Things will come to those who wait...

ThePiedPiper

Hi PConn062. We're having a party in the house on Saturday night. Would you like to come?

Cleanman

RunForestRun wrote: »

I'm really annoyed I'm missing Raheny this weekend too. But I'm afraid this big house party I'm having will take its toll on me. Very strange that I'm having a house party on the same weekend that PConn is moving into a new house. very strange indeed.

I'm still very annoyed that this bloody track fairy, PConn, beat me in the Jingle Bells race by 1 second. But then, I'm always beating myself up over things like that..

pconn062 wrote: »

I'm just very annoyed that you're having a big party in your house on Saturday night and you haven't invited me!

RunForestRun wrote: »

Hi PConn062. We're having a party in the house on Saturday night. Would you like to come?

Haha - you are one funny guy!

pconn062

Cleanman wrote: »

Haha - you are one funny guy!

Don't encourage us him!

Thursday: 7 miles very easy

Recovery run on the road, all this rain means I can't get up to the grass where I usually run as it's in absolute muck so will have to stick to the road. Took this very handy and I felt good.

Friday: 5.5 miles easy

I'm stressed off my face at the moment with the house move, work and a conference this weekend getting this run in was just a pain. Had to squeeze it in between preparing my paper and going to work and I just didn't want to go out. The fecking rain wasn't helping either. Meant to get a few more miles done but this was all I could fit in. Motivation is a bit low at the moment and running is feeling like a chore, hopefully when things settle down next week that will improve. Driving to Cork straight after work today so won't get a run in tomorrow. Hope to get a long run in Sunday but I checked the forecast and it's giving a stinker. Feel sorry for all those racing Raheny!

MYTD: 158.5

AuldManKing

pconn062 wrote: »

I checked the forecast and it's giving a stinker. Feel sorry for all those racing Raheny!

MYTD: 158.5

What about us poor sods running Dungarvan - double the distance - not even a 2nd thought from you......pfft!

No wonder RFR didn't invite you to his party.

pconn062

AuldManKing wrote: »

What about us poor sods running Dungarvan - double the distance - not even a 2nd thought from you......pfft!

No wonder RFR didn't invite you to his party.

Sorry about that, once the race distance goes over 10k it doesn't come onto my radar! Enjoy your jog!

ecoli

pconn062 wrote: »

Hope to get a long run in Sunday but I checked the forecast and it's giving a stinker. Feel sorry for all those racing Raheny!

I just keep thinking to myself it can't be as bad as last year

pconn062

Saturday: Off

Took my day off today instead of Monday, the mind needed the break more than the body.

Sunday: 12.5 miles @ circa 7.25 pace

Long run with the bro this morning. Conditions weren't as bad a s forecast but we still caught in a couple of nasty hail showers. Felt good on this, ran this on a hilly course so the legs got a good workout.

So 50.5 miles for the week, a tough week if I'm honest and it was a struggle to get all this done. Going to start 5k work this week as well and I will also alternate a hill session and tempo session every second week. I know 3 sessions in a week would be most beneficial but I know from past experience with this that my body struggles to cope three sessions and inevitably breaks down. Will try this for a few weeks anyway and see how I react, and then see about maybe fitting the three into one week.

MYTD: 171

pconn062

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 7 miles @ 7.32 pace

Nice easy run on the roads, really had to squeeze this in so that accounts for the slightly faster pace.

Wednesday: 7 miles w/8x600m + 4x200m

No time to double today as I had to do a few extra hours teaching. Set the alarm to try and get out early and do it but I'm dosed with a cold at the moment and felt terrible when I woke up so stayed in bed. Big group of lads at training tonight, ten or eleven in our group which is great to see. This was a 5k paced session so we were aiming for 5.40 a miles or so and pretty much hit it bang on. Took 75 seconds recovery between each rep and they were all times between 2.09 down to 2.03. Felt comfortable enough at this pace, will try something similar next week and cut the recovery down a little. Finished off with a few 200's for turnover work, kept th first 3 nice and steady hitting 35 seconds without much effort then finished with a 29 low rep to get the legs turning up a bit quicker. Good session all round, I really enjoy doing 5k work like this.

Woke up with a bit of a niggle in my left IT band, giving me a few twinges all day. Felt grand during the training when I warmed up but it's twinging a bit at me now. Have neglected the foam roller recently so did 15 minutes on it when I got home. Have a massage booked for tomorrow so hopefully that will help loosen it out.

