From 20 a day to 3:30...

JohnDozer

Gonna give this race report business a crack, as sleep is still interrupted and no work today so why not! Its gonna be a long one....

The early part of 2014 was spent trying to build my running fitness back up, having done most of my previous running in 2011/2012 with pretty much nothing of note done in 2013. Completed a good few 10 milers and a couple of halfs before June of this year. Results of these races resulted in the esteemed Mr McMillan advising me that a 3:30 marathon was possible, and I listened! Of course I did, who wouldn't want that? Scouted around the various plans being suggested here on the Novices thread and the BAA Intermediate seemed like the best fit from the starting point I was at.

I gave the plan two extra weeks as I knew that holidays etc were likely to interrupt training at some point. Started the plan in mid June and all went well right up until the holidays 4 weeks later. Two weeks in Germany with all easy (yet hilly!) running but no LSR's or workouts, although I did set a 10k PB in a local race over there. The week I returned, it took a little while to get back on track, as I had promised to do a 10k for work. Again knocked a little chunk off the PB time. No LSR done that weekend for the 3rd time in a row. Although I did get out for a 15.5 miler with 10 @ MP the following Tuesday. This was my last run of any real distance or speed for two weeks. If I remember right there was quite a lot happened with work around that time. Got back on track with one 20 miler the following Monday and also entered a half marathon very close to where I grew up the following weekend so another easy week. Another PB in the half marathon and led me to believe all was going well. The day after was kicking ball on the beach and pinched a nerve in my back, was off work for a week... and no running. Built myself back up slowly with 4/5 easy runs and got out for a 22 miler 4 weeks out. I thought all was not lost. Tapered nicely, or so I thought, as I put a little intensity into the runs, kept the distances short enough and took plenty of rest days.

Headed for Dublin early on Sunday, quick stop in Blanchardstown to do a favour for someone, off to the RDS. A bit disappointed as the queues there around 4pm meant I just got in and out, didn't delay around for a wander around the stands. I'm well impressed with the handtowel from the bag, not so sure of the other contents! Headed out to Santry to my aunts place for carbo loading, hydration and catching up with family (It was nice as some of them were in awe, they hadn't seen me in 5 years or so, when I was 19.5 stone). Bed nice and early after Love:Hate for a restless sleep. Up again at 6am for just a light breakfast and hydration.

Anyway, that's enough of NOT talking about the race! Got to the start area nice and early with an extra layer on. Quick pee before the toilets got busy and just strolled and stood around people watching, only catching one familiar face. Positioned back from the 3:40 pacers, the plan being to trail off them gradually until after the Park and then gradually reel them in if feeling good. Didn't take in too much of the surroundings from the start to Conyngham Road and then became very aware of the race number rattling in the wind. It didn't feel that strong despite this visual so didn't really feel the need to adjust pace. Kept it nice and controlled, was aiming for miles around the 8:30 mark. The two downhill miles after the park ended up being around 8 mins flat, and I remember thinking 'I'll, pay for that later'. In hindsight I should have chilled out more on the downhills. I did say pre race that one of my biggest challenges is behaving regarding pace early in the race. This became true, and moreso because of all the people around carrying you along at a particular pace,it really takes a massive effort to drop off the crowd pace. A lighter moment here when AMK appeared alongside cutting through the crowds at ease after a pit stop. I know I had, and others did too, a 'what the f%@k' moment, and I think everybody sped up a little bit, whether intentional or not. Feeling fine after a quick pit stop around the 9 mile marker, although I remember then being disappointed there was no lucozade sport at the next water station, as I thought there was supposed to be. This was unusual as I don't normally need to drink much on LSRs so shouldn't have been feeling the need at that point. One of the first indicators all was not right I guess. And hen that hill, felt strong and ran up it at a good effort, didnt seem to affect me but again what came next suggests otherwise. Really enjoyed the ballad singer with his guitar out at his gate. Kudos to that man (I believe he was still singing an hour later). I think it was here I saw the 'Chuck Norris never ran a marathon' sign which gave me a nice chuckle, amongst many other worthy competitors seen on the day.

And then.... that Crumlin stretch that so many others have mentioned. Really struggled here and my whole mindset changed. Felt really low on energy and the negative thoughts started, and never left really. Passed halfway about one minute ahead of pre-race target. I really dont want to talk about the second half of the race. From 15 miles on it was horrific. A very stop start effort all the way to the finish. It was either the legs giving out, the chest feeling tight or the head just not being able to get out of the negative loop of thoughts. Noticing all the others in obvious difficulty and needing attention didn't do much for the mindset either. From mile 15 the A goal (very ambitious) was gone. By mile 17 the B goal (ambitious) was gone, and by mile 21 the C goal (realistic) was also gone. I drank loads of water and lucozade, tried jellies, anything to get me going again, none worked! And to the man around mile 22 who appeared with orange segments, you are my hero... I spotted him across the other side of the road and veered wildly towards him. I'd say he thought he was about to be assaulted by someone from the walking dead. This did give me a little bit of pep in the step but it didn't last long. When I knew the sub 4 was gone I gave serious thought to just walking all the way home but I still had a chance of a PB if I beat 4:09:05 so I battled hard and got there by about 90 seconds. A PB is a PB I guess. There will be other days.

In review, a few things are clear to me, some I figured out by myself and some from others. My training was too interrupted to go after such an aggressive target in only my second marathon. My LSR's are a little too quick. As another log title around here suggests, I don't 'keep the main thing the main thing', too easily getting attracted by the lure of a shorter race, and sacrificing an LSR for it. Thats never gonna work. One of the other points I really want to take on board is that we often choose our time targets assuming conditions will be perfect, and then fail to adjust the downwards if its clear that its going to be windy, or humid, or both. If I had employed this on Monday, adjusted to a more realistic target, I might have had a different experience.

so... what next for JohnDozer. Last night I entered Clonakilty Marathon on December 6th. My new target is run a sub 4 marathon and run it all the way. I feel this is achieveable and is probably a more realistic representation of where I'm at. Because I walked so much on Monday, I dont think its taken enough out of me to prevent m doing this. All I need to do is figure out how to train for it in the 5 weeks in between, allowing enough recovery and keeping the stamina and speed in good shape. Maybe some kind soul might guide me in the right direction.

adrian522

Well done on starting a log, hope you keep it up. I'm not sure that jumping into another Marathon so soon is such a good idea though.

I don't think you'll be able to get any significant training in before it and best case scenario you will be in the same shape you were in on Monday which by your own admission was not where you should have been.

Would you not consider targeting a Spring Marathon and putting in another solid block of training? If this one goes badly again, where will that leave you?

Having said that I'm no expert on these things so maybe those that have done something like this before could offer some advice.

JohnDozer

adrian522 wrote: »

Well done on starting a log, hope you keep it up. I'm not sure that jumping into another Marathon so soon is such a good idea though.

I don't think you'll be able to get any significant training in before it and best case scenario you will be in the same shape you were in on Monday which by your own admission was not where you should have been.

Would you not consider targeting a Spring Marathon and putting in another solid block of training? If this one goes badly again, where will that leave you?

Having said that I'm no expert on these things so maybe those that have done something like this before could offer some advice.

Similar (same) response to PacingMule on the novices thread.

