The Blueprint

Lock

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm a long-time lurker on this forum but I said I'd finally create an account and start logging my training here for the craic. In the spirit of New Year's resolutions I felt it would do me good to add another element of accountability to my weekly running by putting a training log up here for all to see. This could be a big flop but I'd like to think I'll keep it going for the whole year and I hope I have something of interest to add. While it seems the majority of loggers here train for road races and half marathons and up, you will only find cross country and track races here with me. I like to write, and I definitely enjoy writing about running so hopefully there'll be something worth reading here.

I'm 21 and running since I was a kid. I've had decent results here and there but my performances year-to-year generally fluctuate wildly and I tend to let life get in the way of races a bit too often. I only ran 11 races last year which is not good enough really (8 x cross country, 2 x track, 1 x road 5k). I have some seriously outdated PBs on the track and intend on smashing them all this summer if I can get there in one piece!

I was sick all this week so having ran 13 miles on Christmas Day and feeling good, I waited till this evening until my next run of 6 miles at 7.03 pace. Bit stiff but trying to start as I mean to go on this year so I'm glad I got it in. I have some big lofty goals for 2012. The plan for now is to keep the mileage over 65mpw and hopefully in a few weeks creep up closer to 70-75 and hold it there for the remainder of the season. After March I might try a road 5k/10k before turning my attention to the track where the focus will be 800m/1500m. I've never had a real track season so I don't know what to expect but we'll see how it goes. Looking forward to bouncing ideas off others and maybe meeting some of you on the road in the near future.

Lock.

Dory Dory

Best of luck to you....and happy new year!

ecoli

Great to see addition of track logs here. I will follow this with interest as I am of similar age with similar targets this year (prob more 1500-3k rather than 800s in the summer)

Looking at the pace of your run there yesterday and your talk of mileage targets would be interesting to see what your PB targets are for the year?

Donelson

Great to see another <10km log, best of luck with the training in 2012.

Lock

ecoli wrote: »

Great to see addition of track logs here. I will follow this with interest as I am of similar age with similar targets this year (prob more 1500-3k rather than 800s in the summer)

Looking at the pace of your run there yesterday and your talk of mileage targets would be interesting to see what your PB targets are for the year?

Thanks Ecoli. I probably should have been a bit more specific with my background info. I’ve called this log the Blueprint but have yet to spell out the plan for the year so here goes! Between now and the end of March all my training will be focused on cross country. i.e. Long aerobic work, fartlek, longer efforts with 2 sessions a week of faster stuff for now and hopefully building up to 3 a week although my body definitely won’t be able for that for at least 2 or 3 weeks. I’ll do the Leinster CC in Kilmacow next weekend, National Intermediate in Boyle and hopefully get to the start line for the Interclubs at the end of Feb to give 12k a lash! I want to do the Dunboyne 4 too as I’ve never raced the distance and I only live up the road so it is about time I made an appearance. If everything goes well up to that point, I will have 12 weeks or so of good solid aerobic work done so it’ll be a good base to work off of. Dunboyne will be a measurement of where I’m at and from there my coach and I can make a plan, 6-8 weeks ideally to get me to June in good nick. During April and May I will be getting used to running a bit faster again and heading down to the track a lot more.

The best shape I’ve ever been was Autumn/Winter 2010 when I averaged 3 sessions a week for a 60-65 mile week. I ran close to 15.30 for the 3 mile leg at the college road relays that year, after going through 2 miles in 10.10 and that was a big wake up call to what I could do if I got a few years running behind me. I fell ill just before Xmas 2011 and it took me a while to get back. I still managed a top 20 finish in the National Inter CC in ALSAA last year however. I lost my focus from that point on and my training suffered. I managed to run a 9.14 3k in April after going through 1500m in 4.30 which just frustrated me further as the guys I was slogging it out with on the country 6 weeks prior were coming in around 8.50. My number one enemy is inconsistency. If I can just get into a good routine and keep my focus on doing what I have to do each week then I know I can really surprise myself this summer. So this might give you an idea of where I’m coming from going into this season.

Track PBs:

800m: 2.07 (2009) I think it’s 2.07, might be 2.09. Did no training for this and haven’t run one since.

1500m: 4.25/6 (2009) Again, I think I rustled up a few 400m track sessions in the 2 weeks prior to this and I could only manage 4.26. Woeful. Have been in much better shape since then but again, haven’t ran one since 2009!

3000m: 9.14 (2011) Happy enough with this actually, fairly respectable but should be sub 9 really.

5000m: 16.57 (2011) Ran this at the intervarsities last year and it was a complete disaster. Very windy on the day but by the end I was lapping in 80 seconds and over. I was in terrible shape and went because I hadn’t done the track varsities yet and wanted to tick that box. Bit embarrassing to put this down but if I get a chance to do a track 5k that suits this year, I plan on demolishing this one.

PB goals for 2012 are fairly straightforward:

800m: break 2.00

1500m: break 4.00

3k: Not really a goal distance but would like to get down as close to 8.45 as I can

5k: Get as close to 15 minute barrier as possible



If I stay injury free and get the training done I know it’ll be a good year. Supposing everything goes to plan up until April, my one big reservation is whether I will be able to convert my strength to good speed endurance on the track. I’ve never been able to knock out 64-66 sec 400’s consistently in training, which is what I'll need to be able to do to hit those time goals. So how can I set goals like 2 mins, and 4 mins in my first real year targeting the distance! Well I think I’m young enough that I should be able to run that fast. I have enough miles in my legs to make me think I can do it. They’re very clear goals too. I can see the 2 minute barrier and the splits are easy to remember! I could give myself a more realistic target of 4.08, hell even 4.15 would be a great improvement but I want to be able to say I can run 3.xx. I’m supposed to be taking running seriously, so why shouldn’t I aim high? Sorry for the long post, I feel like I’ve just put my whole running career up here. No going back now!

Monday 2nd Jan:

8 miles in 57.36 (7.12 pace)
Tunes: The White Panda, Pandamonium

Felt very stiff so spent ages on the foam roller afterwards and again this evening did some hip adductor work and calf raises as both were really bothering me. Nothing serious but certainly won’t be pushing it this week.

