Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Sandwell

I'm going to start logging here in the hope of keeping myself motivated and hopefully picking up some advice. I've been a regular reader and occasional poster on the A/R forum for a few years now and find it an invaluable source of information. Seeing the progression made in some of the logs makes me think it might be worth following suit.

I'm a 35 year old male and I've been into running for the past five years or so although I missed about a year and a half due to injury in 2013-14. I set myself a target at the start of this year of getting back to where I was before the injury. My strongest PB had been a 17:29 5km set in 2012 so I decided to train for that distance using a plan from Pfitzinger's Faster Road Racing. Happily, I came through the plan unscathed and managed to shave a few seconds of the PB in Bohermeen back in early June. Since then, I've been tipping along doing around 30 miles per week including the odd IMRA race.

My next goal is to tackle the half-marathon and if that goes ok I intend to have a crack at the full marathon sometime next year. I'm looking at Portarlington or Waterford towards the end of the year and I'll be aiming for 1:20 or thereabouts. I'm going to jump into another Pfitzinger 12-week plan in early September but for the rest of this month it'll be all easy running apart from the Wednesday night IMRA races. I'll also be running the Lakes 10km in Blessington on 5 September which should give me a good baseline before the new training block starts. Oddly enough, I've never raced a 10km.

PBs:

5km: 17:24 (Bohermeen 2015)
5 mile: 28:57 (Dunboyne 2015)
Half-marathon 1:37 (Wexford 2010)

Sandwell

Friday

Rest. Legs still pretty knackered after Wednesday's race.

Saturday

6 miles easy @ 7:58 p/m. Felt good once I got going. Did some yoga before and after. Headed along the canal from Phibsboro to Ashtown and back. Beautiful morning for a run.

Sandwell

Sunday

10 miles easy @ 8:12 p/m. Wasn't particularly looking forward to this one as I was fairly hungover this morning after a trip to Croke Park to see my native county get both outplayed and outacted by Tyrone. It was worth the ticket price to see Aidan O'Shea's goal though. I hope they finally go all the way this year. As it happened I bumped into a clubmate as I was heading out on my run. He was doing twelve so I'd company all the way. Another long run ticked off. Thirty five miles for the week.

Sandwell

Monday 10/08

Rest.

Tuesday 11/08

4 miles easy @ 8'06 p/m. Nice lunchtime run in the park beside work. I also threw in a few strides. I've another IMRA outing tomorrow evening in the wonderfully named Devil's Glen. Really looking forward to that one as I hear it's a fantastic route.

Sandwell

Wednesday 12/08 IMRA Devil's Glen

Just a perfect evening for trail running. Arrived with time enough for a warm up despite the heavy traffic on the M50 and taking a wrong turn in Ashford. I'd never been in the Devil's Glen before but had heard it was one of the more scenic of the IMRA routes and so it proved.

The first km was a fairly steep uphill section which I paced pretty well, staying out of the red and keeping a couple of runners I knew to be of a similar standard within sight. The course then flattened out for a bit before turning into a long downhill section that, when it eventually flattened out, brought us back to the car park where the race had started. I managed to pick up a couple of places on the descent and hold them on the flat. From there it was onto another loop, beginning with a steep and somewhat technical downhill section through forest that brought us down to the banks of the Vartry river. I managed not to lose any places on this section but lost touch somewhat with the runners in front of me. My descending needs work.

The route then flattened out and followed the river upstream for several kilometres. I tried to settle into a comfortable rhythm here and concentrated on keeping the gap to the runner in front steady. Gradually I began to reel him in and I passed him just before the start of the climb back up towards the car park. At this point, rounding one of the hairpins I could see another runner coming strongly from behind and knew I was in for a chase. This encouraged me to push pretty hard on the climb and although I could hear footsteps behind they didn't seem to be getting any closer.

Having crested the climb the track levelled out again and followed the river back downstream. The views from here were sensational although I can't say I fully appreciated them as the lactic was beginning to build up and thoughts of the finish were tormenting me. I'd recced this section in the warm up but didn't realise it stretched so far up the valley as I now discovered I wasn't as close to home as I'd initially thought. I couldn't hear anything behind but there was no question of easing off. I knew there was one more sharp steep climb to come and I had resolved in advance to attack it with whatever I had left as from there it was just a short downhill to the finish. I was catching occasional glimpses of a runner up ahead but the gap was probably a bit too big. Nevertheless I hammered it up the final ramp and with lungs bursting threw myself downhill towards the finish. A glance behind told me there was no danger of being caught and it was clear that the runner in front was out of range so I was able to relax slightly as I approched the line.

I finished knowing I'd ran pretty much to the limit of my ability and, unlike last weeks race in Glen of the Downs, had nothing left in the tank. Looking at the results today I see I finished in 11th. I thought I might have sneaked into the top ten but with many strong runners taking part last night I'm delighted with that result. Trail races like these are definitely my favourite type of event and I'd been forced to avoid them for far too long due to my ankle issues. It's great to be back in the fray.

Thursday 13/08

3 miles recovery @ 9'12 p/m. As expected my right foot is very sore today. Even though it'll soon be two years since I had the ankle surgery it still reacts badly to hard running on uneven surfaces. The long downhills last night were always going to aggravate it. It'll settle down in a few days though and it's a small price to pay to enjoy the rush of a race like last night's.

Tried out my new Adios Boosts on this run and I think I may have found my perfect running shoe.

Sandwell

Friday 14/08

6 miles easy @ 8'26 p/m. Nice easy run around Glasnevin and Drumcondra at lunchtime. The foot is much better today and seems to have recovered quicker than expected. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

Sandwell

Saturday 15/08

Hiked from Glenmalure up to Kelly's Lough.

Sunday 16/08

Hiked from Kelly's Lough up to Lugnaquilla and then back to Glenmalure. No running over the weekend but we hiked about 25km over two days so I'm happy enough. It was my first time camping wild in Wicklow and I really enjoyed it. The weather was perfect and even the dreaded midges weren't too bad. Will try do it again before the summer's out.

