Sometimes I just need to get out and run

davemcmahon

24/01/2013 Thurs: 5.12 miles @ 9:51 min/mile AveHR 136

Moved my usual Friday run with work colleagues to today to give me an extra rest day for Raheny. Went out for a nice loop around work and the neighboring village. Weather was the best its been all week, still cold but very fresh. Legs felt good and strong and was surprised at how low the Ave HR was.

Will get stuck into my P&D book again tonight and may skip forward to the racing chapters ahead of Sunday.


WTD|22.08
MTD|109.77
YTD|109.77

davemcmahon

27/01/2013 Sun: Raheny 5 miles @ 7:15 min/mile AveHR 177

I was dreading this race today when I got up. The horrible weather and a family engagement afterwards was really putting me off doing. After some much needed HTFU I decided I wasn't wasting my entry.

I got there nice and early (not too early) and parked on the causeway to Bull island. This meant I had a nice little warm up running the hill towards the end of the race. Bumped into RunningKing before the race but had to leave him in the school hall as I ran back to the car to grab a pair of gloves as my hands had half frozen on my jog up the hill. So back down the hill to the car and another nice jog back up to the bag drop and starting area. I went off to do a quick warm up but by the time I got to the start line I ended up too far back and knew I'd have to dodge alot of people for the first mile.

As expected the first half a mile or so was spent dodging in and out of slower runners. But by the time I'd gotten to the Howth road I'd settled into a more appropriate spot. I'd decided to run today at my goal pace despite not getting in the last two 5 mile sessions in Meno's plan. The goal was to see how long I could stick the pace and take it from there. So I was happy when I looked at the watch at the mile marker and saw that I was bang on pace.

The first half of mile 2 was a good bit slower as I fought with the wind but I only lost a couple of seconds on that mile. Thankfully I was able to make up some of the lost time on the next mile and a half and was actually able to bank a couple of second for the hill at the 4 mile mark.

When I hit the hill was still feeling strong enough to up the effort a little to push up the hill. Thankfully having run it as my warm up it didn;t feel as bad as I was expecting. Once we turned off Watermill Road the wind was fierce and I was beginning to slow a little. Thankfully it didn't last too long and I was able to push on strongly at the end.

When I'd started this log I'd said I was going for a sub 38min in this race which then changed to a sub 37min during the last two weeks. I was chuffed to cross the line in 36:18. As with most of my racing I walked away thinking I could easily take off those 18 second if I was to do the race again.

Anyway an excellently organised and supported race (I spotted RedRunner just before the 4 mile mark), and the goodie bag was probably the best I've gotten yet.


WTD|27.08
MTD|114.77
YTD|114.77

rasher_m

davemcmahon wrote: »

27/01/2013 Sun: Raheny 5 miles @ 7:15 min/mile AveHR 177

I was dreading this race today when I got up. The horrible weather and a family engagement afterwards was really putting me off doing. After some much needed HTFU I decided I wasn't wasting my entry.

I got there nice and early (not too early) and parked on the causeway to Bull island. This meant I had a nice little warm up running the hill towards the end of the race. Bumped into RunningKing before the race but had to leave him in the school hall as I ran back to the car to grab a pair of gloves as my hands had half frozen on my jog up the hill. So back down the hill to the car and another nice jog back up to the bag drop and starting area. I went off to do a quick warm up but by the time I got to the start line I ended up too far back and knew I'd have to dodge alot of people for the first mile.

As expected the first half a mile or so was spent dodging in and out of slower runners. But by the time I'd gotten to the Howth road I'd settled into a more appropriate spot. I'd decided to run today at my goal pace despite not getting in the last two 5 mile sessions in Meno's plan. The goal was to see how long I could stick the pace and take it from there. So I was happy when I looked at the watch at the mile marker and saw that I was bang on pace.

The first half of mile 2 was a good bit slower as I fought with the wind but I only lost a couple of seconds on that mile. Thankfully I was able to make up some of the lost time on the next mile and a half and was actually able to bank a couple of second for the hill at the 4 mile mark.

