Berlin Q or Bust: Road to sub 2:45
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You're going about it all wrong. "Johnny came to me on a 5 x 3min walk/1min run schedule" should be the opening line...
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So now the dust has settled on all things DCM, where are we?
Well, in simple terms, I've gone from a run/walk programme in Dec '22 and massively unfit to my sub 3 outing in Dublin. I didn't think I could get there. Hands down, that wasn't in my thoughts at all.
Reading Lambay's overview on his log, and how he described his preference to running marathons, struck a chord with me. When I reached out to AMK in April, the overiding sentiment was 'If this show is going to get back on the road, then I need the carrot of DCM to aim for'. I love running marathons and whilst this may have been to the detriment of some of my shorter distance PBs over the years, the positives of how building towards a marathon focuses me and makes me feel, is far more valuable to me a few seconds over a 10k or something.
Another reason for asking AMK to take the reins, was that for this marathon I couldn't face using my tried and trusted training approach to marathon blocks, even though I know works for me. I just couldn't do the familiar sessions, knowing the times and splits I'd posted in the not-too-distant past. I was in a pretty fragile place mentally and I think churning out the same sessions but much slower would have had a pretty detrimental effect.
Alan might post something about how he structured the sessions, but I had total trust that he would get me to the start line in the best shape that we could cobble together. What I will say, and this is maybe what I'm most excited about, is that towards the end of the block, I felt myself getting fit very quickly. I think that I can build on this fitness now and get into PB shape at least for the next tilt (more on that later). By the end of the block I was properly back. Whatever weight I still have to lose, and there's a bit to go, will be gone soon enough. The eye is back in. I'm eager for road.
In hindsight I'm happy that a 2:58 marathon felt very very comfortable. Some of fitness I had built up in the preceding years was still hanging around thank god. I might have gotten greedy and paced things a bit more aggressively, but the whole block was geared around not being aggressive and resisting the temptation of doing too much too soon.
My race execution was pretty spot on. I don't know how many more examples I need to drill home the fact that almost ALL of my PBs and great races have involved me winding things up in the second half of the race and not chasing some consistent and arbitrary pace.
So where to now. I feel like there's a decent amount of endurance there, but I don't feel fast at all. WIll try and sharpen up for a few weeks in Nov/Dec and maybe race a 5k or 10k. Nothing concrete there at the moment. I am however, aiming to race both a Spring and Autumn marathon next year. If 2:58 on a course like Dublin is where I am now, then I feel like there's a lot of improvement there for me to find next year. As Lambay said, I like running marathons. I like the build up, the buzz, the long runs, the warm up races etc.
My marathon PB of 2:53 is extremely soft. I think that I can do something about it next time out for sure. As for the title of the log, we'll see how things go. I'm just looking to keep building fitness and if I do, the times will come. I am however, done chasing arbitrary times and paces and to the followers of this log, feel free to remind me of this at any stage in the future.
I'm in the lottery for Berlin. I know I said that if I went back there I was going through the front door, but it is what it is. That was a bit of a bluster from a runner who was pretty sure he was going under that mark very soon. If I don't get into Berlin I'll probably just throw a GFA entry into Dublin.
As for the Spring.....I don't know. Don't fancy a return to Manchester. Rotterdam would be the first choice but that's sold out. Hamburg maybe, but have done no homework on that one. Might throw in a GFA entry to London, but that deadline is soon I think so may get a move on if I'm doing that. Haven't even looked at cut off times from last year so 2:58 might not even be enough for the 40-45 bracket.
All of this before I've even given a thought to how I'm going train for said marathons. Exciting times!
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Great post J. I have done a bit of homework on Hamburg and a number of other April/ early May marathons. Hamburg costs the same as all the others ie. €110 approx, hotels are broadly similarly priced as other cities and it's a flat course. The big upside for me is the number of flights to Hamburg and the fact they are significantly cheaper than the other options at the time.
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Great read. It's been a heartwarming comeback. Congrats to yourself and AMK.
On a side note re: next Spring. Entries opened today for the Trim 10 mile.
On a side side note: We'll get a sub 5 mile out of you yet 😁
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Trim has already sold out by the looks of things
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I'll be looking for a transfer myself so, which seems to be a regular thing as I always get caught out by the rush🙄. Genuine reason this year though. I'm waiting on a replacement credit card in the post.
