Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads

The Black Oil

Huzzah! wrote: »

Quick question, and apologies if you've mentioned it but do you have a correct HR max?

No...is this a setting? What do you mean?

Edit, for Waterford 12 mile session - Aug 14th? Yeah, that was 153 avg, 174 max. 179, can't remember where that was.

Huzzah!

The Black Oil wrote: »

No...is this a setting? What do you mean?

Edit, for Waterford 12 mile session - Aug 14th? Yeah, that was 153 avg, 174 max. 179, can't remember where that was.

I thought you might not have. There's not much point in using the Garmin heart rate zones without knowing what your max heart rate is and then setting up the zones properly. Garmin Connect just uses a default setting. It would kind of be like using someone else's 5k time to work out your paces.

Some suggestions and a better explanation here:

https://www.polar.com/blog/calculate-maximum-heart-rate-running/

Probably the easiest way to determine your max is to race a 5k flat out, which might be best left till after DCM.

The Black Oil

Ah right. Hadn't a clue on that. Maybe best to leave HR data out of the log, then? There's a 5k memorial in Waterford airport on Sept 14th, might be a bit soon. There should be pacers at parkrun in Sept too, but a race would be better and more accurate on distance. I need to the hammer the end of a 5k a little more, tbh.

Aug 29th

Appointment was productive. Couple of new exercises. Plantar fasciitis was ruled out. I wasn't thinking alone those lines because frankly I know next to nothing about it. Good to get some reassurance anyway. I do have to monitor things and will jot down any issues. Happy for me to keep running - I'm not at a point where I should be missing days, or weeks for that matter. No reason not to run the marathon was part of the verdict. Did the yoga for runners video before bed.

I see entries for Cincinnati's Flying Pig marathon (it contains hills :pac:) are now open...May 2020. Probably best to get the remainder of 2019 out of the way first. If I don't do DCM next year I'll try to volunteer at it.

Aug 30th

31km on my ancient bike. Tried to make the route so there was not much yipee freewheeling going on. Wasn't too strenuous, either. Enough for a Garmin climb badge. Felt unpracticed as I got off the bike, bound to not having been on two wheels since June. Left foot a bit iffy in the evening.

Yoga

Aug 31st

Slow Malahide parkrun, 32:31 at 10:44. I'm going to try and do some more now as I don't think I've ever done more than 3-4 parkruns consecutively. Foot still iffy and in the evening too. Threw an icepack on it whilst watching Mindhunter.

Yoga

Sept 1st

What's this? A day without much complaint from the foot? Oh yes.

Wore the watch for sleep for the first time last night - 3:11 deep, 4:31 light. Taking it with a grain of salt, but interesting anyway.

8.95 miles for the week.

The Black Oil

Meno plan week 10

Revised paces. These are with 3:45 in mind, rather than the more bonkers stuff based off of a 21:21 5k. Won't need some of these for the rest of the plan, but anyway.

Easy 10:36-10:58
Moderate 9:20-9:37
MP 8:34
HMP 8:14
Steady 8:50
3k 7:18
5k 7:31
10k 7:50
10m 8:05
Hard 7:50

Sept 2nd
Rest, yoga
Long afternoon meeting (productive) in the city.

Sept 3rd
1:10:38
6.64 miles easy at 10:39.
10:48, 10:41, 10:37, 10:43, 10:35, 10:34 (10:28)

Mixed bag, largely on the mental side. Just a bit doom and gloom, really. The sensation had gone from the foot/ankle area as per Sunday, but I was either experiencing something new - upwards part of the leg, but below the knee, or else it has simply moved. It was there on and off throughout. It was there during the day as well, when not running. I felt pretty positive in the final 2 miles or so (even a mental victory dance), but less good after I got home and had a shower. I was at a pretty intensive event for work (about suicide), so that sort of thing can linger too. Sleep wasn’t great as well, hey ho. SIS gels arrived by post, so I gave the fruit salad one a go - was fine.

Sept 4th

12 miles with 4 x 2miles @ HMP. Wednesday's session should have a 2 mile warm up and c/d. Take a 2 minute rest between HMP sections. If you prefer; you can jog 0.5mile between reps and make it a 13-14 mile session

1:50:46
12 miles at 9:14.

w/u 10:43, 10:40
8:10, 8:17
10:17*, 8:13
8:17, 8:17
8:13, 8:11
c/d 10:41, 10:48

Don't really remember this from last year. I wasn't sure whether to pick the rest or do the 0.5 mile jog, so went with the former.

*Got a bit mixed up with the watch alright. Didn't stop it after the first x2 at HMP. The 10:17 wasn't what I was at at all and would guess it averaged out the pace. Stopped it for the rest, flicked over to the clock to count two mins. HRM says 146 avg, 191 max, probably not accurate as per Huzzah!'s 2 cents. I did see it in the red briefly.

