The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing
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I meant to add above, that Murph must have about 5 dopplegangers. Seen him all over the course shouting encouragement.
"whos that pacer"
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So the last month can be summarised as "ugghhhhhhh"
July 17th-23rd:- 50 Miles: The week after pacing Healy - I ran 50 miles - all easy paced stuff and thought I was over the glute/hammy issue.
July 24th-30: - 28 Miles: Done a 7m easy on Monday and a 15m on Tuesday (4x(1E+2St)) - I found this very tough - the 'steady' felt faster than Mara effort despite it being 7 min miles - the glute held up well.
On hols from the Wed in Vilamoura so gave the body a break for a few days.
July 31st- Aug 6th:- 18 miles: 1 run this week on hols - 4 miles - the rest were back home - set out to do a 15m easy run and managed 7 as the glute/hammy flared up again. Started doing some rehab stuff which seemed to help a lot and booked physio for the following week.
Aug 7th-13th: 27 miles: Physio really helped - my right side, to use a technical term, was in a jock. Hamstring, Piriformis, Glute Med all the way down to the PF (which we dont think is PF).
Doing a lot of stretching and rehab/strength work this week - legs in bits from that as not used to it (theres a lesson in there) so felt very tired on all the runs this week - the humidity didn't help.
So, with all this going on and the unlikely scenario of me doing sessions this coming week - leaves me 15/16 weeks to Valencia - I dont like starting a Mara block from a position of weakness and with the likelihood of me trying to push fitness (I want to be in 2.49 shape) - I felt it was best to take the refund (I had insurance with the race).
There's always Seville in Feb.
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So, after my sports therapist cured me of all ills of the Hammy/glute and everything else that was going on there - it did send some warning shots to me that I'm 50 and need to start thinking about looking after myself a bit more in terms of S&C and more Physio (not just when I need it).
I need to remember this and not forget it as my rehab sequence went by the wayside early on this week. (I've brought it back)
Mon 14th: A lap of the Phoenix Park and 3 strides - all went well
7.3m / 7.50 pace
Tues 15th: 2x10 mins steady - on advice from my Sports Therapist.
I done the 2x10 mins down North Road to the Zoo and 2m back up as easy cool down - went well - paces about 6.40 per mile. Happy with that.
Wednesday 16th: 4.3 miles at lunch.
Thursday 17th: a trail run in the PP and done 6 strides - again - all went well and no nagging from the glute/ hamstring.
6.4 miles
Friday: Rest day.
Saturday: Frank Duffy 10 mile
Met up with Johnny for this one again, although the plan was to not pace him today as I didn't know if I could run 80 mins or 62 mins. My longest run in a few weeks was just over 7 miles and the last 'session' I had done was the 10k with Johnny in Swords.
So not too sure how things would go.
We done a 2m warm up - said hello to the Pacer Dream Team of Murph & FBOT and then done some strides - we got into the pens and were off quite soon afterwards.
I absolutely love these races in the park - the announcer is just fabulous and when I hear his voice for the 1st time - I get goosebumps.
Had no idea what to expect and found myself running sub 6.30/miles early on and finding it 'comfortable' - as we approacjed the Glen - my watch beeped a 6.17 and we went down the Glen. I wasn't watching my watch, nor chasing a time, I was just reacting to how I felt - Mile 2 clicked at 6.11 as we were going down the upper Glen road and I thought that I must ease back a bit. This was not a pace I'd keep going with for the full 10 miles given the wind, the heat and the hills to come.
The next mile was downhill and I went with it - came in at 6.12 as we came to the S-Bends and Wellingtom Road - this was a slower 6.20 and when we turned at Chesterfield, the wind was moreso in our faces here - which was surprising given my advance pre-work on the route, wind etc :) .
Chesterfield and the breeze, coupled with the increasing temp's certainly knocked the boll!x out of me (and those around me) and I settled back into a more sedate pace as mile 5 came in at 6.50.
Turning onto the acres was tough with the headwind but I maintained the pace around the acres - mile 6 at 6.43 / mile 7 at 6.44 and we turned onto Chesterfield where mile 8 came in at a similar 6.47.
Mile 9 threw me a bit as I had not planned going up to CK gate and I was starting to struggle - the lack of miles catching up with me. As we turned back onto the Ordanance Survey road - I laughed as the breeze nearly stopped us in our tracks - certainly was tougher the 2nd time around!
I picked it up slightly to finish with a 6.39 and finish at a comfortable 66.01 - quite happy with that given the past few weeks.
Learned that this was 7th place M50 and was kicking myself as I probably could have stretched myself to a M50 podium had I of been ~90 seconds quicker.
That been said - I wont get greedy - I really enjoyed the race - it was quite tough given the mixture of heat, wind, humidity and hills early on and gave me the confidence to get back to 'normal' training this coming week.
Sunday: Rest day.
