Moving Forward Faster

blockic

Monday January 19th
5.5 miles recovery / 8:05 average pace

An easy recovery run block up north after the race the day before, found it hard to slow this one down as much as I wanted to.

Tuesday January 20th
6 miles easy / 7:49 average pace

Ran this one down to my old neighbourhood to check out if anything exciting had changed, much like Ireland, it hadn’t. Ha. Enjoyed going around similar streets which I ran last summer.

Wednesday January 21st
7.5 miles session / 5’ + 10’ @MP-15

I have joined a running group in Chicago who are all running Boston known as the Boston Bound group, mainly to get people for company on the long runs out in the hills and sessions. This was the first time I joined them for a session. The planned session was 10’ + 10’ @ MP -15 but I of course arrive late and the group were just gone. :rolleyes:

So I increased the speed of my warm up to catch up, resulting in the whole run feeling like a steady/fast pace…the planned session seemed a little light to me anyway so it worked out.

I caught up with them halfway through the first rep so I had to change my plan to 5’ + 10’. Bold figures are pace.

3 miles easy* (6:59)
5’ @MP**-15 (6:29)
3 min recovery
10’ @MP-15 (6:22)
1.7 miles cool down (8:07)

Good crew around and this group should be of benefit over next few weeks to bring me on a notch or two!

*not so easy
** may not be planned MP

Thursday January 22nd
8 miles easy / 7:22 average pace

A handy 8 miler around the Lake View neighbourhood of Chicago, mild evening for it, taking advantage of the good weather as much as I can!

Saturday January 24th
15.2 miles LSR / 7:29 average pace

Met up with the Boston Bound group for this again, this time I was on time! Ran 3 miles to the meet up point and then 11 with a group planning to do 7:30s but ended up being 7:15s… this was a little hot, from next week I am going to me more strict with these.

Ran along the lakeshore for 6 miles, with about 4 miles to go my quads were beginning to feel it. I can’t imagine what it’s going to feel like once I start the hills! As I had a 3 mile head start, I looped back earlier that the rest of the group so my last 3 were on my todd. Eventually got back to the starting point to pick up my stuff. Quads were a little sore after, a good sign that they are getting workout anyway. Good mild morning again for it.Nice to get another decent long run in before the day got going.

Sunday January 25th
6.2 miles recovery / 8:24 average pace

A very easy recovery run yesterday and I was determined to keep this slow. Ran up North then across Addison to Wrigley Field, turned here and ran down from Wrigleyville to Lincoln Park and back to my own neighbourhood of Bucktown. It was snowing out and the ground was turning white once more, looks like the warm weather is done for another while!

Stretched and foam rolled after and had planned to do 30 mins core work but when I started whatever way I turned on the stability ball I suddenly felt ridiculously nauseous, decided to abandon the core work and went home to settle the stomach, strangely felt dodgy for the rest of the day.
Happy with the weeks work and I’m FINALLY up to date!! Woo!

Week Mileage Summary
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
5.5m|6m|7.5m|8m|Rest|15.2m|6.2m

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
48.4.m|118.1m|118.1m

blockic

Here.we.go.

Feels a little strange to be kicking off a plan where there is a possible chance of a successful result at the end of it, and all I’m after at this point is that chance. It has shockingly been 18 months :eek: since I have been in such a position to give a race some real preparation, a real go. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous! If I’m at that start line in Hopkinton fit, and in with a shout of 2:5X, it will have been a successful 12 weeks, regardless of the outcome.

I have already come across a few challenges with winter running around here but so far it has thankfully been above average temperatures, so only 2 treadmill trips! Hopefully this continues until the spring (unlikely!). The hills worry me slightly, it is pancake flat here so hill training will be limited and I have a feeling I will suffer come April 20th, some of my planned long runs will be done out of town in a hilly suburb about 35 miles west of Chicago, there will be MP miles included in these, but will it be enough? We will see!

So it’s time to do a lay of the land with 12 weeks to go, at the moment I have no real target set other than that I’m chasing a PB. I am going to do a re-assessment 9, 6 and finally 3 weeks out and see what kind of target I set at that point.

