Making every mile count

fowler1

First post here in months, ran 2 50 01 on Monday so missed my target by 2 seconds. Just a quick run down on my training, I walk 25 mile aweek between work and the dogs and find anything over 60 mile a week leads to injury.
Sat _20 mile long run ( 2h 30m )
Sun 10/12 mile steady
Mon 8 mile ( including either speed work , tempo run or hills)
Tues rest day
Wed 12/ 13 mile steady
Thurs 8 mile (including speed work or tempo)
Fri rest day
Happy enough with a 2m 30s pb
Dublin runner while app your improvement and times and i know u were sick on monday maybe u run too many junk miles.I made a rule to run no miles slower than 7 30/per mile

AuldManKing

Super work, you've had so much progress in such a short space that i'd say it's difficult to see the wood from the trees regarding your progress.

I love the intensity that you bring to your running, it's evident in your reports.

This may be an unfair or me to say, but I like when you seemed to have more 'fun' running, maybe as you get to the business end the fun changes? Discount this if it's rubbish.

Looking fwd to seeing what you do in '15, I'd say it'll be another breakthrough year.

dublin runner

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

That's a warrior like endeavour A, that'll stand to you big time in the battles to come. I can relate and empathise with a whole lot of what you were feeling!

Would have been easy to quit.

TbL

Thanks C, glad I saw it out. That's the marathon for you. That's why most of us have a love/hate relationship with it! :cool:

tunguska wrote: »

Hard luck dude. I had no idea you were in trouble when I met you in the park, you looked grand and steady. I thought you'd jump in with me though and when that didnt happen after a while I figured something was up.
You have a great attitude and all that work is in the bank so its only a matter of time before it comes together.

Yeah, I think I can mask my pain well enough!

Great report on the race, really enjoyed reading your thoughts.

fowler1 wrote: »

First post here in months, ran 2 50 01 on Monday so missed my target by 2 seconds. Just a quick run down on my training, I walk 25 mile aweek between work and the dogs and find anything over 60 mile a week leads to injury.
Sat _20 mile long run ( 2h 30m )
Sun 10/12 mile steady
Mon 8 mile ( including either speed work , tempo run or hills)
Tues rest day
Wed 12/ 13 mile steady
Thurs 8 mile (including speed work or tempo)
Fri rest day
Happy enough with a 2m 30s pb
Dublin runner while app your improvement and times and i know u were sick on monday maybe u run too many junk miles.I made a rule to run no miles slower than 7 30/per mile

That's a very really impressive run well done. Great to hear some good results on a tough day for many! Congrats. I will expand on my post-races thoughts tomorrow but I appreciated your post. I guess the line between easy/general aerobic miles and junk miles is a fine one. Undoubtedly some of them can be classified as junk miles in retrospect.

Do date I have remained injury free so the higher mileage stuff doesn't seem to effect me (so far!). It's all about balance I guess and in large parts I made mistakes. I am still quite new to the sport so I kind of experiment and some of it works and some of it doesn't! I am definitely the type of person/athlete that benefits hugely from working under a coach. That's the next thing on my list.

Cracking run again. Hope you celebrated in style!

dublin runner

AuldManKing wrote: »

Super work, you've had so much progress in such a short space that i'd say it's difficult to see the wood from the trees regarding your progress.

I love the intensity that you bring to your running, it's evident in your reports.

This may be an unfair or me to say, but I like when you seemed to have more 'fun' running, maybe as you get to the business end the fun changes? Discount this if it's rubbish.

Looking fwd to seeing what you do in '15, I'd say it'll be another breakthrough year.

Thanks AMK. Fantastic words (no rubbish at all ).

At the moment I definitely enjoy training more than racing. I am falling into the trap of being a good trainer but a poor racer. The training cycle for Dublin has brought me on a lot but I am unable to convert that into any decent time so that's frustrating.

As I mentioned above, I need someone by my side for heading into next year. When engrossed in training it is definitely hard to see the wood from the trees! For me anyway .

