Phoenix Nights

Chartsengrafs

It's time for a new log. I'm always keen to hear the thoughts of others regarding training so perhaps this log will be an opportunity for some discussion! I hope to populate weekly. I tend to run five days a week throughout the year, though sometimes four is all I squeeze in.
I missed a few weeks in November through holidays and sickness but was pretty consistent prior to that. Have also been reasonably consistent since so hopefully this will help to keep me on the straight and narrow I'll backfill with the past week or so that I have data for.

Wed 23 Dec 9km 4:57/km. Can't really remember this, but it's on my watch so I must have done it...

Thurs 24 Dec 7km 4:49 /km. Battery died but think I did a 7km loop.

Fri 25 Dec 8.07km 4:38 /km. Traditional Christmas Day run. Got pretty cold and wet

Sun 27 Dec 16.34km. 5.22 /km. Very easy pace run around a waterlogged trail route. Heavy on the legs all the same.

Tues 29 Dec Hills. 10km or so (not sure what I was doing to the Garmin). Main set was 4*1.4km laps with recovery - laps were a slight variation of the Munich Mile in the Phoenix Park. 3:58, 3:58, 4:00, 4:02 /km pace for each 1.4km of the main set. Very wet ground, but lovely morning and good fun.

I've a wedding on tomorrow but hope to get a few easy miles in beforehand.

tang1

What's the goals & pbs Basster? Best of luck with your log.

Chartsengrafs

Thanks Tang. Goals aren't set in stone but Dunshaughlin 10k will likely be a target, K Club 10k also. A few 5ks also but that will likely be based on whatever races the club targets - joined a new one in June this year following a few years messing about in triathlon. Came into that from jogging/running and it's back I go . From memory:

5k 18:38 (2015)
5m 30:4X (2015)
10k: 38.21 (2015)
HM: 1:27 (2013)
Mar: 3:18 (2013 also. Bad day at the office, like everyone else I'm sure!)

During the tri years I was often only running 2/3 times a week. Finished two seasons with a sole running focus however - in 2011 and 2013 and upped the miles accordingly from June. To be clear though - for any of those PBs I was running quite consistently at the time (no biking or swimming).

tang1

Was thinking I recognised your Boards name from the Darkside alright, nice PB's, no doubt with more running focus you'll take strips off them.

Chartsengrafs

Basster wrote: »

HM: 1:27 (2013)
Mar: 3:18 (2013 also. Bad day at the office, like everyone else I'm sure!)

It occurred to me today that both of these results were from 2014, not 2013. Not quite sure what I was thinking!

Wed 30 Dec 6.06km. 4:57 /km Short one as planned. Still pretty windy out

Fri 1 Jan 11.0km 4:52 /km. Two late nights following the wedding and New Year's but got a few miles in. Home in Dunshaughlin for a few days so popped out to Kiltale GAA. My runner mother informed me that there is a 750m trail around the grounds. So I did many laps of that. Tried to keep to 5min/km but did the second last km in 4:07, for no apparent reason other than boredom from going around in circles. Nice and flat, back to hills tomorrow.

tang1

If your ever around Kiltale way and need a running partner give me a holler, I only live around the corner. Happy New Year to you.

Chartsengrafs

tang1 wrote: »

If your ever around Kiltale way and need a running partner give me a holler, I only live around the corner. Happy New Year to you.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks. And likewise, happy new year to you and all the Tangs.

Chartsengrafs

Sat 2 Jan 6.54km. Main part was a mile time trial (but we did two of them). Mile 1: 5:39 (lost a few secs with a wrong turn ), Mile 2: 5:44. But a short session overall and the mile paces were a bit off for a time trial.

Sun 3 Jan 16.21km. 4:56 min/km. Nice morning for this.

Tues 5 Jan 9 km, intervals. Held up in work so didn't make the track. Went to an alternate session, 6*800m intervals in the Park, in the dark. Bit of a hilly loop, good drag on it so a nice workout. Did them as 3 mins on, 2 off.
Paces between 3:40 and 3:48 min/km for the 3 minute parts.

Wed 6 Jan 6km easy at 5:08min/km
Soon as I stood up from my desk at 6pm my legs started to give out a bit. I felt a 30 minute recovery run would be beneficial so did that. Found a totally new loop too. Got very windy and frankly yuck at the end.

Thurs 7 Jan 11.1km. Tempo. 9.5km in 40:40. 1.6km slow recovery.

Weird session. Usually do 20-30 mins, and I would aim to hold a faster pace than this. But because it was 6-odd miles I held back a bit, despite the lads I'm usually close to taking off like hares. Very cold out, but lovely too in a way.

Ate well this week, and doing a bit of core work at home. Keeping the mat unfurled in the sitting room reminds me to plank.

Looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Chartsengrafs

Sat 9 Jan 10km Hills/Speed. 400s uphill, picking up after 200m. Did 10 of these (I think). Speed mostly in the 3:40's for the 400s.

Sun 10 Jan Sunday 10. 16.13km 4:56 min/km. Nice cold morning.

Tues 12 Jan 10.49km. Track/intervals. (100m, 200m, 300m, 400m). 3 rounds of this. Track started to get very slippy so ended with 5*200s. Session was too bit-y to mess with watch too much but the 3 400s were in 1:25. Not sure about the rest. It was freeeeeezing for this!! Serious wind chill.

Wed 13 Jan 6.30km at easy pace, 5:05 min/km. Same loop I came across last week. Will continue to very slowly add to this by maybe 300m a week. Felt good.

Thurs 14 Jan 11.22km. Tempo. 9.7km in 40:26. 3 miles out (4:15ish pace), picked up for 3 miles back (3:50-something pace). 1 mile recovery.

I've been eating OK, but have been told I'm starting to look too skinny which I generally take to be a good sign for how my running is going. The weather this week is really showing how mild the winter has been to date. Still, beats the rain and I like the cold weather.
Talked an old (younger!) workmate into joining the club, he covered the 9.7km tempo comfortably in 39 mins or so, had a good year racing last year up to marathon distance, while training by himself. Hopefully he'll really take off.

Chartsengrafs

Sat 16 Jan Hills. This was a short session in terms of distance, at 8.6km but the main set was 5km of tempo hills. It was a real lung buster, and different to the Munich Mile loops we often do. Continuous loops of the all the steeper hills around the Magazine Fort (Phoenix Park) at a decent tempo. Feel great now though. Good prep for Eir XC BHAA next week. Hopefully.

Chartsengrafs

Sun 17 Jan 16.11km at 4:53 min/km pace. Stuck to the trails, still a bit boggy in places.

Tues 19 Jan. 9.09km - 1 mile intervals. Again, didn't make the track but did an alternative session of mile repeats. The loop is 800m or so (we go around twice), and has a long drag of a hill. So it's a tough enough mile. Worked well with another guy, mile times were 6.05, 6.08, 6.04, 6.07.

Wed 20 Jan 7.03km at 5:05 min/km. My legs were very tired today, although I felt fine last night, those mile reps + the harder than usual hill session on Saturday had my legs in ribbons. Not clever the week of a race.

Thurs 9.09km. Another easy one at 5:01 pace, legs were a bit better.

Sat 23 Jan 10.8km Eir BHAA Cross Country 5 Mile.
I haven't done many XC races, and this was my first race since a Parkrun (if that counts) in early November. I decided to start back in the pack a bit as I was conscious that 5 miles is a bit of a slog. As a result I spent the race passing people steadily, and didn't let anyone get by me. Bit of a funny one overall, I didn't exactly kill myself, and felt OK afterwards. A few guys from the club finished about 30 seconds ahead of me, guys who I should be finishing closer to. I'm not disappointed but I think I held back a bit. However I'm a happy with the race execution in a way. My limited experience of XC is that once I find a pace I kind of just stick to it. It was a good work out anyway.
My incoherent rambling review of the race indicates that I'm not sure if I'm happy with it or not!!!

Time: 32:05, 03:58 min/km pace. 36th out of 163 in men's race.

Sun 24 Jan 16.39km, 5:12 min/km. Intended for an easy 6 to 8 but kept going. 10+ miles may not be ideal the day after a race but I feel it's important to get these miles in. Took it handy anyway.

Chartsengrafs

I neglected to mention that my team got 2nd in Category A on Saturday. Granted, if you string 3 people together for a BHAA race you'll probably end up with a prize of some description. But I turned a profit on BHAA races in 2015 and am on course to do so in 2016

Tues 26 Jan 13km total, main session 15*400m intervals

3km warm up and strides. First two easy in 90 and 87 seconds.
Remainder varied in pace. (Not in this order): 81 secs*3, 82 secs*3, 83 secs*4, 84 secs*2, 86 secs*1. Got slightly quicker as they progressed.

tang1

You just planning on the remainder of the XC on the BHAA calendar or any plans to hit the road for a race?

Chartsengrafs

Under orders to stick to cross country for the remainder of the season, then onto the road. Shame, would love to give a 5k a bash. But I suppose March will be here in no time and the road races will then come thick and fast.

Chartsengrafs

Wed 27 Jan Recovery, 7.44km @ 5:11min/km. Still adding a bit of distance to this recovery run each week. Felt surprisingly OK after Tuesday.

