A fourth major - Chicago 2013

Peckham

Having recently looked over one of my previous training logs I've decided to dip my toe back into this world of trying to make witty remarks about my training and experiences out pounding the roads.

More seriously though I'm hoping to benefit from the wisdom and encouragement here, and have a record I can look back on after the event.

This will be marathon number 7 for me, and the fourth of the so-called majors. Haven't really done any systematic training since this time last year for Boston, and after some good base building months at the end of last year work pressures got in the way and running was a bit haphazard in the early part of this year.

Looking to get into decent shape now and have a shot at my 2:58 PB when toeing the line in Chicago in 205 days time. Have a rough plan in place with 10ks in May and June, probably the Frank Duffy in August.

So, here goes....

Peckham

Thursday 21 March
A windy few miles from work in Blackrock into the city centre. Fortunately wind was at my back most of the way, so made it relatively pleasant. The worst bit was the 10 minute wait at the bus stop on the quays for the bus home, when the cold and wet entered the bones!

This route will be a key feature over the coming months, as the plan is that it will become my long run route as office is 18 miles from home, and some ongoing road improvements near home mean that it is now feasible to run the whole route. Should make it much more straightforward to ensure that long runs get done and the family isn't abandoned on weekend mornings.

6.3 miles @ 7:23 pace

Krusty_Clown

Good to see the log back. Any thoughts on a plan for Chicago?

Peckham

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Good to see the log back. Any thoughts on a plan for Chicago?

Probably something based on the Pfitzinger 70/12 plan, preceded by the McMillan 10k sessions. Yet to be decided though.

belcarra

I'll be following your log with interest Peckham as I'll be joining you in the windy city!
I'll probably be looking at about 3:10 or so but have a mate (DukeofDromada) who will be in around your time running also.

Best of luck with the training!

Peckham

Saturday 23rd March
Didn't get out for a run yesterday, as once I had gotten home from work it seemed that little bit too miserable outside to venture out. But had great plans for Saturday.

Was on parkrun duty this morning, which would normally involve a 15 minute drive to Malahide, swan around Malahide Castle for 2 hours before retiring to Avoca Cafe for an excessively large scone and coffee and then the drive home. However, today the plan was run to train station, train to Malahide, and then run home after the event (sacrificing the excessively large scone).

Left the house late, so the leisurely jog to the train ended up as a 10 minute PMP run in the freezing morning air. Recovered on the train before a more leisurely jog around Malahide to find WalkedIt and hook up for pre-run set-up. Still did the swanning around bit during the run, and was so cold at the end of it that I needed the coffee, and sure might as well have the accompanying scone while I'm at it.

Hit the road again for a the 8 mile run home, but this turned in to a 9 miler as I took the scenic route back out of the park (not that there's any other type of route). Was looking forward to trying this route home as it's one I haven't run before and part of it is going to become the final 5 or 6 miles of my long runs home from work during the summer. It's going to be a tester, the road between Swords and Lusk is certainly no picture postcard scene. It will be a real test in keeping the mind focussed and the head down (whilst avoiding getting hit by cars in close proximity at times).

Finished off a week with 5 running days and 30 miles. Doesn't look like much, but given that it brings my monthly total to 41 miles, it's clearly much better the preceding weeks!

2 miles @ 7:10 pace
9 miles @ 7:07 pace

blockic

Good luck with the log Peckham, hopefully see you at the start line in October. I'll likely be aiming for a time similar to yourself so I'm looking forward to seeing the path you'll take on here!

Peckham

blockic wrote: »

Good luck with the log Peckham, hopefully see you at the start line in October. I'll likely be aiming for a time similar to yourself so I'm looking forward to seeing the path you'll take on here!

Cheers blockic. Just found your log, so will be following you with interest too!

Peckham

A full week to catch up with here. Got off to a shaky start as work was busy and only managed to squeeze in a few short runs. These were the sort of times when it would have been easy to just skip the run, but getting out the door is more important than the number of miles run, so even if it was for only 3 miles it was worth it.

Objective one – Ensure at least 5 running days – Done (6 running days)
Objective two – Run 35 miles – Done (36 miles)
Objective three – One run of 10 miles – Missed (but 3 consecutive days of 8 miles makes up for this)

Was away on a big family weekend over Easter, so had the opportunity to get out for a few runs. Had mapped out a nice 8 mile route in advance, and Plan A was to run that route on each of the three days I was there, but as often is the case with these weekends away, running plans can slip by the wayside. However, managed to escape on each of the days and hit the road. Very enjoyable despite the cutting wind when I turned out the hotel gates. Pace looking a little fast on these runs, but expecting things will slow down as the mileage increases.

