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Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads
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I'm so late catching up! I echo what the others said: you're a different runner of late. It's admirable and that's an amazing PB.
As an aside, I run that route all the time and never noticed the Glanbia factory
I'd imagine the wind was in your face for 6-8, which might explain why they were that bit tougher.
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Thanks, Huzzah!
May 20th-24th, base plan week 3. 34.04 miles. John Creedon had a double dose of the Pixies on RTE Radio 1 later on. No complaints there.
May 25th. Long travel day which started at ~ 3am Irish time, in order to hop on flight 1/2 at 6am. Flight 2/2 of was 12+ hours and quite dull. Inishbofin visitors will be pleased to note the map on the screen noted Clifden's existence. May 26th arrived ~7am local time...gooooooood morning, Vietnam. Sorry, had to be done. :pac: Upon pick up from the airport the first thing that struck me, aside from the wall of heat, was eh, the driving. Bikes and cars everywhere. Families of 4 on scooters. There's definitely a flow to it, organised chaos is an understatement. I wouldn't fancy driving unless I had been raised there. They use the horn a lot, but I noticed no aggro. Jet lag was horrendous so I didn't sleep at all, really. And of course, unpacking is when you notice you've forgotten something, despite having a checklist. Met our guide that evening and thought we were in good hands as he had 10 years of experience.
May 27th. After a rooftop breakfast in decent heat, our first foray into cycling came after a 90 minute bus trip outside of the Ho Chi Minh. Our first lemon drink stop also included nuts, bananas, very sweet mango and this was basically the pattern for the week for breaks. Afterwards we went to see the war tunnels. It's nice and cool in the forest, (mosquito spray's advisable). The various traps and methods of killing are pretty full on, so far as replicated models can show. I'm not claustrophobic and found the tunnels fine. Decided pretty quickly that carrying a money belt wasn't great as the notes just get soggy. Mileage 27.98km, 1:39:38 time on bike. 31C. 16.8km/h avg speed.
May 28th. Solid heat again. Our guide showed us cashews on trees, rubber trees, turmeric, bananas, etc. Also encountered some cows on the road. I'm not sure if the cows are smaller in stature compared to ones over in this part of the world. We stayed in a 5 star place (by Vietnam standards) tonight and it was a very pleasant golf/pool/complex thing. I'd have liked a free day there just to explore some of the activities, but it wasn't on the itinerary and we had not earned a free day yet. 51.18km, 2:52:44 time on bike. 30C. 17.8km/h avg speed.
May 29th. When you sweat a lot at 7:30am from simply standing around. There was some dragon fruit which I had tried in Thailand a few years ago. Sadly, it was this day that we noticed how filthy parts of Vietnam are, lots of rubbish. The final incline (nothing challenging, really) of the day brought us closer to the some of the scenery I was hoping for in booking this trip. We were on the bus until lunch and that was very much upwards, stopped to look at some coffee plants. Arrived close to dark in Dalat so didn't explore other than dinner after showering. Despite my best efforts I had caught some sun earlier. Used 200ml of P20 during the trip as a whole, bought some standard 30 factor stuff as I was starting to run low. 60.38 km. 3:11:33, 18.9 km/h avg speed. 27C.
May 30th. The day of the 100k, before transferring to Whale Island by bus and boat. We had a good 30km downhill early on, restrained by brakes (another theme of the trip), I did hit a brief second or two of 49km/h at one stage. Doing the 30km on the up would be interesting, we did see a bloke training upwards. Demolished a few hills for what they were, was eager to see how the body would be the following day. The afternoon was broken up again and with the heat we were a little more scattered and had others sit out the warmer parts out. A group of 4 of us carried the front pack. The afternoon clouds were ominous, but no rain appeared. Generally, it was agreed the weather had been a little kinder and 100km in full heat would have made us suffer. 99.86km. 4:39:13, 21.5 km/h avg speed.
May 31st. Rest day on Whale Island with some snorkelling after about and hour out by boat. Attempt #1 wasn't very successful for spotting fish. My foot hit off something...turned out to be a plastic container full of water. Attempt #2 was a lot better for the range of fish, if still not great for clear water. Our guide actively went looking for plastic to retrieve. At a number of points during the trip he said Vietnam's on some plastic/pollution list. It was about lunch time when we returned to base and it was approx 34C. I waited until it was a lot cooler and ran that evening to amuse myself. Pretty much everything I wore got caught in something. Hat, t-shirt, sunglasses. Hard to call it a run as the terrain wasn't very amenable - lumpy, tree stumps and more. Would have been easier to do 70 laps of the shoreline, I guess. I tried to follow the blue trail, quickly fell into the white and red one. Again rubbish was on display - wipes, dishwasher detergent. Did hear nature scurry a few times in the bush. I didn't stick around to find out what it was. Sweat was pouring off me and I had a bit of rash at the centre of my chest. 3.13km run, if you can call it that. Much stopping, climbing and stooping.
June 1st. Early morning brought us through a fishing town with the smells and sights. During one of our breaks, I described today as having 'ferocious heat' (which was met with, 'I'm glad you said that'), because it really was and there was feck all shade. An afternoon section had a little headwind on a hill, no let up, but manageable. There was a brief moment where 4-5 of us scattered because of a tiny dog in the road. I certainly didn't want to hit him and it was a close one. The final push brought us to the bus pick up. The sweat once you stop, it's mad. Again, we were too drained from the heat to explore the town in detail that night. 90.44 km. 4:26:30. 20.4 km/h avg speed.
June 2nd. We had about a 7km spin out to a very long bridge (2 or 2.5km). Today was also our first attempt an intersection (communist propaganda posters in full show) which in Vietnam, are an experience. :cool: Being in and witnessing them are not the same thing.
:pac: I would imagine you wouldn't stand much of a chance as a lone cyclist. Cars, scooters, bigger vehicles seem to rule the roost. Around 25km was our first and thankfully only man down situation of the trip. I was just behind him. Iodine and some bandages sorted things out. We were due to have a decent bus spell today (3 hours) and let's just say out driver wasn't shy with accelerator. We later got back on the bikes and cycled into Hoi An, now doing that was certainly interesting! On settling in, we had the opportunity to do laundry. Our guide suggested going to a local place to support the economy as they would do it per kg, whereas the hotel goes per item. I had a whiff of my runners that evening, no further words needed there. Food that evening was excellent. 49.03km. 3:07:10. 15.7 km/h avg speed. 30C.
June 3rd. After breakfast we had a morning tour/stroll which was good, and like most of the trip, sweat inducing. Don't underestimate how energy-sapping simply walking is in 30C+ weather. Got the laundry back and worked out ~€4 which was very little for all I threw into it. Fresh clothes are always a a pleasant way of replenishing the luggage. We had some free time that afternoon, so much of this was browsing/shopping, etc. I did get a bit sick of the smell of incense sticks. Went past the Irish pub by chance, didn't go in. Hoi An is the place with lots of lanterns, etc. Very pretty.
June 4th. Another warm one. After some bus time and a brief toilet stop in Da Nang, we cycled towards the Hai Van pass. I was quite looking forward to this because it's in the Top Gear episode from a while back. Wore my Conn t-shirt.