I know where you are coming from. My logic is kinda based on that I didn't do too much damage after coming to a standstill. Muscle recovery is already coming along nicely. I should be much better able to handle 9 min miles in cooler conditions than 8:30 miles in the other conditions. I guess I really dont want to end the year without the sub 4 and opportunities are kinda limited between here and January 1st. I think just getting one LSR between here and there would be sufficient, building other easy mileage either side of it. Probably a little stupid but I would rather try and fail, and learn from it. I'll have learned a lot from Monday already so as long as I play it sensible with those lessons fresh in my mind I shouldn't do too much damage?? In saying all that, I can always defer it if I don't feel right. Clonakilty is close to home so it's an option for other years.

I guess by way of specific response, I think I possibly could have ran a sub 4 Monday with a different approach. The going after an aggressive target got me, so if I manage to get to clonakilty in the same shape, I should be fine. If it goes well, I can then tackle another one next year in a better frame of mind, rather than resting on what transpired Monday.

Murph_D

Best of luck with the log and the continued training. Your DCM time is good for the first time out. Not sure about your Clonakilty plan though - it's a hell of a lot tougher than Dublin, and you have recovery to think of in the meantime. But good luck with it.

JohnDozer

Cheers. Trundled out for a handy 5k recovery run last evening. All felt fine, the head was up for it, the engine felt ok and the toes were the part of the lower body complaining the most. A little bit of discomfort in both calves and the right glute, but nothing serious. I did happen to see another guy out running in his DCM finishers top and he was not doing recovery pace, he was belting along!! Left me slackjawed! Only conclusion I could come up with was he borrowed someone elses top.... Its the only explanation really, isn't it?

The draft 5 week plan at present involves two weeks recovery with 4/5 very very easy runs ranging from 4 - 7 miles. The middle week of the 5 builds towards one LSR of 18-20 (depending how the body feels by then) and a 2 week taper. As another poster suggested, if it all doesn't work out, there is also a half on the day that I can drop down to or I can leave it altogether till next year. I'm not that crazy that I will try and push on through any significant niggles. If I have to leave the sub 4 till 2015 I will, although I had hoped to leave that for shorter stuff up to half distance and not tackle a marathon till DCM 15. Don't like the idea of sitting on a bad performance for a whole year, or jumping into another 16 week training cycle so early next year. I do have a 44 min 10k and a 1:39 half from the most recent training cycle so I think the capability is there, once I piece things together in the right way.

JohnDozer

Uneventful 4 mile recovery run last night. Got out before dark as running around Tralee town after sundown on Halloween night could have resulted in an unnecessary quickening of pace! First mile was a little too quick although that normally happens as the first half mile from home is a nice gentle gradient downwards. Kept the other 3 at 9:45 pace, which is a pace I need to get used of running at real quick. Plus its a pace that was largely absent from any of my runs on the training cycle for DCM. There was a tendency for most of my easy running/ LSR's being done at 9 minute miles, and now I know the results of that. Mental and physical systems feel good considering, definately not up for anything quicker right now and I have no desire no test them out. Might stretch the distance to 5 at the same pace later and see how it goes....

JohnDozer

Further 5 miles at recovery pace late yesterday. Had spent the afternoon sitting through the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie so was itching for some alone time out on the roads. I can remember the Turtles being one of my favourite shows when I was 10/11 but yesterday did nothing for nostalgia and shows that some things are best left in the past. Because of the cold and wet ended up wearing long sleeves yesterday which allowed me to just cover up the watch and forget about it (I would be a frequent watch checker normally). Was tempted to check a good few times as I thought I might have been travelling faster than recovery pace! I need not have worried as on checking the watch with half a mile to go I was happy to see the average was over 10 min miles. Picked up the pace as far as home to see how the legs would react, no problem there. Legs feel surprisingly good, all areas of discomfort felt on Wednesday seem to have worked themselves out. 6 miles at recovery pace later today and a complete day off tomorrow then. Have to negotiate TV rights for the day first :- Manchester derby and New York Marathon in quick succession. I think she might just deserve breakfast in bed!

JohnDozer

Rest day from running today. Going playing a game of squash shortly to keep the fast twitch muscle fibres in action. Hopefully I'll use the head and minimise the running around the court for myself!

Ended up running a little faster than planned yesterday for a variety of reasons, due to watching the NYC marathon which took a little longer than expected and then domestic demands that I be home at a certain time (breakfast in bed only went so far), meant I had to either compromise on distance or pace. Couldn't decide so ran a little quicker and not as far! Clicked along nicely for 5.5 miles at around 9mm pace in the pouring rain (heaven) which is about what I would hope to run Clonakilty at, but I shouldn't be running that pace just yet..

Legs feel in good shape and much prefer that pace than proper recovery pace. I've always felt that running slower than this gives my joints and muscles a greater pounding and trauma than the quicker paces. I'm going to have to figure out a way to prevent that, as running quicker than I'm supposed to is definately a major failing of mine.

Starting to look at races for early 2015... Plenty of options, not an easy choice!

JohnDozer

In complete recovery mode since last Wednesday thanks to messing up my back again. A recurrence of the injury suffered last September I think.

Monday was a rest day. Nice easy pace 6ish miles around one of my Limerick loops on Tuesday at lunchtime. Managed to leave my Garmin on charge in Kerry so a watch free 4 miler took place on Wednesday at lunchtime. Must do more of these! Shortly after I got back to work got called to go and play 5 a side soccer... And that's been my last activity since then, and judging by how it feels might be for another week anyway. Never really had back problems before Septembers incident so this is quite frustrating...

I'm guessing I need to consider doing a little more (more than nothing) core work in the near future...

JohnDozer

Reporting on a decent week running for a change, only 33 miles but the body feels in relatively good shape. Cancelled squash on Monday as I felt it wouldn't be good for a back in recovery mode. I did toy with the idea of a short run but knocked that on the head and worked late instead.

Headed out for a frustrated 'first run in a week' 5k on Tuesday which resulted in the pace being a lot quicker than it should have been.

Followed this up with a 5 mile at proper easy pace after work on Wednesday. I do a lot of my running on concrete footpaths so I do need to make an effort to get off road as much as I can and save the legs.

4 miler at easy pace on Friday evening. Really working on slowing down my easy pace which is taking a lot of effort and feels so unnatural, but logically I know I need to do it to improve.

Headed out early Saturday morning for a planned 7 miles. Hadn't really a plan for the run but somewhere in the first mile it became 2 easy, 3 quick miles at 8.30mm and 2 easy. The first of the quick miles was about 15 seconds too quick so decided to try and hold this for the 3 miles. Was working hard by the third mile but stubbornly refused to back off the pace. No harm done though. Also found it quite hard to slow down to a proper easy pace after the quick miles, ended up halfway between the two paces. Another area to work on!

Rounded off the week with an out and back 14 mile LSR this morning. Managed to keep the pace under control so all in all a good result!

Day off tomorrow....

JohnDozer

Oops... Haven't updated in a while! Been busy running which is good...

Been following the graduate plan as closely as I can and getting into the swing of it now. The main emphasis for me for the next while is getting used of running at the correct easy pace. I'm getting there but I still need to do a lot of work to rein myself in.

Last few weeks have looked something like this:-

Tue 18th - 6 miles with Max Hr Test

Wed 19th - 8ish easy miles from my parents house to my sisters house on unfamiliar roads in the dark. Although I was well lit up my family are concerned about my sanity... They just don't understand. Running with a headtorch again is taking a little bit of getting used to.