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Not a whole lot going on since the marathon. This year more than ever, I was amazed at how little recovery time a lot runners take after a marathon. Saw loads of people staright back into sessions the following weekend and then just carrying on as normal, onto the next block. I know that shoe technology has lessened the toll on the legs from racing a marathon, getting back on the horse straight away just seems really risky to me. Anyway, that sort of carry on did not happen here.
Enjoyed a week in Fuerteventura after the marathon. Got in a few easy runs on some super running routes that would have been very nice to run on if I had some actial running to do. 24k, 26k & 58k for the last 3 weeks. Mini session of 6x1min on/off last week. Meant to be 10 but I rinsed myself on the first couple and was out of gas by #6. In my defence I only decided mid run I was going to a session! 11 Miles @4:47/km last Saturday. Have the bones of a block laid out to get me to Raheny in January and recover some type of speed and then hoping to start a marathon block for Limerick. That may change if I decide the 14 weeks to Limerick isn't enough. Humming and hawing a bit there.
Monday 20th November: 8.2km Easy: 43:10 @5:15/km
Had planned on this being the first part of a double but window for run after work disappeared.
Tuesday 21st November: 10.2k Easy: 51:44 @5:04/km
Easy around Kilcullen while young lad had training.
Wednesday 22nd November: Session 3x8mins Threshold off 3min jog: 10k: 42:04 @4:12/km
Almost stayed in the car and didn't do this. Was late starting, weather was sh1t and I wasn't in the humour...but I managed to shoehorn it in and of course I was happy I did. Had to cut down warm up and cool down but still got the full session in. Paces for the 8mins repeats were (3:50/km, 3:49/km, 3:49/km). Probably a little faster than my current threshold and probably benefitted from a second or two in the GPS stakes, but felt pretty strong overall.
Picked up a pair of Pegasus 40's for 62quid in the Nike sale. No interest in the Vaporfly 2's. I have a pair and maybe I just got a dud pair, but they're not a patch on the 1's. Ever since I debuted them in a disastrous HM TT in the Phoenix Park I've had a thing against them :) Will probably pick up a pair of Vaporfly 3's with the gift vouchers that Santa will inevitably bring me.
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Monday 27th November: 7 Miles Easy: 59:49@5:18/km
Tuesday 28th November: 10k Easy: 51:18@5:08/km
Wednesday 29th November: Session: 10x300m off 90secs jog: 12.2k: 55:24@4:34/km
Was in Naas for a meeting, so took myself off to the Parkrun track at the racecourse. Cold and misty, session went okay. The 300m reps were described as '3k pace', whatever the hell that means! I just ran them at as hard a pace as I thought I could maintain for 10 reps. GPS was a bit sketchy at times but all the efforts felt similar and on point and all clocked in between 60-63 secs...which on paper is just so slow, but we are where we are. These sessions are needed to sharpen me up and man am I blunt!
Thursday 30th November: 10k Easy: 51:48 @5:11/km
Friday 1st December: Session: 55mins inc 15min Tempo: 11.7k @4:42/km
Fighting a bad dose at the moment, but I am still fairly functional. Breathing exclusively through my mouth, but still functional. 15 min Tempo to be pitched between 10Mile and HMP pace, but ideally closer to HMP. Came in at 3:54/km which seems about right? Who knows though, but not really important in the greater scheme of things at the moment.
Saturday: 10k Easy: 52:06@5:12/km
Sunday: 100min Easy: 18.9k
Meh enough kind of week, but still managed to build mileage and add in a sprinkling of quality. More of a light dusting really, but got out 7 days and feeling decent.
84.1k for the week
Berlin ballot out Wednesday, will decide on Spring/Summer destinations then.
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Was unsuccessful in the Berlin ballot which I'm not overly bothered about. Looking at Frankfurt or Amsterdam instead. GFA entry to Dublin is always an option but I think I'd like to give an overseas marathon another bash and see can I actually put up a half decent run outside of Ireland (Larne doesn't really count does it!?). Entered Limerick so that's the first half of the year set in stone anyway.
December has been hectic as ever. June and December are always mental in my line of work, so I'm just getting in what I can and get to January in as good a nick as possible. Have a plan up until Raheny, but I'm picking and choosing a bit from it at the moment as things are just a bit all over the place. I've a mate running Seville and hoping to break 3 hours so I've been giving him a dig out on his long runs which deviate greatly from the easy LRs on the plan. I don't really mind though and one or two sharper sessions a week and a decent LR workout will do the trick for the moment.
