BQ or Bust!

Murph_D

It's time to ditch the old log, with its self-deprecating Plodder Alert title, for a faster, sleeker, better one as a new marathon training regime begins. In 18 weeks time, I hope to be lining up in the Tiergarten at the start of the Berlin Marathon. All going well, it will be my third marathon, having done DCM 2012 and 2013.

The aim this time is to qualify for Boston 2016 with a 3:40 which should be enough for a GFA entry (I could possibly qualify for 2015 but that would take 3:30 as I would still be in the M50 category. So just think of me as another old geezer trying to make up for lost time. :pac:

Having run 3:46 last year, 3:40 doesn't seem like too much of a stretch but I don't take anything for granted these days, as it's easy enough to be derailed with injury, as I've discovered twice in the past year or so. I've been very careful building up the mileage after the last injury, not long after DCM, which saw me unable to run for most of the winter. I was surprised how much I missed being able to run, especially when I had to cancel a couple of planned races.

Like last year, I'll be following a plan that menoscemo devised for a group DCM 2012 graduates for our 2013 effort. It's a flexible plan, based loosely on P&D, I think, combining one LSR and one session a week with three or four easy runs a week.

I try to run five times a week, incorporating a parkrun if I can, and taking in one club or race series type event a month during the training. This year I'll be incorporating the race series events into the plan (or trying to at least), with the half marathon making up part of the final LSR. Might try to find another HM to race sometime in August if it can be squeezed in.

So away we go. Any advice, encouragement and/or slagging will be appreciated.

Murph_D

Tues 27 May
18 weeks to go...

8k@6:13

Legs were quite sore after the somewhat ambitious 26k (16 mile) LSR on Sunday so I was considering an extra day's rest. However I didn't want to get behind in the plan from Day 1 decided to get out and treat this like a recovery run. Not much fun, and felt pretty heavy legged, but it's done.

WTD: 8k
YTD: 496k

Murph_D

Weds 28 May

8x800 session.

Was still feeling a little tired and considered just turning this into an easy run but by the time I got out at 9pm was feeling a bit better. The plan was to do a 10x800 "Yasso" session (fitness test that can supposedly predict your marathon time) but I had a total brain fart and only did eight reps. I was pleased with myself on the "last" one, thinking that was easy enough, not realising my mistake till halfway through the cooldown. That's what happens when you don't have your glasses and can't read your watch, and it's dark anyway. Oh well. What I did went well enough (planned time per rep 3:40):

3:39 3:40 3:32 3:32: 3:30 3:34 3:38 3:28 (Avg. 3:34)

This felt good - felt like I was constantly having to slow down, and I'm pretty sure I could have done two more. But we'll find out next week when I'll do it again, properly this time.

Total with warmup and cooldown: 11.9k. Takes me over 500k for the year so far (well behind last year though, when I was at 820k at this stage).

WTD: 20k
YTD: 508k

Pacing Mule

Much better sounding title that does your profess justice. Good luck with the goal.

Pacing Mule

Ps - now would be a great time to convert to miles

Murph_D

Pacing Mule wrote: »

Ps - now would be a great time to convert to miles

Yes, I am actually considering that in the interests of "fitting in". But then again, they don't do miles in Berlin.

Will probably stick to kms for now but will work harder at converting distance and pace for the benefit of all ye imperialists.

RedRunner

Good luck with the fresh log and training for Berlin D.

Murph_D

Thurs 29 May

40 mins recovery on the treadmill 6k @ 6:40 (3.7 mi @ 10:40)

Sat 31 May

9.03k @ 5:40 (5.6 mi @ 9:07)

In Donegal for the weekend so headed out on the local country roads. Lots of farming going on which made me feel vaguely guilty to not be working, although I did spend the rest of the day cutting grass and other gardening chores.

Sun 1 June

21.1k @ 6:00 (13.1 mi @ 9:39)

Nice easy long run to round off the week. Tacked on a little bit to bring up to HM distance (why not?). Back feeling a bit stiff after yesterday so tried to be as relaxed and as light-footed as possible.

WTD: 56k (35 mi)
YTD: 538k (334 mi)

Murph_D

Tues 3 June

6.2 mi @ 9:32 (10k@5:55)

A nice easy trot along the seafront at Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula with Mrs. M who is also signed up for the entire Race Series this year. Did this just after 9 on a warm morning. Sea breeze felt good.

