Don't get injured and go from there

tipping

Monday 29th
Club session
2 miles warmup
8x400 off 400 recovery
Splits
1.35 (2.07 rec)
1.28 (2.13 rec)
1.26 (2.22 rec)
1.26 (2.29 rec)
1.26 (3.16 rec)
1.26 (2.28 rec)
1.24 (2.33 rec)
1.24 (2 something rec)

About 1 mile cool down for 7m total. Legs felt good. First rep took a lead but went a bit too easy so paced myself from there and really happy with the rest of the reps. No calf complaints either which is great.

tipping

Making progress, went back and worked out monthly mileages today. Kinda looks like to much too soon but December through to march were injury plagued and legs are fine at the minute. No plans on increasing mileage any further though.

Dec: 26 miles
Jan: 22 miles
Feb: 32 miles
March: 29 miles
April: 48 miles
May: 82 miles
June: 120 miles


Wed 1st
7m easy in 56.31 for 8.05 pace. Very warm out there, started slow 8.40 and ended a bit faster. 7.40. Legs a bit stiff at first but eased out after a few miles.

Still working towards a 5k target race next Thursday 9th so plan is a tempo tomorrow, 10 mile lsr Saturday, club session Monday and then mini taper with a recovery run on Tuesday.
That sound sensible or a bit much?

tipping

Thursday 2nd.
Due to do 20 minutes tempo and it was hot so did a bad thing and went down to a local 4 mile race instead to run it at training pace. It worked surprisingly well, planned for mile 1 easy (8ish pace) then the next 3 miles @ 7m pace.

Mile 1, 7.29 (a little quick)
Started well down the back to ensure I'd be in traffic and have to go slow for the 1st mile. Kept trying to go slower and getting passed at lot but couldn't dial it all way back.

Mile 2 and 3 7.00 & 6.59
Nice uphill section at the start of this. Picked up to target pace and held it fairly effortlessly, passed a good few people on the hill, got to the top and then was passed by everyone again as I religiously kept to my pace. Felt great and was nice to concentrate on form and easy breathing.

Mile 4: 6.23
Was finding it all very comfortable so let myself loosen out a bit for the last mile. Good bit of downhill so not as fast as it seems but held target pace for next week with no issues.

Watch time 27.57 and a nice confidence booster for next week. Session that didn't feel like a session.

Total for day about 6 miles.

tipping

Friday 3rd
2.5 mile recovery at 9ish pace.


Sunday 5th
12 miles in 1:39:40 for 8:18 pace
Supposed to do lsr yesterday but was tired after being out on Friday night so put it off to this morning. Found it tough today, last 3 miles I had just run out of energy and was thirsty. Result of lots of moving the run around today. Was supposed to go this morning, then at 11, finally got out in the heat at 12.30. Should have turned at 5 instead of 6 given the conditions.

Weekly total 34.5 miles

tipping

Monday 6th
5.64 miles on 46:53 for 8:19 pace
Club session
2 miles or so warm up then 6x300 off 200 recovery, another 1.5 mile cool down. Slightly easier session with race coming up on thursday and legs a little tired from yesterday but fine once warmed up.

Splits very rough as 300s weren't marked so all a bit guesstimate.

59 (1:08 recovery)
62 (1:17 recovery)
59 (1:19 recovery)
61 (1:22 recovery)
59 (1:19 recovery)
64 (into cool down)

Nice session, easy run tomorrow or early Wednesday with race Thursday.

tipping

Tuesday 7th
4.04 miles in 32:38 for 8:02 pace

Plan was for 35 minutes easy so said I'd run a 4 and a bit at 8m pace. Felt awful though from the get go and a real struggle and I should have just slowed it down to recovery pace. Usually run to feel but tonight was running to pace and it was a bad idea.

I suppose 12 mile lsr on Sunday followed by 5.5 mile club session on Monday makes for a tired tipping. Anyway lesson learnt I hope and no damage done.

tipping

Thursday 9th

Youghal AC 5k
19:15 on the watch, no idea of gun time, chip time or placing and really don't care.

