Confessions of a never has been.....

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

Hows the body holding up with the mileage and the XC stress? Apart from sleep, are you doing anything different (e.g.with diet) as the long runs get longer?

Motivation still high for the Mara??

The body is good actually, no niggles really, I had some general tightness on Tuesday after 2 hard days but I run my easy stuff VERY easy on purpose.
Lots of water early on in the day ( as in first thing) given that I'm probably using whatever water is in the system overnight to aid recovery, lots of water throughout the day, diet-wise I'm eating the same stuff, just a little more of it I suppose. It's still pretty early days to be fair, the longer weekend sessions could well change my tune !

Bit of a down week planned for next week with a long haul work trip, I'm going to embrace that and kick on hard at it when I get back

Really looking forward to running the marathon, its been quite a while now since I did one

*edit - almost forgot the iron...I take low dosage iron tablet 4-5 times a week

Duanington

11.12.2018


Friday

Easy lunchtime run around St Anne's - stuck to the grass nice n chilled

Just shy of 8 miles all in

Saturday

Session day today

Had to share St Anne's with the race walkers (national champs) for this one, thankfully they were just walking up and down the avenue in one continuous loop.

Plan for today was:

3 x (12, 6, 3 minutes@ 6.30, 6.20, 6.10) - 2 minutes easy between the 3 sets

A large enough session, the idea being to stress the system from 6.30 pace down to around the 6.10 mark over the course of 21 minutes, recover for 2 minutes and go again.

The wind was a real pain for some of this and I had to resist to urge to up the effort levels too much ( wanting to stay relaxed), St Anne's is pretty flat but it does have a couple of drags which I like to take in on these longer sessions too.

First set went pretty well, 2nd set got a little tougher and the 3rd was pretty tough to be honest, the wind was strong and the slight drags felt anything but slight. Got it done though and felt pretty strong at the end.

Section 1: 12 mins( 6.32 pace), 6 mins ( 6.16 pace), 3 mins (6.10 pace)
Section 2: 12 mins ( 6.25 pace), 6 mins ( 6.18 pace), 3 mins ( 6.15 pace)
Section 3: 12 mins ( 6.30 pace), 6 mins ( 6.24 pace), 3 mins ( 5.56 pace)

Some of the paces are a bit off but effort wise, this was a very good session, the wind and route distorts things a little but feeling strong while working hard over 10 miles or so is always a good sign.

13.3 miles all in for the session

Sunday - travelling to India, off

Another quality week in the bag, just over 71 miles with a good longer session at the end of the week.

Monday - Threadmill stuff, a very boring 5.6 weeks to kick off a planned stepback week

Tuesday - More threadmill stuff, another boring 4.2 miles on the hotel, early start today, I toyed with the idea of running outside but its nuts and I'd probably end up lost anyway.

Duanington

16.12.2018

The end of a down week and the body is tired after a very long trip back to Dublin on Thursday\Friday, it'll take a few days to start feeling right again I'm sure but there's a few big weeks ahead hopefully now

Wednesday

More threadmill - 6 very ooring miles

Thursday

Off- travelling

Friday

Got out to St Anne's to clear the head and flush the legs out

Just over 7 miles nice and easy

Saturday

Session time again, the only real effort this week and with the wind\rain, it was going to be a little tougher than planned

Session was:
10 mins, 5 mins alternating between 6.30(ish) and 6.55(ish) pace x 4 ...60 minutes of flipping between the 2 paces

These sessions are tough but very rewarding in terms of the strength and confidence gained from the pace changes, there isn't anything especially fast in there but flipping back from 6.55 to 6.30 can be tough, especially when the legs start to tire.

Used St Anne's for this, mental conditions but I told myself not to worry about paces or numbers, to just get the effort right - I probably failed in that regard because I was definitely pushing a bit too hard into the strong wind but at the same time, when the wind was with me, things were very comfortable

In the end, it was a good session, I was soaked to the bone and very tired after but glad it was done

6.30\7.00
6.25\6.50
6.30\7.00
6.28\7.05

Just under 12 miles running all in

Sunday

Out with FBOT to St Anne's to help him shake off his hangover, good chats but we were both pretty tired by the end of this one

Just over 7 miles very easy

AuldManKing

Nice one - what did you make of India - or were you in the FB cocoon?

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

Nice one - what did you make of India - or were you in the FB cocoon?

