The Sub 210 London Challenge

pistol_75

Wednesday 15th Jan - Recovery

4.5 miles @ 10 + strength & conditioning session.

Extra easy run tonight with Tempo tomorrow. Followed up with around 35 mins S&C

pistol_75

Thursday 16th Jan - Tempo

Plan called for 6 mile tempo @HMP

Splits were (7:34, 7:42, 7:38, 7:40, 7:36, 7:33)

This was done on an out and back route of 1.25 miles in total so a bit of time was lost with the turnarounds each time. We were told to try and keep within 20 seconds of HMP if possible so was more than happy to achieve that. While this was a bit of a struggle I never really felt I wouldn't complete it or let the pace slip. Left quad was a bit tight from the 3rd mile on but no issue afterwards or this morning.

7 miles in total with w/u & c/d

belcarra

pistol_75 wrote: »

Thursday 16th Jan - Tempo

Plan called for 6 mile tempo @HMP

Splits were (7:34, 7:42, 7:38, 7:40, 7:36, 7:33)

This was done on an out and back route of 1.25 miles in total so a bit of time was lost with the turnarounds each time. We were told to try and keep within 20 seconds of HMP if possible so was more than happy to achieve that. While this was a bit of a struggle I never really felt I wouldn't complete it or let the pace slip. Left quad was a bit tight from the 3rd mile on but no issue afterwards or this morning.

7 miles in total with w/u & c/d

In my experience with my Garmin I actually gain a little pace (as in the Garmin registers me going quicker) at turnaround points. I think it has to do with the sharpish stop and 180 turn that confuses the calculations momentarily and gives a bit of cushion to my pace. Maybe keep an eye on this next time to see if your watch acts in the same way?
Wouldn't want to have a 5 sec/mile misjudgement in pace if there are several turnarounds.

pistol_75

belcarra wrote: »

In my experience with my Garmin I actually gain a little pace (as in the Garmin registers me going quicker) at turnaround points. I think it has to do with the sharpish stop and 180 turn that confuses the calculations momentarily and gives a bit of cushion to my pace. Maybe keep an eye on this next time to see if your watch acts in the same way?
Wouldn't want to have a 5 sec/mile misjudgement in pace if there are several turnarounds.

Pace was actually slowing when I turned. Was going from 7:3x up into the 7:4x so I was finding I had to put a bit more effort in to get the pace back down. :rolleyes:

pistol_75

Friday 17th January

6 miles @ 9

Easy run this evening with one of the lads from the club. Bit of a niggle in the right calf. Nothing a bit of foam rolling won't sort.

pistol_75

Saturday 18th Jan

6 Miles @ 9:07

Early morning loop, must myself and the rain. Legs feeling a bit stiff with the morning run. Right Calf/Achilees a bit tender.

Sunday 19th Jan

16 miles @ 8:38

Nice hilly long run. First 3 miles done by myself before meeting up with a couple of lads from the club. Effort was consistent throughout as the miles ticked off. PT session booked for this evening to get leg looked at. Don't think it's anything major just a few tight spots.

pistol_75

Monday 20th Jan

30 mins Strength & Conditioning and a massage later on to apply a bit of WD40 to the Achilles and ease it out. No issues just a bit of tightness.

Tuesday 21st Jan - Session

Tonight's session was a ladder session. 1,2,3,4 mins with 75 sec jog recovery between each one, then 3 mins recovery and 4,3,2,1 back down. Gary's instructions were to try and do the first couple slightly quicker than 5K pace and gold onto 5K pace for the longer ones.

Pace for each split was:

6:28
6:41
6:47
6:44
6:44
6:40
6:28
5:54

Enjoyed this one and felt it went well. The 4 mins back to back were difficult with the legs tightening up a bit with the 3 mins recovery. Glad to be able to pick up the pace on the shorter reps at the end.

6.86 miles including w/u & c/d.

Must remember to enter Raheny tomorrow.

jcsmum

Nice training going on here P.

pistol_75

Wed 22nd January

5.8 miles @ 8:46

Easy run this evening with one of the lads from the club. Had to drop him home so no chance to round up. :-( Legs feeling decent.

In other news flights booked for London. It's starting to get real ;-)

average_runner

Nice going so far, something for me to read.

pistol_75

average_runner wrote: »

Nice going so far, something for me to read.

How's the hammer?

average_runner

pistol_75 wrote: »

How's the hammer?

