Sorry, I thought you said get faster before the 100th Marathon

Aimman

Handy little 3.5M recovery around the park in the dark. Starting to feel comfortable running again. Was a lot warmer then usual this evening, could have got away without the jacket. Doh! That's why I'm slower lately, I'm not as aerodynamic with that yoke on me. :eek::P

Aimman

Met Menoscemo, Claralara and Mithril on the track this evening. Did 6 x 800 intervals with between 2-3 mins rest between. First bit of speed work in a long time, but the first of many.

800 lap - Pace
1 - 7.21
2 - 7.25
3 - 7.29
4 - 7.35
5 - 7.45
6 - 7.32

Along with warm up and cool down, the distance was 5 miles. Found it hard to speed up and keep a consistant pace for each lap, there wasnt much power in the legs, but its only the first week back running, so I'm still optomistic that I'll be back to form fairly quickly.

Aimman

Because of a work outing yesterday, I had to skip a day in the run up to Waterford

Wednesday - 4M at lunchtime
Friday - 3M at lunchtime. Nice warm sunny weather. Pity its about to turn into hell for tomorrow.

I'm just going for a sub 2h tomorrow, no specific target. Want to keep some juice for Sunday's run

Aimman

Woke up to the howling winds this morning. It wasn't raining, but I knew there was lots of rain due later in the day.

Picked up Menoscemo and RK and had a handy trip down the motorway with an hour to spare after collecting the numbers. Got famished just before the start and indulged in a Power-bar Gel to quench the hunger. Before the day, I was just planning to keep with the 2:00 pacers. When I arrived in Waterford, my new plan was to start with the 1.50 pacers and try not to let the 2:00 pacers catch up. I wasn't planning a PB today, just a Mid distance run as part of the Conn training.

Despite trying to get back into the swing of raining and running over the last couple of weeks, with 5 mins to go, I finally found my Mojo again standing amongst all the other runners, soaking up the atmosphere and anticipation, I was back! Started off strong and kept ahead of the 1:50 pacers until after 4 miles. I was very happy with my pace and condition, despite knowing it was a bit faster than I planned, I felt good in the run.

Then the winds picked up and everyone knuckled down and braced themselves against the strong gusts. My pace was beginning to suffer but I didn't bother drafting behind anyone, just used it as a bit of resistance training. When the rain set in before mile 6, it was torrential and the gear was soaked quite quickly, but once you're wet, you're wet. Cant get any worse.

We left the main road for about 1.5 miles and the route was undulating, head first into the rain and wind. What a combination. Everyone was looking forward to reaching the main road again and have the wind at our backs. This is where the run got good. With the wind behind me, I was able to pick up the pace again and I started overtaking the runners that passed me by throughout the first half of the race (not all of them, but a very respectable chunk of them). My breathing felt good, the legs weren't sore and I was able to knock out a decent pace without the "What Am I Thinking Of' syndrome kicking in.

Gave up looking at the Garmin at mile 10, just focusing on how I felt and ran to what I was almost comfortable with, while picking off a few more runners along the way. Within the last 0.5 miles, I was starting to feel the struggle a bit but despite passing a couple more runners, I didn't have enough energy to pull a sprint out of the bag at the end.

Overall I was delighted with the run. It was better than I planned and gave me such a confidence boost to a difficult last two weeks training and has me on a positive path to Connemara in April.

Splits are as follows
Mile
1 7.44
2 8.19
3 8.11
4 8.51 (Met the winds from here)
5 8.48
6 9.19
7 8.56
8 8.06 (Whoo Hoo, heading back with the wind behind me at last)
9 8.40
10 8.52 (Not sure what was happening there, think there was a hill)
11 8.24
12 8.23
13 8.39

Overall, completed the race in 1:52:09 which ended up being better then I was expecting, considering the conditions.

Has a few Alco Free Weiss Biers afterwards with Menoscemo, RK, Brianderunner, Claralara and jcsmum.

After a long drive back home in the dark, what better way to end a race, then in Ryan's snug with one more Alco-Free beer.

In Summary, I'm glad i didn't skip this race. It gave me the confidence and burst I needed to let me know that despite the difficult effort I experienced in the last couple of weeks trying to get back into the training, I could still run a strong race (even if it wasn't up to the usual pace) which will stand to me for the rest of the training. Perhaps listening to the rerun of Tim Nokes 'Central Governor' Theory in the car on the way down help me to make mine HTFU and run like hell. :cool:

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Well done Aimman, i think i finalised my race plan the same time you did....at the start line:rolleyes:

Aimman

Hezekiah Important Whole-wheat wrote: »

Well done Aimman, i think i finalised my race plan the same time you did....at the start line:rolleyes:

lol, Cheers. Some of the best plans are made at the last mintue. You had a great run yourself. Good to see you at the start line. Didnt get to see you at the finish.

