Aiming for a sub 45min 10km.

belcarra · 16-08-2011 11:25pm

Day 50 - Rest Day
I had planned to do a 12 mile run today but as I was about to get ready I glanced out the window and the rain was teeming down. I gave it about 15 mins before deciding fcuk it and postponing it until tomorrow. Have to admit i squandered the rare Rest Day in the end...:o

Day 51 - Medium Long Run - 18.0km @ 145 bpm
Part 1
I changed at work into my running gear and headed to the Park for 12 miles before the Arsenal v Udinese match started. Started at the Papal Cross CP and started off doing the second lap of the 10miler coming up on Sat. However, 2 miles into it i realised I had to visit the toilet and this got worse as I continued so packed it in after the lap of 4 miles and drove home to use the toilet and then continue the session around Santry/Ballymun.

Time: 00:32:03
Distance: 6.59 km
Av Pace: 4:52 min/km
Avg HR: 144 bpm
Max HR: 159 bpm

Part 2
Went for the usual loop and managed to get two laps of the wooded section which was good. I started this off slowly and built up the tempo throughout. I relaised that apart from races I hadn't been pushing myself too much in training (Outside of speed sessions). Instead I have been too content to relax into GA/Recovery pace territory over the past few weeks. Tonight I pushed it a little more in both sessions. This meant the pace was just under 5:00/km for the full 18km which seems pretty positive.
I was meant to run 19km but due to a miscalculation I aimed and did 18km...d'oh!

Time: 00:57:36
Distance: 11.41 km
Av Pace: 5:02 min/km
Avg HR: 146 bpm
Max HR: 160 bpm

belcarra · 17-08-2011 11:29pm

Day 52 - Long Slow Run - 35.8km @ ??? bpm
Epic equipment fail this evening but epic training success!!
I had ensured the Garmin was fully charged last night as I knew today was gonna be an LSR day. I threw it in my sports bag after it finished charging and thought nothing more of it until I took it out this evening to put it on and the dreaded low battery warning greeted me! I am guessing it must have randomly been switched on when in the bag and the battery ran down? Anyways once I got over the feelings of loss, loneliness, vulnerability, desperation, etc. I decided there was nothing for it but to head out without it (This was after I frantically searched for some sort of old stop watch to use instead but they were all long gone too!)

I started off at 6:12pm by my phone's stopwatch which I left behind in my apartment (I don't like carrying the phone with me when running). The first few kms felt weird. I kept looking at my bare wrist out of habit! Eventually I settled into a nice even pace which I would have guessed was approx 130bpm (I'm getting good at that now too!).

My course was from Northwood (Santry to the Southsiders!) through Ballymun to Phibsboro and then over to the Phoenix Park where I went up Chesterfield Avenue to the monument and then did the Frank Duffy 10 mile route. Once I came to the Papal Cross at the end of this I turned back down Chesterfield Ave and retraced my steps for home. I felt pretty good through most of it with a few low spots which mainly happened on the downhill sections due to my legs getting a pounding! Today the uphill inclines really were my friends as this was the most comfortable for running for my body's sake. Aerobically it still took a little more out of me but at that pace it doesn't really matter too much.

It was getting dark as I was on the way back through Ballymun and as I was about half a mile from home a bunch of 14 year old types joined the footpath beside me. A few of them started running alongside me but they were good natured. One of them asked how long had I been running and she gave some shriek of amazement when I said 6:15 (It was approximately 9:20 at this stage!). That gave me a good feeling. A couple of the others tried staying with me for 400yrds or so but they too gave up at that point. It was only after they had quit that I realised I had sub-consciously upped the pace considerably and it felt fine. This was now 200m from home so that was a positive note to finish on!
In the end, after tracing my route on Google Maps I did 35.8km...Not bad for a Wednesday evening run!!:D
I'm in two minds about the race on Saturday now. Having done 53km in the past 30 hours I reckon much of that will still be in the legs on Sat. I may take it as a slowish tempo run and kick on if I still feel fine halfway through. MY current PB is 1:22 odd so I could probably still break that without exerting too much effort. Will probably decide just before the race depending on how I feel.

Time: 03:25:11
Distance: 35.8 km
Av Pace: 5:51 min/km
Avg HR: ??? bpm
Max HR: ??? bpm

PS: I could easily take 4mins off my time this evening to allow for leaving and returning to my apartment and for waiting at traffic lights, but I think I'll remain conservative with the time/pacing instead!