I have joined a group here known as Boston Bound (BB) here which in effect is a group of runners who are all training for Boston, good to have people with similar targets with the same long runs to endure so I won’t have to do all the long runs alone! There are plenty people around my level and faster which is great to get that extra push. I will likely be running with this group Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The plan I have come up with is based off the plan devised for this BB group, but I have made tweaks to add mileage and more specific sessions based on a couple of people’s opinions and which I believe are more important to my needs. Thanks for the input all. Adjustments may be made as I go along based on how the body is holding up.

I am also going to try and get core work sessions in weekly and potentially yoga also as I am as stiff as a board!

Plan Summary:
84 Days
73 runs
22 sessions (both high and medium intensity)
655 miles
75 marathon pace miles

Monday
8 miles / 7:02 average pace (incl. 6 miles steady)

So to kick off I incorporated some steady miles into my run on Monday. I think steady miles are sure to be of benefit for marathon training so I will look to incorporate these types of runs every 2 or three weeks when the schedule allows.

1 mile easy (7:36)
6 miles steady (6:58, 6:52, 6:43, 6:58, 6:44, 6:57)
1 mile easy (7:36)

The steady miles were a bit hot as I was aiming for 7min/miles. Need to focus and nail down hitting correct paces going forward as I have been lax a bit on this the last few weeks.

Discipline.

Tuesday
7 miles easy / 7:44 average pace

A handy easy run last night, ran down to Noble Square area, got a little lost and eventually found my way back to familiar landscape. Worked out well in the end as the loop ended up being the exact distance required. Pavements were slippy with snow and ice so had to be doggy wide throughout, having to constantly look where your foot is stepping actually makes you focus and the runs seem to pass by quicker.

Temperatures were a little cooler than Monday and word on the street is they are going to dip after today with a big freeze due to arrive over the weekend and into next week. Fun.

Who’s idea was it to train for Boston in a Chicago winter, dumbass.

The sight of the holy grail today…666 miles to here…



:eek: maybe a little ominous!

tang1

Best of luck J, fingers & toes crossed for you it all works out.

Pacing Mule

Delighted to see you back and in proper race shape training.

Toblerone1978

Best of luck Blockic, looking forward to hearing about this journey!

blockic

Wednesday
9 miles session / 4 x (5’ @MP -15 (2’))

Headed out with the BB group last night. Not too cold and I arrived in plenty time on this occasion. Kicked off from Fleet Feet store and warmed up by jogging up to Diversey Harbour working our way towards the lake. Good crowd around for this, maybe 20/30 people.

I started the reps with the second group who were aiming for 6:15/6:20 pace apparently, soon after we started though I realised these lads were a bit excited and going sub 6 pace, made the decision to back off the group and do my own thing as a sub 6 first rep would defeat the purpose of the session, there were a couple of people behind doing 6:25/6:30 so I tied in with these who were also going fast. Ended up working out of for me with an only slightly faster first rep.

During the first recovery another lad dropped back to us with the same reason as myself and we finished the last 3 reps together with the 6:30 group behind. Was nice to have one guy to do the session with as otherwise I would have been caught in isolation.

(Pace)

1.6 miles easy
4 x 5’ @MP -15 (6:15, 6:20, 6:22, 6:18)
2 min recoveries
3.5 miles easy

Added some extra mileage in at the end as the groups plan has lower mileage than I intend. Happy with the nights work and a bit stiff today. Easy run and a bit of foam rolling forecast for tonight.

Netwerk Errer

Just seen the story about the finishline now.

http://mashable.com/2015/01/28/boston-marathon-finish-line-no-snow/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link

Manhunt on for the suspects:D.

blockic

Thursday
7.5 miles easy / 7:52 average pace

Took this one hand on Thursday after the session the night before, went up north around lakeview and then back in a big loop. Stopped off at Target to pick up a few things with half a mile to go. All about the multi-tasking I am these days.

