Getting Back To My Best

Brianderunner

Fri 1st July, 5 mls in 38'45 (7'45) in the heath. Faster than yesterday but felt easy enough. Bit hungover to do the tempo so i'll do it tomorrow morning.

Brianderunner

Sat 2nd July, Plan was 2 mls w/u then 5 mls at tempo pace (6'25-6'30) and 2 mls w/d. The warm up bit went fine alright but the tempo was a nightmare. Planned to do 2 laps of the regents park outer circle but after a mile i was stuggling (6'30) and i couldnt go any further than 2 mls, 2nd one 6'38 for 2 mls in 13'08. Not sure what went wrong there but it would have been silly to continue. Did the 2 mls w/d for 6 mls total.

Sun 3rd July, Plan was for 10 mls easy but only got 7mls before the legs cried enough. 63'30 for the 7 mls (9'04 pace). Bit of a hilly course (in the heath) but thats not a great excuse.

Weekly Review, 33 mls and 6 runs but a week to forget. I was fairly busy the last 4 days so i wasnt planning a big mileage week but even then its still fairly shocking. I'll get back on the horse next week.

Yearly Mileage, 922 mls. First half of the year was 909 mls. 2,000 for the year would be nice. Sub 3 would be better, but i guess the 2 go hand in hand.

Brianderunner

Mon 4th July, 6.5 mls in 54'09 (8'20) easy enough. Down to regents, outside grass lap and back. Felt much better than the last 2 days. 8 x 100m strides after. 7 mls total.

Gonna have to start writing down my running for the week ahead to give myself some guidance like i used to do before Barca. The 2nd club track night is tomorrow. Theres a 1500m and a 400m. Dont fancy getting blown out of it (again) so might leave it off.

I have that stupid London 10k on Sunday (trying to figure out why i bothered entering it) 27,000 runners :rolleyes:. I'll spend the whole race passing out slower runners. Might just use it as a recovery run.

Brianderunner

Tues 5th July, 10 mls MLR up to Alexandra Park and back in 84'51 (8'29). Felt good despite the driving rain from mile 3 onwards. The Ally Pally has been on my list of runs for a while now and thats crossed off the list. Judging by my darts game in Barca i won't be playing here in the world champs any time soon! Fairly hilly course and a bit tired to do core properly after, bailed on that after 5 mins. The hill up from my house at the start of tonights run is just sick, see link, no wonder i avoid it

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97111838

Like a chicken i bailed on the club track meet, didnt fancy getting destroyed and i think i made the right decision. I have no business running a 1500 or a 400m at this stage.

Brianderunner

Weds 6th July, Headed over to the club. After a mile w/u (9'00) it was announced that there was no session due to last nights club track meet. Fair enough, i didnt fancy a big session anyway. So we all did a 9 mls hilly steady run. I found myself drawn in with the big boys as always and it was tough to keep up with them at times. Enjoyable run which covered all of the heath. The 9 mls were done in 67'01 (7'26) which felt like 7 min pace with the hills. Pretty much the same route i attempted last Sunday at 9 min pace but couldnt finish. Just shows what running in a group can do. 10 mls total.

I've really pounded out the miles this week, 27 already. Monster sesh planned Friday or Saturday, LSR of 10 mls plus 6 mls @ MP then 2 w/d, then the overly crowded 10k on Sunday, which i might skip and lie in instead Its over the olympic marathon course though so i should probably do it.

Brianderunner

Fri 8th July, 4 mls recovery in 35'46 (8'56) around the flat section of the heath. Felt good after the first mile, legs were dead yesterday so had to take a rest day really. Was gonna do the big MP run tonight but Paris was on. I'll do that tomorrow and jog the 10k on Sunday. 20 mins core and one legged squats after.