Weekly mileage: 20

Monday 17/08

6 miles easy @ 8'17p/m including 6 strides. Legs were pretty stiff this morning after the hiking but they actually felt fresh enough during the run. Different muscle groups I suppose.

Sandwell

Tuesday 18/08 Irish Runner Paced Mile in Morton Stadium

5 miles @ 9.xx including 1 mile @ 4:58.

I had my first taste of the mile distance last night at this very enjoyable event to commemorate Frank Greally's Irish Junior record for the 10,000m. There were paced miles for all speeds from 12:00 down to 5:00. I'd decided in advance that I'd have a crack at the five. Having never raced a mile before I wasn't sure if that was realistic or not but having hit 5:30 pace in 5km races before I figured I shouldn't be too far off. Having a pacer to follow would give me a good chance and take the guesswork out of it.

At the start we lined up behind John Travers, the 5:00 pacer. There was also another group targeting 5:30 lining up behind Felim Kelly. I found myself a little boxed in on the first lap and could see the yellow vest of the pacer slipping away somewhat. I decided to try and save energy and wait for things to settle down before overtaking. By the end of lap one I could see the gap was increasing. There were two runners just behind the pacer and then a gap of maybe ten metres back to my group. At this stage I decided it was time to push and I managed to bridge the gap by the end of the back straight. By lap three I was hurting badly and thoughts of dropping out were becoming very appealing. Somewhow I managed to convince myself to stick at it and stay on the heels of the runner in front. One of the two guys between me and the pacer must have ran out of gas around this time as by the final lap there was just myself and a runner in a Dunboyne vest remaining, both desperately hanging on to Travers for whom this was a handy tempo pace. I can remember him shouting encouragement at us around the final bend and somehow I found a bit of a kick to finish strongly enough to come in at 4:58, enough to get myself on the 10 Round Numbers table!

Sandwell

Wednesday 19/08 IMRA Mountain Rescue Benefit Race

I probably shouldn't have been racing again last night after Tuesday's exertions but I found it hard to resist the allure of another Wednesday night in the hills especially as the sun had appeared after a miserable start to the day. This race was held over Paddock Hill and took in a short section of the Wicklow Way. The legs felt heavy while warming up and as I settled into the race it soon became clear that I was going to suffer. The first mile or so was all uphill with a constantly changing gradient. I couldn't get going at all here and saw several runners that I'd normally be close to slipping away. By the end of the climb I was pretty much on my own apart from the first lady who had climbed really strongly just ahead of me. I passed her as the course swung downhill across open mountain for a stretch before rejoining the Wicklow Way. I began to feel better on this section and decided to push a bit in the hope of catching up with a group of 3 or 4 runners that were maybe a couple of hundred metres or ahead of me. Despite my best efforts the gap never really closed all that much and I had to content myself with finishing somewhere in the lower reaches of the top twenty. Still, it was a great workout on a stunning evening in beautiful surroundings so it was well worth the trip down. I also managed to get away without picking up an injury after racing two evenings in a row which is always a bit of a concern.

7 miles in total including warm up and cool down.

Thursday 20/08

3 miles recovery on grass @ 8.44 p/m followed up with some stretching.

Sandwell

Friday 21/08

Rest.

Sat 22/08

6 miles inc. 4 miles @ LT. A good tough session this, first time I've ran a tempo in a while. I'll be sick of them fairly soon once the half-marathon training starts but I fancied trying one to get an idea where I was at. According to the plan I'll be following I should be running LT miles at 5:50-6:01 p/m so I'm a little bit off that which is to be expected. Happy enough that I managed to hold the pace pretty steady for the four miles. Splits below:

7:22
6:10
6:18
6:16
6:14
8:32

Sunday 23/08

Five miles easy @ 8:29. 32 miles for the week.

Monday 24/08

Cycled for 90 mins.

Tuesday 25/08

9 miles @ 7:49. I didn't get a long run in over the weekend so decided to do it this morning along the Shannon Blueway near Leitrim village. Ran the first few miles fairly easy as the surface was pretty uneven and then picked it up to around 7:10 pace over the last four miles when I hit the roads. Good session.

ThebitterLemon

That's an impressive mile run.

Well done

TbL

Sandwell

Wednesday 26/08 IMRA Hellfire ARC charity race

The last Wednesday night race of the summer and a particularly memorable one as the event was dedicated to the recently deceased Seamus Kilcullen, a man who was clearly loved by many people and was a stalwart of both the IMRA and BHAA scenes. The race itself was the toughest of the five I've done so far this month, with a good bit of extra climbing and a tricky descent towards the end. I ended up in a group with four other runners, including the first lady, and we had a great tussle with places being swopped constanty during the course of the race. I found that I was particularly strong on the climbs while I struggled to hold my place on the downhills. On the last steep downhil section with plenty of damp rocky sections I was particularly hesitant and lost a place as another runner flew past. Luckily, once we hit the last short fire road section I had enough left in the tank to overtake him just before the finish. I ended up in 6th, my best finish in an IMRA race to date.

Thursday 27/08

3 miles recovery @ 8.48. Legs felt pretty good despite the hard race the night before.

Friday 28/08

6 miles easy @ 8:09. Felt fully recovered from Wednesday and had to hold the pace back a bit at times.

Saturday 29/08

Rest.

Sunday 30/08

8 miles @ 7:34. Ran this as a loose progression run, doing roughly 8 min miles for the first half and picking it up to 7 min pace by the end. Felt good. Half-marathon training plan starts this week although I've the Lakes 10km on Saturday so will probably include a short taper for that.

31 miles for the week.

Sandwell

Tuesday 01/09

The first session of my new P&L (Pfitzinger & Latter) half marathon plan. I'm following the lowest mileage plan (31-46 miles). My goal race is the Gingerbread Run in Portarlington on 22 November. I've also got a couple of other races around that time that I'd like to have a good crack at - IMRA's Powerscourt Ridge at the start of November and Run the Line the week after Portarlington. I'll be doing most of my long runs in the hills with those in mind.

