Leenane to Westport and Beyond

hardCopy

I found the various Gael Force West logs brilliant here all year as well as the DCM Novice Mentored Thread and the A/R/T Weight Loss Challenge threads and thought about starting my own log several times this but never got around to it so said I would definitely do one for the next year.

My story so far:
Have played rugby since I was a kid, great for keeping fit when I was in school but the lack of structure at adult junior level wasn't good for me

I got fat during college and suffered with shin-splints and got to the point where I could hardly run at all. Then I did a Sprint Tri as a dare in 2006, lost all the weight in the process of training. Then I went back to college and got relatively fat again.

I did a few more tri's over the years but never really got the weight off again. My fastest triathlon was Chicago in 2008 where I did a 3:04 Olympic distance. Then I dropped Tri and Running but kept up the rugby.

Fast forward to 2011. I was sent to England for work for 7 months, living in a hotel, eating fast food and room service and went back up to my peak weight, 15 Stone 5 Pounds.

Then in April the same friend who dared me into the first Sprint Tri dared me to do Gael Force West. Training was based mainly on Hal Higdon's Half Marathon program with cycles at the weekend which was perfect for working abroad as all I needed to bring with me was a pair of runners (I came home at weekends). I made it around Gael Force in 6:53 and felt great.

So I decided to kick on and do the Dublin Marathon, roughly following Hal's Novice 1 Marathon Program. I finished in 4:27, missing my target of 4:15. I say I roughly followed it, because I missed a lot of sessions with shin-splints, calf issues and ITB/Back problems. Through training and a complete change in my attitude to food I got back down to 12 Stone 9 Pounds.

In previous years I've managed to get in reasonable shape over the summer through Running and Tri but then regressed over the winter when I went back to rugby training. I just find it very hard to do any road or gym work between team sessions due to picking up knocks all the time. So this year I've decided to keep the running up over winter and see what I can do with a decent base next season.

My goals for the next year are as follows:

• 5K < 25 Mins
• 10K < 50 Mins
• Marathon < 4:15
• Half Ironman < 6:30
• GaelForceWest < 6:00

My key races will be:

• Connemara Marathon - April 1st
• Humbert Challenge Half Iron - July
• GaelForceWest - August 18th

My immediate plan is to work towards a 10K race on December 28th, The Fat Turkey Run, which is this route in reverse. This is up and down Howth Head so probably not a great place to hit a PB but will certainly help build a base for GFW. I will be following Hal's 10K Intermediate plan with lots of hills, modified with slightly longer long runs to dovetail with training for Connemara.

For Connemara I'll be following Hal's Novice 2.

Throughout the Winter I'll be working on my strength and cross training with Swimming and Cycling to start building a base for HIM training.

For HIM training I was looking at this program from Trifuel but this may change as I will probably join a tri club where I may get more guidance. Gael Force training plan TBD.

I only raced three times this year so want to include a lot more racing, to include, 5K's 10K's, Sprint Tri's and some IMRA league races.

Longer term, I want to do an Ironman in 2013, but this will depend on whether I think I can cope Physically, Mentally and Socially, with the training volumes. HIM training should make this clearer.

As I'm still in Zero Week, I haven't run since Monday, so will head out tonight for an easy 3K before heading to the Aviva for the Leinster match.

I will try to update this as often as possible, at least every week.

hardCopy

Had my first post-marathon run last night, felt good, right knee a little sore at the very end.
3.67km in 24:55, took it nice and easy and had a few stretches along the way.

Cycled out to Westwood Sandymount with my mate and started a new weights program:
Dumbbell Squats - 30KG 5 x 5
Dumbbell Bench - 30KG 5 x 5
Dumbbell Bent Over Rows - 30KG 5 x 5

The squats and bench were supposed to be 20KG but I picked up the wrong Dumbbells.

Swam 300 Metres at a gentle pace just to stretch the legs.

The cycle worked out at 19.5Km, also at an easy pace, didn't want to push too hard until I get a feel for the squats.

I tried to add a nice table to this post with a breakdown of Distance, Duration, Avg. Pace but it's a nightmare to use the BBCode!

LaHaine

Busy year ahead!

Best of luck with it. Ill be following this with interest.

snailsong

Welcome aboard, I'll be following this thread with interest.

Best of luck with those goals, they all look achievable with the appropriate training.

Why did you pick HH2 for Connemara? I used it for DCM this year. My impression is that the milage was a bit low, a few 20mile + runs might have helped. I'm no expert though.

For Gaelforce I think the best preparation is just lots of time on the bike and on the hills. Ideally on CP if you can manage it. There's lots of time to be gained there. I made up 1hr 15min this year over last year, a lot of that on the reek. I get the impression that some people focus too much on gym work, weights, core workouts and the like. There's no substitute for the real thing. I wouldn't be surprised if you find yourself revising that target downwards.

As for doing lots of shorter races, great idea. Training is the work and racing is the reward. I did loads of races last year and will try to do more this year. Its the best way to stay motivated through the training , even if it forces some small compromises in your longer term training programmes.
For adventure racing you also benefit in terms of experience. The Harlequin Duathlon in Castlebar in March and the Race to Glory in Kiltimagh are both events that i enjoyed last year. Both about half GFW distance.

I may be joining you in Connemara, and will prob do GFW again as its on my doorstep.

Good Luck.

dolliemix

Good luck with this. Looking forward to seeing how you get on. I'm also following hal's 10k intermediate plan. Nearly done with week 4 today and still surviving!

hardCopy

snailsong wrote: »

Welcome aboard, I'll be following this thread with interest.