Monday 4th December: 10k Easy: 51:47@5:11/km
Tuesday 5th December: 8 Miles Easy: 1:03:09@4:54/km
Both late enough in the evening after busier than expected days. Had planned a hill session for the Tuesday, but by the the time 9pm came around and I dragged myself out the door, hills weren't happening
Wednesday 6th December: 7 Miles inc 12x30sec hills: 56:02@4:58/km
Horrendous conditions for this one. Actual session was meant to be 10x45secs hills, but the hill I had planned to those on was unrunnable with leaves, puddles, debris etc. Went to another hill in the camp, a shorter sharper hill so I added on a couple of reps. Ran them pretty hard and legs were nice and wobbly by the end.
Thursday 7th December: 6 Miles Easy: 48:47 @5:03/km
Friday 8th December: Didn't get out after work, and with the Santa Steam train on the cards for Saturday, just ran a longer easier effort in the evening.
13.6k Easy: 1:10:57 @5:13/km
Saturday 8th December: Rest
Sunday 9th December: Long Run: 25.3k: 1:52:52 @4:29/km inc 5/4/3/2/1 @4:11/km ave.
Out the door before 7am in absolutely shite conditions. As I mentioned above, I'm helping out a mate who is doing Seville and it keeps me in touch with the longer stuff so I'll do a few more of them with him. Felt great on this one, apart from some horrendous chafing. Forgot to put on body glide, wore a pair of shorts that I'd never worn in the rain...and the result was pretty grim.
83k for the week
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Seen on Strava that ya are listening to The Stand. Cracking book, that will get ya through a lot of training miles over next few weeks!
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Yeah I've read it a few times, but started an Audible trial there last week and it seemed as good a place as any to start 😁 the couple of easy runs have flown by so far 👍
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Apologies for detailing your training log but I would highly recommend Swan Song if ya haven't read it already. Similar type story to The Stand and just as good and dare I say it possibly better!
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The last few weeks have not exactly gone swimmingly...I'll steal AMK's recap style here.
December 11th - 17th: Total: 26km
The chafing that had taken place on the previous LR resulted in me not being able to run until Wednesday. I'll spare you any details, but it was pretty gnarly. This was also peak Christmas time in work and on the social front for me, which resulted in not a lot of running taking place. Banged out a random Tempo-ish 10 Miles on the Friday at around 4:11/km pace, but watch died during the run, so this possibly was slower, but was probably faster.
December 18th - 24th: Total 80km
Included a 8x350m hill session on the Friday which was a decent workout and a 28k LR on Christmas inc 4x3Miles at 4:11/km, 4:12/km, 4:09/km & 4:04/km. Felt great after this...
December 25th - 31st: Total 6km
...Alas, a 6k shuffle on Christmas morning was the last of my festive running as I picked up Covid and was pretty much bed bound until New Years Eve. Frustrating, but at least I wasn't in a race block.
Jan 1st - 7th: Total 72km
Just easing back into things. No sessions, just easy running for the most part. A planned 26km @4:30/km yesterday morning was torpedoed by the icy roads. I'd no other window to head out on a run, but I pulled the plug after 12k because I was going to injure myself if I stayed out there.
So the above few weeks has looked nothing like the plan I had laid out to get me to Raheny. At this point, I'd just be half arsing it through the plan to get me around so I'm scrapping Raheny and starting Hansons Marathon Plan for the Limerick Marathon. Ideally I would have been a bit sharper, but it is what it is. I'm looking forward to giving the plan a whirl and building on the fitness I gained for Dublin. I've read said book, gotten some great pointers from the thread on here and also, MacPhisto from this parish has been very generous with his advice.
It's not a free roll of the dice. I've set a baseline performance level with my run in DCM. I plan on building more fitness during the block and running well in May. Whatever time I run, I hope to be in good enough fettle to build on that again in the Autumn, be it with a GFA entry into Dublin, or somewhere further afield.
Exciting times.
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I really think the Hanson stuff will suit you, fair play J - best of luck with it
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Limerick Marathon Week 1
Mon: 10k Easy: 51:26 @5:08/km
Non descript ramble across the plains. No better place to go for an easy run when the weather is cold and crisp.
