More miles mean more improvement?

ray lanigan

well im into my 5th year of running now,i have averaged near 2500miles the past 2years gone,so this year i have decided to try and average 100 miles a week for the year(if injury free or the misses doesnt packs her bags) and see what improvments it gives me,since day one i have loved the longer distances,first i ran a 10k,than a marathon,and i ran my first 50k ultra after that and had the pleasure to share that experience with mick rice and peter delmar,they both gave me alot of advice,that i still use today,each week im going to put up my weeks mileage and hopefully people can give me some advice on where im going wrong,i used to run one ultra a year before and a few marathons,this year i have 4 ultras planned and im hopeing the big miles give me some pbs,next up is connemara ultra(pb 4hr57.10),lets see if more miles mean more improvment:rolleyes:

ray lanigan

week 6
mon 16miles at 7.28pace
tue 16miles at 8.00pace
wed 20miles at 8.34pace
thur 16miles at 7.59pace
fri rest
sat 30miles at 7.28pace(felt strong all the way)
sun 20miles at 7.28pace(every mile was a struggle)
week total 118miles

Oisin11178

I think you need this changed to the logs section if you are going to update it and want feedback. Secondly my legs got tired just looking at that milage. Thirdly, a rest day on friday lazy:D
See you down in conn.

Krusty_Clown

Hi Ray, probably more suited to a training log in the [Training Logs] sub-forum. That's some impressive mileage, and it seems you're getting some really good results on the back of it (e.g. Connemara and your sub-3 last year).

Quick question: do you run all your miles at approximately the same pace? If you want to improve over the longer distances, it may be worth trying to improve your times over shorter distances (5k / 10k), which could mean shortening some of your runs and focusing on speed, rather than just running long all of the time. Do you ever follow a structured plan, or just head out for every run with the plan of meeting the 100mpw goal?

TFBubendorfer

And some people have the cheek to suggest that I'm a lunatic!

ray lanigan

can i transfer this page to the training log section or do i need to open another tread there,i deffiantly wont be doing any shorter distances only a friend has me entered into a 10mile race,speed work that i have done this year is 14miles a 6.52pace and another session of 16miles at 6.51pace,i have done a session one mile easy than one mile 6.15x8reps,the rest is mostly done on hilly coast roads,yep i just make it up as i go along and try to cover the 100mile,i hate having set miles infront of me,i usually do 2hour session during the week and then the longer stuff on the weekend.

ecoli

I have moved that now for you

Regarding you mileage I have to say your mileage is pretty incredible not just because of the figures but simply the fact that you do it as singles over 6 days:eek:

In terms of for Ultra training and longer I think the training looks fairly spot on perhaps the mile on mile off is a little too much recovery for the benefits got but you are exposing yourself to quicker than race pace which will definitely stand to you.

Given that training is quite unstructured fartlek could benefit you this essentially is just randomly picking up the pace @ regular intervals throughout the run so perhaps 5 min hard 3 min easy 7 min hard 4 min easy etc just simply pace alteration throughout the run.

Also try do some of your steady runs on a hilly loop

Other than that keep doing what you are doing and you will see improvements. The mileage alone this year is a huge increase from the past and should provide the stress needed to adapt it is only when your times start to plateau that you will need to add new stimulus (more mileage or more intensity)

ray lanigan

thanks ecoli,yep this is the exact advice i need to see what adjustsments i need to make along the way,i hope you all can put me on the right path and play your part on making me a better ultrarunner,i will defintly try and do some fartleks and intervels,ecoli i do all my runs on very hilly routes for strength(i have no choice as tramore is built on a hill haha)krusty clown i might even get converted to 5ks/10ks along the way,thanks.

ray lanigan

week 7
mon =15mile(tight calf so went to get psysio)
tue=rest calf
wed=19milex7.37pace(hamstring problem)
thur=injured(rang to see psysio,booked out,ring me when a free slot comes in)
fri=injured
sat=injured
sun=injured(got hamstring looked at and sorted fingers crossed)
tota miles=34miles,what a week hope i dont have to repeat that again,it crazy how we get caught up with times and races,i would just love to be able to run around the block.:(

liamo123

ray lanigan wrote: »

week 7
mon =15mile(tight calf so went to get psysio)
tue=rest calf
wed=19milex7.37pace(hamstring problem)
thur=injured(rang to see psysio,booked out,ring me when a free slot comes in)
fri=injured
sat=injured
sun=injured(got hamstring looked at and sorted fingers crossed)
tota miles=34miles,what a week hope i dont have to repeat that again,it crazy how we get caught up with times and races,i would just love to be able to run around the block.:(