Our guide broke it into 2 x 5k sections. Section one had a few climbs, then some respite before a sting in the tail. Rest, lemon, nuts, etc. Section two, haha. This was a serious test of my mental game and a real beast altogether. It has about 11am and the heat was insane. The physical side wasn't too bad. You can see up ahead and how the buses are just crawling up and I've two wheels?! Heat aside, once I got onto the start of the long crawl section, I looked back and realised I had a decent bit behind me already. After the crawl there's a 180 with more to do. I got a cheer from some random person sitting with her mates. That helped and first glance at the watch knowing I only had 1km or so to go. Keep sweating, keep moving...did it! The Hai Van pass would make for an interesting run even just to train, but doing it during the day and at any decent pace would be madness. Only 3 of us plus the guide did it on two wheels. I was the first out of the tourists on both sections, not as quick as our guide, but he stood up. :P Temperature was apparently 37C. All aboard for the 10km downhill after. Lots of braking. Towards the end sea is still on your right, then you turn and suddenly it's as though you're right on top of it. Further 10km after and two of us saw a snake crossing the road. Similar to earlier, one of those I'll stay clear of them if they do so of me type deals. 75.69km. 4:04:54. 18.5km/h avg speed. 33C. Elevation gain 758 metres.
June 5th. Another day of the heat beating down on us, with a brief cycle and visit to the citadel. Worth doing. After lunch and showering, we were now bike free. We got to the train station to board the sleeper after 4pm. It was over an hour late and eh, the announcements they had put into English were good craic from a translation perspective. "Get out of the station. We express your sympathy", etc. The cabins on the train were pretty decent, tbf. I knew sleep was very unlikely for me due to the noise and movement of the train. The corridors were OK, the adjoining section where you step over between carriages was quite toasty. 20.42km. 1:23:49. 29C. 14.6 km/h avg speed.
June 6th. Arrived in Hanoi around 6:30am. Dropped our main bags at the hotel with just an overnight one to go to Our 4 hour bus journey was broken up by a visit to a clay pottery shop. We were bound for the boat station for an overnight stint on Ha Long Bay. It's nice here, it's much busier than how it was on Top Gear (was 10 years ago, though) We did some kayaking which was fun and stopped at a cave to see the stalagmites, etc. I had a brief lie down earlier (Panadol, not to sleep) and noticed I could feel my heart through my empty water bottle as it was resting on my chest. Boat had rooms with toilet and shower facilities. Plus we had it all to ourselves.
June 7th. Plan was to swim in the morning, this was called off due to low tide and signs at the designated area, so after a slow and steady journey back to the boat station, we were back on the bus to Hanoi. We called into a workshop for disabled people who were harmed by Agent Orange during the war. Must say the art was very impressive. Back to our full luggage.
June 8th. Had some free time due to an evening flight. Went to see the prison where they held John McCain and others, plus the French imperialist side. Grim enough on the torture front. Went up around the lake too, another sweaty way of simply being...my transfer to the airport that night was a white knuckle ride in a Transit minibus, after clearing the city traffic. :eek:
Will try to get pics up in another update (and will jog a few more memories). I forgot to use the lap button which would have been handy for more detailed stats. The cycling was easier than Thailand and Italy, we met far more traffic. Scooters are everywhere and come from lanes, side streets, you name it, and they mostly don't look. The heat was the challenge, Thailand's comparable, however Vietnam was warmer. In general I'm OK with the heat. The rubbish was pretty shocking and sad to see. Keep in mind the country's only had tourism since 1990 and there's still oppressive communism about. It's not easy for citizens to leave the country, the government doesn't like it. The amount of kids who said hello to us as we passed was a delight - English is mandatory in school, but still.
Garmin's take on temperature I'm taking with a grain of salt. The cycling was often staggered, hence seeming long by hours if not distance and some days the watch didn't have any reading. Max above was 33C, but certainly could easily have been higher. Guide had Garmin too, dunno which one. The strap from my helmet came undone at one point, took a while to sort out. I was well behind by that stage. The mechanic was the back marker and a pro-cyclist...he had powerful legs. I was only able to keep up with him for a little while. Good fun. The train had a few sinks, USB sockets, a Western toilet and squat one in our carriage. Obviously bring hand sanitiser, etc. I managed to remember not to use tap water to brush my teeth during the 2 weeks, stuck to bottle water and didn't have any tummy troubles. Felt very safe on the cycling side and in the country itself. Cost of dinners, etc, never went much above a €4-6, I wasn't on the beer, though.
Much craic was had and plenty of good natured slagging.
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Re Vietnam, HRM didn't go beyond zone 1/grey, and it's never likely that during runs, really. Shows how the cycling was fairly leisurely. Haven't worked my way through the photos yet.
Forgot to say a while ago, pre-Vietnam, a family member said 'you're always off somewhere, doing a marathon in Alaska or something.' Don't. Give. Me. Ideas. :pac: Have been Googling a fair bit around that since. Tempting for future antics and would be good to revisit Alaska. Prince of Wales Island is one if ye don't want to do Anchorage. Quick search re past winners seem to have been 2:57. It contains hills, guess that explains things.
There a few other more mental races that, one of which, iirc, includes a bear briefing, lest you encounter said animal. There is a different response depending on whether it's a black/brown bear. One's play dead, the other is fight like hell. I can't remember which. When I was there, there was an option of a bear flight...to see bears up close on an island, with a guy with pepper spray and a gun. I declined at the time as it was $600 (fuel dictates the cost of pretty much everything in Alaska). Elsewhere, there is Mount Marathon 5k https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Marathon_Race which from Youtube looks quite nuts.
Base plan week 4: 33.66 miles.
When|Plan|Actual|Notes
June 10th|Rest|Rest|Recovery from travel, and laundry! Jetlag was starting to correct itself…on the Sunday I wanted to sleep before 7pm, don’t think I lasted much after that. Booked Docklands 5k.
June 11th|60 mins very easy| 60:46. 5.88 mi at 0:20.|Standard stuff, first run back on home turf. Did mentally question, before going out, what this running lark is really about. The Garmin app still displayed in kms afterwards.
June 12th|55 mins moderate|55:05. 6.21 mi at 8:52.|Miserable auld day on the weather front. Smell of the streets/air/whatever reminded me of DCM training, not fully summer, but familiar..? Uh oh, we're getting close.
June 13th|60 very easy|Rest|Picked up some mini resistance bands.
June 14th|60 very easy|60:11. 5.79 mi at 10:23.|Pretty bored during this one. Back a little hmm.
June 15th|50 mins easy last 5 |45:04. 4.49 mi at 10:02 and 5:01. 0.70 mi at 7:14.|Parkrun timekeeping. Turned out to be a very pleasant morning, lots of set up for the concerts, etc. Ground underfoot was squishy on parts the grass. Numbers down a little, all went well. First home was a regular woman who is always well up there and not often you see a woman take first overall. iirc, Singer was out in front on lap 1.
June 16th|1 hr 45 easy|1:46:10. 10.59 mi at 10:01|Group of 12+ runners out as I was heading to my start point, overcast ish. Podcast listening was This American Life. Felt a little cold at home before I took a shower.
Tune of the week: Only An Expert - Laurie Anderson.
Article re self-talk.http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2019/06/the-words-we-use-matter/
Base plan week 5: 36.23 miles.