Best of luck with those goals, they all look achievable with the appropriate training.

Why did you pick HH2 for Connemara? I used it for DCM this year. My impression is that the milage was a bit low, a few 20mile + runs might have helped. I'm no expert though.

You're probably right, I followed the Higdon Novice 1 plan and probably was a little undercooked. But I didn't even manage the full mileage on that program, I rarely managed two full weeks back to back without injury, so don't want to lash into a much higher mileage program. The main difference between the two is an extra run each week at Marathon Pace.

snailsong wrote: »

For Gaelforce I think the best preparation is just lots of time on the bike and on the hills. Ideally on CP if you can manage it. There's lots of time to be gained there. I made up 1hr 15min this year over last year, a lot of that on the reek. I get the impression that some people focus too much on gym work, weights, core workouts and the like. There's no substitute for the real thing. I wouldn't be surprised if you find yourself revising that target downwards.

The plan for the moment is to include the weight work up til Christmas with the 10K training, I may drop it or reduce it once I get into marathon mileage.

snailsong wrote: »

As for doing lots of shorter races, great idea. Training is the work and racing is the reward. I did loads of races last year and will try to do more this year. Its the best way to stay motivated through the training , even if it forces some small compromises in your longer term training programmes.
For adventure racing you also benefit in terms of experience. The Harlequin Duathlon in Castlebar in March and the Race to Glory in Kiltimagh are both events that i enjoyed last year. Both about half GFW distance.

I may be joining you in Connemara, and will prob do GFW again as its on my doorstep.

Good Luck.

Those two races look great, thanks for the tip off.

hardCopy

Last night was running and weights, ran on the treadmill so I could get both done in the one session.

Run: Distance 5.04 km, Duration 28:57, Pace 5:44, Speed 10.4 km/h

Strength:
Dumbbell Squat - 25kg 5x5 (Dropped some weight off the squat, used 30 the last day by mistake)
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 20kg 5x5
Dumbbell Deadlift - 40kg 1x5

Right knee felt a little tight again towards the end of my run, was worried it would be sore when squatting but it felt fine in the end and feels ok now

hardCopy

Ran some hill reps last night, I think I need a bigger hill, didn't feel as tough as it probably should have.

Went to the gym before work this morning, felt a bit strange having to go to work afterwards instead of heading home for dinner.

Run:
Distance 5.64 km, Duration 31:02, Pace 5:30, Speed 10.9 km/h

Strength:
Dumbbell Squat - 25KG 5x5
Dumbbell Bench Press - 25KG 5x5
Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row - 35KG 5x5
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown - 48KG 5x5

hardCopy

Last night was my first speed session.

I mapped a rough 400 metre straight along the coast in Clontarf. Need to find a track nearby, as far as I know Santry and AALSA are the closest ones to me.

The plan was to run 8 x 400m in about 1:55 each, ended up running them fairly consistently at 1:42. Will have to try and slow them a little next time. I'm not used to running short distances so found it hard to gauge my effort.

I found it fun, it's nice to change the training up a little, although I was made to feel inadequate by the running club who turned up to run reps beside me at a much faster pace.

Totals, including work, recovery and running to and from the coast:
Distance 6.5 km, Duration 51:24

hardCopy

Went to the gym last night.

Treadmill followed by weights. I should really take a day off between weight sessions but am away this weekend so had to squeeze everything in wherever I could.

Run:
Distance 6.5 km, Duration 41:00, Pace 6:18, Speed 9.5 km/h

Strength:
Dumbbell Squat 30KG 5x5
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 25KG 5x5
Dumbbell Deadlift 40KG 5x5

Heading away now for the weekend, may get a very gentle swim in with the girlfriend tomorrow.

Slogger Jogger

Good luck hardcopy.

If the hill feels too short, jog back down and run it again. Do reps. You'll feel the effort soon.

Btw, keep an eye on the imra calendar. There'll be at least 2 hill races out West next May bank holiday. Mweelrea and probably Nephin. You'll wish you were running your shorter hill then.

hardCopy

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Good luck hardcopy.

If the hill feels too short, jog back down and run it again. Do reps. You'll feel the effort soon.

Btw, keep an eye on the imra calendar. There'll be at least 2 hill races out West next May bank holiday. Mweelrea and probably Nephin. You'll wish you were running your shorter hill then.

Ha, yeah I was doing reps alright but only about 100 metres of hill per kilometre and not very steep. Gonna head out to Howth next Wednesday for something steeper and longer.

Will be keeping an eye on the calendar alright, a few events have published their own dates so far but still no IMRA, Triathlon Ireland or Run Ireland calendars yet.

Had a weekend of rich food and booze, I really shouldn't be given access to so much excellent cake!

Went for a run tonight to sweat some of it out. Got to break in my new trail runners on some flat grass, they felt great. They look quite bulky but are really very light and comfortable with lots of grip on the muddy bits.

Distance 8.42 km, Duration 47:09, Pace 5:32, Speed 10.8 km/h

Threw in one km at 4:36 pace at the end just to shake the legs out.

Totals this week:
Run: 32.1km
Strength: 3 sessions

Didn't manage any swimming or cycling this week but I had other things on and managed to get all of my planned runs in which is the priority for now. Most importantly, no injuries and I feel I'm just about over the marathon now.

hardCopy

Monday 14/11/2011
Headed to the gym again for a treadmill run and weights session.