Hows it going Ray.. About time u displayed ur mega milage for all of us to admire :eek:.. Mind that hamstring man... C u in Conn....

ray lanigan

week 8
mon=injured
tues=14mile
wed=20milex7.57pace
thurs=21mile(13x7.14)(8x7.38)
fri=15milex7.12
sat=20milex8.03pace
sun=16milex7.43pace
total=106miles
found it realy hard this week getting back into it after missing most of last week over thight hamstring,to make it harder on myself i run all my miles wearing a ran jacket(even in the heat)and dont take fluids or gels etc during my runs,except for 30mile,my theory is on race day when i drink fluids and put my caffine gels down my neck i should go like a rocket:D

ray lanigan

week 9
mon=20mile
tues=10mile am at 6.39 pace+10mile pm at 7.14pace
wensday=19mile at 8.40 pace
thursday=20mile
friday=rest
sat=27mile at 8.28pace,was hoping to do these at a fast pace after getting a rub on thursday, but i hit a wall on mile 3
sun=24mile at 8.18pace(legs still dead).
total=130mile(hoping the legs recover a bit as would love to get some better quality sessions in before connemara ultra)i made the mistake last week of not taking a rest day,so i ended up running 10 days straight,was catching up on mist training because of injury,im learning as i go along,and thats a mistake that i wont repeat again,rest is realy important,dont miss it:)

ronnie085

Just spotted this log, my god thats animal stuff your doing :eek:

ray lanigan

week 10
mon=17milesx7.03pace
tues=20mile(10milesx7.22pace am+10miles pm)
wed=rest
thurs=30milesx7.39pace
fri=rest
sat=36mile
sun=27milex8.27pace
total=130miles
legs was very heavy until saturday,felt realy strong yesterday and today,things starting to come together now,injurance is realy good,just going to work on some speed now for connemara:)

TFBubendorfer

I'm very curious to see what those mega miles will produce in Connemara. See you there!

ray lanigan

week 11
mon=injured hamstring
tue=11miles x 7.07pace
wed=8miles x 7.17pace(hamstring still not right)
thurs=injured
fri=injured
sat=29mile x 7.26pace
sun=23mile
weeks total 71miles(got hamstring sorted but after my run today my ankle swelled up alot,wanted to do alot more miles this week but connemara in 2 weeks so i will rest up now and try and give my legs a bit of a rest)

Donelson

Best of luck in connemara! I always wondered how you guys do it. Now I know : o : o

ray lanigan

week 12
mon=injured
tues=injured
wed=injured(got pyhsio to have a look at my swollen foot)
thur=injured
fri=injured
sat=injured
sun=10miles at 6.23pace
total 10miles(foot flared up again,fingers crossed i make it to the start line in connemara).

pconn062

Hi Ray, do you think the injuries are down to the high mileage alone? They miles you're covering are incredible.

ray lanigan

i have done all my runs on the road,deffintly doesnt help and the past 3 weeks ive been working as a dry liner,humping plaster boards all over the place,it all ads up to a lot of stress on my joints,i kind of just jumped in to the high milage stratergy,i suppose it takes the body awhile to ajust to things.

liamo123

ray lanigan wrote: »

week 12
mon=injured
tues=injured
wed=injured(got pyhsio to have a look at my swollen foot)
thur=injured
fri=injured
sat=injured
sun=10miles at 6.23pace
total 10miles(foot flared up again,fingers crossed i make it to the start line in connemara).