Woddle · 17-08-2011 11:36pm

belcarra wrote: »

I'm in two minds about the race on Saturday now.

Don't be, your in great nick and Saturday is ages away, just get the recovery miles in and go out and hammer it.

There's a new 405 update apparently it sorts out the battery issue.

belcarra · 17-08-2011 11:40pm

Woddle wrote: »

There's a new 405 update apparently it sorts out the battery issue.

Does that work on the 305 also?:D

Woddle · 17-08-2011 11:41pm

belcarra wrote: »

Does that work on the 305 also?:D

You mean on the Fred Flintstone of watches

dunno

belcarra · 18-08-2011 12:03am

Woddle wrote: »

belcarra wrote: »

Does that work on the 305 also?:D

You mean on the Fred Flintstone of watches dunno

Don't knock Fred...he may be large, heavy and not very handsome but he still pulled Wilma!!

belcarra · 19-08-2011 5:44pm

Day 53 - Recovery Run - 8.0km @ ??? bpm
Issues with my Garmin battery again meant that I ran this nice and easy by feel. Main priority and even more so than any other run so far was RECOVERY! Felt like I was plodding a little but overall not too bad. I had my worries at work when the top of my left ankle started to swell throughout the day but even though it was sore to start off walking during the day, running seemed much easler thankfully. The effects of neurofen had worked off a lot of the swelling by the time I returned home and it hasn't bothered me since:).

Time: 00:00:00 ???
Distance: 8.00 km
Av Pace: ?:?? min/km
Avg HR: ??? bpm
Max HR: ??? bpm

Day 54 - Rest Day
I've decided to devote one whole Rest Day to the 10 miler tomorrow so hopefully I'm feeling reasonably fresh for it! Plan to go out for the first 4km or thereabouts in 4:50/km and see how I feel after that.
It'd be nice to think that I could push on by a few seconds per km at that stage but I'll play that by ear!

belcarra · 23-08-2011 5:11pm

Day 55 - Frank Duffy 10 mile Race - 16.1km @ 155bpm
I felt good on the morning of this race and really benefited from the rest day beforehand. i was due to meet my brother and his mate near the finish line but poor timing meant that he arrived after I lost patience and had departed for the start line.

I strolled along the side of Wave 1 looking to see how far it went back but I couldn't see any sign of a separation for Waves 2 or 3. In fairness i was always going to be going into the middle of Wave 1 but for those that might make a conscious decision to do the right thing and go further back I could see how they could have trouble getting the right starting location! While waiting around i noticed Woddle about 15m further up the wave but didn't bother to approach.

I had the loose plan of doing 4:50/km for the first 6 miles and then pushing to 4:45/km for the last 4 miles. This would get me home around the 78 min mark. So, off we set. The first mile was pretty slow alright but I didn't bother weaving too much. It simply helped to keep me from going too fast too early so I ended up doing the first km in 4:51 - pretty much perfect! The next few km the field began to loosen out a little allowing for gradual overtaking. This also coincided with the fastes section of the course. Without really noticing it I started to really fly going down the hills towards mile 3. I passed loads and thought to myself that I felt really good still, so why not continue? Kms 1-6 were: 4:51, 4:41, 4:35, 4:29, 4:26, 4:36. I was well ahead of the targeted pace but still felt good.

I kept it steady up the S-Bends and around to the top of Millitary Hill where once again I started to fly past people on the downhill. Unfortunately some of those people started to repass me again going up towards Wellington Memorial. Then as I turned for Chesterfield Avenue I really began to notice the hoardes pass on the tight pathway. It was here the guy with the pushchair passed me, almost effortlessly! I was pacing this section as I was fully aware of how long it lasts. This tactic started to pay off as I regained some positions half way up the avenue. It was around this spot that I saw Woddle again but this time he seemed to be trying to drown a tree! My legs were beginning to remind me about the LSR of 22 miles just a few days before and this was where I started to struggle. Kms 7-11 to here were: 4:37, 4:48, 4:59, 4:56, 4:56. I was beginning to really slow down and feeling it.