Run:
Distance 5.07 km, Duration 25:07, Pace 4:57, Speed 12.1 km/h

Strength:
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown - 48KG 5x5
Dumbbell Squat - 30KG 5x5
Dumbbell Bench Press - 30KG 5x5
Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row - 35KG 5x5

Tuesday 15/11/2011
I found a new hill! - Not so much found as bothered to cycle out to Howth.

Cycle Out:
Distance 7.59 km, Duration 19:55, Pace 2:37, Speed 22.8 km/h

Run:
Distance 6.78 km, Duration 33:52, Pace 4:59, Speed 12.0 km/h

I didn't quite make it to the summit this time. I felt strong and probably could have gone all the way to the top but I wasn't sure how well I would descend. I also knew I had a tempo to look forward to tonight and the Higdon plan only called for 6K so I decided to make my way back.

The first kilometre downhill was probably slower than my normal flat pace but I gradually got more comfortable and increased the pace enough to bring my average pace below 5 min/km, target pace for my 10K at Christmas.

This will definitely become a regular venue for my training, given the amount of hills in my goal races next year.

Cycle Back:
Distance 8.23 km, Duration 20:27, Pace 2:29, Speed 24.1 km/h

hardCopy

Wednesday 16/11/2011
Wednesday called for a tempo run of 40 minutes and another weights session.

Again, this was run on the treadmill to save time Pace peaked at about 4:30 per KM for 1 KM.

I much prefer to run outside but the treadmill makes it easier to control the pace and effort of the run.

Run:
Distance 6.9 km, Duration 40:00, Pace 5:47, Speed 10.3 km/h

Strength:
Dumbbell Squat - 35KG 5x5
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 25KG 5x5
Dumbbell Deadlift - 45KG 5x5

Thursday 17/11/2011
My first masters swim class. I haven't been to a class since I briefly joined a tri club in 2008. This was broken up into 1 hour of drills and 1 hour of distance work. Lots of leg work for the first hour, I found this very tough, it seems I have a lot of work to do on my kick.

I can't remember the exact drills we went through but the distance work was 400, 300, 200, 100, 200. (There was more but I was lapped a couple of times)

Swim:
2800 Metres Total.

hardCopy

I took Friday off as I had a night out on Friday and couldn't face a morning session after swimming on Thursday.

Saturday 19/11/2011
Had my first BHAA race on Dollymount Beach, a 6K beach run made up of 4 lengths of 1500M. I flew off at the start like a lemming with no idea what pace I was running, ended up running the first 1500M over 1 minute per KM faster than I planned, had to ease off the pace at that point as I was close to blowing up. Spent the next 3000M moving backwards through the field before fitting in with a group running a similar pace coming to the final turnaround.

Finished in 27:40, well under my target of 30 minutes. That puts me under my target pace for 5K and 10K. Just need to find the right races to PB now.

Distance 6.0 km, Duration 27:40, Pace 4:36, Speed 13.0 km/h

I felt pretty sore after the race, Hamstrings and Groins were particularly bad but the base of my left big toe was seriously sore on Sunday and Monday. It began as a bit of a niggle earlier in the week but the combination of pushing the pace and running on sand seem to make it worse.

I've been resting it since Saturday and today it feels more comfortable. Will swim tonight instead of running and see how it feels tomorrow. To the physio if it hasn't gone away.

Weekly totals:
Run: 24.75 KM
Cycle: 15.82 KM
Swim: 2800M
Strength: 2 Sessions

Sprocket77

hardCopy wrote: »

Finished in 27:40, well under my target of 30 minutes. That puts me under my target pace for 5K and 10K. Just need to find the right races to PB now.

There's the Donore Harriers 5km in the Phoenix Park on the 3rd of December, looks like it'll be a pretty fast course if you're looking for a PB.

hardCopy

Sprocket77 wrote: »

There's the Donore Harriers 5km in the Phoenix Park on the 3rd of December, looks like it'll be a pretty fast course if you're looking for a PB.

Unfortunately I'm away that weekend. There's a Santa dash on Dollymount Beach on the 11th which I'll probably do. Running on sand in a Santa suit isn't exactly conducive to a PB but I should be under 25 minutes based on my 6K time. (No splits in the 6K race so it still doesn't really count as a 5K PB).

At the moment my 10K target race is the fat turkey run, which has a 120 metre climb, also not too helpful for a PB, so I may need to find a 10K in January if I don't hit 50 minutes.

Sprocket77

There's also the Clonliffe Harriers 5km on the 18th December, starts and finishes on the track in Morton Stadium.

hardCopy

Sprocket77 wrote: »

There's also the Clonliffe Harriers 5km on the 18th December, starts and finishes on the track in Morton Stadium.

I'm really doing too much socialising! I got a flyer for that one too, it looks to be fast by all accounts but I have a massive Christmas session (not a speed session) on the night before.

hardCopy

Strange week this week, my toe was very sore after the beach race last Saturday so I didn't run on Monday or Tuesday.

Woke up Wednesday morning and remembered that I had agreed to play a rugby match that evening. Not the ideal way to rest my sore toe, it's a new team and I knew they were short of players so I went out anyway.

It was good to be back playing after 11 months out of the game but it confirmed to me that distance training really doesn't help rugby fitness, apart from feeling wrecked every time I had to sprint, my groin and hamstrings felt ready to snap the whole time.

The toe felt OK, but the ground was quite soft so this probably helped.

Thursday night I went to swimming again, more kick drills for the first hour, which still feel painfully slow.

