Trying To Make The Grade

Gleedog

Oh wells > what ifs.

My current motto for running. Trying to keep the head down with the consistent work, which means doing the little things right. There's a couple of guys who I was beating who I've beaten before who've really put the head down in the past 4 years and have really excelled...and I really don't want to be one of those guys who say 'I used to beat him' ha. So its about time I started recording my training consistently too.

I've had a read of some of these blogs and its pretty inspiring stuff. So I'm going to start recording my training here, hopefully get some tips along the way and achieve my goals.

I've posted my goals and pbs before but here they are again;

800 1:56 (2010)
1500 4:17 (2011ish?)
3000 8:58 (2014)
5000 15:46 (2014)

My main aims are for cross country really. I've come 3rd at Ulster Novice level twice (2011 & 2014), 12th at Ulster Intermediates (2015), 27th at Ulster Intermediate (2014), 30th at National Novice (2014) & 61st at National Novice (2013).

So there's steady progress there. My aim for National Novice at the end of this year is top 15. Getting into the top 10 in 2016. For Ulster Intermediates its top 5 for 2016 then to medal in 2017.

On the track though this summer I want to hit the low 15s for 5, breaking 15 in 2017.

Its all too easy too set long term goals, but I've been training consistently for a while now and its starting to pay off.


So to start; Fermanagh Cross country yesterday (7.5km) on a softish course so the running was good, not too muddy that your spikes sink (like in Colraine the week before!). The winner was Declan Reid, with Conan McCaughey coming 2nd. So it was a good quality race. I placed 5th going into my 2nd lap of 5 and that's where I finished. Slowed right down on between lap 3 and 4.5, having to speed up when I could feel a guy breathing down my neck to hold on for 5th. So I was happy enough with that result.

This morning will be an easy 80 minutes. Distance wise I haven't a breeze what that'll be. I'm fairly bad for distances, so I think I need to invest in a Garmin, but they cost money


Enough rambling for one morning. Time to run.

ECOLII

Good to see this log. Interesting comments about those who pushed on and some of the lads in the race at weekend, C was probably one of great examples progression through hard work from those college training partners

Gleedog

Yeah you're right. Great example of hard work. Theres a Monaghan guy whos doing some great running too, keeps kicking my ass at local races, so thats good motivation as well!

Today was alright. Ended up doing 90 minutes up and around the hills of the Lisnaskea area. Not a whole pile of distance covered but a good steady pace was whats needed on these runs.

Easy half hour tomorrow plus gym. Starting a new strength and conditioning program. Would have gotten into a nice routine of doing core at the gym but I reckon there's only so much sit ups you can do before they become pointless. Been reading some negative stuff on sit ups too (bad for back and the like?). Really hard to know what to do!

S'pose. Find what works for you and stick with it

Gleedog

Feeling a bit tired Monday so instead of running & S&C I hit the cross trainer and then did my S&C session.

Tuesday-plan was 6x4 minutes but I was away in Scotland with work-got to the hotel at 7pm with a group dinner at 730pm, so didn't get the session in unfortunately.

Wednesday-knew I wouldn't get out in the evening because of a late night flight. Got up at 6 for an easy 5 miles.

Today the plan is 10 x 1 minute to get the legs ticking over. Armagh road race 3k coming up soon!

Side note; was reading one of these logs and one of the guys had written a full description of the raheny 5 miler. Astonished because I can never remember anything about a race. While it feels long doing it, it goes by like a flash! Always thought it was the same for everyone else

Gleedog

So that speed session didn't work out on Thursday-I do most of my training along the canal (at night!) so I decided it wasnt worth the risk of twisting an ankle or slipping-so Thursday was an easy (was far from easy in the snow and wind!) 45 minutes.

Friday; didn't feel like running at all. But needed to do some form of exercise-I be bouncing off the wall if I don't get out. Ended up doing 2 hours of S&C in gym, and tried to teach myself how to do a handstand for 20 minutes! Head was sore after... ha

Saturday; 8 by 2 minutes with 90 seconds rest. This was tough. On my own for this one.

Ended up staying up all night Saturday (I'm still off the drink so I don't feel too guilty for not getting to bed) and spent Sunday away all day so no long run was done. Overall not a consistent week of training but hey, it's hard to get a perfect week in every week.

Monday evening; easy hour with a small bit of S&C at the gym after.

Plan for the week; today another hour with a 15 minute tempo thrown in.
Wednesday; something like a 6 by 5 minute session with 2 min rest
Thursday; easy hour + some S&C
Friday; day off-travelling day!
Saturday; track session. Haven' decided specifics but it'll be on the quick side of things
Sunday; long run on the hills of Lisnaskea!

Time goes by too fast.

