Sometimes I just need to get out and run

davemcmahon

Thurs 02/07 Club Session

Another very warm evening meant I knew this would be a tough session. The plan called for 3 x 10 mins hard with 3 mins recovery. The lads on the marathon plan were down for pace runs so that only left 3 of us for the session. The first two reps were run pretty hard at around 10k pace. The third rep was a little slower as the legs were suffering from the pace of the first two and the heat.

10 mins @ 6:11min/mile, 10 mins @ 6:15min/mile, 10 mins @ 6:23min/miles.

A good warm up/down brought the total to just over 10miles for the session.

Fri 03/07 40 mins Easy

Legs were pretty tired this morning so I was happy to just have a handy easy run this morning. Did a familiar route around Celbridge and Castletown grounds before heading back to work.

davemcmahon

Sat 04/07 Rest

Sun 05/07 1:45 LSR
Headed out nice and early on my own for this. A quick lap around the estate and then headed out the Dublin road into Leixlip. Headed through the village and up Captains Hill. Remembered half way up why I don't normally run up Captains Hill. Kept going past the canal and onto the back roads towards Carton House and behind Intel. Stayed on this road as far as Kellystown Lane and turned off and headed back towards Leixlip. Crossed over the canal again and took the back roads towards Celbridge. Headed back through Castletown House grounds and then back to the house.

Mon 06/07 60 mins Easy
Dropped the car to work and then headed out for an easy one around Celbridge and Castletown House. Ended up getting caught in the ran the last two miles.

Tues 07/07 Club Session
The plan called for 4 x 6 mins with 90s recovery. I knew going into this it would probably end up being essentially 4 x 1 mile. Did a nice and gentle warm up and pushed into the session hard enough. The reps were pretty much as expected with the recoveries being walk back recoveries. This was a very hard session and the short walking recoveries really didn't help.

Wed 08/07 70 mins Easy
Headed out from the house before work and did a loop around Leixlip and Celbridge before heading back to the house and into work.

Thurs 09/07 Club Session:
The plan called for 10 x 1 lap (450m) with 90s recoveries. Did my usual warm up and was ready to get stuck in. There were only a few of us since most of the lads are on marathon plans. I was happy to push hard on the reps even though I'd already had some speed work earlier in the week.

The reps were: 95, 92, 91, 92, 93, 93, 93, 94, 94, 92

I was very happy with the reps even though I faded a little towards the end. Checking back on the same session in mid May these were all faster than the fastest rep that day. Did the usual warm down and headed home.

Fri 10/07 45 mins V. Easy
Headed out from the house before work and did a nice gentle run around Celbirdge. Legs were fairly tired after last nights session.

davemcmahon

Sat 11/06 Rest

Sun 12/06 1:50 LSR
Decided I could do with a change of route so headed out from the house and towards Hazelhatch. Jumped onto the canal and did the couple of miles that would bring me to the 12th lock. I'd forgotten how bad the surface hear is relative to going towards Lyons estate on the canal. Took a far bit of concentration to ensure I didn't go over on an ankle. Came off the canal at the 12th lock and headed through Adamstown, Finnstown and into Lucan. Came back through some of the housing estates to get to the N4. Headed into Leixlip and up through the village before heading back to Celbridge via the N4 interchange. Then down into Castletown House for the last couple of miles and then home.

Mon 13/06 40 mins Easy,
Was suppose to take a step back week last week but swapped it around as I knew this week would be very busy in work with a couple of long days and early starts. Today was going to be one of the busiest days so when I say the rain first thing I was in no mood to get soaked. Ended up just doing 40 mins on the dreadmill while listening to some music.

Tues 14/06 Club Session,
Wasn't sure I'd make this but some things in work were moved around so had the change to finish up at a reasonable time. Got the usual warm up in and arrived at the track in plenty of time. Plan was for 6 x 1k/2laps (really 900-950ishm) with 90 seconds recovery. I had no real plan beyond sticking with a couple of the lads of similar standard. The reps were grand with the 2nd being a couple of seconds too fast. We definitely paid for it in the last couple of reps but I was really pleased with the consistency.

