Sometimes I just need to get out and run

menoscemo

Brilliant Dave. I've been saying it for a while now; the watch only holds you back in short races. Sounds like you raced it perfectly.

RunningKing

menoscemo wrote: »

Brilliant Dave. I've been saying it for a while now; the watch only holds you back in short races. Sounds like you raced it perfectly.

yeah - I think TRR said it before you though........:P

menoscemo

RunningKing wrote: »

yeah - I think TRR said it before you though........:P

He got that advice of the same lad in the club I did

dazza21ie

Great running Dave, another example of the great progress you are making this year.

career_move

Mighty time well done

davemcmahon

19/08/2013 Mon: 7.40 miles @ 8:11 min/mile

a nice handy lunchtime run. Legs were feeling really good after yesterdays race so ended up going further than planned. Threw in some strides towards the end.

Tues 20th

Woke up after a poor nights sleep feeling like i'd been kicked in the face repeatedly. Had planned to do my session but abandoned all running plans for the next couple of days while my sinuses cleared up.

Wed 21st.

Slight improvement, slept better and thankfully had a couple of days of work to rest.

Thurs 22nd

Feeling much better but held off on any running. At this stage of the plan I'm not too worried about missed days as I've done alot of hard work the last few months, and that won't go to pot over a few days.

23/08/2013 Fri: 11.06 miles @ 8:15 min/mile

Had originally only planned on 5 miles but after the first 4 I was feeling good so kept going. Ended up doing 11. Will probably do a couple of short runs over the weekend to get me back on my feet fully before my sessions next week.



WTD|18.46
MTD|136.88
YTD|1322.8

thirstywork2

Great running and hopefully another pb in the new racing flats

ps will give you a shout if any other good deals are on !!!

davemcmahon

24/08/2013 Sat: 5.52 miles @ 8:26 min/mile

25/08/2013 Sun: 5.55 miles @ 8:12 min/mile

Both these runs were really only to get me back into the running habit and get the legs used to moving again. Finished the week on just under 30 miles. Was happy enough to get the miles in all things considered. Finally got a chance to break in my second pair of Brooks Racer St5's

26/08/2013 Mon: 5.09 miles @ 7:14 min/mile

The original plan had been to just do an easy run and get back to the sessions tomorrow as I'm not 100% yet. After the first mile I could feel the legs wanting to go faster so I turned the run into a Tempo run. 1 mile Easy, 3 miles Tempo (20 minutes) 1.1 miles easy. The Tempo miles were 6:57, 6:53, 6:36. The last mile was a little fast but I was happy enough to get the miles in albeit a short tempo.

The plan is for an MLR (10ish miles) tomorrow followed by an Easy day Wednesday then jump back into the plan at Thursdays session.


WTD|5.09
MTD|153.04
YTD|1338.96

davemcmahon

27/08/2013 Tues: 9.13 miles @ 7:52 min/mile

This was an impromptu MLR. Had planned for 10miles + but was running short on time. Ended up running from work down into Lucan, through St Catherines park and back into Leixlip and back to work. Pace was faster than I should have done this.

28/08/2013 Sun: 6.30 miles @ 9:29 min/mile

A nice handy recovery paced run with a colleague from work. Was nice and slow and the legs felt great afterwards. Weighted myself today and am down to 78.7kg


29/08/2013 Thurs: 11.56 miles @ 8:09 min/mile

The plan was to do the Q1 session from the start of the week. Plan called for 3 x 2miles @ tempo with 2 mins off and 4 x 1 mile Tempo with 1 min off. A handy 1 mile warm up brought me to the track. The 2 mile reps were:

1: 6:38, 6:40
2: 6:43, 6:46
3: 6:53, 6:53

Both miles in rep 1 were too fast and as a result I was struggling by the last rep. In the end I only managed to get through 3 of the 1 mile reps:

6:44, 6:39, 6:43

A 1 mile warm down and it was home to get ready for work. I probably should have just HTFU and ran the last rep or split it down to 2 x 800m but I'm happy enough with how it went. It's still 9 miles @ Tempo and 9 miles just below HM pace.


WTD|32.08
MTD|180.03
YTD|1365.95

davemcmahon

31/08/2013 Sat: 15.76 miles @ 7:54 min/mile

Up nice and early and into the Phoenix Park for this one. The plan was for about 16 miles @ 8:15-8:30 pace. Once i got started I decided to switch to going on feel as the legs felt strong and I was having trouble keeping the pace down. The route I took was to incorporate a couple of laps of the last 3 miles of the half marathon course. The first lap was nice and peaceful as it was early enough that the Great Pink run hadn't started yet. On my second time around I ended up running along side some of the 10k participants on their first lap of the course. The rest of the distance was covered running other parts of the half marathon course and some parts of the park I haven't ran in a long time.