Lock

So I haven't updated this training log in a little over two weeks as there was no training to actually log!

After 6 days no running with illness I jumped straight into a 9 mile steadyish run on New Year's Eve which was stupid. As a result I strained my calf, its sore on the outside of my right calf when I run now. At first, I didn't think it was anything more than a bit of stiffness but after not being able to go further than a 2 mile jog in 17 minutes to cap off a measly 20 mile week, I decided it would be best to take a break and do some rehab instead. I thought I'd only be out 3 or 4 days but its still not 100% and I didn't run a step last week.

I'm still doing my best not to rush back into running which is exactly how I strained it to begin with! It is frustrating to have missed the Leinster XC and now I don't think I would look forward to doing the National Intermediate so may give that a miss. There's no point in going all the way to Roscommon for a ****e run. I'm motivated to get back out there though so hopefully by the latter end of this week I'll have something to post here. Just doing some gentle strengthening exercises to try help knit the muscle fibres back together. Haven't done any aerobic work so I really should hop in the pool or something this week. Got two new pairs of Kayanos which are waiting to be mucked up as I'll be staying on grass as much as possible when I'm back.

Any useful calf exercises anyone knows of, feel free to pass them on!

Lock

Just because I can't run doesn't mean training stops. So today I did my first circuits session of the year. The last time I did circuits was when I was last injured which shows my attitude to strength training! This has to change as it will help keep injury at bay.

It helped having my brother doing the session with me, shouting slogans at me etc. He put a 9 week schedule in front of me with 3 sessions per week that worked wonders for him so I'll try stick to it. Its based off time not number of reps which is good so rather than feeling disheartened at missing the last 2 press ups, you just keep going till 20 or 30 seconds has passed, depending on the exercise. If I keep doing it every other day, I hope to keep it up when I'm back running miles. It only takes about 20 minutes so I've no excuse really.

itchyblood

Go on Locky!

Lock

Safe to say I am over this injury and on the way back to fitness. Went to a trusted physical therapist over 2 weeks ago and recognised the problem in my right lower leg as a light strain in the peroneus longus which runs on the outside of the calf muscle. After a massage, the short jog the next day went well and I've slowly built up from there with no hiccups thankfully.

That first week back consisted of just half hour slow runs around the local GAA pitch as I wanted to stay off road. Running on the right-hand side of cambered roads was given as the most likely cause, which made sense to me as I had been doing 90% of my training over the Xmas period on road. Very boring circling the pitch but was happy to be back putting one foot in front of the other. Very slippy on the muck though, so I graduated to tarmac by the end of the week. 20 miles total for that week and a loosened out leg.

Last week I notched up around 30 miles of easy runs, with two 8 milers in there at a handy enough pace. I was taking plenty of rest days as I wasn't too concerned missing days but this week I'm trying to get out every day as I can feel the strength I have regained in my lower leg. So for the last 3 days I've started recording the finer details once more:

Monday: 10 miles in 69.43 (6.58/mile)
Tunes: Thursday, The Weeknd

First double figures of 2012. Probably went a bit too steady if that's possible. I'm excited to be back running, and fresh legs got the better of me. Must go easier, at least for this week. Leg not sore after or anything but still erring on the side of caution with inverted calf raises every evening

Tuesday: 8 miles in 53.50 (6.43/mile)
Tunes: Rumours, Fleetwood Mac

7.00/mile on way out, dropped to 6.30/mile on way back. So hard to slow down when you're feeling good. I'm not one to hammer all my runs as usually the fatigue from all the volume slows me down but right now I don't have anything behind me so legs are surprisingly fresh and crying out for an honest effort. Didn't push it, just came naturally. Tried to get onto grass today to help leg but couldn't. Must try later this week.

Wednesday: 5 miles in 36.00 (7.11/mile)
Tunes: The Ecstatic, Mos Def

Legs were stiff from yesterday so had to loosen them out big time before heading out the door. Had intended to go 6-8 miles but after stopping twice to stretch out legs that were still uncomfortably stiff, I left it at 5 mile. Running every day is catching up with me and slowing me down. Will try to get on grass tomorrow. Leg feels good. Not hopping into any sessions just yet though.

Lock

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 11 miles in 67.22 (7.01/mile)

Felt great today. Maybe that's because I didn't bother getting out the door yesterday. Didn't push it at all. Found a new loop route that I will be using in future. I'm not one to check the garmin at all when I'm running and I was surprised to see the pace I averaged. Especially as on Sunday I only managed 9 miles when I intended to do 11 or 12. It was a gorgeous day today and i was gulping down the oxygen. Felt comfortable the whole way. Key is to take it really easy and not force it, something I often forget.

38 miles last week with 2 full rest days. Not great but finding it hard to motivate myself to go out when there's no race on the horizon. Already notched up a rest day this week which was unplanned but will rectify this and ideally hit close to 50 miles this week. Feet and legs felt fine today. Just doing plenty of leg strength work and bit by bit I'm getting there. I have my eyes on the BHAA XC in Maynooth in March. I'd love to run the Garda XC this weekend but going out the night before for a friend's birthday.

Lock

Wednesday: 8.04 miles in 56.50 (7.04/mile)

Lock

Thursday: 8 miles in 59.58 (7.29/mile)

Hamstrings were a little tight before this one. Right calf had a few mini spasms when the road was uneven but nothing major. Stopped at halfway to stretch which helped. I think its a case of leg strength as this is my third day on the trot now and its just starting to catch up with me slightly. I just keep this in mind when I know I'm running slower as a result. It will come.

If my legs permit me, I think I'll try some faster stuff tomorrow. I would wait until Saturday but I'm going out tomorrow night so working around that. Nothing special, just try get the legs turning over with a bit of fartlek probably.

Lock

Friday: Rest

I had less time to get a run in than I thought I would so planned fartlek was shelved for now.