Jesus Ray thats terrible luck... im stating the obvious here but take it easy for the week ... I wouldnt bother running at all until Thurs or Friday and then only a few slow miles... with all the milage uve done a weeks total rest will do u no harm..... It know its going to b a difficult decision but running the Ultra if ur not right could set u back months.....Hope this week goes well 4 u man....

ray lanigan

liam i will be at the start line even if my foot falls of,im getting some physio on it tomorrow so should be grand for sunday,c ya there:)

NoGutsNoGlory

ray lanigan wrote: »

liam i will be at the start line even if my foot falls of,im getting some physio on it tomorrow so should be grand for sunday,c ya there:)

thats the stuff....c u at the start line...

ray lanigan

week 13
mon=10 mile at 7.12pace
tues=injured
wed=6 mile at 7.14pace(got physio,most painfull ever)
thurs=rest
fri=rest
sat=rest
sun=39.49miles(connemara ultra,had a tough time with the ankle most of the race but still managed to blast out a 4hr5omins finish,excited to think what i could do when im 100percent,met some great people who also had some great preformances,looking forward to next year again)
weeks total=55miles

liamo123

ray lanigan wrote: »

week 13
mon=10 mile at 7.12pace
tues=injured
wed=6 mile at 7.14pace(got physio,most painfull ever)
thurs=rest
fri=rest
sat=rest
sun=39.49miles(connemara ultra,had a tough time with the ankle most of the race but still managed to blast out a 4hr5omins finish,excited to think what i could do when im 100percent,met some great people who also had some great preformances,looking forward to next year again)
weeks total=55miles

Thats exactly thats I was thinking..... 4.50 with fked up ankle is some going... enjoyed the company yesterday

NoGutsNoGlory

well done ray.. we even made the rte news while running past the full start point.. c u next year!!!!1