By the time I went past 11kms I was at the highest point on the course so I could afford to push on and try to regain some banked time. The only uphill left was at the beginning of the Acres Rd and reckoned I could deal with that without major issue. I was now on the section where I had planned to push ahead with faster pacing. Instead I continued to plod onwards due to unresponsive legs! Usually the legs are fine and the lung capacity that is the issue but matters were reversed now. Still though, this was never a priority race and the most important run of the week was the LSR, so I wasn't too annoyed. Whereas I cruised around the first lap I was now having to really push myself to keep the slower pace. The remaining kms were done in: 4:57, 4:57, 4:44, 4:50, 5:03 and 4:12 on the sprint to the finish. I was totally spent when I crossed the line and luckily I had no breakfast that morning as a couple of dry retches would have been much more disgusting otherwise!! I was hammering the legs over the final 250m but it felt like I was barely going any faster. Don't remember passing too many people during this sprint but similarly I wasn't passed by anyone either...to be honest I was so focused on getting to the line and then to not throw up that I'm not really sure what else was going on around me!!:P

So, in the end I finished in 1:17:17, inside my target time of 1:18 and a PB of 5 mins on my last 10 mile race a few years ago. All in all very happy with the result. Once again I'm confident there is a much better time in me for this distance if I targeted it as a priority race...perhaps sub 1:15 even. Overall very happy with the race organisation. I don't think there's too much you can do with the crowds at the start, especially when you get several thousand taking part.

My Brother and his mate finished in 1:22:xx in what was an excellent time given the haphazard training they have been doing of late so well done them!

Time: 01:17:17
Distance: 16.17 km
Av Pace: 4:46 min/km
Avg HR: 155 bpm
Max HR: 170 bpm

Day 56 - Recovery Run - 4.5km @ 134bpm
I went to the Ireland match on Sat evening and then had several pints that night, so I went for a drunkenly, pre-arranged run to mark out this route for a friend. Ideally, I'd have gone further or a second lap but I had to get to Croker for the Mayo match, so cut it at 4.5km.

Time: 00:26:42
Distance: 4.56 km
Av Pace: 5:51 min/km
Avg HR: 134 bpm
Max HR: 138 bpm

Woddle · 23-08-2011 5:24pm

Brilliant stuff, the result is a credit to your training since sportsworld, fair play.

belcarra · 23-08-2011 5:46pm

This was to be the second long week before a shorter couple of weeks coming up. I had to bring forward the LSR for the week to Wednesday which was less than ideal for the race on Saturday. Even so, it still worked out with me running much further than required on Wednesday - 22.25 miles instead of 20 miles - and a 5 min PB in the race!

Day|Week 5 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
Mon|Day 50 - Rest Day|||
Tue|Day 51 - Medium Long Run 18km @ 145bpm|18.0|145|4:59 (8:01)
Wed|Day 52 - LSR - 35.8k @ ???bpm|35.8|???|5:42 (8:59)
Thu|Day 53 - Recovery Run - 8km @ ??? bpm|8.0|???|???
Fri|Day 54 - Rest Day|||
Sat|Day 55 - Frank Duffy 10 Mile Race - 16.17km @ 155bpm|16.17|155|4:46 (7:43)
Sun|Day 56 - Recovery Run - 4.5km @ 134 bpm|4.5|134|5:51 (9:24)
|Total|82.5||

The following is a record of the past 8 weeks:

Week|Prescribed distance(km)|Actual Distance(km)
Week 1|53|53
Week 2|58|64.5
Week 3|64|52.5
Week 4|67|60.3
Week 5|72|80
Week 6|59|62
Week 7|80|80.6
Week 8|86|82.5
Total|539|535.4

Finished a big week a few kms from target distance. I will add that in this week hopefully as it's an easier week. Aiming for the LSR on Friday afternoon and may just go long again rather than only the 16miles required.

I have also reassessed the Target Zones for my runs. My resting HR has come down to 43bpm and am using 180 as my MaxHR so the following are the intended HRs for each type of run:
Run Type:|Pace (bpm)
VO2Max (5k Pace)|170
Lactate Threshold|156
Marathon Pace|150
Long/Medium Long|142
General Aerobic|136
Recovery|<137

This time round it transpires that both the MaxHR & HRR methods of getting the HR Zones are almost identical! From reviewing my training history these zones also appear more appropriate for my performances.

belcarra · 23-08-2011 6:00pm

Woddle wrote: »

Brilliant stuff, the result is a credit to your training since sportsworld, fair play.

Cheers man!
Ya, definitely a fair old improvement on Sportsworld alright.