Its getting there. Hope the physio will allow me to do small runs next week but not sure!!

pistol_75

Thursday 23rd January

5.67 miles @ 8:54
Avg HR: 131

Easy run with the club last night. Dug out the HR monitor for the first time in a while. Will take it easy now until Sunday.

pistol_75

Sunday 26th Jan - Raheny 5 Mile

Friday was a planned rest day and Saturday the 30 mins easy got shelved as I had to play Golf so that tired out the body a bit. Got to Raheny in plenty of time anyway and registered, warmed up and took a place behind the sub 35 section and before long we were off.

The goal I had set myself at the start of the month was sub 35 (pb 35:49) but as always your not sure how the weather will be so early in the year.

The first 2 mile's was all about getting off at the right pace and I was prepared to be slightly down as I knew the stretch along Howth road was going to be into the wind. Kept well contained for the first mile and was into my running as we turned onto Howth Road. First mile passed in 7:01. We were now into a good breeze so I upped the effort a bit seeking shelter where I could but struggling to find a big enough group at my pace. I guess I passed a few people along here and the section seemed to go on for longer than I remembered. As we turned off this section I was glad of a bit of relief from the wind but it had definitely taken a bit out of the legs. Shortly the second mile passed in 6:57. I knew the next couple of miles were where a bit of time could be banked possibly so just put the head down and kept trucking along. I could see the avg pace dropping slightly anytime I checked but not by too much either. Was passing people with more frequency now as we came round by St Anne's and clocked the 3rd mile at 6:54. At this stage I was feeling pretty much flat to the boards but was hoping I could keep at it for the last 2 miles.

After a brief respite down onto the coast road I found this section hard to pass people on the road but I didn't want to settle in and run someone elses pace. A couple of glances over the shoulder and I passed a few blocks of people outside the cones and thoughts were turning to a tough finish. Swung off the coast road and up the hill. Mile 4 was covered in 6:49.

I knew at this point I should be good for a PB and sub 35 but I didn't feel like I had another mile in me. Legs were screaming at me as we crested the hill and the rise up All Saints road into the wind which seems to go on forever. The pace had dropped a bit coming up the hill but with 1/2 mile to go I was passing people steadily again. Passed the corner of the park and I knew after the long straight there was only 2 corners to go. When I got to the second last corner the legs seemed to respond and I was able for a bit of a sprint finish. Last mile in 6:44.

Chip time was 34:25 which represents an 84 second PB. Very happy with that given the conditions.

pistol_75

Monday 27th January

13.65 miles @ 9:08
Avg Hr: 131

To make up for the lack of long run with the race yesterday I was told to do a 2 hour long run today and to keep the pace easy.

Set off in pretty horrific weather but it cleared up after a while and wasn't too bad after that. Looped back around to meet one of the lads from the club after 7 miles or so and he joined me for the rest of it. This really helped to break the run up. Legs not feeling too bad but was starving when I was finished.

Great to have this done. I know in the past this run mightn't have happened.

pistol_75

Have been trying to think of a new log title since I started back posting and then it came to me during the long run on Monday. 3:30 is 210 minutes and would probably be the goal for London. I thought it would also mess with peoples heads who didn't read it properly and thought there was gonna be some elite posting here. Sorry to disappoint you but it's mostly mediocrity all the way here

Now that you have taken the time to read the above feel free to offer any advice or feedback whether it's positive or negative. I don't take it to heart.

pistol_75

Tuesday 28th January - Session

2.03 miles w/u @ 9:30

3 x 400 w/90 sec recovery (88,87,88)

20 min tempo @ 7:25 pace, avg HR 141

.81 miles c/d @ 9:05

I wasn't looking forward to this one after the race and long run and to be honest legs were feeling pretty crappy as expected during the warm up. I wasn't expecting to push it too much during this session.

Started off with 3x400m that was actually .23 according to the Garmin (the track we use in the winter is not a standard athletics track and around 475 metres so hard to get exact distances).

After that there was a 20 min tempo. Then came the light at the end of the tunnel. Gary told anyone that had done Raheny to just try and aim for HMP. This seemed to help my outlook and we started ticking off the laps and minutes. It felt a lot easier suddenly than HMP normally does and picked up the pace gradually for the last few minutes.

Really happy with how this went. Few laps cool down to finish. today will definitely be a recovery day...

pistol_75

Wednesday 29th January

5.05 miles @ 9:51

Recovery run this evening keeping it effortless basically.