When I hit the hill was still feeling strong enough to up the effort a little to push up the hill. Thankfully having run it as my warm up it didn;t feel as bad as I was expecting. Once we turned off Watermill Road the wind was fierce and I was beginning to slow a little. Thankfully it didn't last too long and I was able to push on strongly at the end.

When I'd started this log I'd said I was going for a sub 38min in this race which then changed to a sub 37min during the last two weeks. I was chuffed to cross the line in 36:18. As with most of my racing I walked away thinking I could easily take off those 18 second if I was to do the race again.

Anyway an excellently organised and supported race (I spotted RedRunner just before the 4 mile mark), and the goodie bag was probably the best I've gotten yet.


WTD|27.08
MTD|114.77
YTD|114.77

Delighted for you Dave, its great to read about your constant improvement;)

RunningKing

davemcmahon wrote: »

27/01/2013 Sun: Raheny 5 miles @ 7:15 min/mile AveHR 177

I was dreading this race today when I got up. The horrible weather and a family engagement afterwards was really putting me off doing. After some much needed HTFU I decided I wasn't wasting my entry.

I got there nice and early (not too early) and parked on the causeway to Bull island. This meant I had a nice little warm up running the hill towards the end of the race. Bumped into RunningKing before the race but had to leave him in the school hall as I ran back to the car to grab a pair of gloves as my hands had half frozen on my jog up the hill. So back down the hill to the car and another nice jog back up to the bag drop and starting area. I went off to do a quick warm up but by the time I got to the start line I ended up too far back and knew I'd have to dodge alot of people for the first mile.

As expected the first half a mile or so was spent dodging in and out of slower runners. But by the time I'd gotten to the Howth road I'd settled into a more appropriate spot. I'd decided to run today at my goal pace despite not getting in the last two 5 mile sessions in Meno's plan. The goal was to see how long I could stick the pace and take it from there. So I was happy when I looked at the watch at the mile marker and saw that I was bang on pace.

The first half of mile 2 was a good bit slower as I fought with the wind but I only lost a couple of seconds on that mile. Thankfully I was able to make up some of the lost time on the next mile and a half and was actually able to bank a couple of second for the hill at the 4 mile mark.

When I hit the hill was still feeling strong enough to up the effort a little to push up the hill. Thankfully having run it as my warm up it didn;t feel as bad as I was expecting. Once we turned off Watermill Road the wind was fierce and I was beginning to slow a little. Thankfully it didn't last too long and I was able to push on strongly at the end.

When I'd started this log I'd said I was going for a sub 38min in this race which then changed to a sub 37min during the last two weeks. I was chuffed to cross the line in 36:18. As with most of my racing I walked away thinking I could easily take off those 18 second if I was to do the race again.

Anyway an excellently organised and supported race (I spotted RedRunner just before the 4 mile mark), and the goodie bag was probably the best I've gotten yet.


WTD|27.08
MTD|114.77
YTD|114.77

Great running Dave, you were really delighted at the end. Great running!

davemcmahon

27/01/2013 Mon: 4.19 miles @ 9:20 min/mile AveHR 143

A nice handy little 4 mile recovery run this afternoon. Nothing too exciting although the wind on parts slowed me right down.

The plan for this week will be to keep it easy. My next real goal race will the K-club 10k so I'll decide on a plan in the next couple of days.

My original 10k goal was to break 47 mins but based on my 5k and 5mile times I think is too soft a goal. Based on my races this year McMillan has me at just over 45min so I'm thinking I'm going to move the goal and try break 45mins.

WTD|4.19
MTD|118.96
YTD|118.96

davemcmahon

29/01/2013 Tues: 8.01 miles @ 9:01 min/mile AveHR 155

Another easy run made harder by the wind. Legs are feeling grand after the weekend but I'll resist the urge to go any faster.