Tue: Session: 12x400m @5k pace off 400m recovery: 15.3k: 1:07:17@4:24/km
First speed session of the Hansons plan. The first couple of weeks will probably see me trying to settle into suitable paces for these workouts. I'm not sharp at all, so if I can handle the 5k side of the pace range I will, but I won't flog myself unnecessarily either and might skew towards 10k pace if I'm struggling. Pace calculator, based off a 2:52 marathon, told me that 3:35/km was the target for these. I hadn't done a 400m session in a long time and it took me a couple of reps to get into a rhythm. The 400m recovery was generous but it kept the session ticking along and I enjoyed the 'flow' of the workout, for want of a better word.
Did them along the top road in the Camp. They all were in the 84-86 second range, averaged 3:32/kms, but over 400m the couple of seconds doesn't equate to a whole lot. Did it feel like 5k pace? Eh, some of them maybe. What would I run a 5k in this weekend? Who knows. I once said that I'd never run a 5k again after running 16:51 and, 3 years on, I've been true to my word! The 400 recoveries were all in and around 4:45/50/km pace. I found it hard to slow down more than that, so might need to look at that going forward. Legs were fine but definitely felt the lack of speedwork catching up to me over the last couple of reps.
Wed: 4 Miles Easy: 34:50@5:22/km
I'm going to stretch the legs each Wednesday, rather than take a rest day as per the plan. I know, I know....making changes already.
Thursday: Session: 6 Miles Marathon Tempo: 14k: 59:58@4:17/km
The importance of these runs in the plan has been drilled into me in whichever direction I look. I'm hoping to run a PB in Limerick so have chosen 2:52 as a target to base training paces off of. This first stab at the marathon tempo went okay. Was definitely still feeling Tuesday's 400's in the legs and even at this extremely early stage, I'm beginning to understand the place the MP tempo has in the plan. Averaged 4:04/km for the 6 miles and felt intermittently good at stages throughout the run. Just tried to relax into the pace and focus on effort and minimising the watch checking as much as possible. Had to shed a few layers after a couple of miles but apart from that it was straightforward enough. 26.2 miles of that pace? Well that's a question for a bit down the road...
Post edited by healy1835 on13 -
Fair play, J - up and at it.
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After a few weeks you'll get used to it.
Those recoveries after the 400's - be careful on those as the plan moves on - it leads to a totally different workout if you do a 'Float' or an Easy Jog. In the middle is no mans land. I'd err on taking them much easier for now.
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Friday: 7 Miles Easy: 1:01:25@5:27/km
Legs tired enough so took it very easy but had come around by the end.
Saturday: 10k Easy: 52:55@5:17/km
Non descript shuffle around the bog.
Sunday: 11 Miles: 1:18:08@4:25/km
Long Run pace in the plan is 4:25 kms. Looking to do these runs on lumpy enough routes, so the plan was just to average 4:25 for the run. The human body/brain/whatever never fails to amaze me in how it adapts to whatever run you have planned. The body wanted to go for 11 Miles and no more at that pace today, but yet if the plan had of said 15 instead of 11 I wouldn't have batted an eyelid at it. Likewise a run like Friday's 7 Miles at nearly 5:30's. I presume it's a mental thing, but I get a kick out of it.
85k for the week. It's a start.
Limerick's May date doesn't really lend itself to the race calendar here. Most races are in sync with an April marathon. Would have entered the Naas 10 Miler in March, even though I ran past said race last year and the route looked pretty hairy, but I'm not around that weekend. Looking like a choice between a local Half Marathon in Athy in early April, or that Battle of Clontarf 10 Miler in St Annes on Easter Monday. No pressure to choose just yet.
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I have a Raheny race number going for a competitive price if anyone knows of anybody still thinking of entering. They are transferable as far as I am aware. I
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Limerick Marathon Week 2
Monday: 10.1k Easy: 54:08 @5:22/km
Run home from work as car was in getting repaired. Shuffle
Tuesday: Session: 8x600m off 400m recovery: 14.5k: 1:08:19 @4:43/km
Main aim of session was to ensure that the recoveries remained recoveries and didn't veer into float territory like last weeks first speed session. I'll put that down to over exuberence on my part.