Monday – 3 miles @ 7:35 pace
Tuesday – 0 miles
Wednesday – 5.1 miles @ 7:12 pace
Thursday – 4 miles @ 7:37 pace
Friday – 8.2 miles @ 7:11 pace
Saturday – 8 miles @ 7:12 pace
Sunday – 8 miles @ 7:18 pace

Peckham

Monday 1st April
Yet another run that would have been easy to skip. Got home mid-afternoon from the family eggs-travaganca, and would have been easy to not head out into that cutting wind for a 5 mile plod, but I encouraged myself out the door.
5.28 miles @ 7:18 pace

Tuesday 2nd April
The longer brightness in the evening and a prompt departure from the office meant I was able to hit the country lanes for this road, instead of having to rely on the brightly lit, but mind-numbing, bypass road and housing estates. Same route as yesterday, same result
5.28 miles @ 7:16 pace

Noticed the Aer Lingus sale earlier today, so flights to Chicago are booked for myself and Mrs Peckham. 980 euro return for the two of us. Reckon that's as low as it's going to go and will stop me having to pricecheck the website every few days! So, that's the serious financial commitment made, just need to match it with the training commitment.

Peckham

It's been a while since I've updated this, so here goes.

Thursday 4th April
The same route as the Monday and Tuesday runs, but somewhere along the way I managed to pick up an extra .02 of a mile. A wider corner? A few extra steps up the driveway before I hit stop on the Garmin? Who knows?
5.3 miles @ 7:12 pace

Friday 5th April
A run home from work, well part of the way home from work. Eventually these runs will be building up to 18 miles which is the full distance from office to home and will be an efficient way of getting the long runs done. However, this one was a nice run from Blackrock along Sandymount strand and then up the canal, over the Phoenix Park and then down the quays to Connolly Station for the train home. Should really have taken an alternative route through town, and the quays on a Friday rush hour are not conducive to running.
12.06 miles @ 7:20 pace

Saturday 6th April
parkrun day, so plan was do the Run Director duties and then run home from Malahide. Got a little delayed with some problems with the results upload but hit the road and got the dull 8 miles done.
8.43 miles @ 7:10 pace

Totals for week
35.35 miles (34 planned)
5 runs (5 planned)

Peckham

Monday 8th April
Planned to run from office part of the way home, but got delayed in work so wasn't leaving until after 7. This is not uncommon, and previously I would have scrapped the run and headed home by train. However, that sort of approach is not conducive to good marathon training, so have resolved to make sure I get these 1 hour runs in, regardless of being delayed in work. Was a nice spring evening, and nice to be out in the brightness running along the coast again.
7.06 miles @ 7:36 pace

Tuesday 9th April
Carbon copy of Monday. Delayed in work again, but got the run home done regardless. However, this time there wasn't a bus at the train station so had to run the final mile home.
8.26 miles @ 7:23 pace

Thursday 11th April
Third run home from the office in a week, which is a record for me! However it also means that half of my wardrobe is now sitting in the office.
5.66 miles @ 7:11 pace

Nothing done since Thursday. Ended up working late at home on Thursday night, and was so tired on Friday morning that I couldn't motivate myself to pack the running gear into the bag for a planned 13 miles from the office on Friday. Was a shame, as was feeling great by the end of the day, got out on time and the sun was shining. Ended up stuck on a delayed train, and a long journey home. Karma.

Peckham

Sunday 14th April
Hasn't been a great week of running, but wanted to end it with a solid 1 hour run. Busy day (of work ) ahead, so got out reasonably earlier into some pleasant, albeit windy conditions. Enjoyable start to the day, listening to the Marathon Talk lads chatting away.
8.46 miles @ 7:10 pace

Totals for week
29.42 miles (38 planned)
4 runs (5 planned)

Happy enough that I got some runs done that previously I would have skipped on the basis that I was too busy.

Peckham

Another busy week at work, so time for runs was at a premium. Managed to squeeze them in, which is important, as there'll always be busy life getting in the way of a training plan.

Planned to run home from work on Monday, but got caught late in the office - and then terrible news came through from Boston.

Tuesday 16th April
The heart was on Boylston Street during this run. Felt really affected by the events in Boston, found it really difficult seeing the pictures of the finish line - looks so familiar from last year.
11.4 miles @ 7:19 pace

Wednesday 17th April
Back out for the 5.30am run. It may only be a short gentle jaunt, but at that time of the morning it tests the resiliance rather than the legs.
4 miles @ 7:52 pace

Friday 19th April
Late evening in the office, but that's the final deadline passed that has made the last two weeks so tight for time. Hopefully a clearer run at next week. Nice sun shiny run from Blackrock into town.
8.3 miles @ 7:21 pace

Saturday 20th April
parkrun day. Decided to have a crack at the course myself today - only my second run. Combined it with a post-run volunteering role, so kept the volunteer tally high.