Great job on Monday and a big thanks to all your neighbours in Castleknock! What an experience that was running through the village.

blockic

fowler1 wrote: »

First post here in months, ran 2 50 01 on Monday so missed my target by 2 seconds. Just a quick run down on my training, I walk 25 mile aweek between work and the dogs and find anything over 60 mile a week leads to injury.
Sat _20 mile long run ( 2h 30m )
Sun 10/12 mile steady
Mon 8 mile ( including either speed work , tempo run or hills)
Tues rest day
Wed 12/ 13 mile steady
Thurs 8 mile (including speed work or tempo)
Fri rest day
Happy enough with a 2m 30s pb
Dublin runner while app your improvement and times and i know u were sick on monday maybe u run too many junk miles.I made a rule to run no miles slower than 7 30/per mile

Congrats fowler, savage run. Doing the club proud! Pity you and bahananaman were not registered with AAI for the race or it would have been a decent club result!

Krusty_Clown

Great account of a tough day Anthony. In my book, running just outside of your PB in very tough conditions and coming home with a national silver medal is a bloody good day out. Sure, you didn't get the time you deserved, but you should focus on the achievement, rather than the digits on the clock. When it all lines up, it'll be magic.

dublin runner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Great account of a tough day Anthony. In my book, running just outside of your PB in very tough conditions and coming home with a national silver medal is a bloody good day out. Sure, you didn't get the time you deserved, but you should focus on the achievement, rather than the digits on the clock. When it all lines up, it'll be magic.

Thanks. Surprised and happy to win the medal. I am confident things will come together with a small bit of tweaking (and some luck).

I had a great time following the Frankfurt lads on Sunday morning. Think I may be making a visit to Berlin or Frankfurt next year . Congrats again.

GoTheDistance

Hey Dublin runner. I agree with all the posters above. You need to take the positives out of Monday. Look at it this way how many guys around your level had a good day? Very few I'd imagine. Everyone suffered one way or the other.

In regards to coaching I remember seeing an article or interview last year where you were being coached by Gary O'Hanlon. I'm sure Gary will be able to supply you (continue to supply you) with the advice and knowledge towards unlocking those tweaks you mention to make the next breakthrough.

Looking forward to reading the post marathon blog post this time next year when DCM2014 will be a long distant memory.

dublin runner

There's a saying that goes along the lines of 'one good race doesn't make you a good runner'. Likewise, one bad race doesn't make you a bad runner. With that in mind, I now see target races like Dublin as the culmination of a training block, nothing more. If the target race goes according to plan and you hit your goal, brilliant. If the race goes poorly that doesn't mean that somehow all the months of training have suddenly gone out the window. Everything has to be viewed in context and it's important to see the bigger picture.

It's now three days on from the marathon and I have already moved on. Tomorrow I will enter my first target race of 2015 and I am very excited. With all that said, I will share some of my thoughts about the training leading up to Dublin and the race itself.


TRAINING:

The Good

-Running 6 minutes miles now feels comfortable
-I feel mentally and physically stronger
-The higher mileage weeks (90-100) felt relatively comfortable
-Consistency. Completely injury and niggle free


The Bad

-Not enough variation in my training. My homemade plan had little structure to it. Instead of building on a solid base of 5/10k training (periodisation) during the summer, I rushed back into marathon training too soon.
-The long run. In essence, the majority of the long runs were too short and too fast. I am convinced that I would have benefited from running some of my long runs at a slower pace, peaking at runs 3 hours and over. For example, 24 miles @7.30p/m (3hr). My longest runs were 20 miles and I am convinced that to progress in the the marathon I need to really push out the long slow run (in combination with long steady runs etc.)
-No Core work/Drills/Supplementary Training. It wouldn't be hard to improve on this as I did nothing in this regard. Not really good enough.



THE RACE:

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. One thing is now certain, I am prone to cramp. In Tralee and Rotterdam this year I really focused in on this and made sure I took on plenty of electrolytes and dioralyte sachets (2) before and during the race. This resulted in no cramping, despite the warm conditions in Rotterdam. I became a small bit complacent, resulting in cramp in Dublin. I lost the dioralyte sachet I had and missed water stations, drinking very little water/lucozade. The result? Dehydration.

It only fully clicked with me after the race that I didn't feel the need to go to the toilet before the race. That was very unusual for me. I never once had the urge to make a pit-stop during the race also (just ask anyone I run with, I usually need one pit-stop after drinking too much!). The stitch and general dizziness around mile 8 should have been picked up on. I was simply dehydrated.

---

Learning from my mistakes I will be doing very little running for the next 10 days. I have already taken three full days off and plan at least one more. The legs feel great but there is no need to hurry the recovery. I am planning to fully enjoy a bit of junk food and alcohol! :pac:

Thanks for all the words of support and advice.