Got out a good but to be honest, A - its chaotic, amazing, a little intimidating at times, very humbling and a bit of an eye opener really.

Duanington

27.12.2018

Feels like an age since I've updated this, time to get back to it

Monday 17th

Long run night, on a stormy, horrible evening. FBOT kindly offered to keep me company for the first half of this one, the pace and effort was nice and easy all the way until he headed off, within a mile or afterwards though, I was feeling very, very tired.
Used the Donaghmede\Baldoyle loop for this and when I turned onto the coast for the final 5 miles or so, the wind was knocking the $hite out of me.
I could gladly have lay down somewhere for a nap at any stage from 15 miles onwards but stuck it out for the full 20, legs, mind and soul...all feeling it

Horrible evening but it doesn't fully explain the horrible effort ( probably some residual jet-lag to be honest, I've found the trip back from Asia tough to get over before)

20 miles for the lot

Tuesday

Ran the long way home for some very easy miles. 6.2 all in. Felt rough at the start and a little better by the end


Wednesday

Last day on the track for the group today, we had a relay race lined up for the crew. 200m for each leg, each runner to run 6 legs.

I got drawn in one of the slower teams which suited me fine, I was to cruise these and not get into a race or else do my own session.

Sounds simple.....but then someone handed me a baton

Stupidly I got into a flat out, up to my eyes in lactic type race ...trying to chase down gaps etc and I paid the price on the 3rd leg when my left hamstring gave a deep\dull tug and brought me to a stop.

I could manage a light jog ok to get back to the office but I knew there was something wrong here and feared the worst to begin with.
A trip to the physio ensued, as did lots of eye rolling and agreeing that hindsight is indeed a marvelous thing...the verdict, I'm an idiot.
Thankfully there was nothing major wrong, a minor strain that just needed to be given a few days and lots of stretching.

Thursday - off
Friday - off

Saturday - jogged around St Anne's parkrun, felt a little tight towards the end but delighted to be running !
3.5 miles all in

Sunday - off

Monday - 4.1 easy miles, lots of improvement, the world starting to look a little brighter

Tuesday

Down to the Phoenix Park with the bro for the annual Christmas run, a lovely 5.2 miles with zero discomfort

Wednesday

9 sloppy miles around the trails in St Anne's - all good

Thursday

10 sloppy miles around the trails in St Anne's - a sigh of relief at the end.

I've 2 big weeks coming up now and there will be no relay racing in there



Happy Christmas to the Boards community, wishing you and yours a peaceful New Year

Duanington

02.01.2019

Friday

AM - 7.6 miles nice and easy around St Anne's with FBOT, taking in the masters XC route in the process ( a race that I'll have to skip now unfortuntately), good chatter and no hassle from the leg

PM - out for some very easy stuff again but some strides aswell to stretch out the legs a little.
4.4 satisfying miles


Saturday

Knew I'd had to adjust the session this week and I also knew it was a risk to run one at all. With the strides going well the previous night however, the odds were slightly more in my favour than against, just.

The plan for today was to run 2x3 miles @6.30 pace...with 4 minutes easy in between ( originally this was to be 3x4 miles and less recovery), down to St Anne's as usual.

Felt a little jaded in the warmup but eased my way into the session really, no issues with the leg or the pace over the first set - I often find myself reading on with envious eyes at other logs where I see people running their planned marathon pace with apparent ease....I've yet to have an MP style session that I cruise through and this was no different. Controlled work is how I'd describe the effort throughout, I did think about a 3rd set at the end but also felt a bit of fatigue down the left side which was enough to make me cop on.

Set 1: avg pace: 6.26
Set 2: avg pace: 6.28

10.8 and a good solid session, I'd liked to have gotten a bit more volume done but the leg responded well and that was the main thing really.

Sunday

AM - early run around St Anne's, nice and easy...on the grass. 4.4 miles

PM - Evening loop around Fairview park and back, 6 miles on the nose

Monday

AM - More easy stuff and no feedback at all from the leg, 8.2 miles

PM - Just over 4 miles to finish off the year, beautiful evening, the streets were quiet but there was a real sense of looming occassion at the same time with busy houses and pubs etc..

Tuesday

Long run time - 21 miles with a steady\fast finish on the cards.
I drove over to the PP to get this done, I wasn't looking forward to the run and knew the change of scenery would break things up a little for me ( I also wanted to test out the hamstring on some of the drags there).

