4 races - 4 months - 4 targets

jaymack75

I feel it’s time to get back to basics and get another training log going, so the plan is to do the adidas race series and these are my targets.

5mile – sub 30
10 mile sub 60
Half marathon sub 1:20
Marathon - sub 2:50

Did the portumna 100k a couple of weeks ago and the legs are still not that fresh yet, but I’m hoping the focus on the shorter stuff will revive the motivation.

Pb’s for the distances are:

5 mile - 2009 28:09 BHAA RTE
10mile- 2010 62:13 race series
Half mar - 2009 1:20:32 derry half
Marathon - 2010 2:55:33 DCM

jaymack75

Mon
cycled to/from work 30mins (12k) each way

Tues
cycled to/from work
plus lunchtime 6k run incl 2k round the track in7:38

Weds
cycled to work
run home 12k in 1:00 av hr 136. got absolutely drowned

Thurs
cycled to/from work

Fri
ran to work 11k in 1:02 - ran this one on empty, so it was a struggle

Abhainn

Welcome back jaymack75. Nice targets. Nicely done in Portuma too you mad hatter

seanynova

good luck with the training and the goals, we have similar targets so will follow with interest.

what plan are you following?

jaymack75

seanynova wrote: »

good luck with the training and the goals, we have similar targets so will follow with interest.

what plan are you following?

thanks seanynova,
not really following any plan. legs still not fully back after portumna, so i'm just trying to keep the training consistent and raise the quantity and quality steadily over the coming weeks

Oisin11178

Didnt get a chance to talk down in portumna. Good luck with your goals. That 100k nearly killed me. mental experience.

jaymack75

Oisin11178 wrote: »

That 100k nearly killed me. mental experience.

so was portumna your taper for the 5 marathons in 5 days? don't remember seeing that strategy in any running books. not sure my legs would ever forgive me if I tried that:D

jaymack75

Sat
steady run - 8k in 35:50 av hr 139

Sun
threshold run - 8k in 32:06 av hr 158 (1.5k warm up and down)
total 11k in 48:15

haven't been doing many quality sessions over the last number of weeks, so needed to get this session under the belt before the 5miler next sat.

Oisin11178

jaymack75 wrote: »

so was portumna your taper for the 5 marathons in 5 days? don't remember seeing that strategy in any running books. not sure my legs would ever forgive me if I tried that:D

To be honest mate the 100k was far harder than the 5in5 days. Every mile after 40 was torture in the 100k. The guy that got the best times in the 5in5 is an ultra beast. You probably know him.
http://statistik.d-u-v.org/getresultperson.php?&runner=55313&Language=EN
The stats from 2009 start normally then some monster improvments.

jaymack75

Oisin11178 wrote: »

To be honest mate the 100k was far harder than the 5in5 days.

you made a great recovery to be able for the 5in5 so soon

Oisin11178 wrote: »

You probably know him.

yeah, met him in portumna last year - he had done nearly 120k in a race the previous wkend and then did the 100k.....savage

jaymack75

Mon
cycled to/from work 30mins (12k) each way

Tues
cycled to work 30mins
run home 12k in 54:40 av hr 150. ran a bit harder than planned cos I had to get home for babysitting duties.......

jaymack75

Weds
ran to work - 12k in 1:01:20 av hr 139
cycled home 12k 30mins

Thurs
cycled to/from work 30mins eachway
evening 8k run - 35:30 av hr 143 twas warm out there this evening!

jaymack75

Today
cycled to / from work 30mins each way
lunchtime run - 8k in 34:53 incl 4k on the track in 15:19 av hr 159
that's just a bit slower pace than I'm hoping for at the 5miler tomorrow, but I should be able to race at a higher heartrate......we'll see

jaymack75

first of my 4 target races completed today. didn't quite make the sub 30, but I'm reasonably happy that it was close enough.

did a quick warmup and found a spot a few yards back from the line. started out handy enough and got settled into a reasonable pace for the first 2 miles. 3rd mile was mostly downhill and a nice tailwind. Found I was struggling with the pace on mile 4 and let a few gaps open. Still had time in the bag at the start of the khyber, but found it hard to lift the effort level much more, going uphill and back into the wind, even as I could see 29:xx ticking away on the finishing clock in the distance.