Anyway, today called for a 14 minute tempo with 4 mins recovery followed by a 12 minute tempo. I found this tough, much tougher than last week when I managed to hold 6.10 pace for a four mile tempo. This time I struggled to get close to that. The first mile was 6:29, the second 6:05, and the remainder of the interval was run at 6:13. The second interval averaged 6:24. I moved this session forward due to having the Lakes 10km on Saturday. The other sessions this week are a medium long run and an easy run with strides. That should hopefully leave me fairly well recovered for Saturday's race.

Sandwell

Wednesday 02/09

9 miles @ 7:29. The first 'medium long run' of this training block, always tougher to face into on a Wednesday evening than on a Sunday morning. I ran this as prescribed by Pfitzinger, increasing the effort gradually over the course of the run. Felt pretty strong throughout so happy with how it went.

Sandwell

Thu 03/09

Rest. Plan was for three miles easy but I never managed to get out. I'll be ahead on my mileage for the week due to Saturday's race anyway so no matter.

Fri 04/09

3 miles very easy @ 8:36 including 8 strides. A decent shake-out ahead of tomorrow's Lakes 10km. Target for that is to go sub 37. A PB is guaranteed as I've never raced the distance before but given my 5k times from early in the summer I reckon that goal should be realistic. The recent IMRA races will hopefully have improved my endurance a bit too.

Plan is to try and hold 6 min pace for the first 4 miles and then see what I have left in the tank. I've been fairly close to that pace in my last couple of tempos so hopefully if I can find a decent group to work with I should be capable of sustaining it. Looking forward to it anyway. The race itself seems to have a great reputation and the weather looks like it should play ball.

Sandwell

Sat 05/09 The Lakes 10k, Blessington

This was a fantastic event. The praise on here for it is fully justified and I'll definitely be running it again.

Four of us travelled down together from the club. We were fairly early so we picked up our numbers and headed back to the car to stay warm as there was a surprising chill in the air. I headed off for a two mile warm up around half ten. The legs felt good and I was feeling pretty confident. A few stretches followed by a few strides and it was time to line up behind the samba band!

The start was unevenftul. I made my regular mistake of starting too fast and spent much of the first mile checking my watch as I atempted to slow down to my target pace. The first mile beeped at 5.57 so I'd just about accomplished that. By this time I'd fallen into a decent sized group that included the first two ladies. This group was running at a fairly steady six minute pace so it made sense to stick with them. I reached halfway feeling comfortable and as we passed though the village my thoughts were already turning to the infamous hill that lay ahead.

As is turned out I was fairly strong on the hill and I had dropped most of the group by the top. On the downhill I picked up the pace to try and regain time lost on the climb and was happy enough to see the fifth mile beep at 6.08. From here it was a matter of pushing as hard as possible to the finish. I knew it would be touch and go to get under 37 but figured if I ran a fast enough last mile I might have a shot. By now the only remaining member of our group was a runner in a Brothers Pearse vest who overtook me with maybe 1km to go. I stayed on his heels, however, and kicked with about 400 to go and managed to drop him.

Rounding the last corner I could see the clock was at around 36:50. Could I make it under the 37? Maybe if I were to set a world record for the hundred metres. Not today. Checking over my shoulder that I was in no danger of being overtaken I relaxed the pace slighty as I approched the finish line coming in at 37:10. Muffin time :pac:

Looking back on this I can only be happy with how it went. Apart from going out that bit too fast and subsequently wasting energy stressing about slowing down during the first mile, my pacing was otherwise very good, helped by being in a good group. I ran a negative split, also good, and had enough left to run a fast final mile. I didn't manage to break 37, of course, but I feel that I ran pretty close to my limit on the day so I'm not disappointed. I think too that sometimes cicumstances determine the result you get. To get those extra eleven seconds I would have had to have pushed on from the group earlier in the race which would have meant running solo for the most part, a much more difficult proposition and one that carries with it a higher risk of blowing up.

I now have a good benchmark result on which to base my half-marathon training times. Being able to hold six minute pace for 6 miles at this point is a nice psychological boost too. We'll see where the next eleven weeks of the plan take me.

Sandwell

Sunday 06/09

Rest.
Weekly mileage: 27

Monday 07/09

4 miles recovery @ 9.00

Tuesday 08/09

7 miles easy @ 8.43 including 6 x uphill strides and 6 x strides. Real pace for this was probably closer to 8.00. The strides and walking recovery skewed the overall a bit.

Sandwell

Wednesday 09/09

Rest. Came home from work after a very stressful day. Got ready to head out for a run and decided to cycle to the Park. I reach the Park, I'm about to lock the bike and I realise I've forgot the fecking key. Back home I go so in the end I decided fate was trying to tell me something. My ankle was a bit tender anyway so maybe no harm.

Thursday 10/09

8 miles @ 7:30. Ankle felt much better today so I got the P&L medium long run in at lunch. Hopefully, if the improvement continues, I'll get this weeks LT session in tomorrow.

Sandwell

Friday 11/09

9 miles (inc 16 min LT, 4 min recovery, 14 min LT)

This was tough but enjoyable. Headed out around half seven in the evening. Despite the heavy rain it was actually a very pleasant evening for a run. I ran the two miles to the Park as a warm up. The ankle felt a bit tender for the first mile or so but loosened out fine afterwards.

I started the first LT interval at the zoo and headed down towards the Acres. Tried to keep it as controlled as possible and concentrated more on effort level than pace - 16 mins @ 6:13/168bpm avg.

Four minutes recovery and then it was time for the second interval. This felt tougher but I managed to hold it together fairly well - 14 mins @ 6:20/175bpm avg.

It was dark by the time I'd finished so the run back was a bit precarious until I reached the North Circular. Looking back at the splits for each interval it seems like I paced this session a good bit better than last weeks.