Saturday
20 miles LSR (incl. 6m @MP) / 7:12 average pace

Was up in Madison, Wisconsin for the weekend and it was nice to get a long run in different surroundings to explore. The original plan for this was 16 miles with 6 at marathon pace, However it a moment of either genius or stupidity during the run I decided to tag on some extra to hit 20.:rolleyes:

I started out at the Wisconsin State Capital building (here)before arriving on the shore of Lake Monona which was frozen solid. I had to go and run on it for a bit! Once the novelty died off and the fear of the ice cracking kicked in, I started the lake loop trail which is approx. 12 miles. It was cold out but the roads were clear with minimal ice so I had to make the most of it. Halfway around the loop I spotted the perfect hill to replicate Boston, as I have no hills in Chicago I decided to do 3 repeats up and down the hill to get the quads working a bit. This worked well and soon I continued on in the loop. Once 10 miles hit the marathon pace miles kicked in, the route was up and down in elevation which I wanted to eat up too, so things were working well. The target for the MP miles was 6:35 and I managed to hit that for the most part.

10 miles easy
6 miles MP(6:32, 6:34, 6:39, 6:32, 6:32, 6:34)
4 miles easy

Once we got to the end of the loop and back to Madison I had 14 done, with a couple of miles to go I decided to venture over to the University campus and check out Camp Randall Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Badgers. On the way I convinced myself that I would get an Uber back then with 16 done mentally telling myself that the end was in sight.

However, when I got there with 16 done and 3 miles back to the hotel, I decided in a spur of the moment that by the time I waited for the cab I would be back if I ran. So ran back I did and I must admit at this point I was feeling very strong too and that I could go on forever.

At mile 18 however, the energy was sapped out of me and I had the hitting the wall effect, which was a good thing in a way to get used to pushing through that feeling again. I stopped in a store to get a banana with about a mile to go and trundled the rest of the way to make it up to twenty. It was a bit risky to make such a jump but when I had the opportunity and I was feeling good, I decided to take it.

Great to get in a 20+ run on Week 1 of the plan!:)

It turns out that the risk of injury for doing the extra miles were the least of my worries when later that night while out for a few beverages I thought it was a great idea to get blindsided by a park bench while throwing snowballs! :rolleyes:

Busted my left quad a bit and its killing me now today, I actually thought it was the run that done it when I woke up this morning until I got a flashback a few minutes later!

It's only bruising so should clear up in a couple days, I decided to leave off my recovery 3 mile run today as a precaution and as I had already made my weeks mileage target by doing the extra couple miles in the long run, it effectively wont have any negative impact.

Back home to Chicago today in blizzard like conditions, very dodgy! 20 inches of snow sitting outside my window at the moment so running outside looks out of the question for next 2 days, so treadmill it will be!



Week Mileage Summary
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
8m|7m|9m|7.5m|Rest|20m|Rest

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
51.5.m|169.6m|169.6m

Toblerone1978

Great running, especially those MP times.

What was your longest run (in this session) - I'd thought 20mi might have been too far at this point for you, especially with some MP miles included?

blockic

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

Great running, especially those MP times.

What was your longest run (in this session) - I'd thought 20mi might have been too far at this point for you, especially with some MP miles included?

You would be right that 20 was a little far so early, risky indeed but at the time I felt good so went with it. I wouldn't be advising it!

The plan was 16 and had done 15 the week before.

Back down to 14 next weeks it is a little step back and I won't be doing any extra!

ThebitterLemon

Jesus that's a savage 20 mile run at this stage. You seem to be in great shape.

Hope the quads ok

TbL

blockic

Monday
6 miles easy / 7:45 average pace

Turns out the Sunday snow storm was the 5th worst in Chicago history with 19.3 inches, a grand baptism of fire!:eek:

So a long one (for me) on the treadmill with the snowy footpaths outside pretty much impassable in anything other than waterproof boots!


Tuesday
5 miles easy / 8:00 average pace

Another treadmill one counting down the seconds, this will drive me nuts.:mad:

Wednesday
8.1 miles session / 7 x 800m (90’)

BB group session last night. I was going outside tonight if it even killed me, can’t stand the treadmill anymore!! Conditions were still not great, it was cold and the paths were all pretty slushy particularly at intersections. We warmed up by going over to where we were doing our reps in Lincoln Park zoo and jogged further north to the trough before jogging back to the repetition starting point at the north end of the zoo car-park.

