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The Road to Berlin

  • 29-12-2011 11:30pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭


    I've been following these logs for quite a while now but up to now have never started my own. Main reason was my lack of a Garmin, meaning that other than track sessions I could never really tell how far I was running. Santa took care of that this year so I guess it's time to start a log! I took up running a couple of years ago but in a pretty half-assed, non-structured way. In Jan 2010 I joined a running group at work; some really experienced runners with some serious PBs to their name. I can keep up with them now as they're passed their peak but I still get some super advice from them. Since joining them I've been training regularly and each week now has a proper structure and this has benefited me a lot.

    2011 turned out to be a pretty good year, with practically no injuries and PBs at 5k (19.43), 5 miles (33.28), 10k (41.45), 10 mile (69.50) and marathon (3.38). The 10k and the marathon stand out as unfinished business as I was hoping for a faster time in each of these. I think that a weakness of mine is that I don't race enough and can be a bit conservative in my pacing. For 2012 I plan on doing a lot of races (at least 2 per month) for the first 5 months before getting stuck into a training programme for Berlin in September. I was interested to see how well the P&D brigade did this year in Dublin and think I'll probably use this plan for Berlin. Ok, that's the log started; better get out in the morning and start running!


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Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 690 ✭✭✭captain P


    Good luck with the log & the goals :)!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    10.15k in 50.53 around the Phoenix Park. Faster than I intended but sometimes it's nice to just run and forget about things:) That's probably my last run for the year so I guess it's time to come up with a few targets for next year. There are 2 big ones and if I get both of these I'll consider 2012 to be a good year. These are:
    1. Go sub 40 for 10k
    2. Take another chunk off my marathon time in Berlin
    The first is pretty self-explanatory; for my last 2 marathons I've taken 20 minutes each time off my PB and I'd like to continue that. McMillan keeps telling me that I should be capable of breaking 3.15, and I'm hoping that the key to that will be the P&D midweek long runs. I'm not sure yet what the target will be (Berlin is still over 9 months away!) but that's roughly the plan.

    Otherwise I hope to do lots of races this year and first up will be the Tom Brennan 5k on New Years Day. I had an interesting race in the Jingle Bells 5k just before Christmas - I couldn't get on the pace and gave up on a sub-20 minute time after 3k. At that stage I was passed by a girl from Raheny Shamrocks and for the next 2k I just concentrated on trying to stay ahead of her and ignored the watch, finishing with the fastest km split I've ever run in a race. For Sunday then I just plan on starting hard (for me!), and then finding someone fast to chase after. It could go horribly wrong, but I do think I need to learn how to race and there's only one way to do that!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,070 ✭✭✭neilc


    Good luck with your goals, similar enough to my own.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    I think that this is the 1st time I've ever been fit to race on New Years Day but it's a super way to start the year! No booze last night (had enough the night before) and was up early this morning. Got to registration about 40 mins before race start, picked up my number and did about 4k warm up. The plan was to try and be aggressive with my pacing but again I struggled with this. I started fast and checked my Garmin after about 400m and I was on 3.35 pace - far too fast for me. I eased back, but too much and ended up going through the 1st k in 4.00 flat. I stayed on that pace through my 2nd k was feeling pretty strong at that stage. It was a 2 lap course and the 3rd k was into the breeze up a slight hill on the Furze Rd - I expected to slow a bit there and duly did, hitting 3k in 12.05. Tried to pick it up for the last 2k but found that I had nothing in the tank and ended up running pretty steady to the end, finishing in 20.06. The race itself was well run, some of the corners were a bit tight but overall I'd say well done to Liffey Valley AC.

    My last three 5ks have now been 19.43, 19.56 and 20.06, and given that this is my 1st race after the Christmas excesses I'm pretty happy with my run. After the race I weighed myself for the 1st time in about 2 months and have gone up to 72.5kg (I was 71.0 for much of 2011). Not a huge increase, but since the Liverpool marathon last October I've been haphazard with the training. I am however in better shape than this time last year and looking forward to the year ahead. Not sure what my next race will be, thinking of the 10k race in the Heath in 3 weeks. Have decided to stay away from the CC and will focus on road running for the year.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    15.34k in 1.21.10 around the Phoenix Park. Have decided that I'm going to try and run my long runs between 5.00 and 5.20 per km - want to get in the right habits for pacing my LSRs later in the year. Nice run, but was late getting out and nearly froze when the sun set. Must bring gloves tomorrow!