Looking back on it, my overall pace for the race was faster then my marathon pace in Dublin last year when I got a 3:44, so it was better then I was originally expecting

claralara

Enjoy your jaunt in the mountains today..:)

Aimman

claralara wrote: »

Enjoy your jaunt in the mountains today..:)

14M in 2:11

I backed out of the mountain running today, because the legs were a bit tired for running the hilly loop I had planned, so I'll leave it for another day.

Decided to stay in Dublin, but threw in a couple of hills along the Churchtown Road, Taney Road, Goatstown and Darty Road. Not as severe as the mountains, but seems a better option after yesterday. Ran it comfortably and enjoyed running in the sun with just a top and shorts. Almost convinced myself it was nearly summer.

Was a good run, particularly following yesterdays efforts. Getting back to actually enjoying running again. :-)

jcsmum

It was lovely to meet you on Saturday, well done again on your great time.

Can't believe you did 14miles yesterday. I thought I was superwoman doing 6! I have to realise there is always somebody crazier than me on boards. :rolleyes::D

Aimman

Catch up on last couple of Days

Tuesday: Early start in the Gym, 7am and did 3M easy at 9:30 recovery pace and a few weights and core work

Total for Tuesday: 3M

Wednesday
Lunchtime: 4.5 run along the canal @ 9:00 pace. Found it handy to do.

Evening: 6 x 800m strides on the UCD track. (7:03) (6:59) (7:17) (7:43) (7:51) (7:16) and a warm up and cool down.

Found run 4 & 5 difficult and lost heart as the pace dropped dramatically, but pulled myself together and knocked out a respectable 6th run. Track was frosty and hands were numb, but that wasn't the reason for the drop off in pace. Reckon consistent 3:30 800m runs is a bit ambitious at this stage, but will probably stick with it, till the latter runs start to catch up. Glad I didn't pull out after the 4th one, would have scarred my Central Governor.

Total miles for Wednesday, 10M

Aimman

Great runs today. Very comfortable

Lunchtime - 5M along the Canal towards Clondalkin, took it easy

5M in 48:07 (9:38 pace)

Evening - 6M in frosty Tymon. Took the first couple of miles handy, opened it out a bit for the next two, rested up a bit for the 5th and then speeded up a bit more for the last mile.

6M in 53:05 (8:51 pace) Miles - (9:47) (8:59) (8:13) (8:13) (9:29) (8:24)

Felt good after the doubler, Though the evening session would feel harder after the speed work yesterday, but it all worked out.

Got the BHAA race calendar today, going to start putting them into my own calendar tonight to sort out my short races for 2011.

Total Miles today, 11. Broke the 100M for the 1000M challenge, 10% there already, whoo hooo.:cool:

Aimman

Nice little 3.1M recovery run at lunchtime

3.1M in 29:50 (9:40 pace)

hot to trot

Great going altogether. Am insanely jealous.
Keep it up.

Aimman

Had planned to do a 15M today and 15M tomorrow, but because I'm looking at a 20M in the mountains next weekend, I though I'd jiggle around the schedule a bit and save a bit of a longer run for tomorrow.

Did 6.5M towards the end of today. A dense fog started falling and darkness was setting in. Found it a bit hard to breath in the sharp cold at first until I got into the second mile. Set off at a good brisk pace, but I took a diversion and ran along the bog tram tracks and the terrain wasn't the best for running in a hurry, so had to slow it down a bit and just enjoyed a bit of a trail run. It was funny though, although the tracks aren't used, I was still looking over my shoulder every now and again, half expecting to see a speeding express train come charging out of the fog with blaring lights and horn to mow me down :eek:. Have to cut down on my horror and thriller films.

Did a bit of core work afterwards and resting up now with a couple of alco free Eirdingers in preparation for tomorrow's 20M.

6.5M in 1:00 (9:14 pace)

Aimman

Bit of an eventful day.

I've only go up to 14M this year after the break and was planning a 20M run today. Instead of trying to get a good pace out of it, I decided to take it slow, cover the miles and experiment with nutrition along the way to get the tummy used to taking on solids again while running. Made up some flapjacks with dried fruit, nut and Chia last night and packed two of them along with a banana, planning to take half a banana at mile 5, the rest of the banana and a flapjack at 10M and the last flapjack at 15M.

1.2M into the run I stretched but didn't hit the stop button so my pacing was messed up. Reset the watch and started off again. I had a 20M loop planned, talking in the first half of the Tarmonbarry half marathon and parts of the Hilly Bogtrotter and Longford marathon. There was a lot of undulating roads up to the 12M mark until I got to Roosky.