When|Plan|Actual|Notes|
June 17th|70 mins easy to MP|25:06 easy, 2.50 mi at 10:03. 25:11 moderate, 2.81 mi at 8:58. 20:18 at MP, 2.5 mi 8:08. 70:37, 7.81 mi at 9:03 for the evening.|Used public transport rather than car for work. Saw 'advance warning' signs up for Docklands. Got word I had to cover a thing on Tues, so decided to get something done on the Mon. I wanted to bring the normal Weds stuff forward so as not to have it the day before Docklands...just in case. Fine evening for it. After a few pecan nuts I pottered out the back roads towards Baldungan castle - haven't been here since DCM training. There's a house they've been building out these roads that still isn't finished, going back months now. Second block of 25 mins was supposed to be moderate, first 3 mins or so were too quick here. Wasn't sure how close I'd get to Baldungan without going too far for overstretching re the return. Worked out well in the end, spot on to be back at the bypass. Good evening for sweating! Had to concentrate a little more with the last quarter of the MP or thereabouts. Brooks feeling the tarmac and might be on the way out…they took a little dip kayaking in Ha Long Bay. The clothes bank near the school is still overflowing as ever.
June 18th|Rest|Rest|Conference was good, PITA trying to keep the phone charged for tweeting. Late enough home around 9pm.
June 19th|60 mins very easy|62:05. 6.02 mi at 10:19. |Pretty sure I startled a fox here. Heard some noise and saw it (not entirely) hop over a garden wall. It seemed bigger than a cat and the noise was different too. First time seeing one, let alone one in broad daylight.
June 20th|Docklands 5k|w/u and Docklands|*Report below.
June 21st|Rest|Rest|
June 22nd|50 min easy + 4x200m @ 5k effort (full recovery -2/3 min rec)|60 mins easy. 60:04. 5.96 miles at 10:04, incl parkrun 30:45| Took it handy after Thurs. Nice and warm morning. Did some band stuff at home.
June 23rd|2 hours easy|2:00:07. 12.02 miles at 10:00|Standard Sunday. Threw on some sun cream before hand, became overcast pretty soon. Was quite thirsty towards the end. Aerobic 4.8?!
Tune of the week: Baltimore Johnny - Del McCoury Band.
*Docklands 2019 5k
Pottered through Temple Bar, saw a Mini with a clamp on it. Headed down the quays and picked up the shirt. Dropped my bag off and did a brief warm up 12:51. 1.25 mi at 10:15. Saw two rowboats out training. Joined the start area, saw Singer there. The sun had started to remerge around 7:30 or so. Warm, but not as much as last year, iirc. I had been poking around with the calculator during the week. From 46:01 at the Wexford 10k it was saying 22:05 at 7:06. Nah. That's beatable. By how much without being daft? Hmm, 21:35 maybe. 21:30 at Malahide parkrun from March wasn't too long ago, but was only a rough yardstick and not at the front of my mind. Calculator - grain of salt. Anyway, let's try going at 6:50 min/mi, see if I could hold that and maybe occasionally dip under it too. Plan A not to fall in the river. :pac: Plan B - no lace hiccups.
We're off as the sound of feet hitting the tarmac comes quickly. A guy with earphones darted diagonally in front of me a little too closely early on. Quick watch glance 6:05 and 6:25. Huh? Body isn't doing that...Garminitis it must be. At the start line I was trying to stay focused running my own race. The 20 minute ballons had turned onto the bridge before I was at traffic lights. That's fine, I was not looking to be on their tail. Over the bridge and around. Remember, keep some HTFU for later. Watch again, come on, pick it up. Shortly before the chq building a bloke to my left stopped to sort his lace, at the small grey bridge thing. Onwards. Passed the Central Bank and saw some high vis/Gardai on the far side, shortly after is the leader with others following. Keeping an eye not to drop the pace. Down we go, a few supporters and roads manned by Gardai, etc. I decided to put some effort into the turn without going mad. Sensible? Mistake? Not too bad.
The return was interesting. Couple of times throughout the race I noticed slippage to 7:05/7:10, GTFO with that was the response. OK, there's still a decent amount of people on the far side, on the first loop, maybe this is going OK. Keep going until we're back on the home stretch. Try to hit 6:50. Finally, hello again to the bridge, turn and pass a few people and down towards the 800m sign. There was a woman not far ahead who looked quite composed. Followed her for a while before overtaking. Thought she might jolt forward later, it was not to be. Getting to 600m...jaysus, where is it? Even after that, the finish seemed feckin' ages away. Saw Singer and skyblue, couldn't tell ye where in location terms, no memory. Anything in the legs for the final...whenever the finish was going to be more noticeable in eyesight. Yes, a little. Over the line with a brief thank feck that's over, to hooray to ooh under 21:3X even though that had faded from my mind, to body has to stop now otherwise ye'll land on top of people.
2019 chip 21:21 vs 2018 chip 23:06. Good rattle?
Garmin 21:22. 3.17 miles at 6:45. Splits: 6:45, 6:47, 6:46 (and 6:22)
HRM...training effect 3.4. Mostly in the orange, but around 7 mins in zone 5/red.
Pretty Very happy with that. Really goes by in a flash. Didn't take long for the bag and food area to get busy. Bumped into WW around here, then skyblue who had a question/comment or two.
Was introduced to aquinn, mister paul and crockmac. As I said to them, this distance (or racing it) is a bit of a brain shredder. Body was generally OK, maybe even enjoyed it sometimes. My stomach felt a little tight in final section. The mental side was quite challenging and I still don't quite know how to play that side of racing the 5k game. It was had elements of 'will I crash and burn shortly?' Perhaps it's just part of the ingredients and can't be avoided. Trying to remember stuff to write here going on too. :P Pleased there was no physical flagging, really. I did try to keep my head a little by trying to focus on form and I think that helped alright. Didn't push at the end where my face starts to feel it, simply forgot. Have sweated more on other spins. Note, this is not in the aim of complaining. Dab of discomfort in the right calf on the walk back, had faded by the time I got to the bus stop. My brain was still processing things as I walked. :cool: Fastest 5k, to date. Just need to download some of Lazare's genes and one day I'll break 20. :pac:
Well done to the Crusaders team on the organisation (and execution) of a very enjoyable event. Cheque's in the post to Singer as I'm borrowing his write up tables. :pac:Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.
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Meno plan week 1, to DCM we go...
July 1st
Rest
M50 fine in the morning, bad in the evening.
S&C. 4 x 5 mins back and forth with a mini band just above the knee. This was, eh, good, for the glutes. Could have done with this during my recent airport layovers... bands are an interesting instrument/tool/device, whatever you want to call them. Yolk.
July 2nd
Own making up the mileage 6-7 miles easy
63:39. 6.44 miles at 9:53. Standard stuff. 3 kittehs. First entry in the meno spreadsheet. Office was so feckin warm today.
July 3rd
Plan 6-10 x 800m (3-5 min jog recovery)Wednesday's session is a bit of a fitness test. The pace for the 800m's is in and around your 5k pace (maybe a touch slower) but the idea is to teach you good pacing. I want the time of the 800s to be consistent and the last rep to be your quickest so don't go off haring through the first few and die a death at then end!! If you have a track at hand, run 2 laps. If not; set your gamin up to 1/2 mile laps and run out and back on a flat piece of road. Everybody does these sessions differently; Some people like to jog recoveries and others rest. Just to make it the same for everyone- take 60 seconds standing recovery between reps. I am interested in hearing the average time of the 800's (not pace- time as garmin are poor at tracking distance/pace on a track).
w/u 1.16 miles at 9:55.
c/d 1.06 miles at 10:11.