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    7.59k recovery run in 42:23. Ended up doing a few quick kms in yesterdays run (freezin cold!) and combined with Sundays race it was enough to leave me with tired legs today. Nice and sensible today, legs will thank me later.

    I also bought some new shoes yesterday - Saucony Triumphs from Runways. I usually use Brooks Glycerins but they were out of my size and the Saucony's felt great so decided to give them a shot. They were very clean and shiny (not any more!) but are also starting to wear on my instep - there could be blisters ahead:(

    January to date: 3 runs, 32.9 km


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Nice easy lunchtime run around a course at work. The loop is 4.5km, forgot the watch but nice to have some company again after two weeks of running solo.

    January to date: 4 runs, 37.4 km


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Thursday: Crap day at work, cold & windy outside - not sure which excuse I went for in the end but I copped out. No run today.

    Friday: The work running group are still easing back in after the Christmas - nice easy 4.5km at lunch

    Saturday: Had intended to try one of the McMillan workouts this weekend, but wasn't sure if today was the day. Visiting friends last night to see off the Christmas, too much wine, today is definitely not the day! New plan was a hangover clearing run, decided to bring the dog along also. Funny the effect on your pace - each spike in the pace matches a break for a pee, some sniffing or a squirrel! Not the best run, but hangover cleared and the dog was happy. Will try again tomorrow for the McMillan workout.

    January to date: 6 runs, 49.9 km


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    3 pairs of shorts: 2 in the bag at work, 1 in the wash. Not brave enough to do a run in my tight lycra shorts, will just write off this weekend:(


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    8k at lunch time today including a 6.5k progression run in 28.50. We do this run each Monday and gradually pick up the pace. We start at close to 5 min/k and gradually pick it up til we're closer to 4 min/k. Today was the first since before Christmas and it was tough; before Christmas I was doing these 40 seconds faster and feeling much more comfortable. To be expected, but not enjoyable....


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    4.5k recovery run at a nice slow pace (28 mins total) - lovely conditions out there! Yesterdays run was quite tough (slept v well last night!) - this was a nice jog to get the tiredness out of the legs.

    Will have to rethink the training plan for the coming weeks. Had been thinking of launching into the McMillan 10k plan, but am now thinking that I'd be better off just building up my fitness again after Christmas. I also have a 2 week break from running in Feb (holidays!) so I think that I'll be just doing the usual sessions for the next few weeks and will save the 10k specific stuff for a race in March.

    January to date: 8 runs, 62.4 km


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Wednesday is fartlek day! My favourite session of the week, we have some "rules" on how this session goes: Start with a slow warm up, and after that the chef calls someone at random to lead the next leg. Each leg can be anything between 1 minute and 3 minutes and there's a strict 30 seconds recovery between each one. Usually we try and keep the pace in check at the start as it inevitably goes up as the session progresses. Todays splits were:
    2.1 km warm up
    1 minute 53, average pace of 5:02 min/km
    1:17, average 4:54/km
    1:17, average 4:54/km
    1:10, average 4:41/km
    1:38, average 4:43/km
    2:31, average 4:27/km
    3:01, average 4:39/km
    1:16, average 4:32/km
    1:02, average 4:03/km
    1:01, average 4:16/km
    1:00, average 4:05/km
    1:53, average 4:05/km
    1:34, average 3:58/km
    750 metre warm down.

    It's a super session and the strict 30 seconds interval makes sure that this is a proper workout.

    January to date: 9 runs, 70.5 km


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Have been pretty slack updating this log of late. Since last Wednesday it's been a case of:

    Thursday: up the walls with a work deadline - no run.
    Friday: Hills session with the work running group. This consists of 2.5k warm up, with some strides at the end before starting the hill. The hill we use is about 380 metres long and we do 5 reps at 1:30 each, jogging down in between. It's an interesting session - the focus is on strengthening so we keep the pace in check. We could go faster, but that would turn the focus to cardio and we already have that with the fartlek and tempo runs earlier in the week. That's the theory anyways! 2.5k jog back to the changing rooms, 7k in total.
    Saturday: Wrecked from a tough weeks work - rest!
    Sunday: Had planned on doing around 20k today but crap night sleep, still tired and didn't really feel up to it. Also got 3 good sessions in this week so decided to take it easy and take the dog for a stop/start 7.6k run around the Phoenix Park. Lovely out there, felt great afterwards!:)

    January to date: 11 runs, 85.1k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Today's Monday which means 6.5k progression run which we did in 28.55. That's 5 seconds slower than last week, but it felt much easier - finally getting the Christmas festivities out of the system.