Onwards and upwards.

dublin runner

October 27-Novemeber 2


Monday 27/10
-26.2 Miles

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday (28/11-31/11)
-Rest

Saturday 1/11
-5 Miles Easy @7.24p/m in 37:00

Sunday 2/11
-5 Miles Easy @7.28p/m in 37:20


WEEK TOTAL: 36.2 MILES



November 3-9


Monday 3/11
-5 Miles Easy @7.14p/m in 36:09

Tuesday 4/11
-5 Miles Easy @7.00p/m in 35:02

Wednesday 5/11
-5 Miles Easy @6.58p/m in 34:49

Thursday 6/11
-5.40 Miles Easy @7.08p/m in 38:41

Friday 7/11
-8 Miles Easy @7.06p/m in 56:52

Saturday 8/11
-8.25 Miles Easy @7.03p/m in 58:02

Sunday 9/11
-5 Miles Easy @7.19p/m in 36:33


WEEK TOTAL: 41.65 MILES

---

The recovery from the marathon was both swift and pain free. By the Wednesday I was back to normal, with only a small bit of stiffness to remind me of Monday's effort. Keen not to repeat the mistakes made earlier in the year I reduced the miles and enjoyed the many days of easy running.

Motivation is quite high at the moment. I know the marathon was a serious off day. To run so poorly was disappointing but that is now long forgotten. The race taught me a lot and I will take that going forward, confident that it has made me a better runner. After all, you learn more in defeat than in victory.

Thoughts now turn to the remaining months of this year. The immediate choice is whether to run the half in Waterford (like last year) or possible run the Jingle Bells 5k in the Park. After that it's all about next year.

Anyone got a loan of XC spikes (UK 11.5 or 12)?

jebuz

Good to hear you so positive A, it was indeed just a bad day and a lot to come from you in 2015 I reckon.

Tough choice about the next race, I'm not sure what to say *cough* Waterford

dublin runner

jebuz wrote: »

Good to hear you so positive A, it was indeed just a bad day and a lot to come from you in 2015 I reckon.

Tough choice about the next race, I'm not sure what to say *cough* Waterford

Looks to be a good few heading down alright! It's a very good race on a fair course. The section through the Industrial Estate is surprisingly beautiful...not . I'm still 50/50.

I see your definitely running Rotterdam. That's a good choice. As I said before, with every passing race the course in Rotterdam becomes better and faster. I didn't fully appreciate how fast it was on the day. I'll give you the address of the excellent Italian restaurant I went to....twice :cool:. Perfect food for the weekend that's in it.

jebuz

Yep I've some business to settle with Rotterdam

I'm going to make a weekend of the Waterford half, got 2 night b&b in the Viking hotel for 110 euro and there's a few lads I know doing the same from St.Cocoas. There will be pints. tempted yet?

dublin runner

If anyone reading this expects to see a planned out, structured and reasoned training week look away now.....(seriously!)


Monday 10/11

6.25 Miles Easy @6.58p/m in 43:35



Tuesday 11/11
5.5 Miles


Club Track Session

-W/U 2 Miles

400m-76 seconds (3k effort)
400m-75 seconds (3k effort)
400m-81 seconds (10k effort)
400m-81 seconds (10k effort)
400m-83 seconds (10k effort)
400m-83 seconds (10k effort)

-W/D 2 Miles


Not really a session so to speak. It was more a remind the club 'I am alive/still running' type of session. Good to be back on the track and great to slowly reintroduce the legs into some faster running.



Wednesday 12/11
6.53+ Miles


-W/U .25+ Miles (ashamed to even call this a warm-up)
-3.28 Miles Tempo @5.50p/m in 19.05 (Run in the Dark 5k)
-3 Miles Easy


The plan was to do a few easy miles before running the race as a tempo. The plan was scuppered when I had to collect my free pack off a friend of a friend. I jogged to the start (.25 miles) and jumped in about 20 rows from the back. I took me an age to get over the line before been held up by walkers right at the start. In the end it was a bit a pointless exercise and very little gained, despite the decent course.



Thursday 13/11

6 Miles Easy @7.24p/m 44:24


Up early and out the door before breakfast and work. The last 2 miles were a real slog. I am still learning to run on empty. Sometimes it's fine and sometimes, like the run this morning, the energy levels become low after 30 minutes.



