Don't get injured and go from there

tipping

Thursday 28th
5 Mile race in 32:24.

Horrible but fun race taking in 1/2 Mile flat then 4 laps of 2/3rds downhill followed by steep 1/3 uphill. Very happy with the result which is a 6 second pb on a very tough course. The hill is so long that you can never empty yourself until the last 200m so had kept a bit in reserve all the way around. Probably ran a little conservative on the downhills though and should have had a better attempt of catching the guy in front of me.

Friday 29th
4 Mile recovery at 8:56
All good, surprisingly no after affects of the hills the previous night

Saturday 30th
15 Mile lsr at 8:35
This was hard, a little too hard I think after the race on Thursday. Properly tired by the end of it which I was bouncing after 14 miles two weeks ago.

Good week again with about 38 miles.

tipping

Monday 2nd
3 miles recovery
Went for a mini session with the missus, jog pace for me. 2 races planned this week so easy week planned ahead and wanted to ease back in after the tough run on Saturday.

Tuesday 3rd
6 miles easy at 8:16

Rough day at work. This run was purely for the mind. Worked a treat and relaxed me a bit

Wednesday 4th
4 miles very easy at 8:45 pace
Even worse day so popped out for an easy few miles for a bit of headspace.

5 Mile race tomorrow and a 10k on Sunday if I come out of it ok.

tipping

Thursday 5th

Local 5 Mile Race in 30:56(ish) for a 1:30 PB


Mile 1-2: 6:03, 6:10

Usual fast start but felt pretty comfortable so went with it. Had a few club mates just a few seconds up the road who I used as a marker.
This definitely helped and I just decided to make up the ground to them steadily.Caught the lads and went past one of them. Used the other lad as my personal pacer and just tucked in behind. Still very comfortable

Mile 3-4: 6:21, 6:20
Starting to work here. A few lads came from behind, 1 went straight past and I wasn't able to go with him. The rest of us formed a little mini group off 4-5 and started to work together. The route gets a little bumpy along here and pace had dropped and was just about on the limit but the company helped to keep it all together

Mile 5: 5:58
Just hanging on. Took a quick glance at the watch after a few hundred metres and saw 6:00 flat pace. Assumed the GPS had gone a little crazy and just kept working away. Got a little detached from the group with about 800m left. Looked over my shoulder at 400m and no-one behind me so was thinking about easing off a little. Then just saw the finish gantry and although no idea how far out I was it was reading 30:38. Suddenly it was a case of hold on might break 31 here so found a bit more and put in a strong finish. Crossed the gantry at 30:58 or so and popped over to the side of the road for customary dry (thankfully) heaving. Stood up to check the time and noticed the watch was still going so stopped it at 31:25 or so.

So delighted with the time but happiest of all with running a sub 6 minute mile at the end of a 5 mile race. This was the first sign that the long runs and tempo work is starting to pay off. The group helped a lot and possibly could have gone a bit quicker over miles 3-4 if it had formed a little earlier.

2 mile warm-up and a 1/2 mile cool down for about 7.5 mile total.
Legs feel fine this morning so recovery later and thinking of tackling a 10k on Sunday in a sub-40 attempt. If I can run like last night I should be in a good place to break it.

Kennyg71

Well done great racing nice chunk off PB.

tipping

Thanks Kenny. Very happy with myself today and even took the afternoon off to head to the beach and enjoy the sunshine.

Friday 6th
4 miles recovery at 9:30. Legs were ok.
Took a 15 minute ice bath courtesy of the Atlantic ocean after too which was lovely.
Bit of foam rolling now and hopefully all set for Sunday

jake1970

Congrats on the 5 mile PB and best of luck with the sub 40 on Sunday. If you recover well from the 5 miler, sub 40 should be no bother to you.

El Caballo

Some running man! Wasn't expecting to see that time when I opened up the log. Huge improvement in the last year. Fairplay!

tipping

jake1970 wrote: »

Congrats on the 5 mile PB and best of luck with the sub 40 on Sunday. If you recover well from the 5 miler, sub 40 should be no bother to you.

Cheers Jake. Fingers crossed. Sunday is a little too soon but it it's the only one that's coming up (they don't like 10k's here in Cork) and I just want to cross that round number off my list.

El Caballo wrote: »

Some running man! Wasn't expecting to see that time when I opened up the log. Huge improvement in the last year. Fairplay!

Cheers ElC, all your bits of advice here and there along the way have helped and to be honest I hadn't expected to see that time crossing the line either, had 31:30 or so in my head on a good day. Great confidence booster for me just after committing to DCM too. Now just have to stay sensible..

tipping

Sunday 8th

10k race in 41:33

So that didn't go well. In hindsight mix of a few things contributed. Probably wasn't fully recovered, went off a bit quick, wrong shoes, not a deep race so isolated for long parts of it. But you learn more from the mistakes you make that the things you do well. Was just about hanging on around Mile 5 and got a killer stitch and had to stop for about a minute and just tempo'd home from there.

