Playing the Numbers game: Sub 5;10;17;36;60;80

Back in Black

Friday May 26th: 7 miles @ 8:36 avg pace

A nice and handy 5:30am run.

Saturday May 27th: 5 mile @ 8:46 avg pace

Was heading to Slane and under some time pressure so got out early for a few mile. Left it at 5 in the end as was tired and the humidity was a killer

Sunday May 28th: 12 mile LSR @ 8:14 avg pace

Late evening run. Legs felt surprisingly fresh considering how tired I was after a late night the previous one.

Weekly total: 42 mile

Monday May 29th: 4 mile recovery @ 8:57

A nice and easy recovery run from the house down to the football pitch for a few lap.

Tuesday May 30th: 8 mile @ 8:21 with 10 x 15 sec strides

Another 5:30 am start for this and threw in a few strides at the end

Wednesday May 31st: 6 mile @ 8:14 avg pace

Had intended to do the final session (3 x 2mile @ 10k pace) of the ultimate 10k plan and was down at the track all set to go after a few mile warm-up but got to the first corner and put on the brakes as I knew I was in no shape or form to hit it this morning. Everything was pointing to a dismal failure so pulled the plug and just done a few more easy miles. It ate away at me for the day of course!!!

May total: 170.8 miles

Back in Black

Thursday 1st June: 8.5 mile including 2x2 mile @ 10k pace & 1.5 mile @ 10k pace

The previous days pulling the plug was eating away at me so was determined to get this done today. The only problem was that the only time I could run was at 5:30 am!!

So, set the alarm for 5 am, had some porridge, took care of some business :pac: and got out the door and hit the gaa pitch track at 5:30. I was half hoping the gate would be locked so I'd have an excuse to crawl back into bed but gate was open. Started with a sleepy 1.5 mile warm-up and then got stuck in still not quiet awake. Hit the first two mile in 12:04 (5:58; 6:06) and was happy with that.

Took the prescribed 4 min standing recovery before the next 2 mile.

It started to get tough early on and I really needed to dig in for 12:08 (6:01; 6:07)

Needed every second of the next 4 min recovery before the last.

Hit the first mile in 6:04 and was starting to really struggle now. I dug in but after 1.5 mile and a look at the watch with is showing 9:09 and the legs were burning up so I pulled up not wanting to completely flog myself - not sure if it was the right call or not but if felt the right thing to do at the time!!

Done a slow 1.5 miles cool down and was back home for 7am and to start the day. Was fecked for the rest of the day.

Friday 2nd June: 8.15miles @ 8:36 avg pace

Got a call from running buddy who I haven't ran with in ages and headed to the forest trails with no specific plan. We ended up doing a couple of loops and I enjoyed this run immensely. Missed having company on runs.

Saturday 3rd June: 5 mile with 3 @ 6:30 avg pace

Had a wee window before dinner to get this done so ran down to the gaa pitch track and done the 3 miles around the track - it certainly makes it a lot easier and splits were 6:21; 6:24; 6:28. Another slow mile home made it 5 mile for the day

Sunday 4th June: 10 mile @ 8:14 avg pace

Shorter long run today as have my eyes on 10k race next weekend. Had all the seasons thrown into the one run. It started out humid and sunny and ended up running the last mile in driving rain!!

Weekly total: 49.65 miles

Back in Black

Monday 5th June: 4 mile recovery @ 8:40 avg pace

A gentle recovery run after work. Only thing of note was a slight soreness around the left knee.

Tuesday 6th June: 6 mile easy @ 8:06 avg pace

A very rare lunchtime run. Knee slightly sore but nothing major.

Wednesday 7th June:

Rest to let the knee recovery with Saturday 10k in mind

Thursday 8th June: 7 mile with 6x400mtrs @ 90 secs with 400 rec

Got through this with no difficulty and knee felt fine.

