that. As per usual the seventh K was the one that got me and I'd say I was probably close to a 5:00 min/k for this. ......when i passed the 7 K marker I got things together again (wife and kids at the side of the road helped this),.......i managed to give it a good burst for the last half K and crossed the line on 36:05 - 5 seconds slower than I'd hoped for but I can live with that - all in all I was happy with my performance - but as per usual I'm consistently 4ucking up in the same place.........and i reckon most if not all of it is mental - achieving my goal seems to diminish in important right around this time and I always slow down. I think probably what it is is that I'm able for the pace but not able to keep the pace up beyond about 6 - 7 k and it's here I struggle. The last 2 k of any race is relatively easy to pick the pace up for as you know even if you run out of gas you're not far from the line.
Anyway it was a good way to start the year. Next run now is the 8 K in Tuam on the 11th of January which I'll have to beat 36 mins for and then the 10 k in Castlebar on the 31st which I'll be looking to beat 45 mins in.............at last.
Looking around at the race today and talking to a few heads who had ran sub 40 min 10 k in Fields of Athenry, they all looked pretty light - so I think some reduction in fat and muscle % is required to lighten up a bit to start running decent times.

DAVE_K

Uneventful enough session in the gym....not sure the structure of my week yet with commuting from the west to dublin for the week and travelling in and out of Celbridge every weekday for work. Going to eventually cut back on the weights and concentrate on other stuff but still trying to get 2 weights sessions in per week to keep a bit of muscle on for it's fat-burning potential.

5 * 5 squat (80 kg)
5 * 5 bench press (75 kg)
5 * 5 deadlift (95 kg)

I want to see how I'm feeling after this later today and tomorrow and if my running tomorrow will be adversly affected.......mind it's first time in a while doing deadlifts so there's sure to be some pain.........nice pain.

DAVE_K

9.2 k threadmill - 43 mins, incline of 1

Started off well slow on this today and the pace was about 5 mins 20 s/k for the first 10 mins - brought it up to 4 mins 36 s/k up to the 8 k mark, at this point I brought it up to 4 mins 21 s/k planning to keep that pace until the 10 k mark - Mr Pukey was very close to paying me a visit so I had to hit the stop button at the 9.2 k mark - looking back now I wish I'd kept going until 10 k but it's always a different story at the time. I'm happy enough with this session as my main goal running at the moment is to keep the pace up around the 6/7/8 k mark......I'll pull the last 0.8 k out of the bag soon and in a race situation reckon I could keep going with the finish line not too far off.

DAVE_K

Got access to an OK gym in Dublin - decent pool, fast and slow lanes with time limits on the lanes (woohoo no more frustrating lengths with the wrong people on the wrong lanes), there's a stack of cardio machines and a reasonable weights section.......and the ability to pay by session, month, 3 months or a year....happy days.

Yesterday January 6th

AM - Swim session

500 m front crawl warm up

10 * 100 m front crawl on 2 minutes

400 m front crawl warm down

Hadn't swam in about 3 months so the distance was OK but technique was very sloppy due to poor swim stamina. I should be able to get a few swim sessions in a week so should see some improvements in weeks to come

PM - Run - 50 mins

Not sure how far I went - i'm just sussing out there area i'm living in at the moment so basically just ran up to the railway station and back. The run to the station is uphill. It's pretty cold at the moment though and whilst most of me was covered up the facial areas were fairly frozen at the end. It was a nice enough run though. Left my running gloves back home so had to make do with socks on my hands.

Today

AM - weights session

Pull Ups - 5 * 8
Squats - 5 * 5 90 kg
Bench Press - 5 * 5 70 kg
Deadlift - 5 * 5 100 kg

I like these lifts and whilst it doesn't look like a whole lot of exercises it takes a good 45 minutes to complete and you're pretty banjoed for the day, Not sure whether I'll stay on this program but I'm going to give it a go twice a week for a month of so and see the benefits. I'm not set up for cycling yet so when I am it's likely that this is going to be the first thing to go.

DAVE_K

AM - SWIM

1000 m front crawl warm up - paying attention to stroke - easy enough going.

10 * 100 m front crawl. 5 on 2 mins, 5 on 1 min 50 secs. Hadn't planned to do the 5 on 1 min 50 secs but this wasn't fitting in with the other people in the lane so I had to up the pace a bit. Glad I did cos this set the bar for future 100 m intervals

400 m warm down.

Ran out of time here. Would have happily gone on with the warm down. Enjoyed this swim.

MCOS

You really feel the difference though going off 10 sec quicker. My lane at the club go off 2'05 for 100m which I find comfortable enough but the morning group go off about 1'50 and I'm gasping for air keeping up with them!

DAVE_K

yep i was feeling it for the 4th and 5th of the 5 on 1.50

10 seconds is a lot of time to get your heart rate back in order again

DAVE_K

Using a threadmill I'm not familiar with in the gym so had to do a bit of dicking around with it before I got going. Thought i was off to a good start with a good pace going and after 10 minutes the threadmill starts slowing down and says "5 mins cooling off"..............there was a bit of swearing but I got going and did another 30 mins at a good pace. The machines works in miles rather than km so I ran hard for 30 mins and clocked up 4.4 miles which I'm happy to see when I put it into a pace calculator from coolrunnings website works out at 4.14 min/km. Well happy with this. The only thing I did differently in todays run was breath from the diaphragm rather than the chest which seemed to drop my shoulders. I could feel them bunching up before and after reading a tip in mens fitness that said if you breath from the diaphragm your shoulders will automatically drop..........i did and it worked!!