Had identified this as a great way to get a good session in and it being 8 miles from home, I could still get a few miles in as well.

Decided to follow the TRR strategy and tackle this with no watch. Well, with a watch but have it set to a time-of-day screen so I wouldn't be tempted to check the pace. As usual, the start was fast (despite the hill), and found myself back in about 15th place, but over the first lap a few of the guys dropped back and I was up into 9th starting into the second lap. No Annette Kealy to chase this time, who served as my unknowing pacemaker last time. However, found myself sticking behind someone in a Donadea 50k tshirt and kicked passed him with about a mile to go. Well, I went passed him to share the pacing duty but he just dropped back as I did. Really thought I was flying and would be looking at a sub-18 finish, but watch stopped on 18:14 which is 3 seconds slower than my previous run here. A little disappointed. Won't be taking racing advice from TRR anymore.

A jog around the park to pick up the directional signs afterwards, followed by coffee and scone before my 8 miles home.

3 miles @ 6:00 pace (18:14 5k)
10.3 miles @ 7:23 pace

Peckham

Sunday 21st April
After following the heroics in London all morning, it would be a shame not to go out and honour them through a few miles of my own. Also wanted to push the weekly total over the 40 mile mark. Legs were a bit stiff from Saturday, so it was just going to be a few easy miles to shake them out a bit. Started in the sunshine, finished in the hail!
3.6 miles @ 7:37 pace

Totals for week
40.9 miles (40 planned)
5 runs (5 planned)
1 race

Peckham

Monday 22nd April
Legs very sore from Saturday, but wanted to keep them ticking over. Had scheduled a 6 miler, but eased this back to 3 miles.
3 miles @ 7:50 pace

village runner

Peckham wrote: »

Monday 22nd April
Legs very sore from Saturday, but wanted to keep them ticking over. Had scheduled a 6 miler, but eased this back to 3 miles.
3 miles @ 7:50 pace

Great to see you back at it. Chicago is class.

TRR

Peckham wrote: »

Really thought I was flying and would be looking at a sub-18 finish, but watch stopped on 18:14 which is 3 seconds slower than my previous run here. A little disappointed. Won't be taking racing advice from TRR anymore.

You just need to run harder were you breathing through your arse? If not the absence of the watch wasn't the issue

Peckham

Tuesday 23rd April
A beautiful evening to run home from work, so was clearing my desk at 4:55 in anticipation of a bolt for the door on the button of 5pm. Got out into the sunshine at 5.10, and off I went. Usual route along the Sandymount Strand and then out towards Irishtown Nature Reserve. Rather than doing the loop of the Nature Reserve, I continued on towards Pigeon House road and out along the South Wall (never knew that's what it was called, but that's what Google Maps calls it). Not the ideal surface for running, but perfect location for an evening like this. Wanted to run to the end of the wall, but time was pressing and I had a train connection to make up at Connolly Station, so had to spin around and head back down Pigeon House Road and up the quays.

Battery died on the watch on the way home on the train, so the last 1.2 miles up home from the station aren't logged. Since I got the 410 that keeps happening to me - it doesn't really give you much notification of the battery life. First world problems.

10.8 miles @ 7:22 pace
1.2 miles @ ???? pace

Peckham

Wednesday 24th April
Up bright and early for a dawn run. We've just started getting milk delivered in the morning, and didn't notice them on the doorstep when leaving so nearly squashed 2 litres of mile all over the doorstep. Would have been a pretty bad start to the day.

Tough to get moving, but trudged through the run.

4 miles @ 7:44 pace

Peckham

Thursday 25th April
A repeat of Tuesday's run out towards South Wall, but this time didn't run as far along the Wall in order to avoid any stress in trying to make my train. Did an extra loop up at IFSC in order to bring it up to 10 miles, and then supplemented it further with the jog up from the train station.

Listened to this week's Marathon Talk podcast which was entirely focussed on the London Marathon. Amazing that the 5th place finisher on their Marathon Talk podium this week was a 2:36 marathon! In many weeks a sub-3 would get you top of that podium.

11.4 miles @ 7:19 pace

Peckham

Friday 26th April
Off to Punchestown later today, so had to get out early this morning. Basically a repeat of Wednesday's run, but with fresher legs and a brighter sky.

4 miles @ 7:33 pace

Peckham

Saturday 27th April

Plan was run & train to Malahide, parkrun and then run home, which would give me about 12 miles including a 5k pace run.