WTD: 10k (6.2m)
YTD: 554k (344m)

Murph_D

Weds 4 June

Progression Run

Have taken a couple of days off this week so it was nice to be able to get out to the Phoenix Park around lunchtime for this week's session. Quite warm, and threatening rain, although it stayed dry (could have done with a bit of a shower towards the end to cool down).

The plan was four 8-min reps, at Steady, MP, HMP and 10k pace.

|Steady|MP|HMP|10kP|Avg
Plan| 8:37 (5:21) | 8:21 (5:11) | 7:56 (4:56) | 7:31 (4:40) | 8:06 (5:02)
Actual| 8:32 (5:18) | 8:08 (5:03) | 7:51 (4:53) | 7:27 (4:38) |8:00 (4:58)


Started with a two mile warmup and as you can see I didn't find it easy to dial in the pace - was wearing watch and trying to match the virtual pacer but only taking the occasional glance. Found it quite hard in reps 3 and 4. The final rep had me coming down Military Hill but also back up towards and past the Wellington Monument so both sides of the coin here. 2 miles cool down for a total of 8 miles (12.8k).

WTD: 23k (14.3m)
YTD: 567k (352m)

Murph_D

Thurs 5 June

50 mins recovery (5.1m @ 9:58)

The Clontarf seafront was teeming with life tonight - walkers taking an after dinner passeggiata, dozens of runners, kids on bikes, sailors, cooing teenagers, louts on minibikes (OK that last one was in Fairview Park).

Kept having to slow this one down to the correct pace (that seems to be a bit of a recurring thing lately - I'm going to assume that it's a good thing). Feeling very strong this week. I wonder if it's because I've been drinking less?

WTD: 31k (19m)
YTD: 575k (357m)

Murph_D

Sat 7 June

Out to St. Anne's for the first time in a few weeks. Took it nice and easy, running with Colm, who I know from volunteering. Turns out he's Ferris B - everyone's a boardsie! We had a good chat on the way around, hadn't realised he's doing Berlin too. Mrs. M sped past on the home straight for this week's /bragging rights. Spotted Redrunner on his way home as we were coming down to the finish - he must have put in a decent time. Gentle run home afterwards. Total: 10.3k (6.4 miles)

WTD: 41k (25 miles)
YTD: 585k (364 miles)

Murph_D

Sun 8 June

22.6k @ 5:56 avg (14 mi @ 9:33). Avg HR 153 (72%).

14-mile LSR today. Ran through Drumcondra/Glasnevin to Phibsboro and took the Royal Canal to Broombridge Rd, then over to the Phoenix Park. Warm and muggy enough afternoon, with a fairly stiff breeze.

Had a late night last night then a busy morning with kids stuff, so was not feeling the greatest doing this, and it was fairly tough going right from the start, even at the easy pace. One of those runs - glad it's over. 40 miles this week.

WTD: 64k (40 miles)
YTD: 608 (378 miles)

Murph_D

Mon 9 June

Rest. Went to the pool though, and did a 22 lap (550m) "recovery swim".


Tues 10 June

Easy 10k @ 6:00 (6.2m @ 9:39).

No watch today, just went out for an easy 10k from the office up to Ballymun and Santry Demense. Jogged for an hour and measured the route afterwards on Google Earth and it turned out to be... 9.99k. Followed this with 10 laps of the pool and a sauna.

WTD: 10 k / 6 mi
YTD: 618 k / 384 mi

Murph_D

2014 Goal Times

Distance|Goal|Current PB|PB Date
5k|22:35|22:05|Apr 2013
5m|37:26|37:50|May 2014
10k|46:53|50:51|Dec 2012
10m|78:22|78:53|Jul 2013
HM|1:44:32|1:46:25|Mar 2013
M|3:39:59|3:46:15|Oct 2013


Pulling this from my old log as a reminder, plus to update the 5m PB. Will be aiming to hit these goals over the summer, mostly in the Race Series.

Murph_D

Weds 11 June

Tempo session: 3 x 2 mile with 5 mins jog recovery @ 7:52 (4:53/k)

This session from meno's plan calls for a tempo pace somewhere between 10 mile and HM pace. I reckon those paces are 7:50 (4:52) and 7:59 (4:57) respectively, so I aimed for a target pace in the middle of that range. Did the session around 9pm, not much more than an hour after dinner, so I worried a little about keeping it down, or maybe getting a stitch.