Thu 20th - Sat 22nd Rest due to work commitments

Sun 23rd - 50 minute run keeping HR below 150. Mission status: Successful!

Mon 24th - Squash

Tue 25th - 5k Interval Session: 1 mile warmup followed with 5 X 3 min @ 7mm pace with 90 sec recovery. Held pace well and blasted the last one at around 6:40 pace so might drop pace to 6:50 next time around.

Wed 26th - 50 min HR <150. Managed this fine apart from the usual spike in the 1st 5 minutes which then returns to normal. The only difficulty was not adjusting enough on uphill gradients but overall getting used of running by HR. Had played an hours 5 a side earlier in the day too for cross training purposes!

Thu 27th - 5k race - Kinda decided to do this without too much thought or planning as someone I knew was doing it. Had an idea I was in about 21:30 to 22 shape so set out at that pace, expecting to have difficulty holding it in the second half. A wet, breezy night around the UL campus was less than ideal. Nevertheless, didn't suffer too much to come home in 21:07. With a bit of specific training between here and the end of January hope to be looking at going close to the 20 minute mark.

Fri 28th - Rest

Sat 29th - uneventful easy 50 minutes. Finding running by time rather than chasing mileage a much more relaxing way of doing things!

Sun 30th - Supposed to be a 90 minute Easy Run. Cut short to 70 mins due to some unexpected digestive issues which meant I had to hurry home. Never experienced this before and hope not to again. Not really sure why it happened.

Signed up to Amphibian King West #Running Streak - at least 30 mins a day for the month of December. We'll see how it goes.

Mon 1st - 5k in Tralee at a very easy pace. Jo squash today due to an injured partner.

Tues 2nd - Did the 40 mins Easy and 20 mins Tempo as per the plan. Initially tempo pace was at 8mm but picked it up bit by bit to HMP of 7:30. Nice workout. I like these very much but still find changing gears mid run quite difficult.

Wed 3rd - 40 minute Steady pace run in West Clare while waiting for the parents to come home and let me in. Liking the running on country roads with the headlamp although the vigilance of some drivers leaves a lot to be desired. Two bright torches and a hi vis vest seems to be insufficient to attract the attention of those texting while driving.

Thu 4th - Late getting back to work in Limerick after a daytrip to Dublin so headed out in the late evening with one of the young lads in work who seemed intent on pushing the pace all the time, so it turned into a nice progression run out around a nice loop on the North Circular Road.

Fri 5th. After renting a place for a little bit of midweek travel respite a little bit outside Limerick on the banks of the Shannon. Had been itching to run a river/ canal bank loop a work colleague told me about with the last two weeks but hadn't made it out there in daylight so couldn't attempt it. Set off early this morning for an extremely pleasant 50 minute run. It was an out and back run and the return leg with the Shannon on my right and a picturesque Irish village with a beautiful arch bridge spanning the river was postcard perfect and set the tone for a perfect day.

Sat 6th - Decided to get this weekends 90 minute run out of the way this morning. Headed out along the canal to Blennerville and looped back into town, keeping a nice easy pace all the time. By comparison, some of the LSR's I was doing as DCM training would have been 45 seconds per mile quicker than this. Stomach gave a few little flips after about 50 minutes,same as last week, but it passed. I think caffeine may be the culprit.

Getting back into consistent running. Plenty of easy runs at the right easy pace. Still some bad habits like dropping into races at short notice but will try and keep that under control. Really enjoying the running these days. Just the nature of life at the moment means I'm getting to run in 4 different locations on a regular basis. Really looking forward to exploring the vicinity of my new address over the next few weeks. I see on Strava too that there is some nice trail running options not too far away in Killaloe so might venture out there some weekend.

JohnDozer

Another oops.... Three weeks worth of running to report on. Been running every day thanks to Amphibian King West and the suggestion that we should partake in a #Runstreak and run for at least 30 minutes every day in December. It seemed like a great idea at the time but getting the runs in on certain days in the run up to Christmas really tested the stress levels. Anyway, only 4 days left so better chin up!

Sun 7th - Easy 5k to keep the runstreak going. Nothing of note to report
Mon 8th -Easy 4 miler after an aborted game of squash in Limerick
Tue 9th - Easy 45 minute lunchtime run
Wed 10th -Easy 45 mins around the North Circular Road in the City, a nice loop where you can hop down from the footpath onto the road as there is minimal traffic.
Thu 11th - Easy 45 mins in the beautiful O'Briensbridge, Co Clare. Loving this route but don't have too many opportunities to run it. Makes it all the more enjoyable when its less frequent I guess.
Fri 12th - Did a fartlek type run for 40 odd minutes around O'Briensbridge again. Really had no idea how to approach one, put a loose structure on it of 1 mile warm up, and 20 minutes of 2 mins on, 2 mins off with a half mile cool down. Thoroughly enjoyable on a cool, crisp winters morning.
Sat 13th - Had a 90 minute run planned for this morning, but some overnight frost meant this was abandoned only 50 meters from the house. Back in the house and grabbed the spikes, and into the car to do a 30 minute speed session on grass. Really should do more of these. Warmup, followed by 5 X 350m (approx) repeats )1:13, 1:11, 1;11, 1:13 and 1:09 to finish. Fairly happy with the consistency of these.
Sun 14th- Wasn't really in the form for anything today, feeling a bit grinchy! I had signed up for a 5k Santa Run but couldn't be bothered, so did the bare minimum of an easy 5k to close out 30 miles for the week.

Mon 15th - Work required me to be in Dublin today and I knew the end of the day would be troublesome for getting out for any miles, so left the house early and did an easy 40mins in Corkagh Park and let the traffic disperse before I headed in to City Centre.
Tue 16th - Plan called for 60 mins with 20mins (ended up doing 3 miles - 25/26 mins) at MP effort. first time ever trying to do this by heartrate rather than pace, which made for an altogether more pleasant experience. In saying that, it was a horrible evening of wind and rain around Limerick City but one of those runs where you feel you can run forever. Unfortunately it didn't... Splits were 8:22, 8:31 and 7:55.
Wed 17th - Easy 45 mins. Only thing of note about these easy runs is that I'm now doing them by heartrate, I'm a lot more disciplined now than when I was doing them by pace. Pace is now closer to 10 min miles instead of being the wrong side of 9 min miles, which is definitely helping prevent fatigue and other aches and pains.
Thu 18th - Plan called for a 5k speed session. Did this on a 10k loop course in Limerick, and despite a few little hills and other external factors the paces were consistent again (6:47, 6:38, 6:39, 6:40 and 6:42). Would like to be bringing these closer to the 6;30 mark so will be attempting to for around the 6:35 mark next day out.
Fri 19th - Easy 40 mins
Sat 20th - Easy 90 minutes around Tralee early in the morning. I don't know what it lately is but I'm really struggling to force myself out the door on weekend mornings. Still... kicked myself up the ass and got it done.
Sun 21st - Easy 40 mins to round of a 40 mile week. Been a while since I hit that number. Feels good! Think I also hit 1500 miles for the year in this week so double happy!