I made the flapjacks too thin and with all the jostling in my pocket, I ended up with a bag of trail mix to pick at for the 10M and 15M point. Took a bottle of Aldi Isotonic (€1.79 for 4) and it went down better then Lucozade sport. Only problem was that I lost the cap at the early stages and bits kept spilling out. By mile 8 I had drank / spilt the bottle and was quite dehydrated towards the end (could have licked the dew off a sheep's carcass). because the flapjack was dry and needed a bit of fluid with it. The loop ended up being longer then Map My Run calculated and I finished with a 22M run.

I could feel it in the legs towards the end. My speed wasn't much, but I managed to get all the way around in one piece and straight into a hot bath. No problems walking around this evening though, apart from odd little stiffness when I stand up.

Next time, I'll add some peanut butter to the flapjacks and make them a bit thicker to stop them from falling apart.

Today, 22M run
Total for the Week : 55.6M

Very happy with building up the mileage again after just 3 weeks. Just have to keep the muscles interested and start working on increasing pace on the shorter runs now and balance the speed work and weekend LSRs.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Well done on getting the 22 miles in today. Laughed at the "could have licked the dew off a sheep's carcass":)

Aimman

4M recovery this lunchtime, to flush the bad bits out of the legs. Can relax now until the track work tomorrow evening.

hot to trot

Superb running. What is your next goal? MIleage and pace is coming on brilliantly.

Aimman

hot to trot wrote: »

Superb running. What is your next goal? MIleage and pace is coming on brilliantly.

Cheers H2T, I see your own milage is starting to increase again for the Comerades. The next goal is to do Connemara again in April and try to knock at least 20 mins off last years time. A whole half hour would be a bonus, but it depends on the weather and the quality of the speed work up to then. Have you any more races planned before Comerades?

hot to trot

Thanks. I reckon all my runs are training runs now including Connemara. Barcelona is the only one of note. Wont be as speedy as you . Probably should start speedwork again but am a bit nervous about it.

Aimman

hot to trot wrote: »

Probably should start speedwork again but am a bit nervous about it.

Probably better to start with short bursts of 100m at a decent pace without overdoing it, then stretch the distances to 200m and then to 400m over time. if there are no problems, then start building up the speed gradually, then go for 800m if all is good. but dont start out too quickly, just in case. but then again, you'll know yourself, when to start working on speed


Speed Session today, 6 x 800 laps in UCD with 2 min rest. Met up with Menoscemo. Decided not to aim for 7:00 pace, but more around the 7:20 to keep a more even pace over the laps.

(7:15) (7:19) (7:19) (7:25) (7:37) (7:17) (min miles)

Was happy with the legs performance considering Sundays's 22M run. Much more enjoyable session today with a better consistancy except for lap 5. I'll keep at this target and when the slower 4th and 5th laps settle to a pace of 7:20 per lap, I'll start pushing the boat out and bring down the times

With 1.5M WU and 1M CD, total milage today was 6M

Aimman

Did 4M at lunchtime and decided to pay a last visit to the gym in the evening because I used up all my free passes.

Did another 4M there, but lost the will to do any more because the Emergency Stop button is in an awkward place and I kept hitting of it and messing up my times and distances etc. Did some core work afterwards

4M at 9:30 at lunch, 4M at 8:00 on the treadmill. 8M total

RacoonQueen

Aimman wrote: »

Did 4M at lunchtime and decided to pay a last visit to the gym in the evening because I used up all my free passes.

Did another 4M there, but lost the will to do any more because the Emergency Stop button is in an awkward place and I kept hitting of it and messing up my times and distances etc. Did some core work afterwards

4M at 9:30 at lunch, 4M at 8:00 on the treadmill. 8M total

I find the pause button is in an awkward position. My finger just keeps lifting and hitting it as I raise my hands to poke my eyes out with boredom...

Aimman

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I find the pause button is in an awkward position. My finger just keeps lifting and hitting it as I raise my hands to poke my eyes out with boredom...

I thought the TV might have made it more bearable, but they weren't working. I should have left the gym, run home, put the dinner on, ran back to the gym, knocked off the treadmill and then had a shower.

Aimman

OK, quick catch up,

Thursday - 5M at easy pace
Friday - 3M at easy pace

Saturday - Aimman Ventura, Pet Detective.
Thought this session would have been my most difficult so far, but it was actually the most enjoyable. Planned to do 12M on Crugh Wood trail around a 2M loop, one mile uphill, one mile back down (thereabouts) overall height difference of 230ft, see link

Met up with Menoscemo and headed straight into the first asscent. Didnt do any warm up so we had to walk the last quarter of the hill then ran back down the other side. After the first loop, when Menoscemo headed away to do his own stuff, A worried woman stopped me and told me she lost her two dogs and was ages looking for them. about 500m into the second climb, i found the dogs and brought them back down to a very thankful owner. and had to start the 2nd climb again... no worries, glad she got reunited with the dogs.

