"Man imposes his own limitations, don't set any"

pa4

I am a 20 year old male and started running around 2 years ago (May 2011 to be exact) and have been training fairly consistently ever since. I attempted to do a log before but that didn't end too well and because I've come a long way since then I think its best to start fresh

I mainly concentrate on track and cross country with a few road races thrown into the mix now and again. I'd consider a middle - long distance athlete, my preferred event being the 5k.

My PBs are as follows:
800m: 2:07 (2013, indoors)
1500m: 4:19 (2013, indoors)
5000m: 16:25 (2013)
4 miles road: 21:30 (2013)
8k road: 27:04 (2013)
10k road: 35:25 (2013)

This year has been my best so far with all of my pbs run since January. My training generally consists of 6 days running - 2 sessions, a long run and recovery runs with my weekly mileage averaging between 40-45. I usually do strength and conditioning 2 days a week but I wont talk about that here.

My aims for this year are fairly simple - improve and run as best I can! Ideally I would like to go sub 16 for 5k and sub 34 for 10k. Hopefully this log will give me the motivation I need to both

pa4

Training so far this week:

Monday: 5 miles easy followed by 5x50m strides.

Tuesday: Track session of 2x5x200m with a 2 minute recovery, 10 minutes between sets. All in 28's, fastest was 28.02 and slowest was 28.71. Felt good doing this session, haven't done 200's since the indoor season so its good to know the speed is still there!

Wednesday: 7 miles easy in 48.41 averaging 6.57 per mile followed by 5x50m strides. Felt good doing this one even after the 200's.

Today - Thursday: 8 miles easy 59 mins averaging 7:23 per mile. Felt tired doing this today and the fact that it was fairly hot didn't help much! I've a session of 1k's planned for tomorrow so just took it easy.

pa4

Good session at the track today, was absolutely roasting! Session on paper was 4x1k in 3:10-3:12 with a 1.5min, 5min and 2min recovery after the first, second and third interval.

Times:
3:12 - Didn't feel great doing this one even though I felt good before the session, probably should have done one or two more strides too loosen out the legs.

3:09 - This one felt much easier despite the short 1.5 min recovery

3:08

3:00 - I was fairly surprised that i ended up doing this one that fast because I hit the 800 in 2:28, I knew I had a fair bit left in me so i decided too push it out for the last 200

I had a feeling this session wouldn't be too bad because usually we do them in 3:00-3:05 with a 3 min recovery. I haven't done kilometer intervals in a while and the coach wanted me to get used to doing them slightly slower with a shorter recovery to emulate a race. Overall very happy with the session

hypersonic

hay great too see your log, we are over run with long distance log, so it nice to read something I can relate to
have you seen the 10 round numbers thread on the main page, I reckon you have most of then covered.
anyway best of luck with the training and I'll be following the log,

drquirky

pa4 wrote: »

I am a 20 year old male and started running around 2 years ago (May 2011 to be exact) and have been training fairly consistently ever since. I attempted to do a log before but that didn't end too well and because I've come a long way since then I think its best to start fresh

I mainly concentrate on track and cross country with a few road races thrown into the mix now and again. I'd consider a middle - long distance athlete, my preferred event being the 5k.

My PBs are as follows:
800m: 2:07 (2013, indoors)
1500m: 4:19 (2013, indoors)
5000m: 16:25 (2013)
4 miles road: 21:30 (2013)
8k road: 27:04 (2013)
10k road: 35:25 (2013)

This year has been my best so far with all of my pbs run since January. My training generally consists of 6 days running - 2 sessions, a long run and recovery runs with my weekly mileage averaging between 40-45. I usually do strength and conditioning 2 days a week but I wont talk about that here.

My aims for this year are fairly simple - improve and run as best I can! Ideally I would like to go sub 16 for 5k and sub 34 for 10k. Hopefully this log will give me the motivation I need to both

If you ease your milage up to 55-60 over the next couple of months you'll have no problem whatsoever hitting sub 16 and sub 34. You've got nice speed so reckon a little work on aerobic development could go a long way.... Whats your current long run and have you considered 2 double days a week?

At your age I had similar times and saw big improvements from upping the milage (careful though and ease it up as it can cause injury)

pa4

hypersonic wrote: »

hay great too see your log, we are over run with long distance log, so it nice to read something I can relate to
have you seen the 10 round numbers thread on the main page, I reckon you have most of then covered.
anyway best of luck with the training and I'll be following the log,

Thanks appreciate it I noticed there was alot of longer distance/marathons logs so decided I'd do something different!

pa4

drquirky wrote: »

If you ease your milage up to 55-60 over the next couple of months you'll have no problem whatsoever hitting sub 16 and sub 34. You've got nice speed so reckon a little work on aerobic development could go a long way.... Whats your current long run and have you considered 2 double days a week?