I was very happy with this and surprised to see how fast the splits were as it felt very comfortable. It was nice to run in the park as well so that was a nice change from my usual routes.

This weeks running will be a bit all over the place again as I'm racing the Lakes 10k on Saturday. Will probably only get one session in and move my LSR to Wednesday. For the race on Saturday there is only one goal and that's to break 40mins.


WTD|47.84
MTD|195.79
YTD|1381.71

davemcmahon

2/09/2013 Mon: 7.62 miles @ 7:22 min/mile

With the Lakes 10k on Saturday I moved my session forward a day again to get them out of the way and have a little rest before the race. Today's plan was a simple 30 min tempo. This works out at roughly 4.5 miles. Decided to run laps of a nearby park as I knew the lap was a little over 2 miles. 1.45 mile warm up and then onto the Tempo section.

Tempo miles:
6:48, 6:50, 6:46, 6:49, 3:23 (6:43).

Was happy enough with the Tempo miles as they were consistent enough and the course wasn't the flattest.

Goals for September:

• Sub 40 min 10k (Lakes 10k)
• 1:30 Half marathon (Race Series Half)
• Rathfarham 5k (goal time tbc)

WTD|7.62
MTD|7.62
YTD|1389.33

davemcmahon

3/09/2013 Tues:

Plan had been to do an Easy 6 miles before work, but a vomiting 18 month old put an end to any running plans I had, so took a rest day and stayed at home.


4/09/2013 Wed: 12.91 miles @ 8:16 min/mile

Got out early enough for this weeks LSR. Was a lot warmer than I'd been expecting and I hadn't brought any water with me so I struggled a bit towards the end. Ended up with a stitch for the last mile so was glad when I called it a day.


5/09/2013 Thurs: 5.21 miles @ 8:03 min/mile

A handy easy run before work.

This weeks mileage will end up being pretty low with taking the extra day off on Tuesday and racing on Saturday.

WTD|25.74
MTD|25.74
YTD|1407.45

davemcmahon

07/09/2013 Sat: The Lakes 10k

Was not pleased this morning when I saw the weather, I was not in the mood to be soaked and out in the cold after a tough week. This week has involved both kids having some sort of vomiting bug and a busy week in work. As result I've been feeling fairly run down. Now that the excuses are out of the way onto the race.

I lined up at the start just behind the sub 40 min mark and off we went. Started well but at the 1.5k mark I noticed my lace open so had to pull over to close it. At this stage my hands were frozen so lost a good 10 seconds trying to close it. Off i went again and kept the pace fairly handy as I tried to get the ave pace down to around 6:25. By the 3k mark I was struggling to get the pace up to the right speed. It felt like my legs just didn't want to go any faster. Just after the halfway mark my lace opened again so another pit stop and a loss of more time meant I was fairly sure at this point I wouldn't be breaking 40 minutes. At this stage I beginning to struggle and the only hill on the course came at the wrong time for me. Shortly after my lace opened again (was getting ridiculous at this stage). The downhill section say me push on a little stronger but I was still struggling to hold pace. Pushed on for the last km.

Finished in 41:24 (moving time was 40:39) for 43rd place out of 526 and 8th in my age category.

Was disappointed with the day but I'm going to write it off as just one of those days and find another 10k to do later in the year. I'm going to take a couple of days rest and try get rested up for the last few sessions before the half on the 21st. Hopefully I'll be rested sufficiently to try the 7 miles @ hmp on Wednesday.

The race itself was excellently organised and run and I'll definitely be back again.

WTD|31.96
MTD|31.96
YTD|1413.67

RunningKing

That's a pity Dave, you've been going well lately. No doubt you'll blast the next one.
What runners you wearing?

davemcmahon

RunningKing wrote: »

That's a pity Dave, you've been going well lately. No doubt you'll blast the next one.
What runners you wearing?

I was wearing my old pair of brooks racers. I've only ever had a lace open on them once before and that was December last year.

RunningKing

My only lacing issues was in Clontarf with a pair of Brooks ST5's. I double and treble knot them now.

davemcmahon

10/09/2013 Tues: 5.16 miles @ 8:39 min/mile

First run since Saturdays race. A nice and handy 5 miles, keep the pace really easy and threw in some strides at the end. I'm feeling much more rested than last week. I've realised I need to slow the easy runs back down again as they were drifting up in pace, taking too much out of me. As a result the legs are feeling good today, although I'm still trying to shift the last of the cold I've had for a few weeks.

Plan for tomorrow is to try get out for the 7 @ HMP since it will be 10 days till the Race Series Half. After that I'll probably just stick to Easy running.