Mon 22nd - Easy 5k at home at my parents place on a horrible horrible evening
Tue 23rd - 45 mins easy. Very enjoyable knowing I had left a clean desk at work, and was now off for 3 whole days - which rarely happens in my job at Christmas!
Wed 24th - Last few bits got early in the morning. Was thinking about the run all day and decided I wanted a bit of a blowout, presumably I'm doing too much easy running at the moment and its taking a bit of getting used to. After a warmup mile, ended up doing an 8 mile hilly tempo run, followed by a cooldown mile. This is the kind of running I really really enjoy, but being a tiny little but older and wiser, and well informed by the kind folks of boards.ie, I now know I cant do this all the time. But once in a while is ok, isn't it. Everybody is allowed misbehave every once in a while....
Thu 25th - 4 miler done in mid morning, post presents and breakfast of chocolate, and pre turkey coma.
Fri 26th - Full of sugar, headed off on a 5 mile run. About half way through I decided I was done and headed home a little bit quicker than I should.
Sat 27th - working a 12 hour shift today and knew that due to pub plans after work that no evening running was taking place, so hit the road for Limerick early and hit the streets of Limerick City for a 5 miler before work.

Best spell of training with a while. No niggles or anything despite 4 weeks of running every day, although the distances are generally 5 miles or less. I'm a little concerned that I don't look forward to the long runs as much as I used to. Very much enjoying the running. Next target race is a 5k at the end of January where I hope to get as close to 20 minutes as I can, may not dip under it this time around.

JohnDozer

Only a weeks worth of running this time, getting better!

Sunday 28th - Finished work yesterday and headed to West Clare to the parents and siblings for a night on the beer in the local hostelries. A late night and consumption of some concoctions resulted in one of the worst hangovers ever today. Never ever have I experienced anything like it. Seriously out of practice with the drinking which is not a bad thing I guess. Struggled out of my deathbed on the couch for the bare minimum easy 30 minutes. It seemed to work and flush out the badness from the system.

Monday 29th - Made up for yesterday with a nice 80 minute longish run on one of my favourite routes, an undulating first 4 miles while rising and a 5 mile downhill run home. Always manage to mash the quads on this route but its so enjoyable I don't care!

Tuesday 30th - Up and out of the house early for a very slow 60 minute easy run around Tralee. It did the trick as legs were a little stiff after yesterday. Managed to snag a pair of Brooks Pureflow 2 in TK Maxx the day before for €40 so this was the first spin in these. Feel like a nice shoe so happy enough.

Wednesday 31st - Felt like running a little quicker today but didn't put too much thought into what that looked like, so ended up with a 4.5 mile trot at around 8 minute mile pace. So... AKW #Runstreak was completed, running 31 days from 31. The 28th was the only day where it was a real struggle to get out so happy enough. 160+ miles for the month of December so can't complain about that.

Thursday 1st - Working 12 hour shift today and having stayed up late the night before, had a desire to get out and run but didn't in the end.

Friday 2nd - Headed out in the late afternoon/ early evening time around Tralee, as this is my preferred time of day for getting faster stuff done. The plan called for 4 * 4 mins at 5k pace, off 3 minutes recovery. First was slightly uphill into the wind, 2nd slight downhill with the wind, 3rd half and half and the 4th was a repeat of the first. Increased the target pace by 5 secs a mile from the last session to see how I would cope (6:35m/m). Really had to work hard on the 3rd and 4th to get there but happy enough overall with the session. Splits were - 6:37, 6:33, 6:34 and 6:29.

Saturday 3rd - Had to drop off a package to an ex housemate so did this on the way around an easy 50 min run. Bit of stiffness after yesterday but nothing major.

Sunday 4th - Had some major convincing to do to get me out of the house for this one. Having major problem getting motivated for longer runs early on the weekends. Headed off on an out and back route I use occasionally on the promise that if I wasn't feeling the love I could turn back. As expected, once the first few miles were done, was tipping away nicely outwards for an hour, turned and ran home. Again, this route is climbing for the first half, and downhill for the second. Really had to rein myself in for the return leg, but tried to run by effort as much as I could.

45 miles for the week from Monday to Sunday so no complaints whatsoever. I'll try and maintain this for the next month or so. Have a 5k the end of the month so going to try and slot in a little more 5k specific work.

Question for anyone reading. Doing a 5k on the 31st where the aim is realistically between 20:00 and 20:30. if I did a parkrun the Saturday beforehand what would be a good target time to run that at?

Netwerk Errer

Personally I have run some of my best races on back to back weekends of flat out racing. I suppose if you want to train fully the week before raceweek, you could run 7 minute pace for the parkrun. I wouldn't see a problem racing flat out on back to back weekends either though

IMO, if you want to race them both as fast as possible, go for it!

P_Fitz

If it was me, for a 5k, I'd go flat out too.

I have to say, you either take great notes or you've a hell of a memory. I wouldn't know what I did yesterday never mind a month ago. Best of luck with the 5k's.

JohnDozer

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Personally I have run some of my best races on back to back weekends of flat out racing. I suppose if you want to train fully the week before raceweek, you could run 7 minute pace for the parkrun. I wouldn't see a problem racing flat out on back to back weekends either though

IMO, if you want to race them both as fast as possible, go for it!

Thanks for that, I don't want to race it flat out I think, but I was hoping to find a pace that strikes a balance between too fast and too slow given a goal race a week later. I hear what you're saying about adjusting the training to suit, will be paring back the mileage and workouts a little bit but not much. My PB is 21.07, so I'm think to aim for a 20:30 on the parkrun and see how that feels, and then assess what to do the following weekend in Ennis. All in all, I'd really like a 19:59, but will settle for knocking 30-40 seconds off at this point. There is a long year there yet and just saw the Spring series in UL is starting in February so will have plenty of opportunity!

JohnDozer

P_Fitz wrote: »

If it was me, for a 5k, I'd go flat out too.

I have to say, you either take great notes or you've a hell of a memory. I wouldn't know what I did yesterday never mind a month ago. Best of luck with the 5k's.

As above, might just pare it back a little bit! My memory is actually shocking at the best of times, if I didn't have Strava open beside me while updating the log I would have no clue what I did and when...

JohnDozer

Another solid week to report on, managing to get the mileage creeping in the right direction, without causing any major grief to the body.

Monday 5th - Legs a little stiff after yesterdays longest LSR in a while so a nice gentle headlamp assisted 45 minute recovery along paths on the banks of the Shannon. Heaven 4.5 miles total

Tuesday 6th - Still a bit of stiffness lingering so decided the tempo session on the graduates plan would cause me much less bother than the 5k session I had planned to do so switched them. Been breaking these into miles rather than minutes for the sake of manageability. I've been having difficulty uploading workouts so split it into a 3 mile warmup, 3 miles at tempo (22 prescribed, 25ish completed) with the balance cooldown back to work as I managed to get out around lunchtime. Probably could have done with the heartrate being a few beats lower but was running into a solid headwind for the tempo part so I'm ok with it. 7.3 miles in total.

Made contact with a club whose midweek training night seems to suit me and I've seen reasonably well represented at races. Not much of an internet presence but I won't let that put me off. Been invited to join up for a 10k run tomorrow evening. Its about time I tried running with a group too...

Wednesday 7th - Met the group and set off pretty much at the appointed time, a major plus in my book. Most welcoming group and I settled into the largest group, right in the middle. After the 1st 5k the group started the split and ended up in pods of 1 or 2. All good except the HR was higher again than would have liked, staying in the tempo zone for the majority of the run, no surprsie as the pace was a little quicker than easy pace. 6.3m total

Thursday 8th - Nice mucky 60 mins easy at lunchtime out to UL and back along the paths. Nothing to report other than the 5k session I had planned to do being binned for this week. Have to figure out how to adjust the week if I'm continuing with the club on Wednesdays, which I think I will. 6.3m total

Friday 9th - Rest day. Had contemplated a 45 minute run but decided a day off would benefit me more.