DAVE_K

Weights Session

Pull-ups 5 * 6
Squats 5 * 5 @ 100 kg
Bench Press 5 * 5 @ 80 kg
Deadlifts 5 * 5 @ 120 kg

Really enjoyed this session.
Thinking about doing the 8 k run in Tuam tomorrow. This sort of a weights session doesn't really fit into day-before-race mode but I'm looking at tomorrow as more of a training run. I'm not 100 % either whether I'll do it. Clearance from MRS K has yet to be secured.

DAVE_K

Didn't make Tuam today - with the wind and the rain there was no selling a 2-3 hour round-trip in the car to stand around in the rain for 45 mins to the family. I'm heading back to Dublin later tonight so spending some time with the family today came first. I did manage to get a 5 km run in down the track and it done in 22:40.

DAVE_K

Last night
Went for a run around. Not yet sure the lie of the land where I'm staying but seem to have found a circular route that takes 25 - 30 mins per circuit. I went around twice. Have no idea of the distance yet. I'll have to check it out later. Nice run though. Took it well easy. Rain started coming down hard half way through the second circuit.

This morning
Swim
500 m warm up
8 * 100 on 1:50
500 m warm down.
Then ran out of time as I had to be at work.

pgibbo

Fair play. I cannot get my ass out of bed these mornings at all to do a pre-work session. Need to get my sh*t together. :mad:

DAVE_K

It's never easy in winter and when it's cold and dark outside it can be tough. Even harder if there's someone warm in the bed with you.....On the plus side there's plenty of seating room on the train at 6.30

Like anything else though it's just a habit. You just need to get in I'll-be-guilty-if-i-don't-do-it mode and you're sorted

DAVE_K

AM - Weights

Pull Ups 5 * 6
Squats 5 * 5 100 kg
Bench Press 5 * 5 80 kg
Deadlifts 5 * 5 120 kg

MCOS

I don't mind training in the morning but I've never been up to doing a weights session so early though

@pgibbo, get your ass in gear and maybe we can meet Dave at some Tri this summer

pgibbo

MCOS wrote: »

@pgibbo, get your ass in gear and maybe we can meet Dave at some Tri this summer

I was hoping to have an early start this morning to do a session. However, I had an unscheduled trip to the pool last night. Did a session with some friends and it was damn tough. Given that it was 10 when we got out of the pool, it was near 11 when I got home. Total write off this morning! I was wrecked. Did manage 2 sessions on Monday though (lunch time run 5 miles @ 7:30 average & Karate for 1.5 hours that evening). Excuses, excuses, though.......

I am going to finalise my races next week with the lads I train with. Once I do, I will let you know and maybe there will be a chance to put faces to names!

On a side note, I was happy enough to have averaged 6 training sessions per week last year - 2 Karate, 2 run, 2 swim & the odd cycle. Hope to kick on from that this year.

DAVE_K

Last night - 1 h 15 mins run - easy enough going - no idea of the distance

This morning

1000 m front crawl
10 * 100 m on 1:50

the 100s were tough and there wasn't much rest between the last three. The last one I'd say I looked like a man fighting for his life to stay afloat.

pgibbo - 6 sessions in 7 days ain't bad. Those karate sessions can be tough too.

MCOS

DAVE_K wrote: »

The last one I'd say I looked like a man fighting for his life to stay afloat.
quote]

I reckon this is what I look like everytime I swim!

DAVE_K

This morning - Threadmill

2 k warm up @ 4:40 min/k
2 mins rest

8 k in 34 min 10 sec. Pace 4:16 min/k.

This is a personal best for me - the fastest before now being 36:05 but hey it's the threadmill so I won't be getting too excited.

and yep MCOS - i'm deffo up for hooking up at a tri this summer. I'll check to see what you're in for and enter for one of the same.

MCOS

Well done on the 8k. You may even do a sub 40 10k before me at this rate!

So Far I've entered TriAthy Olympic, North Tipp Sprint.
Next to enter is Valentia Island if I get in, Joey Olympic and Kilkee.
A goal is the Lost Sheep in September so I'll probably do 1 in July and another in August. A sprint and an Olympic. Going to see what comes up on the NS as I'd like to get a ranking of some sort, even if its paddy last

DAVE_K

Yep that triAthy Olympic looks good and a perfect start to your tri-career. Feck Paddy last - could never take that - always aim for no less than Paddy-second-last would do though!!!!!

DAVE_K

Saturday 17th.

Weights
Pull Ups 5 * 7
Squats 5 * 5 100 kg
2 * 10 60 kg (full squats, as far down as possible)
Bench Press 5 * 5 80 kg
Deadlifts 5 * 5 130 kg

Kept to just this weights session this week. Couldn't really find the time to do anything else with family committments. Took yesterday (Sunday) off completely.......haven't had a day off in about 10 days so the rest will do me no harm.

DAVE_K

Yesterday - AM
5 km threadmill 21:30 - 1 km warn down
Planned to go to the gym after work and do more but when I got in there it was packed. Don't know how people can workout in these circumstances - it's bloody stressful. Rapidly changed back into my skivvies without doing anything and walked the 30 minute distance to the station rather than catch the bus

This morning - AM
Usual Bench/Squat/Deadlift session. Will have to get out on the road tonight for a run.