Off the Fence....and looking to go sub 3 hrs

FBOT01

New Year with new challenges ahead…..going to try this log thing out and share my experiences in the hope that the boys and girls of the “boards.ie” community might be able to help me on the road to a sub 3hr Marathon. Yep I said it and it is now out there. No more sitting on the fence..... sub 3hrs is the next big goal!

A little bit of background to put my goal and the challenge ahead in context.....

I’m a 44 yr old 5’ 6 “ late starter with no history or background in running. After hitting 40 and been given a choice between Statins or exercise I choose running. I kicked off my running “career” in January 2011 at the Raheny 5 with the Connemara Half in April 2011 as the target goal. After graduating to the DCM in October 2011 I caught the running bug and have been ticking along enjoying almost every step since.

Marathon History
DCM 2011 03:42:12 (‘FIRST’ training programme)
DCM 2012 03:28:12 ( ‘FIRST’ programme again with extra running days and 10 week pilates course)
DCM 2013 03:13:16 (P&D 18wk /55m – no pilates and it showed in the last 2 miles)

PB’s
5K - 18:19 Parkrun St Anne’s – Oct 2013
5m - 34:20 Raheny 5 – Jan 2013 (only 5 miles I have run is Raheny 5 and until this year I would have been coming off a Nov/Dec break and a heavy Christmas)
10k - 39:05 Docklands – Jun 2013
10m – 1:04:36 Frank Duffy – Aug 2013
½ marathon - 1:28:56 Kildare - May 2013
Marathon - 3:13:16 DCM – Oct 2013

Total Mileage for 2013 was 1,900 miles.

Diary for 2014 starts with Raheny 5 at end of Jan and will be followed by Ballycotton 10 in March and Connemara Marathon in April. Original plan was to work towards a crack at 3hrs in Berlin but didn't manage to get a slot in the lottery so I guess I will have to try it on home soil in DCM 2014 all going well.

I am currently on week 7 of the 18 week P&D 55 to 70 mile program and all is going OK at the moment touch wood........did my first +60 week 2 weeks ago and still motoring.

Last week runs were as follows:
Mon – 7m @ 8:02 avg pace
Tues – 12.39m @ 8:19 avg pace
Wed – 5.87m @ 8:34 avg pace (Recovery)
Thurs – 10m @ 8:09 avg pace
Fri – 5.22m @ 9:02 avg pace (Recovery)
Sat – 12.28m @ 7:58 avg pace followed by St Annes Parkrun 5k @ 6:20 avg pace
Sun - Rest

Week = 55.9m
MTD = 95.8m
YTD = 95.8M

Look forward to getting your views, thoughts and advices over the coming weeks, months, years............and for all they might be worth sharing mine!

Ferris B

Good to see you're off that fence on gone public. Enjoy the journey to sub 3.

Your running history looks very familiar ... Hmmm ....

AuldManKing

Welcome.

Being on P&D - Have you got a spring Marathon lined up - you said you didn't get into Berlin, but I'm sure there's other alternatives.

FBOT01

AuldManKing wrote: »

Welcome.

Being on P&D - Have you got a spring Marathon lined up - you said you didn't get into Berlin, but I'm sure there's other alternatives.

Cheers. I am heading to Connemara in April.

AuldManKing

Sorry, missed that in the original post. Best of luck with the log.

FBOT01

Monday 13/01/14:
10.05m @ 07:31 avg pace (LT w5@HMP)

Decided to run home from the office for the first time. The program had me on a 10miler with 5@HMP (06:45). Finished a little early and hit road before dark. Ran out through Donnybrook and down through Ballsbridge out to Sandyford. Spotted a few runners over towards Poolbeg power station so decided to go exploring. I have been following smmoore’s log so had seen many reference to the Nature Reserve so this was a good opportunity to see it. Hit the 5 mile mark just before the Eastlink with avg pace @ 08:04. Picked it up for the balance to the 10 miles. Despite the rest day on Sunday I was still feeling a little bit sluggish after pushing the boat out a bit at the parkrun with 06:20 avg pace after a 12 mile warm-up @ 07:58 avg pace. All this added up to the fact that I fell short of HMP with the last 5 @ 07:00 rather than target 06:45....note to self!!

Quads feeling tight and right ankle a little tender. Must look into that stretching lark!

Tuesday 14/01/14:
14.03m @ 08:28 avg pace (Med-Long)

Since I am now committed to Connemara I need to up the hill work so Ferris B and I headed out to Howth today to take in the Summit. Cold, wet and windy. The Garmin showed avg pace @ 08:28 but for a lot of the time it felt that we should have been going sub 08:00 based on effort. Pretty knackered after this one and the poor dog didn’t even get his walk as a result.....he was not a happy camper.

No niggles of note.

Wednesday 15/01/14:
06.69m @ 08:48 avg pace (Recovery)

Embraced today as a recovery day. Took it nice and handy.

Thursday 16/01/14:
11.08m @ 08:18 avg pace (Med-Long)

Took a couple of miles to get into this one. Otherwise pretty uneventful. Job done.

Right ankle tender again so I am off to ice it a couple of times to nip it in the bud.

Week = 41.8m
MTD = 137.6m
YTD = 137.6M

FBOT01

Friday 17/01/14:
8.20m @ 08:14 avg pace (Gen w 10x100 Strides)

Left the house thinking that I was heading off for my normal Friday 5m recovery but that changed as I mulled over my week in my head during the first mile. I remember that this week was a little different and today was supposed to be 7miles General Aerobic with 10x100 Strides. So quick change of plan and slight change of route saw me kick off with 5.25m @ 08:12 avg pace. This brought me to the site of the old pond in St Anne’s Park where Mount Prospect Ave meets the coast. There is an uphill tarmac path just inside the park here that I use for doing strides. The section I use is probably closer to125/130m than 100m but it does the job very well. I do the strides up the hill and jog back down. Garmin not very accurate over these short distances but I knocked them out @ give or take 25secs. On rep 4 I started to feel it and by rep 8 I was blowing hard and struggling to get on my toes at all but pushed on and felt great mentally when I finished.

Did 1m cd @ 08:30 pace back to the house. Good session.