Gleedog

Tuesday was a successful day. Nice hour with a little increase in the middle for 15. Training partner has a heart rate monitor and we go off his heart rate. I need to get one myself but I rarely even wear a watch running, let alone a heart rate monitor!

Wednesday session; on my own. Felt surprsingly good. 6 by 5 minutes with 2 min recovery. I was reading its better to keep jogging on your recovery...but yesterday was a walk back to the start kinda day. Session was hard to begin with but once I got going I was good. Thing with doing these sessions on your own is that maybe you could give a little bit more on your reps. But it was consistent so I'm happy.

Caught a sore throat. I posted a thread here before about constantly getting colds. I think I've narrowed it down purely to late nights wrecking my immune system...fragile immune system!!

Today is the worst day but I'll do my hour tonight anyway. Should be back to form by the weekend.


Love the process & it'll all work out.

annapr

Gleedog wrote: »

Side note; was reading one of these logs and one of the guys had written a full description of the raheny 5 miler. Astonished because I can never remember anything about a race. While it feels long doing it, it goes by like a flash! Always thought it was the same for everyone else

Good luck with the training and the log. As one of the slower people on here, it's always inspiring to see how faster runners like yourself are always looking to improve.

+1 on the race reports -- even though I spend a LOT longer than you during a race, it's still mostly a blur...

I've driven through those fermanagh hills many's a time on the way to Donegal, good training ground.

dna_leri

What's up next? You doing national inters in Tuam or any indoors?

Gleedog

@Annapr its cool that the log is interesting for you. I didn't expect people to be reading it tbh so thanks but if it helps keep me motivated and on the right track then I'm happy. Its totally a slow burner for me, not expecting significant improvements overnight...

Glad I'm not the only 1 who blurs out during races. They fly past for me too!

I don't be on those hills as often as I should. I'm in Maynooth during the week and its fairly flat around these parts so I reall should make the most out of these hills when I'm back!!

@dna_leri next up is Armagh Road Race. I'm doing the 3k here. The 5k is too competitive for me (I'll be throwing myself into it next year for sure, but this year it's just the 3k). I hit 9:05 in 2014 so hoping to dip under 9 this year.


Then 8th March Glaslough 5k road race. Broke 16 for the first time here in 2014 so hoping for a similar result this year.

then 28th March (I think) is Omagh Half Marathon. More of a training run/strength builder. Haven't a notion about what time I'm aiming for in it

Gleedog

ABSOLUTELY DIED on my easy run last night. Could only manage 50 minutes, struggled to get in my stretching routine, went home, got a shower, tea and salad and a good nights sleep. Developed a bit of a cold but it shouldn't get any worse.

I'm pretty bad at listening to my body when I catch a cold or a sore throat. I listen to it when training (I'll reduce my run if my legs are sore etc) but not when I'm sick. Are the benefits of training outweigh those of taking 2 days off? I'm not bave enough to try just yet!

Its funny though. Wednesday night I felt good and strong-particularly in my last rep (I did 6 by 5 minutes). And yesterday-there was nothing in the tank.

Group session of 600s and 400s tomorrow morning on the new track in Clones. The county board organise a group session for atheletes which is awesome.

I've run for them for Clones for 9 years now so it was great to see us get a new track. Again with the motivation-but I'd love to set some pbs on it.

Man I need a spell checker....

Gleedog

Solid weekend of training done. Got a good mix of socialising and running which makes me happy out.

Saturday-county session on the track. This was an early start. Never a good time to feel lactic pain but 10am was a bit of a shock to the system-surprisingly warmed up quick enough and forgot what time it was!

Session was 4 by 600 (2min rec) then 5 minute rest then 4 by 400 (2 min rec).
Was delighted with how it went, very consistent. All 600s in and around 1:40. At the very most 2 seconds away from that time for the 4 reps.
Then came the 4s. Hit 3 of them in 64 then the last one in 63. Was very tough but I was too happy with the session to care. Although the cool down was SORE. Got a stich and could barely do a 15 min cool down.

This morning out for the run by 10am again. 13 mile through the hills in Skea. Took us 90 minutes, would have liked it to be a bit slower considering the hills we were hitting but that's the way it went!

Away with work tomorrow so its a day off with the weeks training not planned out just yet. Session days this week are Wednesday, Friday Monday with the Armagh race on the Thursday. Probably do the 6 by 5 minutes again on Wednesday, 90 second reps on Friday with 2 minute reps on the Monday.

Happy Sunday!

Gleedog

Wednesdays are looking like they're my strong days for some reason-which will come in handy when the graded meets start up!

Last night was a 20 minute rolling speed session. 1 minute hard, 1 minute jog. Essentially 10 by 1 minutes. Was going to do a longer session but have decided to jump into the BHAA race this saturday, so speed seemed like a good choice.

