Capture the Dream

jfh

Time to throw up an aul running log, i think it's better to get started rather than wait until i get into a good patch of running. head a bit all over the place due to drinking session last night so if i'm not running, i may as well do something to keep the progress going.

Goal Sub 2:45 Berlin
after running 2:49 in DCM i think this is achievable.

Plan
i'm a month into the Jack Daniels 50 - 70 four cycle plan.
my circumstance's have changed since my last marathon, in that, i'm no longer working in an office environment, now helping out on family farm so may as well use this period to get some serious training in.
I've found that I've got much stronger & flexibility has vastly improved.
As most on here know, it can be a constant struggle getting runs in with young family so most of my runs were done very early in the morning & felt that i wasn't able to push too many hard sessions. This time i should be able to do the 2 JD sessions and keep all the rest easy


My only concern is mileage, i did one week over 60 so far & felt it.
as i'm on my feet a lot, i take one day off per week, usually Monday. i'd probably have clocked up a few miles anyway just farming.

that's it for now..

jfh

Sunday 18th
30 min E + 10 miles @ MP(6:17)
was completely shattered after this, ate all around me. i was very happy to get it done though as 10 miles at MP at this stage is positive.

Thursday 22nd
2E + 6M + 1E + 4M + 2.5 E
the first interval felt very manageable, however after breaking momentum with the one mile easy, i found the second interval considerably tougher.
this might be down to the fact that i did it on empty.
1st interval @ 6:14
2nd interval @ 6:18

all the other days have been easy, took Monday & Wednesday off as no chance to get out

statss

best of luck with it JFH, myself, PaulieC and CianCullinan have been logging our own efforts with the same JD plan. there's a nice variety in the sessions.

jfh

May 25th
so after a few hours doing odd jobs around the house, i got the pass to go running, the hangover had gradually subsided & i felt i wanted to clear the head.
today's session was one of the easier ones;
2 E + 3*1 T pace w/ 1min rests + 2 T

off i set into a perfect day for running, mind wandering, how many days a good wedding would cost on training. luckily i was only at the afters so less time to do damage:D, but much like a 10k race, i'd imagine a decent wedding would cost at least 2 days before you'd be back to normal.

Then the garmin, alerted me out of my spiraling thoughts & i hit T pace, the first mile went very easy, even the warm up felt easy, which can often be the toughest part. eventhough i had made sure to drink plenty water, my mouth felt parched & my belly was swilling around with water. the last of the heavy head left, feeling good, maybe there's something into Heineken carbo loading.

the Warm Up & first 2 T pace miles were faster than intended & i knew i'd pay for that later, but i wanted to hurt my self a little after the indulgence of all the crap i'd put through the system over the weekend.
body was getting rid of a lot of excess fluid & crap as i hit the last 2 mile tempo, felt this, legs were grand, but i was dripping with sweat which is a rare occurrence for me.
delighted to get the session done, if it was one of the harder sessions, i would have put it off until tomorrow. of course, i'm never happy, miliage is way down, today run was 8 miles so that brings it to 40 for the week.

jfh

May 26th
recovery run with my sister 5.8 miles avg pace 9:45.
was wrecked after this, not used to running this slow.

May 27th
AM 6.19 miles
PM 4.34 Miles
both E pace
got caught to make up numbers in local 45 drive. was hoping to make a quick exit but we won it out so late one, plus couple of pints, nothing crazy

May 28th
very tired from night before but these bright mornings are waking the young one so may as well get my run in.
6:21 miles E pace
beautiful morning, felt great after this.

May 29th
2E + 6*1T + 8*200m + 1E + 2 * 1T + 1E
another beautiful morning, bordering on been too hot, didn't even want to think this incase i'd anger the weather gods, had a bottle of water and the start/end of my mile repeats, which was taken:mad:
very thirsty & was feeling everybit of these, keeping them all under 6 min miles but on grass.
felt good when i started into the 200m, the first one is always the worst but i was flying after that, all around 38 sec so very doable. Then..
my routine was thrown into complete disarray when a guy i know ended up coming over for a chat, he's a really good runner, 31 min 10k guy but injured at the moment so wanted nothing more than a chat, 30 min later i'm still chatting & now started to stiffen up from standing still, took a supreme effort to get back to the schedule, reckon this should be part of Daniels sessions:P

May 30th
mini break in Dublin, no running, had to really resist this as i was up early & the morning was a glorious one.

May 31st
first time in months that i could lie in past 8 oclock & what do i do?
run of course,
after a late night that consisted of 7 course meal & drinking, very indulgent, i was dehydrated & irritable so wanted to clear the head, left hotel & across the road to st stephens green, which was still closed, so i just ambled along the sleep street of dublin, where the night before was been cleared.
6.20 mile
then devoured a massive breakfast

1st June
1hr 20 min E on hills. Super run, felt good as i didn't push it.

total mileage 53.4

jfh

Mon June 2nd
Nada
very little sleep after a few pints the night before, tiredness finally caught up with me.
this is meant to be a 70 mile week so..