Miles|Total|Avg|Target
1-2| 15:39 | 7:50 (4:52) | 7:55 (4:55)
3-4| 15:37 | 7:48 (4:51) | 7:55 (4:55)
5-6| 16:06 | 8:03 (5:00) | 7:55 (4:55)
Total|47:22 |7:54 (4:54) | 7:55 (4:55)


After a 2k or so warmup, the first rep felt terrible, which is not unusual for me with this kind of session. However after the 5 min recovery I was feeling better and rep 2 felt pretty OK, although it should have felt harder into a slight headwind. By rep 3 I was trying to pace myself rather than rely on the watch so that's probably one reason why it was a bit slower (the other being it was pretty difficult by mile 6). Still, the average is pretty much bang on target so have to be happy with that - especially as there was no sign of the dreaded stitch or puke!

The last time I did this session it was much earlier in the day and much hotter and my pace was 8:18 - but still, I'll consider it an improvement.

Total with warmup/cooldown: 10.4 miles (16.8k).

WTD: 27k (17 miles)
YTD: 635k (395 miles)

Murph_D

Question if there's anyone out there with knowledge/opinions...

I know I should be training to current MP rather than desired MP. My most recent marathon result is 3:46:15 which translates to a pace of 8:38/mi (5:20/k). Most recent competitive result is 37:50 for 5 miles which suggests current marathon goal of 3:42:20 - i.e. pace 8:29/mi (5:16/k). My desired pace for sub 3:40 marathon is 8:24/mi (5:13) but to be on the safe side and allowing for running a bit extra on the day I've been calculating PMP at 8:20 (5:11) and using that as basis.

Am I going too fast or are these differences too small to worry about?

Murph_D

Thurs 12 June

50 mins Recovery 4.4 mi (7k) @ 10:24 (6:27/k)

WTD: 34k (21 mi)
YTD: 642k (399 mi)

career_move

Murph_D wrote: »

Question if there's anyone out there with knowledge/opinions...

I know I should be training to current MP rather than desired MP. My most recent marathon result is 3:46:15 which translates to a pace of 8:38/mi (5:32/k). Most recent competitive result is 37:50 for 5 miles which suggests current marathon goal of 3:42:20 - i.e. pace 8:29/mi (5:16/k). My desired pace for sub 3:40 marathon is 8:24/mi (5:13) but to be on the safe side and allowing for running a bit extra on the day I've been calculating PMP at 8:20 (5:11) and using that as basis.

Am I going too fast or are these differences too small to worry about?

This is more opinion than knowledge but given that your marathon was last October I think and that you have been running fairly consistently all spring a PMP of 8:20/5:11 sounds spot on. I like to have a bit of a cushion so I would probably even be doing the PMP miles between 8:10 - 8:15 pace so that on the day 8:20 pace feels like a breeze

Murph_D

career_move wrote: »

This is more opinion than knowledge but given that your marathon was last October I think and that you have been running fairly consistently all spring a PMP of 8:20/5:11 sounds spot on. I like to have a bit of a cushion so I would probably even be doing the PMP miles between 8:10 - 8:15 pace so that on the day 8:20 pace feels like a breeze

Ha - I worry am I going too fast and she tells me to speed up!

pgmcpq

Murph_D wrote: »

Ha - I worry am I going too fast and she tells me to speed up!

As a fellow old geezer I'd suggest a little caution.

15 seconds a mile doesn't sound like much but is significent jump in effort and as times drop it requires proportionately harder effort. It's also a bit tough to calculate MP off a five mile race. Still you have time so I'd suggest starting MP sessions at current pace and then gradually increasing pace until you hit PMP for the final mile(s). Then if this seems manageable increase the number of faster paced miles. This will give you a good idea of a realistic PMP. Once you do a few more races (longer if possible) you'll get a much better feel for PMP.

This may help:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=64545486

Murph_D

Sat 14 June

4.4m (7k) easy @ 9:13 (5:44). Warm and muggy this afternoon in East Point and the Docklands. Lots of locals gathered around the canal lock at the Convention Centre enjoying a swim, wetsuits and all.

WTD: 41k (25m)
YTD: 649k (403m)

Murph_D

pgmcpq wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=64545486

Thanks for the link pgmcpq - interesting thread. It tracks well with my limited experience - the right MP certainly feels easy for the first ⅔ of the race at least. The idea of ramping up thru the various paces I mentioned seems eminently sensible too.