Felt good during the session. Mixed it up by doing some of it on the grass then some of it on the road. Getting onto the road for the 2nd half of it really gave me an extra kick for some reason.

Side thought; I'm not sore at all today and even after the session it felt like I didn't do much. I think its time I started increasing the reps of my sessions. Nothing too made to begin with, but I feel ready to take the next step.

Tuesday was an easy hour with a 17 minute burst in the middle-just to get the legs moving quicker.

Been awful moody this week-gym has been over crowded and I haven't been sleeping good.

Today is going to be an hour run with a short S&C session (haven't got one in this week).
Tomorrow will be an easy 45 minutes after work with a few strides and drills.
Race Saturday (4 mile XC)
80/90 minute run Sunday

Was so close to not training yesterday. Still have a bit of a cold, but I was arguing with myself whether I was tired because of the cold or tired because of the intensity of the training. Glad I got out in the end. It's doing that session that you wouldn't have done before which is going to make the difference and help me 'make the grade'!!

Gleedog

Again Thursdays easy run felt really really hard. Only managed 50 minutes.

Feeling a bit drained overall. Needing more sleep but its a bit beyond my control at the moment.

Plan is easy 30 minutes this evening with a bit of stretching then the BHAA race tomorrow. Interested to see what the competition is like and see how I'm going overall. More of a training session-but still, a race is a race!

ECOLII

Best of luck tomorrow man,

Would imagine you would be up there for top spot however depending on who shows up should get a decent race out of it

Gleedog

Friday-easy half hour with drills.

Saturday-BHAA race. XC 4 mile. Came 5th, should have been 4th but I fell asleep again in the middle of the race. Was on my own for the majority of the race, which is something I can start working on so this doesn't happen again. Wasn't tired after the race-need to learn how to push the limits more.

Sunday-easy 13 mile. Felt great. Great morning and pancake Tuesday came early! Banana and chocolate chip pancakes with bacon
Went out in the morning on an empty stomach-didn't bother me at all.

Monday morning-not a whole lot of good sleep last night. Feeling a bit tired. Easy week this week with Armagh 3k. Trying not to get hung up on times for this-could be a **** evening afterall (weather wise)!

Monday-easy hour with about 15 minute tempo in the middle with S&C after
Tuesday-slow 45-50 mins, stretching & drills
Wednesday-V slow 30, easy stretching
Thursday-Race-Armagh road race. 3k.
Friday-easy hour in Rosmore Park (Monaghan)
Saturday-local 10k race I'll use as part of a session. Do something like 2 by 5 before the start of the race. Then a long cool down.
Sunday-Steady 13 mile.

Going to be a busy week. Bring it on

Gleedog

This week has flown by.

Good news to start with-hit 8:59 in the Armagh Road Race 3k. Was up at the front for the 1st K, but just didn't have it in the legs to sustain the 2:57 a k pace. Fell back into 5th place but hung on to the guy ahead and kicked hard with 250 to go. Came 4th in the end-3rd last year but the quality was higher this year. I dipped into my pain threshold for once, but there's still plenty more pain to be found.
I used to be good at pushing hard but then when I stopped running at college part of that tolerance disappeared. Slowly though its coming back.
PB on track is 8:58, so I'm on the right track. Bumped into an old pal up there and will be training with a group close to Maynooth for sessions instead of doing them on my own. Excited for that!

Training went alright during the week. I was wrecked on Wednesday so I just took the day off. Trouble is I ate half a cheesecake and a bag of jelly beans that were leftover from a friend visiting. Its not something I normally do but I wont be doing it again in a hurry.

I'll get out for an hour after work today, session/racing 10k tomorrow with a slow 13 miler on Sunday.

Finding it hard to get a proper core session in at the moment due to fatigue from the steady increase in miles. Will have to designate a day for it. I think Maynooth University athletics do a core session on Wednesdays that I might tip into, although a core session in between 2 sessions (Tuesday and Thursday) mightn't be advisable. Sure we'll see what happens.

By the way-my chip fell off during the race-I put my cable tie through it back to front hahaha so provisional results have me nowhere to be seen, but I'm definitely up there, I swear :P

dna_leri

Gleedog wrote: »

Finding it hard to get a proper core session in at the moment due to fatigue from the steady increase in miles. Will have to designate a day for it. I think Maynooth University athletics do a core session on Wednesdays that I might tip into, although a core session in between 2 sessions (Tuesday and Thursday) mightn't be advisable. Sure we'll see what happens.