The past couple of performances have put me at a 3:35-3:40 marathon according to McMillan...I have never finished one in less than 4:20 though, as I always blow up in the final 6 miles and walk huge portions towards the end.
Now that I know I'm in a good position with the training I need to focus in on the reasons for blowing up so badly (Poor pacing / Nutrition / Dehydration / Weak-willed, etc) and try to prevent them from this time round...easier said than done though!

Woddle · 23-08-2011 6:03pm

Your marathon experiences sound very similar to mine, for my next attempt I'll definitely introduce progression runs (running the last part of your lsr quicker, by quicker I still think it's slower than PMP) could be worth considering.

outforarun · 24-08-2011 9:51pm

Race on for the Half then

Well done on the 10 mile. Seems you had a more or less similar experience to me, starting fast and feeling good and wondering if you should stick with that pace, feeling it on Chesterfield and trying to pull back time on the late downhill miles, legs not responding on Acres Hill. You managed a really good last km. I hope the Half doesn't come down to a sprint finish

belcarra · 24-08-2011 10:12pm

Days 57 & 58 - Rest Days
I decided to take Monday as a Rest Day but when I woke up Tuesday I was suffering from one helluva sore throat and cold-like symptoms so I rang in sick to work and even though I was feeling a fair bit better in the evening I made the decision to avoid running to give the body a chance to recover. So, two non-running days in a row for the first time in the training plan...I was eager not to make it a hat-trick though!

Day 59 - Recovery Run - 8.5km @ 140bpm
I managed to get to work today even though I was still far from 100%. I woke last night due to an office alarm across the road which kept me awake for well over an hour. My throat was at me again as well so when I woke for work it was close to a 50:50 call as to whether I'd stay in bed or not, but I eventually decided to MTFU and head to the office!

This evening I was feeling better again, but once more not 100%. I was insistent that I was going for a run though so managed a recovery run of 8.5km. I felt really fresh and good for the first half which coincidentally was downhill! The second half was a little tougher but still no issue really.
Happy with the run even if the HR was higher than 137bpm...I'm allowing a few extra beats due to the sore throat, etc.

Time: 00:43:53
Distance: 8.50 km
Av Pace: 5:09 min/km
Avg HR: 140 bpm
Max HR: 163 bpm

belcarra · 24-08-2011 10:18pm

outforarun wrote: »

Race on for the Half then

Well done on the 10 mile. Seems you had a more or less similar experience to me, starting fast and feeling good and wondering if you should stick with that pace, feeling it on Chesterfield and trying to pull back time on the late downhill miles, legs not responding on Acres Hill. You managed a really good last km. I hope the Half doesn't come down to a sprint finish

Ya, should be close for it alright although going sub 1:40 on it could be a big ask for me...I think I'll ascribe a 'Priority 1b' rating to this race and allow myself a focused approach rather than the haphazard approach I had for Saturday.
The course looks decent enough as well with the extra mileage being relatively flat/slight drag.
I wouldn't worry about the sprint finish...you can ask Woddle for the inside line on that:rolleyes:

belcarra · 25-08-2011 11:14pm

Day 60 - Recovery Run - 9.0km @ 138bpm
Another recovery paced run tonight. First half was nice and easy but the second half got a little tougher. I was wearing an oldish pair of Kayanos which I recently put through a wash. Result is that any bit of bounce left in them has been washed away. This resulted in my quads doing most of the shock absorbtion! Looks like I have another pair of runners for walking about in!

Time: 00:50:24
Distance: 9.0 km
Av Pace: 5:35min/km
Avg HR: 138 bpm
Max HR: 156 bpm

belcarra · 26-08-2011 11:30pm

Day 61 - Medium Long Run - 17.35km @ 136 bpm
Part 1
I'm still not over the bout of sore throat/cold I got earlier in the week but I was hoping to go long today. Called into the Park on the way home from work and the plan was to see how far I could go. As it turns out I was feeling pretty ****ty most of the way around and after 8 miles I decided to pack it in and do my LSR tomorrow or Sunday. It was then I realised that the Boards gang are meeting up tomorrow morning so I said I'd give that a go! When I got back to the car I realised I had dropped my key pouch + key somewhere in the last 3 miles:mad:
Time: 01:24:54
Distance: 15:29 km
Av Pace: 5:33 min/km
Avg HR: 136 bpm
Max HR: 147 bpm

Part 2
So...after having stopped the watch I had to restart and retrace my footsteps looking for said keys! After a few seconds of memory recollection I figured they must have fallen to the ground when I took off my jacket so sure enough about 1km from the car there they were on the ground, near the North Road. I was really lucky to find them so easily and as a further positive I got a nice 2km extra to bring the total for today to 17.35km!