Tues June 3rd
time to get serious, bought a pair of sauscony omni. these are new to me but feel good.

got the ok from the Missus after i cooked up dinner, headed out the door with my brand spanking omni's, an idea of a route in my head but went a completely different route so it was making it up as i went.
did bang on 2hrs or 16 miles which is 7:30 miles so very happy with my longest run this year/
glute very stiff afterwards though so have to continue the stretching

jfh

WED 4th June
really short on time , 45 min was the longest i could manage & that involved running to the baby sitters to collect my 22 month old. i incorporated a few strides(8) in the hurling pitch for this. i carried herself and all the paraphernalia that goes with babies for 3/4 of a mile. Thinking to myself Jack Daniels should include this as a strength building exercise.:pac:
5.8 miles in total.
i have no chance of getting anywhere near my max mileage this week so decided to do session instead Thursday & move my easy long mileage week till next week

THUR 5th June
i turned up completely wiped for this, long story, involves a long drive in a tractor without any windows, much the same as a moving glasshouse. as i said long story..
after i paid over 2 euro for a bottle of lukewarm lucazade sport, (never drink the stuff) i'm sure the spelling is incorrect? i was off.
session 2 E + 3*1T(5:55)+5*3 min Hard + 8*200m + 1 E
the 2 miles easy were tough to get into due to stiffness but settled into the familiar T pace just fine.
this seems to be the first session that i have ran where Hard was included, i did these on a track but hazarded a guess of what H pace was. I was going about 20m beyond 2 laps so 820m. i kept them all the same but was really feeling the last & glad to move onto the 200's.
for the 2nd week in a row, i miscalculated these, 7 instead of 8, not a big issue but annoyed with myself as i had the time to complete the session today.
total 11.25 miles

jfh

Fri 6th June
woke up today much the same as i had ran a race, i blame this for wearing my asics gel fuji racers, which are a trail shoe & ideal for the tempos on grass, not so ideal for the track where i did my faster stuff. i hadn't ran that much on a track before so surprised , it was either the faster pace or else the lack of cushioning.
Glute was very sore, i could barely extend my leg, still it eased out throughout the day & i managed to get a small run in.
circa 5.5 miles, thrown a few strides in also.
the way the week went, it was ideal for a race, not that i started the week with anything in mind but it worked out that way & then a friend called me and said he was entering a local race, shure he might as well have company so i agreed.

Sat 7th June
felt much better today, i was up early with kids so no excuse porridge was devoured by 7:30. i need to eat early, i have a good few jobs done by half ten, body was well loosened up.
Actually said to the missus as i was abandoning her with a screaming child that i felt strong & really looking forward to it. i was half thinking of incorporating an easy run home after the race, just to clock up the miles but i held off telling her my plan. she wished me well.

i just wanted to go sub 36, i have only done this once & i haven't ran a 10k since last august when i ran 36:15 but i feel strong after all the Jack Daniels sessions, 12 to be exact but i've never done so much consistent Tempo running. i was interested to see the outcome.

TBH i don't remember too much about it, i felt a little under pressure for the first 3 miles but gradually came around and finished stronger than usual, my last miles was the strongest.
i was in third place most of the way around, minding my own business, i knew the first 2 lads were quicker & i had build up a gap on fourth so i was just trying to keep the effort up as much as i could on my own.

i didn't even see the 2nd guy till we were nearing the 5th mile. i seemed to be gaining on him & i figured he was just taking a breather as the first guy was way off.
i eventually caught up with him & my breathing was a lot more ragged than his, so i was still hoping to stay with him for as long as i could, until he decided to stop toying with me & shrug me off with ease.

then we came to a mile down hill, so i upped to pace & just kept going, all the time wondering, what's he playing at, any minute he'll come charging past.

never looked behind, just kept going as hard as i could for the last 1.2 miles, if ever i was looking for a short course, today was the day. promised myself i would not run home & all the chocolate milk i could drink afterwards.

finished 2nd in 35:58, just goes to show that you should never believe than better runners are unbeatable, we all have our bad days.
also learned that you cant beat the odd race to blow away the cobwebs, although i think i'm doing tough sessions in the Plan, nothing beats a race.

ThebitterLemon

Great run well done. Congrats on the second place.

TbL

Finnt

Congrats, great race.

SamforMayo

Super result, well done

jfh

ah cheers lads, in fairness not many serious runners, 36 min would not get you many top 3 finishes.
just looking at the mcmillian calculator, i should really be getting down to 35 min to have any chance of 2:45. so much improvement needed.

ThebitterLemon

Tis all relative jfh and it's early days.

TbL

jfh

Sun 8th June
got out early around 7ish into a beautiful sunny morning.
i was tempted to get 1 hr 30 min on hills but decided against it, instead i thought i'd get in a long run on road.

i was fairly stiff after the race the day before, those racers always leave me sore.
soon got into a rhythm, had 8 miles done in an hour so 7:30 pace, all going well but then the wheels came off for the next 2 miles, felt a tightness in left calf & right hip was sore so dropped off 7:30 pace.

it started to bucket down with rain & this brought me around.
got a second wind at mile 11 and up the pace to finish strong for
17 miles in 7:31 avg pace. did this on empty without gels or water.
high week in terms of mileage 63 miles

jfh

Monday 9th June
no running, Yoga class, tougher than any run:)

Tuesday 10th June/B]
super evening & it was late when i got out, after 9 anyway.
did 10 miles on mixture of road & golf course.

Wednesday 11th June
AM
head was all a clutter today, all lot of stuff going on. the last thing i could do was go for a run & that's exactly what i did. i always keep an emergency change of clothes in the car, alas no runners but i was passing a pitch & decided to stop over analysing things & go for a small run.
this turned out to be 40 min easy with few strides. ground was very wet & my legs were in some state when i finished. nothing for it but to pull jean back over & go attend course i've signed up for late but feeling great.
PM
had to run out to farm late that evening to check on something so another 4 miles very easy.