The second half, distance hour, was a bit different to last week. instead of heading out in order of speed and completing the sets at our own pace, we were told to stay on the feet of the guy in front for as long as possible, if he got away we were to cut the next length short and jump back on his feet when he passed us after turning.

I found this a great way to work on my speed and was surprised that I could hang on for 85 metres or so after each turn. We also did a couple of 50 metre sprints at the end, something I haven't done since I was in primary school, great fun.

Wednesday 23/11/2011
Rugby: 40 Minutes

Thursday 24/11/2011
Swimming: 2700 Metres

hardCopy

Friday 25/11/2011
Toe was still at me so decided to head up to Howth on the bike. Was only planning to go straight up and back home but spotted my dad on his way up when I was almost at the bottom. I was past him by the time I copped so turned around at the bottom and headed back up after him.

I was about 2/3rds of the way back up when I remembered he was out for dinner and I was chasing some random bloke up the hill. I continued on up anyway to make a lap of it.

I never did pass the guy on my way but somehow he was still on his way up when I was coming back down, he must have made a pit-stop.

I was quite happy to manage two trips up, I hadn't been up to Howth on the bike in a long time, all the running must be benefiting my overall fitness so much that I haven't got too rusty on the bike.

Had an almighty headwind coming home though and had to really slog all the way along the coast.

Cycle:
Duration 1:33:45, Pace 2:54, Speed 20.6 km/h

Saturday 26/11/2011
I spotted the Blue Light Madness Mountain Race a while ago on Runireland and decided I would do it as long as my toe felt OK. Woke up this morning and it felt just good enough to run on.

Got a bit lost in Stepaside, google navigation, I curse you. Managed to register just before the off. Ended up starting from the very back and trying to pin my number to my shirt as I ran. A lot of the trail was quite narrow so I had trouble passing people and couldn't stop to tie my laces (had planned to tie them after I registered). We came out onto some fireroad eventually where I was able to lace up and pick up the pace a bit.

Crazy wind at the summit, I nearly got blown into the ditch at one point. I felt I descended well, no falls at least. I was delighted with my new trail runners when a lad in front of me took a dive into the mud and I was able to run straight by.

Run:
5K in 35 Minutes.

hardCopy

Monday 29/11/2011
Short run on the coast, mostly grass. Very windy day. I felt quite slow and the iMapMyRun app on my phone kept reminding me how slow my pace was. My rib was killing me (bruised it playing rugby last week) and I felt I couldn't push it any harder.

I'm just after looking at the splits now and apart from tying my laces after 500 metres and having a stretch after 3K, my splits were actually OK, just over 5 mins/km on the other 4 1K splits.

Rib still very sore and affecting my sleep but my left big toe is getting better. I don't think I'll get any running done this weekend as I'll be on the beer in Munich but might get one in on Sunday evening.

Run:
Distance 6.29 km, Duration 35:29, Pace 5:38, Speed 10.6 km/h

hardCopy

Tuesday 30/11/2011

I didn't get a chance to update this last week. Got out on Tuesday evening, headphones weren't working so had no music and no GPS prompts. Felt strong starting out and decided to give it socks as it was cold and I had stuff to do at home.

Run:
Distance 5.14 km, Duration 23:30, Pace 4:34, Speed 13.1 km/h.

Very happy with the pace, that's faster than I've ever run for 5K.

Wednesday 31/11/2011
Zip, nada, zilch. Had to work late to cover for my long weekend, weather was mental so it was an easy excuse.

Thursday 1/12/2011 - Sunday 4/12/2011
Averaged about 8 hours of boozing per day. The only running I did involved racing my mate the wrong way up an escalator at about 5am.

Can't wait to get back on the road tonight.

hardCopy

Well, December was a disaster.

A lot of non-running related stuff happened that distracted me and effected my motivation.

I was supposed to run a 10K on the 28th but the lack of training and a stomach bug picked up on Christmas eve knocked that on the head.

Since my last post I've run:
December 5th: 5K
December 27th 6K
January 4th 5K

I went out for the 6K on the 27th to see if I was still fit enough to manage the 10K the following day. I felt pretty rotten on the run and only managed it because I hadn't eaten anything, once I got home and had lunch I felt sick again.

Last night's 5K was run at race pace as a sort of fitness test. I probably should have got back into it more gently but I was frustrated at the recent lack of mileage and wanted to get an idea of how much fitness I've lost. I was on the treadmill due to the insane wind outside.

Wednesday 04/01/2012
Distance 5km, Duration 22:45, Pace 4:33, Speed 13.2 km/h

This was better than I expected, still as fast as my best. However, I was concentrating on shorter runs in November so am worried about how I'll cope with longer distances.

I'm signed up to do Connemara on April 1st so I am way behind on marathon training. Will run another 5/6K tomorrow and try 10K at the weekend. I will try to get back to Hal Higdon's target mileage by the end of January. If it isn't working I may have to switch to the Half Marathon (this is allowed until March 1st).

Goals for the year are still as per the first post:

• 5K < 25 Mins
• 10K < 50 Mins
• Marathon < 4:15
• Half Ironman < 6:30
• GaelForceWest < 6:00

5K has been hit in training but still not official (have also maintained this pace over a 6K race).

Sprocket77

hardCopy wrote: »

Goals for the year are still as per the first post:

• 5K < 25 Mins
• 10K < 50 Mins
• Marathon < 4:15
• Half Ironman < 6:30
• GaelForceWest < 6:00

Would you not revise the 5k and 10k goals downwards after the beach race, they're extremely soft based on your time there?