Reps: 3:20, 3:17, 3:19, 3:20, 3:20, 3:20.

Did a shorter than usual warm down as I don't the mileage being too high this week. The last time i did this session was back in April (apparently), and the reps varied from 3:22-3:30 so I'm really happy with the improvement.

Wed 15/06 50 mins Easy,
Out nice and early for this before work. Again the mileage was kept a little shorter than usual to keep the total down for the week. Did a usual loo around Celbridge and back into Leixlip along the Dublin road.

Signed up for Donadea 5km on Friday week so curious to see how that goes.

AuldManKing

davemcmahon wrote: »

Sat 11/06 Rest

Plan was for 6 x 1k/2laps (really 900-950ishm) with 90 seconds recovery. I had no real plan beyond sticking with a couple of the lads of similar standard. The reps were grand with the 2nd being a couple of seconds too fast. We definitely paid for it in the last couple of reps but I was really pleased with the consistency.

Reps: 3:20, 3:17, 3:19, 3:20, 3:20, 3:20.

they're really strong reps off 90s - big progress there.
Doing 6 is extremely difficult at that pace which I guess is faster than 5k pace.

davemcmahon

AuldManKing wrote: »

they're really strong reps off 90s - big progress there.
Doing 6 is extremely difficult at that pace which I guess is faster than 5k pace.

I'm fairly sure the distance was probably closer to the 900m mark (but I could be wrong) which would have them at around my 5k pace based on my last race. That said I often find it hard to hit my 5k pace in training for whatever reason so another reason I was happy with the consistency.

davemcmahon

Thurs 16/07 60 mins with 30 mins Tempo
A late evening at a work do and another busy day meant I had to get this in before work. Dropped the car over and then headed out through Castletown Estate and back towards Celbridge as a warm up. Once the watch beeped for the two mile mark I upped the effort and got into the Tempo section. Headed up towards Hazelhatch and did a few loops around the backroads before heading back towards Celbridge village. I got back into Castletown House grounds almost bang on 30 minutes so eased into a warm down.

30 mins @ 6:36 Ave.

The Tempo section was fine, I was definitely feeling the effects of a couple of days of over eating with work events. Thankfully Thursday was the last day and I could get back to normal.

Fri 17/07 50 mins Easy
Out before work again. Stuck to an easy enough route around Celbridge before heading back to work.

Sat Rest

Sun 19/07 90 mins LSR
Out nice and early before anyone else in the house was awake. Did a quick loop around the estate and then headed through the village and out the Dublin road into Leixlip. Headed down into the main street and then turned around and headed back up towards Louisa Bridge. Headed back over towards Celbridge via the N4 interchange and then a back through the village and home again. Legs were feeling a bit bleh but warmed up after the first few miles. Had thought about doing a little more but was strictly enforcing my step back week so I managed to get back to the house before anyone woke.

davemcmahon

Mon 20/07 60 mins Easy
Headed out before work on an out and back route into Celbridge and then back to work.

Tues 21/07 Club Session
Headed up to the Club session tonight. Plan was for 3 x 4laps with 90s recovery. Was running a little late went straight from my warm up into the first rep. Legs weren't feeling great so I probably didn't push myself as hard as the last time I did this session. The reps themselves were fine: 7:01, 7:05, 7:01. Did the usual warm down afterwards.

Wed 22/07 65 Mins Easy
Out before work again. Headed from work and into Leixlip, down into the village and then onto the Barnhall road and into Celbridge along the Dublin road. Through Celbridge and Castletown House back into work.

Thurs 23/07 40 mins Easy
With a 5k race on Friday night I kept this one nice and easy. A simple route around Celbridge and Castletown House.

Fri 24/07 Donadea 5k
Headed up to Donadea nice and early and grabbed my number. Bumped into one of the lads from the club and AMK and had a quick chat before heading off for a warm up along the route. Turned around after about a mile and got a little lost on the way back. Thankfully we'd headed out early enough so still had plenty of time.

Lined up a couple of rows from the front and soon we were off. Got a little boxed in for the first couple of hundred meters but once I had an opening I upped the pace. I don't really remember much of the rest of the race beyond pushing myself fairly hard and the course feeling like it was constantly climbing. I knew I had a club mate behind me so I kept pushing to make sure he didn't catch me. Crossed the line in 19:01.