Feeling tired, clumsy and old for the first few miles, I took complete advantage of the fact there was a race on in the park and got a couple of miles in with the crowd on their way around the TB 5k....that perked me up a little and as the run went on, I grew into it.
Love the park, the S bends, the trails, even the horrible North Road - I must try to get here a bit more for these runs.
Finished off the run by bringing the pace down to around 6.50 for the last couple of miles, stride felt good but I was wrecked afterwards.

21 miles all in

AuldManKing

Duanington wrote: »

Tuesday

Long run time - 21 miles with a steady\fast finish on the cards.
I drove over to the PP to get this done, I wasn't looking forward to the run and knew the change of scenery would break things up a little for me ( I also wanted to test out the hamstring on some of the drags there).

If you ever want company in the PP, I know a guy...........

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

If you ever want company in the PP, I know a guy...........

I was actually going to give you a shout but it was short enough notice when I finally decided on PP ( had a feeling you already had a session of sorts lined up). Will do so with a bit more notice next time

Duanington

07.01.2019

Wednesday

A very easy run around St Anne's, stuck to the grass as always and felt the better for it

9 miles for the lot

Thursday

With the hamstring seemingly holding up well, a session on the cards. A pyramid of sorts.....missing a block or two.

Starting off at 80 seconds and working my way up to 3 minutes, used the grass for the most part and kept it around 10k effort. The kind of session where the body starts off creaking and groaning as the bits of rust drop off but by the end most moving parts were working reasonably well.

5.45 pace through to just over 6 for all the reps

60-80 seconds recovery between reps

Delighted to get it done, these always look fine on paper but in reality they are a tough little workout

8 miles in total


Friday

AM 6 easy miles, no ill effects from the session yesterday

PM - Physio visit and 4 easy miles afterwards. Good news on the hamstring, all in working order and full strength restored ( I kind of knew this anyway though)

10 miles for the day

Saturday

Biggest session in quite a while for today - 16 miles at steady effort ( 6.50-7.00). While I wouldn't get too hung up on pace for this, I knew that these sessions can be tough on the mind for me, especially the final third when it starts to bite.

Used St Anne's and the coastal loop for this, the wind on the coast was a head wrecker for a bit but I found a good stride and held if for just about the entire run. The effort felt great for the first third, started to pull at the system a little over the middle third and for the last couple of miles it was a real case of keeping focus on the stride and rhythm to make sure I kept it all moving well.

16 miles@ 6.52, tired afterwards but happy with it.

Sunday

Just over 6 miles very easy late enough last night to flush out the legs, enjoyed this and felt better finishing up than starting off

Just over 83 miles for the week, lots and lots of S+C too

Duanington

10.01.2019

Monday

These longer runs seem to be coming at me thick and fast at the moment but this 2 week period was always going to be the heaviest workload of the plan.

Anyway, MurphD thankfully offered to meet me for a few miles at the start of the long run this evening, nice chats, nice pace until he headed off his own way on the coast road....not to fear, FBOT promptly took over pacing duties for another few miles.
I was feeling the previous week's work in the legs but that's the nature of it sometimes so it really was a case of carrying on and getting it done.
Finished up with just over 18 miles, feeling fine by the end....tired but content.

Tuesday

Late enough getting out of work and skipped the planned am run to give myself som sort of recovery. Headed off for home from the office, met FBOT for some easy stuff after his session on the coast and stuck to the grass as much as possible.

Enjoyed this one

8.5 very easy miles

Wednesday

Down to the track for the first time in a while, session was;

2k@tempo (3-3.30 easy recovery)
5x500m (60-70 easy recovery)

Felt sluggish starting off here, struggling to find the right turnover speed but eventually things eased up and I found a good stride for the tempo piece

Enjoyed the 500s, they oddly provided a bit of a mental break from the longer stuff and while it was tough to get the legs moving at first, I finished pretty strong.

5.55 pace for the 2k
5.20-5.30 pace for the 500s

7.2 miles for the lot

Duanington

15.01.2019

Thursday

10.5 easy miles around St Anne's, met a lad from the club and used the trails, good chats made the miles fly by

Friday

AM - Just over 7 miles around 7 miles, kept it very easy and stuck to the grass

PM - 5 miles with the youngest out on her bike along the coast, parked her up and ran a few strides to loosen out the legs a bit.