Time: 00:11:58
Distance: 2.06km
Av Pace: 5:49 min/km
Avg HR: 135 bpm
Max HR: 143 bpm

belcarra · 27-08-2011 2:15pm

Day 62 - Medium Long Run - 22.8km @ 141 bpm
I met up with the Boards LSR crowd in the Park this morning @ 9am. This was my debut appearance and got to meet Menoscemo and Ger65 plus a few others whose names I didn't catch. All together a very amiable bunch!
We started off down the Acres Rd before continuing to the NCR gate via the Wellington Road. From here we traced the DCM route taking in the Zoo, Chesterfield Ave, Furze Road, Chapelizod Gate & Village and then turned into the War Memorial Garden. I had a minor mishap near the exit where my foot got caught on a railing as I went through a pedestrian only barrier. Nothing major but I did bang my elbow off the ground so now I have limited motion but hopefully it'll be healed by a few pints tonight! We continued up the acres Road to the Papal cross where I got some water and Meno and his two mates finished up. (The other Boardsies had continued into Kilmainham when we detoured into the War Memorial Park.)
I continued on and did another full Western lap before deciding the weather was too crappy to continue with any more laps. This also coincided with my Garmin battery beginning to die so finished with almost 23km and got back to the car just as Ger65 was finishing his run also.

Time: 02:10:43
Distance: 22:8 km
Av Pace: 5:44 min/km
Avg HR: 141 bpm
Max HR: 157 bpm

belcarra · 03-09-2011 1:38pm

Days 63 & 64 - Rest Days
It's been almost a week since I've updated the log and that has mainly been due to missing extra days due to being sick. I took an intended rest day last Sunday but then again Monday I failed to get out due to a nasty cough that I had trouble getting rid off (I still have the remnants of it today:().

Day 65 - Recovery Run - 8.6km @ 132bpm
I decided enough was enough and managed to get out for an easy run on Tuesday. Nice easy, telaxed pace run.

Time: 00:48:57
Distance: 8.58 km
Av Pace: 5:35min/km
Avg HR: 132 bpm
Max HR: 146 bpm

Day 66 - General Aerobic Run - 12.0km @ 146bpm
I was feeling much better today and went for a run around Santry/DCU. Decided to push the pace a few times so it was probably more a fartlek-type session rather than an easy GA session but I was still feeling good at the end.

Time: 01:00:52
Distance: 12.0 km
Av Pace: 5:04 min/km
Avg HR: 146 bpm
Max HR: 154 bpm

Day 67 - Rest Days
I got lazy this evening watching Transfer Deadline Day and Arsenal's panic buying so it was all too good to miss.

Day 68 - LSR Run - 30.6km @ 133bpm
LSR today. Covered most of the route I did my midweek LSR on 2.5 weeks ago. I bought a pair of compression shorts in Aldi the evening before so wore them on todays run. I was feeling good and body was fine for the first half of the run. Bcause the new shorts were so tight they were beginning to irritate though and it felt like somone was pulling at the hairs on my legs with tweezers! This issue only got worse as the run progressed - It seemed no amount of adjusting was gonna solve the problem! I eventually got as far as DCU on the way home before having to walk the remainder. I was pretty pissed off at this stage because although the body was beginning to get tired it was still plenty able to cope with the last two miles but the agony from the shorts was just too much!
Could be worse...it could have been a race!

Time: 02:54:22
Distance: 30.6 km
Av Pace: 5:44 min/km
Avg HR: 133 bpm
Max HR: 154 bpm

Day 69 - Rest Days
As a result of raw inner thighs it looks like today will be a rest day also:rolleyes:
Hope to be back in business and full training for next week.

belcarra · 03-09-2011 2:15pm

belcarra wrote: »

Month|Miles
February|15
March|0
April|12
May|58
Total|85
Let's see how close I can get to 1,000 miles for the rest of the year...

belcarra · 05-09-2011 5:47pm

Day 70 - Recovery Run - 12.0km @ 132bpm.
I really had to force myself out for this run after I returned from boozing in Galway the night before. Eventually I hauled myself out and went at a nice easy pace. Before I knew it i had 12km in the tank and was back home again. I think I'm back to 100% now for the training so am planning a big mileage week this week, which I intend to follow with a low mileage lead-in to the HM on Sat week.