Slightly mixed again. Legs...just not fresh at all at times. A little laboured in the lower back/pelvis area sometimes too. Hangover from Waterford, the FD10, general weakness? Happy enough with the pacing side, so that brought some confidence. However, still uncertain on the prospect of DCM. Up to Tesco after for some chocolate milk. Felt good walking around, shopping centre area was very busy.

Sept 5th

Recovery
49:33. 4.69 miles at 10:33.
10:39, 10:34, 10:39, 10:32 (and 10:19)

5 hours sleep. Legs ropey. Felt better after a shower.
Yoga.

Sept 6th

Rest.
Legs pretty good.
Yoga

Sept 7th
29:15. 2.79 miles at 10:30 plod before parkrun at Malahide
31:32 Garmin, 31:27 by the parkrun stopwatch. 3.05 miles at 10:21 - 10:11, 10:46, 10:16 (and 6:53).
Small burst at the end from the tape/sticks on - left leg said hello briefly.
Yoga in the evening.

Sept 8th

20 Miles (10 easy, 10 steady)
3:18:15. 20 miles at 9:55. 4.7 aerobic.

10:36, 10:34, 10:38, 10:36, 10:33, 10:33, 10:31, 10:29, 10:32, 10:31
&
8:51 8:50, 8:50, 8:55, 8:55, 9:01, 9:25, 9:42, 10:03, 10:12

1 gel and 2 energy balls from the freezer.

Looking back at 2018, for comparison.

3:14:39 at 9:44.
10 miles easy: 10:34, 10:17, 10:26, 10:23, 10:17, 10:20, 10:21, 10:31, 10:27, 10:37.
10 miles steady: 8:51, 8:58, 9:01, 8:49, 8:56, 8:58, 9:00, 8:47, 8:58, 10:07.

Out the usual route, only to see races were on. Didn't think to check online before hand and I missed one of the signs which had the dates. Turned back, no Loughshinny or even close. Man O War stretch has a donkey which lives here in a field, busy with cyclists as I headed home. Back into Lusk, couple of runners. I went out the Skerries road, looped back and then up towards Baldungan, but well short because of the races and some very wide farm machinery approaching. Left leg was 'there' at times, but only seems to arise for easy miles these days.

A physical and mental struggle with the steady aspect: a fail. Mostly noticed it around mile 14. Despite what Garmin says (9:01) 16 was horrible. Just nothing in the hips for any of the back end of this. I think having missed a few runs and lingering leg stuff may not have helped, but I dunno...am I just reaching for excuses? I was awake before 5am a good few nights, including at 4:27am Friday into Saturday. Bad dream featuring snakes - much like Indiana Jones, I hate snakes. Watch for sleep patterns is OK, but if ye can't sleep right the brain goes 'oh, wonder what Garmin will think of this craic?'

If I couldn't hit 8:50 consistently then 8:34 might be fecked for the next few Sundays (Baldungan and Loughshinny hills, hello) and indeed Wednesday stuff around my work route. Scale back the paces once again? 3:45 seems very out of reach following this morning. Write it off? Steady I see from the plan notes has some flexibility so could have been 8:50-9:00, should have aimed for the 9, really and the back roads to Baldungan are draggy and I might have burned too much energy. Thanks for reading.

Total: 49.17 miles.
Target: 45-55 miles.
Meno plan to date: 354.52 miles.
2019 - current: 1067.74 miles.

hillsiderunner

The Black Oil wrote: »

If I couldn't hit 8:50 consistently then 8:34 might be fecked for the next few Sundays (Baldungan and Loughshinny hills, hello) and indeed Wednesday stuff around my work route. Scale back the paces once again? 3:45 seems very out of reach following this morning. Write it off? Steady I see from the plan notes has some flexibility so could have been 8:50-9:00, should have aimed for the 9, really and the back roads to Baldungan are draggy and I might have burned too much energy. Thanks for reading.

I wouldn't be pulling back on 3:45 based on that, it's only a bit of struggling when you have 1067 miles in the bag this year. And loads of cycling.

Maybe just the shock of the body doing a 49mile week after some downtime....

Singer

All that yoga would wreck me. Can you scale it back, or do you think it would make a difference? I associate the places you're running with lots of hills, it could be worth getting one of the meno sessions done on a relatively flat path somewhere.

The Black Oil

hillsiderunner wrote: »

I wouldn't be pulling back on 3:45 based on that, it's only a bit of struggling when you have 1067 miles in the bag this year. And loads of cycling.

Maybe just the shock of the body doing a 49mile week after some downtime....

Thanks. I dunno - not a whole pile of cycling and nothing as intensive as the plan. Yeah, first full week back a little rusty.

Singer wrote: »

All that yoga would wreck me. Can you scale it back, or do you think it would make a difference? I associate the places you're running with lots of hills, it could be worth getting one of the meno sessions done on a relatively flat path somewhere.