I'm a little disappointed in the time but I found the course and conditions under foot to be quite difficult.

Sat 25/07 Rest

Sun 26/07 1:45 LSR
Headed out nice and early. I had planned on driving over to Carton House to get as much as possible on trails but the rain last night made me change my mind. Headed from the house and down in Celbridge village. Then up towards the N4 and over into Leixlip before heading for Carton house anyway. Jumped onto the canal at Pikes bridge and headed into Maynooth. Off the canal and through Maynooth towards the M4. The plan now was to tackle the hill at Ballygoran/Moorestown and then head back into Celbridge along the back roads. Once back in Celbridge I through the estates and back home. Legs felt pretty good which I'm taking as a sign I've a better 5k time in them than I had on Friday.

The plan now is for at least one more 5k before I need to take a break when baby no. 3 comes at the end of next month. I'm thinking off doing the Castlepollard 5k on the 12th but I don't really know much about it (yet).

tang1

Was thinking you would be disappointed with Fridays 5k time. I only know from word of mouth from the lads in the club that Castlepollard is fast, have never done same so cant comment personally. Athboy is on 5 days before and i know it is quick as i ran it last year, but according to club mates again Castlepollard is a good 15-20 secs quicker than Athboy. Both results from last year are on Precision and you can see the comparison time wise.

davemcmahon

tang1 wrote: »

Was thinking you would be disappointed with Fridays 5k time. I only know from word of mouth from the lads in the club that Castlepollard is fast, have never done same so cant comment personally. Athboy is on 5 days before and i know it is quick as i ran it last year, but according to club mates again Castlepollard is a good 15-20 secs quicker than Athboy. Both results from last year are on Precision and you can see the comparison time wise.

Cheers Tang. I was pretty sure I'd get a response from you about Castlepollard, I'll have a look at the results later and make my mind up.

Most of the lads that ran on Friday were a good bit outside there PB's so consensus was it was a tough course but I was still hoping for better.

ultraman1

davemcmahon wrote: »

Most of the lads that ran on Friday were a good bit outside there PB's so consensus was it was a tough course but I was still hoping for better.

it's a tough course,uphill for first 2.5 km,I'd be putting on 20/30 secs on a 20 min 5ker,,,secret podium prize though

davemcmahon

ultraman1 wrote: »

it's a tough course,uphill for first 2.5 km,I'd be putting on 20/30 secs on a 20 min 5ker,,,secret podium prize though

Ha yes forgot about your cheering me across the line.

davemcmahon

Mon 27/07 60 mins Easy
Headed out before work and did a looping run on the main roads around Leixlip and Celbridge before heading back into work through Castletown house.

Tues 28/07 Club Session
Went up to the club for the session. Plan was for 7 x 800m. We were starting a little earlier than usual as some the other groups using the track were finished for the summer. The first couple of reps were probably done a little too fast so I has happy to hold on for the remaining few. Did the usual warm up and down to bulk out the mileage for the night.

Reps were: 2:54, 2:51, 2:51, 2:53, 2:54, 2:54, 2:55

Wed 29/07 60 Mins Easyish
Had the morning off work so headed over to Carton House to run around the trails. Did laps of both the larger and shorter trails. These should have been done at an easy pace but I found the effort climbing steadily as I tackle the numerous little hills on the routes. This ended up being a harder effort than it should have been

Thurs 30/07 Club Session
Headed down to the club a bit cautiously after yesterdays run. The plan was for 3 x 10 mins Hard with 3 min recoveries. I decided I'd run 3 x 10 mins Tempo and keep the overall effort a little easier than I would normally have. The legs weren't feeling too bad going into it so I wasn't worried about the extra effort from yesterdays run.

Res were: 10 mins @ 6:45 ave, 10 mins @ 6:31 ave, 10 mins @ 6:19 ave.