By the way-my chip fell off during the race-I put my cable tie through it back to front hahaha so provisional results have me nowhere to be seen, but I'm definitely up there, I swear :P

Well done in Armagh.
Regarding your core session, would you consider doing it after one of your sessions - keep hard days hard etc

Gleedog

dna_leri wrote: »

Well done in Armagh.
Regarding your core session, would you consider doing it after one of your sessions - keep hard days hard etc

Cheers

No that's never come to mind. It's something I could try out though-would allow the easy days to be actual easy days. Is this something you do?

dna_leri

Gleedog wrote: »

Cheers

No that's never come to mind. It's something I could try out though-would allow the easy days to be actual easy days. Is this something you do?

To be honest, no.
This is a case of do as I say not as I do.
However I am not building big mileage as you are.
My easy days are usually recovery run am and if I am well recovered, then General Strength or weights pm.
The strength work at the end of a hard day is promoted by coachjayjohnson.com

Gleedog

I think you've pointed out something here-reminded me of the need to include an am run.
I tried to get into them at the end of Jan, done 2 in 2 weeks, but will need to start back into them again-gives time to do strength.
Thanks!

Gleedog

Didn't race on Saturday in the end. My legs probably thanked me a bit becuase they're still pretty tight today even without racing!

Friday-hour slow and steady. Lack of stretching happening after these runs recently!
Saturday-15 min warm up, 3 by 10 minutes with 3 minute walking rec between each, 10 min cool down (this was tough as hell. It was snowing and early in the morning, but got it done)
Saturday-13 mile up around Lisnaskea. Cold, wet, windy. Utter Sh**e weather. Felt cold in my bones! Had to speed up at one stage because I was so cold. But got it done. +1 to me ha

Plan for the week

Monday-easy 60 minutes with stretching and foam rolling
Tuesday-not sure if I'm going to join that group just yet. If I'm on my own I'll do 6 by 3 minutes with 2 recovery.
Wednesday-very easy 45 minutes
Thursday-60 minutes with a quick 15 in the middle
Friday-gota get a session in here because I'm busy Saturday, so this will be something like 12 by 1 minute with 1 minute recovery job between each.
Saturday morning-long run-80 minutes (11-12 mile)
Sunday-day off. Will be out Saturday night (still off the booze)

Another busy week ahead.

Trying to optimize my diet for the next few weeks too before the Glaslough 5k. No sweets, cakes, fizzy drinks, bread rolls. (Not that I eat much of this but cutting it out completely I believe will make a difference)

Gleedog

Mondays training was just an hour run, nice and steady. Now that the brighter evenings are coming in I can run through Carton House on the grass. So its a nice mix again from road & grass running.
Aim was 60 minutes but ended up running for 70 minutes. Good stretching and foam rolling done. Left calf is a bit tight since Armagh but nothing thats holding me back.

Tuesday-6 by 3 minutes with 2 minute jog recovery (warm up and cool down jogs). This was a hard session (on my own) but I was consistent and was able to push myself throughout. Got in some good stretching in the gym after. This was done on grass. I was thinking about whether it was important to note the distance I'm covering in these sessions but I know myself if I've pushed myself or not. Normally base the whole session off the 1st rep and take it from there.

Today will be an easy 45-50 minutes with drills/stretching.

Will struggle to get in a long run this weekend because we're going to an adventure park in Meath that starts at 10. Doing loads of different stuff there so maybe I'll get away without doing a long run. Will see how I feel on Saturday.

Gleedog

Ended up doing the Friday session on Thursday, so it was 12 by 1 minutes with 1 minute jogs inbetween each. Felt strong, but felt the pain towards the end. Instead of doing it on flat and going around a few pitches I did it in Carton on the golf course itself, which made the session go quicker actually. Still a very tough session but my legs were ready for the increase from the 10 by 1 minutes that I had been doing.

Friday and Saturday were days off.

Sunday-90 minute run. Got caught in the snow so that made it interesting.

Was listening to an old school rap playlist on Spotify during this run.
The song 'We know something you dont know' by DJ Format came on.
The last few lines;
I want you to know you're getting better
I don't care what everyone's been saying
You're getting better
They're the ones who have been getting worse
and they don't like what you've been doing, understandably
They wouldn't be saying what they've been saying if they did'nt want
you to stop
They want you to be the way they are, and to stay that way
So, don't get nervous and start asking for help
That's exactly what they want you to do
Make it on your own, the way you've been doin

A mini epiphany was had after a bad night out on the town sober.


Plans for the week;
Monday-40 minute easy.
Tuesday-8 by 2 minutes with 2 minute recovery
Wednesday-60 minutes
Thursday3 by 7 minutes with 3 minute recovery
Friday-40 minutes easy
Saturday-very light 20 minutes
Sunday-Glaslough 5k road race.

Aiming for 15:50 at the 5k. If I can do this then I'm on the right track for a PB summer in this event on track.