Friday 9th June:

Rest ahead of tomorrow's race:

Saturday 10th June: 10 mile with Enniskillen 10k (40:56)

Not a lot to be said for this. Went out in 3:35 for first km and felt good but the course just kept climbing and climbing after this. The hardest 10k course I've ever run and it even had switchbacks at one stage.

Knee was slightly sore afterwards but nothing of note.

Sunday 11th June: 8 mile @ 8:58

Headed out early to forest trail with running buddy and enjoyed this.

Weekly Total: 35 miles

Murph_D

Good time for a difficult 10k, nothing wrong with that.

Back in Black

Monday 12th June: Rest

Decided to register for Irish Runner 5 mile at weekend so decided to rest the knee.

Tuesday 13th June: 6 mile easy @ 8:15

Nice and gentle early morning run.

Wednesday 14th June: rest

Thursday 15th June: 7mile including 6 x 400mtrs w/400 recs

A wee bit of speed ahead of the race on Saturday and legs felt fresh and knee was slightly niggly but no big deal

Friday 16th June: Rest

Saturday 17th June: 8 mile including IR 5 mile in 31:39

Disappointing performance - decided to go with 30min pacer and see could I hang on. I did for 1.5 miles and then just fell away getting slower and slower.

Splits: 5:59; 6:09; 6:23; 6:43; 6:23 - tell their own story really.

Going to take a few days off to get rid of this niggle with the knee. It's starting to annoy me but had nothing to do with the poor race.

Will take the time to figure out the next plan. I'm in about 3 minds at the minute

Back in Black

Overdue Update:

June: Took time off to rest the knee, went on holidays, tried running when on holidays and quickly realised knee was worse and was starting to affect my holidays :eek:. Took more time off!!

July: Got to Physio - diagnosed with Patellar tendinopathy and started rehab work.

August: Continued with physio and started making progress with the injury and was stepping back up the running. Lots of physio exercises and lot of strength and conditioning work.

September: Making great progress with physio, was building the distance and introducing some speed work and then wheels fell off towards the end of the month. Had increased the load too quickly and ended up back at square one with the injury. :mad: Another week off at end of month.

October: Loads of strength and conditioning, physio work. No speedwork or runs above 5 mile but was running 3 days a week.

November: Finally starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and starting to build up the base. Last week I managed 4 runs and a total of 15 miles - painfully slow pace and shocking lack of fitness but I'm calling it progress.

I have no plans in terms of races, goals etc but hope to be back on a plan for 1st January. In the meantime, I will slowly cautiously build back up the mileage, take everything the physio says as the gospel and continue to do strength and conditioning work.

Murph_D

Welcome back. Easy does it.

Back in Black

Murph_D wrote: »

Welcome back. Easy does it.

Thanks D. I've learnt that the hard way!!! You should have told me that when you were stewarding at the Grant Thornton back in September when I decided to race the 5k to make up numbers for a team - that was one of my setbacks!!!

Back in Black

Monday 13th November:

No running but 1 hour strength and conditioning class and lots of stretching!

Tuesday 14th November:

3.1 miles @ 9:32 pace. Evening run from the house through the village and back. Avg HR: 146.

Core workout and physio exercises.

Wednesday 15th November:

4 mile @ 9:13 avg pace. Run around Cavan town while the young lad was doing athletics training: Avg HR: 143.

Core and stretching

Thursday 16th November:
Early morning - pool running for 25 minutes. Feel like a plank doing this especially as the gym overlooks where I'm doing it but if it helps I'll keep at it!!

Rest except for physio exercises and stretching

Friday 17th November:
Early morning - pool running for 25 minutes.

4 mile @ 8:25 avg pace. Lunch time run from the office.
Avg HR: 148

Saturday 18th November:

Rest

Sunday 19th November:

6 mile @ 8:36 avg pace. Early morning run around town. Lovely morning for a run - nice and dry. No trouble with the knee which was good. Avg HR: 146

Physio exercises and stretching this evening.