Fri 31/07 45 mins Recovery
After the last couple of days I decided what the legs needed was a recovery run to help them recover, so I changed this run from an easy one. Did a looping route around the grounds of Castletown House sticking to the softer trails to reduce the impact of the tired legs. Legs felt pretty good afterwards

Sat 1/08 1:50 LSR
I normally keep Saturday as a rest day but with helping steward the R&R half tomorrow morning I pushed the LSR forward to this morning. Headed out nice and early with no real plan on what route to run. Bumped into a club mate out on a 21 mile LSR so jumped in for the first half. Headed out the back roads towards the Clane/Maynooth road and then towards Maynooth. Through the village and down Carton Avenue and into Carton House. Through Carton House and then out onto the Maynooth/Leixlip road and into Leixlip. Left the club mate here and headed back towards Celbridge and then home. Was happy for the company as the miles passed quickly.

Legs are fairly tired now as its been a tough 7 days running totaling just shy of 65 miles. Looking forward to the rest day tomorrow.

tang1

Best of luck tomorrow evening Dave if your running.

davemcmahon

tang1 wrote: »

Best of luck tomorrow evening Dave if your running.

Cheers tang but the plan to race tomorrow has gone out the window. Being an hour away from the house is just too far at the moment.

tang1

davemcmahon wrote: »

Cheers tang but the plan to race tomorrow has gone out the window. Being an hour away from the house is just too far at the moment.

Can understand that, might see you Sunday morning if your around.

davemcmahon

tang1 wrote: »

Can understand that, might see you Sunday morning if your around.

I should be as the kids want to take part in the kids race before hand. So provided baby isn't imminent I'll be there.

davemcmahon

Time for a catch up.....

Sun 2/08
Rest/stewarding the RnR half

Mon 3/08
Rest: Alarm went off early to go for a run but I just wasn't bothered so went back to sleep

Tues 4/08 65 mins Easy
Wed 5/08 65 mins Easy
Thurs 6/08 60 mins Easy,
Friday 7/08 60 mins Easy

Had decided over the bank holiday weekend that I need to stay relatively close to home just incase over the next few weeks. All of the above runs were looping around Celbridge without going any more than 2 miles from the house.

Sat 8/08 60 mins with 45 mins steady.
Had a tough night on Friday so changed up the plan to do something a bit harder. Decided to just stick with a steady section on a run. Headed from the house and after a mile easy around the estate I upped the pace and headed down into Castletown House and did some loops around the trails before heading home.

sun 9/08 Rest

Mon 10/08 Session,
I hadn't really decided what I was doing this morning until I passed by the club and saw the gate was open. That made my mind up that I'd try get some kind of speed session in. The plan (pulled from thin air) ended up being 6 x 400m with 200m jogged recovery followed by 8 x 200 with 200m recoveries. Got to the track and did a couple of laps more warm up and went straight into the reps. I was happy to the keep the recoveries very easy.

Reps were: (400s) 84, 83, 85, 84, 86, 87. (200s) 43, 44, 44, 42, 42, 40, 40, 42

A couple of laps warm up and headed home to get ready for work.

Tues 11/08 65 mins Easy,
Wed 12/08 60 mins Easy,
Thurs 13/08 60 mins Easy,
Fri 14/08 60 mins Easy,

As with last week these were all kept relatively close to home and were looping routes around Celbridge. I had planned to race on Wed night in Castlepollard but I wasn't comfortable being so far from home (~ 1 hour) just incase the baby decided it was time to arrive while I was away.

Sat 15/08 60 mins with 40 mins @ tempo.
Up nice and early and headed out to the back roads around Celbridge. The first mile was nice and easy and then I upped the effort in the tempo section gradually increasing the effort over the first mile. Did a loop around some of the back roads and then back down into the village before a loop of the estate and home. Tempo section 40 mins (a little over 6 miles): 7:00, 6:38, 6:25, 6:31, 6:21, 6:32. Was happy with the tempo section as I had a lot more to give and had to consciously ease up a couple of times.

Sun 16/08 45 mins V Easy
Legs were a little stiff after yesterday so headed out nice and early for a few very easy miles before bringing the kids up to the track for their first race as part of the clubs event today.