Time: 01:08:55
Distance: 12.0 km
Av Pace: 5:44min/km
Avg HR: 132 bpm
Max HR: 148 bpm

belcarra · 05-09-2011 11:59pm

Day 71 - VO2 Max Session - 12.0km @ 143 bpm
Crappy evening out there tonight but I had to do a VO2 Max session from last week that never got done. Started with about 3.25km easy warm-up and then did the 5 x 800m @ 5k pace (4:20min/km). Finished off then with a further 2.4km cool down.
Paces for 5 Intervals were (Min/km for 800m): 4:18, 4:15, 4:11, 4:12 & 4:06.
I was happy enough with this but probably should have tried getting closer to the 4:20 target. This is going to be a big mileage week so hopefully I didn't overdo it too much tonight...

Time: 01:03:15
Distance: 12.0 km
Av Pace: 5:16 min/km
Avg HR: 143 bpm
Max HR: 167 bpm

belcarra · 06-09-2011 10:20pm

Day 72 - Medium Run - 19.0km @ 137bpm
The weather tonight was even worse than last night with some severe gusts blowing up from a Southerly direction. Still, the session had to be done and tonight called for a 19k medium run. I decided to try and avoid the worst of the wind and run mainly outward in an Easterly direction and then return in a Westerly direction. This managed to shelter me for the most part but there was still a few exposed sections that I had no chance in avoiding.

All in all a good run considering the conditions and the fact that most of the splits were fairly consistent around the 5:30 pace which was my target. Any deviations were mainly as the result of hillier sections.

Just got word that my planned marathon run in Galway this weekend has changed dates to clash with the Galway Bay 10k on Oct 1st. I may try and run the distance myself on Fri afternoon/Sat morning in the park...will decide closer to the time.

Time: 01:44:22
Distance: 19.0 km
Av Pace: 5:29 min/km
Avg HR: 137 bpm
Max HR: 150 bpm

belcarra · 07-09-2011 10:59pm

Day 73 - Recovery Run w/ 6x100m strides - 12.0km @ 138bpm
The third crappy night in a row for running...at least it wasn't nearly as windy as last night but it was pretty damp all the same.

This evening called for an 11km recovery run with 6x100m strides - only the 3rd set of strides I have done so far. After having read a little more about them in the P&D book I decided not to bother recording these splits like I did on previous runs. Main reason being that it was all about ramping up the run and maxing for only 30 metres or so, so not exactly essential data! Instead this is more about getting the form correct and 'floating on' for the 30m at the end of each set of strides.

This may be fairly intense but it lasts so briefly that it's not exactly a hard session. Having said that I think I may have been going too intensely perhaps as I was really trying to max out for the 30m, yet I wouldn't be surprised to hear someone tell me that a few % less might be optimal.
Anyways, session done and over with now! The rest of the run was at an easy recovery pace.

I must also mention my 2 pieces of civic duty tonight:p. Firstly I fetched a wayward umbrella from the main road and ensured it wouldn't cause any motor accidents and secondly, about 500m from home, someone had dropped 2 bottles of coors at a road/footpath junction. I spent about 5 mins picking up as much glass as I could but no doubt there was still a few bits left that I couldn't see in the dimly lit streetlight. I don't understand how the culprit didn't try doing the same. Hopefully I managed to avert a few punctures at least...

Time: 01:06:48
Distance: 12.1 km
Av Pace: 5:30 min/km
Avg HR: 138 bpm
Max HR: 158 bpm

belcarra · 09-09-2011 11:34pm

Day 74 - Rest Day
I took this evening off in order to give myself a chance with the LSR tomorrow where I was hoping to go looong!

Day 75 - LSR Run - 38.1km @ 137bpm
After three nights out running this week in terrible conditions I got lucky today in that I had a pretty nice day for my LSR. I ran from my apartment again, went to the Papal Cross in the Park and met an old college buddy, Philip.

I had 9.6km in the bag by this stage and he was planning to run with me to the point of exhaustion basically. He had done a couple of shorter runs with me earlier in the 'Summer' but I believe the Kildare HM was his furthest ever.