12 miles for the day

Saturday

Out again with the young one, this time around St Anne's, parked at one of those activity machine things that springing up around the place to save her legs a bit.
Felt heavy legged by the end.

6.8 easy miles

Sunday

Leinster Intermediates XC

There’s no other way to say it, I was not looking forward to this one. Pitting myself against other intermediate runners in a club competition, over the bumpy fields in Gowran seemed like the smart gamble to take when I penciled this one in a month or so back. Cross country racing has been a key part of the build up to Seville, a completely different approach to previous marathons I’ve run and maybe on paper a silly gamble….there’s something about it though, it drags the strength out, both physical and mental.
Penciling this in back in December when I was still in relatively early stages of Seville training and full of energy\enthusiasm was a doddle, it made sense, grind out a good few long runs and long sessions over late December, early January….throw in a good old fashioned cross country meet and you’ll reap the rewards surely?
The bit of added strength, tired legs, cumulative fatigue and all that, a real test of the legs and the mind.

Fast forward a few weeks and the thoughts of duking it out on the fields of Gowran was the last thing I wanted to do the morning of the race, switching from the longer, endurance based sessions to the more intense, oxygen sapping environment of an xc race was just not appealing to me.
I knew it was probably what I needed though, tough love and all of that. I briefly thought about making my excuses and getting in one of the scheduled MP sessions but that never really took that consideration seriously, which was just as well because when I got down to Gowran, it turned out that we had 4 on the team, just enough to ensure we could compete.

I watched the masters men, women and then the women inters while doing my warmup ( impressive stuff in all 3 races from the club…no pressure!) and when the time came to get started, I was a little less apprehensive about things – I knew I’d get into the race and grind it out, I fully expected to be b*lloxed for the first mile but will always back myself to hang on in there and work my way through the field.

A quick chat with the 3 other lads beforehand, we agreed to try to pack together as much as possible, if 1 went, we’d all try to go….but nothing silly over the first mile. Without delay, we were off, the course was essentially 2 fields, the first field with the start\finish area and the second with a series of testing drags\turns with some real exposure to the wind too. There was no real mud anywhere on the loop but tire tracks and the usual bumps and hollows made for some anxious moments throughout, lots of talk of glass ankles etc…
4 laps in total to run.

I found myself moving and breathing pretty well over the first few hundred metres, I didn’t get caught up in any mad dash, knowing full well that the last lap or two was going to claim some victims, this course was pretty fair but had lots of turns and 2 real drags into the wind that would hurt people, down alongside the start\finish area, into a sharp chicane then another sharp turn\climb into the 2nd field. I was struggling a little to get the legs to turnover and found myself slipping back a little further than I would have liked to be honest.

Lots of good support around here from clubmates, it really makes a difference on the day. Up the first of the drags, along the tire tracks, trying to pick a route that gave a firm grip and the wind was considerable here, somebody commented that they hadn’t felt that on the warmup and I remember feeling the same.
All the way to the end of the 2nd field then, a couple of sharp lefts and we were moving along a lovely stretch with the wind, I opened the stride up here for the first time and took back a few places, closing in on our 3rd place lad a little. Back towards the 1st field, through a ditch and back to where we started, this was already starting to hurt and I was working hard just to stay in touch with the 3 lads from the club. Lots of shouts from the coaches here, we were 1 lap in and it wasn’t looking or feeling to good for me or for the team, while the shouts were encouraging, the tone was very much “stay in touch” or “don’t lose that man”…that kind of thing.

Around the bend we came to start the 2nd lap, another nice stretch down the backstraight of the 1st field, once again I opened the stride up but didn’t gain any places, I was content enough with this strategy for now though, into the chicanes and I had held my own and was starting to settle a little.

As we climbed the little drag towards the gap in the hedge, I caught a glimpse of the lads ahead and hoped more than knew I should make a little ground coming into this section. True enough, I darted ahead of a couple of runners turning into the second field, pushed on up the drags to the top, pumping the legs all the time. I was struggling to really find the turnover though and while I skipped ahead of a runner or two on this section, it was a case of skip in at a corner and hold the place. I knew every place would count here given that we only had 4 of us running.