Weekly total: 17.1 miles

4 days running and knee is getting better. Patience has never been my strong point but think I'm learning. Will try and slowly build up the mileage and try to mind the body as much as possible. Back with the physio tomorrow too.

Back in Black

Monday 20th November:

Visit to Physio - he's happy with my progress and I can keep running but no speedy stuff.

Strength and conditioning class Monday evening.

Tuesday 21st November:
4 mile easy @ 9:11 avg pace. Avg HR 138

First 6am run in a long while but good to get out on a perfect morning for running. Kept the pace nice and handy and no issues with the knee.

Evening: 30 minutes pool jogging session

Core & stretching workout.

Wednesday 22nd November:

4 mile easy @ 9:19 avg pace Avg HR 139

Exact same route as yesterday but an evening run after the rain had passed. Nice and handy again and no problem with the knee.

Bit of stretching and lunges afterwards

Back in Black

Thursday 23rd Nov:

Started the day with a 7am pool run session. Certainly blew the cobwebs away!!

4 mile @ 9:32 avg pace avg HR: 135
Went out after tea with one of the lads from the club and went for a very handy run around town. Run flew by and no issues with the knee.

Physio exercises after the run.

Friday 24th Nov:

No run today after three days in a row but got my 7am pool run session in and then pretty much spent the day in the car!!

Saturday 25th Nov:

4.5 mile @ 9:11 Avg HR: 142

Headed out before lunch with usual running buddy and as I was pressed for time we stuck to the football pitch track. Done a fair bit of stretching and running form drills too. The track was icy in spots so had to watch the step.

Got the physio exercises done too.

Back in Black

Sunday 26th Nov:

Nothing but rest. Woke up with both knees sore as if I had been standing on concrete non stop for 12 hours. The only thing I can compare it to was the feeling in my knees after standing through 3 matches on the terraces of breffni park after doing a 16 mile long run (I'm not sure which was the bigger test of endurance that day - the 16 mile run of 3 matches in the Cavan Chmapionship :pac: but that's another story altogether!!)

Anyhow decided to rest up for the day and tbh the feeling in the knees never subsided.

Monday 27th Nov:

Pretty much the same as Sunday soreness wise and doing nothing!!

Tuesday 28th Nov:

Had a physio appointment scheduled today. Decided I had enough doing nothing so got to the pool first thing and done 25 minutes of pool jogging - knees felt better afterwards.

Went to physio and shared my frustration with him - he still reckons I'm on the right road and I will get there. I talked to him about getting a scan but he didn't think it was necessary but am going to go ahead and get a GP referral for a scan at this stage.

Physio recommended more pool jogging and resistance band work so will keep doing that along with the non impact strength and conditioning work. No more running either until next appointment with physio!!

Back in Black

Wednesday 29th November:

50 x widths (can't call them lengths :pac:) of the pool jogging - broke into two chunks of 25 with 5 minutes in the Jacuzzi at 6:30 am. Would rather be out on the roads in the freezing cold but it's nice to be doing something.

Resistance band work on the knee in the evening.

Thursday 30th November:

55 widths (25 & 30 with 5 min break in Jacuzzi) of pool jogging @ 6:30 am

More resistance band work on the knee in the evening.

Friday 1st December:

60 widths (30 & 30 with 5 min break in Jacuzzi).

Resistance band work.

Knee feeling good.

Saturday 2nd December:

No pool but a 4 hour car journey down to Kerry and knee was feeling a wee bit sore - nothing major just a bit of discomfort.

Plenty of stretching and resistance band stuff in the evening.

Sunday 3rd December:

No pool and a 4hr return journey. Knee again a wee bit sore after the car but nothing major.

Another round of resistance band work and stretches.

Monday 4th December:

70 widths of the pool this morning (30,30 & 10) - no Jacuzzi this morning as it hadn't been filled yet :pac:

So was just stretching the knee sitting at the side of the pool between reps - knee felt better afterwards.