Sat 12/09

Rest and yoga.

Sandwell

Sunday 13/09

11 miles @ 7:41 Another gentle progression run starting off at just over eight min pace and finishing at just under seven. Pleased with how this went. The legs were feeling it during the last few miles but the pace never flagged. I do seem to be suffering a bit from blisters lately though, probably because the average length of most of my runs has increased. Must try using Vaseline or BodyGlide before longer runs.

Sandwell

Mon 14/09

Rest.

Tue 15/09

8 miles easy @ 8.03 including 6 x uphill strides and 6 x strides.

vanderlyle

Hey Sandwell, good luck with the log. Your PBs are just that bit ahead of mine, so I'll be following your progress with interest. Hope your ankle is ok.

Sandwell

vanderlyle wrote: »

Hey Sandwell, good luck with the log. Your PBs are just that bit ahead of mine, so I'll be following your progress with interest. Hope your ankle is ok.

Cheers vanderlyle. I've been following your blog too. You're having a great year. Looks like you're on track for a really good time in your first marathon.

Sandwell

Wednesday 16/09

9 miles @ 7:22. Another midweek medium long run. Really enjoyed this one and felt strong throughout. Headed up along the canal from Phibsboro, into the Park at the Ashtown gate and then followed the trails around the perimeter for a few miles before returning via the NCR. A beautiful evening for it, my only gripe was the clouds of little flies that I kept running into at various points along the canal. Again this was to be a gentle progression run, so I started out at around 8.00 pace and ended up with a final mile of 6.50. Tomorrow is supposed to be another rest day although with the weather being so nice I might depart from the plan and allow myself a short recovery run.

Sandwell

Thursday 17/09

3 miles reccovery @ 8:48.

Friday 18/09

8 miles (including 18 min LT, 4 min recovery, 15 min LT).

Headed across to Johnstown Park at lunchtime to do this session. This felt tougher than last week although the splits were pretty much identical. The first mile at 6:25 which was a bit of a wake up call. I upped the effort slightly and was relieved to see the second mile come in at 6.07, possibly a little too fast but it meant that the average was back on track. The third mile was 6:14, pretty much where I wanted to be.

The legs feel pretty battered after this and I had to stretch the calves a bit before embarking on the second, slightly shorter, interval. This one naturally felt tougher but I got it done in a 6:19 average, exactly the same as last Friday.

Happy enough with this. The legs are beginning to feel the effects of the increase in mileage and intensity so the recovery week next week will be welcome. Before that there's just the small matter of a 12 mile progression run on Sunday.

Sandwell

Sat 20/09

Rest.

Sun 21/09

12 miles progression @ 7:01. This was the first progression run of the P&L plan and it called for an increasing effort thoughout the run culminating in LT pace for the final two miles. It was a tough session but not as bad as I'd feared. I felt comfortable until mile nine or so. The last two miles were painful but I did manage to hold a pace which is close enough to my LT. Splits below:

7:47, 7:18, 8:13, 7:18, 7:01, 6:50, 7:00, 6:36, 6:45, 6:39, 6:19, 6:21

Sandwell

Mon 21/09

3 miles recovery @ 9:20

Tue 22/09

8 miles @ 8:11 including 2 sets of 5 x 150m strides. This was tougher than it looked. The extra 50 metres makes quite a difference to the intensity level of the strides.

Wed 23/09

Rest.

Thu 24/09

7 miles easy @ 8:20. A cracking day for a run. I had felt a bit of a niggle in my knee since morning but the run didn't seem to aggravate it so hopefully it's nothing to worry about.

Sandwell

Fri 25/09

8 miles easy @ 8:15. This wasn't very enjoyable. I headed out and within half a mile I was in dire need of the toilet. Shouldn't have had that croissant earlier. Luckily there was a filling station relatively close by. That unpleasant business taken care of, I continued on my not so merry way. While my stomach now felt grand I began to focus on my legs which were not one bit happy. My long suffering ankle was stiff, my calves were tight and then later on I began to feel niggles in my left knee and hip. I kept plodding away, trying to run as relaxed as possible and focus on my form. It didn't really help. I got the run in anyway and did a few stretches at the end to try and loosen out the problem areas. It seemed to help a bit. Later in the day the foam roller got an outing.

Sat 26/09

Rest.

Sun 27/09

9.5 miles easy (?!) @ 10.37. This was not a recovery run, despite the average pace being relatively slow. The plan called for nine miles easy, the final easy session of this recovery week. With the weather being so good, however, and a couple of mountain races planned for the end of the year I decided to hit the hills. I knew this would amount to a tougher session than recommended in the plan but the temptation proved too much to resist.

I decided to run Powerscourt Ridge, the route of the annual IMRA end of season race. I wanted to refamiliarise myself with the course but my main motivation was the beauty of the route itself. It has everything that makes mountain running great - brutal climbs, long grassy descents, tricky rocky sections and fast forest trails - while the scenery is some of the best in Wicklow. The route takes in two summits, Maulin and Djouce, and almost 1000 metres of climb. I paced it as sensibly as possible and kept my heart rate at an acceptable level for the duration. I was pretty happy with my performance on the climbs. Although I was reduced to walking on a number of sections where the gradient became to steep to handle I was able to run the majority of it fairly comfortably. I took it very handy on the downhill sections, not wanting to bang the legs up too much. I even found time to stop at the viewpoint and take a couple of snaps of the Powerscourt waterfall on my return to Crone. The carpark was full when I returned and I met lots of walkers on their way up to check out what has to be one of the best views in the country.

This run was an exhilarating, invigorating experience, the polar opposite of Friday's. All those nasty niggles seemed to have cleared up too.

Sandwell

Mon 28/09

Rest.

Tue 29/09

More rest. Was supposed to do a tempo but didn't get out. Maybe no harm as the legs were still pretty sore after Sunday.