I did the yoga after I last posted too. :P Haven't done it yet this week, after your post. Yeah, we've a few hills out here. Only thought back over it following what you said. Man O War, Loughshinny, Blakes Cross, down to the train station and into Rush. Not many long ish sections that are particularly flat for a sizeable stretch to suit good chunks of MP stuff.

Postponed the Weds stuff on until today due to a work thing yesterday.

14 miles, 10 @ MP

Wednesday's session is 2 mile warm up and c/d. This is the first long continuous MP block. Concentrate on getting the right feel for the MP, you should feel strong, it should feel hard after 3-4 miles but not getting harder. Try to imagine running this for the full 26.2 (you shouldn't be flogged at the end). Try not to look too much at the watch as if you are a few seconds/mile down on your goal MP it doesn't matter: this will right itself naturally over the next few weeks

Another slogfest, as reflected below. In some respects, it felt a bit worse than last Sun, tbh.

2:11:40
14 miles 9:24.
w/u 10:35, 10:25
Plan 8:26, 8:37, 8:37, 8:46, 8:53, 8:55, 9:00, 9:14, 9:19, 9:23
c/d 10:43, 10:47
Training effect 4.8

Was off work today. Went out at lunch, it was warmer than I expected. Didn't bring a hat or water. Tested two gels, a little thicker than others I've tried. Legs fine. w/u was the usual route, then I dropped into the track and did 3 miles before heading out back to a section of the bypass, looping around multiple times (not the full bypass as the likelihood of having to stop at the main roundabout is high with traffic). Surface is nicer on the path, the track had a little headwind and the bit closest the school is draggy. Even on the track I was feeling sleepy, wanted to close my eyes. This was a clue and once I got out of there I had a fair idea I'd have to try for a slower 8:5X instead. Upper body, rib cage upwards just feeling under too much pressure with this stuff.

Mixed feelings about Sunday's 18 miles alternating 2 miles easy with 2 miles MP (8@ MP in total). There's still fair whack of MP to contend with over the next few weeks too. Man O War/Loughshinny is out, I think. Can't see a solution - at this late stage - other than to dial back the paces once more, since trying to hit 8:34 consistently seems to be a no go at present. This is probably illogical, but I was hoping to have 8:34 in the legs for a few weeks pre-DCM...rather than actually run that until needed i.e. quite late on. Not hitting some of the Weds stuff has been the theme of the summer, really. It wasn't all bad today, even the middle - I was determined to get the 10 done, even if they were crap.

Dunno if I'm eating enough, but not sure what I could to eat more and maybe that's irrelevant. Leaving the house earlier for work now as school traffic is back on the M50. I'm bad at napping as I find it hard to switch off. Body autopilot wakes me up before the alarm.

DCM email said I'm in wave 2. Sit at the back of it, or drop to 3. Anyway. I've just heard Mannix Flynn ranting and rave on Drivetime. That's worse than anything I ran today. TBO, over and out.

The Black Oil

Meno plan week 11

Sept 9th

Rest

Sept 10th
1:10:56. 6.67 miles at 10:38
10:52, 10:33, 10:28, 10:35, 10:34, 10:40, 10:42 (and 10:38)

Standard plod after work.

Sept 11th

Rest due to work trip.

There was a Twitter thread about dogs who were part of the response on this day 18 years ago. Yeah, you can imagine.

Sept 12th

14 miles, per the post above.

Pleased to see Kim Clijsters plans to return to tennis.

Sept 13th

Recovery

Felt fine for the first half of the day, body good, PMA. Less so in the late afternoon. Run - legs OK, though residue of Thurs in there. Mental doubts all over the place, for the most part. Felt a bit better around 3 miles in.

Sept 13th
50:12. 4.7 miles at 10:41
10:45, 10:27, 10:52, 10:42 (and 10:37)

Sept 14th

Some nausea on the drive over to Malahide. Had a few nuts when I got there, felt fine during the run. 2.04 miles before parkrun, then 32:24/3.04 miles easy. Legs still feeling Thurs. Off to visit my sister for the rest of the day.

Sept 15th

18 miles alternating 2 miles easy with 2 miles MP (8@ MP in total/The long run is (2 easy + 2 @ MP) x 4 with a 2 mile c/d.

A little nausea during the w/u. A damp, fresh morning - aka perfect Irish running conditions.

2:54:11
18 miles at 9:41
10:55, 10:42 w/u
8:28, 8:29 and 10:30, 10:41
8:36, 8:27 and 10:31, 10:45
8:29, 8:31 and 10:36, 10:31
8:25, 8:28, then 10:32, 10:34 as c/d

Hello MP my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...
Very happy with this. Left the house feeling good. No mad upper body pressure like Thurs. Lower part of the legs definitely tired and a little sore towards the end. Guts of 3 hours will do that. Something salvaged from the week at least. Still some MP donkey work in the weeks ahead, so we shall see if this is doable sustainable.