Murph_D

Sun 15 June

16.2m@9:29 (26k@5:54) long run. Avg HR 152 (71%)

Another 16-miler under the belt. Hot day but felt good throughout. An out and back along the seafront to Howth via Sutton, to the "plateau" below Shielmartin (the false summit that catches everyone out on their first jaunt up there). Took the St. Fintan's Road route on the way back. I've never been down that descent before, and it was a little steep for comfort.

I only wear headphones for long runs (usually listening to Marathon Talk or somesuch). When my podcasts ran out around after 16k or so I stuck on some music and immediately noticed myself speeding up - I wonder if that's one reason a lot of novices struggle to run slowly enough during LSRs?

Anyway, great to be a full three weeks into the Berlin training. Game on! The "meno plan" is behaving itself so far. Last time out I only aimed for 90 percent of the low end of the suggested mileage but this time I'm trying to hit the mid-to-high end of the suggested range. Which is why I'm ready for the first stepback week of the plan.

So far so good. A week ahead of schedule so will have a bit of flexibility as the races start to kick in in a few weeks.

WTD: 67k (42 miles)
YTD: 675k (420 miles)

Murph_D

Link to the Meno Plan: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Iqh0HwS7Tg0CIUOs8LPvyGiPaSKI1LxP0DIV8Vuazm8/edit?usp=sharing

Murph_D

Mon 16 June

Rest. Glad of it too. Tidied the back garden.

Tue 17 June

Easy 5m @ 9:10 (8k @ 5:41)

Did a few strides in the middle of this. Hot afternoon in Clontarf. Seafront full of people enjoying the glorious weather.

WTD: 5m (8k)
YTD: 683k (425 miles)

Murph_D

Weds 18 June

10x400 @ 3k-5k pace (1min standing recovery)

The way the day was set up meant I had to do this one just before noon. The temperature was in the low 20s, not the worst but not exactly comfortable either. I sought out a shaded route under tree cover in the park beside my office and measured out a rough 400m circuit during the warmup. Paced this out , and I think it was reasonably accurate. The goal was 3k-5k pace which I calculated to be somewhere in the 6:50 – 7:05 per mile range (4:15 - 4:25/k). That would translate to a 400m lap time of 1:42 - 1:46.

Results

1:50 1:48 1:48 1:49 1:47 1:46 1:48 1:50 1:52 1:51 (Avg 1:48.7)

This was a good bit slower than the intended pace. I was doing this totally by feel as there was no point trying to pace it off the Garmin under tree cover. So I obviously haven’t quite got the feel for this kind of pace. In my defence however it was a slow enough course with a couple of sharp bends and a smattering of dog walkers. There’s also the possibility that it was a little long too.:p

So all in all, happy enough. Total with WU/CD: 6.5 miles (10.4k).

WTD: 18k (11.5m)
YTD: 694k (431m)

Murph_D

Thurs 19 June

5 miles recovery. Bloody hot out there.

WTD: 26k (17m)
YTD: 702k (436m)

Murph_D

Sat 21 June

Parkrun 5k @ 4:53 (3.1m @ 7:52)

A hot sunny morning for the midsummer park run. The plan was to do it at easy pace. However as Ferris B wasn't around to slow me down (he was volunteering this week, saving himself for Dunshaughlin) it ended up more of a progression run, starting at steady pace and ramping up through MP, HMP and ending something closer to 10k pace. All in all a nice little workout.

Sun 22 June

16.3k @ 5:32 avg (10.1m @ 8:54)

The plan said 10 miles with 6 at MP. After yesterday's shenanigans I thought I might reduce this to 4-5 at MP. However it was a hot late morning in the Phoenix Park and I figured I'd do more and try to get used to MP in warm conditions, given that Berlin is likely to be warmer than the DCMs I've done previously. Turned out the MP was no bother at all really - felt really good. In fact the hardest element of this run was trying to figure out how to route it so that the last 3k would coincide with Mrs. M's easy 10k. Amazingly as I approached the Furry Glen, exactly 3k from the end, there she was cruising up the hill.