A few pints on Friday during/after Punchestown meant the stomach wasn't up to 5k pace, the cat getting sick just before I left the house meant running to the station had to be replaced with a lift to the station, and then a bumper turnout* at parkrun meant the post-event admin duties took longer than normal which meant that the run home had to be shelved as I needed to get home for family stuff.

Ended up being a short run around Malahide Castle whilst waiting for my train home.

2.5 miles @ 7:09 pace

*Malahide yesterday became only the 4th event in the parkrun world to break the 500 runners mark, with 3 of those events achieving that in the past month. Boomtime for parkrun it would seem (last 2 or 3 weeks have seen in excess of 30,000 people run parkrun)

Peckham

Sunday 28th April
Hadn't planned on running today, but yesterday's curtailed running meant that I was a few miles short of my 40+ mile target. After two easy days I didn't see the point of heading out for another easy day, so aimed to do three things:

1) Re-introduce my feet to my racing flats
2) Re-introduce my body to 400s
3) Do enough miles to get over the 40 mile target for the week

Nice easy 1.5 mile warm-up was followed by 6x400 at faster than 5k pace. Have set myself a goal of running a 10k race in mid-July at 6 minute pace, so wanted to do these at 5:45 pace.

Back to a nice stretch of footpath along a bypass where I've done this session in the past. Felt nice and handy - alternated with the wind and against the wind and ran them in 84-81-85-84-85-78.

Bit of a hotspot on the left foot after wearing the flats, and wouldn't have been able to go further than the 5 miles I did. Will try them again on a 4 mile recovery run midweek before deciding whether or not to wear them on a 10k race next Sunday.

5 miles @ 7:23 pace

Totals for week
42 miles (40+ planned)
7 runs (6 planned)
1 session

Peckham

Monday 29th April
Another run home from work, on a route that's getting very familiar (but at least is scenic and peaceful, and very pleasant on a sunny evening) - although turning back into the wind on South Wall was a bit of a shock to the system and made it a drag all the way up the quays. Very envious running past those enjoying a beer outside Ely on George's Dock. But I like to think that they were envious of my smooth running style. :cool:

That's an 11 day running streak. Maybe the blister that's developed on my left foot from yesterday's experiment with flats is a bit of a warning.

11.4 miles @ 7:15 pace

Peckham

Tuesday 30th April
A nice jaunt around the backroads near home on a sunny evening to finish off April, and bring to an end a 12 day running streak as tomorrow's work and family schedule is such that fitting in a run is not feasible.

Picked up the pace a few times with Muse blaring in my ears.

6.3 miles @ 7:06 pace

|April|
Miles|165|
Days ran|23|
Average miles per run day|7.2|
Average miles per calendar day|5.5|



Feel encouraged by that, the statistics for March aren't even worth the effort of typing them.

Peckham

Thursday 2nd May
Reading my Daniel's book on the way into work this morning reminded me that I had better start getting the legs used to T-pace running again. I have a 10k plan kicking off next week, and there'll need to be one of these sessions each week within that plan, so decided to include a little tester into the run home from work. A quick look at the tables in the book suggested that my T-pace is 6:20, so plan was to kick into that pace as soon as I crossed over Merrion Gates as it gives a nice uninterrupted 3 mile stretch. First 1.5 miles felt fairly straightforward, next half mile or so a bit tougher, but was grand towards the end. Kept the pace pretty consistent which was the important bit.

I do these runs with a backpack, which isn't ideal, but not much choice on that front. Even after recovery I wouldn't have been able to kick into another T-pace segment. That's not far off target marathon pace. Lots of work to be done.

1.9 miles @ 7:13 pace
20 mins @ 6:18 pace
2 miles @ 8:07 pace

Peckham

Saturday 3rd May
Rugby training (for a 2 year old!) followed by a drive to Donegal, and then immediately out for dinner with the in-laws meant I had this day marked down as a write off in terms of running. However was back at the in-laws house by early evening so despite the 8oz steak and chips just consumed at dinner, there was opportunity to hit the rural laneways in the sun and get in a few miles to avoid having two days scratched (a late Friday in the office meant no run that day). Steak and chips is not ideal pre run fuelling! Got lost on the run too.

5.1 miles @ 7:36 pace

Peckham

Sunday 4th May
Northwest 10k, Letterkenny
39:11 (48th place out of 1,079)

Mixed feelings. Had a sub-38 in mind for this race, but knew it was a tough course with a hard climb about halfway. Was less than 5 minutes behind some high class runners, so am guessing they found it tough too.

However, what an amazing event. It's the first event in the Donegal Grand Prix Series - 50 races in 21 weeks (that's not a typo!). All organised by clubs, and all priced at €15 or less (except for the Aran Mor 5k, where you pay a bit extra for the ferry!) with most priced at less than €10. All within a county that has one-eighth the population of Dublin.