ray lanigan

CONNEMARA ULTRA REPORT
saturday morning at 7,myself and ian headed of to galway,ian said it would take 5 hours to get there but only took us 3hours,so at 10 oclock in the morning we dropped our bags of at the pillo hotel,we coulnt check in until 3,so we had 5 hours to kill,seemed a long time,then it hit me thats how long i will be running for tomorrow,thats if i could make it to the start line,the reason why was my foot and ankle was swelled up like a balloon,and today was the worse it had ever been,walking around town was the worse thing i could be doing to it now,but we had 5 hours to kill,we went into every shop and had plenty to eat and shot some pool,we decided to go to the cinema to watch a movie,but it had already started,so 3oclock came around and we checked in,went up stairs and got our packs and headed to our room,straight away i went down stairs and filled the ice bucket with ice,i then filled the bin half way with water and empted the ice in,then i set the watch for 20mins,the most i ever had my foot in ice was 4mins so this was a task,but i was dedermined to do what ever i took to have a chance of running tomorrow,through the day i done 4x 20min sessions of this,it did feel better but the swelling never went down,i rang my physio and he advised me against it,ian had his doubhts aswell,i took a antinflamitry and went to bed and prayed to god that all the training i done would not go to waste,i had a realy bad sleep that night just thinking i wont be able to run,i was in the toilet at abour 4 oclock and i looked down and to my amazment the swelling had gone down 60 pecent,i almost cried,i was going to wake ian up to tell him but he was to buzy snoring,i jumped back in to bed and had the best 1 hr20mins sleep of my life,so up at 5.20 and i was pumping with adrelaline because i had a good chance,we packed our bags had our breckfest and got talking to a english guy who lived in waterford,as we are from there aswell,he kindly gave us a lift to the bus for connemara,on the bus i got so nervous and i could see ian was to,his best marathon pb was 3.56.and he was going for a sub 6hr in the ultra,but from training with him i knew what he was made off and he wasnt going to wilter in any way,he wasnt born with natural speed but has the heart of a lion,so we arived and got changed had a pain killer and talked to some people,listened to ray o conner,the legend,and headed to the bus to take us to the start,i was meant to meet to other boardies and we were going to run at 7.15 pace for as long as we could,but i panicked when i coulnt find them,on a day like this when my foot was fck i just wanted to try and switch off and tuck in with the lads,when we got of the bus i bumbed into thomas our pacer,and then met liam up at the front,now the 3 amegoes were together,so the gun went off and the journey started,mile 1 to 13,7.21,7.18,7.15,7,17,7.21,7.10,7.21,7.23,7,17,7.04,7.30,7.12,7.14,i had set my watch up different this time so it was harder to callculate my pace,but then i wasnt looking at it every 30seconds,thomas took care of the pacing,after 4 miles my foot started to get sore and by mile 10 i didnt think i could even make it to half way,this realy took the hole experiance and enjoyment of the race away from me,i wasnt going to start going on about my ankle to liam and thomas and ruin there experiance to,so i just sucked it up and carried on,i had 1 painkiller in my shorts and wanted to take it straight away,but i had to wait until the marathon point before i could take it,the only time the ankle felt ok to run on was up the hills and it almost made me quit going down them,mile 13 to 26,7.16,6.59,7.01,7.07,7.13,7.19,7.39,7.33,7.26,7.25,7.10,7.37,7.30,there was some very fast miles in there as our group of 3 was 8 at times and different people was pushing the pace,i found the insert of pace a bit to fast as in training i concentrated on injurance and left the speed for the 2 weeks before connemara but got injured with my ankle so i only done 2 session in them 2 weeks,so i decided to ease off as i new from experiance they where going to hard,i had asked everyone there marathon pbs,and we where all 2.57,2.58,i new if i keep it even i would catch up with them later,as soon as i eased of so did thomas and it felt very easy to run that few seconds slower,within minute liam had stopped for the toilet and we where all together again,now the pack ahead of us just vanished from the distance,so the marathon point came and i took my painkiller,it had no effect and i came close to quitting twice,this realy bothered me as this is something thats not in my armour but i came very close,the thought of running another 13 miles on my ankle almost broke me,i just had to use every mental trick i new to get me to the end,thomas and laim powered on at this point,i kept losing them and the catching up again when they were stopping at drop points or pee pee stops as the itailan bloke said to me,as we cxame to the hills near the end i started to catch most of the lads that went out to hard,we caught all but 1 of the group,i caught the 2nd last one of them at the bottom of the hell of the west,but i decided to help him get up it instead of trying to beat him,i always have a good finish so if he wanted a sprint finish i thought i could beat him,i think we both helped each other up that hill,when we got to the top my ankle went over and i thought it snaped,i let out a scream and the ultra guy with me called max just said suck it up we are almost there now,so i dint push the pace as i thought i was under 4.50 finish,we decided when we got to .2 of a mile to go we would sprint,max went and i coullnt go with him,he went 20 meters in front of me,put i gave it one last push and past him right on the line,mile 27 to 39.49,7.42,7.58,7.14,7.16,7.20,7.25,7.20,7.20,7.21,7.50,8.24,7.17,7.00,6.32,i let out a scream over the line got my well done from the legend ray o conner,hes a amazing runner and person,i just sat down after the race and was glad it was over,i get the same enjoyment from my own achievments as seing others fulfill there goals,liam thomas and another guy from waterford called anthony, i met on the day fullfilled theres,that was special,of i went to get changed and something to eat,and back to see how my friend ian was getting on,as i walked back to the finish ultra area,i started to cry,just pure emotion came floading out,only then i had realised what i had achieved,a 4hr 50 finish,i took 7 minutes off last years time and with conditions that never suited and injury,and most of all i never quit,i had joined up my local tramore ac club 2 days before connemara and got on the back of the vest NEVER GIVE UP,it was intended to help others that were struggeling but ended up helping me aswell,i then stopped my sobbing and sat down waiting for ian and a lady had just sat down next to me and see was crying because she just finished,and i felt every bit of that,i could relate 100 percent to her,and i started sobbing again,there something very special among ultra runneres i find that doesnt happen in shorter races,is the respect from each other,no matter if your last or first,every one goes through some dark places to get to the finishline,just then i heared ians name being called out,i ran over and we sobbed together,sad to growing men sob,he came in,5hr54 and had a 5 min poopoo stop in there aswell,amazing achievment ian,for anyone ready this im not grea with spelling or getting my words across so hopefully you enjoy it,and if you havnt ran connemara before you havnt been born yet,this is a special race that will take you on a special journey,c u next year to do it all over again.

Younganne

Wow... that's some running and a great report. That took sheer determination and guts to keep going! well done and I really enjoying reading you report and I am definitely thinking off signing up for the half/full next year to experience the amazing things that all the reports are talking about!

Marthastew

Ray congratulations on your amazing achievement, phenomenal result in those circumstances, I really enjoyed your report.
Connemara Ultra is indeed a life-changing experience and we are so lucky to have experienced it.

I hope you'll take it easy now for a while and put that poor ankle up:D

ray lanigan

i wish i could martha,i havnt ran yet but i have a 6hour track race on in april 28th,need to start training again:eek:

liamo123

Great report Ray... I knew u were in a spot of bother with ur ankle but little did I know how bad u were feeling... Ur one hardy son of a b!tch Hope u recover in time for ur trip to England.. C u on the start line next year!!