Thurs 28 Jan 10.01km. Tempo. 20:44 tempo (was supposed to be 20 minutes) at 4:04 min/km. This is around a 800m loop with a fair drag on it so it's slower than those lovely tempo laps of the Polo Grounds later in the year!

Sat 30 Jan Hills/XC/General pain session! 13.47km
1.6km easy warmup
2.31km hilly loop, easy to get bearings at 5 min/km
2.53km at 03:50 min/km, around the Acres. Boggy in places.
2.32km hilly loop at 04:01 min/km
3.64km mix of previous two loops together - 04:10 min/km
1km-odd cool down. Very cold morning. Great session. Tired

Chartsengrafs

Wed 27 Jan Recovery, 7.44km @ 5:11min/km. Still adding a bit of distance to this recovery run each week. Felt surprisingly OK after Tuesday.

Thurs 28 Jan 10.01km. Tempo. 20:44 tempo (was supposed to be 20 minutes) at 4:04 min/km. This is around a 800m loop with a fair drag on it so it's slower than those lovely tempo laps of the Polo Grounds later in the year!

Sat 30 Jan Hills/XC/General pain session! 13.47km
1.6km easy warmup
2.31km hilly loop, easy to get bearings at 5 min/km
2.53km at 03:50 min/km, around the Acres. Boggy in places.
2.32km hilly loop at 04:01 min/km
3.64km mix of previous two loops together - 04:10 min/km
1km-odd cool down. Very cold morning. Great session. Tired

Chartsengrafs

Looking through this, I got out 23 days during January which was bang on target.

Sun 31 Jan 17 km 5:07 min/km. Bit of a slog after Saturday but happy to get through it. First time to go over 10 miles in quite a while.

Tues 2 Feb 10.03km incl 4*800
This was thankfully shorter than the usual track sessions. 800s were in 2:52, 2:52, 2:54, 2:47.
Oh, and it was freeeeeeezing out in ALSAA! Wearing gloves, the whole lot. Looked like one of those soft footballers on TV who people like to slag off for wearing snoods etc.

Wed 3 Feb 10km Remarkable how much fresher the legs feel after a shorter Tuesday session. Took this handy, didn't check my watch until I got home, averaged 5min/km.

Thurs 4 Feb 6.24km at 4:53min/km
Another easy one in place of the usual Thursday tempo session. Race on Saturday, felt nice and fresh tonight. Though hungry, as usual

tang1

Best of luck Saturday, normally a great race.

Chartsengrafs

Sat 06 Feb Garda BHAA 4 Mile XC

4 mile cross country, taking in the hills around the Magazine Fort (I believe the course is quite similar to that for the Dublin Novice C’Ships which I missed).
Not much to report, felt I pushed a bit harder than the Eir race. Starting the final lap I felt like I was approaching the red zone - it was a good honest effort, so I was happy.
My watch averaged 4.01min/km which is reasonable for a tough hilly course. (Ground underfoot was grand though).
Got a team prize with work, 1st in Cat B I think. Placed 48/246. Although it was quite strong at the front end a lot of the people behind me were novices/very new to running as the Lord Mayor’s Series (I think it’s called) were taking part.

9.64km Total

Sun 07 Feb 16.29km 5:06min/km.
Trails are getting slightly firmer by the week! Felt grand after the race but didn’t push the pace. Did the first few miles very easy.

Tues 09 Feb 10.2km
12*400 with 100 recovery
Woeful night out in ALSAA, bit sleety and windy. The 100m recovery meant I eased back on the reps (slightly). Wasn’t hugely enthusiastic about this session. 400s averaged about 85 seconds.

Wed 10 Feb 10.5km
Longer than usual for a lunchtime run. Down to Ringsend Park, 3 or 4 laps with a few workmates then back. 4:40min/km

Thurs 11 Dec 8.8km incl 20 min tempo
Usually hilly 800m loop. Ave 4min/km for the tempo part.

Sat 13 Dec 8km steady hills.
Had a late night the night before and despite not really drinking at all suffered a bit through this! I think it was just pure tiredness.

Sun 14 Dec 16.1km @ 4:47 min/km
Did the first two kilometres very slowly, averaging about 6 min/km. The remainder were mostly in the low 4:30s. Quicker than a usual Sunday but more comfortable in a way.

124 days to Dunshaughlin.

Chartsengrafs

I just remembered that I was going to start logging in miles this week. It will have to wait until next!

Chartsengrafs

I decided to change to logging in miles, for a number of reasons. It's proving strange so far after about 8/9 years of tracking runs in kilometres.

Tues 16 Feb 4.5 miles

Unfortunate session. It was a short session to begin with as there was a race starting on the track. Training had to be curtailed, but it was scheduled so no problems. Issue was I had to pull out of a 2 mile TT because of shin pain.