Coming down the long straight in the 2nd field, back towards the gap in the hedge, I was gassing a little, opening the stride up definitely helped with the pace but my quads felt heavy from the preceding drags and turns, I couldn’t manage to shake off the couple of people I’d passed on that loop. Out the gap, through the Raheny support and I was aware that I was in 25th position or so, I didn’t panic though, top 20 would be great and I knew if I was hurting, others were too.

Around the bend to start the 3rd lap and Pat H from the club roared at me to throw myself down the straight, I obeyed of course but everyone else around me was doing the same and I made up no ground on the straight. Into the chicanes though and I did catch a couple of runners, into the drag before the 2nd field and I had closed on a couple more, the Raheny support obviously noticed and I took heart from it.

Jesus this was hurting now, legs aching and lungs working overtime to keep the show on the road, I pushed up each drag and fought my way into each corner, encouraged by the ground I was making up each time but punished by the effort I was exerting.

Down the long straight again towards the gap again, when I emerged from the gap, I could see the 3 lads were coming back a little. I kicked hard around the long bend into the straight as we started the last lap, huge roars from the support as I did so, I always finish strong, I always back myself….this was going to be the same…wasn’t it?

I never had the sense that I was motoring through the field like I had in a couple of previous races but I was definitely picking people off now. I drew level with one of the lads from the club and ducked in ahead of him at the chicanes, urging him to come with me. A few more places each and we’d put the club in a great position.

Dick H tells me I’m in 21st position as I head through the gap and up into the series of drags in the 2nd field. The wind felt ferocious here ( I’m sure it wasn’t really!) and the bumpy ground was stopping me from opening up the stride yet but there was a big group ahead that I was closing in on.
One turn, another sharp turn and I was right with them, swinging around the bend into the straight, I couldn’t decide how to get around them so I ran straight through them and kept going.

There were maybe 5\6 in the group and at least 2 came with me, a Tullamore lad who was moving very well, we both opened up on the long straight but he was moving very well and nipped in ahead of me just before the gap. This is it now D, you’ve got to put the squeeze on.

Out the gap and straight rather than right, huge shouts from the Raheny crew and I knew there was a pack chasing me down so used it to drive me into the home straight. Tullamore was kicking ahead and wondered if I had it in me to catch him, I kicked, he sensed it and maintained the gap. The shouts from the crowd told me that someone was just behind so I kept the legs pumping, lactic burning through them now but they responded well. Over the line for 17th position, 3rd scorer for the team and a satisfied but shattered runner.

The two lads from the club finished just ahead and were panned out on the ground, with our 4th scorer coming in a few places behind me.

There was lots of hugging and congratulating once everyone got their breath back, this one was hard fought, very very hard fought but 2nd Team was the prize for our endeavor and it felt very sweet indeed.

Standing in a field in Gowran, Kilkenny with clubmates and coaches, a little medal to show for the aching muscles, I was struck by the sense family about the club, people congratulating each other, former Olympians giving a knowing smile when handing out medals. They’ve been here, done it many times before, at a much higher standard…but its all relative in this game. Thoughts of mileage in the legs, training for a marathon, long runs still in there…it all seemed a little silly really when you see what some people have contributed and continue to contribute to the club scene.

I didn’t have one of my stronger races but I dug in and did a job, sometimes that is exactly what XC requires.

Mile splits:
5.54
6.01
5.55
5.58
.93 mile in 5.19 (5.40 pace)


Just over 9 miles for the day inc warmup\down
72.5 for the week

Monday

Long haul flight to the west coast of the US left me feeling tired and a little stiff, I had reasoned with myself earlier that if the body felt good, I'd go long, if it didn't, I'd let it recover. Recovery is what was required so 6 easy miles around the streets near the hotel did the trick ( with some light strides). I've made the mistake before of shoehorning things into a week that aren't even that necessary.

Here till Friday, it'll be easy stuff bar a hill session of some description tomorrow.

OOnegative

Some animal DD, great racing again sir. XC brings the best out of you, well done on the team medal.

Swashbuckler

Savage again

AuldManKing

Duanington wrote: »

Standing in a field in Gowran, Kilkenny with clubmates and coaches, a little medal to show for the aching muscles, I was struck by the sense family about the club, people congratulating each other, former Olympians giving a knowing smile when handing out medals. They’ve been here, done it many times before, at a much higher standard…but its all relative in this game. Thoughts of mileage in the legs, training for a marathon, long runs still in there…it all seemed a little silly really when you see what some people have contributed and continue to contribute to the club scene.