Overall: 1:29:05. 10.21 miles at 8:44.
Aerobic 4.6...biggest in a while, I think. HRM 151 avg, 180 max.
Rep|Time|Distance|Pace
1| 3:29|0.50|6:58
Recovery| 3:36|0.35|10:16
2 |3:24 |0.49|6:56
Recovery|3:28|0.33|10:32
3 |3:29 |0.50|7:01
Recovery|3:30 |0.34|10:24
4 |3:28 |0.50|7:00
Recovery | 3:31|0.33|10:47
5 |3:30|0.50|7:02
Recovery|3:29|0.33|10:29
6 |3:30|0.50|7:03
Recovery|3:33|0.34|10:47
7 |3:29 |0.49|7:03
Recovery|3:33|0.34|10:26
8 | 3:32|0.50|7:05
Recovery |3:32 |0.33|10:41
9 |3:31|0.50|7:07
Recovery | 3:32|0.33|10:45
10|3:31|0.51|6:59
Took a few attempts to write up the table as I kept making mistakes.
I looked at the plan at lunch time, then before leaving the office. I thought about going to the Phoenix Park for this, but Google maps suggested 45-60 mins of a drive in rush hour. Pass. Was a little concerned the right leg might come out of lurking during this. Thought about this time last year too.
First thing I took note of 'maybe a touch slower'. 5k pace is 6:52, so I said I'll keep it around 7:00 ish or a shade or two around that. Threw on some sun cream as I don't think I used enough last Sunday. Can't recall if I carried water on the Tues, decided to do this time. Didn't end up drinking very much, just a jot with electrolyte in the recoveries. Also said no to earphones and podcasts for concentration and attention. Tried to remember something about each rep for mentioning here, no such luck. Rep 1, some sweat be upon thee. Did dart of a little quickly 6:30 ish, of course. Rep 5 had to hit the brakes fairly early because of two cars. Turned the air blue. Rep 6 - would confidence return? The reps generally felt good overall. Just a little take some getting used to. Sometimes I was come on, squash down towards 7, and get feck off, gravity. On one I forgot what the time was and didn't know what to recover with. Be grand, it's likely similar to the rest. With some recoveries where my mind wandered. Ended up thinking back to Vietnam. Occasionally had mixed feelings about the pace, at times wanted to get under 7 consistently and even go lower than 6:52 and why couldn't I do that after Docklands which was recent. Ah, no point in worrying at week 1. Over and out.
Saw KSU's advice to the novices that evening.
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=110595543&postcount=850
July 4th
Some band stuff before.
Recovery 44:46. 4.5 miles at 9:57.
Legs good. Temperature pleasant.
July 5th
Rest
A little mini band stuff.
July 6th
Dropped over to Donabate parkrun. Lovely grounds, perfect weather for running. Animals seemed happy. Felt warm near the end even though there wasn't a hint of sun. 30:50. 3.09 miles at 9:58.
July 7th
Plan 13 easy
2:08:35. 13 miles at 9:53. HRM 135 avg, 170 max.
10:00, 9:48, 9:47, 9:50, 9:57, 9:55, 9:50, 9:52, 9:51, 9:58, 9:53, 9:53, 9:49.
Earphone volume and pause controls seem dead. Left ear still works. No Man O War to Loughshinny yet, Skerries races were on. Saw a rabbit as I went up past the Educate Together. Order of Malta ambulance with blue lights going on my way back from Blakes Cross. Hopefully not incident related. Did some band work after lunch.
I know there's been cadence talk about here, haven't had a chance to research it properly.
Total: 37.24 miles.
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Meno plan week 2
July 8th
Rest.
Dropped into the supermarket after work. Saw Connemara whiskey behind the counter, didn't know this was a thing. Not something to consume whilst doing the Connemarathon, I suppose...
July 9th
1:06:56, 6.75 miles easy at 9:55.
9:57, 9:53, 9:51, 9:54, 9:58, 9:55 (and 9:56)
HRM 137, avg, 165 max.
Clammy evening. Couple of cones and barriers about. Run felt good. Earphone controls half working again.
July 10th
progression runWednesday session: 2 miles easy warm up followed by 8 minutes steady (MP + 3-4%); 8 minutes @ MP; 8 Minutes @ HMP; 8 Minutes Hard (approx 10kpace); 2 miles c/d at the end. The run should be all continuous. Try not to overestimate the 'steady', and MP sections or it will get very difficult at the end. For the last 8 minute section pretty much go as fast as you can while retaining a constant pace. It will likely come in and around your 10k pace.
Thing|Time|Distance|Pace
w/u|19:57|2 miles|9:58
8 mins steady|8:08|1.01 miles|8:02
8 mins MP|8:04|1.04 miles|7:47
8 mins HMP|8:02|1.07 miles|7:32
8 mins hard|8:02|1.08 miles|7:28
c/d|20:48|2:06 miles |10:07
Total 1:13:03. 8.26 miles miles at 8:51.
HRM 146 avg, 181 max
No podcasts. There were two squirrels in the car park at work. I saw something through a garden fence, it was the fox from the other week, saw it in full as I passed the driveway. Run itself, slightly mixed. Around the HMP was the 'not my favourite thing' moment, then after I just couldn't seem to hit the har, should have been 7:09) in full. I did a little initially. The upper half of body was fine, as was my breathing. Think it was more so the mental switch. I want to blame the gradient/road but...
Almost wanted to do the 8 mins hard again after feeling back to normal during the c/d. Didn't see the point, though. :P Was happy at home later. Looking back, no point in being too disappointed. Can't recall if there's another 'hard' spell in the plan. There's a more downhill section I've never done in the time I've been trotting around after work.
Oh, the rain, yes. Plenty of that. It was dancing on the roof of the car by the time I finished. Pedestrians seemed to scarper pretty sharp ish.
July 11th
Recovery
48:00. 4.84 miles at 9:55.
9:56, 9:54, 9:53, 9:56 and 9:85.
Got through an episode of Nike's podcast that py mentioned in the novices thread.
Again, on a mental high at home.
July 12th
Only went out to this as I wanted to measure the track down by the soccer club. From the from wooden gate it's about 0.48 mile ish on the outer loop. Did some band stuff after.
19:45. 2 miles at 9:51.
9:49, 9:54.
HRM 125 avg, 140 max.
Had another Nike episode to listen to.
July 13th
Ardgillan parkrun. Nice and welcoming, small crowd - only ~70 odd. Can't beat the sea view. It was around the 17 minute mark on lap one that I looked over to see and it didn't appear anyone had finished. Coming towards the turn towards the end on lap two and I passed the tail walker, then up that hill which was a good way of getting the pulse firing.
31:12. 3.13 miles at 9:57.
9:58, 9:57, 9:59 (and 9:48)
HRM 136 avg, 163 max
July 14th
Plan 14 miles easy
Breakfast, suncream and grabbed two home made energy balls out of the freezer. Out by Man O War, over to Baldongan (approx 57-58 mins) and down to the stop sign at Loughshinny, turned back around 7.1 miles. Finally some saw others running, other than that it was cyclists. Back to Baldongan and turned, I'd forgotten how peaceful it is out these parts, it's amazing. No audio devices with me. Back on the home stretch and had a look at the exercise equipment on the bypass - the ones for arm workouts can feck off. :pac::pac:
2:18:37. 14 miles at 9:54.