Weighted myself this morning and am down to 88.7kg. Hoping to hit mid to low 80s by the summer.

WTD|12.2
MTD|126.97
YTD|126.97

davemcmahon

31/01/2013 Thursday: 7.01 miles @ 8:37 min/mile AveHR 154

An easy run hampered again by the strong winds.

Finished up the month on 133.98miles. Am very happy with that considering I missed a couple of long runs on the weekends.

01/02/2013 Fri: 6.17 miles @ 10:19 min/mile AveHR 135

A nice slow run with work colleagues in what ended up being very pleasent weather. The slowest of I've run in a while but really enjoyed it.

Hopefully I'll get out on Sunday afternoon for an LSR

WTD|25.38
MTD|6.17
YTD|140.15

davemcmahon

3/02/2013 Sum: 12.02 miles @ 9:14 min/mile AveHR 150

Managed to get out today for a nice 12 miles after lunch. We were heading to the in-laws in Dundrum so I was dropped off in Rathfarnham and told my wife I would meet her there, surely a sign I've become a 'real' runner. The route took me through Rathfarnham, towards Churchtown and down through Dundrum into Milltown and Clonskeagh then back up the Goatstown Road, into Stillorgan then back into Dundrum. The route itself was hilly and actually quite tough. Thankfully I resisted the urge to go by the dreaded Roebuck road/Fosters Avenue. The fact I've no memory of running through Milltown or the Clonskeagh Road is a bad sign.

I've been doing a lot of reading of the two P&D books so I decided to go out at my predicted Marathon pace plus 0:45 - 2:00. Starting out at the higher end and building up to the lower end and finishing closer to MP. This was a tough run but I'm very happy to get it completed and with my HR remaining fairly low. I feel it was a good test of where my endurance is at the moment and it was nice to get my highest mileage so far this year.

My next goal race is the K-Club 10k in about 11 weeks (I think) so I'll be taking aspects from the P&D books and incorporating the sessions from the 'Best 10k Workouts' thread. It'll be a 6 days a week plan but I can drop one of the runs early in the week (Tuesday run) if I'm finding I need an extra rest day. I've been building up to the 6 days a week since Christmas. The plan will incorporate some lactate threshold and VO2 sessions. I'll be guestimating my LT based on my predicted 15k and half marathon times using my recent races results. The goal will be to try and break 45mins for the 10k but I'll reassess as we go. I've a couple of races in that period that I'll use to check my fitness levels.

So plan for this week:

|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thur|Fri|Sat|Sun|
|4 Recovery|6 mile easy|session (LT)*|7 mile Medium LR|6 mile easy w strides|rest/cross|LSR 10 miles

Session LT: 1 mile w/u 4 miles @ LT 1 mile w/d

WTD|37.4
MTD|18.1
YTD|152.17

davemcmahon

04/02/2013 Mon: 4.01 miles recovery @ 9:17 min/mile AveHR 139

Nice and handy recovery run today. wanted to keep the pace between 9:15 and 9:45. drifted a bit high towards the end but happy to be done with it.


WTD|4.01
MTD|22.2
YTD|156.18

davemcmahon

05/02/2013 Tues: 5.00 miles @ 7:47 min/mile AveHR 162

Decided last minute to swap todays run with tomorrows due to it being busy in work. So today ended up being the session with a slight change to what was planned (3 miles LT rather than 4). The biggest problem I had with this was slowing down for the recovery period. I found I just kept speeding up and ended up finishing the last mile only 15 to 20 seconds slower than the LT miles. Overall legs felt good and had expected a higher HR so am happy with that. the first LT mile and a half ended up being uphill and into the wind so that was probably a little tough than I had expected.

Tomorrows call for a 6 mile easy run so that will be nice and handy.