At your age I had similar times and saw big improvements from upping the milage (careful though and ease it up as it can cause injury)

I will be slowly upping the mileage, I added in the 6th day of training around last November so it will begin to increase again soon. I was surprised I hadn't lost speed because it was a few months since I done anything that short.. over the next few weeks I'm gonna be working on aerobic again because my sessions haven't been that consistent over the last 2 months with exams and studying. Longest run at the moment is 12 miles

pa4

Yesterday: Rest

Today: Long run of 12 miles in 1:25:09 @7:06 per mile. I went out early for this one to avoid the heat but I dont think it made much of a difference but I felt good.. went on a route I never did before around the country roads for a change

Total mileage this week: 42 miles

pa4

Monday 10th of June:
Track session today, on paper was 2k, 1k, 800 and 200 with a 3 minute recovery. Times were:

2k - 6:11

1k - 2:59

800 - 2:18

200 - 28

This session doesn't look to bad on paper but the times were suppose to be fast so it was tough. It was very windy on the home straight so i reckon I lost a few seconds on the 2k, not so much the others.

I'm very happy with this session, I honestly didn't think I would be able to get the 800 under 2:20 after the other two intervals but somehow managed to find the strength Its nice too know that the strength and speed is there.. I can see a sub 16 5k in the distance

pa4

Tuesday 11th of June:
Easy run today of 7 miles in 53 mins @7:35 per mile. Did this one on grass so it would be easier on the legs after yesterdays session, felt grand after yesterday just a little bit tired but my muscles were grand

pa4

Wednesday 12th of June:
Easy run of 5 miles @7:06 per mile followed by 5x50m strides. Felt really good today for some reason but I just took it handy because I'm doing a session tomorrow.

pa4

Thursday 15th of June:
Track session of 5x300m with a 2 minute recovery followed by 5x200m with a 1:30 minute recovery with 7 minutes between sets.

Times:
300's - 46,45,46,45,45
200's - 28,29,29,29,29

I found this to be a tough enough session. The fact that it was raining the entire time and really windy only made matters worse! I felt good beforehand warming up and doing strides but the legs felt heavy after the first 300. I struggled with the 5th 300 but the 7 minute break between sets helped me recover. The 200's went grand but again struggled in the last one, could hardly lift my arms after it! I'm very happy with this session overall because despite the body not feeling great I still got them on time.

Friday 15th of June:
5 miles easy on grass @6:50 per mile followed by 5x50m strides to loosen out the legs.

Saturday 16th of June:
Rest.

ultrapercy

pa4 wrote: »

Thursday 15th of June:
Track session of 5x300m with a 2 minute recovery followed by 5x200m with a 1:30 minute recovery with 7 minutes between sets.

Times:
300's - 46,45,46,45,45
200's - 28,29,29,29,29

I found this to be a tough enough session. The fact that it was raining the entire time and really windy only made matters worse! I felt good beforehand warming up and doing strides but the legs felt heavy after the first 300. I struggled with the 5th 300 but the 7 minute break between sets helped me recover. The 200's went grand but again struggled in the last one, could hardly lift my arms after it! I'm very happy with this session overall because despite the body not feeling great I still got them on time.

Friday 15th of June:
5 miles easy on grass @6:50 per mile followed by 5x50m strides to loosen out the legs.

Saturday 16th of June:
Rest.

That's a fantastic session,well done. You must be in great shape.I couldn't even dream of those times. Was that session prescribed by your coach(do you have one?) or of your own making?

pa4

ultrapercy wrote: »

That's a fantastic session,well done. You must be in great shape.I couldn't even dream of those times. Was that session prescribed by your coach(do you have one?) or of your own making?

Thank you Ya that training is prescribed by my coach. I get a training plan each week for what I'm to do each day. I wouldn't have a clue what to do otherwise!

pa4

Sunday 16th of June:
Long run this morning of 12 miles on the road @7:10 per mile. Felt good and comfortable the whole way. My muscles were a bit tight yesterday after Fridays session especially my glutes but their all loosened out now.

Another good weeks training in the bag. Total mileage: 40 miles

pa4

Handy run today of 6 miles @7:15 pace on grass. My legs felt a bit heavy doing this so I just took it handy because I've a tough session tomorrow. I did a nice bit of foam rolling and stretching afterwards to loosen out.

I've also decided on my next few races. I'm spoilt for choice regarding local races so I'm just trying to pick and choose between them to see what I'll do. So far I've decided on:

Saturday 22nd of June: 800m track
Sunday 30th of June: 5000m track
Wednesday 3rd of July: 10k road

I haven't ran an 800 since early January in the indoors where I did 2:07 so hopefully I'll get a pb. I'm not putting to much pressure on myself for this one because its really just training for the longer distances.