MYTD: 185

pconn062

Thursday: 7 miles recovery

Took this one very handy as the legs were a bit tender. Started at 8.50 pace and didn't get much quicker. Got a rub done last night too and the legs feel much better this morning.

Unfortunately I can't say the same about my chest. I have a bad cold all week and I could feel it making it's way down to my chest yesterday. Doesn't feel too bad but when I woke up and seen the weather I decided to give the run a miss. No point running about in the lashing rain with a dodgy chest, won't achieve much and could do more damage than good. I hate missing training days but my runners OCD will have to just suck it up for one day. Hope to get out tomorrow, this is going to leave me with a low enough mileage week but it can't be helped. Will try and finish the week with two good days training anyway.

MYTD: 192

pconn062

Had a whole thing typed out for today but my computer had a brain freeze and I lost it all. :mad: Not bothered typing it again. The details:

Saturday: 7 miles @ about 7.30 pace
Sunday: 12.5 mile tough run run on grass on a very boggy Oldbridge

40 miles for the week, not great but not bad considering I was sick and missed a days training. Need to get some consistent 50 mile weeks in but it's going to be hard for the next two weeks as I have a race both weekends, the Leinster indoors next weekend and the Rás the following week. Still it's very early in the season and my weekly mileage is not too bad. ave been speaking to a 800m runner/coach in my club about plans and ideas and we are trying to put a middle distance group together for the spring, should be useful. He is also going to look at putting general plan together for us so will be great to get another input from a low 1.50 800m runner.

Here are some figures for January:

Month|Days training|Mileage
January|26/31|192


MYTD: 211.5

pconn062

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 56 mins easy

Very tight for time for this one, squeezing it in between a two hour gap in work. Had hoped to get some strides done but my stomach was acting up by the end so didn't want to risk it. I'm calling that 7 1/2 miles.

Wednesday: 7 miles w/8x600m off 60 secs recovery, 4x200m

Same session today as last week, just one change as we cut the recovery from 75 to 60 seconds. Again this wasn't a killer session, just a good workout for this time of the year, we had a massive group for this which is great, our senior men group is growing nicely. We stuck to 83-85 second laps and the splits all came in around the 2.05 mark (about 5.35-40 a mile), and we finished with a 2 minute flat rep. We then finished off with a few 200's for turnover, I kept them steady for the first three 35,34,34 and then pushed it a bit for the last one hitting a 28.5, which I was happy with.

So just easy running now until the weekend. Running my first 1500m since last July on Sunday, and my first ever indoor race. Have no idea what to expect and have no speedwork done, but hopefully it will tell me where I'm at and just how much work I will have to do before the summer!

MYTD: 226

ThebitterLemon

Good luck at the weekend.

One thing you can be sure of is that it won't be raining

TbL

pconn062

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Good luck at the weekend.

One thing you can be sure of is that it won't be raining

TbL

Or windy! A flat, calm and balmy 18 degrees!

Cleanman

pconn062 wrote: »

Or windy! A flat, calm and balmy 18 degrees!

You're not going to Nenagh then:D:D

pconn062

Cleanman wrote: »

You're not going to Nenagh then:D:D

Ha, thankfully not Nenagh. Would need my wellies if I was going down there! :pac:

pconn062

Thursday: 60 minutes recovery

Easy recovery run, have no Garmin these days so I'm going by time for the next while until it gets fixed. Lovely evening for it and the legs felt great.

Friday: 54 minutes easy

Out very early for this and I always struggles with running at this hour. Kept the pace nice and easy and again legs felt good during the run. Didn't feel to good afterwards when I tried to do some strides, did one and my legs were still in sleep mode and were having none of it! Couldn't even manage 5k pace so bailed after one.

Saturday: 32 mins with 4 strides

Just an easy run today to try and shake out the legs before tomorrow. Felt pretty tired on this run. Where I'm living now is a bit hillier than where I was and every run requires a few good climbs which are leaving my legs a bit more tired than normal. I'm sure I'll get used to it but it's not the best position to be in for tomorrow. Have no idea what to expect, will try and not get carried away at the start even if it's means falling to the back. Will try and run 36-37 second laps and see how I get on. Will be an experience anyway!