Again, I'm just working off the range for 5k/10k paces off the Luke Humphries calculator for a 2:52 marathon. Definitely felt the benefits of the easier recoveries this week. 600's all came in between 2:07 & 2:11 which skewed closer to the 5k pace. Had a pair of Endorphin Speeds on that are probably near retirement and had an eye on my footing for a lot of the session. I emerged unscathed and, hopefully, a little further down the road in the journey to recovering some sharpness.
Wednesday: 4 Miles Easy: 35:55 @5:34/km
Chilly shuffle.
Thursday: Session: 6 Miles Marathon Tempo (39:08): 14.5k: 1:03:09@4:21/km
There's a nice little tester of a 2k loop around the back of the Curragh plains that I use sometimes. Lots of little pulls and drags including a really short stinker of a bump. I think I'll try and use this as it's more honest than the loop in the Camp and with Limerick on the horizon, is a good fit. Legs felt a lot fresher than last week. Marathon miles were decent. Aside from shedding some layers (-4 and I was still too warm to wear a jacket) and having to make way for a learner driver in an Army tank (this is the life we lead down here folks) the session went well. I'm not getting over analytical about whether this pace could be maintained for a marathon. Trust the process. Tick off the sessions. Get fitter. And then we'll see where we stand.
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Friday: 10k Easy: 54:18@5:25/km
Saturday: 7 Miles Easy: 59:20@5:17/km
Nothing to report on either of these other than my watch is probably getting a bit too unreliable. I am a terrible man for forgetting to charge it, but the battery life seems to be diminishing steadily as time goes on. Will hold off until closer to the marathon though. A hefty bill from the garage for some work on my car has taken a sledgehammer to extravagant purchases like a new Garmin!
Sunday: 15 Miles Steady: 1:51:36@4:37/km
Sunday morning was my only option for this one. With the conditions the way they were, I was happy to play fast and loose with the nominal 4:25/km target for these long runs and it was just as well as the run ended up turning into a bit of a slog.
In my wisdom, I decided that the best course of action was to run straight into the teeth of the wind for the first half and then make up loads of time when the wind would just take me home all it's own. This was, in fact, not a wise move.
By the time I'd made it up through the town, through the tundra that was the road into the camp, up the hill in the camp and 7 miles in....I was pretty bruised and battered. As always, you never seem to get the same return down wind, and the expected cranking up of pace never really materialised, and I wasn't going to overdo things just to keep on pace.
No water or gels suddenly seemed a hasty choice. (I'd run out of gels and thought and thought I'd a water bottle stashed on the route from a pre DCM long run but that turned out not to be the case). Added to this was some footwear issues; the left insole on my Endorphin Speed 3's had come loose and was pretty uncomfortable. Think Kipchoge that time in London with the Nike Streaks. It wasn't so bad that I had to pull the plug, but it wasn't ideal. Added to this was the fact I wore Speed 3's in a storm! At a couple of points I was skidding badly. They really aren't built for wet roads, and these ones are probably close to retirement so the grip was pretty compromised.
I did however finish the run, and felt like I had accomplished something that morning!
91k for the Week.
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Limerick Marathon Week 3
Monday: 7 Miles Easy: 1:00:04@5:20/km
Legs heavy enough from previous day's exploits, but felt better towards the end of the run.
Tuesday: Session: 6x800m off 400m recoveries: 9 Miles: 1:03:29@4:23/km
My ongoing watch issues continued during the week, the net result being that Tue & Wed runs didn't upload and were then promptly deleted when I factory reset the watch. My recall of the splits was that they were all in the 2:51-2:54 ballpark and the effort felt okay on a scaldy enough day for it. Did these on the top road of the camp.
Wednesday: 4 Miles Easy: 33:34@5:14/km
Thursday: Session: 6 Miles Marathon Tempo (38:51): 16.1k: 1:09:29@4:19/km
Wet and windy afternoon on the Curragh for this one. They felt okay. Again, fluctuated between worrying that I was working way too hard, and then feeling that this pace was manageable.
Trust the process Johnny. Trust the process.
Friday: 10k Easy: 55:58@5:36/km
Some serious shuffling going on here, but legs came around eventually.
Sat: 10k Easy: 52:34@5:15/km
Lovely run on a gorgeous morning around the Camp while one of my lads had Gaelic training on the plains.
Sun: 22.8 Easy: 2:01:08@5:19/km
Headed over to Shelbyville to join a couple of clubmates for an easy and early run. Great craic was had and will try and get some company on those easy longer runs as I find them tougher than steadier versions.
