It's now fun to run

dazza21ie

28th May - Donegal Creameries 5k

Wasn't really expecting too much from this race so was pretty relaxed at the start. Was down in time to do a mile warm up with a few strides thrown in.

My brother in law was jogging/walking it too so was chatting to him at the start and we were off before we knew it. It was a lovely evening, still quite warm but a little breeze kicked in once you got moving. I was pretty close to the front taking off so got away quite easily. We started on the flat but a gradual incline started pretty quickly. I ignored the watch and tried to judge things by effort. The 1k mark seemed to come quite quickly. The climb started to become more intense at this stage. Went trough the first mile in 7:07 . At this stage I had tucked behind two other runners and was focused on trying to keep close to them. I was glad to see the 2k mark knowing that we were getting close to the top of the hill. Even more glad to see some of the leaders going down a road to the left.

We turned left at 1.5 miles and were now going back downhill. Legs wanted to rest more instead of picking the pace up. Would have preferred if the decline was more gradual. Mile 2 was 7:30 . We were still going downhill but then came on a small little climb that was unexpected and just checked the pace a little. Tried my best to pick up the pace and stride it out. Passed a lad with half a mile to go that had slowed to walk and gave him a shout to keep going. Came back out at the cross roads turning towards the Creamery plant. Mile 3 took 7:05 . There was a bit of drag up to the finish line and the lad that I passed earlier comes flying by me again. Finished in 22:23

Was pleasantly surprised with the time in the end as it felt really slow out there. Compared a few others finishing times to a recent 5k on a decent course and it would seem most were down a minute or more on their time. My official results for previous two races had been 47:47 (10k), 35:35 (5 mile) but the official results this time didn't help out to keep that streak going . Well organised event and a big spread afterwards killed off any notion I had about doing a warm down:)

Wednesday 29th May

4.12 miles @ 9:39
Was so tempting to stay in bed this morning but seeing as I didn't bother with a warm down after the race last night felt I had to at least make it out for a recovery run. Took a new route, for reasons that I have not yet told myself, which was a bit undulating and not really suitable for a recovery. Although it did keep the legs in check any time they thought about picking up the pace.

blockic

Great running dazza!

dazza21ie

Thursday 30th May
5.4 miles @ 8:32

Legs were still a bit stiff after Tuesday's race. Took off quite easy and let the pace gradually pick itself up which seemed to do the trick. Was quite warm out.


Friday 31st May
5.35 Miles @ 7:49 - Decided to try 1m @ easy, 1m @ MP, 1m @ HMP, 1m @ 10k & 1m @ easy. The target paces for the 3 middle miles were 8:00, 7:35 & 7:10 mins. The actual times were 7:46, 7:28, 6:52. Legs were glad to get back to easy pace after the 10k one. Nice when a run goes according to plan though.


Monthly Summary
Month| No. of Runs| 2012 | No. of Runs | 2013
January| 14 | 34.22 | 23 | 127.01
February|16| 46.21 | 11 | 59.82
March|16| 52.11 | 23 | 137.57
April|14|49.98 | 27 | 174.19
May|22| 95.18 | 27 | 154.79
June|17| 85.79
July| 18| 101.16
August| 17| 126.55
September| 18| 151.64
October| 16| 115.04
November| 21| 91.63
December| 16| 89.14
Totals | 205| 1,038.51 | 111 | 653.38

dazza21ie

Saturday 1st June
13.11 miles @ 8:22 Legs and body felt a little tired starting this one off. But once they had a couple of miles in them was feeling pretty good. Was judging pace by feel and was surprised at the mile splits as the pace felt pretty comfortable. End result a good bit quicker than previous long runs. Away for the weekend so have two days off now . Felt quite warm out there, wouldn't really envy those doing marathons this weekend.


Week Summary
No. of Runs |Week Total|MTD|YTD | Weight
6|37.4|37.4|666|81.7

Runchick

dazza21ie wrote: »

Saturday 1st June
13.11 miles @ 8:22 Legs and body felt a little tired starting this one off. But once they had a couple of miles in them was feeling pretty good. Was judging pace by feel and was surprised at the mile splits as the pace felt pretty comfortable. End result a good bit quicker than previous long runs. Away for the weekend so have two days off now . Felt quite warm out there, wouldn't really envy those doing marathons this weekend.