Saturday: 10 miles in 68.39 (6.51/mile), Phoenix Park
Tunes: Pure Magic, Bruneaux

First time on grass in far too long. Legs felt great with the extra cushioning, I just had to be a wee bit careful on the trails, where the mud could throw me off balance. I was out late last night but didn't affect me as I left the run till late. Held a solid pace despite the wind. I ran the last mile on the path along Chesterfield Ave and for no reason at all I just wanted to speed up so last mile was a 5.35. That skewed the overall pace a little bit. Last two days were easy so I think I was just itching to blow out the last mile when I got off the muck and onto the path. I never do this as I'd normally save my best efforts for workouts but it felt f**cking great running flat out at the end.

Next week will be a good week going by today.

Lock

Sunday: Long run. 14 miles in 1:38:36 (7.02/mile)

Tried a new loop today which I thought would be about 12 miles, I didn't want to go much farther. Turned out it was a bit longer and considering it was my longest run of the year so far, the last 2 miles I was hanging. Otherwise felt great. Lovely blue skies today. I was a bit apprehensive heading out for a long run on the road. I didn't want my feet and lower legs to give me trouble. They didn't bother me at all so I'm a happy chappy.

51 miles for the week which is great. Haven't done 50+ in about 8 weeks so happy with how I'm progressing after my injury. I'll try to get closer to 60 next week.

Lock

Monday: Rest. Unplanned didn't get out the door. I'm a divil for missing runs on Mondays.

Tuesday: 10 miles in 68:06 (6:48/mile). This is the route I do most of my 10 milers on. Its an out and back route with an gradual uphill climb for the first 5 miles and mostly downhill on the 2nd half. Thus, the pace is always affected by the elevation. I was 35 minutes exactly on the way out but came home in 33. Nice day. Feeling good.

Lock

My coach and I decided yesterday that it would do me no harm to enter the UCD Rás 5k this weekend so tá mé ag tnúth go mór leis. With that in mind we said I should get the legs turning over a little quicker today with a race on the Saturday.

The session was 8 x 3 mins with 90 seconds recovery. This is kind of a bread and butter session for me as I always do 3 minute reps or 1k reps most weeks. Waited for the rain to stop and then jogged down to the local GAA grounds. Ground was mucky and a little slippy but I'm used to it. The location isn't ideal, but it gets the job done, I wasn't worried about splits today as I was just going on effort.

As it was my first bit of faster training since early December I did have to concentrate during the session to keep it going. Normally I switch off but today I had to make that extra effort mentally to hold it together. My body has forgotten what it feels like to run fast when tired. My pace hovered between 5:35 and 5:45 per mile for each rep which is fairly standard I suppose.

Workout came to 5.4 miles, with a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down. I have no expectations for Saturday as I have no idea where my fitness is at. It's just going to give me a marker to work off of.

After reading the schedule for the graded meets this year I marked down the 3k at the first meet in Santry on the 25th of April. It's 9 weeks from today and I want to run a PB. I just kept saying "3k, 3k, 3k..." over and over in my head today in the latter reps.

Lock

Thursday: 8 miles in 58:28 (7:18/mile)

I watched Man on a Mission, the sports documentary about Bro. Colm O'Connell for the first time last night. Kenyans fascinate me so I was glued to it and jotting down a few notes in parts. The one thing that stuck with me today though was the emphasis placed on relaxation and going easy. Now today I was always going to go easy with a race on Saturday but I just decided to go extra easy. As a result I hardly broke a sweat and felt so refreshed afterwards that I'm convinced I could gain a lot from just taking the foot off the pedal more often than not.

Easy 4-6 miles tomorrow. 5k road race Saturday. 13-14 miles Sunday.

Lock

Friday: Rest

Saturday: UCD 5k, 8th in 16:42.

So like I mentioned previously in my log, today was not a target race. In fact it wasn't on the cards until this week. My coach wanted to see what I was made of and see what my measly training so far this year after injury could get me over 5k. We arrived in UCD with 45 minutes to spare before race start. Got number and chip etc and distracted myself with making sure my chip was firmly attached to my shoelace having never done it before (shows my road racing inexperience!).

Jogged the course to try get an idea of the route. I knew that with it being a charity race and adding the overlap on the course, there might be some "jogger dodging" in the last kilometre but thankfully it wasn't too bad. Placed myself in the 3rd row from the front at the start. I don't know why as I always take off like the clappers to get some space. Stupid on my part as I ended up running on the footpath and hurdling some bollards to get back on course within the first 300 metres. Quite an exciting return to racing anyway!

The last 5k I ran was the MSB one in March of last year where I ran 16:38 having gone through the first 1k in 3 minutes flat. I didn't want to make the same mistake today so I settled into my rhythm nice and early and tried to ignore the lads pulling away in front of me, discouraging myself from trying to go with them. At the first corner I counted 10 men in front of me. Happy with this. I thought the overtaking would start after the first few minutes but only one fella got ahead of me and I managed to match him for pace right up to the last 500m when he eventually pulled away.

I know a lot of people here love to discuss their splits and pace and judge their race based on their Garmin's feedback but I don't. I only got a GPS watch last summer and have never raced with it so I wasn't sure if I'd use it today. I decided it would be better to just focus on the singlet in front of me rather than calculating projected finishing times mid-race. It would just be a distraction for me as I'm not used to it. I can see myself using one in a 5 mile or 10k however. So no splits to offer as there were no officials calling them out unfortunately!

I was working fairly hard the whole way. I had company to keep pace with and enough corners to keep me focused so the race just flew by. I kept expecting to suddenly slow down as my lack of fitness caught up with me but I didn't. I was slowing a little bit but nobody was overtaking me anyway. The fact that I knew I was still in the top 10 kept me focused in the second half. I felt I was on for a good time and I was right. In the last k, the lad ahead of me pulled away at the top of a small climb and I just couldn't match his surge to the finish. I was more preoccupied with 6 or 7 joggers who had managed to spread themselves across the road, creating a bit of a hazard. I just told them to keep to the side as faster runners were coming through and it was dangerous. I think using the word "dangerous" was the key here as they all jumped in without any fuss.