The plan: 10k is 6 miles, so if I want to run sub-38 I just need to run 6:15 pace. Sounds about right after my parkrun a few weeks ago. That would have me on track for my target 10k 12k in July with virtually no speedwork of note to date. No need to factor that pesky 0.2k into the calculations

Pre-race: After a plate of sandwiches at my wife's aunt's house I headed to the start for a small warm up. MC guy was in flying form giving a minute by minute countdown to the start of the race. Lots of club vests from all parts of Donegal and throughout Ulster/Connacht jogging up and down the road gave some idea that this was no half-arsed event. Lined up where felt about right, and was one of the few not sporting a club vest. Club athletics looks to be in a good place in this part of the country.

Mile 1 (Flat and fast). Found myself way back down the field after hoards of vests came streaming past me. Even after half a mile there was plenty of jostling and heels being clipped, despite the wide road. (6:06)

Mile 2 (Flat and steady). I knew we were heading towards a big hill so focussed on staying relaxed. Running alongside someone in a Letterkenny AC top so decided to get some local knowledge about this forthcoming hill. I was hoping for a "Sure, it's grand, no problem", instead I got a wry smile and a "It's a f%ckin killer" (6:17)

Mile 3 (The hill). Hill started as soon as the watch beeped my second mile and it was a 100 foot climb over the course of that mile. Looks like my steady second mile paid off as I was overtaking constantly on the hill (6:39)

Mile 4 (Down the hill and back up again). Crested the hill and had some bikes alongside the group I was in. Got some good knowledge of what lay ahead and relaxed into the decline. Then it was right back up another hill onto the Main Street (61ft loss, 85 ft gain) (6:23)

Mile 5 (Cruising downhill). Good crowds along the Main Street and it was feeling comfortably hard. Could tell I was in better shape than those around me and continued to push forward (6:03)

Mile 6 (Flat and fast). Just one lap of a bypass and it was home again. Nice and flat, and was able to pick off runners ahead of me. Probably passed 25 runners over the final two miles. (6:11)

Finish: Hadn't been monitoring the watch during the race and was honestly expecting to see 37:XX when I hit the button, given that I must have been running faster than 6:15 pace. Moreso when I heard the MC saying they were still waiting on the 3rd place female. Very disappointed to see 39, then I did the maths properly and factored in that 0.2 mile.

In hindsight I guess I didn't really race it, and was treating it more as a tempo session. Great selection of chocolate at the finish line, and a very nice technical t-shirt (although I went for too small a size, so that has now been passed on to Mrs Peckham).


Weekly totals
37 miles (45 planned)
5 runs (6 planned)
1 race
1 session
No long run - need to get on top of this

theboyblunder

Very good progress coming back Peckham. There is loads of time - I was in a quite similar situation to you fitness wise last year, coming back from a break to run an autumn marathon.....with a good block of training the steady improvements are very motivating.

Hoping to pull the same trick this year

Good run in the 10K, that hill sounds like a killer alright

Peckham

Monday 6th May
Still in the hills of Donegal, I decided to do one of my favourite routes in that part of the world. It basically takes in three "country walks" and takes me on the Bluestack Way at a few stages. A nice mix too, starting with the tough climb up to Loughcrillan (270ft in 1 mile), some great views over Glenties followed by a fun sharp decline back down into Glenties again. Through the town and out the country lanes of Meenahalla, and then over Altar before an extra loop in the town to round it off to 10 miles. Kept the eyes away from the watch in order to soak in the views.

10.2 miles @ 7:08 pace


Tuesday 7th May
Had hoped to repeat Monday's run around Glenties, but we decided to hit the road early and get back to Dublin. We were taking Peckham Jnr to the playground in Ardgillan that afternoon, so plan was to run home from there after managing to extract him out of the pirate ship. Upon arriving there we met one of Mrs Peckham's friends with her little one so I left them all to it and I headed off running. Had got some good news earlier that day, so had a bit of a pep in my step as I hit the hills of Ardgillan (possible future parkrun venue). Some nice climbing (for the 3rd day in a row!), and the pep in my step had me pushing the pace a bit too much. Pace drifted into no man's land - final 6 miles at sub-7 pace (too hard for easy running, too slow for pace running), but throughly enjoyable in the sunshine with a smile on my face.

10.2 miles @ 7:06 pace


Wednesday 8th May
Legs felt the exertions of the previous days, so just an easy 4 miles listening to Marathon Talk and some interesting stats from London Marathon.

4.1 miles @ 7:38 pace

Peckham

Thursday 9th May
Wasn't too sure what to do on this run. 10k training plan doesn't start until next week, so I was in limbo. I knew I wanted to do some kind of session, but hadn't fully decided on tempo, 10k pace or whatever. The rubbish weather and slightly iffy tummy didn't help the decision process.

