BQ or Bust!

Murph_D

Week 15 cont.

Thu 24 Aug

Recovery. 52 mins on the coast.

Fri 25 Aug

Another 40 mins easy/recovery at St. Anne's with M and D.

Sat 26 Aug

Frank Duffy 10 mile (1:13:14)

Well, this didn't go to plan. Eerily similar to last year's attempt, where it just started to feel wrong around the Wellington monument and I never recovered from the wobble. Up to that point things were fine. Started with a clubmate and a neighbour with an agreement to run even 7-min miles and work together. After two miles they seemed a little impatient and both pulled ahead, even though we were quite well under the pace. :rolleyes: I opted to stick to the original plan, slotting in with a Brothers Pearse group for a while. Couldn’t stay with them though. Started to fall further behind on North Road and switched tack, with a view to staying in the PB game. Adjusted pace goal downwards to 4:27 (7:09), but continued to leak with a poor sixth mile as the legs just felt numb, with no zip at all. But there was still hope: enjoyed a reprieve on the flat/downhill Chesterfield stretch and across the Acres, passing a few (most of whom were mostly just flagging a little more than me). Died a final death in mile 9 up the hill and that was that. Lost 29 places in the final three miles, according to the official results.

Splits (approx):
7:01 6:47 7:12 7:11 7:23
7:35 7:15 7:11 7:31 7:39

In retrospect, I think Tuesday's session was still in the legs, but no regrets. The goal is to peak next month, and no point in deviating completely from the plan. Today's run, poor as it was, equates close enough to half marathon pace so I’ll take it as a reasonable substitute for the seven miles @ pace I skipped on Thursday. Wasn't the only one who struggled today so won't get too down about it. In fact I’m well over it already. Was surprised to discover it was actually a Frank Duffy PB so I’ll take that away instead. Looking at HR data, average was 90% HRR, so the effort was there. Can't complain about the result.

Previous PB: 71:33 (Ballycotton, March 2016)
Target: 70:00
Official Time: 73:14
596th posn (of 4144)
11th M55 (of 88)
VDOT 46.3
Age grade: 70.9%
Verdict: Wakeup call

Sun 27 Aug

11.2k recovery @ 5:53 (7 mi @ 9:27)

A jog out to and around St. Anne’s, including part of junior parkrun with the bigger boy. He’d fallen and was a little battered, a little tearful, but mustered up the usual sprint finish. Good man.

Three weeks to go.

WTD: 78k (48m)
MTD: 318 (197)
YTD: 1,996 (1,241)

Murph_D

Charleville HM Week 16 of 18

This week is all about shaking off last Saturday’s race and transitioning back to plan. The Hansons are less strict about racing during a HM cycle than they are with their marathon plan. Advice is to assess the damage, run easy on Tues if necessary, then pick up on Thursday with either the LT or Tempo session.

Mon 28 Aug

No running.

A bit of a scare. Tweaked something in the lower back while changing into the running gear. Went out anyway to see how it would feel. No dice - gave up immediately after a few awkward painful steps. Straight home to lie on the floor for a few minutes and then do the McKenzie exercises from BG’s book. Seemed to do the trick. Hopefully dodged a bullet there - will know soon enough. Certainly answers the question about whether to do tomorrow's session or not!

Tue 29 Aug

Feeling normal again. Had to drop car for service near the Phoenix Park so decided to run home from there, packing the emergency Leap Card just in case. I didn't need it, thankfully.

Dublin has a lot of terrific places to run, and the Royal Canal is among the very best of them, far superior to its southside counterpart. Having left the Park at Cabra and joined the canal at Broombridge (soon to be more accessible as the cross-city Luas terminus), I enjoyed an exhilarating steady run, ignoring the watch and just feeling out the pace. The canal was glittering, the banks and towpath in great shape, looked after by a phalanx of Waterways Ireland workers along the showpiece Drumcondra section. Magnificent. Exited at North Strand and jogged home. The missus was just heading out when I got there, so I joined her for another few miles, thankful to be able to run at all.