Did about 2 miles warm-up and felt ok bar the lack of grip in the runners. I had assumed it would be drier but next time I'll put both pairs in the car. Lined up and knew it wasn't going to fun I expected a lack of company and I always run better in company.

Mile 1-2: 6:13,6:06

First Mile was a bit twisty and turny but actually felt ok. Was on my own into the wind which wasn't good. Guys ahead were too far ahead and possibly should have slowed up for some company. Mile 2 quickened a bit but by 3k I already didn't feel great and just tried to getting it out.

Mile 3-4: 6:39, 6:33
So you already see where this is going.. got some company here, a nice group of 4 and held them for about 1/2 Mile but just couldn't stick it. got pretty hilly along here too so splits weren't bad. Sub 40 was possibly still there when it leveled out and heading for home or so I thought.

Mile 5: 7:28
Was going along ok and suddenly pace dropped and effort increased and then bang a real killer stitch. Contemplated running through it for about 10-15 seconds but it just wasn't on. Stopped and walked for about a minute. Someone came by my after about 20 seconds and I contemplated tagging on but wasn't capable. Eventually got jogging again as it disappeared.

Mile 6 and a bit 6:47,6:23

Decided to just tempo through to the finish. Got passed by 1 more guy and wasn't bothered trying to stick. The sub 40 was gone and I just wanted to get this over and done with. Possibly couldn't have gone any quicker anyway.

The 10k distance remains my arch nemesis and I will have another crack it before dcm training begins in earnest but I'll be more careful in my race selection and preparation. Ahead no real damage done so no harm done either.

Weekly summary.
6 days running, 2 races, 1 exceeding expectations and 1 poor performance, 2 recovery days and 2 easy days.

About 34 miles for the week.

tipping

Monday 9th

Rest. Legs weren't bad but just couldn't be bothered heading out.

Tuesday 10th
7 miles easy @8:40
Legs not feeling the love. Calves, shins knees everything felt a big niggly. Loosened out a bit after a few miles but prompted a probably overdue focus on some maintenance. Made friends with the sliotar and found plenty of tight spots.

Wednesday 11th
5 easy @ 8:37
Legs still not feeling great. Cue more work with the sliotar.

Thursday 12th
8 miles progression @7:38
1 Mile warm-up then 6 miles progression and 1 Mile cool down. All felt good and felt stronger the further i went. Niggles seemed to have passed and sliotar was a lot less sore after.
8:54,
7:48,7:29,7:16,7:19,7:12,6:58,
8:03

tipping

Friday 13th
Unplanned rest long day in work and just wasn't worth it

Saturday 14th
6 miles steady @ 7:26. Bit quick as it was crammed in between various appointments

Sunday 15th
15.5 miles easy at 8:18
Beautiful morning and all good. Only felt the fatigue in the last mile or so but lot stronger than my last 15 miles two weeks ago.

Good week with 41.5 miles or so.

tipping

Monday 16th
Club Session 8 Miles
2 Mile Warm-Up then 2x800, 6x400, 1x300 off 2 mins recovery
Pace was all sub 6 Minute miles and felt fine
2 Mile Cool-Down and ball of foot got properly sore on the way home. Decided to take a few days off and tend to this as it won't work with mileage building

Tuesday 17th
30 minutes Cross-Trainer

Wednesday 18th
30 Minute Spinning Class

Thursday 19th
4 Miles easy @ 8:18 on grass

Saturday 21st
4 Miles very easy @8:56 on grass
All good

Sunday 22nd:
Had planned on getting out for a few miles but kids birthday party got in the way.

About 16 Miles for the week, once the foot became sore I decided to just use the week as a rest week. Switched back to the Asics runners and running on the softer surfaces seems to help so hopefully it will continue to improve although it is still there.


Monday 23rd
5 Miles easy at 8:27 on mix of roads and trail.
Foot felt ok but a little sore towards the end.

Another pretty easy week planned this week and hopefully will get out for 4-5 runs but with less duration and intensity and hopefully see the back of this foot niggle.

tipping

Wednesday 24th
3.5 miles easy on the treadmill keeping a colleague starting the C25k a bit of company. Foot felt ok.

Thursday 26th
5 miles easy on the treadmill. Foot felt much better and was pain free throughout, putting it down to lots of work with sliotar the night before

Saturday 28th
10.5 miles easy on mix of road and grass.
Wanted to go a bit longer so ran up to the pitches and ran laps until a bit of fatigue kicked in on the foot and then ran home. Was a little tender on the road on the way home so still not better but progressing all the same.

Better week and seem to be making progress with this foot thing, another easy week ahead though just slowly building back up the mileage if all stays well.

tipping

Week 30/5 to 5/6

5 Runs, 4 Easy, 1 Long for about 36 Miles total
Monday: 6.5 @8:28
Tuesday, Wednesday: 5 Treadmill @ 8:30ish
Friday: 7 @ 8:30
Sunday: 13 (almost) @ 8:24.