91k for the week. Starting to get used to the rhythm of this plan.
Sort of regretted not running Raheny, but I didn't feel I would have gotten a whole lot out of it. Have had some great days there in the past and will hopefully get back sooner rather than later. The Raheny/Trim double was a great one to get the year off to a flyer.
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Limerick Marathon Week 4
Monday: 10.1k Easy: 52:57@5:15/km
Shuffle around the Lidl loop. Legs felt great.
Tuesday: Session - 5x1k off 400m recoveries: 12.2k: 54:12@4:27/km
Sick children in the Healy household this week so window had shortened considerably for this one. Picked up a pair of Salomon Phantasm 2's during a random browse on 365 Rider a while back. Gave them a little debut here and they felt pretty good. A little firmer than some other plated shoes, but a decent addition to the shoe rotation. Very comfortable upper. Not sure if I'd wear them on a LR but will try them out on something longer in the next while.
Session was relatively straightforward. Creaking a little during the first rep as I had to cut warm up and cool down due to time restraints, but once I got into a rhythm the session ticked by nicely.
Splits: 3:40, 3:36, 3:39, 3:38, 3:37
Wednesday: 4 Miles Easy: 34:44 @5:23/km
A truly horrendous afternoon weatherwise. Wrapped up and wandered out onto the plains.
Thursday: Session - 6 Miles Marathon Tempo (38:33): 10 Miles: 1:09:17 @4:18/km
School was closed for in-service today, so was able to get this in early and then head over to the in-service for a 9:30 start.
The pace for the tempo was probably too hot, actually, it was definitely too hot. But, this morning was one of those mornings that I was just feeling it. I just settled into 4min km pace and it felt on a par with previous weeks efforts. I didn't push the pace but I was moving nicely and never despite trying to relax and not force things, the pace never seemed to waver so I just went with it.
Best workout of the plan yet. Tipping nicely
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Last July you ran a 10k in 39.18.
Moving nicely and good fitness in there!
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Friday: 7 Miles Easy: 58:57 @5:14/km
Lovely run around Kilkenny. I had been down that neck of the woods to do a sweat test with George Sherwood, so took the opportunity to run around the Castle Park.
Test was interesting. Apart from one disastrous day in Rotterdam a few years back, I've never had too many problems with race day hydration or fuelling, however this will hopefully take any guesswork out of the equation and give me one less variable to worry about on raceday.
Had a couple more Hefeweizens than planned later in the evening watching the rugby, so I had an immediate opportunity to test out the 1500 electrolyte tablet 😉
Saturday: 10k Easy: 55:52 @5:35/km
That I made it out for this in the afternoon is a testament to the aforementioned product!
Sunday: 20k Steady: 1:26:38 @4:20/km
Was toing and froing about moving this to the Monday as it was gonna be tight if I could get it in, with training, swimming, parties etc. Definitely wasn't going to get up at 6am to do it as I was still catching up on some sleep from Friday.
Managed to eke out enough of a window to get a decent effort in. 20k would have been on the lower end of what I wanted to get in, but it would tick the box. Didn't realise just how windy it was out which I'm sure made racing interesting yesterday. Not that it mattered as I was cruising out there. Everything just felt easy and I had to check myself and slow down on a few occasions. 4:20/km average felt very comfortable and I could have rattled off as many more kms as you wanted at that pace.
Felt great this week. All the weeks won't be this good so it's nice to enjoy things when they seem to come a little easier. If I can maintain a bit of discipline over the next few weeks, then I think things might start to move on nicely.
88k for the week.
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Limerick Marathon Week 5
Monday: 10.4k Easy: 53:09 @5:06/km
Late afternoon bank holiday trot with buddy who is heading to Seville for a sub 3 tilt next week. He's in great nick so hopefully he can keep it between the lines and get the result his training merits.
Tuesday: 10k Easy: 53:09 @5:19/km
Heating issues in the school (which continued for the week) meant I wasn't able to get out after work. This left a 60 min window later that evening over in Kilcullen while my eldest was soccer training for a run. I was cold and tired and not in the humour to shoehorn the workout into an hour so I just pushed it to the Wednesday.
Wednesday: Session: 4x1200 off 400m recovery: 7 Miles: 49:37@4:24/km
Once again my window had shortened for this due to work stuff and had to skimp on the warm up and cool down. The two workouts during the week with Hanson's are great when life is popping along straightforward. When things don't go as planned it makes it tougher. I'm not overly enamoured with the Tue/Thu workouts when I'm working...