Crossed the line in 30:05

split times
1) 5:58
2) 5:53
3) 5:42
4) 6:10
5) 6:19

Aimman

Well done on the run yesterday. Sorry I couldn't have a proper chat at the finish, the runners were getting hungry for their goody bags, didn't want a riot on our hands, lol.

jaymack75

Yesterday's race has helped me to focus a bit closer on my areas of weakness. I'm going to try and shake a few bad eating habits that I've adopted. I could eat sweets and biscuits all day.

From today, I'm staying off the alcohol, most carbs, sweets biscuits etc and going to majorly increase the veggies intake, lean meats and salads

Weighed in at 79kg this morning. My target before DCM is to get below 74kg

jaymack75

Sunday
Recovery 5mile run in 37:55. Av hr 135. Legs a bit tight but have held up fairly well since yesterdays race.

Monday
5 mile run in 36:43. Av hr 135. Didn’t really wasn’t to go out the door for this one. Legs felt empty at the start of this one, but finished much stronger.

On day 3 now of the new diet. Loads of cravings on the first day, but wasn’t as bad after that. Just need to stick with it and the weight should be falling off me

jaymack75

Tues / Weds / Thurs
Didn't manage to get any running in - but cycled to and from work each day

weigh-in this morning was 77kg

jaymack75

Fri
Just cycled to and from work 30 mins each

Sat
Nothing - didn't get a chance to get out

Sun
Salvaged something from the week and went for 5mile threshold run with 1.5k warm up and down. felt lighter than whe I did this 2wks ago, but didn't go any quicker. It was warm though about 21degC
5mile in 32:08 av hr 160

weigh-in this morning 76kg.

jaymack75

Mon
Cycled to / from work 30mins each
Lunchtime run 8k in 35mins, including 4k threshold on the track in 15:17 (av 158)

Tues
longer cycle to work 28k in 1hr, then evening 30mins cycle home

Weds
am: cycle to work 30mins
pm: run home - 12k in 55:00

Thurs
am: run to work - 12k in 1:02
pm: cycle home

jaymack75

Fri
cycled to/from work 30 mins each
lunch run 8k in 37:45 including 7x400's with 200 recovery jogs
80.2
80.1
79.7
78.6
79.6
79.8
78.7
found these hard, but nice to be running fast for a change

Sat
8k run in 33:45 av hr 142
felt a bit of a burn form yesterday's session, but this is the quickest i've done this loop for a good while.

Sun
8k run in 34:08 av hr 143

56k total for the week

jaymack75

Mon
8k run in 33:40 av hr 140

Tues and Weds
cycled to / from work 30 mins each way

Thurs
cycled to / from work 30 mins each way

lunchtime run 8k in 36:49 incl 7 x 400m on the track w/200m recovery jogs

splits
1) 81.1
2) 78.6
3) 78.7
4) 78.8
5) 80.7
6) 82.7
7) 80.0

Fri
cycled to / from work 30 mins each way

lunchtime run 8k in 35:08 incl 4k threshold on the track in 14:46 av hr 158

happy with this 4k session as it's about 30 secs quicker than a couple of wks ago

Sat
8k run in 35:07 av hr 138

Sun
rest day

32k total for the week.

jaymack75

Mon
cycled to / from work 1:10

Tues
cycled to / from work 30 mins each way

lunchtime run 8k in 33:45 incl 4k threshold on the track in 14:24 (av 162)

Happy with this 4k session. Started faster than I planned and was able to maintain it

Weds
cycled to / from work 30 mins each way

evening 8k run in 34:10 av hr 144

Thurs
cycled to / from work 30 mins each way


Fri
cycled to / from work 30 mins each way

evening 11k run in 46:00
incl 8k threshold in 30:51 av hr 159

Sat
managed to get out around 10pm for 8k run in 34:47 av hr 137

Sun
5k to and from UCD
10k round UCD track in 38:16 av hr 160
total 20k in 1:30

I was hoping to do this 10k in 37:30, but found it hard to keep the speed up.