The 5k and 10k are only 3 days apart but I want to do both so hopefully I'll be recovered after the 5k. I felt really set times as targets for these races. If I get a pb in the 5k I'll be happy and if I'm feeling any way good at all I should pb in the 10k since I was feeling awful the last time I ran one.

pa4

Tuesday 18th of June:
Track session tonight consisting of a 350,300,250,200,150. This was a max effort session where you sprint as hard as you can so basically the 350 should be almost as fast a pace as the 150. The recovery was a one lap walk. The times were:

350: 48.20
300: 41.64
250: 34.25
200: 27.24
150: 19.57

I was very happy with this session, it really gives a good indication on what level of speed I currently have. It is a tough session despite the walk lap recovery but I actually felt pretty good after the 150. I think I could have done the 350m faster but I held back slightly on the last 50m, if I was to stay going which I think I could have especially in a race situation I would have done 55 seconds for 400.

My next race will be an 800 on Saturday so I'm fairly confident that I can improve on my pb of 2:07.

dna_leri

pa4 wrote: »

Tuesday 18th of June:
Track session tonight consisting of a 350,300,250,200,150. This was a max effort session where you sprint as hard as you can so basically the 350 should be almost as fast a pace as the 150. The recovery was a one lap walk. The times were:

350: 48.20
300: 41.64
250: 34.25
200: 27.24
150: 19.57

Nice times. where is the 800m at the weekend?

pa4

dna_leri wrote: »

Nice times. where is the 800m at the weekend?

Thanks. Its my own county championships

dna_leri

good luck

If i was doing those times in training I would be targeting a 2:00 800m

pa4

dna_leri wrote: »

good luck

If i was doing those times in training I would be targeting a 2:00 800m

I'm starting to think I can get close to 2 minutes anyway after my last few speed sessions, I know I'm in much better shape now than I was when I ran 2:07 indoors. I seem to be fairly good at pacing myself for 800's too I don't usually blow up on the last lap.. I think I'll go out in around 60 seconds and see how I go from there

hypersonic

pa4 wrote: »

I think I'll go out in around 60 seconds and see how I go from there

some of us could only dream of saying this ^

best of luck for the race this weekend.

pa4

hypersonic wrote: »

some of us could only dream of saying this ^

best of luck for the race this weekend.

Thanks! The weather forecast isn't looking too good but hopefully it'll hold for my race.

pa4

I knew the second I looked out my bedroom window this morning that I wouldn't run as fast as I would have liked with the wind and rain. To make matters worse I only managed to get less than 5 hours sleep, I was still wide awake at 5 this morning.

There was no proper timetable for the event so I had to judge myself what time my race would be on. My 800 was supposed to be on immediately after the 400m so I was fully warmed up at this stage but then had to wait around for almost a half an hour before they got the race started. They even tried to switch the 5000m to before the 800m but I was having none of it so kicked up a fuss so they changed it a back, none of the 5000m runners had even started warming up at that stage.

The seniors and masters were ran off together so there was a big field. I knew I would have to do a solo run because I knew none of them would be breaking 2:10. I didn't mind too much because I had it in my head that I'd end up running solo anyway. When the gun went off I took up my place in the lead and came around in about 61/62. I didn't feel great tbh because my legs had started to get a bit stiff from all the waiting around. There was a very strong wind but I didn't notice it too much on the first lap because I was fresh. For the second lap I knew it would be tough running into the wind as I was tiring. With 300m to go the wind hit like a tonne of bricks topped off with the pouring rain. I really had to work hard to even maintain the pace nevermind picking it up. With 200 to go the wind was strongest especially on the bend and I really struggled to push against it. With 100m to go I could really feel the lactic and just pushed as hard as I could, I never felt as tired as I did on that last 100m, my legs and arms felt so heavy I could hardly move!

Once I passed the line I could feel my lungs on fire and my head was killing me, I ended up puking my guts out in the toilet!

Final time was 2:06:01. A knew PB and a nice shiny gold medal.

I suppose I can't complain to much since I got a PB but I know I can run faster given the right race and conditions, but today they were just terrible. I gave it everything I had and there's no way I could have run faster out there!

I hope to do another 800m next month to bring down my PB even more, I reckon I can run around 2:02-2:03.

pa4

Monday 24th of June:
6 miles @7:06 per mile. Did this one on grass followed by 5x50m strides. Felt good.

Tuesday 25th of June:
Track session today. On paper was 12x400m with a 3 minute recovery. First four were supposed to be in 70's, second four in 68's and final four in 66's. So every 4 were suppose to be 2 seconds faster.

Times: 69,69,69,68,68,68,68,68,65,66,66,63

Felt good for this session so I'm very happy with it. The times were slightly faster than what was on paper but I knew I'd be capable of going faster. Perfect weather for it too with only a slight breeze at times. This was the type of session where I felt I could stay going if I was told too, it wasn't that tough but was by no means easy.