WTD|5.16
MTD|37.12
YTD|1418.83

davemcmahon

Haven't updated in a nearly a week so here goes:

Went out on Wednesday morning for the planned half marathon session (7@hmp). Decided at the last minute to wear the HRM after feeling a little more tired than usual the previous 2 days. 3 miles into the HMP section of the run I was really struggling, I checked the HR and was up close to what would normally be my 5k effort. Decided to call an end to the session and jog slowly back home.

The rest of the week wasn't much better and only got out for a short 5 mile recovery run the following day. HR was still high so decided I need to take a few days off and rest the body as I was just run down. I was really feeling exhausted and ended up taking the whole weekend off and ended up spending Saturday in bed. WTD total for last week was a lowly 17.87miles.

By Sunday morning I was beginning to feel much better and the legs were beginning to come back to life. I've taken the few days rest as a chance to get some foam rolling and stretching done without putting the legs under any stress between sessions.

Today marks the 4th day with no running which I'm fairly certain is the most time I've had off all year. The plan is for a short run tomorrow with a mile or two at HMP just to waken the legs back up and then an Easy run on Wednesday and that'll be it before the half on Saturday. Hopefully I'll be sufficiently rested to go out at my planned HMP, but if I find that pace hard in the morning I'll readjust my goal and look at possibly doing the Clontarf Half at the end of November.


WTD|0
MTD|49.83
YTD|1431.54

davemcmahon

17/09/2013 Tues: 4.31 miles @ 7:49 min/mile AveHR 153 MaxHR 178

So this morning was my first run in 5 days and my last chance to judge my HMP and decide if I should back off the pace for the HM or still go for the 90 minute mark.

The plan was for a warm up 2 miles @ HMP and a warm down. This ended up being 1.20 miles warm up and 1.11 miles warm down. The 2 miles @ HMP felt pretty ok the miles came in at 6:54 and 6:46 with my HR staying in the 160 - 180 range (this was spot on for a LT run, with my HR reaching the higher end, 178, towards the end of the second mile). The second mile was a little fast but I'm happy with it as I struggled to hit this pace last week.

So todays run has restored some degree of confidence ahead of Saturday, the only question now is should I stick with the 1.30 pacers or just run my own race??


WTD|4.31
MTD|54.14
YTD|1435.85

blockic

Could do with the company dave. Honestly based on your training and racing the last couple of months you should go for sub 90, it is well within your grasp for you IMO!

davemcmahon

blockic wrote: »

Could do with the company dave. Honestly based on your training and racing the last couple of months you should go for sub 90, it is well within your grasp for you IMO!

Either way I'll still go for sub 90. If I do join the pace group I'll make sure to wear my red runners.

davemcmahon

18/09/2013 Wed: 5.00 miles @ 8:29 min/mile AveHR 143 MaxHR 178

Decided to do this run in the gym in work this morning as I didn't feel like getting out in the cold. So headphones on and I listened to last weeks MT podcast. Legs were feeling good and I took it handy enough with some bursts of speed just to break up the monotony of the run.

After this race I'll be running the Rathfarnham 5k on Sunday week then I may not race again until the Clontarf Half in November. I really want to get myself used to racing more Half Marathons as Saturday will only be my second.


WTD|9.31
MTD|59.14
YTD|1440.85

davemcmahon

21/09/2013 Sat: Race Series Half Marathon

Firstly and most importantly my condolences go out the family of the runner that won't be making it home tonight.

Was up nice and early this morning to get my usual pre-race routine started. Had breakfast got ready and headed out to park the car in CityWest and jump the Luas into town. Was running later then I had planned so by the time I got to the park I just had time to drop in my bag and head to the start line.

I've spent most of the week deciding if I should go with the 1.30 pacers, the 1.40 pacers or just run my own race. I lined up just behind the 1.30 pacers, after a few words with Blockic, with the plan of keeping them in sight for as long as possible. The first couple of miles were pretty much uneventful as we found our pace and settled into it. Passed the water station and narrowly avoided getting trampled by the hordes. Thankfully I'd grabbed 2 bottles and handed one to the guy outside me who was struggling to get close to the table. This was followed up by the guy on my inside elbowing my bottle out of my hand. I took this as a sign I wasn't supposed to have water.

At this stage I'd dropped a little bit further behind the pacers so I upped the pace slightly and tried to gain some ground over the next couple of miles. Made up the ground by the time we got to Farmleigh but seemed to loose it again at this stage so decided to ignore them and keep going. By the 7 mile mark I beginning to feel the pace a little but tried to hold it as long as possible. The run down Chesterfield Ave, was not the relief I was hopping for as I was still struggling to hold the pace.