55k run total for the week (8:59 total training time)

jaymack75

Mon
am: cycled to work 30mins

pm: nice easy paced run home - 12k in 58:41 av hr 134

Tues
am: ran to work - 11k in 55:06 av hr 138

pm: cycled home 30 mins


Planning to get out for a run tonight, then just cycling on thurs and fri so that the legs are fresh for the 10miler on Sat.

jaymack75

Weds
Cycled to / from work
pm: 8k easy paced run in 37:17 av hr 128

Thurs / Fri
Cycled to / from work

Sat
Frank Duffy 10miler

Target was sub 60. Felt good going into this, but still I knew it was was a big ask to break the hour after not breaking 30 in the 5miler last month.

Started out about 10 rows back and the first half mile felt busy and I was feeling held up, but decided it would serve me well later. First 3 miles were quick, but I was feeling ok, happy to have some time in the bank and hoping to maintain the pace as long as possible. Didn't last long. Kept mile 4 sub-6, but lost some time on mile 5 and was starting to struggle, but with 29:24 on the clock, I was calculating that I could still afford a few slower miles and still make the sub 60. Unfortunately I found mile 6 no easier and with the 6:27 split my sub 60 was out the window. Now it was a case of damage limitation. I was getting overtaken by quite a few groups and tried to stay with them, but just couldn't find any speed in the legs. By mile 7 I just wanted it all to be over! Tried to lift the pace for the last mile, but the finish line seemed so far away

Looking back at the splits, I clearly went off faster than I could sustain, but I suppose I can learn from that. I definitely have a lack of racing these shorter distances. Also need to work on somespeed-endurance training

I do wonder - if I went out at 6-min mile pace, would I have run better in the second half?

Splits:

1) 5:43 av 165
2) 5:48 av 165
3) 5:43 av 165
4) 5:55 av 164
5) 6:14 av 162
6) 6:27 av 162
7) 6:24 av 161
8) 6:26 av 160
9) 6:18 av 157
10) 6:36 av 160

The good news - today was a new pb in 1:01:36 I also think it was a great course - not as tough as I'd heard. Well done to the organisers and all the volunteers. Nice to meet a few boardsies after as well - some very competitive times there

jaymack75

Sun
Recovery run – 8k in 38:26 av hr 130
15min hotel pool swim. Long time since I’ve been swimming, so just did a bit of gentle technique work to get back into it.

Mon
1hr yoga session
15mins technique session in the pool
7k trail run in 32:49 av hr 124

Tues – rest day

Weds
Lovely morning run along the Dodder. 14k in 1:04:11 av hr 135. This is what running is all about

Thurs

I’ve been think a bit about how badly I got the pacing wrong in the 10miler on Sat. I think I need to do a few progression runs to learn better pacing. So,

12k in 47:22 - Continuous progression run on the UCD track – plus 5k there and back (1:39 for 22k)

4k @ 4:05k pace, av hr 152
4k @ 3:59k pace, av hr 155
2k @ 3:50k pace, av hr 159
2k @ 3:40k pace, av hr 164

Fri
8k run in 34:57, av hr 140

Sat
Easy 8k run in 37:35, av hr 132

Sun
Went out just after watching the mens 10,000 and I was flying. Had to consciously slow down to keep the heart rate down. Quickest I’ve done this route in a long while

8k in 33:08, av hr 146

Off work this week, so no cycling. Happy with weekly run total of 67k

seanynova

hey, sorry for the late reply..but it does seem like you went out too fast in the 10miler....a little less heated at the start of the half and you will have agood indicator of where your at. those pregression runs are tough, not sure i could handle them myself but they would stand to ya!

Abhainn

Jaymack75 that was a great result in the 10 miler considering the really long stuff you've been doing. With 10 weeks to go you have loads of time to make your 2:50 a realistic target

Interesting how your HR fell for last 5 miles even as your miles were slower. Did you pull back from 6th to 5th gear ?

jaymack75

seanynova wrote: »

hey, sorry for the late reply..but it does seem like you went out too fast in the 10miler....a little less heated at the start of the half and you will have agood indicator of where your at. those pregression runs are tough, not sure i could handle them myself but they would stand to ya!

thanks seanynova - looking at the difference in the splits, I definitely went off too fast - painful lesson, but hopefully I've learned from it though.