Much better week, feet still not perfect but a solid week put down. Mixing up the runs a bit more is helping with 2 treadmill and about half the lsr completed on grass. More of the same next week hopefully.
Itching to get a race or two in before DCM training begins in earnest. That 5k time needs a bit trimmed off it.

tipping

Week 6th-12th June
Monday 8 miles easy @8:21
Wednesday 5 miles easy treadmill at 8:30 ish
Friday 5 miles progression treadmill
Saturday 5.5 miles easy with 6x strides
Sunday 10 miles easy @ 8:40

Solid enough week with gentle reintroduction of a bit of quality. About 34 miles for the week

tipping

Monday 13th
Rest

Tuesday 14th
3.5 mile easy shakeout on the treadmill

Wednesday 15th
Local 5k in 18:53 for a 22 second PB.

Was very unsure about doing this but I'd been thinking about a 5k for ages and this one popped up so I decided to give it a pop. Kinda tired and not in the mood for it after work but dragged myself out and eventually the enthusiasm came back once I got there and started to soak up the atmosphere.
Usual 2 mile warm-up with some pick ups and really had no idea how it would go, plan was if feeling ok after 1/2 mile to go for it and if not just to back off completely.

Mile 1: 5:48
Anyway popped off, picked a club mate just in front as a target and just sat behind him. Felt very comfortable and resisted the urge to check the watch for pace but this was probably a little too quick.

Mile2: 6:07
Pace had dropped a little but I was ok with this but just started to feel uncomfortable about mile 1 1/2, knew it was heading towards stitch territory so just backed off a little further and got comfortable again. Still attached to my marker and in a nice little group of runners at this point.

Mile 3 and a bit: 6:11, 6:17
Just working away at my limit, passing a few and got passed by 1 or 2. Wasn't feeling brilliant and there was only so far I was willing to push it. Pace was noticeable dropping the further I went and the usual mental tricks of just 3 minutes left etc weren't working as well as usual. No sprint finish as there was a gap in front and behind but as always just over the line bent over and dry retched. Then noticed I'd forgotten to stop the watch but knew I dipped under 19 so happy all around with that.

Good day out, 22 second PB which considering the lack of any real quality running in the last month was a great result. I know I'm capable of getting pretty close to 18:30 fairly soon with a better run into one.

Foot held up fine and had absolutely no pain during the race but I'm kinda sick of battling it at this point. I have always found in the past that running through niggles worked well for me but this has been there for about 4 weeks and although it's not getting worse and getting slightly better, it's not going away. This has led to the snap decision made tonight to take the next 2 weeks or so off completely to give it a chance to heal. I'll try to keep the fitness up with some gym work or cycling but I'd like to start into DCM training niggle free and I reckon that complete rest is probably the best way.

tailgunner

Might be worth visiting a physio first? It might save you from having to take a couple of weeks off completely. Well done on the PB!

jake1970

Congrats on the PB.
Any plans to revisit a sub 40 10k before marathon training starts?

tipping

tailgunner wrote: »

Might be worth visiting a physio first? It might save you from having to take a couple of weeks off completely. Well done on the PB!

Good point I'll give my physio a bell and see if he can fit me in. It won't do any harm but my gut says it needs some rest.

jake1970 wrote: »

Congrats on the PB. Any plans to revisit a sub 40 10k before marathon training starts?

Don't be tempting me. There is one on nearby next Friday but unless something improves drastically between now and then it's out so I might to catch one at some point during the marathon training. Would really like to tick it off the list though.

tipping

Took 10 days off ahead of DCM training to give the feet a chance to rest. Got in a physio appointment where he said all was well and legs were in great nick with only a small bit of a knot in 1 calf. I'm figuring that the foot troubles are somewhat stress related and that the tension I carry from real life stuff is the root cause of some of the troubles. During the time off feet would niggle me after particularly bad days in work etc so it's just a theory but I'm going to keep an eye on it over the next few weeks and see (along with taking a bit better care of myself). The physio essentially agreed with all of the above when I was describing it to him.

Anyway back to some training. Decided to go with P&D 40-55 (very loosely) as the marathon plan. Will swap in club sessions for plan sessions and mostly swap the later vo2 max stuff for endurance based sessions later in the plan. Really using it as mileage guidelines more than anything else and will abandon it if I feel like it's going too much. Still trying to keep the runs 50/50 between road and grass

Saturday 25th
4 miles easy

Monday 27th
Club session 8 miles @7:46 including 3x10 mins at 6:30,6:20,6:40 off 2 minutes recovery

Wednesday 29th
30 minutes commute on the bike (must do more of this absolutely loved it and have missed it since moving down from Dublin)
9 miles easy @8:10. All felt good

Thursday 30th
4 miles recovery treadmill @9:15

Sunday 3rd
12 miles easy @8:28. Beautiful morning and all felt good

33 miles for the week and all plan runs hit.