Another round of the McKenzies for luck. I will be doing these more often.

Wed 30 Aug

Rest.

Thu 31 Aug

17.5k (10.9 mi) with 11.3 (7m) at HMP

Last of the big Hanson tempo runs (only a paltry 5 miles next week). Over to St. Anne’s, where I bumped into Duanington and joined him for a few mins of the warmup. It had been raining heavily but stopped before tempo time. Went well - a bit of a grind, but comfortable enough, all things considered. Tried to imagine it was the last seven miles of the race itself, staying focused, paying attention to form, finishing strongly, and so on. Four laps of the parkrun course, each one of which felt less flat than the previous.

Splits (target 4:30/km = 7:15/mi):

4:29 4:28 4:33 4:29 4:20 4:34
4:28 4:26 4:34 4:30 4:19 (3:58)

Not as erratic as the splits suggest - the fast kms were primarily on the Avenue’s downwind downslope, while the slow ones were partly hampered by the infamous St. Anne’s tree cover and were probably a tad long. Felt reasonably consistent. Avg HRR 85%. There was a 44:34 10k in there too, which is only 70 secs slower than my PB, which is still obviously a bit soft. :rolleyes:

WTD: 35k (22m)
MTD: 353 (219)
YTD: 2,031 (1,263)

Murph_D

Week 16 cont.

Fri 1 Sep

50 mins easy

Back working in Maynooth - enjoyed a lunchtime 5 miles or so including a cut through Carton House (lots of cartballers about) and back along the Royal Canal to the impressively titled Maynooth Harbour. Very warm Indian summer afternoon. Typical back-to-school weather.

Sat 2 Sep

10.4k easy

Kiddie GAA activities meant no parkrun today. Another parent offered to be this week's designated supervisor so I was able to get in a nice easy hour out the coast and around St Anne's.

Sun 3 Sep

Long Run 22.5 km @ 5:21 (14 mi @ 8:36)

Junior parkrun duties, where despite the rain there was a good turnout of hardy kids. Headed out to Howth in the continuing drizzle. Quite a wind coming off the sea but at least it wasn't directly in the face, except for the climb up Howth. A relief to turn around at "Somali Village" and head for home. This felt great, legs feeling the benefit of a painful massage on Thursday.

Mileage drops now (well, slightly, anyway) - hay in the barn, hopefully.

WTD: 77k (48m)
MTD: 42 (26)
YTD: 2,073 (1,289)

denis b

Would there be any chance of a pm if you can recommend a masseur. Googling same throws up some very colourful options !!. Quads are fit to blow up!!!.

Great breadth to your running D.

Mrs Mc

denis b wrote: »

Would there be any chance of a pm if you can recommend a masseur. Googling same throws up some very colourful options !!. Quads are fit to blow up!!!.

Great breadth to your running D.

Just sent you pm Denisb

denis b

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Just sent you pm Denisb

Thanks Mrs Mc. Got that and made the call.

ThebitterLemon

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Just sent you pm Denisb

Does Auldbot know you're giving massages now Mrs Mc

All the best for the HM Murph, great training block and I'm really envious of your consistency, you're bullet proof for an auld lad!

TbL

Murph_D

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Does Auldbot know you're giving massages now Mrs Mc

:eek: Why didn't I think of that superb riposte?

All the best for the HM Murph, great training block and I'm really envious of your consistency, you're bullet proof for an auld lad!

TbL

Well thanks - I'd like to say I've been lucky enough to stay injury free for a good while now, but that would be tempting fate so I won't. (Glad I'm not superstitious.)

But yes, things have been going well, let's hope it continues in that vein. Good luck yourself with the return to form, it's coming along for you.

Murph_D

Charleville HM Week 17 of 18

And so the mileage begins to drop, as does the gruelling nature of the sessions (in terms of distance, if not pace). Compared to some other plans, this doesn't quite look like a taper yet - not until the final 10 days at least. Still some heavy lifting to do, but there's no doubt it's become more manageable - dramatically so - over the last six weeks. The trick, of course, will be to translate that work into the race result it deserves.