7 miles total.

pa4

Wednesday 26th of June:
6 mile run this evening split between road and grass. I didn't bring the watch on this one so don't know what pace I was going. Felt good the whole way and my legs weren't stiff or tight after yesterdays session. I finished it off with 5x50m strides. Afterwards when I got home the legs started feeling a bit stiff so I did a bit of foam rolling and feel now, should be ok for the session tomorrow!

pa4

Session today which I did on grass at my clubs training grounds. The session was 5 min, 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min fast with a one minute jog recovery in between. The session lasted 20 minutes in total and was continuous running, no stopping or walking.

This kind of felt like a tempo/fartlek type session and was tough enough, I find the hardest part is the 1 minute recovery jog and then picking it up for the next fast run when your still out of breath. The grass hadn't been cut in a few days and was fairly long which made it a bit tougher!

The point of this session is too run for time not distance so I wasn't too worried about how much I was covering but I had the garmin on so I was able to work it out. The first 5 minute run was @5.09 per mile and the 4 minute run was around 1240m so around the same pace. After that as the runs got shorter I was getting faster so I didn't try to work out the distance. I hit the 5k in 17 minutes exactly. In total I covered 3.53 miles in the 20 minutes, that includes the five 1 minute recovery jogs.

Overall I'm very happy with this session, ran faster than expected but it was tough!! I'm racing a 5k on the track on Sunday so will be taking it easy until then.

7 miles ran in total.

pa4

This would be my last 5k on the track this year so I was hoping to do a fairly decent time or even get a pb. Training has being going well the last 4 weeks but its slightly more focused on speed and the shorter events. Still though I don't think that made too much of a difference.

Surprisingly I got a good night sleep on Saturday, usually I can't sleep a wink the night before a race! The weather was terrible, a strong wind and a constant mist which varied in intensity. Luckily the rain stopped for my race but there was still a fairly strong wind.

The timetable was off by about 15 minutes so I delayed a bit in my warm up. Next thing I knew the girls race was nearly finished so I had to run over to the start line to do my drills and stretches. I left it a bit too late and only got 2 strides done before the race started. Not ideal because I felt my legs weren't loosened out enough.

The race got under way with the first lap in 78 seconds, I knew this would be slow for the leaders and sure enough after hitting the first km in 3:15 the pace suddenly picked up. There was a large field because they had the junior and u.23 race together so I just sat back and let the leaders off who ended up running 15:08! The first mile went through in 5:10 and then we hit the 2k in 6:30. At this stage I was becoming detached from the few lads I was holding on too and the field suddenly began too string out so I found myself on my own. It didn't really feel like I slowed down that much but ended up going through the 3k in 9:52. I tried too pick it up but only went through the 4k in 13:15. At this stage I was beginning to catch a few lads and ended up passing out 3 in the last km and almost caught another on the line.

Final time: 16:34

At first I was disappointed but then I realised that I can't run a pb every race, the weather was terrible and the wind really held me back, having to push into that every lap can be tough! I find 5k's on track mentally tough at times and its so easy too loose your pace. One second a lap could me a loss of 12-13 seconds in your overall time. When I ran my pb it was ideal conditions, no wind and the sun shining. There was a group of 4 of us with 700m to go when I pulled away and it felt comfortable letting everyone else do the work. When your on your own you have to do the work yourself and it can be hard pushing it when theres nobody to work off.

Overall I'm happy. 9 seconds outside my pb and my second fastest 5k ever. Next up is a 10k road race on Wednesday. Its a lovely flat 2 lap course. I've no real expectations just to go out and run and hopefully get a good time I feel good today so I should be fully recovered. Im off today so I'll do a few easy miles tomorrow with a few strides.

ecoli

Just catching up on this log now. Super running this year you seem to be going from strength to strength keep it up.

Looking at the sessions you have been doing the training philosophies your coach has look quite familiar and look to be based on very solid principles. I reckon by the end of the summer you will bust out a very fast 1500m without a doubt.

Keep up the good work and best of luck in the 10k

pa4

ecoli wrote: »

Just catching up on this log now. Super running this year you seem to be going from strength to strength keep it up.

Looking at the sessions you have been doing the training philosophies your coach has look quite familiar and look to be based on very solid principles. I reckon by the end of the summer you will bust out a very fast 1500m without a doubt.

Keep up the good work and best of luck in the 10k

Thanks ecoli I haven't ran a 1500 since the indoors and managed a 4.19 so i reckon I could definitely run much faster now.

pa4

Haven't updated this in a few days because I actually forgot about it and then got lazy. Good weeks training anyway

Monday 1st of July:
Rest after race the day before.

Tuesday 2nd of July:
3 miles easy on grass followed by 6x50m strides. Felt tired and the legs were a bit heavy even after the strides which usually loosen them out. Still wasn't fully recovered after Sundays race.