Saturday 18/01/14:
21.00m @ 08:20 avg pace (Long Run) split as follows:
7m @ 08:24 avg pace
7m @ 08:10 avg pace
7m @ 07:47 avg pace

Was torn between doing a pre breakfast run or having an early breakfast and heading out around 10am. In the end I decided to hit the road early with a plan to link up with OH and a few more of the St Anne’s Parkrunners for coffee as my post run treat. After a couple of mouthfuls of Lucozade Sport and banana I left the house at about 07:15 in the dark. Unfortunately within the first mile the rain started and remained for the rest of the morning. I like to do my long run as progression runs targeting the first third at sub 08:30 avg pace moving up to sub 08:15 and finishing the last third at sub 08:00. I find this helps me concentrate particularly if I am doing a solo run. It also feels like the time passes faster as I only think about the section I am on until it is over.

The only thing of note about the first section was that it was cold and wet and I realised that I forgot to tape up….still suffering. Mile9 brought me to Howth and the ascent past the golf club woke me up and got the heart going. The view from the summit was bleak but now that I was too numb to feel the cold and couldn’t get any wetter I actually really enjoyed the rest of the run. I hit the main avenue in St Anne’s and finished my last mile with the Parkrunners but I took a “rain check” on the coffee and headed straight home to a warm shower. It took me until the early afternoon to get some heat back into my bones.

During this run I took 2 Kinetica Gels @ 8 and 16 miles,100mls of Lucozade Sport @ 5 and 13miles and 100mls of Water @ 9miles.

This was my first ever +70mile training week and I am delighted to have it in the bag…………from Monday I will be taking a little detour on the road to Connemara in an effort to put myself in a good position to give it a lash next Sunday at the Raheny 5. I plan to take an extra rest day this week and push out my long run until after Sunday. So while my training has not been focused toward a 5miler I am feeling good and think my sub 32:00 target will be a challenge but is realistic

Week = 73.4m
MTD = 169.2m
YTD = 169.2M

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

with a plan to link up with OH and a few more of the St Anne’s Parkrunners for coffee as my post run threat.

Nothing worse than the threat of the OH to spur you on.;)

FBOT01

Ferris B wrote: »

Nothing worse than the threat of the OH to spur you on.;)

Whoops.....:D

dublin runner

Nice target. Are you going to incorporate much hill work into your sessions, particularly as you are doing Connemara?

FBOT01

dublin runner wrote: »

Nice target. Are you going to incorporate much hill work into your sessions, particularly as you are doing Connemara?

Thanks Dublin Runner. The plan would be to try to do 2 hill sessions a week from now until taper. During the midweek med-long run I will head up to Howth and the weekend long run will again either involve Howth or a couple of the hills in the Phoenix Park.

dublin runner

Yeah, Howth Summit is great preparation. Sutton to Howth Summit is particularly good in my opinion. Somewhat tough but enjoyable!

AuldManKing

I like what you done on the 21 miler - I find the same myself - having to do negative split runs or progressions in order to keep them focused.

Nice mileage last week on some tough runs.

FBOT01

Monday 20/01/14:
6.47m @ 09:03 avg pace (Recovery)
4.00m @ 09:10 avg pace (Recovery)

After a good week last week I kicked off week 8 with the first double of the programme. I ignored any temptation to run by the watch and let my legs lead the way. They chose to do some of the slowest miles I have done in a long time but so be it. Mind you they were far from the easiest miles I have done in a long time!

Tuesday 21/01/14:
10.10m @ 08:01 avg pace (Gen Aerobic w/8x800 @ 5k pace)

With Raheny 5 firmly in the head for this week I swapped my scheduled 14m Med-long run for some interval work. The theory being that I would get the legs and heart moving and a little acclimatised to what to expect over the weekend. I was joined by Ferris B for this one. I find it much easier to do this type of session when there is someone right there with you pushing you all the way.

We headed out along the sea front in Clontarf and started with a 2.83m wu @ 08:50 avg pace. As we chatted during the warm up I realised that I hadn’t done any interval/speedwork since before the marathon last October. The current schedule doesn’t bring them in for another two weeks.

When we passed the causeway we kicked off the 800m (actually 0.5m as my Garmin works in old money) intervals with 90sec recovery jogs between each one. Splits were as follows:
1 03:00
2 03:00
3 03:00
4 02:59
5 02:58
6 02:58
7 02:59
8 02:58

Felt unusually comfortable throughout even after we turned back into the breeze for reps 5-8. The real positive was that I felt good on rep 8 and felt like I had more in the tank. Finished off with a nice easy cool down of 2.06m @ 09:32 avg pace.

Really enjoyed this session. Hopefully it is a sign of good things to come rather than a false dawn!!

Week = 20.57m
MTD = 189.8m
YTD = 189.8M

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

I was joined by Ferris B for this one. I find it much easier to do this type of session when there is someone right there behind you, barely hanging onto you all the way.

FBOT01

Wednesday 22/01/14:
5.82m @ 09:08 avg pace (Recovery)

I joined Ferris B for a lunchtime recovery run. Did exactly what it said on the tin.

Thursday 23/01/14:
11.02m @ 07:34 avg pace (Gen Aerobic w/6 @ HMP)
• 4m wu @ 08:19 avg pace
• 6m Tempo @ 06:54 avg pace
• 1m cd @ 08:34 avg pace

I hit the road pre-breakfast for this one. It looked dark, cold and damp outside and the hardest part of this session was by far getting out the door.

Started with a 4m wake up rather than warm up. This brought me to the seafront in Clontarf where I planned to do a flat tempo out and back with the watch set to keep me in the 06:40 to 06:55/mile pace range. The first two were probably the toughest but after I dumped my hat, gloves and high vis vest in St Anne’s I found a much better rhythm. While there was a breeze it was not significant and had little impact other than to focus the mind when I turned back into it for miles 5 and 6. Splits were as follows:
1 06:59
2 07:00
3 06:52
4 06:51
5 06:54
6 06:49
Although all these miles were at the upper end of the range and slightly above my PB HMP of 06:47, I would still put this down as a good session. To date in this schedule I have found these sessions the toughest but the plan is to try to keep pushing on and working to get the pace to the lower end of the range that I have set for them.

Just a couple of light recovery sessions or maybe a slow St Anne's Parkrun between now and the start line of the Raheny 5 on Sunday........bring it on!


Week = 37.4m
MTD = 206.6m
YTD = 206.6m

FBOT01

Friday 24/01/14:
5.97m @ 09:08 avg pace (Recovery)

Another early dark, cold and wet one before breakfast. OH thinks I have lost the plot as I hit the road at 5am for this one. Dropped my daughter to the airport for 4:30am and sure seen as I was up anyway why wouldn’t I go running? Felt a bit like “D’Unbelievables” having dinner at 8:30am to get a jump on the day!! Not a lot else to say about this one other than job done.

Saturday 25/01/14:
Rest Day

Headed up to Parkrun (St Anne’s) to lend a bit of support and help out if needed. Witnessed Aoife Talty cruise home in 17:04 to be the 1st woman to cross the line in overall 1st place at St Anne’s Parkrun. It was a pity Krusty hadn’t picked this week to make his play for the full house of Dublin Parkruns would have made for an interesting morning's racing!

I had plans to do a couple of miles and a few strides in advance of Sunday’s race but walking the dog is about as energetic as I got.

Sunday 26/01/14:
2.5m wu @ 08:20 avg pace
5.07m @ 06:07 avg pace (06:05, 06:17, 06:15, 06:03, 06:01, 00:18)

This was my fourth time running the Raheny 5 but my first heading to the start line with anymore than 4 weeks training under the belt. The last few years I have taken November and December off after DCM and only went back running after the excesses of Christmas. This year I decided to run through and have been putting in some of my largest mileage weeks ever since early December as part of the P&D program which I am doing for Connemara.

So the afternoon started with a couple of miles warm-up before watching some very good and well attended underage races. I then said good luck to OH who was also running and met up with Ferris B for a final warm-up with a few strides. I was in a good place and had a clear plan to run 06:20 avg pace and give myself plenty of scope to hit my sub 32:00 target. Ferris B said he would be happy with sub 33:00 but knowing him pretty well at this stage I expected him to be keeping me company for most if not all of the way around.

Ferris B lined up a little back from me in a feeble attempt to tell himself that he wasn’t going to go all out After the hustle and bustle of the started I settled in for 06:05 Mile 1. A little quicker than planned but knew a windy Howth Road would slow that down. Made a tactical decision to stay in behind a couple of big lads on the Howth Road to conserve energy and keep the show on the road. The beep went at 06:17 for mile 2. At this stage I knew Ferris B was on his way up to me as I could hear the gap between the shout outs for each of us from mutual friends getting shorter. He popped up on my shoulder at about half way....I think his greeting was “will you ever move your @ss! You should be pushing it a harder.....” He was probably right but I looked at the watch and I was still in my planned zoned so had no plan to push the boat out just yet. Mile 3 was 06:15. With only 2 to go I knew I had plenty in me to do the sub 32:00 so when Ferris B pushed on I decided to stick with him. On the last 3 occasions that I have hit Watermill Road in this race it has taken more out of me than I had to give but not this time, I had plenty in the bag for it this year.....pushed on up the hill with Mile 4 showing 06:03. Kept it nice and steady for the next ¾ mile picking off bodies as I went. When I hit the second last bend I wound it up a bit and had 3 more lads in my sights that I thought I could take before the line. I was passed watching the watch at this stage. As I passed to the second of these he decided to kick on and try to hold me off. We went toe to toe to the line and happily my toe got there first......watch said 30:59 and I was a very happy camper.

Linked up with OH, Ferris B, Killerz and a few others from St Anne’s Parkrun for a cuppa in the GAA club afterwards followed by the obligatory pint.....well OH and Ferris B had the pint I had the car keys:)

The official time turned out to be 30:57 so sub 31 and 03:23 shaved off my PB was a good days work. I would have to say that I probably owe 30 secs to Ferris B for pushing me on during miles 4 and 5 and I definitely owe the 3 secs under 31:00 to the guy who decided to race me down the finishing straight:D

Great event yet again. Well run and supported. Fair play to all who took part whether as volunteer, runner, walker or supporter. Thanks.

While I was 15 miles short on programme this week as a result of a mini taper for Sunday it was a good week with the first job on the list done for this year..........next up Ballycotton.

Week = 50.8m
MTD = 220.0m
YTD = 220.0m

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

Ferris B said he would be happy with sub 33:00 but knowing him pretty well at this stage I expected him to be keeping me company for most if not all of the way around.

I must get you do my race predictions for me in future!;)

What's this crack of nicking my phrases for your race report. Mine was out first. I smell plagiarism.

Nice run btw.

FBOT01

Ferris B wrote: »

I must get you do my race predictions for me in future!;)

If I remember correctly I have done that before and was pretty accurate:cool:

Ferris B wrote: »

What's this crack of nicking my phrases for your race report. Mine was out first. I smell plagiarism.

Didn't notice. Your report must have just made such a good impression. Sorry:D

Ferris B wrote: »

Nice run btw.

Cheers.

FBOT01

Monday 27/01/14:
5.16m @ 09:00 avg pace (Recovery)

Plan had me on a double up recovery today with 6m in the am and 4m in the pm. Life got in the way and ended up just doing 5.16m in the pm. Nice gentle recovery which was just what was needed after Sunday’s race.

Tuesday 28/01/14:
15.05m @ 08:31 avg pace (Med-long)

This week was lining up as one of those ones that has too few hours in it to get everything done. I did 11 of these miles with Ferris B before jumping in the car to go and collect my daughter from dancing. I dropped her home and then hit the road to finish this off. Sounded like a great idea in my head but the 30min down time in the car had cooled everything down and I really felt the last four. My left shin was pounding when I got home to the extent that I was limping going to bed and woke several time with pains during the night............but sure if it didn’t kill me then it could only......

Wednesday 29/01/14:
6.66m @ 09:18 avg pace (Recovery)

Still carrying the shin pain from the previous evening I joined Ferris B for a lunchtime recovery run. Running was actually easier than walking on my shin and by the time I finished this the leg had significantly improved.......shin wasn’t turning into a major problem so all is good in the world.

Thursday 30/01/14:
13.40m @ 08:09 avg pace (Med-long)

The week continued as it started and I didn’t hit the road for this one until 21:50. Hadn’t been up Howth yet this week so took off in that direction. As is the norm now for my longer runs I broke this into three sections 5/4/4 with a plan to do the sections progressively faster @ avg pace of sub 08:30/sub 08:15/sub 08:00. Actual pace was 08:24/08:12/07:54......very pleasant run on a very clear night with the “City of Lights” making the trek to the summit worth it.

Friday 31/01/14:
7.00m @ 09:13 avg pace (Recovery w/6x100m strides)

Nice recovery run with strides thrown in near the end. Did the strides in the usual spot which is the site of the old pond in St Anne’s Park where Mount Prospect Ave meets the coast. There is an uphill tarmac path just inside the park here that I use for doing strides. The section I use is probably closer to 125/130m than 100m but it does the job very well. I do the strides up the hill and jog back down. Splits where as follows;
1 :25.3
2 :24.3
3 :24.6
4 :24.6
5 :24.8
6 :24.9

First one was slow as the legs took a minute to warm up. Small drift at the end but nothing major to worry about.

Saturday 01/02/14:
16.01m @ 07:28 avg pace (MPR w/12 @ mp)

This was the big session of the week and with the weather as forecast I didn’t fancy it. Decided to head into the PP as it gave me options to do some hills while also giving me some opportunities to get some shelter from the wind along the way.

It was cold and very windy when I got to the park but no rain as yet. Headed off and clocked up the initial 4m @ 08:11 avg pace before moving into the MP session with 07:15 as the target. This was a tough session with mile 4 straight into the wind and mile 8 up military hill and into the wind being the toughest. Garmin showed these two @ 07:21 and 07:20 respectively but managed to take advantage of the wind and a few downhills along the way to pull these back and finish the session with an avg pace of 07:11 for the 12m...........was chuffed to get this one under the belt and felt great after it. Ate like a horse for the rest of the evening and danced til the wee hours at the GAA Club Annual get together in the Castle.

Sunday 02/02/14:
Rest Day

Well deserved rest day involving 12 holes of golf followed by a trip to the Aviva to see Ireland beat Scotland. Not the best match I have every attended but much like at the end of tough day on the road.....job done now move on. Bring on the Welsh:D

Week = 63.2m
MTD = 16.01m
YTD = 283.2m

FBOT01

Monday 03/01/14:
9.15m @ 08:28 avg pace (General Aerobic)

After the good MRP session on Saturday this was a real slog particularly the first couple of miles. Headed from the Coast to DCU via Griffith Ave with the return journey down Collins Ave. Trip back was a little more comfortable and even managed to pick up the pace a little at the back end.....so not all bad.

Tuesday 04/01/14:
7.04m @ 07:37 avg pace (VO2 Max w/6x800 RI 90secs)

What a difference a day can make......I left the house with a spring in my step for this one and the legs felt good. However when I hit the coast the wind did its best to knock that out of me. I considered going inland in search of shelter but decided that I wouldn't give into it that easily. The wind was coming off the sea with some serious gusts pushing me around....I am only a little lad after all:) Kicked off with a 3m wu @ avg pace 08:06 during which I spent quite a bit of time leaning into the wind to stop from been blown towards the road. I was out past the Causeway and heading towards Sutton direction when I started on the intervals. This part of the path is very exposed with no cover from the wind. After the first rep I decided to head back the other way as at least there was a low level wall as I headed towards the Bull Wall that would stop the wind from heel tapping me as I ran. Did 3 more reps in this direction then alternated direction for the last 2. This session took a lot out of me and I found reps 5 & 6 particularly tough as can be seen from the splits below. Not sure I could have done anymore but that been said I really enjoy the challenge of these type of sessions.

1 – 03:03 (06:06 pace)
2 – 03:02 (06:04 pace)
3 – 03:00 (05:59 pace)
4 – 03:00 (06:00 pace)
5 – 03:03 (06:06 pace)
6 – 03:03 (06:05 pace)

This was supposed to be a 9m session but had to cut the cd short to go and collect my daughter.....decided to forego the last 2m rather than head back out later in the miserable weather.

Week = 16.19m
MTD = 32.2m
YTD = 299.4m

FBOT01

Monday 03/01/14:
9.15m @ 08:28 avg pace (General Aerobic)

After the good MRP session on Saturday this was a real slog particularly the first couple of miles. Headed from the Coast to DCU via Griffith Ave with the return journey down Collins Ave. Trip back was a little more comfortable and even managed to pick up the pace a little at the back end.....so not all bad.

Tuesday 04/01/14:
7.04m @ 07:37 avg pace (VO2 Max w/6x800 RI 90secs)

What a difference a day can make......I left the house with a spring in my step for this one and my legs felt good. However when I hit the coast the wind did its best to knock that out of me. I considered going inland but decided that I wouldn’t give into it that easily. The wind was coming off the sea with some serious gusts pushing me around....I am only a little lad:) Kicked off with a 3m wu @ avg pace 08:06 during which I spent quite a bit of time leaning into the wind to stop from been blown towards the road. I was out past the Causeway and heading towards Sutton direction when I started on the intervals. This part of the path is very exposed with no cover from the wind. After the first rep I decided to head back the other way as at least there was a low level wall as I headed towards the Bull Wall that would stop the wind from heel tapping me as I ran. Did 3 more reps in this direction then alternated direction for the last 2. This session took a lot out of me and I found reps 5 & 6 particularly tough as can be seen from the splits below. Not sure I could have done any more but that been said I really enjoy the challenge of these type of sessions.

1 – 03:03 (06:06 pace)
2 – 03:02 (06:04 pace)
3 – 03:00 (05:59 pace)
4 – 03:00 (06:00 pace)
5 – 03:03 (06:06 pace)
6 – 03:03 (06:05 pace)

This was supposed to be a 9m session but had to cut it short to go and collect my daughter.....decided to forego the last 2m rather than head back out later in the miserable weather.

Wednesday 05/01/14:
6.27m @ 09:03 avg pace (Recovery)

Joined Ferris B for what can probably now be described as our regular Wednesday lunchtime recovery run. Ignoring the watch on these slow easy recovery runs is becoming easier.

Thursday 06/01/14:
11.72m @ 08:03 avg pace (Med-Long)

Wasn’t feeling this at all today and it was a real struggle to get out the door. I even had to dig out the headphones for this one in the hope that a little music on the move might help.....I would not be a fan of running with headphones but sometimes needs must. Eventually got off my a$$ at about 7pm and drove down to the causeway with a plan to head out to Howth.

As I have been doing with most of the long and med-long runs I ran this as a progressive pace run. Target was 4 @ sub 08:30, 4 @ sub 08:15 and the balance @ sub 08:00. Trotted along as required for the first few miles and hit the hill heading up by the golf club on mile 4. As with my last visit to Howth this got the heart going and I didn’t look back from there. For a change I decided to head over the hill and back through Howth Village itself. While I have gone up and down the Sutton side countless times over the last few years I have never before headed down the “steep” side. I let gravity do its job and tried to focus on not hitting the brakes each time I struck the ground to avoid too much pressure on the hamstrings. Interesting experience and a very different challenge. Last section was a flat run back to the causeway.

As I was ticking along nicely at 07:45 pace or thereabouts back towards the car with a vista of city lights and bright stars on a lovely crisp night in front of me.....it was one of those moments that I thought to myself “Isn’t it great to be alive”.....this was a world away from where I was an hour and half earlier as I struggled out the door.

I don’t know if it was the night that was in it or the fact that Conn is rapidly approaching but I am not sure I have ever passed as many runners heading up or down the Hill in Howth.

Session breakdown was 4m @ 08:25 avg pace, 4m @ 07:54 avg pace (this included the downhill mile from the summit @ 07:14) and 3.72m @ 07:49 avg pace.

Friday 07/01/14:
8.64m @ 08:23 avg pace (General Aerobic w/10x100m strides)

Headed out at lunchtime for this one. With these general aerobic runs I aim for a steady pace run @ sub 8:30 avg pace. I started this one with 5.65m @ 08:23 avg pace and headed down to the usual spot to do the strides…..usual spot being the site of the old pond in St Anne’s Park where Mount Prospect Ave meets the coast. There is an uphill tarmac path just inside the park here that is probably closer to 125/130m than 100m but it does the job very well. I do the strides up the hill and jog back down…..Splits where as follows;
1 24 05:02
2 24 04:49
3 24 04:54
4 24 04:47
5 25 05:06
6 24 05:02
7 24 04:51
8 25 05:25
9 25 05:03
10 24 05:19
11 24 05:09
Finished off with 1m @ 08:55 avg pace.

Legs felt a little heavy from the start on this one. Strides were hard work as I presume they are supposed to be. Rep 5 thru 8 were the toughest. Lost count and ended up doing an extra one:(

Saturday 08/01/14:
15.00m @ 08:08 avg pace (Med-Long)

The plan when I left the house was to park up in St Anne’s and head out to Howth again and finish off by doing the Parkrun. Weather as I hit the coast was not pleasant with a strong wind off the sea and what felt like glass hitting me in the face. Ferris B passed me heading back in from an early one and I was suitably jealous that he only had 2/3 left to do while I still had 12/13. As I got to the top of the first drag passed the golf club the weather had changed for the better. The plan also began to change. My body took me aside and gave me a little talking to……….in a nutshell it gave me a choice I could stop there and then or I could agree that the Parkrun would be a bad idea and revert back to a standard Med-long Run. I choose option 2 and took the long way back to St Anne’s before meeting up with a few of the Parkrun crew for coffee…..in hindsight with a late night and less than 5 hours sleep on Friday and two trips to Howth within 48hrs a pre-breakfast run including the Parkrun should never have been the plan in the first place.

Headed to the Aviva in the afternoon to do my bit for my country. Great performance and result…..both of these don’t always come at the same time. Next up will be to take the wheels off the Chariot on the 22nd. What I wouldn’t give to be there for that one!!!

Sunday 08/01/14:
Rest Day

With OH away on Saturday I lived it up on Saturday night with an early night and 10 hours straight sleep………..a very unusual experience for me but obviously needed it and will hopeful see the benefit of it next week with 70 miles on the schedule.

FBOT01

Monday 10/02/14:
6.25m @ 09:03 avg pace (Recovery)
3.85m @ 09:18 avg pace (Recovery)

Double up recovery day today. Nothing to report. Job done.

Tuesday 11/02/14:
15.34m @ 08:08 avg pace (Med-Long)

Usual Med-Long Run plan for this one which is to break it down into 3 sections and increase the pace in each section.

Weather was a little harsh with a nasty wind coming from the SW/W and couple of snow/sleat showers along the way. I could have done with the safety glass at times. Ferris B joined me the first 7 before he stopped off in St Anne’s to do some strides. I planned the route to give myself an end of run bonus by having the last few miles with the wind.

Session breakdown was 5m @ 08:18 avg pace, 5m @ 08:11 avg pace and 5.34m @ 07:52 avg pace.

Legs felt a little tight but aerobically I was very comfortable. Not feeling the love just yet this week but getting the job done which is the main thing.

Wednesday 12/02/14:
6.16m @ 08:49 avg pace (Recovery)

Nice easy recovery. Weather was harsh and at times the wind stopped me in my tracks. I think I might have to start wearing the safety glasses if this keeps up. Biggest challenge was remembering that this was a recovery run and as such sticking the head down and taking on the wind was not an option:mad:

If the wind stays up I might get my chance to take it on tomorrow as it is tempo day.....I don’t fancy my chances though:)

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

Monday 10/02/14:


Thursday 11/02/14:


Wednesday 12/02/14:

The wind was so strong it has blown the days of the week out of order.

FBOT01

Ferris B wrote: »

The wind was so strong it has blown the days of the week out of order.

The odd deliberate error needs to be thrown in "occasionally" just to see if anyone is paying attention

FBOT01

Thursday 13/02/14:
11.79m @ 07:31 avg pace (LT w/7@HMP)

Very windy one today. I took the long way to the coast with a 3m wu with a plan to run the first 4m of my 7m tempo with the wind. Tempo target was sub 06:55 and apart from a little heel tapping from the wind and a short rain shower the run out to Sutton was uneventful. I didn’t push to take full advantage of the wind as I knew that I still had to come back. Turned at the end of the cycle track and stuck the head down. Effort level jumped considerably in mile 5 but found a rhythm after that and actually enjoyed the challenge of holding the pace into the wind.

Tempo splits were:
06:53
06:54
06:52
06:53
06:58
06:54
06:50

Finished with 1.79m cd @ avg pace 08:45

These are still the sessions that I find the toughest and if I do plan to go sub 3hr later in the year I will have to work hard on them to get the pace considerably lower.....but that is a job for the next training cycle.

Friday 14/02/14:
6.28m @ 11:18 avg pace (Recovery)

OH was struggling to get her Jantastic Runs in this week and had a 10k to do at some stage over the weekend. Given the night that was in it I offered to head out with her for a romantic run in the rain.....as we passed 1014 Restaurant opposite the Bullwall we could see the jealousy on the faces of the patrons as they looked up at us from their steak dinners With 10k in the bag we could then sit down for a guilt free steak dinner followed by chocolate pudding! That is two very early morning runs and one on Valentine,s night for OH to keep her 100% Jantastic record.......don’t repeat this out loud but she may be catching the bug!!

Saturday 15/02/14:
22.20m @ 08:04 avg pace (Long)

After last week's disaster I decided that pre-breakfast was not an option this week so with a target start time of 8am I had breakfast at 6am and took in a hour of the Winter Olympics before hitting the road. Drove out to Howth and parked up at Sutton Church with 3 assaults on the head planned during this run.

Got straight to it and headed up and over the summit coming back down along the old tram path.....much more gentle decent that the road into the village. Back down to Sutton Cross and out through Baldoyle, Donaghmeade, Kilbarrack before heading back to Howth for climb no 2. Stopped off at the car on the way by to grab a quick drink and to dump the headphone, radio, hat and gloves....Dublin was now awake and so was I.

The 2nd climb started at mile 13 and as this was a progression run the target pace had dropped from sub 08:30 to sub 08:15 at this stage. No problem on climb no 2 and came back down the tram path again. Looped around for climb no 3 which started at mile 19. Target pace had again dropped and this time I had to climb at sub 08:00. Again all went according to plan. Didn’t go all the way to the summit this time as it would have taken me to 24miles and I was happy to stick to the planned distance of 22m......also was on the dancing run at 11:15 so the clock was ticking. Overall I was very pleased with this session and legs felt pretty good throughout...........however, note to self - steak, wedges, onions, choc pud, etc the night before a long run is not to be recommended - suffered badly from about mile 5 onwards with stomach cramps +.:(

Session breakdown was as follows:
8m @ 08:16 avg pace
7m @ 08:05 avg pace
7m @ 07:51 avg pace

With 3 decent climbs in the mix this will hopefully stand me in good stead for Connemara....program moves into Race Preparation cycle from Monday so 7 weeks and counting now!!

After taking care of my dancing run duties and a quick shower I finished off my running week by heading to Donadea to lend my support. Arrived just in time to see Gary O’Hanlon cross the line in 2:59 and looking very comfortable indeed for a man that had just run 50k in difficult conditions with mixed weather and soft ground in places. There was an excellent atmosphere around the event and if I am ever to go beyond the 26.2 mile mark this would certainly feature on the agenda......seemed like a well run event in a lovely setting and fair play to the organisers, volunteers, supporters and of course, the runners for making it happen.

On the trip home I questioned the wisdom of heading along to support as before I went I was feeling good with a nice 22m long run under the belt for the day....I went away feeling about 9miles short:D

Sunday 16/02/14:
Rest day............

yaboya1

Super stuff.
I hated those LT sessions too, so you're not the only one!

Finnt

Just read thru your log, keep up the good work your doing some great running

FBOT01

Monday 17/02/14:
8.78m @ 07:55 avg pace (VO2 Max w/5x600 RI 60secs)

I generally like Monday runs as more often than not I have a spring in my step after my rest day on Sunday. I kicked off with a nice easy wu 3.7m wu @ 08:34 avg pace. I started my intervals out past the Causeway and heading towards Sutton direction. No wind to speak of for a change. Did 4 reps in this direction then 1 back before heading up to me Mammy’s for dinner.....2.68m cd @ 08:17 avg pace. Target pace for the intervals was sub 06:00 and I was there or thereabouts. For some reason I found it very difficult to concentrate during the intervals and kept falling off the pace midway......I felt physically fine but the mind just kept switching off The splits were as below.

1 – 02:17 (06:00 pace)
2 – 02:17 (06:01 pace)
3 – 02:15 (05:56 pace)
4 – 02:17 (06:01 pace)
5 – 02:14 (05:54 pace)

A bit disappointed with this session as I didn’t get the usual buzz that I like after an interval session. The schedule has one of these sessions in each of the next 6 weeks so hopefully I can get into it more next week.

Tuesday 18/02/14:
14.01m @ 08:19 avg pace (Med-Long)

Did the first 7m @ 08:35 avg pace with Ferris B. He was on his first outing after his exploits in Donadea on Saturday and was in better shape than me today. Legs were very stiff in particular around my hips in the early stages. A previous niggle in my right shoulder has raised its head again over the last few days.....might be time for my semi-annual stretching session:)

After Ferris B jumped ship, I went back into my normal progression run mode. Did next 3m @ 08:13 avg pace and then finished off with 4m @ 07:54 avg pace. When I upped the pace my left hamstring tighten up badly and even considered backing off at one point. Recovery day tomorrow so hopefully that will sort the little niggles I felt today......not feeling it at the moment so will need to just grind it out and keep the faith for a few days. Ballycotton is just over two weeks away now. Nearly time to look at a race strategy for that:eek:

Ferris B

I see your last post was put up at 1:02am and edited next morning at 7:45. Don't forget SLEEP... essential part of any training program and can be done no matter what the weather.

Killerz

That 3 lapper of Howth (amongst a number of other solid runs) will really set you up well. With the strength of your training now, do you secretly wish that you were gunning for sub3 on this cycle(not at connemara, but maybe somewhere else)?

Thanks for the support, and the water at Donadea on Saturday.

FBOT01

Ferris B wrote: »

I see your last post was put up at 1:02am and edited next morning at 7:45. Don't forget SLEEP... essential part of any training program and can be done no matter what the weather.

So that's the 3 S's for the next training cycle.......Strength training, Stretching and Sleep!

God there is a lot more to this running lark than I thought:o

FBOT01

Killerz wrote: »

That 3 lapper of Howth (amongst a number of other solid runs) will really set you up well. With the strength of your training now, do you secretly wish that you were gunning for sub3 on this cycle(not at connemara, but maybe somewhere else)?

Thanks for the support, and the water at Donadea on Saturday.

Thanks J, nothing secret about that wish...if Kildare was still on the Calendar I would be spectating in the West:). But if I can go to Connemara in good shape, get through the hills and come home in good shape I will be a happy.....and if I could improve my BQ along the way sure I would take that;)

Was happy to stand around chatting, give an ole shout out and share my water on Saturday.....although at least you gave it back to me. Count yourself lucky you passed before Ferris B as he fecked off with the whole bottle when he passed.:mad: Came across as an excellent event and other than your choice of T-Shirt you should be very happy with your performance:D

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

. Count yourself lucky you passed before Ferris B as he fecked off with the whole bottle when he passed.:mad::D

That half full 'whole bottle' had to feed all the passengers on the 4:15 bus.