Sub 20 5k has been the goal since coming back from injury and feeling pretty good the last few weeks so very confident going into this. Last 5k was nearly a year ago in 22:30 ish. Telling everyone sub 20 was the goal but had 19:30 in the secret place in the back of my head. Got down nice and early, lovely evening, good crowd and nice warmup with some strides. Caught up with some club mates most of whom had the same target in mind. For once lined up near the front around 3 rows back and off we went.

Mile 1, 6:04
Took off and straight into my stride, held a nice steady pace as people raced off all around me (or so I thought) . About 2 mins on checked the watch for 5:30 pace so backed off the pace a little. Very nice and comfortable, slightly quicker than expected but had decided to go hard and hang on rather than the usual more conservative approach.

Mile 2 6:03
In a nice little bunch of runners, passing a few guys here and there, picking the next target and going again. By the end of this though was starting to suffer...

Mile 3 6:16
Longest mile of my life. Suffering now, on my own, 2 guys 1 in front of me but no catching them, no one beside or with 10m behind me. Mental games begin, just 1 more mile, about 7 mins. Pace noticeably dropped, all ideas of a sprint finish gone out the window.. Watch beeps for 3 miles but the 3 mile marker is still 20-30m away. Passed by 1 guy no possibility of responding..

.15 mile 52 secs, 5:59 pace
Magically picked up the pace a little and made it over the line. Immediately sat on a wall and dry retched for 30s, checked the watch.. Very happy..

Absolutely delighted and smashed my target for the year only about 3 months into training. 1 mile warm down and Immediately set next target of sub 19. Runners are never happy..

Total about 6 miles.

tipping

4.15m recovery run in 38 mins for 9:09 pace.
Legs felt good and loose after last nights efforts. All good. Shorter lsr 8-10 miles planned at some point over the weekend depending on how the legs feel.

tipping

10.12 miles lsr in 1:23 for 8:13 pace
Uneventful. Legs felt good. All very easy.

Edit. 30 miles for the week.

Dubgal72

Wow, just catching up. Loved your race report, well done, fantastic race! Little bit big bit jealous of your time. It's exactly where I'd like to be if I hadn't had a lay off the last few weeks. I'll be chasing your heels now Well done again!

Edit: ps, have you seen this? Welcome to The Table

tipping

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Wow, just catching up. Loved your race report, well done, fantastic race! Little bit big bit jealous of your time. It's exactly where I'd like to be if I hadn't had a lay off the last few weeks. I'll be chasing your heels now Well done again!

Edit: ps, have you seen this? Welcome to The Table

Thanks it was a good day and great buzz afterwards.
Hope the recovery is going well with you. I'm sure you'll be flying again in no time. Still enjoying the aqua jogging?? No idea of how you keep up with it all, with the novices thread and all.

Thought about adding myself to the table but pretty intimidating on a phone. Might see if I can figure it out someday next week on the laptop.

tipping

Monday 13th
Club session
2ish warmup
Then timed mile (2/3 in the series) in 5:35.
Went with the faster group this time and knocked 7s of my time from a few weeks ago. Had it in the back of my head to try 5.30 but watch had switched off at the start and no real idea of paces. Good fun though and a pretty good improvement. Will want sub 5.30 at the final installment in a few weeks time. Timed miles are hard though, very hard to judge pace and probably plenty improvement possible just from judging pace better.

Then 4x2 mins off 2 minutes recovery, no splits as the watch had given up and a mile warm down.

Total about 6 miles.

tipping

Tuesday 14th
4.1 mile recovery in 35:07 for 8:36 pace.
Miserable slog after yesterdays session, very dead legs probably should have gone slower but wasn't really checking the pace. Definately a rest day tomorrow.

tipping

Saturday 18th
4 miles easy in 32:18 for 8:04 pace.
Missed a few runs this week as came down with a bit of a virus on Wednesday and Thursday. Reckon the feeling miserable on Tuesday was the lead in. Didn't hop into the shower quickly enough after Mondays session which may have been the cause.
So did an easy run today to get back into the settings of things, might do a shortish lsr tomorrow if I'm feeling OK.

tipping

Sunday 19th
8.5 miles lsr in 1:12:16 for 8:30 pace.
Dead legs and felt a bit harder than usual, kept it easy though and a little slower than usual. Legs only woke up after 6 miles. Still not fully back to normal but getting there.