9:57, 9:51, 9:54, 9:46, 9:50, 9:55, 9:53, 9:54, 9:54, 9:55, 9:52, 9:53, 9:59, 10:01.
HRM 137 avg, 183 max
Total: 38.98 miles.
Target: 36-42 miles.
Keep getting emails about marathons in Chianti, Polar ice and Petra, to name a few.Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.
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Meno plan week 3
July 15th
Rest
July 16th
7 miles easy at 9:55.
1:09:29.
10:02, 10:03, 9:53, 9:45, 9:51, 9:54, 10:01
HRM avg 136, 173 max.
Was a bit tired. Thought a lot about nutrition. There was some fresh tarmac on some of the paths, still warm. Earlier in the day I had heard about a book called Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance by Alex Hutchinson.
July 17th
Tempo runThere are many definitions of tempo run or tempo pace. For this session I would expect you to complete the hard miles somewhere between 10m and HM pace or 85-90% Max HR. Don't worry if the course is a bit hilly and you don't hit exactly even paces each mile- just make sure the effort remains about the same. The session is 3 x 2 miles with half mile/5 minute jog recoveries Make sure to have a nice warm up and cool down meaning you should cover 10-12 miles in total.
Intended pace for in between 10m and HM, 7:23-7:31.
Thing|Time|Distance|pace
w/u |20:00|2 miles|10:01
3x2 part I|15:02| 2.02 miles|7:28
Recovery|5:03|0.50 miles|10:04
3x2 part II|15:53|2 miles|7:57
Recovery|5:01|0.50 miles|10:05
3x2 part III|16:44|2 miles|8:22
c/d|22:32|2.17 miles|10:23
1:40:18. 11.19 miles at 8:58.
HRM 147 avg, 173 max.
I had turned off the auto lap when I should really have left it on. Anyway, this was somewhat of sequel to last Weds by quite handily kicking my arse. First rep was fine, on target. Tried somewhere new for a bit and went down behind Dunnes. Oh, there's a petrol station too, might go there some time. Next one was where things started to fall apart, and went all over the shop mentally which set the mood for the reminder. Just couldn't hit the paces. Thought process was just ignore the watch and finish the blasted thing.
Therefore, this did not happen.
At about 1.6 miles into the final one I knew I needed to go to the loo. I wasn't going to last the rep and then c/d after, might barely make it back to the front door of the office. So yep, pretty screwed as it's all housing estates and traffic. I found a tree and no elaboration is needed. The last time this happened was about 2 years ago out the back roads at home, at least there's the odd ditch.
Back at the car. I'm not sure I'd have had any words if someone had approached me whilst I was changing. I seemed to bounce back mentally quite quickly once I had an oat bar thing. Dropped down to the Dunnes afterwards...sorry sir, we're closing. Up to Tesco. Chocolate milk, onion bhaji sandwich and junk food and then M50, home about 9:20.
Excuses time. Helter skelter day at work with technology being very unco-operative. I hadn't thought about it being warm until the second rep. I went on an unfamiliar route and was a little quick (7:17) in parts of the first one. Sleep's been wonky this last while. Food - the nuts/raisins before maybe didn't help, was untested on them. I also think in the grander scheme my lunches aren't substantial enough.
Quite disappointing, draining and wasn't good for my thinking around the plan in general.
July 18th
Recovery
46:07. 4.66 miles at 9:54.
HRM 127 avg, 174 max.
Solid recovery. Podcast - Physio Matters. John Creedon had some enjoyable tunes on the radio when I got home.
July 19th
19:55. 2 miles, 10:00 & 9:54.
HRM 123 avg, 132, max.
Just down to the track to try the new shoes, same as last week. Also some band work.
July 20th
Back to Malahide parkrun. Decided to give this some effort before leaving the house. PMA on the drive over and all the way. Felt good. Shadowed one of the RDs for a while, ignored the watch. Nice and cool through the forest, more clammy in the open. Saw the 23 min pacer was parallel to my shoulder around McAllisters, time get get on with it. Busy enough out there with St. Anne's off and some tourists from the UK. Nice to put Weds out of the picture.
w/u. 19.42. 2 miles, 9:50, 9:50.
HRM 150 avg, 162 max.
22:19. 3.03 miles at 7:21. 7:10, 7:46, 7:12 (and 5:40).
HRM 157 avg, 169 max.
Second fastest time at Malahide (I think).
Knew before this that with Sunday looming I was already on track for the weekly target, will keep an eye as it's a jump from last week and band work only is probably more productive than 2 miles on Fridays.
July 21st
16 miles easy at 9:56.
2:39:03.
10:01 9:55, 9:55, 9:58, 9:54, 9:57, 9:57, 9:56, 9:58, 9:54, 9:53, 9:58, 9:56, 9:56, 9:55, 9:58.
HRM 132 avg, 173 max.
Standard Man O War to Loughshinny spin, down to the harbour this time. Tide was well out. Sun faded after a few miles. Didn't see any other runners. Mini band afterwards.
Total: 45.88 miles.
Target: 40-46 miles.
To the roads.Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.
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Meno plan week 5
July 29th
Car serviced in the morning. Collected it after work and did a few miles at home.
1:01:02. 6.25 miles at 9:55.
10:01, 9:56, 9:53, 9:55, 9:53, 9:53 (and 9:56)
HRM 125 avg, 139 max.
July 30th
Rest. Long day due to an evening meeting and didn't get home until about 9:50pm.
I was able to get some beef stir fry in the canteen after 5 so I at least had that.
July 31st
90 minute progression run20 minutes easy (+/- MP +15%); 20 minutes steady (MP +15 to 30 seconds/mile); 20 minutes @ MP; 10 minutes @ HMP; 20 minutes easy/recovery pace cool down
Thing|Time|Distance (miles)|Pace
20 easy|9:53 & 10:10|1.00 & 1.02|9:52, 9:56
20 steady (8:05-8:20) |20:05|2.43|8:16
20 MP (7:50)|20:09|2.57|7:50
10 HMP (7:31) |10:02|1.33|7.33|
c/d|20:03|2.01|10:00
1:30:25. 10.36 miles at 8:43.
HRM 150 avg, 174 max.
4.3 aerobic, recommended over 40 hours of recovery.
Seem to be hitting the low 160s most of the time on cadence. Not that I've researched it particularly at all. Didn't mean to split the first easy, just autopilot.
Happy with this, in the main. Didn’t sleep very well (i.e. woke too early) and was up too late, thought that might kick in. Did some of the route in reverse. It was a little warm out there. It did get harder around the MP (right leg said hello) and HMP bits and I wondered if I was going to crack 7:31 at all...did seem to be mostly 7:36 sometimes, slipping to 7:40 around 4 mins, then brought it back down. Once I finished the 10 HMP I was pretty kaput after until my mind settled down a few minutes into the c/d. Y'know, all those negative thoughts about running, marathons, own capability, etc. Shorts were fairly soaked, fortunately I keep a towel in the car and was able to throw that onto driver's seat. The sweat felt cold on my body during the c/d too, too long at that craic and sneezing would probably follow later or the next day. Drive home on the M50 felt like it was taking forever, even though traffic was light. Brain drained..?