400m: 84 sec, 400m: 80 sec. (To start with)
2 mile TT: Did 0.8 mile at 5.42 pace. Stopped, stretched, did 0.65 mile at 5:41 pace. Didn't lose any sleep, a bit of shin tightness happens every now and then and I could feel some tightness in the afternoon.
Just felt it may have been a good indicator for a 5k.

Wed 17 Feb 5.5 miles at 7:54 pace.

Legs felt better, stretched a lot today.

Chartsengrafs

Thurs 18 Feb 6 miles

Lovely cold, crisp Phoenix night in the park.
20 minute tempo, I covered 3.15 miles in the 20 minutes. Mile splits: 6:28, 6:27, 6:18

Again, pig of a loop really with two big hills per mile.. Felt I was dawdling a bit so pushed a bit harder for the second half. Shins still not 100% but feeling OK.

Friday 19 Feb 5.8 miles 7:53 pace.

I usually take Friday off but I’m away for much of the weekend so won’t get out tomorrow morning. Up around Ringsend Park at lunchtime.

Chartsengrafs

Last week was my first bad week in a while, but luckily it picked up as the week went on. I had a particularly bad blister-type thing which meant no running from Wednesday to Saturday. 4 days off felt like a fortnight!

Mon 22 Feb 6.4 miles 7:48 pace Easy run at lunch with a workmate, up around Ringsend Park.

Tues 23 Feb 1/2 mile reps I didn't make the track so went to the alternate session in the park. We did 5 1/2 mile repeats, times were between 2:47 and 2:53. I was happy with these as the lap was far from flat. Can't recall the distance including warmup and cool down.

Wednesday to Saturday I was limping around feeling sorry for myself.

Sat 27 Feb Bike 1 hour!! I haven't been on the bike since mid last year. I got really bored and remembered why I don't cycle anymore. Couldn't get into it but I suppose it was a bit of cross training. Got a puncture a mile from home!

Sun 28 Feb 11 miles @ 8:19
My foot felt considerably better by Saturday as it was well padded from Thursday. I intended to do 6 miles but I knew immediately that I wasn't going to have any trouble. Kept going for 11 easy miles which I'll build to 12 soon.

Mon 29 Feb 6.8 miles @ 8:00
I don't often run home from work, think the only reason I did was to try some new runners (which were great). Went an indirect route home, took it what felt very easy and didn't look at the watch.

Chartsengrafs

Tues 01 Mar 6.8 miles Various intervals

Main set:

100,200,300,400
100,200,300,400
200,200,200,200
100,200,300,400

Windy night as usual out in ALSAA!

Trying to decipher Garmin output.. 300s in around 60 to 62. 400s were 83/84. 200s 38 to 41. Eating everything in sight at present.

Chartsengrafs

Thurs 3 March 6 miles
I opted to forego a tempo session, as usual on a raceweek. Took it easy at 7:56 pace.

Sat 5 March BHAA AIB/NUI Maynooth 4 Mile XC 29th in men's race
I got my first top 30 in a BHAA race on Saturday, and it was no softer a field than others that I've done in the past. Though possibly softer than other XC races as the season is really over.
I took the approach of going out hard(er) for a change, first mile was 6.07 which was spicy enough for sticky ground. Finished with very little in the tank. Reckon we are due a team prize in work, unfortunately there were problems with the calcs in that regard. Clubmates retained their men and women's titles from last year which was nice.

Total 5.7 miles

Sun 6 March 5 miles
I don't often have late nights anymore but Saturday night was one. Did 5 easy miles at 7:59 pace. A struggle.

Tues 8 March 10*400 Total 6.4 miles
This went as well at 10*400s ever has for me. We've a habit of doing 14 or 16 and I mentally just bail a bit and run them in 84-ish, mostly as I don't see the benefit.
Times: 79,82,82,83,84,81,81,81,82,81. Slightly less windy than usual, which helped.

Wed 9 March 5.75 miles a 7:55 pace
Not much to report here, took it easy.

Bit of pain in my hip of all places after the last two Tuesday track sessions. Something to keep an eye on as it's a bit uncomfortable today. Next race is the MSB 5k which is Sunday week I think. Hope to give it a good go.

Chartsengrafs

Thurs 10 March 4.75 mile tempo, 5.3 miles total
Paces: 6:38, 6:38, 6:29, 6:17, 6:10
We're on an easy week apparently, that can be seen in the shorter, steadier tempo. I treated it as a progression run.

Sat 12 March 4.6 miles, short session.
Including 20 mins steady @ 6:56 pace. Again, easier than what we might usually do on a Saturday.