Back to physio this afternoon.

Back in Black

Week ending 10th December:

No running but 4 pool running sessions - up to 75 widths!!

2 x Strength & conditioning classes

1 x physio trip. Happy with progress and more laser treatment on the knee.

5 x resistance band workouts for the knee.

Making progress!!

Week ending 17th December:

No running

4 pool running sessions - up to 80 widths!!

1 x S&C class

4 x resistance band workouts

2 x core workouts

1 x Christmas Party!!

1 x Trip to physio - given all clear to start back running

Good progress and happy to start back running- will get out this evening to test the waters!!!

AuldManKing

Hope it went well. Be good to see you back at it.

Back in Black

Monday 18th December 2017

AM: 80 x widths pool jogging

PM: 3.9 mile @ 8:49 avg pace. AVG HR 150 Max 172

Finally got back after another 3 weeks of no running.

Headed out with running buddy and decided to bring the head torches with us to the forest trails. Arrived there after 7pm and barrier at entrance was open so we went into the forest itself rather than run the avenue. That was a great plan and enjoyed the more forgiving surface of the forest trails. I did get tired near the end and was happy to get back to the car! Knee felt fine (I did keep the knee brace on for the run).

All in all a good evening until we got to the barrier to find it locked!!! Had to ring for running buddy's wife to rescue us (which she did after she stopped laughing). Thankfully we knew where to go to get a key to open the barrier but it took an hour or so to rescue the car.

Nice to be back running but could have done without the other drama!!

Duanington

Great to see you back at it, best of luck with the recovery now man

Back in Black

Tuesday 20th December

Rest day from the pool and the running.

Core workout and resistance band stuff for the knee.

Wednesday 21st December

AM: 90 widths of the pool

PM: 4 mile @ 9:13 avg pace. Avg HR: 139. Max 162

Headed out with running buddy around town. Pace was slow and was struggling a bit for energy for second half (while running buddy was bounding along effortlessly).

Finished up with more core work and resistance band work for the knee.

aquinn

Do you know what you did to the knee and did you get the GP referral for a scan?

Fair play on the pool running.

Back in Black

aquinn wrote: »

Do you know what you did to the knee and did you get the GP referral for a scan?

Fair play on the pool running.

Physio diagnosed patellar tendinopathy. Got the referral from the doc but waiting for a date and confirmation that it’s covered by insurance!! Will get it done in New Year.

Physio tells me that it’s not needed but need the peace of mind at this stage.

Pool running is making a big difference so will keep it up. Not the most exciting form of training but if it helps I’m not too worried.

Happy Christmas

ThebitterLemon

Back in Black wrote: »

Physio diagnosed patellar tendinopathy. Got the referral from the doc but waiting for a date and confirmation that it’s covered by insurance!! Will get it done in New Year.

Physio tells me that it’s not needed but need the peace of mind at this stage.

Pool running is making a big difference so will keep it up. Not the most exciting form of training but if it helps I’m not too worried.

Happy Christmas

Two physios missed that I had a torn meniscus, definitely get the MRI

TbL

Back in Black

Thursday 21st December

AM: 30 minutes cross training: Decided to swop the pool for the gym this morning. Started with 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then on the bike at low resistance for 15 minutes. Was tied for time so decided that I would stretch at home but forgot as got held up on way home by a Garda checkpoint and a random breath test - would pay for the not stretching later!!

Friday 22nd December

4 miles @ 9:28: Avg HR: 140 Max: 156

Got a call from one of the lads from the club and decided to join him for a slow shuffle around town. Both calfs were rock hard after the elliptical trainer and non stretching the day before.

Saturday 23rd December

3 mile @ 9:24: Avg HR: 159 Max 168

Was pushed for time so just went down to gaa pitch and done laps around it. I'm not sure why Hr was so high as took it very handy. Also added in some running form exercises while I was there.