WTD|9.01
MTD|27.2
YTD|161.18

davemcmahon

06/02/2013 Wed: 6.04 miles @ 8:31 min/mile AveHR 152

Got out at lunchtime today for a nice 6 mile easy run. Weather was almost perfect for running sunny and cool. With the exception of the wind in some areas

Tomorrows calls for a medium long run so hopefully I'll get in 7 or 8 miles and do it a similar way as the LSR on Sunday. Starting out at MP + 2:00 - MP +0:45 and hopefully some miles @ MP.


WTD|15.05
MTD|33.24
YTD|167.22

davemcmahon

07/02/2013 Thurs: 7.15 miles @ 8:26 min/mile AveHR 158

Out again at lunch today. For every bit that yesterdays run was nice todays was horrid. The wind, rain and cold made for a tough slog. Ended up going slightly faster than planned and judging by the HR mile 2 was quote tough, peaking at 168. The weather really just made me want to get the run finished and done with.


WTD|22.2
MTD|40.39
YTD|174.37

RedRunner

davemcmahon wrote: »

07/02/2013 Thurs: 7.15 miles @ 8:26 min/mile AveHR 158

Out again at lunch today. For every bit that yesterdays run was nice todays was horrid. The wind, rain and cold made for a tough slog. Ended up going slightly faster than planned and judging by the HR mile 2 was quote tough, peaking at 168. The weather really just made me want to get the run finished and done with.


WTD|22.2
MTD|40.39
YTD|174.37

You must have a generous lunch hour with all these lunchtime runs and be working in an area with good running amenities??

City centre location puts me off it a bit, but it is something I'd love to be able to do once in a while at least

davemcmahon

RedRunner wrote: »

You must have a generous lunch hour with all these lunchtime runs and be working in an area with good running amenities??

City centre location puts me off it a bit, but it is something I'd love to be able to do once in a while at least

Luckily I work for a big multinational that encourages thinks like running for stress relief. I usually just head off for lunch a little early and end up back while most people in my group are still at lunch.
I'm also based out in kildare with our own campus so plenty of space to run around or into the neighbouring villages. Plus we have an onsite gym for getting showered afterwards

rasher_m

RedRunner wrote: »

You must have a generous lunch hour with all these lunchtime runs and be working in an area with good running amenities??

City centre location puts me off it a bit, but it is something I'd love to be able to do once in a while at least

Lets hope Dave's boss isn't reading his log

RedRunner

rasher_m wrote: »

Lets hope Dave's boss isn't reading his log

^^^:D:D:D

RedRunner

davemcmahon wrote: »

Luckily I work for a big multinational that encourages thinks like running for stress relief. I usually just head off for lunch a little early and end up back while most people in my group are still at lunch.
I'm also based out in kildare with our own campus so plenty of space to run around or into the neighbouring villages. Plus we have an onsite gym for getting showered afterwards

Sounds great. Shower facilities in our place are rubbish but we will be moving to a new building in 2015. Of course by then I'll be aiming for a sub 3Marathon and doing at least two runs a day:D:D:D....in my dreams

davemcmahon

rasher_m wrote: »

Lets hope Dave's boss isn't reading his log

Sure its all about "stress relief" and work/life balance

rasher_m

davemcmahon wrote: »

Sure its all about "stress relief" and work/life balance

Yeah you're right Dave...I wish you were my boss

davemcmahon

RedRunner wrote: »

Sounds great. Shower facilities in our place are rubbish but we will be moving to a new building in 2015. Of course by then I'll be aiming for a sub 3Marathon and doing at least two runs a day:D:D:D....in my dreams

Surely by then we should all be aiming for 2:30 marathons

RedRunner

davemcmahon wrote: »

Surely by then we should all be aiming for 2:30 marathons

I'll be right behind ya Dave....about five miles behind:)

RunningKing

Jeez Dave, I also work for one of the multinationals in Kildare.
Are you in Leixlip?

With me, it's very flexible as I work at home a lot, which gives even more time for running.

davemcmahon

RunningKing wrote: »

Jeez Dave, I also work for one of the multinationals in Kildare.
Are you in Leixlip?

With me, it's very flexible as I work at home a lot, which gives even more time for running.