Sun 13 March 12.1 miles @ 8:00 pace
For the most part, I ran with two others. Paces were all over the place, slow as 8:30 for one, and a few in the 7:30s, 7:40s. We weren't paying too much heed to the watch. Somehow averaged exactly 8. Even though I found the pace easy I was pretty tired finishing. I've been eating terribly this week and need to blame something!

Chartsengrafs

Low mileage week with a race on Sunday, and a missed easy run on Wednesday.

Tues 15 March 12*400 with 100 recovery
Neither of the two lads I run with were there, so I did the first 8 alone, then the final 4 with a friend who dropped back from the first group. Pace suffered as I ran alone. 6.3 miles.

Wed 16 March Zilch.
Intended to do 5/6 easy miles at lunch as I had a busy evening but was having a rough day in work so didn't make it out.

Thurs 17 March 9 miles @ 7:45 pace
I had a few beers and dinner the night before St Patrick's day so it took about 3 miles to get into my stride. Took this nice and easy doing 1/2 mile loops around Kiltale GAA. Did 18 of them - some days you just want to switch the brain off and jog. Only remembered to PM Tang (sorry if you're reading this!) when I was en route.

Fri 18 March 6 miles @ 7:48 pace
Easy run at lunch with some workmates.

Sun MSB 5k 18:13 (chip time says 18:17). 5:47 min/mile

I checked a table on Runner's World the night before and expected this pace to be (just) under 18 minutes. A little disappointed not to be a bit closer but it's a 25 second PB which is a decent chunk. I considered my PB soft - it was from a ParkRun last November which was a bit of a time trial (18.38). It was great to be pulled along by some similar-paced runners today.
Couldn't fault this race. Far as I can tell, an honest 5k too (unless I rang a bit long). Sub 24 minutes for Dunboyne 4 mile is a real target and this is a confidence booster. We shall see in time..
Oh and I came 100th in the provisional results, lest I think I'm great or anything. 100th!! Great standard.

Total 5.4 miles

Myles Splitz

Well done S.

Always a positive when you can be less than thrilled with a PB means there are area's where you can make gains and shows you have the motivation to train to do so.

The times will come. Main thing is they are going in the right direction

tang1

25sec improvement is good going over 5k, well done. As Myles said times are going in the right direction.

Chartsengrafs

Tues 22 March
6.5 miles
12*400, 100 recovery. Two slowish ones to start, remainder in 82,83 seconds.

Wednesday 23 March
6.4 miles @ 8:04
Nice evening, took in a bit of the park. Struggled to keep this slow but no point in pushing it the day after a session.


Friday 25 March
5.5 miles @ 8:01
Bit of a sore throat this week, particularly bad on Thursday. I skipped the normal tempo session so did this easy one on Friday, all trails. Kept it short as day before a hill session.

Saturday 26 March
6.8 miles hills
Incl 4.2 miles of continuous trail hills. Steady, averaging 6:45 pace. I went to the Ireland game on Friday night, had two drinks, no proper dinner and that was enough to make this tougher than it needed to be. Enjoyable session all the same.

Sun 27 March
11.2 miles @ 7:44 pace. Seemed to pick up the pace for the final few miles. Lovely morning out even if I was wrecked after the clock going forward

Busy week in work next week, but feel in reasonable shape going into Dunboyne 4 mile next weekend.

Chartsengrafs

I typed a big long post but lost it. I'm not going to put it together again so in summary:

- I got a virus and was pretty sick so missed eleven days or so.
- This was the first speedbump of my badly-titled log.
- I missed Dunboyne which was a big target but my mother got 3rd O60 so not all bad!
- I've really only started back this week
- I'm not going to cry about it, although it is a setback!

Chartsengrafs

Bit of catching up to do! I don’t know where the past two weeks have gone!

Monday 11 April
Back to it. 4 Miles easy @ 8:09
4 slow miles along the canal. Rained heavily throughout. Still not fully OK, but great to be out. Really enjoyed this.

Tuesday 12 April
Too soon to go back to the track so I went to the alternate session in the park. 10*400 on grass. Intended to do these east in 90 seconds but ultimately the majority were 87-89 seconds. 5.2 miles

Thursday 14 April 5.1 miles
Incl 4*1km. I can’t make out my Garmin splits but I certainly wasn’t going quicker than 6:10 pace for these. Felt comfortable but certainly wasn’t going to be pushing these yet.

Sat 16 April 4.5 miles
Short session but mostly continuous steep hills (from memory). Strength session. Tough.

Sun 17 April 9 Miles @ 8:17 pace
Lovely morning but started to fade. Still not 100%. Breathing fine, legs fine but I just wanted to lie on the couch by the end! Still, good to get a week in.

Chartsengrafs

Fell pretty much back to myself this week. Which is good.