Week Summary
No. of Runs |Week Total|MTD|YTD | Weight
6|37.4|37.4|666|81.7

Was a great morning for running alright dazza - you are flying

dazza21ie

Tuesday 4th June

5.4 miles @ 8:34

Twas quite warm out there today. Let the legs and body decide the pace. Had a nice little breeze for the way back in which made things bearable.

dazza21ie

Wednesday 5th June - Had planned to get out for a run in the morning but the little one was up sick during the night a few times and still wasn't well in the morning so had to postpone it until the evening. By the time evening came around I wasn't feeling great myself so had an early night instead.

Thursday 6th June -5.39 miles @ 8:28 - Should have kept this one easier. It was quite warm out, had a breeze helping on the way out but it was at my back on the way back in so it go almost uncomfortable. Was feeling ok during run but could feel the effects of the bug afterwards.
Everyone except baby had got it in our house at this stage, though I seemed to get off quite lightly.

Friday 7th June - 5.3 miles @ 8:52 - Even hotter for this one. It was just a case of making it around. Still wasn't feeling 100% which didn't help matters but must have sweated everything out of myself by the end of the run.

Saturday 8th June - no run as such. Agreed to play in charity football match. First time playing football since the same fixture two years ago. My fitness levels have come on alot since then but I am still pretty shocking at football.

Sunday 9th June - 4 miles @ 9:53 - Felt the effects of the football. Body wants me to promise to leave it at least another two years before the next time again. Don't remember feeling any stiffer after the marathon last year. Done a bit of extra stretching to try and loosen things out.

Week Summary
No. of Runs |Week Total|MTD|YTD | Weight
4| 20.9 |57|686|80.4

dazza21ie

Monday 10th June
5.41 miles @ 9:04

Nearly abandoned this run after a couple hundred metres as the legs were extremely tight especially in the thighs and groin. Kept going in the hope that they would loosen themselves out. Didn't have to worry about pace as there was only one pace the legs could manage. Gradually things improved and by the end of the run I was able to let them stride out a bit.

dazza21ie

Tuesday 11th June
5.40 Miles @ 8:49

Legs feeling better today although there is still some tightness. Started off slow and pace picked up a little as the run progressed without ever pushing it. Plan was to keep things easy anyway as hope to do a 5k on Friday evening so it might all be for the best.

dazza21ie

Wednesday 12th June
8.21 Miles @ 8:42

Out early for this one. Took a couple of miles for the legs to warm up. Felt like they were back to normal after that. Threw in a few strides near the end of the run.

Thursday 13th June
3.09 miles @ 9:13

Just a gentle lunchtime run. Mind was a little pre-occupied with a very slight discomfort at the back of my left heel. It has been there most of this week but had put it down to tightness and stiffness in the legs in general. Its more annoying than anything, will keep an eye on it.

Race night tomorrow, hoping for a PB and some more.

dazza21ie

Wasn't sure how this one was going to go. Was confident of a PB (21:55) as my recent 5 mile race showed it was a bit soft. Had hoped to go sub 21 mins in this race but the last couple of weeks haven't gone to plan.

Was a bit late down to the start. Had to leg it up to the start point after picking up my race number. If the race started on time I wouldn't have made it! Still had time to chat to a couple of people before the start so all was good.

Plan of action was to go out hardish and try to hold on. Simple! It was pretty wet at the start and there was a big crowd. I moved out to the edge of the group so as I wouldn't get stuck in the middle of a big group at the take. This worked wonders until we approached the little island in the middle of the road so I had to take quick evasive action. The course was 3 loops of approx 1.3k before a final k into the finish. First half of the loop was downhill before flatening out, small hill and then back to the start of the loop. The downhill start made for a fast getaway. First time coming back up the hill wasn't really noticed. Went through the first mile in 6:29 , right on plan.

Pace starts to slip on the second mile. The downside to their loopy course was that now you were catching and having to pass walkers. Feel the second climb up the hill a little more but then try to push on again on the next downhill. Mile 2 6:50 .

Legs try to ease off so its a case of keeping the effort up. Third climb up the hill is hard work and leak too much time here. One more go down the hill and I'm trying to pull back some of that time. Third Mile 7:05 and a final push for the last .12 @ 6:47 pace.

Result: 21:13

A new PB by 42 seconds. Reckon that a sub 21 probably was there had I applied myself a little more as the race went on. Still, its going in the right direction.