39.5 miles for the week. - So far in August I'm at 86 miles - normally I have that done in 1.5 weeks - so I need to be careful with balancing the intensity & volume in coming weeks and get back to some regular training.
Maybe Rathfarnham 5k in September??
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So August came in at 144 miles.
Still managing the Hamstring Tendonopity - a lot of rehab every day - if I miss a day I know about it.
Following the Frank Duffy race - I done 3 sessions of note in August - 2 of those being 'steady runs' and the other being a 5x4mins at Tempo pace.
So far - September looks like;
Sat 2nd: 2x4m Steady as part of a 12 mile run - 1st 4m at 7's - 2nd 4m slightly faster (6.50's).
Week 4 Sept to 10th Sept: 47 miles and 2 key runs
(1) 4x30 secs / 4x5mins at tempo (90 secs R) - this went very well.
(2) 1hr 40 mins easy - worked out about 12.5 miles at 8.05 pace.
Week 11th to 17th September: 27 Miles - 2 key runs and a Holiday :)
(1) 3m Tempo - delighted with how this went - 17.55 for 3 miles (down the North Road). (took day off next day as precaution)
(2) 1hr 50min run: Started at 8's - worked down naturally to 7.10's and then back to 8's (14 miles)
Off to Italy for a week - a lot of walking/hiking planned. A lot of hills - should be interesting!
Week 18th to 24th September: 21 miles - 1 key run
Arrived back in Ireland on Friday 22nd - done a 4m run and felt knackered!
Saturday 23rd: Dublin Half Marathon.
I had signed up for this when Dublin and Valencia were on the cards - I hadn't planned on doing it, but when I heard Johnny was doing it as a session, I decided to jump in and test the legs at 6.50 pace for 13 miles.
The run went well - apart from it telling me at 12 miles that my conditioning is terrible as I felt the inklings of a cramp.
Came in at 1.29.48 - so very happy to get through it unscathed and very much enjoyed the run and the chats with Mr Healy.
So what now?
I'm going to sign up to Seville in Feb - I'm going with Wifey - so even if training goes poor and I dont end up doing the race - I'm still getting a nice few days in an amazing place.
But - training will go well - I'll be needing to adjust the sessions and only do periodic bouts of 'speed' - plenty of MP and 'Steady' runs on the cards.
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I updated - it was a good update - plenty of detail - then it 'went missing'.
TLDR:
2 key sessions:
(1) 3x1m (6.10 pace) off 90-120 secs + 5x3mins (90 secs - 120 secs) (5.55 pace)
(2) Long run - 15 miles with 6m + 3m steady efforts in there.
46 miles for the week (6 days running)
Hammy much much better.
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The Road to Seville.
I'm in a very interesting place fitness wise, so going to commit to updating more regularly to chart the "Road to Seville".
Why an Interesting place I hear you ask? (for the 4 or 5 still reading :) ) Well - the last 'Proper/Normal' weeks training I done was the week prior to Kilcock 5k at the end of June. So I feel I've 'lost' 3 months of 'normal training.
I had a good set of races over the summer and really enjoyed the consistent racing - however - I had a simple plan to do some longer races, culminating in Valencia 2023, but scope creep kicked in, Ego took over and suddenly I found myself training for 5k's, 10k's HM's and Marathons - rather than letting the Marathon training guide me in the various races.
A BIG Lesson learned and since then I've been dealing with 'proximal hamstring tendinopathy' - which I feel I'm just getting over - with a lot of work and constant, consistent rehab - which I need to do each day.
June: 190 miles (a trip to Germany with work and 3 races.
July: 191 miles - forcing the pace in 1st week or 2 led to Hamstring issue - which I tried to run through. Mileage was mainly easy miles.
August: 144 miles - 2 or 3 small sessions and a 10 mile race with Johnny.
Sept: 154 miles - 12 days non running - most ever in 1 month. A sub 1.30 HM with Johnny and a decent week in the last week of Sept (46 miles).
Which brings me to this week just gone.
Monday: I'm getting too used to 4-5 mile easy runs - so made myself do a 7 mile run and included 6 strides in this. I need to increase at least 1 of my 'easy' runs and build them up a little more (5-7 miles shouldn't be a big deal - but it felt seismic to me last week).
Tuesday: An Alternating tempo - 5x (0.5m at 6.10 / 0.5m at 6.45) - Chose this for the lack of intensity but the endurance kick it would give me. Found the last reps a grind - but got it done.
8.8m / 7.13 ave
Wed: 5 miles easy - Started at 8.50 pace for 1st mile and averaged 8.25 pace overall.
Thursday: A 2 mile warm up, with a 5m progression to 6.30 pace. (7.15/ 7.03/ 6.51/ 6.34/ 6.32) - found this incredibly tough. Ran 1.5 miles close to home and done 4x30 sec Hill Sprints - I wanted to see how the Hills impacted my Hamstring tendon the following day as I plan on doing a lot more hills in coming block.