Gleedog

Alright so that week went quick..nuts how time flies by.

Weeks work was grand. Went to plan as above but by Thursday I was feeling very jaded. So instead of doing the planned session we decided just to take the day off. So Thursday was day off, 60 minutes Friday then 30 on Saturday with pre race drills/stretching.

So today was race day. 5k in Glaslough. Last year was breakthrough to get under 16 minutes. This year I hit 15:43. Feeling pretty satisfied with how its gone I thought I lost the opportunity to after 3k, kind of slowed down between 2 and 3, but regrouped and kicked on. Came 2nd but our club team (Clones) retained the team cup, which was a deadly feeling

Plan for the week;
Monday; 45 minutes
Tuesday; 70 minutes
Wednesday; 45 minutes + S&C
Thursday; 6 by 5 minutes if I'm feeling lethargic or 6 by 3:30 if I'm feeling fresh
Friday; 60 minutes
Saturday; depends on Thursdays session, could be a simple tempo run or a speed session (12 by 1 minute)
Sunday; 90 minutes

Going to stick on this type of training until I get this half marathon over with. Then I'll start increasing my runs by 5/10 minutes-and keep it like that for 4 weeks, then add another 5 minutes.

Nice n steady.
P

Gleedog

Its funny how quickly plans can change-which is why we need to be flexible in all walks of life.

Half marathon in Omagh is a no go. For the past week I've had a gut feeling that its not the right race for me at this stage of the season. Something like this would be more beneficial in October/November/December. So spoke with coach and we agreed to leave it.

I'm still feeling pretty jaded too when really I shouldnt be. Training till now was
Mon; 50 minutes
Tues; 70 minutes
Wed; No run, just S&C

After speaking with coach today, I'm going to take the next 5-7 days v easy, with max 20 minute runs, but I'll do S&C about 3 times over those days. My right calf is acting up and has started to ache over the past week too.

This break has come sooner than I wanted it to, but there's no point forcing anything. I'm in it for the long haul.

Plan is to have a shot at Dunboyne 4miler and take it from there.

Gleedog

Been a funny week. I hate how quickly you can get used to not training..the same can be said when you get back into training though!

So here's what I've been up to on my week off;
Thursday-off
Friday-gym
Saturday-off
Sunday-20 minute jog + gym
Monday-off
Tuesday- 25 minute jog

So a fairly easy week. Calf hasn't been causing me issues at all which is great. Feeling very stiff all the same though, as if my muscles are starting to contract cause of the inactivity.

So the plan for the next week will be getting back into it easy, nothing too hard too quickly, then race in Dunboyne for a blow out.

Today-20 minute jog + gym
Thursday-40 minute jog
Friday-45 minute jog (will probably do a gym session here too-very exciting Friday evenings for me!!)
Saturday-8 by 1 minute with 2 recovery (+warm up and cool down)
Sunday-60 minute (long run for the week)
Monday-off
Tuesday-50 minute jog
Wednesday-4 by 1 mile, 2 minute recovery (+warm up and cool down)
Thursday-50 minute jog
Friday-15 minutes slow, 22 minute tempo, 15 minutes slow
Saturday-15 minute jog + drills & strides
Sunday-Dunboyne 4 mile race. Aim for this is around the 21 minute mark, hoping to dip into the 20 minutes.

Hopefully it all goes well. Very tempted to do the BHAA XC this weekend (its basically my back garden!) but I'm not going to risk injury after taking the break.

I don't live in fear of injury by the way, I just take things sensibly-which is something I think athletes are afraid of doing, but thats just my opinion.

It'll come when the time is right.

Gleedog

Its good to be back training again.

I didn't follow my plan that I set out above but here's what I've done over the last week

Wednesday-light jog + gym
Thursday-50 minutes steady. Was quite sore after this, legs totally forgot what it was like to run over 20 minutes!
Friday-light jog + gym...to be honest I was getting used to gyming it a lot and got a bit lazy, but this has since been rectified ha

Saturday-70 minute run. Woke up at 7am and it was so nice outside I decided to get the run done straight away. Loving these nice mornings!
Sunday-20 minute jog + gym.

Monday-track session! I was planning on doing 8 400's, but then I was feeling really good so I switched it to a harder session half way through. Ended up doing 4x400ms, 3x300ms, 2x200ms. Recoveries were jog laps in between each repeat.

400s averaged 68
300s averaged 38
200s averaged 28

I started off a bit slower than I could have gone with the 400s because my legs were tight from the gym on Sunday, threw on the spikes for the 3s and 2s. Felt like I was flying. Really happy with how this session went. Feeling strong.