Climbs were harder and steeper as I approached the top, but I kept it going. Good to see a few other runners passing through the trail on their runs to wherever.

Anyway, didnt stop running for the remaining climbs and had an easy jog on the way down as a rest, Cardio on the way up, fat burning on the way down. At the end, ran halfway back up the climb and turned around to make up to 12.5M and still felt good. Could have dome some more if the car park wasnt closing early.

Legs feeling good this evening. Got a new recovery drink in Race 2 Base this morning, tried it, not bad. I'll find out if it did the job tomorrow morning.

12.5M hill running in 2:11.

menoscemo

Sorry for bailing on you. Another day I will definately do that run again, it will definately be beneficial for conn, just not for me the day before a race .

Aimman

menoscemo wrote: »

Sorry for bailing on you. Another day I will definately do that run again, it will definately be beneficial for conn, just not for me the day before a race .

No worries. Fiar play to you for having a crack at it the day before Raheny, but it would have ruined any chance of a PB. Its a bit of a bitch, but definitely will help in Connemara (and Connor's pass in Dingle too ) Good luck in the 5M tomorrow.

Aimman

After yesterday's strenuous frolics of running up and down hills for 12.5M, the legs felt ok-ish this morning, but didn't feel up to a hardy 20M run. Went to the Donadea Forest park early to run the Sli Na Slainte route, approx 5K loops. The car park was close to the trail, so I was able to leave the drinks etc in the boot to pick up when I needed it.

First loop started off slow to get my bearings and warm up, hoping to speed it up a bit for the next loop. By loop 2, the legs were not convinced about increasing the pace. By mile 6, I stopped by the car and pick up a potato cake (seen a guy eat them in Conn last year, always wanted to try them out) and a gulp of lucozade sport

The legs were very very tired and every lap was going to be the last one. Each time I went around, the inclines seemed steeper and longer. (another potato cake at mile 9). Lost my new test gel out of my pocket, but found it on the next loop (at mile 12). Best tasting gel I've had. Was like smooth honey (was an organic gel) but didn't feel any kick from it, wont be buying it again.

Wanted to stop quite a few times, especially as the pace was suffering, but had to hang in to teach the legs to going despite being very tired, an essential part of Ultra running, and pays off in shed loads for the psychological perseverance for the next hard session.

After the sixth lap, I just had to make up another 0.6M to bring it up to 20M, then went back to the car for a lovely large bottle of yummy thick chocolate recovery drink to put the muscles into instant Intensive Care mode.

Didn't do much for the rest of the day, just rested. Legs are feeling fine now (no pains or niggles) but they are a bit drained. Good night sleep should sort it out.

20M for today
58.2M for the week

just short of 200M for the month by 8.9 miles, but I don't fancy doing that tomorrow before Tuesday's speed work. I'll just have to do without.

Aimman

Didn't get an opportunity to run yesterday, which was probably a good thing. Haven't had a day's rest in a while and the legs felt like they needed it after the weekend's running.

Lunchtime - 4M recovery
Didn't look at the watch once. Wanted to head off at a comfortable pace without fretting if I was too fast or too slow. I ran to what felt right for recovery. Ended up running at 8:54 pace. Felt good and fresh at the end of it.

Evening Time - 6 x 800m strides in UCD
In the last couple of sessions, strides 4 and 5 suffered badly. Last week, I pushed to try to keep a consistent 7.20 min mile per 800m, so set a target to repeat this pace, but improve lap 4 & 5.

Instead of the usual 1.5M warm up running up Fosters Avenue hill and through the campus, I kept to the track and mixed in static & dynamic stretches and short bursts for the 1.5M to get the system ready for the rush.

The 800m paces ended up as (7:06) (6:56) (6:56) (6:50) (6:53) (6:45)

Whoo Hoo!!!!! Much more consistent that any of the other speed sessions, I felt great as I came to the end of each interval and only rested for 100sec instead of the 120sec. Felt like I had a quicker recovery time this week and wanted to get going again. I had a better running posture this week. Normally, when the running gets tough, I tense up and hunch, tense and raise the shoulders, restricting my motion. today I was cruising around and didn't feel like I was over doing it, or dreading the next interval. Also, double bonus, the 5th interval was consistent with the rest.

I was that happy, I ended up doing a 2 mile cool down around the track to bring the mileage up to 7M for the session. Met Mithril on the track (easy to spot him in the dark, he's the only other runner in UCD with an luminous watch on the track, only faster).

Now that it's February, I'm back on the coffee and alcohol. Not sure what contributed to my faster times tonight... the two coffees in work, or the need to finish the session early to enjoy a couple of beers, either way, it worked. Have to try it next time :-)

Total miles today, 11.1

hot to trot

Do you know what your paces are when running the intervals or do you just push as hard as you cand and read them afterwards on your garmin?
Trying to figure best way to do this myself