Weekly total of 22.5 miles was the lowest in a good while.

tipping

Frustrating few days with lots of missed runs. Right knee a little sore but no idea why so skipped the club session on Monday. Still a little off on Tuesday so did a spinning class instead, which I found surprisingly hard!!

Wednesday 4m easy.
No watch but all felt fine again.

tipping

Thursday 23rd

Churchtown south 5 mile in 32:31 (Watch time)

Wasn't sure about running this but went for it at the last minute. Started a bit far back (again), had lined up on the right spot but got pushed back with ask the late arrivals.

Mile 1 6:20
Limited the ducking and diving and all felt fine. Into a nice rhythm and decided to go for 6:20 miles and see from there

Mile 2 6:23
Not a bother, chasing down a big group in front

Mile 3 6:34
Good uphill drag here so a little slower. Caught and passed the group on the hill. Starting to feel the burn but still fine. New target club mate up the road

Mile 4 6:23
Still fine, suffering but in control. Caught the club mate and paced off them.

Mile 5 6:42
Got tired here. Hit the hill again and really started to suffer. Pace dropped a lot. With about 400m to go started retching. Kept retching while running and almost ground to a halt but with 100m left got going again for a mini sprint and eventually got over the line. Had people cheering and trying to push me on but horrible ending to e race.

Very happy with the time 90s pb but didn't enjoy the last bit. I should have backed off a little more on the hill and avoided the retching.

Need to work a bit on the stamina, the target speed is there. So thinking of adding hills or a tempo to my weeks as I feel it might help here.

Edit: 2 mile warmup and 1.5 mile warm down for 8.5m total.

tipping

Friday 24th
3 mile recovery real easy 9:30 ish pace. Legs felt good after race the night before.

Sunday 26th
6 miles easy at 8:10 pace. Busy busy weekend so couldn't squeez in the lsr. Snuck out for an easy 6 this evening the longest I could get away with.

Another week with a missed session and low mileage of 21.5. Hopefully will get back on track next week and hit 30ish.

tipping

Tuesday 28th
Missed the club session last night so did a mini session on my own to make up for it. Still not feeling 100% so kept it short enough.

1.6m warmup then 10x200 off 200 recovery, times were a bit inconsistent but it was windy. Overall effort felt good and concentrated on form.
39.7
41.1
39.7
38.7
38.8
38.6
40.0
40.1
37.0
38.4

Another mile and a bit warm down for 5ish total

tipping

30th July
6.59 Miles in 49:51 for 7:34 pace

Missed a planned easy run yesterday so was determine to squeeze one in today. Headed out planning on 5 miles easy but felt good so it turned out a bit longer and a bit harder more like moderate effort. Once I got past about 3 miles the pace felt pretty easy again.

Splits were 7:45,7:42,7:52,7:26,7:03,7:29,4:32 (for 7:40 pace)

tipping

31st July
5.5 miles in about 45 minutes

Missed the planned lunch run but managed to get out in the evening after a big dinner.. Plan was 2 mile warmup, 20 minutes of long hill reps. 2 mile cool down. On the 5th hill rep left hamstring felt right so stopped and stretched but still not right on 6th so canned the last few and headed for home. Reason it was more cramp that anything but no need to take a risk.
Need to book in for a maintenance rub down anyway so will do early next week.

Monthly Total
118 miles

tipping

More missed runs. No lsr again this week. Still feeling under the weather, with head cold/allergy type thing. Right calf bit niggly too so skipped it.

Total last week a miserable 17 miles.

Monday 3rd
2 mile warmup, 6x300 off 300 recovery, 1.5 mile cool down. Felt OK but calf still not fully right.

Thinking about taking a week off to try to get shot of this damn thing. Immune system definitely a bit on the low side.

tipping

Wed 5th
Cloyne 5k 19:21 watch, 19:23 chip

Lovely run. Deccided to do this although not in the best of form. Kids were going to come along but the weather put paid to that. Wet and cold evening although it dried up 5 minutes before the race. No particular ambition bar sub 20 so no real pressure. (How things have moved on!!)

2 miles warm up in the rain with some strides and lovely squelchy runners. One of those evenings you take off the hoodie at the last minute.