Wed 30/09

9 miles (including 20 min LT, 4 min recovery, 16 min LT).

I was out early this morning for this overdue session. The mile or so from the house to an extremely misty Phoenix Park served as a warm up and I started the first tempo section when I hit Chesterfield. I avoided looking at the pace too much but was somewhat disappointed to see the first mile clock in at 6:45. I tried upping the effort a bit but I guess the early start plus some residual tiredness from Sunday was holding me back. The average for the 20 minute LT interval worked out at 6:32, a little slower than I'd have liked but the heart rate was in the right zone so at least the effort was there.

After a four minute recovery jog I launched into the second interval, 16 mins this time. It felt slightly more comfortable, at least at first, and when I did glance at the watch I was reassured to see the pace was closer to target. Average for this interval was 6:18. Better.

Sandwell

Thu 1/10

8 miles @ 7:10. I was a bit short of time for this run so the pace up being slightly faster than planned.

Fri-Sun

Headed down to Dingle for the food festival and had a fantastic weekend. Unfortunately the running suffered, as in it didn't happen. I did head out on the annual 'Gourmet Cycle', a lovely 50km spin around Slea Head, on the Saturday morning but considering it ended with a feed of burgers and cake I doubt it made up for any of my missed runs. It was a great weekend but I need to knuckle down again and try and put in a solid week this week. I've managed to stick to the plan pretty well so far but the next few weeks are going to be hectic, both socially and in work, so I need to be more disciplined.

Mon 6/10

12 mile progression with last 3 miles at LT. This went surprisingly well considering the excesses of the weekend. I was able to hold tempo effort fairly comfortably for the final three miles. The splits aren't perfect - I'm not sure what happened at mile 6 - but they're pretty even. The final mile was a little slow but that was more due to the narrow and uneven surface of the footpath on the North Circular than a drop off in effort.

Splits: 8:08, 7:41, 7:35, 7:18, 6:58, 7:13, 7:02, 6:45, 6:31, 6:18, 6:10, 6:23

Sandwell

Wed 07/10

8 miles @ 8:45 including 6 hill sprints and 6 strides. Legs felt heavy and sluggish for this one but it was a beautiful morning to be out in the Park so I tipped around happily enough.

Thu 08/10

9 miles @ 7:23. Midweek long run. Went grand. Happy enough with pace and effort levels.

I'm off to Galway in the morning with work but hope to get a session in tomorrow evening while I'm there. It'll be the first VO2 max session (6 x 1km) of this plan so looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Sandwell

Fri 9/10

7.6 miles inc 6 x 1km @VO2 max with 400m jog recovery. I'm just over halfway through the plan now and the focus switches from LT to VO2 max sessions in the second half. This was the first of three such sessions in the next month and I was very pleased with it, happy that I fitted it in to a pretty hectic day and satisfied, more importantly, with the splits.

I was down in Galway for a conference but I'd worked out (on Boards, where else?) that there was a new public running track fairly close to where I was staying. Despite some talk of it being built on a hill I figured it would be a perfect spot for an interval session. I've got very little track experience but I have to say I was very impressed with the Westside track. It is, unfortunately, built on a slight slope meaning one straight has a noticeable drag but it's a fantastic free public facility and it's something that Dublin could really do with.

The target for the session, taken from the VDot calculator, was to hit 3:34 per kilometer. My first split is lost in the GPS ether but splits 2 to 6 were pretty even: 3:34, 3:36, 3:34, 3:36, 3:31. Very happy with that.

Sat 10/10

Five miles recovery @ 9:00. I did this early in the morning, heading out towards Salthill and then out and back along the causeway to the lighthouse. I was tempted to head to the fabled pitches at Dangan but settled for a good dollop of sea air instead.

Sun 11/10

11.5 miles @ 7:33. This run almost didn't happen. I'd been out with a friend on Saturday night and ended up getting home fairly late and somewhat the worse for wear. A brunch appointment combined with general hungover listlessness and procrastination saw me still humming and hawing at 3.15. With the rugby kicking off af 4.45 it was now or never. Thankfully I managed to drag myself out the door. The run itself was grand, much better than I'd any right to expect. 41 miles for the week.

Mon 12/10

Rest.

Sandwell

Tue 13/10

9 miles inc 38 mins LT @ 6:14. Very pleased with this, my longest tempo run of the plan. The first couple of splits were slightly faster than the 6:15 LT pace that I've been targetting so I was a little fearful that I might suffer later on and struggle to hold the pace. Thankfully though I was able to keep it going and ended up with pretty even splits. It obviously got tougher as it went along but I never felt that I was working too hard. Pretty ideal conditions for it too, up in Santry demesne, with just the lightest of breezes.

I've now got an easy few days in the lead up to the first of two 'tune-up' races in the plan, the Teachers BHAA cross-country in Castleknock on Saturday morning. That race provided my first experience of cross-country four years ago and I remember making the schoolboy error of going out way too fast and dying an horrific death in the second half. I'll be starting a good bit more conservatively this time. The long-term forecast looks decent too so it should be a fast race.

Sandwell

Wed 14/10

7 miles @ 8:06. Not a particularly memorable run.

Thu 15/10

Rest.

Fri 16/10

4 miles @ 8:23 including 4 strides.

Sat 17/10

Headed out to Castleknock for the Teachers BHAA cross-country. It was a cracking morning for a race and there were lots of heads from the club out so it was a social occasion as much as anything else. The plan for this was to start steady and pick it up towards the end. The start was the usual chaos and it was hard not to get swept along with it. However, I consciously held back after the first couple of corners, settling into a nice rhythm and letting a clubmate go who I'd have been close to on occasion. I was surprised to see the first mile beep at 5:47. It didn't feel that fast. Miles two and three were exactly as planned - 6:03 and 6:06. By this stage I was passing quite a few runners who had perhaps gone out a bit too hard. I upped the effort for the final lap and caught a few more but in the end I probably didn't push quite as hard as I could have. The lap time of 5:54 reflects this. I came in at just over the 24 minute mark which was more or less where I expected to be. Happy enough with the morning's work.