PB Table
Race Distance| Current PB| Race & Date Set| 2013 Goal
5k| 21:13| Lifford AC 5K 14/06/2013 | 19:59
5 Mile| 35.35 | Letterkenny AC 5 mile 17/05/13 | 37:59
10k| 47:47 |Ardara 10k 20/04/2013| 47:59
10 Mile | N/A| N/A| 1:19:59
Half Marathon| 2:06:46|DCM 2012 | 1:44:59
Marathon| 4:41:06 | DCM 2012| N/A

dazza21ie

Sunday 17th June

4 miles @ 9:10 - decided to take Saturday as a rest day and do a recovery run on Sunday. After last few races I had done a recovery run the following morning which for evening races was early the next morning and usually within 12 hours of the race. Still ended up with DOMS for a couple of days after that. So tried something different this time. Legs felt quite good for this run. So either my experiment worked or I didn't push myself as hard as I should/could have on Friday evening. Possibly a bit of both.

Week Summary
No. of Runs |Week Total|MTD|YTD | Weight
6| 30.11 |63|716|80.7
Monday 18th June
5.41 Miles @ 8:24

Nice run at lunchtime. After the struggles of a few of the runs last week it was nice to just be able to go out and not have to think about how the legs felt during the run.

dazza21ie

Tuesday 18th June

5.12 miles @ 8:21

Was a little late getting out for this one so took a slightly shorter route. Nice warm day out. Had a lovely breeze keeping me cool for first 3 miles.

Wednesday 19th June
9.7 Miles @ 8:04

Plan to start the McMillan 10k sessions next week with a target race in mid August. Next weeks session would be 6 x 1 mile @ 10k pace. So to ease the legs and body into it a little I decided to do 5 x 1 Mile today. Based on last weeks 5k have a target of around 44 mins for 10k which is 7:05 pace. So plan was to try and do these between 7 and 7:05 mins/mile.

Done just a little over a mile warm up. Stopped for a quick stretch and then started into to them. Mile times were: 6:48, 6:59, 6:56, 6:52, 6:51 . For the first two I was easing off near the end of the miles whereas for the next 3 it was kept steady until the end. Recoveries were 3 min jogs between each rep. Finished off with a couple of miles warm down.

dazza21ie

Thursday 20th June
5.10 miles @ 8:07

My new pair of runners landed this week. Have been running in Wave Riders since January and they had 700 miles up on them. Can feel that you are not getting as much support from them now. So ordered a pair of Kinavara 3's to give them a go. Took them for a spin on this run. They definitely have a different feel, a bit lighter anyway. Ignored the pace while out as this was meant to be an easy/recovery run so was a bit surprised when I got back. Think the legs wanted to give the new runners a good test.

Friday 21st June
4.98 miles @ 8:33
Had planned to go out early for this one and do some tempo miles but ended up getting out late. Was just glad to get out so kept it easy. Wore the kinavara's again and they feel pretty comfortable. Will go back to the Mizuno's for weekend's long run for the next few weeks anyway.

dazza21ie

Sunday 23rd June
10 miles @ 8:45 - the little man was out of sorts during Friday night and Saturday morning so decided to postpone my run planned for Saturday morning until this morning. Didn't have as much time as would have liked. Was quite wet and windy out but otherwise an easy run.

Week Summary
No. of Runs |Week Total|MTD|YTD | Weight
6| 40.3 |103|756|80.5

dazza21ie

Monday 25th June
6 miles @ 8:14
Nice day for this one. Altered and extended my usual route for a change. Resulted in me taking in a few nasty little hills that made me nearly grind to a stop. Legs felt pretty good though.

Tuesday 26th June
5.6 miles @ 8:26
Back to my usual route. Legs were a little lethargic at the start, took a couple of miles for them to get going. Done a few strides near the end. Will try and get in the habit of doing these a couple times a week.

dazza21ie

Wednesday 26th June

Session: 6 x 1 Miles at 10k pace

First of the McMillan sessions. Having done 5 x 1 Miles last week I thought it would be ok. Averaged around 6:55 mins/mile on the reps last week so thought I would aim for the same this week. Done a mile and a bit warm up and the got going. Splits were:

6:47, 6:53, 6:51, 6:51, 6:55, 6:59

First 3 went by quite quickly. Mentally it became really tough on Mile 4. For the first two minutes of the mile it was touch and go whether I would stop. Put the head down and got it done. However, I walked most of the 3 mins recovery after this one and then when I was about to get started again had to delay a bit longer as a lorry was turning in front of me. Had to dig deep in mile 5 to keep the pace on track. Mile 6 was a real struggle, pace was at 7:!0 for a while before starting to come back in the second half of the mile.

Overall happy enough with the session. I found it harder than last weeks session. Done a couple of miles warm down to bring up a total of 10.4 miles.

RunningKing

Great running Dazza, the fact you wanted to stop at 4 shows it was the right pace!!
The fact you didn't is commendable.

dazza21ie

Thursday 27th June
5.3 miles @ 8:53

Wet and windy out but otherwise a nice easy run.