We took in a small NW lap of the park and then did a large lap before stopping at the NCR shops for a bit of water. We then did another 12k before we arrived back at the shops for more liquid refuelling.

At this stage the plan was to continue on home to Santry where I'd complete the full marathon distance but instead we decided to return to the park to see out the remainder within there. Upon restarting the running my right glute (Which had been giving issues earlier in the run but had since nearly disappeared) began to cripple me. I kept going for a few kms but it was a real shuffle now so I decided to return directly to Phil's car rather than just go through the motions of getting 42 km for the sake of it. As it was I managed 38km but have a stiff glute this evening. Hopefully a bit more stretching will mean it doesn't stay too long but apart from that I was happy with the run. A little quicker and I was on for sub 4hrs on this run for the full distance so proof of more progress in my training this year:).

And what happened to Phil?? He managed to get 30.5km in total before calling it a day but as I warned him a few times I hope he doesn't feel the effects too badly tomorrow...but I may well be wrong!

Next week I'm gonna avail of my 'wildcard' extra week of training so I will do a repeat of the recovery week from a couple of weeks back. This should set me up for the Half Marathon next weekend with a chance of hopefully going sub 1:40 !!

Time: 03:39:16
Distance: 38.1 km
Av Pace: 5:45 min/km
Avg HR: 137 bpm
Max HR: 152 bpm

belcarra · 09-09-2011 11:38pm

belcarra · 12-09-2011 10:58pm

Day 76 - Rest Day
The painful glute continued to cause me an awkward limp for Saturday so it was struck off as another Rest Day...

Day 77 - Recovery Run - 1.5km(!) @ 127bpm
...however, even though on Sunday I thought it might be fit for a recovery run, about half a mile into it I decided to bail as it was not getting any better and I was in danger of doing all sorts of other baddness as a result. So, technically not a rest day but for all it was worth in reality it was.

Day 78 - Recovery Run - 8.9km @ 137bpm
The injury had got much better by today although still not 100%, however I laced up regardless and headed out into a brutally windy evening in places. I could tell over the first half a mile that the injury was much improved and barely interfering with the run. I clocked up 9km and was quite happy with that. Hopefully it'll be improved extra again tomorrow and if so then I might throw in a short LT session with one eye on Saturday's HM.

A lightly raised HR tonight due to the windy conditions...
Time: 00:47:51
Distance: 8.9 km
Av Pace: 5:22 min/km
Avg HR: 137 bpm
Max HR: 151 bpm

belcarra · 13-09-2011 11:07pm

Day 79 - LT Run - 8.0 km @ 150 bpm
Injury seems to be almost fully healed now and I only really felt it very slightly. As a result I went for a quick run this evening. First km was spent warming up and then pushed it a little over the next km until I was going at a nice steady pace into the wind but downhill. A good run in advance of Saturday but I hope it's a hell of a lot calmer on the day!

Time: 00:38:36
Distance: 8.0 km
Av Pace: 4:50 min/km
Avg HR: 150 bpm
Max HR: 165 bpm

belcarra · 14-09-2011 11:19pm

Day 80 - Tempo Run - 14.5 km @ 144 bpm
Met up with Philip in the Park afterwork for an 8 mile session. The first few miles went quickly and as we progressed we ended up moving faster and faster before developing into a tempo style run. Probably ill advised given last nights run was rather similar but hey, it's done now!
Felt good at the end and av HR was just 144bpm so hopefully no damage done for Saturday!

Time: 01:15:08
Distance: 14.5 km
Av Pace: 5:10 min/km
Avg HR: 144 bpm
Max HR: 161 bpm

belcarra · 15-09-2011 9:39pm

Day 81 - GA Run - 10.5 km @ 141 bpm
I ventured to Donadea this evening for my GA run just to give the place the once over as I have heard a few people speak about it. Must admit it didn't overexcite me and the fact it's €4 to park is bulls'hit!
Ended up doing about 2.5km more than planned as there was no route back to the car. Did it a little faster than planned also and the inury from last weekend has made itself known again...Rest day tomorrow though so hopefully it will have fled before the HM.

Time: 00:55:02
Distance: 10.5 km
Av Pace: 5:14 min/km
Avg HR: 141 bpm
Max HR: 150 bpm

Aiming for a sub 45min 10km.

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