MYTD: 244

ThebitterLemon

And there'll be no hills

TbL

pconn062

4.35 today for the 1500m. Mixed race, some good and bad points, highest quality field by far of the day. Will post some thoughts later.

pconn062

So a few thoughts about the race. I am happy with the result as it is a 3 second PB from last summer but a few things didn't go my way, some my fault and others not. Everyone agreed that it was by far the highest quality field of the day, much higher than the last Leinster championship I ran last summer. Emmet Dunleavey won the race in 3.53 as a warm up race for next weekend (Yes, I got lapped), and to be honest the field blew me away a bit. Some other thoughts:

1. Straight at the gun I was in last place as the guys tore off, managed to get one guy back after about 400m but was way to far back from the next guy. Basically I ran the race as a time trial, with no pressure from behind and the guys in front to far away to catch. This was hard as it is hard to really push yourself on your own.

2. I ran first 200m too slow, was too cautious. Went through in 37, should have been 34/35 which cost me a few seconds.

3. I felt like I was working hard throughout but maybe not hard enough as I had enough left for a big kick with 100m to go. Again maybe this is another symptom of running the race on my own.

I honestly thought I had run a little faster and I kind of expected to go a little faster, thought I might pull off a 4.30 on the day. I probably had no reason to expect this as I have done no speedwork quicker than 5k pace since last July. :eek: But I thought my increased endurance gained from increasing the mileage over the winter would reap a bigger benefit, maybe I'm just being greedy though. As my coach said it a starting point and something to build one for the summer, getting to sub 4.25 won't be easy but should be manageable. If anyone has any comments that would be great.

The track is a great facility but there were some issues today. There were so many masters races that the day dragged on forever. I traveled down with my friend who was running the 3000m , the first event of my day. My 1500m was the 2nd last event. There was no programme released, just and order of events and a start time. The result of this was that my race didn't kick off until 17:15 after arriving there are 9.15, so a lot of sitting around! Also the over-zealous security guards took a lot of the fun out the day, if you took a step towards the barrier of the track you were immediately told to take a seat. Also no food or drink is allowed in the place at all, apart from a bottle of water. Even my Lucozade sport was forbidden and I had to leave the building and go to reception in order to drink it! This is policy across all events in AIT and is crazy if you are trying to encourage people to attend athletic events. One the plus side it is a great track to run on and the warm up area and changing rooms are top class.

dna_leri

Pconn,

Sounds like your biggest issue was having to run solo - you will always get a few secs from being dragged along. Was the next guy far ahead? It would have been worse to go out too fast and blow up early. A 34s opening lap might not have been wise either.

At least you got a PB and something to build from knowing you had plenty left at the end. With some mile pace work done and company, sub 4:30 should come handy enough. After that you can push on.

pconn062

dna_leri wrote: »

Pconn,

Sounds like your biggest issue was having to run solo - you will always get a few secs from being dragged along. Was the next guy far ahead? It would have been worse to go out too fast and blow up early. A 34s opening lap might not have been wise either.

At least you got a PB and something to build from knowing you had plenty left at the end. With some mile pace work done and company, sub 4:30 should come handy enough. After that you can push on.

Thanks DL, maybe you're right about the opening lap, a 34 might have come back to bite me later in the race but I think the 37 was still a touch too slow. The next guy was quite a distance ahead of me, my friend estimated about 10-15 seconds, he was far enough ahead that I couldn't see anyone ahead of me on the straights towards the end of the race, so no hope of catching him! As you say, with a bit of pace work and maybe a bit more company (in a Graded meet maybe where the standard is more suitable) I hopefully should go a bit quicker. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

pconn062

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 54 mins easy

I was a little late getting out for this run, just as the weather was turning. The result was I spent the last 30 minutes running in the middle of a snow blizzard. I couldn't see two feet in front of me and by the end of the run my face and neck were completely numb. Had strides planned but my legs were frozen in position so had to skip them.

Wednesday: 54 mins easy w/4 strides

Didn't think I was going to get anything done today at all. I was waiting to run with the club tonight but by 5'o clock the storm hit us here and the wind was shocking and training was cancelled. After a few messages a few of us madmen decided to meet up anyway and get a run in anyway, not as good as a session but just glad to get something in. The wind was terrible but was nice to run with the group and the legs felt great. Finished off with a few strides back at the track. Have a slight niggle in my right knee that I need to keep and eye on, it's not too bad really and only slightly niggely at times.