Thursday 12th June
i had agreed with another fella to do a 4 mile sports partnership race tonight, find these useful to get a good blowout & very reasonable too.
Today was a roaster & i had a very physical day on farm, was wrecked by the time i got home & missus was working late so i decided i wouldn't go. Yer man convinced me to go & neighbor offered to mind kids so i thought i might as well, everything seemed to be falling into place. i was nearly falling asleep on the way back to race, but i felt strong after my days work much better than if i was sitting in an office all day.
it was the correct decision, finished 2nd in 22:50 PB for me.
it was a seriously warm evening & i finished strong,
we were in a rush back home so no time for warm down or check if there was anything for finishing 2nd but more importantly no time for tae & biccies

Friday 13th June
no baby sitter from now on so running time is going to get more difficult.
all i wanted was a recovery run, which i got but it meant doing it very early, had to be back home for 7 am, so 40 min really easy just to loosen out legs which were unusually stiff after the race the night before. that would be the lack of the warm down. i had planned on doing 18 tomorrow at portumna so that would bring up my miliage which is again too low:rolleyes:

jfh

Saturday 14th June
i had entered the Portumna half last year but could not make it due to work, now that i'm out of work, i'm time rich, cash poor so emailed organisers to see if i could use last years half entry for the full. that was no problem which was very nice of them.
i had planned to do my JD session(4 miles E + 12 MP) here incorporated into a race, as i find it difficult to go out on my own and run 12 miles at 6:14.

if ever there was a race/training run i was not prepared for it was this, very little sleep night before, i was minding kids on my own so between drunken texts & baby teething i was a very tired boy the following morning.
i distinctly remember thinking that i would have to align my run better with my missus work nights out.

luckily for me i was only doing a training run, a tough run though.

i went to the physio the night before as my legs were still sore after the race Thursday & she said there's no hope your drop out of a race, so i deliberately brought no gels, my new omni 12's, which TBH i'm not feeling the love for yet, a bit clunky, not sure if that's the right word, might have been better off getting shoes i could put my orthotics into.

The race
4 miles E went well, i was really loving this trail/forest path. i talked away a guy who was hoping to break 3:30. then i hit the Marathon pace miles, after 10 of these i was starting to regret wearing these shoes.
Then as it is a lap, one of the pacers told me i was in 4th pace, which took me by complete surprise, very hard to know what position your in, when you share the course with 50k & 100k participants plus, i hadn't really taken any notice of who was doing the marathon. what was i going to do?

this was meant to be a training run not a bloody race. i decided i'd see how i felt after the 12 miles at marathon pace. This found me in first place, very hard to pull up now, i'd never get an opportunity to get so close to top 3.

i've only done 3 runs over 16 miles so far this year so not really fit enough for the distance so i was a little nervous that i would completely fade.
also my choice of cotton t shirt was starting to really bother me as it was very humid & my nipples were starting to bleed.
this was a disaster, just drop out but other than that i felt strong so i decided why not go to 20 and see how you feel.

i had told the young fella that he could jog around for one lap & each time i passed he wanted to join me & as i was getting more competitive i was shouting "next one" i had no gel so i asked him to get me one.
i also started to take off my t shirt after going past the finish line and putting it on again as i approached it on the next lap, this might sound very distracting but i found it energizing ,something i was looking forward to.

so i come to mile 17 & i'm looking for my young fella with the gel as i am starting to tire, he handing me a dioralyte tablet, which i turned down with many expletives, just a tablet ,no water, so i think i was entitle to let fly..
think a few of the other onlookers may have been a bit shocked, well he is only 5

i grabbed a banana at the next water stop, which is a skill in itself to eat on the run but it i felt it worked.
the young fella learned from his mistakes & had a gel at the next lap, mile 20.
just goes to show, if i was planning on running 26 miles today, i'd have had 5 gels by now, i would have also paced myself evenly.of E
not 4 miles E + 12 MP + 10 sort of E.

this story is getting longer than the actual race, so i finished the race, not sure of the exact time but just under the 3 hours i wasn't 100% if i finished first of second, the pacers had told me i was in the lead, one of the organizers said your the 2nd home in the marathon, then i was thinking, i should have pushed harder, but another part of me was constantly reminding myself Training run, you have a 10k race next Saturday.
i was happy, as this was my third second in 7 days.

my missus wanted me to bring the young fella for a little run, as i told her i'd be a little over the 2 hrs running with my original training run, she was surprised that my 18 miles took so long, unaware that i had finished the race.:)

she was distracted watching the baby. i was very stiff, glute was completely seized up.
when Seb walked over to me with a plaque & said congratulations, first man home in the marathon, i was shocked, it was the end of a very bizarre day.
if i had planned this for weeks & trained hard i would be ecstatic but i was simply mesmerized.
delighted with the sub 3 as i would not have thought i had it in me & even more delighted with the result, as it's once in a lifetime.

statss

that brought a smile to my face, best race report I've read in a while, well done.

career_move

Brilliant Well done

yaboya1

Brilliant stuff.
Sub 3 in those conditions is a magnificent time. I finished the half before 11am and it was pretty hot & sticky then. I felt sorry for anyone going out at 12pm to run the full.
Congratulations!

DogSlySmile

That's brilliant, well done!

You're E pace must be pretty nifty if you came home under 3hrs?

jfh

DogSlySmile wrote: »

That's brilliant, well done!

You're E pace must be pretty nifty if you came home under 3hrs?