I know it's easy to target a nice round number, but when you plan to do a 5km you could have your first target as getting under 25 mins, but have secondary targets. I think if you went for a 5km in the short term you'd definitely get under 23 minutes and should go faster by the year end.

catweazle

Don't be too proud to go down to the 1/2 marathon if necessary. I did Connemara Full and then Humbert in 2010. I neglected the swimming and running coming up to Connemara and then Conn took so much out of me, I was always on catch up and I underperformed in the Humbert

Did Humbert and then DCM last year, you can spread the training up to Humbert much better and you have time for a 12 week programme after Humbert for DCM - it worked much better for me.

hardCopy

I thought I was back on track after the Christmas but then got knocked for six by a 5-Alarm bout of man-flu.

I woke up feeling like sh1t on the Friday after my last update. Managed to go for a spin with my girlfriend on the Saturday to get her out on her shiny new Road Bike.

I was completely bunged up until Tuesday this week when I went out for a (relatively) easy 8K.

Am heading out for another spin tonight with my girlfriend/training partner who says she's doing GaelForce with me this year.

Sprocket77 wrote: »

Would you not revise the 5k and 10k goals downwards after the beach race, they're extremely soft based on your time there?

I know it's easy to target a nice round number, but when you plan to do a 5km you could have your first target as getting under 25 mins, but have secondary targets. I think if you went for a 5km in the short term you'd definitely get under 23 minutes and should go faster by the year end.

You're probably right, as bad a start as I have made, I expect training to improve from here on and should be looking for bigger performance improvements.

catweazle wrote: »

Don't be too proud to go down to the 1/2 marathon if necessary. I did Connemara Full and then Humbert in 2010. I neglected the swimming and running coming up to Connemara and then Conn took so much out of me, I was always on catch up and I underperformed in the Humbert

Did Humbert and then DCM last year, you can spread the training up to Humbert much better and you have time for a 12 week programme after Humbert for DCM - it worked much better for me.

The last bout of cold has made the choice for me on Connemara, it'll have to be the half.

I'm not sure what plan to follow from here on, I'm starting quite late but with some residual fitness, I'd like to try the Higdon Intermediate but I'm already 10 weeks out and feel it might be too much mileage to be playing catch-up.

One thing I have decided is that the strength workouts will need to change. I got great results from lifting weights but as the weights went up I found myself more and more tired, I think I'll try and stick to bodyweight work for strengthening.

hardCopy

Thursday 20/01/2012
Cycle: 13.5K at a leisurely pace with the girlfriend to introduce her to urban traffic. Went surprisingly well despite her initial terror.

Tuesday 24/01/2012
Run: Distance 5.0 km, Duration 24:34, Pace 4:55, Speed 12.2 km/h. Did this on the treadmill with my buddy running beside me. He beat me for the first time in about 4 years (we both got into tri/running at the same time) serious wake-up call. The competition is back on!

Thursday 26/01/2012
Run: Distance 5.0 km, Duration 26:15, Pace 5:15, Speed 11.4 km/h. This was a deliberately easier pace because I'm running the Raheny 5 on Sunday.

Would love to go under 40 mins for 5 Miles on Sunday but would settle for 45 mins at this stage. Will have my mate there for motivation/pacing to keep me honest.

hardCopy

All went well today, apart from the rain.

Came home in about 39 minutes, I think. It was kind of hard to tell exactly where the start line was so I started my watch late, my gun time was just over 39 though so I'm under 40 anyway.

My long-time training partner left me in his wake over the last mile. That hurt, he's never beaten me before. A rivalry is born. Time to sort my sh1t out and put some structure back into my training ahead of Connemara Half.

Edit: official times posted
Sunday 29/01/2012
Run: Distance 8.05 km, Duration 37:52, Pace 4:42, Speed 12.7 km/h

hardCopy

Tuesday 31/01/2012
Cycled over to girlfriend's house, cycled out of town with her, then dropped her back and headed for home. Legs felt very tired on the home stretch, into the wind along the coast.

Cycle: Distance 34km, duration 2:02:00, Speed ~17 km/h

Need to go faster but most of that was in town so was very stop/start, once we start heading out to the burbs/countryside the speed should come up.

hardCopy

Wednesday 01/02/2012

Run: Distance 5.0 km, Duration 23:25, Pace 4:40, Speed 12.8 km/h

Weather was Baltic last night but felt nice to be out all the same.

Back is at me a bit this week, need to be very strict with my stretching as I'm feeling the same stiffness I usually feel before an ITB flare-up.

hardCopy

January Totals
Run: 31.13 km, 5 runs
Cycle: 64.69 km, 3 cycles

hardCopy

Thursday 02/02/2012
Swim: 1,000m

Wanted to get something done last night but didn't feel like a run before tomorrow's race.

Doing the Fingal Duathlon Series in Balbriggan in the morning.

hardCopy

Saturday 04/02/2012 - Fingal Duathlon Series - Race 1
First multi-sport event of the year. This went really well. The hill on the run was difficult, as predicted, and was a nice test. The bike course was relatively flat, great marshalling at the junctions too and didn't feel like the roads were open at all. The second run, up that hill again, was really tough on the legs, at the steepest point my 'run' was reduced to a weird looking shuffle, at least we got to run back down the steep bit on the way back.

Duathlon:
Overall - 1:23:59.23
Run 1 - 0:17:26.98
T1 - 0:01:49.86
Bike - 0:43:38.76
T2 - 0:01:59.33
Run 2 - 0:19:04.29

My transitions were POOR. I couldn't find my bike in T1, and there were only 80 bikes, then I couldn't find my shoes in T2! Will have to do a proper walkthrough before my next race.