    Today was also my first day this year to cycle to work. Have been pretty lazy of late and just getting in the car. It's 8k each way so I've no excuses, will try and get back doing that every day.

    January to date: 12 runs, 93.1k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    4.5k recovery run, beautiful conditions out there. Also cycled in today, will try and get back in the habit of doing this every day.

    January to date: 13 runs, 97.6k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Fartlek session today, pretty tough going. The course was the same as usual (8.1k) but the mid-length legs (around 2 minutes) had a real bite to them. Am pretty sure there'll be no problems sleeping tonight!

    January to date: 14 runs, 105.7k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Accidentally ended up in the local craft beer joint last night, had a few very tasty glasses of kwak. A lovely beer, but didn't feel too clever this morning. Went for a recovery run today at lunch, a nice 4.5k to clear out the cobwebs and was needed after yesterdays fartlek.

    Had originally intended to do the Heath 10k on Sunday but family stuff has knocked that on the head. Instead will do the BHAA 5mile XC on Saturday. Popped into Runways on the way home, bought my first ever pair of spikes. They're outrageously loud so will be expecting great things from them:)

    January to date: 15 runs, 110.2k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Rest day today seeing as I've a race tomorrow and have trained the last 5 days. Not sure what time to go for tomorrow, will probably go for 34 mins and see how I'm feeling on the day.

    Have also had a good week on the bike. Wanted to get back in the habit of cycling to work each day and did that - 75k of cycling.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Wasn't too sure what to expect from this one as I do very little XC. My PB on the road is 33.28, but it was tough out there today. A strong wind, some testing hills but it was lovely under foot conditions. Started off at 4.15 pace and felt good at that. Decided to try and sit on that pace and was rock solid for the first 5k, within 1 second of that pace for each km. The 6th k was a toughie, into the breeze and the pace was taking it's toll - 4.30 for that one. Dug in for the last 2k, splits of 4.10 and 4.05 to finish in 34 flat.

    All in all, I'm delighted with this race. The concentration was good, I never relaxed and was attacking the course throughout. In tough conditions I finished about 30 seconds off my road PB, so will definitely be trying to lower that this year. And I love my new spikes!:)

    It almost goes without saying that it was another well organised BHAA race, thumbs up to the organisers.

    January to date: 16 runs, 119.7k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Quite times since the race. Was travelling on Sun/Mon, no running done at all. Joined the work group at lunch today for a recovery 4.5k. Didn't have anything to recover from, but it was nice to get out.

    January to date: 17 runs, 124.2k


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Fartlek at lunchtime today, felt pretty comfortable throughout but when I sat back down to my desk, I knew I'd been working. The wind was quite tough in parts and for those legs we kept the duration down to about 1 minute. Due to other stuff this will be my only tough session of the week, but happy with it all the same.

    January to date: 18runs, 132.3k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    The usual 4.5k recovery run, it was very welcome today. The legs were very tired from fartlek/cycling in that horrible wind yesterday. Feeling much better from that:)

    January to date: 19 runs, 136.8k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    First update in a long time! Late January I did an 8.1k fartlek session and a 4.5k recovery run. That brought me to 21 runs for the month and a total of 149.4k. A bit down on last year (111 miles) but have gotten in a couple of short weekend races (instead of long runs) so I'm not too bothered.