They snow plow the zoo car park so it is the handiest place to run, however even with the plow, there is still a layer of snow/ ice on the surface that feels like you are running on sand, which is not ideal for reps so my rep time was not of grave concern but more the effort.

2 miles easy
7 x 800m (2:58, 2:57, 2:57, 2:57, 2:50, 2:49, 2:47)
90 sec jog/ walk recoveries
2 miles easy

The group plan for this session was 6-7 x 800m. My plan initially on this session was to do 10 x 800 YASSOs to use as a gauge. However, my left quad after the “incident” at the weekend was still bothering me so I chose to just cut out the extra few reps and stick with the group plan.
We had about 10-12 at my pace for this which was decent.

The first two reps I stayed mid pack and found them comfortable.

The next two I hung off the lead guy for the first 400m and then took the front for the last 400m to share the workload.

The next two I pretty much lead the group for all of it and had a substantial gap growing as the rep went on.

Many packed it in after 6, but a couple of us added in the extra one at the end.

Happy with the reps and reckon if I slowed down the last 3 reps a bit, I would have been able to handle three more for sure. Knowing I was not going to do ten though meant that I but a bit of extra effort into the last ones.

Going to take a rest day today I think as the temperature has plummeted further. Supposed to warm up to a balmy 1c at the weekend, twill be like summer!

Toblerone1978

Fair play to ya J for that run in that weather. Being the wimp that I am, I would have stuck to the threadmill for those conditions - hell, I'm even sticking to it at the moment even though it was a balmy 1 degress here!

blockic

Friday
7.7 miles recovery / 8:42 average pace

Thursday was the coldest day of the week by a long shot so I took it as a rest day, got out Friday for an easy one but early on I started to feel bit of a strain in my right groin, I didn’t want to jeopardise the long run the following morning so I dialled the pace down a bit into recovery. Entertained myself for the rest of the run drawing steps to show up later on strava :pac: groin loosened out towards the end once it warmed up.

Saturday
14 miles LSR / 7:41 average pace

Long run on Saturday morning was a bit of a slog. Up early and got 3 miles in jogging down to our meeting point at the lake. Groin was still niggling on the start of this run but once again loosened out later on.

First couple of miles were slow getting to the lake due to the snow and ice on the paths which was not cleared so had to take it handy. Once we got to the lake however it was plain sailing as the paths were cleared, averaged about 7:20s for the lake section.

2 miles back inland at the end were slow again due to the ground conditions and I actually couldn’t wait for the 14 to clock up as I was ragged. Very worn out after it, I did run this on empty which I have been doing for my long runs in Chicago lately. Good but I think I’m going to start incorporating breakfast in before the runs soon now that I’m getting to the high end range.

Sunday
5.5 miles easy / 7:31 average pace
An easy 5 miler to finish off the week. Really enjoyed this one in the brightness and daylight.The groin was fine on this one. Hopefully that’s the end of that problem.

Only 10 weeks to go already! :eek:

Week Mileage Summary
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
6m|5m|8.1m|Rest|7.7m|14m|5.5m

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
46.3.m|46.3m|215.9m

AuldManKing

be careful of that niggle - your easy pace has a lot of variation varying from steady to recovery

blockic

Good observation...usually play it by how the body feels and go on effort.. But variance is a little too large alright.

blockic

Monday
5 miles easy / 7:50 average pace

Bit of a messy start to this week in my plan. Monday was supposed to be a 9 miler with some marathon pace miles put in but the conditions outside were treacherous. The mild weekend melted a lot of snow but then the temps dropped on Monday resulting in the water re freezing on the pavements making them like an ice rink.

I wasn’t feeling the best when I got home from work so I decided to get some food into me and re-assess a couple of hours later. Thing improved so I hit the treadmill at 9pm to make sure the day was not a total write off. No issues with the groin on this one.