That I am. Are you out there too?

I find the flexibility great too especially with two small kids

davemcmahon

08/02/2013 Fri: 6.03 miles @ 9:34 min/mile AveHR 141

One of the benefits of the area I work in is that I finish early on a Friday so today I got to go for my run after work for a change. A nice slow 6 miles with work colleagues in what ended up being near perfect running conditions. Even got to introduce my colleague to the idea of doing strides at the end of a easy run. These felt good to get the legs stretching a bit.

Found out in work today that they are having their (now) annual fun run on the 28th. This was the first full 5km I ever completed last year, so I'm really looking forward to getting out for this and giving it everything.

I realised today aswell that I may work in the same place as RunningKing albeit different ends of the site (about 1 km end to end). If I do mentioning the race on the 28th will confirm it without having to go into too much detail here.


WTD|28.23
MTD|46.42
YTD|180.4

RunningKing

Small world Dave!

davemcmahon

[10/02/2013 Sun: 10.05 miles @ 9:00 min/mile AveHR 148

After a busy morning around the house I managed to get out for my LSR (swim) after lunch. The original plan had been to do a few miles along the canal but the weather last night and today meant it would be a less exciting route. I can't wait for the weather to improve I miss being able to run the canal when its not swampland.

After the first couple of miles I'd given up on trying to avoid puddles and such so ended up just plowing straight through them. So 10 miles done, the LSR's will stay in and around the 10 mile mark until after the K-club 10k.

I've made a quick change to my plan for this week to include the Malahide Parkrun on Saturday plus a few extra miles to cover my LSR. I've done alot of running the last few weeks around my area so am looking forward to running somewhere different.

Plan for this week:

|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thur|Fri|Sat|Sun|
|4 Recovery|6 mile easy|session |7 mile Medium LR|6 mile easy w strides|Parkrun + ~5-6 miles|Rest

Session : 1 mile w/u 4 x 1 miles @ 10k goal pace 1 mile w/d

WTD|38.28
MTD|56.47
YTD|190.45

davemcmahon

11/02/2013 Mon: 4.04 miles @ 9:19 min/mile AveHR 138

Nothing spectacular about this run, just a straight out and back recovery run after work to freshen up the legs after the LSR on Sunday.

12/02/2013 Tues: 6.00 miles @ 8:16 min/mile AveHR 154


This run felt harder then it probably should have. The legs have been tired the last couple of days and a poor nights sleep didn't really help. Took until the 4th or 5th mile for me to find my stride but I'm glad I went out and got it done.

On the plus side this pushed me past 200 miles for the year so far (just)


WTD|10.04
MTD|66.51
YTD|200.49

RedRunner

davemcmahon wrote: »

On the plus side this pushed me past 200 miles for the year so far (just)


WTD|10.04
MTD|66.51
YTD|200.49

That's great going Dave, well done.

davemcmahon

13/02/2013 Wed: 6.84 miles @ 7:30 min/mile AveHR 168

Out today for a session. The plan was 1 mile w/u 4 x 1mile @ goal 10k pace with 3 mins recovery and 1 mile w/d. was feeling tired this morning so had some trouble with my discipline on this run. Ended up doing the first 2 intervals faster than planned. intervals 1 and 3 were also into a strong headwind so didn't help. Took alot of HTFU to finish out the set but am delighted i did in the end. Had to cut the w/d slightly short as I was running out of time.


WTD|16.88
MTD|73.35
YTD|207.33

davemcmahon

14/02/2013 Thurs: 7.64 miles @ 8:45 min/mile AveHR 150

Was feeling yesterdays sessions this morning so wasn't sure if i'd get out today but since the weather was lovely and I wasn't due in work till 12 I decided I'd get my MLR in early in the day. Was really good to run in the sunshine and without a strong wind to fight with. Was suppose to be 7 miles but the route I took made it a little longer. The legs are feeling much better now after getting the run in.


WTD|24.52
MTD|80.99
YTD|214.97