Bliain Faoi Thrí

pgmcpq

Great run ... you've pretty much shredded the old PB!

ronanmac

Seres wrote: »

great improvement, fairly smashed that pb , we might have brushed shoulders at some stage , i was with the 90min pacers to 9/10miles , came in a min later than you

Presuming you were the only woman in the 1:30 group wearing a Boards singlet, I gave you a shout on the switchback on Chesterfield Avenue!
Congrats on your time and placing, you might just be a long-course specialist!

El Director

Great HM race Ronán. You paced it perfectly and finished strong with a good negative split. Well done. Be careful with Waterford Half - prone/sensitive to the crap weather the last two winters have thrown up, not doing it for this reason myself.

ronanmac

El Director wrote: »

Great HM race Ronán. You paced it perfectly and finished strong with a good negative split. Well done. Be careful with Waterford Half - prone/sensitive to the crap weather the last two winters have thrown up, not doing it for this reason myself.

Cheers.
I did Waterford a few years ago, really enjoyed it. I see that it was postponed last year due to the weather, would be a long way to travel for a cancellation!
I'll see how things are going closer to the time.

Seres

ronanmac wrote: »

Presuming you were the only woman in the 1:30 group wearing a Boards singlet, I gave you a shout on the switchback on Chesterfield Avenue!
Congrats on your time and placing, you might just be a long-course specialist!

Ya that was me alright , thanks for the encouragement . dont know bout the long distance specialist , took the body a while to adapt to the long tempos
Did you wife enjoy the experience ?

pgibbo

Well done on the PB dude. Cracking stuff. :cool:

ronanmac

Seres wrote: »

Ya that was me alright , thanks for the encouragement . dont know bout the long distance specialist , took the body a while to adapt to the long tempos
Did you wife enjoy the experience ?

Yeah, she really enjoyed it. The series is a great idea for first time marathon runners, like a dress rehearsal of sorts.
I remember, after spending all summer running on my own, being shocked by the amount of people around me at my first marathon, New York 2002. In hindsight, I should probably have done a smaller event as my debut race

pgibbo wrote: »

Well done on the PB dude. Cracking stuff. :cool:

Cheers pgibbo. I felt like slacking half-way through, but couldn't bear the thought of the grief I would get from you if I didn't crack 1:30

catweazle

The triathlon training looks like it really brought on your running.

I would be interested in seeing what you think, but a 2.45 improvement on a tough course with less running is very impressive.

Great pb - well done!

ronanmac

catweazle wrote: »

The triathlon training looks like it really brought on your running.

I would be interested in seeing what you think, but a 2.45 improvement on a tough course with less running is very impressive.

Great pb - well done!

Cheers, catweazle. I'm not sure if I'd describe it as a tough course, but it has a few undulations alright. The improvement is definitely down to the added training from triathlon.
In a sense, when I was running and running only, I wasn't really doing the Furman 3 day week plan justice, as I was more often than not ignoring the cross-training sessions. So whereas I could get the speed going, the endurance suffered, which explains the tail-off in most of my races. This time, there was no second half tail-off, which can only be due to the added non-running sessions. What I find interesting, though, is that I hadn't trained at any stage for a 1:27 attempt. I'm not sure what target pace I was using for my 70.3 run training (I reckon it was closer to 1:32), so while the endurance part of the riddle is easily solved, I'm not sure where the added pace came from.
Not sure if this makes any sense?

backspacer

So whats next for ronanmac, you seem to have pretty much have your two half targets done with 3 months to spare Fair play,great time!!

ronanmac

backspacer wrote: »

So whats next for ronanmac, you seem to have pretty much have your two half targets done with 3 months to spare Fair play,great time!!

Yeah, I didn't expect to have the sub 1:30 target sorted this early! Next up is a 5k in London next weekend...

ronanmac

Having taken a few days off, it’s been time for a brief reassessment of the rest of the year. I’ve ordered a new trainer with the intention of improving the bike. Weak as it is, I’m not going to over-focus on the swim between now and the end of the year. Getting to the pool is a pain in the ass, so my target is to make it twice a week and leave it at that.
The primary focus at this stage is the Waterford Half Marathon, and I did my first run for that last night. Rather than have the pace chosen by my best 5k time, I picked an ambitious HM time, and worked the paces off that. From what I experienced yesterday, the pace is over-ambitious, as I couldn't stick with it. I’ll stick with the current plan for a few more runs to see if yesterday was just an off-day. If not, I’ll pick a more realistic target.

Route: Home to Gleann Mór and back
Time: 40:55
Distance: 9.66km
Ave Pace: 4:14 min/km
Ave/Max HR: Where the hell is my HR strap?
Weather: Heavy rain, strong wind. The summer’s back!

ronanmac

Suspicions that the current programme is too pacey for me is confirmed. 10 sec per mile slower than prescribed pace. Started out fine but faded during the second half.