Well my first 4 miles would have avg around 7:45, 12 MP @ 6:15, not sure of last 10 up & down, haven't checked garmin.

ThebitterLemon

Thats fantastic, well done. With a decent training cycle behind you, you'll be in shape for a great time.

TbL

jfh

sunday 15th June
after my exploits in Portumna, i went to a BBQ, the beer was flying around but i had taken a difene so just one , one was enough as i was falling into a beautiful well deserved sleep..
glute very stiff today, felt like an old man getting in & out of the car.
went back to the beach for a swim,the cold shocked some life into me & it definitely improved it.

Monday 16th June
glute felt better, but no chance for any running, might be a good thing.
made appointment with physio, earliest i can get is next monday.
going to take it handy for a few days to see how it sorts itself out.

Tuesday 17th June
AM 4 miles very easy on Hurling pitch
PM 65 min on grass. 20 min E + 14 strides + 20 min E , so 8 miles in total.
glute felt tight again after the strides. felt this, but it was a scorcher.

Wednesday 18th June
trying to keep mileage up so have to do a few double days.
AM 6 miles E on hurling Pitch
PM 8 Miles E on mixture of road & golf course, glute still sore

Thursday 19th June
very broken sleep for last few nights, was half thinking of doing the 2nd JD session but was very tired all day.
a lot of going today but no progress, later i ended up going to a funeral,where a bottle of beer was trust into my hand, no option but to drink it:pac:
this completely finished me off.
i had decided to take the evening off, that was until i had a crowd of kids over at my house that drove me demented, pulled on the runners and out the door at half time in the england game, felt great for the first 2 miles, then completely imploded, i was only doing 8 min miles but ended up at 10 min mile pace, lucky to make it home:eek:
5 miles in 48 min

jfh

Friday 20th june
what is it with runners, i knew i shouldn't run but yet i couldn't be happy unless i tested the niggle i have on my glute.
it was also grating me that i still had to do my second quality JD session
2E + 6M + 1E + 6M +1E

so i sent the family of to the circus(to attend didn't actually get rid of them) & i set off on my session on grass pitches. on the way i dropped in mcdonalds for a coffee as i really was not feeling this but knew i wouldn't be content until i got it done. today was the first JD session where i thought i possibly wont be able to do this.

it was hot but not uncomfortable, i was struggling after the 4 miles at MP, 6:16, the glute was getting tighter , i was trying to make the left leg do most of the work. by the time i finished the first 6 miles, i was wrecked, i was cursing my stupidity for doing that bloody marathon last week.
there's a reason, jack has a down week every 3 weeks & it's not to do 3 races off which one is a marathon. that marathon will definitely set me back.
this is where a coach would have held me back.

i could not face going around the pitches again, my glute was very sore now so i did the mile warm down on road. i was wearing my trail shoes which don't have much cushioning so was feeling it but the glute was better on road.

so i was desperate to find a nice 3 mile out & back before the warm up finished, the garmin beeped and i was off again, up & down steps before i got to the path that leads to limerick city along the shannon.

the body was having none of it though, firstly i thought i was going to get sick, then i had to dive into some bushes for a pit stop, i was really suffering and my miles were slipping to 6:20 pace, not bad but really struggling and i had 4 more miles to do.
what changed, i meet one of the local "jockeys" going my way too, he was trotting hard. i made my mind up, that i'd pass him & when i did i made sure i kept going, took my mind off feeling sorry for myself.
i managed to drop down to 6:16 pace for the next 2, but the last mile really took it out of me, i wasn't thinking straight, just wanted to get back to the car, the last mile consisted of very lose gravel, steps, hills, anything to impede me, 6:20. even the warm down was very difficult, the glue was screaming at me now, "whoa whoa"
but the plan said a mile warm down & i was damned if i didn't do exactly that.
completed the task but a broken man afterwards, made me wonder, why i'm punishing myself, wife told me i should take up tennis, which i actually contemplated for a few minutes, i just dont know any decent lads doing tennis, the one's that i do now are full of crap so i think i'll go find that boyo riding the horse..

jfh

Saturday 21st June
that session the evening before really took it out of me, i felt sick & sore all over. Booked in for a massage, physio decided to do some dry needling also to loosen tight muscles.
no running today

Sunday 22nd June
usually i'm fighting for time to get a run in, but today we just hung about the house all day, i went to a BBQ & had 2 beers, ate all around me. no interest in running.

Monday 23rd June
felt a bit better today, this was down to doing a decent days work.
i also went to a new physio, who informed me that my hip bursitis was back with a vengeance. i'm not so sure, but let him do shockware therapy to loosen out the hip. i did feel better afterwards so maybe he's correct.
still no running, i was tearing around the farm but nothing that would account for a run.
i also got some new stretches to add to the armory from the Bro in law which i think were very beneficial, must make more use of this guy.
all in all a very productive day for stretching. still no running:mad:
longest break since the marathon.

Tuesday 24th June
the physio agreed that easy runs on grass were all i should do so for my lunch
break i got a recovery run on grass at 10 min/mile pace, barely a shuffle but in the heat, i still felt it after 40 min.