I actually don't find the progression runs that bad. Sure it gets tough towards the end, but at least the speed is increasing......and you get to learn a bit of pacing-patience and how a pace feels when the legs get tired later on. I definitely need to do some more of those (and execute well on race day)

Abhainn wrote:

Jaymack75 that was a great result in the 10 miler considering the really long stuff you've been doing. With 10 weeks to go you have loads of time to make your 2:50 a realistic target

I have to say I'm disappointed with missing sub-60, but considering how the wheels came off by half way, it's not too bad. I only need to go a slightly quicker pace to break 1:20 in the half in a few weeks.

Interesting how your HR fell for last 5 miles even as your miles were slower. Did you pull back from 6th to 5th gear ?

Basically, I think it was an enforced shutdown - the legs just said no! While it felt like I was at max effort, in reality I was getting slower and slower (about 6:30 pace). I couldn't push any harder even though I could see the heart rate dropping. Maybe I wasn't tough enough mentally to handle it? I had a similar perceived effort at the end of last weeks progression run where I was going about 5:50 pace - a much nicer way to run.

jaymack75

Mon
Cycled to / from work 30 mins each

Tues
Cycled to work 30mins
12k run home in 55:02
No av hr as HRM readings were all over the place - been getting worse recently. I think I need a need a new hr strap

Weds
am: 12k run to work in 58:55 av 138

Thurs
Rest Day


Fri
Cycled to / from work 30 mins each


Sat
11k run 46:04 including 8k threshold in 30:45 no hr


Sun
2 laps of a 14k loop. Been a while since I did this run. Went for the simple approach of no drinks or gels etc - just running, so kept it gentle for the first lap and then raised it a bit on the 2nd. Happy to get this distance under the belt and hopefully will repeat again next weekend.

1st loop 14k in 1:06:51 av 134
2nd loop 14k in 1:02:18 av 144
total 28k run in 2:09:09 av hr 139

weekly run total : 63k

jaymack75

Mon
cycled to/from work 30 mins each

Tues
cycled to/ from work 30 mins each
8k run in 37:57, incl some 200's and 400's on the track w/200 recovery jog after each. Wind was savage!

4 x 200 in 38.6, 36.5, 36.7, 37.0
1 x 400 in 79.8
2 x 200 in 40.1, 38.2
2 x 400 in 84.8, 81.8

Weds
cycled to /from work 30 mins each
8k run in 33:03, incl 4k in 14:51 on the track
Did this as a continuous progression run with each 400 getting a bit quicker. Splits were:

93.3, 93.5, 91.7, 88.4, 89.5, 88.7, 87.2, 87.8, 87.7, 83.7

quads a bit sore after Tuesday's session, but I suppose I'm not too used to the faster speeds yet

jaymack75

Thurs
cycled to / from work 30mins each
10k run in 41:26 including 6k progression run in 22:43

6k splits
2k in 7:41 av hr 151
2k in 7:33 av hr 159
2k in 7:27 av hr 161

Friday
cycled to / from work 30mins each
8k run in 35:41 av hr 139

Sat
8k easy paced run in 36:53 av hr 129

Sun
rest day

42k run total for the week. Not brilliant distance, but had a couple of good sessions and felt nice and fresh by saturday's run - ready for another good week in the lead up to the dublin half

jaymack75

Mon
Cycled to work 30mins
Ran home into the wind - 12k in 58mins av hr 139

Tues
Ran into work - 12k in 58mins av hr 136

Weds
Cycled to / from work 30 mins each
8k run in 34:17 incl 4k in 15:23 (approx HM pace)
splits: 1st 2k in 7:48 (av 151) / 2nd 2k in 7:35 (av 160)

No running planned today and a nice and easy 8k tomorrow should leave me fresh for the dublin half.