Saturday 10th - Busy day around the house so headed out late for a 60 minute Easy run. Had to start the run from somewhere other than home and made a wrong turn on the route so ended up being a little longer than planned. Very pleased with how much better I am at being disciplined around the easy pace when running by heartrate. 7.5m Total

Sunday 11th - Last week I had struggled to force myself out the door for a 2 hr LSR and was expecting similar today. For some reason there was no convincing to do for a run longer than last weeks by 20 minutes. Up, light breakfast and off. Fairly brutal out there today in terms of wind speed so again the HR was at a slightly higher rate than would have liked, but still within the range. Nothing else to report other than the fatigue felt in the legs for the last 3 miles, still managed to pick up the pace to take advantage of the gentle gradient most of the way home. 15 miles on the nose and 46.7 miles for the week.

No other news. Very happy at present with the running, slowing down the easy runs is really having a positive impact. One of the lads in the group the other night was talking about the Limerick Marathon and it got me thinking.... Organisers getting a lot of bad press the last few months but it would still be madness not to do it when I spend so much time running around the city. Wouldn't it?

Bulmers74

You know you're going to do it
On the race itself, I've done the half the last 2 years & wouldn't have any major gripe other than price and intend to do the full this year. Lots from around these parts raced the full last year - TbL, MarthaStew, snailsong & more and don't remember too many complaints.

JohnDozer

Bulmers74 wrote: »

You know you're going to do it
On the race itself, I've done the half the last 2 years & wouldn't have any major gripe other than price and intend to do the full this year. Lots from around these parts raced the full last year - TbL, MarthaStew, snailsong & more and don't remember too many complaints.

I did the half last year and it was enjoyable enough for the first 10 miles! I did watch the marathon at the 7 mile mark and thought the field looked very spread out which is a little off-putting. In saying that, I think I've pretty much decided to do it. Not going to target anything other than running all the way, which I have failed to do at my two previous attempts. Running a fantastic time can wait till Autumn...

JohnDozer

Two weeks worth of updating again... Jaysus, at least my running is reasonably consistent!

Mon 12th - Met up with my squash partner. We haven't paid our membership fees yet so no squash yet this year. Plan was a 2 mile run and some GAA style training (his plan not mine!). 2 mile run done and then he launched into some very retro looking static stretches followed by some sprints aka running like a lunatic while trying to solo a ball in a pair of spikes. My football boots have not been seen in quite some time so had to make do with these. Lost interest pretty quickly which he sensed. Said our goodbyes and toddled off for another 3 miles.

Tue 13th - 50 minute easy run in West Clare by torchlight

Wed 14th - 45 mins easy in Kerry

Thurs 15th - 75 mins easy in Limerick - well, really County Clare but only by about 100m (Sounds much better to run in three different counties in 3 consecutive days :-) ). Ran along the banks of the Shannon on trail. Only intended to do 60 mins but was enjoying it so much on a nice night so continued on.

Fr 16th - 45 mins easy

Sat 17th - Hadn't had time to do the 5k session this week and missed the club run as well so needed to get this done. Plan was 5 * 4 mins off 3 mins recovery. I wasn't looking forward to trying to travel at 5k pace (6:30 minute miles for this session) so early in the morning. I normally leave my intervals till much later in the day. With parkrun Tralee starting next week I better get used of it. Handy 2 mile warmup, and launched into first interval. Garmin took a little while to catch up, and continued to give funny paces all through the session. The 3rd interval was all wrong, into the wind and up a gradient but other than that happy enough with the workout. Splits were 6:36, 6:29, 6:48, 6:26 and 6:33. A warm down of just over a mile and time for some reflection. Based on this session alone, I am not in sub 20 shape, unless race conditions are absolutely perfect, i.e. no wind and pancake flat. In saying that external factors include work being really stressful this week, lots of extra commuting as the other half is working nights at present so I'm required at home, and the diet went completely to pot. PLUS, I have never attempted to run 5k pace at 7.15am before.... That's all the excuses out of the way. We will know in two weeks time about what shape I'm in.

Sun 18th - Didn't go for an LSR today as I wanted to give as much recovery as I could after yesterdays session. Headed out late afternoon for a 10 mile run. Legs and heart rate in good order so turned it into a steady run. Did one of my favourite loops in reverse. Its amazing the difference this makes to elevation profile and scenery. Will be mixing it up a good bit more. Had a close call on a downhill at speed with an unthawed section of ice, picture cartoon style windmilling, but survived to fight another day...

Total mileage for the week is 45. Given no LSR and time pressure this week, happy enough. Preferably I wouldn't have done the 5k session so close to Sundays run but thems the breaks.

Mon 19th - Rest

Tue 20th - 60 mins easy. Heart rate a bit higher than it should be at this pace. Work issues and diet still evident so that might explain it some bit.

Wed 21st - Went to join up with the club run tonight. From what I understand, its basically run 10k at whatever pace suits you. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do these. Tonight I ran there and back at an easy pace, about a mile each way, and did the 10k run at about 8 minute mile, which is about 30 seconds slower than my HMP. Any advice on how to incorporate this into my week would be much appreciated. I'm currently following Clearlier's plan in the graduates thread, although if I decide to do the Limerick Marathon I'll be switching to a different plan in the next week or two. Might revisit the BAA Intermediate plan or have had a tentative look at the P&D 55-70.

Thu 22nd - Quads at me today for some reason, probably a knock-on from overdoing it at the weekend. Handy 60 minutes easy around Tralee. Took tomorrow off work as I'm actually sick of the place and need some headspace. The last two weeks in there have been torture and emotionally draining.

Fri 23rd - Rest. parkrun Tralee starts tomorrow :-) Quads still letting me know they were about so decided plenty of rest would be the best solution.

Sat 24th - Woke up not feeling too great and very nearly decided not to bother. Managed to convince myself that it was a good test run for next week and toddled off the mile or so to the start line. About 150 there for the very first edition of this. Three full laps of the town park on a decent surface, bar one mucky corner. A few sharp enough turns and one 180 degree turnaround in each lap kill momentum a little bit but very flat. In hindsight I headed out a little quick and the mile splits got progressively slower, 6.28, 6.44 and 6:55. Some weeks ago I had said I'd go for 20:30 and see how that felt. Possibly would have achieved that if I had taken the 1st mile a little easier. I also found the turnaround point was really killing my momentum. In the end, I was happy to come home with an 18 second PB. Coupled with last weeks 5k session, I don't think I'm in sub 20 shape but the course in Ennis is fairly flat and only 3 cornersin the full course so fast enough. The 2nd mile is net downhill which is where I suffer most in a 5k so we will see.

Got my chores done early in the day afterwards and was at a loose end for the evening. Boredom got the better of me so in my infinite wisdom headed out for a handy 4 miler. Legs felt much better after I did this, might consider a similar approach in future.