Wednesday 25th June
the more that you dont run, the more you think about it, between reading a few others logs, i felt that maybe i wasn't doing enough, the long runs don't seem long enough.

the JD session was 3 * 2 mile T. this seemed easyish on paper & if i was to get a session in this week, today was the day that suited the best regarding time.
i promised myself that i might revisit other JD plans after this workout, that was before i went through it. See cianc is dabbling with the 2Q plan so might be worth a look, after all i didn't do much investigation when picking this plan for my training. today was the Quality 1 session & was only 10 miles so perhaps light on miles?
i managed the session alright but just about, was really feeling the last one so i know i would not be able for a more difficult plan.
this could be down to the fact that i did this on grass & i can't remember the last time i ran at T pace.

i'm definitely not changing plan as the sessions are hard enough but i do feel that mileage is an issue.
the good news is between the stretching & the difine my hip seems to be manageable, it was stiff enough when i finished but i took the time to cool down properly & stretch afterwards.
more to follow..

jfh

Thursday 26th
usually i do my easy runs at no faster pace than 7:30 but met up a buddy, so did this a little faster.
7.14 miles
first day in a long while that i ran in the rain, very heavy rain.

Friday 27th
11 mile E run, part road, part hilly golf course.

Saturday 28th 16 mile, 8 at Tempo.
2E + 6*1T + 4*200 + 2*1T +1E +4*400 +2E
i was alright until i hit the second set of Tempo's, managed to keep them all down at 5:50 pace so really happy to push myself.
however i completely wilted when i hit the 400's
i managed to keep them all 78-80 seconds which is consistent but perhaps too slow?
this was a tough tough session, i ate all around me as i felt weak afterwards.

Sunday 29th
hip very sore & stiff after yesterdays session so took day off.
went walkies with family.

jfh

June Review
10k race 35:58
4 mile race 22:48
Marathon 2:59

long runs
26.2
17 miles Easy
3 * 16 mile JD session

Miles
wk 1 63
wk 2 57
wk 3 47
wk 4 50

cianc

Flying.

jfh

Monday 30th June
a double day, trying to recover & get miliage in at the same time.
AM 31 min very easy 3.67 miles 8:27 avg pace
PM 43 min easy 5.63 7:38 avg pace

1st July
40 min WU - 14 * 25 sec strides - 25 min WD
9.7 miles in total.
another glorious evening

2nd July
50 min E + 10 * 10 sec strides, after reading the strides thread, i decided to do as recommended, 10 sec max. never run full pelt, enjoyed these.
8 miles in total

3rd July
4 miles very slow very early.

jfh

4th july
i had no intention to taper of for todays race but decided to make this an easy week to give the hip a chance to sort itself out.
i was feeling fresh for the the shannon airport 5k, a distance i'm not crazy about but feel if i'm to get anyway good at them, i'll just have to throw myself into a few..

i was looking forward to the race, should be PB territory anyway, i don't have an official 5k PB as most of the 5k's, have been a little over the distance, the closest i got was 17:20 so plan was to break 17 min.

the race itself was an enjoyable enough experience, t'was almost half 11 by the time we started & the start was as close as i'll get to grand national experience, very wide start line that funneled in after about 150 m. my plan was to start at full pelt, get a decent position and settle down then.
i did go out hard but found myself in about 20th, half these were the headphone wearing brigade so knew it was only a matter of time before they died.
i find racing a 5k difficult, never sure of what strategy to go with, on this occasion, i couldn't see watch, it was dark so couldn't see much, just trying to stay with the hi viz in front of me, no distractions, no km markers so i felt i was going as hard as i could.

this resulted in a pb, finished strong, 16:17, pity it was 200m short. i would have broke 17 min. very happy with the race & although there's a few thing that could be improved upon, i would do it again.

5th july
recovery pints after last nights race during the cool down & kids party today so no run.

6th july
hip very stiff so decided to stay of road, did 15 miles on trails. back to what served me well last year.

mileage for the week 50.

jfh

7th Monday July
meet up with a running buddy, great to have company.
9.17 miles @ 7:15 avg pace.
wore heavy shoes with orthotics.

8th Tuesday july
another decent 10 miles @ 7:30 pace.
don't remember much about this, happy with mileage this week

9th Wednesday July
only short window of opportunity, 4 miles WU - 10 * 10 sec strides - .5 mile WD
5.57 miles in total

10th Thursday July
2 WU + 2*2T pace + 5*3 min Hard + 4 * 400m + .5 miles WD
11.74 miles in total

11th Friday July
off, very tired after the session the night before, worked on farm & loosened out after a few hours but caught cold.
had a night out, free bar, but was wrecked so didn't do it justice, this marathon training is no good for my drinking.

12th Saturday july
very tired after a couple of hours sleep, sore throat, made worse from shouting at ref in clare match. at least i will have no distractions going to croker this year:rolleyes:
6.19 miles just to clear the head.

jfh

July Update
the engine never felt better, however the chassis is not.
it's been a frustrating few weeks, i was keeping away from this log, hoping that my injury would miraculously go away. it hasn't, infact it's worse.

it's been a constant minding process, do a hard session, cant walk the next day, ease back after another few recovery days and do another session.
then i went off a did a stupid thing, started a marathon paced session one sunday morning, i was interupted after 5 miles in, had to return to the farm for emergency, so headstrong, i decided to start the same session again a few hours later & ran 14 miles at MP, which nearly finished me. i aggreviated the injury fairly badly after that, the patching up the physio was doing made no difference so after much deliberation, i done what i should have done last year & went for an MRI in the sports clinic in santry.

it seems i'm carrying an old injury, a tear on the hamstring attachment, High Hamstring Tendinopathy to be exact, this has caused my hip flexor and psaos to get very sore. the hip flexor in particular is inflamed so taking difane helps but nothing but rest will sort out the hamstring.
So according to the good DR, i can do the marathon, well he knows what runners are like but i have to do it on minimum mileage, very little speed work & limit the hills.
After that i will have to stop completely for a couple of months.
i was releaved that it wasn't serious but i'm sorry that i'm going all the way to Berlin & i wont be able to give it my best shot.