Sun 18/10

13 miles @ 7:38. This started off nice and comfortable. Then I met a few lads from the club, the pace picked up to the low sevens and yesterday's race began to make itself felt in the the legs. The lads headed off in various directions and I ended up doing the final three miles solo at a more sedate pace.

That's 40 miles for the week including a decent tempo session and a race. Five weeks to go until the half.

Sandwell

Mon 19/10

Rest.

Tue 20/10

8 miles @ 8:22 inc. 2 sets of 4 x 150m strides. I was over in Brussels with work so headed out early in the morning to a city centre park to get this run in. The park was nice but quite small so it did get somewhat repetitive by the end. It's always interesting to run in a new place though so there was always something to distract me. I did the sets of strides towards the end. Felt good.

Wed 21/10

10 miles @ 7:33. Midweek long run time and I wasn't sure how this would go having had quite a few Belgian beers yesterday after we finished up our meeting. As it turned out I felt grand although the legs did feel quite niggly, something I often notice the day after a flight. After a few miles things seemed to loosen out and I picked up the pace towards the end. I took the head torch to the Park tonight for the first time and really enjoyed the novelty of running around in almost total silence. It beats running on the broken footpaths of the northside, that's for sure.

Sandwell

Thu 22/10

Rest

Fri 23/10

8 miles easy @ 8:01 with 8 strides at the end.

Sat 24/10

5 miles recovery @ 8:09. Probably ran this one a bit too fast in hindsight.

Sun 25/10

13 miles progression with last 3 at LT. This went ok but my pace in the later miles was down on where I'd expected it to be. I started out around 8 min pace with the intention of upping it by 15-20 seconds every second mile. This worked fine until mile eight by which time I was running at seven minute pace and felt that I couldn't really up it any more without pushing into tempo effort. I settled for another two miles at the same pace. Mile ten came and it was time for the hurt to begin in earnest. I upped the effort and focused on staying as relaxed as possible. When the first mile beeped at 6:28 I was a little disappointed but it felt like the effort was right so I carried on. Mile two was 6:29 and the final mile was another 6:28, consistent splits but 15 seconds or so off my target pace. Looking back at my heart rate for those miles it appears I got the effort spot on and if I'd pushed any harder I'd have been into VO2 max territory. A solid session if not a confidence boosting one. 44 miles for the week.

Mon 26/10

Rest

Tue 27/10

8 miles easy @ 7:41. A very enjoyable lunchtime run in the rain, splashing through puddles and piles of fallen leaves. Legs felt fresh which is welcome as this will be my highest mileage week of the plan.

Sandwell

It's been a while since my last update. I had a bit of a wobble last weekend for a number of reasons - both niggles and personal stuff - which led to me missing five days in a row including a couple of sessions. Thankfully I'm back on track now, just about. Goal race in two weeks.

Wed 28/10

10.5 miles endurance @ 7:35

Thu 29/10

4 miles recovery @ 8:37

Wed 4/11

6 miles easy @ 7:52

Thu 5/11

5 miles easy @ 8:11

Fri 6/11

3 miles easy @ 8:11 inc 4 strides

Sat 7/11 IMRA Powerscourt Ridge

This was the second of two tune up races in the lead up to the Gingerbread Run half-marathon. I should really have chosen a road race to get a better idea of where I'm at but I enjoy the IMRA races too much to miss the last one of the year. I started conservatively enough but really struggled on the climb up to Maulin. I'm not sure if it was more mental or physical but something wasn't right. I finally reached the summit and started down the tricky rocky track towards the Dargle. My descending, never good at the best of times, was dreadful today and I found it impossible to get into any kind of a rhythm. The conditions didn't help either, the heavy rain had left the rock really slippy.

Sure enough it was only a matter of time until disaster struck - I tripped on a rock and ended up on my ass. After letting out a few choice swear words in frustration I gingerly picked myself up to assess the damage. I was already cursing myself for wasting a whole training block for the sake of running up a bloody mountain! Luckily, apart from a multitude of scrapes and bruises, the only significant damage seemed to be to my hand which was already beginning to throb. Considering the likelihood of falling again and doing more damage I decided to cut the day short and return via the short course. It was actually a very pleasant jog back to the start where the first aid officer cleaned me up and sent me on my way home. A very lucky escape.

Sun 8/11

10.5 miles endurance @ 8:14. I was at home in Monaghan for the weekend so headed out to Rossmore Park for my long run. Rossmore is beautiful but it's ridiculously hilly. It's in drumlin country so there is no flat ground whatsoever, you're either climbing or descending the whole time. By mile six the legs were beginning to complain but I managed to keep going at a fairly steady average pace for the duration of the run.

Mon 9/11

Rest.

chickey2

I'm only just catching up on this log now. Sounds like you're doing great with the plan (apart from the last few days). What is your goal race and have you decided on a goal time yet? I found it a great plan and got a 10 minute pb out of it.
Best of luck.

Sandwell

chickey2 wrote: »

I'm only just catching up on this log now. Sounds like you're doing great with the plan (apart from the last few days). What is your goal race and have you decided on a goal time yet? I found it a great plan and got a 10 minute pb out of it.
Best of luck.

Cheers chickey2. Yeah, the plan has been great. It's easy to follow and seems to have just the right ratio of intensity to easy running. My only mistake has been doing a cross-country and a mountain race as my 'tune up' races because I'm now somewhat unsure as to what pace to aim for.

My goal race is the Gingerbread Run half-marathon in Portarlington on Sunday week. I'd been thinking of targeting 1:20 but my tempo runs during the plan suggest that might be too ambitious so I'd say I'll aim for 1:22 or thereabouts. I'll probably try and hold 6'20 pace for the early miles and see how that pans out.

Sandwell

Tue 10/11

6 miles easy @ 7:46 w/6 strides. Felt good.