Wednesday 3rd of July:

10k road race. I'm happy with the run but not with the time if that makes sense, I wasn't fully recovered from the 5k last Sunday and ended up running 35:32. I can't really write a proper report because I've all my splits and stuff forgotton! I'm concentrating on the shorter stuff at the moment and haven't been doing much long stuff in training so I'm happy to have gotten in this race as a good training session and too build up some strength.

Thursday 4th of July:

4 miles easy on grass. Didn't time this one because I was just taking it handy and was fairly wrecked from the 10k.

Friday 5th of July:
6 miles on grass @6:45 per mile. This run felt much slower than it was but I felt good and the weather was lovely for it. Originally I was suppose to do a session but my coach said to leave it off because I wasn't fully recovered after the two races.

Saturday 6th of July:
Rest.

Sunday 7th of July:
Long run of 12 miles in 1:20:44 @6:44 per mile. Felt good for this one and ended up doing the last 6 miles in under 39 minutes. It was very warm so I went out early to avoid the worst of the sun.

Total mileage this week: 35 miles

pa4

Some good quality training the last few days, the body has been feeling good lately!

Monday 8th of July:
6 miles on grass in 42:19 @7:03 pace per mile. I taught I was going to melt doing this one but I felt good so just tipped along handy with a group.

Tuesday 9th of July:
Track session of 2x2k with a 3 minute recovery. I hadn't done much long stuff in training for a while as speed was the main focus for the last few weeks so I'm building up a bit of strength again. I don't think I even need to explain how hot it was, I tried to leave this session as late as possible but had to have it done before half 6 so it was still roasting. I was sweating buckets after my warm up but luckily when I started my session it seemed too cool down a bit.

Times were: 6.20 and 6:18.

I was very happy with this session. It was suppose to be a bit faster but the heat made it tougher so I still feel I got huge benefit from it. The both of them were very consistent, on each I hit the first lap in 76, the 1k mark in 3:10 and the mile in 5:06, on the second 2k I just picked it up a bit more on the last lap thats why it was faster. I didn't feel too bad after it either so it was a good session.

Wednesday 10th of July:
10 miles on the road in 67:41 @6:46 pace per mile. It felt even hotter doing this run than the session the previous day probably since I was running for longer. I felt good all the same and went on a route I've never ran before. The lad I was running with had a bottle of water hidden in a ditch half way through the run, absolute life saver!

pa4

Lovely 8 miler this evening in 56.17 @7:03 pace per mile. Did half on grass then went out on the road for the second half. Was very warm but the country roads were shaded so it was nice. Felt very good today, it must be the warm weather thats making me feel good lately.

pa4

Friday 12th of July:
Track session today. Initially I was suppose to do a session of 4x1 mile with a 3 minute recovery but I decided to do the IMC 800m in the morton games next wednesday so I did a speed session instead to keep up the speed.

Session was 1x400, 2x300m, 2x200m, 2x150m with a 3 minute recovery after the 400 and 300s and a 2 minute recovery after the 200s and 150s.

Times were: 61,45,45,28,28,20,20.

I was very pleased with this session. I felt stronger as I was going along and the heat didn't seem to affect me much. It was a short enough session and I felt good afterwards. The only thing I would have liked was if the 300s were a bit faster but I wasn't feeling as good doing them as I was doing the 200s and 150s.

Saturday 13th of July:
Rest.

pa4

Nice run this morning of 8 miles in 53:30 @6:42 pace per mile. Stayed on the road for this one and felt good, went straight after breakfast and the legs were well loosened out after the first mile. Nice morning for it too, not as hot as the last few days.

pa4

I had only decided last week to enter the IMC 800m at the Morton Games so I hadn't been doing much speed work since my last 800m race. I knew I was in PB shape so last Friday I did a final tune up speed session before the race. The weather was perfect with the sun shining all day and there was hardly any wind - perfect racing conditions.

I was put into the 'D' race which suited me perfectly as nobody had broken 2 minutes previously. Everything about the organisation of it was really professional with a call room in operation and a pace maker in the race. We all had to be in the call room 15 minutes before the race started and we were kept there for around 10 minutes so all my warm up was done at this stage. There was free bottles of water and lucozade sports in the call room area to ourselves hydrated while waiting to be called out onto the track. We were brought out onto the track around 5 minutes before the race started so I had a chance to do a few more strides and keep myself loosened out before the race started after having to stand around in the call room.

I was in lane 7 which was grand and had planned on going through the first lap in around 61 seconds, a good bit behind what the pace maker was going through in. Once the gun went off the race started pretty quick and the pacer went through 200 in around 27/28 with me going through in 30. Already there looked to be a gap between me and the rest of the pack but then the pace slowed after 300m and suddenly I had pulled everyone back. For some reason my legs felt to be tying up even though it wasn't even that fast and went through 300 in around 45/46, and then went through 400 in 61, exactly where I wanted to be. Apparently the pace maker had slowed a fair bit and went through in 60 seconds so a sub 2 minutes off the cards for the leaders. The third 200 was my slowest and I hit the 600m mark in around 1:33. It seemed like the minute I passed the 600m point I got a sudden burst of energy and picked it up but just as we passed the steeplechase the lad ahead of me dropped out which put me out of stride slightly. Nonetheless I dug deep again and pushed as hard as I could for the last 100m meters and passed the line 4 seconds behind the winner.