Friday 14/11

8 Miles Easy @7.06p/m in 56:51
-inc. 5x30 second strides @5k effort


Strangely the legs were hanging off me at the end. Not as bad as yesterday but still noticeable. Time to ease back on the easy effort runs.

---

I am putting no pressure on myself this month. The idea is to put in two months of serious training (Dec-Jan) and then to race. I haven't fully decided where or when but things are coming together. I know my main issue at the moment is in the shorter distances. The head says to do a structured 5/10k plan during these months but the heart want to tackle a long distance race, especially as the marathon/marathon training has taken very little out me both mentally and physically.

dublin runner

Saturday 15/11

Medium Long Run
-13 Miles @7.14p/m in 1.34:04


Sunday 16/11


Rest Day/Sick Day


The problem with drinking is that your usual good standards whilst sober suddenly become non-existent after a few Jamesons and Guinness (I am talking about food by the way :pac:). The platter presented on the pub table at midnight looked appealing and was too had to resist. A good tip is try not to eat something if you are not too sure what it actually is.

The hangover the next morning was nothing special but soon the 'chicken wrap' or whatever I had the previous night left me violently sick. For the first time in two years a rest day due to illness.

Lightweight.


WEEK TOTAL: 45.28 MILES

---

Monday 17/11

6.10 Miles Very Easy @7.24p/m in 45:10


Delighted to squeeze in a very enjoyable run amid feeling sh1te and work. I really didn't expect to get out at all so a bonus run.


Tuesday 18/11
9.46+ Miles


-3.36 Miles (with someone I coach)
-6.10+ Miles Club Session


Club Track Session


5x1km reps @10k effort

1. 3.23 (5.26p/m)
2. 3.23 (5.26p/m)
3. 3.21 (5.23p/m)
4. 3.19 (5.20p/m)
5. 3.16 (5.15p/m)

-W/D 2 Miles


Arriving late from coaching I missed the first rep but jumped into the remaining five. The lads were doing one mile reps but I felt this was a bit much as I am only reintroducing myself back into sessions. This left me with fresher heading every rep as I had more recovery time. I felt very strong throughout, getting more comfortable with each passing rep. Nice to up the pace on the last rep and get some decent speed into the legs after all the easy miles recently.


Wednesday 19/11

11.55 Miles Easy @7.24p/m in 1.25:25


Very enjoyable morning run with Ecoli. The route wasn't the most conjunctive to running as the traffic on the roads meant a bit of stopping. The plan was to do 10 miles but me being me I got us lost, despite being less than a mile from home :cool:.

---

With two weeks of easy enough running before training begins in December I may (slightly) go back to basics. It been commented recently at the club (a few times by different people) and by Ecoli this morning about my stride. I have a very short stride with very little knee lift. I will try and focus a bit on this over the next fortnight and introduce a few drills etc.

I am slowly getting appetite back to do some longer runs and heavy training. It's important to give yourself a break in between training blocks so November is important in this regard. I am almost looking forward to doing 3hr/24 mile runs in December and January! Almost.....:)

dublin runner

Thursday 20/11


5.20 Miles Very Easy @7.26p/m in 38:38

A few mile before breakfast and work. Niggles at the moment include a stiff left knee, a very tight left calf and a slightly tight right calf. Glad to a get the run in early and out of the way.



Friday 21/11


8.10 Miles @7.13p/m in 58:29

Preferably I would have liked to do something faster today but with the month that's in it and a few small niggles to annoy, I decided to tip around Dundrum and Milltown in the wind and cold.

---

Legs back to feeling good so I may choose to either do a hill session tomorrow or use the Tymon Parkrun as a tempo session.

I really must start doing those blasted running drills.......

paddybarry

dublin runner wrote: »

Thursday 20/11


5.20 Miles Very Easy @7.26p/m in 38:38

A few mile before breakfast and work. Niggles at the moment include a stiff left knee, a very tight left calf and a slightly tight right calf. Glad to a get the run in early and out of the way.



Friday 21/11


8.10 Miles @7.13p/m in 58:29

Preferably I would have liked to do something faster today but with the month that's in it and a few small niggles to annoy, I decided to tip around Dundrum and Milltown in the wind and cold.

---

Legs back to feeling good so I may choose to either do a hill session tomorrow or use the Tymon Parkrun as a tempo session.

I really must start doing those blasted running drills.......