Strangely enough I was faced with a near collision less than a minute later on the final corner. I was making a bee line for the final turn before the long home straghtaway, when a toddler steps out right in front of me! I thought I might have to do some more hurdling but managed to side step him and breathe a sigh of relief. Didn't see a clock at the finish but coach had 16:40 and provisional results in the halla spóirt said 16:42 so I'll take that!

I can safely say that if I hadn't put myself out there and ran today, I would have had no idea I was in this kind of shape. With every minute that passed, I just kept waiting to blow up but it didn't come. I was running blind in terms of expectations and target times so to run that time based on only 138 miles so far in February is really encouraging.

I am always more motivated to push on from a good race result so now that I have one in the bag, it will keep me focused to keep improving. I hope to run the BHAA cross country in Maynooth next weekend. LSR in the morning will be good.

cwgatling

Super time, well done.

Lock

Sunday: 12 miles in 1:28:42 (7:23/mile)

Legs didn't want to run after being so shook up at the 5k. A few 8 minute miles slowed me down as I crawled up every long drag.

47 miles total for the week. Never thought I could produce a 5k time like that off such low mileage!

Monday: 7.22 miles in 54:33 (7:33/mile)

Legs still stiff today which shows I'm not able to recover as fast as I'd like. I'm jumping into a group's session this Thursday which will bring me on but now I'm unsure whether I'll be recovered sufficiently to race the BHAA 4 mile in Maynooth on the Saturday. I might give the race a miss in favour of those track intervals on Thursday. It takes time to build up that ability to recover quicker so I'm not worrying.

tunguska

Lock wrote: »

In the last k, the lad ahead of me pulled away at the top of a small climb and I just couldn't match his surge to the finish. I was more preoccupied with 6 or 7 joggers who had managed to spread themselves across the road, creating a bit of a hazard. I just told them to keep to the side as faster runners were coming through and it was dangerous. I think using the word "dangerous" was the key here as they all jumped in without any fuss.

I think that was me. I could hear you breathing like a lunatic for the entire race so you held on really well. Yeah there was a bit of human traffic to contend with on that last stretch alright.

Lock

tunguska wrote: »

I think that was me. I could hear you breathing like a lunatic for the entire race so you held on really well. Yeah there was a bit of human traffic to contend with on that last stretch alright.

Haha yeah that was me alright. The inhaler didn't help much, a hard 5k is such a shock to the system. If I didn't have you in my sights the whole time, I would have slowed significantly in the 2nd half so thanks!

Lock

Tuesday: 8 miles in 56:33 (7:02/mile)
Tunes: The Smiths.

Wednesday: 10 miles in 65:04 (6:30/mile)
Tunes: Too Hot To Hoot, Bruneaux.

Skipping the race on Saturday in favour of a hard track session tomorrow evening. I'll get more out of it and there'll be one or two guys there I can hang on to. Funny thing, if I hadn't raced last weekend I would have been too embarrassed to show up and try run fast but everyone has to start somewhere. I'm thinking of doing the Meath 5 mile race on Paddy's day. That will set me up nicely for the Dunboyne 4.

Lock

Thursday: Up to the track in Dunboyne for Thursday evening's session. I didn't know what the plan was, all I cared about was having a bit of company for once. The session was 12 mins, 10 mins, 8 mins at 10k pace, off 2 mins recovery. We were running on the outside lane as there was a group doing 300's in lane 1.

12 mins (No info, Garmin not switched on!)
10 mins (1.85 miles in 10 miles, first mile 5:19, second mile 5:30)
8 mins (1st mile in 5:25, slowed to 5:37 pace)

I was walking out of the changing room when the first rep went off. Managed to slot into position at the front but didn't get any Garmin info for it. We started a little slow and eventually wound it up to sub 5:30 mile pace. I had no idea what pace to go at so I was content to be dragged along. I took the second rep out of courtesy and ran it like a mile rep really. bit too fast. We went throught the first mile in 5:19 and slowed for the second half to 5:30 pace (1.85 miles in 10 minutes).

I took the first 3 laps of the last rep but was having stomach trouble from the start. Not used to this and felt like vomiting at parts. Toughed it out as I didn't want to leave my mate on his own. After he went past me with 4 minutes left I had to let him go. I didn't completely shut down though and hung on despite a grumbling stomach. One of the coaches said it was lactic acid taking effect but I'd never experienced anything like it so t'was a bit of a shock.

Purely aerobic session, the type I'm quite good at really. Happy how it went as I'd never done anything longer than 6 minute efforts before so it was new territory. First time on a track in 2 months and feeling good.

Friday: 8 miles in 58:58 (7:22/mile) No stomach trouble. Happy days.
Tunes: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill.

I entered the Dunboyne 4 today. Decided to give the both the Meath 5 mile and the MSB 5k a miss and give myself 3 solid weeks of training before donning the club singlet again on the 25th. I'm doing the BHAA XC in Maynooth tomorrow for the craic. Hip flexor is a little tight after last night's session so I'll take a long warm-up with plenty of drills but should be grand. I'll remember to start the Garmin this time!

Lock

Saturday: 6.33 miles in 49:24 (7:48/mile)

Skipped the XC when I woke up with calf muscles like concrete. I just wanted to get more miles on the clock but stiff legs slowed me down big time. An uncomfortable training run really.

Sunday: 13 miles in 1:33:13 (7:10/mile)

60 miles on the button for this week. Chuffed. Few aches and pains. Have to get on grass more next week.

Lock

Although I've been running the last few weeks, my head hasn't really been in it which is why I haven't updated this log. Lesson learned, don't go 4 weeks without a race or else I get complacent. I think I've finally notched up enough training to breakthrough to another level in the coming weeks. I always judge my training on whether I'm making it up day-to-day going by feel or following the prescribed plan from my coach without compromise. I haven't had any specific training days put down as my hip was restricting my ability to recover after speedwork.

5th-11th of March:

Mon: Rest
Tue: 4 miles
Wed: Rest
Thur: 7 x 800m (average 2:35), 2 x 400m (69, 69)
Fri: 4 miles
Sat: Rest
Sun: Rest

Took a down week as my hip was complaining after doing 60 miles the week before. Took the weekend completely off as I was crocked after Thursday's session.