Committed to 4 minimum but ended up with 5, happy but already 4 miles behind in the week and a skipped session. :mad:

Tuesday
8 miles easy / 7:57 average pace

A bit of sun yesterday meant that the pavements were runnable last night. Plan was for 8 miles and got in the 8 miles.

Bit of discomfort in the groin again though which I would say would be a 3/10 in terms of cause for concern. Kept the pace relatively handy here.

Not sure what to do for my planned session now tonight. On the plan was 3 x 10m tempo but after Monday I planned to scrap that and put in my planned Monday session which was 8 miles @MP.

But now with the groin I’m thinking if I should not do ant session and just do more easy miles.

I don’t want to sacrifice my long runs on the weekend as they are first priority. And I absolutely don’t want to give myself a long term injury either! Will mull the options over for the day…

blockic

Wednesday
7 miles session / 3 miles of sh!te

Very disappointed with this one. :mad: The adjusted plan had me planning 9 miles with 8@MP for this one and I started off with this intention but it turned out to be my worst run for some time. I was out in the suburbs and squeezed this one in between finishing work and a work dinner so I was rushing it a bit.

I was unfamiliar with the surroundings which put me out of my comfort zone for this immediately. The footpaths were a no-go zone due to accumulation of snow and ice so I was on the side of the road. Most parts were quiet but as it was rush hour I got caught with traffic coming against me in parts so had to slow down.

The weather was not great with a strong wind out and at one point I had to go through a section with a foot of snow during my pace miles.

After a mile warm-up I kicked into a couple miles of marathon pace but I knew from the off that I was both mentally and physically not up for this.

1 miles easy
2 miles @ supposed marathon pace (6:41, 7:03)
0.5 mile easy
1 mile @ supposed marathon pace(7:11)
2.5 miles of frustration and packing it in

In the second mile of the MP section my groin started to have a bit of discomfort again, its not major pain or anything, just a slight dull feeling. I knew then the session was done. Tried to rectify it by trying to get a second two mile section in, but packed it in after one. The conditions, groin and weather are starting to grind me down mentally. Last two and a half miles were just running where I needed to get to with the tail between my legs.

At a crossroads now. Planned a double recovery run day today but scrapped the run this morning, negative Fahrenheit temperatures outside and probably better to give the groin a rest. Not sure about this evening’s run.

Looks like at this point I will be abandoning some miles in my plan this week and the long run at the weekend is at risk. Was supposed to be my first trip out to the hills too. Bit of a disaster.:(

Thinking now if I should just take a few days off to see if I can get this groin right but the runner in me is saying to keep going. I know it is not a major strain but looks like It wont get better if I keep running through it. There is a right option and a stupid option in there. Which one shall be chosen.

Toblerone1978

Take the rest. I think you know it's the right option, it's just happen to be also the frustrating one. You have a bit to go yet so I don't the next few sessions are imperative. Also, the next few may only be half @rsed if you keep going.

That's my 2 cents.

overpronator

I feel guilty now for moaning about the wind in my log a few weeks ago but the weather your side seems absolutely unworkable lately. Hope you catch a break in it soon, when are the prolonged thaws due?

ThebitterLemon

I've been having groin issues/niggles for a while now. I've been getting deep massage and it relieving it quite well. Get a sports massage and take a day or two off.

FFS don't know how you expected to do PMP miles on what for all intents, sounds like a feckin obstacle course!

Take proactive action on that groin or it'll come back to bite you on the butt

TbL

pgmcpq

Trying to run in these conditions is tough at the best of time. Managing a suspect groin across surfaces that have no traction seems like a very risky move ... with the loss of traction you are always having to adjust your weight. Finally running on cambered surfaces (as the sidewalk is out of action) may also be stressing your groin (not to speak of the other risks). And trying to hit MP pace ... in the vernacular : "ya buggin' man ?"

Take the time off. Re adjust the plan for the conditions. There's no point in trying to do a plan designed for normal conditions with what you are facing. Adjust ... listen to your body .... maybe work of HR rather than pace. Mix up some TM sessions (yes, I know it sucks).