Wed 11/11

4 miles recovery w/ 6 strides. Forgot the watch, took it very slow.

Thu 12/11

Rest.

Fri 13/11

Unlucky for some, but apparently not for me as we went sale agreed on a house this morning. Celebrated by heading up to Morton stadium for the final VO2 max session of this training plan - 2 x 1200, 2 x 1000, 1 x 800 (3:57, 4:16, 3:32, 3:36, 2:52). I had my watch set up arseways so ended up running by feel. The splits show that I went out waaaay too fast, got the middle intervals pretty much right and faded badly on the final 800. A good session though and it should stand me in good stead come next Sunday.

Sandwell

Sat 14/11

3 miles recovery @ 8'42.

Sun 15/11

10 miles easy @ 7'56. Nice run with some clubmates round the mucky trails in Phoenix Park. Very easy for the first six and then picked it up a bit for the last few.

One week to go until the Gingerbread Run. I had a look at the long term forecast and it's predicting it to be cold and dry with only a light breeze. That would be ideal if it pans out. The plan calls for a session including two miles at HMP on Tuesday. Unfortunately I'm still not really sure what my HMP is but I'm veering towards 6'20. My last road race was the Lakes 10km back in September where I averaged 6'02 so I reckon 6'20 should be achievable for a half considering the training block I've put in. I'll see how it feels on Tuesday I suppose.

vanderlyle

Good luck tomorrow, hope all goes well. Congrats on the house too!

Sandwell

Mon 17/11

Rest.

Tue 18/11

7 miles easy @ 7'43 inc. 2 at HMP. This session coincided with Barney so I was in two minds about whether to bother with the HMP miles. Did them in the end with a fair tailwind so the splits, 6:17 and 6:13, are probably a bit faster than I'll be going on the day.

Wed 19/11

Rest. Got a sports massage to iron out some kinks. My calves and hips had been in bits for weeks and the session really helped to loosen them out.

Thu 20/11

5 miles recovery @ 8'51. Legs felt great. Pity I can't afford a massage every week.

Fri 21/11

4 miles recovery @ 8'31. More of the same.

Sat 22/11

3 miles recovery @ 9'15 inc. 4 strides.

Really looking forward to tomorrow's race now. The taper seems to have had the desired effect as I'm feeling fresh. The weather forecast seems perfect too so I'm going to be struggling to find excuses if it doesn't go to plan. Speaking of plans, I'm going to aim for a 6'30 first mile and try and settle at 6'20 from there on in. I've really got no idea if I've got the endurance to hold that pace for 13 miles but there's one way to find out.

Sandwell

Sun 22/11

Gingerbread Run Half 13.1 miles @ 6'18

Goal achieved. My main concern coming into this race was that I wouldn't have the endurance in the second half of the race and that I'd end up losing a load of time. As I mentioned a couple of times I wasn't sure what pace to target but I settled on 6'20 pace as a nice round number that seemed to be close enough to where I hoped I might be. Thankfully it proved to be the case and I found the pace relatively comfortable until mile seven or so when I started having to work much harder to stay with it. Even so, I managed to run a decent negative split and finished strongly in 1:22.29.

A detailed race report would be quite boring as I spent much of it on my own. The course was fast, as predicted, and the weather perfect. There was a gentle breeze which you could feel at times but nothing worth remarking upon. I started conservatively and paced myself off a couple of 10km runners for the first three miles. The 10km was an out and back course so when they reached the turnaround I was on my own. For the next couple of miles I concentrated on closing the gap on a pair of runners ahead of me with the hope that we might be able to work together. However it became apparent that they were slowing slightly so when I did catch them they soon drifted back and I was on my lonesome again. I didn't encounter any other runners until the end of the race.

I decided to tackle a half-marathon with the intention of improving my endurance. I also had some vague intentions of following it up by jumping straight into a marathon plan and targeting a spring race. I've reassessed in recent weeks and my plan now is to put in a substantial block of base training over the next few months, perhaps following the Hadd plan, and spend another year focusing on the 5km to half-marathon distances. I'd like to get my 5km time below 17 minutes and to break 60 for the 10 mile. Those goals should keep me motivated for much of next year along with the occasional IMRA race.

In the shorter term I have Run the Line on Saturday so this week is going to be all about recovery. I had a massage yesterday followed by 10 mins of excruciating torture in a cryotherapy spa. The legs do feel much better today so it was a worthwhile investment.

ThebitterLemon

Sandwell wrote: »

Sun 22/11

Gingerbread Run Half 13.1 miles @ 6'18

Goal achieved. My main concern coming into this race was that I wouldn't have the endurance in the second half of the race and that I'd end up losing a load of time. As I mentioned a couple of times I wasn't sure what pace to target but I settled on 6'20 pace as a nice round number that seemed to be close enough to where I hoped I might be. Thankfully it proved to be the case and I found the pace relatively comfortable until mile seven or so when I started having to work much harder to stay with it. Even so, I managed to run a decent negative split and finished strongly in 1:22.29.

A detailed race report would be quite boring as I spent much of it on my own. The course was fast, as predicted, and the weather perfect. There was a gentle breeze which you could feel at times but nothing worth remarking upon. I started conservatively and paced myself off a couple of 10km runners for the first three miles. The 10km was an out and back course so when they reached the turnaround I was on my own. For the next couple of miles I concentrated on closing the gap on a pair of runners ahead of me with the hope that we might be able to work together. However it became apparent that they were slowing slightly so when I did catch them they soon drifted back and I was on my lonesome again. I didn't encounter any other runners until the end of the race.

I decided to tackle a half-marathon with the intention of improving my endurance. I also had some vague intentions of following it up by jumping straight into a marathon plan and targeting a spring race. I've reassessed in recent weeks and my plan now is to put in a substantial block of base training over the next few months, perhaps following the Hadd plan, and spend another year focusing on the 5km to half-marathon distances. I'd like to get my 5km time below 17 minutes and to break 60 for the 10 mile. Those goals should keep me motivated for much of next year along with the occasional IMRA race.