Mile 1: 5:57
Lined up near the front, good wide road for these start so least congested start to any race I've ever done. Started and just ran by feel, checked the watch after a few minutes and was at 5:30 pace so slowed down. Concentrated on running the tangents so hit the mile marker bang on the watch.

Mile 2 6:16
Slowed a little further, passed by a few but not to bothered. Wanted to stay within myself, hard effort but not at the limit.

Mile 3 6:26
A little slower again. Still just ran at a comfortable pace. By comfortable I mean hard but not at my limit

0.1 Mile 0:39 (6:00 pace)
Didn't deliberately pick up the pace but watch said I did.

Delighted with the time just 7 secs off pb with less running the last few weeks. Reckon I could have taken the 7 seconds and a bit, but nice not to finish retching etc.

Noticeably shorter by taking the racing line all the way around. Will be doing this in future. Also feel I have the speed now that I'm looking for but short a bit of stamina so that will be the training focus from now on. Hopefully lots of easy miles and a tempo and some hill work thrown in will fix that.

No more target races this year, might run something of it comes up but just a long phase of base building for next year. Strange to be thinking that in August.

Another mile cool down for 6 miles total.

tipping

Thursday 6th
4 Miles easy at 8:15 pace. Legs all good after race the night before.

Sunday 9th
7 miles (short) lsr at 8:15 pace. Could only fit in an hour with kids at training. Still better than missed lsrs of the last few weeks.

Weekly total
22 miles.

Need to squeeze in the 5th run per week to get mileage back up to 30ish..

tipping

Monday 10th
Got a last minute pass to make it to the club session.

1.5 mile warmup.
1 mile in 5.37ish and this time recorded my splits, 85s,86s,86s,80s. Took a lead the whole way around this time and reckon I was running the laps a little slower than I could have. Picked it up nicely for the last lap though.

Few minute recovery and then 4x3 mins off 2 minutes recovery. 1st 3 reps were fine at about 6:00,6:07,6:08 pace but really struggled on the last for 6:15. Couldn't have done another one. 1 mile or so cool down after.

6ish mile total and a better start to the week.

tipping

Tuesday 11th
4.25 easy at 8:09

Thursday 13th
5.86 easy at 8:04

Friday 14th
5.33 easy at 7:58. Started this nice and slow at 9 pace and picked it up as I went ending up at 7:20.

tipping

Sunday 16th
11.25 miles in 1:32 ish @ 8ish pace.
Lovely early morning run in soft rain. Hard to drag myself out of bed but best time of the day to run at. Met 3 cars in the entire time. First proper lsr in a while so just feeling nicely fatigued but not under pressure by the end.

Better week, total of 32 miles.

tipping

Monday 17th
1 and a bit miles warmup. Then 7x600 off 400 recovery. Felt great and really nice even splits all around 5:3x ish pace. Was getting tired by the end so skipped the 8th. Warm down for 6 and a bit mile total. Really enjoyed this..

2:09
2:10
2:09
2:09
2:08
2:07
2:08

tipping

Tuesday 18th
5 miles easy at 8:04

Thursday 20th
5 miles easy at 8:07

Sunday 23rd
10.09 miles lsr in 80:51 for 8:01 pace. Felt good. Took it out nice and easy and let the legs open up a bit on the way back. Felt really great and was actually deliberately slowing it down for the last few miles as legs really loosened out.
8:11
8:20
8:09
8:20
8:20
7:51
7:50
7:48
7:33
7:46

OK week at 26 miles. Missed the usual Friday run as the 4 year old accompanied me to gaa training. Right hip a bit tight so back to some you tube Pilates tonight which really helped loosen it out last week. Think I need a bit of targeted S&C in the area for a few weeks.

tipping

Monday 24th
Club session. Warm up then easyish session of 8x300 off 100 recovery with most people racing on Thursday. Between 61 and 63 pace for the reps and all felt good and controlled. Reps got a bit quicker the further we went. Long easy cool down for 6 miles total.

Tuesday 25th
4 miles easy at 7:55 pace. Went out in light drizzle and promptly got soaked in a downpour so dropped the last mile so as not to get cold. Almost regretted not using the treadmill..