Talk to some of the guys you run with. I bet they have learned to adjust plans to conditions. Don't risk Boston this early.

tang1

Dont run on an injury, leads to a worse injury in my experience. But everyone is different to be fair, conditions cant be helping the situation either i'd imagine. Hope its only a niggle & a few days rest help J.

blockic

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

Also, the next few may only be half @rsed if you keep going.

Thanks P, good point above.

overpronator wrote: »

I feel guilty now for moaning about the wind in my log a few weeks ago but the weather your side seems absolutely unworkable lately. Hope you catch a break in it soon, when are the prolonged thaws due?

thanks OP, probably another 4 weeks before the temperatures start to rise consistently, I just hope that we get through these weeks without anymore major temp drops/snow...moderation is fine but I believe next week is due to be extremely cold, the weather gods won't leave us get rid of winter without a fight first!

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

I've been having groin issues/niggles for a while now. I've been getting deep massage and it relieving it quite well. Get a sports massage and take a day or two off.

FFS don't know how you expected to do PMP miles on what for all intents, sounds like a feckin obstacle course!

Take proactive action on that groin or it'll come back to bite you on the butt

TbL

Cheers tbl, going to book in for a massage for early next week, been meaning to get one for a while but this has forced the issue now, probably for the better.

pgmcpq wrote: »

Trying to run in these conditions is tough at the best of time. Managing a suspect groin across surfaces that have no traction seems like a very risky move ... with the loss of traction you are always having to adjust your weight. Finally running on cambered surfaces (as the sidewalk is out of action) may also be stressing your groin (not to speak of the other risks). And trying to hit MP pace ... in the vernacular : "ya buggin' man ?"

Take the time off. Re adjust the plan for the conditions. There's no point in trying to do a plan designed for normal conditions with what you are facing. Adjust ... listen to your body .... maybe work of HR rather than pace. Mix up some TM sessions (yes, I know it sucks).

Talk to some of the guys you run with. I bet they have learned to adjust plans to conditions. Don't risk Boston this early.

Excellent advise P thanks, you are dead right, don't risk Boston when there is no need to for the moment.

tang1 wrote: »

Dont run on an injury, leads to a worse injury in my experience. But everyone is different to be fair, conditions cant be helping the situation either i'd imagine. Hope its only a niggle & a few days rest help J.

Thanks B.

Decided that today and tomorrow are knocked on the head for sure anyway. 18 miler on Saturday, I really want to go out to the hills and do it as I have none in the bank. But will re-assess tomorrow night. If no improvement then there will be no run.

Ice and rest for next 36 hours.

AuldManKing

blockic wrote: »

Ice and rest for next 36 hours.

Make sure theres a bottle of Jameson with that ice.

blockic

Putting up the weekly summary now so it forces me not to run this weekend.

As frustrated as the runner in me is, I've decided to call it until Monday. it's improving but I still feel slight inflammation in the area. I know I could do the long run with a little discomfort, but what benefit would it give me? would it sort out the groin? No.

No point risking long-term injury over one run. I've booked in with a Physio for next Thursday (hard to get appointments) so we will see, might still run Monday on wards anyway if its not causing me too much bother.

I hate missing runs!

Week Mileage Summary
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
5m|8m|7m|Rest|Rest|Rest|Rest

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
20m|66.3m|235.9m

blockic

Tuesday
7.8 miles very easy / 8:20 average pace

After taking five days off I went out on Tuesday for a little tester at a very slow pace. The problem with the cold is that the muscles take away longer to warm up so running on a tight groin out in the cold is doing it no favours! :mad: I took it very handy and while improved it is still there a little. But was definitely runable on. Had to be very careful avoiding all the ice patches and when there is just a sheet of ice I had no option but to stop to a walk. You have to pretty much constantly scan the ground in front of you throughout the run left-right-left-right to check for danger so there is a lot more concentration required!

I know now looking back that there was no chance of completing an 18 miler last weekend so i made the right call.