Tuesday-easy 30 minutes. This was painful. Mixture of being tender from Sundays gym work and wearing the spikes the day before.


Plan for the rest of the week;
Today-easy 45 minutes with a bit of gym work
Thursday-4 by a mile with warm up and cool down
Friday-v easy 50 minutes
Saturday-minimal jog, drills & strides
Sunday-race day

Looking forward to racing but I think its come a week too early. We'll see how it goes

Gleedog

Wednesdays run was only 30 minutes-legs are feeling banged up. Left sole of my foot cramping up, right calf tight. Hopped along and called it quits before I did some damage. Hit the gym after to do core work.

Thursdays session was surprisingly good despite tending to a few niggles. The sole of my foot was cramping up still, but did a good few calf stretches after my warm up which really helped. More I got into the session (4 by 1 mile) the more it was feeling ok! Legs were very heavy during this session though...had to tie the shoe lace during my 3rd rep and felt 10 times heavier trying to kick off again. Did the session through carton, so a mix of road, hills and grass.

Right calf still feeling tight and the left sole still a bit tender. I reckon its from the track on Monday and the legs getting used to the training again.

Today will be very easy with tomorrow easier again.

I've decided to start doing 1 day a week of double training, beginning in 2 weeks. And keep it like that for a while until I get used to it. Even though I want to hit my track goals, my ultimate aim is success at cross country, so the sooner I get used to double runs the sooner I can increase the miles.

Coach is concerned that blogs like these bring unnecessary thinking about running-I feel like its increasing my focus without stressing me out, which was my aim of starting this blog. Hopefully it all pays off in the long run.

annapr

Gleedog wrote: »

Coach is concerned that blogs like these bring unnecessary thinking about running-I feel like its increasing my focus without stressing me out, which was my aim of starting this blog. Hopefully it all pays off in the long run.

I love that concern... certainly brings a lot of unnecessary (or maybe not) reading about running my way

Gleedog

Race day today. I can see from a lot of posts about training here that everyone suffered from the wind...Dunboyne was no exception. Man it was windy. Not ideal, but hey, same story for everyone right?
1st & 4th miles were the hardest because of the wind. I stuck with the 2 Dunboyne lads who were around me for about 2 miles when they dropped me, thought I could catch the guy immediately in front of me but the wind for the last 800m was crazy hard. So once again I was on my own for half of a race. I struggled to get it going after they dropped me but I'm glad I was up there in the first place.

From what I can remember my 1st mile hit 5:28, 2nd mile was 10:38, don't know the 3rd mile, finished in 21:21. As I said before I think this race came a week too early, so I'm happy enough with how it went, especially with the wind. Overall, happy I decided to opt out of the half marathon, more quality races like this is where I need to be.

Been reading a lot about the benefits of staying sober, looking for motivation to keep away from it (away to Kerry with the friends next week for a week-going to be hard to avoid alcohol there) BUT the easiest way to validate my decision;

2 nights of hard drinking will undo 1 weeks worth of training.

Hope ye all had a nice weekend!

annapr

great running in tough conditions! good day for Monaghan all round

Gleedog

annapr wrote: »

great running in tough conditions! good day for Monaghan all round

The brother went down to the match from Monaghan, they made the journey worth it for him anyway! There's a Kerryman at work I get to take the piss of tmw

annapr

Gleedog wrote: »

The brother went down to the match from Monaghan, they made the journey worth it for him anyway! There's a Kerryman at work I get to take the piss of tmw

Make the most of it while you can!!!

pconn062

Good running today, tough conditions. I think I have a few photos of you on the Dunleer AC Facebook page (blue and yellow singlet?).

Gleedog

pconn062 wrote: »

Good running today, tough conditions. I think I have a few photos of you on the Dunleer AC Facebook page (blue and yellow singlet?).

Thanks Yup that's me, need to be running quicker soonto get away with a hairstyle like that hahah

Gleedog

What a week

I can't really remember my training for the past week, it was all easy runs around 50-70 minutes) but I jumped into a 10k on Saturday in Ballybunion, not expecting much, seemed to be quite hilly. Ended up running a massive PB of 31:51!!!

Absolutely delighted. Took Sunday off, did 60 minutes today, making a plan for the rest of the week tmw.

Still buzzing with that time though. Previous 10k best was 32:50, and I remember quite clearly that I hit the 5k mark around 16:30, which means I ran a 5k PB in a 10K race. When it clicks it clicks good!!!

Will throw up my training plan tomorrow. Hope the nice weather treated you lot well too

Timmaay

Seriously time, well done, delighted for ya! Good to read through this blog also, I can see the appeal even if utterly nobody else looks at it, maybe I should start one ha.

pconn062

Savage running, serious progress. 14:XX on the track is a possibility now.