Total: 48.45 miles (oops, meant to do slightly less).
Target: 45-55 miles.

Unthought Known

Great long run there today B. I remember that one well and you nailed the pace.

The Black Oil

Unthought Known wrote: »

Great long run there today B. I remember that one well and you nailed the pace.

Thanks A.

Meno plan week 12

Sept 16th

Rest. Didn’t sleep well at all. Have been coughy, phlegmy from about last Thurs. Forgot say after last Sunday's spin I had some marks around the left hip area, where the shorts and shirt meet. Future Vaseline spot methinks.

Sept 17th

Evening meeting in Drumcondra. Couple of runners using the road there. A quick easy spin after I got home. 35:08. 3.28 miles at 10:43.

Sept 18th

12 miles easy with strides.

2:07:18
12 miles at 10:36
11:00, 10:50, 10:29, 10:30, 10:35, 10:36, 10:24, 10:45, 10:26, 10:22, 10:34, 10:45
Training effect 2.9

Did about 8 or so of them in the middle. Last year I did 14x400 in error. I had been searching the definition of strides again and remembered Murph had posted here, so I used lampposts as per his guide. I didn't bother hitting the watch, nor sunglasses as it was going to be dark by the time I finished. Started the car at about 8:05pm.

Sept 19th

Recovery - it advised 40 hours of recovery after this...
51:04. 4.74 miles at 10:46
10:53, 10:41, 10:48, 10:40 (and 10:48)

Sept 20th

Rest
Yoga

Sept 21st
27:28. 2.50 miles before parkrun
32:56. 3.06 miles
Another lovely morning in Malahide

Sept 22nd

18 miles with 10 at MP.

2:53:18 at 9:37

4 easy 10:49, 10:38, 10:45, 10:36
10MP 8:30, 8:39, 8:37, 8:39, 8:41, 8:43, 8:54, 8:51, 8:51, 8:48.
4 easy 10:51, 10:50, 10:50, 10:43
Training effect 4.9.
HRM 153 avg, 173 max

I dunno how much use it is to post HRM since I'm not sure how accurate mine is. Last Sun's 18 miles read it as 146 avg and 194 max, so fewer continous MP stuff back then, but a higher HR than this week's longer MP stint? I don't get it. Anyway.

Knew the rain jacket, thin though it is, was a little overkill. w/u not entirely flat. Similar to last week I largely bounced back and forth between two roundabouts. The one close to the school seems to be the energy killer, that or rather crossing over the road. Stretch near the football pitch is fine. Only went to the train station once as I was trying to stay on the flat.

Story of the morning - didn't nail the MP consistently, as above. It got away from me and this segment knocked my confidence, again. Upper body just feels it. I may as well be trying to push the front dumper bucket of a JCB digger. If I can't manage more than a few miles at MP that says it all. Fries my brain, tbh. I'm trying not to let it irritate me. The forthcoming 14 miles with 10 at MP has the potential to kick my arse. Fair chance of it happening. What's the bloody point? This Sunday's easy 22 will be fine.

I tried one gel and they do feel a little rank in the immediacy after they hit the stomach. Only managed one home made energy ball from the freezer. Dry and must have taken me 15-20 minutes to finish it. On the easy c/d I had to find a ditch go the loo shortly after mile 16. Not good. Maybe it was the peanuts before I left the house. :rolleyes:

I felt better during the rest of the day after a shower, etc. Just got on with some Netflix, cooking and a job application.

Drop easy to 11-11:15? Will still start DCM conservatively as per common sense, but think it's merely about turning up now. October is pretty hectic with my work diary, etc.

Total: 43.58 miles.
Target: 40-50 miles.

To borrow from JFK

Ask not what your training can do for you, ask what you can for your training.

The Black Oil

Sit rep.

14 miles with 10 at MP

2:09:39
14 miles at 9:16.
11:35, 11:10
8:33, 8:33, 8:30, 8:33, 8:31, 8:25, 8:30, 8:27, 8:25, 8:05
11:15, 11:07

Singer

Nice gif and run!

The Black Oil

Singer wrote: »

Nice gif and run!

Thanks, it was good. Forgot to use Vaseline.

A pity about Bawstan for yourself, but you can practice the accent for when you do get it. :cool:

The Black Oil

Meno plan week 13

Sept 23rd

Rest.

Sept 24th
Quite shattered during the day, for some reason. I see this year’s novices were very much feeling it too.

