If... the Unforgiving Minute

dna_leri

Thursday's plan said:
Alternation: 4 laps of 200m(1mi) / 200m (steady), 3min rest 1x200m alternating 50m fast / 50m cruise

It was a wet and wild evening at the track with hailstones knocking lumps out of me on the warm-up.

I tried to maximise the benefit of the strong wind but it was only with me around 1 bend and against me the rest of the time. My mile pace should be 35s for 200m, but in the conditions was 37s. However the effort felt about right. The "steady" pace was also hard to judge.

For the alternating 50s, the first 50m was like a build-up or stride, the next 50 hard, for the third 50 I was hardly able to slow to "cruise" with the wind at my back and for the fourth, I could not keep in my lane as I accelerated and the wind pushed me to the outside of the track.

I jogged 200m and did an extra 4x50m "alternation" just for the hell of it.

Tough conditions but not a tough session. Gets harder next week.

Oregano_State

Racing at the weekend D? If not, when's your next one?

dna_leri

Oregano_State wrote: »

Racing at the weekend D? If not, when's your next one?

I'll do a 5K at the weekend just to get used to a bit of suffering, then hoping to race an 800m every second week for 6 weeks, peaking at National Masters in mid-March.

dna_leri

First Sligo Parkrun

I joined the first Sligo parkrun on Saturday. I had hoped to run one elsewhere before now but never got around to it.

The 5K course starts by the Riverside and is completely on tarmac path. After about half a mile it takes a turn uphill for 2 anti-clockwise laps of Cleaveragh Park before finishing back near the start. It's not a course for fast times.

My plan was to stay with one of the lead groups and either push on in the last mile or last half mile depending on the quality of the group.

Weather was wet and windy as you would expect with a few hailstone showers to keep it interesting. A large puddle right at the start/finish was unavoidable.

Nobody pushed out the early pace so I stayed out front alongside a club mate who "was just doing a tempo" - but you never know. First mile was a comfortable 6:20.

By then a runner in a parkrun 100 jacket was alongside but I was doing most of the wind-breaking. With a mile to go I pushed on into the wind and finished first in 18:39. Not really the race prep I had planned but enjoyable and great to be part of the first Sligo parkrun. I suspect the record will not last long but nice to have it for a while. There were over 150 finishers which is a great start and I expect it will grow over the weeks.

dna_leri

Tuesday's plan was 800(1mi),500(800m),250(400m) w/ long rest
My target times were 800(2:24), 500(76s), 250(35s)

When I got to the track I was surprised to see it was empty. A quick jog around and I soon figured out why - there were some nice patches of ice. Although I remember running on something similar a few years ago, I was not foolish enough to try this time. I adjourned to the path around the track and managed to salvage the session.

My first rep was in 2:23, but it was a bit short of 800m.
The 500m was longer than planned in 84s.
The 250m probably just right in 36s.
Recovery times were 7-8 mins
Although paces were off, efforts were about right given the approximate distances and tighter turns.

Chivito550

Hey dna,

Any idea how one would go about entering the Connacht Senior Indoors on Athlone on March 1st? There's no link on the AAI fixtures page, and there doesn't even appear to be a Connacht Athletics website. Is it a rock up on the day sort of gig?

Oregano_State

Chivito550 wrote: »

Hey dna,

Any idea how one would go about entering the Connacht Senior Indoors on Athlone on March 1st? There's no link on the AAI fixtures page, and there doesn't even appear to be a Connacht Athletics website. Is it a rock up on the day sort of gig?

Great question, I also would like to know about this.

dna_leri

Chivito550 wrote: »

Hey dna,

Any idea how one would go about entering the Connacht Senior Indoors on Athlone on March 1st? There's no link on the AAI fixtures page, and there doesn't even appear to be a Connacht Athletics website. Is it a rock up on the day sort of gig?

Oregano_State wrote: »

Great question, I also would like to know about this.