cianc

That's rough jfh. Does the physio think you'll recover faster if you skip the marathon? Not that I'm advocating doing that, it's purely a personal
choice based on your priorities, just a bit curious since most of my experience with physios has been less forgiving.

jfh

cianc wrote: »

That's rough jfh. Does the physio think you'll recover faster if you skip the marathon? Not that I'm advocating doing that, it's purely a personal
choice based on your priorities, just a bit curious since most of my experience with physio's has been less forgiving.

i had got conflicting advise from several phyios, hence santry, to be fair it would have been difficult to diagnose without an MRI.
the guy i saw is the top hip specialist in the country, i'd say a lot of runners here have gone through his doors, he advised if i was determined to do it, to do it on as easy a schedule as i can. long term i would probably be better off stopping now, but honestly i've never felt fitter, bar the crocked hip:mad:
the thing is i have know about this injury since dublin marathon and didn't take any time off, when i should have.

how the hip Cianc, you were sailing fairly close to the wind with some of those sessions,

cianc

jfh wrote: »

i had got conflicting advise from several phyios, hence santry, to be fair it would have been difficult to diagnose without an MRI.
the guy i saw is the top hip specialist in the country, i'd say a lot of runners here have gone through his doors, he advised if i was determined to do it, to do it on as easy a schedule as i can. long term i would probably be better off stopping now, but honestly i've never felt fitter, bar the crocked hip:mad:

Yeah, I can definitely empathize. The fact that it's Berlin and you've already planned the thing tips the scales even further I imagine.

the thing is i have know about this injury since dublin marathon and didn't take any time off, when i should have.

Ah but it's hard. I used to beat myself up every time I got injured. Swearing I'd be more careful next time etc etc. But the truth is it's a much harder balancing act than that. If you don't have a strong drive to get the training done and improve, then the training will suffer every time there's a little niggle that could have been run through, or life is busy, or it's raining And that same stubbornness that makes you train when you shouldn't, is the same that gets you to kick at the end of a race, or do that final rep when you're knackered, or go out when it's lashing.
Some day we'll all be older and wiser.

how the hip Cianc, you were sailing fairly close to the wind with some of those sessions,

OK, getting better, but still niggly. The physio has given me the green light for easy running until things feel better, or the DL 10K on Monday, whichever comes first. "Sailing to close to the wind" is a good way to put it. You pays your money, you takes your chances

jfh

after the diagnosis from dr falvey, he did suggest i could carry on running so i carried on, however i took his "easy" running very liberally, that's not to say i didn't heed him, i went easy for a couple of days, i was the perfect patient, did all the strengthening exercises, iced it, etc.

the pain was reduced to a minor niggle that i would run with so i went back to the JD plan and picked up where i should be. i knew this was stupid but i remarking my extraordinary healing power and with just over 50 days to go, it was time to see if i was up for it or not.

did the following T session
2E + 3T + 3 min rest + 2T + 2min rest +5* 3 min hard + 6 * 200
in total 13.6 quality miles .
i felt alright afterwards, of course it was sore but i could walk, which is my guideline.
after a couple of E days & not much improvement just a constant pull feeling on glutes.
then i decided to throw caution to the wind again, i went out and the next monster on the plan,
4 miles E + 15 MP to add to this i was tired before i started, fairly long physical day on farm on saturday but it had loosened out the hip so it was a good time to go for it.
the first few miles were difficult, fought to keep pace under 6:29, i was going on avg pace over the 15 miles so i knew i had time to pull this back, got a second wind & got used to the effort and brought it back to 6:22 which i was absolutely delighted with.
a few weeks earlier i had done 14 miles @ 6:16, considering the amount of day off, i was very happy,the only negative was the pain was back.

i had to take next 2 days off & only for still having an eye on the streets of galway on saturday, decided i had to get the next monster out of the way on wednesday so i would be recovered fully.

i was away in dublin thursday & friday so window of opportunity to get out for a long run was minimal.
2E+8MP+1E+6MP+2E
i was sore going into this and it was progressively worse, i should have dropped out after the first 8 but no i had to do the intended session or no session at all.
this dogged determination is what drives me to improve but ultimately it was too much. i'm barely able to walk 3 days later so i think i'm finally coming around to the idea that the good DR was right, i either jog around berlin or don't do it at all, racing it is out of the question.
the thought of putting so much time, money, effort into this, so i can jog around, doesn't sit well. actually tried to cancel my hotel this morning but my email address used is my old work address so i may have to ring them up.

of course i went into this all guns blazing, never checked when registering if i could postpone/cancel the marathon entry if injured, it doesn't look like it & i added a marathon jacket as a memento to my ticket when i entered so not sure what happens to this if i don't show.
lesson learned.

cianc

i'm barely able to walk 3 days later

There's no arguing with this. No amount of juggling easy days to get the big sessions in is going to work. It sucks I know, but as a wise man pointed out to me recently, once you make the decision to call a time out and commit to it, a lot of the stress drops away.
I can honestly say the two weeks leading up to my recent halt were way more stressful than the day after I stopped. It's a huge relief not be constantly monitoring the body and trying to convince yourself that things are grand.
I see where you're coming from on not wanting to jog Berlin, but what about just heading over for the weekend anyway? It probably doesn't sound very appealing now either, but maybe give it a few days before deciding? There are more than a few heads around here who have done tourist marathons, maybe ask them if it was worth it?