WTD: 48k (30 miles)
YTD: 723k (449 miles)

Murph_D

This is what's down for this week:

Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday| Thursday| Friday| Saturday| Sunday| Total Mileage
Easy/rest| Easy/rest| 90 minute progression run|recovery |Easy/rest| Easy/rest|Long run-18 miles easy| 44-50 miles

As I'm doing the Irish Runner 5 Mile on Sat will have to adapt this. I'm thinking just easy runs all week with some strides, race Saturday, then maybe 10 miles or so recovery on Sun. Anyone have any thoughts? I'm not going to try to win the Irish Runner, but might go for the PB - the course isn't particularly PB-friendly but at my level it would probably be on.

menoscemo

Murph_D wrote: »

This is what's down for this week:

Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday| Thursday| Friday| Saturday| Sunday| Total Mileage
Easy/rest| Easy/rest| 90 minute progression run|recovery |Easy/rest| Easy/rest|Long run-18 miles easy| 44-50 miles

As I'm doing the Irish Runner 5 Mile on Sat will have to adapt this. I'm thinking just easy runs all week with some strides, race Saturday, then maybe 10 miles or so recovery on Sun. Anyone have any thoughts? I'm not going to try to win the Irish Runner, but might go for the PB - the course isn't particularly PB-friendly but at my level it would probably be on.

TBH I wouldn't try to do any kind of long run the day after a race. 45-50 minutes recovery would be my limit. Ditch the session for sure but could you do the longish run (maybe 13 miles??) earlier in the week? Ideally tomorrow but Wednesday might be fine if you keep it really easy.

Murph_D

menoscemo wrote: »

TBH I wouldn't try to do any kind of long run the day after a race. 45-50 minutes recovery would be my limit. Ditch the session for sure but could you do the longish run (maybe 13 miles??) earlier in the week? Ideally tomorrow but Wednesday might be fine if you keep it really easy.

Thanks meno - sounds good. Don't know what I was thinking there about the "10 mile recovery".

Murph_D

Tue 24 June

21k @ 6:00 (13.1m @ 9:39)

Slow 13 miler as recommended above. Most of this was along the Tolka and the Royal Canal. Glad to see the upgraded section between Ashtown and Castleknock is now open. Lovely surface. Glad this didn't have to be faster - feeling a little heavy legged on another beautiful sunny morning. Had to take a breather towards the end as a pair of swans had commandeered the towpath for their cygnets and were guarding the way zealously - tried to edge past but Daddy Swan raised his wings at me and I backed off.

WTD: 21k (13m)
YTD: 744k (462m)

FBOT01

Good luck tomorrow.

Murph_D

FBOT01 wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow.

Thanks M, you too.

RedRunner

Might see you later. Best of luck.

yaboya1

Good luck Murph

Pacing Mule

Hope it went well mate. Bit late to the party here.

Murph_D

Weds 25 June

50 mins recovery run through The 'Mun. It was hot, and the legs felt like the proverbial lead. The less said about this one the better, but it's out of the way.


Fri 27 June

Skipped yesterday's run because I was due to do a cardiology stress test today - wasn't sure how much treadmill work was due and didn't want to overdo things before Saturday's race.

The test went great - no issues, thanks to Ferris B for the recommendation. I'd been meaning to do this for a good while and the results are a confidence booster as the training ramps up over the summer.

WTD: 29k (18 miles)
YTD: 752k (468 miles)

Murph_D

Sat 28 June

Dublin Race Series: Irish Runner 5-Mile

Last year I had a target of sub-38 for this one, but faded towards the end and ended up with 38:03 – a PB but a slightly disappointing one. This year, with the PB lowered to 37:50 at Terenure, I aimed to take a crack at 37:24, which is what McMillan (I know, I know) suggests is appropriate for my marathon target. So I set up the “virtual pacer” for 7:30/mile (4:40/k) hoping to exceed that by a few seconds over the course of the race.

Mrs M and I arrived in good time, parking at the Polo Grounds which allowed us a nice slow 2k warm-up run up Chesterfield. Parted ways as she ducked into Wave 2 with a 44 min target. I headed up to Wave 1 and continued the warm-up, exchanging a wave with FBOT01 on his way to the line. Lined up behind RedRunner and Tang1, wished them luck and we were off bang on time. Of course while I was chatting with the lads my watch had gone into standby so there was a bit of fiddling with it as I went over the line. Didn’t get it going till about 10 seconds in. Damn Garmins!

Lots of congestion over the first mile, especially at the right turn onto North Road, but I settled into a nice pace and tried to take advantage of the downhill drag. (Mile 1 - 7:21.) Knowing that the race would be downhill for pretty much all the first half, I just tried to relax, lean forward and let gravity give me as much help as possible and hit the second mile marker in the Khyber feeling very good. (Mile 2 – 7:10.)