Route: Home to Beal an Daingean and back
Time: 1:09:34
Distance: 16.09km
Ave Pace: 4:19 min/km
Weather: Strong breeze on the way home

slayer91

As a matter of interest, what kind of trianer did you get. Looking to get one as well and would be interested in your views.

Regs

catweazle

ronanmac wrote: »

Weather: Heavy rain, strong wind. The summer’s back!

Amazing the difference in weather for such a small distance, I reckon I got a tan on the long run on saturday - a cracking day!

ronanmac

slayer91 wrote: »

As a matter of interest, what kind of trianer did you get. Looking to get one as well and would be interested in your views.

Regs

This is what I ordered. It hasn't arrived as yet but I'll post a brief review when it does.

catweazle wrote: »

Amazing the difference in weather for such a small distance, I reckon I got a tan on the long run on saturday - a cracking day!

That run was on the Friday. As I recall, Saturday was nicer, but it certainly wasn't any cracking day!

pgibbo

Nice piece of kit! :cool: Does it come with pre-loaded courses or can you upload Garmin files?

So are you going to be biking and swimming in the lead up to Waterford or just focusing on running?

ronanmac

pgibbo wrote: »

Nice piece of kit! :cool: Does it come with pre-loaded courses or can you upload Garmin files?

So are you going to be biking and swimming in the lead up to Waterford or just focusing on running?

Pre-loaded courses, and DVDs. I don't think you can upload Garmin files. That version was almost twice as expensive, so I was willing to forsake that option!

Plan is to focus on running and bike intervals mostly, with twice-a-week swimming focussed on technique/drills. We'll see how it goes!

RacoonQueen

ronanmac wrote: »

This is what I ordered. It hasn't arrived as yet but I'll post a brief review when it does.

Can you get anything like this thats compatible with a real computer mac? I plan on investing in one this year.

ronanmac

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Can you get anything like this thats compatible with a real computer mac? I plan on investing in one this year.

Of course, if the Mac was so good, it would recognise the trainer and write its own programme for it

A good website (that even Macs can recognise) is one Catweazle put me onto, this.

El Director

ronanmac wrote: »

Of course, if the Mac was so good, it would recognise the trainer and write its own programme for it

It is and...it does

ronanmac

Had a few niggles checked out today. The foot injury I had in the run-up to HIM Galway turns out to be a suspected stress fracture . An Achilles and groin niggle were also looked at, and are pretty standard. The stress fracture (I cling on to the word "suspected"!) is an "ease up and see" scenario. So, I'll ease up and see!
The new trainer arrived today, just in time by the look of it!

ronanmac

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this log, mostly as there has been little reason to update it. Injury has left my post-Dublin half marathon elation on the floor, and heady targets have been scrapped.

The source of the groin/hip injury has finally been found (it seems to start halfway up the back and come down around the front then), so it’s a case of taking it easy. Any pace work flares it up. I’ve used the new turbo twice, cycling in virtual Sardinia has been nice if tough (I’m sweating way more on the new turbo than the old one), and I’ve also had my first experience of race director, for the 10k Chonamara, which went very well.

The batteries in the weighing scales at home are flat, which is just as well as my diet discipline has a direct correlation with my training :eek:

My missing heart rate strap has never re-appeared, but I remembered last week that my wife had the old-style Garmin strap to go with her Garmin 110, so, seeing as she doesn’t bother with HR, I have now commandeered it!

So meanwhile...

October 1
5k approx in Hyde Park while over in London for the weekend.

October 3
Spin on new turbo trainer. Didn’t get to finish the entire course, but more of a figuring out of the machine...
Done: 20.5km
Ave Cadence: 88

October 9
First run in a while. Took it handy. A bit sore after 4.5 miles. Really miserable day, rain and wind, but one of those days that feel really good to run in!

Route: Loop from home around Gleann Mór, Doire Fhearta, back
Time: 53:05
Distance: 10.78km
Ave Pace: 4:56 km/mile
Weather: Wet, windy.

October 10
Second spin in “Sardina”, finished the dvd this time. Short with some good hills thrown in. Very enjoyable, time to invest in a fan though!
26.3km

October 12
An utterly, utterly miserable run. Don’t know why, just a sh*te run. Cut it short and went home after stopping a few times to take a break. Crappola!
Route: Gleann Mór loop
Time: 46:08
Distance: 9.35km
Ave Pace: 4:56 km/mile
Ave/Max HR: 163/177
Weather: Warm

October 13
First outdoor spin on the roadbike in a long time. One of the nicest spins I’ve ever had on the bike, a stark contrast to the previous day’s workout. Wet weather, familiar roads, no obvious reason for it to be a good day but it was! Smile on my face landing back at the house.