Friday 28th June
6.05 miles @ 8:09

Even wetter out today. Had been reading about fartlek runs and decided to give one a try to distract the mind from the wind and rain. So done a mile warm up followed by 30 secs hard/2mins easy x 10. The legs enjoyed the stretch out without having to work too hard.

FrClintPower

Finally finished reading through your log dazza (I don't like jumping in halfway through a log so I always feel the need to start at the start, which can take a while!) and you've made some progress over the last year or so! Interesting to read about your first McMillan session, I felt pretty horrible during the later ones as well when I did it, but I suppose that's the point. 6.55 is the right pace for a 43 min 10k so you'd want to be revising that target down a bit!

dazza21ie

FrClintPower wrote: »

Finally finished reading through your log dazza (I don't like jumping in halfway through a log so I always feel the need to start at the start, which can take a while!) and you've made some progress over the last year or so! Interesting to read about your first McMillan session, I felt pretty horrible during the later ones as well when I did it, but I suppose that's the point. 6.55 is the right pace for a 43 min 10k so you'd want to be revising that target down a bit!

Thanks Clint, will see how 2nd and 3rd sessions go before thinking too much about times. Having read your reports so far am preparing for a couple of tough sessions!

dazza21ie

Saturday 29th June - 13.1 miles @ 8:51
Had a nice morning for this one. First 3 or so miles were quite slow as the body and legs woke up. After that it was kept pretty easy.

Monthly Summary
Month| No. of Runs| 2012 | No. of Runs | 2013
January| 14 | 34.22 | 23 | 127.01
February|16| 46.21 | 11 | 59.82
March|16| 52.11 | 23 | 137.57
April|14|49.98 | 27 | 174.19
May|22| 95.18 | 27 | 154.79
June|17| 85.79| 23| 150.07
July| 18| 101.16
August| 17| 126.55
September| 18| 151.64
October| 16| 115.04
November| 21| 91.63
December| 16| 89.14
Totals | 205| 1,038.51 | 134 | 803

Week Summary
No. of Runs |Week Total|MTD|YTD | Weight
6| 46.45| 150| 803| 80.7

dazza21ie

Monday 1st July - 6.07 miles @ 8:24
Lovely day out . Just an easy run to start another week/month.

Tuesday 2nd July - 6.04 miles @ 8:18
Terrible day out . Yesterdays lovely sunshine was replaced by wind and rain. Other than that a mirror run to yesterday's route and run.

dazza21ie

Wednesday 3rd July

Session - 12 x 400 (1 min rec)

After the mile reps for last weeks session I was nearly looking forward to this one as I thought it was easier. It probably is easier but don't try and tell that to someone doing these! Done around two miles of a warm up and then got stuck into these. Splits were:

90 secs, 89, 86, 91, 90, 90 89, 90, 88, 88, 87, 86

I think the goal at the start was around 91 secs but I didn't put too much thought into this to be honest. Knew the third one was too quick so did take it easier on the next one. Last 3-4 really had to dig in to get them done. Recoveries were walked and kept to the minute. Done a few miles quite gingerly afterwards to warm down.

dazza21ie

Thursday 4th July - 5.16 miles @ 8:50
Legs were a little on the tired side heading out. Let them take me around as slow as they felt necessary. Nothing out of the ordinary apart from two little dogs that ran along side me when I was half way around. Got to admire their leg speed, considering the substantial height difference they kept up quite well. It definitely was conversational pace for them too


Friday 5th July - 6.04 miles @ 8:22
I toyed with the idea of doing a tempo run or something different but when I got out the door it was quite warm and I settled for an easy run.

dazza21ie

Saturday 6th July - 13 miles @ 8:55
This was a tough one. A mixture of tired legs, tired body and probably a little dehydrated made it tougher. Had planned to tag an extra mile onto the end but but changed my mind about that.

Week Summary
No. of Runs |Week Total|MTD|YTD | Weight
6| 45.31| 45.31| 849| 79.6 kg

dazza21ie

Monday 8th July - 6.04 miles @ 8:49
This was at lunchtime so was prepared for it to be tough out in the heat. Route I use is an out and back so kept the pace very easy on the way out and let things pick up a bit on the way back in. Had a nice headwind on the way back which made things bearable.

Tuesday 9th July - 0 miles - Got caught up at work so didn't get out at lunchtime. Toyed with the idea of going out for a short run in the evening but it was going to be late going out and I knew I was up early for Wednesday's session so I knocked that on the head.