I'm happy enough with the last couple of weeks, while I haven't had as many quality sessions as I would normally have I've gotten a few in and kept the mileage high enough. All the easy running has given me a chance to finally break in a pair of Puma Faas 300s I bought about 6 months ago but never wore.

davemcmahon

Mon 17/08 60 mins Easy
Tues 18/08 60 mins Easy
The now usual looping runs around Celbridge before work

Weds 19/08
Had planned to get a session in but ended up awake very early and a newborn to look after a few hours later.

Thurs 20/08 Session
Kids were off with their granny and wife and baby asleep so went out with the intention of doing yesterdays session. The plan had been for 4 x 6 mins with 2 min recoveries. Ended up pulling the plug towards the end of the 3rd rep as the energy wasn't there and I was struggling. In retrospect I should have treated yesterday as a session in itself and taken it easy today.

Fri 21/08 Rest
Sat 22/08 60 mins Easy
Back on the wagon this morning so up nice and early while everyone slept. I had planned to get an easy 40 minutes in but bumped into a club mate so the time flew in and ended up covering the hour. Back home before anyone woke.

I've a few weeks off work now so the plan will be to continue running early while everyone else sleeps. These will mostly be easy running but may have a few steady of tempo miles thrown in depending on how I feel on the day. I'll stay away from speed work for a bit as I don't have the energy levels at the moment for a tough session.

vanderlyle

Congrats!!

tang1

Congrats to you & the family Dave.

AuldManKing

Congratulations Dave.

Tom Joad

Big congrats on the new arrival.

davemcmahon

Time for an update:
Sun 23/08 50 mins Easy
Mon 24/08 60 mins Easy
Tues Rest
Wed 26/08 60 mins Easy
Thurs 27/08 60 mins Easy
Fri 28/08 60 mins Easy

All easy running, didn't really have the energy for anything else so happy to keep it that way

Sat 29/08 Session 1E + 2T + 1E + 2T + 1E
Happy enough with the session, the first mile on each of the T sections was in the 6:50 range while the second was in the 6:35 range.

Sun 30/08 60 mins Easy
Mon 31/08 60 mins Easy
Tues 1/09 60 mins Easy

Wed 2/09 Club 3 k race
The 2 older kids were off at their grannies so I took the opportunity to pop along to the club race. Only a handful of the senior lads showed up so I knew I had a chance of a high placing but was lacking any kind of racing confidence. The race was four laps of a route outside the club grounds. Once the race started I settled into a position about 4m behind the two leaders. I sat here for most of the race at what felt like a fairly comfortable effort. At around he mid point of the 3rd lap I moved up onto the shoulder of the two lads and sat there to see what they would do. In retrospect I should have pushed on from here. As we mad a turn at the mid point of the last lap one of the lads made a push earlier than I thought he would have so I was lacking the confidence to go with him, but I did up the effort to move away from the other of the lads. Ended up finishing second in 10:41. I was happy enough at the time but looking back I could have finished first if I'd run a little braver and gone earlier, while the winner had more speed over the last 200m or so I'm probably a stronger runner so could have pushed him harder from earlier and built up enough of a lead that his speed wouldn't have mattered. I did feel sorry for the guy in 3rd as he was fairly young and had led from the start until the midpoint of the last lap, he just lacked the experience to know when to let us do the work and conserve energy for the finish.

Thurs 03/09 60 mins Easy
Fri 04/09 60 mins Easy

Sat 05/09 Session 1E + 20 mins T + 1E + 10 mins T + 1E
Keeping with my new routine of tempo runs on Saturday mornings I headed out for this one. Did a lap around Celbridge before heading out for the first tempo section out and into Leixlip. The 1 mile easy in between saw me into Castletown and the nest section was done on the trails.
20 mins @ 6:36 ave, 10 mins 6:36 ave.
Was very happy with the consistency of the 2 sections.

Sun 06/09 60 mins Easy
Mon 07/09 60 mins Easy
Tues 08/09 60 mins Easy
Wed 09/09 50 mins Easy
Thurs 10/09 65 mins Easy
Fairly standard runs with the last two seeing me back in work so an opportunity to change routes and getting some miles along the canal this morning.

tang1

Impressive stuff with a newborn in the house.

davemcmahon

tang1 wrote: »

Impressive stuff with a newborn in the house.