August 1st
Recovery
49.01. 4.90 miles at 10.00.
10:07, 9:56, 10:01, 10:01, 9:58 (and 10:00)
HRM 125 avg, 170 max.
Filled my water bottle, but forgot to bring it. Shoes started to nip away at the back of the leg around 3 miles in...a little skin irritation there.
Aug 2nd
Rest
Aug 3rd
Started this at 6:36am...explains the tiredness around midday.
1:01:57. 6.22 miles at 9:58.
10:10, 9:54, 9:56, 9:55, 9:57, 9:59 (and 9:43)
HRM 130 avg, 150 max.
Barcode scanning at Malahide later on. Mostly OK, though I used the app on my phone for a few as the scanner devices can be iffy.
Aug 4th
18 miles easy
2:59:28 at 9:58.
10:03, 9:53, 9:55, 9:54, 955: 9:59, 9:57, 10:01, 9:57, 9:58, 9:56, 9:54, 9:59, 9:57, 10:04, 9:56, 10:00, 10:09.
HRM 137 avg, 166 max.
Tide out again over in Loughshinny, couple of horses on the sand and road. I remember them being around last year as well. Certainly felt the heat around mile 14 and maybe a little of the time on the feet later on too. I was certainly sweating from the earlier miles, though, and knew water was going to run low and found that frustrating. Cycling bottle has more capacity. Mentally, the run itself was good, other than the last stretch. No afternoon zombie slump yet. Started at 8:25am, might go earlier next week if it looks like the sun's gonna hit.
Not too bad when I got home, showered and had some food. I was gonna go straight to the shop for some chocolate milk, but left it. Longest run of 2019, so far. And now the white socks are no longer so!
Total: 45.63 miles.
Target: 44-50 miles.
My print out of the plan is somewhat creased and starting to develop holes, so I photocopied a back up.
Not much else to note. Been watching a few videos on the running channel, including their beer mile efforts :pac: and stuff about recovery.Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.
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Thanks for the feedback. I'll address things further down.
Meno plan week 6, part ii
Aug 9th
Rest. Squats and foam rolling.
Aug 10th
Rest. Barcode scanning in Malahide. Decent enough turn out despite the on/off rain. I think it's only when volunteering you notice the sheer sound of the jets taking off from the airport, it's quite something. Pretty sure at this stage I've confirmed 3 of the RDs there have accounts on here, getting a little spooky. Did some foam rolling at home.
Aug 11th
18 miles easy
2:59:14 at 9:57.
9:54, 9:52, 9:54, 9:51, 9:54, 9:53, 9:57, 10:02, 10:05, 10:00, 9:55, 9:56, 10:00, 10:02, 10:01, 10:00, 9:56, 10:00.
HRM 133 avg, 167 max.
Some squats before going out. Was expecting a downpour due to the forecast, but it wasn't to be. There was a woman in swimming at Loughshinny, her dog was very reluctant to join proceedings! I forgot to mention lately someone is using a Ronald McDonald as a scarecrow in a field, the full guy - yellow, white and red. Run itself pretty good, not as warm this week. Foam rolled at home.
Total: 44.02 miles.
Target: 40-50 miles.
Recently internet trawling includes some more US marathons. Some people are trying to do one in all 50 states. There's a few bonkers looking trail ones too, and Sioux Falls. No plans, don't worry. I just like North/South Dakota as state names.
The lower part of my legs gets itchy sometimes. This has been so for a while. I assume it’s because of brushing against plants and the like and allergies, or else it’s those pesky household cleaning products, but eh, I don’t wash my legs with those. Onwards with Clarityn.
Meno plan week 7 attempted
Aug 12th
Rest
Aug 13th
8.80 miles easy
1:27:54 at 9:59
10:01, 9:59, 10:01, 10:02, 9:56, 10:00, 9:58, 9:58 (and 9:57)
HRM 132, avg 154, max.
Plod around Tramore from the golf club, down onto the beach and back home. Loved that, sea air. Must say I thought the beach (I will do it in full some time) was very clean and Tramore has dog poop bins and bags dotted regularly around the place. There's no excuse and tbf, the town seemed clean too.
Aug 14th10-12 miles including 8 miles alternating. Wednesdays session: 1 or 2 mile warm up then 8 miles continuous alternating PMP + 20-30 seconds/mile and PMP - 20-30 seconds/mile. 1-2 miles warm down.
PMP + 20/30 secs (8:10-8:20)
PMP - 20/30 secs (7:20-7:30)
Thing|Time|Distance|Pace
w/u|9:54, 9:59|2 miles| 9:54, 10:00
PMP + 20/30 secs|8:14|1 mile|8:14
PMP -20/30 secs|7:42|1 mile|7:42
PMP + 20/30 secs|8:24|1 mile|8:24
PMP -20/30 secs|8:07|1 mile| 8:07 (meh)
PMP + 20/30 secs|8:29|1 mile|8:30
PMP -20/30 secs|8:00|1 mile|8:00 (meh)
PMP + 20/30 secs|8:25|1 mile|8:25
PMP -20/30 secs|8:30|1 mile|8:30 (double meh)
c/d|9:58, 10:03|2 miles|9:58, 10:03
1:45:49. 12 miles at 8:49.
HRM 153 avg, 174 max.
4.7 aerobic...highest in a while?
Hit the greenway for this. It's lovely, but I didn't take much enjoyment, as per my complaint post in the 14th. A wave from the train driver and kid were good, so not all bad. Shirt was utterly dripping at the end. Back at the car park I took a photo for some cyclists and had a brief chat. Then the heavy rain came as I was sitting in my car and I think they abandoned their efforts.
Aug 15th
4.5 miles recovery
46:25 at 10:19.
10:11, 10:17, 10:17, 10:34 (and 10:14)
Lower left leg felt strained around mile 3, this eased off around 4.
HRM 123 avg, 142 max.
Aug 16th
Leg sore again in the morning. Went away after about 2 hours. Onto the web to find a physio whilst on holidays as a precaution. I've forgotten how much pressure they can apply. He gave me a good rub down, though I felt he wasn't the most communicative and at the more expensive end. That said, he gave me some exercises, a band and said I was in 'good nick'. Didn't find anything wrong. I knew going in Saturday and Sunday were likely to be dropped.
Aug 17th
Plan - New Ross parkrun
Actual - Rest on physio advice. Did some of the exercises. Marshal at Tramore parkrun. SAR helicopter went over head a few times, seemingly they do it every weekend. Slight hmm in the leg walking back to the car after. Back to pack up, stairs and stuff fine. Home to Dublin. My car's an automatic, so no clutch shennigans. Detour into the Pavilions before home. Touch of the left foot there again. Maybe when it's inactive for a period of time e.g. over night or long drive, it weight bearing and standing around it pops up.
Aug 18th (tomorrow)
Plan 20 miles easy
Rest on physio advice and common sense.
Total: 25.3 miles.
Target: 45-55 miles.
Should have passed 1,000 for the year this week. I was looking forward to the 20 mile too. No matter.
It's pretty well-drilled into us at this stage that training should be to current fitness rather than aspired. I was using the Docklands 5k result to plug into the calculator and it hadn't occurred to me to consider the practical realities of same, and that it was silly. FWIW, 3:45 is a fictional time. The marathon times from the calculator for the 5k are 3:25 and don't worry, I did LOL (as the kids say) at that when I saw it originally and have no notions of being in that ballpark.