By the time we came back into the park I was struggling and had to drop the pace down. Passed the first person I'd seen on the ground at this stage as a doctor was running up the hill to him. The legs were feeling heavy at this stage but I kept it moving, grinding out the last couple of miles. Passed another runner on the ground at about the 12 mile mark as a Garda was making his way over to him. I managed to muster what energy remained and pushed across the line.

Finished in 1:34:30. A pb by 21 minutes. While not the time I'd hoped for I was still very pleased with it as I found it tough out there today. Looking back at last years race I would have never dreamed of hitting the time I ran today so despite of any trouble I had I'm really happy with how it went. Had a quick chat with Blockic and then started the slow journey back down to the Luas. Legs are fairly tired now so I'm happy with the effort I gave.

Next Half will be the Clontarf Half in November and another attempt to get as close to 1:30 as I can.


WTD|22.45
MTD|72.28
YTD|1453.99

Gavlor

A pb by HOW much?!!

Nice going dave

Tom Joad

Well done on PB Dave. I've been off the radar today and didn't hear until I read it here about the poor guy who died. RIP - not a nice thing to come across either.

RedRunner

Well done Dave. I remember you finishing just ahead of me last year in the same race. What a difference a year makes with hard work and dedication. Super result.

dazza21ie

Well done Dave that's a giid time in what sounded like tough conditions. Morw to come off that too in the not too distant future

davemcmahon

24/09/2013 Tues: 5.00 miles @ 8:12 min/mile AveHR 150

Since the half on Saturday I've been struggling a little with some discomfort in my knee. I'm fairly sure its ITB or glute related as once I stretch out these areas the discomfort goes and only come back gradually during the day. Spent some time on Sunday and Monday foam rolling, icing and stretching to release some of the pressure in the muscles. This seems to have done the trick as the discomfort borderline pain on Sunday is now down to a dull tightness and goes after stretching. As a result today was the first chance I'd taken to get a run in. Kept it fairly short and just used the treadmill in work. This also gave me a chance to get my first couple of miles in the Puma Faas I've had for a month. Thankfully the knee wasn't a problem and running/moving about seems to 'fix' any stiffness.

I'm going to take the rest of this week fairly handy, will probably run each of the next 3 or 4 days and run Rathfarnham on Sunday. After that I'll jump back into HM training next week with the eyes on Clontarf.


WTD|5.00
MTD|77.28
YTD|1458.99

davemcmahon

25/09/2013 Wed: 6.17 miles @ 8:23 min/mile AveHR 150

A fairly handy run around the grounds of Castletown House before work. Plan was to keep the HR in and around the 150 mark. Legs felt good and the knee hasn't been causing any problems.

26/09/2013 Thurs: 5.00 miles @ 7:25 min/mile AveHR 161

Had to use the gym in work today, so kept it to a quickish 5 miles. Pushed the pace a little more than the last few runs and the legs felt good and strong.


WTD|16.17
MTD|88.45
YTD|1470.16

davemcmahon

27/09/2013 Fri: 6.20 miles @ 8:47 min/mile AveHR 142

A nice comfortable 10k just to round out the week before the race on Sunday. Legs feeling good and the knee wasn't causing any problems.

29/09/2013 Sun: Rathfarnham 5k

I knew when i arrived at the start line for this that the legs weren't 100% so a I wasn't going to push for a pb. Had a quick chat with CM before the off and lined up ready to go. I'd learned last year that people ignore the signage for positioning so I slowly made my way forward before the gun went off. As with the Celbridge 5k I'd left the watch at home so was just going to wing the pace.

Off we went and I just let the legs go as fast as they wanted on the downhill. Passed the first mile marker and the split was called out as 5:40. This was way too fast (although a mile pb!) and I knew the legs wouldn't be able to hold onto that pace for very long. So I eased back with the intent of just getting around the course in a respectable time. At about the 2 k mark I bumped into a colleague from work as I was passing him, so I just stayed at his pace for a while. He was aiming for anything under 19:45 so I was happy enough to keep him company.

At around the 3.5k we turned back onto the downhill sections so I pushed on a little and kept the pace fairly steady from here to the finish. Cross the line with 19:15 on the clock and was very happy with the time since I hadn't pushed close to as hard as I could. Checked my chip time when they went up and was down as 19:06. Was delighted with this as its only 20s slower than my pb in a race I didn't go all out in.


30/09/2013 Mon: 5.03 miles @ 9:01 min/mile AveHR 136 Max HR 143
A nice recovery run this morning to freshen up the legs. The calves have been quite stiff since yesterday. Are feeling much better since this mornings run. Will probable give them some time on the foam roller this evening to continue their recovery.


WTD|5.03
MTD|102.78
YTD|1484.49