Sun 25th - 90 minutes Easy. Nothing to report, felt good. No ill effects from yesterday and heartrate back to where it should be. The extra day away from work obviously helped! 2 further miles later in the day as the missus' eldest (13) has started a schools 5k training program, but missed training yesterday due to a basketball game so he pestered me all day to take him out. Not a bad complaint I guess until he decided on the sprint finish! Beaten by a whisker :-(

Total miles for the week - 42 Given this includes 2 rest days, no complaints. Similar miles next week I think and then start pushing it up above the 50 mpw and see how the body holds up.

JohnDozer

Going to try and update a bit more regularly... Promises, promises.

Monday 26th - Just over 4 miles at a very easy pace out along the canal in the city. Did this a little later in the day than usual, around 4pm and a lot more runners around than usual. Good to see. No ill effects from the weekend and managed to keep the HR at the lower end of the easy range, which is unusual for me. Normally I struggle to keep it just below the top end of the range. Checked the parkrun results from the weekend and I finished in the 8th place, some might say parkrun results don't mean much but I'll take a top 10 finish any day of the week! Never happened before and may never again so I'll be treasuring this one :-)

Still no squash fees paid so headed out to the UL pitches with my buddy. About 45 minutes in total, gentle warmup with dynamic stretching and some interval training using the lines on the pitches as markers. Finished off with 5 short hill sprints up the grass bowl surrounding the track and a gentle warm down. nearly 3 miles in total, but at least 1/3 of that was walking.

Tuesday 27th - - Decided to start work late today. Late last night I decided I am definately doing the Limerick Marathon. As mentioned above this will be a run all the way at consistent pace effort. If that results in a PB so be it, but that is not the priority. Doing this will serve me better for the future than another good 16-20 mile effort followed by an hour of torture. Have began putting a plan together relying heavily on the BAA Intermediate plan I had a go at following for DCM. Have to try and work out how to slot in the club run, and work around races I've already entered. Nothing major though, so should have it all finished by the weekend. Will be posting lots of questions for feedback!!

Anyway, todays run. 20 minute warmup followed by about 40 minutes tempo run at around 158/159bpm. Ventured above 160bpm a few times but reined it in. Managed to do a further bit of exploring around the banks of the Shannon, one of the real benefits of running in daylight. It really is a beautiful spot to run in. 20 minutes cooldown, but it took about 15 of these minutes for my HR to fall back into the easy range. Is this normal? I've noticed it a few times so its not unusual for me. 78 minutes odd in total, 8.6 miles, average pace for the tempo session was around 8.30mm.

JohnDozer

Wednesday 28th - 45 minute Easy lunchtime run out to UL and back. Chose a bad time, got pounded with a biblical hailstone shower just as I was setting out but had to continue. Going by Strava I just missed MaggotBrain out doing his 5k intervals. Taking it nice and easy for the remainder of this week for the 5k in Ennis on Saturday. How long should I leave running a 13 mile LSR after racing a 5k?

Ososlo

JohnDozer wrote: »

Wednesday 28th - 45 minute Easy lunchtime run out to UL and back. Chose a bad time, got pounded with a biblical hailstone shower just as I was setting out but had to continue. Going by Strava I just missed MaggotBrain out doing his 5k intervals. Taking it nice and easy for the remainder of this week for the 5k in Ennis on Saturday. How long should I leave running a 13 mile LSR after racing a 5k?

Depends on how long it takes you to recover and how hard you run it.
Presuming you give it 100% and recover pretty quickly I'd say Tuesday or Wednesday but I wouldn't make the call until a few days after the race.
Best of luck with it! Any particular target?

JohnDozer

Ososlo wrote: »

Depends on how long it takes you to recover and how hard you run it.
Presuming you give it 100% and recover pretty quickly I'd say Tuesday or Wednesday but I wouldn't make the call until a few days after the race.
Best of luck with it! Any particular target?

Sub 20 has been the target since I started Clearlier's plan 10 weeks ago or so, and the paces I've done the intervals at have been geared towards that time. I did a parkrun just last Saturday where I PB'd by 15 seconds but has created a bit of doubt that I can improve my time by 50 more seconds or so. In saying that, the heart wasn't really in going after a time. I've ran the course I'll be running Saturday so I know what to expect and the course suits how I run 5k's (As said above I suffer most in the 2nd mile, and thats mainly downhill so should help). I'm going to go after the sub 20, and at the very worst I should knock another 20 seconds off that PB from last Saturday. I recover pretty quick after 5k's, I'll see how I am after, thanks for that.

JohnDozer

Well, no magical sub 20 to report on, but a decent day out none the less...

Arrived nice and early for an 11am start. Not many around yet so collected the race pack and chilled out in the car with the newspaper for a while. The weather started to disimprove so was half tempted not to leave the car. Got out in the end and headed for a leisurely warmup. A good crowd of about 700 gathered at the start line on a narrow road. It was very congested and it's only my own fault I didn't push up far enough. Got really boxed in and it took most of the first mile to get out of the traffic, which even involved jumping a low fence tentatively at one point to move around people.

Once the traffic cleared I was moving nicely and was doing plenty of overtaking. I don't recall anyone passing me the entire race, and I must have passed at least 100. I think this kept my mind off the pain as there was always a target just ahead. Despite them claiming it's a flat 5k, it's a rolling route and testing enough. A nice breeze to contend with as well. Coming up the finishing straight heard footsteps approaching and pushed on a bit. Clock said 20.48 as I went under it, garmin had 20.25 on it as I only started it passing the start line. Initially I was quite disappointed as I didn't think the chip timing was active from the start line as I never saw the mat. I thought at the time I had done a 1 second official PB and a 24 second unofficial garmin PB. Results were out pretty quick and found out it was chip timed, so an official time of 20.27. Mile splits of 6.49, 6.37 and 6.21.

Given the start congestion, no idea what this cost me but I reckon in the region of 10-15 seconds, so I'm fairly satisfied. I know sub 20 is within reach with another few specific sessions and getting away well in the first mile. Lots of options with parkrun in Tralee and a 9 week series in Limerick midweek so it's just a matter of picking a new one and going after it. Hopefully!!

adrian522

Well Done, sub 20 won't be too far away..

Netwerk Errer

Well done JD! You'll be under 20 in no time!:)

JohnDozer

Sunday 1st - Complete and utter rest. Well, from running anyway... Had volunteered to help my mother look after my two nieces for the weekend, aged 3 and 1, so I reckon I did a 14 hour fartlek but I've no idea of the mileage so won't record it!

Monday 2nd - First day of training plan for Limerick Marathon. Jumping in on week 4 of what I think is the BAA Intermediate Plan I half used for Dublin. Went looking for it online and they have made it inaccessible unless you set up an adidas miCoach account which I couldn't be bothered doing so if anyone has it lying around in its original format I would much appreciate a copy. The plan is very much draft at present but the plan today called for 2 * 15 minute intervals at marathon pace. I've been training by heart rate since November so I decided to do this for this session and see what paces came out. Had a really busy day at work so had to try and decide where to run, in Limerick and then jump in the car for Tralee, head to Tralee and then run (knowing the temptation of the couch), or stop off on the way... I remembered a thread here some time back about the Great southern Trail, a converted railway line spanning County Limerick perfect for running. Found the thread and got some great info about parking etc.