Have some knee issues myself. Might see you at Tymon if you decide to do that. Be prepared, it's far from fast.

dublin runner

paddybarry wrote: »

Have some knee issues myself. Might see you at Tymon if you decide to do that. Be prepared, it's far from fast.

Cool, if the weather plays ball I will head on up for a run. Yeah, heard it's not fast but hopefully I can hit the right effort. Knee is odd, only stiff after running.

Might catch you tomorrow!

dublin runner

Saturday 22/11
7.19 Miles Various


-1.58 Miles Very Easy (8.11p/m including drills)
-3.11 Miles Tempo in 17:57 (2nd Tymon Parkrun 5k @5.47p/m)
-2.50 Miles Easy (7.19p/m)


It's time to get serious. I felt I really needed to get some tempo miles into the legs. To be honest, I really just wanted to go back to bed and do another easy run later that morning. The course was a challenging enough one, with a few water features on the paths to spice up proceeding. The race has one of the fastest starts anywhere, with a very quick downhill section. Mile 1 and 2 were bang on but the 3rd mile was a tough one and the pace slightly dropped. I snapped out of my lull and made a few yards on paddybarry who was a few yards ahead. To have a strong runner like him leading the race was brilliant to have.


Sunday 23/11

7 Miles Easy @7.09p/m in 50:07

Running is a funny old pursuit. Shattered (bed at 5.30am the previous night) and hungover I set out that night not expecting much. Really enjoyable run in perfect winter conditions.


WEEK TOTAL: 54.6+ MILES

---

Monday 24/11

8 Miles Easy @6.59p/m in 55:55

dublin runner

Tuesday 25/11
7.50+ Miles


Club Track Session


-2 Mile W/U


Plan: 6x1k @10k effort (200m jog reovery)

Actual:

1. 3.18
2. 3.22
3. 3.22
4. 3.22

400m @10k effort (80 seconds recovery)

1. 80
2. 78
3. 77
4. 77

I strangely felt a bit heavy legged on the warm-up, nothing too bad but noticeable all the same. The effort was pretty honest for the first few reps but I was really feeling the effects during each 200m recovery. I was happy enough to get the 4th rep ticked off before convincing myself to knock out a few 400m reps.

The pace may be a bit too hot for me at the moment. I think 3.25's is where I should be perhaps.


-2 Mile W/D



Wednesday 26/11

Medium Long Run
-12 Miles Easy @7.03p/m in 1.24:00



Thursday 27/11
8.60 Miles


AM

4.60 Miles Very Easy @7.18p/m in 33:34

I managed to get a run in, get slightly knocked down and sell a car by 9.30am. Bloody Dublin drivers. How come very few drivers look to their left before taking a left-hand turn (out of a driveway etc.)? Just because the traffic is coming from your right doesn't mean you shouldn't glance to your left before taking-off! Luckily the bonnet was wet. I deftly (yeah right) slid across the bonnet before calmly (yeah right!) informing the driver what he did wrong.


PM

4 Miles Easy @7.00p/m in 28:00

Stuck working and driving all day. I had no real need to head out but sometimes it's just needed.

dublin runner

Friday 28/11
8.20 Miles


Plan: 1 mile easy (+drills), 6 miles @Steady effort, 1 mile easy

-1 Mile Easy (7.12)
-6 Miles @Steady in 37:05 (6.06, 6.06, 6.12, 6.17, 6.13, 6.11)
-1.2 Miles Easy (7.06, 6.58)


Tymon Park has quickly become a 'go-to-place' for me. It's quiet, well surfaced and has a number of large enough loops contained within. It may be in Tallaght but it's a great place to train (!) The plan today was to work hard but not flog myself. After an easy mile to warm-up I really wasn't feeling it. Not one bit. The wind was acting up and I wanted out! After a number of awkward running drills I felt a bit better so I had no excuse. The first two miles were too fast. I really struggle to slow myself down at times. Fatigue is a natural way of slowing down, anything else is forced.

Job done.


Saturday 29/11

5.10 Miles Easy @6.57p/m in 35:28

Ii stupidly went over on my ankle. Nothing too bad but the swelling was there.


Sunday 30/11

5.10 Miles Easy @6.46p/m in 34:31

I had to scrap the idea of running the Intermediate XC as the swelling was still causing a bit of discomfort. I managed to get out late and luckily the ankle felt better. Definitely the right call to make though.