Ah the joys of toddlers that sleep past 9am and going to bed myself by 10:30.

tang1

davemcmahon wrote: »

Ah the joys of toddlers that sleep past 9am and going to bed myself by 10:30.

Sounds very much like my house!!

Tom Joad

tang1 wrote: »

Impressive stuff with a newborn in the house.

+1 to this - very impressive.

davemcmahon

Fri 11/09 60 mins Easy
Sat 12/09 55 mins steady
Was a later getting out than usual so decided to do something a little faster. Headed from home and down the canal to the half way mark and then turned for home. All the miles were kept between 6:45 and 7:05 min/mile. Everything felt grand so was happy for a little tougher run.

Sun 13/09 60 mins Easy
Mon 14/09 90 mins LSR
Back in work for the first full day in a number of weeks. Decided to get up even earlier than usual and get some form of LSR in. Dropped the car to work and headed out towards Leixlip and then onto the canal. A couple of miles along the canal and then back towards the 12th lock and then back to work along the back roads. Legs didn't feel great but I was being fairly cautious since it was the first double digit run in about 6 weeks.

Tues 15/09 45 mins V. Easy
Wed 16/09 60 mins Easy
Thurs 17/09 Session (1E + 1 Steady + 1 HMP + 1 steady + 1 HMP + 1 Steady + 1HMP + 1E)
Was in the mood for something different this morning so decided to a session which i'd gotten off some log here (can't remember who). The first mile was nice and easy from work and got nice and warmed up before alternating between steady and half marathon pace miles (based purely on effort). Was happy enough with the workout as both the steady and HMP miles gradually got faster as I went along: Steady (7:27, 7:14, 7:05), HMP (6:42, 6:39, 6:30)

Fri 18/09 50 mins Easy
Sat 19/09 Session ( 2E + (4 x 5 mins with 3 mins Recovery) + 1 E)
Decided this morning to try get back in touch with some of the faster stuff. After a 2 mile warm up I started into 5 mins reps. They felt tough enough as it has been a while since I ran that fast in training. Reps (pace): 6:23, 5:56, 6:04, 6:04. The first rep was disappointing but I'm marking it down as getting the legs used to the pace again and misjudging it.

Sun 20/09 Rest
Mon 21/09 90 mins 'LSR'
Another 'Long run' dropped the car to work and did a large loop around Celbridge before covering some of the trails in Castletown House. Legs felt much better and stronger than last weeks runs.

Tues 22/09 60 mins Easy
Wed 23/09 65 mins Easy

Legs are feeling quite strong at the moment which i was a little surprised at. Have started bringing the kids to the Little Athletics on a Thursday night so give me a chance for some gentle jogging around with them coupled with getting some stretching and mobility work as they do their thing.

davemcmahon

A bit of catching up to do:

Work has been hectic the last couple of months with it looking like it'll stay that way until May.

Oct: Lots of easy running including the inaugural Castletown Parkrun in 19:19. Not particularly happy with the run itself but I'd been unwell during the week so in retrospect it was fine. Struggling with the lack of goals and plan.

Nov: Not that much running. Passed the 2000mile mark on the 4th and then spent the next 11 days doing sweet FA (admittedly I was recovering from a minor procedure) and eating all around me. Actual enjoyed the break as it was the longest non-injury related break I've had in a long time. Since then I've been trying to build back up but lacking motivation. This reach its peak on Sunday when I decided I couldn't be arsed getting up for a run.

So with all that in mind I drew up a plan for the next 10 weeks or so to stick to and try get myself back into racing shape. I may run the Kildare Open 5k on the 20th and the Run for Mum on the 26th just to get a feel for where I am. Then I'll pick some bigger goals for next year.

Mon 30/11/15 60 mins Easy.
Really enjoyed this run despite the wind and ran. In fact most I've enjoyed a run for weeks.

AuldManKing

davemcmahon wrote: »

I was recovering from a minor procedure) and eating all around me. .

you've just had a baby recently, haven't you







good to see you back.