    Early Feb I did an 8k ramble cross country with the dog, before disappearing on holidays for 2 weeks. I did bring the runners with me, but never had any serious intentions of using them. Decision was made for me when I saw the roads in rural Costa Rica - spectacularly bumpy! I'd have sprained one of my dodgy ankles in no time, decided it was better to stick to the 4x4! I'd also highly recommend Costa Rica to anyone looking to get away from it all. Beautiful countryside, ridiculous amounts of wildlife & loads of fresh food. Loved it:)

    Arrived back early Sunday, spent the day trying to stay awake. Felt great today and went for my first run in 17 days - another 8k ramble with the dog. The start was horrible - cold, miserable, but felt great after a few k. Am half thinking of doing the UCD 5k race at the weekend, but will wait to see how the week progresses before signing up.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    A nice easy 5k today, still just getting back into it after the holidays but feeling good. Have some friends doing the UCD 5k on Saturday so have entered that also. Will be going in with low expectations but we'll see how it goes!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Today was fartlek, the usual 8k route. Conditions were tough in spots - got hit by a pig of a wind in some places! The individual fartlek legs were the usual mix of 1min to 3min, but today there seemed to be more longer ones. This was my first session in 3 weeks and was feeling a bit rough at the start. However after 3-4 legs something seemed to click and I felt good for the rest of the session. Looking forward now to the race at the weekend!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Recovery day today which is usually a 4.5k easy loop around work. A couple of us are also doing the UCD race at the weekend so we included a recce of that course, brought the run up to an easy 7k in 42mins. Looking forward to the weekends race. There's a tight turn at the end of the starting straight but it should be ok unless the numbers are much higher than previous years. Otherwise the course rolls along, a few hills (nothing much) and what looks like a fairly fast finishing k.

    YTD: 185.4k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Doing the UCD 5k in the morning so skipped todays hill session. Instead it was a nice easy 4.5k, should hopefully be nice and fresh for the morning. No idea of what to expect from tomorrows race. No running for 2.5 weeks but feeling good and looking forward to the race. We'll know more by 12.20 tomorrow!

    YTD: 189.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,370 ✭✭✭pconn062


    Good luck with the race tomorrow!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    UCD 5k race report
    Thought I had my race prep sorted at this stage but not so! Got up early, had my porridge, arrived in UCD 45 mins before start and picked up my race no etc. Chatted to a few people before heading to the changing room to find that I had packed two left running shoes! Was obviously half asleep packing my bag, but a bit of a disaster. My office however was close by and I had another pair there; legged it and got out on the course at 7 minutes to 12. Warm up was about 500 metres with a few strides - not ideal! Was obviously a bit flustered as I missed the start button on my watch, ended up running blind. As expected, I was rusty from the holidays and definitely struggled in the 2nd half of the race. I missed the clock at the end but I suspect I ran around 20.20.
    All in all, it was a really well run race with an excellent atmosphere; for me though it was one to forget. From now on I'll take a lot more care packing my race gear :rolleyes:


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 115 ✭✭Lock


    Not a bad run considering your wardrobe mishap. Well done!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Decided to go for a longer run today - 16.5k in 87 mins around the Phoenix Park. Gorgeous day out there and the Park was packed with runners. My first longish run for a while and it rounded off a pretty good week for me. Ran 7 days which included 1 race, 1 fartlek session and the rest was easy running. A good weeks work for the 1st week back after holidays.

    I also see that my chip time for yesterdays 5k was 20.13 which I'm pretty happy with. I've done three 5k races in the last 10 weeks but for various reasons a PB was never really on in any of them (Christmas parties, holidays etc) It's all good race experience but my next 5k race will need to be much more focussed. Just need to find the right race!

    YTD: 211.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Monday is always a tempo run, 1.5k warm-up followed by 6.5k at a steadily increasing pace. Today was on the slower side (30.20), but it felt pretty tough. A combination of a race on Saturday/longer run on Sunday left the legs feeling tired, a slow recovery is definitely needed tomorrow.

    YTD: 219.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Tuesday got held up in work so missed my slow recovery run. I find that this isn't so bad as the cycle to/from work is a great way of loosening up tired legs. Don't want to make a habit of this!

    Today was fartlek day, the usual 2k warm up followed by 6k of faster stuff. Conditions today were beautiful - there was a bit of warmth from the sun and it really felt like spring. You could also see it in todays session - some of the legs in the fartlek had a real bite to them and we really felt like we were moving. Will sleep well tonight!

    YTD: 227.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Thursday was a nice slow recovery run - the usual 4.5k route at a nice relaxed pace. Was followed by an unplanned session of a very different type involving several pints of guinness last night.

    Today was the first speed session of the year and was feeling the effects of last night. We used to do these on the UCD track but that's obviously no longer an option. Instead we found a flat 400m stretch that we used for our 'track' session. The plan was 4 x 400 in 80 seconds with a strict 50 second interval. The first one was very uneven but after that we got into our rhythm and the rest were fine (but tough!). We'll gradually increase the number of reps as the fitness improves; we'll hopefully see that speed coming through in a few weeks.