1:43:30. 9.06 miles at 11:26.
11:39, 11:20, 11:35, 11:21, 11:17, 11:32, 10:56, 11:29 11:41 (and 11:17)
Slow machine. Stuck largely to the blue zone on the watch (76%), in order to knock the easy back a little. Felt upbeat in the car on the way home and pretty good overall. Quite determined. Maybe this slowing down will make things easier on the heart to crack the MP stuff. Other highlights – Nissan Micra with some rear damage and I was briefly chased by some young children until their mother told them to stop!

Sept 25th
Rest

Sept 26th

14 miles with 10 at MP - earlier post. Right leg did pull a little in the few files. Knew about 5 miles into the MP that things were going well. No upper body sensation that was unpleasant. Had I started the w/u at 10:30 things may have been similar to the old pattern. Couple of the splits are a little ahead of 8:34 and the final one was intentionally so to test things out.

Sept 27th

Recovery. 49:39. 4.13 miles at 12:02.
11:10, 11:58, 11:47, 12:38 (and 12:28)
A little choppy. I was short on time and nearly missed the train later on. Not surprising that HR was mostly green.

Sept 28th

37:22. 3.12 miles easy at 11:58 before leaving the house. Home around 8:15am, quick shower and out the door. HR mostly blue, phew.

Timekeeping at Malahide. Numbers a little lower than usual...we reckoned the rugby might have played a role. Good atmosphere and chats as usual. On then to work for the afternoon. Did something new out of my comfort zone, worked pretty well.

Sept 29th

22 easy
4:31 at 12:19.
11:48, 12:15, 12:55, 12:15, 12:02, 11:58, 11:37, 11:41, 12:24, 12:10, 12:20, 12:20, 12:40, 12:59, 13:08, 13:11, 12:52, 12:30, 12:05, 11:59, 12:00, 11:50.
HR - 58% green, 40% blue. Avg 131, max 169.

Longest time on the feet by far of any training run I've ever done ~ 30 seconds longer than running Conn full. Mad. Weather mostly good. 3 gels, energy bar thing. Route Lusk - Man O War - Loughshinny (full tide) - Lusk - Rush - Lusk. This didn't entirely work for keeping the watch in the blue. Tipped into the green a little on the stretch up to the Man O War and back from Loughshinny too. Around mile 14 (Lusk bypass) it said I was at threshold, even though I was hardly moving. I don't normally swear out loud running! Into the edge of Rush afterwards, ice cream cone sign at the garage was tempting. Turned back and eventually got sick of seeing the green zone on the watch, so decided to go back to the pace screen, focus on feel and come down closer to 12 min/mi. Quick look again around 20, still green. The stuff well into 12 and 13+ wasn't because I was feeling it, I was trying to slow, to slow the heart. Gradient = nu uh in that department.

It was a very pleasant run in some respects, hay bails, weather and all that. Couple of other runners. Mentally I've been fairly distracted all week and couldn't switch off from the same handful of topics. Feet not too bad. Right hand side a little sore in the later stages.

22 is on the agenda next Sun with some speed, however. The undulating route was a factor in the HR this week and flat/down/up to Rush and back might be longer than Loughshinny. I didn't really want to do 22 miles ping ponging between 2 roundabouts as it would drive me to drink, but I suppose it would have been safe enough to do it with podcasts and at least it would have kept the HR easy more consistently. Or just use more of the bypass, tbh.

Slept pretty poorly during the week, including a little paralysis in there...been a while since that happened.

Total: 52.31 miles.
Target: 50-60 miles.
With Sept running concluded that brings 2019 to 1212.08 miles.

4 weeks to go, with some long evenings to come.

Singer

Any chance of treating yourself to a nicer run? It's a 22 miler! 3 weeks out from Dublin is always lovely in the Phoenix Park. The coastal route from Swords->Portmarnock is great, Turvey bird place is grand, Newbridge House is nice if a little small, even Lusk to Swords (and then beyond) is do-able with a bit of kerb crawling.

The Black Oil

Singer wrote: »

Any chance of treating yourself to a nicer run? It's a 22 miler! 3 weeks out from Dublin is always lovely in the Phoenix Park. The coastal route from Swords->Portmarnock is great, Turvey bird place is grand, Newbridge House is nice if a little small, even Lusk to Swords (and then beyond) is do-able with a bit of kerb crawling.

Good shout. I thought about the Phoenix Park a while back - it slipped my mind. Thought about those football pitches in Swords for some of the weeks I was struggling (assuming that's OK with Swords folk ). Did Malahide - Portmarnock last year at some point, if memory serves. Think the usual route is out for Sun alright.

The Black Oil

Meno plan week 14

Sept 30th
Rest. Yoga. Job application sent in.

Oct 1st
7.93 miles slow. 1:39:15 at 12:31
12:21, 11:51, 12:19, 12:27, 12:16, 12:39, 12:37 (13:33)
74% zone 2.
Chilly in the morning and the evening too. Manky day out there, however the wind and rain eased off in the afternoon. Saw a bloke running with a head torch (not on), guess he was planning to be out for a while. I needed petrol on the way home, there's a garage nearby that goes to hatch only around 8pm I think. There's feck all street lighting here - it's a little spooky and should be a film set.