Sunday 24th December

4.8 miles @ 8:45 avg pace Avg HR: 154 Max 175

An early morning run with usual running buddy and we hit the forest trails for this. No bother with the knee but was flagging big time at the end of this one.

Weekly Total: 19.7 miles

Nearly hit the 20mile mark . It's slow progress but knee was holding up well and got a decent amount of other stuff done as well.

Back in Black

Monday 25th/ Tuesday 26th December

Nothing but eating and rest!

Wednesday 27th December

3 mile @ 8:44. Avg HR: 147. Max: 168

Was down in Kerry for this and just kept it nice and handy around Listowel.

Thursday 28th December

4 mile @ 8:38. Avg HR: 150. Max 159

Got out the door the minute we got back from Kerry and the only realistic option was the gaa pitch track due to icy conditions. Was battling the dark and had to plot a route around the icy stretches but pleased with this as it was a real mental battle to put the 16 laps in when there was loads of excuses to cut it short!!

Friday 29th December

Rest - resisted the urge to get out and took a rest day instead.

Saturday 30th December

6 mile @ 8:41 avg pace. Avg HR: 152. Max 167

Longest run in a while and a fairly tough one and pace slowly significantly as the miles went by and the HR increased at the same time. This run was a real eye opener in terms of how much work I have to do to get back to where I was before the injury. Knee was slightly niggling but nothing too sinister. Done a good bit of stretching afterwards.

Sunday 31st December

3.3 mile @ 8:57: avg HR: 147. Max HR: 168

A recovery run with running buddy. He had done the Ardagh challenge the previous day and ran a very good time so he wanted to take it handy which suited me perfectly. We hit the forest trails and negotiated our way around the debris from storm Dylan!! Perfect morning for running and enjoyed this.

Weekly Total:16.3 miles

And that's it for December and 2017. A year I want to forget running wise. Had one good race all year and second half of the year was a write off!!

But am slowly getting back into it and looking forward to 2018. First priority is to get a scan on the knee to put the mind at ease and if that's clear slowly build the mileage up. Focus for 2018 will be on 5k and 10k for 2018 and trying to get into PB shape.

Two big targets for 2018 are sub 17:30 5k and Sub 38 10k.

Happy New Year to all and hope 2018 brings loads of PBs.

OOnegative

Happy New Year to the family & yourself J.

Back in Black

Monday 1st January

Rest day from running.

Resistance band workout for the knee.

Core workout.

Tuesday 2nd January

Real start of the New Year and was ready to get my ass back in gear after the Christmas. Set the alarm for 6am and had the porridge before driving to the pool for some pool jogging. Was suspiciously dark and no life around so checked the opening hours to see that it wasn't back to normal until tomorrow!!

Didn't waste the time though completely. After reading some recommendations here I picked up Strength and Conditioning for Endurance Running over Christmas and decided to do the assessment in the book. Btw I would thoroughly recommend the book to anyone - it's really clear and easy to follow the theory behind the exercises and how to devise a plan.

So after taking the assessment it was no great shock to see that I need to focus on Trunk capacity, hamstring capacity, gluteal mobility, balance and upper limb strength!!

Have devised a plan to focus on weaknesses over the next while.

The assessment does point at the need to do some plyometrics but will leave this for a few months until the knee is completely pain free. The hop and stick test was sore on the dodgy knee and had to ice it afterwards.

Anyway, feeling a sense of accomplishment I then headed for the scales. I feared the worst as I knew the long layoff and Christmas excesses had taken their toll. Was nearly afraid to look at the numbers but eventually did and am 13 lbs over where I want to be. Was enough to make me feed the last of the mince pies to the kids after their dinner so I couldn't be tempted!!!

Managed to get out at lunch time for a 5 mile run before the winds and rain hit by taking advantage of a rare quiet day at work.