Whilst we may talk about JDFI and HTFU for races, for training it's RTFM (slow down, even on the MP end). If I had to describe Weds in words it was as though someone stuck a padlock on my body to say that's quite enough of that, thank you. I can slow it down, still have a good session (feel tired in a productive way) without leading to warn signs from the body and skirting potential injury territory.
For the next while there's the FD10 on the 24th. It's a step back week in the plan anyway and I'm going to keep next Weds easy, assuming no log complaints on Tues. Thurs will be standard recovery. However, I don't really know what to do with the race regarding pace, given recent events and indeed more generally. It would be disappointing not to improve on last year's 1:21:50. So yeah, 10 mile plan of attack..? Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.
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Ah eyrie, thanks a million! I remember that video from trying it (once ). However, I had a look at her channel and found a newer one from just 2 months ago. Gave it a bash and found it very refreshing.
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Thanks Singer and Kellygirl.
Meno plan week 8
I'll skip the usual info in favour of concentrating on the FD10. Earlier portion of the week was mixed on the sleep and leg/foot side - Weds in particular. Thurs was a little better on that front.
Aug 23rd
Woke up feeling quite good, felt like FD10 was potentially back on the agenda. Yoga. Appointment was thorough, I'll come on to this later. We spent a decent bit of time looking at my Garmin Connect stuff. He checked the legs too and FD10 was good to go.
Aug 24th
Frank Duffy 10 mile
Mixed bag. The good, the bad, the not so awesome.
Got up and did some yoga. This can make me a little sleepy. Threw on some P20 the smell of which reminded me of being in Vietnam. Drove over to the park. Parked up around 8:30, Chesterfield was filling up. Went for a walk to get out of the driving position. Heard the announcer give the history of the event itself, so now know more about that. Visited the toilet, walked back and passed my car without noticing it. Got ready and did 2 miles w/u. 22:21 at 11:13, 11:06. Based on the appointment I tried to keep the HR in the blue range, went past one of the RDs from Malahide parkrun as I was finishing up. Pins and needles still going on a little in the left foot. Walked back up to the start area where I spotted skyblue. He asked if I was going to race it. There was a little breeze under the trees around the start area, it was OK at first in the pen, then with standing around you start to get warmer. I'd fair idea at this page a PB was likely out of the question and nudging around last year's was fairly doubtful too.
Race started without much fanfare. People around me seemed fairly talkative at first. About half a mile in someone on the side shouted 'use the road, not the path.' This was not well-received by a few around me, to say the least. She wasn't a steward so perhaps that's why. First two miles felt good, like a training run. Should have copped on and stuck with this. I went in with the mindset of trying to run 8:10. Bother in Waterford should have stopped me from being that silly! After miles 1 and 2, the race started to kick in. Mistake one - should have conserved more. I was sensible in the climbs and eased things there, to 9:00 odd, generally, or any pulse quickening was dampened to keep it from feeling unkind. Couple of people in on the grass checking the lower part of their legs, ouch that's early. Next couple of miles were mixed. At a water station I almost clipped the foot of a headphones moron who darted from left to right. I didn't get water here. Later on, most of the water went down my top and I was too fast here with 7:40 at one point, wasn't intentional...just urgency of grabbing the water. The middle portion was unpleasant at times. I was frustrated by seeing 8:30-8:40, I should have just sat at that (see WW's description of miles 5-6) and also, it seemed like the watch mile alerts kept beeping further and further before from the official markers which I found frustrating.
It was as we turned back towards Chesterfield (spotted skyblue again) that things seemed to come to life again. I grabbed this with both hands which was not terribly sensible, maybe one hand would have been enough. Mentally, the stretch on Chesterfield was a good boost - I need your clothes, boots shoes and your motorcycle legs. We approached mile 7 and the official clock said 1:00:XX, I figured that probably means 1:24:XX on the cards. Not so great. Mile 8-9 could have been better and I knew getting near last year's time was dead in the water. Distance - I was 9.20 miles on Garmin when I passed the 9 mile sign. Final mile - I certainly got my passport stamped in the energy depletion territory, no doubt. I had kept WW's note about the finish in mind. As we got closer I picked a guy in an orange Mater Foundation shirt and, hung on for dear life. I was trying to judge how far ahead the line was and when to go for it as I didn't want to try and meltdown early. Two from Team Carrie caught up with him, I gave it whatever jolt I was able to and managed to pass. Surprised I had anything since my arse had been kicked by mile 9. Hindsight says trying 8:30 for the first several miles would have allowed punching into the final few more successfully. I was very keen to stay clear of that blasted upper body padlock sensation that came into effect in Waterford. Think I managed to dodge that. Due to the appointment discussion, I was watch checking and knew I was in the orange HR zone throughout, but was a little unsure how to balance this effectively.
Chip 1:24:13
Garmin 1:24:14
10:15 miles at 8:18.
8:24, 8:26, 8:34, 8:21, 8:35, 8:26, 8:16:, 8:00, 8:04, 8:30 (and 6:31).
HRM 159 avg, 177 max. 1:18 of it's in zone 4, 4:43 in 5. Small spec of green.
Aerobic 4.6.
It was a lovely morning for it yesterday. TLDR - there will be other 10 milers. Glad to have done it rather than sit at home, though some strategic weakness was definitely deployed. It's well off last year's 1:21:50. I don't have HRM from then to compare.
Some randomer started talking to me on the walk back and we had a good chat. Sandwich in the car (kept cold with ice packs), chocolate milk and foam rolling at home. Went out for a stroll to be active. Trying to be more sensible about recovery this year so as to keep trouble at bay. The left leg's still not 100% back to normal, but this is infrequent. Have been using the tennis ball, etc.
Aug 24th
Probably some yoga and another stroll.
Total: 30.99 miles.
Target: 30-35 miles.
Where next? Find this hard to call, tbh. Week 9 will be easy as per the plan and being sensible. Target miles are also off. After that we're approaching the crux of the plan and that's a bit concerning. I'm lucky to have run the FD10 at all. I don't feel the time gives me a lot to work with, though, or indeed a buffer to still comfortably slip under 4 hours.
On the talk of more time in the blue HR zone in training. That's doable, but if yesterday's warm up is any measure it knocks the easy stuff well down (to 11 odd) compared to previous (9:44-10:04) and maybe there would be too much of a disparity between this and plan session paces, or MP. Not sure where that leaves things for DCM. At the appointment he gave the example of an Iron Man athlete who did most of training in zones 1-3, who got in under 10 hours and now holds a tri club record. We're all familiar with the run slower to run faster thesis.
Long and short of the Garmin stats check was it's worth thinking of spending more time in the blue zone, or ensuring blue and green are more balanced. Looking my long runs since the start of the plan, they tend to skew more green (zone 3). I love the long runs and as I said to him, if anyone passes me on them they should see I'm not out there at war with the tarmac. I've flicked through all the other easy days too with shorter stuff from July onwards and they're largely zone 3 as well.
However...
Don't know what to do. Take the paces off the FD10 and in calculator country that's 3:54 ballpark...a minor improvement on 3:57 and frankly not terribly appealing. At the appt he seemed to think I could do 3:45 (that's my own preferred time, but as said before, a bit fictional, really). I don't know what the sensible approach is now for next number of weeks, other than not using paces from the Docklands 5k time. Going from sitting at desk for 7-8 hours a day to session stuff on a Weds isn't great, either. Appointment guy is not a of fan of this! Very much going to keep yoga in the toolkit.