Tuesday 19 April
Back to the track. 12*400 with 50m active recovery. Which is barely any recovery. Thought I was going to puke from number 11. This was not fun. 6 miles

Wednesday 20 April
Easy recovery along the canal. Felt wrecked after last night but felt a few easy miles would help. 4 miles @ 8:07 pace.

Thursday 21 April
30 min hill tempo. Steep hills for 30 minutes solid. I started at an easy pace just to get through this. Starting to feel a bit stronger. This went OK. 5 miles total.

Saturday 23 April
Sun shining, no wind, perfect morning
4*300m with 400 active recovery then 4*1km.
5:47 to 5:49 pace for the 1km bits. Happy with this.

Sunday 24 April 12 miles @ 7:58 pace.
Super morning again. Bit quicker than I would have liked, particularly a few early miles in the 7:40s, but good to get the miles in. Tired enough to from 10 miles on if I’m honest!
Home in time to watch the end of London Marathon, Liege -Bastogne-Liege, league final...

Chartsengrafs

Tuesday 26 April 6.1 miles

Same as last week with 12*400 with 50 active recovery. I didn't suffer as much as last week but it was blowing a gale so we
eased off on pace.

Wednesday 27 April 5.4 miles

I sometimes struggle to maintain a slow pace on Wednesdays, regardless of how tired I am from Tuesday night. Happy to maintain
a 8:06 average and it felt very easy.

Thursday 27 April 6.7 miles

Main set was 25 minutes continuous tempo up and down the Khyber in the Phoenix Park. A good hill session in very cold conditions!
Worked well with a few others, enjoyable session.

Friday 28 April

I'm off to a wedding shortly and I won't be back until tomorrow. I will miss tomorrow am training as a result and don't fancy
going out in the pm with a long run Sunday morning.
Happy to get some recovery miles into tired legs from last night's hills. Hungry now!
4.2 miles @ 8:14 pace.

Chartsengrafs

Sun 1 May
6 miles @ 7:57 pace I had to move some things around, so left the long run until Monday. Just realised I messed up the dates in my previous post

Mon 2 May
10 miles @ 8:03. Headed out by myself, lovely morning for this.

Tues 4 May 5 miles
Main set was 2*1 miles with full recovery.
Mile 1 : 5:40
Mile 2 : 5:38
I like this sort of session a lot, and find it valuable the week of a race. Safe to say I won't be breaking the four-minute mark any time soon

Thurs 6 May
6 miles at 7:53. Super evening in the park. Sure what else would you be doing!?

Chartsengrafs

The virus/whatever it is that I eventually got rid of came back over the past few weeks. This has been pretty frustrating, it’s no fun feeling crap all the time! Feel a good bit better this week than last but still not 100%.

Sat 7 May 4.1 miles (1.4 miles @ 7:45 warmup, Race: 2.6 miles at 6:02 pace)
My first ever DNF. Pulled out half way through RTE 5 mile. I didn’t even feel disappointed. Didn’t really feel anything, it was odd. Felt OK starting but running fast will bring out any problems I suppose.
I was quite spaced on Friday evening, thought I was just tired after a week’s work but it was obviously more than that.

Sun 8 May 2.6 miles
This proved that Saturday wasn’t caused by mental weakness. Went for some slow miles and was out of puff after a mile! Walked/ran for 2.6 miles total, aborted the session and went home. It was a shame, it was a nice day and I was running in unfamiliar woods in Kilkenny. I just wanted to enjoy it, but it wasn’t to be


Tues 10 May 5.7 miles
I felt it would be best to skip the track, with how I was feeling so went to the session in the park.
Main set was 6*900m (ish) on grass. The rain started coming down almost horizontally. Puzzling, felt flat beforehand and after, but ran fine. Wasn’t exactly WR pace from memory but I didn’t fell sluggish.

Wed 11 May
Hoped for recovery miles and despite eating, sleeping well I was only good to lie down after work. Gah!

Thurs 12 May 4.8 miles
20 minute tempo. Felt better than Wednesday, glands still up etc though so I eased my way into it. Paces 6:28, 6:21, 6:20, 6:14 for 3.2 miles / 20 minutes.
(Doctor agrees glands are up, sent me for blood tests Friday).


Sat 14 May 6.8 miles.
Pyramid hill session. Intervals were in minutes: 1,2,3,4,4,3,2,1. This was around laps of the Garda XC course/Munich hills in the PhoenixPark. Work in a nice steady group with a few others.
Right hamstring became quite painful Saturday night however. Energy levels felt ok, up to my eyes in Ibuprofen however.