12th-18th of March:

Mon: 8 miles (6:53)
Tue: 6 miles (7:16)
Wed: 8 miles (6:54)
Thur: Pyramid session. 200m(32.6),300m(52.7),400m(73.3),600m(1:54),800m(2:38),1k(3:24),800m2:41),600m(1:58),400m(70.6),300m(49.3),200m(31.5)
Fri: Rest
Sat: 8 miles (6:58)
Sun: 13 miles (7:02)

50 miles total

Pyramid session nearly killed me. The second 800 and 600 were desperate. Anything over 400m is still so tough for me. Stayed on grass this week and it made all the difference. Occam's razor.

This week:

Mon: 10 miles (7:04)
Tue: 10 miles (7:15)
Wed: Rest
Thur: Light session. 1 x 800m (2:34), 5 x 300m (49.0,50.5,50.3,48.6,49.3)
Fri: 8 miles (7:01)

I meant to go for a shake out today, but it's a bit late for that now. Aiming for sub 21:30 tomorrow. I'll go out at 5:20 pace and take it from there. Felt really smooth on Thursday and hip is 100% after some grass running these last 2 weeks.

Pisco Sour

Lock wrote: »

Track PBs:

800m: 2.07 (2009) I think it’s 2.07, might be 2.09. Did no training for this and haven’t run one since.

1500m: 4.25/6 (2009) Again, I think I rustled up a few 400m track sessions in the 2 weeks prior to this and I could only manage 4.26. Woeful. Have been in much better shape since then but again, haven’t ran one since 2009!

Have just come across this log now. Great to see another track log.

I recall you saying on my log that you have never broke 60 for 400. Looking at that 800m PB I find that amazing. Is it a case that you haven't really raced a 400, or that you lack speed? With a 2:07 800m PB you should be well under 60.

Lock

04072511 wrote: »

Is it a case that you haven't really raced a 400, or that you lack speed? With a 2:07 800m PB you should be well under 60.

Yeah I've never raced one fella. I'd say I could knock out a sub 60 easy enough given 1 or 2 sessions to prepare and make sure I don't pull a hamstring. My 400m split in that 800m is probably my PB, at like 62 seconds or so and that was cruising. I definitely don't lack the speed, just haven't done one yet. I'll do one of the graded 400s this year and see what I can do. I love lacing up the spikes and doing fast track sessions. I'd consider the 55 second mark more of a barrier personally. That's what I'd be aiming for I think!

Pisco Sour

Lock wrote: »

Yeah I've never raced one fella. I'd say I could knock out a sub 60 easy enough given 1 or 2 sessions to prepare and make sure I don't pull a hamstring. My 400m split in that 800m is probably my PB, at like 62 seconds or so and that was cruising. I definitely don't lack the speed, just haven't done one yet. I'll do one of the graded 400s this year and see what I can do. I love lacing up the spikes and doing fast track sessions. I'd consider the 55 second mark more of a barrier personally. That's what I'd be aiming for I think!

Yeh 55 would be realistic for you. The 400 is a funny one though. Was chatting to one of the lads at our neighbouring club the other day, an 800 specialist with a 1:57 PB, and around 52ish over 400m. He competed at the Australian Junior Championships a couple of weeks ago. He said that a few weeks ago he ran a 400m race in 53 dead, and was absolutely bolloxed at the end of it, and another day he ran an 800 and went through the first lap in 54.5 and he said it felt very cruisy (of course he died in the 2nd lap because of going so fast). So I guess 1.5 seconds is a huge difference over 400m. Cruising to 62 doesn't mean you will hit 55 full out. But once you get down close to the 2:00 mark for 800 then I reckon you'll bang out a good 54 or 55.

Hoping to get down into the 55s myself next season. A bit of work to be done yet!

Lock

So today was a bit of a flop. First half of the race went according to plan but decelaration in the second half had me drifting back. This was my first time doing Dunboyne, my first race racing with a Garmin (which helped!) and my first race over 5k so a few things learned through exxperience today at the very least.

Splits according to Garmin:

1. 5:14
2. 5:18
3. 5:34
4. 5:46
(0:10)

22:02 for 4.04 miles

The Garmin certainly came in handy as I was able to let everyone get away in the first mile without panicking. It was a hot day but I don't think that affected me to be honest. I wasn't hydrated enough but that was my own fault. Before the race I ambitiously thought I could go under 21:30 if I knocked out some 5:20 miles back to back. I managed to stay in the game but coming back into the village with a mile and a half to go I just dropped a gear. I was slogging it out big time in the 3rd and 4th mile and once I knew a decent time was off, I gave in a little bit.

A big positive is that some of my training partners had great runs so I'm lucky to be in good company in training.

I think I only ran about 40 miles this week so there's my answer as to why I couldn't hold pace. I'm going to do a race next weekend just so I have something to keep me in check. With the frustration I felt today coupled with the longer evenings I'm going to try hit a few better weeks and have a good April.

tunguska

Lock wrote: »

Splits according to Garmin:

1. 5:14
2. 5:18
3. 5:34
4. 5:46
(0:10)

22:02 for 4.04 miles

Before the race I ambitiously thought I could go under 21:30 if I knocked out some 5:20 miles back to back. I managed to stay in the game but coming back into the village with a mile and a half to go I just dropped a gear. I was slogging it out big time in the 3rd and 4th mile and once I knew a decent time was off, I gave in a little bit.

Lock if you were planning on running back to back 5:20s you'll need to be running mile repeats at a pace at least that fast. Looking through your log and you had nothing like that done. At the very least you'll need mile repeats but preferably sets of 2milers, maybe something like 3 x 2mile with 3mins recovery between sets. The 400s and 800s are great for running economy but for raw strength and mental confidence in longer races you gotta be knocking out the longer intervals.

Lock

tunguska wrote: »

Lock if you were planning on running back to back 5:20s you'll need to be running mile repeats at a pace at least that fast. Looking through your log and you had nothing like that done. At the very least you'll need mile repeats but preferably sets of 2milers, maybe something like 3 x 2mile with 3mins recovery between sets. The 400s and 800s are great for running economy but for raw strength and mental confidence in longer races you gotta be knocking out the longer intervals.