Route: Maam Cross and back
Time: 1:45:59
Distance: 52.61km
Ave/Max Speed: 29.8kph/49.2 kph
Ave Cadence: 89
Ave/Max HR: 153/182
Weather: Drizzly, very little wind

Yesterday
The first of the winter club spins. A nice run out to Maam, pretty windy on the way home. I don’t know if it’s the newly-serviced feeling, or just not being hunched down on tri bars, but I’m loving the road bike spins these days!
Route: Maam and back
Time: 2:35:33
Distance: 68.63km
Ave/Max Speed: 26.5kph/50.4 kph
Ave Cadence: 80
Ave/Max HR: 146/181
Weather: Lovely morning, a bit of a south-westerly wind

backspacer

ronanmac wrote: »

Yesterday
The first of the winter club spins. A nice run out to Maam, pretty windy on the way home. I don’t know if it’s the newly-serviced feeling, or just not being hunched down on tri bars, but I’m loving the road bike spins these days!
Route: Maam and back
Time: 2:35:33
Distance: 68.63km
Ave/Max Speed: 26.5kph/50.4 kph
Ave Cadence: 80
Ave/Max HR: 146/181
Weather: Lovely morning, a bit of a south-westerly wind

I had seriously considered joining you yesterday for a spin, but only took it out for a short spin yesterday to get comfortable with the bike. The idea of doing nearly 70k on a bike after a LSR on Saturday is a bullet i think I'm glad I dodged

pgmcpq

Glad to see you back and that there is no stress fracture.
Sounds like you're well on the way back. Some of this sounds familiar. I can certainly sympathize with the mysterious "miserable run". ( In my case it sent me back to the medical guys where they have a new theory which sounds promising ).

ronanmac

pgmcpq wrote: »

Glad to see you back and that there is no stress fracture.
Sounds like you're well on the way back. Some of this sounds familiar. I can certainly sympathize with the mysterious "miserable run". ( In my case it sent me back to the medical guys where they have a new theory which sounds promising ).

Not sure yet about the stress fracture. With the hip problem sourced and clearing up, the foot is annoying. Still sore, but still not sure if it's a stress fracture or a muscular problem. The pain only crops up in treatment when pressure is put on the bone, but I'm hoping it's not a fracture. I'll try another run tomorrow, and will go back in to have it checked out again.

ronanmac

Tuesday, 18 October

Pressed for time, so a quick 5 miler, heading out from work. The hip/groin didn't flare up with the higher pace, so that's fantastic news. Unfortunately, the pain on the outside of the left foot is more pronounced with the quicker run.
Run felt like hard work, especially against the wind on the way home.

Route: Work to Cor na Rún and back
Time: 33:44
Distance: 8.04km
Ave Pace: 4:12 km/mile
Ave/Max HR: 175/186
Weather: Raining at the start but dried up quickly. Cold, breezy.

Thursday, 20 October
Spin on the bike out to Ros Muc, via Camus backroads for some hill work. Couldn't find Garmin so no details.

Distance: 36.6km
Weather: Heavy drizzle

Yesterday
Club spin. Nice gang, good workout with plenty of digs and chases.

Route: Home to Mam and back
Time: 2:20:13
Distance: 68.18km
Ave/Max Speed: 29.2kph/55 kph
Ave Cadence: 78
Ave/Max HR: 151/180
Weather: Rain, not too much wind

pgibbo

Hope that it isn't a sress fracture.

What's the plan for next season? Have you decided on how you are going to tackle the swim?

ronanmac

pgibbo wrote: »

Hope that it isn't a sress fracture.

What's the plan for next season? Have you decided on how you are going to tackle the swim?

I hoe it isn't a stress fracture either! I wish I knew for sure, one way or the other, but the optimist in me believes it isn't.

I haven't really thought about next season too much, I've had very little time these days due to a variety of things (hence the neglect of both training and this log). I have no intention of going long in 2012, so no IM. I am considering doing three HIMs for 2012, though (a European club trip in early summer, Swimford and Galway), but that isn't set in stone as yet.

As for swimming, we're discussing as a club doing a once a week two hour session with a coach, and him providing swim training plans for us. Not definite yet.

At the moment, all I'm doing is a few runs to test injuries, and some cycling on an enjoyment basis! The closest I've been to swimming since Loughrea tri was the bath I had last Sunday after the club bike spin .

pgibbo

A 2 hour session? Jaysus......that'll be tough going

3 HIM's in 4 or 5 months. Be tough to peak for all 3. Racing abroad is great great though. Hard to beat racing in glorious weather :cool: