1,000 Miles Later...

skeleton_boy

This week, all things going to plan, I will clock up my 1,000th mile since I started tracking my runs and running consistently last July. Boards has been key in guiding me through this period having followed the 2013 DCM Novice plan and the subsequent improvers winter plan that's just come to an end. Again I'd like to thank CM, Blockic and any other members who've contributed to these threads.

With that however, there's no better time to start learning how to do this on my own. All input will be greatly appreciated and there will probably be many mistakes made along the way but hopefully the log will serve as a way to focus my training more towards my weaknesses.

Background
I'll try and keep this short. Did athletics when I was very young but had probably given up by 14. Played hurling up until minor, went to college (had a great time ) but got very unfit. Did a bit of running here and there but never anything more than 5 miles and with no consistency what so every. Come summer 2013, I was finished college and decided I'd start training for the Dingle Half Marathon, a race I'd told myself I'd train for the past two summers but didn't even get close to. Then I found boards and ambitions of running DCM crept into my mind. After about 6 weeks of consistent running, my entry was submitted. I haven't looked back since.

Did my first race at the end of July in Killarney, a 10K in 45:50. Stayed at it and exceeded all my expectations with a 1:35:42 in the Dingle Half Marathon in Sept. I'd set myself a target of 3:30 for Dublin and was delighted to go under that without suffering to much (relatively speaking of course.

Over the winter I started doing some more speed and tempo work and it's brought me on quicker than I could even imagine. Was shocked to clock 31:53 at the end of Jan in a 5 miler and just this past weekend I was delighted to go sub 40 for 10K. I honestly thought I'd be luck to hit that by the end of the year.

PBs
5K - N/A
5 mile - 31:53 (Waterford Winter League - Jan 14)
10K - 38:59 (Dungarvan 10K - Feb 14)
Half Marathon - 1:35:42 (Dingle Half Marathon - Sept 13)
Marathon - 3:28:02 (Dublin City Marathon - Oct 13)

Looking ahead
My next race is the Tralee Half Marathon on the 16th of March so the start of my log will be based around the build up to that. From April - July, I want to focus on speed so will be targeting plenty of 5-10K races. Then I'm looking to build towards Dublin once more and hopefully another day to remember.

Getting started

4 miles rec @ 9.00ish.
Get start to the log. Garmin died on this one. It doesn't give much of an alert as to a low battery. Anyway nice handy one after the weekend. Legs feel fresh after the race at the weekend.

Trying to figure out what session to do this week. I'm thinking 6 X 1 mile at 10K pace with 90sec recovery. Is there as much to be gained from this session having just run a 10K though?

Next week I'll be doing 6 miles @ HMP, 10 days out from Tralee so looking for something to complement that.

blockic

Best of luck skeleton_boy...you're background is scarily similar to mine..from giving up the hurling at 18, to having dingle half marathon as a first target.

Should be fun to watch you progress as you have come a long way already.

belcarra

blockic wrote: »

Best of luck skeleton_boy...you're background is scarily similar to mine..from giving up the hurling at 18, to having dingle half marathon as a first target.

Should be fun to watch you progress as you have come a long way already.

Just from reading your mini background (and Blockic's comments) I think there is a huge amount to come from you over the next 18 months. Take a read of Blockic's log and see what is possible for you.
Your rate of progress is very impressive and huge PBs are inevitable if you manage to stick to consistent training. Even bigger PBs on offer if you avoid some of the rookie mistakes and learn from B's log - He has all the hard work done for you right there!;)
Then in 18 months time you can worry about shaving the few per cent off the much improved PBs as the really hard work of diminishing returns begins to kick in...!
Will be following this with lots of interest! Best of luck!

Bulmers74

Best of luck with the log s_b. Look forward to tracking the progress. What's the revised target for the upcoming half?

skeleton_boy

blockic wrote: »

Best of luck skeleton_boy...you're background is scarily similar to mine..from giving up the hurling at 18, to having dingle half marathon as a first target.

Should be fun to watch you progress as you have come a long way already.

Cheers Blockic looking forward to seeing you back in action too. Hope its sooner rather than later... who else am I going to steal my sessions from?

belcarra wrote: »

Just from reading your mini background (and Blockic's comments) I think there is a huge amount to come from you over the next 18 months. Take a read of Blockic's log and see what is possible for you.
Your rate of progress is very impressive and huge PBs are inevitable if you manage to stick to consistent training. Even bigger PBs on offer if you avoid some of the rookie mistakes and learn from B's log - He has all the hard work done for you right there!;)
Then in 18 months time you can worry about shaving the few per cent off the much improved PBs as the really hard work of diminishing returns begins to kick in...!
Will be following this with lots of interest! Best of luck!

Thanks Belcarra. When I make it to that stage, as long as I'm still enjoying my running I'll welcome the challenge. Keep away from a spring marathon after a rooking one the previous autumn. Check!

Bulmers74 wrote: »

Best of luck with the log s_b. Look forward to tracking the progress. What's the revised target for the upcoming half?

Thanks Bulmers. Ran the course two weekends ago as part of my long run. There's a tough enough hill in the 8th or 9th mile. Plan to go as far as there at 6.40 pace. Hopefully I'll be able to power on from there. Sub 1:27 according to McMillian but will try and push for 1:25.

skeleton_boy

Wednesday 26th - 6.16 miles easy @ 8.01

Got this done yesterday morning. Legs still not showing much signs of the race at the weekend, which is good I guess. Had a 7.40 mile in the middle of this, the quickest mile I've clocked to date at an easy pace.

A more significant aspect of this run was the return of short sleeves and sunglasses. Normally run after work but working the late shift this week so getting them in before work. Avoided the wind and rain on this one due to it.

Thursday 27th - Session 6 X 1 mile @ 10K pace

Wasn't sure if I'd even do a session this week on the back of the race at the weekend. With the legs feeling so good I said I'd go ahead with it. Last week I did 5 X 1K @ 5K and next week I'm looking at 6 miles @ HMP so I though this would be a good go between. Not sure if there's as much to be gained from it having just done a 10K but seemed like a nice fit so went ahead with it. 10K pace = 6.16.

1.5 miles warm up @ 8.20
6 X 1 mile @ 10K pace (6.14, 6.09, 6.12, 6.13, 6.13, 6.13) w/ 90sec jog rec
1.5 miles warm down @ 8.38

Fairly wrecked from this one. Session are certainly getting tougher with the new target times! Found it tough going on the 4th rep. Had a slight stitch but its probably mostly mental because the last rep didn't seem near as tough.

As the thread title promised, this run also brought up my 1,000 tracked mile

skeleton_boy

Friday 28th - 4.02 rec @ 8.39

Nice handy recovery run to bring February to a close. Hopefully it'll be the back of this windy weather also.

Total miles in Feb - 142.5
Year to date - 294

Sunday 2nd -15.03 miles easy @ 8.14

Easily the quickest I've run any of my long runs but felt very easy and controlled throughout. Forgot to prepare myself properly for the damp conditions which led to the nipples been all but eroded from my chest. Not an ascetically pleasing sight but happy with the days work all the same.

Gavlor

Have you joined WAC?

The sessions are very good, I find a big difference doing them in a group.

There is also a group leaving superqiunn @ 9 every sunday morning for a long run. They are up to 12 miles this week and paces seem to vary from 7 min miles upwards.Might be worth looking into, you can tag on 4-5 miles at the end if required?

skeleton_boy

Gavlor wrote: »

Have you joined WAC?

The sessions are very good, I find a big difference doing them in a group.

There is also a group leaving superqiunn @ 9 every sunday morning for a long run. They are up to 12 miles this week and paces seem to vary from 7 min miles upwards.Might be worth looking into, you can tag on 4-5 miles at the end if required?

I'll do my own thing between here and Tralee over the next week and a half.

I'm definitely interested but shift work is a disaster trying to commit to anything. Session is at 5.45 each Tuesday going by Facebook right? I'd only be able to make it once every five weeks.

I usually prefer scheduelling my long runs for Saturday but the long run group is something I could more readily commit to, especially once marathon training commences later on the year.

skeleton_boy

Monday 3rd March - 6.20 miles easy @ 7.52
Wednesday 5th March - 7.02 miles easy @ 7.55

Running comfortably and consistently sub 8 now. A few niggles in my left leg after Wednesday but nothing that hasn't crept up and disappeared before.

Thursday 6th March - 2 w/u, 6 @ HMP, 2 w/d
Target HMP = 6.39

2 miles warm up @ 8.11
6 miles @ HMP (6.33, 6.27, 6.36, 6.35, 6.30, 6.33)
2 miles warm down @ 7.42

Delighted with this one. It was much more comfortable than I expected only really having to grit the teeth when running into the wind.

Pretty much sets my plan in place for Tralee now. Going to head out at 6.40ish until the one big hill around mile 8, then push on from there towards 6.30ish (hopefully there'll still be plenty in the tank)

skeleton_boy

Friday March 7th - 4 miles rec @ 8.55

I almost look forward to these recovery runs as much as the session each week, especially when the legs are still heavy from a good workout the night previous.

Sunday March 9th - 12 miles easy @ 8.00

Final long run (or at least double digit) run before Sunday. Kept it nice and easy and nice and flat.

Monday March 10th - 7 miles easy w/6 X 100m strides @ 7.55

Few niggles in my right knee this time but nothing to worry about I'd say. Felt really good hitting those strides towards the end. Confidence is high given how things are going recently. Roll on Sunday.

skeleton_boy

Tuesday 11th March - 5.24 miles easy @ 7.56

Reducing the miles and keeping it easy. Can't concentrate at all in work, want this week to be over and Sunday to be landed already.

Wednesday 12th March - 1 w/up, 2 HMP, 1 w/d

Short little session to remind the legs what's needed on Sunday. HMP miles = 6.30, 6.32.

Thursday 13th March - 4.02 miles easy @ 8.13

Kept this one very easy. Last trot in my build up to Tralee. Hopeful I can get the log off to a very positive start. It's like being a child at christmas all over again

Gavlor

Best of luck on sunday.... Just relax into it and you'll be fine

Bulmers74

Best of luck tomorrow - forecast looking alright. I'm sure you're looking forward to a great race on home turf.

SamforMayo

Good luck, you will fly it:D

skeleton_boy

Misty, cool morning in Tralee. 10 minutes warm up with a few strides. Lined myself 2-3 rows from the front and away we go. Stayed on the shoulder of the 1.30 pacer for most of the first mile before pushing on slightly to stay stick with target pace. 6.37 opening mile.

Not much to report from the next couple of miles, tucked myself in behind a group of 3 who were traveling at my target pace. Breathing a touch heavy already but feeling very comfortable. I assume this is natural when traveling at these sort of paces. 6.37, 6.41, 6.23.

The fifth mile brought us through the first village along the route where my dad and sister were waiting. Adeline must of hit here as all of a sudden I was moving towards 6 min miles and had forged on a few meters from my group. A quick look at my watch tells me to calm down. Back in a group of 3 including myself now we work our way towards the one big hill on the route. 6.29, 6.35, 6.30

The hill pretty much corresponded with the 8th mile, both in length and its position in the race. Half way up in and I'm feeling very good. Working hard but not getting noticeably tired. Up over the top and it couldn't have gone much better. One person tails off from the group and we overtake another person suffering from cramp 7.02

Here's where my race started in earnest. On the downhill I'm taking it easy at first recovering from the hill but I soon realise I'm still feeling pretty good. I push on and up the tempo. I pass one guy and see a club mate of his in the distance, about 50m ahead. I push ahead holding a strong pace and eventually pass him also. 3 miles to go. 6.05, 5.56

I'm on my own for the next mile trying to get myself on the back of a group of 4 runners. I'm working very hard here but keep telling myself less than 5K to go. I eventually get to the back of them and just sit with them recovering for a while. 6.08, 6.25

Not entirely sure how (I fell gasses getting to the back of these guys) but I've recovered well over the last half mile or so. I'm pushing on from this group of 4 now. I put 20ish meters between us but the pace I'm going at cannot be sustained to the line. I ease to a more tolerable pace and one of the following pace come and overtakes me. I again find something and am able to keep with him and even make one more burst past him on the final turn. Looking up the final straight and I've made my move way too early. My fellow athlete has plenty left in him regardless and make a kick of his own. Still I've just recorded my quickest mile to date. 5.40 + 5.11 (.19 according to my garmin)

Chip Time = 1.24.06 :D:D
13th place

I can't say much more than I'm absolutely delighted with today. Over 10 min PB in 6 months!! Only one soft target left now. I've been afraid to even mention it before now but with 7 months still to go, a sub 3 attempt is looking like it could be on the cards.

A week off running for me now. Off to foreign lands for a few days and the body certainly needs the recovery.

yaboya1

Excellent performance.
Well done.

career_move

Wow that's super stuff. Massive congrats

SamforMayo

Amazing stuff, huge congratulations. Enjoy your well earned break.

Bulmers74

Well done lad, great stuff - enjoy the R&R.

Duanington

Great running, congratulations on the PB

skeleton_boy

I'm supposed to be taking a week off but all I can think about is running!! Given I've now put my first block of training behind me for 2014, I think it's time to assess where I'm at.

Here were my goals at the start of the year:

skeleton_boy wrote: »

1. Sub 3.10 marathon
2. Sub 90 min half - tick
3. Sub 40 min 10K - tick
4. Sub 20 min 5K

New goals:

1. Sub 3 DCM
2. Sub 1.22 half
3. Sub 37 10K
4. Sub 30 5 mile
5. Sub 18 5K

My next race will probably be a 5 miler in Waterford on Easter Sunday leading up to another half, the lakes of killarney. That will take in an 8 week block of training where I'm going to stick with one session a week and one long run but push my peak mileage up to the half century mark. Sessions will be a mix of HMP & 5K pace intervals.

Having run my fastest mile to date as mile 13 in a half marathon, I feel I'm not hitting the speeds I should be over shorter distances so the first two session of this plan will be focusing on that.

yaboya1

Your goals seem very, very similar to mine.
Good luck with them.

AuldManKing

Just found the log tonight - best of luck with the goals - scarily similar to mine.

skeleton_boy

After an extended, alcohol fueled break from running, I got back to it on Tue 25th of March but only got internet sorted yesterday thanks to upc. So lots of logging to catch up on.

Tue 25th - 7.02 miles @ 8.09 pace
Definitely feeling the ill effects of binge drinking on this one. Much tougher going than two week previously. Worrying had set in as to how much fitness I could possibly lose over a week!

Wed 26th - 8 miles w/ 2 (6 X 400m w/200m rec)
Was really close to pulling the plug on this and just running easy all week. I felt I was going to really struggle trying to his the required pace between 3K-5K (1.23-1.27). On the other hand I was hoping a good tough session would blow the cobwebs off.

First set (1.27, 1.28, 1.25, 1.25, 1.24, 1.27)
800m rec
Second set (1.26, 1.27, 1.23, 1.27, 1.28, 1.27)

Toughest session I've put down. I was gasping for air on the final two reps. No internet also meant I couldn't set up the workout on garmin connect so most of the 400s are slightly over as I had to manually press lap on the watch.
Still, happy enough, done and mostly within target.

Thurs 27th - 5.29 miles @ 8.55
Well earned recovery trot.

Sat 29th - 14.02 miles @ 8.05
Relaxed long run. Very happy with the pace one of my quicker long runs. Felt back to were I want to be again with this run. Glad I powered on with that session during the week now.

Mon 31st - 7.02 miles @ 7.40
A bit on the quick side but it felt very relaxed once again. What a difference a few good runs can make for the mindset.

Weekly total - 41.35 miles

skeleton_boy

Tue 1st - 8.02 miles @ 7.51
Ticking over the miles and looking forward to another session.

Wed 2nd - 7.54 miles w/ (12 X 400m, 35sec walking rec)
Essentially the same session as last week but with much less recovery. Again target was 1.23-1.27 and had to manually lap on the garmin.

Splits = (1.28, 1.25, 1.25, 1.25, 1.25, 1.26, 1.22, 1.24, 1.26, 1.22, 1.25, 1.25)

Although a tougher session on paper it was much more controlled that the previous week. Happy with how it went but tweaked my left hamstring during it and it was quite soar for the rest of the day. Took Thursday off as a precaution and seems to be much better today. Plenty of stretching and foam rolling in order over the weekend.

skeleton_boy

Friday 4th - 5.26 miles rec @ 9.01
Didn't feel much going on in the hamstring so left this run quite pleased with that.

Sat 5th - 8.03 miles easy @ 7.47
This run was supposed to be my 15 mile long run but it was horrendous from the get go so I decided to swap it with my Sunday run just before heading out on the ring road. My stomach was turning, my breathing more laboured than usual and after 4 mile the hamstring flared up again. Stopped, stretched and continued but still niggling at me. That was combine with the stomach so I called it a day. Walked home a mile and a half or so limping in the pouring rain. Pathetic fallacy at its best.

Got home and stretched and after about 30 min taking the weight off, the limp turned into nothing more than a slight twinge. Iced three times and said I'd see how things felt in the morning.

Sunday 6th - 15.03 easy @ 7.48
The hamstring remained nothing more than a niggle so I said I'd head out but call it a day if it flared up. Luckily on this occasion all went well from that point of view. Run felt good until the last three miles. I was wearing two layers and it was much warmer than I was expecting. Although my breathing was ok, my legs suddenly felt a bit heavy and I was very tired. I'm going to put it down to a touch of dehydration from the heat and not dwell on it.

The main thing now is to get this hamstring issue sorted. Thankfully it doesn't seem too serious as it seems to only flare up instead of causing continuous pain. Still its lingering and proving to be more than a niggle so I'm probably going to get it looking at during the week.

Weekly Total = 43.87 miles

skeleton_boy

Tuesday 8th - 8.02 miles @ 7.42
A handy easy run after work. Nothing new from the leg so I decided to go ahead with my planned session for the week.

Wednesday 9th - 9.33 miles inc. (3 @ HMP, 3 min rec, 2 @ HMP)
HM target pace = 6.25

2 miles warm up @ 7.35
3 @ HMP = (6.18, 6.17, 6.23)
3 min rec
2 miles @ HMP = (6.22, 6.19)
2 miles warm down @ 7.46

As with most of my faster paced work I found it tough at the beginning to get up to pace. Found my stride well and finished out strong. Delighted to be consistently hitting these lower training targets

Thursday 10th
Physio. I booked on Monday having had issues with my leg lingering for the past 3 weeks. Typically I came out of Wednesdays session ok and everything appeared ok. Still went along and had a look at the hamstring and had a bit of a rub down done on it. The hamstring is a bit weak but no serious damage done.

Saturday 12th - 7.03 miles @ 7.51
A late one this after work. Probably one of my last runs at night for a while. Grown a bit fond of them over the winter but its nice to have the hectic winds behind us with the coming summer months.

Sunday 13th - 16.03 miles @ 7.37
A beautiful run in which I found myself cruising near 7 min a mile pace in places. Most importantly from this week nothing to report on the injury front. Missed out on one run to give the legs a rest after physio but nothing to worry about.

Weekly total = 40.4 miles

Today run also brought me past a big milestone on the year
Yearly miles = 509.6

Next week will see a reduction in mileage but I'm going to race a 5 miler on Easter Sunday. Target will be sub 30 and hopefully my first race with sub 6 miles across the board.

skeleton_boy

Monday 14th - 7.02 miles @ 7.44
After the perfect flow of the run the day previous this one was not so much fun. Legs were a bit heavy but it was a beautiful evening and that made up for the sluggish legs.

Tuesday 15th - 8.58 miles @ 7.30 inc pyramid session
Before my 10K prep for the Tralee Half marathon, I found this a good but not too laboring session so I said I'd stick it in here again. The session was 1 min hard with half the time recovery (e.g 30 sec here) and so on up to 5 min and then back down again. I should of looked back at my previous attempt at this session because I for some reason though hard = 5K. It was only while in the middle of it I realised last time I did it my target pace was between 5-10K, not sub 5K. It also dawned on me that the furthest I'd done so far at this 5K pace was 400m. The following was the fun that followed. 5K pace = 5.51

1.5 miles warm up @ 8.00
1-5-1 splits = (5.46, 5.47, 5.40, 5.42, 5.45, 5.47, 5.46, 5.48, 5.43)
1.5 miles warm down @ 9.39

It may not look so bad written down, but I was suffering. The jogging recovery pace was up near 12 min a mile. After the 3 min on the way down, I'd to walk the recovery to stop myself from getting sick
You'd think getting that session done and hitting my targets would give me confidence, but I'm worried as to how I'm going to sustain a slightly more gentle (6.00) pace over 5 mile race on Sunday.

Wednesday 16th - 4.03 miles rec @ 8.41
Legs heavy, glad its an easy day.

Thursday 17th - 6.14 miles w/6 X 100m strides
Out early and before work for this one as I'd a friend visiting in the evening. Enjoyed the quite roads and tranquility of an early start. First time running on empty that I can think of also. Didn't feel it made any difference. (over a relatively short distance anyway). Still would be apprehensive about the approach to doing for a long run.

Today and tomorrow I will rest and set out Sunday to take on what will most likely be my most difficult target yet.

SamforMayo

Best of Luck with the race, I have complete faith that you will hit the target.;)

skeleton_boy

Cheers Sam. I see your doing 5 miles yourself over the Easter period. I'm sure your consistent training will lead to a big performance for yourself.

skeleton_boy

A lovely Easter Sunday for this race. Sun shining, not yet too hot but there was a much stronger wind out than it appeared. Got there in plenty of time and did a 1 mile warm up with a few strides. My target was 30 min. McMillian predicted 30.07 based on my half last month so I though it was a reasonable target. Ran plan was simple, try and even split it round.

First mile was a gentle but long drag uphill. I worked my way through those who went off a tad too hard and settled along side another runner. Not under too much pressure yet but knew I was working hard. 6.02

The second mile continued going slightly uphill before flattening towards the middle. Starting to breath heavy now, I knew this was going to be one of my tougher races. 6.00

The first half of the third mile was up a bit of a steeper hill. I was working very hard now already. Our group of two was joined by another runner powered past us at the summit of the hill. I put some space between myself and the other runner but was also trying to recover on the downhill second half of the mile. 5.56

Into the 4th mile and now on my own and under pressure. About 1/3 of the way into the mile we turned left and straight into the wind. I couldn't sustain the pace against this resistance and sub 30 was gone within moments. I was on the verge of easing up altogether but I stayed going as best I could as I knew I'd be disgusted with myself if I didn't leave it all out there. 6.17

Heading into the final mile we were still battling the wind and I was still running alone. My garmin was reading over 7 min a mile pace as it ticked over for mile 5. Met with a downhill section, I pushed on. I was happy with my recovery here and plugged my way home. As I turned the bend on the track, I could see the clock tick over to 30. Not to be today. 6.10

Chip time: 30:24
9th/223

Yes I didn't break 30 and yes it was by far my toughest race. For that to happen yesterday I think perfect conditions would be required. (e.g if I wasn't running alone for most of the race and it had been calmer.) Even with that it may have been touch and go.

The result does make me believe even more that I may be better over longer distances. My next training cycle, 10K specific will tell me much more about that.

Reckon I might be better when I ease into target pace also so I'll be giving negative split tactics a go in future races over the shorter distances.

Still, its a 1.29 PB over the distance in 3 months so can't complain too much. Plenty to learn and experiment coming off this. Sub 30 I'll get you next time.

SamforMayo

Well done on the superb PB, you will get your sub 30, no doubt about it.

martyboy48

That's a cracking result SB. Especially as an outsider looking in. First half seemed to have a few hills to deal with, and second half you seemed to have to deal with a head wind. And running on your own for the last two miles... That 30 min barrier will be smashed on another day out, you can be sure of that. Fair play for not throwing in the towel when the negativity crept in when you hit the wind.

On your thoughts of you maybe being better suited to longer distances, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this. I wouldn't pin my numbers to the mast just yet, There's still more to come from you..

donnacha

Wow!!! Well done. That is an amazing improvement on your PB in 3 mths. I may not have your speed but I'll be taking a lot of inspiration from you not giving up when it would have been easier to back off ... sub 30 as others have said is only around the corner for you.

Gavlor

Are you doing the Waterford - tramore 7.5 mile on Saturday week?


Ireland's oldest road race don't ya know!!

blockic

Gavlor wrote: »

Are you doing the Waterford - tramore 7.5 mile on Saturday week?


Ireland's oldest road race don't ya know!!

Guaranteed a 7.5 mile PB!

skeleton_boy

martyboy48 wrote: »

On your thoughts of you maybe being better suited to longer distances, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this. I wouldn't pin my numbers to the mast just yet, There's still more to come from you..

My last 5 miles in the Tralee half were quicker than my 5 mile race at the weekend. Lots of variables involved though. I had fresher legs going into that and two of those final five miles were downhill. As I say I'll learn a lot from my next training cycle about the quicker paces.

Gavlor wrote: »

Are you doing the Waterford - tramore 7.5 mile on Saturday week?


Ireland's oldest road race don't ya know!!

So its been gloriously advertised! I hadn't intended on doing it as I'm working that weekend but now I've noticed its an evening race. Might as well enjoy a few more races before the slog of marathon training begins later in the summer.

I've been told I have to visit Tramore sooner rather than later, sure why not run it.

skeleton_boy

Tuesday 22nd - 4.03 rec @ 8.29
First run after the 5 mile race and the legs didn't seem to be carrying too much heaviness.

Wednesday 23rd - 7.02 easy @ 7.49
Not one of my more enjoyable runs with my breathing a touch off for the most part. Another great evening helped balance that out though.

Thursday 24th - 10.49 @ 6.55 (inc 4,3 @ HMP)
Target HPM = 6.25

1.5 warm up @ 8.13
4 miles @ HMP (6.17, 6.22, 6.19, 6.15)
4 min rec @ 8.04
3 miles @ HMP (6.24, 6.21, 6.18)
1.5 warm down @ 8.02

The first set of I did along an undulating stretch of road and I struggled with the pacing. There was times when I was working quite hard and equally times when I felt like I was cursing.

For the second set I did them in a flat loop just short of a mile long. These three miles felt really smooth. I didn't have to push too hard to keep below target and felt strong throughout. Was this due to the flat nature of where I ran these 3 miles or does it prove more my idea that I run better over longer distances when well warmed up.

Friday 24th - 4.03 rec @ 8.32
A post work recovery trot before may a post work beer. The real recovery would be on Saturday

Sunday 26th - 14.03 miles @ 7.34
My legs felt tired before heading out on this one and it took a few miles to shake that feeling. When I did though I hit a nice stride and the miles flew by.

Monday 27th - 6.14 miles w/ 6 X 100m strides @ 7.35
Post work easy run followed by a few core and hamstring exercises.

Glad to report another solid week down. Was hoping to do the Waterford to Tramore race at the weekend but it turns out I'm working till 8 on Saturday. Have entered the Lakes of Killarney half on the 17th of May. A small race by all account but one with fantastic scenery no doubt. Enjoy getting a race in when I venture home also.

Weekly total = 45.75 miles

Also with a few days to spare, April has become my highest mileage month to date with 164.38 miles, topping August of last year, 156.92 (which had 5 weekend long runs in the build up to Dublin).

skeleton_boy

Tuesday 29th - 7.03 miles easy @ 7.49
The 7 mile easy run has become somewhat of a staple of this training cycle. Looking forward to changing things up come the next cycle with a mid week tempo run.

Wednesday 30th - 9.90 miles inc 6 X 1 mile @ 10K w/90 sec rec
I know I keep saying this but I rounded off April with my toughest session to date. I felt I was going well after 3 intervals but the final two were gut busting. Walked the recovery between the 5th and 6th rep but just about got the intervals in. 10K target pace = 6.04

1.5 warm up @ 7.50
6 X 1 mile (6.02, 5.57, 5.59, 5.59, 5.58, 5.59)
1.5 warm down @ 9.03

Thursday 1st - 5.23 miles @ 8.44
Much needed recovery mileage.

Saturday 3rd - 15.15 miles @ 7.46
Legs were a touch heavy as they sometimes tend to be on morning runs. Not as fluid as my previous weeks long run but an enjoyable trot before work all the same.

April comes to a close with a new monthly high for me of 181 miles. Really looking forward to May. Lakes of Killarney in two weeks and then I'm gonna give the McMillian 10K training plan a go. The long intervals are tough going but I get great satisfaction out of completing them.

skeleton_boy

Tuesday 6th - 7.02 miles @ 7.32
Decided to take Sunday and Monday off as my legs were feeling heavy and had been for the best part of a week. The rest seems to do me good and I strolled out these miles towards the faster side of my easy pace.

Wednesday 7th - 10.5 miles @ 6.50 w/7@ HMP
Final and biggest session before the Lakes of Killarney half. Target pace was 6.25 so it was going to be a tough one.