In the shorter term I have Run the Line on Saturday so this week is going to be all about recovery. I had a massage yesterday followed by 10 mins of excruciating torture in a cryotherapy spa. The legs do feel much better today so it was a worthwhile investment.

That's an impressive run, well done.

TbL

AuldManKing

Sandwell wrote: »

Sun 22/11

Gingerbread Run Half 13.1 miles @ 6'18

Goal achieved. My main concern coming into this race was that I wouldn't have the endurance in the second half of the race and that I'd end up losing a load of time. As I mentioned a couple of times I wasn't sure what pace to target but I settled on 6'20 pace as a nice round number that seemed to be close enough to where I hoped I might be. Thankfully it proved to be the case and I found the pace relatively comfortable until mile seven or so when I started having to work much harder to stay with it. Even so, I managed to run a decent negative split and finished strongly in 1:22.29.

A detailed race report would be quite boring as I spent much of it on my own. The course was fast, as predicted, and the weather perfect. There was a gentle breeze which you could feel at times but nothing worth remarking upon. I started conservatively and paced myself off a couple of 10km runners for the first three miles. The 10km was an out and back course so when they reached the turnaround I was on my own. For the next couple of miles I concentrated on closing the gap on a pair of runners ahead of me with the hope that we might be able to work together. However it became apparent that they were slowing slightly so when I did catch them they soon drifted back and I was on my lonesome again. I didn't encounter any other runners until the end of the race.

I decided to tackle a half-marathon with the intention of improving my endurance. I also had some vague intentions of following it up by jumping straight into a marathon plan and targeting a spring race. I've reassessed in recent weeks and my plan now is to put in a substantial block of base training over the next few months, perhaps following the Hadd plan, and spend another year focusing on the 5km to half-marathon distances. I'd like to get my 5km time below 17 minutes and to break 60 for the 10 mile. Those goals should keep me motivated for much of next year along with the occasional IMRA race.

In the shorter term I have Run the Line on Saturday so this week is going to be all about recovery. I had a massage yesterday followed by 10 mins of excruciating torture in a cryotherapy spa. The legs do feel much better today so it was a worthwhile investment.

Good run and nice goals to aim for.

What brings you to Hadd?? Do you see it bringing you better (or quicker) gains than other plans. Pfitz seems to have done you well.

Sandwell

Good question. I've seen the Hadd programme mentioned quite a bit on here of late and thought it might be interesting to train by heart rate for a bit. I'm wanting to build up my mileage to around fifty miles per week over the next while and thought it might be as good a way as any to do that. I don't see it as necessarily better or quicker than any other plan but the idea of being able to test your progress every few weeks is appealing. That said, there are base building plans in the Pfitz book that would achieve the much same thing and they seem similar enough to Hadd (minus the HR focus), with two steady/progressions sessions per week and the rest easy. As you say, I've had success with the Pfitzinger plans this year and I'll probably return to one of his 5km plans sometime in the spring.

vanderlyle

Well done in portarlington. That's a good time considering you were running solo for much of it. Those are two nice targets you mentioned, the 5k and 10 mile. You're probably not a million miles away from the 10 mile under 60 mins, did you consider targeting any of the 10 mile races in spring?

Sandwell

vanderlyle wrote: »

Well done in portarlington. That's a good time considering you were running solo for much of it. Those are two nice targets you mentioned, the 5k and 10 mile. You're probably not a million miles away from the 10 mile under 60 mins, did you consider targeting any of the 10 mile races in spring?

I'm thinking of entering Ballycotton. It'd give me something to aim for over the winter and I'm keen to experience the buzz of race day down there. It sounds amazing. Have you any plans yourself now that you've got Dublin over?

vanderlyle

Ballycotton is a nice one, good buzz as you said and no shortage of depth in the field too. It's a long drive down and back form Dublin on one day though. No concrete plans here, just keeping the legs ticking over. Hoping to get back towards a training plan in the next week or two.

Sandwell

Tue 24/11

4 miles recovery @ 9'29. Legs felt ok but very heavy and sluggish.

Wed 25/11

5 miles recovery @ 9'05. Legs slightly better but still heavy.

Thu 26/11

6 miles recovery @ 8'47. Better again. Not back to normal but getting there.

Fri 27/11

Rest

Sat 28/11 Run the Line (short course)

Having signed up for Run the Line months ago and now finding it sandwiched between last week's half marathon and the Jingle Bells 5k next Saturday, I debated with myself all week whether to run the long course as a long training run or to run the short course at something close to race effort. In the end the weather made my mind up for me. I had little desire to spend 3 hours out in the hills in todays conditions.

I wasn't sure how the legs would feel after Sunday's half but when I headed up the course to do my warm up I was pleasantly surprised at how springy they felt. When the race started I immediately found myself close to the front runners. I ran the steep early road bit at my own pace feeling pretty comfortable but all the time keeping the front group in sight. Once we hit the trails it became apparent that the front two or three were opeining a fairly big gap so I just focused on trying to stick with the lads around me. I made up a couple of places during the long climb to Fairy Castle and by the summit I was pretty sure I was in fifth or sixth.

The conditions up top were brutal, a howling gale and sheets of rain. The short course only gave us a taster of this. I've much respect for the guys who carried on over Tibradden and Cruagh. Apart from an abundance of mud and puddles, most of the short course was grand and well sheltered from the elements. Having summitted within a couple of seconds of the runner in front I hoped to catch him over the course of the descent but as it turned out he was a better descender than me and I never got close enough to trouble him. Instead I lost a place quite close to home, getting overtaken descending too tentatively on the Boneshaker. I ended up in sixth or seventh, I think, and very pleased indeed with my days work. I felt strong all the way through and but for my brutal descending skills it could even have been better. Now for a few more days of recovery to hopefully set me up for a crack at a 5k PB next week...