FBOT01

Wednesday 19/02/14:
7.73m @ 08:56 avg pace (Recovery w/6x100m Strides)
2.90m @ 09:53 avg pace (Recovery)

Today was a double up recovery day with a few strides thrown in. Program had a total of 10m broken into 6m and 4m with 6x100m strides to be included in the 6m.

Headed out at lunchtime with Ferris B for the first of these. Ended up doing 7.73m including the strides. 5.8m wu @ 08:57 avg pace followed by the 6 strides (splits below) and then a 1m cd @ 09:02 avg pace.

1- 20.6
2- 18.6
3- 19.1
4- 18.2
5- 18.5
6- 17.8

Legs felt very tight throughout this and it took a bit to get them moving for the strides. Rep 1 was reflective of this. Otherwise, nothing major to report.

09:53 avg pace. Legs hadn’t improved any from earlier so I actually did a bit of post run stretching.

On an aside I managed to grab one of the Charity entries for Berlin that became available today so I am in. Flight, accommodation, etc. all booked so all else being equal my first assault on sub 3hr will be as originally planned in Berlin in September 2014............happy days:)

Thursday 20/02/14:
18.23m @ 08:19 avg pace (Long)

The program had another recovery day for today with a 10m tune-up race followed by an 18m Long Run to finish out the week. I had no tune-up race in the diary and I am due to be away on Saturday/Sunday so I decided to move things around a bit. The revised plan was to get the long run in tonight, do the recovery run tomorrow and then go full pelt at the St. Anne’s Parkrun on Saturday. I know 5k is no replacement for a 10miler but I decided it would be better than nothing and with a good warm-up and cool down I could collect the necessary mileage as well.

As usual I broke this run into 3 sections (6m each) with progressive pace planned (<08:30,<08:15 and <08:00). Headed out the coast and up Howth from Sutton side. Legs felt a little better when I started and the 1st 6m were completed @ 08:25 avg pace with nothing major to report....other than that it was a very pleasant evening with a lovely clear sky. The wind was into me coming back down from the Summit but the downhill compensated for its effects until I got back on to the coast half way through mile 11. Mile 12 was straight into a stiff breeze and I had to work a little bit harder. As soon as I started to up the effort the tightness in my left hamstring that I had felt on Tuesday returned. I finished the 2nd 6m @ 08:12 avg pace. The hamstring was a lot tighter this time and I seriously considered pulling up. I decided instead to slow down and try to let it settle a bit as the next two mile were up a slight drag. Ignoring AMK sound approach of making sure that you keep the main thing the main thing, I was not prepared to sacrifice my 100% Jantastic score. Couldn’t let the team down or couldn’t let OH have a better score than me...I will let you decide which drove me on more;) Anyway after 2m @ 09:00 avg pace I pushed on again and did the last 4m @ 07:57 avg pace in an exercise of mind over matter. I don’t know if the hamstring got looser or the gluts got tighter but by the time I finished I couldn’t feel any pain in the hamstring over the burning pains I had in my gluts/hips. Dug out the ice pack and did a little bit of stretching to finish.

I have knocked the plans for a fast parkrun on the head and will just notch up the mileage on Saturday instead assuming the ice pack does its job. Massage booked for Monday to give the legs a good going over.

Friday 21/02/14:
5m @ 11:24 avg pace (Recovery)

I was joined by OH for this one. That is the second Friday in a row and since last Friday she has signed up for her first Half Marathon. Nice slow easy recovery run. Nothing to report. No pressure put on the Hamstring so no problems noted.

FBOT01

Saturday 22/02/14:
9.75m @ 08:27 avg pace (Med-Long)

With a crack at the St Anne’s Parkrun off the table I headed out early to meet up with Ferris B for the 2nd half of his long run and his 2nd trip up Howth. I ran a couple of handy miles at 08:45 avg pace before I met Ferris B and then picked it up to a bit. Next 4m were @ 08:17 avg pace. The last one of these was up the drag past the golf club. The left hamstring didn’t like this at all. When we reached the top of this section I felt like I had a golf ball inserted into the back of my leg. Ferris B was keen to keep his pace steady to the summit so I sent him on his way. I probably should have turned back down the hill at that point but instead I plodded on for another mile before stopping to try to stretch out the hamstring. I picked up Ferris B on the return trip and took it easy back to his car which was waiting at the end of the hill. Last 3m where downhill @ 08:40 avg pace with a lot of the way being consumed by a discussion on RICE v MEAT. Decided try the MEAT option so went home and applied a heat pack before walking the dog for a few miles. Followed up with some foam rolling and more heat later in the day.

Aborted run and beaten by England.....I have had better days:(

Sunday 23/02/14:
Rest Day

Glass half full today........yesterday was my first aborted run in my 3 years of running so I have no real basis for too much complaining. I have over 450miles on the clock since the start of the year with some good quality sessions in that. So more foam rolling, heat and dog walking today followed by a leg massage tomorrow will hopefully sort the hamstring and I will be back on track by the middle of the week. If I am then no real harm will have been done. If not it will be off to the Physio on Wednesday......in the immortal words of Matthew Wilder “Ain't nothing gonna break my stride, Nobody's gonna slow me down, Oh no, I've got to keep on moving...”:pac:

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

“Ain't nothing gonna break my stride, Nobody's gonna slow me down, Oh no, I've got to keep on moving...”:pac:

OK quoting it but please don't sing it.:)

FBOT01

Monday 25/02/2014
Rest Day

The plan had an interval session in for today (6x1k @ 5k Pace) but with the hamstring issue I had last week I decided to skip today altogether and just go for my planned leg massage.

Legs got a real going over and hopefully I will see the benefits over the coming days/weeks. No pain no gain!

Longer term I know need to start doing some routine stretching and sorting out the non-running parts of my training or injuries are going to become a unwanted part of my life.....but I need to not just know it, I need to do it.

Tuesday 26/02/2014
10m @ 08:22 (Med-Long)

I tentatively went back on the road tonight. Plan was to do somewhere between 5m and the 15m that the plan called for.

Started off with 4m @ 08:33 avg pace. I had a lot of aches and pains in my legs some of which were probably just in my head but hamstring didn't seem to be tightening up anything like last week. Next 5m were @ 08:15 avg pace. At this stage while I was happy I could have pounded out the full 15m, if needed to, I decided to call it a day at 10m and not to push my luck. Finished off with a mile @ 08:00. No major negative impact.