So no session unfortunately and I'm racing this weekend (6k cross country) so don't think I will get one in this week, although I might do a few hills on Friday. I would rather not race this weekend but it's my clubs own race so I need to support it. Training is a bit hit and miss at the minute but I hope to get a bit more consistency after this weekend. Not going to race for a few weeks and just and get some solid miles and sessions in.

MYTD: 262

NiallG4

Fair play to you going out last night. I got out of the car and just got straight back in. I think I am entered for Sunday (I paid money and was told I am sorted) so I will go and give it a wee blast. Is it the same laps as the Senior CC? I am using it as a blowout for the masters cc the following week in Dunboyne. After that I hope to do the Dune half. I like the idea of running from Newry to Dundalk. I have zero half marathon training done so hoping to do a 2 week training program for it. I have a decent base from the BHAA CC's and long runs at the weekend so I thought why not. How did you manage to get RFR to join you fairies last weekend. Well done to both of you. Both ran good times for the time of year. Great starting points. They will both tumble dramatically come the graded meetings. Talk to you on Sunday. Who is favourite in the pconn v RFR confrontation over 6k. Based on your 1500/3000m times at the weekend, it will be close.

pconn062

NiallG4 wrote: »

Fair play to you going out last night. I got out of the car and just got straight back in. I think I am entered for Sunday (I paid money and was told I am sorted) so I will go and give it a wee blast. Is it the same laps as the Senior CC? I am using it as a blowout for the masters cc the following week in Dunboyne. After that I hope to do the Dune half. I like the idea of running from Newry to Dundalk. I have zero half marathon training done so hoping to do a 2 week training program for it. I have a decent base from the BHAA CC's and long runs at the weekend so I thought why not. How did you manage to get RFR to join you fairies last weekend. Well done to both of you. Both ran good times for the time of year. Great starting points. They will both tumble dramatically come the graded meetings. Talk to you on Sunday. Who is favourite in the pconn v RFR confrontation over 6k. Based on your 1500/3000m times at the weekend, it will be close.

Cheers Niall, think RFR is definitely the favourite at the weekend! Although my 1500m performance at the weekend was much better than his 3000m , he's still much better on the muck than me!

The cross country will leave you with loads of strength so I'd say the half marathon will be no bother. Unusual race that one, I'd say it's a bastard if the wind is blowing the wrong way!
Course is slightly different than the senior race, 1500m rather that 2k a lap, so four laps, four times up the hill! Giving a good day I think so, and Oldbridge is actually dry enough at the minute.

pconn062

Thursday: 54 mins easy

No recovery run this week as I had no session so tipped along at a handy pace for this. Got absolutely hammered by the wind and the rain at the end of this run, quite exhausting and I was glad to be done.

Friday: 55 mins easy

Out a stupid o' clock this morning for this, really had to talk myself out of bed as the weather out side was awful (yet again...). Legs were asleep and I am always much slower at running in the morning. This felt quite tough, was running over a hilly route and the wind was torturous at times, these crappy conditions are really starting to get annoying.

Thankfully no issue with the knee on these two runs but I think I have a more serious problem developing. I quite literally have a pain in my butt, noticed it Wednesday after my run. Just a bit of a dull ache on the left hand side, was fine on these two runs but sore afterwards and after sitting down/driving. I consulted Dr. Google and all the symptoms match a proximinal hamstring strain. It matches all the symptoms, OK to run on, exact location, worse when going upstairs etc. I'm going for a proper diagnosis on Monday but all the advice online says it ok to run as long as it's not causing pain. Bit annoying, I know it's not this hamstring problem because apparently it's a hard thing to shift, will just have to see. Anyone come across this before? Not looking for medical advice but it's a new one on me.

Ososlo

pconn062 wrote: »

I quite literally have a pain in my butt, noticed it Wednesday after my run. Just a bit of a dull ache on the left hand side, was fine on these two runs but sore afterwards and after sitting down/driving. I consulted Dr. Google and all the symptoms match a proximinal hamstring strain. It matches all the symptoms, OK to run on, exact location, worse when going upstairs etc. I'm going for a proper diagnosis on Monday but all the advice online says it ok to run as long as it's not causing pain. Bit annoying, I know it's not this hamstring problem because apparently it's a hard thing to shift, will just have to see. Anyone come across this before? Not looking for medical advice but it's a new one on me.