They don't make it easy do they. shure we don't even have de internet over here.
Most entries are through the clubs and need to be submitted this week, at least for our club.
Best approach is to contact the Connacht Secretary. I will DM you both her details from the AAI website. If she is not the right person she should be able to redirect you.
Hope to see you both there.

dna_leri

I may as well update my log while I am here.

Key sessions were:

Thursday 5th
6mi moderate progression run +6x10sec hill sprints
Perfect evening for running. Did 5.5 laps of Cleaveragh Park, picking up the pace from about 8 min mile to around 6:20 and finishing fast. I walked to the steepest part of the park and did 6x10s hills hard effort with walk back.
I guess the point of this session is to run fast when the lactic has just started to build up.

Saturday 7th
10 miles at 7:57 including 6x30s fast surges with slow bits in between.

Sunday 8th
7 miles in Union with headphones in.
Started at 7:15 pace, dropped to 8 min uphill then around 7 mins before pushing the 6th one in 6:14. Still felt controlled, though bit tired afterwards.

Tuesday 10th
This was one session I had not been looking forward to: 3x(400,400) w/ 75sec rest and 5min rest. I mentioned it here a few weeks back and while the intention may have been to do these at race pace, I knew that would not be possible. I tried messaging Steve Magness for clarification but got no reply so I decided to make the best of it.

Even going into the session, it was a case of figure it out as I go along and I was still undecided whether to go with 2 sets as fast as possible or take the first 400m closer to mile pace and then pick it up for the 2nd rep. In the end I did neither.

Conditions were good for this time of the year, although a cool breeze was starting during the warm-up.
In my training spikes, the first 400m was done in low 64s, 75s later I did a high 64s.
For the 2nd set, it took me 6 mins to change to my racing spikes for the first time since the summer. Times now were mid 62s and high 66s.
By this stage, I knew there was no point in going for another set but after another 6 mins, I was able for a couple of 200s in low 30s and mid 32s.

I did not follow the plan but happy enough that I made my best attempt, which reflects where I am at.

Chivito550

dna_leri wrote: »

They don't make it easy do they. shure we don't even have de internet over here.
Most entries are through the clubs and need to be submitted this week, at least for our club.
Best approach is to contact the Connacht Secretary. I will DM you both her details from the AAI website. If she is not the right person she should be able to redirect you.
Hope to see you both there.

Thanks for that. Very hard to source results from last year. Would there be many seniors running do you imagine? Will there be electronic timing?

dna_leri

Chivito550 wrote: »

Thanks for that. Very hard to source results from last year. Would there be many seniors running do you imagine? Will there be electronic timing?

I had a look for the results earlier too and could not find them, just this report
http://craughwellac.com/site/index.php/juvenile-club-mainmenu-103/1305-craughwell-s-young-adults-dominant-at-connacht-indoors

I was there 2 years ago and if I remember correctly there was electronic timing for the 60m sprints only. I know they have now split it into 2 days so it should be better run but no guarantees.

Chivito550

dna_leri wrote: »

I had a look for the results earlier too and could not find them, just this report
http://craughwellac.com/site/index.php/juvenile-club-mainmenu-103/1305-craughwell-s-young-adults-dominant-at-connacht-indoors

I was there 2 years ago and if I remember correctly there was electronic timing for the 60m sprints only. I know they have now split it into 2 days so it should be better run but no guarantees.