When I got home I did a few stretches. With a recovery day tomorrow hopefully I can get back to the plan. If that is the case and I only lose one interval session and 10/15miles after how I felt on Saturday I will be counting myself very lucky........although the plan to go all out in Ballycotton may need to be revisited next week.

FBOT01

Wednesday 26/02/2014
6.21m @ 09:05 avg pace (Recovery)
4.01m @ 09:33 avg pace (Recovery)

Double recovery day today. Joined Ferris B for 6m at lunchtime and then headed back out in the late evening for another 4m. Two nice easy recovery runs.

Thursday 27/02/2014
12.26 @ 08.21 avg pace (Mid-long)

I was joined by Ferris B for 10 of these and the company was a good distraction. Time flew by and didn't really think about the hamstring. Just ran.

Did 5m @ 08:22 avg pace followed by 5m @ 08:13 avg pace and finished off with a couple @ 07:56 avg pace. While the legs felt a little tired and I was very hungry after this run (forgot to have lunch) it had no ill-effects on the Hamstring. Heading to the Physio later this evening just to make sure all OK.

yaboya1

I think yourself, myself & Ferris B might make a good sub 3 team in Berlin.
Keep up the good work.
Looking forward to seeing how you go in Connemara

belcarra

yaboya1 wrote: »

I think yourself, myself & Ferris B might make a good sub 3 team in Berlin.
Keep up the good work.
Looking forward to seeing how you go in Connemara

I wonder do Berlin do a team competition...I could do with another 7 or 8 umbrellas! ;-)

FBOT01

Friday 28/02/2014
5.79m @ 08:57 avg pace (Recovery)

Nice easy recovery run along the seafront. While this was at an easy pace it didn't feel as easy and I would have liked it to. Beautiful day out there.

Update from the Physio was good. No real damage done and the pains I was getting were most likely down to muscle fatigue. The hill training that I have been doing for Connemara is obviously taking it's toll and when the first real interval session of the program hit home the leg must have decided that cramp was the only way for it to protect itself. The diagnosis is that I have an inherent weakness in my hamstring that has been exposed by the nature of the training over the last few weeks. The suggested solution is to avoid hills for the next couple of weeks and do some specific exercises to strengthen the hammers......so like a good little boy that is exactly what I am going to do:)

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

Friday 28/02/2014
5.79m @ 08:57 avg pace (Recovery)

do some specific exercises to strengthen the hammers......so like a good little boy that is exactly what I am going to do:)

You should do those exercises as part of the core work you mentioned was due to happen every Tuesday eve:D

ecoli

FBOT01 wrote: »

Friday 28/02/2014
The suggested solution is to avoid hills for the next couple of weeks and do some specific exercises to strengthen the hammers......so like a good little boy that is exactly what I am going to do:)

I dunno what kinda exercises you were given but avoid hamstring curls like the plague

FBOT01

ecoli wrote: »

I dunno what kinda exercises you were given but avoid hamstring curls like the plague

Thanks for the heads up but no curls involved. Just some reverse lunges and a floor exercise that I can't remember the name of. Although I do remember doing it in 2012 when I tried a bit of Pilates.

FBOT01

Ferris B wrote: »

You should do those exercises as part of the core work you mentioned was due to happen every Tuesday eve:D

Yeah that didn't quite go to plan. New plan is little and often.....so 15/20mins every eve between now and April 4th or thereabouts.

FBOT01

Saturday 01/03/2014
18.42m @ 07:28 avg pace (Long w/14 @ MP)

Fabulous spring morning for this one. The sun rising over Howth Head and reflecting off the mirror still Bay would have made me reach for the camera if I had one.

Headed out pre-breakfast and started with 4m wu @ 08:09 avg pace. Followed that up with 14m @ 07:13 avg pace (MP for Conn is looking like 07:15 at the moment). No problems with the hamstrings TW and felt "good" throughout. Was very happy to be able to finish off the last 2m @ 07:04 and 07:00 before a 0.42 cd @ 08:25.

Job done and proud of myself for listening to the Physio and staying off the hills, I joined the St Anne's parkrun team for a coffee and a couple of tasty homemade cookies courtesy of the RD for the Day:)

Sunday 02/03/2014
Rest Day

Ferris B

FBOT01 wrote: »

Headed out pre-breakfast and started with 4m wu @ 08:09 avg pace. Followed that up with 14m @ 07:13 avg pace (MP for Conn is looking like 07:15 at the moment). No problems with the hamstrings TW and felt "good" throughout. Was very happy to be able to finish off the last 2m @ 07:04 and 07:00 before a 0.42 cd @ 08:25.

Good run son.

I may have re assess my sealed envelope guess for Conn.

FBOT01

Ferris B wrote: »

Good run son.

I may have re assess my sealed envelope guess for Conn.

A little bit early to seal the envelopes just yet....whats the prize for closest guess:pac:

FBOT01

Monday 03/03/2014
8.26m @ 08:19 avg pace (w/5x600 @5K Pace RI60)

Another pre-breakfast start for this one. I had a leg massage booked for this morning so wanted to get this in first. Nice fresh morning and legs felt OK.
Session broke down as follows:
3.7m wu @ 08:25 avg pace
1 - 02:14 (05:53)
2 - 02:15 (05:57)
3 - 02:13 (05:51)
4 - 02:14 (05:53)
5 - DNF
2.25m cd @ 09:47 avg pace

All was going according to plan and rep 1-4 felt good. While I was working hard I was by no means all out or blowing hard. When it came to Rep 5, AMK's recent post which included an "Alpha Male" rep at the end of a session came into my head.....so off I went. The watch was beeping at me to slow down but sure it was only 600m what harm can I do:rolleyes: About 400m in the left hamstring which I have been nursing for the last week told me in no uncertain terms that it was not happy with my approach. So I gave up my quest for "Alpha Male" status and jogged home (...to take my place at the back of the Pack:o).

Headed off to my massage later in the day and sheepishly outlined my stupidity to the Therapist and paid a suitable penalty in pain:eek:

Anyway bottom-line I was stupid but not overly so.....pulling up straight away saved any damage being done. I will be sticking to the exercises the Physio gave me, staying away from hills and keeping the pace down for the rest of the week.

AuldManKing

Jayus, be careful with them Alpha Male final reps.
Glad the hammer didn't give up, otherwise you'd be blaming me