Yeah you said it man, I'm lacking strength big time. That sounds like a good session. I'd say I'd struggle to do 3 x 2 mile in 11 minutes each so 5:20 splits on Sunday was an optimistic goal. Thought I might get away with it with 4 miles but it wasn't to be. Back on the horse now and hoping to knock out some long strength sessions like the one you mentioned above in the coming weeks.

Lock

Monday: 10 miles in 67:36 (6:45/mile)

I was blowing off steam with this run so I went a tad too fast. Running steady and comfortable but I was working up any hills I came across. Trying to make up for a poor race which is not a very good idea!

Tuesday: So I planned to do some sort of session today. I couldn't make up my mind what to do and I still didn't know what to do when I was warming up. I laced up the spikes after deciding on 6 x 4 mins with 2 mins recovery might test me. My head wasn't in it at all. Doing it alone around the polo grounds at lunchtime with the sun beating down didn't help so after the 2nd rep I just said feck it and pulled the session. I hate cutting sessions short but I just didn't care.

Wednesday: Easy 8.08 miles in 59:36 (7:22/mile)

Thursday: 16 x 400m, 1 minute rest.

74.17
71.97
70.92
71.27
73.87
71.17
71.85
73.29

2 mins recovery

68.75
70.95
72.67
70.67
71.07
71.00
70.45
69.82

So this was a great confidence booster. I have never done this many reps ever. I just tried to ignore the fact that there were 16 to tackle. I kind of zoned out and before I knew it we had already done 10 and I was feeling alright. I took the first one conservatively as I didn't know how to pace it but from then on I went with the front group and after that there were three of us, each leading every 3rd rep. Having the lads to hold on to was a huge help. 400's aren't an issue. If this was 800's I would have had to let them go so that extra strength needs to be addressed.

Friday: 8.71 miles in 61:11 (7:01/mile)

Lock

Last week: Sat - rest

Sun - 14 mile long run. Forgot the Garmin but I was really rolling. (59 miles for the week)





Mon - 8 miles in 53:36 (6:41/mile)

Tue - 10 miles in 69:27 (6:56/mile)

Wed - 11 miles in 73:26 (6:40/mile)

Thurs - 4 x 1 mile, 75 sec recovery

Fri - 6 miles in 42:40 (7:06/mile)

Sat - 5 x 3 minutes, 90 sec recovery

Sun - 13.2 miles in 1:23:58 (6:22/mile)

60 miles total for the week.

I was up glued to the golf so just updating this now at the end of a good week á la Steve Way. So this was quite a good week's training that I'm proud to post here. Running steady has gradually creeped under the 7 minute barrier which isn't too important but nice all the same. On Tuesday, I had planned to do some fartlek but the wind was ridiculous so I just ran steady. Thursday's session was 4 x 1 mile in 5:13, 5:13, 5:19, 5:16. I really needed this session as I'm still lacking this kind of strength. I was hanging off the back of the group just grinding it out but got through it in one piece.

On Saturday I had planned to do 8 by 3 minutes. Laced up the spikes on some freshly cut grass and set off. I was feeling GREAT. Like really comfortable. To the point that I thought I was going too slow, but that wasn't the case. On the 4th rep I had some sudden sharp pain deep in my gut and I honestly thought I was going to vomit. 90 seconds later I felt okish so tried the next rep. Same stomach pain so packed in the session. I think it was just related to what I ate but I was so put off that I just walked home rather than jogging a cooldown. Didn't get out for a run until after 7 o'clock today but once I started I seemed to be in 5th gear. I held back for the first 4 miles but still felt great so put the foot down and despite rolling hills and a HUGE rain shower I finished soaked to the skin and feeling fantastic. Just one of those days I suppose but happy for it. I would have gone farther but it was starting to get dark coming home. No race next week so I'm going to plan to run 15 or 16 miles as the last 2 weeks I have felt really smooth on my Sunday runs.

I'm an inconsistent trainer and sometimes let laziness get the better of me but since the calendar has rolled over into April, I am determined to run every day this month as the Summer is looming large and I want to run FAST. Sunday and Tuesday I didn't really feel like heading out but I just got on with it.

Lock

Monday: 8 miles in 55:00 (6:52/mile)

Getting tired of these wet and windy runs. I've never checked the weather forecast so much in my life.

Lock

Tuesday: 8 x 3 mins, 90 sec recovery.

pace per kilometre according to Garmin:

3:09
3:10
3:11
3:14
3:17
3:15
3:15
3:16

So this was a huge success but I had to work really hard for it. Started off way too fast and it took until the 4th rep to settle into a groove. I panicked a bit as I thought I may have ruined the session but instead it spurred me on to maintain the pace and keep them consistent. Weather wasn't kind either but at least the wind stayed calm. Normally when I do a session like this, I do it around a few GAA pitches which means I'm turning 5 or 6 times per rep. Today however I only had to make one u-turn which really helped. This was a great session for me as I did it solo, and a lot faster than normal.

Really excited about my training at the moment.

Dory Dory

Way to go, Lock!! Well done, and love your enthusiasm!

Lock

Wednesday: 11 miles in 71:38 (6:30/mile)

Had my Dad with me for company on the bike. Managed to fit this in between rain showers. Faster than intended so I think I'll go for a jog tomorrow morning as I don't want to be stale for tomorrow night's track session.

Lock

Thursday: Pyramid session on grass tonight. The session was 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min.

We had 1 minute recovery between each effort and 30 seconds between the 1 and 2 minute reps. I didn't bother doing any splits or checking the watch too much as we were going off time and not a set distance. I just listened for the whistle and kept the head down, or up rather. I do this group session every Thursday but this is the first time I've done it with a session already in the bag from Tuesday. I had some fatigue in the legs so I felt great after as I'm getting better at running fast when tired.

I have a hill session planned for Saturday too so if I nail that it will be my best week of the year. Probably why I'm posting daily here!