    YTD: 237.0k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Ended up coming down with some sort of bug at the weekend - unfair! Felt absolute pants, any sort of run was out of the question. This made 4 runs for the week, with 3 sessions and only 1 easy run. No balance - not good at all.

    Still not feeling too perky today, decided to skip the lunch time temp run with the work group. Did a nice lazy 6.5k easy run, was nice to get out again.

    YTD: 243.5k


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Feeling a lot better today, joined the work group for a nice relaxed 5k. It was a recovery run for them but was happy to tag along.

    YTD: 248.5k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Busy week at work, haven't updated the log for a while. Since then we've had a fartlek, a recovery run and a 'track' session. Wednesday was fartlek - the usual 8k route and a mix of fast legs of differing lengths. The pace of this session has definitely gone up - a sure sign of improving weather! Thursday was a 6.5k recovery run - nice and easy.

    Friday was our 'track' session on the new UCD 'track'. This is basically a 400m straight in front of the sport centre that's been marked out by UCD AC (I presume?) Target time per 400 is 80 sec, strict 50 sec recovery in between reps. It was a tough session yesterday as there was a headwind which hit hard on runs 1 and 3. Our times ended up as 81, 79, 82, 79 which was pretty good in the circumstances. Was wrecked after it, but these are fairly short & intense sessions. Still on 4 reps for now, will gradually increase that over the summer. Also included a warm up, some strides and a cool down - total of about 5k.

    YTD: 268k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    An easy 8k with the dog around the Phoenix Park, lovely running conditions this morning. This week then comes to 6 days running with 2 sessions and 4 easier days. The 2 sessions were fartlek and intervals and both had good quality, so all in all I think it was a good week. The mileage I'm putting in at the moment is pretty low (40k for the week), will have to try and build that up a bit over the coming weeks.

    Will be away with work all next week so not sure what running will be done; will be bringing the gear with me so hopefully will get some runs in.

    YTD: 276k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    macinalli wrote: »
    Will be away with work all next week so not sure what running will be done; will be bringing the gear with me so hopefully will get some runs in.

    So much for that plan! A write off week due to a combination of work, nights out and then a family christening when I got back. Summary for the week: 0 runs, 0 k:(

    First run back was this morning - nice easy 8k with the dog around the Phoenix Park. My main target for the year is the Berlin marathon but I think that I need a few target races in the meantime - I seem to be drifting a lot lately. Am thinking of the BHAA K club 10k in mid April, followed by a half marathon sometime in May before starting training for Berlin in June. All I need now is a half marathon! There seems to be a few on in May - will have to take a closer look later on. Am hoping that these races will get me more focussed with my running, especially at the weekends which have been hit and miss of late.

    YTD: 284k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Tuesday is always a recovery run, even when there was no Monday session to recover from! A lazy 5k at lunch time.

    YTD: 289k


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Today was fartlek, the usual 1.5k warm up followed by 6k of fast/slow, with a 0.5k warm down at the end. For today we managed 12 legs of between 1 and 3 minutes with a strict 30 seconds recovery in between. There was a good quality to todays run, probably a sign that Fridays 400m intervals are starting to have an effect. A damn enjoyable session:)

    YTD: 297k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    A few days since my last update. On Thursday it was the usual recovery run after fartlek - a nice relaxed 5k, nothing really to report.

    Friday was our track session where we run 400's on the path in front of UCD sports centre. This is basically a 2k slow warm up, about 500m of strides followed by a series of 400's in 80 seconds with 50 seconds recovery. Had been on 4 reps up til now, this time did 5 and felt fine after it. Will hold it at this for a few weeks before adding a 6th. a 1k warm down brought the session to 5.5k. It's only 400 seconds of fast running but it does take a toll - was wrecked last night!

    Today was for recovery - took the dog out for a 8.4k ramble around the Phoenix Park. With all the stop/start to sniff/pee on everything, these runs are only really good for recovery and working out the stiffness from the legs. That part worked well - feeling good again. It's also a spectacularly nice day for running!:)

    YTD: 315.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    A 13.5k run around the Phoenix Park, conditions are gorgeous and there was loads of people out running today - good to see! Had hoped to go further this morning but stomach wasn't happy about something and finished up a bit early.