Brianderunner

Sat 9th July, LSR of 18 mls consisting of 10 "warm up" and 6 at PMP followed by 2 mls w/d. Headed down to Hyde Park on my usual LSR route, did a lap there and back to the Regents Park outer circle after 10 miles in 84 mins. The MP miles were ok at first but the last 2 were tough enough, not quite tempo effort but the legs were a bit dead, probably from the tough week i've had more than fatigue from the run but i was glad to finish nonetheless, 6 mls in 40'48 (6'48). 2 painful w/d miles then for 18 miles total in 2'22'51 (7'56)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97975334

Sun 10th July, British 10k London Run.

Just 13 hrs after finishing last evenings run i headed down on the tube to the start of this one. The crowd was enormous, the numbers went up to 45,000 and there may well have been that many in the race. I lined up closer to the back than the front and it took me 19 mins to cross the start line :eek:

I had no intention of racing this or even using it as a tempo run tbh. I just wanted to do one of the big ones for the atmosphere. Headed out around 9 min pace and it was the perfect recovory run tbh. The race took us down past Trafalgar Square and down by the river, London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey were part of the route. Finished in over 74 mins on the clock and 55'34 (8'59) on the garmin. Felt ok but legs were heavy throughout. That was to be expected after yesterday though.

Really good race atmosphere and it felt like i was running the London Marathon for a lot of it. You'd have to get there ages before the start if you wanted to get proper racing room though, worth doing for the buzz but i wouldnt bother running this for a pb attempt.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/98212939

Weekly Review, 6 runs and 55 miles (lifetime peak weekly mileage) Would be nice to keep it to 50 or higher for most weeks before Berlin.

Yearly Mileage, 977 miles. The 1,000 mile challenge will be cracked on Weds or Thursday surely

Brianderunner

Mon 11th July, 6.5 mls easy enough in 51'48 (8'28), usual Regents Park run. 8 x 100m strides after then 30 mins core and one legged squats in the heath. First time doing core outdoors and I cant believe i havent thought of doing it before, especially on a balmy evening like last night. I find the core is a good indicator of whether i'm generally fatigued or not, as I cant finish my normal core session if I ran too hard. 7 mls total.

Plan for the week;

Tues - 11 mls MLR
Weds - Session club
Thurs - 6 mls easy
Fri - Rest, fly to Dublin.
Sat - 5 mile race phoenix park as a tempo run (6'21 - 6'29 pace) with w/u and w/d. Course is too hilly for a pb i have decided.
Sun - 10/12 miles whatever the others decide on and hangover dependent. Which will be about 50 mls for the week.

tunguska

Brianderunner wrote: »

Sat - 5 mile race phoenix park as a tempo run (6'21 - 6'29 pace) with w/u and w/d. Course is too hilly for a pb i have decided.

It is a hilly course alright but I wouldnt let the fact that you may not pb stop you from running eyeballs out. Get in with a group thats going at a pace you can barely handle and hang on. Sure its nice to pb but first and foremost its about intensity of effort and racing.

Brianderunner

tunguska wrote: »

It is a hilly course alright but I wouldnt let the fact that you may not pb stop you from running eyeballs out. Get in with a group thats going at a pace you can barely handle and hang on. Sure its nice to pb but first and foremost its about intensity of effort and racing.

Travelling to a different country for a race and not racing it is a bit odd i know, it's just that sub 30 has been my goal for 6 years and i want to find the perfect race for the attempt. I can just picture a dirty headwind running up the S bends and then watching sub 30 slip away up the kyber, defeatist i know. A 30:30 would do nothing for me tbh.

Also i have ramped my mileage up last week and this week and a race on Saturday probably isnt the best idea until my body gets used to it.

tHE vAGGABOND

First time doing core outdoors and I cant believe i havent thought of doing it before

I must say, its a great idea...

I may have to steal that one

Mr Slow

Brianderunner wrote: »

Travelling to a different country for a race and not racing it is a bit odd i know, it's just that sub 30 has been my goal for 6 years and i want to find the perfect race for the attempt. I can just picture a dirty headwind running up the S bends and then watching sub 30 slip away up the kyber, defeatist i know. A 30:30 would do nothing for me tbh.