Lock

Friday: 4 miles in 29:42 (7:24/mile)

Saturday: 6 x 1 mile uphill

This was my first time trying this session. My Dad used to do this session years ago and has been saying for ages we should try it. The road he picked gets gradually more and more steep as I run up it. The last 400m is extremely steep and also quite exposed so the wind can blow you back a bit.

The only thing about this road is that there are quite a few turns and blind corners so for safety reasons (and to get a lift back down to allow for a shorter recovery) I had my Dad in the car shadowing me the whole way up. Fortunately there weren't too many drivers we got in the way of. It allowed us to get back down in between 3:30-4 rest, by which time I was fully recovered. This was mainly to save my legs from a steep downhill though.

The hill was exactly one mile, even though we weren't exactly sure of the length. Reps averaged between 6:10 and 6:15. There was a 6:20 on the first rep as I was just feeling the length out. The second one was a 6:07, after that they calmed down. I was nearly an hour on that hill but the last rep felt shorter than the rest, as I got used to the length. Legs were heavy starting this session but got through it great.

Sunday I have a Garmin 610 which will freeze on me every few weeks for whatever reason. This was the case on Saturday evening when I was checking my splits from the hill session. So a no watch long run it was!

15 miles, started slow and as a result felt I could run all day.

62 miles total for the week.

Monday: Watch still frozen but got out for a 72 minute run on a new route so don't know the distance. I'm taking it as 10 miles as again I intentionally ran well within myself.

Tuesday 8 x 3 mins, 90 seconds recovery.

pace per 1km:

3:14
3:13
3:13
3:13
3:16
3:15
3:15
3:15

Legs did not feel fresh at all starting this session. Hamstrings and glutes were still feeling the long hill session and long run weekend. Once I got going I was fine though which is a great confidence booster. It seems I feel crap before every session but once I start I'm rolling. Wind slowed me down a little so pace on the watch surprised me a little. Happy enough with it.

Wednesday: 9.49 miles in 64:31 (6:47/mile)

Once again I'm running really easy at the beginning of every run and without any effort I gradually pick it up as I go on. I'll be doing this from now on. I used to go steady from the start if I felt good but now I'm taking the first 4-5 miles really easy and taking it from there and its working well for me.

Lock

Thursday: Session tonight was 1 x mile followed by 5 x 800m off 1:45 recovery. Splits:

1 mile: 5:05

800s:

2:32
2:26
2:26
2:26
2:25

Felt really good on this session. I was the one overtaking the others after every 400m to try maintain the pace for the second lap so I'm definitely getting fitter. The last time I did 800s was some 7 or 8 weeks ago and I remember I was going through in around 75 and then struggling to run 80 for the second lap. Tonight we were cruising through in 73 or 74 and holding it there at that pace till the end. The first one was slow as stuck to the back but realised there were only 4 to go with plenty of recovery so I had a go at it. There were only 5 of them but with the mile at the start, we still did 14 laps at pace so happy with this.

Stepping on the track to race for the first time in about a year next Wednesday night in the first graded meet. Plan is to sit in and try hit 9 minutes. Looking forward to it tonight. Especially when all my training is in flats on a gravel track.

Lock

Friday: 4 miles in 29:34 (7:21/mile)

Saturday: 12 x 300m uphill, jog back recovery.

So this was the prescribed session, and I completed it in a roundabout way but my it was tough going. I have no splits but I timed the first and last rep out of curiosity. I was going up in a little over 60 seconds and taking a little over 2 minutes to get down.

Warming up my legs felt asleep which isn't good when you need to focus on knee lift tearing up a huge hill. I started with gusto and the first one came in at 63 seconds. I don't know the exact distance of the hill but I took that anyway and didn't look at the watch again until the final effort. Running up for the 12th time, I went flat out and clocked a 59 which I was delighted with. A really tough session but got through it ok. As it's only a minute running you always think you can go one more. Every time I hit the top I felt like cutting the session short but by the time I reached the bottom my thoughts turned to my race on Wednesday and my goal of getting under 9 minutes for 3k. I just kept saying "sub 9, sub 9" over and over in my head.

The interesting thing about today's session is this though. It was a mental battle the whole way for me. I ran the first 4 reps way too fast and when I got to the top of the hill I knew I couldn't keep that pace going. After the 4th I almost stopped the watch and sat down. Instead, I took a 6 minute break while I changed into racers having started the session with trainers and convinced myself to try some more.

Even as I got up for next one, I had decided that this was my break between 2 sets of 4. This was the halfway point and there were only 4 to go. Well I got to the top after the 5th at a more comfortable pace but still with burning legs and lungs. I said I'd only do 6.

After the 6th I felt I could do 2 more. After the 8th I thought I could get to 10 at a push. Standing at the bottom of that hill going into my 10th rep I just said feck it I'll do the 12.

I can't remember the last time I've trained and wanted to quit so early. It might be just the nature of hill sprints but MY GOD there was just this crazy inner monologue going on my head the whole time. Two voices arguing. Wanting to stop at the next even number and the other saying to pull through.

2 things brought me through to the end:

1. The race on Wednesday
2. Knowing that I'll be doing this session again soon and not wanting to fail my first time at it.

I'll run long tomorrow and hit around 60 miles for the week again. Plan is to return to this bitch of a hill for 8 reps on Monday and then an easy run Tuesday that will bring me to Wednesday night's race. I haven't raced since bonking in Dunboyne at the end of March so looking for redemption.

Lock

Time to update this getting a little lazy with logging runs lately.

Sunday 22nd April: 14.7 miles in 1:40:39 (6:50/mile)

Monday 23rd April: 8 miles, no watch

Tuesday 24th April: 4 x 3:15 mins w. 75 sec recovery

Wednesday 25th: 6 miles in 44:39 (7:26/mile)

Thursday 26th: 8 mins, 7 mins, 6 mins, off about 2 mins recovery.

Friday 27th: 6 miles no watch

Saturday: 12 x 300m uphill, jog back recovery (same as last Saturday)

Sunday: 8 miles in 59:34 (7:25/mile)

Monday: 8 miles in 57:57 (7:14/mile)

Tuesday: 6 miles in 40:48 (6:47/mile)

Wednesday: 10 miles in 69:30 including 5 long fartlek efforts.