Followed up with 30 mins S&C class. Main set was below 7 times

Pull ups x 5
Dips x 5
Deadlift x 5

Hopefully the feeling in my arms comes back soon.

pistol_75

Thursday 30th January - Tempo

This one had me worried. Had a serious case of Doms developing in the upper body and arms during the day to the point where it was a struggle to change my top beforehand. Was also worried it was a bit close to race/long run/session from the days previous. Still there wasn't going to be too much time in the rest of the week to fit it in so I got on with it.

Just over a mile warm up brought me to an out and back 2 mile semi circular route I could use without traffic problems.

8.5 miles @ MP -10 secs

Split HR

7:51 138
7:46 138
7:54 141
7:49 141
7:53 138
7:44 132
7:51 138
7:26 130
7:40 133

Avg Pace: 7:46
Avg HR: 137

The odd miles were into a stiff enough breeze mostly so took a bit more effort to get close to 7:50 pace which was the target. I wasn't killing myself to hit it as I knew I could balance it out going the other way. Not sure what happened with the 7:26 mile, think I had switched off with it being the last mile and thoughts of getting finished led me to pick it up without knowing it. Strange to see a drop off in the HR as well in a couple of later miles but maybe that is just a glitch?

Glad to have this session done with the way the body was feeling.

Nice slow cool down home to finish up with over 10.5 miles.

pistol_75

Friday 31st January

6.08 miles @ 8:57
Avg Hr:130

Easy run this evening with one of the lads from the club. Didn't look at the watch once as we were just chatting our way round. Was a bit harder than it should with upper body in a bigger jocker than yesterday. Legs were ok though if a bit tired.

Rest day tomorrow after a hard week, and mainly due to time constraints.

183 miles for the month which is probably my highest ever. Certainly not far off anyway. Happy with how most things are going at the moment.

pistol_75

Sunday 2nd Feb

18.2 Miles
Avg Pace: 8:50

They say there is a benefit to doing your long runs on tired legs right? Well I hope so. Got an early start to get 4 miles done before meeting a few from the club at 8:30. Legs and body were just generally feeling tired but the miles ticked off harmlessly enough. On one of the country roads a dog came to greet us and then 30 secs later we heard this thud. The poor dog got a belt of a car. It sounded pretty bad but the dog was moving around when we left it back into it's owners house. The driver of course hadn't stopped.

Had to make a pit stop after around 14/15 miles so ended running the last bit of the run solo. This was tough with the wind and terrain including a few nice hills. As bad as I felt though and as slow as I thought I was going the mile splits were ok.

Glad to get sight of the cars in the end but need to make sure in future I at least have a drink with me.

Just over 60 miles for me in the last 7 days which is a lot for me and too big of a jump but in my defence the long run last Monday really belonged to the week before's plan.

pistol_75

Monday 3rd February

5.03 Miles
Avg Pace: 10:09
Avg HR: 130

Recovery loop around the usual route. Just a shuffle really. Debated not going out as wasn't feeling the love for it yesterday evening. Glad I did in the end. Felt a bit shivvery last night but hopefully an early night and a couple of paracetamol have staved off anything for the moment.

Session tonight could be fun with the weather that's expected.

pistol_75

Tuesday 4th Feb

Given that where we do our weekly sessions is windy at the best of times it was insanity to think it mightn't be that bad last night. Once I got there though sure what else was there to do but get out and run.

1.78 miles w/u @ 9:09

7x2 mins w/1 min recovery (6:59, 7:28, 7:22, 7:01, 7:05, 6:54, 6:59)

0 CD

4.22 miles in total.

As we warmed up it became apparent the men in the white coats should be sent for. Soaked to the skin, feet soaked, and being driven backwards by icy rain into the wind.

Gary arrived after nearly being blown off the M1 and ditched the usual tempo in favour of a shorter session and we got on with it. Had no idea of the paces for any of these while I was running. Pace was pretty irrelevant anyway but the above is what the Garmin is saying anyway.

Looks like we could have a few ropey days ahead...

pistol_75

Not too much to report here. Woke up Wednesday with a knot between the shoulder blades that took a couple of days to clear.

Friday 7th Feb - Tempo

1.65 miles @ 9:46

7 miles @ 7:43 (7:46, 7:46, 7:54, 7:43, 7:50, 7:30, 7:30)

1.67 miles @ 9:52

Met up with a clubmate for this and used the same 2 mile loop as last week. Was good to have the company and made it pass a bit quicker.