9.3 miles / 7.34 average.
Friday: 4 mile recovery pace - 8.42 per mile average.
Saturday: Long Run Session.
I'm aware that I'm trying to increase both Mileage and Intensity at the same time - which can be a recipe for disaster.
So I wanted to do a few miles easy - do 3 miles at slightly faster than MP - and a few miles easy back home.
I done 6.5 miles to the PP via the canal at Ashtown - then 3 miles that should have been very manageable, but felt like faster than tempo pace (6.25/6.28/6.22). I ran 3miles on same route 2 weeks ago - all under 6min miles (but didn't have 6.5 miles prior :) )
I found this very tough and the run home I found very tough as well. But - I know this is the highest mileage week I've had in a while and also got some decent fitness boosts in Tues/Thurs/Sat.
Small tough steps, but steps nonethe less.
Sunday - I was going to run 3-4 miles to get my weekly mileage over 50 miles - but if that was the only motivation for the run, then I need not bother.
Weekly mileage: 48.4 miles. - (Highest mileage week since July 3rd - the week I trained stupidly and hurt my hammy)
19 weeks to Seville
The Road to Seville starts here.
Post edited by AuldManKing on15 -
Did the hills impact your hamstring? I think we can all be guilty of scope creep here, next shiny new race etc. Best of luck with the training!
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Glad to hear theres a comeback coming on, like reading your log.
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Good to see you working towards some structure again, why not run by HR for a few weeks to make sure you're being honest with the effort ? Even just for the sessions or steadier stuff for a month or whatever, it'll stand to you
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No - felt really good on it and no issues in the 24 hrs afterwards. Its really improving.
thanks for that - at times I feel like I'm just keeping a digital diary of my training and not really updating others (if you know what I mean) - so feedback is good.
Thats a good reminder - thanks for that. I've been wearing my HR monitor - but haven't been looking at it in too much detail on the faster stuff.
What I have seen when I did look is that I have trouble getting it up :)
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Monday 9th: 8 miles on the trails of the PP with a buddy
8m / 8.35 pace
Tuesday: Got out at lunch time for a session - 3(1/2/3 mins) off 45/90/120secs
This was a good introduction back to some sharper stuff - given how the PHT has been over the past week or more, I've not had a peep out of it.
Certain reps were into the wind, so found them tough - especially the 2min reps.
Paces were in the 5.45-5.50 range for 1 & 3 mins and 5.55 max for the 2 min reps into the wind.
Met an old running buddy on my warm down that I haven't seen in 2 years (he was also injured for 2 yrs!) - he asked what I was doing - "3 by 1/2/3" I responded.
"Miles or K's ??" he asked
"Minutes" :)
He laughed.
Wore Asics Superblast for this - no carbon plate but high stack (a firm'ish foam) - might be a thing I do more frequently.
6.6m total
Wednesday: Legs felt pretty good after Tuesday and again - not a peep from the hammy - all seems good on that front now.
5m / 8.20 pace
Thursday: Session - I knew this was cutting it close - doing a session close to Tuesday, but needs must.
Session was 4x40 secs /10 mins Tempo / 10 mins hills / 10mins tempo'ish (or MP if tired).
4x40 secs were good / 10min Tempo was fine for a mile - then it got tough(6.03 for 1mile / 6.16 for 4mins) / the 10 min hills was shortened to 8 mins as there were quite a number of hands on knees moments during it - I used the trail section of the Furry Glen - in the past I have done 3miles worth of continuous hills with no stopping on this section (takes 1 min to go Down and up other side) - so this was a real eye opener for me to really struggle - I stopped after 3 mins today for a min or so.
I'm going to add more Hill Repeats to my schedule in coming weeks - but they will be structured repeats at 10k/TH effort up and MP down (building leg strength up - Anti Cramp Strategy #134,567) - starting at 6-8x300m and building as the weeks progress to 6-8x800 - doing them every 2nd week.
Following the 8 mins 'broken' hills - I done a loop of the Furry Glen - starting at intersection of Furze & OS and running to Gate, into the Glen, out the other side and back around to the start - Its a 9-10 min loop - I done this at Tempo HR - averaged 6.40 pace for the 10 mins.
Great workout - 30 mins of effort (inc the 4x40mins).
Wore a new pair of Reebok Floatrides for this - again, no Carbon plate and not high stacked - just a normal daily trainer. Really liked it, but could tell the difference - primarily in the foam.
8.6m total.
Post edited by AuldManKing on9 -
I've been wearing the Floatrides for the last few years, I love them, they are uncomplicated, cause no foot/knee/hip pain are light and great in any weather and they're cheap! Glad to see them make it to an illustrious shoe collection as yours 😀
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I've had the Floatrides for a while - I also had 2 pair of the Energy X (Reebok carbon supershoe) - yep - they are a very versatile shoe.