Oct 2nd
7.92 miles. 1:38:28 at 12:26.
12:18, 12:01, 12:20, 12:06, 12:25, 12:38, 12:24 (and 13:12)
80% zone 2.
Same trot as before. I was passing someone's drive as they were approaching with their Tesla. Figured that thing'll probably park itself.

Oct 3rd

Session: 2 miles warm up then 10 miles alternating MP+ 3% with MP -3%. 2 miles c/dSo for a 3:30 MP (8 min/mile) run one mile @ 8:15, followed by a mile @ 7:45 and repeat x 5.

14 miles, 2:14:44 at 9:37
12:01, 12:30
8:56, 8:42, 8:39, 8:40, 8:44, 8:44, 8:45, 8:53, 8:49, 8:51
11:10, 11:19
Training effect 4.9
77% zone 4.
67 hours of recovery recommended...

Garmin said I was at threshold out the Skerries road, even trying to be slow on the w/u. Similar lark to last week. Decided to taken it handy and not get into the MP+/- dance, or even MP itself.

There wasn't much rain, tbf. In parts running into the wind was akin to trying to take on a wind tunnel or an industrial fan. Got a little tricky in the end and hamstringy. Pretty much done with these 2 hour sessions.

Oct 4th

35:35. 3.09 recovery at 11:31
11:28, 11:20, 11:42 (11:49)
86% zone 2
Got stopped by a driver for directions.

Oct 5th

35:36 at 11:41. 3.05 miles at Malahide.
11:40, 11:58, 11:28 (10:10)
Slept terribly. Anxiety has picked up lately. Slowest parkrun ever(?) - to try and stay in zone 2, nah. Decent conditions. Hardly needed the miles. Anyway. I'm certain Mick Clohisey was parked opposite me as I was leaving. Opted not to go up and say hello. Perhaps another time.

Oct 6th

22 miles with stuff*

I am going to give you a few options here, but basically we want some quality in the long run as it will be our last long one before the day. You could do all the 22 miles steady (i.e. about MP +4-5%) and if feasible try to do the last few miles at MP. Another option is 10 miles easy, followed by 10@ MP and a 2 mile c/d.

3:50:17
22 miles at 10:28
10 easy 11:21, 11:22, 11:51, 12:09, 12:19, 12:09, 12:08, 12:14, 12:27, 12:37
10 MP attempted 8:40, 8:34, 8:44, 8:50, 8:40, 8:39, 8:35, 8:50, 9:00, 8:40
2 c/d 11:14, 11:12
Training effect 4.0. Think it was 36 hours recovery.
26% blue, 32% green, 40% orange

A nice and quiet M50 on the way to the Park. Decent amount of runners and on the whole, things only got busier as the morning wore on. Almost went with second layer, but decided to leave it in the car. I started on Chesterfield, made my way over to Garda HQ, then back to C. Around the left big toe area was bothering me - think it was either the sock or inner area of the shoe itself. Not constant. Fixable. Kept it easy where I was able to, but HR went into zone 3 and 4 the odd bit. Fed up of that carry on. At least it wasn't the Lusk route, I suppose.

Around mile 9 and the podcasts stopped. Sometimes they drop into the queue and don't download unless give them enough time. Oops. Took out the earphone (only use the left, right is dead) and went on. Was close enough to my car when mile 10 beeped.

12.3 miles I heard a clink - house key had fallen from my pocket. Into the water belt it goes. Fortunately this was on tarmac, otherwise I may not have heard it. Thanks, Adidas - I've had Dunnes shorts for longer and they're fine. Third gel had gone AWOL. Struggled with the MP spells coming back up Chesterfield, towards Castleknock. No harm as a reminder to again take it handy here in a few weeks. Shorter back and forth on Chesterfield might have made the 8:34 more doable. There was some queue for the zoo. Such a beautiful morning for a run. Finished the c/d about 100m from the car. Busy enough with dogs, I think the loose ones are perhaps more of a hazard to drivers, tbh.

Body happy overall. Chocolate milk kept cold with some freezer packs in a bag in the car and more water. Park is when ye tend to spot the older DCM shirts.

Total: 57.99 miles. Highest weekly mileage I've ever done - afaik. Yes, I was aware of the .01 mile before this morning. :P
Target: 50-60 miles.

Don't think it's taper until after next Weds. The 14 at MP looks dicey after recent weeks and today.

Hectic enough October coming.
10th - supervision
13th - meeting
14th - committee (late evening)
16th - workshop/training thing
22nd - other committee
23rd - committee that supports the committee of the 22nd...
Too many people to talk to!