Mon 4 Sep

Easy 11.3km @ 5:31 (7m @ 8:52)

Pleasant early afternoon run around the MU campus and along the Royal Canal.

Tue 5 Sep

6 x 1600 (800 a/r)

Last of the Hanson “strength” sessions. Thought of doing it around the football pitches at Maynooth but that sounded a little monotonous so I headed back to the Royal Canal and towards Leixlip. Surface varies from smooth gravel to dirt/stony trail, so had to keep my wits about me to avoid any mishaps (such as falling into the canal as it was quite slippy under the bridges).

Splits: (target 4:25/k = 7:06/m = 7:04 /rep)

6:58 6:54 6:58 7:01 7:06 6:51

This was a pretty tough outing, although at no stage did I feel I wouldn’t make it to the end, so maybe not that bad after all. Tried to pace by feel a few times but noticed that I was inclined to be too fast, so generally kept a close enough eye on the watch, except for the final rep. Can’t complain about the numbers all the same.

WTD: 29k (18m)
MTD: 71 (44)
YTD: 2,102 (1,307)

denis b

Well done D. That looks like a tough session. Mind me asking what exactly a Hanson “strength” session is?. Am guessing that it might bridge a slightly long Vo2 Max <-> shorter LT session. Just curious.

Murph_D

denis b wrote: »

Well done D. That looks like a tough session. Mind me asking what exactly a Hanson “strength” session is?. Am guessing that it might bridge a slightly long Vo2 Max <-> shorter LT session. Just curious.

It's 10 secs/mile faster than goal HM pace, as per the instructions. For me it's close enough to LT. in the second half of the plan, they replace the speed (5k pace) sessions. Certainly get you nice and tired in advance of the Thurs tempo (race pace) session. The 3-mile version is a killer!

denis b

Murph_D wrote: »

It's 10 secs/mile faster than goal HM pace, as per the instructions. For me it's close enough to LT. in the second half of the plan, they replace the speed (5k pace) sessions. Certainly get you nice and tired in advance of the Thurs tempo (race pace) session. The 3-mile version is a killer!

Thanks for that. There will be a payday come Charleville with these sessions.

Murph_D

Week 17 cont.

Wed 6 Sep

Rest.

Thu 7 Sep

Tempo Thursday: 14.1k (8.8) with 5.6 (3.5) at HMP

Well if I had underestimated this one, it certainly bit me in the arse. The plan said 8k/5 miles at HMP. Felt sluggish on the warmup jog up to Albert College Park. When I started the tempo miles it felt impossibly fast from the beginning, and I blew up and stopped after 4k. Jogged a lap and a half of the park (it’s about a mile around) and salvaged a little pride by at least completing the fifth and final lap at the original goal pace of around 4:30/k (7:15 mi).

Splits:

4:39 4:25 4:42 4:33
4:35 (4:24)

I think I became a victim of the watch here - the tree cover was probably giving me an unreliable pace and I was trying too hard to make the numbers work anyway. As Duanington mentioned to me afterwards, these sessions are far better done by feel. That will have to be something for the next cycle. No bother though - it’s been a good couple of months session wise and I was overdue a bad one.

WTD: 43k (27m)
MTD: 85 (53)
YTD: 2,116 (1,315)

Murph_D

Week 17 cont.

Fri 8 Sep

10k or thereabouts at recovery pace, over the wooden bridge and back.

Sat 9 Sep

Another easy 8k with Anna around the local loop in Donegal.

Sun 10 Sep

Easy MLR 13.4 km @ 5:24 (8.3 mi @ 8:40)

Pleasantly surprised to find only 8 miles on the schedule for today. Felt sorry for the mrs who was in the middle of a much longer run when I ventured out in the wind and rain for 70 mins or so over the local hills. Very enjoyable despite, or maybe because of, the weather. Decent way to end a more difficult than expected week.