My Floatride 4 even became my shoes whan walking around on holiday or walking the dog. (I'd place them higher than Puma in the 'affordable' everyday shoe bracket).
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Friday 13th: Busy day in work - didn't run. Would've only been a short shuffle anyway.
Done a good core workout instead.
Sat 14th: Long run session day - My last couple of long runs have been slogfests as I didn't structure them well enough and had thought I was fitter than I actually was.
So this session was going to be more manageable, I took a look at what Healy had at a similar time scale - 3E/4 steady/ 2E / 3MP/ CD (Strides at end).
3E brought me from Home to the OS Road where I picked it up and went along the Furze and down to the Acres - a lap of the acres and back to Chesterfield towards the Polo grounds. (7.16/7.06/7.16/7.05) - I wore the HRM - HR was in the 140's for steady.
2E brought me up North Road to Ashtown Gate and started on 3MP - over to the OS again and done a lap and a bit of Furze/OS - the 3MP felt tough - but I guess its meant to this far out on tired legs. (6.34/6.31/6.29) HR went from 140's to 150's and low 160's into the breeze to finish out.
3m home and done 5x30 secs at about 6'ish pace.
15.2 miles for a good mornings work.
Sunday: 4.3 miles recovery.
Meant to also add - I'm doing more Yoga as well - took a class last Monday - the teacher is exceptional (My daughter :) )
For this block - I'm not hung up about sub 2.50 - that's a very ambitious time and my shorter races dont support me achieving it - especially just getting back from injury.
Current thinking (......open to change) - is to train as much as I can at 2.50'ish pace (~6.30's) - but the Goal is for sub 2.55 (6.40's).
If I can run a good marathon under 2.55 and manage the cramp well enough - that'll be a success. (PB is 2.52.58).
I think running the start conservatively is the way to do it. I keep saying it but have never done it as I'm chasing a time. Not chasing a PB may give me more 'confidence' to start slower.
18 Weeks to go.
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Monday 16th: Not feeling great on Monday - done a few miles easy paced but held off on the strides.
5.7m / 8.23 pace
Tuesday 16th: Feeling a bit better - got a window at lunch time to do the hill Session.
Session was: 6x(300 uphill at 10k effort / 300 downhill at MP Effort) - 30secs at top / 90secs at bottom. I used the Khyber for this.
But Mr RunningKing thought that was too easy, so shortened the recoveries and done an extra mile tempo at the end.
All the UPS were at ~5.50 pace (faster than current 10k pace) - so about 5k effort (or faster)
The Downs were ~6.20's so bang on in terms of effort.
The recoveries - the longest was 27 seconds (should've been 90)
After the hills - I jogged upto the Acres and decided to do a mile or so at tempo effort - came in at 6.10 and was boll!xed.
Overall 7.5m total -
I paid for making the workout more difficult later in the week as the legs were very 'Dommy' and the flu like symptoms just got worse.
Wednesday 18th: Out with my DCM bound running buddy AJ - we done close on 6 miles at 8.30 pace - mainly on grass.
Thursday 19th: Legs feeling a bit 'meh' due to the hills - lashing rain, feeling $hite - whats a guy to do except go out for a 6 mile shuffle.
6m/ 8.30 pace
Friday 20th: Finally seen sense - didn't run today. But did take the 2 dogs out in the rain - madness. Was meant to do a 2x2m tempo today - so will have to do on Sat with a long run Sunday.
I'm in Germany for work next week - so I dont expect to be running much and I do expect to be drinking a lot - when I get back I need to be 100% focused on Seville as its 16 weeks away from the week after I return.
I booked my flights today for Seville - so I'm going no matter what - I also paid for a Marathon specific Workout from McMillan - I'll start this next week when I'm away :) and get to do it twice per week. (I've been very bad this week with S&C - just done 1 session).
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Alan, wondering if you've listened to the latest ep of Runners Diary?
Their second interview was with George Sherwood of Precision Fuel & Hydration.
He had some really interesting things to say about cramping and sodium loss.
They do a sweat test to determine how much salt you lose per hour and tailor a hydration plan to it.
I've emailed him enquiring about the test.
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Not listened to it yet, but I'm 100% sure that my issues aren't salt or electrolytes related.
I'm quite sure that I have a weakness somewhere that leads to my muscles fatiguing faster.
Based on what I took in prior Marathons & the fact that I ran 40k at sub3 pace (with no gels / salts/ loading on sodium etc) last year and didn't have any cramps or any sign of them.
But I dont think I'm prepared to do that same training again as I dont think I need to for a sub 2.50 (or 2.55 in this case).
Hills/ S&C / Plenty of Steady runs and MP runs should be sufficient.
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Sat 21st: 2x2m HMP -
Done 2.5m WU + 4 strides prior to this.