So...use the FD10 paces and just suck it up in the hope of 3:54? That puts easy paces to 11:00-11:24 which probably quite handily puts HR in blue, zone 2. Or maybe have every second easy day alternating zone 2 and 3 to there's some sharing of green and blue rather than just predominantly green. Is too much green making the Weds sessions stuff tricky? If it is the FD10 time, that's slower than last year's easy paces I posted here, generally 10:30, iirc. Or, give the paces for 3:45 a bash for the reminder of the plan. Week 10 will be easy. Week 11 onwards is generally MP/HMP/steady stuff and strides. With 3:45 they're all 8:XX odd, apart from the strides. I don't feel this is entirely unmanageable, and if I keep up the S&C, yoga that'll help with the bigger picture. However, I don't know whether it's the right thing to do as things could get heavy duty again. I certainly won't be going back to 7:50 and the like as that'll land me in bother straight away. Easy for 3:45 is 10:38-11:01. Perhaps try one week of 3:54 of paces, if that goes well, maybe 3:45 ones the week after. Trying not to be wreckless. Tbf, I tend to be sensible enough during the race itself.
Muddled. Hello, marathon season.
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Sorry it didn't go to plan B. Like you say yourself, there'll be other 10 milers. Between yourself and Baby75, it's nice that people still find my notes useful two years later Short answer - I don't think your FD10 time is a good indicator for what may come in DCM. Docklands I'd say is closer, however of course there's a considerably greater discrepancy in terms of the distance. Recover well - next week should help in giving you a bit more direction. 0
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You were not to much off last years time though and given the heat and being unsure you would make the start line midweek you dug in and did very well
I hope you are recovering well and feeling happier about it all today, do you monitor your resting HR its a great indicator of how you are recovering after a hard effort.
Wubble Wubble your notes are great any chance you have some for the Dublin Half 0 -
Sounds like a tough one but well done all the same. The splits show you ran a pretty consistent race with quicker miles towards the end, so you didn't exactly do anything disastrous in terms of strategy.
Regarding the questions about target and training paces, I'm no expert but I don't think it's such an exact science, and I also think the easy and long runs can be done pretty slowly without precluding a faster race, but rather it just might mean you have more energy to keep up with the faster paces when it comes to the harder stuff, sessions, etc. I would also suggest averaging results from your races over the last 6 months or so rather than going off one result exclusively, and see what you get from that?
Thanks for this! Hadn't spotted that she had a new one and I'll definitely try that myself.The Black Oil wrote: »Ah eyrie, thanks a million! I remember that video from trying it (once ). However, I had a look at her channel and found a newer one from just 2 months ago. Gave it a bash and found it very refreshing.0 -
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Wubble Wubble wrote: »Sorry it didn't go to plan B. Like you say yourself, there'll be other 10 milers. Between yourself and Baby75, it's nice that people still find my notes useful two years later Short answer - I don't think your FD10 time is a good indicator for what may come in DCM. Docklands I'd say is closer, however of course there's a considerably greater discrepancy in terms of the distance. Recover well - next week should help in giving you a bit more direction.
Thanks J. I was looking out for ye. Not sure the Docklands will translate over and have to back off from that in light of the recent bother. Still hope to reach 20 mins in a 5k, so Docklands again next year.Sorry it was a tough day out. Hard being left with a load of questions too. Have you a HM planned?
Thanks. No, not doing the DCHM. However, probably not going to do DCM next year just for a break. I'm hoping to do a marathon in the US (still thinking of the Flying Pig) in April/May. Probably will do the FD10 again, or the Half will do for late/summer or the Autumn. Antics or no antics, I still love 10 miles as a race distance.You were not to much off last years time though and given the heat and being unsure you would make the start line midweek you dug in and did very well
I hope you are recovering well and feeling happier about it all today, do you monitor your resting HR its a great indicator of how you are recovering after a hard effort.
Wubble Wubble your notes are great any chance you have some for the Dublin Half
Thanks. I don't really wear the Garmin outside of running. I kept it on for a little on Saturday and think it was down in the 60s. Wore the last few days into work after your post. Resting seems to be 44-47, picks up a little in work 50s/60s, or more. It's a little self-conscious checking it, though. It's funny because I was thinking to that padlocked body sensation I felt in Waterford and got to wondering if it was HR related. I don't think I've ever gone much above 179...just going from memory. My breathing doesn't seem to suffer, for whatever reason.Sounds like a tough one but well done all the same. The splits show you ran a pretty consistent race with quicker miles towards the end, so you didn't exactly do anything disastrous in terms of strategy.
Regarding the questions about target and training paces, I'm no expert but I don't think it's such an exact science, and I also think the easy and long runs can be done pretty slowly without precluding a faster race, but rather it just might mean you have more energy to keep up with the faster paces when it comes to the harder stuff, sessions, etc. I would also suggest averaging results from your races over the last 6 months or so rather than going off one result exclusively, and see what you get from that?
Thanks eyrie. I wonder if 8:30 pace for the first 6 miles and gradually cracking on from there would have been the wiser option and might have led to 1:22 ish. I hadn't thought about averaging races. Not sure on how to go about it. I'll have to put some thought into the paces situation, just been too busy this week. I didn't find the heat bothersome during the race, at least not that I can recall. There were a few lads around the zoo that looked like that they'd been attacked by fire hoses.
Meno plan week 9
Figured I'd try to run 30 miles this week, just to get back into it. Was thinking maybe 6 miles x 5, or even sneaking in 10 or more on Sun.
Aug 26th
Rest. Sleep not so great. Was in work a little early so did the yoga for office workers video. Got home around 6:45pm, did yoga for runners one too. Forgot to say last Sun I did one geared towards the core. Parts of that were an experience. :pac: Man, my core strength is kinda terrible, shocking for a runner, I know. I'm not great at the breathing thing. I had to run briefly across a bridge to catch my bus. Left leg not so keen on that. Replenished my stock of home made energy balls on Sun too.
Aug 27th
5.92 miles at 11:38.
11:45, 11:11, 11:42, 11:41, 11:54 (11:38)
HRM 120 avg, 149 max
Basically, very, very easy...I used the HR screen and just kept proceedings in the blue. Small bit of green on the hill, guy in a wine coloured shirt looked like he was going well, fairly flicking the legs up. I'm not sure the office yoga before hand was a great idea as things felt a little odd starting out. At about 0.8 miles in it seemed fine. Things like going around at home, getting out of the shower, all fine.
I thought I'd done 6, but super slow didn't hit that. Anyway, after this I said I might just stop week 9 altogether. Whatever's going on it probably won't welcome even easy miles at the moment. I finished up thinking it's prone to being a little angry.
Aug 28th
Nothing
Hello left foot, with new not so good sensations, sole/arch of the food AKA, goodbye to rest of week 9.
I would like to get back to things next Tues (properly), if possible. If not that could knock week 10 out of the equation too. 9 is not a scripted/prescribed week as such, so I'm not too bothered about abandoning it. I can't remember what I did to come back from something similar last year. I'll have to reread the log. I'm not sure what I can do in the DIY front to help, did a little foam rolling. Appointment tomorrow, so we'll see.
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