    Total then for the week is 7 runs, including 2 sessions and a total of 53.4k. I'm really starting to enjoy the 400's we do each Friday and am looking forward to my next race to see if there's any speed coming through. That will be next Saturday when I plan on doing the BHAA 4 miler in St Annes Park.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Nothing like some gorgeous weather to make you forget about updating my log! Anyhoo, Monday was our usual tempo run which meant 6.5k in 29:20. The legs felt a bit tight on this one - suspect that I went a bit too fast on Sundays run.

    Tuesday was a nice recovery day - 4.5k at a very easy pace. Today was fartlek and it was a proper testing session. The usual 8k route but there was a few legs that were real tests. The limit for us is 3 mins per leg and there was a couple of legs today that were long and hard. A really enjoyable session, suspect that I will sleep very well tonight!

    YTD: 349.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Friday is usually a series of 400's but racing Sat so took it easy - a 6.5k at a slow pace.

    Sat was the BHAA DCC 4 mile race in St Annes Park and the target was to get under 25 minutes. I ran this race last year and clocked 26.10 so sub 25 would be a good improvement. I got there in good time and the BHAA registration was efficient as ever, all done in less than 2 minutes. Did about a 2k warmup with some strides before slotting in about 5 rows back from the front. I felt that we were going fast at the start but was feeling comfortable. Went though the first mile in 5.52 but still felt great. Decided to try and push on with that pace - bad idea! After about another 500 metres I was struggling and the pace was starting to drop. This was my slowest mile of the race - I think about 6.40. I recovered well after that one and ran steadily for the last 2 miles - did them both in 6.20 to finish in 25.12. A bit disappointing not to break 25, but it was a lesson learned today. I had wanted to be aggressive in my race pacing this year but pushed it too much in the first 2k. It's also a nice improvement over last year and a PB by 58 seconds:)

    One of my key goals for the year is to break 40 for 10k. I just put todays race time into McMillan and it says 40.01. Next race will be the BHAA 10k in the K-Club - that gives me 3 weeks to find a 2 second improvement;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Today was a progression run, starting off at about 4.40/k and gradually picking up the pace to about 4.00/k. I faded a bit in the race at the weekend so I was thinking that this is the session to improve that speed endurance. Up until now it's been a 6.5k course, but have decided to gradually increase that and today did about 7.5k in 34.30. Including warm up the session was about 9k.

    YTD: 368.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Ok, Tuesday was a recovery run - a nice easy 4.5k at lunch time.

    Wednesday was fartlek and although our group numbers were down, we had some good quality runners. I was probably the slowest there but we had a well run session (despite the wind) which came to 8k.

    Due to work/home stuff I didn't get out Thursday. Friday was a relaxed 8k with the dog.

    YTD: 395.9k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Poorly people at home so the main focus of todays run was to tire out the dog. 11.2k in the Park seems to have done the trick. Reckon it'll be the same story on Sunday and hope to do some 10k specific stuff for the upcoming BHAA 10k on Monday.

    YTD: 407.1k


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,370 ✭✭✭pconn062


    Hi Macinalli, enjoying the log. I also targeting sub 40 for 10k soon and was thinking of the K club 10k as well, meant to be a super quick course. Good luck with the next two weeks training.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 907 ✭✭✭macinalli


    Monday is usually a progression run with the work group but on my own today so decided to do something different. Had an eye on the mcmillan 10k sessions that were mentioned in another thread so decided to give the 3 x 2 mile intervals a shot. The idea is that if I can do these at race pace, then I'll be fine for the 10k. Hadn't done long intervals before but thought it'd be an interesting session. Turned out to be a bad idea! Did the first 2 miles in 12.55 (target was 12.48) so was happy enough. Took a 4 minute recovery and headed off again but the legs were like jelly and all over the place, stopped after 300 metres. Very strange sensation as I know the pace wasn't the issue - my recent 4 mile race shows that. I'm guessing that while my training is going well, I haven't been doing long intervals, and especially nothing near 2 mile intervals. Plan for the future is to build up to these with a series of 1 mile intervals - lesson learned! After pulling the plug on the session I just went for an easy run in the Park - total for the day was a very varied 16.3k.

    YTD: 423.4k


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