Love that - Good man DD.

RayCun

Great running, well done!

Back in Black

Another cracking run DD well done

Singer

Super running & report!

Duanington

20.01.2019

The week after the week before...

I knew this week would be a bit of a struggle to cram everything in, in fact I knew it would be stupid to try and squeeze everything in. A long flight 2 California, a couple of craxy busy work days there and a flight back to Dublin would mean that something would have to give. In the end, I sacrificed the long run and ran a hilly pyramid and longish MP session instead.

Monday


Landed in SFO at around 3.30 and by the time I got to the hotel, we'd no real daylight left so I trotted around on the concrete paths I know pretty well, looping around to make up the miles and throwing a few strides in to shake out the legs

6 miles easy

Tuesday

I honestly don't remember this but apparently I ran 3 miles on the threadmill then straight onto 5.6 miles out on the roads at around 5 am.

Strava looks a little messed up with the time zones but I'm certain I ran again that evening - 4.2 miles

Wednesday

I remember this one alright because I headed for the trails at Coyote Hills regional park at first light, picked a hilly loop and ran a pyramid session. I was up and about at 4 am and felt a shake in the building which I assumed was the aircon acting up...it turns out it was a little earthquake!

The plan was to find the effort and hold it, going up hills, down hills, whatever. The loop was perfect for this kind of session, gravel\dirt and tarmac, plenty of uphill, a little downhill and a little flat too

2.00
2.30
3.30
4.00
3.30
3.00
2.00
2.00

Not sure what happened on the 2nd last rep but I ran this one well, loved the gravel trails and the hills, legs were burning by the end but I felt strong

( all off 90 seconds)
8.7 miles for the lot



PM - 4 very easy miles on the threadmill later before dinner

Thursday

- up and out early before work again ( awake at 4 again), out running on the quiet roads which was lovely to be honest, opened the stride up a little towards the end to stretch the legs
Another earthquake apparently, didn't feel a thing though

7 easy miles

Friday


Landed back in Dublin at 11.30, suitably shattered, had a little food and thought about a nap but thought it would just mess up sleep later so headed into st Anne's for an easy run

8 miles, mostly on the grass...feeling the effects of the travel\jet lag though

Saturday

Session time

I had originally pencilled in 6x2 miles @ MP for this one but when I woke up ( after a pretty big sleep to be fair), I knew that would be asking too much, I was dehydrated, groggy and stiff so settled on 5x2 miles off 3.30 recovery....still a meaty enough session and would hopefully hit that sweet spot between not enough and too much.

Used St Anne's for this, my usual loop...all on the tarmac, lots of tree cover and a couple of drags etc so this would be about finding and holding the effort for each set.

Started off very clunky, not moving well at all but I gradually found the pace as the session went on.
First set felt awful, 2nd less so and the 3rd actually felt ok, by the end of the 4th though, I knew I had made the right call by chopping it back to 5 sets.
By the end of the 5th, I was wrecked and glad to be done. The tank was indeed empty.

Met a clubmate straight after and jogged a few easy miles with him.

Session splits:

Set 1 ( 6.24, 6.22)
Set 2 (6.28, 6.29)
Set 3 (6.31, 6.27
Set 4 (6.34, 6.31)
Set 5 (6.37, 6.19)


16.3 miles for the lot (warmup\down - A good session given the few days leading up to it but I was hanging by the end so could probably have given it another day's recovery to be honest, legs and body simply weren't right.


Sunday


Met FBOT for some easy miles around the coast, lovely evening - 8.4 miles


71.5 miles for the week

AuldManKing

71 miles is a super return for a week away. Great stuff.

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

71 miles is a super return for a week away. Great stuff.

It kind of took care of itself to be honest, I would have been happy to just get away with running the two sessions

aquinn

AuldManKing wrote: »

71 miles is a super return for a week away. Great stuff.

That's my yearly mileage to date!