NetwerkErrer

Well done man! You were lifting out there, that's some result on that course. 15:20 for the 2nd half is a ridiculous split!

annapr

You neglected to mention that you won the race! not bad for just casually 'jumping in'!!

KielyUnusual

That's a crazy good time on what sounds like not the easiest course. Were you being pushed by anyone in the second half to record splits like those or was it just pure Monaghan stuborness that kept you pushing on like that?

Gleedog

Thanks for the support guys Yeah Tim you're right, these blogs do help a lot, even if no1 reads them. I never read over what I've posted, so its going to be good someday before an important race to read over the work I've put in, so you should start one if you've the time for sure!

I was out running on the Friday morning and seen a sign that the roads were going to be closed the next day for a race. Came back to the gaf, had a wee look at the results from last year, told my friends that if I did the race I'd win it and that we should stick around Ballybunion for the day, and there it was. Honestly didn't think I was in the shape to do that though-especially cause I wasn't sleeping until 2am and had done 60 minutes on the Friday-which just proves what my coach has been saying to me since day 1-I run best when I'm relaxed and enjoying myself.

The course was a toughie. The 1st 1.5k is uphill and then you have random ass hills everywhere else (but lets not forget that the last 1.5k is downhill too-but still, I had to push hard to get away from the group on the first 1.5k so that played a part too). I was on my own for the whole way...we had to do a turn around at the 5k point-so it was literally out the road and back in. So we were running against people. I think this played a part. Just kept pushing and pushing. I got a few 'well dones' by the other competitors going in the other direction, so I had to make sure I won the thing!

I have my goals on my wall and a 10k time like that was nowhere to be seen. My 5k aim is 15:00, which is something I thought I'd hit next summer rather than this summer-funny how 1 race can change your opinion and give belief you've never felt before. Hopefully I'll get to continue to share positive results with you guys!!

Gleedog

What I've done this week so far;
Monday; 60 minutes
Tuesday AM; 25 minutes, PM 50 minutes,
Wednesday AM; 45 minutes, PM short core session with 10 min cross trainer & stretch

Legs are feeling pretty tired right now, but thats expected. I've increased my food intake in the past couple weeks and have also started with a recovery protein shake for when I'm feeling extra tired. I also have a pre work out shake that I sometimes take too.

Plan for rest of the week;
This evening; 8 by 1 minute with 90 sec recovery w WU & CD
Friday; gym session-starting with a strength and conditioning coach, so an individualised program depending on what he thinks I need to work on, really looking for to this
Sat; 3 mile WU, 10k race, 3 mile CD. Local road race my club mates are running in so I'm going to jump in with them-run it as easy as possible (but obviously try to win!)
Sun; easy 60 minutes.

I revisited my thoughts on heart rate monitoring & gps tracking so I can track my training appropriately, but I don't think its necessary just yet. I'll look at things I can control before that-like diet and my S&C training.

On a side note; I don't depend on the shakes. My main source of nutrients comes from the food I eat-no processed stuff and I cook all my own meals. But it'll be interesting to see what the S&C coach thinks of my diet when I go through it with him.

Gleedog

Suffered my first disappointment in running in a good while over the weekend-I've strained my left hamstring. Looking back now it was my own fault, but I'm going to take the positives out of it (well going to try anyway!!).

I was in 2 minds about doing the 8 by 1 minute session on Thursday because my legs were pretty stiff but it was such a nice evening I just couldnt resist. It was a very tough session but it felt good to get through it. Did it on the football pitches in Maynooth-hit the same spot every time so it was successful. Leg stiffness disappeared during the session but swiftly returned that night.

Went to the S&C coach on Friday, we did very little but he introduced squats to me. Now my left hamstring was tight then and squats aren't going to help that at all... On Saturday I did a local 10k-it was meant to be easy but sure I ended up racing it and won. I tried to take it easy until 5k but my competitive side wanted me to push on from here. Ran something around the 34 mark-but the time was irrelevant.

So I go to run Sunday and just couldn't lift the left leg up too high and its been pretty sore to walk since. I'm going to get it looked at tomorrow and trying not to be too down about it.

The plan was to race the Patsy Kelly race on Saturday, but we'll see how the hamstring gets on.

Positives;
-learnt not to do a snappy speed session, then hard gym, then hard hilly race one day after another
-not going to bother with the local races anymore; I'm not getting anything out of them and just leaves me frustrated
-its not a very serious injury and I should bounce back quick enough

Sacksian

Recovering from something similar myself - it's not the worst because you can still run but just be careful with hills and anything fast and definitely don't do both at the same time! Patience...!

I know your focus isn't the track but thought you might still be interested in the Dublin Endurance Project being run as part of the Dublin Graded Series - might give you some very good quality races, if you're interested in seeing where you're at during the summer, even if they are on the track..