Not liking the use of the terminology "took silver in the 400m in an unofficial time of 52.x".

dna_leri

Thursday
12x200m w/ 200m jog at 3k-1mi pace
Target pace was 39-36s.
With Tuesday's session still in my legs, this was not as easy as it looked on paper.
I started with a 36, then eased too much to high 39s, before slowly picking it up to 33s. First 6 averaged 38s and then second half 35s.
Recoveries were just over a minute.

dna_leri

Race - 800m Leinster Indoor Masters in Athlone
Back in my favourite venue for the first race of the season proper. Plan was to race, not time-trial and ideally negative split - fast 800s are usually positive splits. I arrived in plenty of time and met some familiar faces - including Sacksian who does not look a day over 35.
The M35s were in one race and M40s & M45s in the next one. Sacksian duly won the first race with a close sprint finish against a strong competitor.
There were nine in my race. I shared lane 4 so I got out quick ahead of my lane mate. I broke into 3rd place I think. I got bumped around the second bend but held my own despite being the smallest in the field. I moved into second place down the home straight to keep out of trouble and follow the USAC leader who had opened a lead of about 2m. I think the first lap was 32-33s and 400m at 66s.
At some point the lead was taken by a guy in a yellow vest (Portmarnock AC?). I was still in second but at the bell I was passed out by two red vests of Drogheda. I heard a shout from the crowd "that's it lads, stick together". I had visions of them blocking me off down the finishing straight so I decided to go.
Taking advantage of the slight downhill, I went wide coming off the bend to slingshot past the two red vests and the yellow one. Down the straight, I kicked again to make sure. I'm not sure how much I gapped them but they were well out of my peripheral vision. No one came back at me down the finish though I tried to keep it going strong.
I got an unofficial time of 2:09 afterwards, my slowest in a long time but I got negative splits of 66/63 if I heard them correctly. I'd guess is was 32,34,33,30.
After a short recovery, I put back on my flats, jacket and hat and went outside for a quick session of 4x200 off 90s in 28,28,29,30. Although I was a bit concerned about the slow race time, the negative splits and the fast session afterwards consoled me. I'll come back to Athlone in 2 weeks time for the Connacht Champs and I hope a faster time. In the meantime there is plenty of training to be done.

pconn062

Well done today, those are nice splits and the 30 second last 200m is particularly encouraging. I missed the 800's as I had to leave early, also difficult to bump into people when you're not sure what they look like! Well done again.

Sacksian

dna_leri wrote: »

Race - 800m Leinster Indoor Masters in Athlone
Although I was a bit concerned about the slow race time, the negative splits and the fast session afterwards consoled me. I'll come back to Athlone in 2 weeks time for the Connacht Champs and I hope a faster time. In the meantime there is plenty of training to be done.

I wasn’t sure what the finishing time in your race was, but it was obvious from watching that you ran a big negative split.

You seemed to go from fourth to a big lead in the space of about 20 metres - really great to have that change of gears. It also probably shows how little you were taxed by the first lap.

I wouldn’t be too worried about times in a race like that.

dna_leri wrote: »

I arrived in plenty of time and met some familiar faces - including Sacksian who does not look a day over 35.

I’m actually a very young-looking M55, I’ll have you know.

dna_leri

Sacksian wrote: »

I’m actually a very young-looking M55, I’ll have you know.

How did your 1500m go?

Sacksian

dna_leri wrote: »

How did your 1500m go?

Managed to win that too - pretty much identical tactics in both! Can’t remember the exact time but I know I squeezed under 4:20 by a couple 00ths of a second) for the 15 (and dipped under 2:05 by a similar margin for the 800).

Did you see the provisional timetable for the Masters?

Not sure what you were planning but it seems like the 400/800 double has been made more difficult? Or at least there seems to be very little recovery time.

dna_leri

Sacksian wrote: »

Managed to win that too - pretty much identical tactics in both! Can’t remember the exact time but I know I squeezed under 4:20 by a couple 00ths of a second) for the 15 (and dipped under 2:05 by a similar margin for the 800).

Did you see the provisional timetable for the Masters?

Not sure what you were planning but it seems like the 400/800 double has been made more difficult? Or at least there seems to be very little recovery time.

Good going, nice times too.