Duanington

23.01.2019


Monday

Usually long run night but with the session Saturday, teh jet lag, fatigue from the travel etc...I planned to give myself an extra day and stuck to it

AM ( or rather, early PM) - met one of the lads from work for a trot around Irishtown\Ringsend, legs felt pretty good.
6.4 easy miles

PM - just a regular run home from work, love these but it was freezing

4.2 miles

10.6 for the day

Tuesday

One of the key runs of this plan, 18 miles steady (6.50-7.10 range) and I'd taken a half day so I'd get most of it done in daylight. Started off straight into this one, heading for St Anne's to see how many loops I could stomach there. I was dreading this run, which usually means that I know I need it

It took me a few miles to get into this to be honest but once I did, everything felt smooth and steady, the way the first half of these runs should I suppose.
Around 10\11 miles in though, I'd an urgent rumble in the gut which meant a quick pit-stop back at the house, lesson learned there ( ate too much and too soon to a session like this) but no big deal really, I was back at it after a couple of minutes, full of the joys!

Headed back to St Anne's, one loop there and then out to the coast to finish off.
Surprised myself by how well I moved on for the majority of this, the last mile into the wind was an effort but up to that point, the pace was locked in and everything was purring along. I expected to have to dig in a lot sooner than that, one of those nights I suppose.

Stomach wasn't great afterward but I often find that after a long hard session like this - legs felt reasonable

18 miles @ 6.55 min\miles


( + 1 very easy mile to wind the body back down)

Wednesday

Went down to the track with the crew today but just took it easy and jogged around while they did a session

4.5 miles easy

S+C later in the day

Swashbuckler

Sorry for being a pain... Can I ask the purpose of an 18 miler at steady pace in terms of the overall plan?

Murph_D

Hope you kept the watch running during the pitstop - simulate race conditions, and all that.

Nice going.

FBOT01

Murph_D wrote: »

Hope you kept the watch running during the pitstop - simulate race conditions, and all that.

Nice going.

He obviously did, resulting in the 07:15 split in mile 12

Duanington

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Sorry for being a pain... Can I ask the purpose of an 18 miler at steady pace in terms of the overall plan?

Not a pain at all P.

Its a bit of an old school session I suppose but I in my non-scientific mind ( people who know a lot more than me have explained this much better than I can), there are a few purposes;

- Building on the 16 mile steady session a few weeks back
- A 2 hour aerobic\endurance session, 1 month(ish) out from the race, taking into account the travel\jet lag the week before and allowing for a heavy enough week this week too ( which is why it wasn't 20.)
- I think we underestimate the steady run in general
- I haven't run a marathon in over 2 years, I needed the stimulus, needed the effort of a longer run that wasn't just easy.
- I tend to "enjoy" these and take confidence from them....even though I dread them

Duanington

FBOT01 wrote: »

He obviously did, resulting in the 07:15 split in mile 12

Knew it, I knew it as soon as it flashed up on the watch

Murph_D

Duanington wrote: »

Not a pain at all P.

Its a bit of an old school session I suppose but I in my non-scientific mind ( people who know a lot more than me have explained this much better than I can), there are a few purposes;

- Building on the 16 mile steady session a few weeks back
- A 2 hour aerobic\endurance session, 1 month(ish) out from the race, taking into account the travel\jet lag the week before and allowing for a heavy enough week this week too ( which is why it wasn't 20.)
- I think we underestimate the steady run in general
- I haven't run a marathon in over 2 years, I needed the stimulus, needed the effort of a longer run that wasn't just easy.
- I tend to "enjoy" these and take confidence from them....even though I dread them

Agree with the point about underestimating the steady run, especially the steady long run. Hanson schedules them, every second long run if I remember correctly at about 10% slower than MP - it's a harder run than it sounds with the cumulative fatigue, and certainly builds confidence as well as endurance. Then there's the P&D 'progressive' LRs that also leave you with a similar feeling. As far as I recall though those runs (or at least the 'steady' portion of them) top out a bit shorter than 18, so this is maybe slightly tougher than it strictly needs to be? Maybe not.

Duanington

Murph_D wrote: »

Agree with the point about underestimating the steady run, especially the steady long run. Hanson schedules them, every second long run if I remember correctly at about 10% slower than MP - it's a harder run than it sounds with the cumulative fatigue, and certainly builds confidence as well as endurance. Then there's the P&D 'progressive' LRs that also leave you with a similar feeling. As far as I recall though those runs (or at least the 'steady' portion of them) top out a bit shorter than 18, so this is maybe slightly tougher than it strictly needs to be? Maybe not.

I think they top out at 16 alright D ( maybe I'm wrong there) but I think they're more frequent in those plans too, I've done 2 over the course of 15\16 weeks ( not including long runs with a steady finish, I've had a quite a few slow long runs with the emphises on running very easy so I think that allows for it