Sun 15 May 10 miles @ 7:59
Enjoyable run, absolutely flew by. Didn’t feel the need to go any further. Aware of the hamstring throughout though, so undertook icing and rolling between now and:


Tues 17 May 6.5 miles
I didn’t make the track again, but went to the session on grass in the park. This took the form of 1 minute on, 1 minute off, 20 times (40 minutes). So it made for a good session.
The first 13 or so were 5:40-5:50 sort of pace. The remainder were around 6:00-6:05 pace (but I did pick up the recovery pace). Probably should have done this for the lot. Felt OK in general, still some glandular discomfort but not as bad as last week at all.

Wed 18 May 5.3 miles @ 8:15
Enjoyable lunchtime run in Trinity with a few workmates including one who turned O45 earlier this year and seems to have won his O45 cat in everything he has entered since!

Chartsengrafs

Friday 7 miles @ 7:10 pace
I haven’t run after work on a Friday in a while, as we usually do hills Saturday mornings. I took Thursday off so this felt light and fairly easy.
The lunchtime burrito maybe wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. Fitted this in before a leaving do ta work. Open bar, but had three bottles and went home. The things we do…

Sunday 22 May
St Anne’s Summer 10k 38:55. 7th place out of 300-odd; a friendly but thin field for this one.
Ran out of puff completely at 5 miles and walked for exactly 12 seconds twice. Was just happy to get finished. Another struggle but I had to get the RTE DNF monkey off my back.
A good bit slower than my PB but in a funny way a confidence booster.


Total 7.5 miles

Tuesday 24 May 5.6 miles
Pyramid 100, 200, 300, 400, 400, 300, 200 ,100. I was on lane 5/6 for these so the 400s were closer to 430 probably.
Then 3*800 with full recovery. Proper jelly legs on the last one. No idea what paces I was doing! Glands are back to normal, energy levels are fine, so I'm feeling good again in general.

Wednesday 25 May 5.3 miles @ 8:03
Trinity at lunchtime. Intended to be easy recovery but I was running and chatting with a workmate and drifted into the 7:40s for a few, but no big deal.

Thursday 26 May 6.5 miles
We had a 2 mile time trial after a 1 mile warm-up. I heard 11.34 as I finished, though I think it may have been a fraction short. Either way, a nippy enough pace for 2 miles. Jogged 3.5 afterwards through trails and was starving at the finish.

Friday 27 May 5 miles @ 8:21
Nice trot around Trinity with some workmates at lunchtime, closer to a more appropriate recovery pace this time.

Chartsengrafs

Sunday 29 May 5 miles
Included Bohermeen 5k in 18:47 (lost a few seconds by taking a wrong turn (again!) going into the carpark at the end). Still not great, struggled in the 3rd mile. Still, I was 4th scorer on the team and we were 1st overall. So that's nice. Lovely race, I'll be back next year.

Tuesday 31 May 5 miles
Short pyramid session on the track.

Wednesday 1 June 5.2 miles at 8.15
Easy grass recovery in Trinners

Thursday 2 June 6.3 miles
1st round of club 2 mile league. We're not allowed wear watches. Bit of fun. Think I clocked 11.16 which I am happy with. Pretty sure it's 80-odd metres short however. Would love another crack at 5k soon.
After the TT I did 3.8 miles at 7.30, pace increasing from 8.11 to 7.10.

Saturday 4 June 7 miles
Pyramid again, 1,2,3,4,4,3,2,1 minutes efforts with various active jogs in between. Worked well with a few others, paces were quite variable as it was a hilly course (Garda XC route / Munich Hills). Really enjoyed this.

Sunday 5 June 9 miles @ 7.50
I was at Forbidden Fruit so took a lie in and went out myself noon long before noon. This turned into a dreadful slog. I could blame a few pints yesterday or the burger van dinner, but really it was the the heat wot done it. It was very warm, daft time to be running.

Not a bad week. Hip is still at me intermittently which is a concern but training is going fine.

Chartsengrafs

Tuesday 7 June 6 Miles
Track session, 10 * 430m. I say 430m as I was doing laps in lane 5 as opposed to the inside, so this distance is approximate.
Times were between 87 and 91, mostly 90/91. I suppose this is the equivalent of 83/84s for 400m. I was quite comfortable despite the heat and was determined to keep these steady.

Chartsengrafs

Wednesday 8 June 5 Miles @8.05 pace
Bit of recovery along the canal. Still finding it very warm out! Had another therapy session on my hip/hip flexors tonight and I'm starting to feel the benefit. I just need to do the maintenance work now.
More core this evening. I've done core work most days over the last 3/4 weeks so it's good to be back in the habit.