No. 1 objective for the race on sat is :
Prove to myself that I've learned from the pacing mistakes of the frank duffy by starting off much slower this time and gradually pick up the pace. Whether I do or don't break 1:20, I really want to finish strongly in this race

jaymack75

Thurs
cycled to / from work 30 mins each

Fri
cycled to / from work 30 mins each
6k handy run in 27:02 av137

Sat
Dublin half marathon

The plan was to go out at a sustainable pace and hopefully avoid the slowdown I've had in the 5 and 10milers. The first mile felt really slow and was quite congested, so I was happy to see a 6:16 split. Kept it steady and ticked off the next few miles comfortably. Passed 5 in 30:47 and hit 10 in 1:02. Started to struggle in the 11th mile, but hung in and didn't slow much by the end. Finished in 1:21:12

Such a different experience to the 10 miler where I went out too fast and suffered for it - I really enjoyed the race today and felt great throughout. Ok, I didn't break 1:20, but I'm delighted with the result and feel good looking forward to the marathon in 6wks

1) 6:16 av 148
2) 6:15 av 145
3) 6:04 av 153
4) 5:59 av 156
5) 6:12 av 145
6) 6:23 xx hr
7) 6:15 xx hr
8) 6:06 xx hr
9) 6:15 av 156
10) 6:16 av 157
11) 6:17 av 154
12) 6:06 av 153
13.1) 6:46 av 158

seanynova

nice run, the finish time is more like but the way you ran the race is more important....your in with a shout of 2:50 anyway, another couple of hard weeks before taper and you can give it a good shot.

jaymack75

seanynova wrote: »

but the way you ran the race is more important....your in with a shout of 2:50 anyway.

Thanks seany, yeah i'm really happy with the pacing. Probably even could have done a few more miles without slowing too much, so it's given me a confidence boost for a decent run in the DCM

jaymack75

Sun
Steady 8k recovery run in 36:53 av 140hr

Just needed to shake the legs out a bit - suprisingly not in too bad condition after the half mar

Run total for the week - 67k

jaymack75

Mon
cycled to work 30mins
ran home 12k in 54:35

Tues
ran to work 12k in 58:50
cycled home 30mins

Weds
cycled to and from work
8k run in 34:36
including 4k threshold on the track in 15:25 (3:51 pace)
found this hard in the windy conditions

Abhainn

Ok you didn't hit your 3 targets so far but the 2:50 is the one. Sat was the best of the 3 so you are coming on nicely
You just need a few more long runs in and then I think you should be looking good for the big day

jaymack75

Thurs
cycled to work 30mins
ran home 12k in 54:20

Fri
ran to work 12k in 58:40
cycled home 30mins

Sat
Rest Day

Sun
Rathfarnham 5k
Been a long time since I've ran such a short race. Nice 2k jog down to the start with a few strides for the warmup. Within a couple of mins we were off. Got into a nice pace and hit the first k in 3:14 - blimey! much quicker than I'm used to running, but it was a bit downhill and there was a slight tailwind I think. I hit 1 mile in 5:15 (my quickest ever), but then it was the uphill followed by the left turn back into the wind. Missed the 2nd km marker and was getting a bit uncomfortable keeping the pace going. Clocked 7:10 at the 3km and slowed further with a 3:43 on the 4th km, but at least I was holding my position and not getting passed much. Tried to pick up the effort in the last km, but no response from the legs. Finished in a new pb of 17:41

Really enjoyed this race. Well organised, no fuss, fast course. I would love to get the 5km time down a good bit further, but I'd have to get more speed into the legs (or maybe some strength from the hills) and be able to push harder in the race

splits
3:14
3:35
3:35
3:43
3:33


Weekly run total - 64k

jaymack75

Mon
cycled to / from work 30mins each

Tues
cycled to / from work 30mins each
8k run incl 2x 1miles hard in 5:32 / 5:42
prob went too hard in the first one. next time I do this session, I want to do the 2nd one quicker

Weds
cycled to / from work 30mins each
8k run in 36:24 with a lad from work. 2k jog to the park, then the plan was some fast 200's. I knew he had some speed but I was flat out doing the first 200 in 35s, finishing way behind him. We ran the next together in 37, then I think he was cooked and I did a couple of 400's on my own while he stretched. Anyway, it was an interesting session, but the times were all over the show!
splits:
6 x 200's in 35.8 / 37.5 / 39.4 / 40.2 / 42.3 / 42.7
3 x 400's in 91.2 / 81.1 / 78.7

jaymack75

Thurs
cycled to / from work 30mins each

Fri
cycled to / from work 30mins each
8k run in 34:03 including 4k on the track in 14:47 (2k splits 7:30 / 7:17)

Sat
Felt tired all day, but got out in the evening for an easy 8k run in 37:12

jaymack75

Sun
Should have been a long run, but didn't have much time, so just went out for the usual 8k. Legs felt much better and did it in 33:20

Weekly total : 40k (not great mileage, but some good seesions in there)

jaymack75

Been a hectic couple of weeks, so updating the log has suffered......and so have the long runs. Just about managed to keep ticking over.