In the end I settled on doing 3 x 1 mile at 10k pace in preparation for next week's session of 6 x 1 mile at the same pace. It really didn't matter what I chose, as it would have been a rubbish session anyway.

As my run home from work is effectively a straight line in one direction, if the wind is against you, it's painful the whole way. Today was one of those days and it was hard work maintaining 7:30 pace. After a 2 mile warm-up I hit the lap button and started into the first mile at 5:50 pace. After about a quarter of a mile I glanced at the watch and was surprised to see it reading 7:30 and realised I had hit the stop button by mistake. Rubbish start. Recovered and started again. Felt like too much hard work with a backpack and into the wind, but scraped through it in 5:54. 4 minutes recovery, and off again. Gave up after about half a mile when the pace refused to drop under 6:00. Jogged to the bus, annoyed and frustrated.

Doubt that the excessive pace on Monday and Tuesday helped either

Lessons learned:
- Can't do these sessions with a backback
- Can't do these sessions into a wind like this evening
- Check that the watch has started a new lap after hitting the button
- Run easy on easy days (a lesson I struggle to learn)

Glad I learned them this week.

6 miles @ 7:36 pace

Peckham

Friday 10th May
Fridays are a good day for long runs for me, so this will become the focus for long runs. All going well, I'm out of work at 4 so can hit the road from the office and get decent mileage done and still be home in time for putting Peckham Jnr to bed.

This route was a nice one that I've done a good few times previously. Blackrock-Sandymount-Bath Avenue-Canal-Kilmainham-Phoenix Park - North Circular Road - Sherrif Street-IFSC. Plan was for 13 or 14, so needed a few loops in IFSC to round it off to 13, and then still had enough time before my bus to squeeze in a final mile to bring it up to 14.

Felt it in the latter miles, so a few weeks of 15 or 16 mile long runs needed.

14 miles @ 7:16 pace

Sunday 12th May
This was due to be done yesterday, but was at a christening and ate far too much junk so didn't have the energy when I got home.

So after a core session that involved chasing a two year old up and down various climbing implements in a soft play centre, I hit the road for 6 miles to round off a 50 mile week. Threw in 10 strides at the end.

6 miles @ 7:28 pace (including 10 strides)


Weekly totals
50 miles (50 planned)
6 runs (6 planned)
1 abandoned session
Long run: 14 miles

Peckham

Monday 13th May
Time was not on my side today, and would have been easy to skip this run but want to keep up the momentum and with a 50 mile week planned I didn't want to leave myself with too many miles at the end of the week.

3.9 miles @ 7:13 pace

Peckham

Tuesday 14th May
McMillan 10k plan - Week 1 session
6 x 1 mile at target 10k pace (4 min recovery)

Have started this plan a few times and it has slipped by the wayside, so am determined to complete it this time and use it as a springboard into the marathon training phase. Looking for something in the first week of July, but can't find anything really suitable. There's a race that goes right by my house with options of 8k or 12k, but I feel doing one of those would leave me feeling a little shortchanged as I won't be able to target a 10k PB. If anyone knows of any good 10ks (ideally in Dublin or surrounding counties) that week, please let me know!

After last week's aborted trial at this session, I was a little apprehensive of the pace I'm setting myself (which is optimistic, but achieveable). However, last week's galeforce wind was replaced with a gentle breeze, Sandymount Strand was replaced with country lanes near where I live and there was no backpack.

There's a nice one mile stretch for this session which is on a gentle incline, so half of the reps are slightly uphill and half slightly downhill. Started with a downhill one, so it meant that reps 1, 3 and 5 were downhill and 2, 4 and 6 were uphill (with both starting and finishing on the flat). Had in my mind that the recovery for this was set as 4 to 5 minutes, and thought I was being the hardman by going for 4 minute recover, but it's only this morning I've noticed that it should be 3 to 4 minutes, so I was being generous. But I guess it's more important to finish the session, than push too hard and drop out on the 5th rep.

Overall, felt fine. Reps 4 and 6 (uphill) were certainly tough, but never felt like I was going to abandon. Not sure whether I would have finished it on 3 minute recoveries, who knows. Will be attempting minimum recoveries in later sessions.

2 mile warmup
6 x 1 mile (5:50, 5:50, 5:49, 5:51, 5:50, 5:52)
1.5 mile cooldown
Total 11.2 miles

Peckham

Wednesday 15th May
Had to get out early for this one (only 8 hours after taking off the runners after last night's session), but felt the benefits in loosening up the legs.