jfh

so took that advise & decided to call a halt to training, such a relief. 10 days off so far, this is the longest i've taken off since i started running.
it felt great to go on holidays & not feel guilty about missing a run.
i tried to cancel hotel & was hoping to cancel/postpone entry but not looking good.
there i was content with my running sabbatical, until i went back to the physio,
he urged me to try an easy few miles this weekend.

i've been doing nothing, i'd abandoned the stretching/strength work he advised, was just taking time out so this took me by surprise, going to try spinning to regain some fitness. 40 days left so will try to get out for a light session end of the week. i will have to stop running at some stage but he thinks i could get the marathon done first.

jfh

7th to 17th Aug
off no running. did one Spinning class & one Yoga Class

18th August
1 hour Easy on trail

19th August
didn't feel too bad after yesterdays session, decided to go for it again..
25 min WU + 4*2 @ T pace + 1 T + 20 WD
this was a tough session, months earlier, i was doing 5:50 Tempos on grass but today i was struggling at 6 Mile pace. i didn't think i would get through this session after the first one but managed to keep all except the last around the 6 min mile.
20th August
6 miles recovery

21st August
staying in Dublin 1 for the night, it was either a chance to get a long run in or catch up with old acquaintances. was feeling a bit tired to go drinking,
so back to the place of my running birth, ran from connolly out to north bull. Great to get out to clontarf again but i did a lot of running on hard ground which left me fairly sore again.
2 E + 3 * 2T + 8 * 200m + 1 T + .5 E
i managed the first 2 at 6 mile pace, however the last slipped to 6:10, i was getting very sore after the 200m so reduced the last 2 T to one 1T& reduced the warm down from 2 miles to half mile.

22nd August
too much sitting down so sore all day. suffering from cold that's in my chest, explains why i sufered last night at Tempos.

23rd August
40 min recovery 8:30 pace

24th August
havn't done a long run in weeks so decided to go back to the trails that served me so well. dunno what was up with me, could not get going, after 7miles hamstring got at me so had to jog very slowly, still managed 2hr or 14 miles. very dissappointed with pace, just could not push myself.

25th August
off

dukeraoul

jfh wrote: »

7th to 17th Aug
off no running. did one Spinning class & one Yoga Class

18th August
1 hour Easy on trail

19th August
didn't feel too bad after yesterdays session, decided to go for it again..
25 min WU + 4*2 @ T pace + 1 T + 20 WD
this was a tough session, months earlier, i was doing 5:50 Tempos on grass but today i was struggling at 6 Mile pace. i didn't think i would get through this session after the first one but managed to keep all except the last around the 6 min mile.
20th August
6 miles recovery

21st August
staying in Dublin 1 for the night, it was either a chance to get a long run in or catch up with old acquaintances. was feeling a bit tired to go drinking,
so back to the place of my running birth, ran from connolly out to north bull. Great to get out to clontarf again but i did a lot of running on hard ground which left me fairly sore again.
2 E + 3 * 2T + 8 * 200m + 1 T + .5 E
i managed the first 2 at 6 mile pace, however the last slipped to 6:10, i was getting very sore after the 200m so reduced the last 2 T to one 1T& reduced the warm down from 2 miles to half mile.

22nd August
too much sitting down so sore all day. suffering from cold that's in my chest, explains why i sufered last night at Tempos.

23rd August
40 min recovery 8:30 pace

24th August
havn't done a long run in weeks so decided to go back to the trails that served me so well. dunno what was up with me, could not get going, after 7miles hamstring got at me so had to jog very slowly, still managed 2hr or 14 miles. very dissappointed with pace, just could not push myself.

25th August
off

Good to see you back training. You seemed to be in fantastic shape before the injury. Bummer how those kinda things can put a spanner in the works.

I just wanted to throw one thing out there which of course you can totally discount. Do you really think Daniels is a good plan to be doing w/ an injury that needs TLC? Those sessions are completely over the top IMO - in fact if you look at the amount of boardsies who attempted Daniels and who are now injured you'd be pretty shocked.

Daniels is a make or break plan and IMO he breaks more than 50 % of people who try his plans but obviously a decent number (see Krusty etc) get fantastic results off him.

If it were me I'd be concentrating on lots of easy milage and running max 1 session a week and 1 LSR. Of course it isn't me so make your own call but I'd think long and hard about the role some of those over the top sessions Daniels prescribes played in your current injury situation! Good luck whatever you choose to do

-dq

jfh

dukeraoul wrote: »

Good to see you back training. You seemed to be in fantastic shape before the injury. Bummer how those kinda things can put a spanner in the works.

I just wanted to throw one thing out there which of course you can totally discount. Do you really think Daniels is a good plan to be doing w/ an injury that needs TLC? Those sessions are completely over the top IMO - in fact if you look at the amount of boardsies who attempted Daniels and who are now injured you'd be pretty shocked.

Daniels is a make or break plan and IMO he breaks more than 50 % of people who try his plans but obviously a decent number (see Krusty etc) get fantastic results off him.