WEEK TOTAL: 54.50+ MILES

---

A new month. Let the serious training commence.


Monday 1/12


13.60+ Miles Mountain Run
-13.11 Miles @6.55p/m in 1.30:41 (Garmin acted up at the start)


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/643259888


I really had no idea what to expect today. Sometimes it's best not know. After getting lost several times myself and Go'H got to Marlay Park and got going. The weather was perfect, with the legs feeling ok. After a few easy enough laps of the Park (and meeting David Gillick a few times!) we got to the serious stuff. The inital climb was tough but very manageable. After getting lost (again) and running through a field, we got back onto the road. I was very happy to see the perfect tarmaced road as the climb through the wet field nearly killed me. The climb was once again tough but all was about to change. The climb now became almost vertical and the pace (well, my pace) dropped to 9+ minutes a mile. So much effort and pain and it honestly felt like I was standing still. Maybe I was. My pace continued to drop until it reached walking pace. I gave myself 10 seconds before telling myself to grow-up and just run! We both laughed and compared it to the now infamous Barrow Hill on the Tralee Marathon course (every climb is now compared to it). In truth there was no comparison. Today was a lot harder.

We reached the top and my spirits lifted. The descent was comical. I laughed the whole way down. The steepest section on the ascent became vertical drops on the descent. Go'H bombed on ahead, easily running at sub 4 minute mile pace at times. My passage down was a bit less graceful . It'll be interesting to see how my legs are tomorrow!

The idea today was to improve my leg strength. Essentially it's resistance training and the benefits I think will be massive. Hopefully I will attempt a similar run once a week.

A quick lap of Marlay Park wrapped up a great run.

RayCun

dublin runner wrote: »

Tymon Park ... may be in Tallaght

only the crap bit on the other side of the M50

dublin runner

Tuesday 2/12
8.10 Miles Various


Club Track Session


Plan: Pyramid 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 Minutes (60 seconds recovery)


Minutes/pace per mile:


1. 5.09ish (watch mishap)
2. 5.11
3. 5.22
4. 5.24
5. 5.21
4. 5.32
3. 5.22
2. 5.23
1. 5.15

*take the pace with a bit of salt. The pace is Garmin pace. I normally record the pace by the distance covered, not what the Garmin tells me is the pace.

A good hard session, with 25 fast running in total. Late as usual, I ran most of my mile warm-up on the grass pitch inside the track (I now have to run as much on grass as I can....er!). The legs while not tired were quite sore in places after the mountain/trail run the previous day. The session was tough but enjoyable. A certain degree of concentration was needed as any slip could mean losing contact with the group and therefore running in no man's land. I found the 4 minute rep on the return 'leg' the most challenging but I got through it intact.

A really enjoyable session.



Wednesday 3/12


10 Miles Easy @7.02p/m in 1.10:28

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/644499112


What do all the cool kids now say? That's right. #legsinbits . The previous two days exploits left the legs in some mess this morning. When I say in bits, I really mean it. The calves have felt better after running a marathon. I left the run until late to give the legs a bit of a break. Strangely enough there was plenty of bounce in the legs and the run was nice and easy (very surprised to see the splits).

I don't think two hard days in a row is the best idea though. Might change it up a bit next week.

dublin runner

Thursday 4/12
10.20 Miles Various


AM

5 Miles Very Easy @7.18p/m in 36:35


PM

5.20 Miles Easy @6.59p/m in 36:18


Meant to be a single ten mile run but just didn't have the time.



Friday 5/12


10 Miles @6.59p/m in 1.09:55


Tonight I introduced Dublin to my new pink gloves. Yes, pink . I bought three pairs of the excellent Faas 350's so I threw two pairs of gloves into the basket. At €1.44 I couldn't refuse. They are ridiculous. Definitely a glove for night time running!



Saturday 6/12


Medium Long Run
-14.20 Easy @6.50p/m in 1.37:08


The longest run in quite a while but still a distance that feels short to be the longest run of the week. This week is simply about building the miles so naturally the easy pace runs have come down accordingly. If I had the normal two session week the easy run pace would be somewhat slower. With that said, I am enjoying the faster paced easy run. The weather at the moment (cold and dry) really suits me. I am a winter runner. You can keep you sun and heat!