Mon 3rd Oct
cycled to / from work

Tues
cycled to / from work
8k run in 35mins incl 2 x 2k bondarenko session
each 2k was -
400 @5:44 min-mile pace
300 @5:12
200 @4:56
100 all-out
with same distance recovery at 6:40pace
Really enjoyed this session - nice variety, but the 2nd set was tough

Weds
cycled to / from work
8k run in 34:14

Thurs
cycled to / from work

Fri
1hr yoga

Sat
rest day

Sun
8k easy run in 37:15

Run total for the week : 24k

jaymack75

Still a bit behind on the updates.........this week was an improvement on last weeks mileage at least.....but unfortunately no long runs

Mon 10th / Tues 11th Oct
cycled to / from work

Weds
cycled to / from work
8k run in 33:55 incl 4k @3:49pace

Thurs
cycled to work
ran 12k home in 53:35 av hr 144

Fri
ran to work - 12k in 57:30 av hr 139
cycled home 30mins

Sat
8k run in 35:12 av hr 138

Sun
8k run in 33:19 av hr 144

Run total for the week : 48k

jaymack75

Mon 17th
cycled to / from work

Tues
cycled to work
ran 12k home in 53:43 av hr 142

Weds
ran to work - 12k in 58:11 av hr 133
cycled home 35mins

Thurs
cycled to / from work

Fri
8k run in 35:16 av hr 139

Sat
8k easy run in 39:20 av hr 126

Sun
Rest Day

Run total for the week : 40k

jaymack75

This week so far........

Mon 24th Oct
Cycle to work
Run home 12k in 57:25 av hr 139

Tues
Run to work 12k in 55:00 av hr 143
cycle home

Weds
Cycle to work
Run home 12k in 54:12 av hr 143

Thurs
Run to work 12k in 57:18 av hr 137
cycle home

jaymack75

Fri
cycled to / from work
8k run in 34:05 incl 4k MP

Sat
Rest Day

Sun
jog to and from the expo - 10k in 43:45

Run total for the week : 66k

Not sure how today will go - Ironically I've just done my biggest week in a while - I didn't really see any point in tapering since I missed out on the long runs and the weekly mileage has been low enough throughout.

My plan is to go out and pace it well - hopefully run the best race I can - even if the original target of sub 2:50 is out the window. Just time for a large coffee before heading in

jaymack75

I suppose I knew going in to the race that sub 2:50 was a long shot.....but I was hoping to get away with it! My times in the race series were ok and I was really happy with 1:21 in the HM.......but I had not been doing any long runs in training.

I didn't have anything to taper down from so the week leading up to DCM was 66k (one of my biggest weeks). Looking back at the trainingin logs, I only managed one decent long run of 28k in early sept

Race day - the plan was to go out nice n steady and then pick up the pace later if poss. I tucked in just behind the sub3 pacers at the start and when the hooter went off, it was a bit congested and it was soooo slooow - still I thought that would be a good thing later on. Kept with the pacers til the phoenix pk, then just eased ahead, feeling good. Great support coming out of the park and huge crowds in chapelizod. By this stage I was about 30s / mile down on 2:50 pace, but I was happy with that and still felt a sub 3 was on the cards. Passed the halfway in about 1:28, it was from here that it became a bit of a struggle......and I was still a long way from home.

Turned right at the KCR and the left at bushy park. I was on home territory now and it was great to be running along closed roads through fabulous crowds in terenure and rathgar. After turning onto Orwell and into the wind, my motivation early evaporated. Now it was a case of grinding it out. I knew the 3hr balloons would be on me soon and I kept missing the mile markers until passing 20m in 2:17. The 3hr lads had already sauntered past me and I could do nothing but hang in there. Nothing in the legs for the last few miles and the splits got slower. Still, made onto the green carpet......grimaced over the line in 3:06ish

OK - I learned a valuable lesson here - long runs really are important for doing a good marathon!!