Headed to the gaa pitch track, turned on a podcast and zoned out for 5 miles. Knee was slightly sore from the assessment earlier so will keep a close eye on it!

5 mile @ 8:53. Avg HR: 149. Max HR: 155

Back to the pool in the morning.

Back in Black

Wednesday 3rd January:

4 mile @ 8:47 (with some fast bits) Avg HR: 149. Max:174

Ended up missing out on the pool first thing this morning. It was a bit wild out with the storm and lots of our area was without power with lots of trees down. So turned over for an extra hour's sleep instead.

Did get up a few minutes early and done some resistance band stuff on the knee so the guilt wouldn't consume me :D

Circuit training class started back tonight and was delighted to get back into it. There was plenty of upper body stuff which was tough but needed! (Trainer got lots of shiny new weights for Christmas!)

Done 15 circuits twice with 40 seconds at each station.

Had planned an easy few miles after this until running buddy informed me of his plans to do some faster stuff. He wanted to do 4 x 5mins tempo work up at the pitch so figuring I could give him some company and moral support I decided to tag along.

Started out with 1 mile warm up and decided to do 3 of the reps with him but would do 2mins tempo, 2 mins jog recovery, 1 min tempo and then take the 2 min jog recovery with him. I did this for 3 of his reps and followed it with a slow cool down lap and plenty of stretching while waiting for him to complete the last rep.

Was happy with the faster stuff as I was able to keep up for the 2 mins and wasn't puffing too hard and knee was fine too. It's still tender from the hop and stick's but nothing major.

Iced the knee when I got home as a precaution.

Thursday 4th Jan:

Pool running: 90 widths

Set the alarm for 5:45 this morning to get back into the habit of going to the pool, had the porridge and headed off.

Left it at the 90 to ease myself back into it and knee was feeling good afterwards.

Have the knee scan in Santry tomorrow so will know more then!

OOnegative

All the best with the scan J, hope it goes well.

Back in Black

OOnegative wrote: »

All the best with the scan J, hope it goes well.

Thanks B, at least I'll know for sure what the issue is and then hopefully can fix it!!

Back in Black

Friday 5th January:

4 mile @ 9:17 Avg HR: 141; Max: 161
Early start with a trip to Santry for the scan on the knee. Will get results on Tuesday from the doc.

Took advantage of getting back early by doing a good core workout and some resistance band work on the knee.

Had company in the form of one of the lads from the club for the run late on in the evening. It was bitterly cold and starting to freeze hard when we headed out. Kept the pace nice and handy and enjoyed the chat. Not a bother with the knee so all good!!

Saturday 6th January

5.1 miles @ 9:55 Avg HR: 146; Max: 174

Was fairly flexible time-wise today so sent a message out to the lads from the club to see who would bite. Only one taker, which was usual running buddy who is following a plan - his plan had 45 minutes with hills. I was a bit wary of the hills but decided to join him and play it by ear. Went to a different (and more hilly) forest park than usual to get the big hills in. Took it handy on the hills and kept a close eye on the knee with the understanding that I would pull the plug if there was any issues. Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about and the knee was fine and I ended up enjoying this. A decent workout and finally feel like I'm making progress.

Done some more resistance band work for the knee.

Back in Black

Sunday 7th January: 6.2 mile @ 8:43 avg pace

Headed out early with one of the lads from the club on the forest trails. Bitterly cold with the car registering -2 degrees when we were starting. But was well wrapped up and once we got moving it was a perfect morning for running. The sun came out shortly into the run and I started to enjoy myself. First time in a long while that I actually enjoyed a run, rather than constantly checking the knee for feedback or worrying about how it felt.

Pace was fairly handy and nice to get more miles in the legs. Had a good stretch afterwards and legs felt good.

Stepped on the scales after I got back and 2lbs down for the week. Another 11lbs to shift.

Done another decent core workout this evening and some more stretches for the knee.

Weekly total: 24.3 miles

Happy with that for a decent weeks work.