Parked up, changed and headed off. I highly recommend anyone looking to run in the Newcastlewest/ Abbeyfeale area to look this up and go for a run. It's beautiful and I think I'll be using it way more frequently myself. I think its the friendliest route in Ireland too, plenty of enthusiastic greetings from runners and walkers alike. I like this route also, because it gives a route where the first half is downhill and the second half uphill. Most of my routes in Tralee are opposite to this so its a good chance to mix it up. I think its a magic road too, the first half was definitely downhill, but when I turned for the return leg, that too looked like it was downhill but it was definitely an optical illusion. Because its a slow climb and the land around it has a sharp gradient it just looks that way, a little surreal but I'll know the next time. I had nearly convinced myself the outward journey must have been uphill on the way back! Anyway, a very pleasant run with very pleasant results, apart from the young lady running with headphones who I scared the bejaysus out of when I appeared in her eyeline. Numbers for the 2 intervals were 8:08mm (downhill, 160 bpm) and 8:18mm (uphill, 163 bpm). I have no intention of trying to run Limerick at these paces but its interesting none the less. The next few weeks I will try and adjust it downwards a bit, maybe aim for 155 - 159bpm and see what happens. 8.8 miles in total.

Tuesday 3rd - Ran out of time today so a quicker than planned 5 miles around Tralee at 9pm. It was also much colder than I anticipated so had to keep the speed up to keep the core temperature up. Really enjoyed the run moving up through the gears to knock out a 5 mile run. No ill effects in the legs from Saturday or yesterday.

Club run tonight. Has anyone any suggestions on the best way to incorporate this into a marathon plan? Its a 10k run, to be ran at whatever pace suits. I can run to the meeting point from work so can add up to 3 miles each way? Is 10k too long for a tempo, with 2 miles each way at easy pace.

adrian522

This was my version of the plan. It's pretty much as it was on the website, though I changed around a few things to account for races I was doing but this is pretty much it.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13AuPkY07wXfnrSsZ-SkBwUMbzlnXDNlTY30-gN8fS2s/edit#gid=1078500440

JohnDozer

adrian522 wrote: »

This was my version of the plan. It's pretty much as it was on the website, though I changed around a few things to account for races I was doing but this is pretty much it.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13AuPkY07wXfnrSsZ-SkBwUMbzlnXDNlTY30-gN8fS2s/edit#gid=1078500440

Thanks so much! Really appreciate it.

Netwerk Errer

Depends on what kind of tempo run. A steady tempo at just slower than MP for 10k would be fine. 10k at at faster than HMP would be overdoing it. You could always do 10k with 20 minutes at just slower than 10k pace or 35 minutes at just faster than 10m pace.

JohnDozer

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Depends on what kind of tempo run. A steady tempo at just slower than MP for 10k would be fine. 10k at at faster than HMP would be overdoing it. You could always do 10k with 20 minutes at just slower than 10k pace or 35 minutes at just faster than 10m pace.

Thank you. So I have an actual HMP of 7:30mm. From McMillan race times predictor I have an MP of below 8mm. So if I built it into the plan I could do a 10k tempo every second week at around 8mm/ 8.15 pace and alternate that on other weeks with two different paces distributed as you identified - 15 mins @ 7mm and 30 minutes at 7:20 roughly - or is that a one or the other scenario but not both?

Netwerk Errer

JohnDozer wrote: »

Thank you. So I have an actual HMP of 7:30mm. From McMillan race times predictor I have an MP of below 8mm. So if I built it into the plan I could do a 10k tempo every second week at around 8mm/ 8.15 pace and alternate that on other weeks with two different paces distributed as you identified - 15 mins @ 7mm and 30 minutes at 7:20 roughly - or is that a one or the other scenario but not both?

Sounds good to me if I picked it up right. Are you saying that in one day, you will run 15min @ 7m/m and 30min @ 7.20 or that you will be doing each pace separately on different weeks?

I wouldn't combine both paces into one session. More like this:

Week 1: 10k w/ 15-20mins @ 7m/m pace.

Week 2: 10m w/ 60min @ 8:15m/m pace

Week 3: 10k+ w/ 30-40min @ 7:20m/m pace

The overall mileage can be as much as you like but the time of the workout should be within the ranges above. Personally, that's the way I would structure it as It gives a varied range of paces. I would also suggest not paying too much attention to hitting paces, The workouts are more about effort. 15-20 min @ 10k effort.

JohnDozer

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Sounds good to me if I picked it up right. Are you saying that in one day, you will run 15min @ 7m/m and 30min @ 7.20 or that you will be doing each pace separately on different weeks?

I wouldn't combine both paces into one session. More like this:

Week 1: 10k w/ 15-20mins @ 7m/m pace.

Week 2: 10m w/ 60min @ 8:15m/m pace

Week 3: 10k+ w/ 30-40min @ 7:20m/m pace

The overall mileage can be as much as you like but the time of the workout should be within the ranges above. Personally, that's the way I would structure it as It gives a varied range of paces. I would also suggest not paying too much attention to hitting paces, The workouts are more about effort. 15-20 min @ 10k effort.

I had actually thought I could combine the two paces in one session, but seeing the way you've set it out makes perfect sense. Now all I have to do is execute it... Simples!! I'm not the best at figuring out effort levels without some form of Garmin assistance, so would an alternative be to figure out an appropriate HR reading for the various efforts and work that way? I didn't really behave myself tonight, ran the 10k at just below 8mm average. I'm really not used of running with a group and am getting a bit carried away at the moment and not really focussing on my own pace/ effort. Need to get that sorted soon.

Netwerk Errer

JohnDozer wrote: »

I had actually thought I could combine the two paces in one session, but seeing the way you've set it out makes perfect sense. Now all I have to do is execute it... Simples!! I'm not the best at figuring out effort levels without some form of Garmin assistance, so would an alternative be to figure out an appropriate HR reading for the various efforts and work that way? I didn't really behave myself tonight, ran the 10k at just below 8mm average. I'm really not used of running with a group and am getting a bit carried away at the moment and not really focussing on my own pace/ effort. Need to get that sorted soon.

Use a garmin or a HR if you want to give yourself an idea of the pace but don't get too caught up in them and try to hit the pace constantly, if it feels too hard, back off a little. Your tempo pace will vary everyday because of factors which are not quantifiable.

Just to clarify a little more on the different tempo runs. The 20 minute tempo should be slower than 10k pace(roughly +5-10s per mile). Looking at the paces you mentioned, The longer 40min tempo should be HMP or a tiny bit faster for you. The 60 minute tempo would be close to MP. There's a million different ways to do tempo runs but that would be my take on the basic way to do it.

If you find any of the above too difficult at the start, there are other ways to break it down and get similar benefits.

JohnDozer

Wednesday 4th As above, headed for the club run. Got delayed at work so just drove there. Headed off after some discussion about changing the route slightly. After about a mile, a gentleman from the US of A joined myself and another fella and was chatting away. The other club member dropped off after a little while and I ended up on my own between two groups when he left after 3 miles or so. Decided to try and catch the two boys ahead instead of hanging back for the others as I could see neither group. Whats the point of joining a club to run alone? Turns out the group ahead had decided on a slightly different route so I ended up chasing no-one, so caught no-one. In the end, did the 10k in about 48 minutes, average pace at 7.52 which was really a progression run. Had just finished and was chatting to one of the other guys, and the conversation ended up leaving me hungry for some greasy fries in one of Limericks finest establishments. While salivating at the prospect, got a call from work which resulted in me having to go back in for a 12 hour shift, after having just completed 11 hours work pre-run. Grrrrrr...