Session went: 6.06 / 6.12 & 6.09/6.14
Happy enough with it - ran 4 miles home.
11.8m total
Sunday 22nd.
Lovely day for a long run - meant to be a steady run - but given that yesterdays session was meant to be on Friday - I ran easy enough.
Wore the Asics Suplerblast for this - a much different experience than the NB SuperComp Trainer.
15miles / 2 hours - lovely weather.
15m at 8.00 pace.
Monday 23rd to Wed 25th: No running - In Germany with Work - plenty of food and beer :)
Thursday 26th: Home at 6pm - out running by 6.40pm.
1st run with the headlamp and reflective jacket.
4.1m / 8.30 pace
Friday 27th: Stead'ish run - wanted to put some effort into the legs without tiring them too much, given the prior week.
Miles came in at 7.49/ 7.25/ 7.12/ 7.20/ 7.23/ - then done some strides - nice little run.
6m total
Saturday: Session - 4E/ 4x2m MP (3 Easy)/ 3E
Was up twice with the dog during the night, so wasn't best pleased with her (for about 10 seconds....).
Set off on this and the 4E miles were under 8 min/miles - which is a good sign.
the 4x2m MP Effort - should have felt easier but it didn't - it felt tough - especially the 3rd & 4th reps (2nd mile on each).
I suppose I'm still 16 weeks out but I thought it would feel easier - the 5 days in a row drinking maybe had a part to play!!!!!
The chosen route was very fair with very equal ups & down in the PP - Furze/OS - Around the Visitor Center - the Acres pitches - back up to the OS/Furze road.
Tough workout, but happy to get it done - 3 hilly miles home.
16m @7.23 pace ave
Interestingly - I wore the Asics SuperBlast rather than the Super Comp Trainers for this work out as the NB SC Trainers were causing a bit of fatigue/tension/soreness/ on both Hamstrings.
This is something I noticed last year wearing Reebok Carbon plated shoes in Marathon Training - so I'm going to try as much as possible to not wear Carbon shoes - especially high stack carbon shoes for workouts.
I know the SuperBlast are high stack - but they are much firmer than the ND SC Trainer and I feel much better after the sessions.
Sunday 29th Oct: DCM Day
I had originally planned a 10mile run to do after the prior session - but due to DCM - I got on the bike and followed Johnny around the route - stopping at mile 4.5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 18, 20, 25.6 :)
Seeing Johnny come past with 600m to go ahead of the sub 3 balloons was fantastic and I got a bit emotional - I banged on the barriers and said "He has it" - much to the amusement of the folks around me.
Was on the bike for about 4 hours - quite a few stops - but a lot of bike mileage done - defo 20+ miles on the bike.
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Monday 30th: After my Epic Cycle following Healys exploits on Sunday - the legs were a bit tired on Bank Holiday Monday. That being said - I went out and ran a very memorable 10 miles - beautiful weather and the legs felt very good.
10m / 8.10 pace.
Tuesday 31st: Hill Session
Following the session previously of 6x300 hills - this was 8x300 Up/Down hills - I 'Really' love these and certainly think they will help callous the legs and make them 'less suscestiple' to cramp.
2 miles to the Khyber - the started off on the session from the poles at the bottom to the 300m sign.
Up was at 10k effort / down at Marathon effort - I know these are helping my running muscles and my Quads on the downhills.
Ups were about 5.50's - maybe a tad too fast and downs were about 6.15 ave (effort based).
Wore my new Nike Pegasus Turbo's for these - quite a firm and stable shoe - I do like it.
loved this - 8.5 miles on a Tuesday lunchtime.
Wednesday 1st Nov: nice recovery run to the PP and back - done a nice 25 min workout from the McMillan Run S&C that I purchased. legs a bit shaky afterwards.
6.4 miles at 8.35 pace
Thursday: Easy + 6 strides - 6.1m / 8.30 pace
Friday 3rd Nov: 4x40 secs / 5x1m / 4x40 secs
Drove to the PP for these - started off 2m WU (8.10) and then into 4x40 secs about 5.40's.
The mile reps were done around the 2m loop of the visitor center in the PP and went quite well - the latter ones felt a bit tough and as it was my 1st time doing mile reps in non super shoes in a while - it felt additionally tough!
reps went 6.02 / 6.04 / 6.12 / 6.06/ 6.11 - the aim was 6.10's so happy enough - 2 mins recovery on these.
Took 2 mins rest then went at another 4x40 secs - this 4 were faster than the 1st 4 by coincidence more than design. Legs felt great on them.
10.3 miles / 7.21 total
Saturday 4th: No running - done 1 hour of a Yoga class with 'FlowbySoph' - check her out on Instagram - shes a fantastic teacher, a real lovely person and also my daughter :)
Sunday 5th: 9 Easy - Steady / 10x(1min ON / 1 min OFF) / Easy/Steady
I met with the MSB group for this - my 1st run with them in ages and it was like I was never gone. A lovely group.