Overall I was happy, I got both runs under 20 minutes each and dropped my mate on the hill in the first run and managed to finish ahead of him.

hardCopy

A messy week, another head-cold combined with moving house meant I didn't get out until Friday.
Friday 10/02/2012
Run
Run: Distance 10.51 km, Duration 55:03, Pace 5:14, Speed 11.46 km/h

Drove to Clare on Saturday for a week away.

Sunday 12/02/2012
Surfing - 2 Hours

Monday 13/02/2012
Cycle: Distance 75.1 km, Duration 4:45:00, Pace 3:47, Speed 15.8 km/h
My longest ever cycle. Went for a tour of the Burren with my GF. Took in the apparently famous Corkscrew Hill - my first experience with switch-back turns, fun.

Tuesday 14/02/2012
Run: Distance 6.0 km, Duration 31:33, Pace 5:15, Speed 11.4 km/h
Sent out to pick up a few bits for V-Day dinner so went for a 5k run, turns out we're slightly further from town than we thought.

Wednesday 15/02/2012
Had a nice walk through Dromore Woods.
Walk: Distance 5.88 km, Duration 1:16:08, Pace 12:57, Speed 4.6 km/h

hardCopy

Thursday 16/02/2012
Run: Distance 16.07 km, Duration 1:23:59, Pace 5:13, Speed 11.5 km/h
My longest run of the year so far. Felt great to get some decent mileage in and get back on track for Half Marathon training.

Friday 17/02/2012
Went swimming in Lahinch Seaworld. Nothing too strenuous just a splash around for an hour or so.

Sunday 19/02/2012
Run: Distance 10.41 km, Duration 1:00:11, Pace 5:46, Speed 10.4 km/h

A fantastic week all round. Really relaxing and I'd definitely be happy to spend a week's holiday in Ireland again.

hardCopy

Tuesday 21/02/2012
Run: Distance 8.0 km, Duration 47:00, Pace 5:52, Speed 10.2 km/h
Ran 1km warmup to meet my mate and then 7km on grass.

Friday 24/02/2012
Run: Distance 8.0 km, Duration 42:30, Pace 5:18, Speed 11.3 km/h
I had work stuff on Wednesday and Thursday so had to skip my Wednesday run and postpone Thursday.

Saturday 25/02/2012
Cycle: Distance 46.5 km, Duration 2:01:59, Pace 2:37, Speed 22.9 km/h
Had a nice spin out to Portrane, my first decent spin out into Fingal. Weather was nice and dry all day.

Sunday 26/02/2012
Run: Distance 16.47 km, Duration 1:46:31, Pace 6:28, Speed 9.3 km/h
Long slow trail run. Ran along the coast at Clontarf to Bull Island and then ran over the dunes for a couple of km. Really cool route, much more interesting than plodding along on concrete. Lots of short sprints up and down tall dunes.

hardCopy

Monday 27/02/2012
Bodypump class in my gym. Like an aerobics class mixed with a weights circuit. Hard going my quads a triceps are still sore on Thursday.

Tuesday 28/02/2012
Distance 7.69 km, Duration 45:00, Pace 5:51, Speed 10.3 km/h
I felt very sore on Tuesday after the class and after the tough weekend. Motivation was low but I convinced myself to run slow instead of skipping a session. Am glad now that I did.

Wednesday 29/02/2012
Interval running. I decided to use the treadmill for this since I don't have a measured track handy. 8 x 400m @ 5K pace, 13.5km/h with 200 metre recoveries @ 8.5 km/h. I was feeling it by the halfway mark but managed to up the pace a shade on the last two reps.
Ran to and from the gym, 1K each way as warm-up and cool-down.
Total run: Distance 7.0 km, Duration 38:56, Pace 05:56, Speed 10.79 km/h.

February Totals
Run: 103.15 km, 11 runs
Cycle: 141.6 km, 3 cycles
Swim: 1.5 km, 2 swims

I signed up for the Humbert Challenge Half Ironman in Swinford.

hardCopy

Thursday was supposed to be a 5 mile run but other stuff got in the way so I swapped my rest day and ran on Friday instead.

Friday 02/03/2012
This was a race pace effort. Had a horrific headwind on the way out but made most of my time up coming back. My last 2K were just over 4 min/km, a barrier I have yet to break. At least I know it's in touching distance now.

Run: Distance 8.2 km, Duration 40:10, Pace 4:54, Speed 12.2 km/h

Saturday 03/03/2012
Brick Session out in Howth. Cycled up to the summit on the graveyard side (passed another roadie on the way up for the first time) and down into the village. Trail run up the cliff path for 5K and then back up the steep side on the bike to the summit again and spun out to Malahide.

Cycle: Distance 18.76 km, Duration 46:35, Pace 2:29, Speed 24.2 km/h
Run: Distance 5.02 km, Duration 28:07, Pace 5:36, Speed 10.7 km/h
Cycle: Distance 28.58 km, Duration 1:25:06, Pace 2:58, Speed 20.1 km/h

Sunday 04/03/2012
My longest run so far this year.
Distance 20.2 km, Duration 1:55:59, Pace 5:44, Speed 10.4 km/h

I'm still feeling good on the long runs and last year's ITB troubles seem to be staying away. Should make a dent in last year's Half Marathon time in Connemara.