Even with the reduced miles this week just not really feeling the love for it at the moment. Feeling pretty tired despite getting plenty of sleep. I think it is more a case of doing too much last week.

Saturday 8th Feb - Parkrun

Ardgillan Parkrun

The first running of this was on Saturday morning so I headed along just to support it and run a few easy miles. Was a great turnout of 190 people for the first event.

Was feeling pretty wrecked from the session the night before so was never tempted to push it. It's pretty rare for a 5K to have 71 metres of climbing and even more rare I'd say for it all to be in the last mile more or less.

Tough course and glad to finish it. The winner was just under 18 mins, where he would normally be 90 secs quicker in Malahide.

Didn't get a long run in on Sunday, just haven't been feeling the love for it and preferred to take it easy instead. Hopefully the batteries are well re-charged now.

pistol_75

Monday 10th Feb

9.5 Miles @ 8:55

Easy run last night and all did not seem as bad with the world from a running point of view. Even had a nice bit of weather for a change.

pistol_75

Tuesday 11th Feb - Session

Last weeks storm was replaced with snow this week which didn't have an effect on the underfoot conditions just the back straight that was into the wind and the snow making it more difficult than normal.

Session was 3 sets of 2 mins @5K pace, 45 sec recovery, 6 mins @10K pace, 3 min recovery.

Paces were (6:54, 7:12, 6:49, 7:04, 6:52, 7:03)

Felt the effort was pretty consistent throughout and happy enough with the paces given the conditions. Was really a case of getting a breather when the wind was behind and digging in when into the wind. Finished strong which was the main thing as opened up a good gap on the group I was with during the last rep for the same effort.

6.78 miles in total incl w/u & c/d.

pistol_75

Thursday 13th Feb - Tempo

Plan was for 9 miles @ MP-10

9 miles @ 7:49

(7:53,7:48,7:52,7:46,7:56,7:51,7:55,7:43,7,41)

Tempo run this evening. After a w/u down to the usual location set off into the wind just concentrating on effort. Out & Back were equally affected somewhat by the wind but got a bit of benefit as well. Legs and body were feeling fresher than last week despite the extra 2 miles.

Delighted with how this went given the conditions.

11.3 miles total.

pistol_75

Friday 14th February - Recovery

6.05 miles @ 9:44

Checking the weather forecast last night made up my mind to set the alarm clock earlier than normal and get this out of the way. Legs a bit tender and a bit of a dull ache in the right knee that I'll keep an eye on. Hopefully just the shock of the early start.

pistol_75

Saturday 15th Feb

5.5 miles @ 8:54

Few hilly miles with some others from the club. Looked like it was going to be a horrible morning but cleared nicely when we got going. Legs felt a bit fresher than they had been.

Sunday 16th Feb

16 miles @ 8:32

None of the usual crew were around this morning so I headed out around the Balbriggan 1/2 marathon route. Lovely morning for it if frosty in a few spots which I found out a little too late nearly. Settled into a good pace after a few miles and kept it consistent to the end. Niggles that had been there kept away more or less.

55 miles for the week. Have stuff on next weekend but am off for 3 days this week so hopefully be able to get all the runs in that are needed.

pistol_75

Tuesday 18th Feb - Session

Monday evening was a S&C the first one for a couple of weeks. Little tight today but nothing major.

Club session tonight and after Just over 2 mile warm up and some drills, then into the session which this week was 7x4 mins @10K pace w/90 sec jog recovery.

Pace for the 4 mins was (7:07, 7:03, 7:00, 6:54, 6:58, 6:52, 6:44)

Finished off with a cool down bringing it up to 7.5 miles in total.

Wasn't feeling wonderful during these but at the same time was never struggling in anyway. Nice to see the pace gradually drop as well the longer it went on.

Had a chat with Gary about the plan afterwards and concerned a bit that everyone else seems to be knocking out 20 milers for fun on their longer runs. Funny enough he doesn't place much emphasis on long runs at a slow pace. Prefers the longer runs to be 30/40 seconds slower than MP and run on tired legs. Everyone got decent results with his method for Dublin so not going to doubt him.

Interesting for Donadea apart from an unplanned 20 mile run a few weeks ago his other longest run this year has been 14 miles. Some people just have it I guess.