Final time: 2:05.73 and a new PB.

Overall I'm very happy with the time. The race was one in 2:01 so there was only 4 seconds between the entire field. I didn't feel half as bad after this race as I did when I ran my last 800, I didn't feel like getting sick or collapsing on the ground and I didn't really feel much lactic on the last 100m. Maybe I didn't push myself hard enough or could have gone faster but I'm still delighted with a new PB in a distance I'm not even training for. Afterwards I went and got a free massage after my cool down before sitting down to enjoy the rest of the nights races. Its great too see such times ran on our own turf but its still a pitty more people don't come and support it. People don't seem to realise the significance of these world class athletes. At least I can always say I ran in the same meet as a few Olympians!

Timmaay

pa4 wrote: »

Overall I'm very happy with the time. The race was one in 2:01 so there was only 4 seconds between the entire field.

That was me pulling the 2.01, I was hoping for a sub2 but got a pb so still happy. Pace wasn't really where it needed to be I'll admit also, I almost always sit in during 800s, my 1st 200 wasn't as quick as it should have been, I didn't cop that the pace slowed at the 300m mark, but made a decision to burst on the front anyways, only just made it to the front of the pack after the 400m mark (overtaking on bends is a killer for me!), anyways the pacer had pulled abit of a gap but was wondering why no one was going with him so he slowed alittle, he thankfully burst on when he saw me, and dragged me around 1/2 way down the back straight, where all I could do was try push on, but I had left it all too late by then, last 200m is almost always going to be a 31sec for me, and same again at that race! 800m times are made and lost in the middle 200-600m stage in my view!

Anyways, you doing the national seniors next weekend? Give the pb another shot? The heats for the 800 are a great chance for a pb, no fear of too slow a 1st lap ha!

pa4

Timmaay wrote: »

That was me pulling the 2.01, I was hoping for a sub2 but got a pb so still happy. Pace wasn't really where it needed to be I'll admit also, I almost always sit in during 800s, my 1st 200 wasn't as quick as it should have been, I didn't cop that the pace slowed at the 300m mark, but made a decision to burst on the front anyways, only just made it to the front of the pack after the 400m mark (overtaking on bends is a killer for me!), anyways the pacer had pulled abit of a gap but was wondering why no one was going with him so he slowed alittle, he thankfully burst on when he saw me, and dragged me around 1/2 way down the back straight, where all I could do was try push on, but I had left it all too late by then, last 200m is almost always going to be a 31sec for me, and same again at that race! 800m times are made and lost in the middle 200-600m stage in my view!

Anyways, you doing the national seniors next weekend? Give the pb another shot? The heats for the 800 are a great chance for a pb, no fear of too slow a 1st lap ha!

Thats good running its still nice to get the win either way! I usually loose my pace between the 300-600 mark and then manage to find an extra gear to bring me around the last 200. The race is up on flotrack now too I think. It can be strange watching yourself race!

Won't be doing the nationals unfortunately, my season is nearly over so I want to concentrate on the longer stuff, I've a 5k coming up thursday week so hopefully can get another pb! That was only my second 800 this summer, I'm really just using them too build up the speed for the longer distances. Are you racing yourself?

pa4

Some good training the last few days after the 800 last Wednesday.

Thursday 18th of July:
5 miles on grass in 33:31 @6:42 pace per mile followed by a few strides too loosen out the legs. I felt good for this one and was well recovered from the race the day before. The pace felt steady but it didn't feel like we were going as fast as we were.

Friday 19th of July:
Track session of 4x1k with a generous 3 minute recovery. This session wasn't suppose to be too hard especially after the race but I felt good nonetheless.

Times were: 3:04, 3:02, 3:03, 3:00.

I had to do this session earlier so it was close to the hottest part of the day. I thought it would effect me but my body must be used to the heat by now and I flew through them. Once I had the first one in the legs they seemed to be getting easier and I had someone else with me who took out two of them so I wasn't doing all the work. One the last one I just pushed it out for the last 200 and finished well, thought I might have managed to get it under 3 minutes!

Saturday 20th of July:
Rest day.

Sunday 21st of July:
Long run of 12+ miles. Didn't have the garmin with me so I ran for time but one of the lads worked it out afterwards and said we had gone over the 12 miles. We were going fairly steady so i reckon we averaged somewhere in the 6:40's per mile. Wasn't as warm this morning and we were shaded by trees the whole way which made it easier.

pa4

Monday 22nd of July:
6 miles on grass @7:05 pace per mile. I didn't feel great for this run and the legs felt tired and heavy but I didn't feel as bad near the end.