---

I am an all or nothing type of person. I am trying to find the balance between enjoying myself and training/racing during this cycle. This includes enjoying myself more and not get hung about drinking or whatever. It's working out well (probably too well) so far and I am really enjoying training. One word of advice though. Don't have a ridiculously hot vindaloo (pain :eek:) for lunch. Keep it for 2am as it doesn't make the ideal pre-run meal!

dublin runner

Sunday 7/12

8.5 Miles Easy @6.51p/m in 58:18 (net uphill)
-inc. 6 x 45 seconds @5k effort


Although I decided against running/entering the National Novice XC, I decided to use the 8 miles or so from my house to Santry as my run for the day. The run (and strides) was pretty uneventful but the race itself was a bit of an eye-opener. This is now a race I have to run next year. The sheer competitiveness and enthusiasm was a bit of a shock! I definitely made the right decision to skip the XC season but I really must target it next year.

As it's a lapped race it makes a really good spectacle for supporters but likewise, there's no place to hide for the runner! A real man's race.



WEEK TOTAL: 74.6+ MILES



Monday 8/12


Mountain/Hill Run
-11 Miles @7.14p/m in 1.19:38


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/647561632


Despite not reaching the heights (quite literally :rolleyes:) of last weeks run, today still proved a challenge. It was a perfect morning for it. You just can't beat a cold dry morning. I am still learning how to run this type of session. Looking back on the run I can see why we did a good few miles of running before tackling the serious stuff last week. Today I made the mistake of wanting to get into it too quickly. I find some of the climbs very tough and struggle to get the effort level where it should be. That being said, I am still learning so I will take that for now.

It's scarily easy to tip into the red, even when at times running at 8.3x+ pace. I may be running the uphill sections too quickly and thereby suffering earlier then I maybe should.

Bloody hill running......addictive stuff . Oh, I got lost. Again. Twice.

---

No races penciled in just yet. Missing it.

dublin runner

Tuesday 9/12
10 Miles


Club Track Session


Plan: 8x800m @5k effort (200m/90 seconds recovery)


Splits:

1. 2.47 (5.35p/m)
2. 2.41 (5.23p/m)
3. 2.40 (5.21p/m)
4. 2.39 (5.19p/m)
5. 2.39 (5.19p/m)
6. 2.39 (5.19p/m)
7. 2.39 (5.19p/m)
8. 2.38 (5.17p/m)


-1 Mile W/U
-5 Miles W/D


The wind made a straightforward enough session a challenging one. As expected, the times were a bit down but the effort was spot on. Excluding the first rep, the consistency of the remaining seven were remarkably consistent (helped by splits be called out every 200m).

The few 'easy' miles after quickly turned into a slog-fest. For whatever reason I really struggle in the latter miles after completing a track session. All energy quickly left the body but I finally got back to the car and downed my emergency bottle of Sprite and horsed a banana into me. Amazing what a bit of sugar can do for you!



Wednesday 10/12


Long Easy Run
-17.25+ Miles @7.00p/m


I had a mini-Garmin disaster after I stupidly forgot to restart the watch after I very briefly stopped. I only planned 16 miles but my runner OCD meant me running until I got to 16 miles on the Garmin (17.25 miles in real life). How sad!

I had to push forward the long run as the weekend is work crazy and I simply won't have anytime to fit in a run of any decent length. Good complaint to have I suppose .



Thursday 11/12
10.10 Miles Various


AM

5.10 Miles Very Easy @7.14p/m in 36:52


PM

5 Miles Very Easy @7.16p/m in 36:22


Happy to get the miles in on what was a very busy day. The left knee became very sore during the morning run. There is certainly an issue there but for now I will simply keep an eye on it.



Friday 12/12
12 Miles


Plan: W/U, 10 Miles @2.45 Marathon Pace (6.17P/M), W/D


Actual:

-1 Mile W/U (7.49p/m) with drills
-10 Miles @6.13p/m in 1.02:06
-1 Mile W/D (7.40p/m)


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/649562095


One man's tempo is another man's steady run.


With the left knee a bit of an issue at the moment it would be fair to say I was apprehensive about this one. I knew today would be hard as the wind has become very noticeable over the past few days. I took this run down the Phoenix Park as I needed a change of scenery and a place with no traffic lights etc. The session was described as a tempo but as we all know 'tempo' can quite loose in it's definition. I thought about ringing around and trying to get company but I told myself that this needed to be done solo.