4 miles @ 7:36 pace

blockic

Peckham wrote: »

Tuesday 14th May
Looking for something in the first week of July, but can't find anything really suitable. There's a race that goes right by my house with options of 8k or 12k, but I feel doing one of those would leave me feeling a little shortchanged as I won't be able to target a 10k PB. If anyone knows of any good 10ks (ideally in Dublin or surrounding counties) that week, please let me know!

I'm in the exact same situation. Looking for a 10km on the first two weeks in July but their seems to be nothing around! if ya hear of any decent, let me know also!

TRR

blockic wrote: »

I'm in the exact same situation. Looking for a 10km on the first two weeks in July but their seems to be nothing around! if ya hear of any decent, let me know also!

Have you tried this running calendar?

http://www.runningcalendar.eu/

Nothing the first 2 weeks that looks decent but fit magazine 10k in Cork on the 21st and Fingal 10k on the same Day in Dublin

blockic

TRR wrote: »

Have you tried this running calendar?

http://www.runningcalendar.eu/

Nothing the first 2 weeks that looks decent but fit magazine 10k in Cork on the 21st and Fingal 10k on the same Day in Dublin

Nice one will check it out.

Peckham

Thanks TRR - might be making a trip to Obama's ancesteral home!

Peckham

Thursday 16th May
Ran home from work. Plodding.

7.2 miles @ 7:23 pace

Peckham

Friday 17th May
Plan was 16 miles home from work. Throwing stuff in the bag this morning I checked the battery on the Garmin and noticed it was down to 30%. No time to charge it, so chucked a charger in the bag in order to charge it during the day. Of course I remembered this when I noticed the charger in the bag when getting changed for the run (along with the now warm yoghurt I bought on my way into work). Battery down to 26%.

Off I headed listening to Marathon Talk, along the coast into Sandymount and then up the canal and into Phoenix Park. A lap of part of the Park, which always reminds me of racing and pace picked up accordingly from 7:20s to 7:00s. After exiting the park I noticed the watch was dead, without any knowledge of the distance before it went dead. Took a guess at the distance, but disappointed this evening that it only adds up to a 15 mile total. To make matters worse, train delayed by 20 minutes going home, but that was probably more unfortunate for the woman who decided to sit beside me than it was for me.

A shuffled 1.4 miles home after sitting on a train for almost an hour.

11.2 miles @ 7:17 pace
3.7 miles @ ???
1.4 miles @ ???

Peckham

Saturday 18th May
parkrun day, and having missed the previous two weeks it was nice to be back and great to see the event handling big numbers without much strain. I had 8 miles scheduled for today, which is perfect for a run home from Malahide, but time didn't allow for that as myself and Mrs P were heading away for the night for our wedding anniversary.

After dropping Peckham Jnr into his Grandparents, it was off to Seafield near Gorey. Plan was for me to head out for an hour running whilst Mrs P was getting a pedicure. Legs were feeling quite tired, and after an hour relaxing in the spa area the mind didn't feel in the right place for an hour of running on strange roads. I had half a mind to do 20 minutes tempo during the run, but plans for that were abandoned before leaving the spa.

Back to the room to change into the running gear, and was hoping that I'd forgotten to back some key item of gear so that I could skip the run and head to the bar for a pint. But alas, it was all there so no excuses.

Off out and down the path towards the beach. Was hoping the beach would be suited for running, but on reaching it it was smaller than hoped, so about turn and back up the path again. Hit the road at the front of the hotel and eventually found another beach to run on. Very relaxed running, and pace was quite slow. Found myself back at the hotel after 6 or so miles, so headed back in and had a pint!

6.1 miles @ 8:01 pace


Weekly totals
49 miles (50 planned)
6 runs (6 planned)
1 session
Long run: 15 miles

Peckham

Monday 20th May
McMillan 10k plan - Week 2 session
12 x 400 metre @ 5k pace (200 metre recovery)

I tend to dislike these types of sessions as 12 is a big number to count towards, and I lose interest when there are still 5 or 6 reps left to go. So, I decided to try something new and program the session into the Garmin so that I wouldn't need to worry about keeping a tally in my head. What a great function - just listen to the beeps and off you go (it even plays you a little electronic song when you complete the workout!). It keeps the tally and all you need to do is the running bit!

Did a 2.5 mile warm-up in regular shoes, before switching to flats for the reps.

Target 5k pace would have me doing the each rep in 85 seconds, so this was the objective for the session. I run these on stretch of footpath which tends to equate to 2 reps in each direction, and as it was a bit blustery yesterday evening this meant a mixture of headwind and tailwind reps. First two reps had the wind at my back, and it felt very easy. Was expecting the headwind reps to be a bit tougher, but they weren't really.