The group split into 3 fairly early on, with 3 of us pushing on - we done a full lap of the PP and an additional lap of the Furze/OS to bring it to 9 miles - Loved this as it was at a nice steady pace and we were still laughing and talking at 7.20's and 7.10's. We came back to Whites gate - where I left the group to do the pick up.
I found the 1min On/Off a bit tough as it was difficult to nail down the paces - I got a stitch which caused me to pause at rep 4 and 6 for about 20 secs each - but carried on.
The ON's came in at 5.55 and the Off's at 6.40.
I finished these at the bottom of Military Hill then ran up that and then the S-Bends, Upper Glen Road, then into the Furry Glen to get additional strength work - done an additional mile by going around the Furze and back to the car at Whites Gate.
17 miles / 7.20 pace / 2 hr 4 mins.
Loved that run - the company and then the pick up with the addition of the hills on the CD - felt like I could run forever and one of those runs where I felt that things were coming together nicely.
This week finished at over 58 miles - highest Weekly Mileage this year.
October finished at 198 miles (shoulda done the 2 additional miles :) ) - highest monthly mileage since May - which isn't bad given a work trip and a total of 8 non running days!!
Quite happy with how things are progressing - still 15 weeks to go to Seville and am feeling quite good about things right now.
Post edited by AuldManKing on14 -
Monday 6th: Nice easy trail run with AJ - 5.5 miles at 8.46 pace. Enjoyable chats.
Tuesday: Was in 2 minds if I should do this or not as I've been good with the Hamstring tendon for a while - so doing this may aggravate it.
Session was 6x1km - so done the following; (5.49/ 5.44/ 5.43/ 5.46/ 5.49/ 5.51) - 2 min recovery between.
Went well - but hammy tendon was arguing with me during it.
9.7 miles total.
Wednesday: 4.3m recovery run - 8.45 pace - 20 mins S&C work.
Thursday: 5.8 miles - including 7x12 sec hillsprints.
Friday: Session - 4x30 secs/ 2x2mile + 1 mile - aim was for 2m reps in 6.10-6.15 / 1 mile rep in 6.05
Jogged 2m to the PP and done the 4x30 secs - started the 2m rep at CK gate going down the North Road and around the 2m Loop.
1st rep was 6.05/6.09 /
2nd rep was 6.13/6.15
1m rep was in 6.05 - happy with the effort as legs were tired.
Saturday: 30 min recovery - 3.3m at 8.51 pace
Sunday: Session - 8m Easy/ 7m MP Effort / CD
Ran from my mams house and enjoyed passing some sites from my youth - Poppintree park/ Tolka Rovers/ Weather Station/ Botanic Gardens/ Gravediggers.
Got to the PP eventually and started on the Mara effort - close to 6.40's was the aim, but not hung up on it - the 7 miles came in at: 6.55/6.55/6.47/6.43/ 6.35/6.40/ 6.50
3m cool down on a hilly loop home for a nice 18m run in total.
18m / 7.33 pace.
57 miles for the week - a good weeks training but the Hamstring Tendon was shouting at me a lot this week.
As a result - I'm going to back off the speed work and replace the speedwork with a steady/MP type session - MP running is currently my weakness - so I've no issue with replacing speedwork with Steady runs.
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Great training 👏
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Strange - I updated this on Sunday - this is the 2nd time I've lost an update.
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I do any posts of length on Google Keep and then just paste them to the log. The site is very unreliable these days :(
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In a worldwide exclusive, it can now be revealed that AMK has 'gone metric' - In an in dept interview held in an undisclosed location, AMK revealed "I've gone metric".
Monday 13th: Rest day - done nothing bar walk the dogs.
Tuesday: 6x400 Uphill at 10k / 400 Downhill at MP - meant to be 'Effort'.
This is a build on the 6x300/300 and the 8x300/300 that I've done over the past 4 weeks.
I jogged the 3.5km to the Khyber and started off - after the 1st 2-3 I was breathing heavy but by the end I could have done more reps.
I do really enjoy these - both speed and strength here and they'll build nicely every 2 weeks.
10k Efforts - pace was 3.35 ave 1.26/1.27 per rep - probably too fast for an uphill 10k effort!! - But I had no idea what pace it should be as I didn't do the conversions prior to the session.
The Downhills came in at 3.50's (1.32) but felt much easier.
30-40 secs at top and bottom.
14km total.
The Hamstring Tendon has been grumbling at me a bit - since I done speedwork and Yoga last week - felt fine today after the hills.
Wednesday: Nice run after work down to the PP and back
11.3km / 5.18 pace (no.......I've no idea either - probably 7 miles recovery :) )
Thursday: 10km Steady Run -
Found the steady pace quite quickly after a km and went with 4.30/km (7.15's) - down through Castleknock, around OS/Furze and the 2mile loop around the Visitor Center.