I bought a book on bodyweight exercises last week and start the program tonight. Book on Amazon, some of the spiel in the book is a bit OTT but the exercises look good. Each exercise in the program starts with basic moves and gradually build up the one-arm pressups, one-arm chins and the like.

hardCopy

Monday 05/03/2012
Started my Convict Conditioning program.
Strength
Wall Pushups - 2 x 15
Knee Tucks - 2 x 15

The wall pushups seemed very easy but the book recommends starting slow and not skipping any progression steps so I'll stick to the plan and work my way up.

The rest of the week was a disaster, I was away for work so didn't get out for a run until Saturday. Although at least I spent the whole trip walking around a massive trade fair.

Saturday 10/04/2012
Run: Distance 8.4 km, Duration 43:26, Pace 5:10, Speed 11.6 km/h
Kept this one short as I had tickets to the Ireland match and woke up late. Had a rotten stitch for most of the run after eating way too much stodgy rich food in Germany.

Sunday 11/04/2012
Cycle: Distance 9.59 km, Duration 41:22, Pace 4:18, Speed 13.9 km/h
Picked my bike up in Howth with a freshly serviced headset. Went for a spin up the hill with the GF, her first spin up Howth and went very well.

Got nabbed to fit a new dishwasher and printer for my parents so my long run got dropped.

A bad week.

Tuesday 13/04/2012
Run: Distance 10.01 km, Duration 46:50, Pace 4:40, Speed 12.8 km/h
After skipping the long run on Sunday my legs felt fresh, checked my time after 2K and realised I was flying. This was supposed to be 8K but I felt so good I decided to test my speed over 10K. My previous 10K PB was around 52 minutes so I had a serious Runner's High by the time I got home. Sub 50 Minutes for 10K was one of my goals for the year, so even though it's not an official time I need to pick more of a stretch target for 10K ahead of the Great Ireland Run.

Strength:
Wall Pushups - 2 x 25
Knee Tucks - 2 x 25

Wednesday 14/04/2012
My hip was quite sore on Wednesday after pushing hard the previous night so I skipped my tempo session.

Strength:
Vertical Pulls - 2 x 25
Shoulderstand Squats - 2 x 25

Thursday 15/04/2012
Still felt a bit tight so went for an easy 8K.
Run: Distance 8.49 km, Duration 47:19, Pace 5:34, Speed 10.8 km/h
Took it easy most of the way and threw in 1 fast K towards the end, not as structured or as tough as a proper tempo session but my hip felt better after it.

hardCopy

Just noticed my post from last week has all my runs dated in April! Too late to edit it now.

Friday 16/03/2012
Run: Distance 6.01 km, Duration 34:21, Pace 5:42, Speed 10.5 km/h

Saturday 17/03/2012 Paddy's Day
Run: Distance 22.58 km, Duration 2:20:09, Pace 6:12, Speed 9.7 km/h

Thoroughly hungover on Sunday after Paddy's night session so took a break until Tuesday. The only fitness related activity I did was buy a Garmin FR 310XT on Amazon.

Tuesday 20/03/2012
Run: Distance 8.32 km, Duration 47:11, Pace 5:40, Speed 10.6 km/h

Wednesday 21/03/2012 - First run with the Garmin
Interval session 10 x 400m:
Rep 1 - 1:42.9
Rep 2 - 1:37.5
Rep 3 - 1:46.3
Rep 4 - 1:40.2
Rep 5 - 1:37.3
Rep 6 - 1:37.3
Rep 7 - 1:41.2
Rep 8 - 1:36.2
Rep 9 - 1:47.1
Rep 10 - 1:34.1

Distance 7.01 km, Duration 41:02, Pace 5:51 min/km

I found the Garmin really easy to use and was able to set up my interval session on the watch as per the Higdon plan. I'll need to do a bit of research on HR training to really get the most out of it. My rep times are a bit all over the place, the last time I did intervals I used a treadmill so they were consistent, will have to work harder on getting some consistency there.

Thursday 22/03/2012
Run: Distance 5.23 km, Time 30:24, Avg Pace 5:49 min/km

Great to get out for a morning session, haven't done it in a while. Used the Virtual Partner this morning to try and control my pace as well.

hardCopy

Sunday 25/03/2012
Run: Distance 20.15 km, Time 1:50:57, Avg Pace 5:30 min/km

Last long run before Connemara.

hardCopy

Had to enforce a very strict taper last week as I hurt my ankle last Sunday and wanted to rest it for Conn. Just did one run on Wednesday.

Wednesday 28/03/2012
Run: Distance 5.01 km, Time 31:38, Avg Pace 6:19 min/km

Deliberately took it easy on this one, really didn't want to push my ankle.

Sunday 01/04/2012 - Connemara Half
Official Chip Time:
Distance 21.08 km, Time 1:42:04, Avg Pace 4:50 min/km

Big improvement on my 1:59 in Dublin last year but it hurt like hell. I had hoped to run a negative split but changed my mind on the bus from Maam Cross to Leenane when I realised how nasty the hill is. My target was 1:45 so I decided to just run as much of the first half as possible under 5:00 mins/km and then just try to hang on for the climbs. I managed to keep this up on the drags and then kept under 5:30 on the really hilly section.

It was great to finish knowing I left absolutely nothing out there. Luckily I was picked up in Galway after the race because I wouldn't have been safe behind the wheel yesterday evening.

catweazle

Nice time HC, thats a cracking time around that course

hardCopy

catweazle wrote: »

Nice time HC, thats a cracking time around that course

Thanks, ankle is very sore today and still have a pain in my gut from gels. The gels never give me trouble in training but I never seem to be able to stomach them in races.