The middle couple of miles were tough enough (wind...er!) and I really considered calling it a day after six miles. The wind was really annoying me but on I went. Once I got to 8 miles I knew I was home and quite enjoyed the steady effort. I cruised ran by my coach near the end only to tell him I couldn't stop as I was doing his tempo run (haha!!).

The mile warm-down was the toughest mile of the day. I stopped briefly after the 10 miles to readjust my runner as it was causing me a lot of discomfort (and blood ). Once I started to run again the knee really started to act up. Definitely something to keep a eye on. Ouch.

Netwerk Errer

Do you wear spikes or flats for track session?

Personally, I've had similar problems during the cool down after workouts. I found that I was always more fatigued when wearing spikes. I could run the workout perfectly but could barely lift my legs for the cool down. For the last few months, I would bring my normal runner and change into it for the cool down. Haven't had a problem since.

jebuz

Some quality sessions there DR, impressive work on the 800's. Just my opinion here but I see a lot of quality running this week and no recovery. For me after a very tough track session on Tuesday and a 17 mile run on Wednesday, I would have been running a lot easier than 7:15 min/pace on the Thursday, particularly when you're at it again on the Friday You got some great work in so why not let the body recovery properly as after all it's during the recovery periods when you actually reap the benefits from your session, it may also be a contributing factor to the knee niggle. Maybe you have other ideas but that's just my personal opinion.

pistol_75

DR I've noticed a lot of talk of niggles and muscle pain recently and your training is still very intensive.

I think it's time to get it checked out before it checks you out for a while. We've all been there thinking it will go away, but it is the bodies way of telling us something is out of kilter.

Just my 2c...

dublin runner

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Do you wear spikes or flats for track session?

Personally, I've had similar problems during the cool down after workouts. I found that I was always more fatigued when wearing spikes. I could run the workout perfectly but could barely lift my legs for the cool down. For the last few months, I would bring my normal runner and change into it for the cool down. Haven't had a problem since.

No, interestingly I have never worn spikes. The risk of injuring myself (esp. calves) has meant me avoiding using them. I think I will from April next year (when I dump this long distance training and go shorter!) I will buy a pair. I think I will avoid doing more than two miles for my warm-down from now on. I was mile chasing. Never a good idea!

jebuz wrote: »

Some quality sessions there DR, impressive work on the 800's. Just my opinion here but I see a lot of quality running this week and no recovery. For me after a very tough track session on Tuesday and a 17 mile run on Wednesday, I would have been running a lot easier than 7:15 min/pace on the Thursday, particularly when you're at it again on the Friday You got some great work in so why not let the body recovery properly as after all it's during the recovery periods when you actually reap the benefits from your session, it may also be a contributing factor to the knee niggle. Maybe you have other ideas but that's just my personal opinion.

Completely agree.

I was risking a fair bit this week by front-loading the miles/intensity as I knew the weekend would be manic. Luckily the easy miles over the weekend have recharged the old batteries. It's a very fine line and a tactic I wouldn't advise. It's was a bit stupid of me to be honest.

Yeah, the long run. A bit of a mess that was! I planned to run it easy. I checked the watch for the first time after 8 miles and it was showing an average mile pace of 6.51p/m. My easy pace has come down but I think that is down to me unable to control my pace rather than a natural progression in fitness.

I am enjoying reading your training. It looks like a very smart approach. Depending on how things go over the next few weeks I might see you over there in April! Hopefully I won't end up in the 10km corral again if I do.....:D.

pistol_75 wrote: »

DR I've noticed a lot of talk of niggles and muscle pain recently and your training is still very intensive.

I think it's time to get it checked out before it checks you out for a while. We've all been there thinking it will go away, but it is the bodies way of telling us something is out of kilter.

Just my 2c...

Yeah, the knee really caused me a bit of problems but I think it is something I can run through. It's always very hard to gauge what to do. I think as runners we will always have some sort of issue. The trick is to prevent a niggle developing into an injury. I think the problems with my left knee is mainly down to my poor downhill technique. I am just awful running downhill.

I always think back to meeting my coach last year in the Phoenix Park when I think of a niggle/injury for a planned tempo run. I sprained my foot the previous night and I could barely walk. It had swelled like no man's business. He took a look and confirmed it was a bad enough sprain. I expected him to pull the plug on the session but he told me to run through it and you can't stop training every time you're injured. The session went great, even though I could barely run on the warm-up! I guess I still have that mantra in my head. It's a very difficult balancing act though.