Was nicely tired by the end of this - I was wearing the Nike Pegs Turbo - just an ok shoe, wouldn't get a 2nd pair - Superblast are much better!
4k easy home - resisted the urge to do hill sprints as the Hammy was grumbling.
Friday: Done a 40 min lunch run 7.7km / 5.11.
Spent some time on Friday evening doing some slow single leg deadlifts and some Roll outs with the Physio Ball, finishing off with some bridges. The tendon always feels much better after these - I knew I needed it as I had a tough enough workout on Saturday.
Saturday: 3x6km Mara pace. (3min Jog)
This was advised as 3x4m, but kept it to 3x6km - I was going to do 4x5km as I though this would flow better with what I had done prior (4x2m) and what was to come (ultimately 2x10k) - but decided to stick to the plan.
It was very windy out, so wore the VapourFlys as I felt I'd need every ounce of help on this one.
The 1st set of 6km was a bit messy - around Castleknock, on paths, lots of mulch and people walking about - not enjoyable. Averaged 4.05 for this set.
2nd Set was down from CK gate, OS - Furze - Chesterfielf - Polo's - Up North Road. Ave was again about 4.05/km.
3rd Set was tough - from teh Aras, up C'Field, turn down the North Road - was going to turn back up C'Field but we were hit with Biblical wind and rain, so turned left and went down C'Field finishing by the Wellington Memorial - soaked to the skin and freezing cold.
Had a 8km jog home - longer CD than envisaged - but you gotta do what you gotta do. Nice big blister for my troubles too.
Not a peep from the Hammy.
30km at 4.31/KM (2.15 time on feet).
Sunday: 15km around the locality - down the canal and back home through Castleknock. Legs were remarkably OK
15.3km / 5.06 per km.
On Healys advice, I listened to Runners Diary with the guy from Precision Hydration - bit of an eye opener. I know Lazare commented previously on this and I discounted it - but I think I'll aim to get a sweat test and cover all bases for Seville.
At times we think that Cramps are caused by either Electrolytes or Training or Pace - but it could be a combination of all 3 - so I'll be working to cover all 3. I think I normally get the loading protocols correct for Electrolytes and Fuel - but the 'in race' protocols may need work based on what I was hearing and then subsequently read.
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Monday 20th: A few miles around the locality and 8x12 sec hill sprints
8.5km / 5.30 pace
Tuesday 21st: Session - replaced a 4x1200/4x400 speed session with a longer steadier run - wanted to run 4.30's (7.15's) - I knew I'd need to break it up a bit at this stage until I develop a bit of fatigue resistance.
Ran from the house and ramped it up each KM til I was at 4.30s - surpassed that pace and was hitting 4.15's - 4.20's - quite happy with how I was feeling.
took a 3min jog and then went again - aimed for 5k at 4.15's and pretty much hit that.
Happy enough with that for now and glad that I'm swapping the Faster stuff for steadier stuff.
HR was in a very good place.
20.4km / 4.34 average.
Wednesday 22nd: 8km recovery / 5.10 pace
Thursday 23rd: Session - this was planned for Friday but as I was going out on Thur night - I didn't fancy it on Friday.
Session was 4m (6.4k) at HMP / 3min / 1m at 10k pace. I was a bit anxious about it - the 4m part.
As I was warming up I realised that I didn't know what my HMP was in KM - so decided to try to run the reps at 3.50's (it is actually about 3.55/km)
Started off going up Chesterfield and the wind was something else - so changed my planned route to ensure that I finished the session. Went down North Road, turned in at Aras, down C'Field, around by the Polos and back out at the Zoo to the Wellington Monument. Mostly wind assisted with a few pockets into the breeze.
I ran the Downhill sections a bit faster to remove any guilt of making the session easier.
KM's came in at: 3.47/ 3.47/ 3.48/ 3.45/ 3.40/ 3.43/ 4.00 for last 400m (into the breeze).
I took a 3+ min jog up Chapelizod Road to make the 1m portion also with the breeze (it was a joke running that last 400m into it....really).
This was meant to be at 10k pace - but with the breeze I went a bit faster (3.30/km) - also felt very strong today and took it as a sign of my fitness coming back.
4 windy hilly KM's back to the car.
15.7km / 4.23 ave.
Worked out my paces for future sessions - rounded them to make it easier to remember :)
5k: 3.35 / 10k: 3.45 / HM 3.55
I was in City Center on Thursday night with a buddy of mine - meeting some others - As we were going in, it all kicked off in Northside - Thankfully we were going up to Exchequer Street - but as the night wore on the restuarant emptied out, we were asked to leave as the 'mob' were making their way up this side - so off we toddled outside, to be greeted by...............