Tuesday 23rd of July:
Track session of 2x2k with a 5 minute recovery. Originally it was suppose to be a 3 minute recovery but I was feeling tireder than usual so needed the extra 2 minutes. The target time was 6:15.

Times were: 6:17, 6:13.

Overall a good session. I felt much stronger on the second one and finished well but it was very windy which held me back a bit. For the first one I went through the 1k in 3:10 which was way to slow so picked it up and did the second 1k in 3:07. For the second one I went through the 1k in 3:08 which was grand and did the second 1k in 3:05. Usually when I do sessions like this I'm with someone else and we take turns leading it out but this time I was on my own so I had to pace myself the whole way around. I think its good to be able to do these sessions alone because it makes you push yourself harder and its good practice for a race situation.
I averaged 6:15 anyway which was the target and both were much faster than the session I did 2 weeks ago where I averaged 6:19.

pa4

Wednesday 24th of July:
7 miles on grass @6:52 pace per mile. Felt grand after the session the previous day allthough I thought I would struggle because I was tired all day.

Thursday 25th of July:
5 miles on grass @6:51 pace per mile followed by 5x50m strides. Again I felt tired and stiff all day but once I started running I felt great and would have gone faster if the group wasn't slowing me down. The strides afterwards really loosened out the legs and I felt strong doing them.

pa4

Haven't updated this in a few days, training still going well.

Friday 26th of July:
Track session of 4x1 mile with a 3 minute recovery. Times were supposed to be between 5:00-5:10.

Times were: 5:04, 5:04, 5:06, 5:02

Good session overall, times were well on target and the weather was grand. I haven't done this session since last march so it was nice to get more strength in the legs. The average was 5:04 all together so it was fairly consistent. Had to do it on my own so I had to make my own pace but I didn't mind too much, I find I work harder when doing long intervals on my own anyway and its good not to rely on anyone to pace me. I was fairly tired afterwards and my legs were quite stiff the next day, more so than usually but luckily I had Saturday off.

Saturday 27th of July:
Rest.

Sunday 28th of July:
12+ miles on a forest trail. I did the same route as the last day so I just took out my basic stopwatch. Overall running time was 1 hour 27 mins. I took it fairly handy because I went out early and still didn't feel fully recovered after Fridays session.

Total weekly mileage: Approx. 42 miles.

Monday 29th of July:
4 miles easy on grass followed by 6x50m strides. Didn't time this one because I was just taking it handy running with a group because I'm racing Thursday. Felt OK but my legs were a bit heavy which I think was due to sitting around doing nothing all day.

Tuesday 30th of July:
Rest. Taking it handy this week because I've a race Thursday and next Monday.

Tomorrow - Wednesday 31st of July:
Will be doing 3 miles easy on grass followed by a few strides to stay loosened out before the 5k race the next day. Feeling good today so hopefully all will go well.

dna_leri

pa4 wrote: »

Haven't updated this in a few days, training still going well.

Friday 26th of July:
Track session of 4x1 mile with a 3 minute recovery. Times were supposed to be between 5:00-5:10.

Times were: 5:04, 5:04, 5:06, 5:02

Good session overall, times were well on target and the weather was grand. I haven't done this session since last march so it was nice to get more strength in the legs. The average was 5:04 all together so it was fairly consistent. Had to do it on my own so I had to make my own pace but I didn't mind too much, I find I work harder when doing long intervals on my own anyway and its good not to rely on anyone to pace me. I was fairly tired afterwards and my legs were quite stiff the next day, more so than usually but luckily I had Saturday off.

That's a savage session, especially on your own, sets you up well for a 5K. Are you looking for a PB?

pa4

dna_leri wrote: »

That's a savage session, especially on your own, sets you up well for a 5K. Are you looking for a PB?

Thanks I was delighted with that session, earlier on in the year I was averaging 5:20 so I was surprised when I hit the first one in 5:04 which didn't feel too bad and I didn't burn out. I'm definitely hoping for a PB, judging on my sessions lately I should get one with ease so hopefully all goes well

pa4

Haven't updated this in a while and don't worry, it won't become a regular occurrence! So basically I've been on my end of season break from running for 2.5 weeks (17 days) and came back running last Friday.

Just before my break I ran a 10 mile road race in 58:55 (5:53 pace per mile) which I was delighted with. I was hoping to break 60 minutes so to end up breaking 59 was something extra special. For anyone following my training ye will know that I haven't been doing big mileage at all with my longest run being 12 miles. This was one of those races where I got myself into a rhythm of running between 5:50 and 6:00 mins for each mile and didn't go over 6 minutes at all. I purposely did the first two miles in exactly 5:40 so I would have those 40 seconds to fall back on if I did get tired. I was also lucky to be running with people up to the 6 mile point where I then pulled away and upped the pace again slightly. This was probably one of the nicest races I ran this year, after the 7/8 mile points I felt good and knew I could keep the pace going untill the finish. I did however notice a slight lack of strength over the last mile which is probably just due too low mileage. I can definitley see myself running a marathon in the future, I know 10 miles is nothing compared to it but it was still much longer than I've ever raced before. I can't remember much of the race since it was 3 weeks ago now so sorry for the short report!