Wednesday 10th July
Session: 1 x 2 Miles & 4 x 1 Mile with 5 mins and 3 min recoveries

The second of the McMillan sessions. It has been in the back of my mind since the first one was finished. As I went out early this morning the little voice in my head tried to persuade me to forget about it and just do and easy run instead!

Done a 2 mile warm up at very easy pace, the 2nd of those was more for delaying the start of the session rather than as part of a planned warm up. Couldn't justify any more of a warm up so had to get started. Splits were:

1 x 2 miles (6:44, 6:51) 4 x 1 Miles: (6:53, 6:46, 6:50, 6:48)

Very pleased how it went. It was a little more comfortable than the first of the sessions. Had probably been dreading the 2 mile rep the most. That went very well. First mile was always going to be the quickest one. The second mile started and finished going up small hills so it was good to be able to keep the pace for this one. Had to dig in for the last two mile reps but whenever the legs were asked to pick the pace up they were able to respond.

I think it helped that the legs were well rested going into to this. Something to bear in mind for the next one of these sessions in two weeks. Jogged back to the house to bring up 10.28 miles.

career_move

Well done Dazza. Great session there

RunningKing

dazza21ie wrote: »

Monday 8th July - 6.04 miles @ 8:49
This was at lunchtime so was prepared for it to be tough out in the heat. Route I use is an out and back so kept the pace very easy on the way out and let things pick up a bit on the way back in. Had a nice headwind on the way back which made things bearable.

Tuesday 9th July - 0 miles - Got caught up at work so didn't get out at lunchtime. Toyed with the idea of going out for a short run in the evening but it was going to be late going out and I knew I was up early for Wednesday's session so I knocked that on the head.

Wednesday 10th July
Session: 1 x 2 Miles & 4 x 1 Mile with 5 mins and 3 min recoveries

The second of the McMillan sessions. It has been in the back of my mind since the first one was finished. As I went out early this morning the little voice in my head tried to persuade me to forget about it and just do and easy run instead!

Done a 2 mile warm up at very easy pace, the 2nd of those was more for delaying the start of the session rather than as part of a planned warm up. Couldn't justify any more of a warm up so had to get started. Splits were:

1 x 2 miles (6:44, 6:51) 4 x 1 Miles: (6:53, 6:46, 6:50, 6:48)

Very pleased how it went. It was a little more comfortable than the first of the sessions. Had probably been dreading the 2 mile rep the most. That went very well. First mile was always going to be the quickest one. The second mile started and finished going up small hills so it was good to be able to keep the pace for this one. Had to dig in for the last two mile reps but whenever the legs were asked to pick the pace up they were able to respond.

I think it helped that the legs were well rested going into to this. Something to bear in mind for the next one of these sessions in two weeks. Jogged back to the house to bring up 10.28 miles.

Nice session, its a good programme that.

FrClintPower

dazza21ie wrote: »

Monday 8th July - 6.04 miles @ 8:49
This was at lunchtime so was prepared for it to be tough out in the heat. Route I use is an out and back so kept the pace very easy on the way out and let things pick up a bit on the way back in. Had a nice headwind on the way back which made things bearable.

Tuesday 9th July - 0 miles - Got caught up at work so didn't get out at lunchtime. Toyed with the idea of going out for a short run in the evening but it was going to be late going out and I knew I was up early for Wednesday's session so I knocked that on the head.

Wednesday 10th July
Session: 1 x 2 Miles & 4 x 1 Mile with 5 mins and 3 min recoveries

The second of the McMillan sessions. It has been in the back of my mind since the first one was finished. As I went out early this morning the little voice in my head tried to persuade me to forget about it and just do and easy run instead!

Done a 2 mile warm up at very easy pace, the 2nd of those was more for delaying the start of the session rather than as part of a planned warm up. Couldn't justify any more of a warm up so had to get started. Splits were:

1 x 2 miles (6:44, 6:51) 4 x 1 Miles: (6:53, 6:46, 6:50, 6:48)

Very pleased how it went. It was a little more comfortable than the first of the sessions. Had probably been dreading the 2 mile rep the most. That went very well. First mile was always going to be the quickest one. The second mile started and finished going up small hills so it was good to be able to keep the pace for this one. Had to dig in for the last two mile reps but whenever the legs were asked to pick the pace up they were able to respond.

I think it helped that the legs were well rested going into to this. Something to bear in mind for the next one of these sessions in two weeks. Jogged back to the house to bring up 10.28 miles.

Good stuff, great times there. I found it easier than the first one too, once you've done 2 miles the single miles feel easier.