..............Helicopters in the sky - Riot police to my right at Georges St, Garda cordon to my left at BT - Holy Jebus.
We quickly ended any plans for drinks - Not a taxi to be found - luckily one of the guys was driving and brought us all home via a long convoluted route.
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Friday 24th: Easy few miles - but legs felt fantastic. One of those runs where you could run forever.
6.4k / 4.54/km pace
Saturday: Easy run with 9 x 20 secs strides.
10km / 5.13 ave
Sunday 26th: 60 minm easy / Alternating tempo - 8x(2min@10k-TH/ 2 min at MP'ish) - all effort based.
Met with the MSB group and done a good 60 min easy run with them - don't think I've ever laughed as much on a run as I did today.
After the 60 mins - started into the session.
Done the 1st couple of 10k paced reps uphill - which near killed me as the recovery is not a real recovery - needed to take a 30 sec rest before starting the next 6.
Decided to keep the faster portions to 3.50 (from 3.45) pace and the slower portions to 4.15 pace (from 4.05). - still an incredibly tough work out after 60mins easy. Went down the hill by Wellington monument and then upto Donore Harriers before finishing - quite a good workout when I think of it.
Finished up with bang on 3.50's / 4.15's and done a hilly 4.5k back to the car.
25km / 4.41 average (1 hr 57 mins)
94k for the week - another 2023 high - and happy with 3 good sessions. .
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Reading this back to myself - 11weeks and 5 days to Seville.
Most of the points are being implemented.
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Great to see you continuing in such fine fettle as always A. Have great admiration for your appetite and drive for all of this stuff!
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Was just talking to Al about you at the weekend (I run with him a bit on Sundays) - looks like you are flying again!
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Monday 27th: Rest day - legs were tired - didn't bother with any recovery or any other work.
Tuesday 28th: 8x(400 Uphill @10k / 400 downhill @ MP)
Parked at Farmleigh and ran down to the Khyber, started the session at the poles and had it programmed into the watch - despite the 100/200/300/400 being printed on the path.
Last week - I found the 1st couple very tough - this week - they all passed really well - I pushed the arms a bit in the middle and found that worked really well - then realized I need to do more arm work as my arms were tired!
Took 20-30 secs at top and bottom - the downhill was very forgiving and was loathe to take the prescribed 90 secs.
Uphills averaged: ~3.40's (faster than 10k effort)
Downhills ave: 3.57 - Faster than Mara Pace - but probably right on Mara effort with the downhill.
total: 15.7km
Wednesday 29th - My youngest daughters 21st B'Day - seen me escape early for a run - down to the PP and a few miles around on the paths - lovely run, really enjoyed it.
11.15km / 5.15 per KM
Thursday 30th: a total of 9.8km that included 11x12 sec hill sprints and my watch stopping and saving 3 times - I'm also charging it twice per day - so ordered a new 265.
Friday 1st: 4x40 secs / 3x2miles (3min) (3x3.2km in my new language)
3.5km warm up and done the 4x40 secs to get the legs moving - body was a bit tired - so had zero expectations of this session. The planned pace was HM pace - which I think is about 3.55/km - 6.20/mile (1.22.40 HM)
The 3x3.2km went exceptionally well - all 3 sets were done around what I hear is called the 'Bloom Loop'.
1st set: 3.43 ave / 2nd set: 3.44 / 3rd Set: 3.40 - 3 min recovery jog.
Felt remarkably strong on this workout and doing the last rep in 3.40's gave me great confidence.
17.7km total
Saturday: recovery run around the locality
7km / 5.22 per km
Sunday 3rd Dec: Long Steady run - 32 km
I prepared well for this - apart from the 2 glasses of wine on Sat night :) - I had purchased some Precision Hydration stuff on the back of a podcast I listened to recently - (I also used their products prior to Seville in 2022) - So a 1500 drink after the 2 glasses of wine made me feel ok :)
Had a good sleep and up at 7am on a sunday, before the dogs woke me as per usual. MAD. We are just MAD - 7am of a Sunday aged 51.
The plan was for a 16-17mile Steady run - but I new I couldn't hold 'Steady for that distance so said I'd work in some 'km floats' into it when needed.
As it worked out I took 1 km break after 13km and by chance ran another 13km before my I slowed for my cool down. - the 2nd stint was uphill and much more difficult.
Overall very happy to run 32km at 4.33 average pace in 2.25 hours - gives me a lot of confidence as last week I struggled with 10km steady pace.
I took 2x 250ml soft flasks of P.H. Carb + Sodium drink as well as 2 gels (1 PH + 1 Maurten) - everything went down well and I must say I had one of the best 20mile runs of my life and the after effects were negilible - aka - I felt great.
32km / 4.33 per km
Brings the weekly total to 93.4km and a very consistent 5 weeks. November also finished with 236 miles (380km) - highest month since my dual with Swashbuckler back in December last year.
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