Chartsengrafs

Thursday 9 June
Round 2 of the 2 mile league. I ran 11:12 so quite happy with that. Over 3.5 steady miles afterwards. 6.6 miles

Saturday 11 June 7.5 Miles
Hills, pyramid session again. The 'on' bits varied widly in terms of pace depending on whether they were 1,2,3 or 4 minutes in duration and which part of the course they were 'on' for.
The first 3 lads went off and I ended up doing this by myself with various other groups behind, as none of the guys of my current level were around. I enjoyed doing it alone for a change but did the 'off' bits quicker than usual, which is probably no harm.

Sunday 12 June 10.6 miles @ 8.05
Early start helping to marshall the Airtricity 5 Mile thingie in the Phoenix Park. Got a handy job this year which involved the setup. I was there for 7.30am but finished by 9.30. I had my gear with me and got the miles in. Tired legs by the end. Spent much of the afternoon standing on a terrace in Parnell Park watching Meath v Louth so I'm glad to be sitting down!

6 days to Dunshaughlin 10k, then holidays.

Chartsengrafs

Tuesday 14 June
Short session, 8*400 with 200 recovery. Amazing the difference a longer recovery makes. First and last in 80 seconds, remainder were 81 / 82 seconds. 5.4 miles

Wednesday 15 June
Recovery in Trinity at lunchtime. 5.5 miles @ 8.14.

Thursday 16 June
Did my own thing tonight. Didn't look at the watch, felt nice and easy at 7.53 pace for 6.7 miles. That's me done until Saturday I think.

tang1

Best of luck in Dunshaughlin.

denis b

Enjoy Dunshaughlin and wishing I was doing more of your speed work :cool:. Will be there too.

Chartsengrafs

Thanks lads. I've done DCM a few times and get just as nervous before this race, it's ridiculous!

jake1970

Best of luck tomorrow.

Kennyg71

All the best in Dunshaughlin have a good one.

Chartsengrafs

I never do race reports really but here goes nothing..

Saturday 18 June
Michael Manning Memorial Dunshaughlin 10k

By way of background, I'm from the town originally, but live in Dublin. This was my first race in 2007. I did it in 48:48 and thought I was a superstar. I haven't done it every year since, often due to exams/work, triathlon. Times have been:

2007 : 48:48
2008 : 46:19
2009 : 42:24
2012 : 40:00
2016: 38:36 (Can't believe it's been 4 years since the last go)

My aim was to run 6:15-ish miles, not to get into the red like my last few races, keep something for the hills and finish strong, and I broadly achieved that.

Mile 1: 6:08
It's a fast first mile. Kept controlled, no issues

Mile 2: 6:16
Settled into my pace. Nothing to speak of.

Mile 3: 6:15
Felt grand (See this is why I don't do race reports)

Mile 4: 6:11
Got through 5k in 19.26. I passed a guy who finished ahead of me in St Annes 10k a few weeks back. I was in bad shape coming back from a virus and felt he shouln't be ahead of me. Passed him easily here. There's a bit of a hill around this point but it felt ok.

Mile 5: 6:20
The hill wasn't as bad as I remembered. I eased off going up it, ever so slightly. Made a good few places as people suffered around me.

Mile 6: 6:04
Pushed on a bit.

0.24 mile: 5:57 pace.
Pushed on at the end for 38:36.

Total for the day 8.4 miles

This was 15 seconds slower than my PB but I'm suspicious of the course where my PB is from, (I think it was a bit short). This race certainly wasn't.
I felt OK finishing and ran a negative split. I'm pleased with the race execution, the second half was 19:10. Perhaps I ran a little too conservatively as I was comfortable for most, but if I went out 19.10 in the first half who knows what would have happened. Quite happy overall. I'll sleep well tonight.

tang1

Nice going, well executed race.

Kennyg71

Great racing really well done.

Chartsengrafs

Thanks lads. I hope to do Fingal 10k in a month or so and hopefully improve. I went on holidays the day after Dunshaughlin so there's been little done since.

Sunday 19 June 6.7 miles @ 8.04
I went out the morning after the race and it felt effortless. No real fatigue in my legs. I started to feel cocky when out of nowhere I went over on my ankle in the last mile. This worried me but I was flying out in the evening and decided to rest it for a few days.

Thursday 23 June
I finally braved the heat and ended up running up a bloody big hill to a lighthouse and back down again (no idea why). Majorca is too warm to run in. 4 miles @ 8.06. I took this easy, I had little choice. My foot felt OK thankfully, I'm glad I rested it. It had been sore intermittently in the days up to this.

Friday 24 June
I ran out to Soller and back, bit of sightseeing. 4 miles @ 8.10. Sweated heavily


Saturday 25 June
I found a dusty old track and ran 5 miles @ 8.27 pace. I took this very easy and it was quite enjoyable

Sunday 26 June
Misecellaneous routes, 4.4 miles @ 8.17. Started to feel much more comfortable in the heat.