Also i have ramped my mileage up last week and this week and a race on Saturday probably isnt the best idea until my body gets used to it.

The first 5k is either flat or downhill, could you bank enough to allow for the harder parts?

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

Travelling to a different country for a race and not racing it is a bit odd i know, it's just that sub 30 has been my goal for 6 years and i want to find the perfect race for the attempt. I can just picture a dirty headwind running up the S bends and then watching sub 30 slip away up the kyber, defeatist i know. A 30:30 would do nothing for me tbh.

Also i have ramped my mileage up last week and this week and a race on Saturday probably isnt the best idea until my body gets used to it.

Think the first 5k are fairly flat, i'm planning on going out hard and hoping to drag myself around the last couple of mile, i'd say you would be close to going sub 30 in this race, going on your splits from your last 10k. The last 1k will be a killer on any course, but if you go out at 6:29 Might try and keep you in my sights for the first few miles if i am feeling good.

Brianderunner

Mr Slow wrote: »

The first 5k is either flat or downhill, could you bank enough to allow for the harder parts?

Yep if my overall target for the tempo run is 6'25 i can go out at 6'20's to bank some time then slow to 6'30's on the hills

shels4ever wrote: »

Think the first 5k are fairly flat, i'm planning on going out hard and hoping to drag myself around the last couple of mile, i'd say you would be close to going sub 30 in this race, going on your splits from your last 10k. The last 1k will be a killer on any course, but if you go out at 6:29 Might try and keep you in my sights for the first few miles if i am feeling good.

Good plan but best to keep something for the hills i would say. You may well kick way from me at the finish if you stay with me that long

Sub 30 can wait for another day. Won't be packing my racers when i leave for the airport on Friday, as of now anyway.

rainbow kirby

Brianderunner wrote: »

Won't be packing my racers when i leave for the airport on Friday, as of now anyway.

Not even as a fashion statement?

Brianderunner

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Not even as a fashion statement?

Nope just the ugly wave inspire 7's for me. Keeping the orange ones for Berlin

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

Yep if my overall target for the tempo run is 6'25 i can go out at 6'20's to bank some time then slow to 6'30's on the hills



Good plan but best to keep something for the hills i would say. You may well kick way from me at the finish if you stay with me that long

Sub 30 can wait for another day. Won't be packing my racers when i leave for the airport on Friday, as of now anyway.

Not planning on keeping to much for the hill's will decided on friday how hard to go out, all depends how this week goes, I dont think i'll see you with 1k to go, well this year at least.

Brianderunner

shels4ever wrote: »

Not planning on keeping to much for the hill's will decided on friday how hard to go out, all depends how this week goes, I dont think i'll see you with 1k to go, well this year at least.

Thats fighting talk, tell me more of your 2012 plan?? Shall I be expecting you over here next August to compete in the olympics

Seriously though , i kept a good bit in the locker in Donore for the hills and it really paid off. Best strategy imo.

Weds 12th July, 11 mls MLR in 1'31'29 (8'19) down to Regents, 2 big laps of the outside grass, then back to the heath for a few laps of the track to make up the distance. Ran out of energy a bit after 7 mls and struggled a bit. Impressed at my mental strength though, easily could have taken a shortcut but kept the head down and ploughed on.

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

Thats fighting talk, tell me more of your 2012 plan?? Shall I be expecting you over here next August to compete in the olympics

.

Sub 30 5 mile and the Inter clubs XC is the plan for next year. Thats if everything goes perfect for the next 8 months.

Brianderunner

shels4ever wrote: »

Sub 30 5 mile and the Inter clubs XC is the plan for next year. Thats if everything goes perfect for the next 8 months.

Nice, that would put you ahead of your brother too, now that's all the incentive you need!!

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

Nice, that would put you ahead of your brother too, now that's all the incentive you need!!