Singer

Nice week and solid milage. Your easy paces are textbook conservative. Glad you got to the park

The Black Oil

Meno plan week 15

Oct 7th.
Rest.
Smelly bus people.

Oct 8th

1:34:58.
8 miles at 11:52.
11:48, 11:31, 11:55, 11:48, 11:51, 11:54, 12:01, 12:13
81% zone 2.
Slipped into zone 1 a little without seeming to change effort, really. RHR 35 at home?

Oct 9th

1:32:08
8 miles at 11:31
11:31, 11:20, 11:34, 11:16, 11:24, 11:31, 11:22, 12:08
As above, 80% zone 2.

Oct 10th

So... a final sting in the tail on Wednesday. This is a key run and I would encourage you to practice you Marathon strategy with regards clothes, shoes and gels. You may as well see what everything feels like while running at MP. Try to take one gel (if you plan on taking them in the Marathon) at halfway just to test it out at this pace even though you don't actually 'need' it. The run should involve no warm up. You won't get a warmup mile on the big day. Don't fret if the first mile is a little slow- it should be, build into MP over the run and concentrate on keeping good form and feeling in tune with the body and the correct effort.

14 miles at MP (~8:34)
1:59:39 at 8:33
8:53, 8:26, 8:29, 8:30, 8:30, 8:31, 8:32, 8:32, 8:36, 8:33, 8:33, 8:36, 8:30, 8:27.
86% zone four.
Cadence was 171 avg, 178 max. Don't think I've seen 17X before.
Forgot the gel. Wasn't sure how this was going to given recent happenings, and starting from cold, no w/u. Mile 4 - only 10 more to go. Mile 5 - got this.

Taper!

Oct 11th

Rest.

Oct 12th


34:20. 3.03 miles at 11:20
11:31, 11:25, 11:06 (9:40)
Standard issue lovely morning at Malahide. Chilly in the shade. Couple of visitors from the UK. Saw the end of Kipchoge's sub 2 work on someone's phone.

20 mins yoga in the evening.

Oct 13th

16 miles easy
3:11:53 at 11:59
13:16, 12:42, 12;08, 11:59, 11:50, 11:52, 11:53, 12:03, 11:53, 11:50, 11:47, 11:48, 11:41, 11:38, 11:42, 11:48.
HR 64% zone 4, avg 180, max 247. Would ya g'wan. :rolleyes:

Slept pretty badly. Some party animals were making noise outside in the small hours. Over to the park whilst it was still dark, started at 7:15. Couple of cyclists and the odd runner. Got busier as the day brightened. Lots of people in groups, think last week was more solo efforts. Finished up back at the car around 10:30. Fairly drenched from the run, shoes too. A little shaky in the car driving back. More layers? Squirrels undeterred by the rain.

Total: 49.03 miles.
Target: 45-55 miles.

I forget exactly when during the week, but I decided to try the HRM chest strap, after replacing the CR2032 battery (they are in everything). It's been sitting in a bag for a few years. I've never fully gotten on with it, tbh. It was saying I was in zone 4 barely 100 metres into parkrun. Similar carry on early on in the 16 miler. I took it off and almost went back to the car. Stuck it in my pocket. I've now removed it from the accessories list and am not using it again at the moment. It plays on my mind too much. Felt much more relaxed once I took it off. Maybe wearing it in the car on the drive over was not a good idea...

Mud on the calves, eh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au8eGDe465g

The Black Oil

Meno plan week 16

Oct 14th

60:02
5 easy miles at 12:00
12:07, 11:57, 12:03, 11:45, 12:09
77% zone two.

Very long day, didn't get home until about 9:40pm due to work. I booked an hour off to squeeze in the run before the evening meeting. Haven't used the shower at work in a while - there were 3 razors in it.

Oct 15th

Rest.

Oct 16th

Rest.

Was at a workshop in the city and saw a few DCM route signs up on the bus in. That time of year again...

Yoga

Oct 17th

10 with 8 miles @MP

Now it's just time to get to the startline fresh and sharp. This weeks we have definite signs of taper Resist the temptation to run wednesdays PMP miles at faster than PMP. Just because there are less PMP miles doesn't mean you should go out and race them!! It should feel nice and easy at this stage and that's how it is meant to be!!

1:30:16
10 miles at 9:02
11:35
8:32, 8;32, 8:28, 8:34, 8:34, 8:29, 8:32, 8:28
10:31
3.4 aerobic
49% zone 4, 35% zone 3

The key here, as per meno's notes, was not to hit the MP too quickly. Generally it was pretty smooth. I won't lie - the right leg was at me at a little.

Oct 18th

22:20.
2 miles recovery
11:13, 11:06

Oct 19th

35:26
3.06 miles at 11:34 over at Malahide by easy feel.
Slightly damp morning. Official DCM route video appeared online later in the day. A little nerve wrecking - after all, it’s a long way!