Juicy Details

So last Wednesday I as supposed to race a 3k on the track but the weather forecast for that evening was not conducive to fast times so my coach and I decided to give it a miss. I'm not one to skip a run/race when the weather doesn't cooperate but I was going for a time and I think struggling in the wind and rain for 9 minutes or so wasn't worth the effort.

Last week I knew I had a solid month of training behind me, and I was due a bit of a break or down week. So I've been taking it a little easier recently. When we decided not to do the 3k, I headed out to do a session Tuesday evening of 8 x 3:15 mins with 75 seconds recovery. I just felt a little too tired for my liking. I felt like I wasn't getting any benefit from the session and that stopping and resting would be better for me, so I just cut the session short. On Thursday I did the club session of 8 mins, 7 mins, 6 mins. Pace was 5:25 on the first rep, 5:19 on the second and 5:18 on the final one. I was a bit cautious running this as I was feeling tired but it went well overall.

On Saturday I did my second hill session of the season and it went really really well. With only 300m to run, fatigue wasn't an issue. Concentrated on leg lift, posture and form. It went much better than last week. The session comes to less than 4k so that's why I felt OK.

Yesterday I ran 10 miles with a few pickups within the run. I did two mile efforts within the first 4 miles (5:37, 5:39) as the ground is reasonably flat there. I felt I was running harder than the pace showed but obviously not. As the route got a little hillier I did two hard efforts uphill that came to around 3 minutes each. Then on the way back I decided to do one last fast mile and clocked a 5:07. I then ran the last 2 miles home easy. I was surprised by the final effort as it felt the same as the slower miles but I had warmed up properly and been on my feet for almost an hour.

I managed to run every day in April which was a big goal for me. Bit of a silly goal really but there were loads of days I didn't want to run and I wouldn't have made the effort to get out the door if I hadn't set this target of 30 runs in 30 days for myself. I didn't race once which to be honest is catching up with me. I'm getting restless and I haven't really enjoyed the last week's training. I'm racing the Leixlip 5k on Saturday so hopefully my enthusiasm for getting out the door will be renewed after a PB, maybe even dipping under 16 minutes for the first time. This is a long update so I'll stop rambling.

Lock

Thursday: 7.94 miles in 54:29 (6:51/mile)

Friday: 4.06 miles in 30:06 (7:24/mile)

Feeling good. Hoping to be near the front of the field tomorrow morning. Waiting to unleash a month worth of training in 3.1 miles. Good luck to anyone else running in Leixlip.

tunguska

Well done on the win lock.

TheRoadRunner

yeah congrats man, you had to dig in those last 300 metres

Krusty_Clown

+1. Super time. Well done!

Lock

So I don't really know where to start with reviewing today's race as it's a bit of a blur but I'll give it a go as today was an important race for me for a few reasons.

My last race before today was the Dunboyne 4. It didn't go well and my training was to blame. I remember going for an angry run the day after saying to myself there's no point turning up to race if you're not putting the effort in in training. So I decided to try harder, push myself a bit more, and that's exactly what I did for the month of April.

I warmed up by running a lap of the course to get a feel for it. It was quite windy from 1 to 2 miles. I noted all the k markers and got to the start-line with a plan to sit in and avoid that wind. Then try my best in the final kilometre.

About 800m into the race we were climbing a steep incline to get over the M4 motorway. I had done 3 really solid hill sessions recently as part of my 'HTFU April training' so instead of sitting in behind the group I decided to take off. I knew there was a long stretch coming up with a headwind I might have to face alone but I didn't care. I knew I could get over this hill fast and stride down the other side faster than the rest. I thought if I could gap the group behind me maybe I could hold on for a fast time. I expected one or two lads to slot in behind me but I got a gap and was running on my own until the final 300m.

My first mile was 4:55. I was running the tangents as best I could. I didn't look over my shoulder once. I just focused on the lead car and running the shortest possible route. A marshall said I had about 30 yards on 2nd which was all I needed to know. They were close enough to catch me so I kept pushing. I felt really good and knew if I could get to 4k and push it down the hill at the train station I could actually win the race!

Passed 3k in 9:28, the only time I checked my watch. I realised I could break 16 minutes. Yet another incentive to keep pushing. Legs still felt OKish. 2nd mile was a 5:14. I just kept pushing like there was a man on my shoulder. Still hadn't looked back once. I came into the grass field with 600m to go with a 30 yard gap according to another marshall. The uneven surface found me out a bit and I knew I wasn't as steady on my feet as I thought I was. With 200m to go I looked back for the first time and saw Dave Byrne close enough to catch me. I didn't want to lead the whole race only to be pipped in the finishing straight. Gathered what energy I had left and crossed the line with one second to spare in 15:54. 3rd mile was a 5:09. A 45 second PB. My first career win and legs full of lactic acid. Couldn't be happier. It took me ages to recover as I had really given it everything. The final 300m really pushed me over the edge but I recovered in time for the handshake and photo.

The main thing I took from today was how I won the race. I like how I ran it solo from the front. I didn't know I had that in me to be honest. I knew I could break 16 minutes so it's great to have finally done it. With a little less wind and hills and a few weeks more training I'd like a crack at breaking 15:30. Well done to everyone today and my thanks to Le Cheile AC on a great race.

Woddle

Well done Lock super stuff.

Lock

Thanks Woddle, breaking barriers the two of us! Well done on another sub 20 performance.

Lock

Sunday: 12 miles in 1:21:54 (6:49/mile)

Really nice run in the Phoenix Park today to cap off a 55 mile week with a PB in there too. I expected to feel sluggish today but was clipping along nicely without effort. I even slowed down in parts as I thought it was the excitement of having ran a PB yesterday but I was just feeling good so went with it.

The plan for the next 10-12 weeks is to focus on the track, specifically the 1500m. I won't be doing any more road races. I have marked the races I want to do, the first two being the Meath county T&F meets this day week on Sunday the 13th (1500m) and the week after that on the 20th (3000m). They should both be PBs. I really can't wait to get cracking on some REAL track sessions to get me ready for the summer.