If it were me I'd be concentrating on lots of easy milage and running max 1 session a week and 1 LSR. Of course it isn't me so make your own call but I'd think long and hard about the role some of those over the top sessions Daniels prescribes played in your current injury situation! Good luck whatever you choose to do

-dq

i think you are spot on DQ, i was looking forlornly at the rest of the plan this morning & thinking, how could i get this through this.
i was thinking of swapping the T sessions for MP sessions.
the main thing is just to turn up, relatively fresh and do this marathon.
i've got another 4 weeks, should i look at P&D or any sessions you woudl suggest?
appreciate the feedback, you have made huge improvement

dublin runner

Completely agree with DQ. If you are coming off an injury the last thing you should be doing is some of those sessions in my opinion. The main thing for you now is to get strong again, not to force it and to build sensibly again. It's better to be on an upward trajectory, even if slightly under-trained, come marathon day than to possibly force it and risk injury.

jfh

on advice, i decided to banish the JD book, to a dark press where it wont be tempting me, the plan this week was to try to run easy & regularly & fit in a long run. i've been running on my own all summer so wanted to get a bit of company this week.

26th Tues Aug
meet up with a friend of mine who is targeting sub 3 for dublin, i was in between that i should do so i tagged along with him, 2 miles WU - 8 * 800m @ 3:45 pace with 2 min recovery, 1 mile WD on grass.

27th Wed Aug
did this solo & really had to force myself out the door, did 1 hr Easy, 7:24 pace, 8.14 miles.

28th Thurs Aug
meet up with 2 lads for a few miles, nothing eventful, but great to have the run done.
6.5 miles 7:15 pace

29th Fri Aug
first early morning run in a while, funny how the body gets out of practice, was wrecked all day after this.
4 miles with 8 strides.

went back to physio who advised i was allowed to do long run EASY.
cut out all hill work & speed work, which isn't a big hinderance. i did feel it after the strides.

looking back over my training log, the last long run i did was 18 miles on the 6th August, so long over due.

30th Sat
i still have a cold with has spread to one lung so like a car working of 3 cylinders, i knew that i wouldn't be able for speed but long & slow should be ok.

i did 50 min Easy, (7:45 pace) then 16 miles as close to MP as i could, it turned out that this was not happening so abandoned that, thank god i had the foresight to remove the pace alarm from the watch so that it wasn't beeping when i went out of range.

i knew i was in trouble when i got into the warm up, far too hot & sweating heavily, i was hell bent on keeping the 16 miles below 7 min miles & i fought hard to do so, finishing exactly on 7 min/mile with a half mile cool down t bring it to 23 miles. that's the long run out of the way.

the positives , the hamstring & hip flexor were tender while running but it was only when i stopped that i really felt the effects.it was my chest that was the problem & that wont be an issue in months time, please God.

jfh

August Update
bit of catching up here, left this go as i wasn't too motivated when not running.
week 1
2 days running, 25 miles
week 2
zero running, one spinning class
week 3
6 days & back up to 61 miles
2 quality Tempo runs all rest easy
week 4
5 days all easy, one long run 50 miles

August was a case of learning to listen to the body. body got fatigued from the hugely draining Quality session. it makes what Krusty has done ever more impressive.

jfh

after almost a in the planning, september has finally come around.
i was hoping to be fighting fit but to use that soundbite that make me want to go out for a long tempo run, "We are where we are".

i've eased off on the JD sessions, but i've caught a cough/slight chest infection that just isn't shifting.
The last thing i want to do is go on antibotics as they drain me too much, so hoping the body will fight it out eventually but it's getting too close for comfort.

Mon 1st Sept
9.18 miles @ 7:19 pace

Tues 2nd Sept
6.54 miles @ 7:51 pace

Wed 3rd Sept
6 miles @ 8:03 pace

Thurs 4th
21 miles (10 miles @ 6:30 + 6 miles @6:40)

Fri 5th
off

Sat 6th
4.40 miles @ 9:06 pace

Sun 7th
13 miles @ 8:02 pace

yaboya1

What's the plan for Berlin now jfh?
Any time in mind, or will you just take it easy?

jfh

honestly have no idea, my physio advised me to jog around, stopped going to him:o
i'm seeing a physical therapist now who's a runner himself, sounds a bit unfaithful.
he advised no hills/speed work/no races so nothing to guide me on pace.
i did 2 long runs to try to see what would feel doable, one was 7 min, the other around 6:30 6:40 sorry to drag out an answer but i'm trying to figure it out myself.
i'm hoping to go Sub 3, which would be 6:50 pace but not sure if leg would hold for 26.2 miles of that.

you're going well yourself, some sensible training.

yaboya1

Sounds a bit like me going into Chicago last year.
Kind if had to play that a little bit by ear, but didn't know what pace was sustainable until the day.
Best of luck anyway.
See you in 3 weeks.

jfh

yeah, you going to the breakfast run?
i'll check out your log on chicago for motivational reading!

yaboya1

jfh wrote: »

yeah, you going to the breakfast run?
i'll check out your log on chicago for motivational reading!

Yeah, I'm going to do the breakfast run. I'll wear my infamous tricolour running shirt so any fellow boardsies can easily spot me.
I only started the log after Chicago. Report is here though. I ran 3:34 there, a fair way below what you're capable of since you won Portumna on a training run!

jfh

yaboya1 wrote: »

Yeah, I'm going to do the breakfast run. I'll wear my infamous tricolour running shirt so any fellow boardsies can easily spot me.
I only started the log after Chicago. Report is here though. I ran 3:34 there, a fair way below what you're capable of since you won Portumna on a training run!

you still got a PB though. good report,
you miss much training with calf?
i've also got one of those irishfit tricolour singlets in my wardrobe that i've been threatening to wear one of these days..