Reps went as follows
79-82-81-83-82-83-82-83-82-84-81-81
To give a 82 second average

Great session, and was buzzing afterwards. Not sure what went so well given that I wasn't looking forward to it - maybe it was the rest and easy days that preceded it, maybe it was doing the session in flats.

Home afterwards to make some protein bars which was as straightforward as the running (not certain yet about the taste though!).

Given the lack of 10k races on the weekend when this training plan will end I'm considering squeezing the final four weeks into three, and doing the 5 mile iin the Park instead. Given that my sessions are at the start of the week, this works well. It also has the added benefit of allowing me to have a bit of fun at a local race the following week, and also having two unstructured weeks before heading into marathon specific training.

2.5 miles @ 7:45 pace
12 x 400 @ 5:27 pace
1.2 miles @ 8:13 pace
(Total 8 miles)

nosnagaoithe

Peckham - I'm a Lusk man myself ....what's on? Haven't see anything advertised?

Peckham

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

Peckham - I'm a Lusk man myself ....what's on? Haven't see anything advertised?

Link.

I ran the 12k last year. Good event for its first year.

It's a lap race that starts on the Village Green, then it's down Treen Hill, out past the Garda Station and up the bypass, back up past the National School to the Green again. One lap is 4k, two laps 8k, three laps 12k.

Peckham

Tuesday 21st May
A great evening for running home from work along one of my favourite routes. One of those occasions where you realise how nice Dublin is. Where else do you get to run on pavement, grass, beach, forest trail and road all within 2 miles of the city centre.

Lovely.

7 miles @ 7:29 pace

Peckham

Thursday 24th May
2 x 20 minute Threshold pace

This session was supposed to happen on Wednesday, but workload issues and a slightly sore calf meant Wednesday was taken as a rest day and this was pushed out to Thursday. Calf had recovered somewhat at this stage following a dry needling session whilst lying on my sitting room floor watching TV. Painful, but effective.

Want to build a solid block of Threshold pace training before marathon training proper kicks off fully, as this will be a core element of the training. Decided to start off with one of my favourite versions of this training with 2 x 20 minutes at pace within some easy running in between.

Looking out the window before heading out wasn't exactly inspiring as the wind howled around, but it didn't seem too bad once I got out. An easy 10 minute run to a nice stretch of road that would give me a peaceful 10 minute stretch that would give me an out-and-back session. Target was 6:20 pace, and managed to hold this consistently throughout - comfortably hard which is how it's supposed to feel. Fun times.

Two thoughts during my run home:

1) This isn't a million miles away from target marathon pace. A long road ahead.
2) The disruption in my schedule means that I'll be doing 36 miles in almost as many hours which isn't ideal. 16 miles this evening, 9 miles tomorrow late morning.

10 minutes @ 7:27 pace
20 minutes @ 6:18 pace
10 minutes @ 8:26 pace
20 minutes @ 6:18 pace
15 minutes @ 7:42 pace
(Total 11 miles)

nosnagaoithe

Nice session that one - what's the recovery between the two threshold blocks? and do you run the 20 minute blocks at a steady effort or is it more progression style?

I'll prob do 10/12M Sunday morning out to Rush/Loughshinny and back if it suits you? Around 7.40/45 pace I'd expect.....

Peckham

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

Nice session that one - what's the recovery between the two threshold blocks? and do you run the 20 minute blocks at a steady effort or is it more progression style?

It's a 10 minute recovery. The 20 minute blocks are run at steady effort at about the pace that you could hold for 60 minutes in a race setting. It's all based on the Jack Daniels' training philosophy. More details here.

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

I'll prob do 10/12M Sunday morning out to Rush/Loughshinny and back if it suits you? Around 7.40/45 pace I'd expect.....

I try to keep Sundays free from running and focus on family stuff instead. My weekend running generally involves running home from Malahide as I'm often volunteering at parkrun there.

Peckham

Friday 24th May
Not ideal to be doing this the day after yesterday's session, but Friday evening is the only way I can get a long run done without disrupting family life.

Not a great start when I realised there were no socks in my gear bag, so had to wear work socks for the run. Once I got out running all was good. Lovely weather for it, although a bit blustery along Sandymount Strand. As I stopped at a set of traffic lights I felt a stabbing sensation in my left foot. Didn't realise what it was at the time, but taking my shoes off after the run showed a now red toe area and a messy looking foot underneath the socks (much to the concern of Peckham Jnr!).

Legs were tired, and not helped by the stop-start run along the canal as every set of lights were against me. Nice run around Phoenix Park before heading down NCR and down to Connolly Station for my train home.

Felt really depleted by the time I got home, and still fairly tired now. Early to bed and hopefully will be fine for my jog home after parkrun tomorrow. Will be paying more attention to scheduling in the future.

16 miles @ 7:16 pace