I was linked to an article over the weekend that surprised me a little in terms of running on effort in cold weather..We all know the impacts on warm weather but I didn't really think it would have as much of an affect in cold. I thought that performance may somewhat even improve slightly. How wrong was I!

http://runneracademy.com/cold-weather-impact-on-running/

Based on the above, I have been running a little fast in many of my easy runs as its been between -7 and -18c for most of winter here!. So, I may ease off on them a little and stop worrying about hitting paces until the cold clears a little! Interesting reading indeed.

The weather is really breaking me down mentally and I'm finding it very hard to motivate myself to get all the miles needed in even when Boston is so close on the horizon. I just hope I don't break fully! But hopes of big PBs are fading slightly..

Severe lack of hills has me worried.

Wednesday
7 miles easy / 7:50 average pace

Record low temperatures and wind chills for this time of year meant that even the group sessions had to be cancelled yesterday due to weather, when hardcore locals are cancelling it is a bad sign.

With the mercury showing -20c :eek: and windchill of -30 No option here but to run this on the treadmill, probably the longest I've stayed on the thing, but with all other runners inside on them also it felt like virtual company!

I had planned to stay away from speed anyway due to the groin so just done a hill workout at easy pace. Started to feel the groin again for the last 3 miles. Due to go to physio today so will see the verdict.

Bahanaman

Keep the chin up Johnny! Still plenty of time till Boston and that PB! Won't be long till you turn the corner. Meanwhile you can be sending us the good vibes for the intermediate cross country this Sun!!

blockic

Bahanaman wrote: »

Keep the chin up Johnny! Still plenty of time till Boston and that PB! Won't be long till you turn the corner. Meanwhile you can be sending us the good vibes for the intermediate cross country this Sun!!

Thanks P, great win for the club in the Intermediate XC at the weekend. Great running by ye all. Ye have a solid crew there now with more on the way. Will improve the KCH rivalry no end!

blockic

Thursday
5 miles easy / 8:15 average pace

Time for an update. Went to physical therapist dude last Thursday for a general rub down and to take a look at the groin. The guy looks legit and is a masseur for the US Men’s Track and Field team. I’ll trust him so!

After looking at the area he immediately said that my IT band is very tight and it is pulling the leg outwards causing stress on the adductors. Nothing more than tightness he thinks and just basically said to foam roll the sh!te out of the IT band and use a medicine ball on the adductors.

Leg felt very released after the session and I went out for an easy 5 miles. I hadto layer up big time though as it was a bitter -14 out.

Friday
3.2 miles easy / 8:22 average pace

This was supposed to be a rest day, but stupidity said that because I took Monday off I would try make miles up here, should have taken it off in hindsight but ended up with a handy three miles on the treadmill. Temps dipped lower than the day before making it beyond the outside running limit!

Saturday
7 miles "LSR" / 7:44 average pace

Woke up Saturday morning and the groin was once again sore After humming an hawing decided to abandon the long run as it would be counterproductive. At one stage I contemplated calling the day altogether but it improved as the day went on so went out to try it in the evening for a few miles and it did not feel too bad but still “there”. Getting very frustrated with no long run now in last two weeks and the wheels are flying off the Boston plan.

Sunday
5 miles easy / 7:48 average pace

A handy five miles down to Ukrainian Village and back to finish off a 6 day but still disappointing week of 35 miles, about 20 behind schedule. I am getting the runs in, but with no quality or enough miles which I am going to pay the price for on race day. But what can ya do…:rolleyes:

The leg is seeing improvement but it’s hard to balance rest versus runs to keep ticking over.

Going to re-jig my Boston plan as a result of the last 2 weeks and it will likely be a 6.5 week plan with 1.5 weeks of taper. It’s time to go big while being as sensible as possible or get injured trying as the famous TRR once said.

Was really hoping to finally get some consistency back on this cycle. Still have a faint hope of getting a solid bit of work in the next seven weeks before taper to maybe partly rescue the situation.

Week Mileage Summary
Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
Rest|7.8m|7m|5m|3.2m|7m|5m

Week Total|Month to Date|Year to Date
35m|101.3m|250.9m