Morton Stadium, 22nd April - 10k.
Tallaght, 6th May - 3k
Morton, 20th May - 5k
Tallaght, 3rd June - 3k
Morton, 17th June - 5k
Tallaght, 1st July - 2k steeplechase

Gleedog

Patience is key alright. Its funny cause I can be patient with regards to steady progress but I find it hard to accept an injury in the same manner. It's all a test

Thanks for the list of races there. My track aim is June 6th, Ulster 5k. And then we have our county championships on the 2nd May, hopefully get into the IMC 5k on the 3d of May if they run a B race, but we'll see.

The steeplechase 2k might be worth a look though

Gleedog

Injuries suck. But luckily mine is nothing compared to some guys out there. Below is what I've done so far this week.
Hit the physio on Tuesday, first time in an age, also the first time someone has worked on my hamstrings. Will be booking more session in the future for sure!!

Sunday-off
Monday-off
Tuesday-off (physio)
Wednesday-light gym work, cross training and row. This helped the recovery alot, didn't push it too hard, but got me out of the house and feeling a bit better in general..I get cranky when I can't run and regress to being a moody teenager again (even though I'm 24!!).

Plan for today is light 30 minutes, and same again tomorrow with the Patsy Kelly on Saturday evening. Feeling confident that the hamstring will be back to 100% by Saturday, I reckon its 80% today.

Aim for saturday; enjoy it and see what happens. Bit of frustration to be taken out on the road!!

Gleedog

Its strange being disappointed with sub 16....

Raced in the Patsy Kelly 5k last night, it was a strange race in terms of timing because usually if there's an evening race you be busy in work all day and that, but cause it was a Saturday all I was up to was hanging around the apartment, probably should have met up with some friends during the day but there it is.

Initially I thought it was a flat course, but theres a lot of small inclines between 2k and 3.5k, this really took it out of the legs. Passed the 1k mark in 3 minutes, 2k in 6:06 then stopped checking the watch after that because I knew myself that I was fading bad. What a missed week of training does to you. Anyway, was dropped into 6th at 2k and held this position for the rest of the race to finish in 15:58. Not particularly happy but that's the way it is.

Hamstring is still a bit tight but much better than what it was. So the plan for this week is miles, tempos & S&C. Nothing sharp until next week.

Its been 3 races in 3 weeks. For some reason I just want to hide away for a while and get the consistent training in. Anyone else ever feel like this?

30 minutes recovery run this morning with stretching.

Krusty_Clown

Gleedog wrote: »

Its been 3 races in 3 weeks. For some reason I just want to hide away for a while and get the consistent training in. Anyone else ever feel like this?

Yeah.. It's been at least a race a week in April (with two more in the next 4 days), and I can feel it bleeding away at my sharpness. I think the impact is more mental than physical. A couple of weeks of solid training with no races though, and the drive/sharpness will be back. Not a bad result all the same. Running 15:58 on a tough course and being disappointed is a solid sign. The Bob Heffernan 5k in Enfield in May (Tuesday 19th) is flat as a pancake and very fast, if you're looking for a good 5k course.

pconn062

Well done, I was down at the race yesterday and it looked like a lot of people were suffering. The hills in the middle of that race always catch people out, couple of nasty ones there. That's a good young Clones team you have there as well.

Regarding the amount of races, I always feel like that towards the end of cross country season where you could run 4-5 races on consecutive weekends. Usually we take 4-5 weeks and just train and then hit a 5k before Xmas and are usually flying again.

Gleedog

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Yeah.. It's been at least a race a week in April (with two more in the next 4 days), and I can feel it bleeding away at my sharpness. I think the impact is more mental than physical. A couple of weeks of solid training with no races though, and the drive/sharpness will be back. Not a bad result all the same. Running 15:58 on a tough course and being disappointed is a solid sign. The Bob Heffernan 5k in Enfield in May (Tuesday 19th) is flat as a pancake and very fast, if you're looking for a good 5k course.

I think you're right about the mental sharpness going when racing so often, it definitely has an effect on things, getting away from racing all the time and focusing on training is like pressing a reset button in my mind
2 races in 4 days!! That's a hectic schedule. Are you expecting to be in top form for them considering they're so close?

Yeah I think I'll be hitting that one, its a good 2 + weeks away from the Ulsters so it'd be a quality race to hit, thanks for the suggestion!

@pconn, thanks for that. Funny, someone said the same thing to coach at the race too. We've another lad who's injured at the moment but once he's back he's a sub 16:30 guy too, so its nice to build on things and nice to be noticed! the new track back home is doing the guys wonders. It'll be interesting to see what they can run in track races this summer