Overall I'm very happy with my track/road season. It was the first time I properly ran track. I've improved all my PB's from a 2:05 800m to a 58:55 10 miler so there is a nice mix of speed and strength. Next up will be the cross country which starts early October with the county championships. I did cross country last year and loved it so I'm really looking forward to it this year and feel my track/road season will give me a good bad going into it.

I did no form of exercise on my break so the 3 miles I did last Friday felt like a marathon! I'll just be taking it easy this week with no sessions and just build back up the runs and slowly add in sessions again next week. I'll update my training after my run tonight.

pa4

Training for the last few days, just gonna take it easy this week and slowly build up the runs and add in a easy session next week.

Friday 26th of August:
First run back of 3 miles on grass. Took it very handy and felt very sluggish. Averaged 7:05 pace per mile which was probably a bit too fast for my first day! Felt a bit stiff too afterwards so did lots of stretching and foam rolling.

Saturday 27th of August:
Rest. Didn't want to over do it coming back and felt a bit stiff still from the previous day.

Sunday 28th of August:
4 miles on grass @6.52 pace per mile. Felt much better doing this one and finished well, still felt a bit stiff later on in the day though.

Monday 29th of August:
5 miles easy on grass. Didn't have the watch for this one so I just ran how I felt and felt pretty good. I'm not breathing as heavy as the last two runs and the legs weren't as tired afterwards either. Did plenty of stretching and foam rolling at home afterwards and have a massage booked for tomorrow to keep loosened out.

dna_leri

pa4 wrote: »

Overall I'm very happy with my track/road season. It was the first time I properly ran track. I've improved all my PB's from a 2:05 800m to a 58:55 10 miler so there is a nice mix of speed and strength. Next up will be the cross country which starts early October with the county championships. I did cross country last year and loved it so I'm really looking forward to it this year and feel my track/road season will give me a good bad going into it.

That's a great first track season, any long term aims for the track or road?

pa4

dna_leri wrote: »

That's a great first track season, any long term aims for the track or road?

Thanks I'm very pleased with it now myself. At the moment my aims are mainly to improve my times and hopefully focus on the longer distances. As for long term aims I'd like to improve on my individual positions in races starting with my own county championships and then munster/All-Ireland championships. I won my own county intermediate road championships earlier in the year so I could probably tick that off the list. Hopefully next I'll start making a name for myself at munster level and pick up a few medals! If I can focus on my individual performance the times should come, I realised if I was worrying too much about times I was too cautious and I wasn't running to my potential. Next up is cross country for me so the plan will be to medal in both the county novice and intermediate and have a decent performance in the munsters/All-Irelands.

pa4

Good run this morning. Went out early straight after I got out of bed. I thought I would be stiff and tired but was well loosened out after the first mile.
6 miles in total on the road @6:45 pace per mile. Went and got a massage afterwards which felt like another session in itself! Off tomorrow so should be well recovered. My body seems to be adjusting quickly enough to being back running so I should be back to where I was within a few weeks.

pa4

Wednesday 28th of August:
Rest. Felt tired from the last few days.

Thursday 29th of August:
6 miles on grass @7.03 pace per mile. I really felt tired for this one. Was running in a group and started slow, think the first mile was around 7:30 and the rest were under 7 mins. I was really struggling to catch my breath over the last mile which shows I still have a fair bit to go before regaining full fitness.

Friday 30th of August:
4 miles easy on grass @7:22 pace per mile. I deliberately took this run easy and did it by myself so I would end up running faster than intended. Felt OK and the heart rate seemed to be OK too. I thought I would struggle because I felt fairly sluggish all day but the run ended up feeling quite relaxing.

Saturday 31st of August:
Rest day. Will definitely need it, feeling pretty tired at the moment and don't want to over do it.

Next race will be on the 6th of October which is my county cross country championships giving me 5 full weeks of training. I should be back too were I was at that stage and it'll be good training for the Munsters which will probably be on mid to late October.

pa4

Nice easy run of just over 10 miles this morning. I didn't have the garmin so I just ran for 75 mins in total, started off easy and worked into it and felt good the whole way. It was my longest run since the 10 mile race I did on the 5th of August and to be honest it didn't even feel like 10 miles.

31 miles in total this week for my first week back and ran for 5 days. I'm feeling much better today compared to last thursday and friday, the heart rate is slowly coming down during my runs. Will be adding in a session next week.