Yep little brothers need to be put in their place, although he just run a 2 mile Pb tonight so he's getting back into good form.

Brianderunner

shels4ever wrote: »

Yep little brothers need to be put in their place, although he just run a 2 mile Pb tonight so he's getting back into good form.

Well my little brother lapped me in a 4 lap race last time i raced him!!

What time did Alan do tonight, 11:15? Did he beat the 2 boys this time? Tell him its 2-0 to me in our last 2 competitive meetings

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

Well my little brother lapped me in a 4 lap race last time i raced him!!

What time did Alan do tonight, 11:15? Did he beat the 2 boys this time? Tell him its 2-0 to me in our last 2 competitive meetings

Nope still can't beat mick(11:15 i think), Al ran 11:25 tonight, think the 11:15 isnt far off as he is pacing himself alot better now, sub 11:10 i think is possible by the end of the series.

Brianderunner

shels4ever wrote: »

Nope still can't beat mick(11:15 i think), Al ran 11:25 tonight, think the 11:15 isnt far off as he is pacing himself alot better now, sub 11:10 i think is possible by the end of the series.

Good going, there's few things more painful than a 2 mile race, its like your lungs are being ripped out. Do you ever think of doing these yourself? or do you like to watch

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

Good going, there's few things more painful than a 2 mile race, its like your lungs are being ripped out. Do you ever think of doing these yourself? or do you like to watch

I couldnt go an watch tonight as i would have run, Planning on doing the winter league , if I raced it now i'd prob pop a calf or something and with only 11 weeks left i cant risk that, but love 2 mile races,

Brianderunner

shels4ever wrote: »

I couldnt go an watch tonight as i would have run, Planning on doing the winter league , if I raced it now i'd prob pop a calf or something and with only 11 weeks left i cant risk that, but love 2 mile races,

Yeah i agree, little to be gained from a short race so close to Berlin at this stage, an injury now and its game over essentially. It was fun to do a few of them in June though, nice break from the usual plod. My only all out race between now and Berlin looks like being a half on Aug 14th. 2 solid 5 week blocks of training on the way for me either side of that one. Still the Frank Duffy for you as the goal race yeah?

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

Yeah i agree, little to be gained from a short race so close to Berlin at this stage, an injury now and its game over essentially. It was fun to do a few of them in June though, nice break from the usual plod. My only all out race between now and Berlin looks like being a half on Aug 14th. 2 solid 5 week blocks of training on the way for me either side of that one. Still the Frank Duffy for you as the goal race yeah?

Looks like the lakelands 15 the week before will be a pmp run and then see how that goes, then race the 10 miler, but if the 15 goes well I might skip the 10miler all depends how the next hard block goes.

Brianderunner

shels4ever wrote: »

Looks like the lakelands 15 the week before will be a pmp run and then see how that goes, then race the 10 miler, but if the 15 goes well I might skip the 10miler all depends how the next hard block goes.

15 miles at MP will leave you fairly beat up, you won't be 100% 6 days later for the Frank Duffy. It is a great idea though, i was telling meno to do the same, gonna look for a 15 miler as an MP run over here too.

michaeltipp

Hi, In regard to the Lakeland 15 I live on the course at the 5 mile mark approx. It is a good fairly flat course except for steep climb for most of first mile. Cant see Louis Kenny time of 1hr 14 mins 11 secs being broken but great event to see how Marathon prep going. Would be good to do that and then the 10 following Sat in Phoenix Park. That would be good benchmark for any of us

shels4ever

Brianderunner wrote: »

15 miles at MP will leave you fairly beat up, you won't be 100% 6 days later for the Frank Duffy. It is a great idea though, i was telling meno to do the same, gonna look for a 15 miler as an MP run over here too.

Yep I know, the week after is a planned step back week anyway so recovery shouldn't be much of a problem. But everything in my plan is been played by ear and will adjust everthing depending on how I feel.