2 miles warm up @ 7.50
7 miles @ HMP (6.20, 6.19, 6.18, 6.18, 6.20, 6.19, 6.19)
1.5 miles warm down @ 7.53

Looks a lot easier on paper than it felt. Was able to sustain the pace on flat surfaces but really struggled when faced with any inclines, more so than I'd of expected for HMP anyway. Won't throw myself into 6.25 pace come race day on the back of this. I'll take the first 2-3 miles 6.30-6.35ish and see how I'm feeling from there. Hopefully fresh legs from the build up will put me right on form again.

skeleton_boy

Thursday 8th - 5.23 miles rec @ 8.23
Trotting along on tired legs.

Saturday 10th - 16.23 miles @ 7.40
Decided to change from the same long run route I've been doing the last 4 months and take a spin into the countryside for this one. Enjoying moving along quite roads again. Will have to search for more variety in the coming months. The run was good and smooth for the most part although I did get a touch tired over the last 3 miles.

Sunday 11th - 8.03 miles @ 7.31 w/ 8 X 100m strides
I could enjoy this run safe in knowledge there'd be no last day heroics for Liverpool.

Tuesday 13th - 5.14 miles @ 7.12 inc 2 @ HMP
Keeping some turnover in the legs heading into the HM at the weekend. HP miles in the middle at 6.19, 6.20.

Wednesday 14th - 5.75 miles @ 7.34 w/ 8 X 100m strides
Final run in before Killarney at the weekend. I'm not sure what to expect, it's been a very consistent 8 weeks of training but the HMP sessions haven't been as comfortable as I'd have liked. I'm just going to run by feel and see what happens. I'll be very happy with a PB.

Bulmers74

Best of luck for the weekend

yaboya1

Good luck at the weekend.
What's the current PB?

skeleton_boy

yaboya1 wrote: »

Good luck at the weekend.
What's the current PB?

Cheers. Currently it's 1.24.06. Will be happy if I can dip under 1.24, delighted if I can manage 1.22.XX.

martyboy48

Best of luck at the weekend. Im sure you'll fly it :-)

SamforMayo

Best of luck with the HM, keep the faith:D

yaboya1

skeleton_boy wrote: »

Cheers. Currently it's 1.24.06. Will be happy if I can dip under 1.24, delighted if I can manage 1.22.XX.

I'll be very interested to see how you get on. We seem to be pretty closely matched.

Gavlor

How did you get on?

Edit: just checked it, great stuff! Enjoy the scoops tonight

skeleton_boy

As reported from may who done this last year, the garmin wasn't all that reliable so these splits could be a bit iffy.

A narrow start so lined myself up in the second row of athletes and off we went. A group of four charged off and I stuck myself to the back of them initially. We were met by a few undulating hills within the first half mile so I eased off a little, letting a group of 3 forge ahead. Another runner stuck with me for a few strides but fell back by the end of the first mile. From here on it was a time trial 6.21

Next four miles I tried to just run by feel and not worry about the pace too much. It was quite windy in places but we were sheltered for the most part by the trees. The undulating nature of the course continued and my quads were much heavier than I'd have liked. 6.23, 6.27, 6.32, 6.16

Mile 6 had a long deceiving climb and change of surface. All of a sudden I came under big pressure and it felt as if I was running under water. It didn't appear to be that bad a climb but talking to others afterwards, similar stories were told. 6.42

I was able to recover and pick it up once more as I finished the first lap. Again I was trying not to worry too much about pace and save myself for a strong finish. I knew I was a bit up on my Garmin too going by the mile markers. 6.24, 6.33, 6.35, 6.29

Into the final three miles, I kept the pace consistent. I was tipping along nicely but afraid to push on too much as the legs were starting to hurt. 6.31, 6.33. Final mile I did indeed put the boot down and finished out with a 6.07.

Chip time: 1:23:50
5th place

A 16 second PB from two months ago. At the start of this training cycle I'd have liked to go sub 83 but gains aren't going to come as easy any more. Still very happy with a PB on a tougher course.

I'll take the coming week easy now before launching into an 8 week, 10K plan. Will be adding a weekly tempo run to this cycle so I'll be interested to see what results that will bring about. Will be hoping to bang out a sub 18, 5K and a sub 37.30, 10K along the way.

SamforMayo

Fantastic run and result, well done.