Just rang the physio to get my ankle looked at, hopefully get an appointment for this evening.

hardCopy

Have apparently strained/torn a ligament on the outside of my right ankle. No running allowed this week. A few new stretches to add to the routine and have to take it easy on the Great Ireland 10K. A bit disappointed as I was looking forward to a new 10K PB (I actually set a new PB at 10K in Conn but only on my Garmin, no official splits).

hardCopy

Just a quick update. Have run a couple of races since I hurt my ankle but both were run at a slower than normal pace, I couldn't really train for a couple of weeks after Conn so paced my girlfriend at the Samsung Night Run and Great Ireland Run, she picked up new 10K PBs at both so happy days.

I was still able to cycle so kept at that as much as possible and had a great cycling holiday across Italy, covering about 450KM over about 7 days in the saddle.

My next race will be the Clontarf Half Marathon on the 7th of July followed by the Humbert Challenge Half Iron in Swinford.

I haven't done as much running as I'd like for either of these due to a few very unstructured weeks but I got back up to 16.5KM on my last long run and am happy with my swim and bike.

I got a recce done last weekend of the bike course as well as 60KM round trip to Croagh Patrick including the GaelForce route up the reek.

I started taking the bike into work last week (put it off for a long time since we have no showers) which should help find some extra kilometres each week.

Just got my wetsuit back from my parent's house so hope to get some open water swimming in over the next couple of weeks.

Hopefully as I get my training back on track I can get this log back on track too.

hardCopy

Got a decent spin out around Howth last Saturday, hit the steep route up to the right of the church.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/194157015
Bike - Distance: 50.04 km, Time: 3:15:02, Avg Speed: 15.4 km/h, Elevation Gain: 620 m

Ran 18.5KM to my parent's house from work on the Monday
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/197582716
Run - Distance: 18.25 km, Time: 1:42:55, Avg Pace: 5:38 min/km

Took a longish commute home on Tuesday and got lost in an industrial estate and chased by a beast of an alsation. Very heavy legs on this one, the previous day's run and leaving work too long after eating I think. Had hoped to go longer but decided to head home rather than bonk in the middle of North County Dublin.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/197582773
Bike - Distance: 31.60 km, Time: 1:33:41, Avg Speed: 20.2 km/h

Have also started taking the bike to work a couple of times each week. Not exactly hard KM's but I reckon every one counts.

Saturday was the Clontarf Half Marathon. I hadn't done as much running as I would have liked since Connemara so was nervous about this one. My buddy/arch-rival has been making great progress lately and beat my on the Raheny 5 a few months ago so I was feeling the pressure. We both headed off with the 1:45 pace group and I fully expected him to hang on and kick past me towards the end but he ended up slowing after about 4 KM and we dropped him. I had to dig in on the beach on the way back in but felt strong once we hit the promenade so went with a guy from Florida when he broke from the pacers with about 2KM to go. Finished in 1:44 and had a nice lie-down in the sun. Shattered.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/197582829
Run - Distance: 21.18 km, Time: 1:44:02, Avg Pace: 4:55 min/km

Runways Duathlon tomorrow and then the Humbert Half Iron on the 22nd.

I'm feeling good about the Half Iron but a bit daunted by my previous prediction of 6:30. Clontarf was flat as a pancake so I don't really expect to run under 1:45 off the bike, my recce of the bike took 4 hours but I did take it easy to start and stopped for photos so will shave some time off here, swim will be a problem I think, hopefully I'll find some speed with the wetsuit and no stopping for breath between sets as I have done in the pool.

This year's A-Race is GaelForce West and I'm feeling very positive about that, I already feel stronger than I did last August so hopefully I can stay fit and built on this to knock serious lumps of last year's time.

centre back

great going hard copy, you seem well on you're way to smashing you're time from last year at gaelforce, hope the ankle holds up for you, best of luck!!

hardCopy

centre back wrote: »

great going hard copy, you seem well on you're way to smashing you're time from last year at gaelforce, hope the ankle holds up for you, best of luck!!

Thanks, just looked at your new log, best of luck in Canada, any race plans for over there?

hardCopy

Got out last night for this race. Felt strange heading off to race after work, especially as I had to be there early for on-the-spot registration. This was shorter than any race I've run before so it was interesting to see how hard I could push myself without having to worry too much about keeping anything in the tank.

As I hadn't pre-registered the middle wave was already full so I picked the fast wave.

The run was a triangular course with the middle section into the wind and very exposed, fairly tough going and the others in my wave were flyers. Lungs busting out of me by the time I got to T1.

Forgot to put on my helmet and had to re-rack the bike while I put it on.

The bike started on a nice downhill then a fairly steep climb back up, then down the S-Bends, which were great fun to come down at speed on closed roads. A couple of straight sections into the wind were hard work. Three laps of the bike route, hamstrings very sore by the end.

Bike racking in T2 was a free-for-all with no number markings, almost ran off with my helmet on. More transition practice needed!

Second run was very tough but I reeled in a few faster cyclists on the way around. The windy section was even worse the second time round but I was neck and neck with big tall guy so got some shelter whenever he got in front. My pace was down on the first run but still well inside my recent Half-Marathon pace.

Run 1 - 2.6KM - 00:10:52
T1 - 00:00:59
Bike - 12.2KM - 00:23:56
T2 - 00:00:47
Run 2 - 2.7KM - 00:12:25

This was my girlfriend's first multi-sport event and she had a great time too.