Funnily, I'm just back from a rub from the physio for something similar as I've been feeling a bit of tenderness in glut and a few other areas recently. All is fine except for a tight glut and it's down to hill work. I'm fine to run on it as much/far as I want but I have to hold back on the speed/hill work for a few days. I was fine during my runs but I felt it a bit during the day but it wasn't pain, just a bit achy. I'm totally paranoid about getting an injury so trotted off to the physio immediately.
Alternating ice and heat are both good for 20 min periods and stretches such as hip flexion stretch, quad and hamstring stretch and back stretches.
Just telling ya my story. Of course yours could be totally different;)
Hope you get to the bottom:D of it on Monday!

pconn062

Ososlo wrote: »

Funnily, I'm just back from a rub from the physio for something similar as I've been feeling a bit of tenderness in glut and a few other areas recently. All is fine except for a tight glut and it's down to hill work. I'm fine to run on it as much/far as I want but I have to hold back on the speed/hill work for a few days. I was fine during my runs but I felt it a bit during the day but it wasn't pain, just a bit achy. I'm totally paranoid about getting an injury so trotted off to the physio immediately.
Alternating ice and heat are both good for 20 min periods and stretches such as hip flexion stretch, quad and hamstring stretch and back stretches.
Just telling ya my story. Of course yours could be totally different;)
Hope you get to the bottom:D of it on Monday!

Sounds very similar to my situation alright, again not so much a sharp pain but a dull ache. Hopefully the physio can clear it up a bit for me on Monday. Hopefully yours has eased up a bit? I really don't want an injury so hopefully a deep tissue massage and a few strengthening exercises will sort it out.

Ososlo

pconn062 wrote: »

Sounds very similar to my situation alright, again not so much a sharp pain but a dull ache. Hopefully the physio can clear it up a bit for me on Monday. Hopefully yours has eased up a bit? I really don't want an injury so hopefully a deep tissue massage and a few strengthening exercises will sort it out.

Well it's not hurting much at all today and feels totally fine for the last few hours. Sometimes I think I'm overly paranoid about these things:o but best be safe than sorry imo.
Yeah I had myself diagnosed with a myriad of awful things after consulting Dr. Google but it wasn't as bad as that at all. Main thing is I can still run.
I'm sure it'll be the same for you.
One thing was mentioned to me was not to foam roll the actual sore glute too much as you might aggravate it. Very gently if at all.
Again, just relaying my experience to you, not advice. Best of luck Monday.

ThePiedPiper

I'd something similar in December, led to a below-par result in the JB 5k race...

pconn062

Saturday: 30 mins easy

Just a short easy run out in Oldbridge after we had finished setting up the Rás. Hamstring felt fine during the run but a bit sore afterwards. Not really painful but just a nagging ache.

Sunday: Rás na hEireann

Our clubs cross country race was today and I couldn't really miss it, needed to support the team. leg felt grand on the warm-up and I had a game plan for the race. I've always suffered like a dog in this race so decided with the leg being a bit dodgy I would sit back a bit for the first two laps and then push on.
After the gun I was at the head of the second group, about 10m behind the big main group of about 20 runners. Kept the pace steady and tried not to go into the red too early. The plan to keep the effort low was not entirely successful as this is a hard course which requires work throughout. Fell in with a guy from my club on the third lap and some over enthusiastic runners from the first group were coming back to us. Into the last lap and my club mate was stuck to me, knew it was going to come to a sprint. Down the last hill and I started to wind it up but he wouldn't budge, he tried to go on the inside of me but I cut him off and with 200m to go I sprinted and manged to get 5m over him.
Happy with that, 23:10 on the watch I think, not that it matters. Not a great result and I didn't give it 100% due to the leg but glad to be able to help us win 2nd team overall, although I'll admit I was gutted not to get 1st. Great race by RFR to win the first Dunleer man home cup, nicely.
Did a warm down and the hammy felt OK, again no issues when I'm running but sore afterwards. I'm worried about this to be honest so will see what the physio says in the morning, don't want to have to take much time off if I can avoid it as I want to start into good training this week, have been floating along for the last few weeks with no real plan. Here's hoping for good news!

MYTD: 286