Thursday 5th In bits today, couldn't sleep properly by day, sluggish, appetite and stomach in bits. 4 gentle recovery miles followed and off to bed. I seem to have some tenderness in my left heel. Nothing too serious hopefully.

Friday 6th A day of rest me thinks... We shall see later. Maybe another easy easy run....

Dubgal72

Ouch, that's serious body clock messing stuff But nice 10k training run!
And don't neglect your heel!

JohnDozer

I got my sub 20 5k tonight by 8 whole seconds. I am a happy happy man. More information to follow some other time!

Netwerk Errer

Savage running JD! Massive improvement over the last few weeks.

MaggotBrain

Deadly, well done.

adrian522

Good stuff!

Ososlo

JohnDozer wrote: »

I got my sub 20 5k tonight by 8 whole seconds. I am a happy happy man. More information to follow some other time!

Fantastic! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Bulmers74

JohnDozer wrote: »

I got my sub 20 5k tonight by 8 whole seconds. I am a happy happy man. More information to follow some other time!

Well done - and a top ten finish

Dubgal72

Well done, flying!

JohnDozer

Reporting on a great week so far! It started badly, double 12 hour shift last Wednesday week took so much out of me mentally and physically. It took quite some time to recover properly. Coupled with this I was feeling some tenderness in my heel that was very concerning.

Thursday 5th - only managed a 4 mile very easy run. Really really tired and some new pain on my right hamstring so kept it very easy. Heel still tender but no worse.

Friday 6th - rest. Body and mind no interest in running

Saturday 7th - ditto

Sunday 8th - starting to come round so the plan was head out for 5 miles in the morning and see how that went. If it went okay, head out for another run later in the day. Still a bit of a pull on the hamstring so left it at the 5 at easy pace. Used to get a bit of hamstring trouble playing football that never really developed into much so hoping that applies here.

Lowest weekly mileage in a while at 27 miles. Positives I'm taking from the week are that before I probably would have gone out and attempted an LSR even with the niggles, so I may be getting some sense. Doubt it though!!

Monday 9th - Just a 4 mile run at easy 9 mm pace. Still not convinced the hamstring is okay but not willing to out too much pressure on it yet. The heel definitely feels better so some good news.

Tuesday 10th - Not really sure what was on the plan for today but ended up heading out in the evening time with a make it up as I go along plan. No issues at all in either area so decided to repeat last week's tempo session, not really sure why but chose to do 2 * 18 minute off 5 minutes recovery. Like other runs, HR never got back below 150 at 9 mm pace in the recovery section. Don't really know what to do except a standing / walking recovery maybe? Kept the HR in the correct zone most of the time, and happy enough with the paces in the tempo. A couple of pretty quick miles for the zone so happy out with that, 3 sub 8's. 9.6 miles in total

Wednesday 11th - Return trip to Dublin today for 2 meetings. I had planned to arrive early and run when I arrived. Didn't work out as I misjudged traffic. If somebody could recommend a spot to park up for the day and run into town (Parnell St area) approximately 6 miles out that would be really good. I think this would be a much better use of my time on my monthly visits up. 5 easy miles when I got back to Kerry.

Thursday 12th - UL Spring Series 5k - I decided on Wednesday while driving that I would head out and do this as I had a work meeting at 8pm so would be around Limerick. What I hadn't decided and was still debating on the warmup was what way to approach it, run it flat out or run it at 5 mile pace. Warm up consisted of an easy run from work out to UL (about 2.7 miles). Strategy became head out on the first mile at sub 20 pace and reassess. Was noticing the stiff breeze so assumed I'd be doing the last 2 miles at 5 mile pace. Registered quickly for this accurately measured, well marshalled 5k, a steal at a €5! I don't understand how a midweek 5k series like this only attracts a crowd of 50 in Limerick City, and that's a large crowd for this event. Anyway, let about 20 odd people head off in front of me and settled into a nice rhythm early on, a few seconds off target pace but doing fine. Started doing what served me well in Ennis last day out, focusing on the back of the next person and picking them off one by one. First mile came and went and was about 10 seconds behind where I needed to be. If anyone is familiar with UL this 5k involves two trips over the Living Bridge which is a very strange experience when running flat out, and noisy to say the least. After running it for the second time I was about 17/18 seconds down on sub 20. The bit I cannot explain comes next, slowly but surely the average pace on the garmin started to drop, and over the course of the last mile (plus the 0.1 of course, the target was back on. This pushed me on no end and I found some mental strength that I didn't know I had. When I looked back on the stats on Strava afterwards mile 3 was ran at 6.07 pace. I have no idea how I managed this, still don't understand it. If I tried to hold 6 minute mile pace in an interval session I would be under serious pressure. Adrenalin I guess. The garmin data also shows a spike where we went under a building but I'm not sure that caused it. The whole thing nearly came undone when a little dog on a lead stepped out in front of me requiring some acrobatic maneuvering and a bit of luck to avoid going upside down. Went over the last little incline and knew the sub 20 was a done deal and hammered it down to the finish line. I can honestly say of all the races that I have done, this finish line was the one I enjoyed the most. Had to take take a few minutes to compose myself, and it took everything I had to stop me emptying my guts into the River Shannon.

I knew a sub 20 was in me sometime in the next while. I genuinely did not think it would this soon. It feels really really good to have a 19:xx 5k time. I'm happy enough not to race another one for a while, and rest on that time. I find 5k's really difficult to run, I'm not designed physically for moving that quick. I also find them mentally torturous, but I guess that's part of the territory. My favourite distance is 10 miles, that pace running suits me better. What this has done now is give me a decent set of targets to aim at. VDOT tells me I can knock about 3 minutes off my 10k time based on that performance. Hmm.... We will see! As pointed out, I'll happily take a top 10 finish, even if it was finishing 8th out of just 50. I haven't ever had a top 10 finish, and possibly won't too many times in the future, so I'll take this one.

Next up for now - back on track with Limerick Marathon training and a 5 miler in Quilty, Co. Clare at the end of the month.


Friday 13th - Rest. Working tonight and after last night's efforts taking a day off. Don't think tonight is going to affect me as much as last week as this is planned and I got plenty of sleep today.

annapr

Well done on the sub-20!!!!

Ososlo

Great report and super result. You'll take lots more off that this year no doubt!

You could park in Phoenix Park and run to Parnell Street. Free parking for the day and a nice little run. Not sure how many miles it is but you could add on a bit in the park.

Netwerk Errer

Well done JD! That's some comback over the second half. More to come!:)

chickey2

Well done! Only just found this thread today.
You could try parking at the red cow and running along the luas line into town. I regularly run between the red cow and St James which is about 6k. If you keep going and then head up O'Connell St it might be about 6 miles.

JohnDozer

Thanks Ososlo and chickey2 for those suggestions. I presume parking in those two places is low risk, had heard a few not so nice stories about parking in the Phenix Park, but obviously wouldn't be leaving valuables in the car. I didn't even know you could run all along the luas line, leaning towards that at the moment.

@Netwerk... I'm still none the wiser what happened. Still in a state of disbelief that I could run a 6.07 mile split in mile 3 of a 5k. For comparison the first two splits were 6:32 and 6:36. If I figure it out I'll know what I need to do to do three of them consecutively!!!

And Ososlo - I think I'm done with 5k races for now... They make me sick!