Oct 20th

2:16:44
12 miles at 11:23.
11:40:, 11:36, 11:32, 11:20, 11:23, 11:22, 11:22, 11:18, 11:13, 11:17, 11:22, 11:16
Now for the sigh.
43% zone 5, 56% zone 4
Aerobic 5.0

Slight chill in the air starting out. Lovely sunshine kicked in after few miles, half moon as well. Some hellos from other runners. So the HRM, yeah. I turned off that screen after about 2 miles as it said I was in zone 5 - driving me mental. Relaxed more at point, just focused on consistent effort. My brain in overdrive as yesterday I visited a close family member (younger than me) who has been ill for a long time. Any other weekend this would mostly have been zone 2. I don't know if the above will have any negative impact at this point. A little going on with the right leg again, seemed fine after mile 6.

Fairly quiet week with taper under way. Frustrating experiences of public transport in the mornings lately. :mad: Three short runs next week and then we expo :eek: and McGrattans. :pac: Haven't decided on what shirt to wear. FD10 2017 is one of my favourites (the colours) and probably a good bet. Two meetings next week and then the more manic side of Oct is over, thank feck.

Trying to think of strategy. I think skyblue said something in one of his reports about the joys of just being able to get out there and in his words :pac: just effin’ run. Not like a bullet from the start, though. I tried the search post function, but couldn't find it. If I'm still hunt around mile 20-21, hopefully I can light the fuse from there. Mission: Impossible reference. No, I don't know Tom Cruise. Or rather, he doesn't know me. :cool:

Total: 32.06 miles.
Target: 30-35 miles.
Meno: 637.94 miles.

The Black Oil

Meno plan week 17

Howyiz :pac:

Oct 21st

Rest. Public transport trips makes ye more aware of people coughing, etc. Forgot to say I started my checklist last Sun rather than leaving it late.

Oct 22nd

1:22:53. 7.16 miles easy at 11:35
11:32, 11:20, 11:29, 11:39, 11:45, 11:40, 11:40 (11:26)
37% zone 2, 57% zone 3
Slightly short on time as I had a deadline and meeting (after nudging people by email, again and again)

Oct 23rd

5 miles with 3 @MP
49:20 @ 9:52
12:35 w/u
8:29, 8:25, 8:24
11:25 c/d
32% zone 2, 35% zone 3, 42% zone 4

Body and legs were good. Tried to keep things by feel throughout, tad fast in MP country. A few fireworks locally, they finally waited until it's dark too. Heard the AC juniors getting instructions - stay in your twos!

And final big meeting of the month out of the way. At last.

Oct 24th

35:35. 3 miles easy at 11:51
12:11, 11:36, 11:46.

Oct 25th

22:44 at 11:20
2.01 easy

Expo.

HR zones were high ish on Thurs and today. Marathon nerves.

Total: 17.17 miles.
Target: 15-20 miles.
Meno total: 655.11 miles. Down somewhat on last year's 734 odd.
2019 to date: 1368.33 miles.

Oct 26th

Barcode scanning.

Oct 27th

A goal: 3:45:30
B goal: 3:50:XX
C goal: under 3:57:25 (PB from DCM 2018)

A few non-athletes, work colleagues, etc, have asked me about what I'm aiming for. I've told them 3:45, and no doubt a few parkrun heads tomorrow too, so I've got to do it now. Oh God. Thanks for the support on here, as always. I stopped reading articles and watching videos. Some day earlier in the week I struck up a 'are you doing in the marathon?' quick chat in a supermarket car park with a stranger. Told him to enjoy it.

Anyway, listen to the body, trust the training.

Any word on whether Pheidippides himself will be in McGrattans?

Kellygirl

Best of luck on Sunday.

Pomplamousse

Best of luck on Sunday! I'll be around Milltown so will look out for you for a shout out. Smash that A goal:D

ReeReeG

Best of luck, you deserve a successful day after the training! Hope to meet you in McGrattan's!

Baby75

good luck I hope you have a great day out there

Huzzah!

Pomplamousse wrote: »

Best of luck on Sunday! I'll be around Milltown so will look out for you for a shout out. Smash that A goal:D

Us too. If you see a group who might be ReeRee and me and maybe a couple of others, so say hi!

Best of luck, TBO. Hope you’ve a great run on Sunday!

Pomplamousse

Huzzah! wrote: »

Us too. If you see a group who might be ReeRee and me and maybe a couple of others, so say hi!

I'd love that. Let me know if there's anything about your group that'll stand out. I'll probably be the person wearing a grey bobble hat & crying looking at the people who can run:pac:

OOnegative

Best of luck tomorrow, hope the A Goal is achieved. Run well!!

Mr. Guappa

Best of luck tomorrow!

mister paul

Best of luck tomorrow. Hope it all goes to plan.