WTD: 76k (47m)
MTD: 118 (73)
YTD: 2,149 (1,335)

Murph_D

Race Week!

So here we are, almost. Winding down, all easy this week with plenty of time to start obsessing about the uncontrollables. Weather, anyone? :eek:

Bit of a scare the other night when I couldn’t find any evidence of having entered myself or the missus in the actual race. No email evidence, and if it was in the spam folder it would have been autodeleted long ago. Eventually found a transaction on credit card statement and the mrs sprang into action, receiving a reassuring email response from the organisers within minutes - impressive customer service for 10pm of a Sunday night!

Mon 11 Sep

Easy 8.2 kms @ 5:26 (5.1 mi @ 8:44)

Lunchtime trot from Maynooth through Carton House via the canal. Windy out; creaky enough.

Tue 12 Sep

Easy 10k @ 5:29 (6.4 @ 8:49)

Another restful lunchtime trot along the Royal Canal towards Kilcock. I’m enjoying these pastoral runs in the vicinity of Maynooth. If the body was expecting a session today, it wasn’t showing any sign of champing at the bit - happy enough to take it handy. Will wake it up with a few strides towards the end of the week (or maybe not - no strides in the plan).

Wed 13 Sep

Rest.

WTD: 19k (12m)
MTD: 136 (84)
YTD: 2,167 (1,347)

Younganne

Great training block Murph. Best of luck in Charleville.

OOnegative

Best of luck Sunday, you have put in a great training cycle & seemed to enjoy it more importantly. Run well.

Annie get your Run

The very best of luck D, I hope it all goes your way on the day, embrace the pain!

Wubble Wubble

Best of luck D, knock it out of the park!

racheljev

Best of luck on Sunday, hope you've a great race!

diego_b

Best of luck for Charleville, been an excellent training cycle and hope you get your reward.

Huzzah!

The very best of luck on Sunday. I hope the hard work gets the reward it deserves.

AuldManKing

Looking forward to seeing how you go - you deserve a good time. (Congrats in advance )

hot buttered scones

Best of luck on Sunday. Don't worry about the weather - sure it changes every 5 minutes like!

jake1970

Best of luck Sunday D, have a great race.

denis b

You won't need any luck from me D. It's in your very capable hands. Relishing the report already 😊.

Singer

Hope you have a good one. I haven't consulted with the Norwegians, but the RTE weather on the news last night looked promising

hot buttered scones

Singer wrote: »

Hope you have a good one. I haven't consulted with the Norwegians, but the RTE weather on the news last night looked promising

It's going to be perfect racing weather. 9 deg at 10 am rising to 13 by 12, 3m/s NE breeze (so at our backs for the 2nd half), dry and slightly overcast.

adrian522

Best of Luck tomorrow D, looking forward to finding out if this plan is any good or not.

Murph_D

Race Week cont.

Thu 14 Sep

10k easy (57 mins)

Repeat of Tuesday’s run at MU campus and the canal.

Fri 15 Sep

8k / 5 mi easy. Headed to Donadea forest which isn't far from work. Hadn't been here since the 50k in Feb. It's easy enough to take a wrong turn but I found my way around the loop handily enough. Lots of flashbacks. This is where I passed X. This is where I was passed by Y on the second last lap. Here's where I was when the snow started. That's where tang was marshalling. Enjoyable. Have signed up for next year's race too, so never too early to revisit the course.

Sat 16 Sep

St Anne's parkrun volunteering in the morning. Accused of being on a power trip for not bending over backwards to facilitate a runner who'd forgotten her barcode. The other 100+ runners I scanned were less stroppy. Always a pleasure. Drove to Cork in the afternoon and thought I meant get in a couple of miles around the start/finish stretch, but the weather was fairly miserable so didn't bother. Never mind. All systems go.

Thanks for the good wishes. Much appreciated.

WTD: 37k (23m)
MTD: 154 (975)
YTD: 2,185 (1,358)