Anyway, session was fine. I'm just not regularly getting in the total mileage for some of these sessions which is annoying me a little. Paces for 1200's were 3:41, 3:34, 3:38, 3:37. Felt decent.
Thursday: 5 Miles Easy: 42:00@5:13/km
Made this run a little longer. I know I shouldn't have.
Friday: 7 Miles Marathon Tempo (45:33 estimated): 11 Miles: 1:17:54 @4:23/km
My ongoing watch issues, adding to my own long established organisational issues are causing issues at the moment! Watch died during the 5th Mile of the MP. I was feeling amazing during these miles. I had glanced at the watch just before it died so as I was on the loop I knew almost to the meter, how many more I had to do. 6:32, 6:31, 6:30, 6:30 were the first 4....I'm also pretty certain I didn't slow down for the last 2 and a bit miles.
Things are definitely starting to get going as regards fitness here.
Sat: 14.8k Easy: 1:18:34 @5:18/km
Very enjoyable early morning trot listening to Moose and Reece on the Road to Osaka podcast. Absolute gold.
Sun: 21.1k Easy: 1:44:06 @4:56/km
Easy with a few clubmates.
94k for the week. Things building very nicely
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Yeah - thanks for the shout about that episode - 1st hour is gold - loved the chat.
Training is going very well for you - no need to force anything - let it come to you.
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Limerick Marathon Week 6
Week 6. Jeepers.
Monday 12th Feb: 7 Miles Easy: 59:24@5:16/km
Tuesday 13th Feb: Session: 400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400 off 400m recovery:
8 Miles: 55:49@4:20/km
Wasn't bouncing off the walls getting out for this one. I may or may not be correct, but I was under the impression that the reps were to be all done at the same pace (I've loaned out my Hanson's book to a mate...). Anyway, after the 400 and 800 to start I was quite iffy on my ability to hold that pace for the longer reps. I managed to suck it up and finished the session but it was definitely the toughest speed session thus far.
Paces were all in the 3:36-3:38/km region.
Wednesday 14th Feb: 4 Miles Easy: 34:57@5:26/km
Moseyed over to the Curragh racecourse for this one. I used to do sessions with a buddy there a few years back, and while it was full of drags, we had some great days on it. The paths weren't in great shape however, full of potholes and a lot of mud, so won't be doing a session on it anytime soon.
Thursday 15th Feb: Session: 7 Miles Marathon Tempo: 45:38: 11 Miles: 1:16:58@4:21/km
The short mid term dovetailed nicely with my wife having a work thing for the whole weekend, so my solo parenting duties began on the Thursday. Managed to get the kids looked after for a part of the afternoon and set off to my trusted bog loop for the marathon tempo. I found this one quite tough. Whether it was the pyramid session on the Tuesday or maybe the tougher bog loop, I don't know. But anyway, averaged 4:04/km which didn't feel like MP effort or anywhere near it to be honest.
Friday 16th Feb: 7 Miles Easy: 1:04:48@5:45/km
Out before 6am for this one. My early morning running game is very rusty. Just about dipped under a 10 minute mile to start off with!
Saturday 17th Feb: 11.6k Easy: 1:05:21@5:39/km
Another early morning trot, but felt a lot more present on this one.
Sunday 18th Feb: Long Run: 15 Miles: 1:44:52@4:21/km
There's defintely an equation or theorem that could be formulated to find out how much faster you run after tracking friends running a marathon! After watching and keeping up with events in Seville, I cashed in all my child minding chips and headed out. I'd decided to just put the distance data field on the watch and run by feel for 10k and see how that matched up with the nominal 4:25/km's for these LR's.
Felt amazing during this one I have to say, probably the 'fittest' I've felt in a long while. Through 10k in 43:08, which was a bit quick, but effort felt spot on. Through 10 Miles in 69:50, so was just happy to keep things tipping along at around 7 min miles for the rest.
An up and down week, but delighted to finish it with a good run and with 95k for the 7 days.
Post edited by healy1835 on12 -
Great week I would say!
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Yeah, I'd agree here - its gas how we get hyperfixated on individual days when aiming towards something big. When the reality is, its the cumulation of weeks and months of consistent work that really pays off.
Fair play, J - you're ticking them off one by one
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