I knew from previous years that the 400/800 double was practically impossible.
The 800/1500 double should be possible (for you).

dna_leri

Tuesday split 800s
I was not dreading this session as much as last week's even though I was only 2 days after racing.
I rested on Monday and was glad I planned it, as an emergency dental procedure was needed. While lying there with a drill in my mouth, I reran Sunday's race over in my head and realised the race did not hurt much at all.
Tuesday's plan was 2x(500, 100m walk, 200m) with 6-8min rest. 500m at 800m pace, 200m kick in.
76-80s would have been ideal for the 500s but once I got started I realised the race was still in my legs.
A brisk wind did not help me either, although I tried to minimise the time spent running into the breeze.
Actual times for the 500m were 82s & 83s
The 100m walk took 1 min - it was into the wind !
The 200m times were both 30.x
I was tempted to cut the session after the first 500 but reckoned the point of the session was to do it on tired legs (since it was scheduled for 2 days after a race in the plan) so I persevered. I will do some faster reps later in the week.

dna_leri

Catch-up

Thursday 19th
Plan called for 2x80m, 2x100m, 2x150m sprints w/ long rest.
When I got to the track it was in darkness and locked so I had to do the session on the gravel path outside.
After warming up, I paced out approximate distances.
Effort for the 2x80m was around 400m pace but I did not time them.
I picked it up a little for the 2nd 100m but still kept it controlled.
Recoveries were a slow jog/walk for about 400m in 4-5 mins, which was plenty of time.
I pushed it a bit in the 150s and timed the last one in 18s which seems a bit quick, probably a bit short.
Overall this did not feel like a tough session, maybe I should have gone harder but still felt some twitching in the calf muscles later.

Easy run on Friday 20th.
9 miles with strides on Saturday 21st.

Sunday 22nd
7 easy miles were called for to finish the week.
Despite the cool wet conditions, I was bouncing along.
I easily kept sub 7 min/mile where that pace was an effort on my last progression run. I really felt that my aerobic conditioning was better than ever.

Easy run on Monday 23rd.

Tuesday 24th
Plan was for 2-3x(600,200) w/75sec rest and 5min
This was my key workout according to my training plan but there was no way I was going to try for more than 2 reps. My intention was to make "best effort" to run two at close to race pace but without a pace-maker it would be tough (even with one it would be tough). Conditions were as good as you could expect at this time of year, cool light breeze, a little misty rain. In the past, I have done 2x600s in around 1:39 but without the 200m add-on and with longer recoveries. But for my target 800m times, I should be hitting them in 1:33-1:35.
This time they were a shocking 1:42/31s. A few years ago I would have been concerned about not hitting the target times but now I know better.

One of the main benefits I have got from following the Magness plan in this training cycle has been how to manage the competition phase. I never knew whether to train hard before lead-up races or how best to taper. I still don't know how this will work but it's an advantage not to have to think about it. After Tuesday I just did easy/steady runs with strides as planned and only felt meh at best.

Friday I had another dental appointment which I did not enjoy and I also ended up with a bad head cold. By Saturday night I was thinking about dropping out of Sunday's race - actually I never really considered it for more than a second.

dna_leri

Sunday
Headed down to Athlone for the Connacht Championships. There were unbelievable blizzard conditions on the way down. Luckily I left plenty of time as events were actually running ahead of time despite some good size fields with plenty of guests.
For the 800m the junior, senior and masters are usually run off together but this time there were 4 heats of 8 or 9 in each. The first one was juniors, the second one mostly U23s and then 2 heats of senior/masters (mainly masters afaik). I got asked to move to the 2nd heat with the young lads (half my age I guessed). I did not mind, I hoped there would be a decent pace. There was one guy from my club who is more of a hill-runner but would probably go 2:05.

On the way down to the track I reminded myself that this was going to hurt. At the start I was sharing a lane with a young lad who was a bit inexperienced and from the gun he quickly cut across into the next lane well before the break point. He was lucky not to get reamed out of it by the runner inside us (or disqualified). I settled into a mid-pack position and tried to move to the inside of the track. I ended up behind my club-mate as 3 lads took up the pace at the front. My first lap was 30-31s. It was great to have timing clocks every 100m but I really only took note of the lap times.