As anyone familiar with the Phoenix Park knows, this race gets tougher at the halfway point, which begins with the climb up Military Road. So while there was 35 seconds or so in the bank at this point, I wasn’t sure if it would be enough (it wasn’t last year!). The pace slowed a little up the hill but I’ve run it a lot in training and wasn’t worried about it. At the top, however, I got a stitch (probably caused by that last half glass of water before leaving the house) but luckily it passed pretty quickly and I got to the S-bends in pretty good shape, if starting to breathe a little heavily (Mile 3 – 7:14.)


In mile 4, the field was definitely thinning a bit and it was nice to be able to run the tangents through the bends. I like this part of the course and its undulations and when we hit the four-mile marker I could see there was now about 50 seconds in the bank for the final push. (Mile 4 – 7:21.)

The final mile by the Furry Glen and into Furze Road doesn’t look as uphill as it seems to be, and it was starting to feel like a slog. But the rain was providing some relief from the warmth and I was delighted to see the 800m marker sprayed on the road near the Glen Pond. A guy I’d swapping places with blew up at this point, just before the turn into Furze Road and the final straight, which gave me a bit of encouragement – nothing like a bit of schadenfreude towards the end of a friendly race! Hit the final 400 feeling tired but strong and for the first time ever in a race, I wasn’t desperate for the finish line. That seemed to make it appear all the quicker and even I could see from a good way out that the time was in the bag, plus a bit more. (Mile 5 – 7:41)

Previous PB: 37:50 (Terenure, May 2014)
Goal time: 37:24
Chip Time: 36:47
Verdict: Chuffed.

Caught up with FBOT01 and Tang1 just past the finish chute – everyone looked happy. Made my way back to the finish line just in time to catch the missus hitting her target for a decent PB so neither of us minded the soaking we got on the way back to the car.

WTD: 39k (24 miles)
YTD: 762k (474 miles)

tang1

Nice to meet you this morning Murph_D, very well done on the PB, great going on that race route.

Pacing Mule

Smashing run. Big congrats.

Murph_D

tang1 wrote: »

Nice to meet you this morning Murph_D, very well done on the PB, great going on that race route.

Thanks, B - well done yourself, I gather you nailed the sub-35!

tang1

Murph_D wrote: »

Thanks, B - well done yourself, I gather you nailed the sub-35!

34.27 chip time, happy out with that. Its a tough but honest race route, if you PB like yourself, Robbie and AMK your running well.

RedRunner

Great stuff D. That's a nice chunk off the PB. Well done.

pgmcpq

Congrats on the pb!

Murph_D

2014 Goal Times - update

Distance|Goal|Current PB|PB Date
5k|22:35|22:05|Apr 2013
5m|37:26|36:47|June 2014
10k|46:53|50:51|Dec 2012
10m|78:22|78:53|Jul 2013
HM|1:44:32|1:46:25|Mar 2013
M|3:39:59|3:46:15|Oct 2013


Good to have achieved one of these at last. I'll take it as a sign that everything is on track.

Ferris B

Nice work in the p park. Hope you didn't smile too much when the other guy blew up near the finish!

Murph_D

Ferris B wrote: »

Nice work in the p park. Hope you didn't smile too much when the other guy blew up near the finish!

Ha - if he hadn't been breathing heavily down my neck from the S-bends on before making a premature burst on Upper Glen Rd I might have offered a shout of encouragement but yes I have to admit to gloating a little.

Local knowledge is very important in any race I guess - I felt I managed the course well yesterday for a change, varying the effort appropriately on the downhill and uphill stretches.

It all helps - especially the excellent advice and coaching on offer around here - much appreciated.

Sun 29 June

45 mins recovery along the seafront. Squeezed in before a visit to Croke Park. Lots of activity at the Clontarf Yacht Club. Why do their members feel the need to drive on the promenade?

WTD: 46k (29m)
YTD: 769k (478m)

FBOT01

Good running on Saturday, D. Nice PB.

Murph_D

13 Weeks to go...

I was a week ahead in the "meno plan" and given Saturday's race meant making major adjustments I think I'll take last week as the extra week and get back on track. A quick look at the schedule suggests this will line the plan up nicely to take account of the Frank Duffy 10 mile in August, although adjustments will be needed for next month's 10k.

So this is what's on for this week. Will probably hold the session back till Thurs to allow an extra day's easy/recovery after the weekend.

Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday| Thursday| Friday| Saturday| Sunday| Total Mileage
Easy/rest| Easy/rest| 90 minute progression run|recovery |Easy/rest| Easy/rest|Long run-18 miles easy| 44-50 miles