I went through mid-way at 62-63s and still felt comfortable. At the bell I think I was in 5th with a widening gap ahead to 3rd. I moved into 4th off the bend, passing my club-mate and tried to chase down the next guy who I think was Timmaay (sp?). I closed the gap a little but was not going to catch him. The clock stopped for the winner in just under 2:02. I hope I was 2:05-2:06. I did not wait around for the results to find out.

I was pretty happy with the race and probably had more in me if I pushed on the 3rd lap. By my estimates I ran even splits and had maybe a bit too much in the tank on the last lap - it never really hurt the way it should. That is not a bad way was to leave it with one more race in two weeks time. I should be ready for whatever or whoever comes at me that day. Just some sharpening work to do over the next few weeks in case I need another gear.

pconn062

Well done, good racing.

dna_leri

I got my time for Sunday's 800m as 2:06.66 - on the slow end of what I thought.
According to the results I was 2nd Connacht senior excluding all the guests but I'm not sure if that is correct, there could be some names missing.

Tuesday was another advertisement for indoor running with hailstones hopping off the track as I warmed-up and put on my spikes.
The plan was 2x(300, 100m cruise, 100m) w/ 300 at 800m pace, 100m kick. 5min rest between.
My target time for the 300s was 46s.
Actuals were both 46.6s, with 30s cruise/jog and 15.2/15.6s to finish.
Not a tough session but enough to test out a few niggles which seem under control.

ECOLII

dna_leri wrote: »

I got my time for Sunday's 800m as 2:06.66 - on the slow end of what I thought.
According to the results I was 2nd Connacht senior excluding all the guests but I'm not sure if that is correct, there could be some names missing.

Wouldn't be surprised to be honest everyone and their uncle from Leinster seemed to not want there indoor season to end as I know guys from about 5 different clubs who guested in the distance races alone.

Chivito550

dna_leri wrote: »

I got my time for Sunday's 800m as 2:06.66 - on the slow end of what I thought.
According to the results I was 2nd Connacht senior excluding all the guests but I'm not sure if that is correct, there could be some names missing.

Tuesday was another advertisement for indoor running with hailstones hopping off the track as I warmed-up and put on my spikes.
The plan was 2x(300, 100m cruise, 100m) w/ 300 at 800m pace, 100m kick. 5min rest between.
My target time for the 300s was 46s.
Actuals were both 46.6s, with 30s cruise/jog and 15.2/15.6s to finish.
Not a tough session but enough to test out a few niggles which seem under control.

Where are the results?

dna_leri

Chivito550 wrote: »

Where are the results?

http://www.craughwellac.com/site/images/2015/indoors/ConnachtIndoorResults2015.pdf

dna_leri

Plan for Thursday was 300,200,150 w/ 4min rest (800, just faster than 800, 400)
That translated into 300m in 46s, 200m in 30s and 150m in 21s.
Actuals were 44.5s, 29.8s, 22.1s
With the first one too fast and the last one too slow, it was all a bit same-paced.
I could blame the wind...

Sacksian

Best of luck on Sunday, dna! Have you had a chance to study your competition yet?

I won't make it, unfortunately, but better a couple of weeks out now than a couple of months from Monday and I'll no doubt see you at some of the gradeds over the summer - maybe even an IMC race if you're looking to take down your pb?

pconn062

Sacksian wrote: »

Best of luck on Sunday, dna! Have you had a chance to study your competition yet?

I won't make it, unfortunately, but better a couple of weeks out now than a couple of months from Monday and I'll no doubt see you at some of the gradeds over the summer - maybe even an IMC race if you're looking to take down your pb?

Are you injured Sacksian?

Good luck at the weekend DL, have a good (and tactical ) race.